The I-29 Moo University Dairy Consortium launched a new podcast in 2020. Created for dairy producers along the I-29 corridor and across the United States, the podcast shares industry-specific insights from the Consortium’s Extension Dairy Specialists.
“The podcast discusses current issues faced by dairy producers from economics and animal health, to forage, labor and farm programs,” said Kim Clark, Nebraska Extension dairy educator, and one of three regular hosts for the program.
The I-29 Moo University Dairy Consortium is a collaboration of land-grant University Extension specialists from Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota as well as representatives from the dairy industry with complementary expertise and knowledge of dairy production and management in the region. Minnesota-based partners in the Consortium include the University of Minnesota Extension, the Minnesota Dairy Initiative and the Minnesota Milk Producers Association.
The consortium’s mission is to advocate for a sustainable dairy community through education. The twice-monthly podcast offers a new medium for outreach by featuring commentary by dairy specialists in conversation with other dairy industry experts. The podcast hosts include Kim Clark, Jim Salfer, Minnesota Extension Dairy Educator and Fred M. Hall, Northwest Iowa Extension Dairy Specialist.
“Podcasts give dairy producers another avenue to receive timely, relevant dairy-related information such as production practices, financial management and practical strategies, and they don’t have to attend a workshop or be in front of their computer,” said Jim Salfer.
Past podcast topics to-date include the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP), heat stress, forage preservation and sampling, feeding strategies, animal activism, silage safety, risk management tools, reproduction, and quality assurance programs, as well as value-add ag opportunities.
“The podcast is geared toward dairy producers of all sizes from 20 cows to 10,000 cows,” Hall said. “We hope that producers will interact with questions and comments that can help us develop more programs specific to what they need to know.”
Each episode is about 30 minutes and is available on the I-29 Moo University website at feeds.captivate.fm/i-29-moo-u, as well as on each state’s Dairy Extension website. Producers can also subscribe to the “I-29 Moo U Dairy Podcast” on iTunes, Spotify or any podcast platform. Past episodes are archived and available for review at any time.
The Dairy Business Innovation Alliance (DBIA), a partnership between the Center for Dairy Research (CDR) and Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association (WCMA), distributes grants to dairy based farms and processors in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Applications for grants up to $50,000 are being accepted through April 30, 2021.
To learn more, go to cdr.wisc.edu/grant-program.