Dairy Stream

Dairy Streamlet: Building trust with the media and consumers

The Dairy Streamlet is a new, condensed version of Dairy Stream that takes the long episode and covers just the high-level points of the conversation. If this topic interest you, we encourage you to listen to the full episode on September 27.

Dairy Stream host Joanna Guza talks with Liz Fitzsimmons, an experienced communication professional, about the impact of media interviews, content the public is interested in, preparing for an interview, handling a difficult situation and more.

Special thanks to Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin for sponsoring this episode.

About the guest

• Liz Fitzsimmons
  Liz is an experienced communication professional who has worked on behalf of Wisconsin's dairy farmers for nearly three decades. During her tenure, Liz has worked in almost every aspect of marketing and promotion. She has extensive experience working directly with farmers, grassroots organizations and volunteers across the state in addition to event planning, video production and leading successful campaigns that use a blend of paid and earned media. If you're a national reporter or producer wanting to talk to a Wisconsin dairy farmer, Liz is your gal! She is an expert at media training and coordinating interviews that help tell the story of Wisconsin's dedicated dairy farmers for audiences and outlets of all sizes.

This podcast is co-produced by the Dairy Business Association and Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative, sister organizations that fight for effective dairy policy in Wisconsin and Washington, D.C. 

Become a sponsor, share an idea or feedback by emailing podcast@dairyforward.com. 

Check out the Dairy Strong conference Jan. 16-18 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Learn more and register at dairystrong.org. 

Genomic study proves profitability, methane reduction

Genetics in the dairy industry are making big strides. Project leaders Lauren Brey and Dr. Dan Weigel share about a collaborative project between Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative, Farmers for Sustainable Food, Zoetis, and 8 aligned farms, showed how focusing on genetic improvement correlates to not only lifetime profitability but reductions in methane intensity, antibiotic usage and feed use on the farm. Dairy Stream host Joanna Guza dives into the topics below with Lauren and Dan:

• 1:50: How the project got started
• 2:43: How the farms were selected
• 5:04: Dairy Wellness Profit Index and how it was used
• 7:55: Process of collecting and analyzing the data
• 9:40: The study had 43 percent reduction in antibiotic usage
• 13:38: The study had 23 percent reduction in the number of replacement heifers
• 15:00: The study had 15.8 metrics tons of methane reduced per 1,000-cow herd
• 16:48: The study had a decrease in feed used
• 19:52: If farms want to participate, what is the timeline and ROI
• 22:51: How does the research impact the future of sustainable food
• 25:00: What’s next for the future of research and genetics

Special thanks to Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative for sponsoring this episode.

About the guests

• Lauren Brey
  Lauren is the director of strategic partnerships and sustainability for the Dairy Business Association (DBA) and Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative. In this role, she serves as managing director of Farmers for Sustainable Food (FSF) and directs their support of farmer-led conservation groups and sustainability projects. Brey is also responsible for fostering relationships with other organizations to bring more value and resources to the members of DBA and Edge. She previously served as the director of marketing and research and worked as a scientist for a cheese company prior to DBA, Edge and FSF.  
• Dr. Dan Weigel
  Dan grew up in Iowa on the family farm (Weigeline Holsteins) and graduated from Iowa State University with a BS in Dairy Science.  He received both his MS and PhD from Virginia Tech, with his dissertation focusing on the prediction of genetic merit for lifetime profitability in Holsteins.  Before joining the R&D group of Zoetis (formerly Pfizer Animal Health) in 1995, Dr. Weigel served as a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Guelph working on the implementation of Multiple Across Country Evaluations (MACE) for conformation traits of Holstein sires.  Dr. Weigel’s current role with Zoetis is in Outcomes Research and he also remains active as a breeder of dairy cattle. 

This podcast is co-produced by the Dairy Business Association and Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative, sister organizations that fight for effective dairy policy in Wisconsin and Washington, D.C. 

Become a sponsor, share an idea or feedback by emailing podcast@dairyforward.com. 

Dairy Streamlet: Genomic study proves profitability, methane reduction

The Dairy Streamlet is a new, condensed version of Dairy Stream that takes the long episode and covers just the high-level points of the conversation. If this topic interests you, we encourage you to listen to the full episode on September 6.

