The Professional Dairy Managers of Pennsylvania and the Center for Dairy Excellence worked in conjunction to host the seventh Pennsylvania Dairy Summit February 6-7, 2013. The summit offered encouraging and inspirational workshops and presentations to dairy producers across the state. Keith Spicher, vice president of PDMP, welcomed visitors to the opening session and outlined a brief overview of the morning’s festivities.
This year’s opening session was meant to provide producers insight into the customer and marketing aspects of the dairy industry. Three presentations were slated to show producers how the industry is growing and advancing.
The first of three presenters was Scott Stewart of Stewart-Peterson . Stewart is a leading authority on marketing strategies and risk management. Through his presentation, Stewart defined the importance of making good marketing decisions within the dairy industry.
He said, “Be prepared for anything the market dishes out.” Stewart made a point to plan for the market to fluctuate in both directions. The dairy industry is commonly labeled as a cyclic industry.
Stewart said that in order to survive in any industry, people have to be good at what they do. Each producer farms for a different reason. In order to succeed, a producer first has to find what drives them.
They also have to accept the risks of the occupation early on. Herd health, economic markets and the weather are just a few of the many unpredictable aspects of the dairy industry. The sooner we accept these risks, the sooner we can generate strategies to overcome them, he said.
Stewart urges producers to make time to strategize. And although it seems like they need to predict the future in order to thrive, Stewart explicitly says that producers must avoid attempts at estimating the direction of the market.
They should admit early on that they don’t know where the market is headed and make plans for a variety of unfortunate events. The dairy industry is a volatile market, but businesses thrive the most in these types of situations. Stewart ended his discussion by telling farmers, “Be a victor, not a victim of the volatility.”
Next on the agenda was Dennis Erpelding, a representative from Elanco Animal Health , who gave producers a look at the dairy industry in the global market. Erpelding stressed the need of more efficient technology within the agricultural industry.
The current world population is approximately seven billion, and in 2050 it is expected to grow to an estimated nine billion. He reminded producers that dairy products provide the most basic nutrition for humans around the world and that there will always be opportunities for success and advancement within the dairy industry.
Hunger is currently the number one health problem in developing countries. The U.S. has the ability and the resources to export agricultural products to countries in need.
However, in order to achieve success in this global market, Erpelding emphasized the importance of understanding the cultural, economic and governmental aspects of the countries that would be importing our products.
The final presentation of the morning was received well by producers attending the Dairy Summit.
Brandon Solano, vice president of development at Domino’s , showed producers how a simple partnership with Domino’s Pizza and Dairy Management Inc. has developed into an opportunity for both Domino’s and dairy farmers.
Since Domino’s partnered with DMI in 2008, 6.6 billion pounds of milk has been used to manufacture cheese and used on top of Domino’s pizzas.
Solano has been a key player in incorporating dairy farms and dairy products into advertisements and marketing tools.
From commercials to pizza boxes, Solano has made it clear to consumers that the dairy industry plays a crucial role in every person’s life.
To start off the afternoon discussion, Glenn Gorrell, a representative from PDMP, introduced the producer showcase. Lloyd and Daphne Holterman, owners of Rosy-Lane Holsteins LLC from Watertown, Wisconsin, spoke about their operation and how they’ve found success in the dairy industry. Rosy-Lane Holsteins milks 885 cows, raises 820 heifers and has about 25 young bulls.
Lloyd began the presentation by stating that they consider management to be a major strength on their farm, and many of their managerial decisions are driven by cow comfort. Hiring and training good employees is a necessity to the Holtermans.
Training of employees leads to more trust between employers and workers. The Holtermans train their employees to properly handle cattle, recognize the importance of sanitation and become aware of the cattle and their normal and abnormal habits in order to detect early signs of problems such as lameness or mastitis.
Lloyd and Daphne are also very concerned with the environment their cows are subjected to every day. They highlighted the importance of clean and cool fresh air, clean and comfortable bedding, and slow, gentle handling of the cattle.
The Holtermans spoke briefly regarding their nutrition program and the importance of balanced rations and routine feedings, as well as their milking facilities and their focus on stringent sanitation and proactive milking equipment maintenance.
Daphne Holterman closed the presentation with a discussion and overview of their unique calf-raising program. Raising one calf for the first 8 weeks of life costs the Holtermans about $5.25 per day. To many producers, this is shocking, but to Lloyd and Daphne it is a large contributor to their success.
They believe in “investing up-front for performance later.” Calving and the first 24 hours of a calf’s life is crucial and can greatly impact their development for the future.
The Holtermans pay special attention to cleanliness throughout their calf barn and follow exact feeding routines to ensure the calves can utilize all of their energy for growth and development.
Following the producer showcase, breakout sessions were offered to those attending. Pamela Ruegg from the University of Wisconsin gave a presentation about managing mastitis. Dr. Ruegg made a point to producers that infection of mastitis occurs before inflammation.
Producers need to recognize that high-producing cows are at a much higher risk of infection, and more precautions must be taken in order to prevent infection of the mammary system. Cows that are infected with mastitis also have an increasingly higher chance of getting mastitis a second and third time.
Establishing good management practices in the milking parlor and with milking equipment can greatly reduce the presence of mastitis- causing pathogens.
Less than 15 percent of the herd should exceed 200,000 somatic cells per ml, and less than 10 percent of the herd should exceed 200,000 somatic cells per ml during their first month of lactation in order to improve milk quality.
She said producers should look at individual cows and make individual decisions when it comes to treating or culling cattle for mastitis reasons. Throughout Dr. Ruegg’s presentation, she focused on the importance of a milk quality plan that includes individual somatic cell count tests on each cow.
The Pennsylvania Dairymen’s Association presented their annual leadership awards during the Summit’s award breakfast. Erick Coolidge of Wellsboro, Pennsylvania, received the Charles E. Cowan Memorial Award for his commitment to leadership and advocacy in the industry.
The Extension Award was presented to Dr. Douglas Beegle for his support of the dairy farm community, and Dr. Patricia Kitchen was honored with the Distinguished Dairy Woman Award for her devotion to dairy youth programs.
The Center for Dairy Excellence recognized three Pacesetters Award winners, honored for their innovation and leadership in dairy.
Those included Jeff Ainslie, with Red Barn Consulting; Jeff Harding, with Elanco Animal Health; and Wal-Moore Dairy Farms in Chatham, Pennsylvania.
The 2014 Pennsylvania Dairy Summit will be held on February 12-13 at the Penn Stater Conference Center in State College, Pennsylvania. PD
Sara Kitchen is a freelance writer and a student at Penn State University.
PHOTOS
TOP RIGHT: A presentation by Brandon Solano of Domino’s helped educate producers about the efforts of the partnership between the pizza franchise and Dairy Management Inc. Photo by Sara Kitchen.
BOTTOM RIGHT: Center for Dairy Excellence board members Gary Heckman and Tim Kurtz (pictured far left and far right) presented this year’s Pacesetter Awards to (left to right) William and Walt Moore of Wal-Moore Farms; Jeff Ainslie of Lititz, Pennsylvania; and Jeff Harding from State College, Pennsylvania. Photo by Center for Dairy Excellence.
