PDP Manager's Memo

September 2024 Vol. 2

Brought to you by Dairy's Professional Development Organization®

Headed to World Dairy Expo?

Visit us at our booth in the Exhibition Hall:

Booth EH4427.

Stop by our booth to learn how we share ideas, experiences and learning opportunities with dairy farmers and other professionals in our industry.

Opportunities to Learn

Federal Milk Marketing Orders Workshop

Session recording available now.

UNDERSTAND THE PROPOSED CHANGES TO FMMOs so that you can make an educated decision before voting later this year. Dairy economists from UW-Madison and Cornell University and a panel of highly respected industry experts representing producers and processors from around the country shared their perspectives on the proposed changes at the FMMO Workshop on September 18. As Dr. Charles Nicholson noted, dairy farmers and their cooperatives will vote on whether to accept the proposed changes once they are finalized in November or to eliminate pricing under FMMOs in their region altogether—there’s no option to continue with the pricing arrangements we have now.

Click here to secure a copy of the workshop recording. You’ll learn these takeaways and more:

The USDA is proposing five key categories of changes to milk pricing – and it’s important to consider their impacts when taken collectively, not separately.
The impacts on farm milk prices and dairy product demand will vary by region of the country. Areas supplying a lot of milk for beverages will see higher farm milk prices. Areas supplying milk to make cheese, butter and powder have lower farm milk prices.
The impacts on farm milk prices will vary over time – they’ll be larger in the first couple of years after the new pricing rules begin.

Calf Care Connection®

Oct. 15, 16

Cleveland, Fennimore, Wis.

UNDERSTANDING BIOSECURITY, PNEUMONIA AND SCOURS FOR HEALTHIER CALVES. Calf care managers, calf feeders and all dairy team members will benefit from the combination of classroom training and hands-on experiences in the 2024 Calf Care Connection workshop. The repeating one-day sessions will be presented by leading calf care experts, including Dr. Don Sockett, Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory; Dr. Theresa Ollivett, UW-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine; Dr. Melissa Cantor, Penn State University; and Dr. Derek Foster, North Carolina State College of Veterinary Medicine. All sessions will be simultaneously translated into Spanish. Learn more and register here.

PDP Business Management & Advanced Finance Workshop

October 30-31

Sun Prairie, Wis.

AMPLIFY YOUR HR MANAGEMENT AND FINANCIAL LITERACY SKILLSETS at the Business Management & Advanced Finance Workshop. Through interactive case studies and class discussions, instructor Dick Wittman will cover core strategies and competencies to help your business succeed. Focus areas will include farm management proficiency, financial metrics and simulation, cost and managerial accounting, family business governance, and growth management. Learn more about the two-day course here.

Herdsperson Conference

October 29, 30

Plover, Arlington, Wis.

COUPLING LONGEVITY WITH PROFITABILTY FOR SUCCESS on today’s dairy farms is the focus of the 2024 Herdsperson Conference. The repeating one-day sessions will feature the latest research on biosecurity measures and critical control points to protect your herd, and how to maximize cow health with dietary formulations and management practices during transition periods. A panel of dairy producers will discuss the secrets to herd longevity. All sessions will be simultaneously translated into Spanish. Learn more and register here.

Financial Literacy for Dairy®

Level One - Nov. 12-13 and Dec. 4-5

Level Two - Jan. 22-23, Feb. 5-6 and Feb. 26-27

Juneau, Wis.

THE ONLY FINANCIAL LITERACY PROGRAM DESIGNED SPECIFICALLY FOR DAIRY will kick off 2024-25 sessions in November. PDP’s Financial Literacy for Dairy is a multi-level, multi-session program for dairy farmers, veterinarians, nutritionists and other agribusiness professionals with an understanding of financials and perspective to make better decisions for their business. Level One begins in November with a focus on goal setting, balance sheet principles, cash income statements and other core financial concepts. View the flyer and register here.

Dairy Managers Institute®

December 10-11

Juneau, Wis.

EQUIP YOUR MANAGERS TO BE EFFECTIVE TEAM LEADERS with skills, strategies and confidence developed at the PDP Dairy Managers Institute. The two-day intensive management-development program features three tiers of training designed to be completed in chronological order. Each tier is facilitated by leading experts on business coaching, leadership and financials, with simultaneous translation into Spanish for all sessions. Learn more and register here.

Your Farm Your Footprint

HAVE YOU SIGNED UP FOR YOUR FARM – YOUR FOOTPRINT? Dairy farmers should be in the driver’s seat when it comes to knowing and owning their farm’s environmental footprint score. Your Farm – Your Footprint™ is a farmer-led sustainability initiative now available to dairy producers across the country. The groundbreaking initiative measures a farm’s current carbon and methane emissions so you can make informed decisions and shape the future of your farm.

Producers who sign up submit data and work with independent third-party Eocene Environmental Group (formerly Sustainable Environment Consultants). All producer data is kept confidential. Once it is submitted, producers can expect their score within 45 business days, along with a report itemizing the impact of each farming practice.

The first two sponsors to join with PDP are Nestlé, one of the world’s leading users of milk for its consumer food products, and Dairy’s Foundation, which supports education efforts to help dairy producers be proactive and prepared for the future. Learn more and sign up today at

www. pdpw.org/your-farm-your-footprint/.

For Your Dairy

ADDING TERMINAL TRAITS TO BEEF SIRE SELECTIONS for dairy cost can add value to calves raised for beef. An article from Michigan State Extension reviews research on producers’ considerations when choosing traits for beef x dairy crossbreeds. While conception rate, calving ease and semen cost were the three most important criteria in a 2021 producer survey, authors encourage selecting for improved growth rate, increased muscling and other terminal traits. Learn more in the full article.

