Looking for a Deal? Check out our Last Chance Deals on pages 8 & 9 of the Second Section
Deals!
DAIRY ST R
December 21, 2019
“All dairy, all the time”™
Volume 21, No. 20
A season Hendricksons become rst Minnesota of giving farm to make, sell A2 milk Group of current, Business venture to former dairy secure dairy market producers provide By Jennifer Coyne Christmas gifts for jenn@dairystar.com families in need MENAHGA, Minn. – A2 By Krista Kuzma
krista.k@dairystar.com
CALEDONIA, Minn. – Christmas is the season of giving. This is true for a group of women, who have been dubbed the Cow Club, from Houston County who have been getting together for 15 years to buy presents for a family in need every Christmas. The group of eight current and former dairy producers includes Karyl Diersen, Donna Banse, Luan Hammell, Linda Kruse, Sheila Schroeder and Shari Ingvalson all from Caledonia; Mary Lou Graf from Hokah; and Kris Lee from Houston. “What I like about this is if I did this on my own, I would not be able to have as big of an impact on the family like we collectively can have on that family,” Diersen said. For the rst 12 years, the women were given an anonymous family to shop for through Houston County social services. The organization provided a list of needs and wants for each person in the family. “It was very specic with each kid,” Kruse said. “We knew what we were looking for.” In 2017, the women decided to help a family whose oldest son was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 7. “We all knew this family,” Kruse said. “They really needed someone to help them out nancially. She (the mom) didn’t have the time to go shopping, either.” Similar to years past, the women asked the family for a list of needs and wants for each person. “I think we really outdid ourselves that year,” Banse said. “It took two pickup loads to get all the stuff to them.” The women liked being able to choose the recipient family, Turn to GIVING | Page 6
milk is a craze in New Zealand and along the coasts of the United States. And after one farm family’s intuition and drive, the milk is also now processed and marketed in Minnesota. Joel and Amanda Hendrickson began processing A2 whole milk Dec. 17 on their 135-cow dairy in Otter Tail County near Menahga. The Hendricksons and their 10 children – Zach, 14, Maddie, 12, Julia, 11, Lucy, 9, Lily and Maria, 8, Lane, 6, Nora, 4, Finn, 2, and Emma, 1 – are the faces behind Ten Finns Creamery. “This was a huge leap, but it’s something we believe in,” Joel said. “This gives people who couldn’t drink milk before the chance to do so. I’m really optimistic about where this is going to take our farm and the industry as a whole.” Most regular milk has two
JENNIFER COYNE/DAIRY STAR
Joel Hendrickson holds a half-gallon carton, which will be lled with his family’s A2 milk. Hendrickson and his family recently started an on-farm creamery at their 135-cow dairy near Menahga, Minnesota. forms of beta casein protein – A1 and A2 – with A1 being hard for some people to digest. With genetic testing and breeding strategies, farmers can nat-
urally select for the A2 protein and produce a milk product that can be consumed without trouble. Five years ago, Joel read
about the newly discovered protein and companies marketing A2 milk. He and his family Turn to HENDRICKSON | Page 10
A reason to celebrate
Meyer, Schulte winners of Christmas giveaway By Jennifer Coyne jenn@dairystar.com
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Troy and Erin Meyer and their son, Adam, 5, are the recipients of Dairy Star’s Great Christmas Grand Prize Giveaway’s heifer calf prize. The Meyers dairy farm near Maynard, Iowa.
MAYNARD, Iowa – After a long year of dairy farming, two individuals are celebrating the year’s end. Adam Meyer and Patty Schulte were named the winners of Dairy Star’s Great Christmas Grand Prize Giveaway. Meyer, 5, received the children’s prize of a heifer calf as Schulte took home $1,000. A calf to call his own Meyer has a liking for the animals on his family’s farm, but up until now none have been his own. The 5-year-old son of Troy and Erin Meyer is looking forward to bringing home the Jersey heifer calf – Graber Maid-rite Stella, of Graber Jerseys Inc. – to the family’s 80-cow registered Holstein farm near Maynard. The Meyers dairy farm in partnership with Troy’s parents, Don and Dee. “When Mom told me I won, I was excited,” said Adam, who Turn to GIVEAWAY | Page 5
Page 2 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 21, 2019
DAIRY ST R www.dairystar.com
ISSN 020355 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave. Sauk Centre, MN 56378 Phone: (320) 352-6303 Fax: (320) 352-5647 Published by Dairy Star LLC General Manager/Editor Mark Klaphake - mark.k@dairystar.com 320-352-6303 (ofďƒžce) 320-248-3196 (cell) 320-352-0062 (home) Ad Composition Nancy Powell 320-352-6303 nancy.p@dairystar.com Consultant Jerry Jennissen 320-346-2292 Editorial Staff Krista Kuzma - Editor/Wisconsin (507) 259-8159 • krista.k@dairystar.com Andrea Borgerding - Associate Editor (320) 352-6303 • andrea.b@dairystar.com Jennifer Coyne - Assistant Editor (320) 352-6303 • jenn@dairystar.com Danielle Nauman (608) 487-1101 danielle.n@dairystar.com Stacey Smart - Staff Writer (262) 442-6666 • stacey.s@dairystar.com Maria Bichler - Copy Editor 320-352-6303 Advertising Sales Main Ofďƒžce: 320-352-6303 Fax: 320-352-5647 Deadline is 5 p.m. of the Friday the week before publication Sales Manager - Joyce Frericks 320-352-6303 • joyce@dairystar.com Jeff Weyer (Northern MN, East Central MN) 320-260-8505 (cell) jeff.w@dairystar.com Mark Klaphake (Western MN) 320-352-6303 (ofďƒžce) 320-248-3196 (cell) Laura Seljan (National Advertising, SE MN) 507-250-2217 fax: 507-634-4413 laura.s@dairystar.com Jerry Nelson (SW MN, NW Iowa, South Dakota) 605-690-6260 jerry.n@dairystar.com Mike Schafer (Central, South Central MN) 320-894-7825 mike.s@dairystar.com Amanda Hoeďƒ&#x;er (Eastern Iowa) 320-250-2884 • amanda.h@dairystar.com Julie Barnes (SE WI and Northern IL) julie.b@dairystar.com Megan Stuessel (Western Wisconsin) 608-387-1202 • megan.s@dairystar.com Ashley Curry (Northeast WI and Upper MI) 920-539-7268 • ashley.c@dairystar.com Deadlines The deadline for news and advertising in the Dairy Star is 5 p.m. Friday the week before publication. Subscriptions One year subscription $35.00, outside the U.S. $110.00. Send check along with mailing address to Dairy Star, 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave., Sauk Centre, MN 56378. Advertising Our ad takers have no authority to bind this newspaper and only publication of an advertisement shall constitute ďƒžnal acceptance of the advertiser's order. Letters Letters and articles of opinion are welcomed. Letters must be signed and include address and phone number. We reserve the right to edit lengthy letters. The views and opinions expressed by Dairy Star columnists and writers are not necessarily those of the Dairy Star LLC.
The Dairy Star is published semi-monthly by Dairy Star, LLC, 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave., Sauk Centre, MN 56378-1246. Periodicals Postage Paid at Sauk Centre, MN and additional mailing ofďƒžces. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Dairy Star, 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave., Sauk Centre, MN 56378-1246.
A glance at what’s inside As the year comes to a close, we talked to farmers in this issue’s “From our side of the fenceâ€? feature about what they will remember most about 2019 and what they have planned for 2020. Look for their answers on pages 15-16 in ďƒžrst section. The Christmas season is always a bright one for the Mickelson family. For the past several years, Craig and Jane Mickelson and their daughter, Sara Amble, have created a Christmas lights display on their 100cow dairy near Black Earth, Wisconsin. See pictures and read about how they create the display and why they do it every year on pages 3-4 in second section. The Browns – Angela, Danielle and Sean – have cover girls in their barn on their dairy near Dodgeville, Wisconsin. A few of the bovines at Ma-Brown Farm have been the star on the front cover of the holiday book for Lands’ End, a clothing and home dĂŠcor retailer based in southwest Wisconsin. Read on pages 2-3 in third section how the Browns were able to make the connection with the business and what it is like to take pictures with cows for a magazine cover. Farm success goes beyond milk production, somatic cell count and other herd measures. It has become more important to foster a good working relationship with employees of the farm to maintain and improve the dairy. Maristela Rovai, with South Dakota State University, and South Dakota dairy farmer Greg Moes talk about ways to improve employee relations on the farm on pages 12-13 in ďƒžrst section. In early December, the Midwest Forage Association hosted their annual Tour de Forage meetings across the state of Minnesota. Among the topics and speakers at the event, Jared Goplen and Dr. Dan Undersander talked about alfalfa management. A recap on their presentations can be found on pages 37-38 in ďƒžrst section and 14-15 in second section, respectively. At the 2019 Minnesota Milk Dairy Conference and Expo, Marin Bozic talked about how happenings in the world are impacting dairy markets. The assistant professor from the University of Minnesota talked about the need to increase exports or decrease cow numbers to keep up with continually growing production. Read more about how trade wars affect dairy and how dairy producers can protect their farms short term on page 11 in ďƒžrst section. We wish you all a blessed Christmas and look forward to providing you more dairy news as we head into 2020!
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Dairy Star • Saturday, December 21, 2019 • Page 3
It’s all inside... Columnists Menahga
First Section: Pages 1, 10
FSA News & Notes
Bon Yankton Homme
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Lin
Clay
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Double Ovsynch program catapults reproduction at Britannia Dairy
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Dick
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Washington
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Hancock Cerro Gordo
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Mitchell Howard Floyd
Greene Guthrie
Bremer
Wright Franklin Butler
Boone
Dallas
Houston
Polk
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Story
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Black Hawk
Grundy un Webster Hamilton Hardin
Au
Pottawattamie Cass Mills
go
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Kossuth
Fillimore
Mower
lho
Ca
Crawford Carroll
Harrison Shelby
First Section: Pages 18, 20
Zone 1
Hubbard
O’Brien
Sioux Plymouth
Flandreau
Wadena
Osceola
Freeborn
Faribault
Martin
Tama
Jasper
Fayette
Clayton
an
e war Dubuque
an
ch
Bu
First Section: Pages 34 - 35
e
Turner
Jackson
iek
Hutchinson
Nobles
Polikowsky mentors in basketball, works as dairyman
Winona
ake
Charles Mix
Rock
Cottonwood Watonwan Blue Earth Waseca Steele Dodge Olmsted
sh
Douglas
Gregory
McCook Minnehaha
Murray
Wabasha
ne
Tripp
Moody
Byron
Goodhue
Rice
am
Todd
on
ns
Ha
Lake
Nicollet
Brown
All
Aurora
Miner
Redwood
Benton
Dela
Jones
Linn
Iowa
Clinton
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Jo
Jackson
Scott
Muscatine
n
Brule Mellette
Sanborn
Brookings
Madison Warren Marion Mahaska Keokuk
Adair
Adams Taylor
Union Rin
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Clarke
Lucas
Decatur Wayne
Monroe Wapello pan
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Ap
Davis
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Lyman
Jerauld
Kingsbury
Dakota
Scott
Sibley
Lyon
W in
Buffalo
Beadle
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Hamlin
Hand
Carver
Wa s
Hyde
Hennepin
McLeod
Renville
Yellow Medicine
iek
Jones
Hughes
Deuel
Anoka
Wright
Meeker
Chippewa
Lac Qui Parle
Codington
Clark
Kandiyohi
Isanti
sh
Pages 10 - 11 Shannon Second Section Bennett
Stanley
Spink
Sherburne
Swift
Grant
Benton
Stearns
Pope
Pine
Mille Lacs
we
Fall River
Sully
Stevens
First Section: Page 7
Po
The “Mielke” Market Jackson Weekly
Faulk
Potter
Carlton
Morrison
Douglas
Governor addresses MN Milk conference attendees
Aitkin
Crow Wing
Todd
Big Stone
Day
Cass
go
Haakon
Dewey
Edmunds
Otter Tail
Wilkin
Brown
Welch
isa Ch
Meade
Roberts
Marshall
McPherson
Cook Lake
Itasca
Becker
Grant
First Section: Pages 23, 25
Klehrs given Scott County award
Koochiching
n
Campbell
Corson
M
Clay
Richland
Sargent
en
om ahn
Ransom
Dickey
McIntosh
Sioux
Page 33 First Section
Custer
Cass
Emmons
Walworth
Pennington
Bames
LaMoure
Logan
Dairy Good Life Ziebach
Lawrence
Stutsman
Morton
Perkins
Butte
Kidder
Tra ver se
Burleigh
Grant
Page 32 First Section
Harding
Norman
Oliver
Adams Just Thinking Out Loud
Polk
Trail
Steele
Lincoln
Page 31 First Section Hettinger
Griggs
Third Section: Page 7
St. Louis
Pipestone
Bowman
Foster
Mercer
Something to Ruminate On Stark
Beltrami
Red Lake
n
Slope
Wells
Sheridan
Belle Plaine
Lake of the Woods
Pennington
Grand Forks
Eddy
McLean
Roseau
Marshall
Benson Nelson
Page 30 First Section
Kittson
Walsh
Ramsey
McHenry
Ward
Pembina
io
Billings Golden Valley
Pierce
Dear Mountrail County Agent Guy Dunn
Cavalier
Towner
Un
McKenzie
Rolette
Da vi so n
Williams
Bottineau
bo
Page 26 Renville First BurkeSection
Divide
Ra
Third Section: Pages 8 - 9
eu r
First Section: Pages 37 - 38
Pierz
Dairy’s Star Youth: Brandon Przybilla
Hendricksons become rst Minnesota farm to make, sell A2 milk
Kids Corner: Brock Marthaler
Su
Osakis
Be proactive against winterkill
Le
Greenwald
du
Pages 8-9 First Section
Clearwater
Ag Insider
on
rs ffe
Je
Van Buren
Louisa
Henry Des
Moines
Lee
Zone 2
Maynard
Meyer, Schulte winners of Christmas giveaway First Section: Pages 1, 5
FROM OUR SIDE OF THE FENCE: Faribault
For additional stories from our other zone, log on to www.dairystar.com
Women in Dairy: Kathy Bauer
First Section: Page 36
What will you remember most about 2019?
First Section: Pages 15 - 16
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Page 4 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 21, 2019
Merry Christmas!
I-29
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From all of us at Gilman Co-op Creamery
PROSPERITY OF DAIRY CALVES AND HEIFERS: ITS’ RELEVANCE TO THE ANIMAL, THE PRODUCER AND THE CONSUMER
January 6-10, 2020 IN PARTNERSHIP WITH: Minnesota Milk Producers Association South Dakota Dairy Producers Iowa State Dairy Association Western Iowa Dairy Alliance Nebraska State Dairy Association
January 6th: Perham, MN – The Cactus January 7th: Brookings, SD - Swiftel Center January 8th: Pipestone, MN, Pipestone Systems January 9th: Orange City, IA – Sioux County Extension Office January 10th: Wayne, NE, Wayne State College, Student Center
WORKSHOP AGENDA
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10:00 a.m. - “Why Animal Welfare is Essential for the Animal, the Producer, and the Consumer” Dr. Jennifer Van Os – Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist – Animal Welfare, University of Wisconsin-Madison
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We’re looking forward to new and exciting things in 2020!
10:30 a.m. – Roundtable discussion
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12:00 p.m. – Lunch | Midwest Dairy Checkoff Updates | Sponsor Updates 1:15 p.m. – “Two Heads are Better than One: Benefits of Pair or Group Rearing of Calves” Dr. Jennifer Van Os – Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist – Animal Welfare, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Holiday Hours:
1:45 p.m. – Roundtable discussion 2:15 p.m. – “Resource Update of Incorporation of Calf Care & Handling SOP’s” Jennifer Bentley, ISU Extension and Outreach Dairy Field Specialist
Christmas Eve - 7:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Christmas Day - Closed New Year’s Eve - 7:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. New Year’s Day - Closed
Gilman Co-op Creamery
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2:30 p.m. – Hot Wash & Wrap-up 2:45 p.m. – Adjourn There is no cost to attend this program. Pre-registration is requested. Thanks to our supporting dairy associations and industry partners.
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Questions? Contact Tracey Erickson 605-882-5140 Tracey.Erickson@sdstate.edu Jennifer Bentley 563-382-2949 jbentley@iastate.edu
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South Dakota State University, South Dakota counties, and U.S. Department of Agriculture cooperating. South Dakota State University is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer and offers all benefits, services, educa-tion, and employment opportunities without regard for race, color, creed, religion, national origin, ancestry, citizen-ship, age, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or Vietnam Era veteran status.
