3 Open Minutes

3 Open Minutes: Dairy entrepreneur appears on Dragon’s Den

matti@agproud.com — Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 -0400

Shari Van de Pol, founder of Cattleytics, appeared on season 20, episode 16 of CBC’s Dragon’s Den. Progressive Dairy Editor Matti McBride interviewed Van de Pol to learn more about the experience of appearing on national television.

3 Open Minutes: Connecting generations of agriculture through film: Elyas Tesfaye

matti@agproud.com — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Elyas Tesfaye has been sharing his collection of agricultural film online for several years. Progressive Dairy Editor Matti McBride interviewed Tesfaye to learn how this hobby began and what it means to him.

3 Open Minutes with Tara Vander Dussen

kimmi@agproud.com — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Several dairy farmers were in attendance as President Donald J. Trump signed the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act into law at the Oval Office, including New Mexico dairy farmer Tara Vander Dussen. Progressive Dairy visited with Vander Dussen to learn more about her experience.

3 Open Minutes with recently retired Lactanet Chief Services Officer Brian Van Doormaal

matti@agproud.com — Tue, 13 Jan 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Brian Van Doormaal has served the dairy industry for nearly 40 years. Following his retirement in December 2025, Progressive Dairy asked Van Doormaal a few questions about his career and future plans.

3 Open Minutes with Demetrio Bautista Ortiz

jenn@agproud.com — Fri, 02 Jan 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Progressive Dairy connected with Demetrio Bautista Ortiz, a hoof care consultant with Save Cows Network, to discuss on-farm training, employee engagement and creating a support network for improved hoof health on U.S. dairy farms.

3 Open Minutes with Dr. Nigel Cook

kimmi@agproud.com — Wed, 10 Dec 2025 00:00:00 -0500

During a Dairyland Initiative podcast episode, Courtney Halbach and Dr. Nigel Cook discussed how to manage sand bedding in freestalls. Progressive Dairy visited with Cook to follow up on a few of the topics covered and discuss the most important points he would like dairy producers to know when bedding freestalls with sand.

3 Open Minutes with NHL rookie Brady Martin

matti@agproud.com — Tue, 09 Sep 2025 00:00:00 -0400

In the first round of the 2025 National Hockey League draft, the Nashville Predators used the fifth overall pick to select Ontario’s Brady Martin of the Soo Greyhounds. Martin proudly shares his upbringing on a dairy, hog, chicken, beef and crop operation.

3 Open Minutes with Shawna Nelson

kimmi@agproud.com — Thu, 08 May 2025 00:00:00 -0400

Organic Valley recently named Shawna Nelson as its new CEO. Progressive Dairy Editor Kimmi Devaney interviewed Nelson to learn about her background, vision for the cooperative and current state of the organic dairy sector.

3 Open Minutes with Will Loux, National Milk Producers Federation

kimmi@agproud.com — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 08:48:45 -0500

Progressive Dairy interviewed Will Loux, senior vice president of global economic affairs at National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), along with Paul Bleiberg, executive vice president of government relations at NMPF, to learn more about the economic outlook for the dairy industry in the coming year.

3 Open Minutes with Kelli Cull, Budjon Farms

Tue, 28 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0500

Creating and developing elite cattle has been the focus of Tom and Kelli Cull of Budjon Farms since taking over the operation in 2000. Established by Tom’s parents, John and Mary, the Pewaukee, Wisconsin, dairy specializes in breeding and boarding some of the finest registered cattle in North America.

3 Open Minutes with retiring Holstein Association USA CEO John Meyer

matti@agproud.com — Fri, 22 Nov 2024 00:00:00 -0500

John Meyer has been CEO of Holstein Association USA (HAUSA) for the past 23 years. Progressive Dairy Editor Matti McBride asked Meyer a few questions about his tenure with HAUSA prior to his retirement in December 2024.

3 Open Minutes with Jamie Leifker

jenn@agproud.com — Thu, 24 Oct 2024 00:00:00 -0400

Progressive Dairy Editor Jenn Coyne spoke with Jamie Leifker, president of Truterra, to learn more about industry efforts to support sustainable dairy farming practices and reach goals within the dairy supply chain.

3 Open Minutes with Dr. Lisa McCrea: A firsthand account of the 2021 British Columbia flooding

matti@agproud.com — Tue, 20 Aug 2024 00:00:00 -0400

Dr. Lisa McCrea, dairy veterinarian and partner at AgWest Veterinary Group, spoke at the Western Canadian Dairy Seminar (WCDS) in March and reflected upon the flooding that occurred in British Columbia because of an atmospheric river in November 2021 and how it affected the dairy industry there.

3 Open Minutes with Sam Galphin

audrey@agproud.com — Mon, 29 Apr 2024 00:00:00 -0400

Meet Dr. Sam Galphin, a renowned specialist with a rare vocation. Galphin’s desire to “help feed the world” has taken him around the globe as an advocate and practitioner of herd welfare and safety. From milk production to meat consumption, the “Moo Vet” has seen it all.

3 Open Minutes with Jim Mulhern

kimmi@agproud.com — Mon, 22 Jan 2024 00:00:00 -0500

Progressive Dairy visited with Jim Mulhern on the Progressive Dairy Podcast shortly before he retired in December from his role as president and CEO of National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF).

