When a devastating barn fire destroyed the heart of Four Cubs Farms in November 2017, the Peterson family faced a decision that would shape the future of their business for generations to come. In this episode of the Uplevel Dairy Podcast, Peggy Coffeen continues her conversation with Gary and Cris Peterson, Ben Peterson, and Dairy Manager Nathan Brandt as they reflect on one of the most difficult days in the farm's history—and how it became the catalyst for transformation.From the overwhelming support of neighbors and fellow dairy producers to rebuilding with robotic milking technology, the team shares how resilience, innovation, and a willingness to embrace change helped them emerge stronger than before. The conversation explores how data-driven decision making, animal welfare, technology adoption, and strategic growth are helping Four Cubs Farms remain competitive while preparing for its 150th anniversary and the next generation of leadership.This episode is sponsored by Compeer Financial.Compeer Financial is a member-owned Farm Credit cooperative serving and supporting agriculture and rural America. Their dairy team brings world-class expertise and tailored solutions to support dairy producers’ financial goals and lending needs.02:00 – The day the barn fire changed everything04:00 – Moving cows and saving the herd during the crisis06:00 – Community support and the dairy industry's response07:00 – Rebuilding after the fire and making a major decision08:00 – Choosing robotic milking technology10:00 – Bringing cows home and transitioning to robots12:00 – How the robotic dairy is organized today14:00 – Collecting and using data to improve performance16:00 – Measuring return on investment through data18:00 – Data, profitability, and continuous improvement20:00 – Solving challenges through real-time insights22:00 – Staying competitive in a changing dairy industry23:00 – Cow behavior, stocking density, and robot efficiency25:00 – Labor, technology, and future dairy strategies27:00 – Growth plans and expansion opportunities28:00 – Building the next generation of the herd30:00 – Celebrating 150 years of family farming32:00 – Looking ahead to the future of Four Cubs Farms33:00 – Lessons in resilience, leadership, and perseverance

For nearly 150 years, Four Cubs Farms in Grantsburg, Wisconsin, has been built on a simple principle: people matter.

In this episode of the Uplevel Dairy Podcast, Peggy Coffeen sits down with Gary and Cris Peterson, their son Ben Peterson, and Dairy Manager Nathan Brandt to explore the leadership, culture, communication, and innovation that transformed a small family dairy into a thriving 1,000-cow operation.

From succession planning and employee engagement to genomic testing, feed efficiency, and building trust across generations, this conversation offers valuable lessons for dairy producers looking to create resilient businesses that can thrive well into the future.

Whether you're navigating farm transition, building a team, or looking for ways to strengthen your operation's culture, this episode delivers practical insights from a farm that has successfully blended family values with modern dairy management.

This episode is sponsored by Compeer Financial. Compeer Financial is a member-owned Farm Credit cooperative serving and supporting agriculture and rural America. Their dairy team brings world-class expertise and tailored solutions to support dairy producers’ financial goals and lending needs.

02:00 – Growing from 60 cows to 1,000 cows

03:00 – Roles and responsibilities within the farm team

05:00 – Cris Peterson's journey from city girl to dairy advocate

09:00 – Leadership transition and bringing in outside talent

10:00 – Nathan Brandt's path into dairy and Four Cubs Farms

13:00 – Building a team with complementary strengths

14:00 – Innovation through feed systems and grain storage

16:00 – Genetics, genomic testing, and future herd growth

20:00 – Nutrition strategies for today's high-performing dairy cows

24:00 – The role of culture in farm success

27:00 – Trust, communication, and employee retention

30:00 – Creating clarity, consistency, and rhythm across the operation

32:00 – Succession planning, growth, and preparing for the future

Today on the Uplevel Dairy Podcast, Peggy Coffeen visits with father-daughter veterinarians Dr. Paul Meagher and Dr. Amanda Onan of United Veterinary Services in Northeast Wisconsin about how dairy practice evolved from reactive emergency work to proactive, team-based consulting. Dr. Paul shares his path from a North Dakota dairy farm to nearly 40 years in mixed and large-animal practice, mentors who emphasized prevention, and lessons learned from top producers: the right mindset and decision-making with a consultant team, high-quality forages, and consistency.

