Posted: February 8, 2012 at 8:28 pm
By Cindy Zimmerman
Meet the new officers of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. The three were elected at last week’s Cattle Industry Convention in Nashville.
From left to right, they are: President J.D. Alexander from Pilger, Nebraska; President-Elect Scott George from Cody, Wyoming; and Vice President Bob McCan of Victoria, Texas.
President-elect Scott George is primarily a dairyman in a family partnership that also includes a small cow-calf operation and breeding business. “Cattle are our whole business,” he says, adding that he has never been more optimistic about both the beef and dairy industries. “Demand is good, both domestically and internationally, so we’ve got some great opportunities, great prices and that should remain for several years.”
Scott says issues NCBA will be focused on in 2012 are the estate tax, transportation issues and a new farm bill.
Listen to my interview with Scott here: NCBA president-elect Scott George
2012 Cattle Industry Convention Photo Album
Posted: December 2, 2011 at 1:11 pm
By Cindy Zimmerman
Coming up next week in Lexington, Kentucky is an event that dairy and beef producers should not miss.
Since 2008, more than 800 of world’s most progressive dairy and beef producers have convened for the Alltech Global 500 to network and discuss the most relevant and challenging topics in the industry.
This year, the Global 500 explores the future landscape for the dairy and beef industries and provides a rare opportunity for global colleagues and friends to engage in open discussion on critical topics such as sustainable strategies and practices that can be implemented now and in the future.
I talked with Alltech Beef Division Manager Ty Yeast about the event, which will be held December 6-8. “Originally it started as a dairy event and with the success after the first two years in the dairy event, we expanded to the beef side as well,” Ty said. “Last year was our first ever addition of the beef event and we had over 125 participants from all over the world.” This year, Ty says they already have more than doubled last year’s registration.
Ty says the conference is really about looking at new ways of approaching a business that’s been around for a long time. “It’s innovation, it’s looking at new ways of doing things, and really breaking old paradigms on how to move forward and get to that next level of efficiency.
Interested producers can still register for the event by going to the Global 500 website. You can be sure it will be worth your while.
Listen to or download my interview with Ty here: Ty Yeast - Alltech Global 500
Posted: November 18, 2011 at 1:13 pm
By Chuck
Former NFL wide receiver Eddie Kennison attended the National Association of Farm Broadcasting Trade Talk session to talk about Fuel Up To Play 60, a collaborative program between the NFL and National Dairy Council. I spoke with him to learn more about it.
Fuel Up to Play 60 is an in-school nutrition and physical activity program launched by National Dairy Council (NDC) and NFL, in collaboration with the USDA, to combat childhood obesity.
Fuel Up to Play 60 helps students make positive changes in their schools by improving opportunities to consume nutrient-rich foods and get at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day. The ultimate goal is to ensure changes made at school are sustainable and complements – not competes with – an academics-focused environment.
Eddie says they’re “trying to send a message across the nation really to help children and parents understand the things that need to go into their body to help them to stay healthy and to stay healthy for a long time.” Eddie has kids of his own so this program is very close to his heart. When it comes to milk he says that after a heavy duty workout a glass of chocolate milk helps him recover faster than any other drink out there.
Listen to my interview with Eddie here: Interview with Eddie Kennison
2011 NAFB Convention Photo Album
Posted: October 20, 2011 at 9:51 pm
By Cindy Zimmerman
Earlier this year, Novus International kicked off a brand new program for dairy producers called C.O.W.S. – an acronym for Comfort, Oxidative Balance, Well-Being and Sustainability.
At World Dairy Expo, I caught up with Robin Rastini at the Novus exhibit to get an update on how that program is going. “So far we’ve done about 30 additional assessments on top of the initial benchmark, some of those are re-assessments off of the initial benchmarks,” she said. “We’ve seen huge improvements on those that have gotten re-assessed.”
In one case, Robin says a producer switched to Jersey cows because his stalls were too big for the breed he was using and instead of changing the barn, he changed the breed. “In other cases, it was as simple as taking out some brisket boards or changing the neck rail placement or bedding material. It’s definitely had an impact on improving cow comfort and lameness,” she said.
