January 14, 2023 Dairy Star - 1st section - Zone 2

DAIRY ST R

Volume 24, No. 22

“All dairy, all the time”™

A farm with staying power

milking 160 cows and farming 300 acres near Oshkosh. Out of their ve children, Matt was the one who always wanted to be a farmer.

By Stacey Smart stacey.s@dairystar.com

OSHKOSH, Wis. – From the rst barn re in 1980 to an expansion in 2013 that brought the third generation home full time, the skyline at Potratz farm is ever changing. Since Jim Potratz’s dad purchased the farm in 1947, the dairy has changed much in appearance and management style.

“There have been a lot of changes here over the years, and roads coming through changed the look of the place a lot too,” Jim said. “Highway 41 has taken away some of our land gradually. It went from two lanes to four, and then they added a frontage road as well.”

Jim and his wife, Paula, farm with their son, Matt,

“When I was a kid, I always said I wanted to take over the farm,” Matt said.

Matt and his wife, Megan, have four kids – Oliver, Addaline, Charlotte and Lincoln –who are the fourth generation on the farm. After holding jobs in a paint shop and the construction industry, Matt’s heart called him home. When working construction in between morning and night milkings, Matt’s thoughts often wandered to the farm as he found himself wondering if things were getting done during the day while he was gone.

“Once we put up the new barn, I had no time for construction anymore,” Matt said.

In 2013, the Potratz family built a freestall barn, milking parlor and liquid manure pit while nearly tripling the size of their herd.

barn, milking parlor and liquid manure pit.

Jim said it was a big step for the farm.

“We either had to get out

or get bigger to support two families, but Matt’s love of the farm pulled him back here,”

AMPI plant suffers re

Jim said. “I was ready to step away and would have been happy to do something else, but then we took the plunge.”

They expanded from a 50-stall stanchion barn to a 4-row freestall barn. A swing-10 milking parlor was retrotted into the stanchion barn after gutting calf pens and cutting the hay mow oor out and raising it 4 feet to make room for the holding area. They also added a 2,000-gallon bulk tank as part of the expansion.

“It’s a lower cost parlor, but it’s worked well for our needs,” Jim said. “We utilized the area and saved a lot of cost.”

Cows went from lying on rubber mats in the stanchion barn to enjoying the luxury of waterbeds in the freestall barn. Stalls are bedded with a light covering of a mixture made from paper and lime.

Turn to POTRATZ

with their aerial apparatus.

By Stacey Smart stacey.s@dairystar.com

PORTAGE, Wis. – On the evening of Jan. 2, the Associated Milk Producers Inc. cheese packaging plant in Portage caught re. Thirty employees were in the plant at the time.

“Employees were immediately evacuated, and no one was injured,” said Sarah Schmidt, vice president of marketing at AMPI. “The re was contained to an area on the second oor and extinguished that night.”

Upon arrival at the scene, the Portage Fire Department reported heavy smoke and re coming from

Fire departments work to ex�nguish a re at the

The re started in a room where milk fat was being stored, and as it was heated, it began to ow throughout the structure. Fire crews attempted to gain access from each end of the structure to control the spread of the re, but they were halted due to the heavy smoke and runoff.

Crews were on the scene until 3 a.m. Jan. 3 as a total of 10 re departments worked to put out the re. The re was contained and extinguished before it could spread past the rewalls and throughout the building.

ing plant Jan. 2 in Portage, Wisconsin. Contained to an area on the

the

was ex�nguished that night, and nobody was injured.

AMPI is the largest cheese cooperative based in the U.S. Headquartered in New Ulm, Minnesota, AMPI is owned by dairy farm families from Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa,

Potratz family rolls with the punches while transforming their operation

STACEY SMART/DAIRY STAR

The Potratz family – Addaline (front, from le�), Charlo�e and Oliver; (back, from le�) Jim, Paula, Ma� holding Lincoln, and Megan – milks 160 cows and farms 300 acres near Oshkosh, Wisconsin. During an expansion in 2013, the family nearly tripled the size of its herd and built a freestall

PHOTO COURTESY OF PORTAGE FIRE DEPARTMENT

Associated Milk Producers Inc. cheese packag-

second oor,

re

Flames consume area of second oor, no people injured

the roof of the dairy plant. Fire crews stretched lines to the entrance door but were

pushed back by the heat and smoke. Unable to access the structure, they used their

monitor to ght the re until the Poynette and Kilbourne re departments arrived

options for 2023 farm bill

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When the new Congress convenes next month, Pennsylvania Congressman Glenn “GT” Thompson will be at the helm of the House Agriculture Committee. Thompson said there are three options for the 2023 farm bill. No. 1, the bill could be allowed to expire at the end of September and revert to the language established during the Dust Bowl era of the 1930s. “No. 2, we could kick the can down the road and do an extension,” Thompson said. “But, that’s a failure to do our job because I think there’s improvements to be made.” Crop insurance and updated reference prices were cited as possible improvements for the next farm bill. The ag committee’s third option is to complete the farm bill before the current legislation expires. “Which really in my mind is the only option,” Thompson said.

