The Bullvine

The Bullvine
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Welcome to the official podcast of The Bullvine, where we dive deep into the world of dairy farming and the people behind the scenes. Each episode is crafted to serve your passion for dairy excellence, bringing you the latest updates, expert interviews, and inspiring success stories from the industry. Whether you're a seasoned farmer, a genetics enthusiast, or simply curious about the dairy sector, our podcast promises to keep you informed and engaged with its firsthand knowledge and relevant insights. Join us in revolutionizing dairy farming, one story at a time!

  1. E565 Holstein Canada Has Six Months of Cash. HAUSA Has Twenty. The 2030 Math Isn’t Close.

    16 MINS AGO

    E565 Holstein Canada Has Six Months of Cash. HAUSA Has Twenty. The 2030 Math Isn’t Close.

    Holstein Canada closed 2025 with $6.89M in reserve. Holstein Association USA sits on $30.5M. One can absorb a contract shock. The other just took unlimited borrowing power. Holstein Canada runs on roughly six months of operating cash and has posted operational deficits in five consecutive years averaging $147,000 — the books only stay positive because investment income covers the gap. HAUSA holds about thirty years of runway. The Bullvine Podcast walks the four-scenario reserve math, the two DFC-linked contract risks, and the camera bet that decides HAUSA's relevance. What You'll Learn Why HC's $1.01M 2025 "surplus" was called a ghost by CEO Greg Dietrich at the AGMHow losing the DairyTrace customer-service role under Lactanet turns a $584K deficit into $3.5MWhy proAction Cattle Assessments ($1.147M in 2024) is the second contract risk on a tighter clockWhat HC's 2026 volume target actually closes — and what it doesn'tWhy HAUSA's Build a Better Cow camera system hasn't survived a commercial winterThe April 2026 bylaw rewrite that handed HC's board unlimited borrowing power on a 0.8% votePer the HC 2024 Annual Report, classification revenue works out to $23.06 per Holstein cow classified. A 200-cow herd pays roughly $4,600 a year for that service. Members deciding whether their breed association is still a partner or has become a competitor for the same data, the same dollars, and the same producer attention need this math in front of them before the next AGM. We name the contracts, the counterparties, and the questions the board hasn't answered. Full article and sources: https://www.thebullvine.com/breed-association-news/holstein-canada-has-six-months-of-cash-hausa-has-twenty-the-2030-math-isnt-close/ Subscribe for straight-talking dairy analysis. Share this with a producer who needs it.

    33 min
  2. E564 Closed Since 1956: 4 Master Breeder Families and a $54,665 Inbreeding Bill

    18 HRS AGO

    E564 Closed Since 1956: 4 Master Breeder Families and a $54,665 Inbreeding Bill

    Lactanet just put Holstein heifer inbreeding at 9.99%, and on a 500-cow herd, that gap models out to $54,665 a year in lost milk alone — before fertility, embryo loss, or longevity drag. For two decades the pitch has been "buy what you can't breed." Four families said no. The Bullvine Podcast walks through Larenwood (closed since 1956), Bokma's seven-robot Master Breeder operation, Brigeen Farms (working the same Maine ground since 1777), and Quebec's Saintour — and the barn math the open-catalog model quietly hands the average herd. What You'll Learn Why 99% of active Holstein AI bulls still trace to two foundational sires born in the early 1960sHow the Doekes and Makanjuola coefficients turn 1% of inbreeding into 80–108 lbs of lost milkWhy closing the gates doesn't fix the problem — curating the bull list doesWhat a 9.0–9.5% EPI cap and HH1 through HH6 blocking look like in practiceWhy springing-heifer prices near $3,010 and a 47-year low replacement inventory change the closed-herd math in 2026The 30-day mating-software audit any open-catalog herd can run before the next semen orderOn a 1,500-cow herd carrying two extra points of inbreeding, the modeled hidden tax — milk drag, modeled abortion and embryo losses, and 20 to 30 extra replacements at $3,010 each — lands somewhere between $90,000 and $180,000 a year. Closed herds with disciplined sire rotation pay a fraction of that. The point isn't that closing the herd erases inbreeding — it's that these breeders are the ones who actually know what they're paying. Full article and sources: https://www.thebullvine.com/genetics-breeding/closed-since-1956-4-master-breeder-families-and-a-54665-inbreeding-bill/. Subscribe for straight-talking dairy analysis. Share this with a producer who needs it.

