Posted: September 29, 2010 at 7:52 pm
By Cindy Zimmerman
Increasing the frequency of RFID could be as revolutionary for the dairy industry as FM was for radio.
A company called Eriginate has developed the technology to move RFID at the speed of commerce by using ultra high radio frequency (UHF) to tag identify large groups of moving animals, compared to the common electronic systems today that use low frequency (LF) radio waves to read individual tags at short distances.
Company principals (and siblings) Bob, Mary and Tom Baarsch gave a presentation of the eTattoo UHF cattle tag system to a selected group of industry representatives at World Dairy Expo this week. “It’s the first tag approved by any government for tracking cattle that’s in the UHF bandwidth, which means 900 megahertz which runs 1000 times faster than low frequency RFID tags,” said company CEO Bob during an interview.
That is what allows the system to read tags up to 20-30 feet away, which means tag readers can be mounted over head in a dairy barn alleyway to capture readings as the animals move in and out on a daily basis. Earlier this year, Eriginate did a pilot test of the system at a dairy operation in Minnesota. “We got over a 99 percent capture of animals coming in and out of the parlor,” Bob said. They also tested the system in Brazil and are getting interest from other countries as well.
Right now, the company is looking for partners that will take the readers, tags and software and put them together in a total package solution.
Find out more about the technology in this interview with Bob: Bob Baarsch Interview
Watch a demonstration of the technology here on YouTube.
The World Dairy Expo exhibitor party sponsored by Hoard’s Dairyman is always a special event, but this year it was extra special because they are celebrating 125 years!
To mark the anniversary, the publication called in the University of Wisconsin marching band as surprise entertainment for the event. It just happened to be at the exact time that President Obama was speaking on the UW campus just a few miles away, so there was a little concern about whether the band would make it or not. But they made it right on time, giving up their opportunity to see the president visit their school to pay tribute to the dairy industry.
Watch the video of the band here:
Instead of getting presents, Hoard’s was giving presents to celebrate their milestone. They presented World Dairy Expo with artist Bonnie Mohr’s updated “Foster Mothers of the Human Race” featuring all seven dairy breeds. The original Foster Mothers print was created in 1957 followed by updates in 1963, 1991, and 1993 — all of which were painted by former Hoard’s Dairyman Art Director James Baird. Bonnie was commissioned by Hoard’s to paint the new version specifically for the 125th anniversary and it was unveiled officially in June. You can order prints online from Hoards.
Posted: September 28, 2010 at 8:29 pm
By Cindy Zimmerman
There have been some concerns lately in the dairy industry about low milk fat levels, something that has left many dairy nutritionists scratching their heads.
Dr. Scott Bascom, a nutritionist with Cooperative Plus in Wisconsin, says 2009 was one of the worst years he has seen for milk fat tests, which had a significant financial impact on some of his clients on top of the already poor price situation. “It was very frustrating. I have a PhD so I’m supposed to have all the answers,” Scott told me during an interview at World Dairy Expo in the Arm & Hammer Animal Nutrition booth. The animals appeared healthy with no signs of acidosis and he had no luck finding issues with starch or oils in the diet. Then he started looking at the DCAD (dietary cation-anion difference) balance and struck pay dirt when he started adjusting the diet using DCAD Plus.
“The results we saw were pretty impressive,” said Scott, who brought the actual results to show people because they’re so amazing. “In one farm, in mid-May to early June, we were struggling to get to a 3.5 fat test, with lows of 3.39. It was about the fifth of June when we put a new diet in place balanced for DCAD. Between the 5th and the 19th, we averaged 3.68 in this herd with some days a little bit over 3.7.” That resulted in 40 cents more per hundredweight of milk. Another herd had similar results and Scott says he had happy clients. “With the quick response we saw to the DCAD Plus, it was almost an immediate increase in their milk check, just from the added fat.”
Scott says his experience with Arm & Hammer has been a positive one, ever since he was a little kid on the farm and his grandfather was feeding sodium bicarb. “Not only is it the value of the products at Arm & Hammer, it’s the value of the people and their concern and compassion for the dairy industry,” he said.
A&H developed a new web-based DCAD calculator to help producers more effectively balance their rations. More information can be found on the home page for AH Dairy.
Posted: July 13, 2010 at 3:34 pm
By Cindy Zimmerman
July is National Ice Cream Month, and it’s also one of the biggest months of the year for barbecues – so why not have both at your next cook out?
