Issuu

Seniors! CELEBRATING OUR

If you would like to recognize a high school senior in our upcoming senior feature email us at krista.k@dairystar.com or call 507-259-8159.

DAIRY ST R “All dairy, all the time”™

Volume 23, No. 5

Six factors that drive PPDs

Bozic demysties values in federal marketing orders

April 24, 2021

“I was like a stone. I couldn’t stop staring at what was happening.” – MaryBeth Seykora

Thrown a curveball

By Jennifer Coyne jenn@dairystar.com

Negative producer price differentials are not a new occurrence in the dairy industry, but with the inuence of formula changes on federal milk marketing orders and industry trends, PPDs have recently caused chaos on the milk check. “Until last year, negative PPDs were always a short-term phenomenon,” Dr. Marin Bozic said. “The markets would have steep rallies but then with the intricacy of milk pricing, it would smooth out from one month to the next. Never did we have nine of the 10 consecutive months of negative PPDs. We’re here to have a frank discussion on what is driving this.” Bozic is an assistant professor of applied economics at the University of Minnesota. In an educational webinar co-hosted by Minnesota Milk Producers Association and Wisconsin Dairy Business Association April 13, Bozic explained six factors that create PPDs and why that value has been below zero for much of the last year. PPDs were developed as a way to create pricing fairness for each dairy farmer in a FMMO despite what the milk was processed for. “Revenue pooling is a noble concept,” Bozic said. “In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not.” Long-term trends in utilization rates When FMMOs were rst developed as a way to protect against abusive power with large milk buyers at the end of World War II, two-thirds of uid milk pooled was processed for beverage. For this reason, the revenue from Class I was redistributed to milk pooled in other classes. In 1998, that value decreased to 45% and the last major FMMO reform took place. Over the years, a larger portion of milk produced in the United States has been used for manufacturing and less for beverage consumption. In 2019, uid milk pooled for beverage was as low as 28%, Bozic said. “Once we’re back to normal, post-pandemic and when Class III and IV converge, we believe we will nd Class I to be 1% lower still,” Bozic said. “Simply put, at its core, there is not enough uid milk to make FMMO work as it was designed.” Rising protein test Over the last decade, dairy farmers have increased the amount of solids they sell. In the Upper Midwest, FMMO 30, the average protein test was 3.04% in 2008-09; in 2020, that value rose to 3.14%. While the tests have risen, accounting for that change in PPDs has not. “When Class I processors pay to pool milk, that’s based on skim milk pounds per hundredweight, not protein or other solids. On the other hand, when those same processors take money from the pool, then Turn to PPDS | Page 5

KRISTA KUZMA/DAIRY STAR

Brian and MaryBeth Seykora stand in front of all that is leŌ of their dairy barn that was destroyed by a re April 8 on their farm near Owatonna, Minnesota. Twenty-nine of their 57 cows perished due to the re.

Seykoras lose 29 cows in barn re

“I got a call from my brother at 6:54 p.m. while I was watching the game, and I got here (to the farm) by 7:15 p.m.,” Brian said. “By that time, you couldn’t By Krista Kuzma get in the barn anymore.” krista.k@dairystar.com The Seykoras could only watch as their 45-stall OWATONNA, Minn. – While Brian and Ma- hip roof tiestall barn went up in ames on their farm ryBeth Seykora were watching their sons, Matt and near Owatonna. Mitchell, play baseball the evening of April 8, their “I was just numb,” Brian said of that moment. “I own lives were thrown a curveball. was trying to think of what to do like nding a home for the cows that got out. There wasn’t any emotion really until about Sunday.” MaryBeth felt the pain that night. “I was like a stone,” she said with tears. “I couldn’t stop staring at what was happening. I just thought of how much work he (Brian) had done and all the memories.” Earlier in the evening, two employees had done chores for the Seykoras so they could watch their sons play baseball. Brian and MaryBeth split up so each son would have a parPHOTO SUBMITTED ent at their game. The A re engulfs the Seykora family’s dairy barn April 8 on their farm near Owa- Turn to SEYKORA | tonna, Minnesota. Page 6

Page 2 • Dairy Star • Saturday, April 24, 2021

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 (ofce) 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 Ofce: 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 Bob Leukam (Northern MN, East Central MN) 320-260-1248 (cell) bob.l@star-pub.com Mark Klaphake (Western MN) 320-352-6303 (ofce) 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 Hoeer (Eastern Iowa) 320-250-2884 • amanda.h@dairystar.com Megan Stuessel (Western Wisconsin) 608-387-1202 • megan.s@dairystar.com Kati Kindschuh (Northeast WI and Upper MI) 920-979-5284 • kati.k@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 nal 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 ofces. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Dairy Star, 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave., Sauk Centre, MN 56378-1246.

A glance at what’s inside

A day in the life is back

As grass starts to green up and trees bud with leaves, farmers start to prepare equipment to get back in the eld. Spring is in the air. For Dairy Star, spring also means the return of one of our favorite features: A day in the life. For the past 11 years, it has been a staple in the paper, giving readers a glimpse into the daily routine of a farm family in our coverage area. The story is accompanied by action photos that depict the day’s work. For this year’s rst feature, we visited the Leerhoff family from Clarksville, Iowa. The sun shining with a warm breeze in the air made April 16 the perfect day for the family to let their 70-cow herd out to the pasture for the rst time this year. The cows kicked up their heels and put their tails in the air as they ran for the green grass. Dairy Star staff love this feature, being able to visit the farms twice in one day to accurately capture the daily tasks needed to be accomplished. We like asking a few questions while walking alongside farmers going about their business and quickly snapping photos as work gets done. We are always looking for more families to share their story in this fan-favorite feature. If your family would like to share its daily routine and see it portrayed in our paper, please let us know. We would love to be able to share what you do and have to say!

HP 160 PROPUSH

AARON THOMAS/DAIRY STAR

Kurt Leerhoﬀ xes fence on his farm near Clarksville, Iowa. Read about Leerhoﬀ and his family in Second Sec�on, pages 14, 16-17.

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It’s all inside... Columnists

Bon Yankton Homme

Clay

Lyon

Osceola

Sioux

O’Brien

Plymouth

ero

Ida

Monona

n inso Emmet

Dick

Clay

Palo Alto

e Buena Vista

c Po

Sac

bo du ry ome

Zone 1

Zone 2

Fre

Sioux Falls

tg Mon

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n Win

Kanabec

Washington

ms ey

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Mitchell Howard

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old

b um

Floyd

Greene Guthrie

Boone

Dallas

Houston

Story

Black Hawk

Tama

Jasper

Fayette

Clayton

n na

e war Dubuque

Benton

Iowa

Winona

Dela

Jones

Linn

First Section: Pages 22 - 23

Jackson Clinton

n Cedar

o ns

Winona County youth give ag-inspired goodie bags to vaccination clinic workers

Scott

Muscatine

Polk

all

rsh

Bremer

Wright Franklin Butler

Madison Warren Marion Mahaska Keokuk

Adair

Adams Taylor

Union ld

g Rin

Clarke

Lucas

Decatur Wayne

Monroe Wapello se

noo

pa Ap

Young dairymen share robotic experiences First Section: Page 25

Davis

Louisa

n rso Henry Des

fe Jef

Van Buren

Moines

Lee

New Vienna

FROM OUR SIDE OF THE FENCE: What do you look forward to most about spring planting? First Section: Pages 15 - 16

For additional stories from our other zone, log on to www.dairystar.com

a ick

Grundy un Webster Hamilton Hardin

Pottawattamie Cass Mills

eba

Kossuth

Fillimore

Mower

lho

Crawford Carroll

Harrison Shelby

o ah

Freeborn

Faribault

Martin

Woodbury

Wilkin Tra ver se ln

Lin

Jackson

Turner

Nobles

Winona

iek

Hutchinson

Rock

Wabasha

Cottonwood Watonwan Blue Earth Waseca Steele Dodge Olmsted

ake

Charles Mix

McCook Minnehaha

Murray

Douglas

Gregory

Moody

Goodhue

Rice

Tripp

Lake

Nicollet

Brown

Todd

Miner

Redwood

Dakota

Scott

Sibley

Lyon

All

Aurora

Mellette

Sanborn

Brookings

Carver

gto

Jerauld

Kingsbury

Hennepin

McLeod

First Section: Pages 18, 20

W in

Brule

Beadle

Anoka

Wright

Meeker

Renville

Yellow Medicine

Isanti

hin

Lyman

Deuel

Hamlin

Hand

Buffalo

Clark

Kandiyohi

Chippewa

Lac Qui Parle

Codington

Sherburne

Bremers have fun combining love of farming, sports

Wa s

Hyde

Swift

Benton

Stearns

Pope

Lake City

iek

Jones

Hughes

Stevens

Grant Spink

Douglas

Pine

Mille Lacs

Morrison

Stanley

Todd Grant

Big Stone

Day

Carlton

eu r

Faulk

Otter Tail

Aitkin

Crow Wing

Edmunds

Potter Sully

Pages 10 - 11 Bennett Second Section

Roberts

Marshall

McPherson

Ziebach

The “Mielke” Jackson Market Weekly Shannon

Sargent

Brown Walworth

Haakon

Richland

Cass

Po we

Fall River

Dickey

McIntosh

Campbell

Corson

Pennington Custer

Ransom

LaMoure

Emmons Sioux

Becker

Clay

Lake

Itasca

Lawrence

Cass

Mah

Cook

isa Ch

Page Meade 38 First Section

Bames

Lincoln

Grant

Adams

Calf Chronicles

Stutsman

Logan

Dewey Butte

Kidder

men

Pipestone

Burleigh

Morton

Page 33 First Section Perkins

Harding

Norman

Oliver

Dairy Good Life

Polk

Trail

Steele

Bowman

Griggs

Koochiching St. Louis

Red Lake

Slope

Foster

Beltrami

Pennington

Grand Forks

Day in the Life of the Leerhoff family

Lake of the Woods

Hubbard

Sheridan

Roseau

Marshall

Eddy Wells

Mercer

Page 32 Hettinger First Section

Kittson

Benson

McLean

Just Thinking OutStark Loud

Second Section: Pages 14, 16 - 17

Walsh

Nelson

Billings

Third Section: Pages 8 - 9

Pembina

Ramsey

McHenry

Ward

First Section: Page 36

Something to Ruminate On McKenzie

Golden Valley

Cavalier

Towner

Pierce

Mountrail

Page 31 First Dunn Section

Rolette

Da vi so n

Williams

Bottineau

Clarksville

Kids Corner: The Stich Family

Wadena

Renville

Burke Page 30 First Section

Divide

Randall

Second Section: Pages 3 - 4

Dear County Agent Guy

Cosmos

Women in Dairy: Leah Kurth

Vogt to be inducted into National Wrestling Hall of Fame

Sauk Centre

Pages 8-9 First Section

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Calf barn makes life easier for Iowa farm family First Section: Pages 10 - 11

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Dairy Star • Saturday, April 24, 2021 • Page 5

ConƟnued from PPDS | Page 1 protein tests are counted,” Bozic said. “The money out rises over time as protein tests grow but the money in doesn’t change.” The same scenario is true when reviewing how Class II and Class IV are paid out, because in FMMOs, protein is paid for based on the value of cheese while not all protein is used for cheese. Processors pay in on non-fat solids prices, but they can take money out based on the protein price and test. “How we price protein and draw prices to the pool all matters,” Bozic said. Spreads between Class III, Class IV Last year, the spread between Class III and Class IV reached unprecedented levels. “This is really the same story told,” Bozic said. “Because the spread reects the spread of protein and non-fat solids prices, and the wedge is growing.” Last month, the spread was at $1.97, while the historical average spread is at $0.39. In 2020, the spread was driven by government purchases. For corrective action, dairy organizations testied that the short-lived federal food box program should emphasize butter as a method to quickly address the spread. “In FMMO 30, as Class III rises above Class IV, PPDs go negative and do so in a hurry,” Bozic said. “Long term, we need to look at incentives to move milk.” Advanced pricing for uid milk products In the current pricing system, retailers may know the price of milk before the month begins to provide certainty. However, that introduces discrepancy between advanced prices and the fullmonth average prices. A decade ago, negative PPDs were short-term instances and would rebound in a single month or two with advanced pricing. “The idea is that you’ll have a rally but it will stabilize,” Bozic said. “The biggest question we need to be asking is, ‘Do we still need (advanced pricing)?’ Right now, it’s more of an annoyance than a concerning factor.”