    22 min
  3. E563 $3,010 Heifers and the $40,000 Calf Program Math You’re Not Running

    1D AGO

    E563 $3,010 Heifers and the $40,000 Calf Program Math You’re Not Running

    A 4% pre-weaning mortality rate buries about $27,000 a year on a 500-cow herd. At 5–6%, it's past $40,000. Still calling your calf program "good enough"? This episode of The Bullvine Podcast breaks down the barn math nobody's running. U.S. dairy replacement heifers are at their lowest level since 1978. CoBank projects an 800,000-head shortfall over 2025–2026. Replacements are pushing past $3,000 a head — and every calf dying in the hutch row is a four-figure hole in a pipeline you can't easily refill. What You'll Learn Why "two for $5" bull calves became $3,010 heifers — and what changed in 24 monthsHow a $30 calf program quietly bleeds $27,000–$40,000 a year out of a 500-cow herdThe Penn State math: $42–50 extra per calf vs. saving 1–2 heifers per 100 bornWhy 20–40% of calves still fail passive transfer — and the Brix line that fixes itThe breakeven point where better colostrum and nutrition pencil at $3,010 per headThe single question that exposes whether anyone really owns your calf barnThis is the economics conversation most dairies aren't having. With NAAB data showing 33% of semen on U.S. dairy cows is now beef, the heifer pipeline is the tightest it's been in nearly 50 years. The episode walks through four paths producers can take this month — including a 30-day colostrum audit using a Brix refractometer that costs less than one-tenth of a dead heifer. Full article and sources: https://www.thebullvine.com/farm-economics-management/3010-heifers-and-the-40000-calf-program-math-youre-not-running/ Subscribe for straight-talking dairy analysis. Share this with a producer who needs it.

    33 min
  4. E562 World Dairy Expo Is the Benchmark. These 10 Other Shows Are Worth Your Passport.

    2D AGO

    E562 World Dairy Expo Is the Benchmark. These 10 Other Shows Are Worth Your Passport.

    It's 6:47 in the morning. You're standing in a barn that smells like fresh shavings, tail adhesive, and possibility. Your back hurts. You've slept four hours. The coffee is bad. And somebody you know is on a beach right now, holding a drink with an umbrella in it. You're not jealous. In eleven hours, the senior three-year-old class is going to hit the colored shavings. The crowd will lean forward as one organism. And you'll feel something that no swim-up bar has ever delivered. That feeling has a name. We finally gave it one. And once you understand what it costs, what it pays back, and where in the world it hits hardest — you'll never plan a vacation the same way again. The Story You'll Hear The morning a Wisconsin barn went silent for a Senior Cow class — and why 53,000 people from 95 countries flew in just to watch itThe cow in Hokkaido who literally couldn't stand eight weeks before her show, and how she walked out and won supreme anywayWhy The Royal in Toronto isn't "almost" Madison's equal — and why that argument needs to endThe night Cremona stopped being Swiss Expo's heir and quietly took the throneThe volcano that frames the cattle in Ecuador, and the show almost nobody's booked yetThe Brazilian arena where the crowd reacts to a structural placing like she just scored in the 89th minuteThe Atlantic island 1,500 km from anywhere where the udders still show upThe Punjab show where 300,000 people walked through in three days, and the Class Winner was paraded like a soccer finalThe Kiwi sleeper that international judges admit, on record, blew them awayThe breeder who sold his non-dairy wife on Cremona, then watched her start booking the AzoresThe honest math nobody runs — and why one mating decision a year can pay for the whole tripThis episode isn't a travel guide. It's a permission slip. Permission to admit that the best week of your year doesn't happen on a beach. Permission to call it what it is — continuing education, marketing, R&D, mental reset — and stop apologizing for the airport. Permission to plan your year around a ring instead of a resort. The truth is, every serious breeder eventually faces the same private accounting: a new mixer wagon costs $40,000 and won't text you a photo of a Senior Cow class twenty years from now. A trip to Madison, Cremona, or Hokkaido costs a fraction of that — and rewires how you see every cow you walk past for the rest of your career. We talk to the kind of people who plan their year around judging cards. The breeders who budget showcations the way other people budget cruises. The young breeder who wrote "continuing education" in the farm budget at 22 and came home permanently sharper. The Canadian who turned a Madison-and-Cremona double into an Agroleite-and-Ecuador double the next year, because — his words — "if I'm already halfway there." The full long-form feature — every show, every insider note, the full Showcation Cheat Sheet, and the math that pays for the trip — is up now at https://www.thebullvine.com/show-reports/world-dairy-expo-is-the-benchmark-these-10-other-shows-are-worth-your-passport/. Subscribe to The Bullvine Podcast wherever you get your podcasts so you don't miss next week's episode. Forward this one to the breeder in your group chat who's been saying "someday" since 2023. You can keep the beach loungers and the cruise buffets. For the rest of us, the best vacation on earth still starts with loading the trailer. We'll see you ringside.

