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. E495 The Invisible Architects: How George Wiggans and Paul VanRaden Helped Double Your Herds’ Genetic Gain

    11H AGO

    E495 The Invisible Architects: How George Wiggans and Paul VanRaden Helped Double Your Herds’ Genetic Gain

    You know Net Merit. You sort by it. You build your breeding program around it. But you've probably never heard the names of the two men who built the system that generates every number on every sire proof in North America. George Wiggans grew up milking cows on a dairy farm in Aurora, New York. Paul VanRaden was a 16-year-old DHI supervisor earning $2.20 an hour weighing milk for neighbors in Iowa. Neither planned to spend 38 years in the same government lab. Neither expected their math to reshape an entire industry. But from a quiet USDA facility in Beltsville, Maryland, they built the evaluation infrastructure that today drives billions of dollars in genetic decisions worldwide — and doubled the rate of genetic progress almost overnight. This is the story of how the most influential team in your barn never milked a single one of your cows. The Story You'll Hear: The calculus grade that sent a farm kid down a hallway to meet the professor who changed his lifeTwo years in Laos during the Vietnam War — and the unlikely path back to dairy geneticsWhy the "goat guy" at USDA ended up rebuilding the entire cattle evaluation systemThe moment a microscope slide with 50,000 markers made daughter proofs obsoleteThe calves that never arrived — how their math uncovered lethal genetic combinations hiding in plain sight for decadesAn industry that swore by daughter inspections forced to accept that DNA was a better answerThe $135,000 question: what genomic selection is actually worth to a 300-cow herd every decadeA Pioneer Award in Madison — and the man who retired from USDA only to walk across the hall and keep workingDr. George Wiggans and Dr. Paul VanRaden are not salesmen, AI marketers, or celebrity geneticists. They are career scientists who spent nearly four decades building the system you use every single day — the Net Merit formula, the genomic prediction model launched in January 2009, and the haplotype research that found lethal recessives your mating software now flags before you make the cross. Before their genomic evaluations went live, genetic progress was roughly $40 per cow per year. Since 2010, it has been $85. That delta is real money in real bulk tanks on real farms. Their story is a reminder that the most transformative forces in this industry don't always stand at a podium or appear in a catalog. Sometimes they sit behind a computer screen for 38 years, quietly rewriting the math underneath everything. Read the full article, "The Invisible Architects of Your Herd's Genetic Gain," at https://www.thebullvine.com/dairy-industry-professionals/the-invisible-architects-how-george-wiggans-and-paul-vanraden-helped-double-your-herds-genetic-gain/. Subscribe to The Bullvine Podcast so you never miss the stories behind the numbers that drive this industry. Have a story of your own? Reach out on Facebook or Instagram — because every herd has an invisible architect somewhere in its history.

    35 min
  2. E494 The 1,113 kg Question: Does Dairy Calf Starter Consistency Really Affect Lifetime Production?

    1D AGO

    E494 The 1,113 kg Question: Does Dairy Calf Starter Consistency Really Affect Lifetime Production?

