STtalks

Leading members of Oakridge Dairy join us to share their history and unique business structure, highlighting their commitment to sustainability through innovative management practices, community engagement, and the utilization of STgenetics®' Eco$ index. Together, these STtalks guests illustrate how environmental and sustainable practices along with advanced genetics are shaping the future of their farm.

Going on five generations, the King family in New York has been known for dairy farming excellence as Kings-Ransom Farm. Just over a decade ago, they diversified their business to bring back bottled milk to serve their local consumer with not just a great-tasting product, but also a high-value connection to their farm. Hear from Jan King how they have grown from 40 to now more than 400 bottled milk customers, and what it’s been like to enter the processing sector and build Kings Brothers Dairy direct-to-consumer brand, providing quality from herd to home.

From retail to restaurants, dairy is finding its way into more menu options and consumer products than ever before, and it’s not by accident. Behind the scenes, Dairy Management Inc. (DMI) is at the table with the leading fast-food chains and food service providers, striking wins that result in strategic and incremental marketplace growth for dairy products and ingredients. If you’ve ever had a “Grimace Shake” or a Taco Bell cheese shell, you can thank our guest, Paul Zieminsky, Group Executive Vice President of Health & Wellness, Insights and Innovation, and his team at DMI.

Running the race of her life, Rachel Eslick was minutes away from achieving her dream of qualifying for the Boston Marathon. With a traumatic change in her race, Rachel was forced to pick herself up and reevaluate what her next steps were. Reflecting on her dairy farming family values of resilience, determination, and hard work, she leaned into this to shift her mindset and become her favorite self. Rachel has taken a setback and turned it into an incredible comeback, not only in her running ambitions but through her business, health, and mindset.

To learn more about Rachel, visit: https://www.maeweall.com/

Milk has a whole new story to tell. Eve Pollet, Senior Vice President of Strategic Intelligence at Dairy Management Inc. (DMI)  joins us to share the consumer trends that are creating a hunger for health and wellness solutions, the emerging research around milk’s super-food characteristics and how she and her team are positioning dairy to capture more dollars in the marketplace and add more value back to the dairy farmer.

https://www.usdairy.com

When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade, for Steve Shehadey of Bar 20 Dairy, life gave his family cow manure, and with that they make energy! For the 4th generation dairy farm, capturing the power of sustainability came natural to them, since 2007 they have been pioneering the way within the energy sector of the dairy industry. Bar 20’s sustainability efforts have led to incredible industry achievements, in 2023 they were named Innovative Dairy Farmer of the Year by the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) and have now partnered with BMW North America and California Bioenergy to harness the energy their 25-million-gallon methane digester produces.

When Jones Dairy near Spencer, Iowa, expanded their Jersey herd and built a 64-stall rotary parlor last year, they not only sought to optimize efficiency and cow comfort, but they also designed their new facility with a flair of hospitality, to accommodate the many visitors that stop by their farm each year.

Aaron Titterington, one of the farm’s partners, joins us to explain how they have incorporated  a self-guided experience with education and a viewing window for passers-by, as well as formalized larger group tours to accommodate everyone from school children to retirees, in Jones Dairy’s efforts to educate consumers and connect them to cows, farming and food.

Find and follow Jones Family Dairy here:

https://www.facebook.com/jonesfamilydairy

https://jonesfamilydairy.com

We’re celebrating June Dairy Month in a big way as STtalks and the Uplevel Dairy Podcast collaborate to bring you a 6-part series that shines a bright light on a collection of great dairy stories. Hosts Laura Demmer of STtalks and Peggy Coffeen of Uplevel Dairy give you the sneak peek on this collection of conversations with dairy farmers doing great things and others who are championing dairy products in the marketplace.

Join us in our next STtalks episode as we learn about the dairy industry’s ongoing highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) condition within the lactating dairy cow population in the U.S. We are joined with three STgen™ representatives who have worked to set up clear communication guidelines, education, testing and biosecurity measures to help move our industry forward.

Join us in our next STtalks episode as we kick off June Dairy Month by celebrating World Milk Day! From herd to home, we walk through the journey of milk and what farmers do to produce nature’s most perfect food, milk!