Uplevel Dairy Podcast

Latest Episodes:

66 | Starting a Dairy Farm with $20,000 with Paul Windemuller, Dream Winds Dairy, Coopersville, Michigan Dec 26, 2023

Show notes

Some say it's impossible to start a dairy farm from scratch these days, but 9 years ago, Michigan dairyman Paul Windemuller did it ... with just $20,000 in cash.

Get ready to tap into the business mindset of this entrepreneurial dairy farmer today.

You're going to hear about the business practices Paul brought back to the U.S. from New Zealand to start his dairy with 30 leased cows in an old turkey coop and a homemade milking parlor, and how he got to where he is 9 years later: with a 250-cow herd in a robot barn.

It doesn't matter how many cows you milk or acres you run. You are going to find some powerful takeaways in Paul's story, and hear about his next venture of traveling around the world and sharing stories through his new AgCulture Podcast.

Links

Connect with Paul Windemuller on LinkedIn and find AgCulture Podcast on Apple, Spotify and YouTube, and follow on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram

Podcast Website: www.agculturepodcast.com

Follow Dream Winds Dairy on Instagram: #dreamwindsdairy

65 | Uplevel Dairy Young Leader: Michael Neves Dec 21, 2023

Show notes

Our featured Uplevel Dairy Young Leader today is Michael Neves. He joins us from California, though he has a network in the dairy community that reaches around the world.

The first few years of Michael’s career included working with startups in technology and animal health, before finding a great fit for his skillset as business development manager for Progressive Dairy Solutions.

Hear about:

How his entrepreneurial spirit almost led him to owning a McDonald's franchise at age 19
His passion for helping dairy farmers get paid for their sustainability practices
And the skills that he uses to have a seat at tables that are often filled with people twice his age.

Young producers and professionals will relate to the challenges and opportunities Michael sees, and those of us who are more seasoned can also take notes on what an ambitious young dairy leader desires in the workplace.

The Uplevel Dairy Young Leaders Podcast is THE podcast series for producers and professionals in the first 5 years of their dairy careers. Find it on the Uplevel Dairy Podcast, as well as its own platform, Uplevel Dairy Young Leaders on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube.

Join the Uplevel Dairy Young Leaders Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/792440762650346/

64 | Uplevel Dairy’s Top 5 Business and Leadership Resources Dec 19, 2023

Show notes

Looking for a quick list of great business and leadership books, videos and podcasts? Uplevel Dairy Podcast owner and host Peggy Coffeen shares her “Top 5” business and leadership resources that she has been tapping into for the past 12 months.
From millionaire entrepreneurs to church pastors, Peggy tells you how these resources apply to your dairy business, why they are worth your time and provides the links for quick access to reaching your own next level in business and leadership.
Looking for the resources mentioned in today's show? Head over to the show notes here to get all the details!

63 | The One Question the Most Progressive Dairy Managers are Asking with Elsie Gonzalez-Leach Dec 14, 2023

Show notes

What if there was just one question you could ask in the interview process to identify your next best, long-term employee? What if asking that one question not only helped you to fill an open spot today, but opened the door for that right person to stay with you for a decade, and who is bought into your vision and motivated to help achieve your goals and benchmarks for your business?

Elsie Gonzalez Leach, founder of Motiva Consulting works with some of the best dairies in the country to improve operational efficiencies and build strong teams, and she about to share with us the one thing that she says the most progressive dairy owners and managers are doing that completely transforms their hiring process and sets up a new employee for long term success that empowers and motivates the individual and they way the contribute to your team.

This episode is sponsored by Adisseo, global leader in animal nutrition and premium provider of rumen protected methionine for dairy producers who want to capture the power of components and maintain the health of their high-performing herds.

Contact: Elsie González-Leach

Motiva Consulting

Cell: 262.388.9096

Email: elsie.gonzalez@motiva.consulting

Visit Motiva Consulting on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/Motiva-Consulting-716448728490404/

62 | How to Shave Hours off of Milking Shifts with Elsie Gonzalez-Leach Dec 12, 2023

Show notes

If you are pulling your hair out because your milking parlor is constantly running behind schedule ... the 7-hour shift is stretching out to 9 hours, and the flow of feeding, cleaning stalls and everything else in the back of the barn is thrown off because you just can't seem to get all the groups milked on time?

If that's you, you are not alone - this is one of the biggest frustrations on a lot of dairies, and it's costing you time and money.

And did you know there may be another - even bigger money stealer - a less obvious but very costly scenario - and it's not in the parlor?

We're not just scratching the surface on these problems, we're going in deep on this episode of the Uplevel Dairy Podcast with a guest today who is in such high demand on dairy farms, that she's booking out to 2025.

Elsie Gonzalez Leach, founder of Motiva Consulting, is here to tell you how she helps clients shave hours off of milking shifts and she's going to tip you off to the sneaky, hidden issue that is siphoning time and money on so many dairies.

Elsie has spent nearly 15 years helping dairy businesses optimize efficiency, production and quality by building stronger dairy teams through consulting, coaching and leadership development.

Contact: Elsie González-Leach

Motiva Consulting

Cell: 262.388.9096

Email: elsie.gonzalez@motiva.consulting

Visit Motiva Consulting on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/Motiva-Consulting-716448728490404/

61 | Empowering Mid-level Managers, Cell Phone Policies and Team-Building Activities with Bridget Schilling, Schilling Farms Dec 07, 2023

Show notes

Empowering middle managers to be leaders, employee cell phone protocols and bringing team building to the dairies. That's what we are hitting up today on the Uplevel Dairy Podcast.

