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

    367 | Golden E Dairy: Building Dreams From the Ground Up

    On the Uplevel Dairy Podcast, Peggy Coffeen visits with the family behind Golden E Dairy in Kewaskum, Wisconsin, where first-generation farmers Chris and Tracey Elbe describe building their dairy from a 64-stall stanchion barn and 250 acres into a self-sufficient enterprise milking 2,900 cows, raising calves, heifers, and steers on site, and operating grain handling and soybean roasting. Chris recounts starting at age nine with calves as pay, learning through hardship, and taking calculated risks to expand from tie-stalls to a parlor and freestalls, then a modern facility with a double-32. Tracey, a former X-ray tech, shares adapting from city life, raising four children who all stayed in the business, and the challenge of letting go during transition. They emphasize hard work, listening to experienced people, strong employees, communication through weekly meetings, and concerns about land costs driven by non-farm uses. 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.Visit https://www.compeer.com/specialists/dairy 00:00 From Nothing to Golden E 01:42 Chris Starts With Calves 03:07 Hard Lessons and Bankruptcy 03:54 Buying the First Farm 06:11 Tie Stall Grind to Parlor 07:23 Scaling to 2900 Cows 09:06 Tracey Finds Her Place 10:04 Raising Kids on the Farm 12:39 Family Roles and Mentors 16:54 Taking Smart Risks 20:39 Tech And Growth Strategy 22:20 Kids Roles On Farm 23:45 Weekly Meetings Transition 26:20 Big Dream Legacy 27:15 People Behind Success 29:56 Letting Go Of Control 33:57 Emotional Handoff Stories 37:05 Threats And Opportunities 39:06 Advice For New Farmers

  2. 6d ago

    366 | Service Before Self: A Dairy Veterinarian's Calling

    Today on the Uplevel Dairy Podcast, Peggy Coffeen talks with Dr. Jared Risser of Dairy Veterinary and Management Services in Goshen, Indiana, about dairy veterinary work as a service-driven career built on trust and relationships. Raised on a Lancaster County, Pennsylvania dairy farm, Risser moved to Indiana in 2017, now serves a 50-mile radius with dairies ranging from 10 cows to 4,000, and describes being a “jack of all trades” for many smaller farms. He shares the variety of his days—herd checks, calvings, surgeries, advisory meetings—and a memorable rabies-suspect euthanasia case requiring lab testing after human exposure. Risser discusses how farm technology, especially activity monitoring systems and AI-assisted data analysis, is improving health detection and management decisions, and reflects on gains in components and productivity, humility in practice, and modeling service for his four-year-old son who sometimes joins farm calls. 01:44 Jared’s Dairy Roots 03:41 Indiana Practice Bubble 05:21 Trust on Farm 06:15 Crazy Days on Call 10:02 Service Meets Tech 11:16 Data and AI Wins 13:09 Health Monitoring Shift 15:44 Future Production Limits 19:14 AI for Vets 20:52 Bringing Kids Along 25:04 Legacy of Service 26:45 Rapid Fire Wisdom 30:03 Relationships Beyond Cows

  3. Jul 28

    365 | When Cash Gets Tight—Leading Through a Cash Flow Crunch

    Today on the Uplevel Dairy Podcast, Peggy interviews Pauly Paul of Complete Management Consulting about dairy farms facing tight cash flow, growing accounts payable, and overwhelm. Pauly says recent pressure often comes from loan restructures leading to higher interest rates and larger payments, missed income opportunities such as capturing value from black calves, and the lack of a clear cash-flow plan. He describes farms that can make bank payments via milk-check autopay but fall behind with vendors, sometimes handing over the checkbook so he can prioritize payments and negotiate plans. Pauly emphasizes open communication, sharing complete financial information, and being willing to change rather than “buying” a solution with more equipment debt. His first steps are to increase income, cut expenses, and use on-hand inventory; tactics include improving breeding/conception, increasing milk output, streamlining labor, and negotiating vendor costs. He shares a turnaround story where a farm moved from possible liquidation to repairs and potential expansion. This Episode is Brought to you by Complete Management ConsultingAbout Complete Management Consultingwww.CompleteManagementConsulting.com⁠⁠completemanagementconsulting@gmail.com⁠920-418-3135 01:21 Why Farms Are Struggling 02:46 Real World Cash Flow Calls 05:27 Working With Vendors 07:12 Temporary Or Long Term 08:28 Common Money Mistakes 09:43 Three Step Stabilization Plan 11:44 Income Opportunities Fast 13:40 Communication And Pride 15:08 Turnaround Success Story 16:52 What Separates Winners

