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. 4D AGO

    345 | From Farm Kid to Risk Advisor | Brandon Weigel on What Dairy Producers Are Missing

    At Central Plains Dairy Expo, Peggy Coffeen caught up with Ever.Ag risk advisor, Brandon Weigel, a Wisconsin farm-raised entrepreneur who started raising show pigs at 12 and later entered risk management through a 4-H club connection. Weigel explains his role managing grain sell-side risk, dairy feed buying risk, and beef-on-dairy price risk, contrasting grain cashflow-driven sales with year-round dairy feed purchasing. He discusses major industry shifts he has observed in his career thus far, including rapid growth in beef-on-dairy breeding and increased market volatility. Ever.Ag partners with dairy producers to build customized risk management plans that help protect margins in any market environment. With dedicated advisors, industry leading technology, and proven tools like Dairy Revenue Protection, we help farms reduce uncertainty and secure long‑term financial strength.  Learn more at https://ever.ag/. 01:40 Farm Roots and Show Pigs 03:44 Entrepreneurship at 12 04:08 4-H Connection to Ever.Ag 04:53 Job Shadow to Career 07:10 Day to Day Risk Advisor 08:39 Lessons and Mentors 10:51 Grain vs. Feed Strategy 11:41 Market Shifts and Volatility 14:07 Emotion vs. Fundamentals 15:50 2026 Outlook Beef and Feed 18:20 Rapid Fire and Wrap Up

    21 min

  2. 6D AGO

    344 | The Profit Gap: What Top Dairy Farms Do Differently

    On this episode of the UpLevel Dairy Podcast, Pauly Paul with Complete Management Consulting is back today to explain what separates thriving dairies from those in crisis. He says the biggest gap comes down to management, especially leaders who delegate but also work alongside employees rather than staying behind a desk. Pauly identifies three core differentiators: understanding financials and avoiding over-borrowing by reviewing budgets and financials monthly or quarterly; leading by example with consistent schedules, walkthroughs, and daily employee interaction; and getting “in the trenches” to understand tasks and improve efficiency, which can quickly turn farms from red to black when his team takes over management. He adds that profitable farms face hard truths and capitalize on opportunities like improving reproduction, semen handling, shot compliance, and breeding for higher-value “black calves,” which he estimates can add significant annual income. This Episode is Brought to you by Complete Management Consulting About Complete Management Consulting www.CompleteManagementConsulting.com⁠⁠completemanagementconsulting@gmail.com⁠920-418-3135 00:00 Why Some Dairies Win 00:49 Two Types of Calls 02:29 Management Makes the Gap 03:01 Hands On Leadership 04:26 Three Profit Drivers 06:06 Know Your Financials 09:05 Lead by Example Daily 10:45 Work in the Barn 12:18 Turning Farms Around Fast 14:15 Black Calf Profit Lever 17:46 Staying Ahead Long Term

    23 min

  3. MAY 7

    343 | The First 10 Years Back on the Family Farm: Growth, Grit and Gratitude with Zoey Brooks Nelson

    In this episode of the Uplevel Dairy Podcast, Peggy Coffeen is on-site at Brooks Farms with Zoey Brooks, nearly 10 years after Zoey returned to the family dairy, to discuss growing from 200 to about 700 cows and from four employees to a 15-person team. Zoey shares hard-won lessons about stepping into management, overcoming challenges, building a strong team culture and leading from within, while balancing roles as a young mother raising her children on the farm. She shares how her guiding motto - “Do it scared" - drives her to dig deep and dive in to make her dreams reality.She also highlights a business segment and creative outlet with Black & White Aged Cheddar, the premium aged cheese brand she and her sister Syndney launched during COVID by partnering with Union Star Creamery, made exclusively from Brooks Farms' milk.  This Episode is brought to you by AdisseoThis 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/ 01:38 Back Home at Brooks Farms 03:30 Scaling Up Fast 04:09 Failure Is Normal 05:06 Milk Drop Mystery 07:24 Hunting Stray Voltage 09:36 Managing Through Chaos 11:53 Building Team Culture 13:47 From Cow Work to People 15:21 Three Hats on Farm 16:08 Dairy Mom Office Life 17:36 Raising Kids on Farm 18:56 Leading by Example 19:27 Balancing Farm and Family 19:52 Tech That Makes It Work 22:04 Remote Sorting in Winter 22:47 Launching a Farm Cheese Brand 27:52 Black and White Story 28:34 Cheddar Focus and First Taste 30:05 Advice for New Brands 32:37 Growing Distribution Beyond Wisconsin 34:45 Next Decade on the Farm 36:18 Do It Scared

