Knowledge Nook

Located in the Atrium of the Exhibition Hall, the Knowledge Nook is a space designed for companies to showcase an innovative product, service or research that was introduced to the market since the last World Dairy Expo. There will be 27, 45-minute sessions over the course of World Dairy Expo, 9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Tuesday - Thursday, 9:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Friday.

The list of 2023 Knowledge Nook Sessions and their sponsors are below. Continuing education credits are obtainable by members of the American Registry of Professional Animal Scientists (ARPAS).

Innovation Unveiled also features additional cutting-edge products that can be found in the Trade Show.

Interested in hosting a session in 2024? We are now accepting applications for the 2024 Knowledge Nook Sessions. The application is available here.

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Tuesday, October 3

9:30 a.m

What's Next for Dairy Reproduction with Technology-Driven Insights?

Speakers: Taliah Danzinger, Dairy Intelligence, and Craig Walter, Senior Educator, VAS

Presenting Company: VAS

10:30 a.m.

Intestinal Health Management Improves Productivity and Well-Being of Dairy Cattle

Speaker: Sara Trojan, Ph.D., PAS, Nutrition and Management Consultant, Peak Consulting, LLC

Presenting Company: Kemin Animal Nutrition & Health

11:30 a.m.

Farm Pulse - Using Farm Financials to Make Informed Decisions

Speaker: Katie L. Wantoch, Farm Management Professor of Practice, UW-Madision Division of Extension
Presenting Company: UW Madison Extension Agriculture Institute

12:30 p.m.

Maximizing Total Annual Forage With Triticale

Speaker: Racey Padilla, Small Grain Research Director, TriCal Superior Forage
Presenting Company: TriCal Superior Forage

1:30 p.m.

New Standard Tests Can Verify Disease Resistance Claims
Speaker: Olivia Steinmetz, Alfalfa Research Director, Legacy Seeds

Presenting Company: Legacy Seeds

2:30 p.m.

Who Is On Your Digester Team?

Speaker: Renee Schrift, Business Line Director – Agricultural Systems, McLanahan Corporation

Presenting Company: McLanahan Corporation

3:30 p.m.

Modern Approaches to Optimizing Calf Performance on Your Farm

Speaker: Kayla Rink, Director, Dairy Science and Farm Practices, Dairy Farmers of America
Panelists: Ralph Briggs, Animal Nutrition Consultant; Dan Kullot, DVM, Veterinary Specialist; and Rhea Lawrence, On-Farm Calf Nutrition and Systems Specialist

Presenting Company: Dairy Farmers of America

Wednesday, October 4
9:30 a.m.

New Standard Tests Can Verify Disease Resistance Claims
Speaker: Olivia Steinmetz, Alfalfa Research Director, Legacy Seeds

Presenting Company: Legacy Seeds

10:30 a.m.

Maximizing Total Annual Forage With Triticale

Speaker: Racey Padilla, Small Grain Research Director, TriCal Superior Forage

Presenting Company: TriCal Superior Forage

11:30 a.m.

From Start to Finish: The Value of Life Cycle Feeding and Probiotics

Speaker: Keith A. Bryan, Ph.D. and Kimberley Morrill, Ph.D., Technical Services Specialists, Chr. Hansen

Presenting Company: Chr. Hansen

12:30 p.m.

Double Team Forage & Silage Sorghums

Speaker: Scott Staggenborg, Ph.D., Director of Product Marketing, Sorghum Partners

Presenting Company: S&W Seed Company/Sorghum Partners

1:30 p.m.

New Perspectives: Managing Hoofcare & Digital Dermatitis

Speaker: James Wilson, Ph.D., Foot Health Consultant, Herd Health Consultancy

Presenting Company: Provita Animal Health LLC

2:30 p.m.

What Are Our Top Producing Herds Doing?

Speaker: Karen Luchterhand, Ph.D., C.O.W.S. Program Lead, Novus International, Inc.

Presenting Company: Novus International, Inc.

3:30 p.m.

Nutritional Mitigation of Stress and its Impacts on Dairy Cow Health

Speaker: Zeno Hubbert, Ph.D., Sr. Product Manager - Ruminants

Presenting Company: Kemin Animal Nutrition & Health

Thursday, October 5
9:30 a.m.

Double Team Forage & Silage Sorghums

Speaker: Scott Staggenborg, Ph.D., Director of Product Marketing, Sorghum Partners

Presenting Company: S&W Seed Company/Sorghum Partners

10:30 a.m.