Dairy industry praises Taylor conrmation

Alexis Taylor has been conrmed as U.S. Department of Agriculture’s undersecretary of trade and foreign agricultural affairs. Taylor is an Iowa native who previously served as the director of the Oregon Department of Agriculture. This action was praised by key dairy leaders. “Her dedication and experience make her the perfect choice to serve American dairy producers,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO, National Milk Producers Federation. A similar sentiment was made by the U.S. Dairy Export Council. “So much of the health of American agriculture and the nation’s dairy community is tied to ensuring that our products can reach consumers around the world, (and) we’re thrilled Alexis Taylor will help us lead this effort,” said Krysta Harden, president and CEO, USDEC.

Year end with conrmation of ag trade ambassador

As the lame duck session approached the nish line, the Senate conrmed Doug McKalip as the chief agricultural negotiator for the Ofce of the U.S. Trade Representative. McKalip was nominated in July, but a hold was put on the conrmation. McKalip was the senior advisor for agriculture and rural affairs with the Biden administration’s Domestic Policy Council.

Canadian dairy farmers receive trade compensation payments

Ag Insider

Canadian Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau has announced the fourth payment under the Dairy Direct Payment Program is now available. Dairy farmers will receive payments based on the milk quota. The payments are designed to help offset the impact of the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for the Trans-Pacic Partnership. “Our government committed to fully and fairly compensate supply-managed sectors after ratication of the trade agreements,” Bibeau said.

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Milk production increases

Milk production in the 24 major dairy states totaled 17. 5 billion pounds in November. That’s up 1.4% from one year ago. Milk production increased 1.3% over the past year in Wisconsin and declined a fraction of 1% in California.

Record milk price

Milk prices are on pace to set an all-time record for the calendar year. The all-milk price is forecast to be at least $25.50 per hundredweight for 2022. That compares to the previous record of $24 per hundredweight that was set in 2014.

IDFA outlines 2023 objectives

The International Dairy Foods Association has identied ve key objectives that will dene 2023 and beyond. Nutrition, health and wellness tops that list. Global competitiveness and the ability to capture more consumers worldwide is another priority. IDFA cites workforce challenges, sustainability and technology/innovation to round out the list.

Checkoff highlights

Dairy Management Inc. has recapped the dairy checkoff highlights of the past year. Topping that list is a ve-year collaboration with the Mayo Clinic and research into dairy’s role in health and nutrition. Social media efforts with foodies and inuencers included the butter board craze that became a viral sensation. The checkoff also engaged in programs to help dairy farmers meet its 2050 Environmental Stewardship Goals.

Used equipment market not slowing down

Machinery Pete founder Greg Peterson has been tracking the used equipment market for 33 years. “I’ve never seen anything close to this; the market has just been on re since late 2020,” Peterson said. Used machinery values increased every month of 2022. “When the calendar ips, we might have a chance to catch our breath, but everything’s in place for used equipment values to remain strong,” Peterson said. The combination of tightness on late-model large equipment and scarcity of new equipment is driving demand.

Develder reects on career in the dairy business

Donn Develder started his career with Associated Milk Producers Inc. in 1985 as a eld representative in northern Minnesota. At the end of this week, he’ll retire as the co-op’s co-president and CEO. Thanks to the global demand for dairy products, Develder sees a bright future for the dairy industry. “If you consider the dairy products that are really in demand, which is cheese, butter and whey, the cheese basket of the U.S. is here in the Midwest,” Develder said. “The proximity to the East Coast, the better off you are. The infrastructure here in the Upper Midwest has always been strong, and it’s done nothing but get stronger.” Sheryl Meshke, who has been AMPI’s co-president and CEO since 2015, will continue to lead the company moving forward.

DNR secretary appointed

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers appointed Adam Payne as the head of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Payne succeeds Preston Cole, who retired. For the past 20plus years, Payne has been the county administrator for Sheboygan County.

WFBF promotes Jacobson

The Wisconsin Farm Bureau has named Melissa (Doyle) Jacobson as its director of young leader programs. Jacobson has been the WFBF District 3 coordinator since 2015 and farms near Mineral Point, Wisconsin.

