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DAIRY ST R

Volume 20, No. 6

“All dairy, all the time”™

Finally home

Brothertons buy a farm after searching for seven years By Krista Kuzma

krista.k@dairystar.com

WINTHROP, Minn. – After nearly seven years of searching to nd a farm, the Brothertons are nally home. At the beginning of the year Steve and Jessie Brotherton along with their two children Michaela, 5, and Jayce, 3, moved to a dairy farm with a 51-stall tiestall barn they bought near Winthrop, Minn. They milk 85 cows. “It still hasn’t sunk in,” Jessie said. “I wake up and say, this is actually my house, and I actually have things to do. It’s a good feeling to be settled. It’s a place to call home and it feels like home.” The Brothertons’ dairy story started

on the East Coast in Massachusetts, where Steve grew up on his family’s farm. After his parents sold out, Steve and his brother decided to start up the farm again in 1998; however, they, too, had to sell their herd in 2006. That’s when the moving started. Steve took a job as a herdsman in Vermont. After meeting Jessie on farmersonly.com in early 2011 and a quick few months of dating online, Jessie visited Steve in Vermont in May. Within the same month, she moved from northeast Missouri and the two became engaged. Steve’s dream to have his own dairy quickly became a shared goal. “I’ve always been a country girl, and I could see how much he loved it,” Jessie said. “I can’t see him doing factory work. It would break his spirit.” The two searched for opportunities that would allow Steve to work as a Turn to BROTHERTONS | Page 6

May 12, 2018

KRISTA KUZMA/DAIRY STAR

Steve Brotherton pulls back sawdust underneath the cows in the Ɵestall barn he and his family moved to at the rst of the year near Winthrop, Minn. He and his wife, Jessie, milk 85 cows.

The Kieler

Village

Three dairy farm moms rely on each other, family for support By Krista Kuzma

krista.k@dairystar.com

RON JOHNSON/DAIRY STAR

The women of Kieler Farms Inc. – (from leŌ) Leah Kieler, Renee Clark and Ann Kieler – are thankful to have each other while juggling the roles of farmer and mom. The three are part of the Kieler family, who milk 1,600 cows on their dairy near PlaƩeville, Wis.

PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – The Kielers know farming with family can be difcult. “I remember thinking it’s one of the hardest things anyone could ever do,” Leah Kieler said. “But I also think anything that’s great takes a lot of work. As difcult as it is, it’s also that good.” Making it even better for the Kieler women is having each other to lean on – whether it comes to areas of farming or being a mom. Two generations of the Kielers – Ann Kieler, together with her daughter, Renee Clark, and daughter-in-law, Leah Kieler – are the female side of the ownership force that make up Kieler Farms, Inc., where they milk 1,600 cows near Platteville, Wis. “If we didn’t have each other, I don’t know what we would do,” Leah said. They farm together with their husbands – Ann’s husband, Louie, Leah’s husband, Eric, and Clark’s husband, Matt – along with Louie’s brother, George, and his son, Daniel. Each person has his or her area to manage. For the women, Leah is the parlor manager and leads the human

Turn to KIELER FARMS | Page 10

Page 2 • Dairy Star • Saturday, May 12, 2018

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 Amanda Thooft 320-352-6303 amanda.t@dairystar.com Consultant Jerry Jennissen 320-346-2292 Editorial Staff Andrea Borgerding - Associate Editor (320) 352-6303 • andrea.b@dairystar.com Krista Kuzma - Assistant Editor (507) 259-8159 • krista.k@dairystar.com Jennifer Coyne - Assistant Editor (320) 352-6303 • jenn@dairystar.com Ron Johnson (608) 874-4243 ron.j@dairystar.com Ruth Klossner (507) 240-0048 cowlady@centurylink.net Brittany Olson (320) 352-6303 brittany.o@dairystar.com Danielle Nauman (715) 245-6848 danielle.n@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 - Jeff Weyer (Northern MN, East Central MN) 320-260-8505 (cell) jeff.w@dairystar.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 Lori Menke (Eastern Iowa, Southern WI) 563-608-6477 • lori.m@dairystar.com Megan Stuessel (Western Wisconsin) 608-387-1202 megan.s@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.

North America dealers. From the editorial team

Tell us about #YourFavoriteDairyFarmer For dairy farmers, we understand days can get long and be difcult. Equipment can break. A cow can have a problem while calving. An employee can not show up for a milking. It won’t stop raining to get in the eld. There are many challenges you face every day as a caretaker of land and animals. Of course there are good things, too. A healthy new calf is born. The day’s milking went well without problems. Your records show low somatic cell count for the month. There is a warm stretch with sun to allow you to get out in the eld. The corn starts to grow in the eld. Sometimes little things help you keep going. Because of your dedication, passion, love and hard work for the industry, we want to honor the dairy farmers in our Dairy Star coverage area in our #YourFavoriteDairyFarmer campaign. Create a post on social media (use the hashtag!), leave us a message on social media (We’re on Facebook and Instagram!) or send us an email telling us about #YourFavoriteDairyFarmer. Where are they from? What makes them great? Why is this farmer your favorite? Please try to keep your responses under 100 words. During June Dairy Month, we will potentially use your responses on our social media outlets or in the newspaper to share about all the favorite dairy farmers in the area. So get ready to gush. We are looking forward to hearing about #YourFavoriteDairyFarmer.

– The Dairy Star Editorial Team

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Dairy Star • Saturday, May 12, 2018 • Page 3

It’s all inside... Columnists Ag Insider

Second Section: Pages 3 - 5 Kittson

First Section: Pages 12 - 13

Roseau

Beltrami

How do you balance between being a mom and a farmer? First Section: Pages 15 - 16

Pine

Swift

Sherburne Kandiyohi

Chippewa

Lyon

Murray

Rock

Nobles

Anoka

Wright

McLeod

Renville

Isanti

Hennepin Carver Scott

Sibley Redwood Brown

Nicollet

Winthrop

Dairy Prole: Troy Rechtzigel First Section: Page 39

Dakota

Lincoln

Yellow Medicine

Meeker

Lac Qui Parle

Benton

Stearns

Pope

First Section: Pages 1, 6

Douglas

Stevens

Mille Lacs

Morrison

Tra ve

Grant

Winthrop

Brothertons buy a farm after searching nearly seven years

Carlton

Crow Wing

Todd

Pipestone

FROM OUR SIDE OF THE FENCE:

Aitkin

Page 29 Second Section

Cass

isa

Country Cooking

Day

Big Stone

First Section: Pages 23, 25

Pages 10 - 11 Second Section

rse

Page 32 First Section

The “Mielke” Market Weekly

Otter Tail

Wilkin

Making Cents of Dairy

Itasca

Washington

Page 31 First Section

Barka receives prestigious FFA award for dairy SAE

Kanabec

Becker

Clay

Litcheld

Veterinary Wisdom

nom

Mah

First Section: Pages 33, 37

Koochiching

Polk Norman

First Section: Pages 34 - 35

Pierz students participate in annual tractor day

St. Louis

Red Lake

Page 30 First Section

Pierz

Vogt family ready to host Stearns County Breakfast on the Farm

First Section: Page 36

Pennington

Dear County Agent Guy

Sauk Centre

Lake of the Woods

Marshall

Page 27 First Section

Women in Dairy: Tisheena Hanks

Mueller Dairy receives OV award for quality milk

The Transition Pen

Kelliher

Wendorffs transform garage into milking barn

Hubbard

Page 26 First Section

Puposky

Wadena

FSA News & Notes

Sauk Centre

Clearwater

Pages 8 - 9 First Section

Rice

Goodhue Wabasha

Cottonwood Watonwan Blue Earth Waseca Steele Dodge Olmsted Jackson

Martin

Faribault

Freeborn

Mower

Winona

Fillimore

Houston

Medford

Kaspers play competitive pool as outlet to farming

Boyd

Minnesota dairywoman is also a Lutheran minister Third Section: Pages 8 - 9

Zone 1

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

Third Section: Pages 2 - 3

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Page 4 • Dairy Star • Saturday, May 12, 2018

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Dairy Star • Saturday, May 12, 2018 • Page 5

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Solutions need to come from within the ag community This letter is for everyone who cares for animals 24/7, tills the ground, plants the seed and harvests the crops. No matter whether you milked with buckets or robots, or you cropped with no cab or GPS-guided tractor; we have all struggled with the same issues. Drought, ood, disease, trying to nd time to raise a family, trying to teach them safety and the right values; but perhaps the most stressful and uncontrollable have been the prices we have received for our hard work. We have suffered for the past 40 years from one farm bill/policy to the next, and these have not brought about the necessary changes to x this problem. The result is the loss of our family farms, the values they represent, and the stream of wealth for our rural communities has dried up. Most of us can agree that over the past 40 years the existing policies have not worked. The solution is not going to come from Washington, D.C., or our socalled ag leaders. “Inuence is no government,” George Washington said. Grassland, Walmart and other practices by manufacturers and retailers are just the beginning. For years, government policies have pushed cheap food and the result is bankrupting our rural communities. Unfair trade practices with countries with little or no quality standards are imported when the supply of excellent quality American farm products are in large supply. This has given producers few options to compete in the market as the product is perishable. The farmer must produce more product just to try and cash ow, which in turn results in a large surplus that drives the cost down further. It’s a vicious cycle. As input costs rise, it is increasingly more difcult to maintain cost of production when the income uctuates dramatically and remain protable. This is difcult for smaller operations who cannot spread out these losses as well as the larger farms. This is the advantage large farms have over smaller, family operations. The solutions need to come from within the ag community. The goal is to make farming protable, which in turn would stabilize and grow our rural areas. It would encourage and give young people the opportunity to farm. “Let us hope, that by the best cultivation of the physical world beneath and around us, and the intellectual and moral world within us, we shall secure an individual, social and political prosperity and happiness, whose course shall be onward and upward and which while the Earth endears, shall not pass away,” Abraham Lincoln said. It is clearly not just a numbers game. In order to sustain our American way of life, fair trade and personal virtues must be upheld. We basically have two options: say nothing and allow the banks, government and businesses inuence our prices and way of life or speak up and create our own practices and policies that will benet the majority of farms and society. “Government of the people, by the people, for the people,” Abraham Lincoln said. Daniel Peterson Siren, Wis.

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KRISTA KUZMA/DAIRY STAR

The Brotherton family – Steve and Jessie along with their children Michaela and Jayce – are happy to be seƩled into their new farm they bought near Winthrop, Minn. herdsman and eventually take over the farm. In November 2011, they tried one in Michigan and were on the move again to Iowa in June 2012. After marrying in October of that year, they packed up again for Wisconsin, where the couple tried out two farms over the course of ve years before nding their own. “He has always had the Wisconsin dream,” Jessie said about why they moved to the Midwest. “It’s the dairy state so he wanted to be out in a more dairy area. East [Coast] farms were failing and Midwestern farms were thriving a little more at the time.” Other criteria for their future farm included distance from the house to the barn, location, and the condition of both the house and the barn. “When we would nd a farm with a good barn, the house wouldn’t be good,” Steve said. “Or when we found one with a good house, the barn wasn’t usable.” After a Google search, Steve found Minnesota Farm Link, a program through the Minnesota Department of Agriculture that connects retiring farmers with new ones. That’s when he found their farm listed. “We didn’t know,” Steve said. “It was another state, and we would have to swap everything. It’s a struggle to change states.” But the rest of the criteria matched. Plus, they were nearing their goal timeline with Michaela needing to attend kindergarten in the fall of 2018. “It was pressing because with kids, we wanted to settle down so they could start school and stay in one class,” Jessie said. After nding the farm in the fall and a quick visit, the Brothertons worked to get the purchasing process started. Despite challenges working with two banks, they found a banker and a Farm Service Agency ofcer who helped make the process smooth. “They were so great to work with,” Jessie said.

The Brothertons moved in after the rst of the year and bought a herd of cows from a retiring dairy family in Sleepy Eye, Minn. On Jan. 10, the couple milked their own cows for the rst time. “It’s a release of everything to nally reach that goal,” Jessie said. They faced challenges right away. Since they arrived in midwinter, the Brothertons needed to secure feed for their herd. “That was a big stressor,” Steve said. It was a relief when they found neighbors who had some to sell. This summer they will be able to make a portion of their own feed on their 40 tillable acres of the 55 acres they purchased. Along with the typical things like guring out the right set up for their dairy, Steve needed emergency surgery because of an appendicitis in February followed by the whole family being sick after the rst few months they arrived. Other challenges have been creating a new schedule for balancing chores and family life. “It feels like there aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done,” Jessie said. Perhaps one of the biggest challenges has been the low milk price. “I know milk price is low, but I’d rather start up when it’s low rather than high,” Steve said. “Otherwise you build all your debt up around the high price and don’t know what to do when it drops.” Jessie agreed. “We’re tight right now and bills are coming in regularly, but we’re not giving up. This is it. This is what we’ve dreamed about getting into,” she said about their optimistic and enthusiastic spirit. They now feel freedom being Turn to BROTHERTONS | Page 7

Dairy Star • Saturday, May 12, 2018 • Page 7

Grant money available to prevent wolf attacks

conƟnued from BROTHERTONS | Page 6

KRISTA KUZMA/DAIRY STAR

The 51-stall Ɵestall barn on the Brothertons’ new farm houses their herd of registered Holsteins. owners of a dairy, being able to set their own hours and go at their own pace. “You’re doing the work for yourself and not for somebody else,” Steve said. Jessie agreed. “Your hard work, sweat and blood all ends up going into something that’s meant for you and your family,” she said. Looking towards the future, the Brothertons want to build a dairy that is a foundation for their kids. “We’ll be able to spend more time with them now and show them good values, especially hard work,” Steve said. They follow the philosophy that they take pride in what they own, making sure to keep their farm

clean and tidy. They also live to farm with integrity. Building a herd of registered Holsteins – breeding for milk production and longevity – is one way the Brothertons want to follow through on their philosophy. “Instead of being people who take their cows to show at the state fair, this [farm and herd] is our showcase,” Jessie said. “This is what we take pride in. Right now it’s in the startup process, but we’re working on it.” Despite the challenges and the work of starting a new farm, the Brothertons are excited for what’s ahead. “It’s all worthwhile when you’re milking your own cows and see a calf being born,” Steve said. Now that they have purchased their own farm, the Brothertons are nally home.

We’ve Got You

New money is available to Minnesota livestock producers to help prevent wolf attacks. The WolfLivestock Conict Prevention Grants provide $120,000 for the upcoming scal year (July 1, 2018 – June 30, 2019). Applications are due June 29, 2018 to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. The grants provide reimbursement for costs of approved practices to prevent wolf-livestock conicts. Eligible expenses for the grant program will include any or all of the following items: – Purchase of guard animals – Veterinary costs for guard animals – Installation of wolf-barriers which may include pens, adry and fencing – Installation of wolf-deterring lights and alarms – Calving or lambing shelters – Other measures demonstrated to effectively reduce wolf-livestock conicts “This grant program provides Minnesota livestock owners with additional resources to protect their animals and livelihood,” said Assistant Agriculture Commissioner Andrea Vaubel. “I encourage producers to examine ways they can decrease the chances of wolf attacks, and apply for this state funding.” Producers must live within Minnesota’s wolf range, as designated by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, or on property determined by the Commissioner of Agriculture to be affected by wolflivestock conicts. Any animal species produced for prot and documented to have been killed by wolves in Minnesota in the past is eligible. This includes bison, cattle, chicken, deer, donkey, duck, geese, goat, horse, llama, mule, sheep, swine and turkey. The grant application must be emailed or postmarked by 5 p.m. on June 29, 2018. Work for this grant cycle must be done and expenses reported by June 30, 2019. The application and more information can be found at http://www.mda.state.mn.us/grants/disaster/ wolf/wolfconictprevent.aspx. This is the second round of grants available to the state’s livestock owners after the Minnesota Legislature provided funding to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture in 2017. The rst round awarded $120,000 to 25 producers in 12 counties of the state. Grantees are using the money for items like fencing, guard animals, and motion lights – all deterrents to wolves.