Reduce Your Risk: Successfully Manage Your Milk Components when Changing Forage Sources

Speaker: Hannah Tucker, Ph.D., Ruminant Technical Manager, Novus International, Inc.

Presenting Company: Novus International, Inc.

11:30 a.m.

From Start to Finish: The Value of Life Cycle Feeding and Probiotics

Speaker: Keith A. Bryan, Ph.D. and Kimberley Morrill, Ph.D., Technical Services Specialists, Chr. Hansen

Presenting Company: Chr. Hansen

12:30 p.m.

Digitizing Dairy Barn Design

Speaker: Mario Mondaca, Ph.D., Senior Technical Applications and Research Engineer, VES-Artex

Presenting Company: VES-Artex

1:30 p.m.

Focusing on Income Over Feed Rather Than Just Milk Price

Speaker: Robin Schmahl, Dairy Analyst

Presenting Company: AgMarket.Net

2:30 p.m.

New Perspectives: Managing Hoofcare & Digital Dermatitis

Speaker: James Wilson, Ph.D., Foot Health Consultant, Herd Health Consultancy

Presenting Company: Provita Animal Health LLC

3:30 p.m.

Sparking a Change: Electric Tractors on the Dairy

Speaker: Lena Bioni, Product Marketing Manager, New Holland Agriculture North America

Presenting Company: New Holland Agriculture

Friday, October 6

9:30 a.m.

Modern Approaches to Optimizing Calf Performance on Your Farm

Speaker: John Paul Heavyside, Director, Business Development, Dairy Farmers of America
Panelists: Ralph Briggs, Animal Nutrition Consultant; Katie Kovalaske, On-Farm Calf Nutrition and Systems Specialist; and Dan Kullot, DVM, Veterinary Specialist

Presenting Company: Dairy Farmers of America

10:30 a.m.

Robots or Rotary: Considerations When Choosing Large Herd Automation

Speakers: Jeff Hahn & Jason French, Market Solution Managers, DeLaval, Inc.
Producer Panel: Derrick Josi, Wilsonview Dairy, Tillamook, Oregon and Mitch Moorlag, Edaleen Dairy, Lynden, Washington

Presenting Company: DeLaval, Inc.

11:30 a.m.

Digitizing Dairy Barn Design

Speaker:  Mario Mondaca, Ph.D., Senior Technical Applications and Research Engineer, VES-Artex

Presenting Company: VES-Artex

12:30 p.m.

Farm Pulse - Using Farm Financials to Make Informed Decisions

Speaker: Katie L. Wantoch, Farm Management Professor of Practice, UW-Madision Division of Extension
Presenting Company: UW Madison Extension Agriculture Institute

1:30 p.m.

Precision Feeding with Handheld NIR Technology

Speaker: Jacqueline Williams, Ph.D., Business Development & Sales Manager, BASF

Presenting Company: trinamiX

2:30 p.m.

Antibody Profiles of Bovine Milk Replacers

Speakers: Roger Saltman, DVM, RLS Management Solutions LLC and Shawn Jones, Ph.D., Arkion Life Sciences

Presenting Company: Arkion Life Sciences




Tuesday, October 3, 2023 – 9:30 a.m.
What's Next for Dairy Reproduction with Technology-Driven Insights
Speaker: Taliah Danzinger, Dairy Intelligence, and Craig Walter, Senior Educator, VAS
Presenting Company: VAS

For 40 years, VAS has been bringing the dairy industry tools that have revolutionized the way producers manage their data. Join us as we explore the impact BREDSUM has had on the industry, and share what's next for reproductive insights thanks to cloud-based innovation.

Taliah leads the VAS Dairy Intelligence team and resides in Durand, Wisconsin. Taliah holds a master's degree in adult education with undergraduate studies in animal science. She has experience in performing dairy herd data evaluation as well as teaching farmers and industry consultants how to apply data to farm-level decision-making. In her role, Taliah leads the data science and education team in developing the next generation of dairy insights and providing value through data applications. Taliah brings on-farm experience to her role as a herd manager for a 300-cow robotic dairy and her ownership of a small dairy herd.