Trivia challenge

A turophile is the term for a connoisseur of cheese. That answers our last trivia question. For this week’s trivia, what business are you in if you are involved in caseiculture? We will have the answer in the next edition of Dairy Star.

Don Wick is owner/broadcaster for the Red River Farm Network, based in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Wick has been recognized as the National Farm Broadcaster of the Year and served as president of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting. Don and his wife, Kolleen, have two adult sons, Tony and Sam, and ve grandchildren, Aiden, Piper, Adrienne, Aurora and Sterling.

Nebraska, South Dakota and North Dakota. Members annually market about 5 billion pounds of milk generating nearly $2 billion in sales.

The cooperative’s award-winning cheese, butter and powdered dairy products are produced at eight manufacturing locations in the Upper Midwest and marketed to foodservice, retail and food ingredient customers.

The Portage plant does not receive and process milk from member farms. Rather, this location produces and packages processed cheese in addition to packaging natural cheese for foodservice and ingredient customers. AMPI’s only butter plant is in New Ulm. No butter is produced at the Portage plant.

“While the term ‘butter’ has made headlines in connection to the re, the actual product impacted was milk fat,” Schmidt said. “Milk fat is used as an ingredient when making processed cheese.”

The original plant was established in 1951, and AMPI North Central Region acquired this plant in 1972. Various additions and improvements have been made to the plant since that time.

“AMPI thanks local re departments and rst responders involved

in controlling the re,” Schmidt said. “We appreciate their professionalism and hard work as well as that of our employees under difcult circumstances. Their collective response protected the local canal; responders blocked street drains and placed absorbent materials in the canal to minimize milk fats.”

Cleanup was overseen by spill response professionals from the Department of Natural Resources, and AMPI continues to work closely with state and local ofcials. DNR staff report that approximately 20 gallons of fat entered the adjacent canal via a storm sewer. Absorbent booms were deployed in the canal to contain the discharged material, and the fat has since been removed.

The storm sewers are currently clear due to the volume of re suppression water that ushed through them during the reghting efforts. The DNR reports that so far, environmental impacts are minimal.

As of Jan. 6, the cause of the re was under investigation, but foul play is not suspected, Schmidt said.

“We continue to assess damage at the plant and look forward to being back in production as soon as possible,” she said.

PHOTO COURTESY OF PORTAGE FIRE DEPARTMENT A re at the Associated Milk Producers Inc. cheese plant in Portage, Wisconsin, destroyed this room that was used to store milk fat. As it was heated, the fat began to ow throughout the structure.

“We really like this bedding,” Jim said. “It’s helped with our somatic cell count and mastitis. Most big farms bed with sand, but it’s hard on equipment so we decided to try waterbeds instead and have had no issues with leaking or anything else.”

Cows are milked twice a day and went from averaging 65 pounds of milk per day in the stanchion barn to now averaging around 80 pounds.

“Financially, the new freestall barn is better than the stanchion barn,” Jim said. “The cows milk more and have greater comfort. The old stanchion barn was hard on cattle. They were restricted and had no freedom of movement and were prone to banging themselves up.”

Matt agreed.

“The cows were getting too big for our stanchion barn,” he said.

Several stanchions were retained in the barn for milking fresh cows and doing veterinary work. The remainder of the barn houses heifers. Matt and Jim are currently building a heifer barn that will be the future home of these animals. They then plan to gut that part of the stanchion barn and possibly put in maternity and hospital pens and pens for newborn calves.

The new 2-row freestall heifer barn to be completed this spring will measure 44 feet by 90 feet and contain about 50 stalls. The barn will house heifers 10 months old to breeding age and feature a drive-

thru feed alley and automatic waterers.

“This barn will make caring for this age group a lot easier while providing better comfort and better ventilation,” Jim said. “We’ll be able to let them outside and give them access to a small pasture, too, which is something we can’t do now.”

When they expanded more than nine years ago, Matt applied for a rst-time farm loan. He owns 30% of the cattle under a separate limited liability company from his parents. He receives 30% of the profits from milk and cattle sales, and he and his parents each get their own milk check. The farm is an S corporation, and Paula and Jim own the land while the corporation rents the land from them.

“Paula and I are retirement age and wanting to slow down,

so Matt is kind of taking over,” Jim said. “He puts in long hours and long weeks because there is a lot of work to do.”

The Potratz family has learned to never back down even when hit head on with hardship. A three-time victim of re, the family has excelled in patience and persistence, rebuilding each time while looking at every setback as an opportunity to get better.

There were two res on the farm in Jim’s lifetime and one before he was born. The old farmhouse burned on Christmas Day in the 1950s. Then, in December 1980, the farm’s 30-stall stanchion barn and freestall barn burned to the ground. All of the family’s hogs perished in the re along with two calves.

