Protecting Your Profits

Hosted by Center for Dairy Excellence

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Latest episode

May 2026

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EN-US

About the show

Managing risk and protecting your profits on a dairy farm isn’t always easy, but it’s a necessary part of running your business. Welcome to the “Protecting Your Profits” podcast – a brief monthly update designed to give you the data, production trends, and national and statewide updates you need to manage your dairy’s risk management strategy.

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60 recent

May 11, 202658 min

May 2026: Spring dairy market update, six areas to watch & ways to manage risk with Ever.Ag

Send us Fan MailWhat areas should you be watching to manage risk and navigate changing dairy market dynamics during this busy planting season? In this month's "Protecting Your Profits" discussion, Kathleen Noble Wolfley and Owen teVelde from Ever.Ag shared six areas to watch this spring, including: milk supply expectations (US and global), support in the Class IV market, cheese market dynamics, the critical role of exports, hot protein markets, and macro market influence. They also shared ways to manage risk in this environment.To receive weekly dairy market updates via email each week, click here to subscribe and get the updates sent to you at no cost each week.

March 20, 20261 hr 4 min

March 2026: The missing metric, how to calculate your dairy’s biological and economic health with Dr. Joe Bender

Send us Fan MailHealthy cows are about biology. Healthy farms are about economics. You need both. In this month’s “Protecting Your Profits" discussion, hear expert insight on biological vs. economic health from Dr. Joe Bender, Associate Professor of Clinical Dairy Production Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania – New Bolton Center.Biological health refers to the physical health of your cows, including freedom from disease, longevity, and comfort. Economic health centers around the cow’s financial viability, productivity, and cost efficiency of your herd. It’s easy to pick out a biologically unhealthy cow – you’ll often see physical signs like lameness, sickness or thinness. Economically unhealthy cows, on the other hand, are harder to find. Dr. Bender shares:How to balance both sides of the biological and economic health equation (the cow level and the business level).How ratios demonstrate the economic health of your farm.How to move items from the liability side of the equation to the asset side.Practical ways to balance strong milk production with strong economic health, so you have the right formula to make a good product and take good care of your cows and employees.To receive weekly dairy market updates via email each week, click here to subscribe and get the updates sent to you at no cost each week.

March 11, 202625 min

PYP - Dairy Report Rundown 02.27.2026

Send us Fan MailIn this February installment of the "Protecting Your Profits" miniseries, Dairy Report Rundown, we were joined by Dr. Jim Lawhead with Penn State Extension, to talk through the January 2026 Lancaster DHIA data. Dr. Lawhead provided his insights into the trends in the data, as well as what the numbers can tell us about the health of Pennsylvania's dairies. He also offered advice on how dairy producers can use their 202 reports to make informed on-farm decisions.To receive weekly dairy market updates via email each week, click here to subscribe and get the updates sent to you at no cost each week.

January 26, 2026Episode 233 min

January 2026: From surviving to thriving, navigating downturns and knowing your numbers with Ava Hasbrook

Send us Fan MailHow can you go from surviving to thriving when it comes to your farm’s financials? How do you navigate economic downturns with your current funds while still finding a way to plan for the future? In this month's "Protecting Your Profits" discussion, Ava Hasbrook, a Business Coach from Legacy Farmer, shared how dairy farmers can evaluate and forecast their long-term stability with their current funds and discussed how to plan for the future now versus later. She also offered insight into measuring long-term strength, surviving economic downturns, and investing in your farm’s viability 10 years from now.To receive weekly dairy market updates via email each week, click here to subscribe and get the updates sent to you at no cost each week.

