Progressive Dairy Podcast

Dustin Jonasson, Commodity Consultant at Total Farm Marketing, joins the podcast to discuss essential resources every dairy farmer should track to make informed decisions in today’s volatile market. He provides insights into critical reports, such as the Daily Spot Trade, Global Dairy Trade Auction, and USDA Milk Production Report, and how these resources can help dairy farmers stay ahead of market trends. Dustin also explains how Total Farm Marketing’s TFM360 platform and Dairy Revenue Protection (DRP) insurance work together to help dairy producers navigate market risks with proactive, AI-driven strategies.  Episode Highlights: Overview of Total Farm Marketing’s TFM360 and DRP Insurance SolutionsEssential Dairy Market Reports Every Farmer Should TrackHow TFM360 Uses AI to Drive Strategic Decision-MakingThe Role of DRP Insurance in Protecting Dairy RevenueThe June 30 DRP Insurance Agency Selection Deadline and Why It’s Crucial to Act Now This episode is sponsored by Total Farm Marketing by Stewart-Peterson. Total Farm Marketing’s family of companies helps farmers manage commodity price volatility with comprehensive strategies and recommendations that span a producer’s operation. Total Farm Marketing offers two services to help dairy farmers optimize operations. TFM360, a product of Stewart-Peterson Inc., is an AI-powered, rules-based platform that provides data-driven recommendations for managing price risk on milk, feed, and fuel. Dairy Revenue Protection insurance, offered through SP Risk Services LLC, secures a safety net against market downturns. Futures and options involve risk, and are not suitable for everyone. SP Risk Services LLC is an insurance agency and an equal opportunity provider. Guest Bio: Dustin Jonasson joined Total Farm Marketing in 2020. Dustin’s education in finance and business led him to his professional experience in the agricultural industry as a farm marketing advisor and dairy feed salesman. Having worked with both grain and dairy producers, he knows that helping them find success in marketing starts with building a trusted relationship and gaining a deep understanding of his clients’ operations. His attention to detail, great listening skills, and his commitment to his clients make him uniquely qualified as a TFM360 Commodity Sales Consultant.

In this episode of the Progressive Dairy Podcast, Brad Guse from BMO joins host Kimmi Devaney to discuss the metrics dairy producers should be watching right now, why risk management and contingency plans are vital, how to build a good relationship with your ag lender, and the recent BMO report about eight key economic and market trends that are significantly impacting U.S. farmers right now. Here’s an overview of the episode: [~2:35] BMO report: What is happening right now with trade, the impact is it having on agriculture and how dairy producers can best manage through these uncertainties [~4:05] BMO report: Slower economic growth[~5:00] BMO report: Abundant crop supplies, livestock leaner[~6:40] Impact of beef-on-dairy[~8:45] BMO report: The value of the U.S. dollar [~9:35] BMO report: Some costs decreasing[~11:00] BMO report: Interest rates[~12:25] BMO report: Labor [~13:15] BMO report: Productivity growth[~14:50] The impact of higher butterfat and protein on processing [~17:30] The most important metrics for dairy producers to watch right now as they look at their operation’s financials[~23:30] The most important parts of a risk management plan [~25:10] What keeps ag lenders up at night?[~29:30] Tips for building a good relationship with your ag lender[~32:20] Examples of contingency plans and how to develop them [~38:20] Current topics dairy producers are talking about[~41:20] What producers should be asking or talking about with their ag lender that they probably aren’t[~43:15] When should producers involve their ag banker in succession planning discussions?[~46:30] Rapid-fire questions

Today we're joined by Renee Smith, Western Sales Manager at Virtus Nutrition, a manufacturer of calcium salts of fatty acids, to discuss benchmarking for fertility, the top KPIs that every dairy should watch. This episode is sponsored by Virtus Nutrition.

Many producers recognize herd monitoring for its heat detection capabilities, but producers can do so much more than they may realize with this technology. In this Progressive Dairy sponsorcast, listen in as Merck Animal Health Customer Success Specialist Sarah Anderson and Merck Animal Health Senior Application Specialist Evan Platte discuss the many herd health and cost-saving benefits these novel technologies provide and how producers can get the most out of them. Episode highlights include: Using herd monitoring for more than heat detectionKeys to success when adopting new technologiesLesser-known reports to improve overall efficiency Questions: Producers often invest in SenseHub monitoring with a specific application in mind, such as improving their repro program — how do you try and help them realize the FULL benefits and capabilities of SenseHub Dairy, along with their initial motivation?What special reports or insights from SenseHub Dairy do producers sometimes overlook — but could be game-changers if used more often?What’s a lesser-known, high-impact way producers are using SenseHub Dairy monitoring systems?What do you hear most often from producers who have installed sorting gates? How do sorting gates reduce stress — both for cows and the employees — when it comes to managing cows that need attention?What kind of efficiencies are created when milking points, herd monitoring and sort gates are fully integrated? Do the benefits compound one another?How can a producer use SenseHub Dairy data to make a targeted reproductive decision, rather than relying on blanket protocols?From your perspectives, what do the most successful dairies do differently when adopting these technologies? This episode is sponsored by Merck Animal Health. With identification, monitoring and biopharma products fully integrated in one portfolio, Merck Animal Health offers the only true full-solution approach in the dairy industry. Which means you get the tools you need to eliminate guesswork, solve specific problems, let cows be cows and put more milk in the tank. It’s the way you want to work, working better than ever before. Learn more about this unique approach to dairy at M-Power-Dairy.com. 