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Dairy Star • Saturday, December 21, 2019 • Page 5
ConƟnued from GIVEAWAY | Page 1 registered at Viaeld in the Meyers’ hometown. Troy agreed. “We’ve never won anything more than a door prize, nothing big,” he said. Erin mentioned the good news to Adam last Saturday, Dec. 14, but the family had an inkling they might win. “We rst got a call saying we were one of ve nalists,” Troy said. “My rst thought was, ‘Oh. How are we going to gure out the logistics of picking the calf up if we won?’” The Meyers’ farm is located in Fayette County, more than 300 miles from Parker, South Dakota, where the Jersey calf is currently housed. “We’re tentatively planning on picking it up this coming weekend,” Troy said. “(Jay and Cal Graber) want to meet Adam, and we don’t want him skipping school, so it has to wait until Saturday.” Adam and his dad have prepared a pen for the calf, and they are nalizing travel plans. Troy hopes to haul the calf in his pickup truck with a calf warmer in the bed. The Meyers are hopeful the calf will adjust to her new home quickly. Not only is the calf a different breed than what the Meyers are used to working with, but she will also be the family’s rst non-homebred calf on the farm in decades. “This will be a rst,” Troy said. “We’re a closed herd that traces back to the 1930s. I’m a little hesitant, but Erin is more open to having other bloodlines on the farm.” Plus, the calf will provide more than a different pool of genetics. Adam has already thought about showing the Jersey at the county fair’s kiddie calf show. “Both us and the (Grabers) want Adam to be there when we pick the calf up,” Troy said. “That’ll be the start of many memories and good experiences for the two of them.” Schulte to use cash prize for family fun When Schulte received the call that she was the adult winner of the Christmas giveaway, she was oored. “I couldn’t believe it,” she said. “I got goosebumps when I was told I won. Out of all the people and places, I couldn’t believe it was me.” Schulte registered at Farmers Win Co-op in Spring Grove, Minnesota. She and her husband, John, farm with John’s brother, Mark, and wife, Linda, and their children – Adam and his wife, Amanda, and Ethan – milking 240 cows in Houston County near Caledonia, Minnesota. The farmer registered for the give-
May the magic of Christmas fuel your spirit and inspire your dreams LAURA SELJAN/DAIRY STAR
PaƩy Schulte (right) is the $1,000 winner of Dairy Star’s giveaway. She is pictured with Gina Schroeder, locaƟon manager for Farmers Win Co-op in Caledonia, Minnesota. away on the Sunday before Thanksgiving. She was at the grain elevator to get a moisture test for soybeans. It was 15 minutes before the cooperative closed when Schulte decided to toss her name in the drawing. “There was a box on the counter, and I didn’t even know exactly what I was registering for,” Schulte said. “When I found out what I won, I was very happy. It was a nice surprise to come around Christmas and after a tough harvest.” Schulte received $1,000 in cash from Dairy Star. While Schulte has not decided what the prize money will be put towards specically, she is hoping to use it for a family gathering. The Schultes have three grown children – Taylor and her husband, Sam Barton; Sam; and Brennan. Taylor recently moved back to southern Minnesota after living in Minneapolis, while Brennan is a service writer for Frontier Ag & Turf in Cannon Falls, Minnesota. The Schultes’ middle child, Sam, is deployed as part of the 934th Airlift Wing of the United States Air Force. “When he gets back, I think we’ll do a weekend together with all the kids,” Schulte said. “Then, I might save a little bit (of the cash prize) if I need it for something else. It’s always nice to win cash.” Schulte’s youngest son continues helping on the farm when he is able, and her other two children were involved growing up. She said having won Dairy Star’s Christmas giveaway with support from the business sponsors is the greatest gift to recognize her family’s time dairy farming. “We really do enjoy the businesses we work with and the paper,” Schulte said. “This is just great. Thank you all so much. I appreciate it.”
As one year comes to a close, the infinite potential of a new year approaches. May we all find new dreams to chase, new goals to achieve, with friends new and old to guide us along the way.
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Page 6 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 21, 2019
ConƟnued from GIVING | Page 1
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A group of current and former dairy farmers from Houston County – (from leŌ) Karyl Diersen, Linda Kruse, Donna Banse, Mary Lou Graf, Luan Hammell and Kris Lee – have been donaƟng presents to families in need for the past 15 years. so they found another family in a similar situation for last year’s Christmas. “Around this time of year, we all get requests for donations, and sometimes you worry if your money really goes to where you were intending it to,” Lee said. “With this, we can get actively involved, and we have a good time. But, we also know it’s directly helping who we have chosen and are people in our community.” This year, the women found people in need but did not go shopping for the rst time since starting the tradition. Instead, they gave money to two fundraising efforts. The rst is a woman in the area with cancer. “We gured she’s a single woman so she probably didn’t need us to Christmas shop for her,” Diersen said. The second is a family from Rushford who suffered a housere and is displaced from their home for the holiday season. “We didn’t want to buy them a lot of stuff because they don’t have anywhere to put it,” Diersen said. “So, we gave them money instead.” The women hope next year to get back to their regular shopping routine. “For the rst couple years, each one of us took a different person in the family and went shopping ourselves,” Kruse said. “And, then we would bring the gifts to my house and wrap them.” T h e women wanted to extend the fun they had while wrapping, so they started shopping together, too. “We go shopping as a group, go out to eat and then wrap gifts a couple days later at St. Mary’s church,” Hammell said. A few of the women will start looking for items online as soon as they receive the lists. Then the group likes to meet for shopping in person, starting at Farm and Fleet followed by Kohl’s and Target. “Luan is our organizer,” Diersen said. “As soon as she nds out the family, she’s on it.” Lee agreed. “Ahead of time, she has done all the coupon clipping and knowing what stores
have what sales,” Lee said. “She has clipboards for us and everything.” The women will split up into groups of twos or threes, each taking a clipboard with a list of items needed. Some women admit to liking one part of shopping over another. “I like shopping for clothes,” Banse said. “I have four granddaughters, so it’s fun shopping for the girls.” Before paying for the items, the group will gather towards the front of the store to share their nds and discuss if they like it. Once all the lists have been fullled, the women gather to wrap the gifts. “Even if it’s something small we wrap it separately so the kids have the same number of packages,” Hammell said. “We try to make it fair.” Each child also receives a lap blanket made by Hammell’s daughter. Any money left over after the gifts have been purchased and wrapped is used for gift cards for gas and food. “We understand we’re most likely the only Christmas these families will have,” Kruse said. “We all feel really good about it, enjoy doing it and hope it has made them happy.” The group met while serving on the Houston County American Dairy Association board through the mid to late 1990s. The women and their husbands started gathering for social events after becoming friends. During the Christmas season, the group would have gift exchanges. “We thought we’ve got all this energy so we could put it to good use,” Lee said. That is when the women decided to put the money used on their gift exchange to buy presents for people who really need them. Now, 15 years later, the women are still putting their Christmas energy to good use. “It’s fun to get together,” Lee said. “But, it’s a good feeling to help somebody.”
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Dairy Star • Saturday, December 21, 2019 • Page 7
Walz shares messages of empathy Governor addresses MN Milk conference attendees By Krista Kuzma
krista.k@dairystar.com
WELCH, Minn. – Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz realizes what dairy producers have been through lately. “I don’t think it’s any secret when I say it’s been a challenging year,” Walz said. “People mean well when they talk about agriculture experiencing a challenging year, but it’s different when it comes home personally.” Walz shared this empathetic message while addressing attendees Dec. 4 at the Minnesota Milk Dairy Conference and Expo in Welch. He talked about how the legislature has helped the industry this year along with other areas that would impact dairy in the upcoming 2020 legislative session. “When it (milk price) hit $15 per hundredweight, I understand many of you wondered if the end of the year would come, especially when we started the year with dairy barns collapsing,” Walz said. Walz shared about his experience visiting dairy farms that had barns collapse under the weight of snow from early 2019 winter storms. He said the Hoffman family had told him that was the rst time cows hadn’t been milked on the farm in over 100 years. He heard stories of neighbors and strangers coming to these farmers’ rescue and football teams gathering to help shovel barn roofs.
“In those most trying days early last winter, Minnesota’s values showed again,” Walz said. “We were able to show our political system can respond with the same compassion that neighbors respond.” Walz was referencing the Dairy Assistance, Investment and Relief Initiative, among others. “I watched as the legislature came together, move the DAIRI program swiftly, moved emergency relief and funded that program to make sure we were there for those collapsed barns,” Walz said. “If we do things right and put safety nets and parameters in place, you will do what you do best – create wealth, create communities that are thriving and strong.” Minnesota is an example of how swift legislation should be done, Walz said, mentioning that the state is the only one in the country to have a split legislature. The house of representative’s majority is democrat while the senate majority is republican. He also said Minnesota is one of few states that nished its budget and 2019 legislative session on time. “That does not happen by one person or one group,” Walz said. “It certainly doesn’t happen when rigid political ideologies tries to cut the other side out. It comes from nding compromise together for the good of Minnesota.” Drawn out trade deal negotiations with China, France, Mexico and Canada have frustrated Walz. “We should negotiate fair deals, get them done,” Walz said. “We need to be very careful that our agriculture producers are not pawns in a bigger game. These are communities at stake. These
BRINGING DAIRY
KRISTA KUZMA/DAIRY STAR
Gov. Tim Walz talks to the aƩendees at the Minnesota Milk Dairy Conference and Expo Dec. 4 in Welch, Minnesota. are families at stake.” Along with the DAIRI program, Walz highlighted the ag land credit which helps alleviate taxes on agriculturally zoned land. “Something I really worry about in greater Minnesota that divides our communities is when schools have to go to bond referendums or operating referendums,” he said. “The thing I will not stand for is to watch our communities be ripped apart and watch people have to make a hellish choice of voting to try to fund their local schools and have an unreasonable burden put on a few people because of being land wealthy. Right now, there are very few of you I’m guessing who are cash owing money coming out the door.”
He also applauded Minnesota’s efforts to help rural mental health by hiring another specialist for the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. “It takes strength to stand up and say you need help,” Walz said. “We need to do better for our neighbors, … and I’m proud there are more resources out there.” For the upcoming legislative session, Walz mentioned the need to improve road infrastructure. He said Minnesota roads are 51 years old on average, and the state has the fth highest amount of road miles with some of the harshest climates in the country. Rising health care cost is also a priority for Walz along with making sure producers are aware of the programs available to them and looking into value-added agriculture. “We will be exploring ways to get folks on some of the tools we have and that can come through rural nance authority, beginning farmer and rancher loans, and renancing capacity that’s out there,” Walz said. “We’re looking at creative ways to make the cash ow work, but also thinking of some of the ways to reduce cost to those families and make it make sense because I’m pretty certain … that a lot of these families have off-farm jobs basically just to pay insurance for the family.” Overall, Walz wanted the dairy producers in attendance to know they are appreciated and play an important role in the state. “We’re one Minnesota. We do this together,” Walz said. “On behalf of the 5.7 million Minnesota neighbors, thank you for what you do. Thank you for the communities you build.”
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JAN 6 – 10:00 AM – Extended program with I-29 Moo University and Minnesota Milk 12:00 PM – Midwest Dairy The Cactus, Perham District 3, Kristine Spadgenske District 4, Ken Herbrason JAN 9 – 11:30 AM Falls Ballroom, Little Falls District 6, Doug Popp JAN 15 – 12:00 PM Zumbrota VFW, Zumbrota District 16, Keith Knutson
JAN 20 – 11:00 AM – UMN Extension “Calculating and Communicating Carbon Footprints” 12:00 PM – Midwest Dairy American Legion, Montgomery District 15, Barb Liebenstein JAN 25 – 12:00 PM St Paul’s Lutheran Church, New Ulm District 14, Megan Herberg FEB 1 – 12:00 PM Tobie’s, Hinckley District 2, Eric Sonnek
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FEB 7 – 11:30 AM Browerville Comm Center, Browerville District 5, Debi Clasemann FEB 8 – 12:00 PM Hy-Vee, Owatonna District 19, Karen Kasper FEB 11 – 11:30 AM Pizza Ranch, Alexandria District 7, Suzanne Vold FEB 12 – 11:00 AM – Leadership Meeting 12:00 PM – Midwest Dairy Pizza Ranch, Slayton District 18, Dave Schwartz FEB 14 – 11:30 AM The Oaks, Willmar District 11, Jane Remiger
Please call 651-703-1008 or email barnold@midwestdairy.com with any questions. Visit MidwestDairy.com for additional locations and times.
Page 8 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 21, 2019
USMCA deal praised by dairy leaders The action on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement they can only have the margin coverage on the base they has received broad praise from the dairy industry. National had back then. That’s a problem and we need to x it.” Milk Producers Federation President and CEO Jim Mulhern said USMCA will be a boon for U.S. dairy farmers. FSA stafng is challenged County level USDA ofces are understaffed. Accord“An already good deal for U.S. dairy farmers is even better ing to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, now.” U.S. Dairy Export Council President Ag Insider getting new people in the roles is challenging and CEO Tom Vilsack said one important the agency. “We need people. We’re looking change reforms Canada’s controversial dairy to hire people. Today, with 3.5 percent unempricing system and provides exclusive access ployment, people aren’t going to wait long to the Canadian market for U.S. farmers and to be approved for a job,” Perdue said. Permanufacturers. “The trade deal also strengthdue is asking the Federal Ofce of Personnel ens our relationship with Mexico and estabManagement for direct hiring authority to cut lishes new protections for common cheese the process in half. names,” said the former USDA leader. International Dairy Foods Association PresiSmith concerned for young farmers dent/CEO Michael Dykes believes the new Minnesota Senator Tina Smith has trade agreement will deliver “peace of mind heard from many farmers hurt by crop lossfor our businesses.” Dykes said USMCA rees and a delayed harvest. “I think about the moves the uncertainty seen over the past two By Don Wick younger farmers, in particular, who don’t years as the deal was negotiated. Columnist have a lot of equity and are still trying to get their feet under them and the impact of a seaDMC enrollment down from ‘19 Ahead of the December 20 deadline to enroll or son like this can be multiplied.” change coverage in the Dairy Margin Coverage program, the number of dairy farmers signed up for the next four Farm groups cooperate on farm stress training Agriculture groups are coming together to help farmyears is down signicantly from 2019. Approximately 23,000 farmers used DMC this past year, but about half ers and ranchers manage stress. Farm Credit, American of them did not re-enroll. National Milk Producers Fed- Farm Bureau Federation and National Farmers Union are eration spokesperson Chris Galen praised the safety net partnering on a program to recognize signs of stress for program. “Thankfully, milk prices have rebounded here as individuals who work with farmers and ranchers. “Loan we wind up 2019, but we just don’t know what’s going to ofcers are on farms working with producers every day, and they see rsthand how this difcult farm economy is happen with either milk prices or feed costs next year.” causing emotional stress for farmers and their families,” said Farm Credit Council CEO Todd Van Hoose. AFBF Peterson highlights DMC program During an address at the First District Cooperative President Zippy Duvall said, “Farm Bureau is a family, annual meeting, House Agriculture Committee Chair- and when a member is hurting, we all feel it and are eaman Collin Peterson said the Margin Protection Program ger to help. But we may not always know how to spot the didn’t work and adjustments were made for the Dairy Mar- warning signs that someone is overwhelmed.” The traingin Coverage program. “We had to make this adequate; if ing is a combination of online and in-person sessions and we’re going to save this industry and keep young people based on the farm stress program developed by Michigan and smaller farms in business, this is what we need to do. State University Extension. “By training trusted neighbors Five years from now, people might say it was too good, and friends to recognize and address stress, this program but that’s better than being too bad.” Peterson acknowl- will bring help closer and make it more accessible when edged one problem with DMC is for the dairy farms that farmers really need it,” said NFU President, Roger Johnmilked from 2011 to 2014. “They will use that base and son. some of these young guys are trying to expand now and
Farmers go to inner circle for help The Marsheld Clinic Research Institute surveyed 300 farmers in central Wisconsin to gain perspective on mental health. The study found farmers are more receptive to receiving mental health information from licensed medical providers and their inner-circle of family and friends. The respondents were less receptive to receiving information from attorneys, bankers and commodity groups. The study also found farmers prefer to discuss these issues on a face-to-face basis, rather than through an online webinar or social media. Credit risk at acceptable levels The Farm Credit Administration is reporting steady earnings and higher capital throughout the Farm Credit System. Credit risk is higher for the year, but it is at acceptable levels. The quarterly report said credit stress is up, but the farm credit system is nancially sound and well capitalized. Election year politics may impact legislative session The Minnesota Legislature will have a shortened session, with lawmakers gathering in St. Paul in mid-February. Agricultural lobbyist Bruce Kleven said the 2020 election will inuence the statewide elections. “I think we will have a big election year with Trump on the ballot and all the commotion going on nationally that will trickle down here,” Kleven said. “There is a possibility the Senate could turn this year and if that happens, it will put DFL control in all three bodies in 2021. One of the ways that will happen is with some of the policies that will come up this year.” Johnson to retire from NFU presidency National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson will not seek re-election when his term ends in March. Johnson has notied the NFU board about the retirement plans. The former North Dakota agriculture commissioner has served as president of the organization since 2009. “I’ve spent my whole life in agriculture. Now, we’re going to spend more time with grandkids,” Johnson said. MMPA awards presented The Minnesota Milk Producers Association presented Turn to AG INSIDER | Page 9
Happy Holidays It’ It’s t’s ’s the time ti of the year to reflect and thank the people who make a d w difference in our lives. We would like to thank you,, our you you, yo o past and future clients for your support! 1-800-887-4634 or (608) 723-4634 John, Jim & Dave Fuller 423 US Hwy 61 North, Lancaster, WI www.fullersmilkercenter.com
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Dairy Star • Saturday, December 21, 2019 • Page 9
ConƟnued from AG INSIDER | Page 8
its rst-ever Above and Beyond Award to Paul Tveten of Select Sires. Tveten was recognized for helping farmers last winter when buildings were collapsing under the weight of the snow. The Policy Makers of the Year Award went to Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen and FSA State Director Joe Martin for coordinating the new statewide dairy initiative. Trivia challenge European butter must include 82 percent butterfat. That compares to 80 percent in the United States. That answers our last
trivia question. For this week, when did the tradition of leaving milk and cookies for Santa begin in the United States? We’ll have the answer in the next edition of Dairy Star. Don Wick is owner/broadcaster for the Red River Farm Network, based in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Wick has been recognized as the National Farm Broadcaster of the Year and served as president of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting. Don and his wife, Kolleen, have two adult sons, Tony and Sam, and ve grandchildren, Aiden, Piper, Adrienne, Aurora and Sterling.
