Guests:
Jim Ostrom, MilkSource, with locations in Wisconsin, Michigan and Missouri
Pat Maddox, RuAnn Genetics and Maddox Dairy in California
Jonathan Lamb, Oakfield Corners Dairy and Lamb Farms in New York & Ohio
Co-host: Brian Garrison, Balchem Animal Nutrition & Health
We are so excited to come to you from the World Dairy Expo today. We are happy to be back at World Dairy Expo in Madison in 2021. We are also doing things a little different today and are welcoming three icons in the dairy industry to sit at the pub table with us – and not virtually.
To kick things off Pat Maddox discussed his genetic and commercial business and how they go hand-in-hand for the number one goal of increasing the genetics in the herd for better production, better productive life, and better health. The second goal is meeting the needs of the market and demand. This entails breeding for high indexes, breeding for show and breeding for AI. (6:07)
The producers weighed in on the discussion of the evolution of breeding for the “big cows” trait. Now in the showring and in production, it is important that the cattle be good first and not just big. The production must be considered as well. (6:54)
Jim Ostrom discussed dairy strength improvements versus big and big bones. Dairy strength is hard to physically see on an animal but when they have it they have better balance. He also discussed the improvements in mammary systems in the industry. (8:27)
Jonathan Lamb discussed improvements into the industry due to genomics. He explained that the commercial herd and the showring cattle don’t always line up on the productivity scale. Sometimes the old show cattle struggle to get pregnant and have different health traits. It’s important for showring animals to translate back to that productive commercial herd. Genomics could help breed some desirable traits into the commercial herd as well. (11:56)
Jim Ostrom discussed the importance of communication with consumers. Whether you have 50 or 50,000 social media followers all producers need to tell their story. Producers need to communicate animal care, animal health, soil erosion, sustainability, etc. Occasionally we have to be aggressive on the national stage when things are being said about our industry that are not true. (10:31)
Pat Maddox discusses his use of outsourcing in his operation to improve efficiencies. His operation outsources Human Resources and Nutrition. They use internal veterinarians because of the amount of need for veterinarians in their operations. (28:44)
Jonathan Lamb talks about establishing a culture about animal care among employees so it is a trickle-down effect. If the employees know the importance of what should and shouldn’t be done, then they will feel comfortable reporting bad behavior to those in charge. And the managers have to follow through and terminate bad actors on their farms, so it is not an ongoing issue. (30:55)
Pat Maddox discusses the role innovation plays in the industry like embryo transfer and genetics as well as biosolids. The co-op their operation belongs to is focusing on butter powder and other powder mixes that can be exported to feed the world. (41:47)
As a reminder, we will continue breaking down the new 2021 8th Revised Edition of the Nutrient Requirements of Animals in podcasts releasing over the coming weeks. Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss any of the new episodes. If you’d like to pre-order a copy and receive a 25% discount, visit Balchem.com/realscience and click on the NRC series for a link and the discount code.
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This podcast is sponsored by Balchem Animal Nutrition and Health.