Rick Browne, host of Barbecue America and self-proclaimed “Grill Master of the Universe,” has a recipe for barbecued ice cream – or grilled Baked Alaska – that is sure to be a crowd pleaser.
What better timing could there be to meet a dairy farmer from California? You know what I’m talking about. Let’s meet Ray Prock, Ray-Lin Dairy. Ray serves with me on the board of the AgChat Foundation. We got together on the phone today to talk about the Foundation and farmer use of social media. He’s one of the ones who’s walking the talk. We also talked about this week’s animal abuse video from Ohio. If you want to hear from a real dairy farmer on the subject then give a listen to our interview.
Ray is a second generation dairy farmer in Central CA working to secure a future for the third and future generations to one day help feed the world as farmers. Ray sees social media as a great way to connect with others and to have conversations about what, why and how farmers feed, clothe and fuel today’s ever growing population. He says, “The Agchat Foundation is a way to focus social media efforts across all segments of Agriculture in one coordinated effort whether farmers or ranchers, veterinarians or Extension agents, salespeople or bankers.” You can follow Ray on his blog, on Twitter or on Facebook.
You can listen to my interview with Ray below and also watch a video from the AgChat Foundation YouTube Channel of him talking about our plan for technology scholarships.
I don’t know about you but I am plenty tired of the whole Ohio dairy animal abuse story. It is encouraging that the main person featured in it has been arrested and is facing multiple charges. Authorities are investigating the whole situation and hopefully justice will be served to those responsible. I thought the video below might help bring a smile to your face as we get ready for the holiday weekend.
I’m going to take this opportunity to encourage anyone who wishes to make comments on our posts to be respectful, don’t use profanity and address the topic. I’ve had to delete numerous hate language comments.
So, let’s turn to something a little more lighthearted. Müller Dairy says, Thank You Cows. Here’s their mission.
“To bring sustainable dairy goodness from the heart of Shropshire for the good of everyone.” And over the last 18 years we’ve been doing just that. We believe that this effort has led to stronger relationships with our local farmers, better quality Müller products and happier customers.
So while we thank dairy farmers everywhere for all their hard work, dedication and care for their cows, let’s remember to Thank The Cows!
Posted: May 12, 2010 at 7:53 pm
By Cindy Zimmerman
The Dairy Price Stabilization Act was introduced on the House floor today by Congressman Jim Costa (D-Fresno) and co-sponsors Peter Welch (D-VT), Joe Courtney (D-CT), Rick Larsen (D-WA), and John B. Larson (D-CT).
Costa says the bill promotes market stability and individual dairy farmers’ ability to grow their own business. “While periods of boom and bust are not new to the dairy industry, our dairy families cannot afford another year of low milk checks that don’t even cover the cost of production,” said Costa. “The dairy price crisis is devastating our local economy and ability to create and sustain jobs. This bill will help the dairy industry get back on track and curb the milk price volatility that is driving dairy farmers in the Valley and our nation out of business”
Watch Costa introduce the bill here via YouTube:
The Dairy Price Stabilization Act would help stabilize dairy prices by better aligning supply and demand. Under the program, individual dairies would have the choice of either maintaining their current production level (plus an allowable year-over-year growth rate based on market indications) or expanding their production and increasing their share of the market.
Dairies choosing to increase their market share would pay a fee during the first year of expansion which is paid out to their fellow dairy farmers who are maintaining their current share of the market. This creates a rational system that allows the market to absorb increases in production by providing a tangible financial incentive for most dairies to manage their production growth.
The structure of the bill is based on unbiased economic analysis and modeling conducted in the past 18 months. Both the growth rate and market access fee would be determined based on market indicators including feed costs which are the largest cost factor for producers in states like California. A producer board of directors would be established to advise the Secretary of Agriculture on any necessary adjustments to program operations. The bill empowers farmers by allowing them to vote on whether to enact the program and, three years after it commences, to vote on whether to continue it.
Posted: January 12, 2010 at 11:26 am
By Cindy Zimmerman
A dairy farmer who is a YouTube hit with his original “Water ‘n Poo” song is the new chairman of the American Farm Bureau Federation Young Farmers and Ranchers Committee.
Will Gilmer of Alabama was elected as by the committee as chairperson for 2010 and will take over those duties in February to serve for one year.
Gilmer owns and operates Gilmer Dairy Farm, which includes a herd of 450 Holstein cows, heifers and calves, as well as more than 500 acres of pasture and forage crop production.
