THE DFD (Dairy Farmer’s Digest) Podcast

Great minds think alike, but fools seldom differ!

On this weeks episode of the podcast, I talk to Tony Hall, Technical Services support from Lallemand Animal Nutrition.  Tony and I drill down on the difference between forage samples when it all looks good on paper, and how CP isn't always the best indicator of quality.
Tony has extensive experience when it comes too making high quality forages and how fiber quality affects milk production. Tony is a world renowned speaker, he has consulted on farms all over the world in his career and has been an incredible resource for me over the years.
I hope you enjoy this episode of the podcast.  If you have any questions about this episode or on future episodes of the podcast, please feel free to reach out to me by email at keith.schweitzer@trouwnutrition.com or by phone at 1 (226) 236-3227 and please follow me on twitter @keithschweitzer

Calves, calves, calves ... some are good, some are bad

On this episode of the podcast, I talk to Dr. David Renaud.  Dave is a veterinary epidemiologist in the Department of Population Medicine at the University of Guelph.  His research focuses on the health and welfare of dairy calves, Dave teaches in both the veterinary and undergraduate curriculum.
As one producer put it to me, "raising calves can be the most rewarding or the most soul sucking endeavor on the farm".  This producer wasn't wrong.  Dave and my discussion helps shed some light on how to make it the most rewarding job on the farm. 
In this episode we cover colostrum, nutrition and management considerations. If you have any questions regarding the podcast, or any of the projects his team is working on, you can reach out to Dave by emailing him at renaudd@uoguelph.ca and you can follow him on Twitter @DavRenaud
I hope you enjoy this episode of the podcast.  If you have any questions about this episode or on future episodes of the podcast, please feel free to reach out to me by email at keith.schweitzer@trouwnutrition.com or by phone at 1 (226) 236-3227 and please follow me on twitter @keithschweitzer

The silage doctor is in the house!

On this weeks episode of the podcast, I talk to Dr. Andy Skidmore from Lallemand Animal Nutrition about inoculant, what they are, how they work and how they can fit into your forage production systems.
Dr. Skidmore is a Veterinarian with a PhD in Dairy Management from Cornell University.  He has been in the dairy industry in the United States and has held various roles from a practicing veterinarian, to research at MSU and in the animal nutrition industry. 
Dr. Skidmore has been with Lallemand Animal Nutrition, a Canadian Bio-tech company that specializes in making yeast and inoculants for animal nutrition as well has the human food and beverage industry.  He has been with them several years where he supports their yeast and inoculant business all across North America.
I hope you enjoy this episode of the podcast.  If you have any questions about this episode or on future episodes of the podcast, please feel free to reach out to me by email at keith.schweitzer@trouwnutrition.com or by phone at 1 (226) 236-3227 and please follow me on twitter @keithschweitzer
 

Alberta bound!!

On this weeks episode of the podcast, I have a great conversation with Dustin Grisnich.  He is the owner of Windy Creek Dairy in Fort Macleod, Alberta.
Dustin, along with his wife, four kids and two cats milk 45 cows under the new entrant program from Alberta milk.  He is also the host of the Faraway Farmboy podcast, a podcast dedicated to networking within the Western Canadian dairy business.  You can find the podcast wherever you download your podcasts.  You can also find Dustin on twitter @farawayfarmboy
I hope you enjoy this episode of the podcast.  If you have any questions about this episode or on future episodes of the podcast, please feel free to reach out to me by email at keith.schweitzer@trouwnutrition.com or by phone at 1 (226) 236-3227 and please follow me on twitter @keithschweitzer
 

Wait a second .... you said how much?!?!

On this week's episode of the podcast I have a great  conversation with Dustin Gamble, the Procurement manager for Shur Gain Ontario.
There are a lot of things that we can't control in our day to day lives and business, and the major global influences on feed price is one of them.  Dustin and I talk about what influences the markets around the world and in our own back yard, we also touch on the global supply chain for fat, proteins and grains that we feed every day.
I hope you enjoy this episode of the podcast.  If you have any questions about this episode or on future episodes of the podcast, please feel free to reach out to me by email at keith.schweitzer@trouwnutrition.com or by phone at 1 (226) 236-3227 and please follow me on twitter @keithschweitzer

I just dropped in to see what condition my condition is in ....