Class I formula reform introduced in the 2018 farm bill A Class I policy change was implemented in 2019 under the previous year’s farm bill. Prior to the reform, Class I prices were always calculated as the higher of Class III and Class IV. The change now reects Class I as the average of Class III and Class IV plus $0.74. The new formula does not allow for a boost of PPDs but can depress it signicantly. In a narrow focus, the Class I formula has cost dairy farmers a little more than $1 per cwt, Bozic said. The dairy economist also mentioned that prices were driven in 2020 by the taxpayerfunded massive purchases of cheese. “We cannot escape the possibility to mention that if markets were left to work on their own, the new system would have worked better,” Bozic said. “All prices would be in the basement and farmers would be losing equity, but the new system works better when prices are more closely aligned.” Depooling The FMMOs were designed in a way that all classes except Class I could pool milk in the order. This was because, at the time, manufacturing classes were a signicantly smaller share of milk. “Historically, the FMMO system was for processors to specialize in what they’re good at and participate in Class I sales. It was easy to do because there was so much milk in uid sales,” Bozic said. “We never intended that it would be Class III that would have to pour revenue into other classes.” Classes are now depooling more frequently as Class III and Class IV are being used to subsidize the other class prices. “Depooling doesn’t happen because people are selsh,” Bozic said. “It happens because the legal language of the (FMMO) system was based on the premise that most milk will always be in Class I.” Considering these six factors, the actual PPD for January 2020 in FMMO 30 was -$8.69. Last month, the actual PPD was -$0.51, Bozic reported. “The next 24 months will be consequential for milk pricing for the next decade,” Bozic said.

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ConƟnued from SEYKORA | Page 1

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employees nished chores and left the barn about 6:30 p.m. About 15 minutes later, a person driving by the farm spotted smoke coming out of the roof and called the re department and then others in the community in order to reach the Seykoras. In the meantime, four neighbors who passed by or heard about the re jumped into action. They went into the burning barn untying cows as fast as they could. “It was just a gut reaction for them to do it,” Brian said. They were able to untie 30 of the 45 cows in the stalls before the smoke and ames become too much for them to handle and retreated from the building. “The cows were untied, but they weren’t coming out the door because they were scared,” Brian said. “Siding and debris was dropping down.” In a last-ditch effort to save more of the herd, the neighbors hooked a chain on to a truck and the water line through an east door. “They tried ripping part of the side of the barn out so the cows would come out,” Brian said. “We thought all the cows that were going to come out were out, but there were cows still coming out an hour and a half later. Those didn’t make it.” Out of the 57 cows that make up the Seykoras’ herd, they are left with 28 after the re. Although more lived, they were lost to smoke inhalation.

The re marshal told the Seykoras the cause of the re was most likely from broken electrical wire from a light in the hay loft. “It’s nobody’s fault,” Brian said. “Nobody smokes or anything like that. It’s just one of those things that happens. It’s an unfortunate circumstance.” With a small herd, Brian said all the cows were his favorite. “They were all good cows,” he said. Brian developed the herd through his 24-year dairying career. When he bought the herd, the cows had a 16,000-pound rolling herd average. Right before the re, the cows were milking 94 pounds of milk each day. “We started from scratch basically,” Brian said. “I think about how far we came.” He also thinks about the memories made in the barn. “You spend more time there in the barn than in your house a lot of times,” Brian said. “I watched calves being born and develop later into cows. Sure, there were times of hardship, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. It’s our lifestyle out here.” The Seykoras are thankful to have support from the community to rally around them. It started as soon as people noticed the re and tried to save the cows. “It was just their reaction,” Brian Turn to SEYKORA | Page 7

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Dairy Star • Saturday, April 24, 2021 • Page 7

ConƟnued from SEYKORA | Page 6

said. “That’s the kind of people we have around here. The support is amazing. It’s just unbelievable the amount of people who want to help.” As the re went on, more people came to help. The Seykoras estimated there might have been as many as 200 people gathered the night of the blaze. “(The help) was unbelievable,” Brian said. “There were cars 1 mile down the road and a line of people in the yard making a big fence so the cows couldn’t run farther away.” Even as Brian was trying to think of where the remaining milking cows could go to be milked, neighbors and friends took charge. “Someone came up to me and said Casey Nelson from ABS had already arranged everything and took care of it,” Brian said. Glenn Johnson and his wife, Deb McDermott-Johnson, made room for the Seykoras’ cows on their dairy, Clover Glen Farm, near Claremont. “We are so thankful for the Johnsons,” Brian said. People also offered the use of their cattle trailers. “There were eight trailers offered within three minutes,” Brian said. “We couldn’t move the cows that night because the driveway was full of trucks and hoses until 3:30 a.m.” By 6:15 the next morning, the Seykoras had more people arrive to help load cows. A few days after the re, the Seykoras found out other friends and community members started a GoFundMe page to help them. “They denitely didn’t need to do that but people wanted to help in some way,” Brian said. “There are only so many people who can bring a trailer,

KRISTA KUZMA/DAIRY STAR

A pile of debris is all that is leŌ of the Seykora family’s dairy barn aŌer a re April 8 on their farm near Owatonna, Minnesota. The silos are also damaged. bring us food or ask to help clean up. It’s what they could do to help.” While Brian now makes the 25mile drive to help with chores at Clover Glen Farm, the Seykoras need to decide their future. “We’re 45 years old,” Brian said.

“We’re right in that middle spot. Five years ago, we would have immediately said we would rebuild. If we were ve years later, we would have retired. But we aren’t quite ready to be done yet. We don’t know what we’re going to do.” When the Seykoras make their de-

cision, they know they will make the best decision for their family. “Our faith is strong,” Brian said. “I thank God every day for the ability to take care of these cows. Now I’m asking him to guide us on what to do next.”

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Food box program to be eliminated Page 8 • Dairy Star • Saturday, April 24, 2021

The United States Department of Agriculture is ditching its Farmers to Families Food Box Program and replacing it with the Temporary Emergency Food Assistance Program. During an appearance before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said the TEFAP will be more efcient. National Milk Producers Federation President and CEO Jim Mulhern said he was not surprised by the decision due to the challenges with the program. USDA also indicated it will implement a Dairy Donation Program to facilitate the donation of dairy products to non-prot groups. USDA budget plan considers big issues U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack made a case for the USDA’s Fiscal Year 2022 Discretionary Budget during an appearance on Capitol Hill. Climate change, addressing systemic racism, nutrition and resil-

iency in agriculture are four big ideas expressed within the budget proposal. Vilsack said there is also a plan to address rural broadband. “One of the things we’ll be focusing on is making sure there’s a minimum level of uptick and download speeds to create opportunities for telehealth, for distance learning,” Vilsack said. “We’ve learned the importance of this during the pandemic.”

Dry conditions may inuence hay crop Approximately 34% of the hay acreage in the United States is in an area experiencing drought. Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa are facing minimal issues; however, the situation is different in neighboring states. In North Dakota, 90% of the hay area is facing extreme drought. In South Dakota, 39% of the state’s hay acreage is dealing with severe or exceptional drought. USDA said 44% of the milk cow inventory is an area dealing with drought.

Logistical issues hamper trade In its quarterly report, CoBank said trade has been hampered by logistical problems, including a lack of containers and congestion at the ports. As the industry struggles with those issues, the pace of U.S. dairy exports started weaker this Ag Insider year. Cheese and butter stocks rose, climbing 5.4% and 16.8% respectively. U.S. milk production rose in January and February. Cow numbers in February reached the highest level in three decades. COVID-19 a focus for global trade The pandemic and its impact on agricultural By Don Wick trade dominated the recent Columnist agenda for the World Trade Organization’s agriculture committee. The United States was asked about its COVID-19 assistance package for farmers to determine if the subsidies would be considered trade-distorting. Canada was questioned about its dairy policy. Milk production strengthens According to USDA’s latest supply/demand report, 2021 milk production totaled 227.7 billion pounds. That is up 400 million pounds from the March forecast. The report increased the price projections for nonfat dry milk, butter, cheese and whey due to improving domestic and international demand.

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Be strategic when recovering from tough times With higher commodity prices, RaboBank Senior Grain and Oilseed Analyst Stephen Nicholson said farmers may want to consider strategies to help secure long-term nancial stability. “Working capital has been depleted in the past seven years,” Nicholson said. “Let’s rebuild the working capital rst. One lesson we took from the last uptick in commodity prices was if farmers pay down debt, they are debt free but also cash poor.” Nicholson said balance will be important. Once farmers rebuild working capital, attention can shift to improving the farm business. “Maybe farmers should invest in a new business to help sustain the business longer-term,” he said. “Perhaps it’s investing in new crops and then, farmers can be thinking about how to make the farm more efcient.” PPP reduces demand for traditional loans The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City is reporting a drop in the number of farm operating loans during the rst quarter. The total volume of non-real estate loans was down 10% from last year. The report said the Paycheck Protection Program likely displaced a portion of the typical demand for nancing. Cheese contracts awarded USDA has awarded contracts to ve companies for a total of 12.3 million pounds of cheddar cheese for delivery May 1 through Sept. 30. The companies awarded contracts are Dairy Farmers of America, Great Lakes Cheese, Masters Gallery Foods, Schreiber Foods and Winona Foods. More regulations sought for methane digesters Activist groups are petitioning the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate the methane produced by large-scale dairy farms under the Clean Air Act. The petition claims these farms have increased pollution, damaged public health and negatively impacted communities of color. The 75-page petition was signed by nearly 25 groups, including Minnesota-based Land Stewardship Project and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. Meaty message from plant-based food company Impossible Foods has launched its rst national advertising campaign. The television commercials feature images of juicy cheeseburgers, saying the Impossible Burger is meat for meat lovers made from plants. Impossible Foods CEO Patrick O. Brown said the “We Are Meat” ads are intended to show consumers can have the meat protein experience without “animalbased technology.”

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Dairy Star • Saturday, April 24, 2021 • Page 9

ConƟnued from AG INSIDER | Page 8 NMPF promotes current staffers The National Milk Producers Federation has promoted ve key employees. Jamie Castaneda will become the executive vice president for policy development and strategy. Previously, Castaneda was the senior vice president for policy strategy and international trade. Vice President for Trade Policy Shawna Morris has been promoted to senior vice president. NMPF Vice President for Sustainability and Scientic Affairs Jamie Jonker is now also the chief science ofcer. Claudia Larson, who has been the government relations director, has been promoted to be the senior director of government relations. Bonnie nominated for USDA job President Joe Biden is nominating Robert Bonnie to be the Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation. Bonnie is the USDA deputy chief of staff and senior climate advisor. Bonnie was an under secretary at USDA during the Obama administration.

Former MFBF staffer takes job at NDSU North Dakota State University has named Kristin Harner as director of agriculture communication. In this role, Harner will provide leadership, manage staff and scal resources, and develop and implement long-term communication strategies for NDSU Agriculture Affairs. Harner previously served as the public relations director for the Minnesota Farm Bureau Federation. Trivia challenge USDA Deputy Agriculture Secretary Jewel Bronaugh served as Virginia’s agriculture commissioner since 2018. That answers our last trivia question. For this week’s trivia, how many glasses of milk does the average cow produce in her lifetime? We will 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.

“PCDart has adapted to all our needs.” What are some of the DHIA tests you use? Pregnancy check, MUN test, young stock report. What do you like about the PCDart program? Kate took over all herd record keeping in 2017. This is when we started using the PCDart software program. PCDart has been a great program to assist with keeping track of our herd; from calving dates, breeding dates, and milk records. The program has adapted to all our needs and there is always live support if needed, which is extremely helpful! We love the ease of registering our herd as well. PCDart easily syncs with Easy I.D. through Holstein Association for simple, fast, and convenient registration of our herd. We also love that all our records are stored, saved and protected in the PCDart computer program. With the program we can easily access any cow or heifer in our herd and check anything; including their registration number, date of birth, calving date, breeding date, and much more! We are very pleased with PCDart. Tell us about your farm. We own and operate a registered Holstein herd of cows and breeding bulls. Our dairy herd consists of 90 registered Holstein cows. Our rolling herd average is 25,300 M, 975 F, and 800 P, on two times per day milking. We crop and pasture our herd on 300 acres of land, which supplies the feed to sustain our herd. We actively market breeding bulls, embryos, bred heifers and milk cows. We love to be ‘hands on’ and work with good cows day-in and dayout. By continuing our dedicated work with registered Holsteins on our Glencoe farm and focusing on the areas of young stock management, milk production, embryo and semen marketing and quality John Mohr and his daughter, breeding stock - we hope to market and Kate Keenan sell good seed and breeding stock in the 90 cows • Glencoe, MN dairy industry. 32 years with DHIA

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SHERRY NEWELL/DAIRY STAR

The Putzes – (front, from leŌ) Brad, Janet and Ed; (back, from leŌ) cousin Nick Bagge and Jeremy – use this barn, built in 2018, to raise calves for their dairy herds near New Vienna, Iowa. The family discussed the barn’s features and their calf management during a tour April 14, sponsored by Iowa State University Extension.

