GENEX Dairy Marketing Intern, Beef Girl in a Dairy World

Meet Kaylan Risacher, a beef girl in a dairy world - at least for the summer!

So how does someone who grew up on a beef farm in Wright, Minnesota, end up working as a Dairy Marketing Intern in South Dakota with GENEX? The answer is simple, really, Kaylan wanted to gain experience for her future career as a veterinarian. Let's learn some more about this hard-working junior at the University of Minnesota-Crookston!

What clubs/organizations are you a part of?

I am secretary of Dairy Club, an active member of the Pre-Vet Med club and am also on the campus dairy judging team. Outside of school, I am a member of the American Gelbvieh Association, American Angus Association and was involved in 4-H for 11 years.

Why did you choose an internship with GENEX?

I wanted to gain more experience with both the bovine and dairy industries. I hope to go to vet school after completing my undergraduate degree, and this experience will benefit me greatly. Because of my minimal experience with dairy cattle, I figured this would be a chance for me to learn a lot about the industry!

What have you taken away from this internship thus far?

I love being able to interact with the owners, workers and cattle on the farms we visit. My dream is to wake up every morning looking forward to my day at work, because I enjoy what I am doing. That is exactly what is happening with this internship!

We here at GENEX are wishing Kaylan the best of luck as she finishes up her internship. Hopefully this position reinforced your passion for an exciting and dynamic industry!

Historic Postcard Prompts a #FlashbackFriday

A few months ago, an individual saw the sign outside the GENEX Distribution Center in Shawano, Wisconsin, and stopped in to drop off a vintage postcard. The postcard highlighted one of the many GENEX predecessor organizations, Badger Breeders. The front of the postcard (shown below) featured the Badger Breeders headquarters (today’s GENEX Headquarters).

The back of the postcard shared this message:

25 Years of Scientific Breeding Success

In April 1940 – just 2 years after artificial breeding of cattle was introduced into the United States – 100 forward-looking farmers formed the organization known today as Badger Breeders Cooperative.

Their faith in this revolutionary new breeding technique was fully justified by results: better herds; better production; better income and profits. It was these results – constantly improved over the years – that boosted membership from the original 100 to the present 27,100, coverage from 3 to 30 counties, and first services from a mere 1000 to last year’s 408,206 – a grand total of 5,222,343 first services in our first 25 years. Imagine the tremendous herd-improving influence Badger Breeders has exerted.

Now, 77 years after the formation of that predecessor organization, your cooperative is still forward-thinking. We’re still dedicated to ongoing genetic improvement and data-driven innovation. We’re still dedicated to better herds, better production and better profits for our cooperative members and customers.

Introducing Prospective℠ : A Semen Comparison Tool from GENEX

Today dairy producers have more options than ever when it comes to making decisions on semen products. With the addition of GenChoice™ 4M sexed semen to the marketplace and other sexed semen products in the works, it is important to have a tool for producers to be able to compare the impact of these different products on their bottom line. This is where the new GENEX Prospective℠ program can offer a helping hand.

The Prospective℠ program is a semen comparison tool that calculates the return on investment from different semen products used on cows or heifers. It utilizes a dairy’s inputs for projected conception rates, heifer ratios, calf value, and product pricing and delivers a simple, easy to understand report summarizing the dollars lost or gained from a particular semen choice by service number compared to conventional semen.

For example, a farm is wondering if introducing sexed semen on cows makes financial sense. The Prospective℠ program will take values for expected conception, semen prices and calf values and will show the farm an output similar to below. Here we can see the added asset value of producing more heifers with sexed semen and that it would cost more for semen cost and days open compared to conventional. However, in the total profit/loss analysis, it does show that the farm would see a profit for using sexed semen on their first service cows.

Similarly, on heifers, the Prospective℠ program can project how utilizing sexed semen products makes the most sense by also taking into account the additional milk income expected from heifers having heifer calves. The example below is a herd that is curious to see if the added cost of GenChoice™ 4M sexed semen makes sense to use on their heifers. The Prospective℠ program uses the inputs to calculate the difference in asset value, semen investment, milk income and days open to come up with the total profit/loss impact of that semen choice vs conventional. Here it shows the added value of heifer calves produced plus the added milk income outweighs the semen investment and added days open to give the farm an expected profit on all services.

The Prospective℠ program is just another tool GENEX offers dairies to help them make the most informed and profitable strategic breeding decisions in today’s marketplace.

GENEX Dairy Marketing Internship Provides Path to Future for Samuel Minor

For GENEX Dairy Marketing Intern, Samuel Minor of Eighty Four, Pennsylvania, this summer's internship needed to be in the dairy industry and had to enhance vital skills that would be required of him as he enters the industry in the next year. So far this Penn State senior's summer work choice has fit the bill as he has hit the ground running. Let's get to know a little more about Samuel!

Why do you feel internships are so valuable?

This internship is my second one withing the dairy industry. Both of the internships that I have been fortunate enough to receive have been extremely important to me because they have opened my eyes to actual career paths that will be available post graduation, and have taught me the skills required to obtain and work successfully in any position. These experiences have also been very important because of the networking I was able to do. I have been honored to meet and talk to countless people that are exceptionally influential within the industry. 

Why did you decide to intern with GENEX?

This internship lined up the most with my passion for dairy genetics and reproduction. 

What is your biggest take away from the intern position thus far?

I have only been working as an intern since the middle of May, but I have already taken a lot away from this position. My artificial insemination skills have increased greatly, my knowledge of GENEX products has improved, and I learned how to work closely with farmers across Pennsylvania to make genetic advances, allowing their herds to be more profitable.

What skills you are acquiring  do you think will be most important as you approaching your future career?

This internship has already shown me it is very important to be skilled at what you do, but more importantly you also have to have tremendous people skills. To be successful in this industry you need to be able to connect and communicate with farmers on a deeper level, and that is what GENEX is teaching me. 

We wish Samuel the best of luck as he finishes out his internship and college education!