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In 2022, U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the investment of $3.1 billion for 141 projects through the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities. With billions of dollars being invested in climate-smart, are farmers participating and how can a farm identify which on-farm project is the best fit? Drew Kessler, senior scientist at Houston Engineering, shares what farmers should consider when engaging with a climate-smart program, time commitment, benefits, tools and unique ways farmers engage their communities on conservation efforts. Dairy Stream host Joanna Guza dives into the topics below with Drew:
1:45: Increased conservation efforts
2:45: What commodities Drew works with
3:22: What should farmers look for when engaging with a climate smart program
7:37: Time commitment to participate
10:15 What happens after 2028
11:26: Example of a farm’s involvement
13:11: What benefits do farmers receive from data collection
15:39: Tools and platforms
20:52: How to understand the data
25:12: Could a farm be penalize for sharing their data, data security
28:47: Watch-outs with joining groups
30:11: How farms share information with their communities
31:33: Future of on-farm sustainability programs
Special thanks to The Nature Conservancy of Wisconsin for sponsoring this episode.
About the guest:
Drew Kessler is the Senior Scientist at Houston Engineering. He leads Houston Engineering’s Environmental Service Sector. He has been working at Houston Engineering for over 10 years during which he’s grown the company’s connections to the food and dairy industry. Prior to joining Houston, Drew spent 10 years in academia focused on environmental research.
The Farmers for Sustainable Food (FSF) Climate-Smart Project is the culmination of years of proven on-farm, farmer-led sustainability work. We bring extensive experience with farm-level sustainability projects to facilitate locally focused initiatives that support targeted environmental concerns.
Our project stands out among the rest in three important ways:
Farmer-driven: No requirement for farmers to implement any specific practices, individual farm groups determine the area of focus.
Incentives: Stipends available up to $9,000 a year based on level of participation
Hands-on support: Technical support at the farm level to help participants understand their scores and how to leverage their data into management decisions for positive environmental and financial outcomes.
Learn more here: farmersforsustainablefood.com/climate-smart/

The Dairy Streamlet is a condensed version of a long Dairy Stream episode and covers just the high-level points of the conversation. If this topic interest you, then listen to the full episode on April 24.
With billions of dollars being invested in climate-smart, are farmers participating and how can a farm identify which on-farm project is the best fit? Join Dairy Stream host Joanna Guza and guest Drew Kessler, senior scientist at Houston Engineering, as they discuss farmers involvement in Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities, choosing the best program, examples of outcomes, watch outs and tools farms can use.
Special thanks to The Nature Conservancy of Wisconsin for sponsoring this episode.
About the guest:
Drew Kessler is the Senior Scientist at Houston Engineering. He leads Houston Engineering’s Environmental Service Sector. He has been working at Houston Engineering for over 10 years during which he’s grown the company’s connections to the food and dairy industry. Prior to joining Houston, Drew spent 10 years in academia focused on environmental research.
The Farmers for Sustainable Food (FSF) Climate-Smart Project is the culmination of years of proven on-farm, farmer-led sustainability work. We bring extensive experience with farm-level sustainability projects to facilitate locally focused initiatives that support targeted environmental concerns.
Our project stands out among the rest in three important ways:
Farmer-driven: No requirement for farmers to implement any specific practices, individual farm groups determine the area of focus.
Incentives: Stipends available up to $9,000 a year based on level of participation
Hands-on support: Technical support at the farm level to help participants understand their scores and how to leverage their data into management decisions for positive environmental and financial outcomes.
Learn more here: farmersforsustainablefood.com/climate-smart/
This podcast is co-produced by the Dairy Business Association and Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative, sister organizations that fight for effective dairy policy in Wisconsin and Washington, D.C.  Become a sponsor, share an idea or feedback by emailing podcast@dairyforward.com. 