  4. Jul 23

    364 | What Every Dairy Producer Needs to Know About New World Screwworm

    This episode of the Uplevel Dairy Podcast features entomologist Dr. Mike Catangui, Ph.D., with MWI Animal Health, who discusses the return of the New World screwworm and why dairy producers far from the southern border must be on alert. He explains how the pest was originally eradicated from the U.S. in the 1960s but has now been detected in Texas and New Mexico. Dr. Catangui also notes that adult flies are harmless, but larvae hatch quickly after eggs are laid on wounds (especially calf navels) and feed on live flesh, potentially killing calves within days; bites from ticks and stable or horn flies can also attract egg-laying to any species, of any age. Dr. Catangui reviews prior eradication using the USDA’s sterile insect technique, emphasizes vigilance, wound inspection, and fly control, and outlines available preventatives/curatives plus insecticide sprays/foggers and pet treatments from MWI. Suspected cases should be photographed and reported to a veterinarian due to mandatory reporting and existing infestation zones. This episode is sponsored by MWI Animal HealthAt MWI Animal Health, we are your partner in animal health. Our people drive us to think forward every day. We are committed to working with you to identify cutting-edge solutions to your common challenges. We unite with innovators and manufacturers to provide access to products and solutions designed to help you find success in each aspect of your animal health business. Visit www.MWIAH.com 00:59 What Screwworm Is01:44 How Calves Get Hit03:09 Eradication History03:47 Dairy Risk Factors05:38 Spread Via Movement07:32 Climate And Vigilance10:09 Fly Control Tools11:35 Products For All Animals12:26 USDA Response Plan14:51 Suspected Case Steps16:53 Key Takeaways18:31 Fairs And Shows Advice

  5. Jul 21

    363 | Go All In: Lessons from an Idaho Dairy Nutrition Consultant

    Today on the Uplevel Dairy Podcast, Peggy Coffeen interviews Josh Peters of Standard Dairy Consultants about earning dairy producers’ trust without a dairy-farm background and why showing up and commitment matter. Peters shares his path from raising beef cattle, serving in the military, and working at Simplot to entering dairy nutrition, completing his bachelor’s and master’s degrees while feeding cows full time, and building long-term client relationships. He discusses early success achieving seven pounds of components, emphasizing that results come from aligning genetics, feeds, infrastructure, and management rather than simple fixes. Since moving to Idaho’s Magic Valley, he’s seen rapid facility upgrades like cross-vent barns that reduce environmental variability but expose management and labor challenges, making consistency the key competitive advantage. Peters explains using Milc Group feeding software to improve speed, accuracy, and data-driven problem identification, focusing his consulting on bottlenecks and overall profitability, and argues AI won’t replace on-farm people willing to walk cows and do the daily work. This Episode is Brought to you by the Milc Group Milc Group is a dairy software company that brings real-time, actionable data to dairy farms across the world. They are dedicated to revolutionizing the dairy industry with their user-friendly cloud-based software. ONE™ by Milc Group is our all-in-one app that brings together all the important aspects of your dairy together in one place. With products such as feed and animal management software, people training, dairy facility monitoring, and scale management, Milc Group is committed to providing producers with tools they need to succeed. 01:18 Show Up And Commit 02:29 Beef Roots To Dairy 03:56 Military Mindset 04:48 All In On Education 06:53 First Herd Breakthrough 10:22 Magic Valley Shift 15:38 Consistency Over Rations 17:49 Tech And Data Tools 19:28 Milk Group In Action 22:41 Profitability Metrics 25:52 Labor And Hidden Leaks 33:08 Peeling The Onion 36:28 AI Cant Replace People 38:34 Future Of Dairy

