PDP Manager's Memo

July 2024 Vol. 1

Brought to you by Dairy's Professional Development Organization®

Opportunities to Learn

Accelerate™

July, 24, 2024

Madison, Wis.

STILL TIME TO REGISTER YOUR INTERNS! As interns begin to think about wrapping up internship projects and returning to college, help them make the most of their experience with the one-day PDP Accelerate workshop. Interns from all agricultural sectors will network with fellow students and industry professionals and hone their leadership and communications skills. Michael Hoffman will facilitate the interactive session that combines hands-on learning, peer networking and interactive skill practice to ensure interns build the skills they need. Learn more about PDP Accelerate and register interns here or call 800-947-7379.

Carbon, Crops + Cows

July 29, 30, 31, August 1

Menomonie, Stevens Point, Columbus, Fennimore, Wis.

EMPOWERING AGRONOMISTS AND CONSERVATIONISTS to advance sustainability is the goal of the Carbon, Crops + Cows conferences. The one-day sessions at four locations will provide agronomists and conservationists with an overview of sustainability descriptions and a deeper dive into the complexities of carbon and technical jargon, and explore how to help farmers with their data, carbon models and what is coming in the future. Learn more and register here.

Innovation & Technology Farm Tours

August 21, 22

Colby, Berlin, Wis.

SEE NEW TECHNOLOGIES FOR FEED-PAD DESIGN, MONITORING FOR RUMINATION, ACTIVITY AND PROGESTERONE, AND MORE during the 2024 Innovation & Technology Farm Tours hosted by PDP. Join on one or both days of the tours at Haas Dairy in Colby, Wis., on Aug. 21 and Trillium Hill Farm, in Berlin, Wis., on Aug. 22. Learn from dairy producers who have implemented new technologies and share ideas with peers during the tours. Click here to register.

ACE® Twilight Meetings

August 26, 27, 28, 29

Woodville, Pittsville, Kewaunee, Lodi, Wis.

DON’T MISS THE OPPORTUNITY TO IMPACT YOUR COMMUNITY by participating in conversations with community leaders, elected officials, educators and fellow dairy farmers at the ACE Twilight Meetings. Hosted by Wisconsin Counties Association, Wisconsin Towns Association and PDP, the free events feature farm tours, ice cream and open conversations about issues like community development, resource management, changes in ag and rural communities, roads and more. Learn more here.

PDP Stride™ Youth Leadership Conference

Sept. 21, 2024

Platteville, Wis.

SAVE THE DATE! PDP's Stride™ Youth Leadership Conference is headed to the University of Wisconsin-Platteville for an interactive program for future-minded 15- to 18-year-olds. This single-day program is for high school students looking to amplify and excel in their leadership skills while preparing for the future and discovering opportunities in the dairy and agriculture sectors. Learn more and register here.

2024-2025 Program Calendar

SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE is in store during PDP’s 2024-25 programming year, with in-person and virtual training opportunities in multiple formats. The program calendar is developed by our producer-led board of directors with input from members across the country to address our industry’s most urgent needs. The calendar includes signature PDP programming and a number of options with simultaneous Spanish translation. View the calendar here.

For Your Dairy

TODAY’S DAIRY FARMERS HAVE A WEALTH OF DATA available about nearly every aspect of their operation. Using that data properly can drive continuous improvement on operations. Dr. Michael Overton shared insights in a recent episode of The Dairy Signal on the watchouts in selecting and using data. For example, all dairy records suffer from some level of bias, or systematic error, that can lead to mistakes in interpretation. Watch the full episode for detailed descriptions and examples that you can put to work on your farm today.

WHAT IMPACT DOES HAVING A BEEF X DAIRY CROSSBRED CALF have on a dairy cow’s performance in her next lactation? This was the focus of researchers’ work in analyzing 16 traits over more than 580,000 calving events from 1997 to 2020 in the Swedish milk recording system. They found that, overall, milk, fat and protein yields were lower after beef × dairy calvings compared with the purebred dairy calvings. The largest effects were found on cumulative production yields and in second parity, with lower effects for yields early in lactation and yields in first parity. Read the full study here.

For Your Business Mind

CHECKING IN WITH EMPLOYEES ON A REGULAR BASIS can ensure that lines of communications are open and you are aware of issues that can be addressed before they cause performance or productivity problems. An article from Fast Company suggests five questions to ask team members quarterly for a quick read on wellbeing and job effectiveness, including:

How are you doing?
What’s your big goal?
What’s your big obstacle?
What do you need to know?
What do you see that I don’t?

