A series of MPP dairy producer information meetings will be held at locations around Indiana in November. Please check the schedule for the location most convenient for you. These meetings will last approximately 2 hours and are free and open to the public. Dairy farmers are encouraged to attend. Membership in IDP is not required.
   Meetings are conducted by Purdue University Cooperative Extension and Farm Services Agency. Indiana Dairy Producers is teaming with these agencies to deliver these programs that are aimed at understanding of the details of the Margin Protection Program and Demonstration of Analytical Tools available to help dairy producers make decisions about participation, percentage of production to protect and margin levels. For the meetings on November 3 and 4, the programs will be delivered by Dr. Chris Wolf of Michigan State University, who was integral in developing analytical tools accompanied by Purdue, FSA, and IDP. For the November 18 and 19 meetings, programs will be delivered by Dr. Nicole Widmar of Purdue University accompanied by other Purdue specialists and FSA and IDP.
   For additional info on locations, visit our IDP website or click here. All times are Eastern Time. Light snacks will be served at all meetings. Please contact Doug Leman at 317-695-8228 if you have any questions about these info meetings.

Date	City	Registration Meeting begins 30 minutes later	Location click for map
Monday Nov 3	Goshen	9:30 AM	Elkhart Co. Fairgrounds
Monday, Nov 3	Greenfield	6 PM	Hancock Co. Fairgrounds
Tuesday, Nov 4	Seymour	9:30 AM	Jackson Co. Learning Ctr
Tuesday, Nov 4	Huntington	6 PM	4-H Community Building
Tuesday Nov 18	Jasper	1 PM	Dubois Co 4-H Fairgrounds
Wed Nov 19	W. Lafayette	9 AM	Beck Ag Center

 

IDP is very pleased that Vi-COR has made the decision to support IDP at the Gold level. Please click the logo above to visit their website.

Vi-COR� (Varied Industries Corporation) headquarters, located in Mason City, IA was purchased in 1998 by Mark Holt, President. Vi-COR is a manufacturer of All Natural Animal Health Products Specializing in Refined Functional CarbohydratesTM (RFC�). Vi-COR has expanded sales and marketing efforts by launching several new products and hiring key personnel for research, international sales, domestic sales and technical service positions for all species. Dedicated to the all-natural market and knowledge in today's technology Vi-COR has implemented new products with a unique blend of feed ingredients for the end user. Products are available in three concentrations dry, liquid, and a SCP (soluble concentrated powder). They are Research proven at Universities and on Farms. Vi-COR provides a global on farm service F.E.E.D. (Feeder Education Employee Development) and parlor education through our Milk to the Max Dairy Specialist at no cost in Spanish and English. Vi-COR distributes to over 70 countries emphasizing on customer service. The Power of V� for animal health and nutrition.

 

Venus, Supreme Champion WDE 2014

Sunrose Jess, Reserve Champion Jr. Show

Judge Molly Sloan of Columbus, Wis., gives Sunrose Jess the nod as Reserve Holstein of the Junior Show. This was the second Reserve Champion honor of the World Dairy Expo Junior Holstein Show for this aged cow, exhibited by Bryce and Brant Gingerich and Riley Treat of Millersburg, Indiana. Over 700 youth showed among 7 breeds, with 241 head showing in the Junior Holstein Show held on the first day of World Dairy Expo, Tuesday, September 30.

IDP is very pleased to welcome SoyChlor as a Silver level sponsor! Please read the important message below about how this company can help your dairy farm.

SoyChlor: Effective DCAD Management for Pre-Fresh Cows

 

Displaced abomasum, retained placenta, metritis, ketosis, fresh-cow mastitis, calves that are weak at birth - not to mention milk fever - all of these can be greatly reduced with "DCAD done right" for pre-fresh cows. Among the most research-tested and farm-proven preventive practices known to the dairy industry is the use of anionic supplements to adjust dietary cation-anion difference (DCAD) for pre-fresh cows.

 

Palatable commercial supplements like SoyChlor� make it easy to supply the chloride ion that is needed to lower DCAD. SoyChlor� also provides highly bioavailable calcium and crucial magnesium. Blended into feeds at a feed mill or on the farm, SoyChlor� is easy to handle, economical, and effective.

 

The improvements will be easily noticed particularly by the folks working with the fresh cows. So why resist this proven science? For just a pound or two of SoyChlor� each day in a properly balanced close-up diet, you can prevent a ton of post-fresh problems from ever happening.

 

To learn more about SoyChlor for your herd, contact our dairy nutrition team offering a full line-up of products:

• Brandi Gednalske Cell: (715) 220-9238

• Phil Cerny Cell: (608) 516-5157

Dr. Temple Grandin will participate in a public discussion at Fair Oaks Farms' The Farmhouse Restaurant.  Grandin will discuss reducing fear and stress in animals, breeding, handling stress in livestock, and gestation stalls.   A question and answer session will follow Dr. Grandin's presentation. The event is October 21 from 2pm to 4pm Central Time, preregistration cost is $15 and space is limited. Click here for details.

Brian Houin

   From its humble beginnings with nine cows in 1945, Homestead Dairy of Plymouth, Indiana, has embodied steady and continued progress. It's a value that third-generation owner-manager Brian Houin takes seriously.

   Today, Houin, along with five other family members and two non-family managers, oversees more than 3,500 lactating cows and 8,000 total animals on three sites in north-central Indiana. The young dairyman attributes much of the exponential growth of the business to strategic adoption of new technologies and management practices over time.

   "We always are looking for new ways to become more efficient," said Houin. "We don't adopt new things for the sake of trying them just because they are new. But if they fit our business goals and make financial sense, we'll give them a serious look."

   An example is the dairy's decision to start genomic testing all heifers. In just two years, Homestead Dairy is already reaping positive results from strategically selecting high-genomic replacements.

   Houin said an inventory of excess heifers initially triggered their interest in genomic testing. "We were selling springers and wanted to make sure we kept the right ones for our own herd," he said. "Parent averages alone only provide reliabilities in the 20s, whereas (with genomic testing) reliabilities approach 70 percent. It made sense to try to get more accurate information on those animals."

Homestead Dairy's first 50 samples were run on bred heifers ready to sell. "It didn't take long to figure out that those animals already were too old to make the best decisions for them," said Houin. "Some of the lowest genomic heifers were bred to sexed semen, and some of the highest ones were bull bred."

   Homestead Dairy now does genomic testing on young heifers prior to breeding, so the results can help dictate mating and culling decisions.  Read more 

IDP will have our annual Partners in Success Luncheon on Friday, November 14th at the Normandy Barn at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis. This event is designed for our sponsors and potential sponsors where we will unveil part of the strategic planning process we are currently working through. If you have an interest in attending, please contact Doug Leman at 317-695-8228.

 

There's big news from your dairy checkoff's partner, Quaker Oats! Quaker's iconic mascot (named, by the way, "Larry") is now sporting a milk mustache! Quaker took out a full-page ad in People and People en Espa�ol magazines. People magazine has a readership of 46.6 million and People en Espa�ol is the largest Spanish-language magazine in the country, with a readership of 6.4 million. Look for "Larry" to be sporting a milk mustache on upcoming Quaker products. Quaker Oatmeal will also begin list the nutrition facts of the oatmeal alone and when made (as is recommended!) with milk. The public will be able to see the added protein and calcium that dairy brings to the breakfast table. Quaker is also running a social media campaign where people can show off their milk mustaches! Click here for more information and make sure to share with your friends.
For more information on dairy promotion activities and how your checkoff dollars are working for you, please contact Jackie Barber at 317-842-3060 or email barber@winnersdrinkmilk.com