Issuu

KENTUCKY

November - December w w w. k y d a i r y. o r g

Milk Matters EKU - Raising the Bar for Dairy Education

Find out more on page 10

Supported by

KY Dairy Partners Annual Meeting

Save the Date! page 16-17

Time for a Paradigm Shift Find out more on page 20-21

North American International Livestock Expo - 2018

Beth Cox

he 45th annual North American International Livestock Exposition (NAILE) is in the books. NAILE drew nearly 30,000 entries with competitors, exhibitors and attendees from 49 states and six foreign countries. For those in the livestock and agribusiness industry, NAILE is an important annual event. It’s the world’s largest purebred livestock show. The exhibitors and animals that win at NAILE are the top of their respective breeds. Included are national collegiate and youth livestock judging contests, competition within ten livestock divisions and livestock sales. The Sale of Champions, held Sunday, Nov. 10, raised $64,500 with proceeds distributed to youth exhibitors of market animals, charities and promotion. The Grand Champion and Reserve Grand Champion steers, hogs and lambs in the junior show divisions are sold to the highest bidder during the auction. Through the years, the Sale of Champions has raised more than $1.75 million to further promote youth involvement in agribusiness and support charitable endeavors.

Junior Supreme Heifer: Nor-Bert Lochin Vesta owned by Dalton, Dillon & Breanne Freeman, Bremen IN

The Kentucky Dairy Development Council sponsors the Supreme heifer and cow awards for the Junior show. This year’s recipients are pictured.

Open Supreme Cow from Kentucky: Hirds Colton Dream owned by Keightley- Core and Borba, Salvisa KY

Junior Supreme Cow: SV Impression Holly-ET owned by Grace Sauder River Valley Farm

KDDC is supported in part by a grant from the Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund

2018 KDDC Board of Directors & Staff

President’s Corner

Executive Committee

s we end 2018 and look towards 2019, the milk price forecast and Class III and IV futures show only modest improvement over 2018. Inventories have increased for most dairy products, except NFDM. The export market is still being pressured by tariffs. Despite record numbers of dairy cows going to slaughter, the national dairy herd is still holding steady.

President: Richard Sparrow Vice President: Charles Townsend, DVM Sec./Treasurer: Tom Hastings EC Member: Tony Cowherd EC Member: Freeman Brundige EC Past President: Bob Klingenfus

Board of Directors

District 1: Freeman Brundige 731.446.6248 District 2: Josh Duvall 270.535.6533 District 3: Keith Long 270.670.1388 District 4: Bill Crist Jr. 270.590.3185 District 5: Tony Compton 270.378.0525 District 6: Mark Williams 270.427.0796 District 7: Greg Goode 606.303.2150 District 8: Steve Weaver 270.475.3154 District 9: Jerry Gentry 606.875.2526 District 10: Richard Sparrow 502.370.6730 District 11: Stewart Jones 270.402.4805 District 12: Larry Embry 270.259.6903 Equipment: Tony Cowherd 270.469.0398 Milk Haulers: Alan Wilson 606.875.7281 Genetics: Dan Johnson 502.905.8221 Feed: Tom Hastings 270.748.9652 Nutrition: Dr. Ron Wendlandt 502.839.4222 Dairy Co-op: Justin Olson 765.499.4817 Veterinary: Dr. Charles Townsend 270.726.4041 Finance: Michael Smith 859.619.4995 Former Pres.: Bob Klingenfus 502.817.3165

Richard Sparrow

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CNMPs Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plans. Ky Division of Water permitting and compliance. Financial assistance available through NRCS EQIP. Ben Koostra - Professional Engineer and NRCS Technical Service Provider Lexington - 859-559-4662

Employee & Consultants Executive Director: Maury Cox 859.516.1129 DC-Central: Beth Cox 859.516.1619 • 270-469-4278 DC-Western: Dave Roberts 859.516.1409 DC-Southern: Meredith Scales 859.516.1966 DC -Northern: Jennifer Hickerson 859.516.2458

KDDC

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November - December 2018 • KDDC • Page 2

Mrs. Alyssa Clements, M.S., P.A.S. Southeast Technical Sales Manager Alyssa.clements@feedcomponents.com (931)-881-8817

ALLTECH WELCOMES NEW ON-FARM SUPPORT SPECIALIST IN THE SOUTHEAST

Jeffrey Bewley PhD, PAS Dairy Housing and Analytics Specialist

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Alltech Herd Analytics (AHA) • Thorough dairy records analysis using DairyComp305, PCDart, BoviSync, etc. • Focus on economically meaningful and actionable opportunities • Use of novel metrics and visualizations with integration of cow-based observations

Cow-Focused Facility Design • Design recommendations for new freestall, tie-stall or compost barns • Goal of economically maximizing cow comfort • Focus on minimizing lameness and injuries

Economic Decision Support • Cow-based economic decision advising for animal disease, culling, reproduction and management • Spreadsheets and dashboards to evaluate decisions and opportunities • Investment analysis and partial budgeting

Mastitis Management • Opportunity evaluation for somatic cell count (SCC) and mastitis reduction • Assessment of milking procedures and cow handling • Review of mastitis prevention practices and cow environment

Precision Dairy Technologies • Objective evaluation of wearable, parlor-based and image-based monitoring technologies • Practical use and development of standard operation procedures for turning data into decisions • Robotic milking decisions and advising

Taking a systems approach toward managing the interconnected parts of the dairy operation, Alltech brings years of practical dairy industry experience to help farmers improve profitability. For more information about utilizing Alltech’s On-Farm Support, contact: Elizabeth Lunsford Alltech Territory Sales Manager lunsford@alltech.com 859-553-0072 Alltech.com

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KDDC is supported in part by a grant from the Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund

Executive Director Comments Maury Cox

he Kentucky Dairy Development Council is soon to be starting in its 15th year of operation. The organization has worked hard to serve Kentucky dairy farm families and does its very best to educate, represent and promote KY dairy farmers. Part of our mission has been to provide opportunities for KY dairy farmers to speak in Frankfort or before our Congressional representatives and to make connections with other states’ producers and organizations too. We continue to work at that mission telling the story of how these terribly low milk prices are affecting KY dairy farmers and supportive allied industries. Besides sponsoring local farm meetings and workshops, KDDC has offered a forum for national and international speakers at the Young Dairy Producer Conference and KY Dairy Partners Meeting to provide cutting-edge information to assist producer’s profitability. The KDDC Dairy Consultants have worked daily providing information, contacts with other producers, and services to help producers interested in using their assistance. They have been the one-stop-shop for the latest information and help. The KDDC Programs, including the Milk Marketers’ partnering Market Incentive Leadership for KY, (MILK) Program has been a phenomenal success considering 45 percent of all KY producers participate and over $8 million have been

