If you have been waiting to sign on the dotted line for a renewable natural gas project, this episode is for you.Over the past 4 years, RNG companies have been knocking on the doors of dairy farms across the country, touting opportunities, along with long-term commitments. And our guest today has been involved on both the developer side and dairy producer side.Ty Rohloff, vice president of food and agribusiness with Compeer has reviewed at least 40 project proposals, and he joins us today to share his insights on:  The opportunities these projects can open up as an additional dairy farm income streamHow to evaluate both contracts and developersAnd the details you won’t want to overlook when making decisions for the long-term success and sustainability of your dairy farm. This episode is sponsored by Compeer Financial.Compeer Financial is a member-owned Farm Credit cooperative serving and supporting agriculture and rural America. Their dairy team brings world-class expertise and tailored solutions to support dairy producers’ financial goals and lending needs.For more information, contact: Compeer Dairy Industry Experts  Dairy Industry Articles: Gain knowledge from subject matter expertsNavigating the Dairy Industry Today: On-Demand Webinar Series Guest contact:Ty Rohloff 608-290-7326Ty.Rohloff@compeer.com

Know your opponent. I’ve heard this statement from dairy producers before. It’s all about evaluating a threat at hand, managing the risk and being prepared to act with urgency. And the opponent we are going to talk about today is the one that is on everyone’s mind: H5N1. If you want to hear from someone who has been helping dairies deal with this disease since the very beginning, what to watch for, ways to reduce risk and what to have in your arsenal to be ready to action should your dairy be facing the fight, keep on listening to this episode of the UPlevel Dairy Podcast. From the frontlines of H5N1, Randy Tapia has been assisting dairy producers in the Southwest and now across the country, as they deal with the disease first hand, or are preparing themselves for the potential of sickness hitting their herds. Randy grew up in the Texas dairy business, with his father at one point running 9,000 cows on three dairies near San Angelo, and he also spent many years as a dairy manager up in the Panhandle. An early adopter to rumination monitoring and other technologies, Randy stepped away from management to work in dairy tech before joining Amarillo-based Micro Technologies in the dairy solutions role he is in today. In this conversation, I’ve asked Randy to put on his dairy manager hat, as he walks us through: What to watch for: Rumination red flags Reducing risk factors around waterers Fast action to adjust the ration Treatments and immune support And Randy tells us how he would be preparing his team and what would be in his med room if he was a dairy manager right now. This episode is sponsored by Micro Technologies Micro Technologies innovates advanced, comprehensive & integrated technologies to help dairies produce a safe, wholesome product more efficiently and profitably. Disclaimer draft: This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as medical advice. We are not responsible for any losses, damages, or liabilities that may arise from the use of this podcast. For more information, visit: Microtechnologies.com

Karen Bohnert, editor of Dairy Herd Management and Milk Business, joins host Peggy Coffeen to celebrate dairy farm moms in this bonus Mother’s Day episode. Hear the incredible stories of the dairy farm moms who raised them, and the adversities they overcame to be examples of strength, sacrifice and resilience. And hear about some of the dairy farm moms who have set the bar for Peggy and Karen today. https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/upleveldairy/episodes/111--Intentional-Motherhood--Management-and-What-Matters-Most-with-Sarah-Daugherty-e2je88q

As we come up on Mother’s Day this weekend, I’ve asked Sarah Daugherty from Paramount Calves back to talk about being a mother of 6, and balancing a high-performing work life and a high-performing family life.  From performance pressure to kids’ sports to setting priorities and saying no, any mom or dad who pursues excellence both at work and at home will relate and can grab a few nuggets of wisdom from this honest conversation about hard things and what really matters.  This one hit home for me, and I think it will do the same for you.This episode is sponsored by Uplevel Dairy Podcast Founding Partner Adisseo, a global leader in nutritional solutions and premier provider of rumen-protected methionine for dairy producers who want to optimize milk production, capture more value from components, and maintain the health of their high-performing herds. Learn more at https://www.adisseo.com/en/

