PDPW Manager's Memo

June 2022 Vol. 1

Brought to you by Dairy's Professional Development Organization®

Opportunities to learn

DON’T MISS HOOF MANAGEMENT WORKSHOPS IN WISCONSIN AND SOUTH DAKOTA! Our first of three Hoof Management Workshops kicked off on Tuesday, June 14, in Hudson Falls, NY and was very successful. Dairy producers and other management team members gathered for an opportunity to work with experts on key hoof health issues. The next two PDPW Hoof Management Workshops will be coming to Newton, Wis., on Tuesday, June 28, and Baltic, SD, Thursday, June 30. Designed with your management team in mind, each of these on-farm “living case studies” will feature engagement with leading industry experts and herdspersons, hoof trimmers, veterinarians and nutritionists.

Nexus

FIVE NEXUS FINALISTS PRESENTED THEIR INNOVATIONS at the 2022 PDPW Business Conference. We’ve shared highlights of each of their ideas in alphabetical order in previous consecutive Manager’s Memo issues; we now present the final one. We look forward to introducing you to more innovative companies and are eager to see what transformations will take place for the Nexus stage in 2023!

Natural Prairie Dairy presented on the 2022 Nexus stage its Varcor system. The Varcor™ system transforms cow manure into clean water, dry organic fertilizer, and aqueous ammonia to reduce greenhouse emissions and create a closed-loop farm system. The cow manure that is turned into clean water can hydrate the cows, while the dry, organic, pathogen-free fertilizer can also be used to nourish crops in the field. Varcor uses a process called mechanical-vapor recompression to produce clean water while simultaneously capturing the ammonia and phosphorus contained in the manure – eliminating the need for manure lagoons. In its first year of operation, the Varcor has upcycled manure into 12,000,000 gallons of clean, potable water, 450,000 pounds of dry, odorless nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium and 78,600 pounds of aqueous ammonia fertilizer.

Natural Prairie Dairy developed the Varcor system in a joint venture with Sedron Technologies with the goal to to eliminate the need for manure lagoons and lower the environmental impact of dairy farms. The product has been functioning on Natural Prairie Dairy since October 2020, with future plans for Varcor to be installed and running in various regions across the country.

Learn more on the company website.

For your dairy

REGULATORY CHANGES FOR PURCHASE OF OVER-THE-COUNTER ANTIBIOTICS will go into effect in June 2023 or earlier, depending on when manufacturers change their labeling. The FDA announced in June 2021 that all medically important antimicrobials will move from over-the-counter to requiring veterinary prescription within two years. Farms that currently purchase these antimicrobials, such as injectable penicillin and oxytetracycline from feed or farm supply stores, will need to establish a veterinary-client-patient relationship for these drugs when regulations are in full effect. Learn more in this Ohio State University article.

EMPLOY A MULTI-PRONGED APPROACH TO KEEP NEW AND RESIDENT HERDS HEALTHY when transporting animals. Stress, exposure to other animals, and disruptions in diet and routine can all impact animal health when shipping them to new locations, according to Dr. Amelia Woolums, professor in the Department of Pathobiology and Population Medicine at Mississippi State University.

In a recent episode of The Dairy Signal™, Woolums highlighted several tips, including:

Ensure all vaccines are up to date and that cattle are vaccinated regularly for common agents
Develop a plan with your veterinarian to test cattle for agents that cause permanent infection in herds
Implement a 3-to-6-week quarantine protocol for new cattle to decrease introductions of diseases
For respiratory viruses, consider a booster a few days before combining herds
Don’t create a crowded environment
Monitor cattle health closely before shipping

Watch the full episode to learn more about each of these critical areas.

TRANSITION MILK STIMULATES GASTROINTESTINAL DEVELOPMENT in calves. Researchers studied the impact of feeding transition milk (the first few milkings after colostrum) to Holstein bull calves. In calves fed transition milk for four days following an initial feeding of colostrum, researchers found stimulated villus mucosal and submucosal development in all sections of the small intestine and improved health and growth of calves. Read the full study to learn more.

For your business mind

DEVELOPING ORGANIZATIONAL CHARTS FOR FARM BUSINESSES can help define roles, streamline communications and ease the process of onboarding new employees. Small organizations and startups often use “flat” organizational structures with minimal levels of middle management or none at all. As businesses grow, they need to implement a hierarchical structure with more levels of management and a clear chain of command. Establishing a structure for your business at its current size while leaving room for growth and change is key to success. Learn steps for building and communicating organizational charts in this article from UW Extension.

ASKING FOR HELP IS A LOST ART IN LEADERSHIP. While today’s culture often celebrates leaders who are “self-made,” it is rare that any significant personal or business achievement is made without wisdom, advice or help from others. A Chief Executive magazine article encourages leaders to appreciate the importance of asking for help and understand the role others can play in success. One way to start is by making a list of 5-10 achievements, then think about the relatives, colleagues and friends who played a role in that success. The next step is to reflect on times when asking for help could have made a project or event even more successful and to look for opportunities to engage with others more often. Learn more here.

