June 2021 Vol. 1
Brought to you by Dairy's Professional Development Organization®
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PDPW Dairy Obstetrics & Newborn Calf Care Workshop
Taught exclusively in Spanish
June 16 and June 17
Juneau, Wis. and Colby, Wis.
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DON’T MISS IT! Registration is still available for the PDPW Dairy Obstetrics & Newborn Calf Care Workshop designed for your farm's Spanish-speaking employees. Presentations by Dr. Julia Hamann, Diamond V, and Dr. Flavio Silvestre, DVM, PhD, Zoetis will ensure your team members have the technical skills and safe, compassionate techniques needed to successfully deliver calves and care for both the newborn and cow through the transition process. For more information or registration, review the program flyer.
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PDPW Dairy Robotics Tours
July 15
Tour bus pick-up/drop-off: Shawano, WI
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SEE HOW THREE DAIRIES ARE INCREASING EFFICIENCIES AND COW COMFORT on a tour of three northeastern Wisconsin farms Thursday, July 15. Horsens Homestead, Cecil; Shawland Dairy, Shawano; and Olson Dairy Farms, Inc., Birnamwood, will open their doors to attendees as University of Minnesota-Extension educator and long-time milking technology researcher Jim Salfer serves as tour facilitator. Together, they’ll share how this technology can increase farm productivity and performance. Attendees will depart by bus at 9 a.m. from the Shawano Community High School, 220 County Rd. B, Shawano, WI 54166. The bus will return by 4 p.m.
For more details and to register, click here.
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2021 Hoof Health Workshop
July 20, July 28, Aug. 3
Waupaca, Wis., Frankfort NY, Lake Norden, SD
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PRACTICAL STRATEGIES AND ON-FARM CASE STUDIES presented by industry leaders in hoof health will be the focus of the PDPW Dairy Hoof Health Workshops. Dr. Gerard Cramer from the University of Minnesota, Karl Burgi, founder of the Save Cows® Network, and Roger Olson, dairy account manager for Zinpro Corporation, will lead sessions at farms in Wisconsin, New York and South Dakota. For more information or registration, review the program flyer.
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A note from PDPW member Caroline Pozzatti:
“Last PDPW conference I won the $1000 toward a vacation. We spent four days in Minneapolis / Saint Paul. It was a nice time spent with my husband and our children. We have a tradition; every two or three years we renew our “cherry picture,” as we call it. Thank you! My family and I appreciate you!”
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TAKE PRECAUTIONS TO AVOID HEAT STRESS WHEN HANDLING ANIMALS during hot weather. A publication from the University of Wisconsin Extension provides tips and recommendations for handling animals to help prevent loss in dry matter intake and milk production due to heat stress. In addition to using low-stress handling techniques, here are other suggestions to keep cows’ core body temperature down:
- Handle animals during early morning hours before temperatures rise.
- Evening hours should be left for animals to cool down; don’t handle animals unless necessary.
- Proceed with extra caution if evening temperatures do not drop below 70°F since cattle have no chance to recover before another day of heat and humidity.
- Check and clean waterers to ensure cattle have adequate amounts of fresh water.
- Position water tanks in a high, dry area and remove manure build-up that accumulates around the tanks to alleviate problems with flies.
Review the full list of recommendations here.
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USING DATA FROM AUTOMATIC MILK FEEDERS TO DETECT DISEASE IN CALVES was the focus of research conducted at the University of Guelph in Canada. Eight farms participated in the study to determine whether feeding-behavior data could aid in detecting neonatal calf diarrhea, bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) and general disease in preweaned group-housed calves. Calves with BRD consumed 63% less of their daily allotment of milk, had two fewer unrewarded visits to the automated milk feeder and drank milk 152 mL (5.14 oz.) per minute slower compared with calves without BRD. Calves with neonatal calf diarrhea consumed 57% less of their daily milk allotment, consumed 758 mL (3.16 cups) less per day, and drank 92 mL (3.11 oz.) per minute slower than calves without neonatal calf diarrhea. Results suggest farmers can use data from automated milk feeders to identify calves requiring further inspection. Read the full study here.
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UNDERSTANDING THE GENETIC LINK TO KETOSIS CAN HELP PRODUCERS MAKE GENETIC SELECTIONS to lessen susceptibility to the disease. A study published in the Journal of Dairy Science focused on identifying genomic regions associated with clinical and subclinical ketosis in North American Holstein dairy cattle and investigated these regions to identify candidate genes and metabolic pathways associated with these traits. Chromosome 6 and chromosome 20 were of interest for clinical and subclinical ketosis. These chromosomes are known to harbor important genes related to ketosis and were associated with the inflammatory response. Researchers found important biological pathways involved in fatty acid metabolism, lipid metabolism and inflammatory response in dairy cattle. Read the full study here.
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TUNE INTO THE DAIRY SIGNAL. Join leading experts across dairy and agricultural industries, universities and government and regulatory associations for insights on the most pressing issues in today’s marketplace. The educational sessions air every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, with recorded versions available for free at pdpw.org. Click here to find archived recordings of sessions.