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November - December 2018 • KDDC • Page 4

KDDC is supported in part by a grant from the Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund

distributed to those farmers to date. The Young Dairy Producer Initiative has provided multiple opportunities for younger folks to hear excellent speakers and see other successful farmers’ operations. They have been able to travel with KDDC to Wisconsin to see firsthand what farmers there are doing to be successful. The past 14 years has certainly had its ups and downs for Kentucky dairy farmers. We have seen record high milk prices in 2014 and two cycles of low milk prices and losing margins starting in February 2009 through 2013. Then again heading down in 2015 and continuing through 2018. There is no denying the extreme hard times KY dairy farmers and dairy farmers everywhere, for that matter are experiencing. KY dairy producers are receiving some of the lowest mailbox prices anywhere. Even so, just recently Senator David Givens commented during a KDDC update to the Interim Joint Committees on Agriculture and I paraphrase, if KDDC had not been in place doing what it does, many more KY dairy farms may have already exited the business. Although KDDC cannot affect the milk price, we have never taken our eye off Kentucky dairy farmers. Whether it is helping producers in evaluating their operation for improvement or considering other options such as micro-processing, raising replacements, starting a backgrounding operation or selling the herd, we are here for you. We are also working with other states’ and organizations’ dairy leaders to brainstorm and possibly consider some other production/supply models. The future of the dairy industry is uncertain, and we know dairy producers are experiencing unprecedented hardships, but be assured KDDC will continue to be here for you.

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November - December 2018 • KDDC • Page 5

KDDC is supported in part by a grant from the Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund

A Continuation of the Discussion About Negative Energy Balance and Fertility George Heersche, Jr., Ph.D.

Most early lactation high producing cows are in negative energy balance because the demand for energy exceeds the energy the cow is able to consume. The result is body fat is mobilized to provide the extra energy. Blood concentrations of free fatty acids are elevated when cows are mobilizing body fat to support milk production. In the previous article we discussed when free fatty acids are elevated in the blood they are also elevated in follicular fluid which may result in a compromised oocyte. At ovulation the

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November - December 2018 • KDDC • Page 6

Organic Valley Holds Regional Agronomy School Dave Roberts and Jennifer Hickerson

Dairy Extension, University of Kentucky

he high producing dairy cow is a marvelous high-octane beast who can turn feed into large amounts of nutritious milk. One downside is it often harder to get her pregnant compared to her lower producing herdmates and heifers. In a previous article, we chatted about how the development of the oocyte can be a factor in why high producing cows who experience negative energy balance can be harder to get pregnant. In this article we will discuss the influence negative energy balance has on fertility during the early days of embryo development.

KDDC is supported in part by a grant from the Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund

oocyte is released from the follicle and relocates in the oviduct where it is fertilized and spends four days before it migrates to the uterus. Therefore, the environment in the oviduct is also of interest. Results of recent research have shown that cows with elevated free fatty acids in the blood also have elevated levels in the oviductal fluid. It appears elevated free fatty acids in the oviduct do not have a negative impact on sperm motility, storage, capacitation or the process of fertilization. On the other hand, early development of the embryo is negatively influenced by elevated free fatty acids. The exact mechanisms are beyond the scope of this article. Most studies on early embryo development are done in a laboratory using cell culture techniques. These studies show clearly that the pre-implantation embryo is very sensitive to less than perfect metabolic conditions in the culture media. We can extrapolate that a similar thing happens in the live animal. The next stop in the embryo journey is the uterus where it must implant to result in a full-term pregnancy. The timing of the many maternal-embryonic interactions during the first few days in the uterus are very important. Anything which messes with the preparedness of the uterus or the maturity and quality of the embryo can result in failure to conceive. In fact, most oocytes are successfully fertilized, but many die during the first seven days after insemination and many more die between days 7 and 16. In addition, many embryos are viable at day 16, but are not mature enough to send a strong enough signal to the dam that they are present. The result is the cow is pregnant but does not know it and prostaglandin is released from the uterus which kills the corpus luteum, the progesterone level drops quickly, and the pregnancy is terminated. This same thing happens during heat stress. In conclusion, there are many things which can compromise the oocyte and early stages of embryo development. One of the big factors in the high producing dairy cow is the elevated level of free fatty acids. It is also evident that when the oocyte is compromised in the follicle that damage cannot be repaired. We need to minimize the magnitude and duration of negative energy balance in the high producing early lactation cow. There are thousands of articles written on how to manage transition and early lactation cows to accomplish this goal, so I will not enter that discussion here.

two-day agronomy school was held at the Melvin Troyer Dairy in Todd County on October 24th and 25th. The theme of the two-day course was A Greater Return on Your Investment and featured seven speakers, a soil profile pit, and a pasture walk on day two. On day one after a welcome and refreshments, Keith Montgomery (Founder of Zone Products) kicked things off. His topic was Trace Minerals for the Soil, Plant and Animal. Keith pointed out that for organic farmers that the soils are the foundation for growing healthy crops, livestock and people. During this session the roles and importance of trace minerals and what to watch for to keep our whole farming systems healthy were explained.

forage throughout the season. After a tasty lunch again on the second day the participants followed Melvin out on a “Pasture Walk”. Melvin along with specialists gave an in-depth tour of Troyer Farm pastures. Plant species and talk about plant density and growth characteristics were also discussed along with some of the latest pasture technology. A big “thank you” to Organic Valley and the Melvin Troyer family for hosting a very educational two days.

Organic Valley soil agronomist Mark Kopecky focused on analyzing crop and pasture production systems. His topic of A Greater Return on Your Investment described where to invest money and use management tools to get the most benefit from your hard work. Farmer, agronomist and author Mark Shepard with decades of experience using silvopasture and other agroforestry practices talked about Silvopasture for Kentucky. Mark described how on his organic farm silvopasture improved pasture forage quality, livestock performance and his bottom line. After lunch the group walked out to one of Melvin’s fields to a six-foot-deep soil pit. As the group gathered around the pit Mark Kopecky CROPP’s soils agronomist spoke about the characteristics of soils and some simple ways to gauge the health of soils. On the walk back, Mark Shepard described designing a silvopasture system starting with what ever you have on your farm. Day two began with a Forage Roundtable made up of presenters Dr. Silvia Abel-Caines, Ruminant Nutritionist from Organic Valley, Dr. Chris Teutsch, Forage Specialist, University of Kentucky, and Dr. Ray Smith, Plant and Soil Scientist, University of Kentucky. Discussion was based on how we manage what we grow and the impact on animal health, milk production and profitability. Information was shared how to supercharge your pasture performance, help increase component percentages and boost your farms bottom line. The next presentation was from Dr. Greg Bricker, CROPP’s staff veterinarian on Growing and Grazing for High Milk Fat. Not all green grasses are the same! Dr. Bricker said, “take a look at the changes in pasture plants as they grow and how those changes affect nutrition.” He encouraged producers to recalibrate their “pasture eye” by taking actual measurements of pastures and paddock sizes and develop a strategy for grazing the right kind of

