Five conversations are heard on today's episode from the latest issue of the Dairy Star: a dairy judging coaching career, a trouble-free cow giving birth to her 15th at Rosy-Lane, an interview with both a mentee and mentor on a Minnesota dairy farm, balancing a love of music while farming, and a University of Wisconsin-River Falls senior and dairy farmer making history.

First, we hear from the 2025 Ralph Keeling Leadership Award winner Jeff Hammerand. Through his coaching, Hammerand has found a way to repay his community, helping provide a service that was once afforded to him. He also hopes to inspire youth to continue to pursue their passion for dairy, while developing lifelong friendships and skills. Then, we hear the story of cow 5435: the invisible wonder. She milks, breeds back and freshens with little fanfare, staying out of trouble and minding her own business. She gave birth to her 15th in early December, her first female offspring. Another heard on today's episode highlights a pair supporting one another. When Alan Schroepfer started dairying, he had a mentor to lean on for advice and to help him make tough decisions. Fast forward more than 20 years, and the roles have changed; he is now the mentor, helping Ryan Heinen squeeze his way into the industry. Next, we hear from Bryan Anderson who grew up on a dairy farm and is a country singer and songwriter who has his own country music extended play and single. Bryan helps his parents during busy seasons in addition to his full-time job working in landscaping having the goal to do 2-3 performances every weekend. We wrap today's episode with the NCAA Division III football national champion Kevin Spahn. Starting at center for the University of Wisconsin-River Falls' offensive line this season, Kevin brought the same work ethic he learned on his family's dairy farm to his four-year career of being a member of the Falcon football team.

New episodes are released every Monday after the newspaper is published, sharing many conversations from the dairy community! Send story ideas and your comments to [email protected].

Subscribe to the podcast for reminders of episodes - next episode will be released on February 16 - about the dairy community and leave a review!

We look forward to bringing you this brand new way to consume Dairy Star. This is Dairy Delivery. All dairy, all the time.

This episode is sponsored by FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative.

On today's episode, Cody Clements talks about taking over the family farm and the opportunity to see his and his wife's name added to the Westby Co-op Creamery sign now hanging at Clements Custom Ag LLC. While Cody and his father, Alan, had talked about transitioning ownership for years, a cancer diagnosis expedited the process. Then, we hear from Randy Adamson, who grew up milking cows and hoped to take over his family's farm one day. However, tough financial times of the 1980s prevented this. In 2009, the opportunity arose to buy the neighbors herd of 150 milking goats. Randy left behind a career in construction to return to farming, finding success in both the show ring and the bulk tank. We also feature this issue's Dairy Across America feature with Washington dairy farmer Troy Wallin. Farming in the shadows of Mount Rainer, Wallin is preparing to sell his conventional dairy herd. Wallin signed with Organic Valley to switch to organic dairy farming this spring with a herd of heifers that he has been transitioning. Today's final conversation hears the history of limburger cheese with Mike Hlubek, general manager of Chalet Cheese Cooperative, and how, for the third year in a row, an 80-pound replica of Limburger cheese descended amidst cheers during a countdown to ring in the new year.

New episodes are released every Monday after the Dairy Star newspaper is published, sharing the many conversations from the dairy community! Send story ideas and your comments to [email protected].

Subscribe to the podcast for reminders of episodes - next episode will be released January 26 - about the dairy community and leave a review!

We look forward to bringing you this brand new way to consume Dairy Star. This is Dairy Delivery. All dairy, all the time.

This episode is sponsored by DRMS (DRMS.org/HerdHQ/What-is-HerdHQ)

Wisconsin's first H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) headlines today's episode, alongside holiday celebrations found on dairy farms and opportunities for veterinary students are heard in five conversations in today's episode, all found in the latest issue of the Dairy Star.

First, we visit with Dr. Keith Poulsen, director of the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory in Madison, who said that the confirmed case of H5N1 HPAI was detected through Wisconsin's compliance with the National Milk Testing Strategy. Poulsen said the absence of sick cows presenting clinical symptoms of the disease leads him to believe this case is a different strain, similar to one that presented about a year ago in the Southwest U.S.. Then, we hear three stories highlights how dairy farmers are celebrating the holidays on their farms. First, near West Bend, Wisconsin, Roden Echo Valley LLC purchased Percheron horses a few years ago to offer sleigh rides for visitors. More than 10,000 Christmas lights brighten the way for the nighttime ride through the woods. The second holiday story is at a farm where visitors can find 167 handmade, 8-foot wooden Christmas decorations and 27 miles of extension cords powering Christmas lights covering the dairy farm operated by Sara (Bremer) Hewitt's family near Hastings, Minnesota. The decorations include movie scene vignettes from classics such as "Frosty the Snowman" and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer". Hewitt also has a mini herd of cows dressed for Christmas. The final holiday story the lights found a Krebs Field, the baseball diamond located at Krebs Dairy Farm near Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. The family places snowmen and Santa Claus around their baseball field, and Krebs Dairy Farm also has Santa overlooking the road from a silo, and a tree filled with lights on top of another Harvestore silo. Another conversation in today's episode focuses on opportunities for veterinary students and the value students bring to Waupun Veterinary Services in Wisconsin. The clinic offers opportunities for interested students to see a day in the life through ride-alongs, externships and internships, showing daily routine herd health work and some emergency situations.

