According to Professional Dairy Producers® (PDPW), the line-up for week nineteen of The Dairy Signal™ will feature two new financial experts – business and financial consultant, Gary Sipiorski and Dr. Kevin Bernhardt, Professor of Agribusiness at UW-Platteville School of Agriculture and Farm Management Specialist with UW-Extension and Center.
Also making his a debut is Dr. John Goeser, Director of Nutritional Research & Innovation at Rock River Lab, Inc., and Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Dairy Science Department at University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Returning to the Dairy Signal is Sandy Chalmers, State Executive Director for the USDA Wisconsin Farm Service Agency (FSA).
Developed by fellow dairy farmers from the PDPW Board of Directors, The Dairy Signal is a weekly series of free educational episodes offering insights and resources for fellow dairy farmers and other food system professionals throughout the value chain. The episodes air live from 12:00-1:00 PM CT each Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday; recorded sessions are available later in the day.
During this week’s Dairy Signal, Dr. Jennifer Van Os, Ph.D., Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist in Animal Welfare at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, listed several benefits for group or paired calf raising, including improved social development and overall increased growth performance. She also said a survey revealed paired housing has a greater appeal to consumers of dairy products.
Theresa Ollivett, DVM, Assistant Professor at the UW-Madison Department of Medical Sciences, said all the essential building blocks calves need – passive transfer, hygiene, sanitation, nutrition – are just as important, if not more important when calves are housed in a group setting. She commented, “Have you really observed your calves lately to see what’s going on? It’s very easy for abnormal to become normal when you’re quickly looking at your calves daily. Computer records don’t always tell us the full picture; we need to observe the calves as well.”
Dr. Frank Mitloehner, Ph.D., Professor and Air Quality Extension Specialist with the Department of Animal Science at the University of California, Davis, talked about climate neutrality and carbon footprints during Wednesday’s episode.
Dr. Mitloehner explained the carbon that’s contained in the methane our livestock emit is not new carbon – it’s recycled carbon – that originates in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), goes into plants, the animals eat the plants, and belch out the methane. After 10 years the carbon in the methane becomes CO2 again. In other words, it’s a so-called biogenic carbon cycle – a process that recycles existing carbon. Dr. Mitloehner stressed, “Dairy farmers need mechanisms in place to incentivize ways to reduce the carbon footprint and be part of the solution,” he said.
Dan Basse, Economist and President of AgResource Company, said U.S. milk markets have forged an early seasonal/annual high as the U.S government demand has waned under Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) purchases while Farmers To Families Food Boxes will continue into Sept. Slowing domestic cheese demand has caused a fall in Class III milk futures and the U.S. foodservice industry is operating at only 43 percent capacity.
Some good news he shared – Initial field reports reflect record large Wisconsin/U.S. corn and soybean yields. In addition, a new COVID-19 aid package is being debated by President Donald Trump and Congress.
Each live session will offer attendees the opportunity to engage in open Q&A and interact with the speakers through www.slido.com and entering the code #myPDPW.
Our dairy industry and lives are changing daily and our need for accurate business information is vital. Content on The Dairy Signal will be updated as new information becomes available.
Here is a look at next week’s presenters and topics:
Tuesday, August 11
Topic: Hear updates on the CARES Act, specifically what has been paid out to dairy farmers both nationally and right here in Wisconsin. Episode presenter includes:
· Sandy Chalmers, State Executive Director for the USDA Wisconsin Farm Service Agency (FSA)
Wednesday, August 12
Topic: Growing conditions and initial field reports indicate strong yields for forage crops (corn and alfalfa), which is very unlike 2019. Learn proactive management practices for producing quality feed, and consider alternative feeding strategies to utilize this year’s and the remaining of last year’s feed
Episode presenter includes:
· Dr. John Goeser, Director of Nutritional Research & Innovation at Rock River Lab, Inc., and Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Dairy Science Department at University of Wisconsin-Madison
Thursday, August 13
Topic: When talking with your lender, it’s important to know your numbers. Learn what numbers they are looking for and why annual balance sheets and income statements are vital to the success of your business. Episode presenters includes:
· Gary Sipiorski, Business and Financial Consultant
· Dr. Kevin Bernhardt, Professor of Agribusiness at UW-Platteville School of Agriculture and Farm Management Specialist with UW-Extension and Center.
All Dairy Signal episodes are free and open to the public, accessible from www.pdpw.org. For more information, contact PDPW at 800-947-7379 or by emailing [email protected]. Follow along digitally in advance of and during the sessions by following @dairyPDPW and using #TheDairySignal on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
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