Dairy Stream host Joanna Guza talks with project leaders Lauren Brey and Dr. Dan Weigel about a collaborative project focusing on how genetic improvement correlates to not only lifetime profitability but reductions in methane intensity, antibiotic usage and feed use on the farm.

Special thanks to Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative for sponsoring this episode.

About the guests

• Lauren Brey
  Lauren is the director of strategic partnerships and sustainability for the Dairy Business Association (DBA) and Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative. In this role, she serves as managing director of Farmers for Sustainable Food (FSF) and directs their support of farmer-led conservation groups and sustainability projects. Brey is also responsible for fostering relationships with other organizations to bring more value and resources to the members of DBA and Edge. She previously served as the director of marketing and research and worked as a scientist for a cheese company prior to DBA, Edge and FSF.  
• Dr. Dan Weigel
  Dan grew up in Iowa on the family farm (Weigeline Holsteins) and graduated from Iowa State University with a BS in Dairy Science.  He received both his MS and PhD from Virginia Tech, with his dissertation focusing on the prediction of genetic merit for lifetime profitability in Holsteins.  Before joining the R&D group of Zoetis (formerly Pfizer Animal Health) in 1995, Dr. Weigel served as a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Guelph working on the implementation of Multiple Across Country Evaluations (MACE) for conformation traits of Holstein sires.  Dr. Weigel’s current role with Zoetis is in Outcomes Research and he also remains active as a breeder of dairy cattle. 

This podcast is co-produced by the Dairy Business Association and Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative, sister organizations that fight for effective dairy policy in Wisconsin and Washington, D.C. 

Become a sponsor, share an idea or feedback by emailing podcast@dairyforward.com. 

Artificial intelligence (AI) on the dairy farm

The dairy industry has done a decent job at innovating and the next step could include artificial intelligence. Former Microsoft Office employee and founder of Connecterra, Yasir Khokhar, shares what AI could look like on the farm, insight on ChatGPT and other applications, data security and AI regulations. Dairy Stream host Joanna Guza dives into the topics below with Yasir:

• 1:45: What does AI look like on the farm
• 3:56: Will the physical farm look different with AI
• 4:56: How ChatGPT or other AI applications fit into agriculture
• 7:20: How AI takes in outside factors like weather or markets
• 8:23: Where is the dairy industry at with implementing AI 
• 9:55: U.S. dairy involvement in AI compared to Europe 
• 11:12: How to integrate all data sources 
• 12:30: Simplicity of AI for the user 
• 13:50: Future careers in the dairy industry  
• 16:15: Basic security for AI data 
• 17:55: Who can help protect the data 
• 19:20: Cybersecurity insurance 
• 21:20: AI and regulations   
• 23:09: What farmers should be sharing with policymakers on AI 
• 24:14: Future of AI and how farmers can prepare themselves
• 26:01: Is agriculture inline with other industries using AI 

Special thanks to Connecterra for sponsoring this episode.

About the guest

• Meet Yasir Khokhar:

  Yasir Khokhar is a co-founder and CEO of Connecterra, the artificial intelligence company with a mission to empower the dairy industry to increase productivity while reducing impact on the planet. Yasir holds a bachelor's degree in computer science and an executive MBA. He launched two start-ups before joining Microsoft’s Dubai team. In his ten-year tenure, Yasir led the transformation of Microsoft Office into a cloud business for the Middle East before transferring to the Netherlands to lead the Microsoft Office business unit for Western Europe. Yasir co-founded Connecterra in 2014 with an idea on how use A.I. to help solve dairy's biggest challenges. Under his leadership, Connecterra has grown from that early idea to winning the Startup of the Year at the 2015 Web Summit to a global company. Yasir has built teams in the United States and Europe and has architected commercial deals with some of the biggest brands in the industry. In his down time, he occasionally writes a few lines of code. 

Check out Yasir's presentation at the annual Dairy Strong conference in 2023.

This podcast is co-produced by the Dairy Business Association and Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative, sister organizations that fight for effective dairy policy in Wisconsin and Washington, D.C. 