“We got out of hogs after that,” Jim said.

In its place, the family built a 50-stall stanchion barn and freestall barn which are connected. Jim purchased the farm from his dad in 1984. In the summer of 1998, disaster struck once again on the Potratz farm when another re broke out, taking down the freestall barn and burning the top off of the stanchion barn.

“It was such a mess,” Jim said. “I’ll never forget the smell of a burnt-out barn and all the work that goes back into rebuilding it.”

The re in 1998 was caused by a torch cutter.

“It was a dry day, and the sparks caught and you can’t stop it,” Jim said. “It happened right in front of us. The kids were young, and it was traumatic for them.”

The Potratzes rebuilt the freestall barn a second time,

repaired the stanchion barn and moved cows home 10 days later. In the years that followed, they made additional updates to the freestall barn which houses breeding-age and springing heifers and dry cows. In 2016, they added 30 feet onto the building including another row of free stalls. Further renovations are planned for this barn in the near future.

Matt and his dad are constantly scoping out ways to enhance their operation. Three years after building their freestall facility, they added a covered walkway from the barn to the parlor, and the year prior, they added a lean-to onto the barn. Matt said both additions made a difference in keeping the barn warm. They also added rubber ooring in the walkway and feed alleys.

“The walkway made it much nicer for bringing up cows for milking, and the rubber ooring is nice for getting them off concrete,” Jim said. “The rubber is real durable, heavy-duty stuff.”

Out on the elds, this father and son team is making improvements as well.

“We’ve done a bunch of drain tiling here in the last ve years to improve the land,” Jim said.

As they continue to rene their operation, Matt has also given thought to adding a robotic milking system. To create the best version possible of the farm, the Potratzes always have a list of projects they are working on to update the dairy for the present and future.

Thursday, February 9

Pizza Ranch, Slayton, MN 10:30 AM – Leadership Meeting 11:30 AM – Lunch and Midwest Dairy Update

Thursday, February 16 Little Falls, MN 11:30 AM – Lunch and Midwest Dairy Update

Wednesday, February 22

Paynesville Legion, Paynesville, MN 11:30 AM – Lunch and Midwest Dairy Update

Thursday, February 23

Pizza Ranch, Wadena, MN 10:30 AM – Minnesota Milk 11:30 AM – Lunch and Midwest Dairy Update

Tuesday, March 14

Recreation Bar and Café, Lewiston, MN 12:00 PM – Lunch 12:30 PM – DHIA Annual Meeting 1:00 PM – Midwest Dairy Update 2:00 PM – DHIA Awards

STACEY SMART/DAIRY STAR

The Potratz family retro ed this swing-10 milking parlor into their old stanchion barn when they expanded in 2013. Cows are milked twice a day.

A tradition of cheese making

Eichten’s

Cheese is three generations strong

By Tiffany Klaphake tiffany.k@dairystar.com

CENTER CITY, Minn. –

Brenda Carlson does not have to search far to nd her needed recipe.

After all, Carlson is the third generation of Eichtens to make cheese using the same recipes her grandparents used.

Those avors are preserved at Eichten’s Cheese near Center City where cheese is crafted and sold on the family farm.

“We are the godfather of the farmstead cheese in the Midwest,” Carlson said. “We are the oldest company in Minnesota that makes farmstead cheeses.”

Milk for cheese production is purchased from neighboring farms and stored in a 5,000-pound tank. That volume can produce 500 pounds of cheese.

Eichten’s Cheese makes one to three batches of cheese a week, depending on the time of year.

“Christmas is crazy for us,” Carlson said. “We make cheese two to three times a week for the two to three months before

Christmas for the big Christmas sales.”

Eichten’s Cheese is known for its Gouda varieties, of which they have 17 avors.

“The big ones are the smoked Goudas,” Carlson said. “Our tomato basil Gouda started out as a holiday Gouda in the ‘80s, but it was so popu-

lar we had to keep making it.”

Eichten’s Cheese also has a line of hot Gouda cheeses such as a cran-chipotle and a jalapeno as well as the rst avored Gouda Carlson’s grandmother created, which is an herb Gouda. The newest avors being offered are a parmesan Gouda and an everything

bagel Gouda.

“Another well-known cheese that we make … is a Danish Tilsit,” Carlson said.

The company is known not only for its cheese but for giving back to the community as well as providing education.

“My grandparents trained a lot of people from Europe

and third-world countries on how to make cheese,” Carlson said.

One of the people they trained was a Turkish professor who came to the United States to learn how to make cheese from Carlson’s grandmother, Mary Eichten.