In addition to his daily farming duties, Gilmer maintains a Web site, www.gilmerdairy.com, along with The Dairyman’s Blog, in an effort to reach out to the public about modern farming practices. Gilmer also is active on the micro-blogging Web site Twitter under @gilmerdairy.
And if you have never heard or seen Will’s funny YouTube hit about nutrient management – viewed over 9,000 times – here it is. Heck, even if you have seen it – worth watching again so you can be singing “Water ‘n Poo” all day long!
The last stop for the U.S. Grains Council Corn Mission team I traveled with last month was a dairy farm. This is the Mirhom Farag Farm, owned by Suzanne Basilios. In the video we walk through the dairy with the farm manager so you can see how the animals are kept in open lots. They are feeding hay and a lot of corn mixed with ddgs.
The Chairman of the Egyptian Buffalo Producer’s Association is Dr. Saad Alhayani (pictured left). He also owns and operates a very new open water buffalo feedlot and dairy. The U.S. Grains Council Corn Mission team I recently traveled with visited. These cute, sweet, little creatures are very different than your average bovine.
Dr. Alhayani says he imports frozen semen to assist in breeding better quality animals which is something relatively new to the country. He’s raising thousands of buffalo and feeding them corn and ddgs as well as other ingredients. We saw lots of bags of ddgs at his feedlot. That looked very positive for American corn growers! He says sometimes they blend as much as 25% ddgs in the feed.
His goal is to produce a few thousand pregnant heifers for local producers and maybe even to export. He appreciates the assistance he’s received from the USGC.
You can listen to my interview with Dr. Alhayani’s below and watch a video clip of him showing us his operation as well:
With today’s economic situation in the dairy industry, it is very wise for producers to do all they can to protect the investment they have made in their animals.
At World Dairy Expo, I talked with Lance Fox of Alpharma about maximizing disease protection in the first critical weeks of a calf’s life.
“AS700, or Aureo S 700®, is a management tool, a medication that goes in the feed,” Lance told me. “Transitioning calves, weaning calves, can be a very tough time in their lives, lot of stress going on. It’s a tool to use to help those calves get through that transition a little smoother, maintain their weight gains and ultimately their performance.”
Aureo S 700® is a combination of Aureomycin® (chlortetracycline) and sulfamethazine. Lance says this product has been on the market for 35 years, and Aureo itself is about 58 years old. “So the products have been around a long time and they work just as well today as they did when they were first released.”
What about return on investment? “If you look at the cost of feeding the product for a 28-day feeding period, it’s about $2.50 per head for the entire period,” Lance said. Keeping the calves healthy, preventing disease is the key and that helps the animals perform better and make more milk for the dairyman.
Listen to an interview with Lance below or watch this YouTube interview from World Dairy Expo:
Before getting back to the dairy portion of the Global Dairy 500 Conference I have one more video clip from our visit to the Kentucky Horse Park. This one was during our ring show that included a set of miniature horses pulling a wagon. I thought you’d enjoy it.
The participants in the Global Dairy 500 Conference were treated to a show at the Kentucky Horse Park that included many different horse breeds and traditional costumes.
I spoke with rider of the Arabian horse named D’artagnan.
He’s 11 years old and on loan to the Park by his owner.
The Kentucky Horse Park opened in 1978 and is the world’s only park dedicated to man’s relationship with the horse.
I also shot a video clip which includes an interview with the other horses and riders.
You can listen to my interview about the Arabian horse below:
I mentioned the breakout discussion groups that took place at the Global Dairy 500 Conference. The Alltech YouTubers put together a nice video to give you a very good perspective of what it was like to participate.
Dinner time last night at the Global Dairy 500 Conference featured multiple subject discussions. You picked your topic and then participated in a discussion after eating.
I attended the Silage Discussion Dinner led by Matthew Smith, Alltech. You can see Matthew getting his slides ready for the start of the discussion. He works for the company in New Zealand and has focused on silage during his career. When it comes to silage he says he encourages producers to “get excited about it.” He says the important thing to remember is how important it is as a feed ingredient. Deciding what seed to put in the ground is one of the most important decisions to make up front according to Matthew.
Here at the dinner his hope was to present silage as “good news.” He says cutting your way around the corners with silage in your operation is just not the way to go.
You can watch a portion of Matthew’s discussion dinner here.