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Page 8 • Dairy Star • Saturday, May 12, 2018

Dairy revenue insurance product to launch by late summer The American Farm Bureau Federation has de- tion, there is language that would prevent the Minveloped a new risk management product focused nesota Agriculture Department from implementing on milk revenue prices. The current landscape of its nitrogen fertilizer rules without legislative apinsurance products available to dairy farmers in- proval. Governor Dayton has promised to veto the volve margin-based tools. Director of Market In- bill if it includes that policy language. If Dayton telligence John Newton said Dairy follows through on that promise, agAg Insider Revenue Protection Insurance brings riculture lobbyist Bruce Kleven said something different to the table. “We the veto would impact the entire bill. know that revenue-based policies have “There are two weeks remaining in the been the most successful and widely session. There are other les where this utilized in the crop insurance sector,” language could be added as an amendNewton said. “A key feature allows ment. They also could negotiate it out farmers to use futures prices to develop in a conference committee. Lawmakers a price for butterfat, protein and other could take it out and replace something milk solids.” There are other tools, such in exchange. I don’t know if the legisas the Margin Protection Program, that lature will forge ahead and risk everyhelp during a prolonged decline in milk thing under a veto, they’ll work it out prices. However, Newton said Dairy somehow. Dayton really wants to sign By Don Wick Revenue Protection moves with the the nitrogen rule before he leaves.” Columnist market. The policy is expected to be available in late summer of 2018. Labor shortage compounds animal rights issues Klobuchar wants more focus on dairy During the Animal Agriculture Alliance StakeMinnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar is looking holder’s Summit, speakers highlighted the extremes to put more focus on dairy in the Senate version of seen within the animal rights community. Jamie the farm bill. “We’re looking at what we have for Jonker, vice president of sustainability and sciencrop insurance and applying it to dairy. That’s some tic affairs with National Milk Producers Federaof the work that’s been done and needs to be done. tion, was part of the program. Activists will try to It was done outside the farm bill. There are some demonize normal production practices. In addition, farmers who say they’re grateful for the changes, it activists will showcase bad actors. To prevent aniwill be helpful, but everyone knows it’s not every- mal welfare problems, Jonker said it is important thing we need to do.” for employees to understand the expectations for the care of the animals. “In the dairy sector, we are MN House moves forward with ag bill in a very tight labor market and sometimes there is The Minnesota House passed an omnibus a need to ll a position and a warm body seems like supplemental bill that includes agriculture, envi- the right thing to do.” Jonker said it is more imporronment, job growth and state government nance tant to check each employee thoroughly and make bills. This bill includes $35 million for the Rural sure their credentials are correct. “If they seem too Finance Authority. There’s increased funding for good to be true, they probably are too good to true. mental health counseling services for farmers and Don’t substitute having a warm body on the farm support for the Farm Advocates program. In addi- for someone who will actually care for the animals the way you want them to do.”

Values decline for dairy replacements The value of dairy cow replacements is at its lowest level in seven years. Prices in the latest quarter declined $160 per head from the previous quarter. Low milk prices are an oversupply of replacements are contributing factors. Meanwhile, the latest USDA numbers indicate dairy cow slaughter is up 14 percent from a year ago. Dairy products report updated In its annual report on dairy products, USDA put total U.S. cheese production at 12.7 billion pounds, nearly 4 percent higher than 2016. Butter production totaled 1.8 billion pounds, up less than 1 percent from the previous year. The amount of whey protein products increased 3.4 percent. Traditional ice cream production declined slightly, but lowfat ice cream sales rose 5.5 percent. MN has funds available to prevent wolf attacks The Minnesota Department of Agriculture has new grant funds available to help livestock producers prevent wolf attacks. Eligible expenses include veterinary costs for guard animals, additional fencing and the installation of lights or alarms to reduce the threat from wolves. Applications for the grants are due by June 29. MAELC issues 2025 blueprint The Minnesota Agricultural Education Leadership Council has released its blueprint for 2025. In a series of listening sessions statewide, MAELC Executive Director Sarah Dornink said four major principles were heard. “We need to make sure that we have a quality education for our students and that our teachers are prepared; we need to provide more access and programming; we need to have resources available statewide and locally.” There is a shortage of ag education teachers, which is being addressed in this MAELC report. “It’s the number of teachers and they must be qualied. The content

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CIH Tigermate II, 28’ .......................... $18,000 CIH 6750 disc ripper .......................... $12,500 CIH 4800, 28’ & 26’ ............................. $8,500 CIH 4800, 28’ w/IH mulcher................. $8,500 CIH 4300, 36’ ..................................... $10,500 CIH 4300, 30’ ....................................... $9,500 CIH 530B ripper w/lead shanks .......... $17,000 CIH 496, 21’, non cusion ................... $11,500 CIH 496 21’ cushion disc .......................... Call CIH 496 cushion gang w/mulcher ...... $13,500 CIH 496, 25’ cushion gang, no mulcher....................................... $11,000 CIH 3900 19’ cushion gang disc ....... $13,500

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Turn to AG INSIDER | Page 9

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Dairy Star • Saturday, May 12, 2018 • Page 9

ConƟnued from AG INSIDER | Page 8

they have to provide is so broad and diverse, so continuing professional development opportunities and mentorship programs to help retain them in the profession is very important.” Income increases for Land O’Lakes For the rst quarter, Land O’Lakes reports net earnings of $115.7 million. That compares to nearly $110 million in the same period last year. The coop’s nancial performance was driven by its animal nutrition business segment. The dairy foods division reports higher sales volume. With late spring planting, the crop inputs business segment dealt with a downturn in seed sales and competitive pricing discounts.

is Kegan Zimmerman of Red Rock FFA. The secretary is Laura Church of Randolph FFA and the treasurer is Adam Kroll of Pierz FFA. Lauralee Eaton of Pine Island FFA is the reporter and James Mathiowetz of Belle Plaine FFA is the sentinel.

Trivia challenge A sterile heifer calf born twin to a bull is known as a freemartin. That answers our last trivia question. For this week, what cheese originated in southern Italy, is light in color and has a mellow taste? We’ll have the answer in the next edition of Dairy Star. Don Wick is owner/broadcaster for the Red River Farm Network, based in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Wick has been recognized as the National Farm State ofcers named at MN FFA Broadcaster of the Year and served as Convention president of the National Association of The new Minnesota FFA State Farm Broadcasting. Don and his wife, Ofcer Team is in place for the year Kolleen, have two adult sons, Tony and ahead. The president is Grace Taylor Sam, and ve grandchildren, Aiden, Piper, of Randolph FFA; the vice president Adrienne, Aurora and Sterling.

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“It is affordable and the results are accurate and timely.” Why do you use the DHIA pregnancy test? It is convenient and easy to do without handling the cows an extra time. How long have you been testing with DHIA? Over 50 years of testing with DHIA (We’ve been using the DHIA Pregnancy Test for the past Àve). What do you like about it? I like that I can mail in samples and have results in my email the next day. It means I can preg check cows every week, but only have the vet out every 60 days or even less often. It’s a lot more cost effective. What are some other tests you use through DHIA? We have also used Johnes, MUN and SCC. Why is testing with DHIA valuable to your dairy? Testing with DHIA is valuable to our dairy because it gives us all of the individual cow information that we use to help us make decisions for our herd. Tell us about your farm.We farm with our two sons. We grow corn, barley and alfalfa for feed. We raise our own heifers for replacements.

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Page 10 • Dairy Star • Saturday, May 12, 2018

Sprayers Plus SPRING SALE - SAVE!

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Spring Ahead with Great Equipment Buys ! Tractors

Versatile 485 2009, Nice .......................................................... $148,000 J Versatile 936 1988 12sp. 4Hdy. 3pt. Consignment ................. $30,000 J MF 4608 2013 Cab, MFWD, Loader ......................................... $39,000 W JD 5075E MFWD Loader 502 Hours ........................................$31,900 W McCormick CX105 2007 Cab MFWD 2500 Hours ................ $33,900 J

Hay and Forage

JD 3950 Forage Harvester 2-30 Green Corn Head Yellow Hay P.O .... ............................................................................................................. $5,900 L H&S 12 Wheel Rake ...................................................................... $6,500 L H&S 10 Wheel Rake ...................................................................... $2,900 J CIH SC412 Mower Conditioner ...................................... $7,750 $7,000 W NH BR 7090 Round Baler 4600 Bales .......................................$28,500 W H&S Bifold Rake 8 Wheel ............................................................ $3,500 W Kuhn Tedder 6 Rotor ..................................................................... $8,900 W NH 460 2015 Wrap .....................................................................$29,900 W H&S FB7416 20ft Forage Box 16 Ton ...................... $15,700 $13,500 W

Field Cultivators

JD 980 30 ½ ft. 3-Bar .......................................................................... Call L JD 980 44 ½ ft. 3-Bar ................................................... $17,500 $11,500 L JD 985 49 ½ 3-Bar ...................................................... $16,900 $12,650 H NEW Great Plains 8336 Field Cultivator Floating Hitch ............... Call J Great Plains 7560 Field Cultivator 60ft, 3-Bar with Basket ............. Call L Wil-Rich 13 Qx2 60ft. Rolling Basket .......................... $49,900 $47,900 L Wil-Rich Quad 5 32ft. 4-Bar ........................................................$11,900 J Wil-Rich Qx2 45ft. Rolling Basket ............................... $33,900 $31,900 J Wil-Rich XL 37ft 4-Bar ..................................................................$19,900 L Krause 5635 34ft. 3-Bar with Basket 2012 ................................$32,700 L

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CIH RMX 370 .................................................................................$28,900 L CIH RMX 370 28ft. ........................................................ $31,900 $25,900 J JD 215 16ft. ..................................................................................... $3,250 H Salford 4124 24ft. ........................................................................$46,000 J

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Kuhn Knight 8141 ....................................................................... $37,000 H Kuhn Knight 8118 ....................................................................... $12,900 H Kuhn Knight 8118 ........................................................................$12,000 H Kuhn Knight 8150 ........................................................................$36,000 H Kuhn Knight 8150 ........................................................................$36,900 J Meyers 390 ..................................................................................... $9,000 L H&S HY Push 550 ..........................................................................$14,900 L NI 3739 ............................................................................................ $8,900 H

conƟnued from KIELER FARMS | Page 10 resources division, while Clark feeds the milking herd and a portion of the heifers. Ann does the accounting work along with providing childcare, running errands and helping out where needed. Four days of the week, Clark and Leah send their kids to daycare. On the weekends and evenings during eldwork, Ann will watch the kids when needed. One weekday, Leah and Clark have the kids with them on the farm. “I think we’ve done a really good job of the balancing act,” Clark said. “They may not be on the farm every minute of every day, but they’re very exposed to it. There are days when they come in the tractor with me or feed calves as they’re older. I think in their minds, they’re on the farm all the time.” They all agree that having childcare away from the farm is important with their current set up. It is a lot different than when Ann raised kids. “We milked 50 cows,” she said. “I took my kids out to the barn with me right from the get-go. Everything was all right there. Now the equipment has gotten so much bigger, and we’re so much more spread out. It’s hard for these two to do the same thing I did.” Ann also sees it as a way for them to have better opportunities on the dairy. “Because they have access to daycare and they have each other, it allows them to go out and be more of a manager in their role on the farm,” Ann said. “I would only go out and help, not take over an area of the farm, because that’s about as far as I could take it because I was raising the kids.” They rely on each other just as much as they do childcare. “Ann is there to watch the kids or pick them up if I can’t,” Leah said. “Or if I have to feed the calves on the weekend [Clark] can watch my kids for me.” They have also created their own support network among the three of them. “We’re going through the same life stages and our kids are so close in age, so that is helpful,” Clark said about her kids, Kendra, 5, Addison, 3, and Savannah, 1, and Leah’s kids, Reegan, 6, Jodi, 4, and Parker, 1. Leah agreed. “I know Ann went through some of the stuff I’m going through, so I know I can ask her for advice,” she said. “And I’m going through the same stuff as [Clark], so we can just vent about it to each other. [Clark] and I have become best friends.” The women also feel supported by the men in their family. “It’s the village mentality,” Clark said. “For example, if one of the kids is sick and can’t go to school or daycare, you have to be home with them. That’s times when Mom watches kids or Dad says he’ll do my work. I think everyone in our family does such a great job of making it work. Everyone knows that family and farm is important.” Because both dairy farming and being a mom requires a lot of commitment, the women sometimes feel the pressure of being pulled one way or the other. “I think women have this thought that balancing [both farming and being a mom] means equal and you’re good at everything at the same time,” Clark said. “The balancing act is that the scale is broken. Some days are good in one part and other days are not and it’s knowing it all evens out and it will all be OK.” Leah said exibility in scheduling and knowing when certain roles take priority helps her be successful in all areas of life. “It’s important to know when to say I have to be a mom or I have to be a wife or I have to be a farmer,” she said. “There are days

RON JOHNSON/DAIRY STAR

Ann Kieler works on Ɵme sheets on her family’s dairy near PlaƩeville, Wis.

RON JOHNSON/DAIRY STAR

Renee Clark is in charge of feeding the milking herd along with a porƟon of the heifers. when I have to feed the calves. Someone has to do it. But there are other days when I need to be with my kids because I haven’t seen them much in two weeks. Some days I can do both, but some days you can’t and you have to prioritize it.” Perhaps one of the biggest ways they have been able to make busy eldwork days t with family is through their creation called the snack shack; it is an enclosed trailer they have set up with a refrigerator, microwave and coffee maker, and stocked with plates, utensils, condiments, snacks, tables and chairs. When the family is working in the eld, each of the women prepares one portion of the meal for the evening – main dish, side or dessert – and they rotate throughout the rest of the week. “After we pick the kids up from daycare, we take the snack shack out to the farm site where they are lling bunkers,” Leah said. “Everything we need is in there. The kids bring their bikes and it’s a way for them to see their grandpa and their dads.” When not using the snack shack during harvest season, the Kielers leave the trailer next to the barn for their employees to use or grab a snack. “It’s amazing and makes our lives so easy,” Clark said. The bond the Kieler women share has also made their farming and mom life easier. “I just don’t think we could do it without each other,” Leah said. “I feel like I have partners. I don’t feel alone.”