Because the Eichtens did not charge anyone to learn to make cheese, the professor asked if she could do anything for Mary.

Mary enquired about a recipe for Danish Tilsit. The professor sent Mary the recipe, but it was in Turkish and used metrics. With the help of the University of Minnesota, the recipe was translated and the family spent two years perfecting it.

“A Tilsit is a warm-room cheese,” Carlson said. “It goes in a room that is 65 degrees for two weeks.”

Carlson grew up working alongside her mom, Eileen, and her grandparents, Joe and Mary. All through high school, and on weekends when she was in college, Carlson helped make cheese. After moving away for 20 years, Carlson returned to the family business full time in 2010.

“I wanted to get back to my roots and be with family again,” Carlson said.

PHOTO SUBMITTED

Brenda Carlson and Ruth DeMunck show off the array of Gouda cheeses that Eichten’s Cheese has to offer at an event at Cannon River Winery near Cannon Falls, Minnesota. Carlson is the third genera�on of Eichtens to make cheese at their family’s shop.

The idea of Eichten’s Cheese started in 1974 when milk prices were low and many farmers were dumping milk.

Joe and Mary participated in a University of Minnesota pilot program. The farmer had to fund a trip to Holland for six weeks, and the university sent a professor along who helped them learn to make cheese.

Upon their return to Minnesota, the professor helped the farmers establish on-farm cheese production as a valueadded entity. Six farmers participated in the program, but the Eichtens are the only family still making cheese today.

“Our rst wheel was produced in 1976 on our farm,” Carlson said.

Originally, the milk came from three herds owned by Joe and three of his sons. Eventually, milking cows and making cheese was too labor intensive. The family sold the cows in the 1980s.

Joe insisted on always using quality milk so the family could make quality cheese. They even purchase the cultures needed to craft cheese from Holland.

“My grandfather and grandmother were pretty innovative in thinking, so the rst thing they did was go to the grocery stores in the area and handed

out free samples,” Carlson said. “They also went to farmers markets and have been a member of the St. Paul Farmers Market since 1977.”

Today, the company also has a website and ships cheese all over the U.S.

“Our website is a big help in sales, and we belong to a couple of wholesale sites,” Carlson said. “So now any momand-pop shop out there can go in and buy our products for their store.”

Eichten’s Cheese is sold at the St. Paul, Richeld, Roseville and White Bear Lake farmers markets every week in the summer. Going to the markets is one of Carlson’s favorite parts of the job because she said she gets to meet fun and interesting people.

“I like to stay as local as I can,” Carlson said.

At the shop on the farm, they also offer a small selection of local artisan products.

No matter the avor of cheese Carlson creates, she takes pride in carrying on her grandparents’ legacy.

“My grandparents put their life savings into this, and I get to carry that on,” Carlson said. “It’s about being a good farmer and neighbor.”

PHOTO SUBMITTED

Several varie es of cheese sit in the aging room at Eichten’s Cheese near Center City, Minnesota. Eichten’s Cheese makes 17 varie es of Gouda.

Brandon and Kim Grewe of Cumberland, Wisconsin, traversed a number of highs and lows during 2021 with their homebred Guernsey cow taking top honors in the show circuit and their daughter, Brynn, coming down with a serious E. coli infection. The infection ultimately took both of Brynn’s feet and all of her ngers except her right thumb, causing the little girl to become an amputee before the age of 2.

Amidst the heartbreak of her illness, the Grewes continued to show Valley Gem Atlas Malt, who was named grand champion Guernsey at World Dairy Expo and supreme champion of the North American International Livestock Exposition – earning both titles for the second consecutive time.

Premier Dairy loses barn in re;

When Becky Levzow received an invitation to visit Dubai in the United Arab Emirates to promote American dairy products, she did not hesitate to say yes. The ve-day mission was packed with opportunities to shed light on the quality, diversity and abundance of American-made dairy foods.

Levzow was joined by three other dairy farmers and staff from the U.S. Dairy Export Council. The trip’s goal was to increase dairy product exports into the Middle East by way of Dubai, a dynamic regional trade hub. The trip provided the Dubai market with direct dairy farmer contact and an opportunity to learn more about the people behind the products.

Fighting for the right to farm in Polk, Burnett counties

Dairy farmers in the northwestern Wisconsin counties of Polk and Burnett are in a ght for their right to operate their family-owned farms, facing regulation from the town boards that govern their local municipalities. In the fall of 2021, six townships – ve in northern Polk County and one in southern Burnett County – began working in partnership to disapprove of the development of animal agriculture, particularly concentrated animal feeding operations.

