Indiana dairy farmer Mike Yoder’s offhand comment to a Reuters reporter sparked newspaper articles, an interview on Fox TV and a Saturday Night Live mention. How did the first story, the Reuters article titled ‘Sweet times for cows as gummy worms replace costly corn feed,’ come about? That was accidental. It started in the middle of the summer when Reuters called me about a drought-related story. I just made an offhand comment that we were feeding ice cream sprinkles to help reduce feed cost – I shared with him [the reporter] that it’s not an unusual practice in the cattle industry to feed bakery products.

Age: 49 Location: West Concord, Minnesota, in the southeast part of the state My dairy’s history: I grew up dairy farming with my mother and brothers. Through those years, my own herd of cows and heifers grew. In 1999, I bought this farm and married Curt Oeltjenbruns and we combined herds. In 2009, we sold the cows and were approached by another dairy to raise heifers for them.

On December 7, 2012 from noon to 1 p.m. CST, Dr. Mark Thomas will present, "Feeding Systems for Group-Housed Dairy Calves." Thomas is a partner in Countryside Veterinary Clinic, LLP in northern New York. The practice employs eight veterinarians and services about 200 clients. According to the DAIReXNET site, his presentation will focus on optimizing nutrition in a group setting, including tips on practical concepts for ad libitum and acidified feeding.