PDP Manager's Memo

September 2025 Vol. 5

Brought to you by Dairy's Professional Development Organization^®

The Dairy Signal^®

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

September 30 - Simple Meal Prep & Planning

Be prepared with healthy meals and snacks during the busy harvest season with tips for simple meal prep and planning. Presenter will be:

Morgan Ekovich, Health and Nutrition Coach, Founder, Get Fit With ME

October 2 - Market Update

Tune in for the latest news and analysis of ag markets and learn about the trends that will impact your farm and the dairy industry. Presenter will be:

Ben Buckner, Chief Grains and Dairy Analyst, AgResource Company

Access Now

Previously on The Dairy Signal

September 23

Tune in for a conversation about the 2025 corn silage harvest following an unusual growing season with too much rain in some areas and not enough in others. John Goeser will share strategies on how to best manage and feed out this year’s crop.

John Goeser, Dairy Nutrition + Management Consultant, Progressive Dairy Solutions

September 25

As we near the end of the third quarter, hear an update on domestic and export dairy market conditions, price outlook, and futures market expectations. Bring your questions for this interactive conversation.

Leonard Polzin, Dairy Markets and Policy Outreach Specialist, UW-Extension

Opportunities to Learn

CARBON, CROPS + COWS

October 14, 15, 2025

Van Dyne, Stratford, Wis.

Nearly every improvement you make on your farm – big or small – can have a positive impact on your sustainability score. Now is the time to get your farm’s baseline score and begin measuring and tracking progress so you can capture market opportunities when they arise.

At the 2025 Carbon, Crops + Cows workshop and farm tour, you will learn from industry experts and farmers who have participated in the Your Farm – Your Footprint™ initiative. Bring your questions about carbon markets, carbon intensity scores and how measurement and reporting work.

Learn more and register.

CALF CARE CONNECTION®

October 22, 23, 2025

Arlington, Green Bay, Wis.

The 2025 Calf Care Connection workshops will provide everyone on your calf care team with new insights and the tools to recognize, respond to and reduce stress-related challenges on your farm.

All sessions will be simultaneously translated into Spanish.

Learn from leading experts, including:

Dr. Catie Cramer
Dr. Ryan Breuer
Dr. Franklyn Garry

Learn more and register.

STRIDE™ YOUTH LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE

Nov. 12, 2025

River Falls, Wis.

The 2025 STRIDE™ Youth Leadership Conference is headed to UW-River Falls and delivering a full-day of interactive activities for high school students, including:

Workshop led by Michael Hoffman to build critical thinking and effective communications skills
Campus tour
Nose-to-tail diagnostic review on youngstock
Fast-paced career connections activity for one-on-one introductions to ag and dairy career opportunities

Stride qualifies as an "above the chapter level" activity for FFA members.

Learn more and register.

PDP BUSINESS MANAGEMENT & ADVANCED FINANCE WORKSHOP

October 29-30, 2025

Sun Prairie, Wis.

Learn more and register.

FINANCIAL LITERACY FOR DAIRY

Kewaunee, Wis.

Level One -

Nov. 12-13, 2025

Dec. 3-4, 2025

Level Two -

Jan. 15-16, 2026

Feb. 4-5, 2026

Mar. 10-11, 2026

Learn more and register.

DAIRY WELLBEING WORKSHOP

Nov. 19, 20, 2025

Green Bay, Wis.

Learn more and register.

DAIRY MANAGERS INSTITUTE

Dec. 16-17, 2025

Green Bay, Wis.

Learn more and register.

MANAGERS ACADEMY FOR DAIRY PROFESSIONALS®

January 20-22, 2026

Puerto Rico

Learn more and register.

CORNERSTONE DAIRY ACADEMY®

March 3-4, 2026

Madison, Wis.

Applications due Jan. 15

Learn more and apply.

For Your Dairy

AUTOMATED MILKING SYSTEMS REQUIRE CONSISTENCY AND ROUTINE, just like the cows in your herd. An article from UW-Extension outlines key daily, weekly and ongoing maintenance tasks to work properly and ensure long-term stability and performance. Daily tasks include:

Clean the milk room, waiting area, AMS box, feed bowls and sensors
Inspect the liners and milk, vacuum, water, teat dip, and chemical hoses
Change the milk filter after every scheduled CIP wash cycle
Watch full milkings to check for any abnormalities
Check AMS alarms and reports

Click here for the maintenance article and here for the full AMS series.

DON’T OVERLOOK DRY COW DIETS was the takeaway from research published in the Journal of Dairy Science. The study tested how feeding high- or low-energy diets to Holstein cows in late lactation affected body reserves and performance in the next lactation. At 150 days of gestation, 66 cows were assigned to either a high-energy diet or low-energy diet. The high-energy group had more body fat at dry-off, while those on the low-energy diet had higher dry matter intake at calving and early in lactation. The results suggest that moderate body condition before calving may support better feed intake and metabolic balance during the transition period. Learn more in the full study.

Your Farm - Your Footprint

ADD A NEW EXPERT TO YOUR TEAM.

You rely on nutritionists, agronomists, financial consultants and more to help keep things running smoothly. PDP's Your Farm - Your Footprint (YFYF), now gives you the opportunity to add a sustainability consultant to your team.

Now is the time to learn your operation's baseline sustainability score so that you can take credit for improvements you make and position yourself for market opportunities. YFYF is an independent program, so you stay in control of your data.

Learn more and sign up today at www. pdpw.org/your-farm-your-footprint/.

Dairy Currents

U.S. PRODUCERS ARE RAISING MORE FOOD with fewer resources, is the bottom line of the updated Sustainability Impact Report released by the Animal Agriculture Alliance. The report highlights how U.S. animal agriculture is actively contributing to achieving all 17 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and making progress in enhancing animal welfare practices, reducing environmental impact and contributing to a healthy, balanced diet. Learn more.

Industry Impact: Wisconsin Towns Association

THE WISCONSIN TOWNS ASSOCIATION (WTA) was founded in 1947 to advocate for small, rural communities in the state legislature. Today, it provides education, legal information, and legislative advocacy to empower town officials to unlock the potential of democracy. Educational programs, a legal information hotline, and state and federal lobbying efforts are implemented by eight full-time staff and several contract lobbyists.

One educational strategy is hosting the annual Agriculture Community Engagement (ACE) Twilight Meetings with PDP and the Wisconsin Counties Association to provide an on-farm opportunity for town and county officials, residents, and farmers to connect and learn about the issues and opportunities facing agriculture and local government.

“ACE brings together the primary stakeholders in rural success — farmers and local officials — to build relationships and find out how passionate they all are about growing the economy, conserving the environment, and affecting positive community change,” said Mike Koles, WTA executive director.

Koles highlighted critical role of building relationships.

“Road damage is going to occur. Manure and mud will find their way onto the road. And, the town will probably need some equipment to address an issue that the farm has. If we know each other, it’s an easy phone call. If we don’t know each other … not so much,” he said. “Rural prosperity cannot be achieved through a series of transactions. Positive community change requires tight knit friendships, examples of which are featured at ACE Twilight Meetings.”