Kristin Quist, who farms with her family on their 1,200-cow, fth-generation dairy farm in the township of Black Brook, is not taking the potential restrictions lying down as she works to increase public awareness about agriculture.

On the morning of Jan. 12, Eric Svenson carried a healthy newborn heifer calf out of the ashes of the previous night’s re that destroyed his family’s tiestall barn near Ringwood, Illinois. He named the calf Fire Truck in honor of the 20 re departments that helped quench the four-alarm re. Two springing heifers were also rescued from the wreckage unharmed. Finding survivors where none were expected was a blessing that Svenson and his family clung to during a dark time as they began raising money to rebuild their barn.

Born legally blind, Cory Brekken has lived a life seeing only shapes but no details at close range and seeing nearly nothing from far away. Suffering from Leber congenital amaurosis, Brekken is missing cells in both of his retinas. However, he can do many of the same things other dairy farmers do on his farm near McFarland, Wisconsin, such as milking, feeding, breeding cows, cutting hay and xing equipment. Milking 75 cows and farming 200 acres with help from his dad, Brekken relies heavily on his sense of touch to accomplish tasks.

Herschleb named World Dairy Expo general manager

Laura Herschleb fullled a lifetime goal when she stepped into the role of general manager at World Dairy Expo Feb. 28. Herschleb grew up on a dairy farm near Germantown, Wisconsin, and began her duties following the retirement of Scott Bentley. From a college student in the Badger Dairy Club, to ve years spent as the Dairy Cattle Show manager for World Dairy Expo in the late 2000s, to her return in 2018 as the marketing manager, Herschleb has spent many hours on the WDE grounds and looked forward to making the 2022 Expo an event to remember.

A tornado tore through the farm of James and Callie Amera March 5 near Stoughton, Wisconsin, leaving massive destruction in its wake. Despite its F-1 rating, the tornado was packed with fury and left nearly nothing untouched during the ve minutes it spent on the ground. A total of 18 structures were damaged – 11 of which were totaled. Their 60-cow herd was relocated to a neighboring dairy farm as the couple picked up the pieces of the rst tornado to hit Wisconsin last year.

Brekken does not let blindness slow him down

Ameras rebuild after being struck by March tornado

PHOTO SUBMITTED

Eric Svenson holds onto a healthy newborn heifer calf pulled from the ashes of a re that claimed his family’s dairy barn near Ringwood, Illinois. He named the calf Fire Truck in honor of the reghters who came to their aid.

July 23, 2022

As parents of a 19-year-old son with disabilities who requires constant care, each day for Ron and Shirley Kohlbeck is lled with challenges above and beyond those typical of dairy farming. Mitchel, who is completely dependent on his parents, is suspected to suffer from mitochondrial disease, a rare disorder in which cells in the body do not receive proper oxygen. He has never walked and only once said the word da-da. The farm provides an outlet of stimulation and happiness for Mitchel, who enjoys being around the animals and going for tractor rides.

Hedlund family battles devastating effects of coronavirus

Aug. 27, 2022

ies and spending time in three different hospitals. During this time, he also missed the birth of his third child. From profuse bleeding to extensive lung damage to being placed in an induced coma, Hedlund miraculously survived the unthinkable while his wife, Annie, continued to run their farm in Siren, Wisconsin. After 10 months of hospitalization, Hedlund continued to battle his way home.

Davisons battle cancer while farming

Sept. 10, 2022

When her husband was diagnosed with colon cancer in January 2021, Jacqui Davison’s mantra was, “It could be worse; it’s not one of the kids.” A year later, it got worse when Jacqui was diagnosed with breast cancer. She has the same type of estrogen receptive breast cancer her mother died of. After having surgery to remove a breast and multiple lymph nodes, Jacqui underwent chemotherapy treatments every other week all summer.

Jacqui continued working at the farm throughout her treatments, even while dealing with side effects. She farms with her family near Hillsboro, Wisconsin, where they milk 800 cows and farm around 1,200 acres. Her husband, Keith, works at a grain farm in the area. Despite the difculties of their illnesses, the Davisons have remained positive throughout their cancer treatments by focusing on what they are grateful for.

Adam Hedlund’s battle with the coronavirus, which began October 2021, was beyond anything his family could have imagined. His life was in jeopardy for months as he suffered with complications from COVID-19 induced pneumonia that resulted in him undergoing two lung transplant surgerSauk Centre, MN Buffalo, MN

Decatur Dairy expands to meet current, future growth

the building, while Steve Stettler and his wife, George, own the business, equipment and marketing rights. With the expansion, volume could increase to 700,000 pounds of milk per day.