Ventilation, Milk Taxi highlighted in extension technology tour up parlor. “That was a lot of calves to feed outside, and the help didn’t like it much,” Putz said. “Now, no matter NEW VIENNA, Iowa – Brad Putz claims the what we’re doing with the calves, it’s all in here.” The technology in the calf barn includes not only calf barn he manages is nothing fancy, but it is clear the structure and its features are appreciated by the the Milk Taxi but a positive pressure tube ventilation crew that does the newborn-to-weaning calf work. system designed specically for the building and the Putz, his mother, Janet, and his cousin, Nick Bagge, calves. “The tubes are specic for each calf barn,” said are the primary caretakers in the structure put up in Brian Dougherty, an Extension eld specialist in ag2018 at the farm near New Vienna. The ventilation system and use of a Milk Taxi ricultural engineering, who explained the system and were highlighted during an Iowa State University Ex- demonstrated the air ow by fogging the building tension dairy technology tour April 14. Participants during the tour. “For example, there are four rows of holes in the also saw the robotic feeding and milking system at bottom of the tubes, and the diameter of the holes deHoney Creek Dairy near Strawberry Point. Before building the calf facility, the Putz family termines the air speed coming out of the hole. Fan size used hutches and calf condos to house calves. The also determines the total airow.” Dougherty said the barn provides four air exyoungstock from birth to rst freshening are from two herds – a 148-cow herd owned by Janet and her changes per hour, and the ow provides fresh air husband, Ed, and a 118-cow Jersey herd owned by where the calves are – about 4 feet from the oor – Putz and his brother, Jeremy. Janet and Ed milk with without creating a draft on the calves. A split curtain two robots, while Putz and Jeremy use the older step- sidewall and space between the sidewalls and pens helps to circulate the air as well. The curtains stay closed at temperatures below 30 degrees. In the winter, calves in stalls are not provided water because of freezing temperatures inside. On hot days, circulation fans could be added, Dougherty said. While ventilation helps keep calves healthy, the Milk Taxi makes calf management less labor intensive. The taxi mixes and then dispenses the milk replacer according to amounts Putz posts on each calf stall. Newborn calves are transported to the barn SHERRY NEWELL/DAIRY STAR in a calf cart, tagged and Brian Dougherty, Extension eld specialist in ag engineering, provides details on the posiƟve pressure tube venƟlaƟon in the Putz Dairy calf barn near New Vienna, Iowa. Dougherty presented during a tour at the dairy April 14. Turn to TOUR | Page 11 By Sherry Newell Contributing Writer

Dairy Star • Saturday, April 24, 2021 • Page 11

ConƟnued from TOUR | Page 10 given colostrum for their rst two feedings. After that, calves receive milk replacer by bottle then later by bucket twice each day. The Milk Taxi holds roughly 70 gallons, prepared in an enclosed supply room in a corner of the building. The taxi holds enough to make one trip through the center aisle for the twice-daily feeding, even though there are 100 freestanding plastic stalls. “We built it big enough so we would not be full all the time,” Putz said. The convenience of one building appeals to the family. “No matter what we do, it’s all in here,” Putz said.

The barn was constructed with a tile under each line of stalls. Sand is the bottom bedding with straw provided twice a week. At weaning, calves are moved out of stalls 10 at a time, then stalls are power washed and the sand is replaced. Those ready for weaning, at around 60 days, are moved to one of two group pens at the end of the barn. “If I had to change one thing, I’d do more group pens,” Putz said. While the family considered automatic calf feeders, Putz said this was a better t. “I never was a big fan of (automatic feeders),” he said.

SHERRY NEWELL/DAIRY STAR

ParƟcipants in an Iowa State University Extension technology tour look around a calf barn at Putz Dairy April 14 near New Vienna, Iowa. The barn features posiƟve pressure tube venƟlaƟon and the use of a Milk Taxi to feed calves from the family’s two milking herds.

SHERRY NEWELL/DAIRY STAR

A Milk Taxi that holds roughly 70 gallons of milk helps the Putzes feed calves with less labor and more precision at their farm near New Vienna, Iowa.

“My brother wanted it, but he never feeds calves.” Within one year, the family accomplished their goal of zero death loss in their calves; however, this was followed by a challenging outbreak of possible cryptosporidium or

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Prioritize prevention when managing ies Moon, Post share ways to reduce pests on farm By Jennifer Coyne jenn@dairystar.com

The deadline for spring cleanout is quickly approaching for farmers in the Upper Midwest. These dates are critical to combat the presence of ies on the farm as weather and environmental conditions become conducive for breeding. “Depending on where you are and when spring weather arrives, there are certain dates when we know y eggs turn into pupae,” Roger Moon said. “Around here, mud permitting, planting permitting, see if you can get things cleaned up by May 1 or so.” Moon is a professor emeritus at the University of Minnesota’s department of entomology. He discussed tactics to eliminate ies on farms during the webinar, “Fly Control Strategies,” hosted by I-29 Moo University March 26. “Now is the time to be planting the seeds and doing the chores to stay ahead of problematic ies,” said Moon to begin the presentation. On dairy farms, the ies that are the most detrimental are stable ies. These blood-

sucking insects cause animals to bunch together and stomp as a defense to ght the ies which often results in lameness, decreased feed intake and reproduction, among other concerns that ultimately negatively affect productivity. Once the stable ies are done eating, they perch around the animals. Moon said in a cluster of 100 ies, typically only about ve are actually biting. Merri Post and her family have noticed the effects of stomping in their herd. “Not only is it a problem in the summer, but we’ve found all those same problems with cows stomping carry over into the fall,” she said. “There was reproduction down, more incidences of (hoof) abscesses, lost milk.” The Posts dairy farm near Chandler, Minnesota. Post participated in the webinar, sharing her family’s tactics to reduce ies on the farm. “Prevention is the biggest thing we do,” she said. “If I stay ahead of them, it’s keeping everything clean. We’ve learned that ve minutes of prevention saves a lot of time ghting ies.” The other most common y present on farms is the nuisance house y which are often found near feed. “They don’t bite; they can’t,” Moon said. “They spit and poop pathogenic bacteria,

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A y’s lifecycle is depicted in the graph above. It is essenƟal to control larvae and pupa populaƟons to manage y infestaƟons on farms. but they don’t harm cattle like stable ies do.” The best long-term strategy to manage both y species is to reduce the source of active breeding grounds. “You need to be going around and nding where those ies are coming from,” Post said. “Flies spread before you can get on top of it. It’s not like pink eye where you can control it.” Moon urged farmers to rst scout their property for maggots and pupae – the second and third part of a y’s lifecycle, respectively – using a small trowel to dig through brous plant material, such as hay or bedding that is enriched with manure, urine and other

moisture. The maggots and pupae are visible to the naked eye, if on the ground looking for them. “You see adults, but every adult started out as a maggot,” Moon said. “Your job is to prevent them from succeeding as well as they do.” Scouting should be done every couple of weeks to catch growing populations. Environments around calf hutches and youngstock pens are optimal breeding grounds for ies. “My bet is that your calf hutch bedding is producing tons of ies,” Moon said. “If calves are growing in a hutch for six weeks, that’s two generations of ies. Same with

the heifer rearing pens; debris control there is easy and low maintenance, and will quickly turn into maggot heaven if left standing.” To make the environment less conducive for infestation, Moon suggested switching from straw to sand, sawdust or wood shavings for bedding. Fresh manure in a cow barn is often not a common breeding ground as the environment is too wet for the maggots and pupae to survive. Rather, dairy farmers should consider places where the manure is being exported to such as the banks of a manure storage basin. “The more likely source is debris from winter hay feeding sites,” said Moon, emphasizing the importance of spring cleaning. “That landscape is lled with spilled hay. It’s trampled and deep. One remedy is to move the feeder around the property so the animals spread out. If you can accomplish that, do it. Otherwise, the stable ies will nd it.” When farmers have the opportunity to remove manure and used bedding materials, there are two tactics they can use to effectively reduce y breeding grounds. Manure should either be thinly spread on open ground or windrowed and tilled to create a hot compost. Turn to FLY CONTROL | Page 13

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Lines across the states depict when y eggs transform into pupae. To control y populaƟons, it is best to take proacƟve measures before these dates. “Cold stacking breeds more (ies),” Moon said. On Post’s farm, she routinely cleans along the alleyway of the lactating pens where the automatic scraper does not reach. She also religiously uses a feed additive, chickens as predators and traps to control the farm’s y population. Both Post and Moon attested to the effectiveness of maintaining a clean property. “Mow in between the buildings so that you’re getting all that tall grass knocked down,” Post said. “We mow everything – around the buildings, behind the horse pasture and up to the manure pit.” Moon agreed. “Mow the grass to keep the ies down,” he said. “They’re not breeding

there, but that’s where they’re playing pinochle, meaning mate and develop eggs.” While sprays can be used as a tactic to control y populations, Moon warned farmers of letting that strategy becoming too commonplace, resulting in resistance. “Routine barn spraying programs should be a fallback, not a backbone,” he said. “It’s just not sustainable.” The key to effective y management is prevention with early detection through scouting of the breeding grounds and maintaining a clean, dry property. “Think about your debris management program to head off problem spots,” Moon said. “The sooner you start, the better. And, don’t get behind.”

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What do you look forward to most about spring planting? Rick Torgerson Henning, Minnesota Ottertail County 60 cows

What are field conditions like in your area? We are in the elds doing some disking and fertilizer spreading while avoiding the low spots. We received over 4 inches rainfall 10 days ago. Field conditions are wet, but our soil is fairly light. It won’t take long for the moisture to dry up. How many acres do you run and what do you plant? We crop 600 acres – 300 acres of hay, 250 of corn and 50 of small grain. What do you look forward to most about spring planting? It is nice to have something different to do other than what we have had with the daily chore routine in the last ve months.

Tim Boese Morristown, Minnesota Rice County 65 cows

Gary and Jack Meyer Paynesville, Minnesota Stearns County 56 cows What are eld conditions like in your area? The ground temperature is cold, but the eld conditions are great. There is a dust behind the digger. How many acres do you run and what do you plant? We have around 290 acres and grow alfalfa and corn. There are 90 acres of alfalfa, 30 of which are new seeding, and 120 acres of corn. The rest of the land is pasture and the building site.

What are the earliest and latest dates you have started spring eldwork? The earliest was probably April 3, and the latest was around May 4.

What do you look forward to most about spring planting? Jack: I enjoy driving tractor and getting out of the barn. Gary: I enjoy sitting in the tractor, digging and tilling.

Who helps with eldwork and what are their roles? Brothers Ron and Rick, and Rick’s son, Zach. Roles vary depending on the day and what needs to be done.

What are the earliest and latest dates you have started spring eldwork? The earliest I was seeding alfalfa was April 4, 2000, and the latest was May 7, 2019.

What is the most recent change you have made in seeding or eld management practices? Fall seeding of forage because there is less weed pressure than with the spring planted. We seem to always get a good catch with the fall seeding.

Who helps with eldwork and what are their roles? My dad, Frank, drives rock wagon. He also runs the chopper in the summer. Jack plants the corn. Cody, my other son, and I help where we are needed.

Tell us about your farm. We farm at Torgerson Dairy. My brother, Rick, and I started a partnership in 1980 when we took over the farming operation from our father, Maynard. Maynard remained the foreman on the farm for years. Four years ago, Rick’s son, Zach, started working after he graduated from North Dakota State University with a degree in animal science. We milk 60 cows. As of late, we have been outside dairying. The cows are never housed in the barn. They only come to the barn when it is time for milking. We decided to try this method 10 years ago. It works well for our situation. We rotational graze the dairy herd and run 125 stock cows in our operation.

What is the most recent change you have made in seeding or eld management practices? We went from moldboard plowing to ripping on half of the ground so we get done a little faster. It also leaves more residue. We used to have a brotherin-law who planted corn for us. This year, we bought a 16-row planter with 30 inches between rows. We did this so we don’t have to rush to get it done, and we can do it in between chores. Jack nished college at Ridgewater so we have more help at home. Tell us about your farm. Gary and Anne are the second generation of Meyers on the farm. We bought the cows in 1994, and the farm in 1996 from my parents, Frank and Doris. We have two boys and one daughter, Kayla. We milk in a double-4 herringbone parlor, and the cows are in a freestall barn.

What are eld conditions like in your area? It looks fantastic. Some people are out in the elds putting tiling down and there have been some people who have planted already. It is still 29 degrees at night so it’s not favorable whether to get out in the eld for us yet. How many acres do you run and what do you plant? We have 280 acres where we plant corn, soybeans, oats and alfalfa. What do you look forward to most about spring planting? To be honest, I don’t like spring that much because there is so much work. We already have a full day of chores with the dairy and add on a lot more to do with planting and eldwork. I get more excited about the hay crop than I do about planting. I also like fall better because you can reap the benets of your work in the spring. In the spring, we work harder, but don’t have anything to show for it. It is the start of the rat race. What are the earliest and latest dates you have started spring eldwork? The earliest has been April 7 for oats and April 23 for corn. The latest has been June 16 for soybeans. Who helps with eldwork and what are their roles? My uncle, Keith, does all the planting and my dad, Ken, does the fertilizer spreading and cultivating. My cousin, Matt, and I do a lot of the little things to help prep the elds and keep everything moving well. We pick rock, get seed and fertilizer ready, and move anything in the eld. What is the most recent change you have made in seeding or eld management practices? Why? This year we tried strip tilling. We don’t know yet how it will turn out, but it should cut down on erosion and save on cost. This is on a rented piece of ground that is lighter than we are used to. Tell us about your farm. I farm in partnership with my cousin, Matt. Our dads farm in partnership with each other. Together, the four of us manage our farm land, using each other’s equipment and working together to get the work done. Besides farming, I also do some trucking, am on the volunteer re department and am a licensed rework operator.