Become a sponsor, share an idea or feedback by emailing podcast@dairyforward.com. 

Dairy Streamlet: Artificial intelligence (AI) on the dairy farm

The Dairy Streamlet is a new, condensed version of Dairy Stream that takes the long episode and covers just the high-level points of the conversation. If this topic interests you, we encourage you to listen to the Aug. 16 episode. 

Dairy Stream host Joanna Guza talks with former Microsoft Office employee and founder of Connecterra, Yasir Khokhar, about what AI could look like on the farm, insight on ChatGPT, data security and AI regulations.

Special thanks to Connecterra for sponsoring this episode.

About the guest

• Meet Yasir Khokhar:

  Yasir Khokhar is a co-founder and CEO of Connecterra, the artificial intelligence company with a mission to empower the dairy industry to increase productivity while reducing impact on the planet. Yasir holds a bachelor's degree in computer science and an executive MBA. He launched two start-ups before joining Microsoft’s Dubai team. In his ten-year tenure, Yasir led the transformation of Microsoft Office into a cloud business for the Middle East before transferring to the Netherlands to lead the Microsoft Office business unit for Western Europe. Yasir co-founded Connecterra in 2014 with an idea on how use A.I. to help solve dairy's biggest challenges. Under his leadership, Connecterra has grown from that early idea to winning the Startup of the Year at the 2015 Web Summit to a global company. Yasir has built teams in the United States and Europe and has architected commercial deals with some of the biggest brands in the industry. In his down time, he occasionally writes a few lines of code. 

Check out Yasir's presentation at the annual Dairy Strong conference in 2023.

This podcast is co-produced by the Dairy Business Association and Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative, sister organizations that fight for effective dairy policy in Wisconsin and Washington, D.C. 

Become a sponsor, share an idea or feedback by emailing podcast@dairyforward.com. 

Learning Spanish and impact on your farm

Learning how to speak Spanish can help build relationships and take your farm to the next level.  Spanish instructor Katie Dotterer and dairy farmer Walt Moore share the impact and how to get started with learning Spanish. Dairy Stream host Joanna Guza dives into the topics below with Katie and Walt:

• 2:03: Impact of learning Spanish
• 5:02: Vulnerability of learning Spanish
• 6:33: Learning Spanish and turnover rate
• 7:40: Encouraging non-Spanish speaking employees to learn Spanish    
• 9:25: Important to bring a fluent Spanish speaker to the farm
• 13:33: Cultures and traditions of Spanish speakers
• 16:40: Embracing the Spanish culture on your farm
• 18:35: Spanish resources in the community
• 23:42: Mindset with learning Spanish 
• 26:35: Challenges with learning Spanish
• 28:30: How long does it take to learn Spanish
• 31:30: How to continue learning and practicing Spanish
• 34:35: Dialects and slang of the Spanish language  
• 36:27: Encouraging Spanish-speakers to learn English
• 39:45: Advice for learning Spanish

Special thanks to The Nature Conservancy of Wisconsin for sponsoring this episode.

About the guests

• Meet Katie Dotterer: A life-long advocate for agriculture and education, Katie enjoys finding ways to infuse the two together. Her love for agriculture and the Spanish language developed through her upbringing as part of the third generation on her family’s dairy farm in central PA. Katie has degrees in Business Management and Marketing, Secondary Education, and Spanish, and is certified in ESL: English as a Second Language. Recognizing a need to bridge an industry wide communication gap, she developed online Spanish Courses tailored specifically to agriculture, through her educational and advocacy business, AgvoKate (a play on her name & advocating for agriculture). Additionally, she rarely turns down an opportunity to advocate and engage with the 98% of the population who are removed from agriculture. She has done this through on-farm tours (in-person and virtual) when she co-owned and operated a dairy farm as a first-generation farmer, public speaking engagements, news segments and through her social media platforms. When she’s not teaching or advocating, Katie loves traveling, dancing, playing piano and guitar, history, palm trees, dark chocolate and tea! Learn more about Katie’s online Spanish courses here or email her at katiedotterer@agvokate.com.