    Every kilogram of preweaning gain is linked to 1,113 kg of additional milk in first lactation. That's not a projection — it's peer-reviewed Cornell University research, published in the Journal of Dairy Science and reconfirmed by a 2025 meta-analysis of 18 independent studies. So why are most operations still buying calf starter primarily on price? This episode challenges one of the most overlooked assumptions in calf-raising: that meeting tag minimums is good enough. We dig into the science of rumen microbiome development, the real cost of feed inconsistency, USDA health benchmarks most herds are still missing, and the barn math that makes this a genuine economic decision — not a marketing pitch. KEY TAKEAWAYS Why 1,113 kg of first-lactation milk per kilogram of preweaning ADG keeps showing up in study after study — and what it means for your herd's lifetime revenueHow rumen bugs colonize in the first weeks of life, why that microbial foundation appears to stick through multiple lactations, and what happens when feed ingredients shift every few weeksThe real USDA NAHMS numbers on calf morbidity (33.8%) and why digestive illness accounts for over half of all preweaned heifer health eventsWhere current DCHA Gold Standards sit — under 10% scours, under 15% pneumonia, 97%+ survival — and how top operations are already beating themThe economics of a 400-calf operation: what $1,200–$2,400/year in additional feed cost could return in milk yield, treatment savings, and weaning weight uniformityThree pointed questions to ask your feed supplier that reveal whether you're buying consistency or commodity — and why neither answer is automatically wrongThe connection between preweaning growth and lifetime milk production is no longer debatable. Cornell's original research has been validated repeatedly, most recently by a meta-analysis combining 18 studies across diverse herds and management systems. What remains less settled — and what this episode tackles head-on — is whether the consistency of your calf starter formulation meaningfully moves the needle beyond just hitting nutritional minimums. We walk through the biology of rumen adaptation (research shows microbiota need days to three-plus weeks to adjust when diets change), the USDA benchmarks that reveal where the industry actually stands on calf health, and a practical economic framework you can apply to your own operation tonight. A California calf manager shares how tracking her weaning weight coefficient of variation — a metric most producers never calculate — revealed a drop from 14% to under 9% within four months of switching to fixed-formulation starter. This isn't a sales pitch for premium feed. The episode also covers when feed consistency probably isn't your highest-priority investment and offers a five-step assessment framework so you can decide based on your own data, not someone else's projections. The full article with the complete economics table, supplier evaluation questions, transition timeline, and assessment framework is available a https://www.thebullvine.com/management/nutrition/the-1113-kg-question-does-dairy-calf-starter-consistency-really-affect-lifetime-production/. Research citations referenced in this episode include Soberon & Van Amburgh (Journal of Dairy Science, 2012), the 2025 Journal of Dairy Science meta-analysis, USDA NAHMS Dairy 2014, and Schären et al. (Frontiers in Microbiology, 2017).

    25 min
  3. E493 9.99% Inbreeding and Rising: How Blondin Sires Turned a Holstein Bottleneck into 75% Growth

    2D AGO

    E493 9.99% Inbreeding and Rising: How Blondin Sires Turned a Holstein Bottleneck into 75% Growth

    The day Dann Brady pulled his herd’s inbreeding report, the number on the page didn’t match the cows in his head. On paper, they were elite: high indexes, big genomic promise, all the “right” sires stacked three deep. In the barn, he was watching fertility slip, mastitis cases creep up, and young cows that never made it to the kind of mature cow he’d grown up loving. Everyone told him this was just the price of progress. Instead of accepting it, he did something that went against every “play it safe” instinct in dairy: he stopped trusting the catalogs, walked away from the standard contracts, and started building his own stud from the ground up. This episode follows what happened next—and why it might change the way you look at the genetics flowing through your own bulk tank. The Story You’ll Hear The quiet moment in the office when an inbreeding number on a report made Dann realise his “elite” herd was carrying a hidden bill.Why flipping through major AI catalogs felt less like choosing sires and more like choosing the same bull in twenty different jackets.The conversation where he and his partners finally said out loud, “If we can’t buy the bulls we want, we’ll have to make them ourselves.”What it really looked like—financially and emotionally—to hang a new stud code on the wall and wait to see if anyone would trust it.The first time a customer called back, not to complain, but to say, “These daughters are different,” and what that did to their belief in the model.How it felt to stand at World Dairy Expo holding three Premier Sire banners and know they’d built that success with cows and cow families most catalogs had ignored.The late‑night doubts about whether boutique genetics could ever stack up against three global powerhouses—and the data that finally answered that question.The moment Dann realised this wasn’t just about his own herd anymore, but about giving other farms a way to buy genetics that actually matched their values and risk tolerance.Every dairy farm has that tension between chasing the latest proofs and protecting the kind of cow that actually survives in your system. Dann Brady’s story puts a human face on that conflict. Before he became the co‑founder of Blondin Sires, he was in the same spot as thousands of producers: trusting big‑name bulls, watching inbreeding creep up, and wondering why his replacement pen didn’t look like the glossy semen catalog. Whether you’re running 80 cows or 8,000, wrestling with semen contracts, or just uneasy about how tight Holstein bloodlines have become, you’ll hear a story that speaks to the same question you’re asking: how do you keep moving forward without sacrificing the future of your herd? Want to go deeper into the numbers, the bulls, and the business model behind this episode? Visit https://www.thebullvine.com/a-i-industry/9-99-inbreeding-and-rising-how-blondin-sires-turned-a-holstein-bottleneck-into-75-growth/ to read the full feature on Dann Brady and Blondin Sires, along with data‑driven articles on inbreeding, independent studs, and breeding for long‑term profit. If this episode sparked something—made you pull a report, question a contract, or rethink what “genetic progress” really means—hit follow on The Bullvine Podcast and share it with someone else who’s making big decisions in dairy. Have your own story of pushing back against the status quo in genetics or herd strategy? Reach out through The Bullvine website or tag The Bullvine on social media. Your next hard‑won lesson might be the one that helps another farmer sleep better at night.