Craig brings over 35 years of dairy software experience to his role as senior educator at VAS. Throughout his career at VAS, Craig has held various roles in software support and education, traveling the world training resellers and customers on DairyComp and other VAS products. With his extensive product knowledge, Craig currently develops and executes trainings both virtually and in person for dairy farmers and industry professionals to leverage the full capabilities of VAS' product suite. 


Tuesday, October 3, 2023 – 10:30 a.m.
Intestinal Health Management Improves Productivity and Well-Being of Dairy Cattle
Speaker: Sara Trojan, Ph.D., PAS, Nutrition and Management Consultant, Peak Consulting, LLC
Presenting Company: Kemin Animal Nutrition & Health

Session Description & Speaker Bio - TBA


Tuesday, October 3, 2023 – 11:30 a.m.
“Farm Pulse - Using Farm Financials to Make Informed Decisions”
Speaker: Katie L. Wantoch, Farm Management Professor of Practice, UW-Madison Division of Extension
Presenting Company: UW-Madison Extension Agriculture Institute

A farmer might be mulling over a change in their farm business. Should I invest in robots, on-farm storage, or new or used machinery? What is holding the business back in our expansion plans? Join UW-Madison Extension Farm Management Specialists as they share how the new Farm Pulse: Financial Management and Analysis courses can assist farmers in making informed decisions.

Katie Wantoch is a Farm Management Professor of Practice with UW-Madison Division of Extension. Her outreach efforts focus on improving farmer skills and knowledge in financial, business, and risk management. Katie's work adds value to partner organizations and community members through collaboration to develop and deliver educational programs.


Tuesday, October 3, 2023 – 12:30 p.m.
Maximizing Total Annual Forage With Triticale
Speaker: Racey Padilla, Small Grain Research Director, TriCal Superior Forage
Presenting Company: TriCal Superior Forage

Triticale is a newer crop growing in popularity for the use of forage production in all types of confined cattle operations (Dairy cattle and feed yards). This presentation will hit on the use of cover crops, grazing, ensiling, and hay production and the advantages of using triticale in a double crop system with corn or other summer crops to produce significant quantities of high-value feed.

Padilla is the plant breeder for TriCal Superior Forage, who has been working on the improvement of Triticale for 12 years. His experience with producing livestock on his own farm allows him to think both like a livestock producer and a plant breeder to improve overall forage production.


Tuesday, October 3, 2023 – 1:30 p.m.
New Standard Tests Can Verify Disease Resistance Claims
Speaker: Olivia Steinmetz, Alfalfa Research Director, Legacy Seeds
Presenting Company: Legacy Seeds

Pathogens that cause disease on alfalfa are constantly evolving, so plant breeders must work with new isolates to increase resistance. After years of collaboration across companies and universities, a new standard test for the emerging disease Anthracnose Race 5 was accepted at the North American Alfalfa Improvement Conference, and alfalfa breeders can now release resistant products.

Olivia Steinmetz has worked with Legacy Seeds since 2018 as an alfalfa plant breeder and plant pathologist. She has a master’s degree in plant breeding and genetics and a bachelor's degree in horticulture & environmental studies, both from the University of Wisconsin - Madison.


Tuesday, October 3 at 2:30 p.m.
“Who Is On Your Digester Team?”
Speaker: Renee Schrift, Business Line Director – Agricultural Systems, McLanahan Corporation
Presenting Company: McLanahan Corporation

Dairy farms need trusted partners to help navigate this sometimes challenging landscape. You don't want to get halfway into a project only to learn you didn't have the right people at the table during its development. During this session, we will discuss how to work with existing advisory teams alongside additional experts needed to bring these projects to life. We'll share insights into thoughtfully identifying, selecting and engaging the right partners and how to closely collaborate with them to design the best system to fit your needs today and into the future.

Renee Schrift is the Business Line Director – Agricultural Systems for McLanahan Corporation. A graduate of Pennsylvania State University, Renee works with producers across the country to design innovative manure handling systems to create solutions for today’s and tomorrow's modern dairy farm.


 Tuesday, October 3 at 3:30 p.m.
“Modern Approaches to Optimizing Calf Performance on Your Farm”
Speaker: Kayla Rink, Director, Dairy Science and Farm Practices, Dairy Farmers of America
Panelists: Ralph Briggs, Animal Nutrition Consultant; Dan Kullot, DVM, Veterinary Specialist; and Rhea Lawrence, On-Farm Calf Nutrition and Systems Specialist
Presenting Company: Dairy Farmers of America 

Discuss modern options for optimizing your calf development program, including how to use milk-based replacers, balancing on-farm milk and when to use additives to ensure effective outcomes.


