Page 2 • Dairy Conference and Expo Special Edition • Saturday, November 14, 2015

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milk fat, cheese and whey protein. “There has been an expansion in the market share,” DeVelder said. “One of the drivers for the demand in milk fat was the recent news that the ‘good’ fats found in dairy products are good for you.” Due to the growth in the market share, processing plants like AMPI are operating at full steam to keep up with demand. “We have kept an eye on the dairy products in demand and worked to meet those demands through our manufac-turing network,” Meshke said. “Lately, we have focused on the protein market. That has been a real growing area.” DeVelder saw the importance of sharing those changes with the dairy producers. “We want to offer producers infor-mation of where the market is going to help them further develop and adjust their business plans,” DeVelder said. Another area Meshke and DeVelder will brie y touch on during their key-note address is the Trans-Paci c Part-nership (TPP) trade agreement. “The trade agreement and how it will impact farmers is a hot topic right now, especially since Minnesota bor-ders Canada,” Meshke said. “I’m sure we’ll get some great discussion.” Seeing all of these changes in the industry, Meshke is very optimistic about the Midwest dairy industry’s fu-ture. “There is considerable promise here,” Meshke said. “At AMPI, we will continue to focus on the success of our dairy farmer-owners.”

More on DeVelder and Meshke Donn DeVelder and Sheryl Meshke serve as co-presidents and CEOs for As-sociated Milk Producers Inc. (AMPI). DeVelder has spent more than 30 years with the milk marketing coopera-tive, beginning as a eld representative providing on-farm consultation and assistance to the co-op’s dairy farmer-owners. He then joined the corporate staff at the cooperative’s New Ulm, Minn., of ce. Prior to being named co-president and CEO, DeVelder was the executive senior vice president, respon-sible for uid marketing and member services. DeVelder is a graduate of the University of Northern Iowa. Meshke has been with AMPI for nearly 25 years. During that time she

Conti nued from AMPI | Page 1

has served as vice president of public affairs and strategic planning. Follow-ing appointment as executive senior vice president, she focused on hu-man resources and strategic initiatives aimed at strengthening the Midwest dairy cooperative’s performance and value. Meshke holds a bachelor’s de-gree in agriculture from South Dakota State University and a master’s degree in business from the University of St. Thomas.

AMPI is headquartered in New Ulm, Minn., and owned by 2,500 Mid-west dairy farm families from Wiscon-sin, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota and North Dakota. AMPI mem-bers annually market about 5.8 billion pounds of milk, resulting in $2.2 bil-lion in sales for the cooperative. AMPI owns 10 manufacturing plants and mar-kets cheese, butter and powdered dairy products, serving food service, retail and food ingredient customers.

MARK KLAPHAKE/DAIRY STAR FILE PHOTOThe Discover Alley Trade Show for the Minnesota Milk Dairy Conference and Expo will be in a smaller space, while maintaining the same number of exhibitors.

MARK KLAPHAKE/DAIRY STAR FILE PHOTOOn Wednesday evening, MMPA will once again be having the annual scholarship aucti on prior to the awards banquet.

Page 20 • Dairy Conference and Expo Special Edition • Saturday, November 14, 2015

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ST. CLOUD, Minn. – Finding a balance between reproductive success and achieving a high production is a challenge often faced by dairy produc-ers. It is not, however, unattainable, ac-cording to King Smith of Select Sires, Inc. Smith will address this topic as well as others as he presents a producer panel and two sessions at the Minneso-ta Milk Dairy Conference and Expo on Dec. 2 and 3 in St. Cloud. As the Western Manager of Techni-cal Service for Select Sires, Inc., Smith has worked with cooperative members and personnel to improve cow repro-duction in western United States since 2010. As an experienced consultant, Smith looks forward to the Dec. 2 pro-ducer panel’s focus on the producer’s decision whether or not to utilize a technician in reproductive work. “We are going to have a variety of producers that can have an open discus-sion and dialogue in regards to using professional technicians for their repro-ductive work,” Smith said. The goal of the discussion is not to sway producers’ decisions either way, but rather to help them decide if tech-nicians are the right option for their herd’s reproduction. “The panel will help producers get an idea on what way they want to go and what it takes to be successful with or without a professional technician,”

Smith said. In addition to the producer panel, Smith has also prepared two sessions that he will be presenting on Dec. 3. The rst session, “Great Repro, High Production: You Can Have it All,” will look at ways producers can nd a bal-

ance between high production and re-production within the herd. “From a com-mercial standpoint, I want to look at people who are performing at a high level of pro-duction and a high level of reproduc-tion,” Smith said.

“We will look at dairies that are already doing this and at the practices they uti-lize to make that work.” The session will look at ways for producers to maximize their reproduc-tive success on the farm, and what they are doing to have a high production to match it. Smith hopes attendees can leave with the tools necessary to im-prove their success within their own herds. “I want those in attendance to be able to identify the key things these dairies are doing to not only get great production and reproduction, but to maintain it,” Smith said. “Many people think you can only have one or the oth-er, but in reality, you can have both.”