    36 min
  4. E492 Steve Jobs Never Soldered a Circuit: How His Mac Playbook Can Free 988 of Your Hours and Add $24,000 to a 200‑Cow Dairy

    3D AGO

    E492 Steve Jobs Never Soldered a Circuit: How His Mac Playbook Can Free 988 of Your Hours and Add $24,000 to a 200‑Cow Dairy

    The most profitable dairy farms don't have cheaper labor. They have better systems. Cornell's 2024 Dairy Farm Business Summary revealed something that should stop every herd owner mid-stride: top-quartile and bottom-quartile farms pay their workers roughly the same — about $60,000 per year. The difference? Top farms extract 1.7 million pounds of milk per worker. Bottom farms: 1.2 million. Same cost. Forty percent more output. This episode breaks down exactly why — and what Steve Jobs has to do with your pregnancy rate. In this episode, you'll learn: Why the owner who milks every shift is the single biggest bottleneck on most dairies under 500 cows — and the math that proves itHow Teagasc data shows 19 hours per week separating top and bottom quartile dairies on nearly identical herd sizes (112 vs. 113 cows)The "Milker Trap" — and Dr. John Fetrow's reproductive economics showing a 6-point pregnancy rate gap costs $24,000/year on a 200-cow herdWhat a 606-cow operation in North Devon, England did to hit a 25% pregnancy rate — top 5% nationally — with just two people running the rotaryWhy buying a robot without building protocols first means you've purchased a guilt machine, not technologyThe Steve Jobs principle applied to dairy: why designing the system always beats being the hardest worker inside itA 4-step framework to transition from grinding to designing — starting with a 30-day test any herd can run this monthMost dairy management advice tells you to work smarter. This episode tells you to work on a fundamentally different job. The data is clear: Cornell, Teagasc Moorepark, and the University of Minnesota all point to the same conclusion — the gap between top and bottom performers isn't genetics, facilities, or labor cost. It's how the owner spends their hours. We walk through the real-world case of Wayside Dairy in Wisconsin, where 17 years of protocol building and team development took pregnancy rates from 18% to 33% before a single sensor was ever installed. CowManager ear tags caught the last five points to 38%. The foundation came first. The tech amplified it. Ten years from now, the herds still standing will be owned by designers — not the "hired milker in chief." This episode helps you figure out which one you're training to be. Visit https://www.thebullvine.com/management/steve-jobs-never-soldered-a-circuit-how-his-mac-playbook-can-free-988-of-your-hours-and-add-24000-to-a-200%e2%80%91cow-dairy/ for the complete article with all the Cornell data, the Wayside Dairy case study, and the 4-step playbook. Subscribe to The Bullvine Podcast wherever you listen so you never miss an episode. And if this one made you rethink how you spend your hours — share it with a fellow producer who needs to hear it. Join the conversation on Facebook and tell us: what's the one task you know you should hand off but can't bring yourself to let go of? That clocks in at just under 3,900 characters, leaving a small buffer for any link formatting Apple Podcasts might require. The structure follows a hook → bullet takeaways → deeper context → CTA flow that Apple Podcasts listeners expect, while keeping every claim grounded in the specific data from the article — Cornell DFBS, Teagasc, and Fetrow's reproductive economics.