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PHOTO SUBMITTED
The Hendrickson family (front, from leŌ) – Lane, Nora, Lily, Maria and Lucy; (back, from leŌ) Zach, Joel holding Finn, Amanda holding Emma, Julia and Maddie – are the faces behind Ten Finns Creamery near Menahga, Minnesota. The family recently began markeƟng their A2 milk.
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then made plans to become Minnesota’s rst exclusive A2 herd and creamery. “We really saw this as our chance to create a more stable market,” Joel said. “With the industry the way it is, you just don’t know what it’s going to look like in the future.” Amanda agreed. “And, with 10 kids, hopefully someone will see the farm or the creamery as a future for them,” she said. To begin, Joel began breeding his cows to bulls with the preferred gene. Then in 2017, the Hendricksons genetically tested their herd and found 60% of the milking cows carried the A2 protein. The remaining 40% were sold as Joel found replacement cows. Before purchasing animals, Joel had them tested to see if they were the right t for his herd. From three farms – and 58 cows – Joel was able to grow his herd to its current size. “It didn’t cost me any more than regularly breeding or marketing animals,” Joel said. “I wanted to create a herd so people could drink my milk, and then maybe someday have a creamery.” Once the Hendricksons had an entirely A2 herd, they looked at their options to create greater value for their milk. They considered shipping their milk to a creamery in north Minneapolis that was not in use, but with the expense to do so, it was more economical to build an on-farm processing site. “About a year ago we decided this was the route we were going to take,” Joel said. “We toured another A2 creamery in Ohio and several on-farm creameries in Minnesota.” The couple worked with the state’s department of agriculture to build a facility that met food processing standards. They also purchased all the equipment from the Minar family of former Cedar Summit Farm in New Prague. “We really got into it at a reasonable price because we didn’t put up a large building, and we could use used equipment,” Joel said. The facility, including the pasteurizer and pack-
aging machine, can process the Hendricksons’ entire milk supply. However to begin, they will only process about 100 gallons of their milk and ship the remainder to Nelson Creamery. Milk bypasses the farm’s bulk tank straight into a smaller bulk tank within the creamery. From there, a pipeline delivers the milk to the pasteurizer which then transfers the milk to a holding tank connected to the packaging machine. Then, cartons are lled in a matter of minutes. The facility also has the capability to process butter, which the Hendricksons intend on making. The Hendricksons’ rst saleable cartons of A2 whole milk were created after evening milking Dec. 17. “Now that we’re nally here, it really gives me mixed feelings,” Amanda said. “I’m so excited and this is so awesome, but it’s also really nerve wracking to now have our milk out there.” Each half gallon carton is purposefully designed to educate consumers about the product and the family behind the product. All 10 of the Hendricksons’ children are depicted on the carton which also highlights the family’s Scandinavian heritage. Ten Finns Creamery milk is available at two grocery stores in Menahga, including a coffee shop. The couple also hopes to reach a contract with Mason Brothers Grocery Wholesaler in Wadena which has a ve-state coverage area. “We’ve had stores ask us about our products,” Amanda said. Joel agreed. “We don’t want to be monstrous,” he said. “Our goal is to sell enough to process all of our milk.” While the family has yet to see how their products inuence Minnesota consumers, they are hopeful. The emergence of A2 milk in New Zealand has increased uid milk consumption, and a similar trend has been seen in the United States where A2 milk is already available, said Joel. From 2018 to 2028, the global A2 milk market is expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate of 10.2%, according to Report Buyer’s 2019 report. “At Thanksgiving, my nephews drank our milk. They usually only drink almond milk,” Amanda said. “They couldn’t get enough of it and really hoped it would reach the cities where they live.” Joel agreed. “We’ve had people try it, and it’s just unreal what it did for them,” he said. “Especially for those who couldn’t drink traditional milk.” Wherever this venture takes the Hendricksons, they are proud to have created a product that can be consumed by all JENNIFER COYNE/DAIRY STAR and in a way that is teachA small holding tank is connected to the packaging machine at Ten Finns Cream- ing their children the value ery near Menahga, Minnesota. The Hendricksons plan to process about 100 of dairy farming. gallons of A2 milk for retail.
U.S. dairy impacted by other countries
Bozic talks long-term future of industry By Krista Kuzma
krista.k@dairystar.com
WELCH, Minn. – Marin Bozic said changes in other countries and how the United States interacts with them will impact the U.S. dairy industry. “We need to make sense of the world we live in order to make meaningful decisions moving forward,” said Bozic, assistant professor of applied economics at the University of Minnesota. Bozic presented “Looking into the Dairy Industry Crystal Ball” Dec. 4 during the Minnesota Milk Dairy Conference and Expo in Welch. “I think one of the single most important reasons why it (the long-term dairy future) seems unclear is because there are things there you just don’t want to see,” Bozic said. “If we open our eyes and are brave enough to connect the dots, I think the future is going to be much easier to decipher.” Although the exit rate of dairy farms is the highest it has been since the 1980s, Bozic said producers are creating better cows that continue to produce more and better milk. Because of this, even if the U.S. dairy herd would stay the same, there would be 2.6 billion pounds more milk every year. “Where are we going to nd a home for 2.6 billion pounds of milk?” Bozic said. “Almost half of it needs to nd a home abroad. That’s our main challenge. … Exports are so essential.” Domestically, the United States cannot keep up with people’s demand for milkfat which has steadily increased in consumption per capita since 2014 when butter came into the spotlight as a healthy product. “Americans love butterfat,” Bozic said. However, consumption of skim solids has atlined on a per capita basis. “The U.S. is going to be persistently chronically short on fat, long on protein,” Bozic said. “You know what that means? Kerry Gold Butter from Ireland is probably going to be more on the shelves here.” In order to nd a home for the additional protein, the U.S. dairy herd will need to decrease by 50,000 cows, and exports need to grow for dairies to continue to have a decent margin, Bozic said. Exports will be easier to grow as both New Zealand and the European Union focus more on the environmental impacts of the dairy industries in their countries opposed to growing herd numbers. “If you take New Zealand and Europe out of the equation, there’s an opportunity for us to start exporting more,” Bozic said. Changes in world politics will also affect dairy, Bozic said. In the years Donald Trump has been president, the United States has withdrawn from both the Trans-Pacic Partnership and the Paris climate agreement, the United States is now friendly with North Korea, the country is in a trade war with China, and is not reacting to attacks on the global oil supply chain.
“How does this all make sense?” Bozic said. He said it is important to understand why the United States administration is withdrawing from trade. “Imagine this. There are 10 people sitting around the table and you’re the biggest one. You agree to be bound to the same rules as everyone else. Why do that if you can get your way without going through it all and by going one on one instead?” Bozic said. Marin Bozic Bozic believes U of M professor that is the United States’ strategy. “The trade war is not about ag,” he said. “Ag is collateral damage. This is about other stuff.” While the Soviet Union, turned Russia, used to be the country’s biggest adversary, Bozic said that has now changed to China. “If you can’t comfort them (an adversary) you need to contain them. How do you contain them? You make friends around the world. How do you make friends around the world? You bribe them. How do you bribe them? By making a free trade system in which the U.S. allows people to come to our markets more than we get access to their markets,” Bozic said. While other deals might be made, Bozic does not see a deal being negotiated with China before the next election. Other trends happening are that the United States is now oil independent because of the large reserves of accessible shale oil whereas it used to be dependant on Middle Eastern countries. “We are now the net exporter of oil,” Bozic said. Technology will increase and an aging population, especially in other areas around the world, will mean more automation. “Why would we go to buy products from China that their robots made when we can have robots here in the United states?” Bozic said. “Put these four factors together and you’ll realize we have a brand new world in which we live. Trade wars are the beginning of this new era where the U.S. will not trade for the sake of coalitions. They’ll be going to go to people who have a lot to lose if we are not their friends.” What does this mean for dairy? In the short term, the dairy industry will continue to suffer; however, Bozic said in the long term it means more market access. To get through the turmoil in the short term, Bozic suggests relying on programs available such as the Dairy Revenue Protection or the Dairy Margin Coverage. “When it comes to DMC, any minute you spend thinking whether you should do $9.50 or not is a minute you’re not thinking about where your dairy is going to be in 2030. This is a very important conversation for you to have,” Bozic said. “People who have signed up for $9.50 and have taken the state (DAIRI) program, you should feel good about your decision. Don’t even think twice.”
Dairy Star • Saturday, December 21, 2019 • Page 11
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2 More Tonnage Alforex varieties with Hi-Gest alfalfa technology provide farms flexibility to adjust to aggressive harvest systems to maximize yield and quality, or to a more relaxed schedule focused on tonnage. Either way, growers put the odds of improved returns per acre and animal performance in their favor.
3 More Milk While management and feeding practices vary widely, it’s common for dairies feeding Alforex varieties with Hi-Gest alfalfa technology to report a positive production response from their cows when alfalfa makes up a higher percentage of the ration. Based on the increased rate of digestion, you could expect 2.5 lbs. more milk per cow, per day.1 And while not every producer experiences this level of improvement, some producers report even better results.
Ready to bring higher digestibility, more tonnage and more milk to your farm? Visit us at www.alforexseeds.com or call us at 1-800-824-8585. *The increased rate of fiber digestion, extent of digestion and crude protein data was developed from replicated research and on-farm testing. During the 2015 growing season at West Salem, WI and Woodland, CA, the following commercial dormant, semi-dormant and non-dormant alfalfa varieties were compared head-to-head with Alforex varieties with Hi-Gest alfalfa technology for rate of digestion, extent of digestion and percent crude protein: America’s Alfalfa Brand AmeriStand 427TQ; Croplan Brands LegenDairy XHD and Artesia Sunrise; Fertizona Brand Fertilac; S&W Seed Brands SW6330, SW7410 and SW10; and W-L Brands WL 319HQ and WL 354HQ. Also, during the 2015 growing season, 32 on-farm Alforex varieties with Hi-Gest alfalfa technology hay and silage samples were submitted to Rock River Laboratory, Inc., for forage analysis. The results for rate of digestion, extent of digestion and percent crude protein were averaged and compared to the 60-day and four-year running averages for alfalfa in the Rock River database which included approximately 1,700 alfalfa hay and 3,800 silage 60-day test results and 23,000 hay and 62,000 silage test results in the four-year average. **Crude protein=60-day running averages and uNDF240=four-year running average 1 Combs, D. 2015. Relationship of NDF digestibility to animal performance. Tri-State Dairy Nutrition Conference, 101-112. Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/5350/f0a2cb916e74edf5f69cdb73f091e1c8280b.pdf.
™ ® Trademarks of Dow AgroSciences, DuPont or Pioneer, and their affiliated companies or their respective owners. © 2019 Corteva.
Page 12 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 21, 2019
Employee culture leads to better working environment
Rovai provides tips for farm owners to foster lasting relationships By Jennifer Coyne
krista.k@dairystar.com
GOODWIN, S.D. – Greg Moes enjoys going to work every morning. The 30 people he works with enjoy going to work every morning. This mindset is the result of a symbiotic relationship between farm owners and employees cultivated at MoDak Dairy. “We don’t have employees, we have families we work with. This is a family farm,”
Moes said. “That mentality excites everyone. We all look forward to seeing each other at the start of every day.” Moes and his brother, Jim, and their sons, Jacob and Matthew, operate the 2,000-cow dairy in Codington County near Goodwin. The mindset the Moes brothers have and encourage their employees to have is one
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Maristela Rovai conducts an on-farm training during lunch for employees at a dairy in Iowa. Rovai specializes in training Hispanic employees.
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Greg Moes dairy farms with his family at MoDak Dairy near Goodwin, South Dakota. The Moes family makes a point to foster posiƟve relaƟonships with their employees.
that can benet not only the individuals on the farm but also the dairy as a whole. “When (employees) feel respected and heard, they will feel more satised and engaged with their jobs; and it will contribute to the farm’s overall success,” Maristela Rovai said. Rovai, an assistant professor and dairy extension specialist at South Dakota State University, specializes in training Hispanic employees and
developing training programs for this demographic. In her work, Rovai has facilitated events for employers and employees to foster better working relationships. There are several areas to consider when wanting to improve the dairy’s work environment. Understanding culture and language barriers, being aware of inclusivity and nding value in each person, and creating a welcoming, safe
place are all factors farmers should consider. Many dairy farmers are working with people of Hispanic and Latino heritage. In those cultures, greetings and meal times differ from the American society, especially in the workforce. For example, they welcome everyone with open arms and use please and thank you routinely. They also value their Turn to CULTURE | Page 13
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ConƟnued from CULTURE | Page 12 meal times in the way that they would feel embarrassed for eating while also participating in a work training. In these instances, farm owners might be inclined to use greetings, like please and thank you, before giving instructions ensuring the task is done. Farmers may also want to consider having a work lunch where food is prepared and brought to the training. This allows employees to eat comfortably and focus on the presented training. “When employers understand more of their employees’ culture and values, they will have a roadmap on their hands and see more achievements than failures,” Rovai said. “But, we cannot forget it is important for employees to understand the employer’s culture as well.” Farm owners should nd ways to connect with their employees and relay their expectations – through visual instructions on the farm, hands-on training and continued learning experiences. “At times there are 20 to 30 employees and two owners,” Rovai said. “Take the time to learn their culture but also show them American culture. If we work towards understanding, we’ll see that in tangible results, commitment. It’s a win-win situation.” For Moes, he takes the time to work with his employees and show their opinions and thoughts are valued. “Yes, we have our cultural differences, but we all listen to each other,” Moes said. “These guys are professionals in their area of work, and we need to listen to them in that way.” At the dairy, every employee’s photo is hung in the farm break room. There, they are recognized for birthdays and milestones, such as training. At the completion of each training, which happens on a monthly basis, employees receive stickers to showcase their progress. This is one way the Moes brothers demonstrate the worth their employees have to the dairy. “We’ve never really thought much of this picture board until we hired a guy and didn’t get his picture up right away; not on purpose, either,” Moes said. “He asked us what he had to do to have his picture on the wall. For them, it’s become a status symbol.” Rovai agreed. “It is a matter of being loyal and
caring,” she said. “Employees who feel appreciated will always remember the way employers made them feel and will be loyal to them. They will feel at home and help with everything needed.” Moes is also open about his employees asking questions when they do not understand an instruction. The farm owner encourages everyone to be honest and tell him when a piece of equipment breaks down or things do not go as planned. These tactics became a part of the farm’s culture 11 years ago when the Moes family underwent a large expansion of building a new dairy barn. “We didn’t always have this mentality,” Moes said. “When a gate broke, we used to (get upset). That’s all changed. We don’t do that anymore. Instead, we have a saying that goes, ‘If something breaks, it’s because we’re using it, and it’s meant to break at some time.’ Everyone is comfortable here and no one runs away.” Rovai encourages dairy farmers to consider ways they can be more inclusive of their employees. This may be improving the break room environment, having meetings where employees can provide input and share the dairy’s progress, among others. At MoDak Dairy, Moes also checks in with his employees and makes sure they are living in suitable conditions Moes himself would want to live in. Likewise, he helps coordinate dinners where one of the families cook a meal for the entire farm staff once a month. “That’s quite a gathering,” Moes said. “We’re comingling people who have worked with us for 35 years and those who just started days ago. It’s just fun to do and listen to everyone.” These initiatives have helped the farm maintain a somatic cell count of 120,000, and milk components values at 4.1% butterfat and 3.5% protein. While Moes is proud of those accomplishments, he said there is a greater purpose for creating a positive work environment. “It feels good,” Moes said. “We’re hiring outside labor from many cultures, but we’ve never had division. Everyone is treated well, and their jobs and values are respected which makes it fun to be around these guys and gals every day.”
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Page 14 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 21, 2019
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What will you remember most about 2019?
Cheryl Tyrrell Browerville, Minnesota Todd County 55 cows What will you remember most about 2019? The terrible weather that we had. It was hard to get crops planted and harvested. What was the highlight of the year for both your family and farm? That we are still here doing what we have done for centuries. Our daughter Nikki and her husband got their youpick strawberry patch up and running. Describe a challenge you had this year and how you overcame it. We were able to get the crops in, but the corn is still in the ďƒželd. This is the ďƒžrst time in the 45 years I’ve been around that there is still corn in the ďƒželd. What plans do you have for your farm in 2020? We will continue with the tradition of farming, with the Guernsey cows and showing our seven grandchildren the farming life. What are your holiday traditions? How will you celebrate the new year? Our four children and grandchildren are the highlight of our Christmas and New Year’s. We have two grandsons born in December, the 21st and 31st, and we also celebrate the birth of our Savior. Tell us about your farm. Oak Crest Farm was established in 1873. My father-in-law Howard started with the Guernsey cows as a 4-H project. Denny and I own and operate the farm with our eldest Jakin and his wife Amanda, our daughter, Nikki, and sonin-law, Nathan. We have two more sons: Troy and his wife, Heather, live in Duluth where he is a carpenter; and Brent and his wife, Katie, live outside of Staples, and he is a welder. Troy and Brent help when they can. We have seven grandchildren: Lucas, 11, Zachary, 9, Sydney, 8, Scarlett, 7, William, 6, Quentin, 4, and Knox, 2. They are the sixth generation on the farm. Besides the cows, we raise corn, hay, soybean and small grain, and sometimes we have to use our irrigation systems.
