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June 2019 vol. 1
Brought to you by Dairy's Professional Development Organization®
 
 
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Opportunities to learn...
  
DON'T MISS JUNE 18-20 AGRICULTURAL PROFESSIONAL PARTNERSHIPS TRAINING! There is still time to register for the upcoming PDPW APPs program, which includes three days of in-class and on-farm training and discussions to give food system and allied industry professionals with limited on-farm experience the insights and understanding they need to better serve dairy customers. The training includes travel to three distinguished dairy farms to learn from owners, managers and other experts. Click here for details and to register, call 800-947-7379 or email at  [email protected] .

JOIN ELECTED OFFICIALS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS for the Water Matters Tours scheduled for June 25 in Fennimore, Wis., and June 26 in Eau Claire, Wis. Brought to you in partnership with UW Discovery Farms, Wisconsin Counties Association and Wisconsin Towns Association, each one-day session will include tours to area dairies and conversations regarding strategies and innovations used to keep water safe and accessible. Dr. Mark Borchardt of USDA's Agricultural Research Service will present updates in water quality during lunch; a discussion with herd owners and representatives from county land conservation, health departments, NRCS and extension resources will follow. Click here for details and to register, call 800-947-7379 or email at  [email protected] .

PDPW DAIRY INNOVATION TOURS are scheduled for Tues., July 16. The tours will explore out-of-the-box ideas that are making a difference on Brooks Farms, Waupaca, Wis. and Feltz Family Farms, Stevens Point, Wis. In addition to touring and meeting with managers from the host farms, attendees will engage in dairy business discussions during travel to and from host farms and over lunch. Conversations will highlight the farms' latest innovations, conservation methods, animal health technologies and more. All participants will travel by chartered bus from the Fremont Citgo Travel Plaza, E7487 State Hwy 110 (exit 267), Fremont, Wis. The bus will depart at 9 a.m and return by 4 p.m. Click here for details and to register.
 
DAIRY MANAGERS INSTITUTE™ DEBUTS IN AUGUST and is designed for managers whose responsibilities are shifting from managing cows to managing people. This intensive development program provides self-study, peer-to-peer learning, and ongoing support networks in person and online. The program starts with a 2-day session Aug. 13-14, 2019 in Madison, Wis., with a follow-up session to be held Dec. 10, 2019. Click here for details and to register, call 800-947-7379 or email at [email protected].
 
ARE YOU STILL THINKING ABOUT IT? ONLY TWO SEATS REMAIN - DON'T MISS YOUR OPPORTUNITY to travel to Germany and Holland. The 14-day tour includes both agricultural and cultural highlights from Oktoberfest and Neuschwanstein castle to a canal cruise and farm tours. The tour will be held September 14-27, 2019. Click here to learn more and save your seat.   
 
CHECK OUT DAIRY ADVANCE. Find, track and report your Continuing Education (CEs) at www.DairyAdvance.org .
 
For your dairy...
 
AS TEMPERATURES AND HUMIDITY CLIMB, take time to ensure your dairy's heat-abatement practices will be effective to keep cows healthy and productive through the summer months. An article from Penn State Extension in Dairy Herd magazine focuses on techniques in three areas to prevent heat stress: Shade, Air, and Water - or SAW. Increased respiration and urination during hot weather may increase drinking water intake by 20 percent or more. Watering stations need to be located conveniently, allow multiple cows access, and keep up with water demand. Additionally, air exchange every minute or less during the summer months is essential to remove moisture, gases, heat, and other pollutants from the animal space. Without a proper air exchange, other heat-stress abatement techniques will not work effectively. Read the full article here. 

PLANNING AHEAD TO STRETCH FORAGE INVENTORY is critical this year since winter and spring weather stressed alfalfa stands and quality. In addition to yields, there may be substantial nutritional quality loss. Ohio State Extension offers  recommendations to stretch forage inventory without substantial negative effects on milk yield. In addition to including lower-quality forages while limiting forage neutral detergent fiber (NDF) concentration to less than 20% of dietary dry matter, addition, whole cottonseed can replace normal forage almost on a pound-for-pound basis - depending on cow responses. Learn more in the full article here.
Dairy currents...
 
REBALANCING GLOBAL DAIRY MARKETS IN 2019. The latest updates from the U.S. Dairy Export Council outlines continued opportunities for exports of U.S. dairy markets in 2019 and beyond. Export volume was up 10% from the prior year, led by all-time highs in overseas shipments of nonfat dry milk and skim-milk-powder high-protein whey products, and lactose. Continued export growth is key for dairy farmers - over the last five years, less than 20% of "new" milk produced in the U.S. went to products sold overseas. Growth in domestic consumption absorbed the bulk of the gains, but about 15% merely went into inventory, which continues to weigh on the market. Read the full article here . 

RESTAURANTS BRING BACK NOSTALGIC FLAVORS; MARS INTRODUCES CANDY BAR MILK. Limited-time promotions of new milk flavors at restaurants including Denny's, Dunkin' Donuts, Auntie Anne's and Kismet Falafel are luring customers in with favorite throwback flavors such as orange and vanilla dreamsicle. The Girl Scout cookie Thin Mint was popular during holiday promotions and summer lineups will include smoothies mixed with lemonade. 

