PDPW Manager's Memo

May 2022 Vol. 1

Brought to you by Dairy's Professional Development Organization®

CHECK OUT THE NEW TALENTCONNECT JOB LISTINGS on the PDPW website. This dairy-exclusive online professional network allows employers to post job openings and search for qualified candidates. Job seekers can register for a FREE quarterly membership. Your resume and qualifications will then be viewable to potential employers.

For more information, to add a job listing and to search for jobs, click the button below.

talentCONNECT

“Make your job search count!”

Opportunities to learn

TAKE THE NEXT STEP IN HOOF MANAGEMENT at the 2022 PDPW Hoof Management Workshops set for June 14 in Hudson Falls, NY; June 28 in Newton, Wis.; and June 30 in Baltic, SD. These interactive sessions are held on host farms, with each farm serving as a case study for your entire management team. Industry experts Karl Burgi, Kate Creutzinger, PhD, Marcia Endres, PhD, and Roger Olson, will present a multi-faceted approach to preventing lameness. Learn more and register on the PDPW website.

Nexus

MILKING PARLOR ANALYTICS FEATURED ON NEXUS STAGE. Cattle Care’s Milking Parlor Analytics software uses a dairy’s existing security camera system to spot deviations from standard milking parlor protocols, recognize positive practices and monitor animal care issues in parlors and holding pens.

Video footage is uploaded to the company’s secure services, and video-analytics algorithms are used to spot up to 20 deviations or potential issues in parallel or rotary parlors. Deviations, such as manually removing a milking unit too soon or not post-dipping a cow, are captured as short video clips and made available for a producer to view and share in their own online dashboard.

The system can also be used to track the number of positive events it spots during a milking or animal-care shift – such as good wiping, stripping, pre-dipping, post-dipping and cow handling.

For more information and to contact Cattle Care, go to their website.

For your dairy

RESTRICTING DIETARY PHOSPHORUS DID NOT IMPACT HEALTH of cows during dry period or the subsequent lactation, according to research published in The Journal of Dairy Science. Given concerns about excessive amounts of phosphorous in manure having negative environmental impacts, researchers assigned 30 late-pregnant cows with a dry cow diet of low or adequate phosphorous and monitored for symptoms of hypophosphatemia. The study showed that restriction of phosphorous during the dry period did not have pronounced effects on dry matter intake or milk yield in highly productive cows. No metabolic effects associated with phosphorous deprivation, other than on calcium homeostasis, were identified during the dry period or the following lactation, but the authors recommended repeating the study with a larger group. Read the full article.

NUTRITION PLAYS A ROLE IN WOUND HEALING AFTER DISBUDDING, according to research conducted at the University of Guelph. A study found that calves consuming a higher amount of milk (allowed up to 15 liters or 3.96 gallons a day) healed more quickly than those limited to 6 liters or 1.59 gallons a day. The study also tracked pain management and healing after either one or two doses of an NSAID following disbudding. Researchers found pain levels were lower with two doses, but wounds took significantly longer to heal. Read more here.

ALFALFA AND GRASS MIXTURES CAN DELIVER HIGHER YIELD QUALITY than straight alfalfa plantings. In a recent episode of The Dairy Signal™, Dr. Don Miller of Alforex Seeds shared strategies for selecting, planting and harvesting alfalfa and grass varieties for dairy forage production. Grass fiber is more digestible than conventional alfalfa, so mixtures generally result in lower non-fiber carbohydrates in the diet, increased butterfat, less acidosis and improved reproduction. Mixtures also provide better forage production under diverse growing conditions such as variable soils, and grasses tend to tolerate weather swings better than alfalfa while also providing a buffer against legume winterkill. Watch the May 4, 2022 episode of The Dairy Signal for more information and discussion.

For your business mind

EFFECTIVE ONBOARDING WELCOMES, PREPARES AND SHARES KEY INFORMATION that will help new employees engage and be productive in their new roles as soon as possible. In addition to completing the necessary paperwork, the first day should include a welcome from owners or senior managers, an introduction to key staff and employees, and a tour highlighting information relevant to their job and for safety and personal needs such as drinking water and restrooms. A welcome letter for new employees can be sent in advance with information on what to expect, appropriate clothing, necessary paperwork and more. Learn more in Onboarding Resources compiled by the Cornell Agricultural Workforce Development program.