Smith’s second session, “We are Monitoring Performance – Now What?” will cover the things Smith monitors on farms and how they are monitored. “We will explore what success looks like, and the benchmarks that in-dicate how producers are doing,” Smith said. Smith’s goal is by diving into this information; attendees will leave with a greater sense of what to do after they begin monitoring performance. “After we see these, we will deter-mine the things we need to look at to correct the areas where the dairy is not performing,” Smith said. “We will give recommendations on what to look at and change in order to make production even better.” After producers leave his sessions, Smith hopes they leave with a sense of re ection and motivation to make changes on their own dairies. “I would like producers to spend time thinking about where they current-

ly are with their situation and hopefully nd some things through the presenta-tions that they can, in turn, make their situation even better,” Smith said. The opportunity to motivate andencourage producers to better their herds excites Smith. “If I can motivate these guys or atleast give them some sort of informationthat motivates them to be more success-ful from a pro tability standpoint, thatreally makes it worth it,” Smith said.

More about Smith Smith is a Texas native who hasbeen involved with the industry forover 40 years. At the age of 13, hebegan working for an area dairy andbeef producer. He has continued to beinvolved in agriculture and the indus-try ever since. Smith graduated fromTexas A&M University with a degreein agricultural economics before goinginto dairy genetics. He began workingin San Antonio where he collected se-men and worked with embryo transfers in half of the state. He then moved toCalifornia where he ran his own tech-nician business before beginning his work with ABS. While working forABS, Smith served as the western man-ager covering ve different states forfour years. Smith began his position asthe Western Manager of Technical Ser-vice for Select Sires, Inc., in 2010 andhas been there ever since. He resides inStephenville, Texas.

Smith to share secrets for dairy reproduction success

BY CASSIE OLSONStaff writer

King SmithSelect Sires

Attend Smith’s two sessions and

producer panelDec. 2-3

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Dairy Conference and Expo Special Edition • Saturday, November 14, 2015 • Page 23

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – Consistent milk intake at a young age has been proven to be crucial for the vitality of calves as they grow. With advanced technologies, calf-management practices continue to evolve in ways

that focus more on calf health, by monitoring the basic needs of each individual calf. At the Minnesota Milk Dairy Conference and Expo on Wednesday, Dec. 2, Jim Salfer, with the University of Minnesota

Extension Dairy Team, will moderate a producer panel to discuss the bene ts and challenges of automatic calf feeders. During this time, Salfer and his co-worker, Dr. Marcia Endres, will highlight research ndings collected from 38 farms in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa, all of whom utilize this type of group feeding system. “With increasing popularity,

automatic calf feeders have been bene cial additions to some dairy farms, while a costly hinder to others,” Salfer said. While some work may be alleviated with the application of this technology, automatic calf feeders are not designed to lessen the time it takes a farmer to care for their calves, but rather improve time management to better monitor the health of these young animals. “Raising calves in hutches is a great way to go, but you have to be there in the morning and afternoon through the cold, miserable winters,” Salfer said. “It can be easier to manage one pen with 20 calves rather than 20 pens with 20 calves.” The purpose of the yearlong research trial was to comprehensibly look at feeding relative to well being of the calves. Farms were monitored every two months and data was collected in relation to health, feed intake and building ventilation among other key aspects of the automatic calf feeders,

including air quality and even the cleaning schedule. “We wanted to identify factors

that farmers are doing to manage their buildings in order to keep their calves healthy,” Salfer said. “Ultimately, the best management practices are what we already know – clean, clean, clean.” W i t h frequently cleaned housing and adequate space, calves drink more milk. “Lots of [milk] calories make healthy calves,” Salfer said. In addition to the research trial being discussed,

two dairy producers – Tim Kerfeld and Chad Carlson – will be available to answer questions pertaining to their experience with automatic calf feeders. In 2009, Kerfeld and his family implemented one automatic calf feeder on their 100-cow dairy near St. Rosa, Minn. The Kerfelds use a Lely Calm automatic calf feeder for two pens of calves. Just last year, the Carlsons installed Urban CalfMoms onto their 1,250-cow dairy near Pennock, Minn. “I think it will be nice to see the

Are automatic calf feeders right for you?Salfer discusses research, moderates producer panel

BY JENN JANAKStaff writer

Jim SalferU of M Extension

Attend the calf feeder producer

panel3 p.m.

Wed., Dec. 2

variations between large- and small-scale farms and how management is different,” Salfer said. “Both [Kerfeld and Carlson] are successful with their calves; they really think through anyproblems that may arise in order tomake sure their calves are growingstrong and staying healthy.” Despite their differences, Salfercredits both farms for their approach toputting in automatic calf feeders, andguarantees audience members will bepleased with the producer panel and theinformation shared the rst afternoon at the Minnesota Milk Dairy Conferenceand Expo. “Farmers are a great group ofpeople. They are willing to say to each other what doesn’t work well and whatdoes; they share the secrets,” Salfer said. “At this presentation, hopefully people can walk away with an idea ofwhat to do right if they want to put inautomatic calf feeders.”

“At this presentation, hopefully people can walk away with an idea of what to do right if they want to put in automatic feeders.”

- Jim Salfer

Tim KerfeldHillview-S Dairy

Chad CarlsonCarlson Dairy

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