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DAIRY ST R
October 10, 2020
“All dairy, all the time”™
Volume 22, No. 16
Adding value on the farm Blase family installs milk processing facility By Jerry Nelson
jerry.n@dairystar.com
ETHAN, S.D. – With years in the dairy business and two generations earning a living from the dairy, the Blase family needed to look for other ways to keep their small farm going. Adding value and diversication was their answer. Gary and Amy Blase and their son, Chad, constructed an on-farm milk processing plant on their 110-cow dairy where they milk registered Holsteins in a robotic dairy facility near Ethan. Chad worked as a salesman for C & B Operations in Mitchell for several years before he decided to join his parents’ dairy operation. “It has been a struggle to make a prot in dairy farming,” Chad said. “It’s tough to see your equity shrink. We got to the point where we knew that we had to do something. We had been kicking around the idea of adding value to our milk by processing it on the farm. About 2.5 years ago, Laura and I decided to take the plunge.” Chad and his partner, Laura Klock, investigated the options available to them. They got in touch with South Dakota Value Added Agriculture Development Center and learned of a farmstead cheesemaker who wanted to sell her cheesemaking equipment. “Kris Swanson had been making artisanal cheese on her Turn to FARM LIFE | Page 6
JERRY NELSON/DAIRY STAR
Partners Chad Blase and Laura Klock recently started an on-farm milk processing business called Farm Life Creamery near Ethan, South Dakota. They are currently producing 13 kinds of cheese and 40 avors of cheese curds with plans to expand into ice cream and boƩled milk.
Livestock grants help farmers propel projects forward $789,000 available through program, applications due Nov. 4 By Krista Kuzma
krista.k@dairystar.com
ELGIN, Minn. – Building or upgrading a dairy can cause stressors for many dairy farmers; however, the Fessendens and Reiters felt more at ease with their budget for their new dairy facility after receiving a Livestock Investment Grant from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. “Receiving the grant is making a big difference in our ability to move forward with our project timeline and continue to improve our overall farm,” Brenda Fessenden said. Fessenden received a grant for the 2019 and 2020 scal years to build a robotic milking facility with room for 120 cows. She farms together her husband, Sam, along with her parents,
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Brenda and Sam holding Hannah Fessenden (leŌ) along with Brenda’s parents, Craig and Cathy Reiter, stand in their new roboƟc milking facility their built on their dairy near Elgin, Minnesota. Brenda received Livestock Investment Grants from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture to help with the new project.
Craig and Cathy Reiter, on the Reiters’ farmsite near Elgin. Minnesota livestock farmers are eligible to apply for a portion of the $789,000 available as part of the LIG program for the 2021 scal year. The MDA will reimburse 10% of the rst $250,000 of an eligible project with a $25,000 maximum each year and a lifetime maximum of $50,000. Projects eligible for the grant money include buildings or facilities for the production of livestock or livestock products; development of pasture for use by livestock; and equipment for livestock housing, connement, feeding and waste management. Applications for the grant must be received by 4 p.m. Nov. 4. “For Minnesota’s dairy industry, the progress that has been made really focuses on improving the operation to stay competitive in current markets and for future generations,” said Courtney VanderMey, livestock investment Turn to GRANTS | Page 5
Page 2 • Dairy Star • Saturday, October 10, 2020
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 (ofce) 320-248-3196 (cell) 320-352-0062 (home) Ad Composition Nancy Powell 320-352-6303 nancy.p@dairystar.com Consultant Jerry Jennissen 320-346-2292 Editorial Staff Krista Kuzma - Editor/Wisconsin (507) 259-8159 • krista.k@dairystar.com Andrea Borgerding - Associate Editor (320) 352-6303 • andrea.b@dairystar.com Jennifer Coyne - Assistant Editor (320) 352-6303 • jenn@dairystar.com Danielle Nauman (608) 487-1101 danielle.n@dairystar.com Stacey Smart - Staff Writer (262) 442-6666 • stacey.s@dairystar.com Maria Bichler - Copy Editor 320-352-6303 Advertising Sales Main Ofce: 320-352-6303 Fax: 320-352-5647 Deadline is 5 p.m. of the Friday the week before publication Sales Manager - Joyce Frericks 320-352-6303 • joyce@dairystar.com Bob Leukam (Northern MN, East Central MN) 320-260-1248 (cell) bob.l@star-pub.com Mark Klaphake (Western MN) 320-352-6303 (ofce) 320-248-3196 (cell) Laura Seljan (National Advertising, SE MN) 507-250-2217 fax: 507-634-4413 laura.s@dairystar.com Jerry Nelson (SW MN, NW Iowa, South Dakota) 605-690-6260 jerry.n@dairystar.com Mike Schafer (Central, South Central MN) 320-894-7825 mike.s@dairystar.com Amanda Hoeer (Eastern Iowa) 320-250-2884 • amanda.h@dairystar.com Julie Barnes (SE WI and Northern IL) julie.b@dairystar.com Megan Stuessel (Western Wisconsin) 608-387-1202 • megan.s@dairystar.com Ashley Curry (Northeast WI and Upper MI) 920-539-7268 • ashley.c@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 ofces. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Dairy Star, 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave., Sauk Centre, MN 56378-1246.
A glance at the other side
Dairy Star likes to provide local stories, which is why we have two versions of the paper. Below are a few highlights from stories you will not nd in this paper, but you can nd online in zone 2. Find full editions on our website, www.dairystar.com, and click on the e-edition tab under the Dairy Star header. Sippel enjoys growing the giants Growing giant pumpkins is a favorite pastime of dairy farmer Derek Sippel. This pumpkin lover has been growing the big ones for 6 years, setting a personal record with a beast of a pumpkin that weighed 2,047 pounds. Sippel farms with his parents near St. Cloud, Wisconsin where they milk about 100 cows and run 1,000 acres. When he is not at the farm, Sippel can be found working in his pumpkin patch or showing off the giants at competition weigh-offs, schools and local businesses. Open-air calf barn benets Webers, Guttmanns When respiratory issues were getting the best of Ira Weber’s calves, he opted to build a new open-air calf barn in 2018. He saw an immediate night and day difference in calf health when switching to the new accommodations. However, Weber never thought he would be renting out the structure to his neighbor a year and a half later due to health problems of his own. Now, the new facility near West Bend, Wisconsin is being used by the Guttmann family to raise heifers ages 2 months to one year. Riemer family on expansion, improvement track The Riemer family of Brodhead, Wisconsin is not afraid to kick up a little dirt and make changes that will push the farm forward. Ever since Jordan Riemer and his wife, Rachel, teamed up with Riemer’s parents, Rob and Tammy, at the start of 2016, the farm has been accelerating in growth and improvements. The most recent addition included a 64-stall freestall barn with calving pen, sick pen and holding area, a 2.2-million-gallon manure pit, stacking pad, and feed pad. A transition to the younger generation in the next 3-5 years is also in the works. Jenson reaps herd health, production benets Producing top quality forage is a high priority for Michael Jenson, Jr. He considers it to be the cornerstone of his dairy ration, and a necessity to maintaining herd health, reproductive efciency and quality milk production. Jenson considers his soil fertility program, which includes composted manure, to be a keystone to raising good forage. In his rst year entering the World Forage Analysis Superbowl, Jenson took home top honors in the corn silage division and reserve champion honors in the baleage division.
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Dairy Star • Saturday, October 10, 2020 • Page 3
It’s all inside... Columnists Ag Insider
Pages 8-9 First Section
Bon Yankton Homme
Clay
Lyon
n inso Emmet
Osceola O’Brien
Sioux Plymouth
e Buena Vista
Ida
Monona
Palo Alto
ke
ero
Ch
Woodbury
Clay
Sac
Zone 1
Zone 2
Owatonna
Seykora leads high school football, wrestling, baseball teams
First Section: Pages 37 - 38
nt
mo
Fre
Kanabec ms ey Ra
Worth
Mitchell Howard
Hancock Cerro Gordo
t
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mb
Hu
ub Au d ry ome
Greene Guthrie
Floyd
Houston
Boone
Story
Polk
all
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Ma
aw
as
ick
Ch
Bremer
Wright Franklin Butler
Dallas
Black Hawk
Tama
Jasper
Fayette
c
Benton
Iowa
Waverly
Clayton
n na
e war Dubuque Dela
ha
Bu
Madison Warren Marion Mahaska Keokuk
Adair
ontg
Adams
Page
Taylor
M
n Win
Grundy un Webster Hamilton Hardin
C
Pottawattamie Cass Mills
Kossuth
o alh
Crawford Carroll
Harrison Shelby
s
ta
on
ah
c Po
go
eba
Dick
Fillimore
Mower
e
ln
co
Lin
Freeborn
Faribault
Martin
iek
Turner
Jackson
ake
Hutchinson
Nobles
Winona
sh
Charles Mix
Rock
Wabasha
Cottonwood Watonwan Blue Earth Waseca Steele Dodge Olmsted
ne
Douglas
Gregory
McCook Minnehaha
Murray
am
Tripp
Moody
Goodhue
Rice
All
Todd
on
ns
Ha
Lake
Nicollet
Brown
Dakota
Scott
Jones
Linn
Jackson
Second Section: Pages 3, 6
Clinton n Cedar
so
hn
Jo
Coaching, dairying keep Kuekers running
Scott
Muscatine
n
Aurora
Miner
Redwood
Union ld
go
g Rin
Clarke
Lucas
Decatur Wayne
Monroe Wapello
A
e
oos
n ppa
Davis
gto
Brule Mellette
Sanborn
Brookings
Lyon
W in
Lyman
Jerauld
Kingsbury
Carver
Sibley
First Section: Pages 1, 5
hin
Buffalo
Beadle
Hennepin
McLeod
Renville
Yellow Medicine
Anoka
Wright
Meeker
Livestock grants help farmers propel projects forward
Louisa
Wa s
Jones
Hughes
Deuel
Hamlin
Hand
Kandiyohi
Chippewa
Lac Qui Parle
Codington
Clark
Sherburne
Elgin
Isanti
sh iek
Stanley
Hyde
Swift
Benton
Stearns
Pope
Washington
Sully
Stevens
Grant Spink
Douglas
Pine
Mille Lacs
Morrison
eu r
Faulk
Potter
Ziebach
Carlton
Todd Grant
Big Stone
Day
Aitkin
Crow Wing
Su
Dewey
Edmunds
Cass
Le
Roberts
Marshall
McPherson
Otter Tail
Wilkin
Sargent
Brown Walworth
Jackson
Richland
Tra ver se
Dickey
McIntosh
Campbell
Corson
Bennett
Ransom
LaMoure
Emmons Sioux
Becker
Clay
Lincoln
Grant
Cass
no
Mah
Lake
Itasca
Hubbard
Bames
men
Cook
Po we
Page 22 Second Section
Fall River
Stutsman
Logan
Haakon
Polk
Pipestone
Country Cooking Shannon
Kidder
St. Louis
Red Lake
go
Custer
Burleigh
Koochiching
isa Ch
Pages 8 - 9 Second Pennington Section
Beltrami
Pennington
Trail
Steele
Luthens family partners Elsenpeters with muralist to commemorate farm’s repurpose silo 150-year history
Lake of the Woods
Marshall
Grand Forks
Griggs
Morton
Adams
The “Mielke” Market Meade Weekly
Lawrence
Foster
Roseau
Norman
Oliver
Page 33 Perkins First Section
Butte
Wells
Sheridan
Come Full Circle
Harding
Walsh
Eddy
Mercer
Page 31 First Section
Kittson
Benson
McLean
Hettinger
Bowman
Pembina
Nelson
Stark Veterinary Wisdom
Slope
First Section: Pages 23, 25
n
Page 30 Dunn First Section
First Section: Pages 10 - 11
Ramsey
McHenry
Ward
First Section: Pages 34 - 35
io
Billings Golden Valley
Mountrail
Third Section: Pages 3-4
Cavalier
Towner
Pierce
Dear County Agent Guy
McKenzie
Rolette
Maple Lake
Da vi so n
Williams
Page 27 First Section
Bottineau
Hutchinson
Schirmers takes dairying experience out on campaign trail
Wadena
First Section: Pages 1, 7
On the Road with Princess Renville Burke Kay
Divide
Sauk Centre
Ebersviller survives 23-foot drop, reminds farmers to be vigilant
Un
Page 26 First Section
Vergas
on
Blase family installs milk processing facility
Clearwater
Ethan
FSA News & Notes
n rso Henry Des
fe Jef
Van Buren
Moines
Lee
FROM OUR SIDE OF THE FENCE:
What projects are you involved with in 4-H?
For additional stories from our other zone, log on to www.dairystar.com
First Section: Pages 15 - 16
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Page 4 • Dairy Star • Saturday, October 10, 2020
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Dairy Star • Saturday, October 10, 2020 • Page 5
ConƟnued from GRANTS | Page 1 administrator for the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. “The application in some cases can serve as a planning stage for projects you want to complete in 2021. This would be a good opportunity to start analyzing your budget and bringing your ideas forward into the planning phase.” Last year, 25 of the 39 grant recipients were dairy producers. Among the 25, $478,000 was awarded to their projects, with an average of $19,000 per project. “This is a competitive grant, but I highly encourage people to apply,” VanderMey said. “Less funds are available than in past years, which does add to the competitiveness of the grant.”
“This grant was a big deal for us. As we were developing our cash ow, this additional money made things more feasible.”
BRENDA FESSENDEN, DAIRY FARMER
The money people received last year helped farms add robotic technology, improve calf housing, update freestall housing, work on manure management, improve water quality, increase cow comfort and prioritize safety. Fessenden put her grant money toward the purchase of robotic milking units, fans, compressors and other equipment. “This grant was a big deal for us. As we were developing our cash ow this additional money made the project more feasible,” Fessenden said. “It made our timeline more appropriate. Instead of needing to wait longer and continue to build our money, it allowed us to move forward.” Plus, Fessenden said because of the grant, the family has been able to invest in other areas of the dairy, including remodeling a dry cow barn. They also plan to remodel a calving area in the upcoming six months. The automated milking venture
brings the Reiter family back into the dairy industry after they sold their herd in 2011. When the Fessendens worked in the industry for several years after college, they realized they wanted a dairy of their own. “I think it’s a great industry to be a part of,” Fessenden said. “That’s why we decided to start this business with my parents.” For the past three years, the Fessendens and Reiters have been planning and building their new facility – a 3-row sand-bedded freestall barn with natural ventilation and two robotic milkers. The rst cows went through the setup Sept. 22. “It’s very exciting and at times it seems a little crazy, but Sam and I are very lucky my parents were willing to do this with us, and they were willing to get back into it,” Fessenden said. “We used to milk in a stanchion barn which was fairly labor intense so this is a better t all around when we think about how we are using our time.” Robots were the only option they were willing to pursue in order to achieve their desired lifestyle with exibility in order to accommodate family life, especially now that the Fessendens’ have a 6-month-old daughter, Hannah. “We want to focus on how we can be excellent care takers of the land and at the same time make sure we’re having fun with it and enjoying what we’re doing,” Fessenden said. “That’s what we’re striving for as we move forward with our dairy.” In the application process, grant money needs to be allocated to specic items if part of a larger project. Fessenden said her family submitted an itemized list of their entire project along with reference letters from consultants and extension agents they worked with. They also submitted bids they received for robots and other equipment. “I believe we do a good job shopping around and pricing things out, but the grant asked for multiple bids so it ensured that we looked at numerous options,” Fessenden said. Paperwork for the grant should not be a reason not to apply, she said. “It’s a very manageable application,” she said. “It’s a fantastic program. I would strongly encourage other people to apply for it. … It helped us a lot.”