MAKE THE MOST OF MID-YEAR REVIEWS with your team without adding to workloads and stress levels. Start by offering a set of questions to employees in advance so they can take the lead on the review process, then focus on the discussion itself, not generating more paperwork or forms than necessary. Examples of questions for employee-led reviews include:

What have you accomplished during the first half of the year?
What achievements are you most proud of?
What were the positive effects of those achievements on others?
What do you want to accomplish between now and the end of the year?
What will you need to make this happen?

Learn more here.

The Dairy Signal

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. These 60-minute 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:

June 1

Researchers and leaders at the Center for Dairy Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus will share updates on innovative projects happening at the center.

John Jaeggi, Cheese Industry and Applications Coordinator, Center for Dairy Research
Dean Sommer, Cheese & Food Technologist, Center for Dairy Research
Nathan Price, Dairy Ingredients Coordinator, Center for Dairy Research

June 2

Learn about vaccination and quarantine protocols to keep cattle healthy during shipment while also protecting the animals in their new herds. Additionally, learn about the ID and traceability requirements for moving cattle into Wisconsin.

Dr. Darlene Konkle, DVM, MS, DACVIM, State Veterinarian, Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
Dr. Amelia Woolums, DVM, MVSc, PhD, DACVIM, DACVM, Professor, Department of Pathobiology and Population Medicine, Mississippi State University

June 7

What long-term effects does heat stress have on in utero fetuses? How might heat stress impair mammary gland physiology and milk output for multiple lactations and even later generations? Learn what the research is showing.

Dr. Jimena Laporta, Assistant Professor, Lactation Physiology Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison

June 8

Take a deep dive into the latest research into the implementation of photoperiod management across the dairy production cycle and learn about the effects on dairy production and animal health.

Dr. Geoffrey E. Dahl, Harriet B. Weeks Professor in the Department of Animal Sciences, University of Florida

June 9

Summer is underway, and the season has its own distinct influences on dairy and agriculture markets as well as industry and export news. Listen to this bi-weekly update for analyses of trends impacting dairy producers presently and into the future.

Ben Buckner, Chief Grains & Dairy Analyst, AgResource Company

June 14

Understand the heifer growth benchmarks from weaning to calving and the nutritional needs that are required to hit those targets. Dr. Akins also discussed options for controlling growth and feed costs for pregnant heifers.

Dr. Matt Akins, Associate Scientist and Extension Dairy Specialist, University of Wisconsin-Madison

June 15

Learn about how microclimates inside barns can affect animals’ health, production and wellbeing, as well as other trends in housing and animal welfare.

Dr. Nigel Cook, DVM, Professor in Food Animal Production Medicine at UW-Madison, School of Veterinary Medicine; Chair of the Department of Medical Sciences
Dr. Jennifer Van Os, PhD., Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist in Animal Welfare, UW-Madison

Dairy currents

MILK CARTON QR CODES COULD CUT FOOD WASTE. A study from Cornell University has found that consumers are accepting of using QR code technology printed on milk containers. Scanning the QR code would display a best-by date and information about when food products can be safely consumed. Fluid milk is responsible for about 65% of dairy product food waste, resulting in nearly $6.4 billion in losses each year. The study also tested price discounts for milk approaching best-by dates to encourage purchase and use. Learn more in the full article.

MILK PRODUCTION IS IN SLOWDOWN based on several key global factors, according to a research report from RaboResearch. Chinese oversupply, high feed costs, weather issues, and declining purchasing power for consumers due to inflation have led to four consecutive quarters of slowing milk production. Weakening demand is also creating a scenario for moderate price declines in dairy commodities during the second half of 2022. Learn more here.

LESSONS FROM HIGHLY PATHOGENIC AVIAN INFLUENZA OUTBREAK can help dairy farms prepare for potential emergencies or natural disasters, according to an article from Penn State University. The author’s experience in the recent HPAI epidemic led him to pose the following questions for dairy farmers to prepare for an emergency:

Can you use existing plan templates to start your farm’s preparation?
Can the farm run without you? Who can do chores or office work if you are dealing with an emergency for days, weeks or months?
Can you close off the driveway?
Can you make a new farm lane entrance?
Are you practicing good biosecurity on your farm?

Read the article for more tips and links to planning resources.

Book review

ATOMIC HABITS: AN EASY & PROVEN WAY TO BUILD GOOD HABITS & BREAK BAD ONES. Author James Clear draws on proven ideas from biology, psychology and neuroscience to help readers develop new systems to change their habits to be more productive and achieve their goals. He provides tools and strategies to help make time for new habits, overcome lack of motivation and willpower, design an environment to make success easier and get back on track when you fall off course. Read about it here.