TMR

Knight 5073 ....................................................................................$12,500 Knight 142 ......................................................................................$33,900 Supreme International ...................................................................$14,900

Skidsteers

Gehl 4240 2013 .............................................................................$16,500 Gehl 5240 2012 2040 Cab Hours ................................................$24,900 Gehl 5240E 2012 1053 Cab Hours, Pilot Control ......................$26,900 Gehl 5240 2010 1350 Cab Hours ................................................$20,900 Gehl 5640 2011 4929 Hours ........................................................$34,000 L Gehl 6640 ......................................................................................$19,900 Bobcat S185 2960 Hours 2sp .......................................................$18,500 L Bobcat S300 ..........................................................................................Call L Bobcat S550 ..................................................................................$28,500 (For more skidsteer listings, please check out our online inventory)

H = Hamburg | J = Judson | L = Lafayette | W = Waconia

We have more units! Please call any of the locations listed below or check out our online inventory at: www.UFCfarmsupply.com Hamburg

16401 State Hwy 5/25 Hamburg, MN 55339 952-467-3111

Judson

110 Judson Fort Rd W Lake Crystal, MN 56055 507-947-3644

Lafayette

840 Pioneer Ave Lafayette, MN 56054 507-228-8224

Waconia

801 South Highway 284 Waconia, MN 55387 952-442-2126

RON JOHNSON/DAIRY STAR

Leah Kieler speaks with one of their employees on her family’s 1,600-cow dairy. Kieler is the parlor manager and in charge of human resources.

Dairy Star • Saturday, May 12, 2018 • Page 11

Market price not only a U.S. problem

Global industries hassled by milk supply, demand By Jennifer Coyne jenn@dairystar.com

The landscape of the dairy industry is quickly changing in the United States, as many farmers are faced with the decision to continue operating with little to no prot or exit the business. These challenges are not only affecting those currently milking cows, but also deterring the next generation from returning home. Unfortunately, the United States is not the only nation troubled by a milk surplus and a weak demand, which has given way to prices that do not support production. “The extra milk has been pressing on the [European Union’s] market since 2015 and lowering market prices,” Sieta van Keimpema said. “A lot of farms have disappeared, with the average age of dairy farmers remaining high [at 58] and the percentage of young farmers now below 7 percent in the European Union.” Keimpema is a dairy farmer from the Netherlands, where she milks 100 dairy cows. She also serves as the president of the Dutch Dairymen Board and vice president of the European Milk Board. In 2015, the European Union abolished the quota system, which was rst established in 1984 in response to substantial overproduction. However, milk production slowly crept up and price decline began in 2003, when an active deregulation policy was established to transition out of the quota system. “Between 2005 and 2015, production limits for milk were already raised by 9.8 percent in several steps in anticipation of ending the quotas, which led to a noticeable downturn in producer prices and plunged the [dairy] sector in to a crisis,” said Silvia Daberitz, director of the European Milk Board. Ending the quota system is not solely responsible for the dairy crisis, but it did facilitate greater global supplies in an already overowing market, which caused farmer’s margin between the cost of production and their pay price to decrease. “The background for deregulation is a policy that solely focuses on the world market,” Daberitz said. “This was then adopted by the European Commission, the dairy processing industry and COPA-COGECA, and largely responsible for the detrimental market developments. … This led to numerous farms abandoning milk production, as well as major difculties for those that continue in the sector.” During the big crisis of 2009, dairy farmers in the European Union saw nearly a $13.3 billion loss because of this unregulated interaction. “Intervention stock rose to an absurd level and milk powder couldn’t be sold,” Keimpema said. “Butter prices did rise to a very high level, but the industry didn’t invest much in butter processing. So, we are not able to benet maximally from this.” During the direst period, dairy farmers received $13.34 per cwt. Over the last few years, the European Union has strategically entered the global market in an attempt to rebuild demand for dairy products and ultimately support stable milk prices. But they were not faced without uncontrollable factors, such as China’s slow demand for imported dairy products, Russia’s ban on imports and the United States’ unprecedented production growth. “During times of crisis, farmers tend to increase production in order to keep their cash ow,” Daberitz said. “The lack of an appropriate framework makes the European Union market sluggish, and it tends to respond inappropriately to changes in market conditions.” While a single change in the global market will not correct prices, the European Union has once again put together a program that supports dairy farmers in these times of poor markets. Two years ago, the European Union implemented a union-wide voluntary production cuts program, which was well received by major dairy producing and exporting countries, such as France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Netherlands. From October 2016 to January 2017, roughly 48,000 dairy farmers participated in the voluntary program and reduced production by 1.8 billion pounds, Daberitz said. “The voluntary measure was a great success,” she said. “In July 2016, when the program was rst announced, the average milk price was about $13.82 per cwt. At the end of the program, it rose to $17.62 per cwt.” While the program resulted in a positive price effect

during a difcult time, it was only a short-term solution. The European Milk Board has developed a crisis instrument that observes and reacts to market signals as a way to stabilize the market and incentivize changes in production, when needed, but it has not been implemented, yet. “A balanced market cannot be achieved through a liberal market strategy or through the blind promotion of production growth,” Daberitz said. “If no legal crisis instrument is installed, the situation will remain the same or get worse.” Private processors have taken initiatives to monitor milk volumes, as well. Keimpema sells her milk to Royal FrieslandCampina (RFC), who announced a quota pricing system last month for its 13,000 dairy farmers. “This worries the members because RFC says they can no longer bring enough value to the milk price,” said Keimpema, whose March mailbox price was $18.93 per cwt. based on the processors requirement of milk compo-

nents at 3.4 percent protein and 4.4 percent fat. Many European dairy farmers are already restricted by how much milk they can produce based on environmental factors. For example, in Netherlands, milk production must be adjusted based on rules established in 2017 to eliminate phosphate pollution. “In the Netherlands, dairy farmers can no longer decide as entrepreneurs, themselves, how to react,” Keimpema said. “The government and industry have developed all kinds of restrictions that really make life worse for the individual farmers, also making the price of production higher.” Across the world market, production continues increasing, as do exports to China, Australia and Singapore. The European Union’s dairy sector may have opportunity to expand if this trend continues with feed affordability and price support policies. It is unclear if the United States will follow.

Minnesota Milk Cup & Summer Escape June 13-14, 2018 | Glenwood, MN

Join in on the fun and experience by celebrating dairy by participating in one, two, or three events during this year’s Summer Escape. Preregistration is required. Register today at MnMilk.org.

Wednesday, June 13th

Minnesota Milk Cup The inaugural Minnesota Milk Cup golf scramble will be held at the Minnewaska Golf Club in Glenwood, Minnesota. On site registration begins at 11:00 a.m. with a shotgun start at noon. Registration Fees include lunch, green fees, and cart. $100/golfer or $350/4-person team.

Dinner & Boat Cruise The fun continues with dinner and a boat cruise around Lake Minnewaska. We will dine on shore at 5:45 p.m. at Captains Bar and Grill in Glenwood. At 6:30 p.m., we will board the Captains Houseboat for an evening cruise. Registration Fee: $50/member or $75/nonmember. Dinner only option: $25/member or $35/nonmember. Thursday, June 14th

Dairy Farm Tours The bus departs Glenwood at 7:45 a.m. and returns at approx. 4:00 p.m. as we tour three diverse dairy farms in the Glenwood area. A block of rooms is available at the Glenwood Grandstay Suites, (320) 334-3700 on a ﬁrst come, ﬁrst served basis. Tour cost: $20/member or $40/nonmember. Minnesota Milk Scholarship Program

Support our Scholarship Program Support Minnesota’s future dairy leaders by sponsoring a hole at the Minnesota Milk Cup. Hole Sponsorship includes signage at the hole, the opportunity to sit on the course and interact with golfers, and recognizes your support of Minnesota Milk’s Scholarship fund. Sponsorship is $500/hole.

Apply Now for Scholarships! Minnesota Milk is awarding up to 12 - $1,000 scholarships. Applicant’s family must be a current producer member or employee of a current producer member of Minnesota Milk. Applications are due June 1. To learn more, visit MnMilk.org.

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Enjoy participating in the Golf Scramble, Dinner & Cruise, and Dairy Farm Tours for $150/member (SAVE $20 ) & $200/nonmember (SAVE $15 ) ! Call (763) 355-9697 to register.

Page 12 • Dairy Star • Saturday, May 12, 2018

Innovation kickstarts dairy “The cows come in where a moped once was,” Joel said. The 24- by-40-foot barn is equipped with tiestalls facing east and west, separated by a walkway, and the milkhouse is located in the southwest corner of the facility. Cows enter the building twice daily for milking through a service door that leads to the outdoor holding pen and bedded pack. “My brother, Dwight, and I drew sketches of what I wanted,” Joel said. “After several changes to the size, we found a good way to lay the stalls out.” With a design set in stone, Joel spent the summer of 2016 building his dairy facility.

The garage already had a cement oor and sidewalls, but the structure needed to be redone to meet inspection standards. For the walkway, Joel cut out 4 inches of concrete and installed a drain system. He also purchased tin and insulation for the sidewalls and in forming the milkhouse. “I worked on things in my spare time,” said Joel, who hauls milk for Cardinal. “I didn’t want to borrow money, so I purchased materials when I could afford them and did all the work myself.” The Wendorffs were also thrifty when searching for milking equipment and found a complete system available in Stearns County. Turn to WENDORFFS | Page 13

JENNIFER COYNE/DAIRY STAR

Shelby and Joel Wendorﬀ, with their children Mallory and Leroy, milk 20 cows in Beltrami County near Puposky, Minn. Not pictured is the Wendorﬀs’ oldest daughter, Brityn.

Wendorffs transform garage into barn By Jennifer Coyne jenn@dairystar.com

PUPOSKY, Minn. – Aside from the cows on an outdoor bedded pack, Joel Wendorff’s property is hardly recognized as a dairy farm. But inside of a detached garage are all the xings of a

dairy operation – a bulk tank, milking equipment and pipeline. Two years ago, Joel and his wife, Shelby, renovated the garage into a 13-stall tiestall barn and milkhouse, allowing the couple to milk 20 cows at their home in Beltrami County near Puposky, Minn.

JENNIFER COYNE/DAIRY STAR

The 24- by-40-foot milking barn includes 13 �estalls. The barn was orginally a garage.

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Dairy Star • Saturday, May 12, 2018 • Page 13

Con�nued from WENDORFFS | Page 12 “I was looking through Craigslist for something used, but not more than 15 years old,” Joel said. “This system was all recently rebuilt and fairly dependable. I didn’t have to worry about anything breaking.” The only pieces the Wendorffs purchased separately were a vacuum pump and receiving jar. Before the dairy site could be fully functional, Joel and Shelby needed to nd two more pieces of the puzzle – a milk contract and cattle. As a milk hauler himself, Joel spoke with two eldmen for Land O’Lakes and Associated Milk Producers Inc. (AMPI). He also reached out to a representative from Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) in hopes one would have room for his load. “I called all three and told them of my plans, and they all called me back,” Joel said. “AMPI and DFA had room, but AMPI was less expensive with hauling JENNIFER COYNE/DAIRY STAR charges because they pick up more farms in my area.” Joel and Shelby Wendorﬀ are building a holding pen outside the milking barn. The 20-cow herd is milked Within a 445-mile radius, ve dairies are on the twice daily and housed on an outdoor bedded pack. Wendorffs’ route and account for 40,000 pounds of milk. “If we waited another six months, I think it would feeding and prepping the cows before milking. “That’s a lot of miles for a load of milk,” Shelby have been a lot easier to get going [nancially], but In the years ahead, Joel and Shelby plan to continue said. who knows if we could’ve done it then,” Joel said. “We developing their dairy operation. Since beginning, the When it came time to build the herd, Joel traveled don’t know if it would’ve worked out. In dairy farming, couple has raised their tank average by 10 pounds and all day searching for animals that would hold value on you roll with the punches and hope you have more good maintained a somatic cell count below 100,000. They his dairy. would like to improve on their successes by breeding times than bad.” “It was an all-day process, and we drove to three Shelby agreed. more well-rounded animals and providing quality feed different farms looking at cattle,” Joel said. “I wantfrom their 80 acres of rented land. “We get to raise our kids on the farm,” she said. ed to buy cows with good feet. The sturdier built they “Our goal is to farm on our own; we’ve done a lot The Wendorffs have three children – Brityn, 7, Lewere, the less problems we would deal with.” roy, 2, and Mallory, 2 weeks old – who like to help with already, but it’s a work in progress,” Joel said. At one last stop in Nimrod, Minn., Joel found 19 cows he could use to start his herd. The herd is a mix of breeds – Black and White Holsteins, Red and White Holsteins, Jerseys, Brown Swiss and crossbreds. By Nov. 1, 2016, the Wendorffs shipped their rst load of milk. For the past 18 months, both Joel and Shelby have reveled in their developing career as dairy farmers. “We’ve always wanted to farm. Both of our families JOEL WENDORFF, DAIRY FARMER were involved in dairying,” said Shelby, whose parents stopped milking cows only a few years ago. The couple is in the barn in the mornings, as well as Joel’s mother, Alice Wendorff. Alice lives nearby and is able to help with chores, as well as house the youngstock and springing heifers. Joel is usually the rst one outside. He brings the cows in the barn and feeds them grain before Shelby NEW and Alice arrive to nHigh Pressure ish milking and clean the barn. 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From Our Side Of The Fence How do you balance between being a mom and a farmer? Rachael Rusch Husband Patrick; children Tanner, 3, and Svea, 5 months; parents Joe and Karen Becker; sister Jessica Stocker Grove City, Minn. Meeker County 550 cows What dairy do you work on and what is your role on the farm? I am one of the owners of Ru-be Dairy LLC with my husband and parents. We milk 550 cows. Describe a typical day for you. My daily routine begins with taking the kids to daycare ďƒžrst. Once I get to the farm, I feed all the cows with my husband, Patrick. I then proceed to do my herd health, which includes breeding, treating, implanting, pregnancy checking and taking care of fresh cows. Afterwards, we work on other basic tasks such as hauling manure, working in the calf barn, etc. We all work as a team to get our daily tasks done. No one is in charge of just one area; instead we all help each other out so that way it allows things to still run smoothly if one person canâ€™t be there. What job on the farm gives you the most satisfaction? My favorite job on the farm is working with the breeding/implanting/genetics part of it. I love learning about progressive genetics and how I can incorporate it into our herd to make genetic advancements in order to remain sustainable in the industry. I also love the fact that I get to work with my family every day. I have become best friends with my sister because she makes it so enjoyable to come to work every day, including pulling pranks on Patrick. Working with my husband and parents has also become a true blessing. I feel so fortunate that I have been able to surround myself with people that have such a deep passion for the industry. How do you balance between being a mom and a farmer? The balance between being a mother and a farmer has truly become an art for us. We get calls late at night and working weekends, which makes having children sometimes difďƒžcult. However, my family have been great about watching the kids in a pinch. I try to bring the kids to the farm as often as I can so they can get a feel of farm life. But with our scale of size, we always put safety ďƒžrst so we canâ€™t always have the kids there. Thatâ€™s where daycare comes into play. What are some lessons from the farm that you try to instill in your children? Having respect for the animals and having responsibilities. Tanner helps feed the calves and has little chores. He gets to show a calf at the fair so he has to help walk her and wash her. Svea is too little, but in a few years she will have the same experiences. Who has been your mentor? What did he or she teach you? My dad, Joe. He instilled the passion for the dairy industry in me and taught me everything I know about hard work, herd health and business management. I have been fortunate to have other breeders in my life who helped me understand genetics

Amber Woitalla Husband Russell, children Kaylee, 11, Nick, 10, Peter, 8, and Max, 7 Pierz, Minn. Crow Wing County 50 cows

help out wherever needed.