Dr. Amanda reflects on riding on after-hours calls as a child, emphasizes aligning larger dairy crews around shared goals, and predicts AI-driven tools such as calving-detection cameras and expanded monitoring. They discuss communication, humility, and “living in the light” through positivity and learning from negatives.

This episode is brought to you by Heritage Vet Partners.

Heritage Vet Partners is the nation’s leading veterinary partnership, specializing in mixed and large animal practices.  Heritage Vet Partners provides a unique partnership model that preserves local practice legacies, serving dairy and other livestock producers and companion animal owners through shared services, data, and strategic growth. Learn more at HeritageVetPartners.com

02:10 Paul's Path to Practice

03:16 Mentors and Preventive Shift

04:59 Amanda's First Farm Call

06:45 Supporting Her Vet Dream

08:55 Learning From Top Producers

10:44 Three Keys to Success

16:54 From Firefighting to Consulting

19:20 Data and Record Analysis

24:15 Future Tech and AI

27:32 Family Support and Grandpa Life

30:04 Lessons Living in the Light

Shelby Jacquier Washburn, is a fourth-generation dairy farmer and managing partner at Laurel Brook Farm in East Canaan, Connecticut, describes returning from an equine business program during COVID to help manage a 1,500-cow herd and 1,800 acres each of corn and hay/haylage while raising all young stock.

In today's conversation, she explains how accepting a 200-tag Nedap trial led to whole-herd collars (Nedap Now) that detect health issues 12–24 hours earlier via rumination, eating time, and milk deviations, informing earlier treatment and culling decisions, identifying lameness, and paying back about half the system cost in a year through reduced hospital time. Data prompted diet changes for fresh cows, improved heats and overall cow brightness, new transition protocols (moving pre-fresh cows two days before due date) that boosted colostrum supply, and heat-stress monitoring that revealed the parlor as a hotspot, leading to added evaporative cooling, fans, and water.

This episode is part of the High-Performance Mindset Series powered by Nedap. Nedap is future-proofing dairy farming with smart technologies in activity monitoring, cow locating, milk metering, sort gates, and AI-powered camera systems. Nedap is improving life on the farm by putting the right cow in the right place at the right time, every time.

00:47 Meet Shelby Jacquier Washburn

01:14 From Horses to Dairy

03:41 Collars Across the Herd

05:03 The 200 Tag Leap

07:11 Fresh Cow Insights

09:08 Diet Tweaks Big Wins

11:18 Transition Monitoring Shift

12:20 Colostrum Turnaround

14:32 Heat Stress Hotspots

16:48 What's Next in Tech

21:16 Future in Connecticut

How do you lead multiple dairy operations, oversee teams across several states, and still make it home for supper with three young children waiting for you?

In this episode of the Uplevel Dairy Podcast, Peggy Coffeen sits down with Annie Vannurden, Managing Partner and COO of Silver Streak Dairies, part of the Pace Ag Group. Annie shares what it takes to create consistency across multiple dairy sites while building a culture centered around accountability, communication, employee development, and cow care.

From managing site leaders and implementing systems that support growth to navigating the realities of motherhood while pursuing ambitious business goals, Annie offers practical insights for dairy producers, managers, and anyone leading teams in agriculture. Whether you're growing a dairy business, building leadership skills, or trying to balance family and career, this conversation is packed with actionable lessons and honest reflections from someone living it every day.

This episode is brought to you by Zoetis. As the world’s leading animal health company, Zoetis is dedicated to helping producers achieve healthy animals, healthy dairies and healthy food through their world-class portfolio. For more information, visit ⁠DairyWellness.com.⁠

01:42 Meet Annie Van Irden

01:59 Inside Pace Ag Merge

03:43 COO Day To Day

06:52 Consistency Across Sites

10:18 Clarity And Communication

12:55 Maturity And Priorities

13:52 People Wins And Expansion

17:49 Work Hat Home Hat

22:06 Boundaries And Presence

26:32 Mentors And Influence

31:44 Support System At Home

35:13 Planning Routines Calendar

Today on the Uplevel Dairy Podcast, Peggy sits down with Sam Fessenden, a Cornell dairy science graduate with a PhD focused on the CNCPS model who worked with nutritionists globally before partnering with his wife Brenda and her parents, Craig and Cathy, to rebuild dairying at their Southeast Minnesota site.

