Uplevel Dairy Podcast

Peggy Coffeen

What does it take to be a successful, profitable and competitive dairy farm business? This is the podcast for dairy owners, managers and advisors who are after their next level of success. Join Uplevel Dairy host Peggy Coffeen each week as she sits down with the industry’s leading dairy producers and thought leaders for real conversations about business, management and leadership.

  1. 1d ago

    355 | Leadership Across Generations: Creating a Dairy Business Built to Last

    For nearly 150 years, Four Cubs Farms in Grantsburg, Wisconsin, has been built on a simple principle: people matter. In this episode of the Uplevel Dairy Podcast, Peggy Coffeen sits down with Gary and Cris Peterson, their son Ben Peterson, and Dairy Manager Nathan Brandt to explore the leadership, culture, communication, and innovation that transformed a small family dairy into a thriving 1,000-cow operation. From succession planning and employee engagement to genomic testing, feed efficiency, and building trust across generations, this conversation offers valuable lessons for dairy producers looking to create resilient businesses that can thrive well into the future. Whether you're navigating farm transition, building a team, or looking for ways to strengthen your operation's culture, this episode delivers practical insights from a farm that has successfully blended family values with modern dairy management. 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. 02:00 – Growing from 60 cows to 1,000 cows 03:00 – Roles and responsibilities within the farm team 05:00 – Cris Peterson's journey from city girl to dairy advocate 09:00 – Leadership transition and bringing in outside talent 10:00 – Nathan Brandt's path into dairy and Four Cubs Farms 13:00 – Building a team with complementary strengths 14:00 – Innovation through feed systems and grain storage 16:00 – Genetics, genomic testing, and future herd growth 20:00 – Nutrition strategies for today's high-performing dairy cows 24:00 – The role of culture in farm success 27:00 – Trust, communication, and employee retention 30:00 – Creating clarity, consistency, and rhythm across the operation 32:00 – Succession planning, growth, and preparing for the future

    35 min

  2. 6d ago

    354 | Lessons from a Father-Daughter Vet Duo: The Next Generation of Dairy Care

    Today on the Uplevel Dairy Podcast, Peggy Coffeen visits with father-daughter veterinarians Dr. Paul Meagher and Dr. Amanda Onan of United Veterinary Services in Northeast Wisconsin about how dairy practice evolved from reactive emergency work to proactive, team-based consulting. Dr. Paul shares his path from a North Dakota dairy farm to nearly 40 years in mixed and large-animal practice, mentors who emphasized prevention, and lessons learned from top producers: the right mindset and decision-making with a consultant team, high-quality forages, and consistency. Dr. Amanda reflects on riding on after-hours calls as a child, emphasizes aligning larger dairy crews around shared goals, and predicts AI-driven tools such as calving-detection cameras and expanded monitoring. They discuss communication, humility, and “living in the light” through positivity and learning from negatives. This episode is brought to you by Heritage Vet Partners. Heritage Vet Partners is the nation’s leading veterinary partnership, specializing in mixed and large animal practices.  Heritage Vet Partners provides a unique partnership model that preserves local practice legacies, serving dairy and other livestock producers and companion animal owners through shared services, data, and strategic growth. Learn more at HeritageVetPartners.com 02:10 Paul's Path to Practice 03:16 Mentors and Preventive Shift 04:59 Amanda's First Farm Call 06:45 Supporting Her Vet Dream 08:55 Learning From Top Producers 10:44 Three Keys to Success 16:54 From Firefighting to Consulting 19:20 Data and Record Analysis 24:15 Future Tech and AI 27:32 Family Support and Grandpa Life 30:04 Lessons Living in the Light