    32 min
  5. E491 The $8,100 Gamble on Missy, 198 Dragged Genes, and the 20-Year Breeding Blind Spot Hiding in Your Herd

    4D AGO

    E491 The $8,100 Gamble on Missy, 198 Dragged Genes, and the 20-Year Breeding Blind Spot Hiding in Your Herd

    In 2003, Matt Steiner called into a Wisconsin sale barn and bid $8,100 on a cow the room had already written off. Wesswood-HC Rudy Missy EX-92 went on to reshape Holstein genetics for two decades. But the same genomic engine that made Missy a global brood cow was quietly dragging 198 fertility genes and 67 immunity genes in the wrong direction — and nobody caught it for 20 years. This episode unpacks where the same pattern is building right now, what it's costing you per cow, and exactly what to do before your next mating run. KEY TAKEAWAYS How genomic selection doubled genetic gain but simultaneously eroded fertility, immunity, and heat tolerance through genetic hitchhiking — and why no one noticed until billions in damage was done.The barn math most producers haven't run: why the $5,070 in extra annual milk revenue from faster genetic gain may be nearly canceled out by $4,800–$6,400 in hidden inbreeding costs on a 200-cow herd.Why your cows now start losing production at a THI of 69 instead of 72 — and why better fans and sprinklers may be masking a genetic deterioration that's quietly building your next fertility crash.What the December 2025 evaluations revealed: 22 of the top 30 NM$ bulls from a single program, and what that concentration means for the breed's long-term resilience.Four specific breeding decisions you can make this month — with the honest trade-offs attached to each one.This episode goes deeper than the headline numbers. University of Minnesota researchers maintained an unselected Holstein control line alongside the national population from 1964 to 2004 — same barn, same feed, different genetics. The selected cows gained 79% more milk and lost 30 additional days to conception. Genome-level analysis revealed the mechanism: genes for reproduction and immunity sitting near milk-boosting alleles got swept along for the ride. The estrogen receptor gene ESR1 dropped from 0.45 to 0.13 frequency. Nobody selected against fertility. It just happened. Now consider this: U.S. Holstein inbreeding climbed from 5.7% in 2010 to 15.2% by 2020. CDCB estimates the cumulative cost to the national herd at $6.7 billion. Each 1% of inbreeding costs $23–25 off lifetime Net Merit per cow. And outside Australia, virtually no country selects directly for heat tolerance — even as the genetic threshold for heat stress keeps dropping. The episode walks through four action paths grounded in real data: confirming you're on the 2025 NM$ revision with its 17.8% feed efficiency emphasis, requesting ROH-based genomic inbreeding from your genetics provider, diversifying sires across multiple AI organizations, and using productive life and livability as indirect heat-tolerance filters. Each comes with a specific trade-off so you can make the call that fits your operation. This isn't theoretical. It's the question the fertility crash should have taught us to ask in 1985: what am I not measuring that's already costing me money? The full feature article with all research sources, barn math breakdowns, and the complete action checklist is live at https://www.thebullvine.com/genetics/the-8100-gamble-on-missy-198-dragged-genes-and-the-20-year-breeding-blind-spot-hiding-in-your-herd/. Subscribe to The Bullvine Podcast wherever you listen so you never miss an episode. Share your thoughts and your own herd data with us on Facebook and Instagram — we want to hear what blind spots you're finding in your own breeding program.

