Uplevel Dairy Podcast

In this episode of the High-Performance Mindset Series powered by Nedap, Peggy Coffeen interviews Rodney Elliot, an Irish-born dairy farmer who, alongside his wife Dorothy and family, has spent 20 years building Drumgoon Dairy in South Dakota into a multi-site operation and helping launch the 5,000-cow County Line Dairy partnership, where a 100-stall rotary milks 100 cows about every eight minutes. Elliot explains how scaling became more manageable through specialized roles, simplified protocols, and shared systems across sites, including centralized data access via DairyComp and activity monitoring through Alta CowWatch powered by Nedap.

Rodney details a high-performance reproduction program with one dedicated technician per farm, minimal hormonal intervention, and targets like 32–34% pregnancy rate, plus strategic heifer pipelines through Kansas Dairy Development. Elliot discusses labor challenges, using technology and sort gates to reduce pen walking, the importance of partners and buy-sell agreements, difficult build decisions like walking away from a biodigester plan, and focusing leadership energy on controllables such as repro, cow comfort, feed quality, and people.

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.

00:00 From Ireland to South Dakota

01:55 Meet Rodney Elliott

05:31 Scaling with Partners

07:37 Inside County Line

12:24 Building for Scale

14:04 Profitable Cow Goals

18:19 Defining Great Repro

20:35 Collars and CowWatch

22:07 One Tech Accountability

26:29 Morning Briefings

29:26 Labor and Monitoring

31:34 Trusting Simple Systems

32:37 Why Nedap

36:11 Collar Data Continuity

37:04 Trusting Tech and IT

38:49 Future Risks and Labor

48:41 Legacy and Transition

52:11 Building and Partnerships

53:25 Tough Calls Keep Simple

01:00:05 Advice and Wrap Up

Live from World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wisconsin, Peggy Coffeen interviews House Agriculture Committee Chair Congressman G.T. Thompson ahead of his roundtable with the American Dairy Coalition. Thompson, a central Pennsylvania dairy farm native, highlights dairy priorities he has championed, including ongoing efforts to restore whole milk options in schools and updates included in “Farm Bill 1.0” signed July 4, 2025, such as modernizing Dairy Margin Coverage from 5 to 6 million pounds and offering a 25% multi-year sign-up discount, along with provisions affecting make allowances and milk marketing orders.

The conversation centers on workforce needs and Thompson’s bipartisan Securing Agricultural Workforce Act, which would make year-round dairy eligible for the H-2A program by replacing “seasonal” with “temporary” (under 350 days). He urges listeners to contact Congress and the White House to pass SAWA now.

Stay tuned for more exclusive conversations captured from World Dairy Expo coming out soon!

01:08 GT Thompson's Ag Roots

02:14 Whole Milk Push

03:18 Farm Bill Wins

05:52 Workforce Focus

06:35 SAWA Explained

08:32 Why Visas Matter

10:52 Call to Action

13:35 Wrap Up Thanks

Today on the Uplevel Dairy Podcast, Peggy Coffeen is onsite with Josh Webb, at multi-generational Heglar Creek Dairy near Declo, Idaho, a fifth-generation family operation that relocated from Utah in the mid-1970s and has since grown and diversified. Webb describes the family’s structured pathway into the business, requiring education, outside work, interviews, and defined roles, as well as a clear exit strategy including retirement expectations.

He explains how the operation expanded into multiple enterprises, and how two nearby dairies differ in breeds and milking systems, including a 2018 Jersey robot barn with 18 Lely units. Webb discusses being early adopters of technology, adopting Milc group's cloud-based OneFeed and OneAnimal for real-time accuracy and integration, prioritizing “first who, then what” in hiring, using EOS-style meetings, and partnering with Danone, including transitioning to non-GMO feed and related regenerative changes. The episode emphasizes legacy as building people and work ethic so the next generation can keep evolving.

This episode is brought to you by Milc Group.