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Steve, Doug and Brian Turnis Monticello, Iowa Delaware County 195 cows What are eld conditions like in your area? Ideal as of April 15. And, our alfalfa looks excellent. How many acres do you run and what do you plant? We run about 1,000 acres plus 120 acres of pasture for dry cows and heifers. We have about 600 acres of corn, 200 of soybeans and 200 of hay. What do you look forward to most about spring planting? Good weather, smooth going and no breakdowns. What are the earliest and latest dates you have started spring eldwork? The earliest is April 15, and two years ago, we didn’t start until May 20 and got done June 20. But, we had the best crop ever that year. Who helps with eldwork and what are their roles? The three of us do it all. Brian gets the eld ready, Doug gets the manure out there, and Steve does the seeding. What is the most recent change you have made in seeding or eld management practices? We eliminated Roundup. We’ve gone back to conventional stuff to cut back on seed cost. It’s plain seed with no special traits. We also have cut back on chemicals. Tell us about your farm. We milk in a double-15 parallel parlor and have a freestall barn with waterbeds and auto scrapers. Most cows are Holstein, and we have some Jerseys. We also feed out 70-80 steers each year. My (Steve and Doug’s) grandfather started here in the 1930s. Brian is the fourth generation here.

Turn to OSOF | Page 16

Page 16 • Dairy Star • Saturday, April 24, 2021

ConƟnued from OUR SIDE | Page 15 Matt Winker Belgium, Wisconsin Ozaukee County 100 cows

though.

What are field conditions like in your area? Cold and a little wet. All the winter crops look very good

How many acres do you run and what do you plant? We run 450 acres and plant alfalfa, soybeans, corn and cover crops such as winter rye and winter wheat. We also do a ve-way interseeding mix that includes annual rye grass, hairy vetch, medium red clover, kale and rapeseed planted in between corn rows. On March 15, we frost-seeded red clover into our winter crops with the intent of terminating cover crops, but not the red clover, to feed our corn nitrogen throughout the year. What do you look forward to most about spring planting? My favorite is planting green. We plant 100% green on our farm. What are the earliest and latest dates you have started spring eldwork? The soonest I have started spring eldwork was April 20, and the latest was July 10, 2004. That was a really wet year. Who helps with eldwork and what are their roles? We do all no-till and planting green, so all I have to do is get in the planter tractor. My wife, Sarah, runs the chopper all summer, and my uncle, Gary Schneider, lls in where needed and cuts all the hay and does most of the merging. What is the most recent change you have made in seeding or eld management practices? We went to all no-till in 2014 and planting green in 2016. We did it to save money and because it is good for the environment, helping to improve water quality and air quality. When you plant cover crops, it takes a lot of greenhouse gases, like carbon, out of the air and puts them into the soil. Cover cropping also reduces runoff, improves fertility and saves nutrients, time, fuel, and wear and tear. Overall, it saves us money. Tell us about your farm. My wife and I are the fourth generation at Redline Dairy Farm, which has been in Sarah’s family since 1916. We are one of four demo farms in the Ozaukee County Demonstration Farm Network. We demonstrate no-till cover crops and do research on our farm. We strive to maximize yield while also reducing inputs as much as possible. We have one farm less than 3 miles from Lake Michigan, and that can be a challenge. The soil here is a red, heavy clay. It stays cold in the spring. We don’t get the heat the inland guys get, and the clay doesn’t warm up as fast. I’m also a board member of Clean Farm Families for the Milwaukee River Watershed. Clean Farm Families and the Ozaukee Demonstration Network are two separate groups, but they work together. It’s a cool journey we’ve been on. We’ve had both successes and failures and learned a lot.

Jared Taylor Colfax, Wisconsin Dunn County 120 cows

Brad and Tim Meyer Revillo, South Dakota Grant County 375 cows What are eld conditions like in your area? The eld conditions are the best we have seen in several years. We planted our oat crop April 5, and received over 3 inches of rain April 7-8. How many acres do you run and what do you plant? We farm 1,700 acres, and plant corn, soybeans, alfalfa and oats. What do you look forward to most about spring planting? We look forward to good eld conditions and driving past a newly planted eld. What are the earliest and latest dates you have started spring eldwork? The earliest we can remember was in 2012. We planted wheat March 19. The latest was in 2011. Nothing was planted until the last week in May that year. Who helps with eldwork and what are their roles? Tim primarily does eldwork. Brad does most of the manure hauling and helps with spring planting and fall harvest. Our dad, Gary, and grandpa, Ronald, help whenever they can. What is the most recent change you have made in seeding or eld management practices? We have added variable rate seeding and fertilizer along with strip tillage in the fall. We made this switch for a more efcient placement of inputs. Drain tile is another management practice we have added. This has enabled us to make wetter areas in a eld more productive. Tell us about your farm. We farm with our parents, Gary and Holly Meyer, and our grandpa, Ronald Meyer. We are thirdgeneration farmers on this farm. All three generations work on the farm. Everyone has their own main role: Ronald, who will turn 85 this summer, feeds the heifers; Gary feeds the lactating cows and oversees the entire operation; Holly does the bookwork and cares for young calves; Brad manages the livestock enterprise; and Tim manages the cropping enterprise. Brad’s wife, Morgan, who works full time in town, also helps on the farm when she can. Along with the milk cows and crop farming, we raise our youngstock and have a herd of 40 Red Angus cows. We have six employees.

What are field conditions like in your area? It has been raining steady from about April 7-14, so I have not even really gone out and looked at the eld conditions recently. However, before that, we were spreading manure and fertilizer and did not leave a track. How many acres do you run and what do you plant? We plant 330 acres of mostly corn for silage and alfalfa. We have 30 acres of grass hay, and we plant a small grain as a nurse crop for our alfalfa that we typically take as silage. What do you look forward to most about spring planting? I look forward to planting corn. What are the earliest and latest dates you have started spring eldwork? We are mostly no-till on the corn and do most of our tillage for alfalfa in the fall, so we are in no hurry most years. The earliest we have planted has been April 18 and the latest May 22. Who helps with eldwork and what are their roles? My dad plants all the alfalfa, my little brother does most of the disking and corn planting, but my dad and I both get to do some too. I am typically taking care of the cows when those two are in the elds. What is the most recent change you have made in seeding or eld management practices? We are trying rye and wheat as a cover crop on all of our corn ground. We plan on tilling into it. We’re doing this to try and make a mat to save water and to catch the nitrogen from the manure we spread, as it is pretty sandy around us. We are also trying wheat as a nurse crop with our alfalfa instead of oat and pea. We are doing this because the peas are hard to get dry, and the wheat has lower potassium levels in the feed for dry and fresh cows. Last year, we planted non-Roundup Ready corn (on accident) and sprayed everything pre-emerge and had great luck with it. Tell us about your farm. My dad, brother and I milk 120 Holsteins in a freestall and parlor set up, and raise most of our replacements on the farm. We grow almost all of our own forages, but don’t grow any grains. Since my brother graduated from high school a year ago, it has been us three doing most of the work, besides some help during haying.

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How many acres do you run and what do you plant? We run around 250 acres. We plant corn, soybeans, and oats and alfalfa. What do you look forward to most about spring planting? After spending the winter analyzing the previous year, and prepping and planning for the coming year it just feels good to get out in the eld. What are the earliest and latest dates you have started spring eldwork? The earliest we have started is April 8 and the latest start was May 17. Who helps with eldwork and what are their roles? My brother, Ron, does all of the planting and spraying and he also does tillage. I do tillage, pick rocks and keep the planter full of seed and fertilizer. Our brother-in-law, Barry, helps us out a bunch. He will run tillage, pick rocks and help keep the planter rolling while I am milking and doing chores. What is the most recent change you have made in seeding or eld management practices? Why? A number of years ago we started renting some lighter, sandier ground and were struggling with yields. One of our seed reps recommended broadcasting urea after the corn was up, and we saw instant results. Since then, we have gone to a split nitrogen application on most if not all the corn acres. It is denitely money well spent. Tell us about your farm. I farm with my brother, Ron. He also works full time for the local township doing road maintenance. In 2011 we bought the farm from our dad and formed the partnership, Southview Jerseys, LLP. Our dairy herd consists of mostly Jerseys and some crossbreds. We also have a herd of about a dozen Hereford beef cows, and we also fatten all of our steers.

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What are field conditions like in your area? Some people were able to put anhydrous on and get small grain planted in early April. The week after Easter we got around 3 inches of rain and people are just starting to get back in the elds as of April 19. There are still low spots to contend with but with a few good drying days it will be go time for everyone.

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Page 18 • Dairy Star • Saturday, April 24, 2021

Bremers love bovines, basketball

Family has fun combining farming, sports By Krista Kuzma

krista.k@dairystar.com

LAKE CITY, Minn. – For the Bremer family, a large part of their lives revolves around two things: bovines and basketball. The Bremers – Steve and Michelle along with their children, Andrew, 24, Zach, 21, and Natalie, 17 – have spent many hours in the gym playing, watching or coaching basketball while also devoting a large amount of time doing chores on their 50-cow dairy farm near Lake City. This year, Natalie played for the Lake City girls basketball team, which ended the season 19-4. Although the team’s nal loss came in the quarternal game of the state tournament, it was the girls basketball team’s rst appearance back at the state tournament in 37 years, Steve said. “We’ve been good for the past couple years so people knew we would probably be good again this year,” Natalie said. “We just had to show it to people.” Natalie also had a memorable season, being named to the all-conference team for the third year in a row and voted the Hiawatha Valley League Player of the Year. The 5-foot-11-inch junior guard, who has been in the starting lineup since eighth grade, also set a new record this season and became the Lake City girls basketball alltime leading scorer with 1,798 points in her varsity career. “People realize how much I love the game and how much I want to get out of the game,” Natalie said. With a shortened season that started in

KRISTA KUZMA/DAIRY STAR

The Bremer family – (from leŌ) Steve, Michelle, Natalie and Zach – love the game of basketball, each playing during their high school years. They milk 50 cows on their dairy farm near Lake City, Minnesota. Not pictured is Andrew Bremer. January due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, Natalie and her team had only one week of formal practice before facing opponents. “That was really different to mentally and physically prepare ourselves for games,” Natalie said. “But it was really exciting to get back on the court. We were all waiting.” As Natalie’s family watched her season play out and end with a state tournament appearance, it brought back memories of playing basketball in high school for each

of them. Steve began his varsity career as a sophomore after being pulled up from bsquad when Lake City went to state in 1983. “In the playoffs, we were huge underdogs, and in order for us to win Section 1, it was a major accomplishment to win over a team like Caledonia,” Steve said. The Tigers came home sixth overall in the state, losing their nal game in the consolation round. “We got to play at Williams Arena (at the University of Minnesota) for the quar-

ternal game,” Steve said. “That was pretty awesome to play on a raised oor and have the fans all around you.” Although Lake City did not repeat a state tournament appearance during Steve’s junior and senior years, he did become a starting guard for the team. Like his dad, Zach, a 6-foot-5-inch forward, was also pulled up to the varsity squad in his sophomore year in 2016. “We were the underdogs the whole

Turn to BREMERS | Page 20

Dairy Star • Saturday, April 24, 2021 • Page 19

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Page 20 • Dairy Star • Saturday, April 24, 2021

ConƟnued from BREMERS | Page 18 season because nobody thought we would be good that year so we had our team slogan, ‘Let them sleep,’” he said about playing in 2017. “We went deep into the playoffs and ended up taking down Caledonia in the section nals and went to state that year.” While Zach’s team also lost in the quarternals to the No. 1-ranked team in the state, he was able to show off his skills with his rst dunk during the consolation game. During his junior and senior year, Zach started as a forward and then played one year for the University of Wisconsin-River Falls after being recruited. He is now back on the farm working full time with his dad while his mom

works off the farm. Michelle, who graduated in 1990, also played basketball in her younger years, taking the role as starting guard in ninth grade for Chisago Lakes High School in Lindstrom. “We had a good chance to go to state when I was a senior, but when I blew out my knee and didn’t play that year, that chance went down the tubes,” she said. “I loved playing the sport. My biggest goal was to beat my sister at everything because she played those sports too.” Andrew also saw time on the basketball court during high school but took more joy on the baseball diamond. Basketball has been a great t

PHOTO SUBMITTED

Zach Bremer dunks the ball during a game while playing for the Lake City Tigers his senior year in 2018.