New episodes are released every Monday after the newspaper is published, sharing the many conversations from the dairy community! Send story ideas and your comments to [email protected].

Subscribe to the podcast for reminders of episodes - next episode is released January 12 - about the dairy community and leave a review!

We look forward to bringing you this brand new way to consume Dairy Star. This is Dairy Delivery. All dairy, all the time.

This episode is sponsored by Heartland Interpretation and Translation.

Farming and creative ventures, for both enjoyment and added income, come together in five conversations in today's episode, all found in the latest issue of the Dairy Star.

Starting at Kiel High School in Wisconsin, students can get energized before heading to sports practices or other after-school activities by grabbing a carton of chocolate milk. A local dairy farmer spearheaded the program that kicked off in January 2024 and the high school's agriculture teacher and FFA advisor is now heading up the initiative. Then, we hear from Fr. Steve Verhelst, a priest in Minnesota and the youngest of 10 children who grew up on a farm that now milks 80 cows in a 12-cow stanchion barn. He credits growing up on the dairy farm for teaching him the value of hard work and commitment. Next, the connection of bulls, beer and brushes from Wisconsin dairy farmer Caitlin Leline Hatch, an award-winning watercolor artist who illustrated a Coors Banquet and Wrangler collaboration. Hatch, who farms and owns Uplands Cheese with her husband, created pieces that celebrated the heritage, hard work and authenticity of the brands, characteristics that she grew up portraying in her art through her life on the farm. Then we hear from Tim Boese, who has spent 18 years serving on a local Minnesota fire department. Boese milks 60 cows alongside his cousin, Matt Boese, and the two get assistance from their dads on the family farm near Morristown. Today's last converseation is with Heather Heiman, who, after a lifetime of dealing with eczema issues, she sought a natural remedy and decided to try her hand at making tallow-based lotions. The tallow Heather works with is a byproduct of steers raised for meat that is retailed through Weber's Farm Store.

New episodes are released every Monday after the newspaper is published, sharing the many conversations from the dairy community! Send story ideas and your comments to [email protected].

Subscribe to the podcast for reminders of episodes - next episode is released December 22 - about the dairy community and leave a review!

We look forward to bringing you this brand new wat to consume the Dairy Star. This is Dairy Delivery. All dairy, all the time.

This episode is sponsored by DRMS (www.DRMS.org/HerdHQ/What-is-HerdHQ).

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TIME STAMPS

- 5:45-10:01 - Kiel HS chocolate milk

- 11:06-15:58 - Fr. Steve Verhelst

- 17:10-25:17 - Caitlin Leline Hatch

- 25:58-31:19 - Firefighter Matt Boese

- 32:19-37:02 - Heather Heiman natural remedies

Five stories are heard on today's episode from the latest issue of the Dairy Star. From an equipment owner selling his business, to FFA wins at the national and state levels and more success stories.

First, a conversation with Jon Stein, who in the last 40 years has had three focal points in his life: family, faith and Centre Dairy Equipment and Supply Inc. Stein said he has devoted a lot of time and energy to his business and now it is time to spend more time with his family as he sells to Leedstone Inc. based out of Melrose, Minnesota. Today's second conversation continues in Minnesota when three Brogan siblings and Avery DeCook competed and won top honors. We hear from the coach, who is the Brogans' uncle Keith Brogan, who has been coaching dairy judging for 4-H and FFA for 35 years. To round off time spent in Minnesota, we hear a day in the life of the Marshiks. For Kevin Marshik, the tradition of deer hunting is more than getting a trophy buck; it is about spending time in nature with his children. To make milking cows and deer hunting work with his schedule, Kevin keeps the cows on daylight saving time until after deer hunting season. In Iowa, we hear from Travis Ties, who recently earned the Milk Business Awards Employee Excellence Award. Ties is the head of feed operations at Holdgrafer Dairy Inc. and assists with crop production, while taking on the role as the farm's mechanic during the winter. Over the past quarter century, the farm has come to depend on Ties thanks to his dependability, consistency and accountability. Finally, for today's fifth conversation, we head to Wisconsin, hearing from the 2025 dairy production-placement proficiency award winner at the state level. Since 2019, Kaydence Hodorff has been documenting her work experiences as part of her FFA Supervised Agriculture Experience at Second Look Holsteins LLC, the farm on which she grew up.