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Page 6 • Dairy Star • Saturday, October 10, 2020
ConƟnued from FARM LIFE | Page 1
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Laura Klock holds a wheel of Gruyere cheese in the cheese aging room at Farm Life Creamery near Ethan, South Dakota. Klock and her partner, Chad Blase, began to make on-farm arƟsanal cheeses last October. family’s farm at Crooks, South Dakota, since 2012,” Laura said. “Kris wanted to get out of the business, so we purchased her equipment and her inventory.” But stainless-steel and wheels of aging cheese were not all that came with the deal. “We didn’t know much about cheesemaking, so Kris agreed to help us for the rst three months,” Laura said. “Not only did Kris have experience with her equipment, she had also attended a farmstead cheesemaking school in Vermont. It was a blessing to be able to tap into her wisdom and use her recipes.” Chad and Laura installed their processing equipment in a former dairy barn. “For the past 100 years, this farm was known locally as the Miller dairy farm,” Chad said. “My parents purchased it about 15 years ago and began raising their calves here.” After they took out the old double-8 milking parlor, Chad and Laura had the parlor pit lled in and a new concrete oor installed. The former milking parlor now houses wheels of aging cheese. The milk room was repurposed into a space for making cheese and bottling milk. A modest addition on the north end of the milk room holds cheese cutting and wrapping equipment along with a small retail counter. “None of our equipment is new,”
Laura said. “It’s all used or is something that’s been repurposed. Members of our families come out and help us on the days that we cut and wrap cheese.” Once they decided to get into the dairy processing business, Chad and Laura had to come up with a name for their new enterprise. “We went through several iterations of the family name, but none of them struck a chord,” Laura said. “One day, we were struggling to get some equipment installed and Chad said, ‘That’s life on the farm.’ It was a eureka moment. We soon settled on the name Farm Life Creamery.” Laura and Chad designed the logo for Farm Life Creamery. “I have training in graphics and design,” Laura said. “I grew up in a small town in Wisconsin, and many of my friends were dairy farm kids. There was a creamery right next door to my grandmother’s house.” Laura is accustomed to the travails of running a business. For some years, she was involved with Klock Werks, a leading manufacturer of aftermarket motorcycle parts. Laura is also no stranger to taking risks. She and her daughters, Erika and Karlee, all hold land speed records that were set during motorcycle speed trials held at Bonneville Salt Flats. Turn to FARM LIFE | Page 7
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Chad and Laura made cheese at the Swanson farm for several weeks while their farm’s facilities were being made ready. Laura and Chad made their rst batch of cheese on their own farm Oct. 28, 2019. On cheesemaking days, milk is hauled the 3.5 miles from Gary and Amy’s farm to the Farm Life Creamery facility. Laura and Chad make cheese about four times a week, although that could increase with growing demand for their products. Deciding to make artisanal farmstead cheese is one thing. Developing a market for this cheese is another. “We immediately began to make fresh cheese curds,” Chad said. “We took some of our curds to County Fair Food Store in Mitchell and asked them if we could hand out samples. County Fair Food Store has been extremely
JERRY NELSON/DAIRY STAR
Farm Life Creamery will soon begin to boƩle whole milk in clear plasƟc boƩles. The milk will not be homogenized, so consumers will be able to see the cream line in their milk.
Dairy Star • Saturday, October 10, 2020 • Page 7
supportive of us from the very beginning. After we introduced our cheese curds to their shoppers, County Fair went from selling ve packages of cheese curds per week to selling more than 100.” Just as Farm Life Creamery was beginning to hit its stride, the novel coronavirus pandemic swept across the globe. “I think the pandemic opened peoples’ eyes regarding how fragile our food chain is,” Chad said. “If there’s an upside to COVID-19, it’s that it has increased interest in buying local. People have become removed from the sources of their food. We hope to change that.” Laura agreed. “We aren’t just selling cheese,” Laura said. “We’re educating our consumers.” Farm Life Creamery was awarded a $16,514 grant by the Dairy Business Innovation Alliance. Laura and Chad have used the money to purchase a vertical cheese press and a manual cutter. The vertical cheese press has enabled them to expand their product line. “Retail outlets want their cheeses to be a uniform weight, which is hard to do when you make cheese in a wheel,” Laura said. “Producing uniform blocks of cheese is much easier when you make cheese in rectangular slabs and cut it with a machine.” Farm Life Creamery products are available at 15 retail outlets located across the region. Laura and Chad are making 13 kinds of block cheese and 40 avors of cheese curds. “I’ve been selling at the Falls Park Farmer’s Market in Sioux Falls every weekend throughout the summer,” Chad said. “This has enabled us to get to know our customers. Some of our customers have made cheese curd avor suggestions. We’ve tried some of
JERRY NELSON/DAIRY STAR
The cheese aging room at Farm Life Creamery was once a double-8 milking parlor. The parlor equipment was removed, the pit was lled in and a new concrete oor and refrigeraƟon equipment was installed. their suggestions and a few have turned out quite well.” While cheese is the only dairy product available from Farm Life Creamery, that is about to change. “We purchased a milk bottler and will begin bottling milk very soon,” Chad said. “We will sell only whole, unhomogenized milk. Nothing will be put into our milk and nothing will be taken out.” The milk will be bottled in clear, plastic bottles. “Our customers will be able to see the cream line,” Laura said. “We’ll have to educate them about shaking their milk before pouring it.” Farm Life Creamery also plans to
begin making ice cream and butter. “We hope that the day will come when we’ll use all of the milk that we produce,” Chad said. Other plans include converting a gothic arch calf barn into an ice cream shop. A mini golf course and a petting zoo are also in the works. “We want to make this farm into a destination where families can have good, clean fun and learn about farming and where their food comes from,” Laura said. Chad agreed. “We’re building something for our future and the future of our families,” Chad said.
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Food box program is strengthening milk prices Page 8 • Dairy Star • Saturday, October 10, 2020
The announcement that the United States can be provided as further needs arise and provides Department of Agriculture will be hosting another important nutrition assistance to families in need,” Farmers to Families Food Box program is helping said Jim Mulhern, president/CEO, NMPF. boost Class III milk prices. The demand from the government program is expected to last through the Dairy receives $1.8 billion for CFAP 1 Payments for the rst round of end of November into December. “What’s Ag Insider Coronavirus Food Assistance Program going to happen after the election is up in have topped $10 billion. That includes the air, but producers need to be aware $5 billion for livestock, $2.6 billion for cow numbers are on the rise and there non-specialty crops and $1.8 billion for will still be an ample supply of milk,” the dairy sector. The $10 billion gure is said Dan Basse, president, AgResource far short of the $16 billion budgeted for Company. “Once the government support CFAP 1. program leaves us, then we’re back into an oversupply level going into 2021.” MOU signed to enhance dairy exports USDA and Food and Drug Stopgap spending bill signed into law Administration have signed a Congress passed and President Memorandum of Understanding that Donald Trump signed the continuing will establish an interagency process resolution, keeping the government By Don Wick to support U.S. dairy exports. This running through Dec. 11. The vote was Columnist collaboration will streamline the process held up in a dispute over the funding for exports and expand international for the Commodity Credit Corporation. CCC funding has been approved routinely in this way dairy markets. for the past 30 years. The Russell Group president Randy Russell expects the pushback over the CCC August milk price remains above year ago levels The average price for milk in Minnesota in August to resurface during the next farm bill debate. “It’s inviting people to look at the CCC and what it funds,” was $19.90 per hundredweight. That is down $3.90 Russell said. “While this may be a partisan issue right from July, but 40 cents higher than one year ago. now, in the past, Republicans have used the CCC funds and stretched its legal authorities. Democrats Canadian leaders launch new session of parliament Canadian leaders kicked off the new session of have done the same. All it’s doing is inviting, in the future, people to take a hard look at what’s done parliament with speeches from Prime Minister Justin with the CCC. This should be something of a pause Trudeau and the Governor General of Canada Julie for everyone in the agriculture community to worry Payette. The ongoing COVID-19 response and about moving forward.” The CCC funds are used for the economy dominated the agenda. The Canadian traditional farm programs, including Dairy Margin leaders also cited their commitment to free trade and promised to compensate farmers for losses incurred Coverage. by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement and other trade deals. NMPF welcomes CCC funding The National Milk Producers Federation is praising Congress for their bipartisan work on the Agriculture contributes $37 billion to Minnesota continuing resolution to fund the government. “This economy Agriculture and forestry contribute over $37 measure not only avoids a government shutdown; it also ensures that additional COVID-19 assistance billion in value to the Minnesota economy and create
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nearly 400,000 jobs. Twenty-ve major agricultural stakeholder groups funded this new economic contribution study. This research identied Hennepin, Ramsey and Dakota counties as the top three counties in the state for value-added contributions from agriculture. AgriGrowth Executive Director Tamara Nelsen said that reects the number of corporate headquarters and processing companies in the metro. “I think metro legislators, especially new ones, are going to nd it interesting to learn how agriculture and food affect their local area, perhaps in a way that they haven’t seen it before.” This study also evaluated big picture items, including COVID-19. “And, we’re all quite proud how quickly turkey, pork and cattle processing came back, and we see that as a great sign of strength,” Nelsen said. This is the rst time a comprehensive evaluation like this has been done in Minnesota for agriculture and forestry. Grant money available to help with wolves The Minnesota Department of Agriculture is making $60,000 available in grant money to help livestock producers prevent wolf attacks. The grants will provide reimbursement for costs of approved practices to prevent wolf-livestock conicts. Applications for this fourth round of funding through the Wolf-Livestock Conict Prevention Grants must be postmarked by Jan. 15, 2021. Record pizza sales for Papa John’s Papa John’s is moving a lot of pizza during the pandemic. During the second quarter, the pizza chain had record sales. For its North American business, Papa John’s saw second quarter sales increase 28% from the previous quarter. Fonterra spins off China business The New Zealand-based Fonterra Cooperative has sold its farms in China for the U.S. equivalent of $368 million. One set of farms was sold to Inner Mongolia Natural Dairy Company and the other went Turn to AG INSIDER | Page 9
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to Beijing Sanyuan Venture Capital. Fonterra is responsible for 3% of the world’s dairy production.
Job cuts for animal health company Elanco Animal Health is eliminating more than 900 jobs as part of its restructuring after its acquisition of Bayer Animal Health. Company ofcials said this move will reduce duplication and drive efciency. UMN works on dry cow treatment The University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine has helped create a selective dry cow therapy program. This is an effort to help dairy farmers decrease their antibiotic use by 18% and improve animal welfare. The SDCT program implements rapid testing that will allow dairy farmers to identify and only treat individual udders that are infected with mastitis.
Climate change advisory council appointed Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has made appointments to his advisory council on climate change. The 15-member board includes representatives from the agriculture sector. The appointees include Clarissa dairy farmer Pat Lunemann and Browns Valley farmer Anne Schwargerl. Lunemann is the past president of the AgriGrowth Council and Minnesota Milk Producers Association. Schwargerl operates an organic farm called Prairie Point Farms. Trivia challenge Dairy cows generally consume 30-50 pounds of water per day. That answers our last trivia question. For this week, what is the optimum temperature for serving milk? 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 Broadcaster of the Year and served as president of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting. Don and his wife, Kolleen, have two adult sons, Tony and Sam, and ve grandchildren, Aiden, Piper, Adrienne, Aurora and Sterling.
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Page 10 • Dairy Star • Saturday, October 10, 2020
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HUTCHINSON, Minn. – Passing through McLeod County, a tallstanding silo tells the story of dairy farming for the Luthens family. “We wanted to do something that everyone could relate to whether you grew up on a farm or have never been to a dairy farm,” Melissa Luthens said. Luthens and her family worked with muralist Tony Stafki to repurpose a 100-foot stave silo on their dairy farm near Hutchinson. The mural features dairy cows and a traditional farmstead as well an array of dairy products from ice cream to ker to embrace Luthens’ family’s involvement in the industry. “The top of the mural takes everyone back to our roots where our farm started when Daryl purchased it in 1969. He and the family had a vision to grow it where it is today,” Luthens said. “The bottom of the mural reminds people of all the dairy options out there that come from all dairy farms, big or small, rst generation or a centennial farm.” Last spring, Luthens connected with Midwest Dairy to nd a muralist who could make her family’s vision a reality.
PHOTO SUBMITTED
A 100-foot stave silo is decorated to represent the dairy industry at Melissa Luthens’ family’s dairy near Hutchinson, Minnesota. The mural was a way to repurpose the old silo. their milk is used for,” Together, Luthens story. and Stafki developed a “Melissa gave me a Stafki said. “For them, it’s design that was both fea- tour of the farm and told a personalized piece of sible and told the family’s me what they do, what art, and the more family history, the better.” Then, after summer passed and Stafki had time to complete the project, he began. The mural took ve weeks and was nished Sept. 21. “The biggest challenge was working on a 100-foot tall canvas that was thin and tall,” Stafki said. The former software engineer has painted murals for 13 years and often does personalized home projects or larger, more public spaces. He has worked with 20 John Deere dealerships across the Midwest to personalize their businesses. “I’ve done a lot of exterior murals in tunnels and on brick walls but never painted a silo or barn up to this point,” Stafki said. Unlike other murals that Stafki is known for, the silo’s design and composition was a new advenPHOTO SUBMITTED Muralist Tony StaŅi paints the mural on the Luthens family’s 100-foot stave ture, particularly with the silo earlier this fall near Hutchinson, Minnesota. The mural took ve weeks to Turn to SILO | Page 11 complete.
Dairy Star • Saturday, October 10, 2020 • Page 11
ConƟnued from SILO | Page 10
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The painted silo can be seen from Minnesota State Highway 7 and the Luce Line and Dakota trails near Hutchinson, Minnesota. galvanized steel cables that embrace the structure. He worked with a professional paint representative to choose paint colors that would adhere to both the cement and cables. “We found an industrial paint that is very high quality, commercial grade and it has a high color retention,” Stafki said. “We didn’t want to put a varnish on that was going to drip on the Tony Stafki metal or react to Artist the metal. I wanted something that was good.” Stafki began the project by using a paint sprayer to spray on the base colors. He then worked from top to bottom, painting the details of the mural by hand with brushes and sponges. He worked as a one-man job using a boom lift to navigate around the structure. “I actually bought a digital wind reader to test the wind each day,” Stafki said. “It all depended on the weather.” The most difcult part of executing the mural was getting the details accurate on the silo, paying close attention to how the cables affected the design. “If those weren’t there, it would have been 100 times easier,” Stafki said. “Even at the bottom of the silo, there are over 2,000 blades of grass painted on. It took over two days to do just that portion.” Aside from the various challenges that came with executing the design, Stafki’s biggest concern was making the mural appealing when viewed from
any angle and having it be one cohesive scene. He was always cognizant of his client. “It’d be pretty obvious if it didn’t look like cows up there,” Stafki said. “(The Luthens family) is around this scenery every day, and it would stick out like a sore thumb if it didn’t work.” The depth of each design within the mural brings the painting to life with a selection of vibrant colors that can be seen from afar. For Luthens, it was what she imagined when thinking of ways to tell her family’s farm story. “Prior to the mural, most families probably passed by not knowing we were there or what kind of farm we were,” Luthens said. “Now, we have created an amazing opportunity to create conversation about dairy.” The silo can be seen from Minnesota State Highway 7 and the Luce Line and Dakota trails. It pairs well with the area community, bridging together agriculture and art. “Although agriculture is still an important part of our area, Hutchinson has started appealing to the art community. We even have a statue tour people can take around town,” Luthens said. “This is a way to embrace that and bring agriculture and art together in one place and t into the art evolution of Hutchinson.” For the dairy community, it has also created an opportunity for dairy farmers to continue telling their farming stories. Since the completion of the mural, Stafki has received many inquiries about murals, logos and other designs for farms. “I hope this opens up people’s minds of what they can do, even if it’s as simple as using a piece of the farm,” Stafki said. “I think this is an opportunity for farmers to do something really interesting.”
