THE DFD (Dairy Farmer’s Digest) Podcast

You are what you eat, so is Betsy!

On this weeks episode of the podcast, I talk to Tony Hall from Lallemand Animal Nutrition.  Tony and I talk about how too make the highest quality silage possible, and how mitigating silage loss relates too profitability of your dairy. 
Tony has extensive experience when it comes too making silage and helping producers reach their goals.   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 too me by email at keith.schweitzer@trouwnutrition.com or by phone at 1 (226) 236-3227 and  please follow me on twitter @keithschweitzer

If you build it, they will come!

On this week's episode of the podcast, I talk with Frank Louwagie from Hillmanor Farms in Mitchell, Ontario.  Frank, along with his wife Heather and kids just moved into a state of the art, cross vented robotic milking facility.  Along with robots, there is also a new calf nursery and Lely vector feeding system.
Building a facility like this can be a daunting task, Frank and I talk about the process from start to finish.
 
I hope you enjoyed this episode of the podcast, if you have any questions, you can contact me at keith.schweitzer@trouwnutrition.com or you can follow me on twitter @keithschweitzer for show updates and information on upcoming episodes.

Hmmm .... that escalated quickly!

On this week's episode of the podcast, I talk to Dustin Gamble, the commodity purchasing manager for Shur Gain Ontario about the commodity markets.  The markets have been volatile lately, and Dustin helps shed some light on what factors are influencing it from a local and global perspective.
 
I hope you enjoy this week's episode, if you have any questions, you can contact me at keith.schweitzer@trouwnutrition.com or you can follow me on twitter @keithschweitzer for show updates and information on upcoming episodes! 

Too cull .... or not too cull ..... that is the question?!

On this week's episode of the podcast, I talk with Gary Markus, who along with his wife and four kids run Markhill Holsteins in Ingersoll Ontario.   In addition to milking cows, Gary also works as an Elite account manager with Alta Genetics in SW Ontario. 
Gary and I had a great discussion about what criteria he uses to cull animals, it is a tough decision to move on from these animals, but with the right data we can make these decisions a little bit easier and make your operation more profitable 

DFD shorts - Diversifying your dairy business Pt. 1

On this week’s episode on the podcast, Keith Schweitzer talk to Steph Towers, who along with her husband have taken on the responsibilities of rearing another producers calf from week old to short bred.  Over the years, there farm has found interesting ways to expand their cash flow and maximize capital investment!

Show me the money

On this episode of the DFD podcast, Keith talks with Kristin Benke.  She is the Director, Economic and Product Development with the Dairy Farmers of Ontario.  Kristin has spent the last 11 years at the DFO where she plays a key role in getting the milk from your farm to your customers homes.

#Big Deal Mike Steele

On this episode of the DFD podcast Keith Schweitzer talks with Dr. Mike Steele, Associate Professor in the department of of Animal Bio Science at the University of Guelph. Dr. Steele shares many great insights of calf husbandry and gut health. They also discuss some of the cutting edge research happening at the University of Guelph.

The Need For Seed with Drew (the seed guru) Thompson

(A note on this episode, it was recorded on Wednesday Sept 23 over a week before the episode was released.)
In this episode we talk with Drew Thompson (agronomist with Pride seed) about some of the key factors to consider when buying seed for the coming year. We talk about what we are seeing so far this year with the silage that has already come off and we cover everything from planning, buying, planting and packing next years corn silage.  
We hope you enjoy this weeks episode!

It's Mani Pedi Time with Dr. Gerard Cramer!!

In this episode we talk with Dr. Gerard Cramer from the University of Minnesota about all things Hoof health. Dr. Cramer is a world renowned Hoof specialist that sheds some lite on what producers can do to prevent, treat and monitor lameness and improve overall cow health and profitability. 

Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls... It's Chow Time!!

On this week's episode of the DFD (Dairy Farming Discussions) podcast, we have the man, the myth the legend Bill Woodley on too talk about all things Corn silage.
Bill is the owner of Woodley Dairy Direction, a consulting company that focuses on teaching producers around the world how to improve their forages and their bottom lines.
Corn Silage time is on of the most critical times of the year for your farm, in this episode we cover the top 5 critical area's to focus on; Moisture, Chop length, inoculant, density and covering.
Thanks for listening!