Alan Meyer Kenyon, Minnesota Rice County 140 cows What will you remember most about 2019? I will remember putting everything on our farm back together after a tornado came through September 2018. We started milking in our rebuilt barn Jan. 2, but we still had a lot of other things to ďƒžx as the year went on. What was the highlight of the year for both your family and farm? The highlight for the family is that we all stayed healthy. For the farm, it is that we got back to milking. We got all the original cows and fresh heifers back in the barn right away. We worked on repairs until Sept. 18. We had a thank you party on Sept. 20 – the one-year anniversary of the storm – for all the people who helped us. We had supper for people in our shed and served over 200 people. Describe a challenge you had this year and how you overcame it. Throughout this whole process there has been a lot of paperwork with insurance. We just kept working on it to get it done. The weather has also been a challenge, but that’s just the life of a farmer. What plans do you have for your farm in 2020? We plan to catch our breath and keep things status quo after a very hectic 2019. What are your holiday traditions? How will you celebrate the New Year? Our grown children usually go to their in-laws for Christmas so Sharon and I will go to church on Christmas Eve. The next day we will play Mexican train and take the rest of the day off. For New Year’s we will gather with family and friends. We rotate every year who is host it. We sit around, talk and having fun. Tell us about your farm. My wife, Sharon, and I farm together with our son and daughter-in-law, Andy and Samantha, on our farm, Richland Dairy, LLC. We milk 140 cows with two A5 Lely robots.
Kathy Jacobson Detroit Lakes, Minnesota Becker County 50 cows What will you remember most about 2019? The weather deďƒžnitely has made 2019 a difďƒžcult year. The extremely cold, long winter, a late spring and an early fall has made everything difďƒžcult both in the barn and the ďƒželds. What was the highlight of the year for both your family and farm? We were able to go to a Minnesota Vikings game and have a weekend mini vacation off of the farm. The biggest highlight of our farm came Nov. 7 when we harvested the last of our corn and ďƒžnished our ďƒželdwork for the year. Describe a challenge you had this year and how you overcame it. Getting harvest and planting done was a huge challenge this year. We were able to get everything done by working hard and doing everything we could each day and working with our neighbors. What plans do you have for your farm in 2020? We don’t have any major plans to change anything on our farm in 2020. What are your holiday traditions? How will you celebrate the new year? I enjoy baking a lot of goodies and making lefse with the kids. We host Christmas Eve at our farm every year with all of our extended families. New Year’s Eve is usually celebrated on our farm. We’ve celebrated every year with the same good friends for over 20 years. Tell us about your farm. We milk 50 cows and farm approximately 325 acres of corn, alfalfa, wheat and soybean. We farm with our kids: Hannah, 19, sophomore at NDSU, and Ethan, 16, junior at Detroit Lakes High School.
Alysha, Chad, Teresa, Grant and Addison Wieneke Adrian, Minnesota Nobles County 350 cows What will you remember most about 2019? The wet late year. Each season presented its own unique set of struggles. What was the highlight of the year for both your family and farm? The kids showed sheep for the ďƒžrst time this year, and they all received purple ribbons. The older two went to the Minnesota State Fair with their sheep and placed well. They also showed dairy cattle. All of the kids were a great help with chores and ďƒželd work when we needed them. Describe a challenge you had this year and how you overcame it. We had lost most of our alfalfa due to winter kill. We overcame it by planting extra corn silage, replanting the alfalfa and buying hay to get by. What plans do you have for your farm in 2020? We do not have any plans other than maybe adding a little more concrete but no major expansions. What are your holiday traditions? How will you celebrate the new year? We make cookies together, and play card and board games. We enjoy sledding and snowboarding. For New Year’s, we will probably watch a movie together. Tell us about your farm. We are located in southwest Minnesota. We milk 350 cows. We also raise and ďƒžnish 800 head of fat cattle. We plant corn, soybean and alfalfa. We farm 1,100 acres. Chad farms with his brother, Kevin, and his father, Dale. We are a fourth-generation dairy farm.
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Page 16 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 21, 2019
ConƟnued from OUR SIDE | Page 15
A s h l e y Zwald, holding son, Luke Hammond, Wisconsin St. Croix County 850 cows W h a t will you rem e m b e r most about 2019? Looking back, 2019 was a year for the record books. Between the cold wet spring, winter-killed alfalfa, few heat units throughout the summer, and the wet, chilly fall; working with Mother Nature was challenging. In the end, we are very fortunate and thankful for the bountiful harvest considering the conditions. What was the highlight of the year for both your family and farm? For our family, welcoming our new baby and becoming a family of six in October easily tops the list. On the farm, we were highly successful with our breeding strategies in creating top genomic animals. Describe a challenge you had this year and how you overcame it. This year about half of our alfalfa acres presented winterkill issues last spring. To overcome, we came together as a team to determine our new plan of action. We decided what kind of forages to plant to allow for a diet to maintain high production, how to stretch the forages we had, as well as if we could save any elds with interseeding. We plowed under many elds and planted corn and sorghum as well as interseeded Italian ryegrass into some stands to have manageable amounts of new seeding. What plans do you have for your farm in 2020? We are looking forward to and moving into our expansion to a 40-cow rotary parlor and hybrid style ventilated barns. This is a big change for our team, but we are very excited. What are your holiday traditions? The farm keeps our team busy, but we make sure to cut out time for family. During the holiday season, we do an Advent calendar and read corresponding bible verses; go to a tree farm and pick out the biggest tree that we can t in our living room; attend the candlelight Christmas Eve service; open gifts on Christmas Day; and celebrate Christmas with grandparents and siblings. Tell us about your farm. We are nestled in central St. Croix County in western Wisconsin, about an hour from the Twin Cities. Six family members of varying strengths create an amazing team that helps us to be successful at Bomaz Farms. We keep ourselves busy milking 850 Holsteins focusing on genetics and production, doing all of our own eldwork and raising families.
James Wielenberg Long Prairie, Minnesota Todd County 85 cows What will you remember most about 2019? The weather. From the polar vortex of last winter to the rain all spring, summer and fall, it seemed we fought the weather to do everything we had to do. What was the highlight of the year for both your family and farm? My oldest niece and nephew both got their rst deer while hunting this fall. My brother, Mike, and his wife, Rachel, welcomed a baby girl, Brianna, into the world this fall on Mike’s birthday. While hauling hay in this summer, I watched a black bear run across the eld into the neighbor’s woods. We are ending the year with a nice streak of heifer calves. Describe a challenge you had this year and how you overcame it. The polar vortex. My cows are housed in an open front loang shed and eat outside. I used cornstalk bales as a windbreak along the lane from the parlor to the cow yard and parked my chopper boxes and gravity boxes along the north side of the lot to block the wind. I use a winter teat dip with extra skin conditioners and don’t dip when it’s below zero. We had no problems with frozen teats last winter. I also mixed up and fed TMR a half a day early several times to avoid having to get a tractor going on the cold morning. What plans do you have for your farm in 2020? I am looking at building a shed for weaned calves up to 500-600 pounds. We are maxed out on our heifer facilities and have some labor-intensive places like the old dairy barn and farrowing barn. Also, I would like to set up a fence line bunk for my breeding age to springing heifers to get them a place to eat out of the mud. What are your holiday traditions? How will you celebrate the new year? My siblings will all be coming home for Christmas this weekend. I try to get chores done early so I can go to Christmas Eve Mass and will try to get a nap on Christmas Day. New Year’s Day we will get together with family and friends for a sh fry. We’ve done this for as long as I can remember. We used to go ice shing and catch the meal during the day, and clean and fry the sh after chores that night. Now, we get together in the afternoon and play cards and talk smart. The sh come out of the freezer. Tell us about your farm. I milk 85 cows and farm 300 acres of corn, barley and alfalfa. The cows are a mix
Brandi Johnson Poplar Grove, Illinois Boone County 200 cows What will you remember most about 2019? 2019 will be remembered as the year of record rainfall. In all the 70 years of my father-in-law farming, this is the rst time ever prevented planting was taken. What was the highlight of the year for both your family and farm? The highlight of the year for us was our oldest son, Trace’s, wedding in June. We had the reception here at the farm by our pond as we welcomed our new daughter-in-law, Megan, into the family. As far as the highlight for the farm, it was nally seeing some higher milk prices. Describe a challenge you had this year and how you overcame it. Seems like the entire year was a challenge. Obviously, the wet spring started it off, and things seemed to go downhill from there. But, we tried to stay positive and focus on what the next day or week would bring. We are thankful that we took the prevented plant on 1,100 acres. What plans do you have for your farm in 2020? Plans for the future will be increasing cow numbers and production, marketing 2020 crops at a higher price and looking into the possibility of organics in the future on the prevented plant acres, as well as growing some hemp. We are also very excited to be welcoming the sixth generation to our family farm operation as we are expecting our rst grandson at the end of May. What are your holiday traditions? How will you celebrate the new year? Our holidays are always spent with family – enjoying great food and appreciating all that we have to be thankful for. And every year, we usually go to a neighborhood New Year’s Eve party. Tell us about your farm. Our family farm consists of my in-laws, Jim and Connie, my husband, Thad, and I, and our three sons, Trace, and his wife Megan, Cole and Ty. We have a 200cow dairy with 250 youngstock. We have Holsteins and about half of the herd is registered. Trace and Cole have a 160 Angus and Red Angus cow/calf herd and embryo business plus custom round baling and land rolling. We also cash crop 3,200 acres of corn, soybean and wheat. of Holstein, Jersey and crossbreds. The Jerseys are a side effect of my niece and nephew’s involvement in 4-H. We milk in a double-6 herringbone parlor, and the cows are housed in a loang shed on a bedded pack. I grew up on this farm and took over after my dad died. I have two part-time employees to help with the chores, and my brothers help with eldwork. My mom still helps with calves although she is cutting back in order to retire.
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Darrell Luhman Rochester, Minnesota Olmsted County 130 cows What will you remember most about 2019? I will remember how milk prices started out really low but ended higher. And, putting in the crops were a nightmare. It was so difcult to get the crop in this year. What was the highlight of the year for both your family and farm? For the farm, although the corn crop was not as good, I had a decent hay production. It really came out OK. I know of lots of other farmers who cannot say the same. For family, we went to Duluth for three days. It got me away from the farm for a while, which was nice. Describe a challenge you had this year and how you overcame it. Every day is a challenge. It is a challenge for me to eat a proper diet. I really changed my diet a few years ago after getting a prostate cancer diagnosis. I look at it as a way to fuel my body. This year, the creek running through my farm was a challenge. There was water that ran through my elds, but the crops seemed to come through it, which is good. What plans do you have for your farm in 2020? Within the last year, I added another shop to the farm along with a hoop building so I do not have any big plans for 2020. I plan to get through the year. What are your holiday traditions? How will you celebrate the new year? For Christmas, I will go to my sister’s house. I have sisters that live in the Twin Cities and Arizona, so it is always a good time to see them all. I plan to go out to Arizona to visit my sister next year. New Year’s Eve will likely be a quiet night, but my girlfriend, Donna, and I will probably go out to supper. Tell us about your farm. This was my grandpa’s farm. My family moved here when I was 4 years old, and I have been here ever since. I started farming after high school and am now 69 years old. My son, Travis, farms with me. We have a freestall barn and parlor I built in 2008. When not farming, I like to attend farm shows: World Dairy Expo, Central Plains Dairy Expo and the Oshkosh Farm Show. They are nice drives, and it is a nice break from the farm.
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Page 18 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 21, 2019
Repro Leaders
Double Ovsynch program catapults Britannia Dairy’s reproduction Britannia Dairy Kevin and Ben Pearson Flandreau, South Dakota Moody County 1,100 cows What was your average pregnancy rate last year? Our pregnancy rate averaged about 42% for the year. What is your voluntary waiting period for cows? For
heifers? Our voluntary waiting period is 63 days for cows. We breed our heifers at 12 months. We might breed a heifer a little earlier if she is a larger sized crossbred. What is your rst service conception rate? Our rst service conception rate is 54% with sexed semen. It can be up Turn to BRITANNIA | Page 20
JERRY NELSON/DAIRY STAR
Brothers Kevin and Ben Pearson own Britannia Dairy, an 1,100-head Jersey operaƟon located near Flandreau, South Dakota. Britannia Dairy recently received a plaƟnum recogniƟon from the Dairy CaƩle ReproducƟon Council. JERRY NELSON/DAIRY STAR
The tail head of an open cow is painted to give a visual cue for standing heats at Britannia Dairy near Flandreau, South Dakota.
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Dairy Star • Saturday, December 21, 2019 • Page 19
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Page 20 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 21, 2019
ConƟnued from BRITANNIA | Page 18
How many times do you try to breed a cow before you sell her? It could be up to six or seven times for a cow with average production. If she is a top producer, we might service her as many as seven or eight times.
to 60% with beef semen. What is your reproduction program? Do you use a synchronization program? We use the double Ovsynch protocol on all rst service animals. We will use sexed semen for the rst couple of services then switch to beef semen. Open animals are bred 20 hours after receiving a shot of GnRH. In the summer months, we schedule our breeding for the morning when it’s cooler.
Is there anything you have done or changed that brought about a signicant improvement in your reproductive program? Changing to the double Ovsynch program has helped us tremendously. We will also give a cow an extra shot of Lutalyse in the nal week of her cycle which has increased our conception rate by 9% in our rst lactation animals.
How do you observe for heat? For the past 5 1/2 years, we have used the AAct system to help detect heats. Each animal wears a pedometer on a back leg. Information regarding cow activity is gathered by a reader. That info is then sent through a router and to our farm computer. How do you conrm pregnant or open cows? Our veterinarian performs an ultrasound pregnancy check every two weeks. On off weeks, cows that are eligible for a pregnancy check are given a shot of GnRH. If she proves to be open, we can breed her the next day. This enables us to shave a week off her days open. What is your breeding philosophy? How do you select bulls? What traits do you focus on? Does fertility play a role in bull selection? The Daughter Pregnancy Rate is one of the rst things that we look at followed by production
JERRY NELSON/DAIRY STAR
Ben Pearson, co-owner of Britannia Dairy, looks for cows that have been in heat on his 1,100cow Jersey dairy farm. The dairy uses the Double Ovsynch protocol and their veterinarian performs ultrasound pregnancy checks twice a month. and component numbers. We had been using all DPR positive bulls, but that’s getting more and more difcult due to the Jersey Association changing its formula. We monitor the Jersey breed and use only genomic tested bulls. We will sometimes use newly released bulls that don’t yet have a lot of fertility information on them. When we use young sires, we rely on our own data.
How are cows and heifers bred? Do you have a different philosophy for breeding both? Our heifers receive sexed semen for the rst three services and are then breed with beef bulls. Our rst and second lactation cows are bred with sexed semen for the rst one or two services and are bred with beef semen from then on. We use proven bulls on the heifers. We purchase the best bulls pos-
sible and use a computer mating system to help us make our breeding choices. What do you do to settle hard breeders? We will put her in front of a veterinarian and have her checked for cystic ovaries. If she checks out OK, we will use a CIDR on her.
Tell us about your farm. We grew up on a 220-cow Holstein dairy farm in North Yorkshire, England. We moved here in 2007 and purchased this operation which was 450 cows at the time. Our herd is all Jerseys except for a few crossbreds we have purchased. We enjoy the wide-open spaces and the low population here. There are 76 million people living in England which is roughly the same size as South Dakota, a state that has less than 1 million residents. We received a platinum recognition from the Dairy Cattle Reproduction Council. Our operation was one of six dairies across the nation to receive this award.