Robin also talked about Novus’ new BioOptimizedSM Trace Minerals Program. “That encompasses our MINTREX® minerals as well as our MAAC® line,” she explained. “These chelated trace minerals really perform better than many of the other classes of minerals.” The new program was just introduced last month so World Dairy Expo was the first opportunity for Novus to unveil it to producers.
Find out more in my interview with Robin from World Dairy Expo: Robin Rastini with Novus
Posted: October 18, 2011 at 3:17 pm
By Cindy Zimmerman
When it comes to forage inoculants, Pioneer believes that one size does NOT fit all.
“Just like we have right product, right acre with corn, soybeans and alfalfa, we have right bacteria, right crop,” says Alan Patterson, Dairy Specialist with Pioneer in Wisconsin. “Like our 11H50, we found specific lactic acid strains of bacteria that will drive that pH done very quickly on alfalfa.”
Pioneer has a number of incoluant offerings and they are continuing to do research to bring even more products to the marketplace. “We try to have something in every category,” Patterson says. “We have products for both haylage and corn products specifically. And then we’ve got our fiber technology line-up which includes 11CFT for corn silage, 11AFT for alfalfa haylage and 11GFT for grasses or cereal grains, so it’s not as simple as ‘here’s a bottle, put it on your forage’ anymore.”
And picking the right one can make a big difference. “If you look at the high feed costs and how we can impact that with our inoculants and helping dairymen make those right choices, particularly with the size of the dairies we’re dealing with, we’re talking tens of thousands of dollars to the bottom line,” he says.
Find out more in my interview with Alan from World Dairy Expo: Alan Patterson with Pioneer
Posted: October 14, 2011 at 8:54 am
By Cindy Zimmerman
The Dairy Checkoff has been promoting the advantages of getting social to dairy producers for a couple of years now and one of the National Dairy Promotion and Research Board members found out just how important that is recently.
I talked to Brad Scott, a fourth generation family dairy farmer from Southern California, during the Talk Session at World Dairy Expo last week and he told me about why he finally caught the Twitter bug. “Just recently my state contacted me because they were having 13 “mommy bloggers” come out,” Brad said. “They got to see us, have dinner with us and have lunch with us for two days and I got to know them and got to understand what their concerns are.”
Not only did these “mommy bloggers” from urban areas get to learn about animal care, milk testing, and environmental stewardship on a working dairy farm, they also taught Brad a thing or two. “They got me on Twitter, so now I have a Twitter account and all these mommmy bloggers are following me!” he said, which gave him the opportunity to follow them and find out what they were saying to their followers about their experience on his farm. “Everything was positive. They were very excited about telling their followers our story and the great things we do on the dairy.”
If you want to follow Brad, he is Twitter.com/UdderDelite. Find out more from the Dairy Checkoff about Telling Your Story.
Listen to my interview with Brad here: Brad Scott
2011 World Dairy Expo Photo Album
Posted: October 14, 2011 at 6:36 am
By Chuck
Membership services at Accelerated Genetics is a job that Jim Iverson has held for 35 years. That means he has worked for the organization for half of its existence since Accelerated is celebrating 70 years this year. Quite an achievement and that really says something about what has contributed to their success, the team.
Jim says they “have a passion for the industry and pride in servicing their customers.” The team is so very important because as he puts it “if you’re the best salesman in the world, if you don’t have the genetic people behind you getting the quality sires, the barn crew taking care of healthy bulls, a good communications department, management people making good management decisions,” then you won’t be as successful as you could be. You will hear real pride in Jim’s voice in my interview with him just prior to their International Reception and Dinner at this year’s World Dairy Expo.
You can listen to my interview with Jim here: Jim Iverson Interview
2011 World Dairy Expo Photo Album
Posted: October 12, 2011 at 9:34 am
By Chuck
World Wide Sires, LTD. teamed up with Accelerated Genetics to host a World Dairy Expo International Reception and Dinner. Here’s John Schouten, World Wide Sires CEO (center) with some of the guests. The organization is owned by Accelerated Genetics and Select Sires.