Bridget Schilling from Schilling Farms in Darlington and Montfort, Wisconsin, is back on with us today. On Ep 53, she talked about getting a new team on board while taking on a second dairy, and today, we are tapping into the tips and tools she brings to the table from her professional management role in nursing, to now handling human resources and employee relations for the operation that includes 2,100 cows and 30 employees.

Whether you manage a single site or multiple locations, I think you will find some great takeaways for developing leaders, building teams and some creative ways to get it all done.

60 | Uplevel Dairy Young Leaders featuring Taylor Zeltwanger, NutraDrip Dec 05, 2023

Show notes

Our featured Uplevel Dairy Young Leader is Taylor Zeltwanger. He joins us from Morris, Minnesota, where he resides with his wife. This 2020 South Dakota State University graduate started working for his uncle’s company, NutraDrip, while in college, and 5 years later, has channeled his massive energy and passion into a career helping farmers capture the value of precision ag and sustainable farming practices.

You will hear how Taylor is:

Finding big opportunities by working for a young company,
Learning how to work with different personality types
And living on purpose every day to bring sustainability, service and stewardship to farmers

The Uplevel Dairy Young Leaders Podcast is the special podcast series for producers and professionals in the first 5 years of their dairy careers. Find it on the Uplevel Dairy Podcast, as well as its own platform, Uplevel Dairy Young Leaders on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube.

Join the Uplevel Dairy Young Leaders Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/792440762650346/

Listen to our first featured Young Leader: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/peggy-coffeen/episodes/01--Introducing-the-new-Uplevel-Dairy-Young-Leaders-Podcast--featuring-Kiley-Pagel--Pagel-Family-Businesses-e2c6o1k

59 | Protecting His Price and Minimizing Risk with Nathan Moroney, Del Rio Dairy Nov 30, 2023

Show notes

Texas dairyman Nathan Moroney talked about using technology to make managing 8,000 cows at Del Rio Dairy easier and more efficient on Ep. 58, and today you are going to hear more from Nathan. His background story may surprise you.

Find out how this city boy from Pheonix found his way to the Texas Panhandle, where he dove in head first to learn the ropes of dairy management, and how he puts to work his business and finance background and eye for operational efficiencies every single day to manage the operation that has grown to now include more than 13,000 head of cattle and more than 70 employees.

So how is this business manager and dairy manager planning to protect his price point and minimize risk in 2024? That’s what you will hear on this podcast, part of the High-Performance Mindset Series, powered by Nedap. Nedap is future-proofing dairy farms by revolutionizing cow-side care through technologies in activity monitoring, cow locating, milk metering and identification.

Additional resources:

Listen to Episode 58 for Part 1 of Nathan's Story: https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/mtPoWeIe8Eb

The High-Performance Mindset Series is powered by Nedap. Nedap is future-proofing dairy farms by revolutionizing cow-side care through technologies in activity monitoring, cow locating, milk metering and identification. Listen for more episodes in this series throughout 2023.

58 | Dairy Tech in Texas: Managing 8,000 Cows with Activity Monitors featuring Nathan Moroney, Del Rio Dairy Nov 28, 2023

Show notes

One of the big challenges that comes up for dairy farm owners and managers as they grow and scale is this: Should you invest more heavily in highly-skilled, really good cow people, or invest in technology to do the things a good cow person could do?

What if there was a way to streamline your cow flow and work flow, that allowed those really good cow people to focus their time and attention only on the cows that really need it, and what if that could cut the number of cows in your hospital pen by 30%?

Well, that's what's been possible for Del Rio Dairy in Frionia, Texas, and manager Nathan Moroney talks about:

How the data is helping Del Rio Dairy save 30% of cows from ending up in the hospital pen
Why every pre-fresh heifer gets a collar in close-up pen
The high value of dry period data
How to get employees to buy in on new technology

As Del Rio Dairy has grown from around 3,000 cows to now the upwards of 8,000 and expanded to include 3 parlors on site, including the most recently built 90-stall rotary, they moved from capturing basic data from milk meters to now a full suite of real-time rumination and activity data from GEA CowScout activity monitoring collars.

The High-Performance Mindset Series is powered by Nedap. Nedap is future-proofing dairy farms by revolutionizing cow-side care through technologies in activity monitoring, cow locating, milk metering and identification. Listen for more episodes in this series throughout 2023.

Gratitude: The Secret Performance Hack Nov 23, 2023

Show notes

What do gratitude and thanksgiving have to do with you and your drive to reach your next level of performance as a dairy producer or professional?

Perhaps more than you think. Today I’m sharing how gratitude has become not just a habit for me, but a true performance hack.

If you want to be more clear, calm and focused both at work and at home, you are going to learn 3 easy steps to get started.

And Uplevel Dairy leaders - I’m so very grateful for you for coming along with me on the journey to uplevel your skillset and your mindset.

If the Uplevel Dairy Podcast is something you are grateful for, please take just one minute to give it a 5-star rating and review in your favorite listening platform.

Thank you, and God bless!

- Peggy

Additional resources:

Listen to more on gratitude as part of your game plan on Ep. 43:

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/upleveldairy/episodes/43---3-Strategic-Plays-to-Win-in-the-Fourth-Quarter---Jay-Joy-e29ceav/a-aac21as

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