Dr. Jehan Ettema: Digital Twins for Dairy Farms | Ep. 108

Can a program create value for the dairy industry while leaving individual farmers questioning how their money and data are being used? In this episode of the AgCulture Podcast, Paul Windemuller speaks with agricultural journalist and dairy market analyst Sherry Bunting about the debate surrounding dairy checkoff funding, sustainability reporting, and farmer representation. Drawing on her reporting and work as a policy advisor for the American Dairy Coalition, Sherry shares concerns producers have raised about requests for detailed farm information: who controls it, how it will be used, and whether farmers receive value in return. Paul brings his own experience as a dairy farmer and his research into farmer-owned data cooperatives to the discussion. Together, they explore the Wisconsin dairy farmers’ lawsuit, the relationship between industry sustainability programs and processor requirements, and the tension between creating consistent standards and giving farmers a meaningful voice. They also discuss the checkoff’s contributions to nutrition research, product innovation, and dairy promotion. For dairy producers and anyone working with farm data, this conversation asks a practical question: how can the industry build trust, demonstrate value, and keep farmers involved in decisions that affect their businesses?

What does a disruption at a port or on a river have to do with the price a farmer receives? In this episode of the AgCulture Podcast, Paul Windemuller speaks with Ken Eriksen, founder and Managing Member of Polaris Analytics and Consulting, about the transportation network connecting agriculture to markets around the world. Drawing on his experience working on the waterfront, at USDA, and in commodity and transportation advisory roles, Ken explains how ports bring together trucks, trains, barges, ocean vessels, and the businesses that move agricultural products. He also explores how disruptions can increase freight costs, back up supplies, and put pressure on farmgate prices. The conversation follows three perspectives: how the system works today, the risks on the horizon, and the investments needed for the decades ahead. Along the way, Paul and Ken discuss bulk and container shipping, water availability, the aging barge fleet, shipbuilding, automation, and the importance of preserving space for future port development. For farmers and agricultural businesses, this is a look at what happens beyond the farm gate—and why reliable access to markets matters to the value of what they produce.

WHAT'S IT ABOUT Why can the same technology create real value on one dairy farm and turn into a disappointing investment on another? In this solo episode of the AgCulture Podcast, Paul Windemuller shares a framework for understanding what makes technology a good fit for a farm. Drawing on farm visits around the world and his own experience in Michigan, he explores how climate, natural resources, milk markets, labor, and management priorities shape investment decisions. Paul also explains why robotic milking made sense at a particular turning point in his own business—and why it would not have made sense when he first started. Once adding more cows was no longer an option, the opportunity shifted toward creating more value per cow. From identifying a farm’s biggest bottleneck to making sure someone actually acts on the data, this conversation looks beyond product demonstrations to the decisions that determine whether an investment pays off. Whether you manage a dairy farm, advise producers, or build and sell agricultural technology, this episode offers a practical starting point: understand the farm before choosing the technology.

Most people picture cranberries floating in water—but that is only one brief part of a year-round farming operation. In this episode of the AgCulture Podcast, Paul speaks with fifth-generation Wisconsin cranberry grower Amber Bristow about how cranberries are actually grown, harvested, protected, and marketed. Amber takes us inside her family’s 250-acre cranberry marsh, explaining the specialized equipment, water systems, pollination, winter flooding, and long-term planning required to produce the crop. The conversation also explores the business behind the berries. Amber explains how her family markets its crop through Ocean Spray, how quality and payment are determined, and how growers manage cash flow without knowing their final price until months after harvest. Amber also shares why she created Cranberry Chats, what agriculture can learn from specialty-crop growers, and whether those infamous cranberry spiders are real. Whether you farm, work in agriculture, or have simply wondered how cranberries get from a Wisconsin marsh to your table, this episode offers a fascinating look inside one of agriculture’s most distinctive industries. Follow Amber on Instagram: @cranberrychats Check out her website: https://cranberrychats.com/

If you buy a $500,000 piece of farm equipment, do you actually have the right to fix it yourself? That question has been at the center of a years-long fight over agricultural equipment repair—and it has now reached a major turning point. In this episode of the AgCulture Podcast, Paul sits down with longtime right-to-repair advocate Willie Cade to unpack the proposed $99 million John Deere class action settlement, the separate FTC settlement, and what both could mean for farmers who own Deere equipment. The FTC settlement requires Deere, for 10 years and subject to court approval and oversight, to make repair resources available to farmers and independent repair providers on terms equivalent to those available to authorized dealers. Willie explains how the litigation developed, what plaintiffs alleged about Deere's control over diagnostic software and repair tools, and why he believes the bigger issue goes beyond one manufacturer or one settlement. Paul and Willie also walk through the choices facing farmers receiving class-action notices—including filing a claim, objecting, opting out, or doing nothing—while making clear that farmers should evaluate those choices for themselves and seek legal advice when appropriate. The current deadlines are December 4, 2026 to object or opt out and December 31, 2026 to submit a claim, with a final approval hearing scheduled for January 19, 2027. The conversation ultimately goes much further than repairing tractors. Willie argues that as machinery becomes increasingly software-driven, agriculture needs to think seriously about what ownership means—and who controls the increasingly valuable data generated by the machines farmers purchase and operate.