The Dairy Health Blackbelt Podcast

I'm Dr. Craig McConnel, and I’m thrilled to kick off my first episode as host on The Dairy Health Blackbelt Podcast! Very excited to embark on this journey with you. Celebrating National Farmer’s Day, our guest, Dr. Rik Hendriks, bovine practitioner and co-owner of veterinary practice Ell, explores the role of inflammation in metabolic diseases in dairy cows. He shares how physiology-centered veterinary care can improve treatment outcomes and reshape prevention strategies. Learn how inflammation impacts metabolism, longevity, and overall cow resilience. Listen now on all major platforms! "If you want to prevent post-calving complications, you need to understand if you’re dealing with metabolic, inflammatory, or combined issues." Meet the guest: Dr. Rik Hendriks https://www.linkedin.com/in/rik-hendriks-321a17128/ earned his veterinary degree from Utrecht University. He is a bovine practitioner and co-owner of the veterinary practice Ell in the Netherlands. With over three decades of field experience, he specializes in physiology-based advisory work, focusing on low-grade inflammation and metabolic disorders in dairy cows. He authored Pathways to Health and Disease for Dairy Cows and provides expert training to veterinarians and farmers. Liked this one? Don’t stop now — Here’s what we think you’ll love! https://www.wisenetix.com/dairyhealthblackbelt What you will learn: (00:00) Highlight (00:37) Introduction (01:40) Diseases and concerns (04:15) Diagnostic limitations (06:25) Treatment vs inflammation (08:09) Prevention strategy differences (09:37) Physiology-based coaching (12:12) Closing thoughts 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁𝘀, 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗷𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺. Website: https://dairyhealthblackbelt.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dairycampus/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/dairycampus/

In the second part of this conversation on The Dairy Health Blackbelt Podcast, Dr. Froylan Sosa, Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, discusses nutritional strategies that can help mitigate heat stress effects on dairy reproduction. He explains how essential amino acids interact with embryonic development, oxidative stress, blastocyst formation, trophoblast growth, and placental development. Listen now on all major platforms! "Lower amino acid concentration protected embryos from elevated temperature in vitro." Meet the guest: Dr. Froylan Sosa is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He earned his Ph.D. in Animal Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Florida, and his research focuses on how nutrition, essential amino acids, and heat stress affect oocyte quality, embryo development, and placental function in dairy cattle. Learn more from Dr. Froylan Sosa on The Dairy Health Blackbelt Podcast, available on all major platforms. Liked this one? Don’t stop now — Here’s what we think you’ll love! https://www.wisenetix.com/dairyhealthblackbelt What you will learn: (00:00) Highlight (00:52) Introduction (01:52) Nutritional strategies (02:44) Heat stress model (03:07) Embryo protection (04:32) Placental formation (06:13) Trophoblast growth (07:40) Closing thoughts The Dairy Health Blackbelt Podcast is trusted and supported by the innovative companies like: * Boehringher Ingelheim (https://bianimalhealth.com/cattle) - inBarn (https://inbarn.com/) 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁𝘀, 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗷𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺. Website: https://dairyhealthblackbelt.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/dairycampus/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dairycampus/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61552471623778 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dairycampus

In this episode of The Dairy Health Blackbelt Podcast, Dr. Froylan Sosa, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, explains how heat stress affects dairy reproduction at the cellular level. Dr. Sosa discusses oocyte quality, mitochondrial damage, oxidative stress, early embryo sensitivity, and why pregnancy loss can begin before producers confirm conception. Listen now on all major platforms! "Heat stress can compromise early embryo development before pregnancy is ever confirmed on the farm." Meet the guest: Dr. Froylan Sosa is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He earned his Ph.D. in Animal Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Florida, and his research focuses on how nutrition, essential amino acids, and heat stress affect oocyte quality, embryo development, and placental function in dairy cattle. Learn more from Dr. Froylan Sosa on The Dairy Health Blackbelt Podcast, available on all major platforms. Liked this one? Don’t stop now — Here’s what we think you’ll love! https://www.wisenetix.com/dairyhealthblackbelt What you will learn: (00:00) Highlight (00:58) Introduction (02:34) Heat stress effects (03:23) Mitochondrial damage (04:17) Oxidative stress (05:08) Embryo vulnerability (07:38) Oocyte quality (09:01) Closing thoughts The Dairy Health Blackbelt Podcast is trusted and supported by the innovative companies like: * Boehringher Ingelheim (https://bianimalhealth.com/cattle) - inBarn (https://inbarn.com/) 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁𝘀, 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗷𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺. Website: https://dairyhealthblackbelt.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/dairycampus/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dairycampus/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61552471623778 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dairycampus

