In this episode of the Progressive Dairy Podcast, host Matti McBride is joined by Tara Felix, associate professor and beef extension specialist at Penn State University. Felix has been feeding dairy steers and beef-on-dairy animals for over 10 years and brings her knowledge and expertise in the field to this episode. Learn about new research being done with beef-on-dairy animals, Felix’s opinion on the current cattle cycle and how producers might prepare for a swing in beef prices. 

Here is the episode breakdown:

• ~0:50 – Felix’s background
• ~3:00 – Felix’s experience with beef-on-dairy
• ~6:30 – The importance of colostrum for beef-on-dairy calves
• ~10:00 – Feeding beef-on-dairy calves
• ~14:30 – What feedlots are thinking about beef-on-dairy calves
• ~16:45 – Felix’s summary of recent research on genomic testing in beef-on-dairy calves
• ~19:30 – Felix’s prediction of cattle cycle
• ~23:30 – How to create a product packers want to see 
• ~25:10 – The role of implants in beef-on-dairy calves
• ~27:40 – Exciting beef-on-dairy research
• ~30:40 – Rapid-fire questions

Join Jason Mast, Casey Mikus, and Josh Tooley as they recap the 2025 growing season, chat all things harvest, and dive into the DEKALB® Silage breeding process. Learn how DEKALB breeds genetics to be Silage Proven with high quality and tonnage potential.

DEKALB® Silage Proven products are bred to meet high-quality forage standards of nutritional value per ton, milk per acre and percentage starch. The exclusive genetics of Silage Proven products create high-quality feed that can improve your performance potential.

This episode is sponsored by Bayer Crop Science.

In this episode, Samanta R. Fensterseifer, DVM, MSc, Ruminant Staff Research Scientist at United Animal Health, shares how United Animal Health is tackling complex dairy herd health issues through cutting-edge pathogen surveillance and probiotic development. She explains how United’s proprietary microbial platform, PathKinex, helps producers better understand the role of coinfections in herd health, especially in light of recent HPAI outbreaks. Dr. Fensterseifer also introduces the “PROgram” approach to managing herd health and highlights how effective probiotics are developed to support cow immunity, gut integrity, and performance.

Episode Time Markers: 

• 00:40 – Introduction to Samanta Fensterseifer and United Animal Health
• 01:50 – Role and research focus in the ruminant division
• 02:40 – United’s fermentation capabilities and control over microbial development
• 03:40 – PathKinex platform and its value in pathogen surveillance
• 04:40 – Key findings on coinfections and health markers from over 2,000 cow samples
• 06:10 – HPAI case studies and coinfection exacerbation
• 07:40 – The “PROgram” approach: Prevention, Reduction, Optimization
• 09:10 – The role of targeted probiotics in managing herd health

This episode is sponsored by United Animal Health.

United Animal Health is a family-owned, global biosciences company serving producers in over 30 countries. Founded in 1956, the company offers innovative solutions in animal nutrition and health, including research-backed probiotics developed through in-house fermentation capabilities. United’s PathKinex platform enables microbial surveillance and targeted product development to address complex animal health challenges. Learn more at www.unitedanh.com/cowhealth.

In this episode of the Progressive Dairy Podcast, learn about the dairy provisions included in the One Big Beautiful Bill. American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) Economist Danny Munch joins host Kimmi Devaney to discuss the farm bill programs included in the bill, the increased estate tax exemption and what’s on the horizon for a skinny farm bill later this year.

Sign up for the AFBF Market Intel newsletter here. 

Here's an episode overview:

• [~1:10] General overview of the One Big Beautiful Bill 
• [~3:55] Dairy provisions: Dairy Margin Coverage 
• [~6:20] Dairy provisions: funding for the USDA to conduct mandatory dairy processing cost surveys every two years to provide better data for future make allowance decisions
• [~9:15] Dairy provisions: Funding for conservation programs
• [~10:45] Dairy provisions: Funding for animal health programs to prevent, control and eradicate animal diseases
• [~11:50] Dairy provisions: Disaster assistance
• [~13:30] Dairy provisions: New trade promotion funding 
• [~15:20] Dairy provisions: Makes the Section 199A tax deduction permanent 1099A
• [~16:05] Increased estate tax exemption that is now permanent
• [~16:20] Tax policy changes that dairy producers should know about
• [~18:30] What is the economic impact of this bill for dairy producers? (Immediate and long-term impact)
• [~21:00] Other information dairy producers should know about this bill
• [~26:00] What to expect with continued farm bill discussions this fall
• [~28:30] Other dairy-related legislation 
• [~30:25] Tips for dairy producers interested in getting involved in policy
• [~32:20] Farm Bureau resources
• [~37:00] Rapid-fire questions

In this sponsorcast, Tera Baker, North American Marketing Manager at Nedap, sits down with Roxie Muller, Head of Innovation, to introduce SmartSight Locomotion — a new computer vision tool designed to take control of your herd’s hoof health management.

SmartSight gives dairy producers real-time, objective insights into cow movement, allowing for earlier intervention, reduced stress, and more animal-centric decision-making. Learn how this technology is already making an impact on farms in the U.S. and Ireland, and why it could be a game-changer for dairies of all sizes.

Brought to you by Nedap — creating technology for life on the farm.