New episodes are released every Monday after the newspaper is published, sharing the many conversations from the dairy community! Send story ideas and your comments to [email protected].

Subscribe to the podcast for reminders of episodes - next episode is released December 8 - about the dairy community and leave a review!

We look forward to bringing you this brand new way to consume Dairy Star. This is Dairy Delivery. All dairy, all the time.

This episode is sponsored by DRMS. Learn more about HerdHQ from DRMS at www.DRMS.com/HerdHQ/What-is-HerdHQ.

Stay connected with Dairy Star:

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TIME STAMPS

Jon Stein - 5:52-15:22

Keith Brogan - 16:22-21:54

Kevin Marshik - 23:00-27:31

Travis Ties - 27:54-32:10

Kaydence Hodorff - 32:56-38:14

From a farmer milking cows in a round barn to starting a creamery, hear many of the conversations found in the latest issue of the Dairy Star in today's episode.

Starting today's episode, we hear from Jordan Zirbel, who took action after learning about Wisconsin's Agricultural Roads Improvement Program, and approached his town board to fix a road where his farm is located. When the road in front of Zirbel Dairy Farms in the Town of Rockland was restricted to 8 tons and in dire need of repair, the applications was submitted and took approximately one year until work on the road was completed. Then we tune into a conversation with Mark Rodenwald, who purchased the dairy farm he grew up on, bringing it back into the family after decades of being owned outside of the family. In today's third conversation, we meet with Ethan Johnson, whose family saw a lack of nearby processing facilities and, with an interest in the benefits of A2A2 milk, began the journey of starting their own creamery. Johnson and his parents, Dean and Elizabeth, milk 25 crossbred cows and grow row and cover crops on their dairy farm and will plan to open the creamery in late November. The final story is a festive one, a Halloween story from the Gochnauer family. The family welcomed trick or treaters to their farm for their sixth annual Halloween Hootenanny event. The Gouchnauers stall several cows in the stanchion area of the barn, which normally is used as a flat parlor, and decorate the area for Halloween. They also pen other animals inside the stanchion area and in front of each animal, a buck of candy or small toys allows the kids to trick or treat from each animal.

New episodes are released every Monday after the newspaper is published, sharing the many conversations from the dairy community! Send story ideas and your comments to [email protected].

Subscribe to the podcast for reminders of episodes - next episode is released November 24 - about the dairy community and leave a review!

We look forward to bringing you this brand new way to consume the Dairy Star. This is Dairy Delivery. All dairy, all the time.

This episode is sponsored by FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative.

A farmer's miracle and how robots provided the family with chore relief to serving ice cream, food and farming with another family, today's episode highlights stories from the latest issue of the Dairy Star.

Today's episode starts with the Snodgrass family in Illinois. For the past two years, the Snodgrass family's Jersey herd at Valley-View Dairy has been milked by robots. The family's robotic milking system would become more than convenient when Ron Snodgrass suffered a double brain aneurysm in December of 2024. Another conversation hears how Adam Scapanski returned to farming. It is in his blood to be a dairy farmer, but when his dad passed away from cancer, and the cows were sold, he was not sure that was going to happen. The dream came true when he milked his own cows in his family's farm in November of 2024. The next conversation is with one of the owners of Udder Brothers Creamery, Jason Sparrgrove. His history on the farm and in the Navy helped prepare him to run his small business. He said lessons learned throughout his time have laid the foundation of principles that he and his brother rely on to keep the farm running, maintain another job and spend time with their families. The last conversation in today's episode is with Kay Siewert, a woman with a passion for gardening. Besides flower gardening, vegetable gardening and fruit gardening, Siewert is a mom of four sons - most of whom are grown - and also help spart time on Hyde Park Holsteins, operated by her husband Kevin, and his family.

New episodes are released Mondays after the newspaper is published, sharing the many conversations from the dairy community! Send story ideas and your comments to [email protected].

Subscribe to the podcast for reminders of episodes - next episode is released November 10 - about the dairy community and leave a review!

We look forward to bringing you this brand new way to consume the Dairy Star. This is Dairy Delivery. All dairy, all the time.

This episode is sponsored by DRMS. Learn more about their HerdHQ program by visiting www.DRMS.org/HerdHQ/What-Is-HerdHQ.

TIME STAMPS

5:02-12:54 - Farmer Survives Double Brain Aneuysm

13:52-16:42 - Back Up and Running at Family Farm

17:51-23:23 - Cruising to a Creamery

23:51-28:05 - It Started with Pansies

A fall harvest story to preserving history and dairy farmers setting goals, today's episode highlights many stories found in the latest issue of the Dairy Star.