The popularity of UAVs are growing in precision agriculture and we cover the basics capabilities, economics and rules with Dr. Brian Luck, associate professor and extension specialist with UW-Madison. Dairy Stream host Joanna Guza dives into the topic below with Brian:
1:08: How are UAVs being used
4:33: Most popular UAV
6:31: Scouting crops
11:18: Interrupting data     
16:20: What is remote sensing and thermal imagery
21:40: Challenges with UAVs
25:26: When to use UAVs
27:12: Economics
29:53: Rules of UAVs
36:03: Safety of UAVs
39:08: Data protection
43.40: Future trends of UAVs
Special thanks to The Nature Conservancy of Wisconsin for sponsoring this episode.
About the guest
Brian Luck is an associate professor and extension specialist in Biological Systems Engineering in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at UW-Madison. Dr. Luck’s field of interest include machine management, variable rate technology, agricultural “big data” management and remote sensing.  
This podcast is co-produced by the Dairy Business Association and Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative, sister organizations that fight for effective dairy policy in Wisconsin and Washington, D.C.  Become a sponsor, share an idea or feedback by emailing podcast@dairyforward.com. 

The Dairy Streamlet is a condensed version of a long Dairy Stream episode and covers just the high-level points of the conversation. If this topic interest you, then listen to the full episode on April 3.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles or UAV are playing a role in precision agriculture. Join Dairy Stream host Joanna Guza and guest Dr. Brian Luck, associate professor and extension specialist at UW-Madison, as they discuss the most popular UAVs, scouting crops, challenges, economics and safety.
Special thanks to The Nature Conservancy of Wisconsin for sponsoring this episode.
About the guest
Dr. Brian Luck is an associate professor and extension specialist in Biological Systems Engineering in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at UW-Madison. Dr. Luck’s field of interest include machine management, variable rate technology, agricultural “big data” management and remote sensing.  
This podcast is co-produced by the Dairy Business Association and Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative, sister organizations that fight for effective dairy policy in Wisconsin and Washington, D.C.  Become a sponsor, share an idea or feedback by emailing podcast@dairyforward.com. 

Recent bans and regulations, globally and nationally, on agriculture have caused negative impacts. Chief Strategy Officer at Kansas Farm Bureau Joel Leftwich paints the reality of the aftermath involving negative regulations on agriculture and how we should be more strategic in targeting the voter. Dairy Stream host Joanna Guza dives into the topics below with Joel:
1:40: Global examples of negative bans/regulations on agriculture
7:25: National examples
9:25: Hindsight, what could have been done differently
10:58: Strategic about which voter
13:43: Why the farmers voice is trusted
16:40: How to better engage voters on agricultural topics
20:21: Platform to use to engage voters
24:40: Topics to cover with voters
26:56: Situation like Prop12 happen again?
29:55: How to include engaging voters in your business model
33:21: How do agriculturalists stay in engaged on trends
Special thanks to the Animal Agriculture Alliance for sponsoring this episode.
Joel will be speaking at the Animal Agriculture Alliance Stakeholders Summit on May 8-9 in Kansas City, MO. It is a one-of-a-kind conference attended by a diverse group of decision makers, including representatives from farms, ranches, allied industries, food processors, restaurants, grocery stores, legislatures, universities, government agencies and media. Registration is available through May 1, learn more here.
About the guest
Chief Strategy Officer Kansas Farm Bureau President U.S. Agriculture Partnership Fund Joel Leftwich joined Kansas Farm Bureau in 2021 as the organization’s Chief Strategy Officer. Prior to joining Kansas Farm Bureau, Leftwich worked in Washington, D.C. for nearly twenty years with public and private sector experience in food and agriculture policy. Leftwich spent most of his time as staff to Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS) serving in the personal office and then on the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee as Majority Staff Director. He also worked for Rep. Jim Ryun (R-KS) and the USDA during President George W. Bush’s administration. His private sector experience includes positions with global food and agriculture companies PepsiCo and DuPont. Additionally, he was a Managing Director for the Glover Park Group’s communications and government affairs consulting firm’s Food Team. GPG’s Food Team clients included international food, beverage, animal health, and innovative agriculture companies. As CSO for the Kansas Farm Bureau, Leftwich works with organizational leadership and members to develop and implement new programs and strategies to accomplish KFB’s mission. Examples of KFB’s new initiatives include: Engaged Kansas, a nonpartisan coalition dedicated to recruiting and training candidates for local public service; Rural Kansas Apprenticeship Program, where KFB serves as a federally Registered Apprenticeship Intermediary working with agricultural and rural employers to develop registered apprenticeships; and the U.S. Agriculture Partnership Fund, a 501(c)4 organization focused on public education of the importance of keeping the U.S. food supply safe and affordable. Leftwich received his bachelor’s degree in political science and history from Friends University and a master’s degree from Loyola University of Chicago in political science. 
This podcast is co-produced by the Dairy Business Association and Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative, sister organizations that fight for effective dairy policy in Wisconsin and Washington, D.C.  Become a sponsor, share an idea or feedback by emailing podcast@dairyforward.com. 

