All Episodes
Displaying 1 - 20 of 333 in total
Episode 331 - Why I Use the Bulls I Do: Fertility, Polled Genetics, and Outcross Thinking - UMN Extension's The Moos Room
Brad checks in from a brutally cold stretch in western Minnesota (30–40°F below zero), noting the cows are handling it well and somatic cell counts tend to run low in ...
Episode 330 - Circadian Rhythms in Dairy Cows: What Sensor Data Reveals About Welfare - UMN Extension's The Moos Room
In this solo episode of The Moos Room, Brad shares “hot off the press” research on circadian rhythms in dairy cows and what long-term sensor data can tell us about cow...
Episode 329 - Winter Mastitis Management: Don’t Let the Cold Catch You Off Guard - UMN Extension's The Moos Room
In this solo “Emily Show” episode of The Moos Room, Emily takes a timely look at mastitis management during the winter months. While mastitis and high somatic cell cou...
Episode 328 - Working Smarter, Not Longer: What Great Dairy Managers Do Differently - UMN Extension's The Moos Room
In the first episode of 2026, Emily and Brad kick off a New Year’s “resolution” to record more episodes together and dive into one of their favorite themes: management...
Episode 327 - Closing Out 2025: Reflections, Research, and What’s Ahead for The Moos Room - UMN Extension's The Moos Room
In the final episode of 2025, Emily and Brad reflect on another big year for The Moos Room, marking more than 300 episodes since launching in 2019. They look back on k...
Episode 326 - A Holiday Reminder: Boundaries Are Self-Care - UMN Extension's The Moos Room
In this short solo episode of The Moos Room, Emily takes the mic to talk about managing holiday stress through setting healthy boundaries. With the holidays approachin...
Episode 325 - Calf Transport: Why Early-Life Management Matters More Than Miles - UMN Extension's The Moos Room
In this episode of The Moos Room, Brad dives into a landmark new study examining the effects of short- and long-distance transport on the health, survival, and growth ...
Episode 324 - A New Vet in Town: Dr. Angie Joins the Moos Crew - UMN Extension's The Moos Room
In this episode, Brad and Emily welcome a special guest: Dr. Angie Varnum, the University of Minnesota Extension’s new livestock veterinarian. After some banter about ...
Episode 323 - Why Aren’t The Cows Milking in Our Herd? A Deep Dive Into Dairy Nutrition Troubleshooting - UMN Extension's The Moos Room
In this solo episode of The Moos Room, Brad dives into a deep, honest look at production challenges in the University of Minnesota dairy herd and the nutrition and man...
Episode 322 - Understanding Farmer Stress: What to Watch For and How to Help - UMN Extension's The Moos Room
Brad and Emily reunite on the podcast to dive into an essential—and timely—topic: farmer mental health. With fall wrapping up and winter on the horizon, stressors on t...
Episode 321 - Timers, Tech, and Jerseys: A South Dakota Dairy Roadtrip Deep Dive - UMN Extension's The Moos Room
Brad recaps a fall road trip with the Minnesota dairy extension team to South Dakota’s rapidly growing I-29 dairy corridor, highlighting what innovative farms are doin...
Episode 320 - Robots, Crossbreeding, and Straw — A Moos Room Travel Report from Europe - UMN Extension's The Moos Room
Brad recaps his trip to dairy farms in the Netherlands and Germany, where robotics, crossbreeding, and creative manure and energy management are everywhere — even on s...
Episode 319 - Inbreeding: Is It An Impending Doom? - UMN Extension's The Moos Room
In this episode, Brad is back from Europe—jetlagged but full of insights from farms and conferences in Germany and the Netherlands. He dives into one of the biggest to...
Episode 318 - Cattle, Shade & Solar: What Agrivoltaics Really Looks Like (with Anna Clare) - UMN Extension's The Moos Room
Brad kicks off a solo episode (recorded before a trip to Germany) and turns the mic to rangeland scientist Anna Clare for a deep dive into “the solar savanna”—treating...
Episode 317 - Emily’s Back! Farm Emergency Planning You’ll Actually Use - The UMN Extension's Moos Room
Emily is back from medical leave (hooray!) and she and Brad dig into an essential topic for every operation: emergency planning. You can’t predict every detail, but yo...
Episode 316 - Genomic Testing: Is It Worth It and How to Use It Effectively - UMN Extension's The Moos Room
In this episode, Brad shares his fall updates from western Minnesota before diving into a detailed discussion on genomic testing in dairy herds. Drawing on his experie...
Episode 315 - How Genetics Drive Dairy Profitability: Insights from Minnesota Herds - UMN Extension's The Moos Room
Host Brad Heins welcomes Becca Weir, a Minnesota native and newly appointed assistant professor of agricultural economics at Penn State. Growing up on a dairy farm nea...
Episode 314 -The Future of Grazing? Brad Tests Virtual Fencing - UMN Extension's The Moos Room
In this episode, Brad shares his firsthand experience with virtual fencing on the University of Minnesota’s Morris dairy herd. After a long grazing season, he dives in...
Episode 313 -Robots, Rotaries, or Both? Jim Salfer on Where Dairy Automation’s Headed - UMN Extension's The Moos Room
Today, Brad brings on University of Minnesota Extension colleague Jim Salfer to talk through the state of dairy automation. Robots are still going in across the Upper ...
Episode 312 - Managing the Stress of Weaning: Research Insights for Farmers - UMN Extension's The Moos Room
This week on The Moos Room, Brad shares updates from the University of Minnesota’s dairy research center, where staff have been on strike and he’s been back in the bar...