Milc Group is a dairy software company that brings real-time, actionable data to dairy farms across the world. They are dedicated to revolutionizing the dairy industry with their user-friendly cloud-based software. ONE™ by Milc Group is our all-in-one app that brings together all the important aspects of your dairy together in one place. With products such as feed and animal management software, people training, dairy facility monitoring, and scale management, Milc Group is committed to providing producers with tools they need to succeed.

02:33 Five Generations To Idaho

04:52 Earning Your Way Back

10:01 Diversifying Beyond Dairy

11:40 Rules For Entry And Exit

13:38 Two Dairies Two Systems

16:40 Why Build A Robot Barn

22:51 First Who Then What

25:02 Recruiting And Retaining Talent

26:56 Meetings Support And Tech Tools

29:57 Tech That Empowers Teams

30:59 OneFeed Simple Accuracy

34:56 Defining Dairy Success

36:14 Future Manager Skills

38:14 Partnering With Danone

42:13 Legacy Beyond The Farm

51:20 Work Ethic Sweat Pledge

Today on the Uplevel Dairy Podcast, Peggy interviews longtime dairy industry leader Peter Coyne about the relationships that shaped his life and his responsibility to “pay it back to the next in line.” Coyne describes his path from growing up in western New York around Holsteins and influential cow people, to working with Pinehurst, attending UW–River Falls, managing and expanding dairy herds, enduring a difficult partnership exit, gaining key leadership experience at John Dee Farm, and later joining VitaPlus, where he contributes cow and people management skills.

Ahead of World Dairy Expo, he shares his family’s involvement and his 41 years coaching dairy judging, emphasizing connection, culture, perseverance, learning through mistakes, and helping young people believe in themselves, often through simple acts like remembering names, giving time, and encouragement to keep moving.

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/

07:20 From New York to Dairy Career

13:21 Hard Lessons and Big Leaps

16:06 Joining VitaPlus

19:40 Culture and Perseverance

25:44 Risk Taking Mindset

31:13 Giving Back Through Coaching

39:00 What Makes a Great Coach

47:55 Showing Cows Builds Grit

49:51 Learning Beside Great People

51:07 Mistakes Create Experience

54:54 Coach Versus Mentor

56:32 Mentoring Across Generations

01:01:05 Life Advice for Students

01:10:48 Parting Words and Payback

01:15:25 Expo Stories and Wins

Today, on the Uplevel Dairy Podcast, Peggy Coffeen talks with Duane Banderob and Jim Matthews about Ever.Ag separating into two standalone organizations.  EA Risk, formerly Ever.Ag Risk Management, is now an independent company focused solely on managing commodity markets across the agricultural supply chain. They share that it’s the same people, producer relationships, and farmer-first focus that the market has come to know over the past two decades. They explain that services remain unchanged, including protecting revenue and input risk through livestock and crop insurance, futures and options, energy and feed procurement strategies, advisory/consulting, and market publications, supported by their proprietary Vault platform and EA Risk Insights research.

The team sees the split as a chance to sharpen focus, improve technology and customer experience, and evolve offerings as dairy operations face increasing complexity, including beef-on-dairy exposure, digesters, new financing realities, and higher capital costs, while maintaining on-farm relationship standards and continuity for clients.

EA Risk, formerly Ever.Ag Risk Management, partners with dairy producers to build customized risk management plans that help protect margins in any market environment. With dedicated advisors, industry-leading technology, and proven tools like Dairy Revenue Protection, we help farms reduce uncertainty and secure long‑term financial strength. Learn more at https://ea-risk.carrd.co/.

00:00 Dairy Risk Shifts

02:02 Ever.Ag Shift Explained

03:47 Services That Stay

07:33 What Changes Next

09:19 Vault Platform Insights

10:10 Industry Risks Ahead

13:06 Core Philosophy: Relationships

16:09 Legacy Of Dairy Markets

18:24 Buggy Lesson

22:04 One Year Outlook

28:07 World Dairy Expo Plans

Today, Peggy Coffeen is onsite as she welcomes Dr. Tera Barnhardt to the Uplevel Dairy Podcast to discuss leadership, communication, and navigating hard seasons in production agriculture. Dr. Barnhardt, a Kansas-based veterinarian, mom, business owner, and agriculture advocate, describes serving dairies, calf ranches, and feed yards across southwest Kansas and the High Plains while managing heavy animal movement logistics and regulatory paperwork.