    48 min
  5. E561 Burt Haugen Came Home From Vietnam in ’68 to Milk Cows. He’s One of the 0.4%.

    3D AGO

    E561 Burt Haugen Came Home From Vietnam in ’68 to Milk Cows. He’s One of the 0.4%.

    Veterans make up 9% of US agricultural producers, but just 0.4% choose dairy. This systemic gap leaves 3,700 leadership-tested workers behind. On this episode of The Bullvine Podcast, we explain why the industry is bleeding elite talent. The issue is not the 24/7 schedule; veterans avoid management chaos and tribal knowledge. By evaluating the structural discipline of producers like Burt Haugen and Air Force vet Adam Jackanicz, we show how importing military protocols solves your labor pinch. • Why a 4 a.m. milking schedule isn't what scares disciplined veterans away • The shift required to turn tribal knowledge into written, repeatable protocols • How to execute a three-question After-Action Review to stop repeating mistakes • The hiring edge sitting inside the 50,000-member Farmer Veteran Coalition pool • Why a veteran-grade buddy check vocabulary addresses crew mental health risks With 67% of dairy executives naming talent as their top priority, the industry is ignoring a major workforce pool. We explore real-world operations from a small Washington organic dairy to a 10,000-cow herd in Florida managed by Air Force Reserve Public Health Officer Adam Jackanicz. Transitioning from verbal culture to written systems secures an operational edge, fixing single-point-of-failure management defects. Full article and sources: https://www.thebullvine.com/people-legacy/burt-haugen-came-home-from-vietnam-in-68-to-milk-cows-hes-one-of-the-0-4/Subscribe for straight-talking dairy analysis. Share this with a producer who needs it.

    25 min
  6. E560 Maughlin Storm Built the Modern Holstein Cow. He Also Hid a Killer in Her Pedigree.

    5D AGO

    E560 Maughlin Storm Built the Modern Holstein Cow. He Also Hid a Killer in Her Pedigree.

    Born August 1991 from a $4,400 heifer calf in Rockwood, Ontario, Storm became the most copied type sire of his generation — Class Extra at C.I.A.Q., father of Stormatic, Titanic and Talent, maternal grandsire of Braedale Goldwyn. Then in July 2015, in a hotel conference room in Orlando, a researcher from VIT Germany clicked to a slide that traced every confirmed case of HCD calf mortality back to one bull. Same bull. This is how a forty-year cow-family story collided with a 1.3 kilobase fragment of DNA — and what the breed has done about it since. Storm's blood is in your barn right now. Goldwyn, Buckeye and Dolman together held roughly 12% of all Holstein registrations in 2008, and every one of those lines runs through Maughlin Storm on the dam side. Every refined topline you can run a hand along, every well-attached fore udder, every cow that walks correctly into a sixth lactation — Storm earned a piece of that. So did his great-granddaughters Bonaccueil Maya Goldwyn and RF Goldwyn Hailey, the Supreme Champions who owned the colored shavings at Madison from 2012 through 2014. But this episode isn't just about a great bull. It's about the moment the breed's eyesight finally caught up to its ambition. For thirty years, Holstein breeders chased a phenotype — refined, angular, fast-milking — without knowing that part of what they were chasing was the sub-clinical signature of a single defective copy of APOB. That's not a failure of the breeders. It's a failure of the tools they had. What changed in 2015 wasn't the breed's character. It was the breed's eyesight. Genomic sequencing finally got sharp enough to see what classification cards never could. The story of Maughlin Storm is the story of how the breed learned that what you can see is never the whole picture — and how genomics didn't replace the breeder's eye. It completed it. The full written history profile is live now at https://www.thebullvine.com/sire-spotlight/maughlin-storm-built-the-modern-holstein-cow-he-also-hid-a-killer-in-her-pedigree/ — including the HCD Code Quick Reference table, the practical 2026 mating playbook, and the photo essay tracing Storm's sons, grandsons and the Dewdrop cow family back to April Expectation Dewdrop in 1953. Subscribe to The Bullvine Podcast so you never miss a history episode. And share this one with anyone who's seen "Storm" in a pedigree without knowing the story behind it.

