LOOK INSIDE FOR OUR WORLD DAIRY EXPO PREVIEW EDITION!
DAIRY ST R “All dairy, all the time”™
Volume 19, No. 14
September 9, 2017
New facility a good deal for Fricksons
Young couple builds parlor with low-cost mentality By Krista Kuzma
krista.k@dairystar.com
DAKOTA, Minn. – When it comes to upgrading products or equipment on their farm, Andy and Darienne Frickson always try to nd the best deal. “When it comes to input costs, I’m always shopping,” Andy said. This save-what-they-can and a do-it-themselves attitude during their dairy farming career has given the Fricksons the ability to get to where they are now – milking their 90-cow herd in a facility with a double-10 atbarn parlor, along with a maternity pen and freestalls they built last year on a farm they purchased four years ago. Andy and Darienne have two daughters, Paislee, 2, and Jolena, 1, and dairy near
KRISTA KUZMA/DAIRY STAR
The Fricksons – Darienne, holding Jolena, and Andy, holding Paislee – built a new double-10 at parlor milking facility and moved their herd out of a rented barn last September. The family milks 90 cows near Dakota, Minn.
Dakota, Minn. The building process for the Fricksons’ new facility started July 5 last year. By September, they were able to move in. The Fricksons hired a few area Amish men to do the construction and did of lot of other projects themselves, such as putting in the fencing, freestalls and fans. Another way they saved on the cost was buying used equipment from neighbors who no longer dairy farmed. “I went to all the empty barns around us and picked what I wanted,” Andy said. This included the double-10 air-operated stanchions for the at parlor. Instead of every cow being released individually out of the stanchion, the Fricksons can release every other cow as a group through the push of a button. This also allows them to continue milking while bringing in a new group of Turn to FRICKSON | Page 5
Developing a dairy, helping the community Paskewitzes named farm family of the year By Jennifer Coyne jenn@dairystar.com
STAPLES, Minn. – As Lee Paskewitz looks out from his front porch, his dairy barn is illuminated by the sun light. In that moment, Paskewitz knows he has chosen a career that, in its entirety, is immensely satisfying. For 25 years, Paskewitz and his wife, Laurie, have made a living milking cows at Solid Rock Dairy Farm near Staples, Minn. In that time, they have also become leaders in their church and community, and built lasting relationships with people from all over the world. The Paskewitzes’ commitment to their work in and out of the barn make them deserving recipients of the 2017 Todd County Farm Family of the Year – an award they accepted at Farmfest in Redwood Falls, Minn., Aug. 3. “This [award] is a validation of the choices we’ve made. We’ve lived a life where we value relationships with our community, with our employees and with our family,” Paskewitz said. “After all these years, I think we’ve done it the right way.” Paskewitz milks 250 cows in a double-6 step-up parlor and runs 320 acres with the help of 10 employees, while Laurie is a reading specialist in the local school district. Together, they raised three children – Lindsay, Alek and Colton. As Paskewitz oversees the dairy operation, he entrusts much of the day-to-day responsibilities to his four full-time employees and the remaining workers who are high school students and neighbors. Additionally, the Paskewitzes are hosting Stepan Strilchuk, an agricultural exchange student from Ukraine. “Stepan is our third agricultural exchange student,” Paskewitz said. “We enjoy learning about their cultures while they learn about ours and dairy farming. It’s an eye-opening experience.”
JENNIFER COYNE/DAIRY STAR
Agricultural exchange student Stepan Strilchuk, of Ukraine, and Minnesota dairy farmer Lee Paskewitz talk about the difference in farming methods between the two regions. Strilchuk is currently working for Paskewitz, who milks 250 cows in Todd County near Staples, Minn. Strilchuk agreed. “My main responsibilities are milking and feeding calves, but it’s much different here than back home,” he said. “I’m gaining new knowledge and improving my skills to take back and add to my own farm.” The Paskewitzes milk three times a day – a routine they implemented in the late ‘90s when they transformed the original tiestall barn into a milking parlor and increased their herd. Currently, the herd is maintaining a 27,996-pound rolling herd average. Calves are raised on the farm until about 300 pounds, when they are moved Turn to PASKEWITZ | Page 7