November - December 2018 • KDDC • Page 7

KDDC is supported in part by a grant from the Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund

Milk Prices Dixie Dairy Report November 2018

U.S. MILK PRODUCTION by REGION – Nine Months 2018 versus Nine Months 2017 Region

ccovington5@cs.com (336) 766-7191

A declining cheese price is responsible for the November Class I Mover dropping $0.81/cwt. from October, and the October Class III price $0.56/cwt. lower than September. At the CME, the October monthly block price was the lowest since 2009 and barrel the lowest since 2006. Reasons for lower cheese prices are: declining consumption of processed cheese (major user of barrel cheese); production outpacing consumption (cheese production up almost 2.5% for the year-to-date); trade issues, and transportation challenges. Little upward movement in cheese prices are projected for the coming year.

Butter, cheese, dry whey, and nonfat dry milk powder (NFDM). These four dairy products determine class prices in all federal orders. As shown below, price trends for these four products are varied. DAIRY PRODUCTS SALES REPORT PRICES OCT 2017

SEPT 2018

OCT 2018

($/lb) Butter

$2.3718

$2.2724

$2.2814

Cheese (block & barrel)

$1.7254

$1.6533

$1.5686

Nonfat Dry Milk Powder

$0.8099

$0.8548

$0.8739

Dry Whey

$0.3790

$0.4028

$0.4470

During the past year butter has traded in a narrow range. Butter sales are steady, production and inventory are increasing, and the world butter price is declining. At the end of September, butter inventory was over 10% higher than a year ago. The Oceania butter price is over $0.75/lb. lower than last year. During the past couple of years butter drove the milk price. This is changing. NFDM and dry whey are moving into the driver’s seat. Both NFDM and dry whey are still less than half of their record prices a few years back, but are well above their past year lows. Declining inventories of both products are helping to advance their prices. At the end of September the whey inventory was over 35% lower than a year ago, and the NFDM inventory over 18% lower. Plus, the European Union skim milk powder inventory is 24% lower than last year. Prices of both powder and whey should continue inching upward over the coming year. An increasing NFDM price is why the October Class IV price is almost $2.00/cwt. higher than it was in January.

Class I usage in southeastern federal orders. Class I usage, in the three southeastern federal orders, was 2.6% lower during the third quarter of 2018 versus a year earlier. As shown below, Class I usage was 2.9% lower in the Appalachian order, 3.6% lower in Florida, and down 1.8% in the Southeast order. The decline in all three orders is equivalent to 15.6 less tankers of farm milk per day needed during the third quarter of this year, compared to the same quarter last year, to supply the Class I market. Milk production. According to USDA, milk production during the third quarter of this year is 0.9% greater than the same quarter last year. This compares to production increases of 1.5% and 0.8% during the first and second quarters of this year. Cow numbers are down slightly, 27,000 head less than a year ago. Third quarter milk per cow is up 1.2%, which is a stronger increase than the first two quarters.

2017

2018

7,148

6,886

-3.7

Midwest

51,442

51,570

0.8

California

29,989

30,416

1.4

Northwest

23,471

24,241

3.3

Northeast

23,379

23,488

-1.1

Southwest

19,689

20,440

3.8

Plains

6,868

7,068

2.9

Alaska+Hawaii

32.2

32.0

-0.6

162,379

164,141

1.1

Total

November 2018 Class 1 Advanced Price (@ 3.5% BF) $18.92

(%)

December 2018 Class 1 Advanced Price (@ 3.5% BF) $18.45 FMMO 7 www.fmmatlanta.com

Looking at year-to-date milk production changes by region, there is a wide variation. As shown above, almost of all of the year-to-date production increase is from west of the Mississippi River. The Southwest region leads the way, up 3.8% thanks to 20,000 more cows. Production is up 1.4% in California which is due to more milk per cow. The Northwest has 21,000 more dairy cows compared to a year ago which has resulted in 3.3% more milk in this region. On the other hand, cow numbers are down 25,000 head In the Midwest, resulting in only a 0.2% production increase.

November 2018 Class 1 Advanced Price (@ 3.5% BF) $19.32 December 2018 Class 1 Advanced Price (@ 3.5% BF) $18.85

The Southeast leads the way in declining milk production, down 3.7% for the year-todate. Production is down in all ten southeast states. For the two largest southeast milk producing states, Florida and Georgia, production is down 4.7% and 4.3%, respectively. Compared to a year ago, Southeast cow numbers are 21,000 head less. Highest blend prices of the year. October blend prices, in all three southeastern orders, are projected the highest for the year. October blend prices are projected about $1.00/cwt. higher than September. Blend prices are projected to start declining in November. Our initial 2019 projection shows southeastern order blend prices averaging about $0.75/cwt. higher than 2018. The modest price increase is based on higher NFDM and dry whey prices, and modest increases in milk supply and demand. USDA’s most recent 2019 milk price forecast, has the 2019 all-milk price averaging $0.40 to $1.40/cwt. higher than 2018. USDA projects milk production to increase 1.5% next year, domestic disappearance to grow about 2%, and exports to decline slightly. PROJECTED BLEND PRICES–BASE ZONES – SOUTHEASTERN FEDERAL ORDERS Appalachian

Florida

Southeast

($/cwt.) - 3.5% butterfat

Change %

Change in Loads/Day

(lbs) Appalachian

11,916,666

11,572,682

-2.9%

-7.1

Florida

6,070,691

5,852,185

-3.6%

-4.5

Southeast

11,045,122

10,848,817

-1.8%

-4.0

Total

29,032,479

28,273,683

-2.6%

-15.6

November - December 2018 • KDDC • Page 8

Change

Southeast

Month

SOUTHEASTERN FEDERAL ORDERS DAILY AVERAGE POOL PLANT CLASS I USAGE Third Quarter 2018 versus Third Quarter 2017 Order

2018 (million lbs)

Calvin Covington

Product

2017

FMMO 5 www.malouisville.com

October

$18.66

$20.28

$18.94

November

$18.12

$20.21

$18.62

December

$17.41

$19.87

$18.11

January 2019

$17.58

$19.88

$18.38

November - December 2018 • KDDC • Page 9

KDDC is supported in part by a grant from the Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund

Eastern Kentucky University – Raising the Bar for Dairy Education in Kentucky Jennifer Hickerson

f you have picked up any dairy publications that have been circulating recently odds are you have read about robotic milking systems… at least a few times. There are about 2,000 robotic milk systems in the U.S. according to Lely the Dutch ag-tech company that installed the EKU robotic system. In KY there are 10 units with Stateland Dairy being the first university farm in the Commonwealth to acquire a robotic milking system and one of only four in the southeast area of the U.S. The surge of technology advancement in the dairy industry with robotic milking systems (RMS) pricking the interest of farms of all shapes and sizes gives a strong impression that RMS’s are going to play a significant role in the dairy industry’s future. Eastern Kentucky University’s Agriculture Department has the forward-thinking approach and the vision of seeing this trend unfolding in our dairy industry. They envisioned opportunities that initializing the technology of a robotic milking system into their own operation at Stateland Dairy would not only provide student’s but also the dairy, the University, community and the dairy industry. It was with a strong support system that after 2 to 3 years of planning, strategizing and implementation that the vision became reality for EKU’s dairy as they started transitioning cows over to the robot on July 9th of this year. Farm Director Justin McKinney eloquently spoke of this vision to reality process at the ribbon cutting ceremony which was held at Meadowbrook Farm on October 22, 2018. The Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles, Governor’s Office of Agricultural Policy Director, Warren Beeler and staff, Kentucky Dairy Development Council Executive Director, Maury Cox and KDDC dairy consultants, Eastern Kentucky University staff, state and local officials, members of the community and Alumni and friends of EKU’s agriculture program gathered to celebrate the completion of EKU’s fully automated robotic milking parlor. Below is part of that speech. “The vision of the project dates back to 2014, when Dr. Tom Erekson, the Dean for College of Business and Technology, was interviewing for his current position. He toured this farm and noted that we did not have an automatic milker like the one he had just seen at another university. In my humble opinion, this was the moment of inception for this now completed project you are about to tour. He knew it would raise the visibility of our agriculture programs and become an invaluable asset to EKU. I would like to thank Dean Erekson for his endless pursuit of this amazing piece of technology that you will soon get to see in

November - December 2018 • KDDC • Page 10

action today. Dean Erekson’s vision became a reality, when Dr. John Settimi Professor of Agriculture, submitted a proposal to the Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund. The proposal was funded on February 17, 2017 and the grant was used to fund this beautiful facility along with matching funds from the Farm. I would like to thank Dr. Ed Davis Associate Dean and EKU’s upper administration specifically Mr. Barry Poynter Vice President for Finance & Administration for his approval to use farm funds to allow me to move forward with this new endeavor. Without the Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund and the support of EKU’s upper administration, we would not have the opportunity to be here today. Please accept my sincerest gratitude for the support!“ The Governor’s Office of Agricultural Policy provides grants, incentives and low-interest loans to help farmers and agribusinesses innovate and grow. The Governor’s Office of Agricultural Policy (GOAP) was established in 1998 to provide a direct link between the Governor of the Commonwealth and one of Kentucky’s most important industries, agriculture. The Kentucky Agricultural Development Board and the Kentucky Agricultural Finance Corporation Board are administered by the GOAP. The RMS was purchased through utilizing a matching grant from Kentucky Agriculture Development Fund. Half of the funds used to purchase this fully automated milking system came from the farm and the other half from KADF. Eastern Kentucky University received $179,373 through the KADF for purchasing and installation of the RMS. The system will be used for demonstrations, education, and research at EKU’s Meadowbrook Farm. The Kentucky Agriculture Development Board is a strong advocate for agriculture within our state. They are diligent in growing Kentucky agriculture to be successful and innovative. They are dedicated to diversifying agriculture and increasing farm income by funding projects impacting the state of Kentucky Executive Director Warren Beeler, had this to say, “In my lifetime, we have gone from milking cows by hand to cows milking themselves. EKU’s dairy farm is the perfect spot to display innovative dairy technology to Kentucky agriculture. Congratulations to EKU, the KADB is proud to be a partner on this project.” Stateland Dairy which is located on the University’s Meadowbrook Farm in Madison County, Kentucky was established in 1912. Eastern Kentucky University’s agriculture program takes pride in providing educational expertise on the production side of agriculture. Ensuring students are equipped to graduate and pro-

Tour with Ag Commissioner and GOAP ED

ceed directly into their chosen field of work. It is with this same determination that the robotic system will be providing students an opportunity to experience the latest technology hands-on giving them a cutting-edge advantage when graduating and entering the agriculture workforce. Graduating students will not only have knowledge but hands on experience gaining them a more optimum spot at the best jobs and opportunities that are available and enabling them to make an impact in the world.

help answer questions along their journey and provide support that can say yes there is light at the end of the tunnel and abundant opportunities to be gained but the process isn’t all smooth, but we’ve been there and understand. We want to promote dairy and help show our Kentucky communities’ where milk comes from , that dairy farmers take the best care of their animals and milk is not only good but good for you. (For more one-on-one with Justin see the Question and Answer Session on page 14.)

The driving force behind producer’s consideration of acquiring an automatic robotic milking system seems to be directly related to decreasing labor and obtaining availability of more quality time. For example, being able to have more time with family was an important part of Kentucky dairy producer Eddie Gibson’s choice in installing his robot in 2014. Eddie Gibson located in Kenton County where he milks and produces Ed-Mar Dairy Farmstead cheese was the first to install an RMS in the state.

A university having an RMS versus a normal dairy is a little different in the sense it has a broader spectrum of people that is integrated within the components of the operation and in addition of the goal of producing top quality milk at the most economical return value you have those additional goals to be able to educate dairy producer’s on newer technology use, unlimited research that can be obtained through the system including, but not limited to nutrition, reproduction, herd health, promotional aspect, educating the public on dairy, demonstration for those considering a RMS of their own, the student education and experience and the goal of impacting the future of the dairy sector in a positive way.

Farm Director Justin McKinney says, “ the system is consistent in every sense of the word.” Not only does it allow a more optimum system for multitasking by the farms employees it is expected to increase milk production ultimately increasing the dairies bottom line. “We want to use this as an educational and promotional tool for the dairy world. Its our goal to be transparent in order to help other dairy producers learn about the system,

The new robot hasn’t necessarily allowed the staff at Eastern’s Meadowbrook farm less hours of work time but has definitely Continued on page 13

November - December 2018 • KDDC • Page 11

KDDC is supported in part by a grant from the Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund

the robot and during transition raised as high as 400,000 and is currently now back to 100,000. A portion of the inclination of SCC can be contributed to the adjustment that the cows had to make and since cows are creatures of habit the initial stress of learning a different routine contributed to this. The system currently monitors and tracks conductivity of milk. This is the method of measuring the sodium and chloride levels in the milk. Mastitis milk having a higher salt content than normal milk the conductivity report flags cows that have a significant difference in their levels between milkings helping identify potential problem cows. On average the goal is to have cows going into the robot on their own within a two-week period no longer having to be fetched. Allowing fresh cows and heifers to enter the milking herd before calving and getting accustomed to the routine is eliminating the need to push them and has shown a reduction in time that they are staying on the fetch list.