• Walt Moore: Walt is President and General Manager of Walmoore Holsteins, Inc. The family farm has been in operation over 113 years and 5 generations.  Walt is in partnership with his wife Ellen.  Walmoore Holsteins, Inc. milks 1050 cows with a 31,000-pound herd average (producing in excess of 3.6 million gallons of milk annually), raises 880 replacement young stock, 100 Wagyu crosses, farms 1700 acres of corn for silage and grain, alfalfa, soybeans and Triticale.  Walmoore employs 15 full time and several part-time people.  Walt is also the General Partner of Moore Family Farm LP which was formed as a land holding company.  Additionally, Walt and Ellen with partners Duane and Marilyn Hershey started Moocho Milk Transportation Inc. in 2006 to haul their own milk.  Walt and Ellen along with Son Jake and his wife own Moore Meats LLC a premium American Wagyu farm to fork beef company.  Walt has traveled to other states and China helping to educate other producers on Best Management Practices.  Walt also serves on several committees including the Chester County Conservation District Board, London Grove Friends Finance Committee, American Dairy Coalition currently serving as President and On the Center for Dairy Excellence Board currently serving as President. He also served on the PDMP board as the Vice-President and President.  Walt also enjoys spending time with his family, attending PSU football games, hunting, boating and traveling. 

This podcast is co-produced by the Dairy Business Association and Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative, sister organizations that fight for effective dairy policy in Wisconsin and Washington, D.C. 

Become a sponsor, share an idea or feedback by emailing podcast@dairyforward.com. 

Dairy Streamlet: Learning Spanish and impact on your farm

The Dairy Streamlet is a new, condensed version of Dairy Stream that takes the long episode and covers just the high-level points of the conversation. If this topic interests you, we encourage you to listen to the July 26 episode. 

Dairy Stream host Joanna Guza talked with Spanish instructor Katie Dotterer and dairy farmer Walt Moore about the impact of speaking Spanish and how to get started with learning the language.

Special thanks to The Nature Conservancy of Wisconsin for sponsoring this episode.

About the guests

• Meet Katie Dotterer: A life-long advocate for agriculture and education, Katie enjoys finding ways to infuse the two together. Her love for agriculture and the Spanish language developed through her upbringing as part of the third generation on her family’s dairy farm in central PA. Katie has degrees in Business Management and Marketing, Secondary Education, and Spanish, and is certified in ESL: English as a Second Language. Recognizing a need to bridge an industry wide communication gap, she developed online Spanish Courses tailored specifically to agriculture, through her educational and advocacy business, AgvoKate (a play on her name & advocating for agriculture). Additionally, she rarely turns down an opportunity to advocate and engage with the 98% of the population who are removed from agriculture. She has done this through on-farm tours (in-person and virtual) when she co-owned and operated a dairy farm as a first-generation farmer, public speaking engagements, news segments and through her social media platforms. When she’s not teaching or advocating, Katie loves traveling, dancing, playing piano and guitar, history, palm trees, dark chocolate and tea! Learn more about Katie’s online Spanish courses here or email her at katiedotterer@agvokate.com.
• Walt Moore: Walt is President and General Manager of Walmoore Holsteins, Inc. The family farm has been in operation over 113 years and 5 generations.  Walt is in partnership with his wife Ellen.  Walmoore Holsteins, Inc. milks 1050 cows with a 31,000-pound herd average (producing in excess of 3.6 million gallons of milk annually), raises 880 replacement young stock, 100 Wagyu crosses, farms 1700 acres of corn for silage and grain, alfalfa, soybeans and Triticale.  Walmoore employs 15 full time and several part-time people.  Walt is also the General Partner of Moore Family Farm LP which was formed as a land holding company.  Additionally, Walt and Ellen with partners Duane and Marilyn Hershey started Moocho Milk Transportation Inc. in 2006 to haul their own milk.  Walt and Ellen along with Son Jake and his wife own Moore Meats LLC a premium American Wagyu farm to fork beef company.  Walt has traveled to other states and China helping to educate other producers on Best Management Practices.  Walt also serves on several committees including the Chester County Conservation District Board, London Grove Friends Finance Committee, American Dairy Coalition currently serving as President and On the Center for Dairy Excellence Board currently serving as President. He also served on the PDMP board as the Vice-President and President.  Walt also enjoys spending time with his family, attending PSU football games, hunting, boating and traveling. 
  
