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March 25, 2023
“All dairy, all the time”™
Volume 25, No. 3
Diagnosis Keller survives near-fatal accident Lake City woman then recovers from direction incident with cow
Plourd discusses dairy market trends from 2022 leading into new year By Kati Kindschuh kati.k@dairystar.com
MADISON, Wis. – As global economy trends continue to keep farmers on the edge of their seats, industry expert, Phil Plourd, was able to deliver insights and information on the global and U.S. dairy markets heading into 2023. Plourd was a presenter Jan. 18-19 at Dairy Strong in Madison. He is the president of Ever.Ag Insights. Plourd b e g a n Phil Plourd with good Ever.Ag Insights news, telling the audience that the “death of dairy” has been wildly exaggerated by the media. “Per capita, consumption of dairy products in 2021 was reported at 650 pounds per person per year,” Plourd said. “Overall, the dairy story is positive. Total cheese, butter consumption and yogurt is up by consumers, while ice cream has seemingly lost ground.” Cheese is a big player in dairy markets, Plourd said. “The pounds of milk that go into cheese versus pounds of milk going to uid milk, cheese has made up the difference in the loss of uid milk consumption,” Plourd said. “From an industry standpoint, we’d rather have people overseas eat pizza with U.S. mozzarella cheese.” Retailers love cheese and butter promotions, Plourd said, so they are using these product promotions as trafc drivers to continue to get more shoppers in their stores. Turn to PLOURD | Page 7
By Amy Kyllo
amy.k@star-pub.com
LAKE CITY, Minn. – Peggy Keller was given a 1% chance of living after a cow crushed her chest. Yet, she is alive today. Peggy and her husband, Fred, milk 125 cows and farm 320 acres with their son, Brian, on their farm near Lake City. Peggy sustained a lifethreatening injury in an accident with a cow in their stanchion barn. Peggy’s injuries included all of her ribs being broken except the top two, a collapsed right lung and a centimeter-sized hole in the right ventricle of her heart. On Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022, Peggy was helping with tasks for evening milking. She had
nished scraping and was heading into a side room of the stanchion barn to wait for more cows to come in the barn. A cow was standing with her head in the side room door, blocking her way. The door stood at a 90-degree angle with the cement block wall of the barn. Peggy was standing against this cement wall when she attempted to get the cow to move out of the doorway. The cow pulled her head out of the door, and instead of going to her stall, put her head into Peggy’s chest. With a cement wall behind her and no sorting stick to stave her off, Peggy had nowhere to go. “I’ll never forget that big cow’s head staring me in the face,” Peggy said. “I could have pushed her out of the way or something. … I didn’t think. I was just freaked out and frozen.” Brian discovered Peggy around 7 p.m. after hearing her calls for help.
AMY KYLLO/DAIRY STAR
Peggy Keller stands in the calf barn March 7 on her dairy farm near Lake City, Minnesota. Keller survived an accident with a cow in the stanchion barn that leŌ her needing 35 units of blood.
Peggy was taken to the hospital in Lake City and then was airlifted by Mayo One to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester.
She needed emergency surgery that night. Medical staff had to Turn to KELLER | Page 6
Strategy set for next era
Dobmeiers establish farm transition to secure future By Tiffany Klaphake tiffany.k@dairystar.com
ALBANY, Minn. – Austin Dobmeier has not always dreamed of being a dairy farmer, but after a college internship off the farm, he realized the barn is where he was meant to be. Now, with a partnership in place and a limited liability company established, Austin is well-equipped to continue his career. Austin and his dad, Tom Dobmeier, milk 70 cows in a tiestall barn near Albany. Austin returned to the
we communicate well and work well together.” Currently, Austin and his father split the milk check equally and each owns 50% of the herd and equipment. “We are very happy with what we did,” Austin said. “I wouldn’t change anything.” Together, they worked with an accountant and lawyer to make their partnership ofcial. They also talked with other farmers and read dairy publications about farm transitions to determine what route MARK KLAPHAKE/DAIRY STAR would be best for them, deTom and AusƟn, holding Harper, Dobmeier kneel beside a calf ciding in the end that AusMarch 20 at their farm, Lakeshore Dairy, near Albany, Minneso- tin would get a percentage ta. AusƟn has been farming full Ɵme with his dad for six years. of the milk check and have that percentage grow over the course of 10 years. family farm, Lakeshore farm. Dairy, six years ago and has “So far, we both like slowly been buying into the it,” Austin said. “It helps Turn to DOBMEIERS | Page 8