dairybusiness news

In this episode of DairyVoice, host Connie Kuber has a conversation with Laura Daniels, President and Founder of Dairy Girl Network. Laura explains how it works, how it helps, and what DGN means for women in our industry. The Dairy Girl Network National Conference is scheduled for November 1-3, 2022 in Prior Lake Minnesota.

Women in dairy are encouraged to listen to this podcast to find out what they offer. To join, or to secure a sponsorship of this year’s national conference, go to: dairygirlnetwork.com.

Chuck Worden has had a unique career as a dairyman, always willing to look ahead and try new things. With his wife Vanessa he is farming in Central New York today, but his career has included dry lot dairying in New Mexico and leadership roles in the Holstein Association. In this podcast, he talks about his journey with Joel Hastings of DairyBusiness News.

Nevin has a plan for his small Jersey herd of 450 and he's on track to meet his goals. Nevin Lemos from Waterford, California, finished junior college and spent some time on dairies in New Zealand. Then he came home and with support from his parents, leased a dairy set-up on his own, and began building a herd. Joel Hastings of DairyBusiness News speaks with Nevin in this DairyVoice podcast episode for those who worry about how young people can get a start in dairy.

The Santos family at Terra Linda Dairy has it goin’ on. For the past seven years, they've had the high herd on Tulare County (California) DHIA. Their 1200 registered Holsteins averaged 32,107 lbs. milk and 1262 lbs. fat with a super 34,180 lbs. of energy corrected milk. Partner Mike Santos, Jr., gives DairyBusiness News an inside look at the breeding and feeding programs that get these results.

Joel Hastings of DairyBusiness News interviews Tim Abbott. While Tim had his start with Jerseys first at his family's home farm in Vermont and then with the Association, his career has taken him through AI as a sire selection specialist and a manager / owner. He's bred and shown top end Holsteins, too. Today he manages a few high quality sales and reads pedigrees while continuing to partner on elite cattle with several commercial producers.

You're a dairy producer in Pennsylvania processing your own milk supplying 20 school districts. Coronavirus closes the schools... what next? Bill Itle and his daughter, Carissa Itle Westrick, talk with DairyBusiness News about the year of COVID-19 and lots more in this episode. Their Vale Wood Farms milks 230 cows and their processing plant serves some 5000 accounts including home delivery near Loretto, Pa. This family is on the front lines of making milk and serving consumers with today's dairy products.

With everyone taking an even harder look at the cost of protein in the dairy ration, we found this latest research about canola meal pretty interesting. Canola seems to be an almost perfect protein source to meet the needs of lactating cows. In this episode of DairyVoice, Joel Hastings of DairyBusiness News talks with one of the leading dairy nutritionists on this topic. Want higher production for your feed dollar? Take a listen to this episode with Dr. Kenneth Kalscheur, who's on the staff at the U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center in Madison, Wisconsin.

As 2020 winds down, financial consultant John Ellsworth of Success Strategies reflects on the roller coaster year and looks ahead to 2021 in his conversation with host Joel Hastings of DairyBusiness News. He encourages his clients and all dairy producers to work on their businesses, not just in their businesses in the New Year. Cost control and dairy production efficiencies along with consideration of risk management for milk and feed remain the most important issues.

“If U.S. food waste were a country, it would be the third largest producer of greenhouse gases in the world, behind the U.S. and China”, says John Hanselman, CEO of Vanguard Renewables. His company is partnering with dairy farmers on anaerobic digesters to handle both manure and food waste. In this episode of DairyVoice podcast, he talks with host Joel Hastings of DairyBusiness News and dairyman Randy Jordan, a Vanguard partner, who has been working successfully with digesters on his central Massachusetts farm for nearly a decade. Vanguard recently announced the Farm Powered Strategic Alliance along with Dairy Farmers of America, Starbucks and Unilever. For a great overview, you can listen as DFA member Gardner gives his practical take on all of it.

COVID-19 not withstanding, the dairy industry continues to look ahead... all the way to 2030. Dairy farmer and National Dairy Board member Alex Peterson and Tom Gallagher, DMI's CEO, talk with Joel Hastings of DairyBusiness News about dairy's future and the food industry. Alex also describes his family's low input farming, a pasture-based, crossbred herd of 160 milking cows, while Tom talks about dairy's "pivot" in 2020.

Brittany Olson dairy farms with her husband and his family in Barron County, Wisconsin. She's also a writer and an advocate for traditional small size operations. She believes a dairy industry with diverse farm sizes are more resilient and provide long term security for dairy consumers. To insure that future, though, she explains to Joel Hastings of DairyBusiness News that a fair pricing system is required.

With terrific production, a nearly 45,000-lb. herd average, high type, and over half the herd are Excellent cows, award winning dairyman Tom Kestell of Waldo, Wisconsin talks with Joel Hastings of DairyBusiness News about making the most of his 100-cow operation. Even though his farm size might be called "traditional" he is anything but that when it comes to running his business. Here's a podcast episode that challenge's "status quo" thinking on a dairy farm.

In episode 24 of DairyVoice podcast, Joel Hastings interviews Amanda Freund of Freund’s Family Farm about the dairy operation and their unique approach to the business. 

Joel Hastings of DairyBusiness News describes Amanda Freund of the Freund’s Family Farm an activist, in the best sense of the word. Amanda is active on her family's dairy farm with feeding and helping with calf care. And, she is involved in two of the farm's related businesses - a farm market and a very unique manufacturing operation. Amanda is a pro at social media, supporting not only her businesses and the farming practice but also the benefits of dairy foods, as a whole. A Cornell graduate, she served two years in the Peace Corps.
Make sure to also listen to the podcast Clarity At Work: Building A Herd For Tomorrow. The link to that podcast: 

https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/452515

What are possibilities for the food industry and specifically in dairy as we move through the COVID-19 pandemic? In DairyVoice episode 20, the guest is Fred Schonenberg of VentureFuel, which helped California Milk do a "shark tank" style program. Schonenberg shares insights with Joel Hastings of DairyBusiness News on what might lie ahead. 

He explains that what the pandemic has done is take any flaws in a company’s business model and accelerated the reality of whatever that vulnerability might be. Schonenberg suggests that organizations take a hard look at in the mirror and say, “Here are things that we have to address.  Let’s address them now before they become an issue.” Spoiler alert... the rate of change in the food and ag industry, including dairy, won't slow down!