The first Canadian Progressive Dairy Podcast guest hails from Prince Edward Island and has made her mark on the dairy industry as a first-generation dairy farmer. Host Matti McBride chats with Suz Brouwer about her dream of owning a dairy, her work to acquire one and the lessons learned along the way. 

Here is the episode breakdown:

• 0:45 – Get to know Eastview Dairy
• 2:42 – What sparked Brouwer’s interest in dairy farming
• 4:05 – The journey to Eastview Dairy
• 7:50 – Handling negative feedback when sharing goals
• 10:30 – Brouwer’s advice for young people interested in dairy farming
• 12:55 – Skills acquired that have aided in Brouwer’s own dairy management
• 14:40 – Facing challenges and maintaining a vision
• 16:20 – Brouwer reflects on the first day cows were milked on her dairy
• 17:45 – Lessons learned in the first year of dairy farming
• 19:00 – Challenges and triumphs of being a first-generation dairy farmer
• 21:40 – Rapid-fire questions

Listed on Forbes 30 Under 30, dairy farmer, dog mom and businesswoman Hayley Painter joins host Matti McBride to tell the story of Painterland Sisters Organic Skyr Yogurt. Learn about Painter’s youth on an organic dairy farm in rural Pennsylvania, where the idea to diversify the family business came from and how Hayley continues working alongside her family. 

Here is the episode breakdown:

• 0:30 – Growing up on a dairy farm in rural Pennsylvania
• 3:00 – The idea of producing direct-to-consumer goods
• 5:50 – Finding a manufacturer
• 10:30 – Hayley shares how she and her sister manage the business as co-CEOs
• 16:00 – Telling the dairy farmer’s story 
• 18:15 – Tips for diversifying a farm’s income
• 21:50 – Hayley’s thoughts on being listed on Forbes 30 Under 30 as a woman in agriculture
• 24:00 – Rapid-fire questions

What is M-Power? It’s Allflex identification products, SenseHub® Dairy monitoring and comprehensive animal health solutions all available through Merck Animal Health to give you greater control over herd performance than ever before. Learn more about this unique, full-solution approach to dairy and what it means for you and your dairy from Erica Tessmann, Marketing Manager for Dairy Monitoring Technology, and Austin Snook, Dairy Marketing Manager, at Merck Animal Health.

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. Identification. Monitoring. Biopharma. 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.

In this episode, we will introduce you to the 2024 Nexus Innovation Award winners. They were recently recognized at Professional Dairy Producers Business Conference.

One of the award winners uses computer vision to enable just-in-time movement of cows that are about to calve, another makes cow waterers smarter, cleaner and less prone to disseminate diseases, one brings cutting-edge in-plant microbe technology for corn silage to the dairy industry, one primes cows’ immune system and binds pathogens better, and finally one of winning-product's looks like ice cream sprinkles and enables a whole different way of feeding dry cows. 

Congratulations to the 2023 Nexus Innovation Award winners! 

Here is the episode breakdown:

• 1:30 – Ever.Ag for Maternity Warden
• 14:30 – Acepsis for its Smart Trough Waterer
• 27:40 – Agrovive for its Seed2Rumen microbes
• 39:45 – Quality Technology International for its MCM prebiotic
• 51:50 – Chemlock Nutrition for its zeolite called CalBal

In this episode, Steven Pavelski, large herd application expert for Nedap, reinforces the value of herd monitoring technology and describes how it saves farmers time, labor and costs. Pavelski shares how Nedap CowControl reveals behavior abnormalities, signs of heat and real-time location to get the right cow in front of the right person at the right time.

Steven Pavelski, large herd application expert for Nedap

Email: [email protected]

Here’s the episode breakdown:

• 0:40 – Welcome, Steven Pavelski and host, Tera Baker.
• 2:25 – What brought Pavelski to Nedap Livestock Management.
• 4:16 – Why are you excited about herd monitoring?
• 7:09 – Will monitoring technology affect a farm’s sync program?
• 10:03 – How does this technology streamline farm processes?
• 12:56 – What decision factors should farmers keep in mind?
• 15:49 – How are heifer yards using monitoring technology?
• 19:36 – What are the biggest strategy shifts you’re seeing?
• 22:35– How does Nedap keep things simple while providing accurate insights?
• 24:24– Where can farmers learn more about Nedap herd monitoring technology?

This episode is sponsored by Nedap.

Nedap develops technology for life. Technology that helps people be more successful and happier in their professional lives. For Nedap this means helping professional dairy producers run a profitable, sustainable and enjoyable business. The solutions Nedap creates enable users to automate everyday tasks and make informed decisions based on individual animal identification and data. Nedap empowers livestock producers to respond to the growing global demand for animal protein in a way that is profitable and aligned with rising standards for animal welfare, sustainability, transparency and the safety and quality of food. Learn more at https://www.nedap-livestockmanagement.com/dairy-farming/

Robots or a rotary parlor? As this question continues to be debated nationwide, Progressive Dairy Podcast host Matti McBride sits down with Torie Little of TDSG and Stephanie Schroeder of Boumatic to identify key points that dairy producers need to understand when investing in an automated milking system. Listen to learn about attributes of successful transitions, questions asked during the process and how certain management styles fit different technologies.