Alumni/community leader and KDDC consultant

Cow with Lely collar

Lely robot rear view

Continued from page 11 given more leniency to the work day. The RMS has already been able to provide the University farm with the capability of an improved work efficiency allowing more to get accomplished. It does away with the traditional in the barn at 4 o’clock and 4 o’clock milking repetition allowing the staff to see to the other livestock or crop needs and gives them the opportunity to attend community agriculture events and/or family engagements that would not be possible without the flexibility of having the cows milking themselves at their choice of time. The robot gets serviced daily and currently there are 3 employees that are on rotation to do this, Farm Manager Chad Powers, Assistant Farm Manager Marlen Hammond and Agriculture Technician Jocelyn McKay. EKU utilized the parlor as an educational tool for students and every student was required to work a shift in the parlor even though that part has changed, students still have the hands-on experience within the herd as before with the added benefit of learning technology aspect of managing the dairy. You might think with this change students would have less, but they actually have more interaction with the herd and are able to monitor close up pens, deal with fetch cows, and maintain free stalls allowing visual monitoring of the herd. Include the monitoring and the information generated that the robot offers into this scenario and the increase of tools this gives the farm to work with provides opportunity for an already prestigious well-maintained herd to just get even better.

Tour group

November - December 2018 • KDDC • Page 12

The two main initial hurdles were the increase in Somatic Cell Count (SCC) and fresh cows. The dairy was at 120,000 before

The top robotic reports that are being utilized on the farm are the fetch cow list, health and udder health consisting of conductivity and production data. The newest information being used that is provided from the robot data are diet and reproduction. Now it is possible to track how much grain each individual cow consumes. The SCR monitoring system provides more accurate reproduction data and is playing a vital role in improved reproduction protocol. Grazing management is utilized on EKU’s dairy herd. There wasn’t a problem when going from one type of milking system to the other. The cows graze their normal routine. During the period of grazing and being confined there has been no real significant variation in the number or times of visits of the cows. Though the cows are coming in as they want to be milked you can still see an increase in robot use at what was the normal milking time in the old system. This is leveling out as time goes by. Along with the RMS the dairy is utilizing more technology to improve. They currently are using a feed pusher which eliminates the need for a person to do this freeing them up for other tasks. The automated cow brush improves animal health and wellbeing while the graze way gate improves grazing rotations and accessibility. The significance of this venture will continue to be seen year after year not only by Kentucky communities, the dairy industry and EKU’s agriculture students but the whole dairy sector will continuously be impacted in a positive way. The Agriculture Department and the University’s choice of transition from a conventional dairy operation to a state-of-theart robotic milking system at the Meadowbrook Farm is a direct reflection of what the University values as its Vision: Eastern Kentucky University will be a premier university dedicated to innovative student engagement and success, advancing Kentucky, and impacting the world.

November - December 2018 • KDDC • Page 13

KDDC is supported in part by a grant from the Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund

Milker Questions & Answers J.L. McKinney Explain how this further enhances the dairy operations at EKU Farms? The new robotic milker is a fully automated milking system (AMS) that is consistent in every sense of the word. The milker does not require the dairy farmer to be present during each milking; therefore, the milking clusters are not manually connected as they are in a conventional parlor. This technology allows a lactating cow to voluntarily milk herself as needed and the computer software program can collect valuable information on each individual animal. Even though robotic milker’s have been available commercially since the mid 1990’s, they have not necessarily been adopted widely until recent years. This shift can be contributed to a multitude of factors, but the need to cut labor costs and specifically to rising health insurance premiums is currently driving it. However, these new parlors are not inexpensive and the cost of a single robotic milking unit is approximately $250,000, which does not include the facility housing the machine. For a completed new parlor similar to the retrofit at EKU’s Meadowbrook Farm, it would cost a producer $360,000 to move from a conventional to a robotic milking unit. In addition overall herd health should improve with a more efficient stress free regular milking routine. Each cow on average should in theory get milked 3 times per day, an increase from the traditional 2 times per day. This dynamic change in dairy farming has the potential to create a paradigm shift making small dairy producers throughout the state of Kentucky more sustainable and competitive within the industry. Specifically, how will students and employees benefit? Eastern’s students will benefit by having hands on access to the latest technology within the dairy industry giving them a competitive edge for employment upon graduation. They will still learn how to run a dairy, but will be well versed on robotic milking procedures and can focus more on herd health and nutrition. Even though it is a fully-automated self-contained system, students will learn how to identify individual cows based off of data (i.e. milk flow rate of conductivity) collected by the robot to treat sick animals, improve nutrition, and better manage reproduction. What impact will it have, if any, on milk production? In the first few months milk production will decrease as the cows adjust to the new robotic parlor; however, after the cows adapt to the milker, production should increase significantly. The production increase will come in several forms: 1) Increase in milk frequency from twice a day to on average 2.8 to 3.2 times per day. 2) Increase in milk production per cow per day because the farmer is able to devote more time in improving higher quality nutrition (i.e. improved crop management) and animal health.

November - December 2018 • KDDC • Page 14

All made possible due to the increase in labor flexibly and robot collected data. How common across KY dairy operations is this milker? Robotic milkers are starting to become a new norm for smaller private dairies spread out throughout Kentucky. A typical Kentucky dairy farm has a herd size of about 85-95 cows, which is close to the number a single robotic milker is able to milk within a 24 hour period of time. The actual number of farms using them to date is not available, but it is widely felt that in the next few years they will be the industry’s norm. By chance, was this equipment donated by any entity? There was not a direct donor, but the equipment was purchased by the Meadowbrook Farm through a grant from the Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund (KADF) for $179,000. For every dollar the Farm spent on the milker and building, KADF reimbursed the University $0.50 on each dollar spent up to $179,000. This project would not have been possible without this KADF support. Can you explain, without too much detail, how it works? Is it one piece of equipment, or a certain number of the same piece of equipment? The milker is operated by a computer, which recognizes each cow as they enter into the robot box by their RFID collier. With the transponder around the cow’s neck, the cow is identified, then is serviced on an individualized basis. The computer recalls the cow’s architectural structure of the udder using lasers to scan for each of the 4 quarters (teats) on the cow. The computer program charts the following per cow per day: body weight; pounds of milk; number of milkings; box time; milking speed (let down); refusals; failures; milk conductivity; fat and protein content from all animals during each milking. Once the gate closes behind the cow, the computer recalls all of this information so it can care for the animal in a consistent precise form relaying the data to the farmer. The robot also is able to identify and divert milk from individuals being treated with medications. This is all accomplished while the animal is happily eating a ration of pelleted feed. Anything else you want to add? In my opinion, robotic milking will be the norm in less than 20 years for many states like Kentucky; because, a single robot can handle milking 50 to 70 cows in lactation at a time. I can see where the Kentucky Dairy herd sizes will fit this model in the very near future. If this trend continues as predicted, EKU students will be well prepared for any opportunity that presents itself in this field. In addition, I wanted to add the other robot technology that has been purchased to improve herd health. The new Juno robot’s job is to replace the need to have a person push the feed closer to the cows to consume more efficiently. Also, the new automated Cow Brush and Grazeway gate improves animal well-being giving them lots of opportunity to graze pastures and scratch their hide.