What dairy do you work on and what is your role on the farm? Russell and I own our farm. I take care of the calves. I also

Describe a typical day for you. Most days I start by feeding calves and helping in the barn. Then, itâ€™s back home to get the kids up and ready for school. If I have some time I try to get some house work in, and then itâ€™s back to the farm to help take care of chores and other projects that need to be done. In the evening, itâ€™s chores and then home to make supper and help the kids with homework. What job on the farm gives you the most satisfaction? I like taking care of the calves. They are the future of the farm, whether itâ€™s a heifer or a bull calf, itâ€™s always good to see them grow and be healthy. How do you balance between being a mom and a farmer? Now that the kids are older they can help out a lot so that makes it easier. Otherwise itâ€™s just making sure to take the time for what they are interested in or need help with. What are some lessons from the farm that you try to instill in your children? The ďƒžrst is a good work ethic; to not quit until they ďƒžnish the job that they are supposed to do and be proud of what they accomplished. They are also learning that farming takes patience â€“ from training a new calf to growing crops it all takes time. Who has been your mentor? What did he or she teach you? I would say my dad and grandpa. Growing up on a farm, they always taught me the values of hard work and taking pride in what you do. How do you relax from your busy life? I enjoy running. I usually run a half and full marathon each year. Training for them gives me time to clear my head and to get away for a little while. I also enjoy gardening and wood working.

in a different aspect to become more progressive. My husband has also been a mentor to me in life by teaching me how to take a deep breath and appreciate everything that we have been blessed with. How do you relax from your busy life? We relax and spend our free time with events that revolve around cows. We love going to the fair and to World Dairy Expo. We are involved in our county Holstein association and creameryâ€™s young cooperatives board. My favorite pastime is ďƒžshing with my husband and family. We just canâ€™t get enough of a good time pulling a northern pike into the boat and watching Tannerâ€™s face light up with excitement.

Stephanie Gall Husband Scott, children Valerie, 14, Evalie, 10, and Hailey, 9 Pierz, Minn. Morrison County 72 cows What dairy do you work on and what is your role on the farm? I work on our family dairy owned by my husband and I. Describe a typical day for you. I start milking at 5 a.m. while my husband does chores. At 6:30, my husband takes over milking and I go in the house to get the girls up for school and help them get ready. Typically, Iâ€™m back in the barn by 7:15 a.m., and I feed the calves milk in the hutches. After I clean mangers and when Scott has the food mixed, I help unload the TMR and wheelbarrow food to cows that the feed cart cannot reach. I am usually done with morning chores between 10-11 a.m. After morning chores, we go in the house and eat a late breakfast/early lunch. The rest of the afternoon I spend running errands, household chores, never ending laundry, bills, paperwork and yard work. The girls get off the bus at 4 p.m., and I try to help them with homework, eat supper and be back in the barn at 5 p.m. Evenings are the easiest. I milk the cows while Scott ďƒžnishes up anything that needs to be completed by the end of the day, and my girls take care of all other chores. What job on the farm gives you the most satisfaction? I get the most satisfaction out of milking the cows. I like to equate how they are milking to different things we might have done differently. I like seeing the cause and effect and use it to think of things we could do to improve our herd. How do you balance between being a mom and a farmer? Time is something I never have enough of. I have to multitask and engage with my kids while Iâ€™m milking or doing chores with them. In the barn, I make a point to talk to each one about their day and whatâ€™s going on with them. I am always there to get them up and on the bus. I am always there when they come home and for that I feel fortunate as a mom. What are some lessons from the farm that you try to instill in your children? I try to instill in my girls the importance of working hard and taking pride in their work. I also try to show them the importance of not having everything, and instead being thankful for what they do have. Who has been your mentor? What did he or she teach you? Both my mom and my dad have been my mentor. My dad taught me to take care of things on my own. He taught me that I donâ€™t have to have the biggest or greatest. I just have to work hard and get the job done. My mom has been my example of a hard-working farm wife and a patient, loving mother all in one. How do you relax from your busy life? I like to garden and bike ride, and when Iâ€™m really tired in the evenings, just sit on the couch and read or watch a show before bed. I like things that slow my mind down. Turn to OUR SIDE | Page 16

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Rochelle Isaacson Husband David, children Caleb, 8, Virginia, 7, Emil, 4, Margaret, 1, and Mildred, 1 Dassel, Minn. Meeker County 42 cows What dairy do you work on and what is your role on the farm? I work alongside my husband, children and mother-in-law on our family farm. My role on the farm is feeding the breeding age heifers, the young steers and calves. I also milk the cows if my husband is doing eldwork. Describe a typical day for you. A typical day for me starts by getting the kids ready for school. Then, I go over to the farm for morning chores. After dinner I go back home to do some housework at our house. Once the kids are home I help them with their homework. Then, I go back to the farm for evening chores. After chores it’s time to get the kids ready for bed. Then, I can relax a little before going to bed myself. What job on the farm gives you the most satisfaction? The job that is most satisfying to me is feeding the cows hay at the end of the night. Watching the cows eat their hay and the barn having only the sound of the cows chewing their hay (knowing that they are making milk at the same time) is so enjoyable. How do you balance between being a mom and a farmer? Being a mom and a farmer go hand in hand. Our kids are out in the barn a lot with us and they are constantly learning to be safe and do various chores around the farm. What are some lessons from the farm that you try to instill in your children? I am hoping that our children learn that the farm is a great place to grow up and that they can have a role in how the farm can grow. They have to know how to be safe around both animals and big equipment. Who has been your mentor? What did he or she teach you? One being my grandpa, Dave. He has taught me that no matter the weather or time of day, the animals still need to be taken care of. My other mentor would be my father-in-law, John Isaacson. He also taught me that hard work needs to happen to make things successful. He would sacrice anything for the farm. Both my grandpa and John worked very hard, whether it be in the eld or in the barn, and you don’t see too many like them anymore. How do you relax from your busy life? I relax by watching TV or reading at the end of the night. On Sundays, we go to church together as a family and then have dinner together. Sometimes I can catch a nap before heading back to the farm for evening chores.

Shelby Kammerer Husband Adam, children, Evan, 12, Avery, 10, Levi, 8, and Lilly, 6 Winona, Minn. Winona County 175 cows What dairy do you work on and what is your role on the farm? I work with my family on our farm, Kammerer Loan Oak Dairy. I feed calves, milk cows, do eldwork and whatever else is needed. Describe a typical day for you. I get up at 4:45 a.m. to feed calves with my mother-in-law. I have to get back to the house by 6 a.m. to get the kids ready for school. The kids have a few chores they do before getting on the bus at 6:30 a.m. Then I help my husband nish milking or feed more calves. A few days a week I work from home in my massage business called Rustic Relaxation. When not busy working, I enjoy driving farm equipment. I have learned to run most machines on the farm so I will assist with nishing elds, planting, baling and combining, among other things. I feed calves again in the afternoon. With four kids, the evening usually includes a sporting event or school activity to attend and homework to do. The day ends when the work is done, which changes from day to day. What job on the farm gives you the most satisfaction? I enjoy making baleage with the round baler. It is relaxing and enjoyable knowing I am putting up quality feed for the cows. How do you balance between being a mom and a farmer? Finding a balance is challenging, but we try to turn busyness into bonding, and help from family makes the balance easier. What are some lessons from the farm that you try to instill in your children? Through caring for farm animals, kids learn that in life others often come before self. Animals on the farm will teach the kids the cycle of life. They will learn the value of hard work. Who has been your mentor? What did he or she teach you? My mother-in-law, Cynthia Kammerer. She raised four children on the farm and shuttled kids to sporting events and school activities while doing chores twice a day. Now she enjoys going to all the grandkids events and helping with caring for them while helping on the farm as much as possible. How do you relax from your busy life? I enjoy watching the kids’ sporting events and volunteering at the kids’ school. A nice evening on the deck watching the kids play in the yard or a grill out with friends and family is always relaxing, too.

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Shari Gerdes Family: My husband, Nate, and I have two children: Kailyn 15, and Hunter, 14. Belle Plaine, Minn. Carver County Around 400 cows What dairy do you work on and what is your role on the farm? My family’s farm is Halquist Farms Inc. I milk the fresh and sick cows, and help take care of calves. I also help bed and clean the barns, which we do twice a week. I haul most of the manure. I will also help with other eldwork wherever I am needed. Describe a typical day for you. My day starts around 5 a.m. with checking for calves, and milking the fresh and sick cows. Then I help feed calves. After that, I make sure the kids are up and ready for school. Then I help with whatever needs to be done: checking temps on fresh cows, cleaning barns and pens, moving cattle, picking rock in the elds, yard work or chopping hay. Then I do the nightly milking. What job on the farm gives you the most satisfaction? I love watching the calves jump around in fresh bedding. I also love watching my favorite calves grow into good milking cows. We have so many go through, but I still have some favorites. How do you balance between being a mom and a farmer? Some days are harder than others. Luckily the kids are self sufcient, but I still feel guilty when I am in the elds or working and I can’t make it to their sporting events. Having them help with chores makes seeing them possible. What are some lessons from the farm that you try to instill in your children? Compassion and hard work go a long ways. Who has been your mentor? What did he or she teach you? My grandma, Florence Halquist, was my greatest mentor. She had the patience of a saint and was the hardest worker I knew. How do you relax from your busy life? We like to get away for the weekend we have off. Whether it’s just to do a little shopping and get a bite to eat or go camping. Sometimes it’s nice to just sit and relax on our new couch trying to get caught up on our favorite show or movie. The kids and I like to go horseback riding with my mom, too.

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Dairy Star • Saturday, May 12, 2018 • Page 17

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Feed, cow care essential for Hauschildts The Hauschildt family Jim, Diane and Hayden Hauschildt Ellsworth, Wis. Pierce County 135 cows What is your current herd average, butterfat and protein? Our herd’s current rolling herd average is 22,328 pounds. We plan to make changes to get it back up to where it used to be – around 28,000 – a few years ago.

How many times a day do you milk? If you don’t milk 3X a day, have you tried it in the past? We milk two times a day. We tried three times a day in the mid 1980s for 2.5 year. It was benecial, but we couldn’t keep going because of the labor. Do you contract your milk? Has it been successful for you? No, we have never tried it. We have thought about it and wished we would have after the fact. We contract some of our

KRISTA KUZMA/DAIRY STAR

Hayden and Jim Hauschildt’s 135-cow herd of Holsteins and Brown Swiss had an average of 22,328 pounds of milk with 4.3 percent fat and 3.1 percent protein. The Hauschildts dairy near Ellsworth, Wis. inputs like protein, seed and fertilizer.

KRISTA KUZMA/DAIRY STAR

The Hauschildts breed for sound, funcƟonal animals they can show. A porƟon of their herd is Brown Swiss while the rest is Holstein.

Describe your housing and milking facility. We have an 86-stall tiestall barn with 50 switch cows in loose housing, which is a corn stalk bedded

pack. Those cows have access to an exercise lot outside. We have started converting that to a freestall barn. The pack is great, but it takes a lot of labor, a lot of bedding and there are higher instances of mastitis.

What is your herd health program? We have reproduction exams twice a month. Two times every year we use a nineway vaccine, along with a vacTurn to HAUSCHILDTS | Page 20

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Dairy Star â€˘ Saturday, May 12, 2018 â€˘ Page 19

505 West Main Street Marshall, MN 56258

Phone: 806-346-2362

The GA-400 Gopher Getter is our standard three-point hitch model.

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â€œ...we were able to lower SCC by 100,000.â€? â€” Mark Spadgenske

SPADGENSKE DAIRY Mark and Mike Spadgenske and families MENAHGA, MINNESOTA Milking 300 cows, 72 lbs 3.9F 3.2P SCC consistently below 200,000 Mark and Kristine Spadgenske with Kate and Seth at the 2018 Central Plains Dairy Expo. Not pictured are older sons Ryan and Adam. Ryan is home from school and full time on the farm. Not pictured are Markâ€™s brother Mike and son John.

â€œWith Udder Comfortâ„˘ in our fresh cow routine, we were able to lower our SCC by 100,000,â€? says Mark Spadgenske. He and his brother Mike operate Spadgenske Dairy, milking 300 cows near Menahga, Minnesota. â€œOur SCC was over 300,000. Then we brought home Udder Comfort samples from Central Plains Dairy Expo a year ago and started spraying all fresh udders, across the board, 2x/day for 3 to 4 days after calving. â€œWithin 2 months, we started seeing counts come down and by 6 months, our counts were down by 100,000. We tried other products before, but this one did the job, and itâ€™s convenient. â€œIt takes out the swelling and improved our milk quality for premiums we never saw before. Even as quality premiums shrink in this market, we will continue using this because the results pay in the performance of the herd.â€?

Quality Udders Make Quality Milk

Keep the milk in the system 1.888.773.7153 1.613.652.9086 uddercomfort.com Call to locate a distributor near you. For external application to the udder only after milking, as an essential component of udder management. Always wash and dry teats thoroughly before milking.

Page 20 • Dairy Star • Saturday, May 12, 2018

ConƟnued from HAUSCHILDTS | Page 18

cine for clostridium and staph. Three times a year we use Endovac Bovi. What does your dry cow and transition program consist of? Our dry cows receive a total mixed ration all 60 days of their dry period – right up until they calve. It includes medium quality hay, corn silage, 5 pounds of straw, a mineral mix and 1 pound of distillers. As soon as they give birth, they are switched to the milking cow ration. We have had a lot of luck without bringing them on the milk cow ration before they have a calf. We’ve seen good results with that. We used to put them in the switch cow group a couple weeks before they calved. We didn’t see the benets and it was a hassle trying to sort them out from the milking switch cows. Our nutritionist from Ag Partners does a good job with our dry cows. What is the composition of your ration? What has been one of your most recent changes that has been successful for you? We have a different nutritionist for our milking herd. His name is Dave Johnson. We have been with him since July 2017. The milking herd ration includes alfalfa/ grass baleage, corn silage, snaplage, high moisture shelled corn, a protein mix, a mineral mix and a product called Megalac, which includes calcium, salts and other fats. We also top dress palm oils to the fresh and high producing cows. We just started the top dress two weeks ago, so we’ll see if it makes a

difference. We added the Megalac just under one year ago. We felt we were short on energy. This is also our rst year of snaplage. It has a lot of efciency in the eld. Our biggest change will be going back to haylage instead of all baleage. We like the baleage, but it’s hard to get an accurate measure into the TMR. It’s hard to take a partial bale and get the exact amount in the mix. To help this, we plan to ll one silo with haylage this summer. That way, we can add a bale of baleage and fulll the rest of the balance with haylage from the silo. We hope this will help our consistency. Through the years you’ve been farming what change has created the biggest jump in your herd average? Every time we invest in cow comfort it has made a difference. We have put in tunnel ventilation, mattresses in the stalls, fans in the bedded pack for the switch cows and larger stalls for our growing cows. Those additions resulted in a 5,000-pound jump in rolling herd average. It was signicant. What role does genetics play in your production level and what is your breeding program? We have never pushed hard for production through our genetics. We like sound, functional cows, and we like to show. We have always believed that 20 percent comes from genetics and 80 percent comes from the environment in which we care for our cows. If we give them the right nutrition

equipment for eldwork. The planter and harvesting equipment needed to be replaced. Instead of investing in it, we hire it out. The efciency we get from getting our crops in on time and harvested in a timely manner makes up for the cost.