ARE YOU SPENDING YOUR TIME OR INVESTING IT? We’ve all wished for more hours in the day to accomplish work or personal tasks. An article from the University of Kentucky Extension challenges dairy producers to view time as a precious resource to be invested, starting with setting priorities and completing tasks promptly. Other smart investments include training, delegating and trusting employees and family members with tasks, and even outsourcing tasks to vendors or contractors to accomplish them in a timely manner. Read the full article for other tips and strategies for time management for dairy professionals.

CREATING THE MODEL FOR YOUR VALUE-ADDED BUSINESS is a key step in adding a new business venture to a commodity farm or for someone starting a new business. Two tools that can help entrepreneurs be more successful are the “Business Model Canvas” and “Lean Startup Process,” which walk through key elements of production, identifying customers, marketing, distribution, value creation and more as part of the business planning process. An article from UW Extension outlines each approach and provides template worksheets to complete.

The Dairy Signal

TUNE INTO THE DAIRY SIGNAL™. Join leading experts across dairy and agricultural industries, government and regulatory associations and universities for insights on the most pressing issues in today’s marketplace. The educational sessions air every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, with recorded episodes available for free at pdpw.org. Click here to find archived recordings of sessions.

Presenters and topics covered recently include:

May 3

Time is money for busy dairy teams. Make the most of management-team meetings by inviting the right team members and practicing effective meeting techniques.

Liz Griffith, Market Development, Human Resource Consultant, Encore Consultants
Tim Schaefer, CFP, Certified Family Business Advisor, Certified Professional Business Coach, Encore Consultants

May 4

Maximize your 2022 alfalfa harvest with strategies for optimizing forage quality and yield, harvest planning for different varieties and identifying the right times for cutting.

Dr. Don Miller, Ph.D., Director of Product Development, Alforex Seeds

May 5

Fluctuations in feed and ingredient markets combined with the ongoing uncertainty in Ukraine make feed variation more critical than ever. Discover what feed variation really is and how to lower feed costs in today’s markets.

Dr. John Goeser, PhD, Director of Nutritional Research & Innovation at Rock River Lab, Inc., and Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Dairy Science Department at University of Wisconsin-Madison

May 10

A dairy farmer panel will share perspectives on balancing the many obligations of business and family. Janet Clark and Chris Pollack will share their strategies for managing stress, schedules and more.

Janet Clark, Dairy Farmer and Co-Owner, Vision Aire Farm LLC, Eldorado, Wis.
Chris Pollack, Dairy Farmer, Pollack-Vu Dairy, Ripon, Wis.

May 11

How should today’s dairy farmers approach investing in off-farm assets such as retirement accounts, life insurance and all the other options? Listen to the discussion of how much should be set aside and which investments are the right fit for farm families.

Brian Hoskens, Vice President of Agricultural Banking and Senior Lender, Nicolet National Bank
P.J. Madson, Senior Vice President of Wealth Management, Nicolet National Bank

May 12

Hear an update on the latest market and industry news impacting dairy and agricultural markets in this bi-weekly market update.

Dan Basse, President of AgResource Company

Dairy currents

STRONG DAIRY EXPORTS SEEN IN FIRST QUARTER 2022, according to U.S. Dairy Export Council reports. March 2022 exports nearly matched record-high levels of 2021, driven by a strong performance of cheese and a recovery in low-protein-whey exports. A number of factors, including constrained supplies, strong domestic demand, and logistics, have limited growth in export volume, but export values continue to be very strong. Learn more in the full report.

PROTECT YOURSELF FROM TICKS AS SPRING WEATHER ARRIVES. Farmers can be exposed to ticks in a variety of ways, including working with livestock and pets, building or maintaining fences, fieldwork, crop scouting and other maintenance activities. Protect yourself by doing the following:

Shower at the end of the day or when you go indoors and check for ticks at this time. Ticks like to take cover in armpits, around your hairline and ears, around your waistband, in your groin area and behind your knees.
Tuck your pant legs into your boots and wear long sleeves.
As soon as you come into the house, put clothing in the dryer on high heat for at least 10 minutes.
Treating your clothing with products containing 0.5% permethrin is an option to repel ticks, as is purchasing already-treated clothing.