  6. Jul 15

    361 | The Biggest Mistake Families Make with Land with Will McKinley

    Today's conversation tackles one of the most emotional and misunderstood topics in farm succession planning: how do you provide for non-farming children without putting the future of the farm at risk? Will McKinley explains why "fair" doesn't always mean "equal" and shares practical strategies that allow farm families to care for every child while protecting the operation they've spent a lifetime building. From trusts and LLCs to long-term leases, purchase options, and structured buyout agreements, you'll learn how thoughtful planning today can prevent conflict tomorrow. Will also shares real-life success stories and heartbreaking cautionary tales that demonstrate exactly what happens when estate plans leave room for ambiguity. Whether you're actively planning your estate or simply beginning family conversations, this episode offers valuable insight into preserving both your farm and your family relationships. Contact Will McKinley at Menn LawWilliam-McKinley@mennlaw.com(920) 731-6631 Learn more at https://mennlaw.com/ 00:00 Why "Fair Isn't Always Equal" in Farm Succession 01:28 Understanding the Real Value—and Responsibility—of Inheriting a Farm 03:05 Using Trusts and LLCs to Protect Farm Assets 05:02 The Biggest Mistake Families Make with Farmland 06:15 Purchase Options, Long-Term Leases & Buyout Strategies 08:10 Why You Should Never Leave Rent Negotiations to Future Generations 09:48 Real Success Story: A Farm Family That Planned Ahead 12:58 When Poor Planning Forced a Farm to Shut Down 15:05 Good Intentions, Bad Estate Planning 17:16 Eliminating Ambiguity Before It Leads to Litigation 18:00 Three Questions Every Farm Parent Should Answer Before They're Gone

  7. Jul 14

    360 | Why Farm Transitions Fail with Will McKinley

    Today on the Uplevel Dairy Podcast, Peggy Coffeen interviews attorney Will McKinley of Menn Law in a three-part follow-up to the Farm Forward conference, focusing on why farm transitions fail and how to prevent it. McKinley cites two primary failure causes: economic infeasibility and psychology/communication breakdowns, including control issues and lack of confidence in successors; he shares examples where debt forced likely land sales and where strict post-death “guardrails” led a son to leave and the dairy to shut down. He emphasizes earlier planning, strong financial advisors, and tools like trusts with independent trustees. Discussing non-family key employees, he warns ownership success is about 50/50, urges transparency, cautions against rushed promises and mingling assets like cattle or equipment, and suggests alternatives such as higher compensation or limited real-estate partnerships. Make sure to tune in tomorrow and Thursday for parts two and three. Contact Will McKinley at Menn Law: William-McKinley@mennlaw.com (920) 731-6631 https://mennlaw.com/ Do you have a question on succession and farm transition you would like to hear Will answer on the Uplevel Dairy Podcast? Send your questions to peggy@upleveldairy.com 00:00 Why Transitions Fail 02:16 Two Failure Causes 02:40 Debt And Taxes Trap 03:52 Psychology And Control 08:08 Preventing Financial Failure 13:14 Trusts And Guardrails 16:18 Non-Family Partners 25:50 Avoiding Messy Entanglements

  8. Jul 9

    359 | Ask the Expert: Next-Level Dairy Cow Immune Support

    Today, Peggy sits down for an exclusive, 'Ask the Expert' feature with veterinarian Dr.Jan van Dijk of AHV discusses how common stressors in dairy cows, such as calving, transition, heat stress, pen moves, and high production, can disrupt immune function and lead to issues like metritis, mastitis, temperature spikes, reduced rumination, and lost milk that can affect an entire lactation. Dr. Van Dijk explains the damage caused by both overreacting and underreacting immune responses and introduces AHV’s Aspi, a plant-extracted immunomodulatory complementary feed given orally as a tablet/liquid or bolus, used proactively or reactively, with no milk withhold. In a farm comparison to an injectable nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory in monitored cows, Aspi lowered temperature more gradually but for longer, maintained activity, improved rumination, and greatly reduced repeat temperature spikes over 20 days. This episode is brought to you by AHV Your herd’s health is our priority. You get the best of both worlds: cutting-edge science and practical, hands-on support. With veterinary expertise and applied research behind every solution, you’ll have access to insights that matter. Delivered through our dedicated data service and backed by personal guidance from our on-farm consultants. Whether you’re making decisions in the barn or reviewing data, we’re here to support your goals—every step of the way. Learn more at https://ahvint.com/us/dairy-cows-calves. 00:00 Why Cow Stress Matters 00:48 Meet The Expert 01:22 Signs Of Poor Immunity 02:09 Over Vs Under Reaction 02:28 Introducing Aspi 03:06 How Aspi Is Used 04:06 On Farm Trial Results 05:17 Reoffending And Recovery 06:27 Future Of Immune Modulation 07:57 What Aspi Delivers

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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
    363
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 868329
  • Show Website
    Uplevel Dairy Podcast

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