Clarity At Work: Building A Herd For Tomorrow

We must remember that the people working long hours to achieve a dairy's production goals are still just people. And they invest more than just labor into an operation's success. Beth Dahl of Mountain View Dairy in Delta, Utah, has a lot to say about how her team finally solved a yearslong problem with bloating in calves thanks to some help from genomic testing with CLARIFIDE® Plus. 

When it comes to management changes, the path from asking “Does it make sense?” to achieving more success is rarely clear. But when a dairy navigates that journey, the rewards can be plentiful — and can lead to additional opportunities to refine and improve productivity. Beth Dahl joins us from Mountain View Dairy in Delta, Utah. Beth has firsthand experience using genomic testing with CLARIFIDE® Plus, having stood where many of you are today, asking herself, “Does this make sense?” Ultimately, Beth, alongside Mountain View Dairy, jumped into the implementation and application of genomic testing with two feet and hasn't looked back.

We continue our conversation with Wiebren Jonkman of Diamond J Dairy in Merced, California, and Sara Naillon, a territory business manager from Zoetis to learn how their collaboration simplified the genetics process. After establishing genetic testing at the operation, how have they evolved the program with CLARIFIDE® Plus and how has that impacted the operation? How do they see genetics affecting the entire dairy industry? Listen to Part 2 to find out.

A complicated job is always made simpler when two people work together to uncover insights, challenges and opportunities. We go in-depth with Wiebren Jonkman of Diamond J Dairy in Merced, California, and Sara Naillon, a territory business manager from Zoetis, to hear about their experience with CLARIFIDE® Plus. From tissue sampling and testing, to uncovering insights through the data, the entire genetic testing experience was streamlined because of collaboration. Grab your earbuds and settle in.

With constantly changing regulations, sustainability is becoming a greater focus in the dairy industry. That's why savvy farmers are doing everything they can to stay ahead of the curve and hit this moving target. Dairy producer Katie Martin, from Darlington Ridge Farms, shares how she promotes sustainable practices on her operation and how genomic testing supports those sustainability goals. We'll hear from Principal Scientist with Zoetis Precision Animal Health Brenda Fessenden as she goes through results from a 2022 on-farm study that reveals the impact of genetics on animal health metrics, methane emissions, and operational profitability. Together Katie and Brenda sift through the data and show how farmers can use genomic testing to select cows that will help give them more sustainable and profitable farms. So, pull up a chair for another episode of Clarity at Work.

California dairy producer David Vander Schaaf unlocked a road map to a profitable herd, diversified revenue streams and strategic business decisions with CLARIFIDE® programs from Zoetis. Hear his story and dig into new research on genomic testing and profitability with Zoetis Senior Genetics Scientist, Brenda Fessenden.

Tom Oesch and Simon Vander Woude paint us a dynamic portrait of their farms, from their family history to how they are implementing genomic testing to advance their farms in today’s ag industry. We’ll hear, in their words, how genomic testing has fueled decisions to help their farm succeed.

During a global pandemic, we learned that essential workers are people who provide everyday services and goods that we depend on, like milk. We are back with Tom and Simon, to get their perspective on how dairy producers can find ways to adapt in a tumultuous marketplace.