In this conversation, Sam shares early mentorship near Cornell, how consulting and barn tours informed their tech-forward design, and how they converted a former 70-stall stanchion operation into a 120-cow, sand-bedded, two-robot, largely automated free-flow barn launched in 2020 while welcoming their first child. He discusses feeding non-pelleted homegrown corn through robots, lessons from managing cows daily (manure observation and feed inventory realities), choosing open-minded advisors, patience in growth decisions, guidance for generational transition, resilience through cost control, extra acres, and value-added black calf raising, and how faith and family motivate raising three kids on the farm.

This Episode is brought to you by Adisseo

This episode is sponsored by Uplevel Dairy Podcast Founding Partner Adisseo, a global leader in nutritional solutions and premier provider of rumen-protected methionine for dairy producers who want to optimize milk production, capture more value from components, and maintain the health of their high-performing herds. Learn more at ⁠https://www.adisseo.com/en/⁠

01:44 Sam’s Dairy Roots

05:31 Cornell Mentors and Models

08:42 From Consulting to Minnesota

09:24 Rebuilding the Dairy Site

11:49 Designing a Robot Barn

13:45 Automation and Feeding Hacks

16:32 Consulting Lessons Applied

19:02 Choosing the Right Advisors

21:25 Patience and Farm Values

23:17 Succession and Growth Plans

26:14 Resilience and Black Calves

30:46 Family First and Faith

Today, Peggy Coffeen visits Bob and Tara Vandoske at Vandoske Dairy Farms in Cleveland, Wisconsin, to discuss how their 700-cow family dairy farm has grown into diverse business segments, including County Line Creamery, an on-farm ice cream store with viewing windows and open barn access, and a cattle boarding/show-cow facility. They share the farm’s multi-generational history, their three children’s roles (including show involvement and work responsibilities), and how these ventures create next-generation opportunities and consumer connection.

Bob explains the creamery grew from COVID-era interest in local food, progressed through careful planning, and started by bringing in products rather than processing milk. They describe the boarding business’ unexpected growth, recent dairy facility upgrades including a new double-12 parallel parlor, and the importance of faith, teamwork, and relationships. NutriQuest nutritionist Jeff Rortvedt, highlights the farm’s multiple enterprises and Bob’s investments in cow care and the future.

This episode is brought to you be NutriQuest.

The NutriQuest Dairy Nutrition Team is a group of experienced nutritionists committed to serving dairy producers by partnering with them to develop an un-biased, customized nutrition program that delivers maximum profitability, achieved through a holistic approach, engaging in all aspects that influence nutrition program success.

The NutriQuest Dairy Team is committed to serving the dairy industry and delivering their customers’ consistent results with a high return. Learn more at nutriquest.com/dairy-nutrition-solutions

01:49 Vandoske Farm Story

03:06 Kids and Farm Roles

04:51 Why Not 10000 Cows

05:33 County Line Creamery Idea

08:33 Planning the Build Out

11:05 Why Ice Cream Wins

12:27 Cattle Boarding Begins

15:37 Designing the Show Barn

18:11 Busy Saturdays and Events

21:02 Three Years of Rapid Growth

21:30 Heavy Decisions and Faith

21:51 Hardest Choices and New Roles

24:17 Dairy Upgrades and New Parlor

27:43 Raising the Next Generation

29:44 Future Plans and Tractor Time

35:25 A Nutritionist's Perspective

Today on The Uplevel Dairy Podcast, Peggy Coffeen talks with Dr. Kady Bennett of United Vet Services (part of Heritage Vet Partners) about her unexpected path from an Illinois corn-and-soybean upbringing and an early photography major to large animal dairy practice in Wisconsin’s Northwoods.

