PDP Manager's Memo

The Dairy Signal^®

Check out what's coming this week on The Dairy Signal. Tune in every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday live from noon to 1 p.m. CT, or catch previous episodes on demand here.

May 6 - Innovation Week with Nexus - Dairy Nutrient Reclamation

Tune in to hear about Essential Water Solutions - the next generation of feed storage – developed by Ben and Michael Jones of Dairy Nutrient Reclamation.

Ben Jones, Co-CEO, Dairy Nutrient Reclamation

May 7 - Declutter your Habits and Build Better Ones

Spring cleaning isn’t just for your home or office. Tune in for this energizing session focused on decluttering and clearing out habits that are impacting your health and wellbeing and creating new ones.

Morgan Ekovich, health and nutrition coach, founder, Get fit with ME

May 8 - Innovation Week with Nexus - Bankbarn

Learn about the Digital Finance Platform from Bankbarn, a 2025 Nexus stage finalist, and the options for customized financial solutions that empower farmers to maximize profitability and operational efficiency

Dr. Dan Little, DVM, Head of Business Development, Bankbarn

Access Now

Previously on The Dairy Signal

April 29

Innovation Week kicked off with a deep dive into the inner workings of Lipidol®, a rumen-bypass lysophospholipid product designed to enhance nutrient absorption in the small intestine. Two representatives of Pathway Intermediates – a 2025 Nexus finalist – will serve as episode presenters:

Dr. Chansol Park, PhD, Producer Manager, Pathway Intermediates USA
Dr. Davy Brown, PhD, Independent Consulting Nutritionist

April 30

Tune in to learn about CowManager and how its Sort Gate technology can provide a stress-free and safer environment for sorting cows. This episode will be presented by another 2025 Nexus finalist representative:

Jared Krull, Vice President of Sales & Service, CowManager in North America

May 1

Hear the latest news and analysis for agricultural and dairy markets and a look ahead at the 2025 growing season.

Ben Buckner, Chief Grains and Dairy Analyst, AgResource Company

Opportunities to Learn

2025 PDP INTERNATIONAL TOUR: NEW ZEALAND

February 2-15, 2026

LEARN ABOUT THE COUNTRY, CULTURE AND COWS of New Zealand with fellow dairy producers on the 2026 PDP New Zealand tour.

The trip includes tours of dairy and kiwi farms, a breath-taking cruise through Milford Sound, iconic cities of Auckland, Queenstown and Christchurch, experience with the local culture of the Maori tribe, including a demonstration of a traditional haka and a final farewell tour on a historic steamboat cruise.

A non-refundable deposit of $1,000/person is required. Learn more and register.

PDP ACCELERATE™

July 22, 2025

Madison, Wis.

PLANNING YOUR SUMMER INTERNSHIP PROGRAM?

Take your organization's internship program to the next level with PDP's Accelerate program.

The one day event is a unique opportunity for expert leadership training and professional development. Interns will return to the team with new skills and connections, improved communication and networking abilities, and a heightened ability to represent your organization with confidence and competence.

Click here to learn more and to register now.

For Your Dairy

SUPPLEMENTING DAIRY COW FEED WITH WHOLE COTTONSEED can boost milk fat. A study conducted at Penn State and published in the Journal of Dairy Science studied 16 cows fed with and without 15% whole cottonseed, substituted for a mixture of cottonseed hulls and soybean meal, over 21-day days. They found that when cows were fed diets with cottonseed, they produced milk 0.2% higher in milk fat and produced 5% more fat per day. Cows getting whole cottonseed showed no reduction in the feed consumed, and the researchers found no effect on milk protein concentration and yield. Read the full study to learn more.

MEASURE AND TAKE STEPS TO MITIGATE NOISE IN VENTILATION SYSTEMS to minimize stress on cows. An article from UW-Extension reviewed the impact of noise levels in dairy cow housing on animals and employees. Dairy cows are sensitive to sound, and continuous high noise levels may contribute to lower milk production and restlessness, with noise levels often higher during warmer months due to fans and ventilation systems. The first step is measuring noise levels. (The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) provides a professional-grade sound level meter app for iOS that can be downloaded for free.) Larger, slower-moving fans are often quieter than smaller, high-speed fans and variable speed fans can help reduce noise by adjusting airflow based on barn conditions. Learn more.