    38 min

  4. MAY 5

    342 | Announcing the 2026 National Dairy Shrine Award Recipients with Mike Opperman

    Today on the Uplevel Dairy Podcast, Peggy is joined by Mike Opperman from the National Dairy Shrine headquarters in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, to announce the official 2026 National Dairy Shrine award announcements and explain the committee-based nomination process. Make sure to tune in to hear who the winners in each category are! The winners will be recognized at the National Dairy Shrine Awards Banquet at World Dairy Expo, with tickets starting July 1, and honored in the Hall of Fame; Opperman also notes upcoming scholarship announcements, a May 13 webinar on internships, and the Sept. 28 banquet date. Learn more and register for events at https://dairyshrine.org/. 00:49 Dairy Shrine Origins 02:14 How Awards Are Chosen 04:16 Emerging Leader Award 10:47 Pioneer Award Honorees 15:52 Distinguished Breeder Winner 18:31 Guest of Honor Spotlight 21:37 Banquet and Hall of Fame 24:43 Scholarships and Webinar News

    30 min

  5. APR 30

    341 | Katie Burgess: The Dairy Risk Advisor Who Simplifies the Chaos

    Today's conversation on the Uplevel Dairy podcast was captured at the Central Plains Dairy Expo in Sioux Falls, where Peggy Coffeen interviews dairy risk management advisor and economist, Katie Burgess of Ever.Ag, about making dairy risk management simpler and more accessible. Burgess shares her Wisconsin dairy farm upbringing, ag business education, and path from UW Extension into Ever.Ag, emphasizing that effective risk management doesn’t require predicting markets or mastering jargon. She explains the main dairy insurance tools, Dairy Revenue Protection (DRP) and LGM Dairy, highlighting DRP’s daily availability, quarterly coverage, and fit for Class III and IV and high-component milk, versus LGM’s Thursday-only availability, Class III focus, and single- or two-month coverage, with a coming USDA change expected to allow using both in the same quarter. They discuss today’s volatility, export dependence, strong global supply, opportunities in milk and cattle values, and the farm lesson “make hay when the sun shines.” This episode is brought to you by Ever.Ag Ever.Ag partners with dairy producers to build customized risk management plans that help protect margins in any market environment. With dedicated advisors, industry leading technology, and proven tools like Dairy Revenue Protection, we help farms reduce uncertainty and secure long‑term financial strength.  Learn more at https://ever.ag/. 00:00 Risk Made Simple 02:09 Farm Roots in Wisconsin 03:10 Learning Risk Tools 04:21 Path to Ever Ag 06:36 Keep It Simple Strategy 07:42 DRP vs LGM Explained 10:25 Market Outlook and Action 11:27 Make Hay While the Sun Shines 12:35 Seeing the Whole Chain 14:41 Future of Dairy