3 Open Minutes with John Talbot

Fri, 06 Oct 2023 00:00:00 -0400

Progressive Dairy Editorial Intern Michelle Stangler spoke with California Milk Advisory Board CEO John Talbot on how the organization is focused on winning new milk consumers with innovation.

3 Open Minutes with Jenn Charlton

katie@agproud.com — Tue, 19 Sep 2023 00:00:00 -0400

Less than 10 years after competing on the coloured shavings of World Dairy Expo in showmanship, Charlton will be back to place the Junior competition.

3 Open Minutes: PJ Budler

matti@agproud.com — Wed, 24 May 2023 00:00:00 -0400

PJ Budler founded a successful cattle operation in South Africa and now consults on operations all over the globe. Learn from his international perspective in our latest article.

3 Open Minutes with Al Kertz

kimmi@agproud.com — Fri, 17 Mar 2023 15:24:48 -0400

The American Registry of Professional Animal Scientists (ARPAS) provides certification of animal scientists through examination, continuing education and a commitment to a code of ethics.

3 Open Minutes with Krysta Harden

dave@agproud.com — Fri, 19 Aug 2022 00:00:00 -0400

Krysta Harden was named president and chief executive officer of the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) in February 2021, becoming just the third chief executive – and the first female – to lead the organization since its founding by Dairy Management Inc., in 1995.

3 Open Minutes with Jerry Bowman

kimmi@agproud.com — Tue, 16 Aug 2022 14:27:13 -0400

Progressive Dairy Editor Kimmi Devaney sat down with Jerry Bowman, the new executive director of the American Dairy Science Association (ADSA), during the recent ADSA annual meeting in Kansas City, Missouri, to discuss his goals related to the new three-year strategic plan, benefits of attending the annual meeting and how the organization is focusing on students and international members.

3 Open Minutes with Tom Oelberg and Matt Sattler: A decade of ration evolution

Mon, 15 Aug 2022 12:05:59 -0400

Over a decade ago, Diamond V introduced a unique, systematic approach to measuring the operational efficiency of a dairy’s feeding operation. Recently, Sara Sievert, ruminant species marketing manager with Diamond V, had the pleasure to sit down and discuss with Dr. Tom Oelberg, as well as Matt Sattler, another ruminant field tech specialist, about where we’ve come, where we’re at and where we’re going in our journey to feed cows better.

3 open minutes with Nicole Rakobitsch

karen@agproud.com — Fri, 17 Jun 2022 17:51:56 -0400

Organic Valley is America’s largest cooperative of organic farmers, with nearly 1,800 farmers in 34 U.S. states, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom.

3 Open Minutes with Laura Herschleb

audrey@agproud.com — Fri, 11 Mar 2022 14:00:01 -0500

In February, Laura Herschleb was named the next World Dairy Expo general manager. Progressive Dairy Editor Audrey Schmitz recently spoke with her about her new role, goals she would like to accomplish and what she is looking forward to most about this year’s upcoming World Dairy Expo.

3 Open Minutes with Ben Loewith of Joe Loewith & Sons Ltd.

walt.cooley@agproud.com — Mon, 20 Sep 2021 19:14:46 -0400

Ben Loewith farms in partnership with his father (Carl) and uncle (Dave) just outside Hamilton, Ontario. They farm 850 acres, with the help of custom operators, and milk 450 cows, averaging 99 to 101 pounds of milk per cow per day.

3 Open Minutes with Ray Nebel

walt.cooley@agproud.com — Thu, 26 Aug 2021 21:27:51 -0400

Progressive DairyEditor-in-Chief Walt Cooley reached out to activity monitoring industry veteran Ray Nebel with a few questions as he announced his retirement from full-time industry work with Select Sires at the beginning of this year. Nebel discusses where he sees activity monitoring technology going in the future.

3 Open Minutes with Mathieu Frigon

karen@agproud.com — Fri, 16 Jul 2021 18:21:13 -0400

Two years ago, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Marie-Claude Bibeau announced $1.75 billion would be provided to compensate Canadian dairy farmers for the market access concessions made under the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), but it left out a large segment of the dairy supply chain.

3 Open Minutes with Dr. Gordon Atkins

Tue, 16 Mar 2021 18:07:18 -0400

In September, Dr. Gordon Atkins was awarded the “Mentor of the Year” award by Merck Animal Health and the American Association of Bovine Practitioners (AABP). The award is given to individuals working in bovine medicine who have shown a continued commitment towards aiding and educating those interested in pursuing a career in bovine veterinary medicine.

3 Open Minutes with Jennifer Walker

walt.cooley@agproud.com — Wed, 17 Feb 2021 23:30:51 -0500

Jennifer Walker is a former dairy veterinarian who is now the director of quality and care for Danone North America. She oversees Danone's milk quality and animal welfare programs for the 700 U.S. dairy farms that supply the company’s milk. In short, she says her job is to "make sure the cows are happy, and the milk is awesome."

3 Open Minutes with William (Willie) Coyne

peggy@upleveldairy.com — Mon, 22 Jun 2020 21:27:06 -0400

‘I had COVID-19’: A hoof trimmer’s personal experience with coronavirus William (Willie) Coyne is a hoof trimmer who travels throughout west-central Minnesota with his business, On the Money Hoof Care. He’s young. He’s active. He’s healthy. And in May, he contracted the coronavirus.