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Page 12 • Dairy Star • Saturday, October 10, 2020
Keep a cow thinking productively Understanding animal behavior focus of effective stockmanship By Andrea Borgerding andrea.b@dairystar.com
LITTLE FALLS, Minn. – Curt Pate said it is in everyone’s best interest to practice proper livestock handling or stockmanship. “Cows are going to produce more milk and recover quicker after milking if we have less stress while they are being milked or while they are coming to the parlor,” he said. Pate led a stockmanship workshop Sept. 17 at the Morrison County Fairgrounds in Little Falls. Pate is a consultant who travels nationally and internationally to conduct livestock handling demonstrations, clinics and on-site training for livestock businesses. During the workshop, Pate emphasized the benet of stockmanship and explained thought and movement processes in cattle. “Until the last 10 years, there’s been no real instructions for handling cattle,” Pate said. “There’s never been a plan on how to work livestock.” The Dairy and Beef Quality Assurance researched methods to explain a better way to get cattle to ow and work
through dairy systems. Pate presented practices to promote better stockmanship including understanding a cow’s thought process, how they perceive their environment and how a person’s reactions result in effective stockmanship. The single most stressful process for a dairy cow is getting to the parlor and getting the milking unit on. It is also where employees apply the most pressure. “It takes a certain amount of pressure to get her out of her stall, walk up to the parlor and get the milker on,” Pate said. Applying positive pressure is what Pate said gets a cow to the parlor and is most productive. “Think of livestock handling as the right amount of pressure for the job,” Pate said. “We are going to try to gure out how to create the right pressure from our presence to the cow to get them to do the job we want them to do.” There are three kinds of pressure in livestock handling – drawing, driving and maintaining pressure. Drawing pressure is what cows enjoy most. Driving pressure is one humans use most to move cattle. Maintaining pres-
ANDREA BORGERDING/DAIRY STAR
Curt Pate demonstrates how to approach a cow during a livestock handling demonstraƟon Sept. 17 at the Morrison County Fairgrounds in LiƩle Falls, Minesota. sure is the most important to understand as it is where the cow and human have an understanding. “A cow can think of only one thing at a time,” Pate said. “Once you have the cow’s attention, it’s important to understand how to keep that atten-
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tion.” Maintaining pressure creates the thought of whether a cow does or does not like being around a person. If the right kind of maintaining pressure is used, a cow will enjoy being around a human. “Cows have personalities,
so we have to read the cow to nd out what she likes and doesn’t like,” Pate said. “When you start getting this practice, it really becomes fun to read the cows and stockmanship becomes a lifestyle.” Turn to PATE | Page 13
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Knowing how a cow thinks, moves and processes its environment can build a better understanding of handling that can be used every day. When an animal is in thinking mode, it is processing what it is going to do next whether that is going to the parlor or going to the feed bunk. It is key to keep the cow in thinking mode versus survival mode when the animal is reactive and less productive. “When an animal is in thinking mode, I call that growth,” Pate said. “They are growing or increasing their ability to milk. That’s the mode a good stockman always tries to keep their cow in.” Keeping the cow in thinking mode is dependent on how a cow sees a person. The cow wants to keep a person in focus. Cattle like to see a person with two eyes that way they have depth perception and they can tell what direction a person is heading. “What happens is at some point we have to go behind cows to drive them,” Pate said. “Cows like us to approach from the front. We are creating stress when we approach from the back and she can’t see us.” Pate suggested compromising with the cow by working the side of her. The atter angle you approach a cow, the less pressure you create. A person has to have a good presence so the cow knows their intentions. The more a person comes into to the center of the cow’s eye the more in focus they become. Further out and they become out of focus. From the back, a cow cannot see a person, all they see is motion. “When you start up their side, they stop their feet and wait for you to get there,” Pate said. “They are waiting for us to get in focus so they can see us and then they’re more comfortable.” Pate said to approach a cow in a
Dairy Star • Saturday, October 10, 2020 • Page 13
way to let her know you would like her to transition or change her mind from what she is doing. Startling her will create fear. “You need to nd a noise that you can use, a ‘ch ch ch’ sound with your mouth or shufing your feet,” Pate said. “They will move away from it to see it but it won’t panic them. Yelling and jumping up and down aggravates them quickly.” The goal for a handler is to approach the cow, letting her know that he or she is coming, let the cow get ready to work, position the cow where the handler wants her to go and then ask her to go. “My pressure is not ight, it’s more of a changing of the mind and going somewhere,” Pate said. When a person approaches a cow, Pate suggested taking the angle necessary to obtain the cow’s focal point. Taking that focal point will get the cow’s attention and get her ready to go where they want her to go. “If you point her nose where you want her to go, she will go in that direction,” Pate said. “If a cow has to turn her head to look at you, you have to back up a few steps and approach her at a atter angle. That’s how you keep a cow straight.” The farther out a person works, the better chance of having the cow go where she is needed. “The cow will always tell you if your positioning is right or wrong,” Pate said. Low stress livestock handling not only sets a tone or mood but also effective stockmanship. “Good and effective stockmanship is the right thing to do,” Pate said. “When people handle their cows right, they last longer and the cows are more productive.”
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Page 14 • Dairy Star • Saturday, October 10, 2020
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Dairy Star • Saturday, October 10, 2020 • Page 15
How has your experience in 4-H molded you?
Vincent Lee Parents: Chris and Jessie Lee Litchďƒželd, Minnesota Meeker County 30 cows What projects are you involved with in 4-H? I am involved in dairy bowl and showing dairy (Holstein, Brown Swiss and Jersey). I also participated in dairy judging last year. I try and go to as many dairy camps as I can each year. Which project is your favorite? I like showing cows. I have done this since I was little. It is fun to learn how to ďƒžt my animals to make them look their best. I enjoy spending time with my friends at shows. I have made it to the state fair the last three years with my animals. Tell us about your favorite 4-H memory. My favorite 4-H memory would be going to state fair the ďƒžrst time with my heifer, Nova. I met a lot of kids with the same interests as me and had a lot of fun. What has your local 4-H organization done during the pandemic? We haven’t done a lot because of all the restrictions. We did have one meeting to vote for new leaders. I was elected to be the secretary for the upcoming year. We also decided to do an animal parade for the local nursing home. Seeing the smiles on the people’s faces was awesome. We hope to make it an annual thing. Maybe next year the people can be outside so we can talk to them also. Who is your 4-H mentor, and what did you learn from them? Taylor Fester. He has shown me how to show, ďƒžt and judge cattle. How has your experience in 4-H molded the person you are becoming? I like agriculture in general. It has taught me how to be a leader, and it is the little things that make a big difference in young kids. If you take a small amount of time and explain things to them, they become interested and learn about ag. Tell us about your family and your farm. I have one sister, Vanessa, and a brother, Victor. We live on the family farm. I am the fourth generation. We used to milk around 90 cows but took a break for a couple years when we were little. We have restarted now and are milking 30 Holstein, Jersey and Brown Swiss cows. We buy feed from the neighbor who runs the land but hope to do our own crops next year. My goal is to milk cows and run land when I get older.
Hailey Klimek Parents: Alan and Jessica Klimek Alexandria, Minnesota Douglas County 90 cows What projects are you involved with in 4-H? Fine arts, crafts, needle arts, foods, photography, clothing and textiles, dairy and dairy bowl. Which project is your favorite? My favorite project is dairy because I love cows. I also love the process of training my heifers for the fair. It is really fun. Tell us about your favorite 4-H memory. My favorite memory was when I won showmanship at the county fair. My heifer laid down in the middle of the ring and I thought I lost my chances of winning, but then I ended up being the champion showman. What has your local 4-H organization done during the pandemic? Because there wasn’t a county fair, we had an Achievement Day where we got to show our animals and bring general projects to be judged. I showed four heifers this year, and also did needle arts, ďƒžne arts and clothing. I cross stitched a Christmas piece, did a drawing of horses and my clothing project. Who is your 4-H mentor, and what did you learn from them? My 4-H mentors are my parents. I have learned everything about showing dairy from them. They are encouraging and helpful and good leaders. How has your experience in 4-H molded the person you are becoming? 4-H teaches you responsibility, respect, empathy, to care for others, good sportsmanship and the will to want to learn more through projects. Tell us about your family and your farm. My mom and dad work together on the farm. We have about 90 Holstein cows and milk twice a day in a tiestall barn. We work on chores together every day. My younger brother helps with ďƒželd work. My older sister and I do calf chores, which consists of feeding milk replacer, calf starter, hay and watering the calves. I also help with milking cows and bedding heifers.
Sydney Kauffman Parents: Kip and Jennifer Kauffman Stratford, Wisconsin Wood County 58 cows What projects are you involved with in 4-H? I have been involved in the dairy, swine and craft projects through 4-H. I also served as vice president and president from 2016-19. Which project is your favorite? My favorite is dairy, by far. I love our big group of dairy kids who exhibit through our 4-H. It makes for a fun, interesting time come county fair. Tell us about your favorite 4-H memory. My favorite memory is the ďƒžrst time our club won the dress-a-cow contest. My cow, Peep, was dressed up as a combine, and the two kids leading/handling her were corn cobs. What has your local 4-H organization done during the pandemic? We have been doing virtual meetings but miss getting together. Who is your 4-H mentor, and what did you learn from them? My general leader, Connie Folz, has helped me grow in my leadership skills. The moms of many of my friends in 4-H have been like second mothers to me. My dairy judging coaches share all of their knowledge with me, and the other 4-H members share their experiences with me; experiences that I can relate to. How has your experience in 4-H molded the person you are becoming? I am by nature more of a shy person, but being with a group of people I connect with has helped me reach out and learn to speak up and meet new people. As president of my 4-H club, running meetings has made me a more outspoken person. Tell us about your family and your farm. I live on a small dairy farm in central Wisconsin where we milk 58 head of rotationally grazed Jerseys. My mom and I and my two sisters, Sailor and Sadie, run the farm, and my dad works for a road construction company. Turn to OUR SIDE| Page 16
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Page 16 • Dairy Star • Saturday, October 10, 2020
ConƟnued from OUR SIDE | Page 15
Aubree Roerick Parents: Danny and Sarah Roerick Burtrum, Minnesota Morrison County 100 cows What projects are you involved with in 4-H? Dairy, sheep, dairy steer, arts and crafts, baking and photography. Which project is your favorite? The sheep project is my favorite. I like to learn each year new tricks to brace my lambs, leading them without a halter, and to get to know their personalities. Tell us about your favorite 4-H memory. Two years ago, I won my dairy crossbred class with my favorite cow, Mabeilline. She is a HolsteinJersey cross, but she looks like a full Jersey. What has your local 4-H organization done during the pandemic? We had virtual fair. We chose not to participate, because it just isn’t the same as a live show. We attended an open show with our lambs, and it was fun to be with kids in the show ring. Who is your 4-H mentor, and what did you learn from them? Travis and Rachel Molitor. They have taught me how to clip, brace and what to look for in purchasing lambs. They are nice and so helpful to me. How has your experience in 4-H molded the person you are becoming? 4-H is teaching me to be responsible and caring for my projects, to be loyal to my club, how to work with other 4Hers and adults, and to volunteer in my community. Tell us about your family and your farm. I have three older brothers, Jordan, Jacob and Eli. My parents run our 100-cow dairy. We raise our heifers and crops for our farm. My sheep project is during the spring until fall for our county fair.
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Audrey Kamps Parents: Dean and April Kamps Hamburg, Minnesota Sibley County 40 cows What projects are you involved in within 4-H? I have been involved in the dairy, photography, crafts and ne arts, and needle arts projects. Which project is your favorite? My favorite project is the dairy project because I enjoy working with the animals, being in the barns at the fair, and talking with the public about the dairy industry. Tell us about your favorite 4-H memory. My favorite 4-H memory was showing at the Minnesota State Fair for the rst time in 2016 and being named Guernsey heifer champion with my fall calf. Showing at the state fair has always been one of my favorite parts of 4-H. What has your local 4-H organization done during the pandemic? Everyone has been really busy, and we have had a hard time nding a place to meet, so we have unfortunately not been able to do anything as a club during the pandemic; however, I do know we had members participate in virtual showing events during the summer. Who is your 4-H mentor, and what did you learn from them? Cherie Smith is my 4-H mentor. Not only has she helped me become a leader in and outside of 4-H, but she is also one of the many people that helped my family get into the dairy project. We have worked alongside Cherie and her family throughout our entire 4-H experience. She has taught us so much, and she is great at answering any questions we may have. How has your experience in 4-H molded the person you are becoming? Because of 4-H, I’ve had the opportunity to learn many skills that I have been able to carry into other parts of my life. For example, holding leadership roles in my 4-H club has inspired me to hold leadership positions in FFA, National Honor Society and sports. 4-H has also helped me prepare for interviews and has made me more condent in public speaking. Tell us about your family and your farm. My family is the fth generation on the farm. I am the oldest of four with two younger brothers and a younger sister. We milk about 40 cows and run about 450 acres of crop land.
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Gracie Ziegler Parents: Jay and Tami Ziegler Freedom, Wisconsin Outagamie County 13 cows What projects are you involved with in 4-H? I am involved in the photography project, the food project and the dairy project. Which project is your favorite? My favorite would denitely be the dairy project. It’s taught me a lot about dairy itself, and I have met many lifelong friends by showing and being a part of the project. Tell us about your favorite 4-H memory. My favorite 4-H memory would have to be from this August at the Brown County Fair where I won dairy showmanship and was the champion senior showman. What has your local 4-H organization done during the pandemic? They did as much as they could to keep some parts of the fair going so that the kids could have their projects judged. Unfortunately, the dairy show at Outagamie County was canceled, but Brown County had their full fair. Who is your 4-H mentor, and what did you learn from them? Alyssa Sietz is a person who helped me along during my rst few years in 4-H. I came in not knowing anything about showing cows or any of the other projects. She took me under her wing right away and got me started on a lot of things and was nice about everything. How has your experience in 4-H molded the person you are becoming? 4-H has taught me responsibility, especially with dairy. I have to put the work into all of my projects, not just let my parents do it. And the more work I put into them, the better I do or the more satised I am. It’s also given me a stronger drive to help other people, like so many people helped me when I was starting out. Tell us about your family and your farm. My family is one of a kind. We all work together on my grandma’s 70-cow dairy farm. It’s always been a family farm, and we wouldn’t want it any other way. We strive to take care of our animals in the best way possible, and each of us have our own part that we do to keep the farm running. Yes, it can be tiring and hard on some days, but to get to be a part of such an amazing process is awesome, and I wouldn’t change it for the world.
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Joyce Andringa Parents: Jogchum and Maartje Andringa Brandt, South Dakota Deuel County 1,500 cows What projects are you involved with in 4-H? I am in dairy cattle, dairy judging and fashion review. Which project is your favorite? Dairy cattle because I like working with the cattle. Tell us about your favorite 4-H memory. While training my yearling heifer this summer, I decided to try to ride my gentle show yearling. In order to get her to move, I tied grass to a stick and put it in front of her nose. Instead of following the grass, she stretched her neck to get it and, in the process, I fell off of her. My friend and my sister were with me, and we had a good laugh about it. What has your local 4-H organization done during the pandemic? My county has tried to keep many of the events going while keeping us safe even though there were many restrictions. Who is your 4-H mentor, and what did you learn from them? My 4-H mentor is Katelyn Engelstad. She is enthusiastic about 4-H and taught me to be extra enthusiastic about it too. She also taught me science, because she was my teacher. How has your experience in 4-H molded the person you are becoming? 4-H has taught me responsibility and the ability to handle disappointments. Both this year and last year, I was unable to show my winter calves because they got ringworm right before the show. However, I decided training was a lot of fun, and I could always show them next year as winter yearlings. Tell us about your family and your farm. I have two sisters (ages 10 and 5) and a brother (age 8). Our farm has a lot of cows, one donkey, one dog and three cats.