First, a conversation about family dynamics with first-time dad Ken Bekius finishing this year's corn silage in Minnesota. He and his wife welcomed their new son in September and seven days later their newborn had his first tractor ride. There were four generations on the farm helping with this year's harvest. In Wisconsin, Terisa Schmidt was studying to be a nurse when her career path took an unexpected turn. With no prior dairy experience, she took a part-time job milking cows. She highlights her timeline of becoming a farmer and what it took to be where she is at today. Another story found in today's episode is how a restored Iowa dairy barn is powering raw milk production and a farm store. Tenley Farms and Greg's MilkHouse Market is owned by Tanner and Lakaya Tenley, who have been operation the storefront since June, but selling raw milk since 2023. The two applied for a grant to fix the barn and applied for the Iowa Barn Foundation's Award of Distinction. This program recognizes historic barns that have been restored by their owners. Today's last conversation is with Katie Bonow. At 15 years old, she started making goat milk cheese, using the extra milk from her herd. From her beginnings experimenting using recipes from 4-H friends and books she ordered about cheese, she ahs gone on to work on cheese-making dairies in Italy. And for the past nine years, she has operated her own micro-creamery, Capra Nera Creamery LLC.

New episodes are released Mondays after the newspaper is published, sharing the many conversations from the dairy community! Send story ideas and your comments to [email protected].

Subscribe to the podcast for reminders of episodes - next episode is released October 27 - about the dairy community and leave a review!

We look forward to bringing you this brand-new way to consume Dairy Star. This is Dairy Delivery. All dairy, all the time.

This episode is sponsored by Heartland Interpretation and Translation.

Stay connected with Dairy Star:

- www.dairystar.com

- Get the Milk Break Newsletter: www.dairystar.com/milk-break-newsletter-signup/

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TIME STAMPS

4:29-9:00 - Bekius family harvest

10:10-14:23 - Terisa Schmidt, first time farmer

15:26-21:38 - Lakaya Tenley and Greg's MilkHouse Market

22:10-27:34 - Katie Bonow and artisan cheese making

The final episode of the World Dairy Expo Special Edition of Dairy Delivery by the Dairy Star closes out another great event with many exclusive conversations to the podcast you won't want to miss.

We begin with Kay Faherty, who provides an overview of this year's Trade Show in her new role as manager, highlighting new additions and what stood out for attendees. She also shares what she has learned from this year's event. Next we hear from a dairy operator from New Zealand who attending this year's Expo as part of a North American Farm Tour. That guest is Bryan Beeston. He also talks about New Zealand's dairy industry and how technology plays a part of it. Finally, we hear from Wisconsin's agriculture ambassador, Sarah Hagenow. She has lifelong ties to Expo, from showing and judging, to this year's honor of walking the colored shavings to deliver the envelope announcing the grand champion cow. This year, she also had a personal connection to once owning a breed champion cow of this year's event.

Thanks for listening to this year's special coverage of World Dairy Expo. More coverage of dairy farmer stories from across the Midwest will return next week Monday, October 13! New episodes are released Mondays after the newspaper is published. Send story ideas and your comments to [email protected]. Subscribe to the podcast for reminders of episodes about the dairy community and leave a review!

We look forward to bringing you this brand new way to consume the Dairy Star. This is Dairy Delivery. All dairy, all the time.

This episode is sponsored by FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative.

Stay connected with Dairy Star:

- dairystar.com

- Get the Milk Break Newsletter: www.dairystar.com/milk-break-newsletter-signup/

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Winners and an engaged college dairy enthusiast are featured in part two of the World Dairy Expo Special Edition of Dairy Delivery by the Dairy Star.

We begin with Keenan Thygesen, individual and team member winning at this year's Expo Intercollegiate Dairy Cattle Judging Contest with the University of Minnesota. This marks the third consecutive win for the university. Thygesen shares why the Guernsey class was his favorite and his approach to evaluating, placing and talking cows. Then, we hear from another Wisconsin Holstein Associate Princess engaged in many opportunities at this year's event, Lauren Breunig. From writing press releases as a media intern for Expo, to being chosen to serve as a student on the National Dairy Shrine board of directors, Breunig is committed to embracing leadership and service to the dairy industry. In the last conversation, we hear from the winner of the Intermediate Division in showmanship, William Zimmerman. His journey from placing near the bottom of the class just a few years ago, to now rising to the top among his siblings made this year's Expo a memorable one.

The third and final part of this special series from World Dairy Expo will be released on Monday! Send story ideas and your comments to [email protected]. Subscribe to the podcast for reminders of episodes about the dairy community and leave a review!

We look forward to bringing you this brand new way to consume the Dairy Star. This is Dairy Delivery. All dairy, all the time.

This World Dairy Expo Special Edition episode is sponsored by SoyRoaster.

Stay connected with Dairy Star:

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- Get the Milk Break Newsletter: www.dairystar.com/milk-break-newsletter-signup

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