World Wide Sires, Ltd. is the world’s leading cattle genetics marketing organization representing the majority of the U.S. Artificial Insemination Cooperatives. In an atmosphere of trust and cooperation, World Wide Sires brings together suppliers and customers to promote efficient global livestock production. Quality genetics, high integrity, personal contact and superior customer service are the cornerstones for ensuring continued market leadership.
I talked with John before the evening’s activities got underway. He says World Wide Sires is celebrating forty years and he’s been with the company for twenty five of them. He does a little bit of travel as the territory they serve has grown. “Traditionally, our key markets have been located in western Europe as the company got started but today we have new and exciting markets in places like China, India and Russia.” He’s proud to represent the best genetics in the world to their customers. He’s very optimistic about growth in trade even in countries where we currently have marketing challenges. I asked him the thing he’d like his customers to think of when they think of World Wide Sires. He says, “Service with a smile.”
You can listen to my interview with John here: John Schouten Interview
2011 World Dairy Expo Photo Album
Posted: October 11, 2011 at 7:35 am
By Chuck
During World Dairy Expo at the Alltech reception I ran into Steve Maddox again. Steve is a dairy farmer from California and Alltech customer.
Alltech’s theme for Expo is “Who cares about production in your dairy herd? Alltech DOES!” Steve says they accomplish that by “taking a total approach socially and otherwise on the way they’re approaching it.” He encourages dairy farmers to visit Alltech because they’re putting out “top quality products.” Steve says that Alltech’s commitment to sustainability ties right in to what he’s trying to do as a farmer and working with Dairy Management, Inc. on the U.S. Dairy Sustainability Awards program. Steve mentions several Alltech products that have worked for him including Yea-Sacc and he’s trying out the new Alltech DEMP, Dietary Escape Microbial Protein.
You can listen to my interview with Steve here: Steve Maddox Interview
2011 World Dairy Expo Photo Album
Posted: October 10, 2011 at 3:30 pm
By Chuck
Charleston|Orwig was very busy during this year’s World Dairy Expo. The strategic communications agency was working with almost a dozen companies during the show. I caught up with Brittany Unterweger, pictured left with Cassie Mueller, in the Arm & Hammer Animal Nutrition booth. Brittany is an account supervisor. I asked her how things were going for the agency since Cindy spoke with Mark Gale last year.
Brittany says the agency focus goes beyond the dairy industry into overall food systems, “from farm to plate, from producer to consumer.” She says there has been an internal shift within the agency to move beyond just agriculture in an effort to bridge the gap between consumers and where their food comes from. They’ve also further developed their blog, Field Assignment.
You can listen to my interview with Brittany here: Brittany Unterweger Interview
2011 World Dairy Expo Photo Album
Posted: October 10, 2011 at 3:16 pm
By Chuck
One of the international visitors to World Dairy Expo was Dr. Gonzalo Maldonado, Tri-State S.A.S, Colombia. I met him at the Accelerated Genetics and World Wide Sires International Reception and Dinner. Dr. Maldonado has been working with them for 43 years!
Dr. Maldonado says that when he got started the idea of artificial insemination was a tough sell. He basically had to conduct training sessions and educate dairy farmers about the benefits of improved genetics. Since then he says production has increased. He’s optimistic for the outlook for even more improved production in Colombia. Training and specialized advice is still very needed though.
You can listen to my interview with Dr. Maldonado here: Dr. Gonzalo Maldonado Interview
2011 World Dairy Expo Photo Album
Posted: October 9, 2011 at 6:52 pm
By Cindy Zimmerman
The highlight of the World Dairy Expo is always the naming of the Supreme Champion on Saturday night, but some two-legged winners were honored at the annual “Dinner with the Stars” banquet on Wednesday.
The Dairymen of the Year award for 2011 went to John, David, Jim and Al Koepke of Koepke Farms, Inc. in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. (photo credit: World Dairy Expo, Nina Linton) The Koepke Farm is a 330 head milking dairy of registered Holsteins with nearly 1000 acres of cropland. David, Jim and Al are brothers and John (holding the plaque) is Jim’s son. During an interview at the expo Talk Session, John said they learned growing up to take care of the land. “And we’ve also learned that the better we take care of our land and the better we take care of our livestock, the better they both take care of our pocketbook,” he said, adding that producing their own feed and fertilizer has helped them deal with higher prices. “Getting our manure over every last acre has kept our production costs very low because we have a built-in organic fertilizer supply that’s never depleted!”