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Page 18 • Dairy Star • Saturday, October 10, 2020
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Small improvements go a long way at Metogga Lake Dairy Ray, Bridget, Tim, Brian, Nick, Dan and Emily Pieper Metogga Lake Dairy New Prague, Minnesota Rice County 450 cows What is your current herd average, butterfat and protein? Our bulk tank average is 95 pounds per cow per day with 4.1% butterfat and 3.2% protein. Our current RHA is 30,330 pounds of milk, with 1,225 pounds of fat and 985 pounds of protein. How many times a day do you milk? Our herd is milked twice a day. Do you contract your milk? Has it been successful for you? We buy milk insurance that sets a price oor on a quarterly basis, and that has been successful for us. We haven’t contracted milk in several years, as in the past we haven’t had good luck with it. Describe your housing and milking facility. We milk in a double-10 herringbone parlor that Ray and Bridget retrotted into their tiestall barn in 1988. Our cows are housed in a sandbedded freestall barn with curtain walls, Turn to PIEPERS | Page 20
KRISTA KUZMA/DAIRY STAR
The Piepers – (front, from leŌ) Emily, Nick and Brian; (back, from leŌ) Dan and Tim – farm together with their parents, Ray and Bridget, on their 450-cow dairy, Metogga Lake Dairy, near New Prague, Minnesota. The family’s herd has a rolling herd average of 30,330 pounds of milk with 1,225 pounds of fat and 985 pounds of protein.
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Page 20 • Dairy Star • Saturday, October 10, 2020
ConƟnued from PIEPERS | Page 18
fans and sprinklers. What is your herd health program? Our veterinarian comes every Tuesday for pregnancy checks. We vaccinate heavily in the dry period and pre-fresh heifers. Some vaccines are given in the milking herd as well. What does your dry cow and transition program consist of? First lactation heifers go dry one week earlier than second-plus lactation cows. We dry off every Friday; therefore, rst lactation cows are dry just over 60 days, and second-plus lactation cows are dry just under 60 days. Our pre-fresh heifers are moved two months
before they are due to the dry cow pen and go on the dry cow ration consisting of grass, straw, corn silage and mineral. Cows are moved to a bedded pack about four weeks before their due date. They stay in one of these four calving pens until they calve. It is important to us to not overcrowd our pre-fresh pens. Once they calve, we keep them in the hospital pen where they get the fresh cow ration for 21 days. What is the composition of your ration? What has been one of your most recent changes that has been successful for you? Our milk cows are fed haylage, corn silage, sweet corn silage, ground KRISTA KUZMA/DAIRY STAR
Cows rest in the bedded pack area of the transiƟon barn the Piepers built on their dairy three years ago. The barn has helped the herd reach higher milk producƟon. dry corn, cotton seed and mineral mixes. About 1.5 years ago, we went away from feeding earlage and started feeding ground dry corn instead. We saw a big increase in cow health and increased milk fat when we made this switch.
KRISTA KUZMA/DAIRY STAR
A double-10 herringbone parlor is used to milk the herd twice a day at Metogga Lake Dairy near New Prague, Minnesota. The Pieper family is in the process of installing seven robots which they hope to be using by this spring.
What is your average SCC and how does that affect your production? Our bulk tank SCC is averaging 94,000 right now. Having a low SCC means healthier cows which increases production.
Through the years you have been farming, what change has created the biggest jump in your herd average? Three years ago, we built a transition barn which really helped. Providing a clean, comfortable, stress-minimized calving place for the cows has bumped up the health of fresh cows and gotten them off to a great start resulting in higher peaks and more milk throughout their lactation. Another huge improvement was when we started feeding our calves milk balancer in
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COMBINES JD 9500, 1989, corn/bean, 2WD, 3241 hrs., 2086 sep hrs., #172986.......$29,900 JD 9500, 1995, Corn/Bean, 2WD, 5392 hrs., 3503 sep hrs., #171987.......$23,900 JD 9510, 1998, Corn/Bean, 2WD, 3147 hrs., 2389 sep hrs., #173642 .....$34,900 JD 9600, 1995, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 5263 hrs., 3551 sep hrs., #173970 ....$28,900 JD 9650 STS, 2001, Corn/Bean, 3210 hrs., 2053 sep hrs., #171989 ........$52,000 JD 9770 STS, 2009, Corn/Bean, 2604 hrs., 1878 sep hrs., #162933 ........$79,900 JD 9770 STS, 2011, Corn/Bean, 3640 hrs., 2848 sep hrs., #165662 ........$74,900 JD 9860 STS, 2007, Corn/Bean, 4061 hrs., 2823 sep hrs., #173786 ........$75,900 JD 9860 STS, 2007, Corn/Bean, 3763 hrs., 2268 sep hrs., #172083 ........$69,500 JD 9870 STS, 2008, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 3295 hrs., #160885 .................$101,900 JD S660, 2014, Corn/Bean, 2WD, 1067 hrs., 702 sep hrs., #155345......$189,500 JD S670, 2014, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1678 hrs., 1265 sep hrs., #155388 .$199,500 JD S670, 2014, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1924 hrs., 1260 sep hrs., #153514 .$179,500 JD S670, 2013, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1584 hrs., 1190 sep hrs., #161854 .$179,500 JD S670, 2015, Corn/Bean, 2WD, 1540 hrs., 1048 sep hrs., #173607 ...$169,500 JD S670, 2014, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1561 hrs., 1110 sep hrs., #173998 .$159,500 JD S670, 2013, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 2250 hrs., 1481 sep hrs., #172751 .$139,500 JD S670, 2012, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 3601 hrs., 2557 sep hrs., #172954 .$114,900 JD S680, 2017, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 943 hrs., 701 sep hrs., #168849 .....$349,900 JD S680, 2017, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1193 hrs., 800 sep hrs., #173249 ...$299,000 JD S680, 2016, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1369 hrs., 929 sep hrs., #172496 ...$295,000 JD S680, 2015, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1791 hrs., 1233 sep hrs., #167207 .$250,900 JD S680, 2013, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 2044 hrs., 1638 sep hrs., #166363 .$185,900 JD S680, 2013, Corn/Bean, PRWD, , 2121 hrs., 1391 sep hrs., #162070$184,900 JD S680, 2014, Corn/Bean, PRWD, , 2436 hrs., 1781 sep hrs., #159509 $179,500 JD S680, 2014, Corn/Bean, PRWD, , 1682 hrs., 1157 sep hrs., #170663$179,500 JD S680, 2015, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 2155 hrs., #169577 ............................ $169,500 JD S680, 2013, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 2856 hrs., 1904 sep hrs., #161858 .$159,500 JD S680, 2012, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 2612 hrs., 1958 sep hrs., #163765 .$159,400 JD S680, 2012, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 2387 hrs., 1739 sep hrs., #154637 .$149,500 JD S690, 2013, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1633 hrs., 1161 sep hrs., #167773..$199,900 JD S690, 2014, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 2226 hrs., 1638 sep hrs., #161532..$189,500 JD S690, 2014, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 2149 hrs., 1563 sep hrs., #153332..$179,500 JD S690, 2012, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1802 hrs., 1395 sep hrs., #171923 .$179,000 JD S690, 2014, PRWD, Duals, 1950 hrs., 1317 sep hrs., #145222 ..........$169,500 JD S690, 2012, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 2159 hrs., 1700 sep hrs., #171382..$164,400 JD S760, 2018, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 420 hrs., 282 sep hrs., #171825 ......$299,000 JD S760, 2018, Corn/Bean, 2WD, 601 hrs., 500 sep hrs., #163861........$289,500
2 16 17 16 16 14 1 11 14 8 15 14 11 8 8 8 3 4 15 16 16 16 16 10 6 10 8 4 4 6 8 8 8 3
JD S770, 2018, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 984 hrs., 724 sep hrs., #173995 .....$309,900 JD S770, 2018, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1416 hrs., 945 sep hrs., #173398....$274,900 JD S780, 2019, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 544 hrs., 388 sep hrs., #171379 .....$435,900 JD S780, 2019, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 472 hrs., 307 sep hrs., #169507 ......$429,500 JD S780, 2019, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 355 hrs., 234 sep hrs., #171003 .....$429,500 JD S780, 2019, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 732 hrs., 533 sep hrs., #171103 .....$404,400 JD S780, 2018, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 591 hrs., 324 sep hrs., #157910 ......$399,500 JD S780, 2018, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 488 hrs., 324 sep hrs., #154461 .....$399,500 JD S780, 2018, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 798 hrs., 524 sep hrs., #171380 .....$399,400 JD S780, 2018, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 680 hrs., 520 sep hrs., #171563 .....$399,000 JD S780, 2018, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 550 hrs., 383 sep hrs., #171851 .....$394,900 JD S790, 2019, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 763 hrs., 405 sep hrs., #171378 .....$441,400 ROW CROP TRACTORS JD 7210R, 2018, Cab, MFWD, 540/1000 pto, loader, 917 hrs., #163862$179,500 JD 7210R, 2018, Cab, MFWD, IVT, 540/1000 pto, Duals, 1918 hrs., #172425.....................................................................................$172,900 JD 7210R, 2018, Cab, MFWD, IVT, 540/1000 pto, 525 hrs., #172430 ....$169,500 JD 7210R, 2018, Cab, MFWD, IVT, 540/1000 pto. Singles, 1474 hrs., #172431 .....................................................................................................$153,900 JD 7215R, 2013, Cab, MFWD, IVT, 540/1000 pto. Duals, 2877 hrs., #167434 ......................................................................................................$114,900 JD 8245R, 2019, Cab, MFWD, IVT, 1000 pto, Duals, 578 hrs., #171965 $239,500 JD 8245R, 2019, Cab, MFWD, IVT, 1000 pto, Duals, 502 hrs., #171963 $239,500 JD 8245R, 2019, Cab, MFWD, IVT, 1000 pto, Duals, 1295 hrs., #169246$239,500 JD 8245R, 2019, Cab, MFWD, IVT, 1000 pto, Duals, 799 hrs., #169247 $239,500 JD 8245R, 2019, Cab, MFWD, IVT, 1000 pto, Duals, 1264 hrs., #169248$239,500 JD 8245R, 2019, Cab, MFWD, IVT, 1000 pto, Duals, 395 hrs., #169249 .$239,500 JD 8245R, 2018, Cab, MFWD, IVT, 1000 pto, Duals, 433 hrs., #148226 .$228,900 JD 8245R, 2017, Cab, MFWD, PS 1000 pto, Duals, 1882 hrs., #165918 $163,900 JD 8270R, 2020, Cab, MFWD, IVT, 1000 pto, Duals, 294 hrs., #172927 $259,500 JD 8270R, 2018, Cab, MFWD, IVT, 1000 pto, Duals, 1009 hrs., #172426$223,900 JD 8270R, 2018, Cab, MFWD, PS, 540/1000 pto, Duals, #163841........$209,500 JD 8270R, 2018, Cab, MFWD, PS, 540/1000 pto, 1259 hrs., #163842...$204,900 JD 8285R, 2013, Cab, MFWD, IVT, 1000 pto, Duals, 2587 hrs.,#167775$159,900 JD 8295R, 2018, Cab, MFWD, IVT, 1000 pto, Duals, 160 hrs., #166651 .$274,900 JD 8295R, 2019, Cab, MFWD, IVT, 1000 pto, Duals, 593 hrs., #172428 .... $265,400 JD 8295R, 2019, Cab, MFWD, IVT, 1000 pto, Duals, 697 hrs., #172427 .$264,900 JD 8295R, 2020, Cab, MFWD, Power Shift, 1000 pto, Duals, 293 hrs., #172,929 ......................................................................................$259,500
Visit one of our 17 locations in Central Minnesota! (1) = GLENCOE 4561 Hwy. 212
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78412 Co. Rd. 20
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2 JD 8295R, 2015, Cab, MFWD, IVT, 1000 pto, Duals, 1408 hrs., #172975$209,500 15 JD 8320R, 2019, Cab, MFWD, IVT, 1000 pto, Singles, 541 hrs., #171964 .....................................................................................................$299,500 15 JD 8320R, 2019, Cab, MFWD, IVT, 1000 pto, Duals, 623 hrs., #171962 $299,500 1 JD 8320R, 2020, Cab, MFWD, IVT, 1000 pto, Duals, 253 hrs., #172933 $289,500 1 JD 8320R, 2020, Cab, MFWD, IVT, 1000 pto, Duals, 304 hrs., #172934 $289,500 3 JD 8320R, 2020, Cab, MFWD, IVT, 1000 pto. Duals, 295 hrs., #172932 $289,500 16 JD 8320R, 2015, Cab, MFWD, IVT, 1000 pto, Duals, 628 hrs., #163735 $249,500 15 JD 8320R, 2017, Cab, MFWD, 1000 pto, Duals, 2067 hrs., #172227 .....$224,900 7 JD 8320R, 2014, Cab, MFWD, IVT, 540/1000 pto, 2238 hrs., #167228 .$179,500 3 JD 8335R, 2011, Cab, MFWD, IVT, 1000 pto, Duals, 5025 hrs., #173371$134,000 5 JD 8345R, 2018, Cab, MFWD, IVT, 1000 pto, Duals, 261 hrs., #165247 $299,500 11 JD 8345R, 2018, Cab, MFWD, IVT, 1000 pto, Duals, 612 hrs., #147199 $289,500 8 JD 8345R, 2018, Cab, MFWD, IVT, 1000 pto, Duals, 1900 hrs., #172423 .$239,500 6 JD 8345R, 2016, Cab, MFWD, IVT, 1000 pto, Duals, 2005 hrs., #166297 .$225,000 7 JD 8345R, 2015, Cab, MFWD, IVT, 1000 pto, Duals, 2154 hrs., #171100 $220,000 14 JD 8345R, 2015, Cab, MFWD, IVT, 1000 pto, Duals, 2375 hrs.,#170555 $209,500 2 JD 8345R, 2014, Cab, MFWD, IVT, 1000 pto, Duals, 3326 hrs., #166449 .$179,500 1 JD 8370R, 2020, Cab, MFWD, IVT, 1000 pto, Duals, 250 hrs., #172946 .$324,900 1 JD 8370R, 2020, Cab, MFWD, IVT, 1000 pto, Duals, 250 hrs., #172947 $324,900 1 JD 8370R, 2020, Cab, MFWD, IVT, 1000 pto, Duals, 250 hrs., #172938 $319,500 1 JD 8370R, 2020, Cab, MFWD, IVT, 1000 pto, Duals, 256 hrs., #172944 .$319,500 1 JD 8370R, 2020, Cab, MFWD, IVT, 1000 pto, Duals, 276 hrs., #172945 .$319,500 1 JD 8370R, 2020, Cab, MFWD, IVT, 1000 pto, Duals, 285 hrs.,#172937 .$319,500 1 JD 8370R, 2020, Cab, MFWD, IVT, 1000 pto, Duals, 285 hrs., #172940 .$319,500 1 JD 8370R, 2020, Cab, MFWD, IVT, 1000 pto, Duals, 265 hrs., #172942 .$319,500 1 JD 8370R, 2020, Cab, MFWD, IVT, 1000 pto, Duals, 280 hrs., #172943 $319,500 16 JD 8370R, 2019, Cab, MFWD, IVT, 1000 pto, Duals, 1621 hrs., #169241$319,500 16 JD 8370R, 2019, Cab, MFWD, IVT, 1000 pto, Duals, 974 hrs., #169242 $319,500 16 JD 8370R, 2019, Cab, MFWD IVT, 1000 pto, Duals, 691 hrs., #169243 .$319,500 16 JD 8370R, 2019, Cab, MFWD, IVT, 1000 pto, Duals, 923 hrs., #169244 $319,500 1 JD 8400R, 2020, Cab, MFWD, 1000 pto, Duals, 272 hrs., #172948 .......$334,900 1 JD 8400R, 2020, Cab, MFWD 1000 pto, Duals, 250 hrs., #172949 ........$334,900 1 JD 8400R, 2020, Cab, MFWD, 1000 pto, Duals, 250 hrs., #172950 .......$334,900 1 JD 8400R, 2020, Cab, MFWD, 1000 pto, Duals, 250 hrs., #172953 .......$334,900 16 JD 8400R, 2018, Cab, MFWD, 1000 pto, Duals, 244 hrs., #148295........$314,900 7 New Holland T7.260 T4A, 2011, Cab, MFWD, IVT, 540/1000 pto, Duals, 7700 hrs., #169557.............................................................................$74,900
CALL TODAY! (320)365-1653 (12) = AITKIN 1120 2nd St. NW
(10) = LITTLE FALLS (13) = BAXTER (11) = WADENA 62505 US Hwy. 10
7045 Foley Rd.
(14) = ELBOW LAKE
(16) = BENSON
(15) = MORRIS
(17) = MADISON
110 2nd St. NE
23604 State Hwy. 9
380 Atlantic Ave. 516 1st St. E
SEE OUR COMPLETE INVENTORY WITH PICTURES AND DESCRIPTIONS AT: www.mmcjd.com
Page 22 • Dairy Star • Saturday, October 10, 2020
DO YOU HAVE AN UPCOMING AUCTION? e It Advertis In The
ConƟnued from PIEPERS | Page 20
DAIRY ST★R
Call (320) 352-6303 for more information.
