Progressive Dairy

Managing the risk managers

December 31, 2012

A great awakening is happening across the dairy industry as many dairy operations are beginning to engage in price risk management. It’s a whole new management frontier to explore. And it’s another responsibility on the farm for someone to do or oversee. When a new endeavor is first adopted on a dairy operation, it often takes a while before that task becomes fully integrated. At first it is part of someone’s job description by default.

DVM Systems adds new bolus software feature

December 31, 2012

DVM Systems has added a new feature to its rumen bolus temperature monitoring software: ovulation detection. CEO Kevin Wild and Dr. Wade Webster, DVM’s director of science, discuss the development of this new product.

Six heavy-hitting dairy seminars scheduled

December 31, 2012

Six heavy-hitting dairy seminars scheduled Progressive Dairyman will present six dairy-specific seminars at World Ag Expo in 2013. Half of the seminars will be video farm tours of successful dairy farms. This popular video tour format returns again this year.

New products at World Ag Expo

December 31, 2012

Progressive Dairyman asked several companies exhibiting at World Ag Expo to highlight a few of the new products that will be on display.

Texas dairyman markets raw, fluid and artisan dairy products

December 31, 2012

Walt Cooley

Ask dairyman Todd Moore what type of milk he enjoys selling most and he’ll probably tell you he doesn’t really care, so long as it comes from a good-looking Guernsey or Jersey cow. And a registered one at that. Moore, a self-described cowman, committed more than seven years ago to processing and retailing his own milk as artisan dairy products.

Dairies share their tips for on-farm communication success

December 31, 2012

When it comes to working with Hispanic dairy employees, never make an assumption. That was the key message and theme behind the panel discussion, “Managing Hispanic labor … is it about the culture or is it about the rules?,” held during the Midwest Dairy Expo November 27-28 in St. Cloud, Minnesota. More than 75 producers and dairy industry members attended the one-hour session moderated by Jorge Delgado, on-farm support manager for Alltech.

Why in the world would I need to develop a budget?

December 31, 2012

Greg Squires

I have been a proponent of annual budgeting for quite some time. When my clients first hear me advocating the development of annual budgets, they usually have one of the following reactions:

Establishing KPIs: The key to managing your robotic dairy

December 31, 2012

Francisco Rodriguez

“If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.” This is a very popular, well-known quote and the root of its meaning is critical to a robotic milking operation.

What are realistic expectations for amino acid balancing?

December 31, 2012

Daniel Luchini

The balancing of amino acid (AA) levels in dairy rations has been in the news, useful commercial products have been introduced and formulation software has been updated. What are realistic expectations today for AA balancing? The answer rests with research results, what is measured on-farm and transition considerations.

The profit puzzle: How do you put together all the pieces?

December 31, 2012

Lisa Holden

Since dairies come in all shapes, sizes and profit levels, it is nearly impossible to predict what profitability “looks like” at a glance. Is the most profitable business the one with the highest production? Nicest cows? Best reproductive numbers? Most land base? Healthiest heifers? What profits “look like” can vary somewhat from dairy farm to dairy farm – but studying a variety of dairy farm businesses over time can help to distinguish patterns for higher profits on dairies. This area of “profit patterns” has been the focus of recent Penn State research.