57: The True Cost of Staying the Same on Your Dairy

Ruminate This | Agrarian Solutions

Ruminate This | Agrarian Solutions
57: The True Cost of Staying the Same on Your Dairy
Oct 06, 2025 Season 2 Episode 57
Scott Zehr

What if the biggest hidden cost on your dairy isn’t feed, labor, or genetics, but the pain of not changing?

In this episode of Ruminate This, Scott Zehr and co-host Jeff Hostetter, Product Manager at Premier Select Sires, explore the challenges and opportunities facing today’s dairy producers. Change in dairy management can feel disruptive with new training, updated protocols, and added investments. But staying the same carries a constant, quiet cost in lost milk production, reproductive failures, high culling rates, and wasted resources.

You’ll learn how forward-thinking farms push past “good enough” and capture more profit by:

  • Supporting cow longevity and keeping “Golden Girls” in 4th and 5th lactation productive, the most profitable animals in the herd.
  • Recognizing the true ceiling of herd performance and avoiding the trap of underestimating potential.
  • Making smart, long-term investments in transition cow management, calf health, and silage protection that deliver a powerful ROI.
  • Building trust with dairy nutritionists and consultants who prioritize the farm’s interests and make change easier.

Every dairy pays for pain. The choice is whether to take on the short-term discomfort of change for long-term herd health and profitability, or keep paying forever through hidden losses, high turnover, and missed opportunities. The pain of change is temporary. The pain of staying the same is permanent.

🎧 Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform 

To learn more on this topic, email podcast@agrsol.com.

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Episode Artwork 57: The True Cost of Staying the Same on Your Dairy 35:24 Episode Artwork 56: Shaping the Future of Transition Cow Health 39:37 Episode Artwork 55: Best practices for disbudding 27:34 Episode Artwork 54: The next generation of transition cow care 52:37 Episode Artwork 53: Silage inoculates: what they do and don't do 29:27 Episode Artwork 52: Corn Silage Secrets: Stop Shrink, Boost Quality 53:11 Episode Artwork 51: Optimizing Transition Cow Health to Boost Fertility and Milk Production 21:23 Episode Artwork 50: Drone Technology for Accurate Silage and Feedstuff Inventory 19:26 Episode Artwork 49: Mycotoxins, Inflammation, or Something Else? 14:30 Episode Artwork 48: Fishing for Feedback: Its Role in Building Strong Teams and Culture 42:41 Episode Artwork 47: Invest in Yourself: The Power of YDLI 23:24 Episode Artwork 46: How to Make High-Quality Haylage from Grass, Alfalfa, and Winter Annuals 42:26 Episode Artwork 45: Mycotoxins on the Rise: Tips to Protect your Livestock 25:06 Episode Artwork 44: Rising Fumonisin Threat: What You Need to Know 17:27 Episode Artwork 43: Strong Starts, Strong Futures: Mastering Colostrum Management 40:25 Episode Artwork 42: Boost Calf Health by Strengthening Farm Teamwork 30:38 Episode Artwork 41: Optimizing Calf Health: Managing Mycotoxins in Pre-Weaned Diets 28:42 Episode Artwork 40: The challenges and rewards of working with family in business 42:47 Episode Artwork 39: How LivOx Boosts Gut Health, Liver Function, and Milk Production in Dairy Cows 32:52 Episode Artwork 38: Meet the Team: Morgan Ekovich 45:04 Episode Artwork 37: Unlocking Calf Success: The Science of Developmental Programming with Dr. Billy Brown 32:27 Episode Artwork 36: Meet The Team: Ambar Ramirez 38:58 Episode Artwork 35: Winning the Battle for Calf Gut Health 33:39 Episode Artwork 34: Meet the Team: Kelly Bristle, Community Manager 40:45 Episode Artwork 33: The Next Generation of DTX 26:25