In this episode of The Dairy Health Blackbelt Podcast, Dr. George Smith from the University of Arizona explains how research, extension, and industry partnerships can move dairy science into practical farm results. He discusses reproductive management, research infrastructure, a nutritional strategy associated with more than $1 per cow per day, heat stress, water use, and sustainability. Listen now on all major platforms! "Applied dairy research can improve milk components and feed efficiency while delivering more than one dollar per cow per day for producers." Meet the guest: Dr. George Smith is the Charles-Sander Dean of the University of Arizona College of Agriculture, Life & Environmental Sciences. Previously, he served as Professor and Director of MSU AgBioResearch at Michigan State University, where he built a 29-year career in animal science and research leadership. Learn more from Dr. George Smith on The Dairy Health Blackbelt Podcast, available on all major platforms. Liked this one? Don’t stop now — Here’s what we think you’ll love! https://www.wisenetix.com/dairyhealthblackbelt What you will learn: (00:00) Highlight (00:56) Introduction (01:36) Reproductive research impact (02:20) Applied research partnerships (04:02) Research infrastructure (06:13) Extension opportunities (08:09) Future industry challenges (10:23) Closing thoughts The Dairy Health Blackbelt Podcast is trusted and supported by the innovative companies like: * Boehringher Ingelheim (https://bianimalhealth.com/cattle) - inBarn (https://inbarn.com/) 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁𝘀, 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗷𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺. Website: https://dairyhealthblackbelt.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/dairycampus/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dairycampus/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61552471623778 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dairycampus

In this episode of The Dairy Health Blackbelt Podcast, Dr. Angelica Dias, Assistant Professor in Bovine Health at the University of Calgary, explains why digital dermatitis remains difficult to control in dairy cows. She discusses Treponema species, anaerobic bacteria, microbial dysbiosis, lesion reservoirs, treatment limitations, and footbath strategies for herd-level prevention. Listen now on all major platforms! "Digital dermatitis is not just a bacterial infection; it is a complex multifactorial disease." Meet the guest: Dr. Angelica Dias https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelica-dias-463614b6/ is an Assistant Professor in Bovine Health at the University of Calgary. Her work focuses on dairy cattle health and management, infectious diseases in cattle, host-microbe-environment interactions, and strategies for disease prevention and control. She earned her Ph.D. in Veterinary Medicine from the University of Calgary, her DVM from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, and her master's degree in Animal Science with a focus on ruminant production. Learn more from Dr. Angelica Dias on The Dairy Health Blackbelt Podcast, available on all major platforms. Liked this one? Don’t stop now — Here’s what we think you’ll love! https://www.wisenetix.com/dairyhealthblackbelt What you will learn: (00:00) Highlight (00:40) Introduction (01:25) Why DD is complex (03:33) Microbial dynamics (06:07) Lesion reservoirs (07:13) Treatment limits (08:00) Herd-level control (08:50) Closing thoughts The Dairy Health Blackbelt Podcast is trusted and supported by the innovative companies like: * Boehringher Ingelheim (https://bianimalhealth.com/cattle) - inBarn (https://inbarn.com/) 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁𝘀, 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗷𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺. Website: https://dairyhealthblackbelt.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/dairycampus/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dairycampus/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61552471623778 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dairycampus