  

This podcast is co-produced by the Dairy Business Association and Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative, sister organizations that fight for effective dairy policy in Wisconsin and Washington, D.C. 

Become a sponsor, share an idea or feedback by emailing podcast@dairyforward.com. 

Workable Workforce Series: HR management and legal matters

In the fourth and final part of the Workable Workforce Series, we cover general HR management from a legal standpoint.  Employment Law Attorney Troy Thompson of Axley Brynelson Law Firm shares insight on farm employment policies, avoiding claims in the hiring process, worker compensation, strategies for dealing with an underperforming employee and terminating employment. Dairy Stream host Joanna Guza dives into the topics below with Troy:

• 1:25: Four categories of farm employment policies
• 6:15: Displaying employment HR items
• 7:42: Helping farm managers and supervisors be successful with HR items
• 12:20: Common HR mistakes
• 20:53: Avoid employment discrimination, harassment and retaliation claims
• 26:35: Documentation of claims
• 26:04: Protecting your farm from unfair competition
• 30:47: How to stay organized with HR matters and foreign labor
• 32:38: HR management with seasonal workers
• 35:16: Worker compensation claims
• 40:21: Reasonable accommodations or medical leave of absence
• 43:54: Handling underperforming employees
• 46:08: Professionally terminating an employee
• 47:44: Disputing unemployment claims

Special thanks to Compeer Financial for sponsoring this episode.

About the guest

• Troy Thompson is a management-side employment attorney with Axley Brynelson Law Firm in Madison, Wisconsin, where he also serves as the firm’s Labor and Employment Practice Group Leader. Axley is one of Wisconsin’s historic full service law firms [founded in 1885] with extensive experience representing businesses in the dairy industry including: (1) closely held family businesses, (2) agricultural cooperatives, (3) food manufacturers and packagers, and (4) international dairy equipment and robotics manufacturers. Troy is a 1994 graduate of UW-Madison and a 1998 graduate of Marquette Law School. He grew up in a small farming community in south-central Wisconsin [City of Waterloo; Jefferson County] and paid his way through school by working for several agri-businesses.  Today, he represents his clients in a broad range of labor and employment, risk avoidance, and business litigation matters.

Dairy Stream has dedicated four episodes to focus on an asset on your farm, your workforce. The four episodes of the Workable Workforce Series will cover recruiting, engaging, coaching and HR legal items. The series is sponsored by Syngenta and Compeer Financial.

May 3: Workable Workforce Series: Recruiting and Onboarding Talent | LISTEN HERE

May 24: Workable Workforce Series: Retention and Engagement | LISTEN HERE

June 14: Workable Workforce Series: Coaching and Counseling | LISTEN HERE

This podcast is co-produced by the Dairy Business Association and Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative, sister organizations that fight for effective dairy policy in Wisconsin and Washington, D.C. Become a sponsor, share an idea or feedback by emailing podcast@dairyforward.com. 

Dairy Streamlet: Workable Workforce Series: HR management and legal matters

The Dairy Streamlet is a new, condensed version of Dairy Stream that takes the long episode and covers just the high-level points of the conversation. If this topic interests you, listen to the full episode on July 5. 

In the fourth and final part of the series, Dairy Stream host Joanna Guza talked with Employment Law Attorney Troy Thompson about general HR management, worker compensation, discipline, leave of absence and termination.  

Special thanks to Compeer Financial for sponsoring this episode.

About the guest

• Troy Thompson is a management-side employment attorney with Axley Brynelson Law Firm in Madison, Wisconsin, where he also serves as the firm’s Labor and Employment Practice Group Leader. Axley is one of Wisconsin’s historic full service law firms [founded in 1885] with extensive experience representing businesses in the dairy industry including: (1) closely held family businesses, (2) agricultural cooperatives, (3) food manufacturers and packagers, and (4) international dairy equipment and robotics manufacturers. Troy is a 1994 graduate of UW-Madison and a 1998 graduate of Marquette Law School. He grew up in a small farming community in south-central Wisconsin [City of Waterloo; Jefferson County] and paid his way through school by working for several agri-businesses.  Today, he represents his clients in a broad range of labor and employment, risk avoidance, and business litigation matters.