PHOTO SUBMITTED

Natalie Bremer takes a shot during one of her games this season on the Lake City girls basketball team. The advanced to the state tournament.

for the farming family. “I liked football and baseball, too, but that was during planting and harvesting seasons,” Steve said. “Basketball was my only sport because I didn’t have eldwork to do. It didn’t interfere. And I liked playing the game.” Once his kids started playing, Steve did what he needed to do to

get to as many games as he could. For home games, he moved his usual 5 p.m. milking earlier in order to make it to the gym in time. “For away games, it would depend on how far away it was if I could make it or not,” Steve said. Now that Zach works on the farm with Steve, the younger Bremer is able to nish chores

in order to allow Steve to attend more away games. Basketball for the younger Bremer generation has been a year-round sport. “It’s really changed since I’ve played basketball,” Steve said. “When I played it was just a winter sport. We didn’t have the summer camps and summer leagues they do now.” It has also sparked friendly competition at home. The hoop in their driveway has had a lot of use over the years. “Zach and I are always playing one-on-one to pass the time,” Natalie said. The siblings also like to compete in the barn, sometimes racing to see who can complete their chores before the other. “They’ve always been competitive,” Michelle said. “It doesn’t matter what they’re doing outside.” Plus, the farm provides their own personal weight lifting program. The Bremers put up 1,000 small square bales of hay and 1,500 small square bales of straw during the summer along with one semi load of straw in February. All the Bremers realize the hard work ethic they developed on the farm has transferred to the court. “I’ve always had this motto that you get out of farming what you put into it,” Steve said. “I transferred that to basketball too. … It takes a team effort to succeed. All family members need to work together to achieve the same goal.” For the Bremer family, that applies to both taking care of bovines and playing basketball.

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Dairy Star • Saturday, April 24, 2021 • Page 21

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4 JD 1770NT CCS 2006, 16 Row, 30”, Flex Fold, Vacuum, Central Fill System, #181880 .................................................... $55,900 17 JD 1790 2003, 16/32 Row, 15/30”, Flex Fold, Vacuum, Central Fill System, #181335 ...................................................................... $62,900 6 White 6100 1995, 6 Row, 30”, Rigid, Plate, #181144 ................ $7,900 9 JD 1770 1997, 16 Row, 30”, Flex Fold, Vacuum, 3.0 Bu. Hopper, #180078 ................................................................................... $19,500

9 JD 1750 1996, 8 Row, 30”, Rigid, Vacuum, 1.6 Bu. Hopper, #181939 ................................................................................... $14,900 9 JD 1760NT 2014, 8 Row, 30”, Wing Fold, Vacuum, 3.0 Bu. Hopper, #181228 ................................................................................... $37,500 16 JD DB66 2017, 36 Row, 22”, Wing Fold, Exact Emerge, Central Fill System, Row Command, Electric Drive, #175194 .................... $349,500 16 JD 1760 2011, 12 Row, 30”, Wing Fold, Vacuum, 3.0 Bu. Hopper, #182209 ................................................................................... $42,500 5 JD 1775NT 2021, 16 Row, 30”, Flex Fold, Exact Emerge, Central Fill System, Row Command, Electric Drive, #174940 .................... $199,500 5 JD DB44 2013, 24 Row, 22”, Flex Fold, Vacuum, Central Fill System, Row Command, #179347 ....................................................... $159,900 11 JD 1770 1997, 16 Row, 30”, Flex Fold, Vacuum, 1.6 Bu. Hopper, #181280 .......................................................... $22,400

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Page 22 • Dairy Star • Saturday, April 24, 2021

Spreading a bit of positivity

Give your milking system a ReCharge PHOTO SUBMITTED

Winona County 4-H youth gave out these goodie bags lled with cheese, beef sƟcks, fruit and granola bars to workers at vaccine clinics in the county.

Youth give ag-inspired goodie bags to vaccine clinic workers By Krista Kuzma

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WINONA, Minn. – The past year has been challenging for many people. To try to counter this, Winona County youth tried to spread a bit of positivity. The Winona County 4-H Federation Ofcers, including ve dairy farm kids, created a service project where they handed out goodie bags to volunteers and workers at vaccine clinics throughout the county. “It’s a good idea because these people are helping the community, and we should give back to them for volunteering all these hours in helping the community,” Emily Prigge said. Prigge is the 17-year-old daughter of Terry and Jana Prigge, who milk 260 cows near Winona. She is also the federation reporter and helped prepare the bags before delivering them. Katie Ketchum, federation president, also put the bags together and was part of the delivery team. “I really liked the (service project) idea when it was brought up,” said Ketchum, the 17-year-old daughter of Mike and Mary Ketchum, who milk 100 cows near Altura. “I thought it was a great opportunity to give back a little bit to our community.” The bags included cheese curds, beef sticks, fruit, granola bars and a bottle of water. It also included a tag with the line, “Thank you for helping our community achieve herd immunity.” “The slogan on the bag I thought was really fun,” Ketchum said. “I think it was a great way to incorporate both the agricultural community and being thankful all into the same thing.” The federation ofcers gathered two different times to pack the bags and get them ready for delivery. Many of the items were donated by local businesses. Turn to WINONA COUNTY | Page 23

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Dairy Star • Saturday, April 24, 2021 • Page 23

ConƟnued from WINONA COUNTY | Page 22 “We’ve been looking to do some sort of service project, but it’s nice to be able to get together to do it,” said Kim Stehr, Winona County Extention Educator, 4-H Youth Development. “Last year we could do service projects, but they were very independently driven. We thought if we can do this as a group and have fun and feel good about doing things for others, we were all for it.” Stehr said while there have been a few in-person gatherings since July 2020, most meetings have been through an online platform. “It’s refreshing to be able to see people in person,” she said. “You feel a little reinvigorated. Even if we were only together an hour to put together the bags, it gets you out from sitting in front of a computer screen. This is why I feel good about it. The kids get to see their friends, have a little fun and do

PHOTO SUBMITTED

Winona County 4-H youth – (from leŌ) Emily Prigge, Bruce Calteaux, KaƟe Ketchum, Brooke Calteaux and Tiegan Prigge – along with Kim Stehr, Winona County Extension Educator, bring goodie bags to a vaccine clinic in Winona, Minnesota.

PHOTO SUBMITTED

Winona County 4-H youth – (from leŌ) Emily Prigge, Bruce Calteaux and Brooke Calteaux – ll goodie bags to be distributed to vaccine clinics in the county.

something good, which is good for everyone.” During their gatherings, the ofcers took precautions. “Our group size is small enough, we ask the screening questions, we always wear masks and wash our hands before we put the bags together,” Stehr said. “All our snacks are prepackaged too. We’re trying to be as safe as possible.” The group was able to deliver over 120 bags to three vaccination clinics in the county. Ketchum said it felt good to hand over the bags in person. “I think the greatest part of this service project has been when we drop them off,” she said. “When (the bags) get dropped off, the people who are there volunteering look so happy and thankful that they are being appreciated, and I really like being a part of

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that.” Plus, it gives people more exposure to the 4-H program. “This is just another way we can spread the word about 4-H,” Prigge said. “People can see how generous and supportive we are and maybe have kids that would want to join.” Both adult and youth leaders are glad to have had this service project to get them out and about again. “These kids that are helping with this have had a less than stellar year,” Stehr said. “Some of them have barely been in school in person. So, for us to get together and do these was fun to see each other. And these volunteers at the vaccination clinics are helping us be able to gather again in large groups like we would ideally do in the coming months.”

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Dairy Star • Saturday, April 24, 2021 • Page 25

Young dairymen share robotic experiences Management style, new technology topics of panel discussion By Sherry Newell Contributing Writer

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Mark Qual, Jordan Hooker and Brant Bosma live in three different states and have three distinct dairy herds milked in three various robotic setups. But on a panel during the Central Plains Dairy Expo in Sioux Falls March 24, they talked about very similar experiences. Qual and his family dairy near Lisbon, North Dakota, and have a DairyProQ 60-stall robotic rotary parlor from GEA. Bosma recently set up Orland Ridge LLC near Madison, South Dakota, after moving from Washington where his father, grandfather and uncle have an established dairy. The South Dakota Jersey herd is milked in a Lely 24-box robotic system. Hooker’s dairy, Diamond H, has 10 DeLaval robots milking 600 cows in Chowchilla, California, and expects ve more robots to be added. As each talked about their decisions surrounding the move to robots, the theme became familiar: It was time for a change. “We were milking 800 and trying to decide how to support everyone,” said Qual, whose father, brother, uncle and two cousins are part of Qual Dairy and Grain. “It came down to what we could do without increasing our labor force. We’ve always had trouble with help. It’s hard to compete in our area.”

SHERY NEWELL/DAIRY STAR

Dairy farmers – (from leŌ) Mark Qual, Brant Bosma and Jordan Hooker – share their experiences and answer quesƟons about the installaƟon and operaƟon of roboƟc milking systems on their farms during a breakout session March 24 at Central Plains Dairy Expo in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Qual said the entire family was on board with the commitment, even though at the time of installation three years ago, theirs was only the second such robotic rotary parlor in the country. Hooker and his family were milking 5,500 cows traditionally and were leaning toward installing a robotic rotary. He said they opted for traditional robots so they could grow that portion of the herd more gradually. Bosma and his family spent time looking for the right site as they planned a startup across the country. They built from the ground up and started to milk in September 2020. They built up to 1,350 cows by March. “The scalability of what we did is really nice,” Bosma said. The team brought cows from out

west by the load, allowing them to bring the cows up to speed with each addition. Each of the dairies reects a management style they say works for them. At Qual Dairy and Grain, waterbeds with a light topping of separated solids is their bedding choice. Intermittent scrapers are used, and stalls are bedded while cows are in the holding area. Bosma chose a free-ow system because of what he called the “intense curiosity of the Jersey,” relying on them to move to the robots easily. When cows need attention, a sort gate moves them to a separation pen. But cows otherwise remain with their pen, moving to one side when sand is added to the stall mats. Foot baths are used on the opposite end of the barn from the robots, and cows travel through the baths during

bedding. At Hooker’s dairy, cows are moved to a separate pen while scraping and bedding takes place. Each of the dairymen had observations about their labor force. Qual said employees were retrained, but morale improved with easier work. At Orland Ridge, Bosma attributed a falling somatic cell count to newly trained workers who learned correct procedures at startup. Hooker said one of the robot’s benets was to milk more cows with the same amount of labor. As for startup, all three praised the companies with which they worked. “The team was great,” Qual said. “I had them on speed dial, but I didn’t need them that much. But if I did, I just tapped the phone and they were there.” Hooker and Bosma were also complimentary about company support. “It feels like they were there every day,” Hooker said. After three years with their technology, Qual said there is little he would change about how they operate. He mentioned the possibility of using diamond grooving in the alleys rather than straight patterns. Bosma, with less than a year under his belt, said he already knows he needs a bigger separation pen. His plan is to mirror the 24 robots with 24 more. Hooker continues to marvel at all the information available from the robots. “We’re still guring it out,” he said. “It’s quite amazing what it can do. And I can tell the cows are more comfortable living on their own time.”

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Sign, share documents securely online Page 26 • Dairy Star • Saturday, April 24, 2021

By Steve Frericks

County Executive Director Stearns County FSA Oﬃce

The Farm Service Agency would like to wish area farmers a safe and productive spring planting season. We are hopeful this spring provides you with a sense of accomplishment for all the work you put in every day to provide us with our food, fuel and ber. Be proud of what you do because we are proud of you. USDA microloans help farmers purchase farmland, improve property Farmers can use the United States Department of Agriculture farm ownership microloans to buy and improve property. These microloans are especially helpful to beginning or underserved farmers, veterans looking for a career in farming, and those who have small and mid-sized farming operations.

Microloans have helped farmers and ranchers with operating costs, such as feed, fertilizer, tools, fencing, equipment and living expenses since 2013. Microloans can also help with farmland and building purchases and soil and water conservation improvements. FSA designed the expanded program to simplify the application process, expand eligibility requirements and expedite smaller real estate loans to help farmers strengthen their operations. Microloans provide up to $50,000 to qualied producers and can be issued to the applicant directly from the FSA. To learn more about the FSA microloan program, contact your local USDA Service Center or visit fsa. usda.gov/microloans. USDA offers secure options for signing, sharing documents online Farmers and ranchers working with FSA or

Natural Resources Conservation Service can now sign and share documents online in just a few clicks. By using Box or OneSpan, producers can digitally complete business transactions without leaving their homes or agricultural operations. Both services are free, secure and available for multiple programs. Box is a secure, cloud-based site where FSA or NRCS documents can be managed and shared. Producers who choose to use this can create a username and password to access their secure account, where documents can be downloaded, printed, manually signed, scanned, uploaded and shared digitally with staff. This service is available to any FSA or NRCS customer with access to a mobile device or computer with printer connectivity. OneSpan is a secure eSignature solution for FSA and NRCS customers. Like Box, no software downloads or eAuthentication is required. Instead, producers interested in eSignature can conrm their identity through two-factor authentication using a verication code sent to their mobile device or a personalized question and answer. Once identity is conrmed, documents can be reviewed and e-signed via the producer’s email address. Signed documents immediately become available to the appropriate staff. Box and OneSpan are both optional services for customers interested in improved efciency in signing and sharing documents with USDA, and they do not replace existing systems using eAuthentication for digital signature. Instead, these tools provide additional digital options for producers to use when conducting business with FSA or NRCS. USDA Service Center staff are available to help producers get started with Box and OneSpan through a few simple steps. Visit farmers.gov/service-locator to nd your local ofce and let staff know you are interested in signing and sharing documents through these new features. In most cases, one quick phone call will be all that is needed to initiate the process. Visit farmers.gov/mydocs to learn more about Box and OneSpan, steps for getting started and additional resources for conducting business with USDA online. To learn more about program exibilities and Service Center status during the coronavirus pandemic, visit farmers.gov/coronavirus. 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.

