LOOK INSIDE FOR OUR WORLD DAIRY EXPO PREVIEW EDITION!
DAIRY ST R
September 10, 2022
“All dairy, all the time”™
Volume 24, No. 14
Scherbers celebrate one year with milking robots
Automation clears way for more opportunities for family By Jennifer Coyne jenn@dairystar.com
ROGERS, Minn. – Quinci Scherber went to college with intentions of operating her family’s dairy farm someday, and with her parents’ foresight for the farm’s long-term viability, the young dairywoman is accomplishing just that. “There are different ways of farming that works for each family with the land availability, systems and routines dictating a lot of it,” Scherber said. “I’ve always wanted to dairy farm, and robots allow me to do that but also focus on my other dreams. Sure, it comes with challenges but, for us, robots were the way to go.” Scherber and her parents – John and Staci – milk 110 cows with two Lely A5 robotic milking
systems on their dairy farm in Hennepin County near Rogers. Cows rst went through the robots July 13, 2021. The milking robots are the family’s latest investment to modernize their dairy. Prior to installing the system, they built the freestall barn and incorporated an automated feeding system in 2016. In the interim, the Scherbers housed their herd in the freestall barn and milked them in the farm’s original 46-stall tiestall barn every 10 hours. “It took us a long time to build this barn and put in the robots, but my dad really wanted everything right,” Scherber said. “He envisioned this farm for the future and how it could stay a family farm here. I got pretty lucky with the dad I have.” The freestall barn sits 118
JENNIFER COYNE /DAIRY STAR
Quinci Scherber is the herdswoman on her family’s 110-cow dairy farm near Rogers, Minnesota. The family installed two Lely A5 milking robots last summer. feet wide and 192 feet long, with only a 12-foot feed alley. Each stalled pen contains automatic alley scrapers. On the south side of the barn, the milking herd is housed in one
pen, with a special needs pen to the west of one robot room. The special needs pen is strategically placed for cows to enter a robot and circle back into their pen, Scherber said.
Across the feed alley are three pens for dry and fresh cows – far-off, close-up and a maternity area.
Turn to SCHERBERS | Page 6
Bryan to get down with dairy Country musician joins forces with Gar-Lin Dairy for concert Sept. 24 By Grace Jeurissen grace.j@star-pub.com
EYOTA, Minn. – Not many dairy farmers can say they have had the opportunity to host a celebrity on their property, but that is all about to change in southern Minnesota. Gar-Lin Dairy will host country music singer Luke Bryan as he brings his farm tour to Eyota Sept. 24. In November 2021, Dana Allen-Tully, part owner and herd manager of Gar-Lin Dairy, was contacted about hosting the concert. “I was in disbelief,” Allen-Tully said. “How often does a dairy farm get contacted by a music group
PHOTO SUBMITTED
The Gar-Lin Dairy team – (front, from leŌ) Lora Allen, Mary Liebenstein, Linda Allen and Dana Allen-Tully; (back, from leŌ) MaƩ Johnson, Dean Allen, Vincent Migilazzo, Gary Allen and Jim Tully – hosted the Olmsted County Breakfast on the Farm this year. They will be hosƟng country music superstar, Luke Bryan, Sept. 24.
to host a concert?” Gar-Lin Dairy milks 1,700 cows in a 50-stall
rotary parlor, and they farm 4,400 acres. The farm has made it
a priority to be community supporters. They are involved in a variety of local, state and
national organizations. “Having an artist as involved in the ag industry as Luke Bryan doing a concert in our backyard is truly an honor,” Allen-Tully said. “He is so supportive of production agriculture that this will be a such a good opportunity to expose people to dairy in a unique way.” An 80-acre eld on the west end of the dairy will be used to host the concert. Gar-Lin Dairy chose a eld that would be coming out of an alfalfa rotation this year. They also adjusted their crop rotation to accommodate the event. Sorghum was planted where the parking lot will be. Part of Bryan’s farm tour’s purpose is to advocate for agriculture and raise money for Feeding America, a non-prot organization Turn to GAR-LIN | Page 7