Dr. Jennifer Walker is a former dairy veterinarian who is now the director of quality and care for Danone North America. She oversees Danone's milk quality and animal welfare programs for the 700 U.S. dairy farms that supply the company’s milk. In short, she says her job is to "make sure the cows are happy, and the milk is awesome."

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Here is a breakdown of the episode:

Tell us about yourself and what you do day-to-day [~1:50]

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Explain this statement that you’ve said before: Dairy producers are suppliers, and consumers are end client customer. Explain that position. [~3:30]

How well are we bridging the gap between producer needs and consumer wants with technology? [~6:45]

Explain this statement that you’ve said before: Change happens through people. [~10:00]

Grade technology's current impact on animal welfare and milk quality. What letter grade would you give? [~12:30]

How does a dairy become aware of what they don't know? [~16:00]

Give me some examples of technologies that you think are on the right track for dairy producers to use them efficiently. [~18:15]

Do you feel we are meeting consumers expectations for quality and animal welfare? [~21:00]

What do the outcomes for animal welfare look like for a dairy producer in the next five years? [~25:30]

 

Read a transcript summary of this article here: 

https://www.agproud.com/articles/35965-3-open-minutes-with-jennifer-walker

 

Follow Dr. Jennifer Walker online:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-walker-23573965/

 

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