In this episode of the Progressive Dairy Podcast, learn from National Mastitis Council president and director of Udder Health Systems Justine Britten as she and host Matti McBride discuss milk quality. Enjoy a conversation about changes in milk quality, innovations that have changed how milk quality is managed on dairies, common problems in parlors, tips for sampling milk for mastitis cultures and more. Here is the episode breakdown: 1:00 – Britten’s background2:40 – How milk quality has changed recently7:30 – What’s made the biggest wave in milk quality12:00 – Britten’s approach to treating a mastitis outbreak17:05 – The most common problem in parlors today18:40 – How to properly sample milk for a mastitis culture23:18 – The importance of explaining the problem at hand when sending milk to a lab26:00 – The biggest misconception when it comes to milk quality28:00 – Rapid-fire questions

In this episode, we will introduce you to the 2025 Nexus Innovation Award winners. They were recently recognized at Professional Dairy Producers Business Conference. One of the award winners is an innovative new lending marketplace that can help producers find funding for tech-centered projects. Another winner has a sort gate that uses electromagnets and springs to operate and makes less noise during operation. One is a new feed pad design to capture rainwater and keep it out of lagoons. Another winner has a rumen-protected feed product that looks promising to improve feed efficiency. Finally, one is an automated hoof bath with onboard computer vision to spot digital dermatitis earlier. Congratulations to the 2025 Nexus Innovation Award winners! Here is a breakdown of the episode: ~1:45 – BankBarn~15:20 – CowManager~34:45 – Dairy Nutrient Reclamation~52:00 – QuadraStep~1:09:15 – Pathway Intermediates

Join Anne Marie Splitstone and Silvia Robles from Dairy Management Inc., who are driving innovation in the dairy sector. They dissect the evolution of fluid milk since 2015, focusing on consumer preferences for high-protein and low-sugar options. Discover how successful products like Fairlife and Milk50 emerged from deep consumer insights and strategic partnerships. The discussion highlights the pivotal role of research networks in shaping consumer engagement and the future landscape of dairy offerings.

Raising healthy calves isn’t just about helping them survive their first weeks—it’s about setting them up for lifetime productivity. One of the biggest factors in long-term success? Gut health. In this episode, Taylor Wolfe, a territory sales representative with DBC Ag Products, shares what she’s seeing on Northeast dairy farms and why prioritizing gut health and immune support from day one leads to healthier, more productive calves. Wolfe also explains what sets First Arrival® apart and how proactive care pays off, especially as treatment regulations and input costs shift. This episode is sponsored by DBC Ag Products.

Connecticut dairy producer Amanda Freund recently took the national stage to promote her product Cow Pots (and in turn, the dairy industry) during a televised episode of Shark Tank. Host Kimmi Devaney sat down with her to learn about this experience and how this product has changed manure management on their farm over the past 20-plus years, how diversifying their farm has been a game changer and so much more. This is a high-energy episode you won’t want to miss. Contact Freund at cowpots.com, @cowpotsgirl on Instagram or amanda@cowpots.com. Here’s a breakdown of the episode: [~1:25] Freund’s inspiration for building her dairy career[~3:30] Cow Pots: 1990s to now[~7:30] Manure management cooperatives[~9:50] Manure management and their anaerobic digester[~13:45] Marketing and target audience for Cow Pots[~18:30] The greatest lessons she has learned over the last two decades building and expanding this business.[~20:40] Freund shares about her recent experience on Shark Tank[~26:15] A new product line for Cow Pots[~35:00] The value of media training in preparing for big opportunities like Shark Tank and everyday conversations.[~39:15] Where Freund learned to negotiate as well as she did on the Shark Tank episode.[~42:05] Freund’s advice for others interested in promoting dairy locally or on a national stage.[~44:45] Key takeaways from her Shark Tank experience.[~47:05] What drives her family when it comes to sustainability and why it is important to them.[~48:55] About their farm market.[~52:40] The benefits of diversifying their farm to create multiple revenue streams.[~54:45] Freund’s advice for other dairy producers looking for innovative ways to create new revenue streams on their operations[~58:20] Rapid-fire questions

Afimilk recently released the first product to accurately identify individual cow dry matter intake and calculate the feed efficiency of each animal. Product manager, Veronica Shabtai, DVM, shares the research behind the ground-breaking development and producer Jacob de Jong from Parkview Dairy in California, talks about how he's used the service to enhance the accuracy and profitability of his culling decisions. Listen to hear that and more. This episode is sponsored by Afimilk.