If you are spending way too much time on hiring new employees, training and retraining, only to keep experiencing the exhaustion of turnover, this episode is for you. And my guest today is a higher performer in deed: Sarah Daugherty, workforce development manager at Paramount Calves LLC, in Darlington, Wis. Sarah is going to tell you how she has saved herself the time and stress of constantly training new employees and the drag and drama of hard conversations to experiencing very little turnover and creating systems that support Paramount’s high-performing teams, which include 50 employees across three sites in Wisconsin and Kansas, who care for 25,000+ replacement heifers. And these 3 hacks you are about to hear aren’t fancy. In fact, all you need to do it yourself are a few pieces of paper. Keep listening to learn … The simple exercise Sarah walked herself through that has crafted the core of the culture at Paramount Calves The key benchmark she monitors for employee turnover And the hack she created with just four sheets of paper that changed the game on retention. If zero employee turnover and high performing teams is what you are striving for … I believe you will want to really take some tips from Sarah.  Bonus: And Sarah will join us again later this week to shift gears from management to motherhood. I’ve invited this mom of 6 back on for a special message for all the moms as we head into Mother’s Day! This episode is sponsored by Uplevel Dairy Podcast Founding Partner Adisseo, a global leader in nutritional solutions and premier provider of rumen-protected methionine for dairy producers who want to optimize milk production, capture more value from components, and maintain the health of their high-performing herds. Learn more at https://www.adisseo.com/en/

Meet Young Leader Ytsje Andringa, a driven woman whose path seems to always lead her back to the driver’s seat of a silage truck. Ytsje shares how she shifted her career course from health care to follow her heart back to her family dairy farm, Sunrise Dairy in Clear Lake, South Dakota. She’s the daughter of Dutch immigrants, oldest of 6 and a mother to 3. This Young Leader will blow you away with her determination to do hard things and go after her dairy farming dreams every single day. Hear about: The challenges she faces as a young dairy producer dealing with salespeople and managing employees three times her age The one skill set she believes she must develop to be successful as a dairy producer And a few fun silage truck-driving stories The Uplevel Dairy Young Leaders Podcast is the special podcast series for producers and professionals in the first 5 years of their dairy careers. Find it on the Uplevel Dairy Podcast, as well as its own platform, Uplevel Dairy Young Leaders on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube.

If data has turned into the time-consuming monster that is stealing your focus, delaying decisions and dragging down your progress, you will want to keep listening because I’ve got something important that could change the game for you on this episode of the Uplevel Dairy Podcast. Our guest understands these challenges because he was a dairy manager himself in Texas for well over a decade, who faced the same struggles: He wanted the right data, at his fingertips, integrated in a way that allowed him to use it as a tool to improve performance and move his dairy forward. And so he created his own solution: Dairy Performance Network.  Manny Salcedo founded DPN seven years ago, and you are about to hear: How Manny came up with his own solution for slaying that time-consuming data monster The story behind this customized software integration and data analytics system that connects people, cows and technology The results: Higher levels of employee engagement and hitting real performance benchmarks that make a difference to the dairy producer’s bottomline Follow DPN https://www.facebook.com/dairyperformancenetwork/https://www.instagram.com/dairy_performance_network/https://www.linkedin.com/company/dairy-performance-network/ Contact DPN 806-639-5166support@dpnconnect.comwww.dpnconnect.com

“How good can we get?” ​That’s a question high-performers ask themselves and the teams they lead every single day.It’s also a question Megan Schrupp, DVM, at NexGen Dairy in Eden Valley, Minnesota, uses to push the potential for cows, people and her dairy farming business.This 20-minute episode is the hot take from one of our most popular podcasts of all time, Episode #36: Full Potential Dairy Farming.Megan details how this question drives:- A culture of excellence among people- Data-driven decision-making to enhance transition, nutrition and reprodetailsThis episode is part of the High-Performance Mindset Series, powered by Nedap.Listen to Episode 36 for the full conversation with Megan here: https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/6H45sTWc4Ib

Meet the 28-year-old from Belgium who has embarked on a hands-on dairy farming journey around the globe.... Laurens Rutten challenged himself to dive into dairy on three continents, starting on a commercial grass-based dairy in New Zealand, then the world’s largest robotic dairy in Chile, and we catch up with him today on the third leg of his journey at Sunnyside Farms in New York. Laurens reveals the two critical questions he asked himself that spurred this adventure, and the lessons he is learning along the way and leaves us with some solid takeaways on blazing your own trail, defining your future and taking bold action. The Uplevel Dairy Young Leaders Podcast is THE podcast series for producers and professionals in the first 5 years of their dairy careers. Find it on the Uplevel Dairy Podcast, as well as its own platform, Uplevel Dairy Young Leaders on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.Join the Uplevel Dairy Young Leaders Facebook Group:https://www.facebook.com/groups/792440762650346/