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How to meet, exceed dairy farming sustainability goals Dairy Star • Saturday, April 24, 2021 • Page 27

Dairy farmers have always been environmentally conscious stewards of their land and animals, but what they haven’t always had were the proof points to show it. Now, with farmers’ ongoing concerted efforts around sustainability and U.S. Dairy’s 2050 Environmental Stewardship goals in place, we’ll be able to showcase metrics to better share our story as more consumers are demanding. In fact, a recent study showed that 81% of consumers globally said it is important companies implement programs to help the environment, and 70% of consumers would like those By Bob Lefebrve efforts to be more transparent. VP of Agricultural This Earth Day (and Affairs, Midwest beyond), you’ll hear a lot about Dairy sustainability and these goals. As a farmer, you might think, where do I start? The good news is you have probably already made progress. Here are some answers to commonly asked questions about sustainability, including tips on looking at your farm through a sustainability lens, what you can do to help reach the 2050 goals and why these efforts are important.

where you can make improvements that may save money. Manure and nutrient management: When thinking about this area, remember the 4 Rs. Are you applying nutrients at the right time, the right place, at the right rate, using the right source? (The right source can be manure to minimize the use of added commercial fertilizer.) Who can help me in the next steps? Have a conversation with your co-op or processor. They can set up a FARM Environmental Stewardship evaluation to help you get a baseline for your operation. Soil and water conservation districts are also there to provide information and help set up a plan. Finally, start having conversations with people you are working with now – your dairy nutritionists, vets and even your neighbors – and share best practices.

Why is this important to dairy farmers? Sustainability and the NZI is not only good for the earth and future generations of farmers. These practices also include other benets like helping lower costs by increasing accessibility to new technologies and solutions and making them more affordable for all farms. They also provide revenue opportunities like carbon and water credits, manure based-products, renewable natural gas and electricity resources. They also allow for precision farming. There is so much data right now that can be used to improve operations using less to grow more. Finally, they promote trust in dairy and set the record straight with scientic documentation. Again, this is not anything new or groundbreaking to farmers, and we do not need every farm to achieve net zero in their operation, but when we work together toward a common goal, great things happen. Learn more at www.usdairy.com/sustainability.

Where should I start? When thinking about improving sustainability, consider these four areas of your operation that make up the total footprint of the farm. Feed production: What are your current feed production processes? Have you explored cover crops that can be used as feed? Plants take in carbon dioxide. The more opportunity to keep things growing on the landscape, the more carbon they can sequester. Cover crops also help improve water quality as does minimum or no-till practices. Cow care: Cows are producing more milk than ever based on genetics alone, but how can you make them even more comfortable so they can produce more milk? Many farms are taking simple steps to evaluate their cow bedding and how they can improve cow comfort while saving money and resources. Energy usage: Even small things like changing light bulbs from uorescent or incandescent to LED can lead to savings. Energy audits conducted through your electric cooperative or utility can help determine

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What is Beef Quality Assurance? Beef Quality Assurance is a national program that raises consumer condence through offering proper management techniques and a commitment to quality within every segment of the beef industry. Dairy and beef farmers work hard to produce high-quality products for consumers. The BQA program is one of the few checkoff-funded producer programs. The BQA certication is free to obtain and is good for three years. It is entirely voluntary and is written by cattlemen for cattlemen. The BQA program is managed by a committee consisting of cattlemen By Brenda Miller from all sectors of the industry as well as U of M veterinarians and university personnel. The program is reviewed annually to ensure it remains practical and audited every ve years via the National Beef Quality Audit. The ultimate goal, regardless of which sector of the beef industry, is to utilize BQA best management practices to ensure cattle are raised with pride and handled with care, ultimately increasing consumer condence in beef products which in turn builds demand. There has been great success for the industry through the BQA program and audits. The rst National Beef Quality Audit took place in 1991, prior to the full roll out of the national BQA program. The audit found that nearly 25% of fed cattle had injection site blemishes. In 2016, the audit reported that less than 5% of fed cattle had injection site blemishes which is still a loss of $188 million dollars annually for the beef industry. However, even though fed cattle success was great, roughly 20% of slaughter cows and bulls had injection site blemishes. Slaughter cows account for 15% to 20% of the U.S. slaughter numbers each year and can be up to 15% to 25% of producer income. Improvement has been good, but we need to continue to work hard on the slaughter cow sector and continue efforts with fed cattle. The BQA certication training covers important topic areas such as: animal health and antimicrobial stewardship, injection site management, record keeping, animal handling, facilities and transportation, nutrition and feed regulations, market cows and bulls, environmental quality control points and biosecurity. To some, it may seem like much of the information covered is a review but a good refresher course. To others, it

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is a bit of a wakeup call, especially when it comes to injection site lesions, needle management, animal handling and body condition scoring. No one is forcing you to be BQA certied. But, completing the certication does have a number of positives. Some of those benets may include but are not limited to: more marketing opportunities, less stress for both handler and cow, herd management tips, nancial gains when marketing by implementing BMPs, biosecurity for disease prevention/ management and chute-side manners. There are a few ways to get BQA certied. The rst option is via the online course through www.bqa.org. On the website, there are three courses available to take: BQA Producers, BQA Transportation or Dairy Animal Care and Quality Assurance. Dairies that have completed a FARM Animal Care Version 3.0 (or newer) evaluation are considered to have achieved BQA certication equivalency. BQA Transportation is for those who are hauling cattle to market either with the farm truck/trailer or commercial semi-trailers. Almost all of the large packers require both BQA from the farmer and BQA from the hauler so it is a good idea to become certied. At this time, if you need the transportation certication, you must complete it online. Both online courses (producer and transportation) are selfpaced, available 24/7 and can take anywhere from two to four hours to complete. The second option would be an online live certication training via Zoom. The Minnesota Beef Council and the University of Minnesota Extension have teamed up to offer this option. The best way to follow live trainings and registration links is to follow the University of Minnesota Beef Team’s Facebook page. There are three on the calendar: May 6, May 18 and June 3, 6:30-8:30 p.m. The third option is to attend an in-person training. However, these have been mostly on hold for the past year due to COVID-19 restrictions. It is anticipated more in-person BQA certication opportunities will come later in the year. BQA is valuable for both beef and dairy producers who are raising and marketing cattle. When producers implement BQA best management practices, they can enhance herd protability, improve animal welfare and maintain consumer condence in beef products. For more information, visit www.bqa.org or gwww. mnbeef.org.

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Spring cleaning tips for your dairy

Many of us are not excited with the idea of tackling spring cleaning to-do lists. I prefer to look at it from another perspective; what do I get from doing this? Spring cleaning allows us to maintain quality herd management, stay on top of routine maintenance and retain personal safety. It is a good feeling to take the time to get our feet squarely under us and move along, knowing we have set up the farm for success. When I am preparing for spring cleaning, I prepare the list. I pick a day and build a list of small and big tasks that need to be done. I prefer to use the snowball method, starting with small jobs and building to bigger ones. I ask family and farm staff to claim enough tasks and let them know the deadline and the prize waiting at the nish line (my go-to motivation is a milkshake or chocolate chip cookies). Then we choose a time frame in which to get it done, and away we go. Some tasks that can be components of spring to-do lists may By Dana Adams include the following. U of M

Dairy Star • Saturday, April 24, 2021 • Page 29

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The barns and lots Lots: After the great thaw, we all see the mud and manure that has accumulated. Cleaning out lots will improve traction for cow hooves as well as reduce environmental pathogen load. This can be an excellent opportunity to evaluate how a dairy’s manure management overlaps with the crop fertility plan. Gates and doors: Facilities go through wear and tear. Maybe a gate breaks, or the veterinarian noticed there is a draft adding stress to calves. Now, take the time to make repairs, improve facilities and herd performance. High-quality facilities help keep farmers and animals safe throughout the year. Stalls: Make sure stalls are clean and dry to keep cows clean. Groom bedding daily and re-apply bedding when necessary to promote a sanitary environment. Spring is also a great time to check if stalls t cows. The heat abatement system Sprinklers: Using a sprinkler system to cool cows helps them perform better during summer heat stress. Preparing the system now can save time and stress down the road. Do not forget timers. Ensuring they are appropriately calibrated to spray at the appropriate intervals will be more efcient at keeping cows cool. Sprinkler usage when cows are at the bunk is helpful. Sprinkler usage at the bunk when cows are lying down wastes water. Cleaning fans: When the temperature and humidity get going, many of us depend on fans to keep cows cool. Dirty fan blades, louvers and guards can restrict airow up to 40% and put an increased load on motors. Cleaning fans is a great way to improve ventilation, remove dust in the air and help control the electric bill. The parlor Having quality parlor equipment is one of the nal on-farm steps to collecting milk. Spending time on a deep clean, replacing worn parts and repairing machinery can play a big role in maximizing a parlor’s life and efciency. Pulsators and automatic take off: Washing and changing lters on vacuum controllers and checking ATO equipment are sometimes forgotten parts of routine maintenance. Over-milking due to a faulty ATO can increase milking time in two ways. It can leave the unit on the cow longer, and it can also train the cow for slower milk letdown. Now is the perfect time to conrm that the equipment is performing to expectations. We can have the best cow, but a parlor with overdue maintenance can add preventable stress. Parlor components: General guidelines recommend changing milk hoses and claw gaskets every six months. Pulsators should be rebuilt following the manufacturer’s guidelines or at least one to two times per year. Another task to tackle in the parlor is removing excess hoses. This can help control the pressure in the lines and eliminate unnecessary energy. Do not forget vacuum and milk pumps which need regular service to prevent failure (a log or calendar entry can help chart maintenance). The herd This is an excellent time to check every cow. Why? Taking these steps now will save numerous redundant efforts throughout the year. Items on the checklist may include lameness, blind quarters and any other observable issues. The nal step is to log this information in a record-keeping system so all parties are aware and culling decisions are easier to make as needed. Around the farm Spruce up the outside: This includes picking up tree branches, power washing buildings, putting down gravel or taking the time to re-paint the farm sign. Some farms like to add owers out front. I prefer perennials native to my state like coneower or black-eyed Susan. Mowing or spraying weeds, both noxious and toxic, around the property will keep them from running rampant around the operation. Farm tours: Summer is frequently a time for farm tours and educational opportunities (COVID-19 status not withstanding). Jump at prospects to visit other farms and see what is going on. Ask experts the hard-hitting questions, hear peer’s thoughts about a new gadget and get some Vitamin D. Networking either in-person on virtually can be rejuvenating. Every farm is different, and this list of potential to-do’s may be too much or too little. These suggestions are simply here to motivate and remind us how we can improve the quality and safety of the dairy. Good luck, and hopefully this list helps you and your herd have a productive and satisfying season.

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Page 30 • Dairy Star • Saturday, April 24, 2021

I have a friend who is a social outcast. He is a I asked. leper, a scourge, the Charlie Sheen of polite society. He glanced at his watch. That is right, he is a smoker. “One hour and 52 minutes.” He has been trying to quit (with an emphasis on “What? You fell off the wagon again?” the “trying”), so I decided to “It isn’t my fault,” drop in on him to see how he replied. “I was driving he is doing and bolster his I h work when I passed a have a ffriend i d who h iis a social i l to resolve. convenience store that’s a “How’s it going?” I outcast. That is right, he is a few blocks from a school. asked as I entered his ofce. smoker. It made me angry to think “Terrible,” he replied. here I am, trying to kick “My hands are shaking, this lthy habit and there’s my head hurts, and I’m that convenience store, beginning to wish I drove a diesel pickup just so that displaying cigarettes behind the counter where I could inhale smoke, any kind of smoke.” anyone can see them. I went into the store with the I noticed he was toying with his pencil, icking intention of giving its manager a piece of my mind. nonexistent ash off its pointed end. Then I thought, ‘Why not remove the kids’ temptation “How long has it been since your last cigarette?” entirely?’ so I bought all of their cigarettes. I was

