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 PD-Arrow-Small e-Leader 
 July 2017
 In this issue:
  • Pre-Empire Farm Days Tour
  • 2017 Dairy Profit Seminars
    at Empire Farm Days
  • What do you read?
  • Rising Labor Costs: Strategies and Approaches
  • Shoreline Septic Systems Deserve a Closer Look
  • Cornell Dairy Exec Program
  • Save the Date!

Pre-Empire Farm Days Tour

A Dairy Calf Intensively Managed Housing/Feeding System “Drive Yourself Tour” and Program at Synergy Farm and True Farm, Wyoming County, NY is scheduled for August 7, 2017. Registration is required.

2017 Dairy Profit Seminars
at Empire Farm Days

This year’s Empire Farm Days is slated for August 8 through 10 at the Rodman Lott & Son Farms near Seneca Falls, NY.

The 2017 Dairy Profit Seminars will include:

  • Robotics and Maximizing Milk Per Box: Grouping and Feeding;
  • Transitioning to Automatic Milking Systems: What Have We Learned?; and
  • Is your farm a Member of the 7 Pound Club? Leading dairy producers into the next frontier of maximizing pounds of components produced, while maintaining profitability.

The Junior DAIRY LEADER Formal Presentation and Graduation Ceremony will be held 1 pm, Wednesday.

The seminars are a collaboration between Cornell’s PRO-DAIRY, Northeast Dairy Producers Association (NEDPA) and DairyBusiness & HolsteinWorld magazine. Each session will be held at the Dairy Seminar Center, located on the show grounds. They are free and open to the public.

Each seminar has been approved for up to 1.50 Dairy AdvanCE continuing education (CE) credits. Dairy AdvanCE is a continuing education accreditation provider for dairy producers and other dairy industry professionals.

Supplementary articles, including a profile of Reed Haven Farm's Transition to Automatic Milking Systems and Tips for Increasing Milk Per Box by Douglas Waterman, Ph.D, Director, Technology Application – Dairy, for Trouw Nutrition Agresearch is featured in PRO-DAIRY's The Manager in the July 17 DAIRYBUSINESS issue.

What do you read?

Participate in a publications survey about what and how you read dairy information and news. PRO-DAIRY is looking for the best ways to deliver news about applied research and education to you.


Contact Us:

For more information about PRO-DAIRY, visit prodairy.cals.cornell.edu

Julie Berry, Editor  |  Tom Overton, Director  |  Facebook


Diversity and Inclusion are part of Cornell University's heritage.  We are a recognized employer and educator valuing AA/EEO, Protected Veterans, and Individuals with Disabilities.

Rising Labor Costs: Strategies and Approaches

Jason Karszes, Senior Extension Associate, Dairy Farm Management, PRO-DAIRY, has released a white paper with strategies and approaches to rising labor costs.

Upward pressure may increase labor costs at a faster pace than has occurred recently. This can have significant impacts on farm earnings pending management changes.

Five areas to focus on include:
capital investment, lean manufacturing, labor effectiveness, custom services,
and joint ventures/collaboration.

For farms to continue to meet business and family goals, management's focus on controlling labor costs and improving performance will be critical for continued success.

Shoreline Septic Systems Deserve a Closer Look

By: Karl Czymmek, Cornell PRO-DAIRY

Most of the unusable phosphorus (P) excreted by dairy cattle is contained in their feces, and much of this P is in undigested feed particles that rumen microbes could not unlock. Unlike cows, 2/3 of the P excreted by humans is in our urine, and this P is highly bioavailable, meaning our “P” is readily available to plants. While we may not be commercially harvesting human urine for fertilizer anytime soon, some of it may very well be an important fertilizer for organisms such as cyanobacteria (AKA: blue-green algae) and nuisance weeds that live in our lakes.

In terms of total pounds of P, shoreline septic systems are a small part of P input to lakes, but a number of factors may contribute to underestimating its role in these systems. Shoreline septic systems are by definition, very close to the water’s edge, and septic leach fields may be located in or near unsuitable soil and bedrock that make it easy for this P to find its way into surface water. Additionally, the possibility that more people are spending more time living in lakeshore homes, adds another level of difficulty into quantifying these potential inputs.

Read the full article “Protecting our lakes: shore line septic system concerns” online.

Wanted: 30 Great Dairy Leaders

The Cornell Dairy Executive Program is now accepting applications for Class 13, to start on December 3, 2017. This unique, year-long program offers professional educational leadership and management principles for progressive dairy producers and agriservice personnel, focused on increasing their ability to run a successful dairy business and enhancing their understanding of the fast-changing dairy industry.

For full program information, fees, and application instruction, visit the CDEP program website.

Save the Date!

Farm Financial Standards Council 2017 Annual Conference Comes to Central New York
July 26-28, 2017
Syracuse, NY

2018 Northeast Dairy Producers Conference
March 7-8, 2018
Holiday Inn, Liverpool, NY

2018 Herd Health and Nutrition Conference
April 10, 2018
Doubletree by Hilton, East Syracuse, NY




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