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Dairy Star • Saturday, December 21, 2019 • Page 21
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Visit one of our 17 locations in Central Minnesota! (7) = ALEXANDRIA (9) = PRINCETON (4) = ST. CLOUD 1035 35th Ave. NE
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(3) = STEWART
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78412 Co. Rd. 20
5 CIH Farmall 110C, ‘15, Partial PS, MFWD, Loader, 694 hrs., #161390 $49,900 5 JD 6105R, ‘13, Cab, Partial PS, MFWD, 1568 hrs., #156129................$71,900 11 Case IH 585, ‘85, Syncro, 2WD, Loader, 3515 hrs., #162344 ..............$12,995 8 International Harvester 584, ‘78, Syncro, 2WD, Loader, #163021 .. $6,100 8 JD 6135E, ‘18, 476 hrs., #143698.......................................................$84,900 3 JD 6430, ‘08, Cab, Power Reverser, 2WD, 1050 hrs., #161657 ............$49,500 3 JD 6430, ‘08, Cab, Power Reverser, 2WD, 1050 hrs., #161657 ............$49,500 SKID STEER LOADERS 4 JD 320E, ‘17, Cab w/AC, EH Ctrls, JS, 2 Spd; 72” Bkt, 153 hrs., #144216 .$39,500 4 JD 324G, ‘18, Cab w/AC, Foot Ctrls, Air Ride Seat, 2 Spd, Self-Leveling, Aux Hydraulics, 78” Bkt, Reversing Fan, 276 hrs., #161893 .................$44,500 4 JD 320E, ‘17, Cab w/AC, EH Ctls, JS, 2 Spd, Self-Leveling, Aux Hyd., 76” Bkt, Reversing Fan, 36 hrs., #137812 ............................................$42,900 4 JD 324G, ‘18, Cab w/AC, Cab Enclosure, A/C, EH Ctls, Air Ride Seat, Ride Ctrl, 2 Spd, Self-Leveling, Aux Hyd., 78” Bkt, 259 hrs., #162065 ..$45,900 4 NH L225, ‘14, Cab w/AC, Foot Ctrls, Air Ride Seat, 2 Spd, Aux Hyd., 72” Bkt, 1085 hrs., #161493................................................................$30,900 4 Bobcat S650, ‘13, Cab w/AC, Foot Ctrls, 2 Spd, 750 hrs., #155406 ....$33,900 2 JD 326E, ‘15, Cab w/AC, Foot Ctrls, Air Ride Seat, 2 Spd, Self-Leveling, Aux Hyd., 84” Bkt, Reversing Fan, 780 hrs., #153617 ..........................$33,900 2 JD 320E, ‘16, Cab w/AC, EH Ctrls, Air Ride Seat, Joystick, Ride Control, 2 Spd, Aux Hyd., 84” Bucket, Reversing Fan, 290 hrs., #153678 ..........$40,900 10 JD 324G, ‘18, Cab w/AC, Cab Enclosure, A/C, EH Ctls, Air Ride Seat, Ride Ctrl, 2 Spd, Aux Hyd., 72” Bkt, 427 hrs., #162066 ........................$46,900 10 JD 325, ‘09, ROPS, Cab w/o AC, Cab Encl., Foot Ctrls, Hi-Flo, 2 Spd, 6795 hrs., #161494 ..................................................................$16,500 10 JD 328D, ‘10, Cab w/ AC, Foot Ctrls, Air Ride Seat, 2 Spd, Aux Hyd., 84” Bkt., 1226 hrs., #158311 ...............................................$28,900 10 JD 330G, ‘18, Cab w/AC, EH Ctrls, Air Ride Seat, JS, Ride Ctrl, 2 Spd, Self-Leveling, Aux Hyd., 84” Bkt, Reversing Fan, 560 hrs., #159949 ....$48,900 10 JD 316GR, ‘16, Cab w/AC, Foot Ctrls, 2 Spd, Self-Leveling, Aux Hyd., 66” Bkt., 202 hrs., #156291.................................................................$29,900 7 JD 324G, ‘18, Cab w/AC, 2 Spd, Aux Hyd., 78” Bkt, Reversing Fan, 81 hrs., #158283.................................................................................$45,900 6 JD 326D, ‘12, Cab w/AC, Foot Ctrls, 2 Spd, Aux Hyd., Reversing Fan, 2808 hrs., #157643.............................................................................$24,500 1 JD 320E, ‘16, Cab w/AC, EH Ctrls, EH Ctrls, JS, 2 Spd, Aux Hyd., 76” Bkt., 645 hrs., #151636.................................................................$38,900 12 JD 326E, ‘16, Cab w/AC, EH Ctrls, Air Ride Seat, 2 Spd, Self-Leveling, 84” Bkt, Reversing Fan, 432 hrs., #126370 ..........................................$45,900 15 JD 320E, ’17, Cab w/AC, EH Ctrls, JS, 2 Spd, Aux Hyd., 2954 hrs., #158327 .............................................................................................$27,900 15 JD 320E, ‘17, Cab w/AC, EH Ctrls, JS, 2 Spd, Aux Hyd., 2681 hrs., #159774 .............................................................................................$28,900 16 JD 320E, ‘17, Cab w/AC, EH Ctrls, JS; 2 Spd, Aux Hyd., 2811 hrs., #148971 .............................................................................................$23,900 13 Case 1845, ‘82, ROPS, Hand Ctrls, 72” Bkt, 835 hrs., #162368 ............. $9,400 13 NH LS170, ‘01, Foot Ctrls, 66” Bkt, 3444 hrs., #161834 ......................$14,900 13 JD 332E, ‘14, 1019 hrs., #155014 .......................................................$39,500
1140 Centre St.
320-763-4220 5005 Co. Rd. 82 SE
3708 Baptist Church Rd.
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725 Lake Ave. S.
5 JD 320E, ‘14, Cab w/AC, Foot Ctrls, 2 Spd, 72” Bkt, 906 hrs., #152334 $32,900 5 JD 332G, ‘16, Cab w/AC, Foot Ctrls, EH Ctrls, JS, Ride Ctrl, 2 Spd, Self-Leveling, Aux Hyd., Wts, 84” Bkt, 587 hrs., #153227 ....................$48,900 11 JD 320E, ‘16, Cab w/AC, Foot Ctrls, Air Ride Seat, 2 Spd, Self-Leveling, Aux Hyd. 76” Bkt, Reversing Fan, 765 hrs., #164631 .....$34,900 11 JD 332G, ‘18, Cab w/AC, EH Ctrls, Air Ride Seat, JS, Ride Ctrl, 2 Spd, Self-Leveling, Aux Hyd., Wts, 84” Bkt, 150 hrs., #144002 ....................$56,900 8 JD 326E, ‘16, Cab w/AC, EH Ctrls, Air Ride Seat, Ride Ctrl, 2 Spd, 72” Bkt, 835 hrs., #142477..................................................................$33,900 8 JD 320E, ‘15, Cab w/AC, Foot Ctrls, Air Ride Seat, 2 Spd, Aux Hyd., 72” Bkt, 2721 hrs., #164609................................................................$23,900 8 JD 320E, ‘18, Cab w/AC, EH Ctrls, JS; 2 Spd, Aux Hydraulics, ............................ 2916 hrs., #159775.............................................................................. $27900 14 Caterpillar 236D, ‘17, ROPS, Cab w/AC, Cab Encl., EH Ctrls, Air Ride Seat, 2 Spd, 72” Bket, 582 hrs., #161230 ...............................$33,400 14 JD 320E, ‘14, Cab w/AC, Ft. Ctrls, 2 Spd, Aux Hyd., 72” Bkt, 3626 hrs., #153675 ............................................................................$22,900 3 JD 330G, ‘17, Cab w/AC, EH Ctrls, JS, Ride Ctrl, 2 Spd, Self-Leveling, Aux Hyd., 84” Bkt. Reversing Fan, 1175 hrs., #152399 ........................$42,900 COMPACT TRACK LOADERS 4 JD 317G, ‘17, ROPS, EH Ctrls, JS, Aux Hyd., Narrow Rubber Tracks, 57 hrs., #155403 ................................................................................$37,900 4 JD 333E, ‘16, Cab Encl., A/C, EH Ctrls, 2 Spd, Wide Rubber Tracks, 1146 hrs., #155402.............................................................................. $50,900 7 JD 333E, ‘16, Cab Enclosure, A/C, 2 Spd., Wide Rubber Tracks, 84” Bkt, 1105 hrs., #165067.............................................................................$51,900 7 JD 333E, ‘15, Cab Enclosure , A/C, 2 Spd, Wide Rubber Tracks, 84” Bkt, 776 hrs., #157583..................................................................$54,900 7 JD 323E, ‘16, 417 hrs., #155457 .........................................................$46,900 6 Bobcat T590, ‘13, Cab Encl., A/C, 72” Bkt, 705 hrs., #157124 ............$35,900 6 JD 333G, ‘17, Cab Encl., A/C, 2 Spd, Rubber Tracks, 745 hrs., #153697$63,500 1 JD 323E, ‘15, Cab Encl., A/C, 2 Spd, Narrow Rubber Tracks, 845 hrs., #156034 .............................................................................................$40,900 12 JD 333E, ‘14, Cab Enclosure, A/C, 2 Spd, 84” Bkt, 1220 hrs., #159838 $49,595 12 JD CT332, ‘08, 650 hrs., #156976.......................................................$31,900 15 JD 333G, ‘18, Cab Enclosure, A/C, JS, 2 Spd, 688 hrs., #160845..........$70,400 9 JD 323E, ‘17, Cab Enclosure, A/C, Foot Ctrls, 2 Spd, 990 hrs., #162375$41,900 13 JD 317G, ‘18, Cab Enclosure, A/C, JS, 72” Bkt, 50 hrs., #162594 .........$48,900 13 JD 333E, ‘14, Cab Encl., A/C, Hand Ctrls, JS, 2 Spd, Wide Rubber Tracks, 84” Bucket, 1830 hrs, #165057 ...........................................................$46,000 13 JD 333G, ‘18, Cab Encl., A/C, 2 Spd, 715 hrs., #162031.......................$70,400 13 JD 333G, ‘18, Cab Encl., A/C, JS, Aux Hyd., 2 Spd, 328 hrs., #163424 .$74,900 13 JD 333G, ‘17, Cab Encl., A/C, 2 Spd, 661 hrs., #153696.......................$64,900 5 JD 323E, ‘13, 2500 hrs., #156930 .......................................................$29,900 11 JD 333G, ‘18, A/C, 2 Spd, 424 hrs., #153524 ......................................$66,900 11 JD 323E, ‘16, Cab Encl. A/C, Foot Ctrls, 2 Spd, 76” Bkt, 785 hrs., #162339 .............................................................................................$40,900 8 JD 323E, ‘18, Cab Encl., A/C, JS, 2 Spd, 571 hrs., #150764 ..................$48,500
CALL TODAY! (320)365-1653 (12) = AITKIN 1120 2nd St. NW
(10) = LITTLE FALLS (13) = BAXTER (11) = WADENA 62505 US Hwy. 10
7045 Foley Rd.
(14) = ELBOW LAKE
(16) = BENSON
(15) = MORRIS
(17) = MADISON
110 2nd St. NE
23604 State Hwy. 9
380 Atlantic Ave. 516 1st St. E
SEE OUR COMPLETE INVENTORY WITH PICTURES AND DESCRIPTIONS AT: www.mmcjd.com
Page 22 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 21, 2019
Don’t let your cows fall! Get your concrete scabbled and prevent an accident!
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Applications for second round of payments due Dec. 31 The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) is reopening enrollment in its Dairy Assistance, Investment, and Relief Initiative (DAIRI) program for eligible milk producers through the end of the year. Producers who have locked in ve years of coverage through the USDA Farm Service Agency’s Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program and who have not already successfully enrolled in the DAIRI program can apply. The MDA has already issued $3.4 million to about 1,800 producers representing more than 1,550 farms in Minnesota through the program in its rst round of payments. Producers not yet successfully enrolled will not receive the rst round of payment, but may receive a check for the second round, which will be determined after all new enrollments have been received. In order to qualify, farmers must have produced less than 160,000 cwt (hundredweight) of milk in 2018. They will be paid based on production levels, up to 50,000 cwt of milk produced in 2018. An application form, an IRS Form W-9, a copy of their DMC enrollment form, and a statement from their processor(s) detailing the amount of milk produced in 2018 are required to complete an application. All materials must be postmarked by December 31, 2019. Producers who are already successfully enrolled and have received their rst check do not need to take any action. They will automatically receive a second payment. However, producers who submitted incomplete applications and have not received a check must return any requested information by December 31, 2019 to be eligible for the second payment. For additional information and the application form, visit the DAIRI program page of the MDA website.
Grant money available to Minnesota Livestock owners for prevention of wolf attacks
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Dairy Assistance program enrollment reopened
Mondovi Dairy Systems Inc. Mondovi, WI 715-926-5777 West Salem, WI 608-769-2113 The Scharine Group Inc. Whitewater, WI 800 472-2880 Mt Horeb, WI 800-872-3470 MINNESOTA & SOUTH DAKOTA D&D Ag Supply Pennock, MN 320-599-4466
East Central Dairy Supply Mora, MN 320-679-1029 Farm Systems Melrose, MN 320-256-3276 Watertown, MN 605-886-7401 Sioux Falls, SD 800-284-0015 S&S Dairy System LLC St. Charles, MN 507-932-4288 Professional Dairy Systems Wadena, MN 218-632-5416
*0% interest for 30 months, DeLaval equipment only, on approved credit. 1.90% interest for 46 months, zero down. DeLaval equipment only, on approved credit and minimum deal amount of $30,000 is required to qualify for these rates. Subject to special conditions’ and cannot be combined with other promotional offers. 1Estimate monthly charges in connection with the financing of one VMS to a qualified buyer on approved credit on a 7 year term. Includes a residual to be paid in order to obtain full ownership at the end of the term. Offer good until December 31, 2019. Financial Pacific Leasing, Inc., doing business as Umpqua Bank Vendor Finance, is a subsidiary of Umpqua Bank. Products offered by Financial Pacific Leasing, Inc., are not FDIC insured. is a registered trademark of Tetra Laval Holdings & Finance S.A. and “DeLaval” is a registered trade/servicemark of DeLaval Holding AB © 2019 DeLaval Inc. DeLaval, 11100 North Congress Avenue, Kansas City, Missouri 64153-1296. www.delaval.com
New money is available to Minnesota livestock producers to help prevent wolf attacks. A total of $60,000 will be awarded through the Wolf-Livestock Conict Prevention Grants. Applications are due Jan. 31, 2020, to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA). The grants provide reimbursement for costs of approved practices to prevent wolf-livestock conicts. Eligible expenses for the grant program will include any or all of the following items: – Purchase of guard animals – Veterinary costs for guard animals – Installation of wolf-barriers which may include pens, adry, and fencing – Installation of wolf-deterring lights and alarms – Calving or lambing shelters – Other measures demonstrated to effectively reduce wolf-livestock conicts Producers must live within Minnesota’s wolf range, as designated by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, or on property determined by the Commissioner of Agriculture to be affected by wolflivestock conicts. Any animal species produced for prot and documented to have been killed by wolves in Minnesota in the past is eligible. This includes bison, cattle, chicken, deer, donkey, duck, geese, goat, horse, llama, mule, sheep, swine, and turkey. The grant application must be emailed or postmarked by 5 p.m. on Jan. 31, 2020. Work for this grant must be done and expenses reported by Aug. 31, 2020. The application and more information can be found at www.mda.state.mn.us/wolfgrants. The grant from the US Fish and Wildlife Service is funding the third round of Wolf-Livestock Conict Prevention Grants. The rst two rounds were funded by the Minnesota Legislature in 2017. Those grants awarded $240,000 between July 1, 2017 and June 30, 2019. Grantees used the money for items like fencing, guard animals, and motion lights – all deterrents to wolves.
Dairy Star • Saturday, December 21, 2019 • Page 23
Family makes the farm
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111 50th Ave. West • Alexandria, MN 56308
(320) 763-4994
www.alexpowerequipment.com DAIRY STAR FILE PHOTO
Mark Klehr milks 60 cows with his family near Belle Plaine, Minnesota. The Klehr family received the 2019 ScoƩ County Farm Family of the Year award.
KubotaUSA.com For complete warranty, safety and product information, consult your local Kubota dealer and the product operator’s manual. Power (HP/KW) and other specifications are based on various standards or recommended practices. *$0 Down, 0% A.P.R. financing for up to 60 months on purchases of select new Kubota SVL equipment from participating dealers’ in-stock inventory is available to qualified purchasers through Kubota Credit Corporation, U.S.A.; subject to credit approval. Some exceptions apply. Example: 60 monthly payments of $16.67 per $1,000 financed. Offer expires 12/31/19. For complete warranty, safety and product information see dealer or KubotaUSA.com. †
Klehrs given Scott County award By Krista Kuzma
krista.k@dairystar.com
BELLE PLAINE, Minn. – Although Mark Klehr knows his family made sacrices in order to dairy farm, he also nds the value in those sacrices. “We didn’t get to go a lot of places (for vacation), so we were home a lot,” Mark said. “But, that means I got to spend a lot of time with my kids.” The Klehr family – Mark and his adult children, Nick, Cameron, Marcus and Emily, – received the 2019 Scott County Farm Family of the Year Award. They milk 60 cows on their dairy near Belle Plaine. “I’m honored,” Mark said about receiving the award. Sacrices for the Klehrs are needed because their dairy is run without any outside-the-family help. Marcus farms full time with his dad while Nick handles the farm’s paperwork, phone calls, errands and computer work among other tasks. Cameron pitches in on the weekends when he has time away from his own septic pumping business, which Nick also helps with. Emily lives in the Twin Cities and helps when visiting along with giving moral support from afar. Mark returned home to farm full time with his dad in 1986 after working construction one year.
“It was a great opportunity for me,” Mark said. “Me and Dad worked together real good.” While Mark was the cow man, his dad preferred the crops. “He’d rather stay in the eld than come home and do chores, and I’d rather stay home and do chores than be sitting in the tractor,” Mark said. At the age of 16, Marcus stepped in for his grandpa, Dick, when Dick’s health started failing. “My grandpa was my role model,” Marcus said. “He always made me feel farming was the right thing to do. I always loved the cattle, and you get to be by yourself outside. I love being outside.” Two years later, in 2015, Dick passed away, and Marcus joined the farm full time after graduating from high school. “If he (Marcus) wasn’t here, I wouldn’t be milking,” Mark said about what it means to have his son farming with him. Marcus learned how to farm from the two generations before him. “I can do almost anything my dad does just by following in his footsteps and learning things from him and on my own,” he said. “I hope he realizes his work is important. I really look up to him.” The two older Klehr family memTurn to KLEHRS | Page 25
y r r e M s a m t s i r h C Thank you.