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feeling pretty pleased about my good deed, but then I drove past a farm where they were burning leaves and well.” “Have you ever tried nicotine patches? I’ve heard that they can help.” “Yeah, but they’re Dear County Agent Guy hard to keep lit and their avor leaves a lot to be desired.” “How about nicotine gum?” “I’ve tried that too, but after I got a dozen or so pieces in my mouth, I had trouble talking. Plus, the gals around the ofce kept saying ‘Moo!’ every time I walked by. By Jerry Nelson It doesn’t help matters Columnist when you’re being teased about chewing your cud.” “You know,” I said lowering my voice, “I’ve heard that enjoying the physical side of marriage has helped a lot of people quit smoking.” “Yeah, I thought about that too. I was having a rocky time of it one day and asked my wife if we could do something to help me through this rough patch. She said, ‘Sure, but what will you do for the other 23 hours and 58 minutes of the day?’ I said that if I could just get past this tough bit, maybe I’d make it the rest of the day and maybe then I’d be able to quit smoking altogether and live a much longer life. She looked at me and said, ‘Well, everybody’s got to go sometime.’ She had a point, so I went outside and lit up.” “It’s my own dumb fault,” he continued. “I should never have gone for my annual physical. My doc told me to quit smoking and said that I should lose some weight and that I needed to cut back on sweets and red meat. What’s the point of living if you aren’t allowed to enjoy life?” “This reminds me of a story I once heard about an old rancher who bought a pair of custom-made boots,” I replied. “The old rancher was in town one day when he bumped into the bootmaker. The bootmaker asked the rancher about the new boots. ‘They’re tighter than heck, they hurt me all the time,’ exclaimed the old rancher. The bootmaker said he’d gladly adjust the boots for free. ‘No way. You ain’t touching those boots!’ said the old rancher. “The bootmaker was surprised and asked why. ‘I’ll tell you why,’ said the old rancher. ‘I get up in the morning and pull on those boots. I go outside and see that my cows have busted out, so I have to chase them back in and spend half the day xing rusty old barbwire fence. Then the dog bites me and a calf knocks me into the mud. My tractor breaks down and I have to spend $50 for a part that should cost $5. Come sundown, I’m tired and achy. Supper is cold, and my wife is crabby. And that’s why you can’t x those boots. Because taking them off at the end of the day is the only pleasure I get.’” My pal silently mulled this over as he chewed on his pencil. “You’ve given me an idea,” he said. “I’m going to swing by the shoe store on my way home. But rst, I’m going to stop at the ofce supply place. I wonder if they carry pencils that have menthol erasers?” Jerry is a recovering dairy farmer from Volga, South Dakota. 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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Spring is here, or so we think. Much of the Midwest has experienced a blast or two of temperatures close to 80 degrees in the past few weeks. On the ip side, we’ve had some recent nights below freezing. This roller coaster of weather makes us scratch our heads and wonder how the 2021 alfalfa crop will be affected. Before we go into panic mode with alfalfa stands, Something to Ruminate On let’s step back and assess the situation.

Cold weather effects on plant growth Remember that alfalfa is a frosthardy plant. It takes temperatures below 24 degrees for more than four hours to freeze alfalfa top growth. That means the plant By Barry Visser will most likely be OK if temperatures Nutritionist stay above that mark or only dip for a short period of time. That said, if it is cold enough for long enough, frost can kill the terminal bud at the top of the stem where new growth occurs. This bud is exposed to the elements making it most vulnerable. The plant will try to grow if the terminal bud is killed, developing axillary buds at intersections of lower leaves of the stem, but it will not grow taller. Although the plant may continue to grow and produce some additional forage, yield will be depressed and, at some point, will need to be cut to allow for full regrowth for second cutting. If we experience cold temperatures in the coming weeks, work with your agronomist and forage advisers to assess alfalfa stands before rushing out and cutting immediately. First-cut timing sets the pace for the rest of the growing season When should you start rst cutting? No simple guidelines apply every year or for every farm. Generally, you can wait longer during periods of cooler temperatures and wetter conditions. Warmer springs with adequate moisture lead to faster growth and more rapid decline in ber digestibility. In the Upper Midwest, it is generally recommended by university researchers to plan the rst cut near the accumulation of 700 growing degrees. Plant maturity is the most important factor affecting quality. With increased maturity comes more cell wall constituents, including lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose. Proportionally, there is a drop in the digestible cellular contents such as soluble proteins, sugars, starch, fats and pectins. Not only does neutral detergent ber increase and forage energy content drop with maturity, but also the accumulating NDF becomes less digestible.

Scissor cuttings and PEAQ stick evaluation Scissor cutting is a tool that has been around for many years to estimate preharvest quality. Select a eld in the second or third production year, and sample twice a week until quality falls below desired harvest quality. Work with your nutritionist to determine target quality and implement proper scissor cutting procedures. A second tool, the Predicted Equation for Alfalfa Quality developed by the University of WisconsinMadison, helps make eld estimates. The PEAQ stick involves measuring the tallest stems in a 2-square-foot area of the eld and correlating to the plant maturity reading on the stick to estimate relative forage quality. Scissor cutting and PEAQ stick evaluation are generally more accurate as alfalfa height exceeds 15 inches. Both measurements evaluate the standing

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crop and do not account for the change in quality due to wilting, harvesting and storage. These losses will further lower relative feed value by 15% to 25%. Preharvest quality estimates have their greatest value for rst crop. Calendar date and visual maturity are useful factors in gauging harvest time for later cuttings. The early bud stage is optimal for both yield and quality. Genetic technologies with lower lignin alfalfa may allow us to maintain nutritional quality over a longer window of harvest. This is most often utilized in subsequent cuttings after rst-cutting. The maturity and quality of alfalfa silage at harvest is only one factor affecting the bottom line of your dairy. Harvesting top-quality alfalfa silage should be a priority of your forage team. It’s in the best interest of your cows and your pocketbook. Barry Visser is a nutritionist for Vita Plus.

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A short season Page 32 • Dairy Star • Saturday, April 24, 2021

Many seem worried about global warming and Queen in Illinois. I saw the princess programs as a terested in dairy farms and can explain it in a way climate changes. People need to relax a bit and en- way I could help my dad market the beef we grew. I to satisfy the real question being asked. joy the yo-yo ride we endure every year. Out here was passionate about beef and knew I was going to The opportunities these young ladies have toin the country, we understand there is meet other young ladies who were pas- day are only limited by their imagination. They are a different kind of weather pattern not sionate about helping their fathers. We articulate, passionate and willing to learn. They discussed during the weather report. It Just Thinking Out Loud interviewed 40 young ladies that day can present a positive image of our industry to the is a yo-yo pattern. One day it is over and were able to select a single win- consumer. With all the restrictions this past year, 80 degrees. Twenty-four hours later, ner. It was tough, but the best candi- the two Crow Wing County dairy princesses develwe’re shoveling snow. Up and down. date that day rose to the top like cream. oped a couple of YouTube video series about using Down and Up. We’re spinning round Fast forward 36 years, and I am dairy in recipes and life on their dairy farm. They and round until the yo-yo grabs tracasked back to judge the Morrison couldn’t get to the public, so they invited the public tion on the string and nishes up the County dairy princess contest. We to them. trick. only had seven candidates this year, For the past 67 years, we have crowned a young Some farmers had their corn plantbut it was harder to make our selection lady as Princess Kay of the Milky Way. She has ers in the elds during the 80-degree than when we judged 40 candidates. been the face of our industry at public events, condays. With a forecast of highs for the The program has made great changes ventions and classroom visits with inner city and coming week of 40, we are not jumpover the years to meet the needs of urban students. Her title is instantly recognizable By Natalie Schmitt ing on that bandwagon yet. We did get our industry and the demands of our and allows us access to consumers with instant Columnist started on our rst harvest of the year. customers; however, one thing has not credibility. It is a program that has gone through We started picking rocks up on the 40. change. The passion these young la- many changes to maintain its relevance while preWe made a few rounds when we had to dies feel about the dairy industry. Out serving its history. Some of the rst county and repull out of the eld before we had to be pulled out of the seven candidates this year, three were not gional contests I helped judge included a cooking of the eld. The tractor I was driving started to fall from dairy farms. They choose to work on neigh- demonstration by the girls. The girls in 4-H sure through the crust. Mark and the skidloader made it boring farms. had a big advantage in this area. Sometimes the through a soft spot OK, but I forgot I weighed a bit It must be my year to get back into this short girls even had to develop their own radio commermore with my load of rocks. season. Roseann Caughey cials for June Dairy Month. Spring is just around the corner, though. My asked me to judge the Whatever task was set beWinter weather h iis waning, i and d fore them, they put their rhubarb is starting to leaf out. The peonies are pok- Crow Wing County Dairy Wi ing through the winter mulch. Yellow and purple Princess contest the fol- spring hasn’t quite decided to best efforts in to tell their crocuses are bringing a bit of life to my owerbed. lowing week. Once again, story about our industry. We are kind of in a fth season right now. the numbers were small but stay. While the other commodWinter weather is waning, and spring hasn’t the talent pool was large. ity groups have backed quite decided to stay. While we are in this weather Two sisters, who own and away from pork queens ux, we can call this our shortest season. It is the operate their own dairy herd, will represent their and beef queens, I’m glad we, in the dairy industry, time of year when dairy farmers escort their daugh- county throughout the year. They will be helped by continue to put a bright young face on our industry ters across a stage while mothers snap pictures at three ambassadors with similar backgrounds. They to connect with customers. the county dairy princess banquets. all ride horses in 4-H and choose to work on neighAs their four children pursue dairy careers off the Morrison County was the rst dairy princess boring dairy farms. 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Dairy Star • Saturday, April 24, 2021 • Page 33

We live on a paved county road, but there’s a gravel township road across the road from our driveway. This gravel road is where I do a lot of my walking and running. The road goes past the cropland we rent from Glen’s cousin and then past several other elds and farms. This spring, each run down the gravel road has been enhanced by the most beautiful sight: the color green. The cover crop we planted last fall emerged as Dairy Good Life one of our best covers yet. When the snow melted, a lush green carpet was unveiled. Weeks before either our established alfalfa or our pasture returned to green, the ryegrass seemed to be shouting its greenness from the rooftops. There was something about seeing that rich, emerald green color – when the rest of the landscape was still locked in the drab tans and browns of late winter – that brought me extra joy. Maybe it’s the science of the color, which shows that seeing green can relax our nervous systems and promote calm feelings. Or maybe it’s knowing that our elds are already By Sadie Frericks alive, harvesting sunlight, feeding the soil’s biology, Columnist and generating organic matter that will either enrich our soil or feed our cows. We’ve been planting cover crops for the better part of the last decade. Cover crops help up protect the limited cropland acreage we farm and, depending on the year, allow us to harvest an extra forage crop. Before we started covering our corn ground each fall, we used alfalfa as a cover crop. We left the alfalfa in the eld over winter, let it green up in the spring, harvested a rst cutting, and then no-tilled corn into the stubble. We still manage our alfalfa-corn transitions this way. Not every central Minnesota fall has been cover crop friendly. A couple years ago, the corn silage came off too late and the temperature dropped too early and we didn’t get a cover crop established. But I gure one winter of naked elds is better than always having naked elds. Speaking of naked elds, I made two trips to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, this spring – one for Central Plains Dairy Expo and one to visit my sister over Easter break. There was a lot of windshield time looking at way too many acres of naked cropland. A little way south of Jasper, however, there was an emerald in the rough. From miles away you could see the greenness, shining out of the otherwise drab panorama like a neon sign. Again, it was a sight for sore eyes. The best part about this farmer’s cover crops, though, were the signs staked alongside Highway 23 that read “Cover Crop Enhanced.” Kudos to that farmer for calling attention to the benets of cover crops – all of us that cover our cropland ought to be doing the same. I’m delighted to see that cover crops have been getting more attention recently, not just for their ability to protect soil, but also for their capacity to sequester carbon. I’ve lost count of the number of emails, webinar invitations, etc. we’ve received this spring about companies looking to enter the carbon market – to purchase carbon credits from farmers to offset their carbon use and, thereby, reduce their carbon footprints. I was also delighted to hear that Minnesota may soon begin helping farmers with cover crop establishment. Several agriculture groups worked together this winter on a soil health bill that will use Clean Water Funds to create a soil health cost-share program. Hopefully, this funding will help convince more farmers to give cover crops a try. There’s certainly room for great cover crop adoption. Of Minnesota’s 25.4 million acres of cropland, 2017 data shows only 579,000 acres were planted to a cover crop. Cover crops also made the news this past month for their ability to conserve another farm resource: cash. Data from Minnesota’s Farm Business Management program shows that Minnesota Ag Water Quality Certied farms had 20% higher prots than non-certied farms. I’m guessing that’s without payments from carbon trading. Those prots will only go up as carbon becomes more widely commoditized. With all of these developments in the realm of cover crops, I think it’s time for a cover crop marketing campaign: See green. Save green. Make green. Sounds like a good slogan for the signs I’m going to put up in our elds. If you’re interested in learning more about cover crops, soil health, and carbon sequestration, I highly recommend looking into the work of Ray Archuleta and Frank Mitloehner. Archuleta is a soil scientist, farmer, and founder of the Soil Health Academy. Mitloehner is a professor and air quality specialist in the Department of Animal Science at University of California – Davis; he is also the director of the Clarity and Leadership for Environmental Awareness and Research Center, which studies the relationship between livestock and air quality. Sadie and her husband, Glen, milk 100 cows near Melrose, Minnesota. They have three children – Dan, 13, Monika, 11, and Daphne, 7. 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, April 24, 2021

