MADISON, Wis. — Sept. 30–Oct. 3, the global dairy community gathered at the Alliant Energy Center for four days of learning, sharing and commerce at World Dairy Expo 2025. One of the highlights was the expo’s Virtual Farm Tours — which gave attendees the opportunity to engage with participating farms by viewing a visual presentation, followed by an open discussion period afterward.
In addition, this year’s show welcomed back an old favorite, the Dairy Showcase Village, which was absent last year. Back by popular demand from attendees and exhibitors alike, this delicious feature showcased Wisconsin cheese vendors selling their wares for people to enjoy at home.
According to Trade Show Manager Kay Faherty, World Dairy Expo plans to bring the feature back next year — and with much more fanfare.
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“We learned some things about what we need to work on — better signage, better placement and better communication to get the word out that it’s back,” Faherty said. “We do see it as an area that we’ll continue to work on and grow.”
Boosting Exhibitor Experience
World Dairy Expo also has other areas it’s working on to contribute to its growth. Looking ahead, Faherty says the event is incorporating new strategies that will boost exhibitor experience and show value. One big change in the works is the ability for exhibitors to purchase their booths online in order to streamline the process. In addition, the show will be using Personify’s A2Z Events floor plan management system, which allows exhibitors to see their booth as they purchase it.
“It’ll give us the opportunity to be more engaged with exhibitors and for exhibitors to be more engaged with World Dairy Expo,” Faherty explained. “One of the other advantages is it gives us the ability to sell booths almost right up until the show opens. If we get a cancellation fairly last minute, we will have the ability to backfill that booth from a waiting list or from a local vendor that can make it on short notice. I think it’s going to be very advantageous for both World Dairy Expo and for our exhibitors.”
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In addition, Faherty says she wants to see exhibitors more engaged in promoting their presence at the show in the coming years, so they can enjoy an increased turnout in their booth.
“One of my goals would be to try to get our exhibitors to engage a little bit more in some social media ahead of the show and to really get the message out there that they’re exhibiting,” she said. “I try to encourage our exhibitors to do that and let them know the trade show isn’t just the four days of the event — it’s the couple weeks, even a month, leading up to the show where you need to engage with attendees and start marketing to let them know you’re going to be there.”
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