Anthem of Kentucky has revised their eligibility guidelines for KDDC Association Group Health Plans. Key Changes: • Employer groups of one may be eligible for small group plans. • Husband/wife employer groups may be eligible for small group plans. • Employer groups of 5 or more can choose 2 plan options. • Employer groups of 10 or more can choose 3 plan options. For more information, please contact: Melissa Hinton The Hinton Agency (859) 351-6559 thehintonagency@gmail.com

Cassie Grigsby Association Advantage Insurance Group (502) 875-1593 cgrigsby@aaigky.com

ASSOCIATION ADVANTAGE

INSURANCE GROUP

We’ve Got Your Members Covered!

KDDC is supported in part by a grant from the Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund

Kentucky Dairy Partners Annual Meeting (2019) – Exhibit & Conference Reservation Form February 26-27, 2019 – Sloan Convention Center, Bowling Green, KY NAME OF COMPANY

REPRESENTATIVE

February 26-27 The KDDC Young Dairy Producer Conference Dairy Award Banquet The Kentucky Dairy Partners Annual Meeting

ADDRESS

PHONE

Save the date.

OITHERS ATTENDING (NAME AND EMAIL)

Sloan Convention Center, 1021 Wilkinson Trace, Bowling Green, Kentucky

$350 Booth space (includes booth space and one (1) two day registration - YDP, Awards Banquet & KDP conference Indicate below if you are a Platinum or Gold KDDC Sponsor or if you are a government/education group Platinum KDDC sponsors – free booth space, (1) free two day conference registration Gold KDDC sponsors – $200 booth space, (1) free two day conference registration no booth charge for government, educational, etc. (HOWEVER, does not include attendee registrations) $30/person Tuesday - Young Dairy Producers Meeting/banquet

Feb 26 (number attending): x

$30/person Wednesday - KDP conference registration

Feb 27 (number attending): x

Total amount enclosed - Please make checks payable to: KDDC (KY Dairy Development Council)

Featured Speakers from Selz-Pralle Farm Home of Aftershock 3918 – World Milk Record Holder Scott Pralle and Pam Selz-Pralle Jack Britt, Dairy Educator, Consultant and Advisor: Ideas for the future from experiences of the past

Kentucky dairy producers will be charged $30 per dairy farm for the two-day conference (limit 4 attendees) – separate registration

Yes, we would like to provide a door prize LIST ITEM

Yes, we would like to provide a silent auction item LIST ITEM

Please answer the following questions to help us better accommodate you. What type of display do you have? (i.e. full floor, table top, pull ups, other) Is your booth larger than 10 w x 6 d? Do you need electricity? Return registration & checks (checks written to: KDDC):

Kentucky Department of Agriculture - Eunice Schlappi 111 Corporate Drive Frankfort, KY 40601

eunice.schlappi@ky.gov • Phone: (502) 782-4122 • Cell: (502) 545-0809

November - December 2018 • KDDC • Page 16

Early Registration for trade show exhibitors and attendees is available on-line at the KDDC website: www.kydairy.org or contact Eunice Schlappi, KDA: eunice.schlappi@ky.gov Phone: (502) 782-4122 or Cell: (502) 545-0809

KDDC is supported in part by a grant from the Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund

Eastern Kentucky University - Meadowbrook Farm Host 7th Annual Dairy Show

sible to provide 100% of the care required for their individual animals during this week. During the show each student is questioned by the judge pertaining to their dairy animal. These questions vary from how long the student was able to work with the heifer, what they were fed and what steps they took to prepare for the show.

n October 12th the 7th annual dairy show was held at Eastern Kentucky University’s Meadowbrook Farm home of Stateland Dairy. This is an event that is enjoyed by students, faculty, staff and parents alike. The first dairy show was initiated by Dr. Laurie Davis Rinker. This year marked record participation with a total of 29 students participating in this year’s show. The event has gained so much popularity among students that this year Dr. Sexten, a current Associate Agriculture Professor, had to turn students away for not having enough heifers available for students with an interest in this year’s show. The Dairy Show is held towards the end of each Fall. A sign-up list is offered at the beginning of the Fall semester for students interested in participating. If the Dairy Management Course is offered, then students that participate will get precedence of working with a heifer and receive a grade for participation. After Dairy Management students are matched with a heifer any remaining heifers are then offered to other Ag students at EKU on a first come first serve basis. Students may begin working with their heifer once one has been assigned to them. Throughout the course of the semester students learn the fundamentals of nutrition and health aspects along with basic dairy management techniques and dairy cattle evaluation. They work with and tend to the care of their heifer in preparation of show day. Students are taught principles of dairy showmanship and basic skills associated with caring for and exhibiting dairy cattle such as halter training, washing and clipping. A week prior to the show all heifers are tied up around the clock and it becomes a requirement that each student is respon-

Don’t let the appearance fool you. This is much more than just a dairy show. This is a creative, educational concept that teaches core skills and knowledge for real world application. These students, through the guidance of EKU’s faculty and staff like Dr. Sexten and Farm Manager Chad Powers, learned invaluable lessons through this program. Personal skills learned are: work ethic, communication skills, team building, networking, problem solving, decision making, self-discipline, confidence enhancement, dedication and responsibility. Other attributes of the program taught proper animal care, nutrition, health, desired conformation and the proper way to care for, prep and show a dairy animal. Kai Schneid

The art of dairy exhibition is a time-honored event and Eastern Kentucky University’s Agriculture and the Dairy Program can be commended on their accomplishment of intertwining a vast amount of education and life skills together through the concept of dairy cattle exhibition.