KRISTA KUZMA/DAIRY STAR

A porƟon of the herd is housed in a Ɵestall barn and receives a raƟon that includes alfalfa/grass baleage, corn silage, snaplage, high moisture shelled corn, a protein mix, a mineral mix and a product called Megalac. A top dressing of palm oils is also given to fresh and high producing cows. and comfort, we believe they will milk. But it still is a balance when it comes to type and production in picking bulls. We have used negative milk bulls, but we denitely don’t use them on the whole herd. Sometimes, those daughters have milked really well despite being from a negative milk bull. Our herd is 22 percent Brown Swiss with the rest being Holstein. What type of improvements would you like to make that would increase your rolling herd average even higher? We would like to cut down on our numbers. We are getting to the point where we might be overcrowding, but we’re also trying to get as much milk as we can because of the milk price. We

would like to nish switching the bedded pack to free stalls and put sand in them. We also need to keep ne-tuning our ration. List three management strategies that have kept you protable. The rst is being conservative; however, it’s not to the point of hurting our dairy. We put a strong thought process into where our dollars are spent. The second is keeping older cows. They are all prot because they have already paid for themselves; however, we have to know when to let them go. The higher age of our herd offsets the cost of raising heifers. Our average age in our herd is about 5 years old. The last strategy has been not to replace our

What would you say are the three most important factors for you that helped you attain your current herd average? The rst is having a nutritionist you trust that has your best interest at heart. You need someone who is bringing new ideas to the table and helping you nd the best solution for you farm and the goals you want to achieve. The second is feed quality. The third is a mix of cow comfort, cow care, cow handling and environment. Making the cows comfortable and not stressing them helps stimulate milk production. Tell us about your farm. This is a fth-generation farm that started in 1907. Jim’s great grandfather was a charter member of Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery and the farm has been selling milk there since it began. Jim is currently on the board of directors. Jim and Diane have been married 32 years and have been farming the whole time. Hayden joined the farm ve years ago after graduating from the University of WisconsinMadison. We have 345 tillable acres. We enjoy showing cows from our herd. All the Brown Swiss are registered, while the Holsteins are mostly registered.

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Dairy Star • Saturday, May 12, 2018 • Page 21

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10 14 10 5 15

FIELD CULTIVATORS 16 JD 980, 1995, 5-Section Folding, #145326.............$14,000 17 JD 2210, 2013, 51 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #146726 .................................................................$57,500 11 JD 2210, 2008, 20 ft, #146111...............................$21,900 3 JD 980, 30 ft, 3-Section Folding, C-Shank, #148185 .................................................................$11,900 3 JD 960, 28 ft, #146130............................................. $8,300 5 JD 2210, 2017, 25 ft, #145567...............................$39,000 5 JD 2210, 2013, 33 ft, #143827...............................$29,000 14 JD 980, 1997, 44 ft, #145571 .................................$16,500 16 JD 2210, 2006, #148074 ........................................$24,500 15 JD 980, 2001, 45 ft, 3-Section Folding, C-Shank, #144448 .................................................................$15,900 7 JD 2210, 2008, #146682 ........................................$34,500 2 Wil-Rich Quad X2, 2011, 55 ft, #138552 ..............$29,500 5 JD 960, 1990, 36 ft, #148083 ................................... $6,500 17 JD 2210, 2012, 46 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #144452 .................................................................$59,500 14 JD 2210, 2010, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #144461 .................................................................$53,900 17 JD 2210, 2008, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #144459 ................................................................$44,500 7 Case Tiger Mate II, 50 ft, #143937 .......................$21,450 16 JD 2210, 2012, 48 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #144455 ................................................................$61,000 9 JD 2210, 2013, 26 ft, #143846...............................$28,900 4 JD 980, 1996, 38 ft, #143897 .................................$13,500 7 JD 2210, 2013, 27 ft, #143876...............................$28,500 16 JD 980, 2001, C-Shank, #147979 ...........................$18,150 14 JD 985, 60 ft, #145566...........................................$17,500 8 DMI Tigermate, 48 ft, #147786 ............................$14,500 6 JD 2210, 2010, 5-Section Folding, #146707 ..........$55,900 8 JD 2210, 2016, 5-Section Folding, #148090 ..........$74,900 2 JD 985, 1993, 48 ft, #138938 .................................$10,500 PLANTERS: DRAWN 1 JD DB44, 2013, 24R22”, #148331 ........................$149,900 6 JD 1760, 1996, 12R30” in, #148266 ......................$22,000 4 JD 1765, 2015, 12R30”, #138495 ...........................$79,900 16 JD DB44, 2009, 24R22”, #146118 ........................$132,500 9 JD 1750, 2013, 8R30”, #131524 ............................$33,000 9 JD 1770NT CCS, 2013, 16R30”, #142692..............$103,000 8 JD 1765, 2015, 12R30”, #140333 ..........................$72,900 17 JD 7200, 1988, 8R30”, #145357 ............................... $6,750 7 JD 1760, 1997, 12R30”, #137790 ...........................$28,050 11 White 8524, 2013, 24R30”, #140624 ....................$67,000 5 JD 7200, 1988, 16R30”, #148077 ............................. $4,900 4 JD 1750, 2014, 6R30”, #141859 .............................$32,000 5 JD DB44, 2017, 24R22”, #141612 ........................$255,000 3 JD 1760, 1996, 12R30”, #140452 ...........................$22,900 16 JD DB44, 2017, 24R22”, #144422 ........................$207,500 15 JD 1775NT, 2015, 24R30”, #144419.....................$209,500 8 Wil-Rich 24-22, 2009, 24R22”, #139224 ...............$53,900 14 JD DB66, 2013, 36R22”, #145728 ........................$197,000 PLANTERS: INTEGRAL 6 JD 7300, 12R30”, #139992 .............................. $12,900 5 JD 7300, 1993, 12R30”, #145354 ............................. $9,500 PULL-TYPE SPRAYERS 3 Hardi Commander 6600, 2012, #143849 ...........$50,000 4 Hardi NAV 1100, #137542....................................$17,000 4 Hardi NAV 1100, #137543....................................$17,000 11 Top Air TA1600, 2017, #134335............................$48,500 16 Top Air TA2400, 2012, #145319............................$52,500 14 Willmar 765HT, 1994, #147782............................$28,000

8 6 16 9 8 15 7 8 2 7 5 4 2 10 4 7 9 11 7 4 4 11 6 7 4 4 8 12 7 10 11 15 5 6 7 11 2 4 12 10 3 8 4 6 14 4 12 12 4 11 16 9

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STEEL DEALS

JD 5075M, 2015, 800 hrs., #148078 ......................$41,500 JD 6110R, 2017, 100 hrs., #144496..................$129,064 JD 6130D, 2012, 4928 hrs., #147869 .....................$47,800 JD 5100E, 2015, 1801 hrs., #145655 .....................$45,550 JD 6130R, 2017, 156 hrs., #147778 .....................$121,000 JD 6110R, 2017, 206 hrs., #132073 .......................$85,900 JD 6125R, 2013, 1500 hrs.,#143649 ......................$92,500 JD 6110R, 2016, 237 hrs., #133619 .....................$112,000 JD 5100E, 2016, 1698 hrs., #147932 .....................$47,500 JD 6120R, 2016, 353 hrs., #144502 .......................$88,000 Case IH 115C, 2014, 485 hrs., #142395 .................$55,000 JD 6105R, 2013, 454 hrs., #135169 .......................$91,500 JD 6120R, 2017, 111 hrs., #144501 .....................$109,500 JD 6125R, 2014, 1660 hrs., #142739 .....................$94,500 JD 5300, 1995, 3249 hrs., #148086 ......................$11,500 JD 6105R, 2013, 1372 hrs., #144492 .....................$72,500 JD 6135E, 2017, 92 hrs., #134655 .........................$84,900 Ford 8N, 1949, #136842 .......................................... $5,000 JD 6110R, 2017, 89 hrs., #132910 ......................$109,500 JD 5115M, 2017, 133 hrs.,#134578 .......................$74,900 JD 6125R, 2013, 6500 hrs., #145274 .....................$58,500 JD 4020, 1968, 8096 hrs., #138890 ......................... $9,895 JD 5210, 1998, 2529 hrs., #146721 .......................$18,500 JD 6140D, 2013, 4800 hrs., #146106 .....................$42,500 JD 6130R, 2017,120 hrs., #147779 ......................$113,500 JD 6125M, 2014, 1006 hrs., #143939 ....................$79,000 JD 6110R, 2017, 125 hrs., #144498 .....................$104,900 JD 6110M, 2016, 76 hrs., #144493 ........................$81,900 JD 6105M, 2014, 470 hrs., #132099 ......................$58,500 JD 6110R, 2017, 100 hrs., #144499 .....................$142,391 JD 6400, 1993, 11303 hrs., #146680 .....................$33,500 JD 6200, 1997, 9911 hrs., #141979 .......................$28,600 JD 6110M, 2017, 101 hrs., #132912 ......................$95,900 JD 5095M, 2010, 1735 hrs., #144023 ....................$54,900 JD 5100E, 2016, 1309 hrs., #144491 .....................$47,500 JD 6430, 2008, 4900 hrs., #148075 .......................$71,000 JD 6110R, 2017, 305 hrs., #132075 .......................$98,900

2 Wil-Rich QUAD X2, 2011, #138552 .......................$29,500 GRAPPLES 2 JD GU78X, 2013, #104216 ....................................... $1,200 LAWN & GARDEN TRACTORS 13 JD X500, 2007, 24 hp, 101 hrs., #133178 ................. $2,900 3 JD X534, 2011, 24 hp, 445 hrs., #130760 ................. $2,900 4 JD X710, 2016, 22 hp, 218 hrs., #134518 ................. $6,800 13 JD X724, 2010, 25 hp, 1001 hrs., #131689 ............... $4,900 3 JD X750, 2014, 24 hp, 340 hrs., #133512 ................. $7,700 4 JD X754, 2014, 24 hp, 411 hrs., #131361 ................. $7,500 MISCELLANEOUS AG 2 Rite Way RR900, 2005, #130973..........................$10,900 MULCH FINISHERS 11 JD 2310, 2008, #124769 ........................................$29,500 PLANTERS: DRAWN 11 White 8524, 2013, #140624 .................................$67,000 PULL-TYPE FORAGE HARVESTERS 10 JD 3950, 1999, #140415 .......................................... $6,500 11 JD 3970, 1993, #140243 .......................................... $5,500 ROUND BALERS 9 JD 535, 1989, #139713 ............................................ $5,500 6 JD 568, 2007, #131763 ..........................................$13,000 10 JD 582 SILAGE SPECIAL, 2006, #132056 ..............$13,000 6 NH BR780, 2005, #139754 ...................................... $8,250 ROW CROP TRACTORS 3 JD 6145M, 2017, 145 hp, 207 hrs., #134658..........$95,000 11 JD 6145R, 2015, 145 hp, 426 hrs., #120191 ..........$99,500 7 JD 6145R, 2017, 145 hp, 251 hrs., #137885 ........$109,500 14 JD 6155R, 2016, 155 hp, 189 hrs., #144519 ........$122,000 16 JD 6155R, 2016, 155 hp, 221 hrs., #144517 ........$128,000 16 JD 6175R, 2015, 175 hp, 308 hrs., #144526 ........$129,000 9 JD 6175R, 2017, 175 hp, 88 hrs., #134664 .........$147,000 15 JD 8235R, 2013, 235 hp, 2881 hrs., #144532 ......$109,000 6 JD 8245R, 2010, 245 hp, 2086 hrs., #140015 ......$117,000 SELF-PROPELLED FORAGE HARVESTER HEADS: ROTARY 6 JD 676, 1995, #108982 ..........................................$17,900 6 JD 710, 2007, #115310 ..........................................$33,000 4 JD 5730, 1986, 4980 hrs., #124367 .......................$25,000 6 JD 6810, 1997, 3614 hrs., #142671 .......................$25,000 6 JD 7400, 2004, 4287 hrs., # 122051.......................$99,000 SELF-PROPELLED SPRAYERS 2 JD 4720, 2006, 1673 hrs., #130054 .....................$109,000 SKID STEER LOADERS 12 JD 326E, 2015, 391 hrs., #118578..........................$32,500 11 JD 332E, 2015, 184 hrs., #135560..........................$36,500 7 Bobcat S185, 2003, 1550 hrs., #148060 ...............$14,000 TRACK TRACTORS 16 JD 9560RT, 2014, 560hp, 1006 hrs., #144560......$265,000 UTILITY TRACTORS 4 JD 6105M, 2014, 105 hp, 470 hrs., #132099..........$58,500 12 JD 6110M, 2017, 110 hp, 67 hrs., #134623............$81,900 10 JD 6110R, 2017, 110 hp, 206 hrs., #132073 ..........$85,900 15 JD 6120R, 2016, 120 hp, 353 hrs., #144502 ..........$88,000 4 Case IH, 115C, 2014, 115 hp, 485 hrs., #142395 ....$55,000 ZERO-TURN MOWERS 9 JD Z720A, 2010, 25 hp, 150 hrs., #132126............... $4,900 13 JD Z925M, 2013, 24 hp, 978 hrs., #130734 .............. $4,500 11 JD Z925, 2012, 25 hp, 600 hrs., #132112 ................. $4,900 3 Toro Z MASTER 3000, 2015, 25 hp, 91 hrs., #136011 ................................................................... $7,500

STEEL DEALS

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E LD

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E LD

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Page 22 • Dairy Star • Saturday, May 12, 2018

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Spring alfalfa options Just one month ago, much of Minnesota was in the brunt of a late winter snowstorm. Then in a few days, our long awaited spring warmup nally began. What are some of the ramications to alfalfa from this long cold winter and delayed spring? Well, we did not have a spring where the alfalfa broke dormancy in early spring followed by a re-freeze. We may have had water pooling in some isolated low spots that could smother the alfalfa. By Randy Pepin Alfalfa survivability is still U of M Extension in question, due to the early cold winter with little snow cover, many of our older alfalfa stands are at risk. If you have not inspected all your alfalfa elds yet, now is the time. Early green-up of the crown does not necessarily mean the alfalfa plant is healthy. When you dig up some alfalfa plants, the large taproot should be white inside, not brown and soft. If some of your alfalfa stands look questionable, what are some of your options? Are you mostly concerned about the tonnage of forage harvested or the forage having protein and digestibility levels similar to alfalfa? Corn Silage can be a good option If tonnage and digestible energy is you primary concern. If you think that there are enough healthy alfalfa plants to warrant harvesting the rst cutting and then plant corn for corn silage, you would need to consider a shorter season corn variety. Seeding alfalfa with a nurse crop, usually oats or barley, and harvesting as a forage mid-June is a common option. In a normal year, one should be able to harvest a second crop of mostly alfalfa. Timely harvesting of a small grain for a decent quality forage crop is crucial; if the heads have emerged it is too late. For what many would consider decent quality, we want to harvest small grains in the boot stage, when the head is still in the sheath of the plant. Direct seed alfalfa with no nurse crop is an increasing common option, these farmers plan to harvest a couple of alfalfa crops this year; this will provide forage quality like alfalfa because it is alfalfa. Roundup Ready Alfalfa can aid weed control with this option. Early season rains on hilly ground can make this option a challenge. Inter-seeding a stand that still has some healthy alfalfa plants with annual grass such as ryegrass, Teff, or Italian ryegrass could be an option. It will extend the stand just one more year since these are annuals. Inter-seeding with perennial grass or red clover would not provide much rst year additional tonnage. Obviously, inter-seeding alfalfa into an existing alfalfa stand will not work because of alfalfa’s auto-toxicity. This is an attempt to summarize some of the options available in May if it is determined that an alfalfa stand is not what was expected. I did not include all the potential options; these seem to be the ones most dairy farmers prefer providing a compromise between tonnage and quality.