You have been an important part of the blessings that we’ve enjoyed this past year. We would like to take this opportunity to thank you and wish you and your family a most happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year. From all the staff and dealers of Byron Seeds LLC
DAIRY STAR FILE PHOTO
A swing-5 parlor is used to milk the 60-cow herd on the Klehr family’s dairy near Belle Plaine, Minnesota.
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Page 24 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 21, 2019
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Dairy Star • Saturday, December 21, 2019 • Page 25
ConƟnued from KLEHRS | Page 23 bers also showed the youngest ones how much time is needed to make the farm work. “I try to dedicate as much time like Dad does so we can keep the place nice,” Marcus said. “When I started this job, I knew it was a dedication. You can’t be one foot out of farming and one foot in. You have to stand on two feet knowing you have a job to do every single day. You just have to know it’s seven days a week – every single day.” The everyday grind of the job is one of its biggest challenges, Mark said. “I don’t mind it, but I think that’s what a lot of people don’t want to get into anymore – the morning and the night seven days a week,” Mark said. “I think that’s part of why you’re seeing the big dairies.” However, in between the chores each day, Mark has been able to enjoy nature and his family. “One thing about the farm is that the kids have freedom,” he said. “The kids would take their dirt bikes down the eld road, or Nick likes to take his wheelchair down the road.” Cameron also likes this aspect of the farm. “I liked being home all the time,” he said. “You know where everyone’s at, and I just like the freedom out here.” Nick agreed. “It’s nice because it (working together with family) keeps the relationship with them,” he said. “We all did chores together, and we still do it together even though we have different things going on.” Chores include milking the cows in a swing-5 parlor Mark retrotted into one end of the tiestall barn in 1999. The other end of the tiestall barn became a freestall barn with an addition in order to house all the cows. Mark considers it one of the best improvements he has made on the dairy.
DAIRY STAR FILE PHOTO
The Klehrs – (front) Nick; (back, from leŌ) Mark, Cameron and Marcus – are all part of the 60-cow dairy near Belle Plaine, Minnesota. While Marcus farms full-Ɵme with his dad, Nick does a lot of the computer and paper work. Cameron helps on the weekend when not working his full-Ɵme job. “I loved the tiestall barn, the way the cows are, but it’s a lot more labor intense,” Mark said. “The biggest thing I got out of the freestall barn was no drinking cups running over and not cleaning the mangers out.” One of the biggest accomplishments on the dairy has been the herd’s
low somatic cell count. While this year’s average is around 70,000, Mark said the SCC has been lower. Although the last few years in the industry have been tough, Mark said his passion for the cows help him get through. “If you really, really like milking
cows, the last four years helped you make up your mind how much you liked it or not,” Mark said. “If you didn’t care for milking, it was time for you to get out because the prots weren’t there.” While Mark really likes the cows, family is still the best part about his farm.
Page 26 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 21, 2019
CRP sign up now open until Feb. 28
United States Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced that the Farm Service Agency opened signup for the Conservation Reserve Program. The deadline to sign up for general CRP is Feb. 28, 2020, while signup for continuous CRP is ongoing. As a reminder to interested landowners, an appointment is required for FSA personnel to assist an interested participant. FSA News & Notes Farmers and ranchers who enroll in CRP receive a yearly rental payment for voluntarily establishing long-term, resourceconserving plant species, such as approved grasses or trees to control soil erosion, improve water quality and develop wildlife habitat on marginally proBy Ryan Brunn ductive agricultural lands. The CRP is one of our na- Stearns Co. Exec. Dir. tion’s largest conservation endeavors and a critical tool to help producers better manage their operations while conserving natural resources. Within the CRP, interested landowners have several choices in evaluating which option may best t for their individual situation. General sign up. CRP general sign up will be held annually. The competitive general sign up will now include increased opportunities for enrollment of wildlife habitat through the State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement initiative. Continuous sign up. While some practices under SAFE will remain available through continuous signup, CRP continuous sign up will focus primarily on water quality within the Clean Lakes, Estuaries and Rivers (CLEAR) Initiative. The 2018 farm bill prioritizes water quality practices such as contour grass strips, lter strips, riparian buffers, wetlands and a new prairie strip. The United States Department of Agriculture will also be working with Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program partners to relaunch CREP continuous options in each state under new statutory provisions. CREP will continue to target high-priority local, state or regional conservation concerns. Grasslands sign up. CRP grasslands sign up helps landowners and operators protect grassland, including rangeland, and pastureland and certain other lands while maintaining the areas as grazing lands. A separate CRP grasslands sign up will be offered each year following general sign up. The period for CRP grasslands sign up in 2020 runs from March 16 to May 15. Land transition. The CRP Transition Incentives Program is an option for producers interested in transitioning land to a beginning farmer or rancher or a member of a socially disadvantaged group to return land to production for sustainable grazing or crop production. CRP contract holders no longer need to be a retired or retiring owner or operator to transition their land. TIP participants may have a lease less than ve years with an option to purchase, and they have two years before the end of the CRP contract to make conservation and land improvements. Previously expired land. Land enrolled in CRP under a 15-year contract that expired in September 2017, 2018 or 2019, may be eligible for enrollment if there was no opportunity for re-enrollment and the practice under the expired contract has been maintained. FSA recently posted updated soil rental rates for CRP. Soil rental rates are statutorily prorated at 90% for continuous signup and 85% for general signup. The rental rates will be reviewed annually. Under continuous signup, producers also receive incentives, including a signup incentive payment and a practice incentive payment. To enroll in CRP, contact a FSA county ofce or visit http://www.fsa.usda.gov/crp. Farm Service Agency is an Equal Opportunity Lender. Complaints about discrimination should be sent to: Secretary of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. 20250. Visit the Farm Service Agency Web site at: www.fsa.usda.gov/ for necessary application forms and updates on USDA programs.
Checkoff’s plan to carry success into the new year Dairy Star • Saturday, December 21, 2019 • Page 27
2019 was a year of focus for Midwest Dairy with the goal of providing maximum value for dairy farmers’ checkoff investment. We focused on providing dairy category expertise to retailers to boost sales; working with schools to increase dairy opportunities for students; equipping thought leaders with the tools and resources they need to be dairy ambassadors; training young industry advocates to be future leaders; and supporting the national Undeniably Dairy campaign to inspire consumer By Molly Pelzer, condence in dairy foods and Midwest Dairy farming. CEO Here is a snapshot of the many successes we achieved through this focused effort: - In Nebraska, we helped a grocery store chain improve their shoppers’ experience and make dairy more accessible by implementing secondary coolers that resulted in a 28% increase in units sold after one month. - We provided Dairy Aisle Reinvention to help one prominent Oklahoma retailer increase dairy sales by 6.3%. - In schools, we drove dairy demand by providing seven dairy optimization grants in 46 schools across our region. Many of the projects focused on innovative breakfast and yogurt smoothie programs. In the Wichita Public School District alone, we in-
- By hosting dairy farm tours across our region, we established strong on-farm connections with a variety of thought leaders. During just one event attended by 25 food and nutrition inuencers, we generated more than 133,000 media impressions online, extending Midwest Dairy’s reach to the followers of these inuential bloggers. - To strengthen the future of leadership in the dairy industry, we also trained a total of 179 young dairy farmers, dairy princesses and dairy ambassadors through ENGAGE sessions where attendees gained valuable skills on how to connect with consumers through shared values and further instill in them a belief in dairy farmers and the foods they produce. Throughout these activities, we showcased the Undeniably Dairy brand, reinforcing dairy as a local food that delivers enjoyment and is responsibly pro-
duced by farmers who care for their animals, land and communities. As the new year approaches, Midwest Dairy will continue to build on this progress. Not only will we remain focused on connecting with our partners, – retailers, schools, thought leaders and dairy advocates – but we will also commit to making continued renements to programming. Through a renewed focus on measuring the impact of our efforts on both the national and regional levels, we will prioritize our work to maximize the return on your checkoff investment. It is an honor to guide Midwest Dairy’s strategic plan on behalf of the 6,500 dairy farm families across the Midwest. I look forward to sharing more outcomes and possibilities for further growth in demand, sales and trust in 2020.
2019 was a year off ffocus ffor Midwest Dairy with the goal of providing maximum value for dairy farmers’ checkoff investment. creased incremental pounds of milk sold by more than 24,000. - We built connections with thought leaders through a mailing which provided research on the nutritional benets of dairy foods for children to 6,400 pediatricians. As a result of the outreach, more than 100 pediatricians requested additional resources.
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Page 28 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 21, 2019 Joe Armstrong armst225@umn.edu 612.624.3610 Luciano Caixeta lcaixeta@umn.edu 612-625-3130 Hugh Chester-Jones chest001@umn.edu 507-835-3622 Gerard Cramer gcramer@umn.edu 612-625-8184 Marcia Endres miendres@umn.edu 612-624-5391 Sandra Godden godde002@umn.edu 612-625-8177 Joleen Hadrich jhadrich@umn.edu 612-626-5620 Les Hansen hanse009@umn.edu 612-624-2277 Brad Heins hein0106@umn.edu 320-589-1711 Nathan Hulinsky huli0013@umn.edu 320-203-6104 Kevin Janni kjanni@umn.edu 612-625-3108 Karen Johnson ande9495@umn.edu 320-484-4334 Claire LaCanne lacanne@umn.edu 507-332-6109 Brenda Miller nels4220@umn.edu 320-732-4435 Kota Minegishi kota@umn.edu 612-624-7455 Erin Royster royster@umn.edu Jim Salfer salfe001@umn.edu 320-203-6093 Mike Schutz mschutz@umn.edu 612-624-1205 M. Scott Wells mswells@umn.edu 612-625-3747 Emily Wilmes krek0033@umn.edu 320-255-6169
www.extension.umn.edu/dairy
Public perceptions of calf care, housing Who buys dairy products? You and I, but also the great majority of people in the United States who do not have a connection with agriculture. That great majority has in recent years expressed more interest in knowing how animals are raised and cared for on farms. However, very limited research has been done on public perceptions of animal care in the United States. One particular area that is lacking is the dairy calf. No research has been published on dairy calf care public views and preferences for housing these young animals. We wanted to survey a primarily urban/ suburban group of people in the Midwest who would be more likely to be less connected to agriculture. What better place to By Marcia Endres nd thousands of them than the Minnesota University of MN State Fair? The University of Minnesota provides a space for conducting research during that time – the Driven to Discover Building. We submitted a proposal for a survey on public views of calf care and housing which become my graduate student Rielle Perttu’s thesis. The proposal was accepted by the committee. During ve shifts, each about 7 hours long, we were able to recruit about 1,800 people to take our survey on iPads. The survey had to be short – people cannot miss all the fair attractions after all – so we had to focus more on a key topic within calf care. We chose to ask about calf housing preference/ acceptance – individual, pair or group housing – along with an open-ended question on what a dairy calf needs to have a good life. Of course, the survey also included various demographic questions. We had two versions of the survey: one for youth 5 to 17 years old and one for adults. We used a mixed method survey; it included both quantitative and qualitative questions. The qualitative questions are the most difcult to summarize and analyze. The rst stage of this process consisted of thoroughly reading, re-reading and coding all text from the responses for emerging patterns. Rielle coded all responses independently and then discussed the preliminary codes with myself and collaborator Beth Ventura. Once we all agreed on preliminary codes throughout the data, a nalized codebook was created using recurring patterns to identify perceptions, concerns and values with respect to dairy calf care and reasoning behind housing preference (youth survey) or acceptance (adult survey). - Youth survey. About 25% of our participants were 5 to 17 years old (about 470 participants, equally distributed at age cat-
egories of 5 to 11 and 12 to 17); 82% were urban/suburban and 76% did not have a loved one in the dairy industry, but 95% of them consumed dairy products. Youth overwhelmingly preferred the group housing option (80% of participants chose this option as their preferred one) compared to pair (14%) and individual housing (6%). Their main reasons for choosing group housing were socialization and space allowance. In response to what dairy calves need to have a good life, participants most commonly mentioned themes related to biological functioning followed by natural living and humane care. Almost all participants rated the right amount of food, water, shelter and doctor care along with being treated calmly and respectfully as important or very important to calf welfare. Over two-thirds of participants rated the ability to play with other calves as important or very important to calf welfare. – Adult survey. About 75% of our participants were adults 18 years old or greater (1,310 participants); 81.5% were urban/ suburban and 79% did not have a loved one in the dairy industry, but 94% of them consumed dairy products. For the adults, we used an acceptability scale rather than preference for the housing options. The majority of adults had greatest acceptance of the group housing option (76% of participants) followed by pair (66%) and individual (31%) housing. Most participants found group housing acceptable because of the amount of socialization the calves receive. Some participants said “health will be better with better socialization” and “calves are able to become accustomed to being in a herd.” Next, participants accepted group housing due to space allowance. Some participants felt the group housing option allowed “enough space to live” and “space to develop properly.” For pair and individual housing, many indicated this option was acceptable only temporarily. There was a small percent of participants (7.5%) who did not accept any of the housing options we presented, indicating that even group housing was unnatural (53% of the 7.5%). Participants mentioned that “they should be allowed outdoors” because “they need to eat grass,” and “they need mothers.” Overall, dairy calves housed in groups was the most accepted housing option. A majority of the public found group housing acceptable due to perceived advantages of socialization and space allowance for the calf, suggesting the public desires a more natural lifestyle for farm animals. Currently, individual calf housing is the most used housing system for calves in the United States. Should we be considering other options?
Got water? Do not overlook crucial nutrient this winter
Winter has arrived. With it comes snow, ice, wind and cold. These elements present a unique challenge to dairy farmers. Keeping cows healthy and comfortable is key to keeping productivity up and problems low. Likely, the biggest change made in the winter for cows is to their diet. High emphasis is put on By Emily Wilmes energy in the ration in order to avoid University of MN cold stress while maintaining milk production. Cows are likely consuming more total feed in a day as well. An overlooked aspect of this tweaked feeding plan is the importance of water. High energy feeds will require more water consumption. Water is a crucial nutrient – the most crucial nutrient – year round. Cows should naturally seek out water, but there may be factors that cause them to avoid it. The most common factor making water unsatisfactory for livestock is high salinity. High salinity is an excessive concentration of dissolved salts. Other factors that can affect water quality are nitrates, sulfates, alkalinity and toxic elements. The best way to nd out the quality of your water is to have it tested. A quality analysis can test for total coliform bacteria, pH, total dissolved solids, salinity, hardness, nitrates, sulfates and toxins. Knowing what is in your water is important because certain factors can affect cow performance, cause health problems and even lead to death. Besides testing, there are a few ways you can make sure your cows have high quality water. Whether you use large water tanks in a freestall barn or individual drinking cups in a tiestall barn, those water sources should be cleaned regularly. Mold, sediment, feed and even manure can build up in water tanks and drinking cups. Regular cleaning will ensure quality water and could prevent excessive wear and tear on the equipment. If you have any cows that are kept outside or on a lot that is more exposed to the elements, consider if the water may be freezing. Heated waterers are an investment, but they ensure water is accessible. Cows should have access to clean, fresh water at all times. Even the best quality water will not do your cows any good if they do not have adequate access. Even in the winter, cows can consume 20-30 gallons of water per day. A cow should not need
to travel more than 50 feet within a pen to get to water. There should be at least two waterers in each pen, located at different areas to prevent crowding and give better access to every cow. A rule of thumb is there should be 3 inches of linear waterer space for every cow in a pen. If you notice constant crowding around all waterers, you may want to consider adding more to guarantee there is enough access to water for every cow. Key waterer dimensions include a maximum rim height of 34 inches and a water depth of 6 to 8 inches. Research indicates that the amount of water needed by nursery calves depends not only on environmental conditions, but on other factors like the incidence of scours and the amount of milk or milk replacer and starter intake. Water temperature can also affect water intake. First and foremost, make sure your calves always have water; if you notice their bucket is empty, ll it. This is more challenging in winter. Check calves several times a day to ensure they have water. In addition, keep the water fresh. The calf may still have half her bucket left, but if it has feed in it or is dirty she may not drink. Aim to give calves fresh water at least twice a day. Water for calves should be as warm as possible – remember their regular body temperature is 101.5 degrees F – to prevent calves from using too much energy to warm the water once it is consumed. Lastly, regularly clean buckets. Make sure they all get a thorough cleaning between calves. Residues and germs from other calves can wreak havoc on an already immune-suppressed calf. Water is the world’s most critical nutrient. A lot of management decisions about water surround the summer months, but do not forget about water in the winter. The changes to a cow’s diet in the winter makes the need for water critical to maintaining a healthy metabolism. Water quality should be considered, and a test should be done if there are concerns about salinity, nitrates and other issues. In addition, regular cleaning of waterers will sustain water quality and palatability. Access to water should be considered, including position of waterers and linear inches of waterer space per cow. Lastly, the importance of water for calves should not be overlooked in the winter months; extra hauling of water may be necessary to ensure water stays warm enough for calves to drink. Overall, the importance of water for both cows and calves should not be overlooked, especially in the winter.