It’s Willem’s Milking System KRISTA KUZMA/DAIRY STAR
When Willem put the new DeLaval VMS™ V300 to work, he had growth in mind, and not only does the increase in efficiency give him 10% more capacity to grow his herd, he can add more VMS V300 units over time; easily and cost-effectively.
Brian Pieper holds a handful of ground dry corn, which the Piepers added into the herd’s raƟon 1.5 years ago to replace earlage. The switch has increased cow health and milk fat.
Visit DeLaval.com to hear more from Willem about how he made the new VMS V300 his Milking System, and discover why you should make it yours too.
What type of improvements would you like to make that would increase your rolling herd average even higher? The key is to never stop improving. Small improvements often go a long way; however, right now, we are implementing a game changing improvement. We are in the construction phase of adding seven Lely robots, so hopefully our production, health and individual herd management will continue to increase.
been playing around with this the past few years, but we average about 10%-15% beef cross calves.
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Contact one of the following dealers to learn more: IOWA Prairie Land Ag Supply Inc. Rock Valley, IA 712-476-9290 United-Suckow Dairy Supply West Union, IA 563-422-5355 Postville, IA 563-864-7417 WISCONSIN Advanced Dairy/Bob’s Dairy Supply Spring Valley, WI 715-772-3201 Ederer Dairy Supply Plain, WI 608-546-3713 Joe’s Refrigeration Inc. Withee, WI 715-229-2321
Mlsna Dairy Supply Inc. Cashton, WI 608-654-5106 Mondovi Dairy Systems Inc. Mondovi, WI 715-926-5777 West Salem, WI 608-769-2113 Professional Dairy Services Arlington, WI 608-635-0267 Redeker Dairy Equipment Brandon, WI 920-346-5579 The Scharine Group Inc. Whitewater, WI 800 472-2880 Mt Horeb, WI 800-872-3470
MINNESOTA & SOUTH DAKOTA D&D Ag Supply Pennock, MN 320-599-4466 East Central Dairy Supply Mora, MN 320-679-1029 Farm Systems Melrose, MN 320-256-3276 Watertown, SD 605-886-7401 Sioux Falls, SD 800-284-0015 S&S Dairy System LLC St. Charles, MN 507-932-4288 Professional Dairy Systems Wadena, MN 218-632-5416
is a registered trademark of Tetra Laval Holdings & Finance S.A. and “DeLaval” is a registered trade/servicemark of DeLaval Holding AB © 2020 DeLaval Inc. DeLaval, 11100 North Congress Avenue, Kansas City, Missouri 64153-1296. Data collected at test and pilot farms. The testimonial in this advertisement is from a real life producer. Results will vary from dairy to dairy. Nothing in this document shall constitute a warranty or guaranty of performance. www.delaval.com
List three management strategies that have helped you attain your production and component level. It is important to manage cow comfort to keep animals healthy starting at birth and housing them in good environments throughout their life. Putting up highquality forages and working closely with your nutritionist for a balanced ration is crucial. Also, getting cows pregnant and breeding for long-lasting cows with high productivity and detecting your high- and low-end value cows is a good idea. Tell us about your farm. Our farm was started by our parents, Ray and Bridget, in 1973. They had 10 children, all of which are involved in agriculture today. Five of their children manage the farm today and are co-owners with their parents. Ray and Bridget started with a handful of cows in an old stanchion barn but evolved the farm to support the family. We milk 450 cows, raise our replacements and grow alfalfa, corn and soybean. We have taken many risks building the farm, but God has granted us the strength, wisdom and passion to succeed. Our family grew up working together and having fun while accomplishing the same goals. That is what family farming is all about.
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Dana Berreau
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Dairy Star • Saturday, October 10, 2020 • Page 23
Fifth-generation farmers carry on rich family tradition
Elsenpeters commemorate farm’s 150-year history
By Jennifer Coyne jenn@dairystar.com
MAPLE LAKE, Minn. – A lot has changed on the Elsenpeters’ farm since it was rst homesteaded in 1869, but what remains the same is the family’s commitment to maintaining dairy farming as their way of life. “I’ve never wondered why I do this,” Dan Elsenpeter said. “Dad took pride in his farm. I think he’d still be proud of what we’ve done with it.” Dan and his younger brother, Luke, milk 150 cows on their organic dairy farm in Wright County near Maple Lake. The brothers work in a partnership with their families; Dan and his wife, Erica, and their eight children – Henry, 14, George, 13, Harvey, 11, Ralph, 9, Dorothy, 7, Leroy, 5, Pearl, 4, and Norman, 5 months – and Luke and his wife, Liz, and their four children – Evelyn, 9, June, 7, John, 5, and Irene, 3. In 2019, the farmstead was recognized for being a sesquicentennial farm by the Minne-
JENNIFER COYNE/DAIRY STAR
The Elsenpeter families – (from leŌ) Luke holding Irene and Liz; and Dan holding Pearl, Erica holding Norman, and Henry – milk 150 cows near Maple Lake, Minnesota. In 2019, the family dairy was recognized as a sesquincentennial farm. Not pictured are Luke and Liz’s children Evelyn, June and John; and Dan and Erica’s children George, Harvey, Ralph, Dorothy and Leroy. sota Farm Bureau. “We didn’t know a lot about the original homestead because Grandpa was gone before we were born,” Luke said. “And, I was only 19 when Dad died.” Liz agreed. “It’s meaningful for the kids,” she said. “As we get
older, we’ve been able to make it a priority to research a better timeline for the farm.” The dairy is currently overseen by the Elsenpeter brothers with Luke and Dan sharing responsibilities for both the dairy herd and eld management. Both wives are also involved
as Erica handles the farm’s bookwork, and Liz manages the family’s off-farm beef sales. The Elsenpeters also employ one full-time and one part-time employee. The farm was homesteaded by Henry Elsenpeter, Sr., and his wife and young son from
Westphalia, Germany, in 1869. Dan and Luke are direct descendants of his son, Henry, Jr., and the fth generation to farm the land. The oldest structure on the farm site is farmhouse, which Dan and Erica call home. The house was built in 1928, but a hip-roof barn once located next to the house was blown down in a 1950s storm. After Dan and Luke’s grandfather passed away in 1968, their father and uncle formed a partnership. During their tenure as farm owners, they operated a successful traditional dairy, using silos and expanding the capacity of the tiestall barn while maintaining a herd of purebred Holsteins. They farmed together until the Elsenpeters’ dad died of prostate cancer in 2003 at the age of 59. The current partnership was formed in 2004. Dan had managed the farm during his father’s illness and Luke had recently graduated high school. “Our transition wasn’t easy because it wasn’t planned,” Dan said. “But it was what we needed to do. I’ve never pictured this property sitting empTurn to ELSENPETERS | Page 25
Page 24 • Dairy Star • Saturday, October 10, 2020
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Redeker Dairy Equipment Brandon, WI
United Suckow Dairy Postville, IA; West Union, IA
Central Ag Supply Juneau, WI; Baraboo, WI
Stanley Schmitz Inc. Chilton, WI
Gorter’s Clay & Dairy Equipment Pipestone, MN
Ederer’s Dairy Supply Plain, WI; Blanchardville, WI; Dodgeville, WI J. Gile Dairy Equipment, Inc. Cuba City, WI Monroe Westfalia Surge Monroe, WI Professional Dairy Services Arlington, WI 1-800-MUELLER | PAULMUELLER.COM
Total Dairy Services Kewaunee, WI Tri-County Dairy Supply Janesville, WI Fuller’s Milker Center Lancaster, WI Eastern Iowa Dairy Systems Epworth, IA Sioux Dairy Equipment Rock Valley, IA; Colton, SD
Leedstone Melrose, MN; Glencoe, MN; Plainview, MN; Menomonie, WI Midwest Livestock Systems Zumbrota, MN; Menomonie, WI; Sioux Falls, SD; Beatrice, NE S&S Dairy Systems St. Charles, MN Glencoe Co-Op Assn. Glencoe, MN
Dairy Star • Saturday, October 10, 2020 • Page 25
Con�nued from ELSENPETERS | Page 23
ty and not having a farm here.” Erica agreed. “We’re always learning from the past,” she said. “With the kids getting older, the need for a succession plan is going to come front and center.” The brothers pursued organic production as a way to remain viable in the industry. “We saw the health and nancial benets of organic dairy farming,” Luke said. “We were tired of the conventional way of farming and looking for something better.” Dan agreed. “We knew we couldn’t farm like we were for the long term, but we didn’t quite know what to do,” he said. “Then, the organic opportunity came along.” The change in management allowed the Elsenpeters to remain a respectable size for their location. They did not need to
downsize to t a niche market or relocate and expand to keep up with conventional dairying. In the last 12 years, the Elsenpeters retrotted the farm’s tiestall barn into a parlor and built a freestall barn. “The tiestall barn t 74 cows,” Luke said. “Now, in the parlor, one person can milk 90 cows in an hour by themselves.” Over the years, the brothers also took down the silos that had long been out of use. The operation began using bags for feed storage in the 1990s. IN the silos’ place, the family put up a monoslope barn for dry cows. They have also switched to feeding baleage, which they credit to improved herd health, and intensive graze the herd on 130 acres of pasture. This past season was the second time the family opted to have 25 of their
JENNIFER COYNE/DAIRY STAR
Luke (le�) and Dan Elsenpeter are the �h genera�on of farmers on their family dairy near Maple Lake, Minnesota. The brothers formed a partnership in 2004. www.albanychrysler.com
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JENNIFER COYNE/DAIRY STAR
The Elsenpeters’ herd is housed in a freestall barn. Dan and Luke Elsenpeter built the barn as part of their goals to improve cow comfort and labor efficiency. Dan said. As Dan and Luke have updated their farming operation, they continue to make choices that will affect the dairy’s future. The next generation is continually at the forefront of every decision, especially those concerning safety and sustainability. “We see a lot of respect from our community for the work we do,” Luke said. Dan agreed. “I don’t believe a lot of people realize how hard it can
be,” he said. “Dairy farming is a lot of work, but there’s nothing better than a cow with a newborn calf, watching the sunrise and sunset every day, and the crops growing in the eld. You’re your own boss, other than God.” The Elsenpeters’ rich history in the dairy community began 150 years ago, and with each passing year, another milestone is reached as the family’s farming tradition continues on.
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Page 26 • Dairy Star • Saturday, October 10, 2020
USDA to provide additional direct assistance to farmers The United States Department of Agriculture is implementing the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program 2 for agricultural producers who continue to face market disruptions and associated costs because of COVID-19. Signup for CFAP 2 began Sept. 21 and will run through Dec. 11. CFAP 2 payments will provide eligible producers with nancial assistance that gives them the ability to absorb some of the increased marketing costs associated with the COVID-19 outbreak. USDA has incorporated improvements in CFAP 2 based from stakeholder engagement and public feedback to better meet the needs of impacted farmers and ranchers. Additional commodities are eligible in CFAP 2 that were not eligible in the rst iteration of the program. CFAP 2 payments will be made for three categories of payment calculations: – Sales commodities, including specialty crops, tobacco and aquaculture, use a sales-based approach,
where producers are paid based on ve payment gradations associated with their 2019 sales. – Price trigger commodities, including row crops, livestock and dairy, are major commodities that meet a minimum 5% price decline from January through July. – Flat-rate row crops that do not meet the 5% price decline trigger or do not have data available to calculate a price change will have payments calculated based on eligible 2020 acres multiplied by $15 per acre. A complete list of eligible commodities, payment rates and calculations can be found on www.farmers. gov/cfap. Producers can apply for assistance through USDA’s Farm Service Agency. Customers seeking one-on-one support with the CFAP 2 application process can call 877-508-8364 to speak directly with a USDA employee ready to offer assistance. This is a recommended rst step before a producer engages
with the team at the FSA county ofce. All USDA service centers are open for business, including some that are open to visitors to conduct business in person by appointment only. All Service Center visitors wishing to conduct business with FSA, Natural Resources Conservation Service or any other Service Center agency FSA News & Notes should call ahead and schedule an appointment. Service centers that are open for appointments will pre-screen visitors based on health concerns or recent travel, and visitors must adhere to social distancing guidelines. Visitors are also required to wear a face covering during their By Ryan Brunn appointment. Our program delivery staff will be in Stearns Co. Exec. Dir. the ofce, and they will be working with our producers in the ofce, by phone and using online tools. More information can be found at www.farmers.gov/ coronavirus. Farm Service Agency is an Equal Opportunity Lender. Complaints about discrimination should be sent to: Secretary of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. 20250. Visit the Farm Service Agency Web site at: www.fsa.usda.gov/ for necessary application forms and updates on USDA programs.
National Dairy Board Scholarship award winners announced
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The dairy checkoff has awarded 12 academic scholarships to students enrolled in programs that emphasize dairy and who have shown potential to become future dairy leaders. The National Dairy Promotion and Research Board (NDB), through Dairy Management Inc., which manages the national dairy checkoff, annually awards $2,500 scholarships to 11 students. In addition, the NDB awards a $3,500 James H. Loper Jr. Memorial Scholarship to one outstanding scholarship recipient. Eligible majors include journalism, communications/ public relations, marketing, business, economics, nutrition, food science or agriculture education. Scholarship criteria include academic achievement, a career interest in a dairy-related discipline, along with demonstrated leadership, initiative and integrity. Michelle Schmitt, a University of Wisconsin-River Falls student who is majoring in food science and technology, has earned the 2020-21 James H. Loper Jr. Memorial Scholarship. Students earning $2,500 scholarships are: Todd Allen (Virginia Tech), Kiara Gilardi (California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo), Ashley Hagenow (University of Minnesota, Twin Cities), Theodore Jacoby (South Dakota State University), Brianna McBride (Iowa State University), Lynn Olthof (Michigan State University), Jack Palla (Oklahoma State University), Jessica Schmitt (Iowa State University), Margaret Socha (South Dakota State University), Anna Tarpey (University of Missouri), Sarah Thomas (Virginia Tech).