The afternoon breakout sessions at the Global Dairy 500 Conference are summarized immediately in a group setting and the session is led by Dr. Pearse Lyons, President of Alltech. Here is one of the participants stating what his discussion table talked about.
We get a break after this session until a series of discussion dinners this evening which I’ll be participating in so there’s plenty more to come. The Conference doesn’t conclude until mid day on Wednesday.
To get a feel for the discussion you can watch a video of Dr. Lyons speaking to another discussion group participant.
It’s always good to hear what other dairy farmers have to say. In this video clip you can hear several of the farmers attending the Global Dairy 500 Conference talk about their industry and the challenges facing it. Topics include the economy, overproduction of milk, silage quality, and people management.
World Dairy Diary coverage of World Dairy Expo is sponsored by:
Alpharma Animal Health is reaching out to teach young people more about agriculture through a grassroots educational program called “Reach Teach and Learn.”
The company launched the program earlier this year at the 2009 Agriculture in the Classroom Conference in St. Louis, Missouri. The program supports local school districts and colleges through initiatives that encourage students to learn more about agriculture and how their food is produced, and to share their insights and knowledge about what they learned. I talked with Dr. Lance Fox, Alpharma’s Director of Technical Services, at their exhibit during World Dairy Expo about the purpose of the program.
“Essentially the program is designed to reach out to our youth – elementary, high school, college-level students – our future leaders of tomorrow, to promote agricultural awareness,” Lance told me. “It’s not about products, it’s just about reaching out to the youth.”
It’s also about motivating young people to reach their own personal and professional goals, something Lance has done in his own life and he shares that story when he talks with young people of all ages. He grew up in the Wisconsin dairy industry, became a veterinarian, joined Alpharma as a technical services manager, and earlier this year achieved the personal goal of climbing to the top of Mt. Everest. “If you believe, you can achieve,” Lance says.
Find out more about the Reach Teach and Learn program, which features an essay and video contest for different age level students, at reachteachlearn.com.
Watch my interview with Lance here – listen to or download the audio version below.
A company called Eriginate has developed the technology to move RFID at the speed of commerce by using ultra high radio frequency (UHF) to tag identify large groups of moving animals, compared to the common electronic systems today that use low frequency (LF) radio waves to read individual tags at short distances. 
and by 
The World Dairy Expo exhibitor party sponsored by Hoard’s Dairyman is always a special event, but this year it was extra special because they are celebrating 125 years!
Instead of getting presents, Hoard’s was giving presents to celebrate their milestone. They presented World Dairy Expo with artist Bonnie Mohr’s updated “Foster Mothers of the Human Race” featuring all seven dairy breeds. The original Foster Mothers print was created in 1957 followed by updates in 1963, 1991, and 1993 — all of which were painted by former Hoard’s Dairyman Art Director James Baird. Bonnie was commissioned by Hoard’s to paint the new version specifically for the 125th anniversary and it was 
Dr. Scott Bascom, a nutritionist with Cooperative Plus in Wisconsin, says 2009 was one of the worst years he has seen for milk fat tests, which had a significant financial impact on some of his clients on top of the already poor price situation. “It was very frustrating. I have a PhD so I’m supposed to have all the answers,” Scott told me during an interview at World Dairy Expo in the 
July is National Ice Cream Month, and it’s also one of the biggest months of the year for barbecues – so why not have both at your next cook out?
Will Gilmer of Alabama was elected as by the committee as chairperson for 2010 and will take over those duties in February to serve for one year.
The Chairman of the 
At World Dairy Expo, I talked with Lance Fox of 
The participants in the Global Dairy 500 Conference were treated to a show at the 
Dinner time last night at the Global Dairy 500 Conference featured multiple subject discussions. You picked your topic and then participated in a discussion after eating.
The afternoon breakout sessions at the Global Dairy 500 Conference are summarized immediately in a group setting and the session is led by Dr. Pearse Lyons, President of Alltech. Here is one of the participants stating what his discussion table talked about.
The 
World Dairy Diary coverage of World Dairy Expo is sponsored by:
The company launched the program earlier this year at the 2009 Agriculture in the Classroom Conference in St. Louis, Missouri. The program supports local school districts and colleges through initiatives that encourage students to learn more about agriculture and how their food is produced, and to share their insights and knowledge about what they learned. I talked with Dr. Lance Fox, Alpharma’s Director of Technical Services, at their exhibit during World Dairy Expo about the purpose of the program.