Dr. Bennett explains how starting as a kennel tech, then experiencing large animal work (including castrating bull calves) led her to switch to animal science and pursue vet school, with dairy research helping solidify her focus. She describes her passion for solving problems ... from casting a calf's broken jaw to uncovering protocol issues with lung ultrasound. Dr. Bennett is on a mission to be the best vet she can be, with the help of great mentors, fellow vets and supportive dairy farm clients.

Heritage Vet Partners is the nation’s leading veterinary partnership, specializing in mixed and large animal practices.  Heritage Vet Partners provides a unique partnership model that preserves local practice legacies, serving dairy and other livestock producers and companion animal owners through shared services, data, and strategic growth. Learn more at HeritageVetPartners.com

01:34 From Photography To Cows

04:31 Earning Trust On Farms

08:45 Mentors And Backup

10:15 Problem Solver Mindset

11:22 Broken Jaw Calf Win

13:21 Calf Lung Ultrasound Data

17:16 Motivation And Relationships

18:46 Stepping Up Consulting

21:23 Advice For Future Vets

23:30 Creativity And Baking

Today on the Uplevel Dairy Podcast, Manny Salcedo, founder of the Dairy Performance Network (DPN), discusses how modern dairy management has shifted from simply managing cows and people to managing overwhelming volumes of data from multiple on-farm systems. Drawing on his background working on dairies and later founding DPN, he explains their consulting work and its tools, including Ida, an AI-driven application that lets farmers ask questions about KPIs, health events, reproduction, and predictive culling. And find out what Manny believes it will take for today's dairy managers to turn information into action through the power of AI and automation.This episode is brought to you by the Dairy Performance Network (DPN).DPN - Connecting people, cows, and technology. Learn more at Dpnconnect.com & dairystash.com00:00 Data Driven Dairy01:48 What DPN Builds03:20 Too Much Data04:52 Ida AI Assistant06:02 From Dashboards to Actions07:18 Why Manny Built This11:38 Pilot Farms, Real Questions13:20 Voice Commands Automation17:42 Future Integration Wave20:19 Next Gen Manager Skills

Today on the Uplevel Dairy Podcast, Peggy talks with veterans, Matt Taber, a retired Marine and co-owner of Donley Farms in Shoshone, Idaho, and Kelsey DeBoer, a former U.S. Army Reserve construction engineer and now senior marketing manager at Zoetis, about how military service shapes leadership and perspective.
Kelsey explains Zoetis’ Patriots Pledge partnership with Folds of Honor, donating a percentage of sales from select products from Memorial Day through Veterans Day to fund scholarships for families of fallen or disabled service members, and also law enforcement and first responders.
They both discuss teamwork, accountability and sacrifice as lessons applied to their respective dairy work today, as they also reflect with gratitude on their time in service and the powerful perspective that lives on through the way they lead.

Zoetis’ Patriots’ Pledge program supports Folds of Honor. Folds of Honor is a non-profit organization that provides education scholarships for spouses and children of America’s fallen or injured service members and first responders. The Patriots’ Pledge program from Zoetis designates a portion of sales from select products between Memorial Day and Veterans Day each year. Learn more here:

https://www.zoetisus.com/services-and-programs/patriots-pledge/

This episode is brought to you by Zoetis. As the world’s leading animal health company, Zoetis is dedicated to helping producers achieve healthy animals, healthy dairies and healthy food through their world-class portfolio. For more information, visit ⁠DairyWellness.com.⁠

• 03:02 Meet Matt & Kelsey
• 04:13 Matt Journey in the Marines
• 05:48 Deployments and Iwo Jima
• 07:26 Kelsey's Path in the Army Reserve
• 10:23 Dairy After Service
• 15:20 Military Lessons in Dairy
• 18:40 Accountability at Zoetis
• 21:05 Deployment Perspective Shift
• 23:30 First World vs Third World
• 25:39 Advice to Younger Self
• 28:26 What Service Really Means
• 30:02 Brotherhood and Sacrifice
• 36:37 Lessons to Live By