November 24, 2025Episode 249 min

November 2025: Diving into the data, insights from the 2025 dairy producer survey with Center for Dairy Excellence & Penn State Extension

Send us Fan MailWith the release of the 2025 Pennsylvania Dairy Producer Survey results, we took some time to dive into the data and break down the trends, challenges and opportunities from the survey results — and discuss what this means for the state of Pennsylvania dairy. During our November “Protecting Your Profits” discussion, Jayne Sebright and Valerie Mason-Faith from the Center for Dairy Excellence, and Ginger Fenton from Penn State Extension, shared interesting findings and takeaways from the survey results.To receive weekly dairy market updates via email each week, click here to subscribe and get the updates sent to you at no cost each week.

October 21, 202525 min

PYP - Dairy Report Rundown 10.20.2025

Send us Fan MailIn this October installment of the "Protecting Your Profits" miniseries, Dairy Report Rundown, we were joined by Andy McCarty, with Land O' Lakes, to talk through the most recent World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) and export reports. Andy provided insight into global feed and dairy market trends and what that means for domestic prices and demand. He also offered clarity on risk management programs affected by the government shutdown. To receive weekly dairy market updates via email each week, click here to subscribe and get the updates sent to you at no cost each week.

September 22, 2025Episode 157 min

September 2025: Beefing up your risk management, cattle market dynamics & price protection with Ever.Ag

Send us Fan MailCattle markets continue to set new record highs, creating some interesting opportunities for dairy farms. Whether dairy producers are selling beef on dairy cross calves, benefitting from higher cull cow values, or all of the above, it’s an important time to learn about how beef and dairy markets are becoming more intertwined – and how dairy farmers can manage against downside price risk.In this month's "Protecting Your Profits" webinar, Bryce Windecker and Kathleen Wolfley from Ever.Ag discussed current beef market dynamics – from tariffs on Brazilian beef to ground beef demand and everything in between. Plus, they walked through strategies for how dairy producers can manage downside cattle price risk.To receive weekly dairy market updates via email each week, click here to subscribe and get the updates sent to you at no cost each week.

August 29, 202520 min

PYP - Dairy Report Rundown 08.29.2025

Send us Fan MailIn this August installment of the "Protecting Your Profits" miniseries, Dairy Report Rundown, we were joined by Dr. Joe Bender, DVM, with the University of Pennsylvania to talk through the most recent USDA Crop Progress report. Dr. Bender provided his take on how this season's crops are shaping up so far compared to prior years. He also offered some advice on best practices on how dairies can maximize quality and reduce losses in feed and forage inventories. To receive weekly dairy market updates via email each week, click here to subscribe and get the updates sent to you at no cost each week.

July 14, 2025Episode 1251 min

July 2025: Healthy herds and happy cows, risk mitigation for your dairy with Dr. Jody Kull

Send us Fan MailIn this month's "Protecting Your Profits" webinar, Dr. Jody Kull from Penn State University shared how dairy farmers can use their farm's specific protocols not just as a once-a-year way to check a box, but how to develop them to prepare for anything that might happen throughout the year. She explained how dairy farmers can use these protocols to mitigate on-farm risks and seasonal concerns such as mastitis, pneumonia and metabolic issues. She also shared real-life examples from farms who have developed their own protocols to successfully treat and navigate illnesses within their herds.During the webinar, Dr. Kull covered how dairy farmers can use their protocols, how to identify clinical signs of illnesses, what monitoring looks like on the farm, and how to address concerns, illnesses, and diseases before they happen. Listen now!To receive weekly dairy market updates via email each week, click here to subscribe and get the updates sent to you at no cost each week.

June 30, 202526 min

PYP - Dairy Report Rundown 06.30.2025

Send us Fan MailIn this June installment of the "Protecting Your Profits" miniseries, Dairy Report Rundown, we were joined by Dr. Brian Reed, DVM, MBA, to talk through the May 2025 Pennsylvania DHIA report. Dr. Reed offered his insight on significant and surprising trends in Pennsylvania's herd performance and reproductive health. He also provided advice and guidance on how individual farms can use their DHIA reports to improve their profitability and make informed decisions.To receive weekly dairy market updates via email each week, click here to subscribe and get the updates sent to you at no cost each week.