Wednesday, October 4, 2023 - 9:30 a.m.
New Standard Tests Can Verify Disease Resistance Claims
Speaker: Olivia Steinmetz, Alfalfa Research Director, Legacy Seeds
Presenting Company: Legacy Seeds

Pathogens that cause disease on alfalfa are constantly evolving, so plant breeders must work with new isolates to increase resistance. After years of collaboration across companies and universities, a new standard test for the emerging disease Anthracnose Race 5 was accepted at the North American Alfalfa Improvement Conference, and alfalfa breeders can now release resistant products.

Olivia Steinmetz has worked with Legacy Seeds since 2018 as an alfalfa plant breeder and plant pathologist. She has a master’s degree in plant breeding and genetics and a bachelor's degree in horticulture & environmental studies, both from the University of Wisconsin - Madison. 


Wednesday, October 4, 2023 - 10:30 a.m.
Maximizing Total Annual Forage With Triticale
Speaker: Racey Padilla, Small Grain Research Director, TriCal Superior Forage
Presenting Company: TriCal Superior Forage

Triticale is a newer crop growing in popularity for the use of forage production in all types of confined cattle operations (Dairy cattle and feed yards). This presentation will hit on the use of cover crops, grazing, ensiling, and hay production and the advantages of using triticale in a double crop system with corn or other summer crops to produce significant quantities of high-value feed.

Padilla is the plant breeder for TriCal Superior Forage, who has been working on the improvement of Triticale for 12 years. His experience with producing livestock on his own farm allows him to think both like a livestock producer and a plant breeder to improve overall forage production.


Wednesday, October 4, 2023 - 11:30 a.m.
From Start to Finish: The Value of Life Cycle Feeding and Probiotics
Speaker: Keith A. Bryan, Ph.D. and Kimberley Morrill, Ph.D., Technical Services Specialists, Chr. Hansen
Presenting Company: Chr. Hansen

Stressors occur every day to virtually every animal on a dairy. We never know for certain whether those stressors will arise from management, pathogens, feeds, social interactions, weather, etc. Likewise, we never truly know how each animal will respond to a particular stressor. Preparing every animal every day to combat these stressors is the foundation of a sound feeding program.

After 20 years at Pennsylvania State University, Dr. Bryan transitioned to the feed industry, focusing on silage inoculants and nutritional supplements. Dr. Morrill received a B.S. in Dairy Management and in Animal Nutrition from the University of New Hampshire and her Ph.D. from Iowa State University.


Wednesday, October 4, 2023 - 12:30 p.m.
Double Team Forage & Silage Sorghums
Speaker: Scott Staggenborg, Ph.D., Director of Product Marketing, Sorghum Partners
Presenting Company: S&W Seed Company/Sorghum Partners

Double Team Sorghum Cropping System provides unprecedented, over-the-top grass control for sorghum. S&W Seed is releasing the DT trait, for use in the Double Team System, in a silage sorghum hybrid in 2024. Our presentation will highlight SP2707 DT and provide information to the audience on how to successfully use the Double Team System.

Scott Staggenborg grew up on a farm in Northeast Kansas and has been around sorghum his whole life. After a 17-year career at Kansas State University, he began a career in the seed business as a Sorghum Product Manager. During his stint as Vice President of R&D, he led the development of the DT sorghum trait.


Wednesday, October 4, 2023 - 1:30 p.m.
New Perspectives: Managing Hoofcare & Digital Dermatitis
Speaker: James Wilson, Ph.D., Foot Health Consultant, Herd Health Consultancy
Presenting Company: Provita Animal Health LLC

Dairy cow lameness and digital dermatitis are major problems that cause reduced animal welfare and economic loss. There are safety and legalization issues with most traditional footbath agents.  Dr. Wilson will present research on sustainable and clinically proven hoofcare range as well as advise practical and cost-effective lameness programs.

Dr. James Wilson, Foot Health Consultant with Herd Health Consultancy, has a Ph.D. in dairy cow lameness (SVMS, UoN) and a Bachelor of Science in agriculture from the University of Nottingham, UK.  He has 7 years of experience in practical cattle foot health and welfare including trimming commercially and for research, delivering training and technical consultancy in hoofcare, alongside conducting varied research in this field.