Listen to my interview with John here: John Koepke
Dairy Woman of the Year for 2011 is Donna Myers of Windsor Manor Farm in New Windsor, Maryland which is home to 55 milking registered Holsteins. “We’re a small family farm business that has enjoyed the agricultural way of life,” Donna says. They enjoy hosting farm tours to show people that way of life. “It’s good to keep that in people’s minds, how important that is,” she said.
Listen to my interview with Donna here: Donna Myers
Industry Person of the Year is Dr. Duane Norman, who has been with the USDA-ARS Animal Improvement Programs Laboratory since 1970. Dr. Norman is known throughout the world for his leadership in the genetic evaluation for traits of economic importance for the U.S. dairy industry. “When I was hired there they asked me to do a new genetic evaluation for milk and fat,” he said. “That was a perfect opportunity for a new geneticist to do a national evaluation, so I was the luckiest guy there was!” Dr. Norman notes that the genetic improvements in dairy cattle over the past 40-50 years have resulted in less cows producing more milk than ever before.
Listen to my interview with Dr. Norman here: Dr. Duane Norman
Finally, the International Person of the Year is Anne Perchard, La Ferme Ltd. (The Ansom Jersey Herd) of Great Britain. Anne actually comes from the tiny British Island of Jersey, where the Jersey breed of cattle originated. “Of course we’re very proud of her,” Anne said of the Jersey breed. She is the patron of the World Jersey Cattle Bureau and in 2001 was recognized for her services to the Jersey Breed worldwide. She’s proud to have been the first and only woman director of the Jersey Milk Marketing Board “which is quite something with all these men,” she laughed.
Listen to my interview with Anne here: Anne Perchard
An outstanding group of winners this year, as always, who represent the best of the best in the dairy industry.
2011 World Dairy Expo Photo Album
Posted: October 8, 2011 at 12:57 pm
By Chuck
At World Dairy Expo we got an update on the U.S. Dairy Sustainability Awards program from Dairy Management, Inc.
The U.S. Dairy Sustainability Awards program continues to gain support, as the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy® today announced that the newly launched awards program will be judged by a panel of experts from academic institutions, USDA, EPA, World Wildlife Fund, media and dairy industry leaders.
In September, the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, in affiliation with the Dairy Research Institute®, announced the U.S. Dairy Sustainability Awards, a new program to recognize dairy farms, businesses and collaborative partnerships for efforts that deliver outstanding economic, environmental and/or social benefit, thus helping advance sustainability of the dairy industry.
The Innovation Center and Dairy Research Institute were established by America’s dairy farmers to foster innovation and research across the industry.
On hand at Expo to discuss the sustainability awards initiative was California dairy farmer, Steve Maddox. He says they wanted to go out and recognize people who are already doing some of the common sense approaches that research has shown to be effective in improving environmental impacts. They also believe it is important to showcase good practices as an example to other dairy farmers.
Steve says they’re looking for nominations for these awards and the deadline is December 1st. You can find a list of the judges for the awards program in the news release.
You can listen to my interview with Steve here: Steve Maddox Interview
2011 World Dairy Expo Photo Album
Posted: October 7, 2011 at 11:28 am
By Chuck
One of our sponsors for coverage of the 2011 World Dairy Expo is Accelerated Genetics. Here’s Joel Groskreutz, President/CEO. We offer congratulations on multiple levels to the company this year. It is the 70th anniversary for Accelerated Genetics and they have received some major awards.
I visited with Joel in their booth and learned that business has been really good this year. He says one of their best kept secrets is how significant their international business is, handled by WorldWide Sires, a company they own fifty percent of. Listen in on my conversation with Joel below to learn more about the cooperative and their achievements.
The theme for this momentous achievement is ‘Celebrating 70 Years of Innovation.’ “Throughout our rich history, we have been the innovators, early adopters of new ideas, leading us to the new age of diversification, all directed by the needs of our customers,” comments Joel Groskreutz, Accelerated Genetics’ President and Chief Executive Officer.