Learn more here.

DON’T FORGET THE FUNDAMENTALS in any contract, even in today’s digital world. Any contract has three key elements: an offer, an acceptance of the offer and consideration. Janzen Schroeder Ag Law Firm highlighted contract doctrines in a recent blog post:

An offer should include definite terms
Acceptance must mirror the offer
Any consideration is sufficient
There must be a meeting of the minds.

Learn more about each of these doctrines in the full post.

CONVERSATIONS, CHALLENGING, COACHING AND CHEERING are the 4 “C”s of leading teams, according to a SmartBrief article. Understanding your role and when it is appropriate to provide positive feedback and encouragement and when a more difficult conversation is necessary is one of the most daunting tasks for managers. Taking time to provide reassurance as a team member completes steps of a complicated project or sharing feedback as milestones are achieved can help keep things on track. Learn more here.

HEALTH INSURANCE IS KEY TO SAFEGUARDING both your well-being and your business, but there are a number of hurdles for farmers to secure affordable health insurance programs. In fact, the USDA reports that 41% of dairy farmers don’t have health insurance coverage. Covering Wisconsin is a free community resource from UW-Extension with Health Insurance Navigators across the state to help understand options and connect with programs. Read more in the article or visit the Covering Wisconsin website.

The Dairy Signal

DON’T MISS THE DAIRY SIGNAL. Three days a week, The Dairy Signal® connects you with leading experts across dairy and agricultural industries to researchers at universities and government agencies to bring updates on the trends and topics that will affect your dairy business. The 60-minute sessions air every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, with recorded episodes available at www.pdpw.org. Click here to tune in to archived sessions.

Presenters and topics covered recently include:

July 9

Hiring, engaging and retaining good employees is the foundation of your business. Tune in for a discussion on employee engagement and how to build a workforce that is committed, enthusiastic and productive.

Tim Schaefer, CFP, certified family business advisor, certified professional business coach, Encore Consultants

July 10

Some of the leading minds in dairy economics answer questions about the newly released Federal Milk Marketing Order recommendations. In the first of two sessions, hear about the proposed changes, what was not changed, and the next steps in moving to a producer vote on these changes later in 2024. The second session of two sessions will be held Weds., July 24.

Dr. Charles Nicholson, associate professor, Department of Animal & Dairy Sciences and Agricultural & Applied Economics, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Dr. Christopher Wolf, E.V. Baker professor of Agricultural Economics, director of Land Grant Programs, Cornell University
Dr. Mark Stephenson, retired from UW-Madison as director of Dairy Policy Analysis

July 11

With summer in full swing, join in for a discussion of the latest market, weather, export news and trends that will impact dairy producers and the industry.

Ben Buckner, chief grains and dairy analyst, AgResource

Dairy Currents

NATIONAL FARM PROGRAM RELEASES NEW VERSIONS. On July 1, new versions of the Animal Care and Workforce Development Programs were released by the National Dairy Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) Program. Animal Care Version 5 updates focus on refining and clarifying previous standards surrounding euthanasia, fitness for transport, calf management, and continuing education among others. Workforce Development Version 2 updates the evaluation tool used to assess and encourage the adoption of HR and safety best practices. Learn more here.

FROZEN FOODS TARGETED TO OZEMPIC USERS. As hunger suppression drugs like Ozempic become more common, food industry and grocers are adapting to changing preferences of consumers. Consumers taking hunger-suppression drugs are more likely to stock up on frozen foods compared to cooking food from scratch. Nestlé recently launched “Vital Pursuit,” the first line of frozen meals marketed as a “companion” for these medications. Read the full article from Supermarket News to learn more.

HIGHER PRICES NOT KEEPING BEEF BUYERS AWAY during summer grilling season, according to an analyst in an Agriculture Dive article. While beef prices have increased more in the last year more than other animal proteins typically bought for summer barbecues, analyst said it isn’t triggering a shift to other options like chicken or pork. Over the past 10 years, wage growth has outpaced increases in retail beef prices. Higher beef prices have been driven by strong demand and limited domestic cattle supplies. Read more here.

Book Review

PERFECTION TRAP: EMBRACING THE POWER OF GOOD ENOUGH. The pursuit of perfection in our personal and business lives can become a dangerous obsession that leads to burnout and depression and keeps us from achieving our goals. The author highlights the pressures of today’s society to be perfect, and how we can find a balance to a purposeful and contented life. Read more here.

Quote