Here is the episode breakdown:

• 2:00 – What do producers need to understand about purchasing a new automated milking system?
• 3:30 – Common questions asked during the process
• 5:25 – The importance of touring dairies with automated milking systems installed 
• 7:15 – Questions to ask producers who have installed the product you’re looking at
• 13:05 – “Who am I marrying?” Understanding this purchase will tie producers to a product/dealership for many years
• 18:00 – Comparing products
• 24:50 – Components of a successful transition
• 28:45 – Tips for a successful startup
• 33:20 – Rapid-fire questions

In this episode of the Progressive Dairy Podcast, Dr. Mark Kinsel joins host Kimmi Devaney for a discussion about biosecurity. With recent reports of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in dairy herds across multiple states, this is a timely topic that is on the minds of many dairy producers right now. As a veterinarian, Kinsel shares how to put together a biosecurity plan, how to manage animals on multiple sites to protect herd health, considerations for fairs and shows, and other key insights producers should know.

Reach Dr. Kinsel at [email protected]

Here's a breakdown of the episode:

• [~1:05] About Kinsel’s background
• [~4:10] What is biosecurity, and why does it matter?
• [~6:40] What are the most important biosecurity practices that producers should implement ASAP?
• [~8:10] Components of a biosecurity plan
• [~8:35] People on the farm: farm owners/employees and other visitors
• [~11:45] Where to draw the line of separation
• [~14:35] Vehicles on the farm
• [~16:20] Tips for service professionals on farms
• [~17:40] Cattle movement on the farm
• [~21:40] Communicating changes with your team/veterinarian
• [~22:13] Mortality management
• [~23:40] Proper feed and water storage
• [~24:40] Bird management
• [~25:50] Biosecurity when taking animals to shows and fairs
• [~28:45] Tips for biosecurity when managing animals on multiple sites
• [~31:20] What information should producers be sharing with their veterinarians?
• [~34:25] Having a list of key contacts that you may need during an outbreak or other problem
• [~35:40] Helpful resources – Secure Milk Supply, working with veterinarian, FARM Program, dairy extension, state departments of agriculture, etc.
• [~39:45] Rapid-fire questions

For more information about managing pest birds on the farm, check out this recent article from Amber Adams-Progar.

In this episode, host Kimmi Devaney is joined by Kevin Korbel and Jamieson Lindquist, who together own an ice cream business called Udder Buddies in Minnesota. Learn about how and why they started this business and how they use it to promote agriculture and help other dairy farmers.

Connect with them on social media (@udderbuddies) and via email ([email protected]).

Here is the episode breakdown:

• [~0:50] About Udder Buddies and what inspired Korbel and Lindquist to start this venture
• [~3:55] Making ice cream at the University of Minnesota’s pilot plant
• [~11:40] Distribution
• [~14:15] Overall marketing efforts
• [~16:40] Events
• [~20:05] How they use Udder Buddies to promote agriculture and help others
• [~23:10] About their agriculture backgrounds
• [~25:05] Target audience
• [~31:30] The most important lessons they learned 
• [~35:35] The most enjoyable part of this business for Korbel and Lindquist
• [~38:55] Helpful resources
• [~40:10] Future growth and goals
• [~43:45] How to connect with Udder Buddies online
• [~44:50] Logo development and how they came up with the name “Udder Buddies”
• [~48:30] What they would change if they could start over today 
• [~50:30] Rapid-fire questions

At Virtus Nutrition our mission is to help you feed a better balance of fatty acids to improve reproduction, health, and profitability. In the early 2000’s, we invented the process to deliver EPA/DHA in a form that dairy cows can utilize. Since then, we’ve developed several products, including Strata and EnerG-3, that give customers flexibility in how to deliver these essential fatty acids to their cows. Lost pregnancies are costly at every stage of pregnancy, and EPA/DHA is the pregnancy nutrient that resolves inflammation, supports healthy embryo development, and improves retention of pregnancy.

This episode is sponsored by Virtus Nutrition.

In this episode of the Progressive Dairy Podcast, host Kimmi Devaney visits with West Virginia dairy producer Joe Shockey about opportunities to revitalize the dairy industry in Appalachia. West Virginia was one of the visible bright spots during our 2024 State of Dairy interviews with producers and industry leaders. Hear from Shockey about new dairy processing and other efforts to rebuild the state’s dairy industry.

Here’s a breakdown of the episode:

• [~1:00] About Shockey and his dairy farm in West Virginia
• [~2:05] The dairy landscape in West Virginia
• [~5:40] The impact of new processing capacity that came online in 2023
• [~10:00] New resources that are assisting in rebuilding West Virginia’s dairy industry
• [~13:40] Opportunities for dairies to relocate to West Virginia
• [~15:30] Other opportunities for rebuilding West Virginia’s dairy infrastructure
• [~17:05] West Virginia’s dairy regulations 
• [~18:05] Other points of optimism for West Virginia dairy producers
• [~20:40] Rapid-fire questions