She explains that effective problem solving depends less on perfect protocols and more on understanding each farm’s systems and people, especially as many employees lack agricultural backgrounds. Barnhardt emphasizes culturally aware training and tailoring communication to owners, managers, and frontline workers using different formats and technologies. She reflects on formative animal welfare leadership experiences in a large feeding operation, lessons from the H5N1 outbreak and consumer trust, and advice to view hard days as growth opportunities while integrating, not balancing, work and family.

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

01:04 Meet Dr. Tera Barnhardt

02:22 Many Hats and Advocacy

04:30 Why Rural Kansas

06:24 A Day on the Road

09:09 Problem Solving Systems

11:40 Training for Welfare

14:34 Leadership Lessons Feedyard

20:32 Adapting to Change

22:27 Communication Across Cultures

27:26 Social Media and Audiences

29:53 H5N1 Frontline Story

38:26 Advice for Young Vets

41:51 Integrating Work and Family

Peggy Coffeen interviews Jill Houin at Homestead Dairy in Plymouth, Indiana, where the family milks 5,000 cows across three sites, including a 2,200-cow robotic dairy with 36 robots and a semi-automatic feed system. Jill, a former New Jersey teacher and vegetarian who married into the dairy, describes learning farm life, becoming the farm’s tour guide and key messenger, and using truthful, practical explanations to convert skeptics.

She shares how community tours brought 1,000 visitors in three hours, and highlights sustainability stories like generating electricity from manure and Notre Dame food waste to power about 1,000 homes an hour. Jill also discusses taking on farm bookkeeping, mediating family perspectives, working with Spanish-speaking staff and interns from Mexico, and launching The Break Room Meat Market restaurant featuring the farm’s beef and other local products.

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.⁠

00:00 Meet Jill Houin

01:47 Robotic Dairy Updates

02:35 From Jersey to Dairy

05:40 Vegetarian to Advocate

07:21 Tours and Key Messages

11:59 Handling Tough Questions

15:41 Books and Office Role

19:31 Delegation and Hiring

21:50 Culture and Worker Respect

23:09 Restaurant Origin Story

23:45 Local Meat Market Vision

24:29 Farm Story Branding

25:00 COVID Hug To Deal

26:46 Buying And Expanding

27:24 Naming The Break Room

27:46 Crystal Mess Challenge

28:33 Menu And Accommodations

29:29 Ownership And Creativity

30:19 Dreams And Travel

31:34 Meaning And Mission

Peggy Coffeen is joined today by Tim Abbott of Showbox Sires and Jared Krull of CowManager on the Uplevel Dairy Podcast to announce that the popular Showbox Stories series will be recorded live at World Dairy Expo on Thursday, October 1, from about 8:00–10:30 a.m. on the Tanbark stage, with CowManager as premier sponsor. They recap the project’s purpose of preserving dairy history and authentic voices while highlighting lessons from mentors and industry icons.

Tim and Jared discuss learning through conversations on show boxes and around the bulk tank, and preview guests including Dave Thorbahn, Dr. Sheila McGuirk, and many more. Listeners are invited to attend, subscribe to hear episodes later, and submit show box photos and stories for possible on-stage sharing.

Submit your Showbox story here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc1l6qGl0D1JMEWtG48Y1QHvEAdwHzSpHEHIPaDPAEbUszEdA/viewform

This series is brought to you by CowManager.

CowManager delivers 24/7 real-time data to help producers enhance herd health, fertility and nutrition. To learn more, contact your CowManager Specialist at Select Sires or visit CowManager.com.