As the US milk supply tightens, what opportunities and challenges are ahead for Class 3 and 4, as domestic demand lowers and exports pick up? Corn planters are starting to roll across the countryside, how might the early planting predictions impact your feed cost? That’s what we are covering today with Curtis Bosma in the HighGround Dairy Monthly Market Insights.  Find out how the markets are moving and how it could impact your bottom line. Grab Your April Market Report Here: https://marketing.highgrounddairy.com/producer-market-update-april-2024 About HighGround Dairy This episode is brought to you by HighGround Dairy provides global dairy market intelligence, insurance services, futures & options brokerage, and advisory programs to a diverse range of dairy market participants throughout the supply chain. Learn more at ⁠https://highgrounddairy.com/⁠ or email them at info@highgrounddairy.com Information shared in this podcast is for educational purposes and is not a solicitation to buy or sell commodities. Opinions expressed are current opinions as of April 17, 2024 at 11 a.m. CST and only represent the views of the speaker and not those of HighGround Trading, unless otherwise expressly noted.

Over the past 6 months or so, I’ve sat down with some pretty incredible people in the dairy industry. The owners and managers of excellent dairies and some of the most sought-after consultants who specialize in employee performance, training, and retention.  Many of these are conversations you’ve heard on the UPlevel Dairy Podcast, and you can certainly go back and listen to them all, but if you really just want some cliff notes, some common themes, and take-home points that tie together several of the best conversations we’ve had here on the topic of getting a new employee off the best start, so they can perform well for you, see a path for their own future by being part of your team for the long haul, that’s what you are going to get today on the UPlevel Dairy Podcast. My goal is to make it easy for you by pulling together some powerful shares from seven recent guests - some of the industry’s best owners, managers, and consultants. We are going to walk through three critical phases of employee retention, starting with: First, onboarding Next, uncovering individual potentialAnd finally, motivation - giving good people a reason to stay. I’m giving you some high-value nuggets from these recent Uplevel Dairy guests so you can raise your own bar own employee retention. Listen to the episodes of the ones mentioned on today's show below. 85 | 3 Keys to Maximize Profit and ROI from Your People: https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/vdFC7gRqPIb97 | Empowering People: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/upleveldairy/episodes/97--Women-Leading-the-Way-at-Pagel-Family-Businesses-Empowering-People-with-Ashley-Pagel-e2h3ng061 | Empowering Mid-level Managers, Cell Phone Policies & Team-Building Activities: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/upleveldairy/episodes/61--Empowering-Mid-level-Managers--Cell-Phone-Policies-and-Team-Building-Activities-with-Bridget-Schilling--Schilling-Farms-e2ctl7463 | One Question Most Progressive Dairy Managers are Asking: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/upleveldairy/episodes/63--The-One-Question-the-Most-Progressive-Dairy-Managers-are-Asking-with-Elsie-Gonzalez-Leach-e2d7bgm88 | 3 Steps to Set Up Middle Managers for Success: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/upleveldairy/episodes/88--3-Steps-to-Set-Up-Middle-Managers-for-Success--the-Dairy-Calf-and-Heifer-Association-Annual-Meeting-with-Clint-Al-Ag-e2ftu2292 | Pursuing Greatness: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/upleveldairy/episodes/92--Pursuing-Greatness-with-Hans-Nederend---Part-1-Secrets-to-World-class-Milk-Quality-e2gl91674 | 5 Principles of Leadership: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/upleveldairy/episodes/74--5-Principles-of-Leadership-with-Juan-Quezada--Director-of-Training-and-Development--Milk-Source-LLC-e2e6a9u

