Earlier this year, Balchem and Progressive Dairy Magazine partnered to create a new webinar series, The Real Producer Exchange. In this podcast episode, Scott and Walt reflect on the first webinar in the series, where Clare Alderink from Brian Ryzebol Dairy was the featured producer. Walt gives an overview of the premise and setup of the webinar series along with a brief overview of Clare’s background and current operation. Walt and Scott go on to share some excerpts from the webinar. (0:33)

Clare talks about the dairy’s experience incorporating high oleic soybeans into their rations, including pitfalls, growing pains and successes. (2:56)

Ryzebol Dairy uses the AfiCollar feed efficiency tool. Clare talks about how they’re using the data from the collars to make culling and breeding decisions, with an eye toward selecting more efficient cows to produce replacement heifers over time. (9:35)

Clare also shares about things the dairy has tried that didn’t work out so well, including the installation of solar. He notes that more research and discussion should have taken place among the dairy, the developer and the utility. (16:28)

Scott and Walt invite listeners to the next Real Producer Exchange on Tuesday, August 26 at 11 am EST, featuring Rob Diepersloot, a seventh generation dairy farmer and founder of WonderCow Nutrition, a colostrum-based wellness company. Topics will include how the family started and manages a consumer colostrum product, and how it impacts the dairy; the many differences in management needs across three locations – two in California and one in Colorado; and the vital role sustainability plays in all aspects of both businesses. (19:57)

To register for the Real Producer Exchange webinar on August 26, visit balchem.com/realscience

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This episode was recorded at the 2025 Western Dairy Management Conference in Reno, Nevada.

Stan begins with an overview of the dairy checkoff since its inception in 1983. At that time, dairy farmers were producing 139 billion pounds of milk, but only 122 million pounds were being consumed. Dairy promotion has evolved to focus on research and education about nutrition, crisis management and even partnerships with Domino’s, Taco Bell and McDonald’s. (3:02)

Stan and Marty detail some of the national and regional partnerships around dairy menu options. Walt notes that the grilled cheese burrito from Taco Bell is one of his son’s favorite fast food meals. The panel discusses some of the strategy behind the Taco Bell partnership as well as marketing to Gen Z consumers about how dairy fits into mind and body wellness. (6:39)

Walt comments the checkoff has done and is continuing to do a great job of being future-ready. He remembers a few years ago hearing about the gaming generation and partnerships with Mr. Beast and YouTube and embedding cows in Minecraft, and now his sons are playing Minecraft and gaming and are on YouTube. (13:43)

Stan notes in 1995, exports were at 3%. That has now increased to 16-17%. Marty gives some examples of partnerships with the Dallas Cowboys and HEB stores in Mexico to promote dairy. (16:09)

The panel discusses the US investments in processing, the “Dairy Renaissance”, research into dairy-as-medicine, and continued product innovations to meet consumer demands. (23:24)

Marty and Stan detail the agreement between the Dairy Checkoff and Mayo Clinic investigating the role of whole milk foods in treating and preventing cardiovascular and metabolic disease. (34:04)

Panelists share their take-home thoughts. (37:51)

You can find more information about the dairy checkoff at https://www.dairycheckoff.com/

Please subscribe and share with your industry friends to invite more people to join us at the Real Science Exchange virtual pub table.

If you want one of our Real Science Exchange t-shirts, screenshot your rating, review, or subscription, and email a picture to anh.marketing@balchem.com. Include your size and mailing address, and we’ll mail you a shirt.

This episode was recorded at the 2025 Western Dairy Management Conference in Reno, Nevada.

Mike gives an overview of his three presentations at the conference regarding heifer supply. The panel discusses how the industry went from too many heifers to not enough heifers. (3:46)

Clay asks Dan about his breeding philosophy from a semen standpoint right now as a purebred Holstein breeder. He suggests skating to where the puck’s going versus where it’s been, and focusing on yield and protein after such a large emphasis on fat. He also emphasizes health traits, particularly because the industry needs cows to last longer due to low heifer supply. Mike notes that this can have negative impacts, including lower milk yield, more chronic mastitis, and perhaps elongating the generation interval of genetic gain. He shares that while huge strides have been made in genetic improvement for yield and components, we have gone backwards a bit on disease resistance and fertility in the last five years or so. Tom suggests that it just ups the ante on management, especially with an older milking herd. (10:55)

The panel talks about sexed semen (beef and dairy both) and IVF/embryo transfer. (14:49)

Mike details some research in Holstein herds that decreased their replacement rate and number of heifers calving from 2020-2022 (surplus herds) compared to 2023-2024 (short herds). Short herds kept cows 25 days longer in milk, but the net impact was an average of seven pounds less milk per day over the last 30 days prior to culling. He also noted an increase in chronic mastitis in the short herds. (20:18)

Mike describes his presentation regarding the heifer completion rate: once a heifer is born alive, what’s the expected percent of heifers remaining at first calving? Many producers have a false high assumption of this number, around 90%. In 65 herds Mike analyzed in the last year, the median completion rate was 76%. He details the different life stages during which losses occurred, along with management considerations to reduce these impacts. Dan shares his perspectives on the heifer completion rate. (24:11)

The panel discusses a variety of topics around heifer supply, including whether heifers are entering the herd at a younger age to compensate for low inventories, appropriate heifer size at calving, optimal age at first calving, and just how short the supply of heifers is. (29:01)

Panelists share their take-home thoughts. (38:35)

Please subscribe and share with your industry friends to invite more people to join us at the Real Science Exchange virtual pub table.

If you want one of our Real Science Exchange t-shirts, screenshot your rating, review, or subscription, and email a picture to anh.marketing@balchem.com. Include your size and mailing address, and we’ll mail you a shirt.