Focus on Monitoring Calf Health and Insights into Weather Patterns and Dairy Markets

Free online episodes offer insights to help producers make informed decisions

Dr. Daryl Nydam, Professor of Dairy Health and Production in the Ambulatory and Production Medicine and Quality Milk Production Services sections at Cornell University, and Faculty Director for the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability, and Dr. Franklyn Garry, DVM, Extension Specialist and Veterinarian, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Department of Clinical Sciences at Colorado State University, will share trends in calf health and the importance of recordkeeping for monitoring your calf herd health.

Two Dairy Signal experts will return this week with updates on issues at the top of everyone’s mind: weather and markets. Eric Snodgrass, Principal Atmospheric Scientist, Nutrien Ag Solutions, will provide an update on recent weather patterns across the U.S. and provide a look ahead at fall and winter outlooks.  Dan Basse, Economist and President, AgResource Company, will provide his bi-weekly update on news and market analysis for the dairy and agriculture industries.

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.

The Aug. 24 episode featured Dr. John Goeser, PhD, Director of Nutritional Research & Innovation at Rock River Lab, Inc., and Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Dairy Science Department at University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Bill Reyes, Consultant/ Owner, Royal Ag Services, Canyon, Tex., with recommendations for optimizing quality and economic value of this season’s silage crop. They also shared a number of “what if” scenarios in managing through drought stress conditions and the FeedScan app to help monitor current conditions.

Dr. Barry Bradford, Clint Meadows Endowed Chair in Dairy Management, Department of Animal Science, Michigan State University, led the Rising Stars Graduate Research Showcase on Aug. 25 along with graduate research assistants Kirby Krogstad and Lynn Olthof.  They shared details on a number of ongoing research studies in nutrition, inflammation, mastitis and more, with a special focus on creating studies that deliver scientifically valid research conducted at and applicable to commercial-scale dairy farms.  This episode was sponsored by Balchem Corporation.

Amy Myrdal Miller, MS, RDN, FAND, Founder and President of Farmer’s Daughter Consulting, and Laura Saunders, State of Wisconsin Program Manager, Great Lakes Addiction, Mental Health and Prevention Technology Transfer Center joined The Dairy Signal on Aug. 26 with valuable background and perspectives on substance use disorders as well as practical strategies for keeping the mind and body healthy during times of stress.  They also shared signs to watch for to be able to help family, friends or employees who may be struggling with stress or substance use disorders.

Each live session offers attendees the opportunity to engage in open Q&A with the speakers through the interactive platform.

Here is a look at the upcoming presenters and topics:

Tuesday, August 31

Topic: Healthy calves are the foundation of your herd. Find out what’s been affecting calves lately and what types of information is helpful for monitoring calf health and management including the importance of birth certificates and mortality descriptions. Episode presenters include:

• Daryl Nydam, Professor of Dairy Health and Production in the Ambulatory and Production Medicine and Quality Milk Production Services sections at Cornell University, and Faculty Director for the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability
• Franklyn Garry, DVM, Extension Specialist and Veterinarian with the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Department of Clinical Sciences at Colorado State University
  

Wednesday, Sept. 1

Topic:  Hear an overview of how the different weather patterns are affecting the United States and find out what’s in store for fall and winter. Episode presenters include:

• Eric Snodgrass, Principal Atmospheric Scientist, Nutrien Ag Solutions

Thursday, Sept. 2

Topic:  Gain insight on the latest news and analysis of agricultural markets and trends that will impact dairy producers and ag industry. Episode presenters include:

• Dan Basse, Economist and President, AgResource Company

All Dairy Signal episodes are available to the public at no cost, with current and past episodes accessible through www.pdpw.org. For more information, contact PDPW at 800-947-7379 or by emailing mail@pdpw.org. Follow along digitally in advance of and during the sessions by following @dairyPDPW and using #TheDairySignal on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

Professional Dairy Producers (PDPW) is the nation’s largest dairy producer-led organization of its kind, focusing on producer professionalism, stakeholder engagement and unified outreach to share ideas, solutions, resources, and experiences that help dairy producers succeed.