The Dairy Streamlet is a condensed version of a long Dairy Stream episode and covers just the high-level points of the conversation. If this topic interest you, then listen to the full episode on March 13.
Past events, like Europe’s Farm to Fork policy and California’s Proposition 12, have negatively impacted the food supply chain. How can we learn from these events and better engage the voters? Join Dairy Stream host Joanna Guza and guest Joel Leftwich, Chief Strategy Officer at Kansas Farm Bureau, as they discuss the past situations that negatively impacted agriculture and how we can better engage with voters. 
Special thanks to the Animal Agriculture Alliance for sponsoring this episode.
Joel will be speaking at the Animal Agriculture Alliance Stakeholders Summit on May 8-9 in Kansas City, MO. It is a one-of-a-kind conference attended by a diverse group of decision makers, including representatives from farms, ranches, allied industries, food processors, restaurants, grocery stores, legislatures, universities, government agencies and media. Registration is available through May 1, learn more here.
About the guest
Chief Strategy Officer Kansas Farm Bureau President U.S. Agriculture Partnership Fund Joel Leftwich joined Kansas Farm Bureau in 2021 as the organization’s Chief Strategy Officer. Prior to joining Kansas Farm Bureau, Leftwich worked in Washington, D.C. for nearly twenty years with public and private sector experience in food and agriculture policy. Leftwich spent most of his time as staff to Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS) serving in the personal office and then on the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee as Majority Staff Director. He also worked for Rep. Jim Ryun (R-KS) and the USDA during President George W. Bush’s administration. His private sector experience includes positions with global food and agriculture companies PepsiCo and DuPont. Additionally, he was a Managing Director for the Glover Park Group’s communications and government affairs consulting firm’s Food Team. GPG’s Food Team clients included international food, beverage, animal health, and innovative agriculture companies. As CSO for the Kansas Farm Bureau, Leftwich works with organizational leadership and members to develop and implement new programs and strategies to accomplish KFB’s mission. Examples of KFB’s new initiatives include: Engaged Kansas, a nonpartisan coalition dedicated to recruiting and training candidates for local public service; Rural Kansas Apprenticeship Program, where KFB serves as a federally Registered Apprenticeship Intermediary working with agricultural and rural employers to develop registered apprenticeships; and the U.S. Agriculture Partnership Fund, a 501(c)4 organization focused on public education of the importance of keeping the U.S. food supply safe and affordable. Leftwich received his bachelor’s degree in political science and history from Friends University and a master’s degree from Loyola University of Chicago in political science. 
This podcast is co-produced by the Dairy Business Association and Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative, sister organizations that fight for effective dairy policy in Wisconsin and Washington, D.C.  Become a sponsor, share an idea or feedback by emailing podcast@dairyforward.com.