Online series features panel discussions with leading veterinarians, academics and farmers

Professional Dairy Producers® (PDPW), announces the line-up of speakers for week 56 of The Dairy Signal™. Episodes this week feature a focus on mental health for farm families, insights from farmstead cheese entrepreneurs, and a discussion of lung ultrasounding for calf health.

Amy Myrdal Miller, MS, RDN, FAND, Founder and President of Farmer’s Daughter Consulting, and Josie M. Rudolphi, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, will kick off May Mental Health Awareness Month with the latest research on farm mental health and recommendations for reducing stress.

May is also American Cheese Month, so Jake Feltz, Manager of Feltz’s Dairy Store, Ben Shibler, Cheese Manager and Head Cheesemaker at Ponderosa Farmstead, and Alise Sjostrom, Co-Owner/Head Cheesemaker at Redhead Creamery and Co-Owner at Jer-Lindy Farms, will share their experiences in farmstead cheese operations.

Dr. Jason Kroll, Livestock Veterinarian at Lodi Veterinary Care, and Sherri Meinholz, General Manager at Blue Star Dairy Farms, will provide insights on the use of ultrasounding for detecting pneumonia in calves and practical tips for implementing in herds.

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.

Dennis Frame, owner of Timber Ridge Consulting, and Eric Cooley, Co-Director of Discovery Farms, joined The Dairy Signal on April 27 to discuss the evolution of nutrient management plans to meet individual farm goals as well as productivity and environmental targets, and provided recommendations on creating plans with special considerations when working with tile drainage.  On April 28, Laura Raatz, Herd Manager and Calf Manager at Wagner Farms, and Christine Bender, Owner/Herd Manager at McFarlandale Dairy LLC, shared their experiences with moving to a “buddy system” in their calf housing program.

Dan Basse, Economist and President of AgResource Company, returned to The Dairy Signal on April 29 with his bi-weekly update and analysis of dairy market trends, news and weather.

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, May 4

Topic: May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Learn how farmers can reduce stress to combat mental health issues and why a healthy diet along with plenty of rest plays a role in overall mental health. Tune in to hear the latest research on farm adolescence and mental health.  Episode presenters include:

• Amy Myrdal Miller, MS, RDN, FAND, Founder and President of Farmer’s Daughter Consulting
• Josie M. Rudolphi, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering

Wednesday, May 5

Topic: Farmstead cheese operations are beginning to populate the countryside. As we celebrate American Cheese Month, hear the story of these entrepreneurs and managers as they share their experiences establishing and maintaining their businesses, from quality control to traceability.

Episode presenters include:

• Jake Feltz, Manager of Feltz’s Dairy Store
• Ben Shibler, Cheese Manager and Head Cheesemaker at Ponderosa Farmstead
• Alise Sjostrom, Co-Owner/Head Cheesemaker at Redhead Creamery and Co-Owner at Jer-Lindy Farms

Thursday, May 6

Topic:  Ultrasounding allows you to look at calf lungs for evidence of damage from calfhood pneumonia and provides information quickly. Discover how ultrasounding works and why it’s a beneficial tool for dairy producers.  Episode presenter includes:

• Dr. Jason Kroll, Livestock Veterinarian at Lodi Veterinary Care
• Sherri Meinholz, General Manager at Blue Star Dairy Farms

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.