Progressive Dairy Podcast Progressive Dairy editors

As temperatures begin to rise, dairy producers know their cows are susceptible to heat stress. Even in relatively cool regions, heat stress can negatively affect cow comfort, health and performance. Stu Rymph, technical support dairy nutritionist for Purina Animal Nutrition, says understanding the visual signs of heat stress is the first step to developing strategies to help your cows cope with the heat. 


Q: What is heat stress and what are the visual signs?


Q: What are the effects of unmanaged heat stress?


Q: What abatement strategies do you recommend for heat stress management?  


Q: What nutritional strategies do you recommend to aid in heat stress abatement?


Q: Why is heat stress abatement important? 


To learn more about managing heat stress, talk with your Purina representative or visit purinamills.com.






Stuart Rymph, Ph.D., CCA, PAS


Technical Support Dairy Nutritionist


Purina Animal Nutrition


SJRymph@landolakes.com






This episode is sponsored by Purina Animal Nutrition.


Purina Animal Nutrition LLC is a national organization serving producers, animal owners and their families through more than 4,700 local cooperatives, independent dealers and other large retailers throughout the United States. Driven to unlock the greatest potential in every animal, the company is an industry-leading innovator offering a valued portfolio of complete feeds, supplements, premixes, ingredients and specialty technologies for the livestock and lifestyle animal markets.

In this episode of the Progressive Dairy Podcast, host Kimmi Devaney visits with Sara Talcott and Felice Thorpe about how to build a standout brand, when to stay local versus grow regionally or nationally, how to differentiate your brand story and much more as it relates to branding, sales and marketing.


Here’s a breakdown of the episode:


How does a brand become valuable to consumers? [~3:30]What are some examples of farms and agricultural brands that have done a great job marketing to consumers? [~4:50]What does it take to launch a standout brand? [~7:45]What role does conveying a compelling story have on brand loyalty and overall marketing? [~11:25]For farms considering diversification, what are some key skillsets that you’d recommend they either identify within their current team members or add to their team? [~17:35]How does social media and having an online presence impact marketing efforts? [~20:44]When is it advantageous to stay local and when should a brand consider branching out to reach a broader customer base? [~22:55]For existing brands, why is it important for them to nurture their current loyal customers base instead of only trying to attract new fans? [~25:30]Where do you see the most potential for growth within agricultural niche markets? [~27:30]Is there anything that you’d recommend avoiding or lessons learned that you’ve observed from some of the farms you’ve worked with? [~33:00]What else can dairy farmers do to differentiate themselves and build a loyal customer base? [~37:40]What are the first steps a producer who is interested in diversifying should take to set themselves up for success? [~42:30]Rapid-fire questions [~43:30]

In this episode, the experts from Central Life Sciences discuss ClariFly® Larvicide and the importance of fly control on dairy operations including biosecurity and employee retention (1:03), the threats of flies and the diseases they spread (3:33), fly audits on a dairy operation (7:11) and the importance of implementing an integrated pest management program (8:46).


This episode is sponsored by Central Life Sciences.


ClariFly® Larvicide protects from disease-carrying flies that feed on dairy cattle, including house flies, stable flies, face flies and horn flies. Adding this feed-through as part of an IPM program can have a major impact on dairy cattle productivity. As a feed additive, ClariFly® Larvicide is incorporated into an animal’s feed to stop flies in their larval stage. Adding this ingredient to their feed ration is all the work an employee needs to do to reduce disease-carrying fly populations on an operation.

In this episode of the Progressive Dairy Podcast, host Jenn Coyne visits with Brent and Nancy Wilson of Wilson Centennial Farms in Michigan. The couple and their sons, Tyler and Ben, work in partnership on the dairy and crop farm operation. Over the years, the Wilsons have been recognized for their dedication to milk quality and production, as well as regularly participating in cutting-edge industry research trials. Most recently, the family was honored as the 2023 Dairy Farm of the Year by Michigan State University’s Department of Animal Science. This episode explores the Wilsons’ legacy in the industry and their tactics as progressive dairy producers. 


Here is the breakdown of the episode:


How do you think the recognition as Michigan State University’s 2023 Dairy Farm of the Year epitomizes your dairy career and your family’s purpose as dairy farmers? [~1:13]How are the Wilsons all involved on the dairy? [~1:54]Wilson Centennial Farm is known for its superior milk quality and production. What credit can you give to your family and their expertise that helps you meet these benchmarks. [~8:04]What management tactic or approach has helped achieve the farm goals? [~9:56]Walk us through your dairy farming philosophy and how you guys have pivoted over the years to keep up with industry trends. [~13:33]Why such a strong relationship with MSU and your cooperative to participate in research trials and host student interns? What are the most recent projects you’re a part of? [~16:25]As a seventh-generation farm, how do you think your ancestors would react to progress you’ve made and the recognition you’ve received as a leading dairy farming business? [~20:55]What’s next for the Wilsons? [~22:07]How does the Wilson family make decisions for the future of the dairy? [~24:32]Rapid-fire questions [~26:12]





Contact Brent and Nancy Wilson, Wilson Centennial Farms at ndairy@cmsinter.net

How can you truly tell whether a feed additive is effectively delivering value? Dr. Bryan Welly of Fiscalini Farms in Modesto, CA describes a 6-month treatment/control trial conducted on farm with Galaxis™ Frontier. A wide range of outcomes were evaluated, including daily milk weights, pen level feed intakes, health events, culling, and fertility. The product far exceeded the goal of doubling the ROI (of milk alone), while delivering a significant improvement in feed efficiency, as well as providing other benefits.


This episode is sponsored by Native Microbials.


Native Microbials is a biotechnology company focused on improving animal health, nutrition, production, and sustainability through microbial products that use microbes native to the animal. Galaxis™ Frontier is currently available to dairy farmers.

In this episode of the Progressive Dairy Podcast, host Kimmi Devaney talks with California dairy farmer Richie Mayo, who is the chief financial officer (CFO) for DeJager Farms in California, about how technology has contributed to their overall sustainability efforts on the farm.


Here is a breakdown of the episode:


Mayo’s agricultural background and his role on DeJager Farms [~0:27]Examples of technologies that Mayo and his team have implemented to improve overall sustainability [~2:55]Why they chose subsurface drip irrigation [~5:15]Benefits of subsurface drip irrigation [~10:00]How system management has evolved since installation [~13:00]Available resources and assistance for dairy producers interested in installing similar systems [~18:05]How data collected from the technology is used in their management decisions [~21:20]Why sustainability matters to Mayo as a CFO [~22:55]What Mayo wishes more dairy producers knew about sustainability [~26:00]Rapid-fire questions [~28:05]