On this episode of the podcast, I have a great discussion with Kristen Kelderman about mental health.  Kristen is currently doing her Masters of Psychology and Neuroscience of Mental Health at King's College in London, UK.
Mental health is becoming a more common and less stigmatized conversation in our daily lives.  Kristen helps facilitate those conversations and normalizes them.  Growing up on a dairy farm, she has a keen passion for the mental wellbeing of producers and industry professionals alike.  She is a great advocate and resources, you can follow her on Instagram @thefarmtherapist.
We discussed a few resources throughout the podcast and the links are listed below.
 
CMHA (Canadian Mental Health Association) website https://cmha.ca 
In the Know farmer mental health program https://ontario.cmha.ca/intheknow/ 
Farmer's Toolbox https://www.thefarmerstoolbox.com
Farmer Wellness Program https://www.farmerwellnessprogram.ca 
 
I hope you enjoy this episode of the podcast.  If you have any questions about this episode or on future episodes of the podcast, please feel free to reach out to me by email at keith.schweitzer@trouwnutrition.com or by phone at 1 (226) 236-3227 and please follow me on twitter @keithschweitzer

Where my money at? Dollar Dollar bill ya‘ll!!

On this episode of the DFD podcast I have a great conversation with Kristin Benke, she is the Director, Economic and Product Development with the Dairy Farmers of Ontario. 
Kristin has spent the last 12 years at the DFO.  We have a great conversation about how the new pricing schedule has been going for the past 8 months.  We also talked about what she thinks the future holds for producers in the P5 with regards to quota allocations, cost of production formula, production sleeves and the SNF ratio.
I hope you enjoy this episode of the podcast.  If you have any questions about this episode or on future episodes of the podcast, please feel free to reach out to me by email at keith.schweitzer@trouwnutrition.com or by phone at 1 (226) 236-3227 and please follow me on twitter @keithschweitzer

The corn silage is coming! The corn silage is coming!

On this episode of the podcast, I get to talk to Dr. Bill Mahanna.  Bill is the Global Nutritional Services Manager with Pioneer, he is also an adjunct professor in the Department of Animal Science at Iowa State University.
Bill has an incredible wealth of knowledge and experience when it comes to making high quality forages, especially corn silage.  He has worked for Pioneer for over 30 years and he has travelled all over the world educating dairy, beef and small ruminant producers and industry professionals.  Bill has a real passion for helping people make the best forage possible and helping your farms meet their goals by producing and feeding excellent forage.  If you have questions, you can reach him at bill.mahanna@pioneer.com or on Twitter @billmahanna
I hope you enjoy this episode of the podcast.  if you have any questions about this episode or on future episodes of the podcast, please feel free to reach out too me by email at keith.schweitzer@trouwnutrition.com or by phone at 1 (226) 236-3227 and  please follow me on twitter @keithschweitzer

Got milk? Not without a pregnancy! Gary Markus 2.0

On this week's episode of the podcast I talk with Gary Markus about how to set your farm up for Reproductive success!  Gary, along with his wife and four kids run Markhill Holsteins in Ingersoll Ontario.   In addition to milking cows, he also works as an Elite account manager with Alta Genetics in SW Ontario. you can reach him at gary.markus@altagenetics.com or on twitter @gary_markus 
Reproduction is the engine that drives every dairy farms production and bottom line, there are a multitude of decisions when it comes to your breeding program,  The decisions you make today have repercussions long after they are made.  Gary and I discuss how a producers can make the most informed decision possible from a economical and physiological standpoint. 
I hope you enjoy this episode of the podcast.  if you have any questions about this episode or on future episodes of the podcast, please feel free to reach out too me by email at keith.schweitzer@trouwnutrition.com or by phone at 1 (226) 236-3227 and  please follow me on twitter @keithschweitzer

Chlorophyll is not borophyll!

On this week's episode of the podcast, I have the pleasure of talking to Christine O'Reilly, the forage and grazing specialist with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA).  Christine is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to producing high quality forages.  We have a great conversation about what is happening in the province with regards to forage yields and quality, we also talk about what you can after wheat to build inventories.
Christine is a grad of University of Guelph, she has a great passion for forage crops and helping producers make decisions that will help meet their goals and bottom line.  She can be reached at christine.oreilly@ontario.ca or on twitter @OReilly_Ag 
I hope you enjoy this episode of the podcast.  if you have any questions about this episode or on future episodes of the podcast, please feel free to reach out too me by email at keith.schweitzer@trouwnutrition.com or by phone at 1 (226) 236-3227 and  please follow me on twitter @keithschweitzer