DAIRY STAR

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Dairy Star • Saturday, May 12, 2018 • Page 23

Lessons learned on the farm Barka receives prestigious FFA award for dairy SAE By Jennifer Coyne jenn@dairystar.com

LITCHFIELD, Minn. – In four short years, Natalie Barka has completely revitalized her family’s calf care protocol by reducing calf mortality to 3 percent and developing standard operating procedures for accurate and consistent feedings. Barka’s work was recognized April 23 at the 89th Minnesota FFA Convention in Minneapolis as she was awarded the 2018 Minnesota FFA Star in Production Placement. “This [project] gave me a sense of ownership on the farm,” Barka said. “Working to get the youngstock off to a healthy start pays off as those heifers become milk cows.” Barka, 18, is the daughter of Josh and Lynn Barka, and the third generation on her family’s 350-cow dairy near Litcheld, Minn. At the farm, Barka is largely responsible for youngstock health – record keeping and vaccinations, as well as feeding at 5 a.m. and p.m. In eighth grade, Barka began closely monitoring the youngstock as part of her FFA supervised agricultural experience (SAE). Her rst goal was to ensure every calf on milk had fresh water throughout the day and decrease the mortality rate by 3 percent. “My dad set up benchmarks for me that I should try and reach with my

PHOTO SUBMITTED

Natalie Barka receives plaques as the 2018 Minnesota FFA Star in ProducƟon Placement during the 89th Minnesota FFA ConvenƟon April 23 in Minneapolis. Barka’s SAE project focused on calf health on her family’s 350-cow dairy near Litcheld, Minn. SAE,” said Barka, referring to the mortality rate, which began at 15 percent. Over the next three years, Barka further developed her prociency project by incorporating her own focus all while continually lowering mortality rate. Barka’s rst decision was to imple-

ment detailed vaccination protocols and record keeping for calves on milk, which are 8 weeks old or younger. “We started using RFID tags and spreadsheets to keep track of calves,” Barka said. She also established clearly written feeding procedures.

“Right away our vet and I set up instructions that anyone could follow when I was gone,” Barka said. “My siblings nd it helpful to look at, and it’s also a place for employees to look at for Turn to BARKA | Page 25

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Page 24 • Dairy Star • Saturday, May 12, 2018

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Dairy Star • Saturday, May 12, 2018 • Page 25

ConƟnued from BARKA | Page 23 vaccination information.” During her sophomore and junior years in high school, Barka conducted a feed trial that examined varieties of calf feed aimed to further promote growth. “I love science and took the opportunity to evaluate three brands of feed,” Barka said. “The point [of the trial] was to make sure we were being as efcient as we possibly could.” She also rened the farm’s colostrum management based on blood serum tests that measured immunoglobulin levels. In 2014, Barka and her family decided to use a pasteurizer for feeding the calves. “The impacts of implementing a pasteurizer were noticed immediately – the calves were livelier and we had no more cases of clostridium or coccidiosis,” Barka said. “With the blood test, I wanted to see if our colostrum management techniques were really working.” The results from both tests gave Barka a wealth of knowledge about her family’s calf care program. In the feed trial, calves were rst measured by height and then again by weight. When weighed, differences were apparent, yet subtle enough for the Barkas to remain with the same feed source. The blood tests conrmed the calves were receiving appropriate levels of nutrients, however, there was room for improvement in management.

calf care, but also reignited her interest in the dairy industry and FFA organization. “My knowledge of dairy has increased, along with my own sense of responsibility and initiative,” Barka said. “On a larger scale, I’ve found what I like to do and have bettered myself.” The SAE has allowed Barka to develop her own herd of cattle, which consists of 24 cows and a few youngstock. After the Litcheld High School senior graduates this spring, she will attend the University of Minnesota to pursue a degree in biosystems and bioproducts engineering, with plans to return home and start an on-farm creamery with her and her family’s herds. JENNIFER COYNE/DAIRY STAR

Natalie Barka reviews Standard OperaƟng Procedures (SOPs) for calf care on her family’s dairy farm near Litcheld, Minn. Barka developed the SOPs as a way to ensure consistent calf feeding and health protocols. This led Barka to clean equipment more thoroughly and provide quality milk more consistently. “Daily care is crucial; whether it’s getting a newborn calf its rst feeding of colostrum within 12 hours or feeding at the same time every day and making sure the calves have water and are well bedded,” Barka said. With Barka’s commitment to her FFA prociency leading her to ne-tune the farm’s calf management, she has developed a successful heifer re-

placement program. When Barka rst delved into her project, she was responsible for 30 calves. Now, that number has more than doubled to 75. “The calves are so much healthier, and I’m condent in the animals I’m raising,” Barka said. Earlier in the year, Barka submitted her SAE portfolio for review at the regional level, which qualied her for the state competition this spring. For consideration of the Star in Production Placement award,

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Barka also had to receive her Minnesota FFA State Degree at this year’s convention. She was notied of being a nalist before the honors reception April 23 in Minneapolis but did not know she was the award recipient. “It means the world to me,” said Barka of being named Star in Production Placement. “It’s a true testament that hard work pays off, and I know the other [nalists] have done just the same.” Barka’s SAE not only greatly improved her family’s

Results from the 89th Annual Minnesota FFA Convention The following students received rst-place recognition in dairy-related prociencies and career development events (CDEs): – Isaac Nelson, of Sleepy Eye FFA, in dairy production entrepreneurship. – Shelby Kuechle, of Eden Valley-Watkins FFA, in dairy production placement. – Jaek Saemrow, of TriCity United FFA, in dairy cattle evaluation. – Ian VanderWal, of Pipestone Area FFA, in dairy handler. – Breanna Wineld, of Grand Meadow FFA, in milk quality and products.

Page 26 â€˘ Dairy Star â€˘ Saturday, May 12, 2018

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MPP-Dairy signup until June 1 Please remember the MPP-Dairy signup for 2018 is going on until June 1. Also, we know we will be issuing payments under this program for FSA News & Notes February and March to those producers who purchase a margin at $7, $7.50 or $8. To quickly review, the program protects dairy producers by paying them when the difference between the national all-milk price and the By Ryan Brunn national average feed cost (the margin) falls below Stearns Co. Exec. Dir. a certain dollar amount elected by a participating producer. Changes included are: - The calculations of the margin period is monthly rather than bi-monthly. - Covered production history is increased to 5 million pounds on the Tier 1 premium schedule, and premium rates for Tier 1 are substantially lowered. - An exemption from paying an administrative fee for limited resource, beginning, veteran and disadvantaged producers. Dairy operators enrolled in the previous 2018 enrollment period that qualify for this exemption under the new provisions may request a refund. Please call your ofďƒžce soon to set up an appointment for MPP-Dairy if you would like to participate for 2018. Highly Erodible Land and Wetland Conservation compliance Landowners and operators are reminded that in order to receive payments from USDA, compliance with Highly Erodible Land (HEL) and Wetland Conservation (WC) provisions are required. Farmers with HEL determined soils are reminded of tillage, crop residue and rotation requirements as speciďƒžed per their conservation plan. Producers are to notify the FSA prior to conducting land clearing or drainage projects to insure compliance. Failure to obtain advance approval for any of these situations can result in the loss of eligibility and all federal payments. 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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Dairy Star • Saturday, May 12, 2018 • Page 27

Day dreaming on the tractor seat The Transition Pen

By Laura Scholtz & John Rosenhammer Father/Daughter Farming Duo The day to plant small grains had nally arrived. I had looked at that pallet of oats for nearly a month it seemed. We rent a neighbor’s grain drill and that also arrived much earlier than normal. I had moved it at least three times with the same tractor my father had learned to drive with: a John Deere A. I moved it not because it was in the way, but rather because I wanted to challenge the old A. Could it move the drill with 40-plus bushels in the tank in the eld? No problem was the answer, even in the nely dug seed bed. In order to be completely ready for the day, I had our neighbor, Kyle, who helps us with chores at night, help me open the bags of oats and ll the tank. He did such a nice job that I let him drive the A around the yard and attempt to back it into the shed. On his third or fourth try he succeeded. The grin on his face was one of those Kodak moments. I think Kyle also had a renewed appreciation for power-steering. The day to plant was sunny, warm and peaceful. The skies were full of lazy clouds basking themselves in the sunshine. Patty sent me off with cookies, chips and a Gatorade. After dinner she promised me more homemade chocolate chip cookies, a grilled hamburger and cold water. How could it get any better? As I drove to the eld I admired how green and lush the road ditches appeared, as compared to being full of snow just three short weeks ago. Today was going to be the rst day of working on my farmer’s tan. As I arrived into the eld, I had to decide on my plan for end rows and how I was going to deal with a small pasture and a fence line along the way. I also had to deal with a grove, that beneted from last year’s rains and reached even farther into the eld. After the end rows were complete and having made a few rounds, it was now time to dream into the future. We are renting the eld I was in. I am always amazed how different our farm and others appear from different angles. Even more amazing is the fact that one pallet of oat seed, easily tting onto the pickup truck, will result in nearly 25 loads of oat silage in just 70 days. God is very generous; only a few seeds transformed into such an abundant harvest. As I was seeding along the owner’s electric fence to the river, I wondered how many cows have made this trip in their lifetime. Last fall was the last time for cattle on his place, and I pondered if any cows would ever make that journey again. The narrow path leading to the river was scattered with rock of all sizes and shapes. Gullies were nearly three feet deep from wash outs and erosion. Steel fence posts held up the majority of the electric wire but many were bent, replaced and leaning from the stress of all those years. Anchoring the ends were a few weathered wooden posts, wrinkled and weakened by their many years of service. The once shiny and strong wire now appeared to be full of mends and knots, each resembling another time the cows had gotten out, chased down and redirected back to where home was supposed to be. Farther down the fence line the river was moving with purpose. It had to because with recent rains and snow melt new water was forcefully pushing against the river banks trying desperately to keep up the pace.

Wood

The water appeared crystal clear. Trees tried to make the best of their situation. The abundance of moisture should have made them strong and tall, but the water below constantly chewing away at their roots created quite an irony. Many had tried to provide shade for the cows but eventually had met their match and lost now being reduced to hiding spots for gophers, rabbits and other wild animals. The new grass was trying to reach for sunlight but had to weave through last year’s twisted and dead ancestors rst. Would this grass ourish and grow tall to provide healthy nutrients for livestock? Would it become a nesting spot for a pheasant or be reduced to a home for sh that would be forced out from the river due to ooding and leave an unpleasant odor? I wonder how many trips were made by this farmer and his family when he wanted to milk and the cows were not ready. Trips to get that last cow home. Trips to nd that a new calf had been born and needed to be brought home. Trips that resulted in him running back faster than he would have liked maybe because of a bull

with an attitude. Trips to view the rising river, knowing that his once secure fence would soon again need mending. Trips on a Sunday afternoon when he took his children shing and looking for worms under freshly composted branches and logs. All trips that were made on foot, surely the convenience of a four-wheeler was not an option. Dreaming on the seat of the tractor has always been a glimpse of heaven for me. Out there on a sunny day where no one is likely to bother you is one of those benets of working with the land. Experiencing God’s creation and tilling His soil has always been a privilege. Learning this passion from those before us, experiencing it and sharing it with the next generation is nothing short of a blessing. I have solved many problems, answered many questions and planned many twilight meetings, all while dreaming on the seat of the tractor. John Rosenhammer farms with his daughter, Laura Scholtz, and brother, Greg, on Roseview Dairy near Sleepy Eye, Minn. They milk 200 Holsteins and run 580 acres of cropland.

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Page 28 • Dairy Star • Saturday, May 12, 2018

Betty Berning bberning@umn.edu 320-203-6104 Luciano Caixeta lcaixeta@umn.edu 612-625-3130 Hugh Chester-Jones chest001@umn.edu 507-835-3622 Gerard Cramer gcramer@umn.edu 612-625-8184 Marcia Endres miendres@umn.edu 612-624-5391 Sandra Godden godde002@umn.edu 612-625-8177 Joleen Hadrich jhadrich@umn.edu 612-626-5620 Les Hansen hanse009@umn.edu 612-624-2277 Brad Heins hein0106@umn.edu 320-589-1711 Kevin Janni kjanni@umn.edu 612-625-3108 Karen Johnson ande9495@umn.edu 320-484-4334 Claire LaCanne lacanne@umn.edu 507-332-6109 Brenda Miller nels4220@umn.edu 320-732-4435 Kota Minegishi kota@umn.edu 612-624-7455 Randy Pepin pepin019@umn.edu 320-333-1369 Erin Royster royster@umn.edu Jim Salfer salfe001@umn.edu 320-203-6093 M. Scott Wells mswells@umn.edu 612-625-3747 Emily Wilmes krek0033@umn.edu 320-255-6169

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Alfalfa assessment: Factors leading to winter injury By M. Scott Wells Co-authors Reagan Noland, Doug Holen and Craig Sheaﬀer

A number of factors can contribute to winter damage of an alfalfa stand. These are all important to consider as spring assessments are made. The following elements may all play a role in winter survivability. The ability of a stand to overwinter starts with proper management decisions. Varieties must be selected by regional and climatic specicity to ensure the appropriate genetics are present for winter hardiness and disease resistance. Proactive fertility and pest management are also critical. Stressed plants are weaker and are not efciently synthesizing carbohydrates for winter storage. Droughty fall conditions also reduce the storage of root reserves. Additionally, the timing of harvest events, especially in the fall, can serve to either maintain or deplete root reserves critical for winter survival. No cutting is recommended between Sept. 1 and Oct. 15 (critical harvest period), as this is a critical period of carbohydrate accumulation. The critical harvest period dates will vary depending on how far north you are located, but regardless of the date, it is critical that nal harvest occurs four to six weeks before the average date of the rst killing frost. Cutting during this period interferes with accumulation of food reserves because new growth is produced at the expense of winter reserves. It is also recommended to maintain a minimum of six inches of standing growth or stubble to serve as a snow catchment for insulation. A minimum of 4 inches of snow is considered adequate to insulate the soil and prevent direct freezing damage to alfalfa. Temperatures of 15 to 5 degrees at the crown are capable of causing winter injury. Depending on regional snow cover and minimum air temperatures, as well as degree of fall hardening, plant health, nutritive status and soil moisture, stressed or vulnerable alfalfa stands may have suffered this form of winter injury this year. In some years (2013 for example), precipitation and freeze-thaw cycles in late winter and early spring can lead to the formation of a layer of ice at the soil surface, or ice sheeting. If prolonged by the weather, these conditions can deplete soil oxygen and create toxic levels of carbon dioxide, ethanol and methanol beneath the ice. Alfalfa can endure short periods of ice sheeting; however, periods lasting longer than seven days can cause signicant injury and even death. Warm soil temperatures (greater than 40 degrees) can cause alfalfa to de-harden and break dormancy. If followed by extreme cold or icy weather, severe winter injury may result. Regardless of winter conditions, it is always recommended to make a close assessment of stand health each spring. Winter injury may not be immediately apparent. It may be indicated by slow or uneven spring growth, or could go undetected until after the rst cut. The most direct assessment of spring plant health is root color

and turgidity. Dig a few plants from representative areas of the eld, and split the taproot down the center as in Figure 1. Healthy roots should be offwhite in color and turgid (rm and hydrated as shown on the left). Damaged or winterkilled roots will be dark, dehydratPHOTO SUBMITTED ed and ropey (as shown on the Figure 1. Healthy alfalfa taproot on the leŌ and damaged taproots on the right. right). Early assessments of overall stand health and production potential are achieved through stem counts per square foot: - Greater than 55 stems per square foot: Density is not limiting to production. - Forty to 55 stems per square foot: Some reduction has occurred, but adequate production is still likely. - Less than 40 stems per square foot: May need to consider termination or supplementary options. If winter injury is a concern, it is also important to watch for slow or uneven regrowth, and monitor regrowth closely following the rst cut. Reduced stem count or plant vigor may occur as a result of mild winter injury. Depending on plant health and severity of the damage, production may decrease throughout the year or recover. Recognize that every stand and every eld is different and could require specic assessment and management planning. As management options are considered, remember that injured alfalfa stands can exhibit delayed regrowth, but may be capable of recovering. Be careful not to rush into alternative options if the stand can be maintained for acceptable production. If action is required, carefully consider the cost and expected benet of alternatives with regard to the situation. Supplemental forages, such as teff, annual ryegrass and small grains, can be interseeded into a thin stand or used to cover the bad spots if present. If a large percentage of the stand has been damaged, termination and planting of silage corn or BMR sorghum may be more appropriate.

