Managers Academy Tours: Olive Oil, Water Management, Amazon

Out-of-industry tours give dairy professionals new perspectives in addition to high-tech strategies.

Sometimes the best ideas for moving your business forward come from looking beyond your own industry. The 2027 Managers Academy for Dairy Professionals®, presented by Professional Dairy Producers® (PDP), will give dairy leaders a behind-the-scenes look at how successful organizations simplify complexity, leverage technology and lead people through change. Through a full day of out-of-industry tours, participants will learn from business leaders who are finding new ways to solve problems, make decisions and build systems that work.

The 2027 Managers Academy will be held January 19-21, 2027, in Phoenix, Arizona. Developed by PDP in collaboration with Progressive Dairy, Progressive Dairy Solutions and Rabo AgriFinance, the executive-level program is designed for dairy owners, CEOs and senior leaders looking for fresh approaches and practical strategies they can apply to their own businesses.

In addition to classroom sessions focused on artificial intelligence, data and decision-making, participants will tour the facilities of three organizations that offer valuable lessons in business management, innovation and leadership.

Managers Academy participants will spend a day touring the following sites:

• Queen Creek Olive Mill has built an esteemed business rooted in Arizona-grown olives, transforming an agricultural product into a diversified consumer-facing brand. From production and processing to product development, retail experience and customer service, attendees will discover how an agricultural business can create additional value by thinking beyond the commodity and building a direct connection with the consumer.

• The Salt River Project (SRP) canal system offers an exploration of the infrastructure that has helped make growth possible in the Phoenix area. Attendees will examine the region’s history of water management and the systems built to support an expanding population in an environment with constrained resources. SRP leaders will share how they make decisions and balance resource availability, infrastructure investment and long-term sustainability to support a growing community for generations despite projections that the area is in danger of running out of water.
• An Amazon Fulfillment Center will showcase what happens behind the scenes when a customer clicks “buy” on amazon.com. This high-level overview shows how technology, data, automation and team members come together to move millions of products with speed and precision. See how Amazon manages complexity at scale, uses data to drive decisions and builds systems where people and technology work hand-in-hand.

Registration is now open. Registration fee includes all sessions, training materials, meals, tours and tour travel. A block of discounted rooms is available at Hyatt Regency Phoenix when booked by Dec. 29, 2026. Learn more and register at www.pdpw.org or contact PDP at 800-947-7379. Travel to Phoenix and hotel accommodations are not included with registration.

For more details and lodging information visit www.pdpw.org or contact PDP at 800-947-7379. Follow along digitally in advance of and during the event by following @dairyPDPW on Facebook, Instagram, X, and LinkedIn.

Professional Dairy Producers (PDP) is the nation’s largest dairy producer-led organization of its kind, focusing on producer professionalism, stakeholder engagement and unified outreach to share ideas, solutions, resources and experiences that help dairy producers succeed.