Dairy Stream has dedicated four episodes to focus on an asset on your farm, your workforce. The four episodes of the Workable Workforce Series will cover recruiting, engaging, coaching and HR legal items. The series is sponsored by Syngenta and Compeer Financial.

May 3: Workable Workforce Series: Recruiting and Onboarding Talent | LISTEN HERE

May 24: Workable Workforce Series: Retention and Engagement | LISTEN HERE

June 14: Workable Workforce Series: Coaching and Counseling | LISTEN HERE

This podcast is co-produced by the Dairy Business Association and Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative, sister organizations that fight for effective dairy policy in Wisconsin and Washington, D.C. Become a sponsor, share an idea or feedback by emailing podcast@dairyforward.com. 

Workable Workforce Series: Coaching and Counseling

In the third part of the Workable Workforce Series, we cover coaching and counseling employees. HR professional Michelle Gubser and dairy farmer Christine Bender share experiences, recommendations and tips for coaching all types of employees (entry-level to manger), handling poor performance versus bad behavior and scenarios on handling difficult situations. Dairy Stream host Joanna Guza dives into the topics below with Michelle and Christine:

• 1:52: Difference between coaching and counseling   
• 3:26: Christine shares her perspective of coaching and counseling  
• 6:05: What coaching should look like with for an entry-level to manager position
• 9:58: Coaching environment
• 14:41: Address a common problem with the whole team
• 17:00: Poor performance versus bad behavior   
•  21:12: Professional way to talk about performance  
•  22:31: How employees can share concerns about issues   
• 25:40: Employee feedback, audits
• 29:05: Resources for coaching and counseling employees
• 33:25: How to handle the constant-problem employee
• 36:50: How to handle a late employee   
• 40:03: How to handle an employee that calls in sick that isn’t sick
• 42:25: How to handle an employee that keeps breaking items
• 45:39: How to handle an employee that isn’t making progress
• 48:37: How to handle a challenge with a family member on the farm
• 51:23: How to handle a common problem with the whole group    

Special thanks to Syngenta for sponsoring this episode.

About the guests

• Christine Bender was born and raised on her family’s dairy farm, McFarlandale Dairy LLC. in Watertown, Wisconsin. She graduated from UW-Madison in 2013 with a Bachelor of Science in Dairy Science and Life Sciences Communication. Following graduation she worked for CP Feeds as a dairy nutritionist for about three and a half years before returning home full-time to the family farm. McFarlandale Dairy LLC is currently home to about 1,100 cows and 15 full-time employees. Christine currently serves as the herd manager, overseeing the health of all animals at the farm as well managing all the employees. 
• Michelle Gubser has over 20 years of experience in human resources and leadership.  She currently serves as the Chief Talent Officer at ProVision Partners Cooperative in Marshfield, WI.  In this role, she leads the cooperative’s talent strategies and is responsible for creating and building high-performing teams.  Michelle has an undergraduate degree in Human Resources from the University of Northwestern - St. Paul and is currently pursuing an MBA in Agribusiness at North Dakota State University.   

Dairy Stream has dedicated four episodes to focus on an asset on your farm, your workforce. The four episodes of the Workable Workforce Series will cover recruiting, engaging, coaching and HR legal items. The series is sponsored by Syngenta and Compeer Financial.

May 3: Workable Workforce Series: Recruiting and Onboarding Talent | LISTEN HERE

May 24: Workable Workforce Series: Retention and Engagement | LISTEN HERE

July 5: Workable Workforce Series: HR Management and Legal Matters

This podcast is co-produced by the Dairy Business Association and Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative, sister organizations that fight for effective dairy policy in Wisconsin and Washington, D.C. Become a sponsor, share an idea or feedback by emailing podcast@dairyforward.com.