    31 min
  6. E490 Ginger Rogers: The Oscar Winner Who Bet It All on Golden Guernseys

    6D AGO

    E490 Ginger Rogers: The Oscar Winner Who Bet It All on Golden Guernseys

    Ginger Rogers poured her Oscar money into 32 Golden Guernseys on a thousand acres of Oregon riverfront — then lost them all to a world war. In 1941, while still the highest-paid actress in Hollywood, Rogers and her mother Lela bought a ranch on the Rogue River, built a Jamesway milking parlor from scratch, joined the American Guernsey Cattle Club, and began shipping 150 gallons of rich golden milk a day to soldiers at nearby Camp White. The wartime labor crisis killed the dairy within two years — but the breed she chose, and the bet she placed on premium components and A2 genetics, turned out to be eight decades ahead of its time. Key Moments: How a tap-dancing Academy Award winner ended up with electric milkers and a 12-cow Guernsey parlor in southern OregonThe skeptic who joked her livestock would "probably consist of nothing but bees" — and how Rogers answered himWhy she chose Golden Guernseys over Holsteins in 1941, and what that choice looks like in hindsightThe Camp White contract: 150 gallons a day, bacteria counts of 900 to 1,200 on raw milk, and a wartime market that vanished as fast as it appearedThe moment the labor shortage forced her to sell the herd — and the five decades she held the land anywayHow today's A2 Guernsey micro-dairies are finishing what Rogers started, from Promise Valley Farm in Canada to Pleasant Meadow Creamery in IdahoThe Guernsey breed Rogers chose in 1941 now sits at the center of a global A2 milk market projected to reach nearly $8 billion by 2034. Over 80% of tested American Guernseys carry the A2A2 genotype, and every Guernsey sire in AI service tests 100% A2A2. The butterfat, the protein, the golden color she was bottling for soldiers — those are the exact traits driving a new generation of small-herd, direct-to-consumer dairies that sell at three times conventional prices. The full written profile — with rare LIFE Magazine photos, the 1943 Jamesway ad, and an original Rogers' Rogue River Ranch milk bottle — is live now at https://www.thebullvine.com/breeder-profiles/ginger-rogers-the-oscar-winner-who-bet-it-all-on-golden-guernseys/. Search "Ginger Rogers" to read the complete story. Subscribe to The Bullvine Podcast so you never miss a history episode, and share this one with someone who'd appreciate knowing that the woman who danced with Fred Astaire also milked Guernseys at dawn.

    27 min
  7. E489 Gold Medal Margins: Italy Turns Less Milk into €22.8B. You’re Stuck at $18.95.

    FEB 13

    E489 Gold Medal Margins: Italy Turns Less Milk into €22.8B. You’re Stuck at $18.95.

    USDA’s latest outlook pegs 2026 all‑milk at about $18.95/cwt while full‑cost breakevens for many progressive herds sit closer to $19.50–$20.50. At the same time, the region hosting the Milano‑Cortina Winter Olympics is turning less milk into over €22.8 billion in dairy revenue. This episode asks a blunt question: if Italy can grow value on shrinking volume, why are so many North American farms still betting survival on commodity milk checks? Key Takeaways · Why $18.95/cwt milk against $19.50–$20.50/cwt breakevens bakes a loss into many 2026 budgets before you start. · How Parmigiano‑Reggiano and Comté use PDO rules, quotas, and consortia to deliver 2.23× value premiums and 32% higher farm profitability than non‑GI neighbors. · The hard economics of four paths: component optimization, solo farmstead cheese, regional consortium models, and demographic‑driven specialties like Hispanic cheese. · What Italy’s quota‑plus‑brand system does differently from U.S. FMMO pooling and Canadian supply management — and why “organized scarcity” can either protect stability or build premium. · Real‑world case studies from Jasper Hill, Uplands Cheese, Gunn’s Hill, and European PDO consortia that show where value‑add works, where it fails, and what it demands in capital and risk. · Six hard questions every dairy operator should ask before spending another dollar: breakeven, structural $/cwt gap, processor options, neighbor collaboration, processing build‑out, and GI politics. This is not another generic “value‑added is nice” conversation. We start with the math that’s rewriting 2026: USDA’s February WASDE lifting all‑milk to $18.95/cwt, USDA‑ERS cost‑of‑production data showing full economic costs around $19.14/cwt even for large herds, and Bullvine break‑even ranges of $19.50–$20.50/cwt for many mid‑size operations. Then we put that next to Italian and French data: Parmigiano‑Reggiano hitting €3.2 billion in 2024 turnover with 9.2% volume growth, PDO products averaging 2.23× value premiums, and Comté‑zone farms posting a 32% profitability advantage and dramatically slower attrition than non‑PDO farms. For links to the full “Gold Medal Margins” feature, supporting data, and related articles on milk price, margins, genetics, and strategy, visit https://www.thebullvine.com/dairy-markets/gold-medal-margins-italy-turns-less-milk-into-e22-8b-youre-stuck-at-18-95/.