Accelerated Genetics is a cooperative symbolized by strength and vision. The strength of the cooperative is truly it’s people. Employees are known for their integrity of conducting business and their knowledge of the sires, products and services they provide.
The vision of Accelerated Genetics comes from utilizing member involvment of the cooperative. Groskreutz continues, “I believe in that principle. Our customer’s input is important and provides the vision needed to direct the company’s operations.”
You can listen to my interview with Joel here: Joel Groskreutz Interview
2011 World Dairy Expo Photo Album
Posted: October 6, 2011 at 10:02 am
By Chuck
Alltech held their annual World Dairy Expo reception last night and Kentucky Ale was the star once again! A lot of happy customers showed up including Chris Sorenson, United Cooperative dairy nutritionist and calf/heifer specialist. I visited with him just as the fun got started.
The theme here at Expo for Alltech is, “Who cares about production in your dairy herd? Alltech DOES!” So I asked Chris how he thinks Alltech fulfills that theme. He says he’s an analytical person so he loves the research that Alltech does that proves how their products work. He uses Alltech inoculants quite a bit and says “a lot of the guys who are using it can not believe how quick the haylage will cool down.” He’s also very impressed with Bio-Mos. When it comes to support Alltech supplies him with lots of options for contacts to get answers to questions quickly.
You can listen to my interview with Chris here: Chris Sorenson Interview
2011 World Dairy Expo Photo Album
Posted: October 6, 2011 at 8:57 am
By Cindy Zimmerman
The National Milk Producers Federation held a press conference here at World Dairy Expo on Wednesday to help the media better understand the recently introduced Dairy Security Act of 2011 so that we can in turn better explain it to the dairy industry.
The legislation, HR 3062, introduced in the House last month by Collin Peterson (D-MN) and Mike Simpson (D-ID) grew out of the Foundation for the Future proposal made by National Milk Producers Federation, but the final version is different, according to NMPF President and CEO Jerry Kozak. “When Mr. Peterson introduced his discussion draft, it was Foundation for the Future, word for word,” Kozak said. However, after some grassroots meetings with producers around the country, it became evident that some changes needed to be made. “So, it’s now the Peterson-Simpson bill, there is no Foundation for the Future.”
Kozak says the main components of HR 3062 are pretty simple. “It establishes a dairy margin protection program, a basic and a supplemental program, it establishes a market stabilization program that would kick in during times of imbalance,” he explained, noting that it would be voluntary, not mandatory. The act would eliminate all current dairy programs, including the price support and MILC, and would result in an overall budget savings.
Kozak feels confident about the chances of passage for the Dairy Security Act since it has good support within the industry, but he is disappointed with the strong opposition by the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA). “We’ve tried to engage them in the dialogue and they have repeatedly just said no,” Kozak said. “Secondly, the tactics they’ve recently come out with that expose the entire country to the issues between producers and processors are not healthy for the image of dairy products.”
He encourages producers to contact their representatives in Congress and encourage them to support the Dairy Security Act (HR 3062).
Listen to my interview with Kozak here: NMPF CEO Jerry Kozak
2011 World Dairy Expo Photo Album
Posted: October 5, 2011 at 3:44 pm
By Cindy Zimmerman
The founder of an inner-city food science lab received special recognition in the World Dairy Expo Championship Dairy Product Contest during the awards reception and auction Tuesday evening.
Pastor Clinton Bush, founder of City Kidz Ice Cream Cafe in Jacksonville, FL was presented a special award for his organization’s Philly Vanilla ice cream entry in the contest, which won second place in its division. “Normally we don’t give special recognition to second and third place winners during the awards reception,” said Brad Legried of the Wisconsin Dairy Products Association, which sponsors the competition. “But Pastor Bush and the young people of City Kidz Ice Cream Cafe deserve the notice.”
Bush founded City Kidz Ice Cream in 2006 to foster financial literacy in inner-city communities and the group provides young people the opportunity to work in a dairy manufacturing plant and learn how to pursue career paths. The group received a special award from the competition and the 15 young people who helped manufacture their “Philly Vanilla” ice cream entry will all received special merit certificates.