Learn how Nedap SmartSight gives you more control over hoof health. Visit nedap.com/smartsight

Show Notes / Time Markers

• 00:40 – Introduction
• 02:10 – Meet Roxie Muller, Head of Innovation at Nedap
• 03:40 – What SmartSight does and why it matters for producers
• 07:40 – The role of AI and computer vision in dairy care
• 12:40 – Market availability: U.S., Ireland, and early adopters
• 16:10 – Making protocols more animal-centric
• 21:40 – Hardware overview and how SmartSight integrates on-farm
• 27:40 – Real-world insights: Trim lists, recovery profiles, data feedback
• 30:40 – Final thoughts: embracing change and technology on the farm

This episode is sponsored by Nedap.

Nedap creates technology for life — solutions that help people become more successful and happier in their professional lives.

Nedap Livestock helps farmers optimize the performance and well-being of individual cows while minimizing workload and resource use. By delivering precise, smart solutions, Nedap improves life on the farm for both people and animals, helping reduce the environmental footprint of dairies around the world.

How can IVF embryos be used by dairy and beef producers to meet the changing market dynamics? Listen to this episode to find out.

This episode is sponsored by Simplot Animal Sciences.

SimVitro® HerdBuilder™ embryos are commercial IVF inputs with flexible, tiered-pricing options to supply a range of beef and dairy producers with select genetic traits for highly marketable cattle.

In this episode of the Progressive Dairy Podcast, host Kimmi Devaney chats with Elaine Froese about how farm families can build a strong foundation for farm transition. Froese has more than 30 years of experience helping farm families through this process and has written articles in almost every issue of Progressive Dairy – Canada for the past 14 years. 

Read Froese’s articles in Progressive Dairy and visit her website.

Episode overview:

• [~1:10] About Froese’s background and her inspiration for helping farm families with transition planning
• [~3:00] When should farm families start discussion farm transition?
• [~4:05] Tips to help farm families communicate better
• [~7:15] Other essential skills for building a strong foundation for farm transition
• [~10:55] Tips to better communicate expectations
• [~13:55] The first step in the farm transition process
• [~16:40] Understanding conflict styles
• [~21:20] What role do nonfarm heirs have in the farm transition conversation?
• [~24:20] How to approach “fair versus equal”
• [~31:00] Tips to get everyone to the table to discuss farm transition
• [~34:45] Considerations when selecting a driver to coordinate the farm transition conversation
• [~38:30] How farm families can better navigate through difficult emotions before and/or during transition conversations
• [~43:50] Nonrelated transition
• [~48:30] The top pitfall Froese sees when working with farm families
• [~49:15] Top three tips for farm transition
• [~53:15] Rapid-fire questions

What is Targeted Reproductive Management (TRM)? And why should producers care about this new approach to dairy reproduction? Listen in to this Progressive Dairy sponsorcast as a team of reproductive health experts and enthusiasts evaluate new TRM best practices, how dairies can find better repro rates and more.

Episode Highlights

• The latest reproductive research findings
• Prostaglandin product comparisons
• TRM cost-benefit analysis

Episode Guests

• Dr. Bilby, Merck Animal Health Director of Dairy Technical Services
• Austin Snook, Merck Animal Health U.S. Dairy Marketing Manager
• Dr. Ricardo Chebel, University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine Professor

This episode is sponsored by Merck Animal Health.

With identification, monitoring and biopharma products fully integrated in one portfolio, Merck Animal Health offers the only true full-solution approach in the dairy industry. Which means you get the tools you need to eliminate guesswork, solve specific problems, let cows be cows and put more milk in the tank. It’s the way you want to work, working better than ever before. Learn more about this unique approach to dairy at M-Power-Dairy.com.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and big data are revolutionizing industries—so why is dairy only now catching up?

In this episode, we explore:

• Why the dairy value chain is embracing AI now
• How DDW is using data to support smarter, more sustainable dairy operations
• The journey from raw farm data to actionable AI insights

Don’t miss this conversation on the future of dairy tech!

This episode is sponsored by Dairy Data Warehouse.

 At Dairy Data Warehouse (DDW), we unlock the full potential of data on dairy farms across the globe to enable the industry to harness big data and AI for sustainable and more profitable farming. DDW collects farm data from the herd management software and other sources on farm. We ensure high data quality by cleaning and transforming it into a unified, comparable set for AI driven strategic decision-making, benchmarking and insights. Our solutions support key stakeholders in nutrition, genetics, animal health, cow monitoring, and milking equipment. Let’s connect to explore how data can drive your business forward.

In this episode of the Progressive Dairy Podcast, join Brook Duer from the Penn State Ag Law Center and host Kimmi Devaney for a conversation about how to be proactive and protect your workforce amid ICE raids, I-9 audits and other immigration concerns. Most of this information is also applicable to multiple other scenarios where unauthorized people come to the farm.

Reach out to Duer through the Penn State Ag Law Center website.

A Guide for Employers: What to Do if Immigration Comes to Your Workplace (National Immigration Law Center)

Episode overview:

• [~1:10] Duer’s background
• [~4:15] What does an ICE raid look like on a farm?
• [~8:45] Duer’s priority areas for farms
• [~19:00] How to keep employees calm 
• [~25:00] Training and drills for these situations
• [~32:30] Tips to develop contingency plans
• [~38:05] Signage
• [~43:10] Warrants vs. administrative search warrants
• [~49:10] Detainment with a warrant
• [~54:40] Rapid-fire questions