The Manager - July 2024
Northeast Dairy Management Conference attendees embraced opportunities for a viable future
Julie Berry
Nearly 400 dairy producers and industry professionals from across the Northeast gathered in East Syracuse, N.Y. this spring for two intense days of learning, collaboration, industry thought-leadership, and a few laughs. The conference featured insights about the challenges and opportunities facing the dairy industry, shared innovative technologies and strategies for success, and created time to connect with peers. Attendees represented dairy farms, industry advisors and partners, suppliers, consultants, and university and extension professionals. The conference is a three-decade partnership between Cornell CALS PRO-DAIRY and the Northeast Dairy Producers Association (NEDPA).
The value of measuring a farm’s environmental footprint
Julie Berry
PRO-DAIRY and the Northeast Dairy Producers Association hosted a panel discussion on greenhouse gas management in the dairy industry at the Northeast Dairy Management Conference with Cornell colleagues Karl Czymmek, Mike Van Amburgh, Lauren Ray, Kirsten Workman, and Olivia Godber.
Pathways to profitability with heifer inventory management
Peter Dueppengiesser
With current milk prices, dairy farmers are trying to lower costs, while optimizing their return opportunities. With the average cost of raising a dairy replacement heifer at over $2,500, according to a 2019 Cornell Cooperative Extension survey, heifer inventory management and raising the right replacements is a critical part of that plan. Knowing how many replacements are needed and having an accurate picture of that inventory can help farmers choose the right breeding strategies to successfully manage heifer inventory and have greater profitability from not raising unneeded heifers.
Setting the foundation to create a farm team motivated to achieve business and personal goals
Julie Berry
The life lessons of work ethic, respect for the animals, and care for employees Jared Duppengeisser learned growing up on a dairy in western N.Y. have translated into his focus on creating a positive farm culture as a manager. Creating a motivated farm team requires leadership skill development, prioritization of safety training and skills, incentives, and fostering a relationship with employees.
Grabbing hold: Embracing the uncomfortable work of transitioning the management and leadership of your family business
Julie Berry
Family business succession that builds family relationships and continues to perpetuate a successful business requires attention, time investment, deliberate planning, and communication. We need to free each other up to think about what success looks like – how next gens and current owners and managers think about what success is for them – and make sure we fit that in, said Barb Dartt, family business consultant and former veterinarian and economist, who led a presentation on succession planning at the Northeast Dairy Management Conference.
What management practices and facility styles support better milk production?
Clem Nash
The Novus C.O.W.S.™ Program has helped dairy farmers unlock bottlenecks in cow comfort and productivity across North America for over 12 years. The data collected during the program’s on-farm assessments is shared back to producers, showing how their results compare to over 1,700 anonymized assessments completed since the start of the program. While it’s not possible to share all the C.O.W.S.™ program results in one article, here you’ll find some of the management and facility factors that we’ve found are associated with higher milk production on Northeast and Midwest dairy farms.
Value-added dairy – From feasibility to follow-through
Heather Weeks and Kelsey Neckers
Farms start value-added enterprises for many reasons. A dairy may have a high cost of production for the commodity milk market. More revenue may be needed to pay an additional owner or a retiring generation. The farm may produce a niche product like A2A2 milk. Most importantly, farm owners may consider value-added because the market demands it, when the community expresses a need for a certain product that this farm can supply.