WHAT IMPACT DOES FEEDING WASTE MILK HAVE on rumen development, resistant bacteria growth? A study in the Journal of Dairy Science assessed the effect of bulk tank milk, waste milk from cows receiving antibiotic treatment, and pasteurized waste milk on dairy calves. Results included that pasteurizing waste milk has adverse effects on nutrient digestibility and that the use of waste milk may contribute to the gradual selection of resistant fecal E. coli over time. Read more here.

ANTI-INFLAMMATORY MAY BE AN ALTERNATIVE to anti-microbial in treatment of metritis, according to research on two commercial dairy farms in Ontario, Canada. The results were published in the Journal of Dairy Science and showed similar health, milk yield and reproductive outcomes between initial treatment of metritis with three days of anti-microbial (ceftiofur) or anti-inflammatory (ketoprofen). The study included 193 cows with metritis. Researchers state that the results warrant further larger studies under a variety of management systems and environments. Read the full study here.

For Your Business Mind

USDA LAUNCHES DISTRESSED BORROWERS ASSISTANCE NETWORK, an initiative designed to provide personalized support to financially distressed farmers and ranchers across the nation. Through a series of Cooperative Agreements, this national network will connect distressed borrowers with individualized assistance to help them stabilize and regain financial footing. The Distressed Borrowers Assistance Network will address the immediate needs of distressed borrowers and provide comprehensive, wraparound services aimed at addressing the unique challenges faced by financially distressed producers. Learn more about the network and other Farm Loan Program improvements here.

AVOID FOCUSING ON “ME” DURING DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS. It can be easy to focus on your own feeling when you are stressed, anxious or having a challenging conversation, but making sure you keep the other person’s feelings in mind is key to success. Common mistakes include:

Assuming your viewpoint is obvious
Exaggerating
Telling others what they should do
Blame others for your feelings
Challenge someone’s character and integrity.

Learn more and get tips for successful conversations here.

QUALITY AND UPDATED ESTATE PLANS are an important building block of effective succession plans to ensure the plan works in the event of an owner’s death. Troy Schneider details a number of tax principles and estate plan basics in a recent Dairy Signal episode. Key questions to ask:

Has the estate plan been coordinated with the farm succession plan?
Will options to purchase farm assets cash flow?
Is the plan of distribution fair to all of the children?
Is the plan based on a living trust rather than wills?
Is the estate plan still correct in light of management changes, parents’ estate and farm value inflation?

Watch the episode to learn more.

EVEN IN TODAY’S DATA-DRIVEN WORLD, our instinct plays a big role in decision making and problem solving. An article in Fast Company outlines how to develop and sharpen your instincts by developing a “learned instinct,” building a trusted sounding board, and making instinct your operating model. Learn more about the balance between data and intuition in the full article.

The Dairy Signal

TIMELY NEWS, THREE DAYS A WEEK. Don’t miss The Dairy Signal® to connect with leading experts across dairy and agricultural industries to researchers at universities and government agencies to bring updates on the trends and topics that will affect your dairy business. The 60-minute sessions air every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, with recorded episodes available at www.pdpw.org. Click here to tune in to archived sessions.

Presenters and topics covered recently include:

September 17

Join an interactive conversation about soil health, including how Wisconsin rainfalls may impact soil and how to improve soil conditions.

Dr. Jamie Patton, PhD, CPSS, Wisconsin State Soil Health Coordinator, Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture

September 18

Take a deep dive into the process of adding a robotic milking system to a dairy operation and what to consider when making a decision.

John Gerbitz, PAS, Cow Corner LLC

September 19

Tune in for the bi-weekly market update with a focus on the dairy news, numbers, and trends that will impact the industry and your operation.

Ben Buckner, Chief Grains and Dairy Analyst at AgResource Company

September 24

Tune in for a conversation about wills and estate planning, with a focus on the process and understanding what clients should bring to meetings with attorneys and advisors.

Troy Schneider, shareholder and attorney, Menn Law Firm

September 25

Hear about the aspects of planning a family farm transition and what dairy producers can do to prepare and successfully implement the process.

Shayna Borakove, partner, attorney and counselor at law, Borakove Osmann LLC

September 26

Learn about the latest research in using sexed and beef semen and IVF beef embryos in lactating Jersey cows.

Dr. Paul Fricke, PhD, dairy reproduction specialist, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Dairy Currents

U.S. CHEESE CONSUMPTION CONTINUES TO GROW, and cheese producers are expanding facilities and product offerings to meet consumer demand. Per capita cheese consumption is about 42 pounds per year, as increased demand for high protein foods has put cheese back in meals and snacks. A Bloomberg article highlights the growth and the billions of dollars being invested in cheese plant expansions slated to come online by 2026. Read more in the full article.

HOW WILL CHINA’S DAIRY PRODUCTION IMPACT GLOBAL DAIRY TRADE? China has increased milk production by 10 million metric tons from 2018 to 2023, bringing its milk supply self-sufficiency from 70% to 85%. An article from Dairy Reporter highlights how that shift could impact China’s imports of key product categories, including a drop in whole milk powder (WMP), liquid milk and cream, and whey purchases. However, China’s domestic production of cheese and butter is limited, while consumer demand is increasing. Learn more here.

MEASUREMENT IS THE FIRST STEP in understanding a farm’s methane emissions and developing a reduction strategy. However, measuring emissions on a large scale is expensive and challenging. An article from UW-Extension outlines several methods and new technologies being study to measure emissions and compares costs and potential use in farm-scale environments, including respiration chambers, Sulphur hexafluoride tracer technique, Greenfeed system, Laser methane detector and Sniffers. Read more here.