On this Uplevel Dairy Young Leaders Podcast, I’m turning the mic over to a trio of up-and-comers in dairy industry communications to interview three Dairy Challenge alumni who shared their experiences on a panel at the Midwest Dairy Challenge held in Green Bay, Wis., in February. Social media interns interview Dairy Challenge alumni: Nichole Gerard, Iowa State University student, interviews Crystal Prom, Cargill Torri Burch, Iowa State University student,  interviews Tony Schmitz, Schmitz’s East Branch Dairy  Irene Nielsen, Iowa State University student, interviews Liz Schiebelbein, Phibro Animal Health Torri and Irene talk about their Dairy Challenge experiences, as past competitors and social media interns Learn more about the Dairy Challenge: https://www.dairychallenge.org/ The Uplevel Dairy Young Leaders Podcast is the special podcast series for producers and professionals in the first 5 years of their dairy careers. Find it on the Uplevel Dairy Podcast, as well as its own platform, Uplevel Dairy Young Leaders on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube.

It wasn’t just their dairy farm on the line. It was their house too.  Pauly Paul from Complete Management Consulting is back to tell us how he helped one dairy family on the verge of losing it all turn around from bleeding red to a positive cash flow in 6 months.  Not only were they able to keep the farm and the house, but today, it is a financially sound business in the process of  transitioning to the next generation.  Find out how Pauly and his team: Lowered their breakeven  Reorganized labor Brought them back from a $500,000 loss to breaking even or better in 6 months This Episode is Sponsored by Complete Management Consulting Contact Pauly Paul www.CompleteManagementConsulting.com completemanagementconsulting@gmail.com 920-418-3135

No alcohol, 2-a-day workouts, following a diet, daily personal development reading and drinking a gallon of water … every day for 75 days. That’s 75 Hard, a transformative commitment for building mental toughness and self discipline, and these two Michigan dairymen just completed it, alongside the 4x4x48 endurance challenge from Episode 100.  Tommy Oesch from Swisslane Farms and Clare Alderink from Ryzebol Dairy are back to dish it out on what they did, what they read and how 75 Hard transformed their habits and their mindsets. Hear more from Tommy Oesch on the Uplevel Dairy Podcast Episode 100: 4 Miles Every 4 Hours for 48 Hours The 7,000 Cows in 7 Years Vision Finding Balance with a Big Vision - Part 1: Faith, Family and Dairy Farming Finding Balance with a Big Vision - Part 2: Health, Relationships and Accountabiity This episode is sponsored by Uplevel Dairy Podcast Founding Partner Adisseo, a global leader in nutritional solutions and premier provider of rumen-protected methionine for dairy producers who want to optimize milk production, capture more value from components and maintain the health of their high-performing herds. Learn more at https://www.adisseo.com/en/

Last year, Michigan dairyman Tommy Oesch from Swisslane Farms, told us right here on the Uplevel Dairy Podcast that he planned to complete David Goggins’ extreme 4x4x48 endurance challenge: That’s running 4 miles, every 4 hours for 48 hours. Today, Tommy is back and he brought his friend Clare Alderink, general manager at Ryzebol Dairy, to talk about the grueling physical and mental challenge they completed in March, and the surprising ways it’s made them better as dairymen, family men and friends. This episode is all about mindset: Self discipline Developing habits  Doing hard things If you are pushing for your next level of performance, I promise, this episode drops some real life wisdom and will leave you with a new vision of what’s possible for you too! Here more from Tommy Oesch on the Uplevel Dairy Podcast: The 7,000 Cows in 7 Years VisionFinding Balance with a Big Vision - Part 1: Faith, Family and Dairy FarmingFinding Balance with a Big Vision - Part 2: Health, Relationships and Accountabiity This episode is sponsored by Uplevel Dairy Podcast Founding Partner Adisseo, a global leader in nutritional solutions and premier provider of rumen-protected methionine for dairy producers who want to optimize milk production, capture more value from components, and maintain the health of their high-performing herds. Learn more here: Adisseo.com