Plucinskis’ barn destroyed in re Sept. 11

Sept. 11 was supposed to be the rst day away from the farm in a long time for the Plucinski family. But not much more than a half hour into their trip to Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, Meg and Derek received a call that their barn was on re. Fortunately, the cows were on pasture, but the tiestall barn was a complete loss, including the 6-stall walkthrough milking parlor they had put in nine months prior.

Tania Groen moved their farm and family halfway across the country to an area better suited for organic dairying. Landing in Amherst Junction, Wisconsin – 2,000 miles away from home – the Groens faced many challenges early on. But as the family closed the books on their rst year as Wisconsinites, they felt the positives of their relocation outweighed the negatives and had no doubt they would do it again.

Schmaling dees odds, walks again after life-threatening accident

An expansion is expected to be completed by Feb. 2 at Decatur Dairy in Brodhead, Wisconsin.

Decatur Dairy in Brodhead, Wisconsin, is undergoing a $6.2 million expansion that will add 24,000-squarefeet of space to the facility to be completed by February 2023. The addition will nearly double the cheese factory’s physical footprint. The expansion will include dry storage space, cold storage space, a new packaging room, curing room, new loading docks and a shipping ofce. As a result, the addition will open up space in the existing facility and also offer an area to add more processing capabilities.

The dairy takes in about 550,000 pounds of milk per day from 72 patrons which is made into cheese that is sold nationwide. As members of Decatur Swiss Cheese Co-op, the farmers own

These organic farmers spent the weeks that followed sifting through the rubble that once contained all their dreams on the farm they rent near Jefferson, Wisconsin. The future looked especially uncertain as they had been renting the farm for four years and were preparing to buy the place on a land contract. Holding fast to their faith, the Plucinskis’ goal was to bring their cows home as soon as possible.

Groens move organic dairy from Washington to Wisconsin

in Hawaii in January, Tanner Schmaling suffered a swimming accident that left him 90% paralyzed. The young farmer broke his neck and was faced with spending the majority of his life in a wheelchair – a diagnosis he was not willing to live with. Two months later, Schmaling walked out of the hospital and returned to his farm determined to never use the wheelchair he was sent home with.

Schmaling and his wife, Maddie, own and operate Maple-Leigh Futures – a certied in vitro fertilization facility and boarding business for donors and show cattle near Delavan, Wisconsin. While undergoing outpatient physical therapy, Schmaling continued to progress in his physical abilities and did all the planting on the farm that spring.

Oberweis Dairy lets go of its farmer patrons

In September, eight farmers received news Oberweis Dairy would no longer be buying milk direct from family farms. The news meant signicant price cuts for their long-time patrons. The remaining patrons included nine farms in southern Wisconsin owned by eight dairy producers who were informed of the decision via an online Zoom call Sept. 9. Oberweis Dairy, which is based in North Aurora, Illinois, is instead purchasing milk from the cooperative that took on its patrons. Oberweis’ claim that their milk still comes from small family farms is a claim that does not sit well with the farmers who previously supplied the dairy its milk.

In September 2021, Corby and While vacationing with his family

PHOTO BY STACEY SMART/DAIRY STAR Tanner Schmaling and his wife, Maddie, own and operate Maple-Leigh Futures near Delavan, Wisconsin. The couple boards donors and show ca le there.

PHOTO BY STACEY SMART/DAIRY STAR

Adam Hedlund, of Siren, Wisconsin, was hospitalized in October 2021 from complications of the coronavirus. Hedlund was transferred to multiple hospitals and received a double lung transplant over the course of 10 months. During his hospital stay, his wife Annie gave birth to their third child and kept their 100-cow dairy up and running with the help of friends and family.

of Auburndale, Wisconsin. Todd and Patti Bores milk 50 cows near Auburndale. Todd’s grandfather, Arnold, and father, Ralph, joined what was then the newly formed Auburndale Fire Department in 1965. Ralph retired after 55 years of service. Todd has been volunteering for 28 years. Todd and Patti’s sons, Riley and Collin, have 10 and eight years of service with the re department, respectively. Patti celebrated nine years with the EMS.

Six townships in Polk and Bennett counties in Wisconsin formed committees to craft ordinances related to animal agriculture. These rules would regulate animal numbers, hours of operation and permitting costs. Three of the townships adopted the ordinances.

April 11, 2022, was a comfortable 55 degrees in southwestern North Dakota, but April 12 brought a brutal blizzard to the northern Great Plains. Bob Hintz, who milks 250 cows near Flasher, North Dakota, estimated his farm received 2 feet of snow and wind gusts up to 74 mph over the course of three days. The Hintz family prepared for the storm by giving their cows extra feed and fueling up tractors and skid loaders ahead of time. Due to so many roads being closed, their milk hauler was not able to come for three days. Thankfully, the dairy did not have to dump milk.

