THE DFD (Dairy Farmer’s Digest) Podcast

On this episode of the Dairy Farmer's Digest (DFD) podcast, I talk to Cox Wensink.  Cox is the owner and herd manager at Hoenhorst Farms in Woodstock Ontario where her and her team milk 500 cows with 10 Lely A4 milking robots on two locations utilizing temporary foreign workers (TFW).  We have a great discussion around how she came about using TFW and how to get the process started and the learning curve involved in going down this...

On this episode of the Dairy Farmer's Digest (DFD) podcast, I talk to Dr. Mike Hutjens.  Mike is a Professor Emeritus in the department of Animal Sciences at the University of Illinois. 

Dr. Hutjens grew up on a dairy farm in Green Bay, Wisconsin and has a PhD from the University of Wisconsin and has focused his entire career on teaching dairy professionals and producers how to make milk as efficiently and economically as possible....

On this episode of the Dairy Farmer's Digest (DFD) podcast, I talk to Brad Gilchrist.  Brad is the Beef Marketing and Product specialist for Semex.  Brad is a graduate of the University of Guelph Ag economics and Business degree.  He and his family also operate a purebred Angus cow calf operation in Lucknow Ontario.

Breeding Beef x Holstein has become the norm in the dairy industry in North America, Brad and I discuss how farmer ar...

On this week's episode of the Dairy Farmer's Digest (DFD), I talk to Dr. Gerard Cramer.  Gerard has a DVM, DVSc from Ontario Veterinary College and is an Associate Professor at the University of Minnesota in the department of Veterinary Population Medicine.

Lameness is the most costly disease on modern dairy farms, Gerard and I discuss some of the science behind foot bath, the challenges that heat stress present and we bust some co...

On this week's episode of the Dairy Farmer's Digest (DFD), I talk to Mark Gerber.  Mark is an account manager and Technical Specialist with Zinpro. We cover a plethora of topics relating to hoof health, hoof trimming and lameness prevention and treatment.

Lameness is the most costly disease on modern dairy farms, it's impact can be felt through production, reproduction and overall herd performance.  Talking about, monitoring and me...

On this weeks episode of the podcast, I have the pleasure of talking to Andrea DeGroot from Farm Credit Canada.  Andrea is a Business Advisor who specializes in farm transitions.

Transitioning a multi-million dollar farm business is a daunting task, Andrea and I discuss where to start, what resources you may need and how producers can navigate this crucial decision making process.

I hope you enjoy this episode of the podcast.  If y...

On this episode of the podcast, I talk to Dr. Bill Mahanna.  Bill is the Global Nutritional Services Manager with Pioneer, he is also an adjunct professor in the Department of Animal Science at Iowa State University.

Bill and I cover all things corn silage, we touch on plant health, starch deposition and how to cut, pack and store the most critical forage for this years winter feeding.

He has an incredible wealth of knowledge and e...

On this episode of the podcast, I talk to Dr. Sarah Parsons, she is the Colostrum Technical Specialist with Alta Genetics.  Sarah provides technical support for clients right across North America.

Dr. Parsons graduated from the  University of Guelph with a BSc in Animal Biology and a PhD in Dairy calf management where she specialized in calf weaning management.

Colostrum is the one of the first steps in ensuring that your future mi...

On this weeks episode of the podcast, I talk to Bill Woodley.  Bill is the owner of Woodley Dairy Direction, a consulting company that specializing in training nutritionists on the key concepts of dairy nutrition, Bill has spoken to, and consulted with Dairy producers all over the world.

With hay and winter forage crops quickly reaching their harvest windows, Bill and I tackle the topic of forage quality and how it affects feed cos...

On this weeks episode of the podcast, I have a great discussion with Dr. Stirling Dorrance, DVM from Nova Scotia, Canada.  Along with being a practicing veterinarian, Dr. Dorrance works with Lactanet in Eastern Canada where he works with producers understanding and interpreting Profilab, the milk fatty acid report from Lactanet.

Milk has a multitude of different fatty acids in it, Dr. Dorrance helps me understand what the three m...

On this episode of the podcast, I talk to Dr. José Santos, a Professor in the department of Animal Science at the University of Florida, Gainesville.  Dr. Santos and I explore the world of DCAD diets for transition dairy cows and how it can work on your operation to help keep cows healthier and more productive.  

Dr. Santos conducts applied and basic research in dairy cattle nutrition and reproductive biology.  In addition to his r...

On this weeks episode of the podcast, I talk to Tony Hall, Technical Services support from Lallemand Animal Nutrition.  Tony and I drill down on the difference between forage samples when it all looks good on paper, and how CP isn't always the best indicator of quality.

Tony has extensive experience when it comes too making high quality forages and how fiber quality affects milk production. Tony is a world renowned speaker, he has ...

On this episode of the podcast, I talk to Dr. David Renaud.  Dave is a veterinary epidemiologist in the Department of Population Medicine at the University of Guelph.  His research focuses on the health and welfare of dairy calves, Dave teaches in both the veterinary and undergraduate curriculum.

As one producer put it to me, "raising calves can be the most rewarding or the most soul sucking endeavor on the farm".  This producer wa...

On this weeks episode of the podcast, I talk to Dr. Andy Skidmore from Lallemand Animal Nutrition about inoculant, what they are, how they work and how they can fit into your forage production systems.

Dr. Skidmore is a Veterinarian with a PhD in Dairy Management from Cornell University.  He has been in the dairy industry in the United States and has held various roles from a practicing veterinarian, to research at MSU and in the a...

On this weeks episode of the podcast, I have a great conversation with Dustin Grisnich.  He is the owner of Windy Creek Dairy in Fort Macleod, Alberta.

Dustin, along with his wife, four kids and two cats milk 45 cows under the new entrant program from Alberta milk.  He is also the host of the Faraway Farmboy podcast, a podcast dedicated to networking within the Western Canadian dairy business.  You can find the podcast wherever you...

On this week's episode of the podcast I have a great  conversation with Dustin Gamble, the Procurement manager for Shur Gain Ontario.

There are a lot of things that we can't control in our day to day lives and business, and the major global influences on feed price is one of them.  Dustin and I talk about what influences the markets around the world and in our own back yard, we also touch on the global supply chain for fat, protein...

On this episode of the podcast, I have a great discussion with Kristen Kelderman about mental health.  Kristen is currently doing her Masters of Psychology and Neuroscience of Mental Health at King's College in London, UK.

Mental health is becoming a more common and less stigmatized conversation in our daily lives.  Kristen helps facilitate those conversations and normalizes them.  Growing up on a dairy farm, she has a keen passion...

On this episode of the DFD podcast I have a great conversation with Kristin Benke, she is the Director, Economic and Product Development with the Dairy Farmers of Ontario. 

Kristin has spent the last 12 years at the DFO.  We have a great conversation about how the new pricing schedule has been going for the past 8 months.  We also talked about what she thinks the future holds for producers in the P5 with regards to quota allocation...

On this episode of the podcast, I get to talk to Dr. Bill Mahanna.  Bill is the Global Nutritional Services Manager with Pioneer, he is also an adjunct professor in the Department of Animal Science at Iowa State University.

Bill has an incredible wealth of knowledge and experience when it comes to making high quality forages, especially corn silage.  He has worked for Pioneer for over 30 years and he has travelled all over the worl...