KDDC is supported in part by a grant from the Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund

Reach All Dairy Producers in Kentucky POSITION AVAILABLE

Yearly Membership Sponsor Level Benefits

The Kentucky Dairy Development Council, a 501 (c) 3 non-profit dairy advocacy organization is seeking candidates for the position of Executive Director (ED). Platinum The primary role -of$1,500+ the ED is to promote, represent, and further enhance the Kentucky dairy industry • KDDC Website Top Banner AdThis and organization link speak on behalf of the dairy industry for for the profitability ofHomepage dairy producers. person will • One-time full page black/white advertisement in KDDC Annual Report KDDC.•The ED shall have charge of the general business operations of KDDC and will supervise Name recognition in KDDC Milk Matters Newsletter all part•time, full space timeatand contract personnel as deemed by the Board of Directors to Free booth KY Dairy Partners Meeting, includes one lunch necessary ticket accomplish the goals of KDDC. • Voting Member of KDDC Goldand - $1,000 Skills Qualifications Needed: • KDDC Website Homepage Banner Ad and organization link • Managerial • One-time ½ page black/white advertisement in KDDC Annual Report • • Name Administrative experience preparing recognition in KDDC Milk Matters Newsletter and evaluating financial statements • • $100 Ability toon recruit, motivate andPartners coordinate discount booth space at KY Dairy Meeting,volunteers includes one lunch ticket • • Voting Ability to hire, train, and manage employees Member of KDDC Silver - skills $500 and experience: General • KDDC Website Banner Ad and organization link • College degree or equivalent experience • One-time ¼ page black/white advertisement in KDDC Annual Report • • Name Strong communication, training, and interpersonal skills recognition in KDDC Milk Matters Newsletter • • Voting Working knowledge of computer technology Member of KDDC • Ability to work effectively in an unsupervised environment - $250 • Bronze Willingness to travel

• KDDC Website organization link • One-time black/white business card ad in KDDC Candidates should submit resumé to: Annual Report Richard Sparrow, President • Name recognition in KDDC Milk Matters Newsletter P.O. Box 432 • Voting Member of KDDC

Owenton, KY 40359

KDDC Friend - $25+ Email: mabirdie@yahoo.com • Receive KDDC Milk Matters NewsletterPhone: (502) 370-6730 • Name recognition in KDDC Annual Report

KY Milk Matters Advertising Rates Ad Size

BW / C – 1X

BW / C – 3X

1/2 Page

$265/$325

$235/$295

Full Page 1/4 Page

$350/400

$175/$225

Business Card $90/110

Ad Size Specifications Bleed Page...........................8.75 x 11.25

Full Page.....................................7.5 x 10

November - December 2018 • KDDC • Page 18

$325/$375

$157/$202

$81/99

BW / C – 6X

$300/$340

$225/$275

$148/$191

$76/$93

Half Page Horizontal.............7.5 x 4.875

Half Page Vertical...................3.625 x 10 1/4 Page ............................3.625 x 4.875

Business Card........................3.625 x 2.3

November - December 2018 • KDDC • Page 19

KDDC is supported in part by a grant from the Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund

Time for A Paradigm Shift

as our culture is changing. Consumers are demanding more “milk” from things other than cows, such as rice and almonds. I think you could argue that a Paradigm shift has happened with the milk consumer. Second, I think you must understand that technology is changing even faster than our culture. Remember when every small town across Kentucky had a bustling downtown with every store and shop you needed? Then Wal-Mart came to town and put those stores out of business.

Steve Wade Wade Assurance/Ag Dairy

he one constant in agriculture is change. Most of the change has not occurred overnight, but over centuries or decades. If you look back over all the cultures and civilizations throughout thousands of years, food production required cultivation. From crude hand tools to the use of domesticated animals to pull bigger tools, to mechanization and the use of tractors to pull even bigger tools, crops always had to be cultivated. In 1962, Harry Young of Christian County KY became the first farmer to successfully produce a commercial crop using no-till farming. My father became the first farmer in 1968 to use no-till farming practices in Hardin County. It took some faith to trust the use of insecticides and herbicides instead of conventional tillage practices enough to plant a perfectly good seed into unprepared soil. Many farmers, especially the old school farmers, would never allow themselves to farm this way……just because they always did it the other way. After thousands of years, suddenly somebody changed the way something had always been done. A paradigm shift happened and today most crops are planted this way. Though change is inevitable, the rate at which change occurs has increased exponentially and this can be frightening. In the 1980’s, an inventor and futurist named Ray Kurzweil wrote a thesis that forecast with an 86% degree of accuracy predictions about technology. He said that “every fundamental measure of information technology follows predictable and exponential trajectories”. What his models indicated was that the rate of progress itself changes over time. “We’re actually doubling the rate of paradigm shift, or the rate of technical progress, every decade. So, we’ll see a hundred years of progress at today’s rate of progress in the next 20 or 25 years” (Kurzweil, 2001).

KDDC is supported in part by a grant from the Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund

Today, Amazon is putting the hurt on companies such as WalMart and has already put companies such as K-Mart and Sears out of business.

Bob Wade Sr. of Glendale Kentucky Planting No-Till corn in 1970.

Dairy farmers frequently try to become more profitable by increasing their efficiency. They grow their own feed. They adopt mechanization. They milk 3 times a day. They use sexed semen to improve breeding. This is what most dairy farmers do today to stay in business, but the truth is that Larry Page would say this is only incremental improvement, and that incremental improvement is guaranteed to be obsolete over time. So, what is one to do? You cannot control the rate of change in technology on the farm, and you cannot significantly change

the culture. This scenario sounds hopeless, no? There is one area where you do have some control, and that is strategically managing your risk. While most dairies employ similar strategies to become more efficient, very few effectively and proactively manage their risk. I said effectively managing risk, so I am not talking about the MPP or LGM programs which miss more often than they hit. I am talking about simply locking in milk prices above your cost of production. You can do this with the new Dairy-RP program or through a commodity brokerage account. Over time, the market has given opportunities to sell $15+ milk 9 of the last 10 years. Your failure to lock in this price has nothing to do with the change of the consumer or the change in technology. It has to do with the one thing which never changes, and that is human nature. Every human over the course of our existence has had to battle fear and greed. Most of the time we fail at this task miserably because we are wired to fail in this regard. Our fight or flee instincts kick in and we sell when prices are low because we fear they could go lower, or we don’t sell when we think prices are going to go higher. If we would only learn to sell milk automatically every time when the price crosses above our cost to produce it. The chart below shows that over the past 10 years, you could have sold milk over $15.00 in every year but 1, and sometimes significantly above $15.00. In a years’ time, you can almost always get a price that is above your cost of production if you are an average or better producer. You should always try to be an efficient producer, but if you are selling milk below your break even cost to produce it, you are still going the way of Circuit City and Toys-RUs. It is time for a paradigm shift in your thinking of how to stay in business

While 20 years ago you probably knew what an Apple computer was, you probably had never heard of Google, Facebook, Netflix or Amazon. Those are now the largest companies in the world. What did they do to take over? Larry Page of Google said “incremental improvement is guaranteed to be obsolete over time. Especially in technology, where you know there’s going to be non-incremental change. So, what does all this have to do with milk? First, I think you must realize consumer choices are changing as rapidly

November - December 2018 • KDDC • Page 20

November - December 2018 • KDDC • Page 21

KDDC is supported in part by a grant from the Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund

Allied Sponsors

Gerald Carlin, et al. v. DairyAmerica, Inc., and California Dairies, Inc.

