American Ag Today

Get the latest news of agriculture with American Ag Today and find more online by visiting https://www.americanagnetwork.com. On this episode, we hear from Dr. Joel Franks with Zoetis during last week's World Dairy Expo.

Mentioned in this episode:

Farm Rescue

Learn more at https://www.farmrescue.org.

Get the latest news of agriculture with American Ag Today and find more online by visiting https://www.americanagnetwork.com.

Mentioned in this episode:

Farm Rescue

Learn more at https://www.farmrescue.org.

Dr. Daryl Kleinschmidt of Zinpro explains how chromium improves insulin sensitivity and energy use in dairy cows, leading to greater dry matter intake, better body weight maintenance, and about 5 pounds more energy-corrected milk. In this interview, he discusses Availa Chromium's recent FDA approval in the U.S. He also covers how trace minerals like zinc, manganese, copper, and cobalt support immune function and milk quality.

In this interview, Lee Ericson of Zinpro explains why hoof health matters most in a cow's first 60 days of milk. Lameness in that window can lower peak milk, increase days open, and lead to early culling. He covers how wet, muddy conditions increase digital dermatitis and foot rot, why accurate hoof records help producers spot trends, and how trimmers, nutritionists, and management can work together to reduce lameness.

Brazilian livestock consultant Ton Kramer joins us from World Dairy Expo, where he's leading a group of Brazilian dairy producers and industry technicians on a first-of-its-kind mission with USDA and the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture. In this interview, he compares dairying in Brazil and the U.S., from managing heat stress in tropical conditions to the U.S. shift toward paying farmers for milk components like protein rather than volume. He also talks about the global challenge of promoting dairy's role in human nutrition and the family roots that still drive Brazilian dairy farms.

Author Ryan Dennis, who grew up on a dairy farm in New York State, talks about his book Barn Gothic and why he wrote it. In this interview, he explains how the book looks at the decisions and industry forces behind the decline of small and mid-sized dairy farms. He also makes the case that this loss was never inevitable and that these farms are still worth keeping viable.

Jen Roberts of Boehringer Ingelheim explains why dairy producers shouldn't put dry-off on autopilot, covering pre-dry-off vaccines, intramammary antibiotics, teat sealants, and acidogenic boluses that improve cow comfort. In this interview, she also discusses the value of culturing clinical mastitis cases, the most common parlor-prep mistakes, and why regular employee refresher training prevents protocol drift.

Ryan Royer of Novonesis joins this interview to discuss how this year's harvest, with conditions ranging from wet fields to drought, shows the value of a quality silage inoculant. He explains how SiloSolve FC and its OxyCap technology support proper fermentation and cleaner feedout. He also explains why producers should ask for research-backed data when choosing dairy probiotics.

Deddy Kurniawan is a veterinarian, a dairy farmer, and project lead for the U.S.-Indonesia Dairy Partnership Program. In this interview, he explains how the program's online training and farm data collection have raised smallholder farmers' productivity by 30%. He also talks about plans to import U.S. dairy genetics and technology, a new generation of Indonesian dairy farmers, and how a national school milk program is driving demand.

Dr. Joel Franks of Zoetis explains why preventing mastitis matters, noting that one clinical case in the first 60 days can cost a cow 1,000 pounds of milk over her lactation. In this interview, he covers dry-off treatment and teat sealants, vaccination, parlor hygiene and post-dipping, monthly somatic cell testing, and how genetic testing can show a cow's resilience to disease.