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Change
Dairy Star • Saturday, October 10, 2020 • Page 27
Every year, I am mesmerized by the changing seasons. Each season brings its own beauty and opportunities. One of my favorite changes is summer to fall. The changing trees cover our state with vibrant beauty. This year has been ďƒžlled with changes, and we have all had to adapt in On the Road with different ways. Although we have endured many Princess Kay challenges, we have learned how to be resilient and hopeful for the future. This past month, I have had the opportunity to participate in two incredible opportunities. I had the chance to tour Open Arms of Minnesota. They are a nonproďƒžt that prepares By Brenna Connelly 67th Princess Kay of the and delivers meals to critically-ill clients. Milky Way This year, they will deliver 700,000 meals to the seven-county metro area. All the meals they prepare are cooked from scratch, and the ingredients are sourced from local farms. While there, I learned about their meal packaging, and I helped package zucchini bread in the bakery. Each week they send out 382 gallons of milk to their clients. Cheese sticks are a favorite, especially for the kids. They also have yogurt parfaits coming soon. Everything is baked on site with butter and love. The second opportunity I had was participating in the ďƒžlming of Virtual Youth Training Camp videos developed by the Minnesota Vikings. These videos will be created for the Fuel Up to Play 60 program. The videos will be targeting youth 6-12 years old. There will be a series of interactive videos highlighting various exercise drills. The videos will be live on the Vikings website sometime in October. The Nutrition 101 video covers how to stay well-fueled during workouts. It will discuss how dairy foods are great in refueling our bodies and help keep us healthy and strong. We will be posting updates on our Facebook page on how you can view these videos. I am also excited to announce that in the coming months, we will be hearing from the other ďƒžnalists. This year, each ďƒžnalist will have a day to take over the Facebook and Instagram accounts. Each lady will highlight their day and cover fun dairy topics. Keep an eye out on our social media pages for these takeovers.
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Princess Kay Brenna Connelly visits Open Arms of Minnesota. The organizaĆ&#x;on distributes milk as well as other dairy foods to clients each week.
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I hope during this time, you have spent extra wholesome and nutritious food, and the way milk is time surrounded by your loved ones and focused on produced. Princess Kay does many school presentawhat matters most. As I transition back to school, tions, represents dairy farmers at the Fuel Up To Play I am grateful for the opportunity to continue my 60 events that are held in conjunction with the Minstudies and connect with nesota Vikings, and is very others even if it is virtual. active during June Dairy As we look forward to the A As we llook k fforward d to the h Month sharing the imporfuture, I hope you continue tance of dairy farming and future, I hope you continue to to embrace change. Look dairy foods. Brenna grew for the positive in every embrace change. up in Byron, MN working on situation and see what this her cousin’s dairy farm. She new season of change can is a sophomore at the Unibring you. Wishing you all versity of MinnesotaTwin Cities, studying agricula safe and plentiful harvest season. tural education and animal science. When she is not Princess Kay of the Milky Way, Brenna Connelly showing cattle or participating in dairy judging, she serves as the Minnesota dairy community’s goodwill loves to read and travel. ambassador. Throughout the year, Princess Kay helps people understand the dedication of dairy farmers to
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Page 28 • Dairy Star • Saturday, October 10, 2020 Joe Armstrong armst225@umn.edu 612.624.3610 Luciano Caixeta lcaixeta@umn.edu 612-625-3130 Hugh Chester-Jones chest001@umn.edu 507-835-3622
www.extension.umn.edu/dairy
Keys to success with robotic milking systems
Gerard Cramer gcramer@umn.edu 612-625-8184 Marcia Endres miendres@umn.edu 612-624-5391
By Marcia Endres and Jim Salfer
University of Minnesota
Sandra Godden godde002@umn.edu 612-625-8177
The use of robotic milking systems is growing rapidly throughout the United States. Farms with primarily family labor are installing robots to allow them to milk more cows without hiring labor and for improved time exibility. Larger farms are considering robotic milking systems because of the challenge of nding and keeping hired labor. However, robotic milking systems are not without challenges. They require a large capital investment and excellent management for success. A whole system approach to management will increase the chances of success. Our observations indicate there are certain characteristics of farms that consistently achieve high production per cow and robot. What do successful farms do? – Really enjoy working with cows. These farms are curious about factors that affect cow behavior. They continually observe their cows and adjust management and robot settings based on their observations. – Have excellent transition cow programs. Figure 1 shows a cascade of success for cows in robotic systems. The pre-calving program sets up cows for success. Pre-calving management that results in healthy and active fresh cows will promote early lactation intake and visits. A high number of early lactation visits with high intake sets those cows up for long-term success. – Produce high-quality, consistent forage. Forages with high ber digestibility allow for the formulation of a higher energy partial mixed ration without high starch. These higher forage diets minimize the risk of subclinical acidosis or digestive system problems, so cows are healthier and feel good. – Have excellent feeding and bunk management. All cows thrive on diet consistency. This is particularly important on robot farms. Inconsistent diets can result in uctuating PMR intakes and reductions in cow visits to the robot. Providing well mixed diets that cows cannot sort and are always available increases the chance of success. Our research showed that farms with automatic feed push up had more milk per robot and per cow. – Use more than one robot feed. The option of more than one feed through the robot allows more precise feeding of cows at different stages of lactation. It is more cost effective to target some feed additives to early lactation or fresh cows. – Have barns designed for cow comfort and labor efciency. Stalls that are comfortable encourage cows to lie down, preventing standing cows from clogging up alleys. Automatic manure removal systems minimize cow disruptions in the pen. Our most recent project showed a positive association between use of automatic manure removal and milk production. Clean beds and alleys will result in cleaner cows and help reduce somatic cell count. Consider sort pens that allow cows access to the robot.
Joleen Hadrich jhadrich@umn.edu 612-626-5620 Les Hansen hanse009@umn.edu 612-624-2277 Brad Heins hein0106@umn.edu 320-589-1711 Nathan Hulinsky huli0013@umn.edu 320-203-6104 Kevin Janni kjanni@umn.edu 612-625-3108 Karen Johnson ande9495@umn.edu 320-484-4334 Emily Krekelberg krek0033@umn.edu 507-280-2863 Claire LaCanne lacanne@umn.edu 507-332-6109 Brenda Miller nels4220@umn.edu 320-732-4435 Erin Royster royster@umn.edu Jim Salfer salfe001@umn.edu 320-203-6093 Mike Schutz mschutz@umn.edu 612-624-1205 M. Scott Wells mswells@umn.edu 612-625-3747
Separation pens may not increase milk production but can increase labor efciency. – Minimize pen disruptions. Design pens with strategically placed gates that allow easy fetching and separation of cows. Organize management interventions to minimize disruptions in the pen. An example would be to bed the stalls on the same day as dry off and veterinarian checks. – Help the robot succeed. Timely robot maintenance and cleanliness is important. Maintenance may be expensive, but poor performance is more expensive. Regularly update the robot software so you are using the most current version. Clean the laser and/or camera often. Remove udder hair so lasers and cameras can easily identify the teats for easy unit attachment. Use the software, creamery reports and robot observation to monitor robot performance. Minor adjustments can have a big inuence in performance. A well-trained and easily available technician from the local dealer or manufacturer is a must. In addition, have someone on the farm trained to repair the robots. – Optimize feed tables and milking permission settings. A major advantage of robots is the ability to customize the number of milkings per cow per day and to more precisely feed cows closer to their nutrient requirements. Work with your nutritionist and robot company representatives to adjust feed and milk access table settings to maximize performance. Milk access tables may change depending on the number of cows per robot, milk production per cow and amount of free time. Heifers and cows should have separate feed tables. Robotic milking systems require excellent management for success. Proven management strategies can help to maximize milk production per robot and optimize labor efciency. Mark your calendars for the 2021 Precision Dairy Conference June 22-23 at the Hyatt Regency Bloomington, Minnesota. We plan on having producer panels, talks and discussions on robotic milking along with other precision dairy topics. Figure 1
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Precision dairy farming buzz words
Precision dairy farming has become a frequent topic of conversation and has been and will be featured in University of Minnesota updates here in Dairy Star. There are several terms that are conjured up in any discussion of precision dairy farming. We hear terms like internet of things, big data, data mining, articial intelligence and machine learning. In this article, I will try to describe these terms, but rst I need to share a bit of a secret. There are no strict denitions of most of them. Probably, the reason these terms are not entirely dened is that much of the methodology and technology that drives them is quite new. However, now that the cat is out of the bag, let’s take a look at some of these key words for precision dairy farming even if they are not very specically dened. – Internet of things. Largely, the internet, especially the ability of sensors to collect readings and upload data to By Mike Schutz computers or directly to the cloud, has driven the volume University of MN of information recorded. Sometime around 2008 or 2009, the number of things with sensors such as security cameras, thermostats and automatic milking systems connected to the internet exceeded the number of people connected through their PC’s, smart phones, etc. The internet of things simply refers to things that are directly connected to the internet as is the case for many technologies on dairy farms like planters, tractors, automated milk feeders, calving monitors and so on. – Big data. As mentioned, this term is one that really does not have a specic denition but rather refers to large amounts of data from multiple sources that can be combined successfully into meaningful information to drive or add value to decision making. The use of the term big data has been around since the mid 1990s; however, its use with regard to precision dairy farming has become more widely used only since 2010. The advancement and reduction in cost of sensors, such as those for detecting movement or changes in position, temperature and moisture, as well as their miniaturization and ability to log frequent readings, has brought big data to dairy farms. With big data, one often hears the “V” descriptions of volume, variety and veracity, meaning that big data refers to large amounts of data like logging of the number of steps taken per minute; data coming from multiple sources like combining continuous temperature recordings of cows with continuous climate data from the local weather station; and having accuracy to connect the sources of data like using animal identication to connect production records with health data. Obviously, elements of big data have been used in the dairy industry for a long time. For example, the genetic evaluation of dairy cattle for breeding decisions in the United States has certainly been large in volume (96 million lactation records of 36 million cows), combines sources (all farms enrolled in Dairy Herd Improvement Association and connects those records with type data from breed associations) and veracity of data (maintaining lists of permanent animal identication to accurately connect records from sources). The high volume of dairy production records has always stretched the computational ability to handle them. Now, the use of genomic data with approximately 79,000 bytes of data for around 4 million genotyped bulls, cows and calves stretches the volume of data by several orders of magnitude. It is easy to imagine those data from the internet of things will allow even more sources, such as automatic milking systems, to be utilized in the future. A key to what comprises big data is that it is intended to be used for decision making. – Data mining. Simply stated, data mining is using statistical and computer science techniques to discover useful patterns in the data. While data mining does not require big data, just the shear volume and variety of big data often requires data mining to determine what relationships in the data may prove useful. A simple example is that using the combination of production records and health records in dairy cattle, data mining indicated that patterns of fat and protein percentages could be useful indicators for prevalence of ketosis and rumen acidosis in dairy herds. – Articial intelligence. Articial intelligence is used broadly and overlaps with machine learning. Strictly speaking, AI is the study of devices that perceive their environment and respond in ways to achieve a goal. In the future, it is quite likely we may have various feedback loops that use AI decision making for dairy farms. While we have loops on the farm, such as a thermostat that regulates the fans in the barn based on ambient temperature, AI would take in information from additional sources such as cows’ production and body temperatures, stage of lactation, and ration and feed consumption to determine when fan speeds are adjusted. We may not yet be at that point for most dairy data applications, but machine learning is a part of AI. – Machine learning. Machine learning combines statistical and computational techniques to nd useful patterns in data. Humans have been establishing and testing relationships among data for many years but are limited by the number of statistical approaches and data sources for which they can understand these complex relationships. Computers are needed to identify such relationships in big data. Recent examples of machine learning applied to data on dairy farms include utilizing activity, lying and ruminating behaviors at two-hour intervals to predict time of calving (University of Kentucky) and use of continuous, in-stream milk sensors to predict milk quality, udder health and pregnancy status (SomaDetect). Precision dairy farming involves the use of technologies to measure physiological, behavioral and production indicators on individual animals. Precision dairy farming becomes valuable when using data and analytical tools to drive decisions that improve management and farm performance. It will become more and more common and so will the use of sensors and therefore the technologies to handle the data they generate.
Dairy Star • Saturday, October 10, 2020 • Page 29
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Aerial adventures Page 30 • Dairy Star • Saturday, October 10, 2020
As a columnist, I sometimes nd it necessary to have an experience for the expressed purpose of writing a column. Such experiences are often arduous and hairraising, but hey, somebody has to do it. It is easier to tolerate such an experience when it happens to be something I have always wanted to try. A good example of this would be riding in a glider. I have always thought of gliding as the purest form of aviation. Given the fact that gliders have neither ight attendants nor restrooms, one could argue it is also the most primitive. One summer, I noticed that a sleek and shiny sailplane had taken up residence at our local airport. On sunny, summer afternoons it could be seen circling
gracefully over the countryside, scouring the atmosphere for thermals although not the kind you would wear during cold weather. I had always wanted to soar like a seagull, so I contacted a friend of the aircraft’s owner to see about hitching a ride aboard the glider. I was worried about the cost b was gratied to learn that but one can obtain a free glider ride under the right circumstances. I will not disclose what those circumstances might be except to say that it helps to mention you have a newspaper column. I was instructed to go to the a airport and nd a person named Maxwell, the ofcial glider guy. I never learned if Maxwell was his rst or last name. I strolled around the glider and gave it a once-over. It was a tube-shaped aluminum thingy with a long, hollow
Gi Given the h ffact that h gliders lid have neither flight attendants nor restrooms, one could argue it is also the most primitive. p
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slat mounted across it. It was essentially a humungous beer can with a 50-foot airfoil riveted onto it. A man dressed in an olive drab jumpsuit sauntered over and introduced himself as Maxwell. Or, at least, I think he did. The guy had an accent that was thick as pea soup. It sort of Dear County Agent Guy sounded like he was from England. “You aren’t from around here, are you?” I asked. “No,” he replied. “Actually, I’m from New Zealand.” “Actually” came out sounding like “oxually.” Great. So now I have to go ying inside of an By Jerry Nelson oversized Budweiser can Columnist that is being piloted by some guy from a country where they drive on the wrong side of the road. Recalling that I had a deadline, I was able to push my fears aside and shoehorned myself into the cockpit. The conguration of the dual-control glider had the student sitting in front with the ofcial glider guy directly behind. Ofcial glider guys are probably incurable backseat drivers. I was pleased to discover that the glider’s controls were somewhat familiar. There was a gearshift lever directly in front of the seat with a pair of brake pedals on the oor. “Heck,” I thought. “This isn’t much different than a tractor.” The tow plane began its takeoff roll. The glider became airborne in a matter of seconds. As we were being hauled up to altitude, I noticed that the brake pedals were constantly moving. “Uh, Max?” I said. “I don’t think hitting the brakes will do any good now that we are off the ground.” I was beginning to wonder about him. At 3,000 feet, the tow rope was released, and we began to do some honest-to-goodness gliding. We banked hard to the right and a breathtaking vista of verdant farmland spread out below us. It was quite peaceful; the only sound was that of the wind whistling over the canopy. But the good times soon ended. “You see how she handles?” asked the Kiwi voice behind me. “Right-o. Now take the stick and y ‘er some.” I grabbed the gearshift (it must be called a stick in New Zealand) and began to move it randomly. As I tried to nd a higher gear, my feet stabbed at the brake pedals. I was not able to gure out the shift pattern because the glider chose that juncture to embark on some extremely wild gyrations. Spirited commentary arose from the backseat, the gist of which I readily grasped. Accents are not much of a barrier when it comes to spirited commentary. We eventually returned safely to earth. I clambered out of the cockpit and thanked Maxwell for the aerial adventure. He seemed pale and shaken. I guess airsickness can strike even the most hardened sailplane pilot. Now that I have experienced aviation at its most primitive level, I have a hankering to try it at its most lavish. I am thinking maybe a voyage aboard a luxury private jet – complete with champagne and caviar, of course – might do the trick. Maybe I should contact the folks at Super D-Luxe Aerial Châteaus. It is a dirty job, but hey, somebody has to do it. Jerry is a recovering dairy farmer from Volga, South Dakota. He and his wife, Julie, have two grown sons and live on the farm where Jerry’s great-grandfather homesteaded over 110 years ago. Jerry currently works full time for the Dairy Star as a staff writer/ad salesman. Feel free to E-mail him at: jerry.n@dairystar.com.