Wednesday, October 4, 2023 - 2:30 p.m.
What Are Our Top Producing Herds Doing?
Speaker: Karen Luchterhand, Ph.D., C.O.W.S. Program Lead, Novus International, Inc.
Presenting Company: Novus International, Inc.

The Novus C.O.W.S.® Program has completed over 1,600 dairy farm assessments, scoring over 175,000 cows. The program's benchmarking database allows us to see what is happening in herds and help farms identify areas to increase profitability. Database details have supported research in articles published in Journal of Dairy Science. In this talk, Dr. Luchterhand will share what the top-producing herds in the database are doing to keep profitability and production high.

Karen Luchterhand, Ph.D., serves as the technical services lead for the Novus C.O.W.S.® Program. She works closely with farmers every day, evaluating their herds and providing insight and guidance on how they can improve their farm production and cow comfort. Dr. Luchterhand received her doctorate in transition cow management and behavior from the University of Minnesota.


Wednesday, October 4, 2023 - 3:30 p.m.
Nutritional Mitigation of Stress and its Impacts on Dairy Cow Health
Speaker: Zeno Hubbert, Ph.D., Sr. Product Manager - Ruminants
Presenting Company: Kemin Animal Nutrition & Health

Recognizing the extent to which stress affects the modern dairy cow and its repercussions in terms of immune suppression, feed intake depression and ultimately potentiating costly metabolic disease, nutritional mitigation is crucial. This presentation aims to share the latest Kemin research conducted with universities and large dairies demonstrating stress impacts on cows and mitigation strategies.

Dr. Zeno Hubbert is a globally experienced ruminant nutritionist. Through her work in innovation, commercial nutrition and research, she has been working to offer producers innovative solutions to costly intestinal health challenges. She earned her Ph.D. in ruminant nutrition at New Mexico State University.


Thursday, October 5, 2023 - 9:30 a.m.
Double Team Forage & Silage Sorghums
Speaker: Scott Staggenborg, Ph.D., Director of Product Marketing, Sorghum Partner
Presenting Company: S&W Seed Company/Sorghum Partners

Double Team Sorghum Cropping System provides unprecedented, over-the-top grass control for sorghum. S&W Seed is releasing the DT trait, for use in the Double Team System, in a silage sorghum hybrid in 2024. Our presentation will highlight SP2707 DT and provide information to the audience on how to successfully use the Double Team System.

Scott Staggenborg grew up on a farm in Northeast Kansas and has been around sorghum his whole life. After a 17-year career at Kansas State, he began a career in the seed business as a Sorghum Product Manager. During his stint as Vice President of R&D, he led the development of the DT sorghum trait.


Thursday, October 5, 2023 - 10:30 a.m.
Reduce Your Risk: Successfully Manage Your Milk Components when Changing Forage Sources
Speaker: Hannah Tucker, Ph.D., Ruminant Technical Manager, Novus International, Inc.
Presenting Company: Novus International, Inc

Changes in corn silage, haylage, or other forage sources can cause a drop in milk fat production and cause milk fat depression. Using a feed additive containing the methionine source HMTBa, commercially known as MFP feed supplement, in the diet has been shown to maintain milk fat and protein output by stabilizing rumen metabolism of unsaturated fat, even during diet changes.

Hannah Tucker, Ph.D., began her career as a ruminant nutritionist for Sioux Nation Ag. and is currently a ruminant technical services manager for the Americas at Novus International, leading innovation and research to support customers in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Dr. Tucker is a specialist in lactation physiology with degrees from Michigan State University and Virginia Tech University.


Thursday, October 5, 2023 - 11:30 a.m.
From Start to Finish: The Value of Life Cycle Feeding and Probiotics
Speaker: Keith A. Bryan, Ph.D. and Kimberley Morrill, Ph.D., Technical Services Specialists, Chr. Hansen
Presenting Company: Chr. Hansen

Stressors occur every day to virtually every animal on a dairy. We never know for certain whether those stressors will arise from management, pathogens, feeds, social interactions, weather, etc. Likewise, we never truly know how each animal will respond to a particular stressor. Preparing every animal every day to combat these stressors is the foundation of a sound feeding program.

After 20 years at Pennsylvania State University, Dr. Bryan transitioned to the feed industry, focusing on silage inoculants and nutritional supplements. Dr. Morrill received a B.S. in Dairy Management and in Animal Nutrition from the University of New Hampshire and her Ph.D. from Iowa State University.


