JUNEAU, Wis. — According to Professional Dairy Producers® (PDPW) – week nine of The Dairy Signal™ will feature an all-new line up of speakers addressing a variety of topics, from banker perspectives to consumer buying trends to current COVID-19 environmental impacts.
All new to the episodes will be: Sam Miller, Managing Director, Head of Agriculture for BMO Harris Bank; Steve Schwoerer, Senior Dairy Lending Specialist at Compeer Financial; Charlie Arnot, CEO of The Center for Food Integrity and President of Look East; and Dr. Frank Mitloehner, Ph.D., Professor and Air Quality Extension Specialist with the Department of Animal Science at University of California, Davis.
Developed by fellow dairy farmers from the PDPW Board of Directors, The Dairy Signal is a weekly series of free educational episodes offering insights and resources for fellow dairy farmers and other food system professionals throughout the value chain. The episodes air live from 12:00-1:00 PM CT each Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday; recorded sessions are available later in the day.
Each live session will offer attendees the opportunity to engage in open Q&A and interact with the speakers through www.slido.com and entering the code myPDPW.
During The Dairy Signal this week, Tim Swenson, Senior Business Consultant, Compeer Financial, advised producers to establish their cash flow needs and tweak those financial needs to the current situation. He also suggested making changes that fit your business model and system.
During Wednesday’s episode, Barbara O’Brien, President of Dairy Management, Inc. (DMI) and the Dairy Innovation Center, talked about how DMI saw the need to shift quickly and enable volume-driving programs that would keep dairy moving in the marketplace. DMI is sharing the message that farmers are working tirelessly to ensure a safe and consistent supply of dairy products.
On Thursday, Dan Basse, Economist and President of AgResource Company, a domestic and international agricultural research firm, shared a snapshot of the current dairy markets, indicating June Class III milk futures have rallied to new 2020 highs near $18.00/cwt, the best price since November 2019. He encouraged producers to make it a priority to call their FSA office and sign up for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program at farmers.gov/cfap. In addition, use the mindset of a businessperson and lock in markets as they will continue to show volatility.
Our dairy industry and lives are changing daily and our need for accurate business information is vital. Content on The Dairy Signal will be updated as new information becomes available.
Here is a look at next week’s presenters and topics:
Tuesday, June 2
Topic: What details do you need to provide to your lender and what do producers need to know about the banking world. Presenters include:
- Sam Miller, Managing Director, Head of Agriculture, BMO Harris Bank
- Steve Schwoerer, Senior Dairy Lending Specialist, Compeer Financial
Wednesday, June 3
Topic: Learn how consumer buying habits have shifted during these unchartered times and what future trends could look like. Episode presenter includes:
- Charlie Arnot, CEO of The Center for Food Integrity and President of Look East
Thursday, June 4
Topic: Hear how the COVID-19 situation has impacted the environment and how the industry is responding. Episode presenter includes:
- Dr. Frank Mitloehner, Ph.D., Professor and Air Quality Extension Specialist with the Department of Animal Science at University of California, Davis
“As fellow dairy farmers, we create our opportunities by the decisions we make today and there is a bright future in the dairy industry. The most important crop that we bring as farm families to America is our youth, so we as an industry have a lot to look forward to,” said Shelly Mayer, dairy producer from Slinger, Wis., and Executive Director of PDPW.
The Dairy Signal episodes are free and open to the public and accessible from www.pdpw.org. For more information, contact PDPW at 800-947-7379 or by emailing mail@pdpw.org. Follow along digitally in advance of and during the sessions by following @dairyPDPW and using #TheDairySignal on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Professional Dairy Producers (PDPW) is the nation’s largest dairy producer-led organization of its kind, focusing on producer professionalism, stakeholder engagement and unified outreach to share ideas, solutions, resources, and experiences that help dairy producers succeed.
— PDPW
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