Welcome to central Texas, where summer days exceed 100 degrees and heat stress is one of the greatest threats to cow health, reproduction and performance.  But since adding monitoring technology to their 1,250-cow herd last year, dairyman Hidde Osinga from Overwhere Dairy is using collar-collected data to: Find and treat compromised cows sooner Catch silent heats  Capture 15 percentage points on conception rate Find out how his team has learned to trust the system, and hear about Hidde’s excitement for the future of dairying in this episode, part of the High-Performance Mindset Series, powered  by Nedap.  Nedap is future-proofing dairy farms by revolutionizing cow-side care through technologies in activity monitoring, cow locating, milk metering and identification.  Find more episodes in Nedap’s High-Performance Mindset Series here: 4 High-Impact Actions to Create a Winning Farm Culture with Travis Speirs, Shiloh DairyDairy Tech in Texas: Managing 8,000 Cows with Activity Monitors featuring Nathan Moroney, Del Rio DairyProtecting His Price and Managing Risk with Nathan Moroney, Del Rio DairyManaging More Cows, More People and More Data with Derrick JosiFull-Potential Farming: Reaching the Highest Level of Performance with Cows and People through Technology with Megan Schrupp, NexGen DairyOlympic-level Business, Management and Mindset with Elle Purrier-St. Pierre and Jamie St. Pierre

We catch up with Curtis Bosma, vice president of producer services for HighGround Dairy, to hear about: Soybeans: All-time high crush capacity and largest carry in more than 15 years Managed money short covering corn and beans Domestic cheese demand slips while butter takes off Why are Texas dairy cows under the weather? Learn more and find market resources at https://highgrounddairy.com/This episode is brought to you by: HighGround Dairy provides global dairy market intelligence, insurance services, futures & options brokerage, and advisory programs to a diverse range of dairy market participants throughout the supply chain.Please note: Information shared in this podcast is for educational purposes and is not a solicitation to buy or sell commodities.  Opinions expressed are current opinions as of March 18, 2024, 12 p.m., and only represent the views of the speaker and not those of HighGround Trading, unless otherwise expressly noted.

In the final episode in this series with the women who are leading the way at Pagel Family Businesses, in Kewaunee, Wisconsin, we sit down with Ashley Pagel, human resources manager. Find out: Ashley’s transition from a career in health care to heading up human resources  How she has professionalized processes and paperwork Improving employee retention Compeer Financial is a member-owned Farm Credit cooperative serving and supporting agriculture and rural America. Our dairy team brings world-class expertise and tailored solutions to support dairy producers’ financial goals and lending needs.For more information, contact the Compeer Dairy Industry Experts .

We continue this 3-part series with the women who are leading the way at Pagel Family Businesses, in Kewaunee, Wisconsin.  Today, Chase Pagel debuts her new children’s book, Rosco’s Sweet Treats, a story that not only depicts modern dairy farming, but also a real-life tale of a steer raised by her daughter that had a taste for cupcakes and other treats. Chase talks about: How the challenge to find accurate dairy farm books to read to tour groups became her motivation How her family is her inspiration And the next books to come in this series. Rosco’s Sweet Treats is currently available for pre-order on Amazon. Follow Chase’s journey online: Dairy Diaries LLC on Instagram and Facebook Compeer Financial is a member-owned Farm Credit cooperative serving and supporting agriculture and rural America. Our dairy team brings world-class expertise and tailored solutions to support dairy producers’ financial goals and lending needs.For more information, contact the Compeer Dairy Industry Experts .

This week, we bring you a 3-part series, as we celebrate the month of March: the month of women’s history, international women’s day, as well as National Agriculture Day. What better way to do this than in Kewaunee, Wisconsin, at Pagel’s Ponderosa Dairy, with three very special guests from Pagel Family Businesses … three women who have risen to the challenge to be leaders … here at the dairy, in their community and far beyond.  This family has overcome hardship, in particular, the tragic loss of well-loved industry leader and the family’s patriarch, John T. Pagel, along with his son-in-law, Steve Witcpalek, six years ago. Yet, the family has rallied together to carry on a legacy and a business.  In this episode, Jamie Pagel Witcpalek, chairwoman of Pagel Family Businesses, opens up about loss, grief and moving forward.   Tune into the next two episodes in this series to hear from: Chase Pagel on Sharing Dairy’s Story Ashley Pagel on Empowering People Compeer Financial is a member-owned Farm Credit cooperative serving and supporting agriculture and rural America. Our dairy team brings world-class expertise and tailored solutions to support dairy producers’ financial goals and lending needs.For more information, contact the Compeer Dairy Industry Experts .