Thursday, October 5, 2023 - 12:30 p.m.
Digitizing Dairy Barn Design
Speaker: Mario Mondaca, Ph.D., Senior Technical Applications and Research Engineer, VES-Artex
Presenting Company: VES-Artex

VES-Artex has developed a suite of tools capable of simplifying barn and facility design down to a single input! The goal is to show that while every barn will have custom needs, the blunt of the design can be automated and accurate. Join Dr. Mondaca on distilling and parametrizing the core design components for dairy barns and their ventilation systems into something we call single-input.

Dr. Mario Mondaca is a Biosystems Engineer. He has studied and modeled heat stress in dairy for over 10 years with a focus on facility design and its effect on the dairy's micro-environment and physio-environmental responses.


Thursday, October 5, 2023 - 1:30 p.m.
Focusing on Income Over Feed Rather Than Just Milk Price
Speaker: Robin Schmahl, Dairy Analyst
Presenting Company: AgMarket.Net

Protecting income over feed is more beneficial than just protecting only milk prices or only feed prices. There will be discussion as to various ways to accomplish this to strive for profitability.

Robin Schmahl was born and raised on a dairy farm in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. He founded AgDairy LLC, a full-service commodity brokerage firm providing hedging and marketing in grain, dairy and livestock as well as trading in all commodities. He now runs AgDairy, the dairy division of John Stewart and Associates. Robin is also a hedging strategist for AgMarket.Net and a Dairy Analyst for DTN, writing dairy commentary multiple times a day as well livestock commentary once daily for the company. He also writes a dairy column for Farm Journal’s MILK and AgWeb.com and has written commentary for these companies since the early 2000s. Robin’s market knowledge, analysis and practical experience makes him a natural ad frequent speaker throughout the United States.


Thursday, October 5, 2023 - 2:30 p.m.
New Perspectives: Managing Hoofcare & Digital Dermatitis
Speaker: James Wilson, Ph.D., Foot Health Consultant, Herd Health Consultancy
Presenting Company: Provita Animal Health LLC

Dairy cow lameness and digital dermatitis are major problems that cause reduced animal welfare and economic loss. There are safety and legalization issues with most traditional footbath agents.  Dr. Wilson will present research on sustainable and clinically proven hoofcare range as well as advise practical and cost-effective lameness programs.

Dr. James Wilson, Foot Health Consultant with Herd Health Consultancy, has a Ph.D. in dairy cow lameness (SVMS, UoN) and a Bachelor of Science in agriculture from the University of Nottingham, UK.  He has 7 years of experience in practical cattle foot health and welfare including trimming commercially and for research, delivering training and technical consultancy in hoofcare, alongside conducting varied research in this field.


Thursday, October 5 at 3:30 p.m.
“Sparking a Change: Electric Tractors on the Dairy”
Speaker: Lena Bioni, Product Marketing Manager, New Holland Agriculture North America
Presenting Company: New Holland Agriculture 

Battery electric vehicles (BEV) are coming to a farm near you. No longer restrained to the road or brands like Tesla, equipment companies are moving quickly to introduce BEV tractors to a range of on-farm functions, especially dairy operations. This session will clear the air surrounding BEV tractors, outline criteria for the need and use of BEV tractors, discuss the economic impact of BEV on the farm and introduce the first BEV tractor built for dairies — the New Holland T4 Electric Power tractor.

Lena Bioni is the utility tractor and ag telehandler product marketing manager for New Holland Agriculture North America. As part of her responsibilities, she oversees New Holland’s Powerstar, T5 Dual Command, and TH telehandler portfolios, including the launch of the new T4 Electric Power tractor in North America. Lena holds an MBA from Norwich University and a Bachelor of Science in agribusiness management and horticulture from Pennsylvania State University.


Friday, October 6 at 9:30 a.m.
“Modern Approaches to Optimizing Calf Performance on Your Farm”
Speaker: John Paul Heavyside, Director, Business Development, Dairy Farmers of America
Panelists: Ralph Briggs, Animal Nutrition Consultant; Katie Kovalaske, On-Farm Calf Nutrition and Systems Specialist; and Dan Kullot, DVM, Veterinary Specialist
Presenting Company: Dairy Farmers of America 

Discuss modern options for optimizing your calf development program, including how to use milk-based replacers, balancing on-farm milk and when to use additives to ensure effective outcomes.