    46 min
  7. E559 $60 Silage, $220 Delivered: The 28% Hidden Premium on a 500-Cow Bunker

    6D AGO

    E559 $60 Silage, $220 Delivered: The 28% Hidden Premium on a 500-Cow Bunker

    A 500-cow Southwest dairy booked corn silage at $60/ton. Shrink-adjusted, the cows ate $220/ton DM — $0.89/cow/day, $162,000 a year, before milk hit the tank. The harvest report looked clean. RFV solid, CP in range, NDF in the window. The high group stalled anyway. The Bullvine Podcast walks through the three-layer trap: shrink as a ghost line, DM drift accelerated by 2026 Southwest heat, and group misallocation that feeds your best forage to dry cows. Then the 90-day fix that closes about 63% of the leak. What You'll Learn Why a "good" lab sheet hides 5–17% silage shrink and 12–40% wet-byproduct shrinkHow $60/ton silage becomes $220/ton DM once shrink and DM drift get honestWhy one NDFd unit is worth $2.40–$4.86/ton DM in lactating cows and zero in far-off dry cowsThe four-step, $25,200 walkthrough on 500 cows in a single quarterWhen 8% feed-cost-per-cwt drift means the problem is upstream of the rationWhat the 30/90/365-day playbook changes by the next harvestMost ration software prices forage on invoice and stale book DM. Re-price on shrink-adjusted DM and ingredients that looked cheap fall off the inclusion list. Allocate by digestibility, retest the bunker face — not the harvest core — and a 500-cow Southwest herd captures roughly $0.56/cow/day in 90 days. That's not a forecast. That's barn math your lender is already watching. Full article and sources: https://www.thebullvine.com/farm-economics-management/shrink-adjusted-forage-cost-500-cow/ Subscribe for straight-talking dairy analysis. Share this with a producer who needs it.

    44 min
  8. E558 The $427,500 Diesel Hole McCarty Locks Shut Before January 1

    MAY 14

    E558 The $427,500 Diesel Hole McCarty Locks Shut Before January 1

    A 50-cent diesel move costs a 19,000-cow dairy $427,500 a year. McCarty Family Farms books roughly 90% of next year's diesel before January 1 — and the playbook scales to 500 cows. With U.S. retail diesel at $5.64/gallon as of May 12, 2026 — up 61% year-over-year — fuel risk is now a lender conversation, not just a line item. This episode breaks down McCarty's three-pillar hedging system: proactive layering, historical benchmarking, and mitigation over speculation. We walk through the barn math on a 50-cent move ($11,250 on 500 cows, $112,500 on 5,000 cows), the hidden exposures a hedge doesn't cover, and the 30-day on-ramp you can start today with no working capital required. What You'll Learn: How a 50-cent diesel move translates to $0.09/cwt on a 200-cow herd — and why that tips marginal lenders from green to yellowThe three exposures that leak through even a 90% hedge: hauling adjusters, the processing paradox, and embedded energy in feed and partsWhy McCarty treats beating the spot price as luck, not skill — and books 20–25% layers across 18 months insteadThe Jan 1, 90% rule: how to layer forward gallons in quarterly increments without betting on one price pointWhat lenders are starting to ask for before renewing a line of credit — and the one-page energy-risk plan that improves your profileWhy pairing fuel hedging with DRP and LGM-Dairy is the only way to lock margin across all three legs: milk, feed, and energyThe FMMO Make-Allowance 2025 update trimmed an estimated $0.85–$0.93/cwt off Class III–IV values. Stack that with a $1.00 diesel move and you're looking at budget derailment, not inconvenience. McCarty's system — built with Compeer Financial economist Dr. Megan Roberts — shows how forward-booking diesel at any scale shrinks the surface area of things you can't control. Whether you're milking 500 or 5,000, the question is the same: where does your fuel coverage sit on January 1, and what are you changing this month to get it closer to 90%? Full article and sources: https://www.thebullvine.com/farm-economics-management/the-427500-diesel-hole-mccarty-locks-shut-before-january-1/ Subscribe for straight-talking dairy analysis. Share this with a producer who needs it.

    24 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Welcome to the official podcast of The Bullvine, where we dive deep into the world of dairy farming and the people behind the scenes. Each episode is crafted to serve your passion for dairy excellence, bringing you the latest updates, expert interviews, and inspiring success stories from the industry. Whether you're a seasoned farmer, a genetics enthusiast, or simply curious about the dairy sector, our podcast promises to keep you informed and engaged with its firsthand knowledge and relevant insights. Join us in revolutionizing dairy farming, one story at a time!

Information

  • Creator
    The Bullvine
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    564
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © The Bullvine 2024
  • Show Website
    The Bullvine

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