    38 min

  3. Jun 16

    353 | The Young Dairy Manager Changing Herd Health One Insight at a Time

    Shelby Jacquier Washburn, is a fourth-generation dairy farmer and managing partner at Laurel Brook Farm in East Canaan, Connecticut, describes returning from an equine business program during COVID to help manage a 1,500-cow herd and 1,800 acres each of corn and hay/haylage while raising all young stock. In today's conversation, she explains how accepting a 200-tag Nedap trial led to whole-herd collars (Nedap Now) that detect health issues 12–24 hours earlier via rumination, eating time, and milk deviations, informing earlier treatment and culling decisions, identifying lameness, and paying back about half the system cost in a year through reduced hospital time. Data prompted diet changes for fresh cows, improved heats and overall cow brightness, new transition protocols (moving pre-fresh cows two days before due date) that boosted colostrum supply, and heat-stress monitoring that revealed the parlor as a hotspot, leading to added evaporative cooling, fans, and water. This episode is part of the High-Performance Mindset Series powered by Nedap. Nedap is future-proofing dairy farming with smart technologies in activity monitoring, cow locating, milk metering, sort gates, and AI-powered camera systems. Nedap is improving life on the farm by putting the right cow in the right place at the right time, every time. 00:47 Meet Shelby Jacquier Washburn 01:14 From Horses to Dairy 03:41 Collars Across the Herd 05:03 The 200 Tag Leap 07:11 Fresh Cow Insights 09:08 Diet Tweaks Big Wins 11:18 Transition Monitoring Shift 12:20 Colostrum Turnaround 14:32 Heat Stress Hotspots 16:48 What's Next in Tech 21:16 Future in Connecticut

    24 min

  4. Jun 11

    352 | Redefining What Leadership Looks Like on the Dairy with Annie Vannurden

    How do you lead multiple dairy operations, oversee teams across several states, and still make it home for supper with three young children waiting for you? In this episode of the Uplevel Dairy Podcast, Peggy Coffeen sits down with Annie Vannurden, Managing Partner and COO of Silver Streak Dairies, part of the Pace Ag Group. Annie shares what it takes to create consistency across multiple dairy sites while building a culture centered around accountability, communication, employee development, and cow care. From managing site leaders and implementing systems that support growth to navigating the realities of motherhood while pursuing ambitious business goals, Annie offers practical insights for dairy producers, managers, and anyone leading teams in agriculture. Whether you're growing a dairy business, building leadership skills, or trying to balance family and career, this conversation is packed with actionable lessons and honest reflections from someone living it every day. This episode is brought to you by Zoetis. As the world’s leading animal health company, Zoetis is dedicated to helping producers achieve healthy animals, healthy dairies and healthy food through their world-class portfolio. For more information, visit ⁠DairyWellness.com.⁠ 01:42 Meet Annie Van Irden 01:59 Inside Pace Ag Merge 03:43 COO Day To Day 06:52 Consistency Across Sites 10:18 Clarity And Communication 12:55 Maturity And Priorities 13:52 People Wins And Expansion 17:49 Work Hat Home Hat 22:06 Boundaries And Presence 26:32 Mentors And Influence 31:44 Support System At Home 35:13 Planning Routines Calendar

    37 min

  5. Jun 9

    351 | Robots, Faith and Resilience: Transforming Tradition at Silver Spirit Farm

    Today on the Uplevel Dairy Podcast, Peggy sits down with Sam Fessenden, a Cornell dairy science graduate with a PhD focused on the CNCPS model who worked with nutritionists globally before partnering with his wife Brenda and her parents, Craig and Cathy, to rebuild dairying at their Southeast Minnesota site. In this conversation, Sam shares early mentorship near Cornell, how consulting and barn tours informed their tech-forward design, and how they converted a former 70-stall stanchion operation into a 120-cow, sand-bedded, two-robot, largely automated free-flow barn launched in 2020 while welcoming their first child. He discusses feeding non-pelleted homegrown corn through robots, lessons from managing cows daily (manure observation and feed inventory realities), choosing open-minded advisors, patience in growth decisions, guidance for generational transition, resilience through cost control, extra acres, and value-added black calf raising, and how faith and family motivate raising three kids on the farm. This Episode is brought to you by Adisseo 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/⁠ 01:44 Sam’s Dairy Roots 05:31 Cornell Mentors and Models 08:42 From Consulting to Minnesota 09:24 Rebuilding the Dairy Site 11:49 Designing a Robot Barn 13:45 Automation and Feeding Hacks 16:32 Consulting Lessons Applied 19:02 Choosing the Right Advisors 21:25 Patience and Farm Values 23:17 Succession and Growth Plans 26:14 Resilience and Black Calves 30:46 Family First and Faith