 


Friday, October 6 at 10:30 a.m.
“Robots or Rotary: Considerations When Choosing Large Herd Automation”
Speakers: Jeff Hahn & Jason French, Market Solution Managers, DeLaval, Inc.
Producer Panel: Derrick Josi, Wilsonview Dairy, Tillamook, Oregon and Mitch Moorlag, Edaleen Dairy, Lynden, Washington
Presenting Company: DeLaval, Inc.

Herd expansion with robotics or a rotary is a common question asked by dairy producers as they look to their herd's future. This seminar will bring together those thoughts and how to navigate the choice of investing in a dairy’s automation. Derrick Josi of Wilsonview Dairy is the creator behind TDF Honest Farming and has over 1 million followers across his social media platforms. His family milks 800 Jerseys on a 50 bail PR3100HD rotary with a teat spray robot. Mitch Moorlag’s dairy operation includes 1,100 cows on 20 VMS V300 robots, and selling their milk direct to consumers through retail stores.

An open discussion will be facilitated with these producers and why they made their choices in dairy automation.


Friday, October 6, 2023 – 11:30 a.m.
Digitizing Dairy Barn Design
Speaker: Mario Mondaca, Ph.D., Senior Technical Applications and Research Engineer, VES-Artex
Presenting Company: VES-Artex

VES-Artex has developed a suite of tools capable of simplifying barn and facility design down to a single input! The goal is to show that while every barn will have custom needs, the blunt of the design can be automated and accurate. Join Dr. Mondaca on distilling and parametrizing the core design components for dairy barns and their ventilation systems into something we call single-input.

Dr. Mario Mondaca is a Biosystems Engineer. He has studied and modeled heat stress in dairy for over 10 years with a focus on facility design and its effect on the dairy's micro-environment and physio-environmental responses.


Friday, October 6 at 12:30 p.m.
“Farm Pulse - Using Farm Financials to Make Informed Decisions”
Speaker: Katie L. Wantoch, Farm Management Professor of Practice, UW-Madison Division of Extension
Presenting Company: UW-Madison Extension Agriculture Institute 

A farmer might be mulling over a change in their farm business. Should I invest in robots, on-farm storage, or new or used machinery? What is holding the business back in our expansion plans? Join UW-Madison Extension Farm Management Specialists as they share how the new Farm Pulse: Financial Management and Analysis courses can assist farmers in making informed decisions.

Katie Wantoch is a Farm Management Professor of Practice with UW-Madison Division of Extension. Her outreach efforts focus on improving farmer skills and knowledge in financial, business, and risk management. Katie's work adds value to partner organizations and community members through collaboration to develop and deliver educational programs. 


Friday, October 6 at 1:30 p.m.
“Precision Feeding with Handheld NIR Technology”
Speaker: Jacqueline Williams, Ph.D., Business Development & Sales Manager, BASF
Presenting Company: trinamiX 

trinamiX is a mobile handheld NIR spectroscopy solution that is utilized for on-farm analysis of raw materials & forages. This presentation will highlight how handheld NIR can be used quickly for on-farm analysis to save farmers and nutritionist time and money.

Jacqueline (Jax) Williams has completed her Ph.D. in organic chemistry at Purdue University and joined BASF in 2019 through the leadership development program. In 2022, she joined trinamiX, a subsidiary of BASF, and has been focusing on developing technology and driving innovation in the agricultural and animal nutrition space.


Friday, October 6 at 2:30 p.m.
Antibody Profiles of Bovine Milk Replacers
Speaker: Roger Saltman, DVM, RLS Management Solutions LLC and Shawn Jones, Ph.D., Arkion Life Sciences
Presenting Company: Arkion Life Sciences

Milk replacers are generally formulated to provide optimum nutrition to calves for a healthy start, but what sort of passive immunity do common milk replacers offer? Arkion Life Sciences set out to investigate. We tested five commercial milk replacers against antigens responsible for early calf diseases (for example, rotavirus and coronavirus) to see what protection the milk replacers offered and how they could be improved. Come to our session to find out what we discovered.

Roger Saltman is a former Chief Medical Officer and President of the American Assn. of Bovine Practitioners with over thirty years of experience in animal health. Shawn Jones is the Process & Development Manager at Arkion Life Sciences, a published researcher and brilliant microbiologist.