Dairy Star • Saturday, December 21, 2019 • Page 29
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A make-do Christmas tree Page 30 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 21, 2019
Christmas day is rapidly approaching. It will she would have at least commented on the fact that soon be the day before Christmas Eve, and then it my thoughtful present had an automatic chain oiler will be Christmas Eve itself, the day when I tradi- and an easy pull recoil starter. All I will say about tionally commence the process of beginning to think her reaction to my nifty gift is that it is a good thing about starting my Christmas shopping. it was not gassed up or things might have gotten a This is not because I am bit b dicey at our house, if you a procrastinator. It is mainly know I mean. One off the h more iinspired i d gifts if kIt is thewhat because I do not particularly O thought that counts, like shopping, much in the I once purchased for my wife or so goes the old proverb. same way that many guys I learned the truth of this at might say they do not partic- was a sparkling new chainsaw. a young age at the base of a ularly like ingrown toenails. make-do m Christmas tree. Besides, there is nothing Back B when I was a tyke, like having a deadline breathing down your neck Christmas trees were free if you were a patron of to give a guy inspiration. One of the more inspired Haas and Wolfe Lumber Company. I recall the exgifts I once purchased for my wife was a sparkling citement of accompanying Dad to the lumberyard new chainsaw. to select the perfect tree from among the dozens of It was a superb chainsaw, a top-of-the-line mod- prospects that were lined up along the wall of their el. But, did she appreciate it? No. You would think shed. The aroma of new lumber made my seven sib-
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lings and me giddy. The idea that we might soon be receiving loads of loot from Santa may have contributed to our animated mood. Getting a Christmas tree meant that the Christmas season was fully upon us and that we had Dear County Agent Guy best be on our best behavior. Earnest letters were written to Santa, arguing we had been especially good, and we really, really deserved a new BB gun or Chasing the Holsteins Back Into Their Pen Barbie doll. Never mind that our family was quite large and our nancial conBy Jerry Nelson dition quite precarious. We were appealing to a Columnist higher power, that is, St. Nick himself. When I was 10 years old, disaster struck. Haas and Wolfe Lumber Company suspended their policy of giving away Christmas trees. Dad decreed that the cost of a tree was more than we could afford. We would simply have to go without. “But, where will Santa put his presents?” came the cry from eight urchins. Dad said perhaps we could make do with a bough cut from one of our evergreens. There was a quartet of spruce trees located a few yards from our farmhouse. The trees had been planted by Dad’s great-uncles, the pair of brothers who had homesteaded our farm. Perhaps the trees were Norway spruces. Maybe Dad’s great-uncles had carried spruce seeds in the pockets of their tattered jackets during their storm-tossed steamship voyage from Norway to America. Faced with the choice of having a make-do Christmas tree or no tree at all, we chose the former. I recruited a couple of my siblings, and we trudged across our farmstead, braving the chest-deep snow and the subzero cold until we reached the spruce trees. We selected a likely low-hanging branch, whacked it off with our hacksaw and dragged it to the house. We set up the bough in our traditional Christmas tree spot by the north wall of the living room. We decorated the branch the best we could, using the strategy of hanging as much glittery stuff on it as humanly possible. Following a longstanding family tradition, we hauled out the string of electric Christmas lights we had used since the Middle Ages. Untangling the lights was a process that was similar to wrestling with an angry octopus. It nearly caused me to break my promise to Santa regarding the use of bad words. When we were done, we stood back and appraised our work. If you squinted your eyes and used your imagination, you could almost believe that it was a three-dimensional tree and not just a at bough. Our make-do tree did the trick. Santa indeed came and left each of us kids some presents, although not nearly as many as we had requested. “See?” Dad said on Christmas morning, “Santa thought it was a good enough tree. And that’s all that counts.” And of course, Dad was right. Jerry is a recovering dairy farmer from Volga, S.D. He and his wife, Julie, have two grown sons and live on the farm where Jerry’s great-grandfather homesteaded over 110 years ago. Jerry currently works full time for the Dairy Star as a staff writer/ ad salesman. Feel free to E-mail him at: jerry.n@ dairystar.com.
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Subclinical ketosis is a sneaky thief A cow’s dry matter intake is low post-calving. The increased energy demand of lactation outpaces the energy she is consuming, consequently pushing her into a negative energy balance. To meet these energy demands, cows will mobilize fat tissue. This is a normal and natural process that nearly all cows go through in early lactation. The problem arises when a cow is forced to mobilize too much body fat to meet energy demands, resulting in more fat entering the liver than can be effectively completely meSomething to Ruminate On and tabolized. This leads to the formation of ketone bodies which circulate in the bloodstream. Subclinical ketosis is deďƒžned as increased levels of circulating ketone bodies without the presence of clinical signs of ketosis. Most dairy producers would agree that the cost of subclinical disorders can often be By Barry Visser greater than clinical casNutritionist es. Unlike clinical ketosis, subclinical ketosis cannot be diagnosed by outward signs. These cows can easily go undetected and untreated unless blood, milk or urine tests are conducted. Subclinical ketosis has been associated with decreased milk production, reduced reproductive performance, displaced abomasum, metritis, mastitis and clinical ketosis. The economic ramiďƒžcations of subclinical ketosis can be enormous. Canadian research in 2002 estimated each case of subclinical ketosis costs a farm about $78. Research suggests that 30-50% of herds have subclinical ketosis in more than 15% of their fresh cows. The highest prevalence of subclinical ketosis is in the ďƒžrst two months post-calving with the greatest risk in the ďƒžrst two weeks. Cornell research showed the greatest incidence of subclinical ketosis at ďƒžve days in milk. Most herds screening for subclinical ketosis will focus on cows four to 12 DIM. Traditional measurements for subclinical ketosis are based on a simple chemical reaction that takes place when using milk ketone powder and urine ketone paper strips. While these are common cow-side tests, samples may be difďƒžcult to obtain. In addition, lack of sensitivity makes them less-than-desirable tests. Blood sampling is considered the gold standard for subclinical ketosis measurements. One of the ketone bodies that is most easily measured is beta-hydroxybutyric acid (BHBA). Sending blood samples to the lab for BHBA analysis is costly and time-consuming with results generally too late to take individual cow action. Fortunately, we now have cow-side meters capable of measuring blood BHBA within 10 seconds. Meters originate from the human health industry and can measure glucose and BHBA. For fresh cows, it is recommended to purchase the BHBA ketosis strips. Two common meters on the market are Nova MaxÂŽ and Nova Vet™. Results with these meters will be expressed in units of millimole per liter. Cows with blood BHBA concentrations from between 1.2 to 3 mmol/L are in the zone for subclinical ketosis. Readings over 3 mmol/L are generally considered clinical ketosis. It is important to point out that higher-producing cows typically have higher levels of blood ketones than lower-producing dairy cows. This only makes sense. Higher-producing cows mobilize more body fat and are at a higher risk of developing subclinical ketosis. Slightly elevated BHBA values are not always an indicator for subclinical ketosis and fresh cow health problems. If cows are milking very well but testing above the alarm level, observation may be all that is necessary. Assessing appetite, attitude, production and health records can be valuable in determining the course of action. Cow-side BHBA meters can be a valuable tool to identify subclinical ketosis incidence and prevalence within your herd. Meters can be used on an individual cow basis or as part of a herd monitoring system. Work with your veterinarian and herd health team to develop treatment protocols using blood BHBA results. Barry Visser is a nutritionist for Vita Plus.
Dairy Star • Saturday, December 21, 2019 • Page 31
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A single moment Page 32 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 21, 2019
Windows will rattle and walls will shake as many slam the door on 2019. It has been a challenging year with low milk prices, trade wars and excessive weather of every kind. For some, it will become their benchmark year by which all other years will be judged. If you can make it through this year, then you can make it through anything. It can be easy to get hung up on how tough of a year it has been, but we need to jump down off that hook. As I was writing our Christmas letter, I recalled all the things we did despite the tough circumstances which were out of our control. All my memories of 2019 centered on celebrations of love and life. We welcomed a new granddaughter and a new daughterin-law to the family. We celebrated graduations and promotions of our children. We even snuck in a trip to Florida in early May. The bad weather allowed us to enjoy our time warming up guilt free since we
could not be in the elds back home anyway. We said goodbye to several older family members, including Mark’s dad, Ralph, who was 93, by celebrating a long life well lived. We also celebrated milestone birthdays as we inch closer to retirement age. Of these past 365 days, one day sticks out for absolutely no particular reason except for its pure simplicity and wonder. The wacky weather this fall created a mixed-up harvest schedule. We were constantly adjusting on the y. Grain corn was chopped, and silage corn was combined. Nothing was in its proper order or time. We were trying to squeeze in as much work as we could between rains and soggy eld conditions. Then one day, everything aligned. I wish I could have been an eagle oating above the elds that fall day looking down on all of the activity. I bet we looked like an ant colony lling up for winter as we followed corn row trails across the elds
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and back to the farm yard. Or, we looked like an older tractor company commercial. How fortunate we were to have enough drivers and tractors to get several jobs done all at once. It was like a ash mob dance scene with everyone meandering to their spot in the elds. Jason, the custom round baler, lined his new baler and tractor over a row of corn stalks Al had raked Just Thinking Out Loud together. I was leading this charge with the stalk chopper. Austin was across the drainage ditch picking up bales to stack in the yard. Once an area was cleared, Mark started chisel plowing the remaining stalks. We have never covered so much ground in such a short time. Because I couldn’t By Natalie Schmitt do anything else except Columnist drive slowly in loops, I started to notice the little nuances of our situation and enjoyed the wonder. It seems like we are always rushing to get from one job to the next that we miss these simple moments of awe and wonder. Add the commotion of the holiday season to daily farming duties and I have to remind myself to stop and savor the simple moments surrounding me. As I was driving home from church I heard a poem which is a rewrite of 1 Corinthians 13 by Sharon Jaynes. It caught my attention, and I added a few farming style revisions to her words. If I plant my corn rows by the road with perfect precision, the farm yard mowed and landscaped to a tee, the equipment always cleaned and the cattle always clipped but do not show love to my family, I’m just another farmer. If I slave away in the kitchen, baking dozens of Christmas cookies, preparing gourmet meals and arrange a beautifully adorned table at mealtime but do not show love to my family, I’m just another cook. If I serve on the school board and creamery board, sing in the church choir and give all that I have to charity but do not show love to my family, it prots me nothing. If I trim the spruce with shimmering angels and crocheted snowakes, attend a myriad of holiday parties and sing in the choir’s cantata but do not focus on Christ, I have missed the point. Love sets aside the farming to kiss the spouse. Love stops the cooking to hug the child. Love is kind though rushed and tired. Love doesn’t envy another home with coordinated Christmas china and table linens or another farmer’s achievements. Love doesn’t yell at the kids to get out of the way but is thankful they are there to be in the way. Love doesn’t give only to those who are able to give in return but rejoices in giving to those who can’t. Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes and always endures. Love never fails. Tractors will break, cattle will go down, crops will fail but giving the gift of love will endure. Is your family being neglected because of a hectic Christmas schedule or unending farm chores? We have all been given different gifts, and love is the action which makes our gifts useful. Love your family well this holiday season and every season. Natalie, Mark and his brother Al, farm together near Rice, Minn. They milk 100 registered Holsteins under the RALMA prex. Their four children are grown up and all involved in agriculture with hopes of someone returning to the farm. For questions or comments, please e-mail Natalie at mnschmitt@jetup.net.
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The gift of self-care
Oh, what joy the holidays bring! Watching children carefully write their letters to Santa and then wiggle with excitement when gift opening arrives. Breathing in the scents of evergreen trees and wreathes and freshly baked cookies. Celebrating with family and friends. Playing Christmas music on full volume. As Andy Williams famously crooned, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year.” Ironically, though, the holidays can also be the most stressful time of the year. Rushing through and rearranging chores to make Dairy Good Life time for those beloved family gatherings. Budgeting for gifts when nances are already tight. Finding time for all of the extra holiday tasks: shopping, wrapping, baking, decorating, and more. This year, I’ve had more time than usual to get ready for Christmas. But I’m struggling with the frustration of being injured and unable to do my job. I found out last month that two of the tendons in my shoulder tore when the fresh cow trampled me this summer. So I’ve been decorating cookies between physical therapy appointments and the tears have been owing as freely as the smiles. When I get bummed out, I remind myself that By Sadie Frericks Advent is the season of patience. I need to be paColumnist tient with the healing process and have faith that my shoulder will work again. The holidays should also be the season for self-care, but, often, they’re not. We get so consumed with taking care of all the holiday extras. Like nding dress shoes that t your child for their Christmas program at school. And making sure they have treats for their class Christmas party. Note to self: For goodness’ sake, next year sign up to bring treats for a different holiday. What I wanted to say was, we get so busy taking care of everything else that we forget to take care of ourselves. And when we don’t take care of ourselves, we feel twice as stressed because physical stress amplies mental and emotional stress. So, this year for Christmas, give yourself the gift of self-care. There’s no need to wait until January 1 to resolve to take good care of yourself.
Dairy Star • Saturday, December 21, 2019 • Page 33
From Our Family to Yours, Best Wishes for a Merry Christmas!
Brightly wrapped boxes… stockings stuffed with surprises… fresh Christmas cookies… twinkling trees all aglow… Of all the special gifts the holiday season delivers, we appreciate the friendship of good folks like you most of all.
Thank you for letting us serve your needs in 2019 Happy Holidays from all of us at...
Sleep well The holidays are great for throwing schedules completely out of whack, including sleep schedules. It may not be possible to get as many hours of sleep as you need, but there are things you can do improve sleep quality: Avoid using backlit electronic devices for an hour before bedtime. Avoid going to bed on a full stomach by nishing your last meal two hours before tucking in. Sleep in a cool, completely dark room. Wear loose tting pajamas. Eat well One of the best parts of the holidays, at least for me, is enjoying all of the Christmas cookies and candies that are only made this time of year. But too much holiday feasting can overwhelm our digestive systems. And when we overwhelm our guts, we overwhelm our already-overwhelmed-from-the-holidays brains. To stave off holiday tummy trouble, hit the veggie tray rst and then the cookie tray. The enzymes in fresh fruits and vegetables can help improve digestion. Consider giving your guts a break, too. Humans weren’t made to eat 24/7; our bodies need periods of eating and periods of fasting. For most people, the ideal ratio is 12 hours of eating and 12 hours of fasting. If your holiday party has you feasting until midnight, delay breakfast (literally, breaking the fast) until noon the next day. Giving your guts a rest can truly help you feel less stressed. Relax well We tend to carry stress with us in the form of muscle tension. Prolonged muscle tension can cause headaches, neck and back pain, and other issues. We tend to misuse the word relax in our society – implying it to mean chilling out in front of the television or some other non-stressful activity. But the word relax actually means ‘to make less tense’. And that’s what we need for our muscles when we’re stressed out. Slow, deep breathing can help reduce muscle tension. Practicing conscious relaxation can, too. Think about your jaw muscles, then think about releasing them or relaxing them; you should feel the tension drain away. If not, try clenching your jaw, then releasing. You can (and should) do this with every muscle in your body. Heat is another good way to relieve tension. Take a hot bath. Place a hot pack on your neck and shoulders for 10 minutes. Sip a cup of hot tea – the heat warms you from the inside out. Even better, take a sauna. I grew up taking saunas almost weekly. Glen has been working on turning the old wood room in our basement into a real sauna for our family. I can hardly wait to thoroughly steam myself. It will be one of the best Christmas presents ever. Merry Christmas! May your holiday celebrations be joyful – and a little less stressful. Sadie and her husband, Glen, milk 100 cows near Melrose, Minn. They have three children – Dan, 11, Monika, 8, and Daphne, 5. Sadie also writes a blog at www. dairygoodlife.com. She can be reached at sadiefrericks@gmail.com.
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Page 34 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 21, 2019
Bovines and basketball
Polikowsky mentors on the court, works as dairyman
why he volunteers. Helping with individual skills started when his friend’s son started working on the BYRON, Minn. – Oc- farm during the summer. casionally while Brian Po“Every single morning likowsky is moving cattle, after chores that’s all we did his mind goes into basketball – work on basketball,” Pomode. likowsky said. “Put yourself in a pen of Polikowsky worked with heifers,” he said. “You have to the young player from the time cut her off, rotate and recover. he was a 6-foot seventh grader It’s like defense.” until he graduated as a 6-footThat is not the only time 6-inch post who became a Polikowsky is thinking about stand-out player in the area and the sport. In between milking went on to play the sport at a his herd of 60 cows, the Byron Division III college. dairy farmer is the head coach “He was unstoppable,” Poof the eighth-grade traveling likowsky said. basketball team in StewartWhile Polikowsky will ville, Minnesota. He has also focus one-on-one help on any aspect of the game, he specializes in post moves. “I have gured out what works,” Polikowsky said. Post is the position Polikowsky played while on his school’s basketball team – from elemenBRIAN POLIKOWSKY, DAIRY FARMER tary school until graduating from high helped students at his local school. schools with individual basket“That’s my crutch and the ball skills for the past 30 years. area I concentrate on,” he said. “It’s for a love of the “That is the one area that the game,” Polikowsky said about kids I’ve worked with have By Krista Kuzma
krista.k@dairystar.com
“Put yourself in a pen of heifers. You have to cut her off, rotate and recover. It’s like defense.”
KRISTA KUZMA/DAIRY STAR
Brian Polikowsky coaches the Stewartville eighth grade traveling basketball team, which includes his daughter, Gigi. The Polikowskys milk 60 cows on their dairy near Byron, Minnesota. been successful with. It’s in my wheelhouse.” While most post moves are geared towards the tallest people on the team, Polikowsky said they are not the only ones who rely on under-the-basket know-how. “Look at some of the better post players in the NBA,” Polikowsky said. “Kyrie Irving has a tremendous post game, and he’s a point guard.”