Spring safety tune-up

Helpful tips for preventing farm injuries, fatalities By Stacey Smart

stacey.s@dairystar.com

MADISON, Wis. – Spring is an exciting and busy time of year on the farm. As the air gets warmer and the days become longer, farmers take to the elds, making this the perfect time of year to also revisit procedures that ensure the safety of all employees and family members. Cheryl Skjolaas and Marsha Salzwedel provided a refresher on top safety concerns for the upcoming planting and growing season during a recent Professional Dairy Producers Dairy Signal webinar titled, “Farm safety tips for all ages.” “Safety has to start with you,” said Skjolaas, agricultural Cheryl Skjolaas safety and health specialist for the Center for Agricultural Safety and Health at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “Your actions and role modeling are critical. Whether it’s for a younger worker, new employee or family member, the attitude you bring toward your work is a big factor. For example, if your policy is to Marsha Salzwedel wear a seatbelt when operating a tractor but you hop in that tractor and don’t put the seatbelt on, you’re not being a good role model.” Salzwedel, project scientist at the National Farm

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Before going out on the road, check equipment to ensure it has adequate lighƟng and marking. The bright orange and red emblems denoƟng a slow-moving vehicle should be in good condiƟon. Medicine Center, agreed. “One of the most powerful tools in our tool kit is modeling,” Salzwedel said. “Employees are always going to do what they see rather than what you say.” Tractors are a primary cause of fatalities on farms, and overturns are the most common incident involving tractors, Skjolaas said. Tractors should have a rollover protective structure, and operators should always wear a seatbelt. Some states have programs for retrotting a tractor with a ROPS. Make sure the tractor is in good condition and ensure implements used with a

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Dairy Star • Saturday, April 24, 2021 • Page 35

ConƟnued from FARM SAFETY | Page 34 ample, does the hitch pin have the proper safety connection to it? Is the power take-off shield in good condition? Does it have any cracks? Is the whole PTO shield from the tractor to the powered implement in place? “Build some gaps into your schedule so you can handle time pressures,” Skjolaas said. “Have backup plans and a list of phone numbers available and second pieces of parts that may go.” Make sure everyone on the farm is trained on equipment that may not be used on a regular basis. Pull out operator’s manuals and take a look at safety requirements, and discuss these requirements with employees who are going to operate that equipment. Also, go over emergency scenarios. If there are injuries or someone is caught in equipment, how should people respond? “If nothing else, it’s important everybody on the farm knows how to turn that tractor or self-propelled implement on and off,” Skjolaas said. Skjolaas stressed the importance of a communications plan for the individual who is working alone. Make sure someone knows where that person is

going and their expected time of return. “On our farm, there was always a note on the kitchen table so we knew who was where,” Skjolaas said. “For example, if Dad was going up in the silo, somebody knew that. Don’t just rely on a person to call you on your cell phone. Because if something happens to them, they probably won’t be able to give you that call.” In the event of an emergency, a farm map can direct medical personnel to an accident site quickly and efciently. Skjolaas recommends creating a map of the farm that includes: roads and crossroads; buildings and locations; silos, grain storage and manure storage; wells, hydrants, ponds and streams; location of septic/wastewater systems; chemical/fertilizer storage; overhead and buried power lines; and gas and electrical shutoffs. “The National Farm Medicine Center has a great program called Farm Mapper to help you make a map of your farm,” Skjolaas said. “We don’t know

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Page 36 • Dairy Star • Saturday, April 24, 2021

Women In Dairy Leah Kurth Cosmos, Minnesota Renville County 150 cows

Family: My husband, Bill, and I have four children: our son Larkun, 14, and three girls Livia, 10, Briecyn, 7, and Taelyn, 6 months. Tell us about your farm. Bill and I own and operate KurthKine Holsteins. On our dairy, we milk 150 cows twice a day in a double-8 herringbone parlor 1 mile south of my husband’s home farm. The cows and breeding age heifers are housed in a 180-stall sand-bedded freestall barn. Heifers ages 0-13 months are housed at our home farm in a retrotted calf barn and mono-slope shed. Our pregnant heifers are custom-raised with family friends near New Ulm. We farm 180 acres which consist of corn silage, oats and alfalfa. We rent some additional alfalfa ground. What is the busiest time of day for you? The busiest time of day is later afternoon and evenings. This time consists of picking up the kids from school, getting them to and from any after-school activities, feeding calves and lling in wherever needed during chores. When you get a spare moment, what do you do? With a 6-month-old who doesn’t usually sleep through the night, when I have a spare moment, I like to try and take a nap. But normally in my spare time, I like to dabble in various craft projects, read or work on a home improvement project.

enjoys hosting various events throughout the year when we can such as twilight meetings, eld days or industry learning opportunities. Who is someone in the industry who has inspired you? My good friend, Alison Rickeman. Her passion for the dairy industry and the farmers that make up the industry is truly motivating and energizing. She is always striving to learn as much as she can, is knowledgeable about all things dairy and is a great person to toss ideas off of.

Tell us about your most memorable experience working on the farm. I can’t think of a most memorable experience, but some of my favorite times are classication days. Each time we add a high-scoring 2-year-old or a new Excellent cow to our farm it is extremely exciting and fullling. We have great foundation cow families within our herd, and seeing those lines improve from generation to generation is motivating.

If you could give a tour of your farm to a prominent woman in today’s society, who would it be? I would much rather invite kids from a local school or groups of people from larger cities who don’t normally have the opportunity to see an actual dairy farm. So many consumers have never even seen a calf or a cow. Visiting a farm where they can be hands-on with those animals can change the way they view dairy farmers and impact their dairy purchasing decisions in the future much more than any prominent women in today’s society.

What have you enjoyed most about dairy farming or your tie to the dairy industry? I grew up a town kid and didn’t have any experience with agriculture until I met my husband. I enjoy raising our family on the farm. The farm itself teaches kids such great lessons, and our local dairy community is full of great families that are awesome at what they do and always supportive of each other.

What is the best vacation you have ever taken? About 12 years ago, I went to New York with a group of girls to bowl in a national bowling tournament. After bowling in Syracuse, we went into New York City and stayed for several days. We did all the fun touristy things and saw a couple Broadway shows. The hustle and bustle of NYC was a great experience, and I would denitely go back.

How do you stay connected with others in the industry? I enjoy serving and volunteering on local boards, organizations and committees. I am the vice president of our county ADA, vice president of our county DHIA, a board member on our creamery’s young cooperative board, the treasurer for the Region 7 Dairy Show Committee and the association manager for our bowling association. Our farm also

What are some words you like to live by? I enjoy quotes in general. A few of my favorite include: “Never water yourself down just because someone can’t handle you at 100 proof;” “In the end, we only regret the chances we didn’t take;” and “Happiness can be found, even in the darkest times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.”

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Dairy Star • Saturday, April 24, 2021 • Page 37

ConƟnued from FARM SAFETY | Page 35

when emergencies are going to happen, and time is precious. Giving this information to rst responders will allow for the best rst response opportunity.” Skjolaas said to keep rst aid kits in more than one place and stocked with heavy-duty scissors, so if a piece of clothing is entangled, it can be cut free. Also, keep absorbing materials like towels or a blanket in vehicles and out in the eld so emergency action steps can be taken while waiting for ambulance and rst responders to arrive. “There’s a lot you can do with a roll of paper towel and duct tape as well, like stabilize an injury,” Skjolaas said. Skjolaas said road incidents make up a fair number of fatalities in Wisconsin. Before going on the road, check equipment to ensure it has adequate lighting and marking. The bright orange and red emblems denoting a slowmoving vehicle should be in good condition. “There are a lot of emblems out there getting faded and dull, and they should be replaced,” Skjolaas said. “Go to the Division of Motor Vehicles website and check that you’re meeting lighting and marking requirements.” A driver’s license is not required for agricultural purposes, but youth operators ages 12-15 must have a state certicate of completion for the Wisconsin Safe Operation of Tractor and Machinery Certication Program. “Farms are a great place for kids to grow up, work and live,” Salzwedel said. “But farms also present challenges and risks that can lead to injury or death. Agriculture is one of the most dangerous occupations in the U.S. and the only worksite in our nation where children of any age can be present.” According to the National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricul-

tural Health and Safety, a child dies in an ag-related incident in this country about every three days, and each day, approximately 33 children are seriously injured on farms. Of these injuries, 60% happen to children who are not working – oftentimes toddlers. Salzwedel pointed out that long-term disabilities impact the youth plus the entire farm enterprise. “An injury like this can wipe out a farm’s annual income in just seconds,” she said. The top three causes of fatalities involve machinery, motor vehicles and drowning, with tractors being the No. 1 cause of death. Drowning deaths are attributed not only to farm ponds, irrigation ponds, creeks and rivers, but also include things like manure pits and grain bins. The leading causes of injuries come from falls, animals and machinery/vehicles. “While the use of ATVS and skid steers have provided huge benets in getting work done, they’ve also contributed signicantly to injuries both to adults and children,” Salzwedel said. The economic cost of youth farm injuries is substantial, costing society $1.26 billion a year, Salzwedel said. To ensure children’s safety, she recommends the following: keep kids away from tractors; keep young children out of the worksite; build safe, fenced-in play areas; and provide work training to kids old enough to conduct tasks. “The number of injuries go up tremendously during planting and harvesting seasons,” Salzwedel said. “Fatigue is a huge contributor to injuries. Everyone is tired during this busy time of year on the farm. Make sure you get adequate sleep, and make sure you know where your children are.”

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April showers bring calf scours Page 38 • Dairy Star • Saturday, April 24, 2021

Spring is in the air. Birds are up for health problems and creating chirping, new babies are being born, a long road ahead for extra care and and Mother Nature is wreaking havoc, costly treatments. which does not make for ideal calving During times of high calving, conditions. Warmer temperatures especially in wet seasons, develop a followed by cold snaps and harsh sanitation plan with your calf team. Talk rain can add stress to a newborn calf. to them about how often to clean and As calves are born and the weather bed the maternity area and make sure uctuates, it is important everyone knows what Calf Chronicles to pay extra attention to ideal calving conditions the future of your herd. look like. Teaching your Let’s start with the employees the knee test maternity pen, often a (30 seconds of kneeling high-trafc area on the on the bedding to make farm and the environment sure knees are not wet or a newborn calf is exposed cold after) is a quick and to rst. As new cows and easy way to judge if the calves come in, people bedding is deep and dry walk through the bedding enough for calves. to help the cow give birth, Additionally, the and then to retrieve calves timing of cleaning and By Ellen Cushing and follow up with any re-bedding is important. medications and day one Plan for how many Columnist protocol necessities. High calvings there should be trafc can translate into in between re-bedding the pathogen overload and greater disease maternity pen. Calvings-per-cleaning risk. is a better approach compared with When a calf is born, it has an setting a weekly or bi-weekly schedule. underdeveloped immune system, which In times of heavy calving, it helps to means it has a slow and weak response to ensure the area is never overwhelmed the pathogens it encounters. The calf’s with pathogens. Also, your bedding immune system grows more robust plan does not have to stay consistent with time, but on day one, hour one, it throughout the year. If you know you is extremely weak. So, if there is a high tend to deal with higher scouring level of pathogens in the maternity pen, incidents in periods of wet weather there is a good chance those pathogens (like springtime), then you may need will overwhelm the underdeveloped to increase bedding frequency during immune system. As I mentioned in my those months. previous article, a calf’s umbilicus is an Once you have protocols in open highway to their body. If a calf is place for the maternity area, it is also born into mud, manure or a puddle, that imperative to create sanitation protocols umbilicus is dragging all that bacteria for moving newborn calves. If you use with it. Those pathogens can travel into a wheelbarrow or other means of calf the calf’s blood stream, setting the calf transportation, sanitize between calves

or as often as possible as this equipment can harbor bacteria. Even if a calf is only going to be in the transport for a few minutes, that is plenty of time for pathogens to enter the nasal, oral or navel pathway and infect a calf. Similar to the maternity pen, plan for cleaning calf PHOTO PROVIDED pens or hutches. When a calf is born, it has an underdeveloped immune Outdoor hutches, system, which means it has a slow and weak response to especially in pathogens it encounters. springtime, tend than-ideal weather. Write down and to get wet and muddy, particularly in front of the share standard operating procedures hutch. As snow melts and rain comes for maintaining clean maternity down, this muddy area becomes a pens, transportation equipment and breeding ground for bacteria. Drainage calf hutches and pens. Be cognizant is key when conguring where to put of how you and others can mitigate hutches on your farm. Ideally, you want the movement of pathogens. These to have hutches sloped so water drains fundamental, occasionally underaway from the hutch. Putting down appreciated protocols will go a long gravel can help keep calves out of way in preventing April showers from standing water and keep bedding drier. turning into calf scours. Ellen is the First Defense regional In any calving environment, having a bit of a slope so water and urine drain sales and marketing manager for Wisaway from the calves will help keep consin and Minnesota. She is a problem them clean and dry. Additionally, talk solver who loves walking calf hutches with your team about when it is time to and diagnosing protocol drift. A great re-bed the calves (the knee test applies day is a day spent helping dairy and beef farmers keep their baby calves here too). The goal is to set up your calves for healthy. Ellen can be reached at ecushsuccess, and it starts in the maternity ing@immucell.com. pen, especially during times of less-

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Dairy Star • Saturday, April 24, 2021 • Page 39