New Prague, Minn. (February 9, 2026) – Head to the Grand Canyon State – Arizona – for the 2026 Dairy Calf & Heifer Association (DCHA) Annual Conference and Trade Show at the Hotel El Conquistador Tucson, A Hilton Resort, April 7-9. Back by popular demand, the 2026 conference offers two concurrent short courses being held on April 7 – one focusing on young calves and the other on post-weaned calves up to parturition. Terri Ollivett, University of Wisconsin, and Gabe Middleton, Veterinary Wellness Partners, will present “Leveraging Lung Ultrasound to Monitor Calf Health and Uncover Management Deficits.” Paul Fricke, University of Wisconsin, Mike Overton, Zoetis, and Joe Dalton, University of Idaho, will address “Growth and Development of Dairy Heifers, Including Targets and Economic Consequences.”
Also, back by popular demand, attendees may participate in one of two in-person tours, being held the morning of April. 7. One tour option is Shamrock Farms, a state-of-the-art farm with 25,000 cows. To view the dairy, DCHA members will hop aboard the “cow train” and stop at the feed area to discuss feed rations and view the 200-stall milking parlor. Additionally, they’ll tour Shamrock’s new calf barn and see their 10,000 heifers.
The second tour option is the University of Arizona’s Agricultural Research Center (ARC), a 33,000-square-foot facility dedicated to elucidating complex physiological mechanisms in domestic livestock, with a particular emphasis on environmental stress. In ARC’s environmental rooms, researchers investigate the effects of a semi-arid environment on animal genetics, metabolism and physiology.
Like the last two years, DCHA will offer two pre-conference sessions presented in Spanish and simultaneous interpretation (English to Spanish) for all general session and breakout session presentations. Additionally, interested individuals may attend in person or virtually.
To learn more about the conference, registration and hotel links, go to: https://bit.ly/DCHA2026confagenda. Be sure to register early to get the best registration rate. Reserve your hotel room by March 16 to take advantage of DCHA’s discounted room block rate.
Michelle Schack, DairyKind, will deliver the keynote address – Training that Sticks: Why Documentation Matters on Today’s Dairy Farm. Effective training doesn’t have to be complicated. This session will show how clear plans and simple documentation can make training stick, protect your team and animals, and improve consistency on your dairy. Real-life examples of easy-to-use systems will give you tools to get results every day.
In addition to the General Session presentations, DCHA will offer Breakout Sessions via three tracks – wet calf/weaning, post-weaned/reproduction and beef cross. Thursday morning’s session features the popular panel discussions – one from each of the tracks.
Conference presentations include:
- “Impacts of Thermal Stress on Health and Performance of Preweaned Dairy Heifers” by Diego Manriquez, AgNext, Colorado State University (presented in Spanish and interpreted to English)
- “Communication at the Heart of the Team” by Marianna Guerrera, TELUS Agriculture & Consumer Goods (presented in Spanish and interpreted to English)
- “AI for Dairy Calf Management: What Do We Know and Where are We Headed?” by Melissa Cantor, Penn State University
- “Alternative Forages for Heifers: Balancing Yield, Quality and Cost” by Doug Duhatschek, Parnell Living Science
- “What Your Mother Never Told You About the 21-Day Cortisol Surge in Cattle” by Blaine Ellison, Applied Biotechnologies, Inc.
- “Beyond the Bag: Understanding Trends in Calf Milk Replacer Formulation” by Tana Dennis, Actus Nutrition, and Bethany Dado-Senn, Vita Plus Corporation
- “How are We Working to Get to Great” by Kevin Miller, Kansas Dairy Development
- “Short- and Long-distance Transport of Dairy and Dairy-Beef Cross Calves” by Gustavo Schuenemann, Ohio State University
The Dairy Calf and Heifer Association (www.calfandheifer.org) was founded in 1996 based on the mission to help dairy producers, calf managers and those professionally focused on the growth and management of dairy calves and heifers. With an international membership of producers, allied industries and research leaders, DCHA seeks to provide the industry’ s standards for profitability, performance and leadership, serving as a catalyst to help members improve the vitality and viability of their individual efforts and that of their business.