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Dairy Star • Saturday, May 12, 2018 • Page 29

Preparing for equipment breakdowns Dairy farms are busy places. Every day cows need to be milked, animals need to be fed and watered, and manure needs to be collected. Barns also need to be ventilated. Some of these tasks can be automated with computer-controlled milk feeders, automated manure alley scrappers and robotic milking. Thermostatic controllers turn ventilating fans on and off or speed them up to adjust rates as the weather changes. Dairy operations rely on a lot of equipment and sometimes things break. Do you have a plan for equipment failures? Many milking equipment suppliers will set up a regular schedule for replacing milking liners and checking the milking system equipment. They can check vacuum levels, pump performance and milk cooling equipment, including the condenser coil and refrigeration unit. Dirty condenser coils should be cleaned to improve performance. The goal is to By Kevin Janni keep everything running and avoid equipment breakdowns U of M Extension that require expensive emergency repairs. Other equipment on dairy farms need regular maintenance. The list includes stand-by generators, skidloaders, feeding equipment, ventilating fans, mixing fans, sprinkler systems, heaters, water heaters and thermostatic controllers. In all cases it is recommended to follow manufacturer recommendations for maintenance and repairs. Many dairy farmers and their employees are busy with day-to-day chores. They just cannot nd time to keep up with maintenance. Maintenance can be put off to tomorrow or the day after or next week. Then, something breaks and xing it becomes the highest priority right now. This simple scenario suggests two questions to think about. What would be the impact if something stopped working? How long would it take to get xed? If the piece of equipment is critical to your operation it is important to maintain it, have someone that can repair it quickly or have a back-up that you can use. These are three options to consider when thinking about potential equipment failures. There are costs associated with each option. Maintenance takes time and has supply costs. Having a repair person come out on short notice has costs and maybe extra costs on weekends or holidays. And having a back-up unit has a cost, too. But you are balancing those costs against the cost of lost production if something breaks and you cannot get it xed in a timely manner. One way to think about the impacts of equipment failures is to do a walk through and look at each piece of equipment you have and ask, what would be the impact if this thing stopped working? Can we do the critical work we need to do without it? Could I x it? Can I get a repair person here in a few hours with the parts needed? How much would it cost? What does it cost to have a stand-by unit on the farm?

PHOTOS SUBMITTED

What are you planning to do if one of these pieces of equipment breakdown?

Regular maintenance is a good option for all critical pieces of equipment that have to work every day or are needed in emergencies. Review the operator’s manual to nd the recommended maintenance schedule. Follow the manufacturer’s recommendations. Check for leaks. Lubricate moving parts and change oil as recommended. Look for worn and loose belts, remove dust and dirt,look for corrosion and worn parts, and tighten loose pieces. With warm weather around the corner this is a good time to check all of the fans on the farm that are used to cool things. Check all of the ventilation fans, mixing fans and fans on condenser units. Check that the fans run. Check that louvers are loose and lubricated. Use a graphite lubricant on louvers because oil-based lubricants collect dust and dirt. Dirty exhaust fans can move much less air; 50 percent or more of the rated capacity can be lost if belts slip or the louvers do not easily open fully. Dairy farmers are pretty handy. They often can repair broken equipment. Some equipment suppliers will help you diagnose problems and x things over the phone, but a lot of equipment these days requires specialized knowledge and replacement parts. Pulling out and installing a circuit board made to be replaced might be ne, but how fast can you get the right part? There are lots of ways to think about maintenance and having a plan for equipment failure. One large animal feeding operation installed multiple standard sized stand-by generators rather than one large non-standard sized stand-by generator. The idea was that the farm could get by if one of the units failed and they could replace the standard sized unit more quickly than a unique non-standard size unit. There are a lot of ways to keep your farm running through an equipment failure. Be prepared, have a plan, and expect the unexpected.

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Page 30 • Dairy Star • Saturday, May 12, 2018

The prom

It’s amazing, isn’t it? It boggles the mind that even today, in this so-called age of enlightenment, we still expect our teenaged offspring to participate in that Medieval custom known as the prom. At my small-town high school, it was preordained – from birth or quite possibly even before then – that Mr. Super-jock/Homecoming King would take Miss Head Cheerleader/Homecoming Queen to the prom. The rest of the student body fell into a hierarchy that descended from Nobility to Squires to Serfs. My social standing could have best been described as a Serf’s serf. A raging torrent of Machiavellian maneuvering gushed through the school’s hallways as assorted courtiers jockeyed for prom partners. A typical conversation between a set of my female classmates might go as such: “Forsooth. It hath reached mine ears that Lord

Bradley of Pitt hath expressed his earnest desire to Lady Angelina of Jolie that she accompany his Lordship to the Grand Promenade. Yet Lady Angelina hath delayed her answer lest Matthew, Duke of Damon shall petition her likewise.” “Aye, but yestermorn, mine own eyes witnessed the Duke palavering with the Lady Jennifer of Aniston,” came the reply. “Doth this be an omen that Lady Jennifer be of a mind to abandon the affections of George, Earl of Clooney?” “‘Tis difcult to divine the portent of Lady Jennifer’s dalliances. But recollect thou how the Earl once upon a time was possessed of a particular endearment for the Lady Sandra of Bullock? Perchance that bygone ame hath been rekindled.” “What thou speakest might be true. We shouldst go forthwith and inform dear Lady Angelina of these augural developments.”

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“Indubitably. Performing such a deed shall be nothing less than our duty and the most compassionate of courtesies.” None of this intrigue involved me, personally, since I dwelt among the sub-serfs. But that didn’t Dear County Agent Guy keep me from stirring things a bit as those above me jostled for position. For instance, I might casually say, “Salutations and good morn, Lord Pitt. ‘Tis my sorrowful duty to recount to your Lordship that I hath espied Lady Jolie holding forth in an By Jerry Nelson intimate manner with Columnist Jonathan, Viscount of Depp by the bleachers yester eve following the track meet.” “Alas. Doth thou convey this intelligence to me in truthfulness? Methinks it shall behoove me to advance posthaste and make inquiries of Lady Jolie’s intentions. Bless thou, lowly yeoman. Your actions bespeak of a noble character despite your humble station.” The day of the prom grew near and I still had no date. I swiftly narrowed my limited options down to one: Inga Fieldstone, the daughter of a neighboring dairy farmer. Inga was a tomboy in every respect. She wore loose-tting farm clothes, walked like a guy, talked like a guy and could even spit farther than most guys. She could pitchfork more calf manure than a skidloader, and it was rumored that she had broken a burly trucker’s wrist during an arm wrestling match. Imagine my surprise, then, when I went to Inga’s farmhouse on the evening of the prom and was met at the door by a handsome young lady. Inga was wearing a stunning blue evening gown that owed out behind her like the wake of a sailboat. Her dishwater blond hair, which normally hung in shapeless clumps, was swirled about her head in elegant fashion. And there was something different about her face. Ohmigosh. Inga was wearing makeup. I was speechless. “My dear Lady Fieldstone,” I said once I found my tongue. “I have borne unto thee these owers which I would be fain to pin upon thy bodice. But thou art become such a vision. I am afear’d that these pitiful blossoms are but weeds compared to thy loveliness.” “Thou rapscallion,” Inga said, blushing. “Tease me not. Wouldst that such attery be reserved for those worthy of it.” “Nay, fair maiden; I mock only those whom have mocked thee. Verily, even the stars up in the heavens shall be jealous of thy radiant countenance.” Inga’s father, who had been standing nearby and listening to us, shook his head. “I don’t understand kids these days,” he said. “What’s your prom’s theme? ‘Return to Camelot?’” “Baron Fieldstone, thy clairvoyance simply astounds,” I said. “What sorcery didst thou employ to divine the thesis of this evening’s Grand Promenade?” “I dunno. Just a lucky guess.” Jerry is a recovering dairy farmer from Volga, S.D. He and his wife, Julie, have two grown sons and live on the farm where Jerry’s great-grandfather homesteaded over 110 years ago. Jerry currently works full time for the Dairy Star as a staff writer/ad salesman. Feel free to E-mail him at: jerry.n@ dairystar.com.

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Dairy Star • Saturday, May 12, 2018 • Page 31

Got work ethic? In his 2012 book, “Reviving the Work Ethic,” Eric Chester argues that an entitlement mentality is growing among the new work force, and that, “work has degenerated to little more than a four-letter word, a necessary evil … no longer viewed as something to be proud of.” This is a Veterinary Wisdom pretty strong statement, and a generalization for sure, but if I had a dollar for every time I heard someone say, “People just do not want to work anymore,” or something similar, I would have at a least cookie jar full of cash. A strong work ethic is not necessarily a quality of every prospective employee By Jim Bennett coming to your farm. Columnist Chester is a business consultant and has asked many employers what they expect for each and every employee. He summarizes, “Employers are searching for positive, enthusiastic people who show up for work on time, who are dressed and prepared properly, who go out of their way to add value and do more than what’s required of them, who are honest, who will play by the rules, and who will give cheerful, friendly service regardless of the situation.” There are seven elements in that sentence: positive attitude, reliability, professionalism, initiative, respect, integrity and gratitude. As children grow, parents and teachers try to program their value systems. Children all around the world are taught to smile and play nice, be prompt, look their best, do their best, obey the rules, tell the truth and say please and thank you. Chester points out that these values are exactly the same seven characteristics that employers want in their workers; he calls these values sandbox values. Work ethic requires knowing what to do and then doing it, or in other words, cognizance and

compliance. We can build a matrix where cognizance regular and signicant maintenance. Assess means is on the horizontal axis and compliance the vertical never assuming that everyone knows and lives the axis. Cognizance ranges from “don’t know” on seven values. Good teachers assess rst, and they the far left to “know” on the far right. Compliance understand that many people will not say anything ranges from “do” on the top to “don’t do” on the when they do not understand something they are told bottom. This gives us four quadrants: the bottom because they do not want to look stupid. To mentor left, or idle quadrant, is where employees live who means one-on-one coaching. It involves teaching, do not know what to do and also would not do it if re-teaching and reinforcing. they did know. The upper left, or lucky quadrant, Moving employees to the top (compliance) of is for employees who don’t know what to do, but the matrix has three key elements: relevance, reward actually try to work, and occasionally get lucky by and radiate. Relevance means knowing the “why,” doing the right thing. The occupants of the lower and it is important because people often need to right, the cheating quadrant, know what to do, but know the why before they will take action on the choose not to do it. Finally the upper right, or valued what. For example, believe it or not, someone may quadrant, where we would like everyone to reside, not know why arriving 30 minutes late is a problem, is for people who know what to do and just do it. Do and may need to understand the impact of tardiness you have employees that t into these quadrants? on other employees, animals or the operation. In reality many Reward means catching employees spend some people doing something time in each quadrant. To A strong work right; in particular k ethic hi iis not increase the value of your something that represents people you need to help them necessarily a quality of every a positive work ethic. improve their knowledge prospective employee coming Radiate means to spread (cognizance) and their something all around from actions (compliance). It is to your farm. a center. Radiating values dangerous to pigeonhole means establishing them employees into any as central ideas and then particular quadrant, because Chester argues that spreading them throughout teams and organizations. most people can be pulled up and over to the valued This also means living them yourself. quadrant. This means teaching people what they Not everyone who applies for a job on your need to know and motivate and inspire them to do it. dairy understands and lives the core values of the Remember, we are talking about values, not work ethic for which you are looking. Can values skills here. The “what” refers to the seven values be taught? Chester argues they can. In fact, he in a great work ethic. Most employers expect to argues that for most employers today, teaching these teach skills, like how to milk a cow, but not values, values is necessary to developing a productive work like reliability for instance. Some people may not force. With a good teacher, most employees can be understand what reliability is, so you have to dene pulled up and over to valued quadrant where they and explain just what it means on your operation. understand and live a good work ethic. You may have to do this for all seven sandbox values Jim Bennett is a dairy veterinarian at Northern with some people. Valley Dairy Production Medicine Center in Moving employees to the right of the matrix Plainview, Minn. He and his wife, Pam, have four (cognizance) has three components: clarify, assess children. Jim can be reached at bennettnvac@ and mentor. Clarify means using crystal-clear terms gmail.com with comments or questions. and understanding that teaching values requires

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Page 32 • Dairy Star • Saturday, May 12, 2018

Crazy options

The dairy business is tough. It has been for the original ones to do it because of land and feed costs. 45 years I have been in it and it will continue to In Minnesota and Wisconsin, it never made a lot of have ups and downs in the future. The experts tell sense because for six months of the year we could us to expand, know our costs and join with others almost feed those heifers for free in the trapezoid to create a mega-dairy; shaped pastures along a creek yes, I heard that idea didn’t that had no other useful purpose. like to think hi k off not only l go over very well. I might I lik Now, cash payment programs brain storm a little about crazy options, but also like RIM, CREP, DWSMA and other crazy ideas I have CRP, along with buffer rules heard or read about. I’m positive options. along waterways have changed not an expert at all, just the pasture strategies for many. an old Carhart denim guy I do agree with keeping cattle with grease under my ngernails. out of creeks and off the ditch bank, but the rules Sell off or quit raising calves and heifers, and have gone too far. I know with sexed semen there buy the replacements you need. This strategy has are plenty of heifers around to buy, but as herds gone on for years and can work quite well depending consolidate and only raise enough heifers to supply on the situation. California dairymen were the their own needs, the future of buying heifers could

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get dicey. I think it will be OK to buy heifers for the next three years because of the youngstock available from the current sellouts, but after that it could become more of a closed loop system. Another spin off on the not raising your Making Cents of Dairy own replacements idea would be to breed all your cows to a beef bull. Every newborn calf on your dairy would be worth approximately $300, and no labor, housing or feed would be needed for dairy heifers. Let’s assume for discussion purposes By Dave Vander Kooi that it costs $1,800 to Columnist raise one replacement heifer, and that your average cull cow sells for $800. Let’s also assume you can buy quality fresh or springing heifers for $1,700. My napkin math tells me every time I sell a cull cow and a beef calf I have $1,100 to spend on a $1,700 replacement. If I sell a cull cow I need that $800 plus another $1,000 to pay for raising my own replacements. On a 500-cow herd with a 30 percent cull rate, that will save $60,000 a year. Granted, nding a source of reliable replacements would be difcult, but with sexed semen you might nd a dairyman with cheaper feed resources who would like to do that for you. I like to think not only of crazy options, but also positive options. Adding to an already stressed workload is not a positive option. By that I mean letting go of hired labor, nding part-time work in town, or trying to milk a few more cows in a worn facility are not always positive options. Perhaps selling the cows and hauling two to three loads of milk a day for another local dairy could benet you and them. Skill sets are one area dairy farmers really underestimate themselves. We already have a work ethic second to none, we can x many things, and we are good around livestock. What I’m really trying to say is if options and changes are needed, make them life-changing positive, not a band-aid x. So far, our farm is not doing anything real crazy. We are growing a lot more alfalfa to save on protein bills, we are breeding 60 percent Holstein sexed and 40 percent Angus beef, and just trying to streamline everything else. My grandkids poke fun of my holes in my Carhart jeans, and I tell them I can’t afford new ones. Vander Kooi operates a 1,800-cow, 4,500 acre farm with his son, Joe, and daughter-in-law, Rita, near Worthington, Minn. Send him feedback at davevkooi@icloud.com. Follow him on Instagram, @ davevanderkooi.

