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2025 ODI Conference Agenda

April 15-16, 2025

Salem Convention Center
200 Commercial St SE
Salem, OR 97301

AGENDA: TUESDAY, APRIL 15

Pringle Creek Room

7:30       Registration


Willamette Foyer and Hallway

7:30       Vendor Show, Beverages, and Donuts


Willamette A&B

Session 1 | Chair: Diep Wisniewski | Theme: Innovation in Dairy Research

8:30          Door Prizes, Welcome, and Opening Remarks

8:35         Background in Dairy Innovation

Younas Dadmohammadi, Assistant Professor, Oregon State University 

9:10          Application of AI in Food Safety and Processing: Rapid Pathogen Detection

Luyao Ma, Assistant Professor, Oregon State University

9:40          Unlocking Kefir’s Potential in Biopreservation

Gulhan Unlu, Associate Professor, Washington State University


Willamette Foyer and Hallway

10:15     Break and Vendor Show


Willamette A&B

Session 2 | Chair: Hadi Eshpari | Theme: Food Safety and Regulatory

10:40       Session Chair

10:45       Update from the Oregon Department of Agriculture

Rusty Rock, Food Safety, Animal Health and Lab Services Division Director 

11:10       Food Safety Fireside Chat

Joy Waite Cusic, Associate Professor, Oregon State University and Jovana Kovacevic, Associate Professor, Oregon State University


12:00       Lunch – Croisan Creek


Willamette A&B

Session 3 | Chair: Julie Rentsch | Theme: Big Picture Dairy Outlook

1:15          Door Prize, Session Chair

1:20          State of the U.S. Dairy Industry

Monica Ganley, Senior Director, Global Trade Analysis, National Milk Producers Federation and the U.S. Dairy Export Council 

2:25         Oregon Legislative Updates

Tami Kerr, Executive Director, Oregon Dairy Farmers Association


Willamette Foyer and Hallway

2:50          Vendor Show and Ice Cream Break


Willamette A&B

Session 4 | Chair: Amy Spence | Theme: Connecting with Consumers Through Food

3:10          Session Chair 

3:15          From Farm to Fortnite: Unlock New Paths to Dairy Consumers 

Julie Rentsch, Oregon Dairy Council on behalf of Dairy Max

3:40          Connecting with Consumers Through Food 

Emily Fuller, Communications Director, Oregon Dairy Council

4:05          Evolution of the Grocery Shopping Experience

Beau Hayden, Vice President of Insights: Sales and Trust, Dairy Management Inc. 

4:45          Evaluation Drawing, Adjourn


Grand Hotel Boardroom

5:00          Hospitality Suite


AGENDA: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 16

Pringle Creek Room

7:30       Registration


Willamette Foyer and Hallway

7:30       Vendor Show, Beverages, and Donuts


Willamette A&B

Session 5 | Chair: Anne Goetze | Theme: Oregon State University 

8:30       Door Prize, Session Chair

8:35       Oregon State University Student Presentations 

9:35       Introduction of OSU Pilot Plant Brandon Riesgaard, Dairy Pilot Plant Manager, Oregon State University

9:55       Oregon State University Dairy Program Update Younas Dadmohammadi, Assistant Professor, Oregon State University and Zeynep Atamer, Assistant Professor, Oregon State University


Willamette Foyer and Hallway

10:20     Break and Vendor Show


Willamette A&B

Session 6 | Chair: Marcia Walker | Theme: Product and Process Innovation

10:35     Session Chair

10:40     PCC-DBII Story, Update, Reflections

Susan Pheasant, Director, Institute for Food and Agriculture, Fresno State University

11:00     Pacific Coast Coalition Subaward Recipients 

Stories of Success Panel and Impact of Receiving Funding

Umpqua Dairy, Andersen Dairy, Nico’s Ice Cream 

11:20     FIC Dairy Innovation Impact

Melanie Hanlon, Dairy Initiative Program Manager, Oregon State University


11:40       Lunch – Croisan Creek

12:00     ODI Business Meeting – Croisan Creek

12:30     Vendor Show Tear Down


Willamette A&B

Session 7 | Chair: Chris Jackson

1:00       Session Chair 

1:05       ODI Dairy Story: Oregon Cheese Guild, Katie Bray 

1:30       Keynote Speaker:

Oregon's Global Opportunity: Realizing Our World-Class Ambitions

Mike Thelin, Principal, Bolted Consulting

2:20        Annual ODI Awards Program with Oregon Dairy Princess 

2:55       Evaluation Drawing, Closing Remarks, Chris Jackson


Willamette C&D

3:00       2025 ODI Elliker Cheese Tray

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Oregon Dairy Industries
PO Box 256
Gresham, OR 97030

bridget@oregondairy.org


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