Your Farm - Your Footprint

KNOW YOUR NUMBER

PDP's Your Farm - Your Footprint puts your farm at the forefront of sustainability as the dairy supply chain looks to reduce its carbon footprint. Through Tier 1, dairy producers can receive non-government grants up to $9,750 per farm (up to 2,500 acres) to get their carbon footprint scores. A confidentially third party will gather your information and help you learn your farm’s environmental footprint score, how it's calculated and potential opportunities to reduce your score.

Discover your farm's environmental footprint score through nationally and globally recognized accounting programs Farm ES, Cool Farm Tool and COMET-Farm™.
It's your data! You own and are able to share this information, or not, with others as you so choose.
Receive a customizable roadmap of recommendations with practical steps to improve your farm's score.
You have the option to participate in peer groups with fellow producers to share ideas and best practices in a safe, confidential environment.

After completing Tier 1, producers who are a part of the Nestlé milk shed may be eligible for cost-share opportunities for farm improvement projects that reduce their carbon footprint. Want to learn more? Visit the website or email croy@pdpw.org.

Dairy Currents

RESEARCH SHOWING A LINK BETWEEN DAIRY FOODS and reduced risk of cardiovascular disease has been mounting over the past two decades. A column in Dairy Foods magazine highlighted several of these studies, including a 2023 study of more than 46,000 U.S. adults that found eating dairy foods was linked to a 26% reduced risk of heart disease mortality for those 19 years and older. This ever-evolving research sheds new light on dairy fat, which is unique in its makeup of over 400 fatty acids, which seem to interact differently compared to other sources of saturated fat. In addition, dairy foods are more than a simple collection of isolated nutrients, rather, they possess complex physical and nutritional matrices that can affect digestion, absorption and nutrient bioavailability beyond the presence or absence of individual nutrients. Learn more.

COMFORT FOODS AND NOSTALGIA ARE LEADING THE WAY in Americans' dining preferences. A 2024 survey found that 70% of Americans would rather eat comfort food than gourmet meals for the rest of their lives. Consumers are also dining out less due to economic pressures. This often results in patrons looking for nostalgia in simple dishes like macaroni and cheese, buttery mashed potatoes or grilled cheese sandwiches. Social media influencers and fine dining chefs are joining the trend, posting content of traditional favorites and adding new, higher-end twists to everything from mac and cheese to chicken and waffles. Learn more in the full article.

Member Profile

A new addition to Managers Memo will be monthly membership features. We’re excited to start the series with a new board member elected in 2025.

Heather Moore has taken a “less traditional” path to dairy farming and operating value-added businesses in northeast Iowa. Heather and her husband, Brandon, are first-generation dairy farmers from Maquoketa, Iowa, who began milking 40 cows in 2014. They also run an 800-head custom beef feedyard and have pigs, a laying-hen facility and a small goat herd. She is a Wisconsin native who studied animal science and ag education at UW-Platteville.

They were exploring value-added opportunities for their farm and found an empty storefront in Maquoketa that was set up as a coffee shop. They opened the first Moore Local store in 2017, selling cheese from their cows’ milk, as well as other local foods and coffee shop items. They have since moved to a larger location in Maquoketa and added another Moore Local storefront in Bellevue, Iowa. They partnered with neighbors to build and open a facility in 2022 that houses both Rockdale Locker, a USDA-inspected meat (beef, pork, lamb, goat) processing facility, and Moore Family Farms Creamery cheese processing.

Heather and Brandon have five children – Tucker (15), Cassidy (12), Cooper (9), Sutton (6) and Palmer (2). She is also active in county and Iowa Farm Bureau, Holstein Foundation and as a 4-H Leader.

Heather was elected to the PDP board of directors in March 2025. She is excited to serve on the board because of the positive impact that the organization has on the dairy community and the opportunity to help it continue to grow and broaden offerings.

“We know that when we attend a PDP program, there will be ‘take-home’ ideas and learnings the entire day,” she said.

PDP Podcast Weekly

Thankfulness, Gratitude & Appreciation

Tom Thibodeau teaches servant leadership at Viterbo University and discusses three important terms that we often take for granted in our daily vocabulary: thankfulness, gratitude and appreciation.