Rising costs are reshaping dairy nutrition strategies as milk fat levels continue to increase across US herds. This episode examines how supply chain pressures and renewable diesel demand are influencing fat economics, while highlighting how different fatty acids affect intake, component efficiency, reproduction, and overall return on investment.

Key takeaway: Diets balanced for functional fatty acids and efficiency, rather than cost per ton, are critical for protecting cow performance and profitability in volatile fat markets.

This episode is sponsored by Actus Nutrition, innovators of precision dairy nutrition solutions. Actus proudly manufactures Energy Booster and RPMet, category leading supplements that help farmers maximize their milk check. To learn more about other nutrition products by Actus, such as custom milk replacer products, visit https://actus.com/livestock/specialty-ingredients/

Ben Dickman of Dickman and Sons Dairy joins host Matti McBride in this episode of the Progressive Dairy Podcast to discuss how he creates pregnancies in 110°F temperatures. Learn what type of cooling system Dickman implements, what reproduction protocol he follows and more about his dairy in Coolidge, Arizona.

Episode breakdown:

• 0:40 – Rapid-fire questions
• 1:45 – Dickman’s background, Dickman and Sons Dairy
• 3:20 – Temperature challenges
• 4:45 – Cooling systems
• 6:30 – Reproduction protocol
• 7:30 – Current breeding split
• 9:15 – Focus on cow comfort
• 11:20 – Methane digester
• 12:20 – Dickman’s advice for getting cows pregnant in heat
• 13:20 – Goals moving forward

Join Kenley Zuga and Gene Spellman from Central Life Sciences as they highlight how feed-through fly control can help livestock producers manage fly populations more effectively. In this podcast, they will talk about how targeting flies early in their lifecycle can help reduce pressure on animals, improve overall comfort, and support better performance. They also underscore the importance of combining multiple control methods as part of a broader management approach. Tune in to learn a practical, low-labor strategy for controlling flies that can improve both animal and working conditions on your farm.

Learn more about ClariFly Larvicide and how it can work on your operation.

This episode is sponsored by Central Life Sciences.

On this Progressive Dairy Podcast, Matt Hendel shares how herd data supports day-to-day decision-making on his dairy operation. From cow-side decisions to long-term herd management, this conversation highlights how disciplined, accurate data helps keep herd information organized, manage complexity, and support informed decisions with confidence.

Drawing from years of experience using Dart—the proven herd management system built on standardized data—Matt discusses how herd management tools support daily workflows, connect data across technologies, and adapt as his operation has grown.

This episode is sponsored by DRMS.

DRMS is a trusted provider of dairy information and decision tools. As a non-profit with deep ties to NC State and Iowa State universities, we’ve spent over 65 years serving the dairy industry—delivering research-backed software, standardized data, and exceptional customer support. Our dedicated team works alongside producers and consultants to ensure they get the training, tools, and insights they need. We turn complex herd data into clear, actionable insights that help producers and consultants make informed decisions, every day—through solutions built in collaboration with the dairy industry.

This episode introduces you to the 2026 Nexus Innovation Award winners, recently recognized at the Professional Dairy Producers Business Conference.

We're talking about three technologies that caught the judges' attention: a bolus administered at dry-off that cuts milk production 50% to 60% in 24 hours, an eartag that monitors calf activity from birth and alerts you when behavior deviates from normal, and a semiautomated milking technology that handles everything from pre-dip to post-dip.

Congratulations to the 2026 Nexus Innovation Award winners!

Related articles:

AHV for StopLac

Merck Animal Health for SenseHub Dairy Youngstock

GEA Farm Technologies for DairyProX

StopLac by AHV (1:45 to 14:22)

2:55 How does the product work?

5:30 How was this product developed?

7:00 When do you administer this product?

8:00 How are early adopters using this product?

9:30 What are the long-term effects of this product?

11:05 Any side effects from this product?

12:00 What feedback have you heard from early adopters?

SenseHub Dairy Youngstock by Merck Animal Health (14:25 to 30:00)

15:00 When do you administer this product and how does it work?

15:45 Is the algorithm customizable?

17:00 What insights are you seeing from early adopters?

21:00 What sets this product apart from other monitoring?

23:15 What's the life expectancy of the tag and any warranties?

25:00 What value is created for producers in whole-life monitoring?

27:30 What have you learned about how to successfully transition to an activity monitoring system?

DairyProX by GEA Farm Technologies (31:00 to 44:10)

31:10 What is this product and what does it do?

31:55 How does the product work?

34:10 Does this product limit pre- or post-dips a dairy can use?

36:15 What's the consistency a dairy can expect from using this product?

37:30 What's the return on investment for most dairies?

38:45 Does this product only work with GEA equipment?

41:30 Does this product use more water than conventional milking prep?

42:40 What feedback have you heard from early adopters?

Making good silage is an art and utilizing technologies can help us improve the process to deliver consistent feed to our animals.

This episode is sponsored by Novonesis.

Join host Kimmi Devaney and dairyman George Dick from Dicklands Farm and Dicklands Biogas in Chilliwack, British Columbia, for a conversation about building and managing a digester, their genetics strategy and the evolution of their facilities over the last four decades.

Learn more about their digester by visiting their website.

Episode breakdown:

• [~0:40] History of Dicklands Farm and what inspired the family to start dairying again in 1988
• [~1:35] Evolution of facilities from 1988 until now
• [~2:00] How robots have changed their farm
• [~4:50] How data from the robots and other technology is utilized in management decisions
• [~7:00] What they would change if they built new facilities today
• [~8:40] Genetics strategy
• [~12:05] Other genetic traits they are prioritizing
• [~13:50] When and why they added the digester
• [~16:10] The process of building a digester
• [~18:55] Where they get the food waste for the digester
• [~21:15] Receiving frozen products
• [~23:00] The most rewarding part of owning a digester
• [~24:35] Digester tours
• [~26:50] Tour FAQs
• [~28:30] Questions dairy producers should be asking when considering adding a digester to their operation
• [~31:15] Running a digester as a separate business with different employees
• [~32:00] Fertilizer pellet as a byproduct of the digester
• [~35:30] Rapid-fire questions

Join us to explore how targeted beef-on-dairy breeding decisions can address key dairy farm challenges, including calf value optimization and breeding efficiency.

Jeremy Howard, senior sales and marketing manager for Simplot Animal Sciences and Texas Tech graduate researcher Kade Miller will share insights from recent Simplot Animal Science feedlot performance research and what the findings mean for dairies. They’ll examine how data-driven strategies can improve calf performance outcomes and help producers improve calf quality, capture more value and make more confident breeding decisions while managing risk and return in an evolving production and supply environment.

Learn more about SimVitro® cattle embryos by Simplot