“I think we all have a moral obligation to make sure we preserve our food industry, especially our dairy industry, because America has always been the global leader in food science,” Pastor Bush said, noting that the ice cream the students created is heading for supermarket shelves in the near future.
Listen to Pastor Bush’s comments here: Pastor Clinton Bush
Speaking of the future, a $2000 scholarship was also awarded at the event Tuesday evening. UW-Madison student Susan Hodgson received the sizable check to pursue her dairy-related studies.
The Championship Dairy Product Contest had over 700 entries this year. It’s the only contest of it’s kind in North America because it includes all dairy products. This year there were 74 classes for ice cream, cheese, yogurt, fluid milk, cottage cheese, whey, sour cream, butter, etc.
2011 World Dairy Expo Photo Album
Posted: October 5, 2011 at 2:20 pm
By Chuck
Airplanes on display at a dairy show? Yes indeed at this year’s World Dairy Expo.
Cirrus Aircraft had a plane on display in the outside exhibit area and it was receiving a lot of attention. To learn more about them I spoke with Valerie Blanchenay, Marketing Director. She says many of the owners of their planes use them specifically for business travel so that what might have been a six hour drive turns into only an hour and allows you to get your meeting done and be back home in time for dinner. The company started in Baraboo, WI and just celebrated selling their 5,000th plane. Exhibiting at a farm show is new and this is their first time at World Dairy Expo. Valerie says that international visitors have been interested because there are countries without good transportation infrastructure like roads and planes become even more useful for travel.
These are single engine planes that have an interior designed much like a car. They have a range of about 1,000 nautical miles. Low end models start at about $280,000.
You can listen to my interview with Valerie here: Valerie Blanchenay Interview
2011 World Dairy Expo Photo Album
Posted: October 5, 2011 at 10:12 am
By Chuck
One of our World Dairy Expo sponsors is Hoard’s Dairyman. Here’s Managing Editor, Steve Larson, serving ice cream at the opening night exhibitor reception. Steve will be presented with the 2011 Guest of Honor award here at Expo from the National Dairy Shrine.
Steven A. Larson, a dairy journalist and editor for Hoard’s Dairyman magazine who has been educating dairy producers and sharing their stories for over four decades, has been named the 2011 National Dairy Shrine Guest of Honor. The prestigious award is given each year to salute a contemporary leader for his or her outstanding achievements and contributions that benefit the dairy industry.
As a Hoard’s Dairyman associate editor from 1969 to 1998, Larson covered important dairy topics around the United States and the world. He also solicited articles on contemporary topics from leading dairy professionals and scientists. “Steve kept his finger on the pulse of the dairy industry on a wide range of issues,” says George Shook, professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
I visited with Steve before he had to start serving ice cream last night. Steve says the award he’s receiving is very special and many of his mentors and people he looks up to have received it. “I hardly put myself in that category. I kind of have to pinch myself to get the feeling of it. It is a great honor.”
You can listen to my interview with Steve here: Steve Larson Interview
2011 World Dairy Expo Photo Album
Posted: October 5, 2011 at 10:04 am
By Cindy Zimmerman
Pioneer Hi-Bred is pleased to present a new silage brown midrib BMR hybrid for producers at World Dairy Expo this week.
The company is releasing Pioneer® hybrid P1376XR, a 113-day BMR hybrid, in limited quantities to growers primarily across the northeastern United States for the 2012 planting season. “P1376XR is our first BMR hybrid corn product,” says Kyle Whitaker, Pioneer senior sales and marketing manager for global forages. “To develop it, we back-crossed the brown midrib trait into our best silage inbreds and it resulted in some really nice advantages over competitive products.”
Among those advantages are good digestibility, improved agronomics, increased yields, high starch, strong drought tolerance, disease and pest resistance. This hybrid contains Herculex® XTRA insect protection as well as the Roundup Ready® Corn 2 trait and the LibertyLink® gene.
Kyle is pictured here at the Pioneer booth at World Dairy Expo where the new BMR hybrid is on display. We did an interview last week over the phone prior to the official release of the hybrid.
Listen to or download that interview here: Pioneer's Kyle Whitaker
Read more about it here.
2011 World Dairy Expo Photo Album
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