In addition, candy bar maker Mars will introduce new flavored milks this summer, giving consumers the opportunity to enjoy the flavors of Snickers and Twix candy bars in a glass of milk, a milkshake, on cereal or as a coffee creamer. Both flavors will be made with low-fat milk and contain 14 grams of protein in each bottle. Learn more about the throwback flavors offered at various restaurant chains here. For more about new products being introduced by Mars, click here.

DESIGNED TO KEEP WISCONSIN DAIRY FARMERS informed on how their promotion dollars are driving demand and building trust for Wisconsin dairy, Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin has introduced the "Power of Promotion" e-newsletter. To sign up for the complimentary monthly newsletter, which features dairy industry resources such as a database of cheese companies and dairy suppliers, farm tour resources, 4-H Dairy Promotion Program information, export resources, a cheese and dairy promotional gear catalog and much more, subscribe here . 

For those eager to showcase Wisconsin cheese in summertime recipes, click here for an e-book of recipes. The 66-page e-book features cheese boards, burgers, salads, appetizers and picnic recipes. It also includes a spotlight on 11 Wisconsin vineyards and a directory of Wisconsin cheese companies.
For your business mind...
 
SPRING CLEANING OF EMAIL INBOX CAN BOOST PRODUCTIVITY and make it easier to stay on top of the constant barrage of messages.Tips to creating an email management system include:
  • Keep only emails requiring immediate action in your inbox
  • Create a "waiting folder" for emails that require action from someone else before you can respond
  • Set inbox rules or filters to color code or file messages from specific senders
  • Use your calendar to track emails that require follow-up
  • Squeeze in mindless email tasks during downtime, such as deleting messages on your phone while waiting in line
Click  here for the full article with more tips and information.

RESOLVE CONFLICTS AND MISUNDERSTANDINGS QUICKLY to prevent longstanding issues and avoid lost productivity. One firm estimates the average U.S. employee spends nearly 3 hours a week involved in a conflict. The LEAF approach is one way to quickly de-escalate conflicts, which usually result from a misinterpretation, misconception or miscommunication.  The approach includes:
  1. Listen intently to the other person. Focus on really hearing what the other person is saying; let them talk until they're finished
  2. Empathize with how the person is feeling and why they're upset
  3. Apologize for what you've done that might have caused a problem
  4. Fix the problem by taking action
Learn more about this approach in the  full article .
Words to live by...

"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things because we're curious; 
and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths."
--- Walt Disney

Ongoing research...
Dr. Sebastian Arriola Apelo
 
Amino acids play important role in feed efficiency and environmental sustainability.
 
Small changes in a cow's diet can have significant impacts on animal health and milk production. Researchers at UW-Madison are planning a study to determine if changes in amino acid supplementation can boost protein efficiency while also reducing nitrogen in manure.
 
During the 2019 PDPW Business Conference, department of dairy science assistant professor Dr. Sebastian Arriola Apelo and graduate student Tom Hu presented an overview of planned research to study how infusion of different amino acids to cows fed low-protein diets can improve milk protein yield at normal stages or during insulin infusion.
 
"We think that by learning more about how individual amino acids work we should be able to formulate rations that use protein more efficiently," said Dr. Arriola Apelo.
 
Within a cow's diet, rumen undegradable digestible (bypass) protein is the most expensive ingredient - and it's often inefficiently used by the cow, falling below 20 percent. Low protein efficiency results in excess dietary nitrogen exiting the animal in manure and higher dietary cost.
 
Proteins are long molecular chains and each link is comprised of one of twenty different amino acids.Ten amino acids are considered essential because the lactating cow doesn't produce them in sufficient quantities. Essential amino acids need to be supplemented by diet ingredients or from rumen microbes.
 
Research is currently underway in Dr. Arriola Apelo's lab to estimate the role and efficiency of each essential amino acid for milk protein production.  "Individual amino acids have different efficiencies," said Arriola Apelo. "Current models don't take that into account, however, so we're not yet able to predict the effect of a single amino acid."
 
The study planned by Hu and Dr. Arriola Apelo will investigate animal, dietary, and management factors that affect individual amino acid efficiencies, and develop dietary strategies that maximize individual amino acid and overall protein efficiency while maintaining milk protein production.
 
Cows in the study will be fed an energy- and protein-deficient diet supplemented with either rumen-inert fat or glucose to meet energy requirements. Each energy group will be further supplemented with the amino acid pairs lysine-histidine or leucine-methionine.
 
In the long term, the research could lead to an understanding of energy and amino-acid interactions that leads to diets higher in protein efficiency and lower manure nitrogen losses and dietary cost.
A BIG Thank You...  
 
TO THE PDPW SPONSORS who are supporting your professional development organization! As a producer-led group, we extend a heart-felt "Thank You!" to those who stand alongside our nation's dairy farmers. 
 
Our sponsors' support allows PDPW to execute best-in-class producer training and has enabled us to become the go-to and trusted resource for unified outreach initiatives. If you or a company you know is interested in participating as a sponsor, please contact us at [email protected] or call 800-947-7379.
 
See the full list of generous sponsors here.