It requires a lot of hard work and skill to get a dairy animal ready for the showring, and Joé Lapage found himself in Madison, Wisconsin doing just that for the Blondin showstring. He has been honing his craft for 5 years, 4 of which, he has spent with Blondin. Truly an artform, he tells us what he is trying to accomplish and what a typical showday looks like.

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It takes more than clicking a button when it comes to taking pictures of cattle at World Dairy Expo. Julie Ashton is the General manager of Cowsmopoliton. She coordinates a crew of nearly 10 people who meticulously capture a picture of each animal that walks through the showring.

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Extension Grazing Outreach Specialist Jason Cavadini says 2025 has been one of the best years for cool-season perennial grasses in the past decade, thanks to well-timed rainfall. He tells Kiley Allan that September and October are peak months for pasture growth, making it a crucial time for farmers to manage their forage carefully.

A hot day to close World Dairy Expo. Eighty-eight degrees is the expected high, according to the Compeer Financial Ag Weather Update.

The Women’s Suffrage Movement, the Treaty of Versailles, and the beginning of the prohibition. These are all things that were taking place when the Larscheid family farm was getting started in 1919. Ben Jarboe visits with Bill and Debbie, courtesy of Compeer Financial.

It takes a lot of behind-the-scenes work and preparation to make the cattle look their absolute best before gracing the colored shavings at World Dairy Expo. Kiley Allan introduces us to a set of hands that makes it all possible: Joé Lapage, who has been fitting cattle for about five years.

Farms are already starting to watch yield monitors for 2025, thinking about 2026. Farm Director Pam Jahnke catches up with Steve Bailie of Helena Agri with what you should know.

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Ben Jarboe introduces us to the Wisconsin Food Hub's Tend and Table -- a new business model to bring income to growers who lost funding through the Local Food Purchase Assistance program.

The temperatures will pick back up today at World Dairy Expo, says Stu Muck. Chances of rain develop for Sunday.

YODELAYHEEHOO! It's a sound you may have heard at Expo, and a celebration of Swiss heritage. Switzerland is one of the roughly 100 countries represented at the show. Ben Jarboe learns about the yodeling technique from Tony Zgraggen of the New Glarus Yodel Club.

Kiley Allan joins Kadence Farms in the barn after their cow, Lovely, was named Grand Champion and Senior Champion of the International Guernsey Show. Lovely is owned by Brittany Taylor and Laylaa Schuler of New Glarus.

Katie Burgess from Ever.Ag says cheese prices are rebounding this week, following the year’s pattern of dipping low before climbing again. But European cheese values and weak U.S. demand temper the outlook. Meanwhile, butter continues to face price pressure despite strong demand, and with protein products fetching record highs. Protein is king right now - even Starbucks is launching higher-protein coffees.

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World Dairy Expo Digital Marketing Specialist, Haley Beukema, spent many hours preparing for "The Road To Madison." Each Expo theme is carefully crafted and perfected over an 18 month time period. Haley tells us about her experience putting together her first WDE showring. 

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The World Dairy Expo is the meeting place of the global dairy industry and this includes FFA students. Maverick Weber, Randy McPeek, and Lexi Kuhlmeier from the Dakota FFA chapter in Northern Illinois on what their experience at the show is like.

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World Dairy Expo – Wisconsin’s time to shine as America’s Dairyland as the meeting place for the global dairy industry. The state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection gets involved as it welcomes international delegations to the state to further relationships between dairy sectors. The work continues beyond the dairy show as DATCP Secretary Randy Romanski takes on a leadership role with the Midwestern Association of State Departments of Agriculture.

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Do you have enough replacements to continue the dairy herd and the profitability of the beef on dairy opportunity? Corey Geiger, lead dairy economist with CoBank, says this is an essential question dairy producers should be asking themselves. His latest research shows that dairy heifer inventories are expected to shrink further before starting to rebound around 2027.

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UW-River Falls faculty, staff, and a recent graduate traveled to Thailand this summer to learn about the country’s growing dairy industry and explore collaboration opportunities. Supported by a state grant, the project focused on building connections and even designing a Wisconsin dairy product suitable for export to Thailand, explains Grace Lewis.

Today is actually the coolest of the days ahead for World Dairy Expo, according to the Compeer Financial Ag Weather Update with Stu Muck.

Andy Grebner, District Sales Manager for Wyffels Hybrids in south central Wisconsin, says corn harvest is just getting started in the area. Wyffels is offering a new tool for farmers to get real-time insights into the corn harvest with their Harvest Progress Report. Paid for by Wyffels.

Mike Berry, from Powell Butte, Oregon, makes a 5,000-mile round trip to Madison each year for World Dairy Expo. He's taken this journey more than 20 times since the mid-1990s. This year, he brought five show cows, making frequent stops along the way to feed, water, milk, and bed them. He’s built lasting friendships with small dairies in Montana, South Dakota, and Wisconsin, where he can stop to milk and let the cows rest.

Haley Beukema, Digital Marketing Specialist for World Dairy Expo, played a key role in creating this year’s showring under the theme ‘The Road to Madison,’ which was developed 18 months ago. She shares what it was like to design her first showring and hints that the team already has next year’s theme in the works.

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Andy Grebner, District Sales Manager for Wyffels Hybrids in south central Wisconsin, says corn harvest is just getting started in the area. So far, the results are positive, but diseases have not been friendly to stalk quality. You'll want to check the integrity of your stalks and take notes for 2026. The difference between fungicide-sprayed and unsprayed fields could be as much as 40 bushels. Wyffels Hybrids is offering a new tool for farmers to get real-time insights into the corn harvest with their Harvest Progress Report. See here: https://www.wyffels.com/agronomy/harvest-progress-report

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