JUNEAU, Wis. — According to Professional Dairy Producers® (PDPW), the line-up for week 30 of The Dairy Signal™ will feature several new speakers, Chris Schlechta, Safety and Loss Control Manager for the Rural Mutual Insurance Company; Michael Immel, Licensed Insurance Agent with the Rural Mutual Insurance Company and Farm Bureau Financial Services and Owner of Immel Insurance & Financial Services; and Jessica Mlsna, Energy Advisor with Focus on Energy.

Returning to The Dairy Signal is Dan Basse, Economist and President of AgResource Company.

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.

Amy Myrdal Miller, MS, RDN, FAND, Founder & President, Farmer’s Daughter Consulting, Inc. talked about the acronym RED – Rest, Exercise and Diet, during Tuesday’s Dairy Signal. According to Miller, exercise, including activities that calm your mind and body, and adequate sleep go hand-in-hand. When looking at your diet, she stressed starting the day with nutrient-rich foods, particularly protein, as it resets your metabolism to provide more energy. She challenged listeners to set a standard of choosing milk over sugar-enriched beverages. “Be proud of the amazing nutrient-rich products you are producing,” Myrdal Miller said.

On Wednesday’s episode, Jodi Legge, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Livestock Identification Consortium and Curt Larson, President and CEO of Equity Cooperative Livestock Sales Association shared their knowledge about animal identification and disease traceability.

Legge said the Wisconsin Livestock Identification Consortium (WLIC) is a public-private partnership with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) to implement and maintain the premises identification records, register new premises and renew current premises every three years. As part of this responsibility, WLIC manages and maintains a confidential database that includes more than 80,000 active and inactive premises, as well as individual animal movement records.

Thanks to a grant from the Professional Dairy Producers® Foundation, WLIC produced an educational video detailing the importance of animal disease traceability that can be found on their website at https://wiid.org/.

During Thursday’s episode, Gerald Minor, Pittsville, Wis., Fire Chief, discussed the importance of farm and home safety as it relates to fire prevention. Having been in the fire service industry for 42 years, Minor said a fire department’s responsibility is not only to fight fires, but to also prevent them from happening. As we celebrate National Fire Prevention Month, Minor recommended checking fire extinguishers, smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors and have a safety plan in place for your operation.

Each live session offers attendees the opportunity to engage in open Q&A and interact with the speakers through www.slido.com and entering the code #myPDPW.

Our dairy industry and lives are changing daily and our need for accurate business information is vital. Content on The Dairy Signal is updated as new information becomes available.

Here is a look at the upcoming presenters and topics:

Tuesday, October 27

Topic: It’s Energy Awareness Month – discover ways to conserve more energy and find out what an energy audit means. Episode presenter includes:

• Jessica Mlsna, Energy Advisor, Focus on Energy

Wednesday, October 28

Topic: Your farm is your livelihood. Learn about the five key risks areas all farmers need to insure and the importance of safety inspections. Episode presenters include:

• Chris Schlechta, Safety and Loss Control Manager for the Rural Mutual Insurance Company
• Michael Immel, Licensed Insurance Agent with the Rural Mutual Insurance Company and Farm Bureau Financial Services and Owner of Immel Insurance & Financial Services

Thursday, October 29

Topic: Tune in for an analysis of agricultural markets, current trends and what to expect for the rest of this year and into 2021.  Episode presenter includes:

• Dan Basse, Economist and President of AgResource Company

All Dairy Signal episodes are free and open to the public, accessible through 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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