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Dehydration and uid therapy
Dairy Star • Saturday, October 10, 2020 • Page 31
Dehydration in cattle occurs when the amount of bodily uids is reduced from normal. Dehydration can cause hypovolemic shock and electrolyte imbalances. By far the most common conditions that cause dehydration in dairy animals are endotoxic mastitis in cows and diarrhea in calves. In fact, in both of those conditions, dehydration Veterinary Wisdom and accompanying shock may be one of the most common causes of death in affected animals. Correcting dehydration is thus critically important. Choosing the right uids, the amount to give and the method to administer are also important. In adults and calves, dehydration can be diagnosed by degree of By Jim Bennett enopthalamus, or sinking Columnist of the eyeballs. When the lower lid is pulled away from the eyeball there should not be a space between the globe and the socket. In dehydrated animals, there will be a visible space. The greater the space the greater the dehydration. Checking the degree of skin tenting is another technique. One twists the skin and counts the seconds until the skin returns to normal. Over 2-3 seconds indicates dehydration. Most people with signicant cow experience can probably diagnose dehydration by looking at the face and eyes. However, by any method, most observers will only be able to diagnose dehydration of 4%-5% or greater. The two most important goals of uid therapy are to replace uid volume in the blood and body tissues, and to correct acid/base imbalances. Volume replacement in cattle almost always requires uids containing electrolytes such as sodium, potassium and chloride. The total concentration should be equal or greater to blood plasma, otherwise the uids will not remain in the bloodstream. This is why giving water intravenously, or water with 5% dextrose, does
not work to correct dehydration. Volume can also be Since scouring calves are constantly losing uids, and replaced by using a combination of hypertonic, or since there are normal maintenance requirements, no more concentrated, uids IV and hypotonic, or less dehydrated, scouring calf should ever get less than 2 concentrated uids orally. Hypertonic uids must be liters of uid. A good rule of thumb is at least 4 liters, given IV though, because they are irritating to tissues. or roughly 1 gallon should be given in total, of IV If given subcutaneously, sloughing of the skin can and oral uids within the rst few hours, and followed occur. by at least 2 liters of oral uids at the next feeding. Acid/base imbalances can be divided into acidosis In severe diarrhea cases, calves can lose up to two and alkalosis. Dehydrated ggallons of uids in 24 hours. adult cows are rarely acidotic M Most dehydrated calves can Any d dairy i ffarm will ill h have cattle l tolerate 3 liters of IV uids while dehydrated calves A are rarely alkalotic. This or calves that suffer from given rapidly through a is important in choosing 14-gauge catheter or needle. the correct replacement dehydration. If one cannot manage to uids. Thus for cows, nonpplace a needle or catheter IV, alkalizing uids like saline iisotonic uids can be given are appropriate, while sodium bicarbonate would be subcutaneously or intraperitoneally. Almost anyone more appropriate for calves. Calves with diarrhea can be trained fairly quickly by a veterinarian to that are 1 week or less in age are less likely to be administer SQ or IP uids. A 1,500 pound cow that acidotic than older calves; however, they will not be is 5% dehydrated is 23 liters, or about 6 gallons, low alkalotic so using sodium bicarbonate is appropriate. on uid. Thus, any cow with detectable dehydration Lactated ringers can also be used in calves; it is mildly needs at least 10 gallons of uids. The simplest way alkalizing, so it is best used for very young calves or to do this is to use hypertonic saline IV followed by calves that have a strong suckle response. The suckle water orally. Cows that drink well within 10 minutes response is fairly well correlated with acid/base status of hypertonic uid administration usually do not need in calves, so if you put your nger in the mouth and to be pumped with more water. the calf sucks strongly, it is not likely acidotic. An Any dairy farm will have cattle or calves that important point is that acidotic calves given IV uids suffer from dehydration. Fluid therapy is a critical that are not alkalizing do not correct the acidosis on treatment and can save lives. The principles are pretty their own. Oral uids can be used to correct acidosis, simple but important. Ask your veterinarian to design and good quality electrolytes designed to treat calf uid therapy protocols for your farm. diarrhea will have alkalizing agents in them. Beware Information for this article came from Smith, though; there are plenty of calf electrolyte products Fluid Therapy in Calves, and Roussel, Fluid Therapy on the market that are not correctly formulated and in Mature Cattle, Veterinary Clinics of North America, should not be used. Also, severely acidotic calves 2014. with poor suckle response may not absorb oral uids Bennett is one of four dairy veterinarians at quickly or effectively. Oral electrolytes can be given Northern Valley Dairy Production Medicine Center before or after a milk feeding, or can be fed free in Plainview, Minnesota. He also consults on dairy choice throughout the day. farms in other states. He and his wife, Pam, have four Most people underestimate how much uids children. Jim can be reached at bennettnvac@gmail. dehydrated animals need. It is often difcult to com with comments or questions. diagnose less than 5% dehydration. A 40 kg calf that is 5% dehydrated is short at least 2 liters of uid.
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There was a tree of three
Page 32 • Dairy Star • Saturday, October 10, 2020
What a strange title for an article. Those three literally where my mouth is and decided to tutor words, there, tree and three, have pretty much Cort. summed up what has been occupying my very limThe rst book off the shelf to help Cort with ited downtime during this reading skills was a book busy harvest season. I have I detest because I do not Those three h words, d there, h tree like the thought of eating this wonderful 6-year-old Th granddaughter who is in and three, have pretty much green eggs and ham. Yet rst grade, and she missed I knew that “Green Eggs the last three months of summed up what has been and Ham” was the perfect kindergarten because of occupying my very limted book to gauge where Cort COVID-19, and when she was in her reading skills. started rst grade this fall, downtime. First, I read it to her slowshe was a little behind on ly, clearly and with a lot of reading skills. When I expression. Then I had her heard that, I said to her mom that no grandkid of read it back to me, and it was obvious she could mine is going to fall behind on reading skills be- easily read words like green, eggs, ham and Sam, cause reading is a life skill. So, I put my money but struggled terribly with words that are not easy
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to sound out like there, three, said, tree and that. Cort’s aunt, Sarah, who teaches teachers how to teach, told me some words just have to be memorized by the student when they cannot sound them out. We struggled Making Cents of Dairy through “Green Eggs and Ham,” and I made a list of 10 words she continually struggled with. Then I put those 10 words on ash cards so we could really work on memorizing them. She was not too excited about that until the second night of tutoring when I said I By Dave Vander Kooi would give her a quarColumnist ter for each word she mastered. I knew Cort wanted to buy a Barbie ambulance, and I also knew Cort likes money. After that, she calls me up at night to ask when I am coming over to work on reading, and she snuggles right up to me on the couch as we go to work. I think my $10-$25 investment in her education will pay back many times, and even if I have to dish out quarters, the snuggles are worth every penny. Since that second night, we are on to new books like “Hop on Pop,” which is a progressive book, meaning every few pages the words get a little harder. Tonight, we are going to master her three toughest words: there, three and tree. And, we are going to nd a harder book and make a new list of ash card words so Cort can make some more money. The second part of the tree of three l have worked on a little is my 96-year-old mother. She lives very independently yet in her own impeccably clean home. Last week she fell in between a table and a wall and was unable to get up. Fortunately, it happened shortly before the time when my wife stops to check on her every day. She did not break anything and only received a back bruise, but sitting there an hour really scared her. She immediately told us to bring her to a nursing home because she said she was done. We told her no; that we can get her a medical alert device to wear on her wrist, and if she is in trouble, she can push the button and one of us will be automatically notied and will come. The smile on my mom’s face when I installed that phone device yesterday was priceless to see. She needed that peace of mind knowing she would not be helpless if she fell again. The third part of the tree of three is teaching myself how to slow down from 50-plus years of hard farm work. On Oct. 1, I started teaching Guillermo, our Spanish herd health specialist, how to take over my early morning work with the fresh cows and calves. I am also trying to spend extra time teaching my older grandsons how to maintain and safely operate farm equipment. That time spent with them can also be used to explain the value of the life cycle of crops feeding livestock and livestock manure feeding the crops. Hopefully by teaching others, my physical workload will be decreased and new opportunities will arise. Vander Kooi operates a 1,800-cow, 4,500 acre farm with his son, Joe, and daughter-in-law, Rita, near Worthington, Minnesota. Send him feedback at davevkooi@icloud.com. Follow him on Instagram, @ davevanderkooi.
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Lending a helping hand Forages are all tucked in for the season at our dairy so there is a bit of time to breath before grain harvest and corn stalk bales. I was mostly caught up with calf barn work, so I decided to nd a volunteer opportunity. I like to help in the community, and I have had the Nicollet County Food Box give away on my radar. I had seen emails about the need for volunteers to help with the program three other times this summer. The fourth distribution was Sept. 28 and that date and time worked out well for me. I signed up along with my neighbor, Joni, a farmer and early childhood and family educator, making it extra fun. The food distribution event was called the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program and was open to all Nicollet County Come Full Dairy Circle residents. CFAP is a United States Department of Agriculture program operation by Second Harvest Heartland in Minnesota and is locally implemented by volunteer groups. When Joni and I arrived at the Nicollet County Fairgrounds, we parked in a special area, sanitized, masked up, listened to an orientation and signed off that we understood what was expected of us regarding being non-discriminatory in handing out the food. There were about 20 volunteers of ages from youth to retirement, staff from local agencies and two semi-truck drivers who handled By Jean Annexstad unloading the pallets of food boxes from the trucks as we needed them. Columnist Two lines of vehicles formed. The volunteers organized into two teams to check people in, ask people how many households to load per car and then to place boxes into their trunks or backseats. We quickly loaded two vehicles at once, they drove out and two more drove up. The event started at 11 a.m., but when we arrived at 9:30, a line of cars was waiting. At 10:20, we were ready for the rst cars to come into the loading area. Our teams placed a box of produce, a box of dairy and a box of frozen protein (turkey meatballs and pork sausages) per household into the vehicles. Listed on the side of the box of dairy were the contents: 2 gallons of milk, one large carton of cottage cheese, one large carton of yogurt and butter. I am not sure of the exact pounds of the butter, but the yogurt and cottage cheese looked like food service-sized containers through the clear tape on the top of the box. As an added bonus, one extra pallet contained boxes of cheese. We included one box per car and asked people to divide the cheese among the various households. I was able to see that the cheese boxes contained three packages of shredded cheddar, two 5-pound boxes of American processed and white cheddar cheese slices and a couple smaller blocks of cheese. We ran out of the cheese about half-way through the event. At noon, only a few cars trickled in. We had distributed 300 pounds of the 500 pounds of food boxes on the trucks. Joni and I left shortly after, so I do not know if all of the food was given out or what happened to whatever was left at 1 p.m. when the event was over. At the rst distribution for Nicollet County in June, 711 households were served. The program is a part of U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue’s idea to purchase and provide boxes of excess food usually sold to food service. As we know well by now, there is a slower pace at food service venues since the March government shutdowns. No doubt this program, now called the Farmers to Families Food Box Program, implemented nationwide this summer has helped to buoy our milk checks after the wild milk price swings resulting from the COVID-19 shutdown. USDA signaled that it will spend up to $1 billion on dairy products alone, with the program to likely end as dollars run out in October. “When measured in terms of impact, this program stands out as the largest inuence on dairy markets today,” as reported in the Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative Market Newsletter, August 2020 issue. A chart in the article written by Mike North, principal, Commodity Risk Management Group, shows up to 3% of total U.S. milk production has been purchased by the government from May through September. The program has beneted our farm and likely many others for the time being. I wanted to see for myself what this program is doing in my community and to know if it is helping people. I believe it is. The best part of helping that day was to receive a spoken thank you or see smiles on the faces of the recipients. It felt good knowing the milk we work hard to produce and ship to a milk, butter or cheese plant actually is being provided to families who can use it for a satisfying meal or snack. Jean dairy farms with her husband, Rolf, and brother-in-law, Mike, and children Emily, Matthias and Leif. They farm near St. Peter, Minnesota, in Norseland, where she is still trying to t in with the Norwegians and Swedes. They milk 200 cows and farm 650 acres. She can be reached at jeanannexstad@ gmail.com.
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Dairy Star • Saturday, October 10, 2020 • Page 33
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Page 34 • Dairy Star • Saturday, October 10, 2020
A vision for District 12B
Schirmers takes dairying experience out on campaign trail By Jennifer Coyne jenn@dairystar.com
SAUK CENTRE, Minn. – Ben Schirmers never imagined himself taking on a role in politics, but after the 2016 elections when the state representative for his district ran uncontested, he knew something had to change. “Paul had no challengers, and I thought that wasn’t right,” Schirmers said. “We need more participation in people, even at the township board
meetings. Telling people to get involved is not enough; now, I can say I’ve done it, and I’ve seen how it works.” Schirmers is running against Rep. Paul Anderson in District 12B for the Minnesota House of Representatives. The candidate spends his days milking his brothers’, Tim and Dave’s, 120 cows at their dairy farm in Stearns County near Sauk Centre. During the spring and fall, Schirmers also helps with eldwork. While new to the political scene, Schirmers is pulling on
JENNIFER COYNE/DAIRY STAR
Ben Schirmers is running for District 12B for the Minnesota House of RepresentaƟves. Schirmers milks cows on his brothers’ 120-cow dairy farm in Stearns County near Sauk Centre, Minnesota.