Polikowsky also mentioned the women’s basketball team from Baylor University. “They won the national championship and outscored their opponent 54-24 in the lane,” he said. It all depends on the matchups of each game. “I look for mismatches on the oor,” Polikowsky said. “If I see my 5’5’’ point guard with a 5’1’’ girl on her, I’ll get her
down on the post on the block because I know if I taught her right and gave her the one or two post moves she needs to have, she’s going to have a lot better chance of scoring down there and a foul with an andone or drawing a shooting foul instead of an attempt from beyond the arc for a three-pointTurn to POLIKOWSKY | Page 35
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Dairy Star • Saturday, December 21, 2019 • Page 35
ConƟnued from POLIKOWSKY | Page 34
Merry Christmas from all of us!
THANK YOU FOR YOUR BUSINESS, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO SERVING YOU IN THE YEAR AHEAD! PHOTO SUBMITTED
Brian Polikowsky talks to the youth basketball team he coaches from Stewartville during a game last season. er.”
Polikowsky started coaching nearly 10 years ago when his kids started the sport. While his 17-year-old son, MD, does not play anymore, his daughter, GiGi, 14, has had her dad as one of her coaches since she started playing traveling basketball in fourth grade. “I stepped in because I saw there was a need,” Polikowsky said. Although Polikowsky lled the role of coach, he said giving kids the opportunity to be on a basketball team includes more than teaching them how to play the game. “Youth sports are a tremendous avenue for developing tomorrow’s leaders,” Polikowsky said. “It gives kids the attributes they need to be successful – things like respect, accountability and drive – to be happy, healthy and successful beyond high school.” He also said basketball teaches discipline, timeliness of getting tasks done and teamwork. All these life skills are also ones that Polikowsky said he has learned from and are useful for growing up on and while running a dairy farm. “I like mentoring,” he said. “It’s no different than helping with 4-H or another youth activity or program. It’s about giving back what I was given when I was younger. And if I have the tools to groom these kids to be successful as adults past high school, then I’m all in.” However, Polikowsky is not afraid to learn from others. “Everything I’ve learned relevant to the success of basketball, cows, farming and life, I’ve picked up from someone else who is successful,” he said. Earlier this year, Polikowsky emailed Dave Love, National Basketball Association shooting coach, to pick up a few tips. “He’s the best shooting coach in the
world, but I’ll ask anybody for advice,” Polikowsky said. “I’m not intimidated.” Instead, Love offered to host a shooting camp for Stewartville’s basketball teams, and Polikowsky jumped at the chance. One of the biggest challenges of coaching for Polikowsky is making sure his basketball and milking schedules do not overlap. Since this is a traveling team, the practices and tournament games are on the weekend. This makes the role more manageable. If a game is early or runs late, Polikowsky does not mind shifting his milking schedule an hour or two; however, if it is longer than that, he gets someone to milk for him. In the rare instance, he has his assistant coach take over for him. “If I commit to something, I want to commit 100 percent,” Polikowsky said. “I can ex my schedule to make it work.” Another challenge is getting all team members on the same page. “If you can get that to happen it’s no different than running a successful business or a farm,” Polikowsky said. “Everyone’s honed in. I can take a team of kids that are just above average, and if they’re really good defensively, I can be on game against a team with two super stars every time.” Polikowsky said, as a coach, he always needs to assess the game as it is being played. “It’s all about trying to get the right people on the oor, making sure the rotations are correct, making sure we’re not weak out there,” he said. “I’m an absolute defensive guru. You’ve got to be able to defend. If you can’t make stops, it’s just so paramount.” It is just like being out in the heifer pen while moving cattle.
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Page 36 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 21, 2019
Women In Dairy Kathy Bauer Faribault, Minnesota Rice County 130 cows Family: My husband, Randy, and I have three grown children: Glen lives in the area; Melisa and her husband, Kevin Klingsporn, along with their son, Dylan, 1, live in Pine Island; and Josh, and his family – wife, Jennifer, and their daughters, Kaitlyn, 11, and Taylor, 9 – live in Tennessee. Tell us about your farm. Randy and I farm together with Glen. We grow our own crops to feed our herd and have some to sell too. We do our own harvesting. Our farm was recognized as a century farm last year. Glen is the fth generation in our family to be farming on this site. What is the busiest time of day for you? Morning is a busy time for me. That is when I dry up cows, and then often times we have cows to breed, too. I milk the cows and then feed the calves after I milk. When there is a newborn, it often adds to the busyness of the morning. When you get a spare moment what do you do? I like to watch Jeopardy when I am doing stuff in the kitchen. Otherwise, I catch up on housework or check my email. Tell us about your most memorable experience working on the farm. The Halloween blizzard of 1991 is one I will never forget. We lost power and had to milk our cows one by one using the vacuum off the manifold on the tractor. We had no other option. At the time we milked 42 cows in a tiestall barn. It took a long time to do everything with no electricity. Our kids were young, and the house was so cold. I have never been so thankful to have electricity as I was when it came back on after that blizzard. That instance is what pushed us to invest in a generator. As bad as it was without electricity, the northern lights were amazing one of the nights. I still remember how vivid and vibrant the colors were. Even though it was a bad experience, the natural beauty was impressive. What have you enjoyed most about dairy farming or your tie to the dairy industry? I like seeing the fruits of our labor and how the work we have done have turned
into improvements over time. Our biggest improvement has been with our somatic cell count. We currently average between 65,000-68,000 and have been lower in the past. Getting the cows into the freestall barn and on sand really helped with that. I also like that we work together as a family, and that the farm is a great place for kids to grown up and learn a good worth ethic. I also like working with cattle and all the people we have met in the industry. Dairy farmers are an awesome bunch of people. How do you stay connected with others in the industry? We connect by talking to people at meetings. I do not have much time for social media. I also get e-newsletters from organizations that keep me up to date on industry information. Who is someone in the industry who has inspired you? I am inspired by the younger people who are trying to take that step in taking over the farm or being involved in the dairy industry. Even the kids who are in 4-H or are leasing their dairy projects to learn about dairy inspire me. We need those people in order for the industry to continue. It is inspiring that these younger people want to know and live the same work I do with my life. If you could give a tour of your farm to a prominent woman in today’s society, who would it be? I would give a tour to Melania Trump so she can see the importance of the dairy industry and to see the importance of milk in school lunches. What is the best vacation you have ever taken? When I coached the county dairy judging team, we won the national contest and went to the international judging contest. We were able to tour countries in Europe. We saw a lot of their agriculture while touring. There is nothing like being on top of a mountain in the Swiss Alps, watching a guy milking Simmental cattle to make cheese. I also was able to stay with a host farm family while in England. While that was a trip of a lifetime, we also look forward to the trips we get to take to Tennessee to see our son and his family.
FARM INFORMATION STATION Joe Gill • Farm Director
SERVING CENTRAL MINNESOTA FOR OVER 50 YEARS Catch the Dairy Star’s Mark Klaphake with Joe Gill at 6:45 a.m. the 2nd & 4th Fridays of the month on KASM!
PO Box 160, Albany, MN • (320) 845-2184 • Fax (320) 845-2187
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Dairy Star • Saturday, December 21, 2019 • Page 37
Be proactive against winterkill
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Jared Goplen talks about the factors that lead to winterkill during a Tour de Forage seminar Dec. 5 in Greenwald, Minnesota. Goplen is a University of Minnesota Extension educator from Morris, Minnesota.
Goplen describes signs to look for next spring By Jennifer Coyne jenn@dairystar.com
GREENWALD, Minn. – Dealing with winterkill is a seemingly faroff task, but there are factors to consider this winter that will affect the alfalfa ďƒželds next spring. “We need to be proactive this winter with ďƒželds we know will prove to be issues,â€? Jared Goplen said. “We want to keep in mind things like ďƒ&#x;ooding and wind blowing so there are no surprises.â€? Goplen, a University of Minnesota Extension educator from Morris, presented “Strategies to Manage Winterkillâ€? during the Tour de Forage stop Dec. 5 in Greenwald. With snow-covered ďƒželds, Goplen’s presentation focused on farmers understanding the conditions that cause winterkill and which ďƒželds might be prone to it this year. Then, recognizing management decisions that reduce the prevalence of winterkill and considering implementing those next season while also understanding uncontrollable weather and location factors. The educator laid out four points farmers need to consider to prevent winterkill: selecting good alfalfa varieties; knowing the age of the stand; optimizing soil fertility; and properly managing fall cutting and stubble height. Alfalfa varieties emphasize winterkill prevention When farmers are selecting alfalfa varieties for their ďƒželds, they need to look at traits that will ultimately affect the stand’s survival. “Selecting the right variety is one of the most important management decisions because it has lasting consequences,â€? Goplen said. “When you select an alfalfa variety, you’re dealing with it for the next four to ďƒžve years.â€? Important traits to consider are disease resistance, stand persistence, winter survival and yield potential. Farmers should also look at the forages’ fall dormancy scale (1-9). Those with a lower number have
the slowest re-growth and are better suited for winter survival, while those with a higher number have the greatest fall regrowth and subsequently do not dormant well over the winter. “The higher the fall dormancy rating, the higher the yield, but with cold temperatures, you have to select a rating to get the stand through the winter,â€? Goplen said. While all of these traits are signiďƒžcant, farmers need to evaluate the seed overall as it would be used in the ďƒželd and how to better the farmland. Goplen suggested using resources, such as the state’s alfalfa variety ratings booklet, ďƒžndings from ďƒželd crop trials, and the National Alfalfa and Forage Alliance. Age a factor in stand durability Well managed ďƒželds can be harvested for many years. However, those more established stands are prone to winterkill. “The age of the stand is also inďƒ&#x;uential in predicting issues,â€? Goplen said. “Typically, younger stands have less issues, and older stands are more abused and at the top of the list for winterkill.â€? In his presentation, Goplen showed a picture of two stands, both pictured in the springtime after a fall cutting. One stand was 1 year old; the other was 3. The picture of the older stand showed poor, spotty regrowth compared to its younger counterpart. “The older stand did not withstand winter as well,â€? Goplen said. “So, we need to be thinking about which ďƒželds might have issues next spring based on their age and how they can deal with winter.â€? Soil health contributes to stand prosperity Just as a deer may be seen well fed after eating from a nutrient-rich cornďƒželd, the same is true for alfalfa stands, Goplen described in his presentation. The forage thrives with adequate levels of nutrients in the soil. “Soil fertility is critical,â€? Goplen said. Of the nutrients to monitor, potassium and phosphorus are the most important. Goplen compared alfalfa plants between two soils varying in nutrients. Turn to GOPLEN | Page 38
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Page 38 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 21, 2019
Stensland Family Farms and Creamery honored with Iowa Venture Award
ConƟnued from GOPLEN | Page 37
One had low amounts of potassium ing frost at 25 degrees. If the stand and phosphorus, while the other had has 200 GDD or less after a cut, there high amounts. The group of plants in may be insufcient regrowth before the nutrient-rich soil displayed strong, winter. healthy roots and leaves. Under these parameters, Goplen “Going into wintertime, we want suggested a no-cut window in early The Iowa Area Development Group (IADG), on behalf of Iowa’s rural electric to make sure we have fertility levels fall to cut early enough for regrowth cooperatives, municipal utilities, and independent telecommunication companies, to maximize production and maxi- and not late enough to deplete the honored eight distinguished Iowa companies with the Iowa Venture Award at a mize ability to get through the win- roots of key nutrients. luncheon held in conjunction with the Iowa Association of Electric Cooperatives’ ter,” Goplen said. annual meeting. The extension “If you’re cutting early enough Stensland Family Farms, established in 1915, is a family-owned and operated educator referenced multi-generational farm located just outside of Larchwood, Iowa. The Stensland’s farm over 1,500 acres of organic cropland and operate a 200-cow dairy that is the phosphorus and potas- for regrowth, you have to be basis for their newest endeavor, Stensland Creamery. The herd, which is milked sium fertility guiderobotically, has been bred to produce A2 beta-casein protein, and their products lines published by the able to have enough stubble to are rich in Omega 3’s through the incorporation of ax meal in their ration. The University of Minnemilk produced on their dairy is used for freshly bottled milk, ice cream, aged sota. These guidelines catch the snow and insulate the cheese and cheese curds. Their products are sold at three company stores in Sioux showcase recommendground.” Falls and can also be purchased directly at the farm where visitors and tour groups ed nutrient values can experience the farm operation. Lyon County Rural Electric Cooperative nomi- based on different soil JARED GOPLEN, tests and expected nated Stensland Family Farms for the Iowa Venture Award. UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA EXTENSION “The Iowa Venture Awards Luncheon provides a forum to celebrate Iowa yields. companies that are making a positive impact in the communities, State of Iowa, In concert with fer“September is the dangerous and industries they serve,” said IADG President Rand Fisher. “Thank you to the tility of the soil, farmers should also time,” he said. “If you’re cutting early Stensland’s for their commitment to the environment and long success in Iowa. manage moisture as best they can. enough for regrowth, you have to be Congratulations on the expanded offerings of the dairy and opening of Stensland However, depending on location able to have enough stubble to catch Creamery.” and soil type, removing excess mois- the snow and insulate the ground. ReThe 2019 Iowa Venture Award recipients are: ture from the soil is limited. ally, avoid September and October – AVEKA Manufacturing Inc., Cresco, Fredericksburg, Waukon “We can manage drainage to a de- cuttings.” – GrandStay Hotel & Suites, Rock Valley gree,” Goplen said. “Chances are this When cutting, farmers should – M & C Anderson Pullets, Sioux Rapids is going to be a bigger problem if we not harvest the plant below 4 inches – Mid-Iowa Cooperative, Conrad and 13 additional statewide locations didn’t try tiling. There are still going to the ground. This ensures adequate – Peterson Transportation Inc., Manson to be issues, but this will help you out amounts of stem for regrowth and nu– Preferred Wholesale, Inc., Albia in the long run.” trients to the root system. – Stensland Family Farms and Creamery, Larchwood Know the no-cut window This spring, farmers should walk – Iowa Select Farms, “Outstanding Business of the Year” – Locations in 52 Every year, farmers are faced with their elds and evaluate the stands. Iowa counties the decision of when to make the nal Plants should be actively growing and cut on an alfalfa eld for the season. in symmetry. Also, dig up plants to About the Iowa Venture Award “Another cut gives you more ecoobserve the crown and root structure This marks the 32nd year that IADG has presented Iowa Venture Awards to individuals and organizations, both large and small, in recognition of their signi- nomic value, but what is that doing to which are also indicative of wintercant contributions to Iowa’s economy through entrepreneurial leadership, innova- your stand quality?” Goplen said. kill. Alfalfa has a no-cut window detion, and the creation of job opportunities. History has demonstrated that these While winterkill cannot be entireare among the most accomplished and successful companies in the state. Togeth- termined by growing degree days. ly avoided, there are tactics to prepare er they are helping to sustain and grow Iowa’s economy. Visit the Iowa Venture The forage needs 500 GDD, based for and lessen its impact on alfalfa Award Hall of Fame showcasing these 272 companies at www.IADG.com/Hall- on 41 degrees Fahrenheit, by the kill- stands. OfFame.
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Dairy Star • Saturday, December 21, 2019 • Page 39
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Dusty Ott Wonewoc, Wisconsin Juneau County 60 cows
rience for them. Some days are rough, but they learn a lot here on the farm. What advice would you give other dairy farmers? On those rough days when you think, – Why me? Why does everything happen at the same time? Why am I doing this? – you need to remember that we are all in this together. It happens to everyone, and you need to keep your head up. Place your hand on your heart, feel it? That’s your purpose.
How did you get into farming? I’m the fourth generation to milk cows in our barn. It’s just in my blood. What are your thoughts and concerns about the dairy industry for the next year? Things need to change; every tough year that goes by makes it harder and harder for everyone.
What has been the best purchase you’ve ever made on your farm? When my dad bought the rst TMR mixer, and when he bought our Bobcat.
What is the latest technology you implemented on your farm and the purpose for it? Nutrient management program for our crop land so we know where manure and fertilizer does or doesn’t need to be applied.
What has been your biggest accomplishment while dairy farming? The day my 5-year-old son told me when he gets older he wants to be a farmer. I asked him why, and he said, “Because I wanna be like you, Daddy.”
What is a management practice you changed in the past year that has beneted you? We have culled more cows, selling our problem cows quicker. It has beneted us in saving feed in times of feed shortages like this year. What cost-saving steps have you implemented during the low milk price? We cut out some of our calf products we feed to our bull calves that we sell and save them for our heifer calves that we keep. We also put some of our bigger calves on heifer mineral sooner instead of feeding them grower pellets as long. How do you retain a good working relationship with your employees? I work with my parents and sister, working with family isn’t always easy. Try-
What are your plans for your dairy in the next year and ve years? Next year, we hope to have a chopper with a processor on it instead of a processor/ blower. In the next ve years, I would like to own one-half to one-third of our herd. ing to keep my patience longer and keeping an open mind with decisions has made it easier to keep a good working relationship. Tell us about a skill you possess that makes dairy farming easier for you. I took ag power and equipment tech-
nician courses at Southwest Technical College. I also took the A.I. training course through Select Sires. What do you enjoy most about dairy farming? Raising my two boys on the farm. In many ways it is a great expe-
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How do you or your family like to spend time when you are not doing chores? Our family’s biggest hobby probably would have to be hunting. Anything outdoors, riding four-wheelers, checking trail cams, and of course with boys it’s rough housing and football.
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Page 40 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 21, 2019
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