THE DFD (Dairy Farmer’s Digest) Podcast

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

Too hot to handle!! Ep. 2

On this episode of the podcast, I talk to Dr. Mac Littlejohn and Dr. Reg Clinton from Kirkton Vet Clinic about how heat stress affects the cows.  We have a great discussion of what to look for when monitoring your animals and what we can do to help them out.
Dr. Littlejohn and Dr. Clinton are partners at Kirkton Vet clinic, where they are 2 of the 10 dairy focused vets at the practice.  KVC is a progressive, multi species Vet clinic based in Kirkton Ontario.  Both Mac and Reg have a keen interest in helping dairy and beef producers produce high quality and sustainable food.  
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

Too hot to handle! Ep.1

On this weeks episode of the DFD podcast, I talk to my colleague Chelsea Gordon about the effects of heat stress on cows.  The first week of June was a scorcher in Ontario so we had a great conversation about what we can do as a nutritionally to help these cows make milk and components.
Chelsea is the Director of Dairy Technology Application for Trouw Nutrition Canada, I have worked with her for the better part of a decade and she is very passionate about dairy nutrition and has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to cows.
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

Haylage in a day? You don't say!

On this episode of the podcast, I talked to Tom Kilcer, he is one of the pioneers of the "haylage in a day" or the photosynthetic drying concept. 
Tom is very passionate about helping producers make the highest quality feed possible, and has spoke to many farmers, researchers, nutritionists and equipment manufacturers all over North America.
Tom worked as a county Dairy Extension specialist for Cornell University in eastern New York.  He retired from extension and has continued to work as the owner of Advanced AG Systems.  You can reach him at https://advancedagsys.com/ 
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

Life’s a garden.....dig it, you gotta make it work for you

On this weeks episode of the podcast, I talk to the man, the myth, the legend Bill Woodley.  Bill is the owner of Woodley Dairy Direction, a consulting company that specializing in training nutritionists on the key concepts of dairy nutrition, Bill has spoken to, and consulted with Dairy producers all over the world.
With protein and grain prices as nearly all-time highs, Bill and I tackle the topic of forage quality and how it can affect feed cost.  We also talk about the physiology of the plant and how the cow utilizes the fiber to make milk,  as well as how different crops feed, and why we may want to consider growing them in the future.
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

Billy Madison isn't the only one heading back to school .....

On this episode of the podcast, Dr. Chris Church is back on the DFD.  We have a great discussion about transitions cows.  We touch on a few subjects including DCAD, transition diseases, feeding and grouping strategies.
During this discussion, I pose a question to Dr. Church; Is 3.5 kg's (2.0 kg's of milk fat and 1.5 kg's of milk protein) on a herd average possible?  Chris and I have a great conversation talking about how it can be done!
We also talk about his own transition back to school to get a MBA focusing on what influences profitability on the modern dairy farm. 
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

Cow Chow Conversations

On this weeks episode of the podcast, I talk to the always energetic Kelsey Banks.  She is an agronomist in Eastern Ontario, who  has a keen interest in dairy forage crops. 
Kelsey is very passionate about making sure producers work as a team with their agronomist and nutritionist to make the highest quality forages possible.  We had a great conversation about what to look for when scouting field crops and how plant nutrition and cow nutrition are tied together.
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

Matt Walker, Texas ranger...I mean dairy doctor

On this week's episode of the podcast, I get the pleasure of talking to Dr. Matt Walker.  Matt along his wife Jaqueline and four daughters own and operate Dairy Doc Holsteins in Woodstock, Ontario.  Matt is also a Vet, and a partner in Oxford Bovine Veterinary Services one of the largest and most progressive dairy focused vet clinics in Canada.
Matt and I have a great discussion on what profitability means to him from a producer and a practitioner's 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