Website: https://www.cowmanager.com/
Contact: https://www.cowmanager.com/contact/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CowManager
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cowmanagers/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cowmanager-bv/posts/?feedView=all
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/cowmanager

00:00 Showbox Stories Return

01:12 Why We Started Recording

02:35 Icons and Lessons Learned

04:47 Live Tanbark Announcement

05:28 Meet Jared Krull

06:53 Why CowManager Cares

08:53 Guest Lineup Sneak Peek

11:40 Submit Your Showbox Photo

12:49 Jared and Tim Share Stories

16:46 Peggy Trophy Trade Tale

21:36 Join Us at Expo

As we gear up for World Dairy Expo 2026, we’re bringing back a favorite from the Showbox Stories series recorded at World Dairy Expo. In this episode, Peggy Coffeen and Tim Abbott sit down with Jeff Butler of Butler View Farms to hear about his journey in the dairy industry—from his early days in 4-H to his success with show cattle and his continued commitment to the future of dairy.

Jeff shares memorable experiences, the mentors who helped shape his career, and how technology like CowManager is influencing modern dairy practices. It’s a conversation about heritage, vision, innovation, and the importance of investing in the next generation of dairy farmers.

If you’re heading to World Dairy Expo 2026, this is a great episode to revisit as we get ready for another week of celebrating the people, cattle, and stories that make the dairy industry so special.00:00 Introduction and Setting the Scene00:39 The Humble Beginnings of Showbox Stories02:19 Showbox Stories Series and Cow Manager Partnership03:37 Guest Introduction: Jeff Butler from Butlerview Farms05:15 Jeff Butler's Early Days and Mentors09:49 First Experiences at World Dairy Expo13:11 Building a Successful Show String19:44 The Role of Technology in Modern Dairy Farming22:51 International Intrigue Sale and Industry Impact28:13 Final Thoughts and ReflectionsThis series is brought to you by CowManager.CowManager delivers 24/7 real-time data to help producers enhance herd health, fertility and nutrition. To learn more, contact your CowManager Specialist at Select Sires or visit CowManager.com.Website: https://www.cowmanager.com/Contact: https://www.cowmanager.com/contact/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CowManagerInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/cowmanagers/#LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cowmanager-bv/posts/?feedView=allYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/cowmanager

What does the dairy cow of the future need to do better and what tools will help get her there?

Today on the Uplevel Dairy Podcast, Peggy Coffeen visits Seagull Bay Dairy in Idaho with brothers Greg and John Andersen to discuss how decades of genetics work shaped their multi-site operations and global influence through Seagull Bay and WinStar Genetics. The Andersens share the story behind Seagull Bay Dairy, the foundation cows and influential genetics that shaped their program. They also discuss how genomics has accelerated genetic progress and helped improve traits such as production, fertility, longevity, and calving ability.

Looking ahead, Greg and John discuss the future of dairy genetics, including their focus on polled genetics through Winstar Genetics and the traits they believe will become increasingly important: hoof health, calf health, mastitis resistance, longevity, and feed efficiency.

The conversation also dives into using cloud-based technology and real-time data to manage multiple dairy locations, improve feeding and reproduction decisions, and give their teams the information they need to operate with greater precision. For them, building a successful dairy isn't just about producing more, it's about continually improving, developing great people, and creating a family business built to last.

Milc Group is a dairy software company that brings real-time, actionable data to dairy farms across the world. They are dedicated to revolutionizing the dairy industry with their user-friendly cloud-based software. ONE™ by Milc Group is our all-in-one app that brings together all the important aspects of your dairy together in one place. With products such as feed and animal management software, people training, dairy facility monitoring, and scale management, Milc Group is committed to providing producers with tools they need to succeed.

02:09 Seagull Bay Day Origins

03:25 Growing Multi-Site Dairies

05:40 Holstein Versus Crossbreeding

13:27 Genomics Lessons Learned

15:49 Winstar Genetics Launch

17:22 Polled Breakthrough Mendel

22:53 Next Traits To Select

27:42 Cloud Feeding With ONEfeed

32:03 ONEanimal and Lely Integration

34:18 Robot Data Integration

35:56 Repro Reporting Upgrades

37:10 Tracking Repro Performance

37:49 New Repro KPI Goals

39:08 Breeding Strategy Mix

40:45 Staying Sustainable

43:38 People Over Technology

45:13 Culture And Expectations

46:44 Defining Success Metrics

50:18 Vision Mission Legacy

54:08 Passing On Values