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Ben Schirmers parƟcipates in a debate during the 2018 elecƟon season. Schirmers is running for a state legislator posiƟon.
his experience of working on his family’s dairy farm to support the constituents in the district and highlight the need for community involvement. “I’m here to protect small dairy farms, especially those in Stearns County – Minneso-
ta’s dairy heartland. That’s the biggest thing. We’ve lost too many,” Schirmers said. “Maybe we keep doing what we’re doing, or maybe it’s up to us to do something that helps small producers nd a market.” In the district Schirm-
ers is vying for, the tri-county area has seen a loss of dairy farms yet cow numbers have remained relatively consistent, according to the Minnesota Turn to SCHIRMERS | Page 35
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Dairy Star • Saturday, October 10, 2020 • Page 35
ConƟnued from SCHIRMERS | Page 34 Department of Agriculture. “It’s easy to identify the problem, but it’s hard to say and do something about it,” Schirmers said. Schirmers began his political journey in 2016 after a friend ran for a state legislator position in his respective district. “I grilled him one night,” Schirmers said. “I wanted to know how it all works; how you get into a party. He laid it all out for me, and I thought it was really cool.” Following the 2016 election season, Schirmers attended his district party’s meeting. At that event, those in attendance asked him to consider running for ofce in the next election. In 2018, Schirmers led for state representative of District 12B. That election season was spent understanding the ins and outs of managing a campaign and meeting the constituents he would represent if elected. “I learned a lot about nancing and
“The issues that townships are dealing with are ltered up to the state legislator, and no one wants to engage unless its controversial.” BEN SCHIRMERS, DAIRY FARMER
fundraising, all the logistics of running,” Schirmers said. It was a hectic time of year as the election season ran in conjunction with the farm’s peak busyness too. Oftentimes, Schirmers found himself leaving the farm before the milking shift was complete or arriving late for chores. Schirmers relied on his nephew, Ryan, to help ll in on the dairy when he was on the campaign trail. The experience reminded Schirmers how important it is to be in the limelight – a role he is well-accustomed to as a local music band member. “I’m used to being out there and being on camera,” Schirmers said. “It all works together. You can’t be too shy.” TRACTORS Kubota M135x w/ldr NH T7040, 1100 hrs NH T4.75 w/ldr, 140 hrs NH 37 w/ldr, 100 hrs Oliver 1600 AGCO 5650, 2900 hrs
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This year’s campaign has looked different with the COVID-19 pandemic restricting many in-person events. Since Schirmers led for election earlier this summer, he has attended one in-person debate in Granite Falls. The others have been hosted through online platforms. The digital avenues have allowed Schirmers to be more present on the farm for daily chores. “It’s been easier, but you can’t beat being in person,” Schirmers said. “I’ve sent out a lot of emails and attended a lot of Zoom meetings. But now that we’re getting into the thick of elections, it would be nice if upcoming events could be in person.” Throughout the season, Schirmers has connected with constituents to hear about their woes and what type of policies would benet them. For instance, the onset of the pandemic last spring caused many meat processing facilities to become overwhelmed and farmers’ pay price quickly diminished with few outlets for their product. “The state was able to establish quick grants to help processors out,” Schirmers said. “Why not put money into a bonding bill for something like that, so that whatever might happen, there’s a dedicated source of money?” Another concern is the ability to transfer a farm from one generation to the next. Schirmers referred to his brothers’ partnership and his nephew’s desire to buy into the farm someday. “Does Ryan have a future in dairy?” Schirmers said. “The farm can’t just stay like this and he’ll be able to make money farming.” While Schirmers realizes the uphill battle he is facing taking on a 12-year incumbent and the desire to drastically improve dairy policy, he is also hoping his campaign will help communities in another way: by encouraging people to get involved in policy that affects them and their livelihood, even as simple as attending a local board meeting. “The issues that townships are dealing with are ltered up to the state legislator, and no one wants to engage unless it’s controversial,” Schirmers said. “As a public, we have to be more involved.”
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Page 36 • Dairy Star • Saturday, October 10, 2020
Women In Dairy Rikki Van Dyk New Richmond, Wisconsin St. Croix County 70 cows Family: My husband, Chris, and I have four boys, Tyler, 21, Derek, 17, and twins Landon and Lane, 11. Tell us about your farm. I joined the farm 12 years ago when I married my husband, Chris. Prior to that, Chris was farming with his parents, John and Eileen. We have Holsteins and Jerseys. We started raising and milking Jerseys about seven years ago, and prior to that we had only Holsteins. Five years ago, we went through a barn re. We didn’t lose any animals directly from the re but lost the barn. We have rebuilt and continue to love farming. We also have 18 chickens, ve goats, two dogs and barn cats. What is the busiest time of day for you? I’m busy all day long. Mornings start out with feeding calves, and after that, the cows get milked and fed, followed by cleaning mangers and pens. By this time, the kids are in the barn helping. Heifers are fed, cows are let outside and stalls are bedded. Breakfast is sometime in between all that. Once barn chores are done then house work, lawn work and other farm work gets done along with lunch. I might sneak in a quick nap. By afternoon, the cows come in and get fed. Calves and heifers are fed and milking starts. Once milking is done, the milking cows are fed one more time, everyone is checked on, and pens and the back of the stalls are scraped. After chores, we eat supper and relax. When you get a spare moment, what do you do? I like gardening and canning. I just learned to crochet so I’ve been working on granny squares. I enjoy spending time with my family, hiking, shing or having a camp re. Tell us about your most memorable experience working on the farm. I didn’t grow up on a farm. When I started dating my husband, I wanted to see a
calf be born. I waited awhile, and it was so amazing. It’s still one of my favorite things on the farm. What have you enjoyed most about dairy farming or your tie to the dairy industry? I enjoy being able to work side-by-side with my husband and family and raising our kids on the farm. Our youngest have pretty much been raised in the barn. I work part time in a nursing home as a nurse, and the residents love to hear stories and see pictures of the farm and animals. How do you stay connected with others in the industry? Social media, attending cow shows and the county fair. Who is someone in the industry who has inspired you? My grandma. Her and Grandpa farmed until I was 11 or 12. I remember my grandma was such a hard worker, and she was always happy. When I started farming, we would talk farm talk all the time. She is gone now, but I think of her often when I’m in the barn. Also my husband. He has taught me all I know about taking care of the cows, heifers and calves. He would go out of his way to help someone or take care of an animal. If you could give a tour of your farm to a prominent woman in today’s society, who would it be? I can’t think of anyone, but the residents I take care of love to hear stories. I would invite all the residents who would want a tour to come out to the farm and sit and talk with them about their farming lives or answer their questions. What is the best vacation you have ever taken? We usually go camping once a year with the kids. During the county fair, the kids and I stay at the fair in the camper. We do barn chores at the fair until my husband is done with chores at home. My husband and I try to get away, usually a night, for our anniversary.
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MaƊ Seykora is the captain of the Owatonna High School football wrestling and baseball teams. When he is not playing sports, the 17-year-old senior helps with chores on his parents’ 50-cow dairy near Owatonna, Minnesota.
Seykora leads high school football, wrestling, baseball teams as captain By Krista Kuzma
krista.k@dairystar.com
OWATONNA, Minn. – When it comes to excelling in sports and academics, Matt Seykora said he keeps his strategy simple – do his best every day. “I try to do the right thing at all times,â€? said the 17-year-old Owatonna High School senior. Not only has this led to him being a standout three-sport athlete in football, wrestling and baseball for the Owatonna Huskies, Matt has been voted by his teammates to lead all three teams as a captain during his ďƒžnal year, all while maintaining a 4.0 GPA in the classroom. “I’m very grateful and honored my teammates think of me like that,â€? Matt said. “It ups the responsibility for me, and means I have to set the example for others to follow.â€? Responsibility has been a normal part of Matt’s life, helping his parents, Brian and Mary Beth, on the family’s 50-cow dairy farm near Owatonna.
Matt feeds and milks cows among other chores as needed. He said skills learned on the farm have translated well to those needed on the ďƒželd, mat or diamond. “You need the mindset of working hard, being there in the moment and getting done what needs to be done,â€? Matt said. “I’m a hard worker. It’s what my parents have instilled in me – to work hard at all times.â€? While Brian said this is what he and Mary Beth, who works off the farm as a teacher, have taught their son, Matt has done the work. “When he felt he needed to improve, he just kept working on it,â€? Brian said. “I think he will admit he tries to be a perfectionist at times. It’s just a drive that comes from within.â€? Despite a busy farming schedule, the Seykoras have always made time for sports. “My dad loves baseball so he’s taught me ever since I could walk,â€?
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MaĆŠ Seykora pushes up feed to cows in the Ć&#x;estall barn on his parents’ dairy near Owatonna, Minnesota.
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Page 38 • Dairy Star • Saturday, October 10, 2020
ConƟnued from SEYKORA | Page 37
Matt said. “He would get done with chores, and then he would come play baseball with me.” Because of this, baseball is the sport Matt loves the most and has had several offers to play Division II baseball in college next year. So, when the spring high school baseball season was canceled earlier this year due to the pandemic, Matt had a lot of emotions. “I was devastated and stayed in my room for a couple days,” said Matt, who plays shortstop with occasional appearances on the pitcher’s mound. Not only was his devastation due to his love of the game, it was also because of the missed opportunity for college scouts to see him play. In high school baseball, junior year is typically the year when college baseball scouts look for most of their recruits. Hoping for other opportunities to play during the summer, Matt practiced every day and kept visiting the batting cage. He also had more time to help on the dairy. “His out was coming here to work in the barn,” Brian said. “I saw a lot of him. Spring eldwork went smooth. I had a lot more help with him and his younger brother (Mitchell) here more often. But, I would have rather seen them in school rst and on the ball diamond second.” Fortunately, Matt had the chance to play this summer in a league organized by his coach to recreate the spring season and give scouts the opportunity to see the students play. He also played in a fall baseball league after learning the Minnesota State High School League postponed the football season to spring. “I was really disappointed because it’s my senior year, I’m a captain and the whole school is behind you,” Matt said. “It’s one of the things you look forward to. You can’t change it so I
PHOTOS SUBMITTED
MaƩ Seykora is a three-sport athlete for the Owatonna Huskies. On the baseball team, Seykora plays shortstop, and during the football season he is a linebacker and fullback. Seykora also wrestles in the 170-pound weight class. tried to nd things I could do.” This included continuing to lift weights using a set he received as a Christmas gift last year, a timely present since the weight room has not been open for most of the year. “I’ve been putting in extra work and trying to get as many kids to do that too,” Matt said, a three-year varsity football player who is a linebacker and fullback. The fall baseball league nished just in time for Matt to start practicing football again after the MSHSL rescinded its decision. Although this year’s football season will be shortened, with the rst game Oct. 9, Matt is happy to be back with his team, especially as a leader.
“I show them the hard work and what dedication does,” Matt said. “I treat everyone the same and get them to try to unite as one team and go for one goal.” This year, that goal is to be state champions. Last year, the team made it to the quarter nals in the state tournament where they lost to St. Thomas Academy. The previous two years, the Huskies claimed the championship trophy in their class. Following the football season, Matt will wrestle in the 170-pound weight class in his fourth varsity season. “In wrestling, we work individually for a team goal and push each other,” Matt said. In addition to sports and school,
Matt is also involved in the 4-H dairy project and volunteers when opportunities arise. When it comes to leadership, Matt said the coaches have helped too. “They have really pounded the team goals into our head that the team is greater than us individually,” Matt said. Of course, Matt has his own leadership style. “I’m not the most vocal. I show by example,” he said. “But if someone is dogging it, I let them know.” It is all Matt’s way of trying to do his best every day and helping others do the same on the three sports teams he leads as captain.
Dairy prole Zernicke’s Landstad Dairy LLC Derick and Amy Zernicke Bonduel, Wisconsin Shawano County 415 cows How did you get into farming? Derick was born into farming. Derick’s parents, Delmar and Rozanne, are active members in the LLC today. Amy married into farming when she and Derick married in 2002. What are your thoughts and concerns about the dairy industry for the next year? The milk price is our biggest concern. Everything else that goes with farming, like fuel, cropping, equipment and repairs have all consistently gone up in price, and milk price varies so much. It makes staying in farming difcult. Keeping employees is another big concern. It is getting harder and harder to pay a wage that makes your employees want to stay. They are always looking for easier jobs and jobs with benets, and that makes it hard to compete. We have been blessed so far to keep good-quality employees. What is the latest technology you implemented on your farm and the purpose for it? The most recent technology we added was the CowManager program. Our heifers are housed at Derick’s parents’ farm, and it makes it difcult to catch them in heat. The CowManager program has allowed us to monitor them via ear tags that catch them in heat for us. This has been a vital tool for making sure we are breeding on a natural cycle as much as possible. What is a management practice you changed in the past year that has beneted
Dairy Star • Saturday, October 10, 2020 • Page 39
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PHOTO SUBMITTED
The Zernicke family milks 415 cows in Bonduel, Wisconsin. Pictured from leŌ are Amy holding Georgia, 2, Jack, 11, Chloe, 10, Allison, 12, Hailey, 14, and Derick Zernicke. you? We moved our herd checks to every two weeks so we are not cycling as many cows through at one time. This has proven to be benecial because when checking smaller groups, we have shown that our conception rate has increased. This has also allowed us to catch any problems sooner and get them taken care of in a timely manner, which in turn helps us get the cows bred back sooner. What cost-saving steps have you implemented during the low milk price? Due to the low milk prices, we have chosen to not update any of the equipment. We have been repairing things instead of replacing. We have also chosen to not cut all of our hay for another crop this fall, only the established elds, which will save on custom cropping and fuel. In the past, when an employee was gone on vacation, we would make sure to have them covered with a parttime employee. This past year, we covered the shifts ourselves to help save money. How do you retain a good working relationship with your employees? We try our best to
give them time off whenever they ask. If they have a child who has a school program, we make sure they can attend. We offer paid vacation after so much time here and double time on holidays. We try to hold meetings with them so we know how they are doing and see if they need anything. Having a daily conversation with them is also helpful. If they have suggestions for improvement, they know we are open to ideas and will look into it if it will make the farm work better. Tell us about a skill you possess that makes dairy farming easier for you. Derick can look at a group of cows or heifers and know which one is which. Even after 17 years together, it amazes Amy that he can do that. She has lost a few bets on thinking there is no way he knows which animal that is. Derick’s hard work ethic and persistence is also a huge benet to his profession. He goes and goes, and even after he comes in the house at night, he has a list a mile long he wants to get done. Amy’s ability to learn on the y has been helpful. She did not go to
school for farming or accounting and now does all the books for the farm, including payroll and taxes. What do you enjoy most about dairy farming? We are able to raise our ve children in the country and teach them a hard work ethic. We are blessed to be able to make it to all their school and sporting events. Derick likes that it is something different every day, and Amy enjoys being able to volunteer at the kids’ schools. What advice would you give other dairy farmers? Take a vacation. A good break from the farm, out of country if possible so they can’t contact you with problems, helps get you sane again. Surround yourself with people who are positive, willing to help on a moment’s notice, will talk through things with you and encourage you. What has been the best purchase you have ever made on your farm? Our pasteurizer. We have bigger and healthier calves because of it. We don’t have to purchase expensive milk replacer, and the milk is ready and waiting when you go to feed calves.
What has been your biggest accomplishment while dairy farming? Raising our ve beautiful children. It is amazing to watch them grow and learn on the farm every day. They are getting to the ages where they can help out more, and it is nice to see some of them show interest in helping on the farm. We were also Shawano County Young Farmers in 2016. We are proud to host school tours from elementary through tech school. We enjoy sharing the good news of agriculture. What are your plans for your dairy in the next year and ve years? The next year of farming on our dairy will be more along the cost savings line. We will continue to repair not replace things. We will do our best to pay down debt and continue to work as best we can with our employees to assure them of a secure job. Over the next ve years, we plan to update equipment. There may be some ownership transition from Derick’s parents to Derick and his brother, Dan. We plan to improve land we acquired by tiling and cleaning up ditches. How do you or your family like to spend time when you are not doing chores? Our children all show cattle, so some of that time is spent at dairy shows and our county fair. Our children also play sports, so a lot of time is spent in a gym or on a eld watching the kids play volleyball, basketball, football, softball and baseball. We enjoy camping although that has not happened much the last few years. When money allows, Amy enjoys traveling, and she makes Derick go along. We never go to a place twice, but we enjoy warmer weather when we can.
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