    20 min

  6. APR 28

    340 | “Take Care of the Cow”: The Simple Philosophy for Driving Dairy Success

    On this episode of the Uplevel Dairy Podcast, Peggy Coffeen sits down with Dr. Cole Anderson of United Vet Services (Heritage Vet Partners) in Northeast Wisconsin to talk about his unconventional path into dairy veterinary medicine and the mentors who shaped it along the way.From early hands-on experiences to building long-term client relationships, Dr. Anderson shares his philosophy that great service and strong relationships matter more than being the lowest-cost provider. He also opens up about balancing family life with a demanding career, learning through challenges, and his next goal: helping dairy clients improve performance through deeper use of DairyComp and data-driven insights. 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 01:50 An Unlikely Vet Path 03:16 Mentors Open Doors 04:39 Ron Herb Relationship 08:43 Learning in the Truck 13:09 Service First Mindset 16:42 Teaching Students to Grow 18:55 Hard Lessons and Balance 22:10 More Mentors and Core Values 23:07 Driven Dairy Clients 24:52 Future Vet Service 25:27 Fundamentals Over Fixes 27:44 Cow First Principle 31:04 Family And Mentors 35:43 Practice Lessons Learned 38:06 Next Generation Growth

    46 min

  7. APR 23

    339 | From the Barn to the Board Room: Nathan Moroney on Technology, Trials and Dairy Farming in Texas

    On the Uplevel Dairy Podcast, Peggy Coffeen visits Del Rio Dairy in Friona, Texas, and interviews owner Nathan Moroney about how technology and expansion are reshaping modern dairying. Moroney describes a major expansion from a 3,500-cow double-45 parallel parlor to a 90-stall rotary with automated prep and post robots, sort gates, and collars, delivering significant labor savings and higher milking throughput. He recounts being one of the first herds to experience what became known as "bird flu" before the issue was identified through coordinated efforts with extension. He explains the Saudi-style barn system, manure handling that evolved into a digester started in 2021, water constraints driving efficiency and potential forage shifts, and the potential opportunities for integrating more AI in milking and feed management. Moroney also discusses regional processing growth, his new DFA corporate board role, and the need for workable labor policy reform. 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. 02:13 Rotary Expansion Automation 04:52 Bird Flu Ground Zero 11:34 Saudi Barn Workflow 14:09 Digester Renewables Economics 15:23 Next Efficiency AI Upgrades 19:58 One Feed Program Spotlight 20:28 Mobile App Workflow 21:04 Water Risk Planning 22:01 Reusing Water Efficiently 23:01 Alternative Forages Ahead 23:41 Texas Dairy Processing Boom 24:37 Milk Hauling Distance 24:46 Joining the DFA Board 26:15 National Dairy Outlook 28:55 Marketing and Data Shifts 29:57 From City to Dairyman 32:19 Traits Built by Dairy 35:52 Labor Reform Needs

    39 min

  8. APR 21

    338 | Dairy Farm Finances in 2026: What Smart Producers Are Planning for Q2

    How are your finances looking for Q2? In this episode of the Uplevel Dairy Podcast, Peggy Coffeen interviews Steve Schweoer of Compeer Financial on what financially strong dairy farms are doing in 2026 amid tight first-half cash flow, lower milk prices, and higher costs of capital. Steve notes many producers prepaid 2026 expenses in 2025, easing near-term pressure, and expects improved markets in the second half while emphasizing preparing during good times by building working capital and paying down lines of credit. He advises maintaining a three-to-five-year capital replacement plan using “needs vs. wants,” evaluating land purchases case by case, and not letting taxes drive decisions. Key profitability levers include beef-on-dairy and managing net herd replacement cost, feed efficiency and ration cost, strong components and herd health, disciplined capital spending, and low employee turnover. He urges producers to know their cost of production, keep a consistent operating model, and bring lenders and advisors a long-term plan including risk management and family goals. 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 01:17 Cash Flow Cycles Ahead 03:02 Needs vs Wants Capital 05:11 Land Buying Decisions 06:36 Cost of Capital Squeeze 08:17 Beef on Dairy Boost 11:07 Feed Efficiency Levers 12:48 What Profitable Looks Like 15:04 Tech Investments Timing 17:36 Lender Talks and Planning 19:34 Disciplines for Stability 21:50 Know Your Cost Production 23:16 Stick to Your Model

    25 min
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4.8
out of 5
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
    341
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 868329
  • Show Website
    Uplevel Dairy Podcast

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