The Dairy Show

Fingers point when nitrate levels exceed acceptable limits in drinking water supplies. Often times they point at the "dairy down the road," when in fact, science can tell a far different story.  Today's guests on The Dairy Show, Dr. Fatemeh Vakili and Dr. Mike Sklash have made it their life's work to understand nitrate and how it interacts in our environment. Through their research, it is possible not only to identify the origin of...

When the global dairy industry meets in Madison, Wisconsin each fall, there are many stories to tell. More than 200 journalists travel to World Dairy Expo to report on the research and technology that is shared there.  They cover the recognitions bestowed upon the dairy cattle exhibited and the individuals honored for their skills and contributions to the industry.  Serving as hostesses in this busy Media Room and managing and repo...

The Quest for Genetic Improvement

Top shelf genetics put Oakfield Corners Dairy on the map. A robust ET and IVF program yields 7,500 to 8,000 embryos each year. Jonathan Lamb, joins us on The Dairy Show to discuss how genomics, index formulas and phenotypic data factor into matings that win in the showring and have worldwide appeal. 

In addition to managing more than 10,000 Holsteins in four facilities (three in New York and one ...

A Judging Dynasty in the Making

Winning dairy cattle judges not only accurately place the animals in a class, they also successfully “sell” those placings when they give oral reasons. Judging Coach Carrie Edsall, a born marketer, shares the valuable skills she has learned and in turn shares with her SUNY Cobleskill students and dairy judging team members on this episode of the Dairy Show. The SUNY Cobleskill teams have taken her ...

Annette Ostrom had an affinity for showing dairy cattle and a love for youth in the dairy business.  While she lost her battle with cancer shortly after World Dairy Expo last year, those two aspects of her life will be fondly remembered through a memorial award sponsorship. Jim Ostrom, Annette's husband, joins us on this episode of The Dairy Show to share Annette's lasting legacies and to announce the changes participants can expec...

From running out of gas on a first date to a firearms mishap in Cuba, Howard Voegeli didn't let obstacles stand in his way. Learn how  this Expo Founding Father's creative approach to life and problem solving served him throughout his time here on earth.  The same "let's get this done and have fun doing it" attitude that made Voegeli's Brown Swiss Farms of Monticello, Wisconsin successful over seven generations also laid a solid fo...

Remembering Expo's Founding Fathers

At 18 years of age, Allen Hetts took over the reins at Crescent Beauty Farm when his father passed away at the age of 42. Described by his sons, Roy and Rodney, as a driver,  Allen built upon the foundation his father and grandfather laid with the Registered Holstein herd in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, becoming a highly respected breeder, judge and ambassador of the dairy industry on an internation...

Expo’s Founding Fathers: Part 2

Norman C. Magnussen, the youngest child of Norman E. Magnussen, recounts his father’s start in the dairy business and the personal dynasty he built, from serving as a herdsman of well-known herds in the eastern United States before starting his own herd with his wife Marion and brother Victor, and developing the renown Norvic Brown Swiss herd. In addition to also being a respected international judge...

World Dairy Expo's 2023 Dairy Producer of the Year, Randy Kortus, from Lynden, Washington, takes type, production and longevity to a whole new level. With 20 cows over 300,000 lbs. and two over 400,000 lbs. lifetime production, he has achieved success not only with the Holstein herd he started out with, but across multiple breeds.  Learn more about how Mainstream Holsteins, Jerseys and Ayrshires have topped the charts and gained wo...

Dynasty in Dairy is the theme of World Dairy Expo 2023. It seems fitting that The Dairy Show would explore the personal dynasties of World Dairy Expo’s four founding fathers. In this episode, the first of a four-part series, we learn more about Gene Nelson of Gray View Farms. Gene’s son, Steve, shares his recollections of World Dairy Expo’s beginnings and the role his father played in getting the first show off the ground 56 years ...

With a newly minted agricultural journalism degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in hand, Bonnie Cooper moved to Canada in 1973 to serve as Associate Editor of the Holstein Journal. A "landed immigrant" for over two decades, she attained dual (US/Canadian) citizenship in 1994. For 45 years, Bonnie captured the events, achievements and stories surrounding Canada's Holstein business, immortalizing the cows and breeders. In...

When Bill Ciolkosz and his wife, Bridget, took over the reins at Ciolkosz Dairy, located near Thorp, Wisconsin, they became the fourth generation to continuously milk cows and manage the land there. As they work to transition the farm to the fifth generation, Bill shares how a deep love and respect for the land, animals and family have served them in the past and positioned them for success in the future.

This episode of The Dairy ...