    34 min

  6. Jun 4

    350 | Ice Cream, Show Cows and Family Values: The Vandoske Dairy Farms Story

    Today, Peggy Coffeen visits Bob and Tara Vandoske at Vandoske Dairy Farms in Cleveland, Wisconsin, to discuss how their 700-cow family dairy farm has grown into diverse business segments, including County Line Creamery, an on-farm ice cream store with viewing windows and open barn access, and a cattle boarding/show-cow facility. They share the farm’s multi-generational history, their three children’s roles (including show involvement and work responsibilities), and how these ventures create next-generation opportunities and consumer connection. Bob explains the creamery grew from COVID-era interest in local food, progressed through careful planning, and started by bringing in products rather than processing milk. They describe the boarding business’ unexpected growth, recent dairy facility upgrades including a new double-12 parallel parlor, and the importance of faith, teamwork, and relationships. NutriQuest nutritionist Jeff Rortvedt, highlights the farm’s multiple enterprises and Bob’s investments in cow care and the future. This episode is brought to you be NutriQuest. The NutriQuest Dairy Nutrition Team is a group of experienced nutritionists committed to serving dairy producers by partnering with them to develop an un-biased, customized nutrition program that delivers maximum profitability, achieved through a holistic approach, engaging in all aspects that influence nutrition program success. The NutriQuest Dairy Team is committed to serving the dairy industry and delivering their customers’ consistent results with a high return. Learn more at nutriquest.com/dairy-nutrition-solutions 01:49 Vandoske Farm Story 03:06 Kids and Farm Roles 04:51 Why Not 10000 Cows 05:33 County Line Creamery Idea 08:33 Planning the Build Out 11:05 Why Ice Cream Wins 12:27 Cattle Boarding Begins 15:37 Designing the Show Barn 18:11 Busy Saturdays and Events 21:02 Three Years of Rapid Growth 21:30 Heavy Decisions and Faith 21:51 Hardest Choices and New Roles 24:17 Dairy Upgrades and New Parlor 27:43 Raising the Next Generation 29:44 Future Plans and Tractor Time 35:25 A Nutritionist's Perspective

    38 min

  7. Jun 2

    349 | Earning Trust, One Tough Calving at a Time

    Today on The Uplevel Dairy Podcast, Peggy Coffeen talks with Dr. Kady Bennett of United Vet Services (part of Heritage Vet Partners) about her unexpected path from an Illinois corn-and-soybean upbringing and an early photography major to large animal dairy practice in Wisconsin’s Northwoods. Dr. Bennett explains how starting as a kennel tech, then experiencing large animal work (including castrating bull calves) led her to switch to animal science and pursue vet school, with dairy research helping solidify her focus. She describes her passion for solving problems ... from casting a calf's broken jaw to uncovering protocol issues with lung ultrasound. Dr. Bennett is on a mission to be the best vet she can be, with the help of great mentors, fellow vets and supportive dairy farm clients. Heritage Vet Partners is the nation’s leading veterinary partnership, specializing in mixed and large animal practices.  Heritage Vet Partners provides a unique partnership model that preserves local practice legacies, serving dairy and other livestock producers and companion animal owners through shared services, data, and strategic growth. Learn more at HeritageVetPartners.com 01:34 From Photography To Cows 04:31 Earning Trust On Farms 08:45 Mentors And Backup 10:15 Problem Solver Mindset 11:22 Broken Jaw Calf Win 13:21 Calf Lung Ultrasound Data 17:16 Motivation And Relationships 18:46 Stepping Up Consulting 21:23 Advice For Future Vets 23:30 Creativity And Baking

    28 min

  8. May 26

    348 | The Future of Dairy Management: AI, Automation and Data-Driven Action

    Today on the Uplevel Dairy Podcast, Manny Salcedo, founder of the Dairy Performance Network (DPN), discusses how modern dairy management has shifted from simply managing cows and people to managing overwhelming volumes of data from multiple on-farm systems. Drawing on his background working on dairies and later founding DPN, he explains their consulting work and its tools, including Ida, an AI-driven application that lets farmers ask questions about KPIs, health events, reproduction, and predictive culling. And find out what Manny believes it will take for today's dairy managers to turn information into action through the power of AI and automation.This episode is brought to you by the Dairy Performance Network (DPN).DPN - Connecting people, cows, and technology. Learn more at Dpnconnect.com & dairystash.com00:00 Data Driven Dairy01:48 What DPN Builds03:20 Too Much Data04:52 Ida AI Assistant06:02 From Dashboards to Actions07:18 Why Manny Built This11:38 Pilot Farms, Real Questions13:20 Voice Commands Automation17:42 Future Integration Wave20:19 Next Gen Manager Skills

    28 min
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4.8
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33 Ratings

About

What does it take to be a successful, profitable and competitive dairy farm business? This is the podcast for dairy owners, managers and advisors who are after their next level of success. Join Uplevel Dairy host Peggy Coffeen each week as she sits down with the industry’s leading dairy producers and thought leaders for real conversations about business, management and leadership.

Information

  • Creator
    Peggy Coffeen
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    351
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 868329
  • Show Website
    Uplevel Dairy Podcast

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