Presenters and topics covered recently include:
Hear from rising-star dairy researchers as they share recent work including results from an epidemiological analysis of the impact of sub-clinical ketosis on cows and herds, and findings on rumen-protected choline as a nutritional intervention during heat stress and on overall cow and calf health.
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Dr. Heather White, PhD, Associate Professor of Nutritional Physiology of the University of Wisconsin-Madison,
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Ryan Pralle, Assistant Professor of Animal Science and Researcher, Dairy Innovation Hub, University of Wisconsin – Platteville
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Henry Holdorf, PhD Candidate, Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison
There have been some new appointees on key agricultural legislative committees. Find out who is new and what’s in store when it comes to agricultural and environmental policy, trade and exports and the overall health of the U.S agricultural economy.
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Paul Bleiberg, Senior Vice President, Government Relations, National Milk Producers Federation
Business IQ is being proven in today’s world of tight margins. What is your business and financial IQ? Are you up for the challenge?
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Gary Sipiorski, independent business and financial consultant
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Dr. Kevin Bernhardt, Professor of Agribusiness at UW-Platteville School of Agriculture and Farm Management Specialist
Find out what’s trending when it comes to consumer buying habits, the current perception on plant-based and cell-based alternatives to dairy and meat and how certain new initiatives could affect the dairy industry.
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Charlie Arnot, CEO of The Center for Food Integrity and president of Look East
Heat stress can affect overall economics, production, and fertility and alter milk composition. Learn some of the more effective heat-abatement practices to combat heat stress.
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Dr. Geoffrey E. Dahl, Harriet B. Weeks Professor in the Department of Animal Sciences at the University of Florida
Tune in for the latest news and analysis of agricultural markets and trends that will impact dairy producers and ag industry.
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Dan Basse, Economist and President of AgResource Company
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DON’T OVERLOOK THE DETAILS IN FEEDING PROGRAMS during times of price volatility. As milk prices, input and feed costs remain volatile, it is critical to review every aspect of feeding programs to control costs and maximize quality and productivity. An article from the University of Kentucky Extension shares a checklist to control feed costs, review on-farm feeding programs and control feed waste. Read the full article to tailor the checklist for your operation.
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TAKING A BREAK HELPS PROVIDE DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE on some of the most pressing challenges you may be facing. As the lines between our work and personal lives continue to blur, a Fast Company article outlines the value of downtime to multiple aspects of business. Three things happen when you take even a short break from actively solving a work program:
- Your memory of the problem changes and you think about it more abstractly
- You have the opportunity to retrieve new information which may bring new facts
- You may be exposed in the interim to new tools to address the challenge
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KEEP IT BRIEF IN BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS. Communication errors can have a negative impact on owners, managers and employees in a business, so ensuring communications are concise, focused and clear is critical. A study reported that 80% of employees say bad communication causes stress in their jobs. Best practices for keeping communications focused without seeming rude or cold include:
- Be kind, not curt
- Choose words thoughtfully
- Economize discussions
- Mix levity and brevity
- Gab after hours
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LEGISLATORS SUPPORT EXPANDED OPTIONS FOR MILK in the federal school meals program with a letter from 55 members of the U.S. House of Representatives to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack. The group is encouraging the USDA to allow low-fat flavored milk to be offered in schools. They stated milk consumption rose in 58% of schools surveyed when schools were able to offer low-fat flavored milk under the current waiver authority. Read the full article for more details.
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STUDENTS DESIGN DEVICE TO HELP SECOND GRADER OPEN MILK CARTONS and other containers. Students in a digital fabrication course in a Minnesota high school were looking for projects and heard about an 8-year old with a physical disability that made it difficult for him to open milk cartons during school lunches. They used a 3D printer to create the device he now uses for milk as well as fruit cups, juices and cereal containers. Watch the news coverage here.
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CYBERATTACKS PART OF NEW REALITY FOR FOOD PRODUCERS, according to USDA Secretary Vilsack in a recent POLITICO website article. The recent cyberattack on JBS is a high-profile example of the food system’s vulnerability to digital threats and cybercrime. Increasing automation and internet technology place the industry at a higher risk; to date, federal oversight of the industry’s cybersecurity practices has been light. Read the full article for more details and practices that can help prevent future attacks.
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INFLUENCE: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PERSUASION. A new edition of the best-selling book from Robert Cialdini dives into the psychology of why people say “yes” and how to ethically apply these insights in business and personal life. It also uses examples and explains principles that will help you defend yourself against unethical influence attempts. Learn more here.
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PDPW educational calendar |
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June 16 & 17
Obstetrics and Newborn Calf Workshop
- taught exclusively in Spanish
Juneau & Colby, WI
July 15
Dairy Robotics Tour
Tour bus pick-up/drop-off: Shawano, WI
July 20, 28 & August 3
Hoof Health Workshop
Waupaca, WI; Frankfort, NY &
Lake Norden, SD
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January 11-13
Managers Academy for Dairy Professionals™
Fort Lauderdale, FL
March 15-16
Cornerstone Dairy Academy™
Wisconsin Dells, WI
March 16-17
Business Conference
Wisconsin Dells, WI
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Professional Dairy Producers
820 North Main St.
Juneau, WI 53039
800-947-7379
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