    30 min
  8. E488 From 1,810 Dairy Farms to 18: How North Dakota’s Processing Collapse Cornered the Holle Family – and Could Corner You

    FEB 12

    E488 From 1,810 Dairy Farms to 18: How North Dakota’s Processing Collapse Cornered the Holle Family – and Could Corner You

    North Dakota lost 99% of its dairy farms in under four decades. If you think that can't happen where you milk, this episode is for you. In 1987, North Dakota had 1,810 dairy farms. As of early 2026, just 18 Grade A operations remain — the steepest collapse of any U.S. state in modern history. This episode tells the story through the Holle family at Northern Lights Dairy, a 1,000-cow Holstein operation near Mandan that now hauls milk five hours one way to a plant in Minnesota, several times a day. When we asked what comes next, the family's answer was brutally honest: "We don't know what we are going to do." That single sentence is the starting point for a deep dive into the structural forces killing family-scale dairy — not just in North Dakota, but across the Upper Midwest and beyond. KEY TOPICS EXPLORED: How two plant closures — Prairie Farms Bismarck (Sept 2023) and DFA Pollock (Aug 2024) — broke the state's milk marketing chain overnightThe real freight math: Upper Midwest hauling charges jumped 30% in one year, and North Dakota now carries the highest average in Federal Order 30Why USDA's new make-allowance increases (effective June 2025) hit remote producers dollar-for-dollar while processors in dense regions claw some backThe $23.56/cwt cost gap between herds under 50 cows and herds over 2,000 — and what that means for mid-size operations caught in the middle"Inside the fence vs. outside the fence" — a framework for determining whether your problem is operational or structuralSix hard diagnostics you can run on your own operation this week, including freight exposure to your second-nearest plant, basis tracking, and debt service stress testsFour strategic paths forward: scaling up, building a defensible niche, investing in processing, or planning a deliberate and profitable exitWhy January 2026 Class III hit $14.59/cwt — the lowest since April 2021 — and what the 2026 price outlook means for producers already on thin marginsThis isn't just a North Dakota story. Wisconsin has lost nearly half its dairy farms in a decade and is now down to roughly 5,100 active herds. The same physics — thinning processing density, stretching routes, weakening basis — are running in Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and beyond. The Holle family's crisis is a live diagnostic for every family dairy in America: if a 1,000-cow, fifth-generation operation doing everything right inside the fence can't see a clear path forward, what does that tell you about your own struc The full feature article with every source, data table, and the complete six-point diagnostic framework is live at https://www.thebullvine.com/dairy-markets/from-1810-dairy-farms-to-18-how-north-dakotas-processing-collapse-cornered-the-holle-family-and-could-corner-you/ If you're wrestling with any of the decisions discussed in this episode — freight, succession, processing, exit planning — the Farm Aid hotline (1-800-FARM-AID) connects producers with local support services, and most state extension programs offer confidential financial counseling.

    28 min
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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
    494
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © The Bullvine 2024
  • Show Website
    The Bullvine

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