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A celebration of agriculture

Dairy Star • Saturday, May 12, 2018 • Page 33

ELIZABETH HOAG/DAIRY STAR

Pierz FFA members – (front, from leŌ) Lane Otremba, Brandon Przybilla and Sam Winscher; (back, from leŌ) Jamie Schubert and Mitchell Fleck – parƟcipate in the third annual tractor day May 2 at Pierz Healy High School in Pierz, Minn. These students either live or work on a dairy farm.

Pierz students participate in annual tractor day By Jennifer Coyne jenn@dairystar.com

PIERZ, Minn. – Spring has nally sprung across Minnesota, and farmers are eager to get in the elds while students are counting down the days until summer vacation. At Pierz Healy High School, students had the opportunity to celebrate both May 2 during the annual tractor day in Pierz, Minn. “This is a chance for kids who aren’t involved in sports to be recognized one day out of the year,” said senior Sam Winscher, Pierz FFA Chapter President. Winscher lives near Buckman, Minn., where her parents, Shawn and Sarah Winscher, milk 100 Holsteins. She is mostly responsible for milking and caring for the calves. As the day began, 30 students brought their tractor to the high school parking lot and displayed them for the student body and community members. Many classes took time to view the tractors as part of their curriculum for the day, while parents drove their children past the line of tractors before dropping them off at the school entryway. “It means a lot that we have so

much support from the community,” Winscher said. “These tractors represent past heritages and kids carrying on generations of farming.” Many students participated in the tractor day as a way to demonstrate their family’s rich agriculture heritage and pay homage to generations before them. Lane Otremba, a junior, drove his 1070 Case tractor in memory of his grandfather. “I’m the third generation on my family’s farm. This is what my grandpa did, it’s what my dad does, and it means a lot to keep this tradition going. It’s what my grandpa would’ve wanted,” said Otremba, who helps on his parents’, Mike and Tammy Otremba’s, 50cow dairy near Pierz. The annual tractor day was recreated three years ago by FFA advisor and agricultural sciences instructor Pat Tax. This year, the event was originally scheduled for April 25, but rescheduled due to the extended winter season. At the end of the school day, students who brought tractors gathered around as Rev. Ken Popp, of St. Joseph’s and St. Michael’s Catholic Churches in Pierz and Buckman, provided a blessTurn to TRACTOR DAY | Page 37

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FFA students drive their tractors out of the school parking lot May 2 in Pierz, Minn.

Page 34 • Dairy Star • Saturday, May 12, 2018

Vogt family ready to host Stearns County Breakfast on the Farm By Andrea Borgerding andrea.b@dairystar.com

MARK KLAPHAKE/DAIRY STAR

The Vogts – (from leŌ) Aaron, Ethan and Ken – milk 310 cows on Vogt Dairy near Sauk Centre, Minn. The Vogts and their families will be hosƟng the Stearns County Breakfast on the Farm June 2.

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and youngstock, Ethan raises the crops and does the fabricating and xing around the farm. Ken manages the business end of the dairy operation. “We had to do the dividing of jobs,” Ken said. “If I wouldn’t have let them do that

tel y ™

Holsteins in a double-10 parallel parlor. They grow corn and alfalfa on 535 acres. Ken, Aaron and Ethan formed a partnership in 2016. Each one has an area where they focus, but all three work together to complete all the farm work. Aaron works with the cows

p le

SAUK CENTRE, Minn. – Although they have hosted smaller farm tours in the past, the Vogt family admits hosting a breakfast on their farm is not something they have considered doing. But they did not hesitate when asked to be the hosts for Stearns County’s annual June Dairy Month celebration. “I think these breakfasts on the farm are very important,” said Ken Vogt, who works in a partnership with sons, Aaron and Ethan. “The educational opportunity for people, especially kids, is very important.” Vogt Dairy, located south of Sauk Centre, Minn., will be the site of the 11th annual Stearns County Breakfast on the Farm June 2. Breakfast including pancakes, French toast, sausage, eggs, milk, juice and coffee starts at 7:30 a.m. All activities – farm tours, petting zoo and an obstacle course – will run until 12:30 p.m. A free charter bus will take attendees to and from the farm. Parking will be available at the Stearns County Fairgrounds. Vogt Dairy milks 310

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“We called Stray Voltage Consulting, and Jerry found the problem within half an hour.” Roger said. “I was very impressed with Jerry. He’s a former REA guy, so he understands both the farmer and the electric company. Being able to work with both sides is a key component to his success.” “I haven’t had a single problem with our fresh heifers since Jerry corrected our stray voltage problem. I would highly recommend Stray Voltage Consulting to anyone who thinks they might have stray voltage!”

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and I was controlling everything, they wouldn’t be here.” The Vogts have focused on keeping the dairy a family farm. In addition, the dairy has two full-time and four part-time employees. Securing their family dairy for future generations

is just one of the reasons the Vogts feel it is important to host the annual breakfast. Dispelling misconceptions on how a dairy farm operates and to present a positive impression of what happens on a modern dairy have also been motivation for the Vogt family. “Even in our small community, there are a lot of misconceptions of what dairying is all about,” Aaron said. “They believe what they see and read on social media. Those are the people who we hope come out here – the people who are on the fence about dairy products and how animals are treated. We want to show them our cattle are treated just as well as our own kids.” Opening their dairy to close to 2,000 people in less than a month has the Vogts excited and anxious to be sure their farm is visitor ready. “We don’t have new facilities, everything has been pieced together through the years,” Aaron said. “But it’s important to let visitors see that not everything is brand new and that we aren’t making a ton of money by dairy-

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Dairy Star • Saturday, May 12, 2018 • Page 35

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The Vogt family – (front, from leŌ) Carrie, Ethan, holding Drew, Jaran, Ken, Sally, AŌon, Pyper, Abe; (back row, from leŌ) Nicki, Aaron, Chris Lima and Ann VogtLima – will host the Stearns County Breakfast on the Farm near Sauk Centre, Minn., June 2. ing.” The late spring has posed challenges for the Vogts in prepping the farm for a breakfast. They managed to get painting done last fall and spent most of the winter nishing their shop where the breakfast will be served. The Vogts also added calf and heifer

“After experiencing breakfast on the farm, I hope people feel they can come to us anytime when they have questions about dairying.” AARON VOGT, DAIRY FARMER

facilities to allow more room for their youngstock. At the end of the day, the Vogts hope the visitors come away with a positive experience of agriculture, and

dairy in particular. Perhaps even spark an interest in the dairy industry from non-ag people. “Changing a few minds is just as important as getting some young kids not from a farm interested and maybe eventually involved in agriculture,” Aaron said. Ethan agrees that presenting an overall positive light on the industry is the goal in hosting the annual breakfast. “That would be the best thing we can do,” Ethan said. “Dairying means producing a good, safe and healthy product while taking care of the animals and the land.” When the day arrives, whether rain or shine, the Stearns County Breakfast on the Farm will go on and the Vogt family – Ken and wife, Sally; Aaron and wife, Nicki, and their children, Pyper, Afton and Abe; Ethan and Carrie, and their children, Jaran, Drew and baby due in June – will all be ready to welcome visitors. “After experiencing breakfast on the farm, I hope people feel they can come to us anytime when they have questions about dairying,” Aaron said.

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Ken Vogt sprays down the parlor aŌer morning milking May 1. Ken works in a partnership with sons, Aaron and Ethan.

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Page 36 â€˘ Dairy Star â€˘ Saturday, May 12, 2018

Women In Dairy Tisheena Hanks Kelliher, Minn. Beltrami County 78 cows Family: My husband, Trent, and our two daughters, Daphne, 3, and Eliza, 16 months. Tell us about your farm. We started our dairy farm Sept. 1, 2016. The farm land is owned by my in-laws. We hope to be able to start purchasing the land in about ďƒžve years. It had previously been a dairy farm, but we did have to rebuild the parlor before moving our cows in; now itâ€™s a double-6 herringbone. We milk twice a day, but feed the calves milk three times a day, and raise all our own youngstock. Whatâ€™s the busiest time of day for you? Evening chores. I milk alone with the kids most of the time so itâ€™s a lot of juggling changing diapers, putting on milkers, ďƒžxing snacks, settling arguments, etc. Itâ€™s also the only time in the day that I canâ€™t completely stop what Iâ€™m doing to tend to the kids. Milkers have to keep going on regardless. Itâ€™s getting a lot better as Eliza gets older. If things get too rough, I send them to the house to chill with Grandma (my mother-in-law) for a while. When you get a spare moment what do you do? Take a nap. Otherwise, itâ€™s mostly gardening and picking berries. I try to can and freeze a yearâ€™s worth of most foods that I harvest. I also love cooking and baking. Tell us about your most memorable moment on the farm? The ďƒžrst time I bottle fed a calf I had the mindset that it was a little fragile infant like a human (I did not grow up with cows). It bunted the bottle three sucks in and almost knocked me to the ground. One evening while washing the parlor Trent pretended he was going to spray water down my pants. When I wiggled to get away I caused him to squeeze the spray nozzle. I had to ďƒžnish the evening with soaked pants and boots.

What have you enjoyed most about dairy farming or your ties to the dairy industry? Getting to work outside every day, especially for the girls. Most kids see nature as a playground. Our kids have the real opportunity to not only help with the animals, but also simply play in the dirt, climb trees or chase bugs. How do you stay connected with others in the industry? We are part of DHIA and Northland Community Collegeâ€™s farm management program. Who is someone in the industry who has inspired you? Paul Weidenborner. He owned the farm we previously worked on. Paul has taught us so much about how to make a farm prosper. When Paul retired from farming, he knew how much we wanted to run our own farm so he sold us some of the cows and really cut us some fantastic deals on things, like old chopper boxes and parlor equipment. If you could give a tour of your farm to a prominent woman in todayâ€™s society who would it be? You may as well draw a name out of a hat. I donâ€™t follow politics; thatâ€™s Trentâ€™s job.

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Dairy Star â€˘ Saturday, May 12, 2018 â€˘ Page 37

ConĆ&#x;nued from TRACTOR DAY | Page 33

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ELIZABETH HOAG/DAIRY STAR

Tractors of all kinds line the parking lot of the Pierz Healy High School. This year, 30 tractors were on display for tractor day. ing to the students and their equipment for a safe and prosperous planting season. â€œEvery year [Rev.] Popp gives us a blessing at the school,â€? Winscher said. Once everyone and their tractors were blessed, the tractors roared as students made their way out of the high school parking lot. Pierz Police Chief Eric Hanneken escorted them. â€œThere were a lot of older tractors out there and a few newer ones. It was fun to see the variety,â€? said Pierz FFA Chapter Treasurer Brandon Przybilla, who drove his familyâ€™s New Holland T8.275. Przybilla milks 225 cows in two freestall barns with his parents, Brian and Heidi Przybilla, at their home near Pierz. In addition to milking, the high school sophomore is also responsible

for ďƒželdwork. The tractor day is not only a unique chance for students to display their passions and skills to those not familiar with agriculture, but also a chance to share common interests among each other. With the day complete, the students are already looking forward to many more chances to display their tractors at school. â€œAgriculture is an important part of our community,â€? Przybilla said. â€œI hope this event continues and only keeps growing in the future.â€? Winscher agreed. â€œWe love what we do and thatâ€™s why we do it,â€? she said. â€œItâ€™s a joy to have one day to drive our tractors to school.â€?

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In Southwest Minnesota, Northwest Iowa, South Dakota Call: Jerry Nelson

605-690-6260 jerry.n@dairystar.com

In Eastern Iowa Call:

Augers â€˘ Gear boxes â€˘ Blowers Collector rings â€˘ Electric motors We provide great service at reasonable cost!

Lori Menke

WE ALSO HAVE NEW & USED HANSON PARTS!

563-608-6477 lori.m@dairystar.com

DAIRY ST R

â€œWe had rocks showing in the cement and when it was finished, it was trawled smooth,â€? Glen said. â€œThey were in and out and there was no mess.â€? - Avon, MN Farmer

The Best Service Crews, The Best Replacement Parts, The Best Service... Thatâ€™s The Osakis Silo Advantage To You!!!

Call Anytime

320-808-3936

300 E Main St., Osakis, MN â€˘ 320-859-5340

24 Hours 7 Days A Week

Visit us online at www.osakissilo.com

Page 38 • Dairy Star • Saturday, May 12, 2018

Elmdale Mutual and North Star Insurance Company offer the

SUPER STAR

Farm Insurance Package Through These Fine Agencies

Commit ted to th upper m e i dairy fa dwest rmers!

New w York Mills M Verndalee F Ripley Fort

y Motley R Randall

ie Long Prairie S k eexandria Sauk Alexandria Centre entree Brandon

Melro l ose Melrose Brooten

Swanville U Upsala Freep Freep port Freeport St. Cloud Alban lb ny ny Albany Mon Monticello nnandal Annandale

Will Willmar

Excellent rates superior service full service agencies.

www.advantageoneins.com

ST. CLOUD - 320-252-6650 SAUK CENTRE - Justin Berg, Agent • 320-352-6200 • 1-800-224-6671 LONG PRAIRIE - Mark Buntjer• 320-732-6611 • 1-800-224-6671

P.O. BOX 250 UPSALA FORT RIPLEY

Mikel Nelson & Karin Nelson, Agents • 320-573-2151

RSI

Randall State Insurance PO Box 230, Randall, MN

320-749-2060 • 888-344-4658

Swanville, MN

320-547-2333 • 320-547-2365

northriskpartners.com

FREEPORT • ALBANY • MELROSE

P.O. BOX 9 • BROOTEN

Amanda Bohmer, Agent • 320-346-2214 MOTLEY NEW YORK MILLS VERNDALE PO Box 241 PO Box A PO Box F Derek Tucker, Randy Stave, Ronda Kern, Agent Agent Agent 218-352-6622 218-385-3989 218-445-5153

%,//0$5.¶6 LAKES AREA INSURANCE ,1&25325$7('

BILLMARK’S LAKES AREA INSURANCE, INC. ALEXANDRIA, MN 320-763-9022

LAKES AREA INSURANCE BRANDON, MN 320-524-2525

Dairy prole

Dairy Star • Saturday, May 12, 2018 • Page 39