The Progressive Publishing team is pleased to welcome two new faces to their staff this summer. Audrey Schmitz, a 2016 editorial intern, has been hired as a new editor with Progressive Dairyman. Schmitz began work in June and is responsible for writing feature stories and beat coverage for the publication. Jaclyn Krymowski will serve as this year’s editorial intern.

Are you tired of grinding and storing hay? Losing money because of shrink or mold? It might be time to consider updating your feeding program to improve your bottom line. As a veteran livestock nutritionist, I am one of the first to see how our industry is changing. In order to stay in the black, we all must be one step ahead of the times. We’ve got to do our best to improve every day. (I believe it was Noah who built the ark while it was still sunny outside.) As a nutritionist, it’s my great challenge and responsibility to recommend what’s best for those I advise. My report card is the ROI of the cattlemen I serve and is based on competency gained through education, experience and deliberate experimentation. Part of the value I provide is to push cattlemen I serve towards calculated risks when the payoff for them is great enough.

Technology has changed the way dairies do business—from the apps that show market prices, to the automated technologies in the milking parlor – progressive farmers are always looking for new ways to advance their operations. And when it comes to analyzing forage, U.S. dairy farmers face a unique challenge. 

From Fourth of July cookouts to entertaining visiting relatives, summertime is a season that brings together loved ones and lots of food. This summer, USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is providing tips on how to “grill like a PRO” during your outdoor festivities.

Authors in our publication write about the difficulty of succession in business. (See this issue’s article about the challenges of succession when siblings are involved, Sibling partners: a special family business stage.) Recently, the Wall Street Journal captured J.W. Marriott’s thoughts on succession.

As summer ended last year, the central air conditioning unit on our house decided it would stop working. Cooler days were ahead, so there was no need to rush to fix it. There would be plenty of time in the “off-season” to take care of it.

Group housing of dairy calves is becoming more popular, and so are automatic milk feeders. Some of the reasons producers choose to use this new technology include addressing calf health and welfare concerns, and reducing labour while still providing calves with enough milk to reach their growth potential.

Farmers often stop me in the hall of conferences to ask deeper questions keeping them awake at night. The most common question is: “Elaine, how do we even get people to the table? My parents are refusing to talk, and my grandparents are even more stubborn.”

“What’s your why?” Heath Slawner, a member of Simon Sinek’s “Start With Why” team, says. “And by why, I mean what’s your cause? What’s your purpose? What inspires you in the morning to wake up and go to work?