Platinum

If Your Farm Produced or Pooled Grade A Milk In A Federal Milk Marketing Order During the Period January 2002 Through April 2007, You Could Get Money from a Class Action Settlement What is the lawsuit about? The lawsuit claims that California Dairies and Dairy America unlawfully conspired to misreport data regarding sales of nonfat dry milk to the USDA during the period January 2002 through April 2007. The USDA used the figures misreported by Defendants to calculate minimum raw Grade A milk prices, which were paid to dairy farmers whose raw Grade milk was pooled on a Federal Milk Marketing Order. The lawsuit claims that California Dairies and Dairy America intentionally misreported the nonfat dry milk sales data in order to depress raw milk prices that were paid to dairy farmers. The lawsuit seeks to recover damages incurred by dairy farmers as a result of the unlawful suppression of prices of raw Grade A milk during the period January 2002 through April 2007. Judge Anthony Ishii, of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California, is currently overseeing this case. The dairy farmers who sued are called the Plaintiffs, and the cooperatives they sued - California Dairies and DairyAmerica are called the Defendants. The Defendants deny that they did anything wrong or that they acted in a manner that harmed dairy farmers. There has not yet been a determination as to whether Plaintiffs’ claims are correct or whether Defendants have done anything wrong.

Who is eligible to participate in the Settlement? You are part of the Settlement if you are a member of the Settlement Class that was certified by the Court. The Court certified the following Settlement Class: “All dairy farmers located in the United States who sold raw milk that was priced according to a Federal Milk Marketing Order during the period January 1, 2002 through April 30, 2007.” How can I file a claim to receive money from the Settlement? If you are a member of the Settlement Class, you will likely receive a Claim Form in the mail by December 11, 2018. That Claim Form will identify the specific pounds of raw milk that you sold that was priced according to a Federal Milk Marketing Order during the period January 1, 2002 through April

November - December 2018 • KDDC • Page 22

30, 2007. Those figures were calculated using data provided by Federal Milk Marketing Orders.

If you believe you are a member of the Settlement Class but did not receive a Claim Form in the mail by December 11, 2018, you can request a copy of your personalized Claim Form, which includes the pre-printed pounds of raw milk sold by you during the class period that was priced according to a Federal Milk Marketing Order. You can request a copy of your Claim Form by calling the Claims Administrator toll-free at 1-866-680-1707, or by mailing your request to the Claim Administrator at: Milk Powder Settlement c/o Rust Consulting, Inc. - 6217 P.O. Box 44 Minneapolis, MN 55440-0044 This blank Claim Form does not identify the relevant pounds of raw milk sold by you. If you choose to print and submit the blank Claim Form, you must include with your submission all documentation of the raw milk you sold that was priced according to a Federal Milk Marketing Order during the period January 1, 2002 through April 30, 2007, in order for your claim to be considered potentially valid. Please also identify, in the appropriate line at the bottom of the blank Claim Form, the total pounds of raw milk that you sold that was priced according to a Federal Milk Marketing Order during the period January 1, 2002 through April 30, 2007.

If you receive a Claim Form in the mail, do NOT download an additional blank Claim Form from this website and submit it. If you received a Claim Form in the mail, only submit that Claim Form. If you submit more than one Claim Form, it will not result in additional payment, but rather may substantially delay payment to you. If you have any questions, please call questions please call the KDDC office at 859-516-1129.

S P E C I A L T H A N K S T O O U R S P O N S O R S

Ag Central Alltech Cowherd Equipment CPC Commodities Bluegrass Dairy & Food Burkmann Feeds Dairy Farmers of America Farm Credit Mid-America Kentucky Department of Agriculture Kentucky Farm Bureau Kentucky Soybean Board Southland Dairy Farmers Trenton Farm Supply Zoetis

Gold

Arm & Hammer Animal Nutrition Dairy Express Services Dairy Products Assoc. of KY Elanco IDEXX Kentucky Nutrition Service Land O’Lakes Mid-South Dairy Records Owen Transport Purina Select Sires MidAmerica (KABA)

Silver

Afi Milk DCC W ater Beds Grain Processing Corp. KVMA Luttrull Feeds Prairie Farms RSI Calf Systems

Bronze

ABS Global Advantage Hoof Care Bagdad Roller Mills Chaney’s Dairy Double “S” Liquid Feed Genetics Plus Hinton Mills Lallemand Smith Creek, Inc Wilson Trucking

November - December 2018 • KDDC • Page 23

Non-Profit US Postage PAID

176 Pasadena Drive Lexington, KY 40503 859.516.1129 ph www.kydairy.org

Calendar of Events JAN 09 JAN 17-18

Prairie Farms Annual Meeting, Adair Co. Extension Office, 10 A.M. C.T. KY Cattlemen’s Association Convention, Owensboro Convention Center

Georgia dairy Conference, Savannah Riverfront JAN 20-23 Marriott, Savannah, GA FEB 05 KDDC Animal Care and Cow Signal Meeting TBA FEB 06

KDDC Animal Care and Cow Signal Meeting, Gary Hatcher Dairy, Adair Co.

FEB 06 Indiana Dairy Forum – French Lick, IN FEB 07

KDDC Animal Care and Cow Signal Meeting, Keith Long

FEB 07 Indiana Dairy Forum – French Lick, IN KDDC Animal Care and Cow Signal Meeting, FEB 08 Penchem Community Center, Todd County FEB 13-16

54th Annual National Farm Machinery Show, KY Exposition Center, Louisville, KY

KDDC Young Dairy Producer Conference, Sloan FEB 26 Convention Center, Bowling Green, KY 8:30 A.M. C.T.

KY Dairy Partners Conference and Industry Trade FEB 27 Show, Sloan Convention, Bowling Green KY 8:00 A.M. FEB 27

The Dairy Alliance Board Mtg, Sloan Convention Center, Bowling Green, KY

MAR 12

National Dairy Leaders Coalition – Madison, Wisconsin

MAR 13

Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin Business Conference – Madison, WI

MAR 14 PDPW – Business Conference – Madison, WI MAR 28 National Dairy Challenge – Tifton, Georgia MAR 29 NDC MAR 30 NDC – Tifton, GA APR 04-06

Kentucky National Dairy show and Sale, KY Exposition Center, Louisville, Kentucky