Tanner Schmaling, of Delavan, Wisconsin, was on vacation with his family in Hawaii in early January 2022. While swimming in the ocean, he nearly drowned and sustained injuries that left him 90% paralyzed. Schmaling was told he would never walk again, but after physical therapy and determination, he was able to walk out of the hospital in March 2022 and return home to his 120cow dairy farm.

Janice Hill is a rst-generation dairy farmer from Reedsburg, Wisconsin. She milks 45 cows on her 100-acre farm. Hill grew up on a dairy farm, but she chose to work elsewhere for a number of years. In 2008, Hill purchased her own farm while continuing her day job. She has since quit that job to farm full time.

Jan. 4, 2022, was the worst day Glenn Heinen and his son, Aron, have faced. That morning, the family of St. Rosa, Minnesota, woke up to their barn engulfed in ames. They lost their barn, their 48 milking cows and 3,500 bales of hay. The family was able to save the farm’s calves and most of the heifers.

At just 9 months old, Abby Fick, of Lake City, Minnesota, was diagnosed with neurobromatosis type 1, which attacks nerves in the body and develops tumors. The disease stayed dormant until Fick was 14 at which time a cancerous tumor was discovered on her left shoulder. After trying chemotherapy with no success, the doctors determined they would need to remove her arm and shoulder. Fick now has a prosthetic shoulder and arm and is active in 4-H. Fick said she enjoys being with the animals on her family’s dairy farm where they milk 250 cows.

Nick Wienen knew he wanted to be a dairy farmer, but in 2020, his father, Tim, sold the family’s herd of cows after being diagnosed with cancer. Wienen had a job off the farm and continued to care for the remaining youngstock and farm the land with his dad. But, Wienen missed the dairy cows. So, Wienen and his wife, Tatum, purchased a group of cows to add to their freshening heifers to begin their own herd in September 2021. They milk 80 cows in a parallel parlor near Galena, Illinois.

Four generations of the Bores family have served on the re department or with the Emergency Medical Service in

At 9 p.m. Jan. 11, 2022, Eric Svenson received a call no dairy farmer ever wants to hear. The dairy farmer of Ringwood, Illinois, learned his family’s tiestall barn was on re. At the time of the re, there were four animals and a tractor inside the barn. Svenson and his wife, Mandy Parker, got the tractor and two cows out, but two springing heifers were housed in a different part of the barn that Parker and Svenson could not reach. The next morning, Svenson went to the damaged barn expecting to nd two deceased heifers. Instead, he found both alive and one had given birth to a healthy calf. The tiestall barn where the farm’s 160 cows were milked was a loss, but no animals were lost, and no other buildings were damaged. s in a parallel parlor near Galena, Illinois.

r o m O u r S i d e

Our Side

O f T h e F e n c e Of The Fence

Cody and Arlisa Clements Coon Valley, Wisconsin Vernon County 80 cows

How many years have you been dairy farming? We have been farming for 5.5 years.

What were some of your accomplishments on the farm in 2022? After two years of grass-fed production, we were fortunate to secure a market with Organic Valley. We further completed expansion of all row crop land on our home farm to pasture, allowing 2 acres per cow.

What are you looking forward to most in 2023? The grazing season.

What is one goal you have set for the dairy this year and how do you plan to achieve it? Creating above ground water lines to the whole farm. At present, only 40 acres are equipped with lines, whereas the remaining 60 has to be brought in by trailer.

What do you think will be the greatest challenges for your dairy and the industry this year? Manure management remains the greatest challenge to our farm. With steep ridge slopes and heavy winter conditions, we still haul manure weekly when not grazing. We are investigating the feasibility of converting our facilities to a compost system for longer term storage. As to the industry as a whole, the inationary pressures are of no doubt great concern for all farmers. Beyond the high cost of production and feedstuffs, the ancillary costs attributed to small tasks, often overlooked, continue to drain most budgets.

Tell us about your farm. Highland Farm is a rst-generation, certied organic, certied grass-fed family farm, consisting of 100 acres of managed intensive paddocks with an additional 70 acres of summer pasture for dry cows and replacement stock.

How many years

dairy farming? We've been farming together for ve years. We both grew up on dairy farms. We met through my wife's parents when they sold their cows. I bought a Red and White Holstein heifer from my wife's parents, and then, the rest is history. We have four children.

What were some of your accomplishments on the farm in 2022? Some of our accomplishments in 2022 included an awesome crop year with everything above average. We also had a good year doing custom work.

What are you looking forward to most in 2023? We are looking forward to the new crop year and seeing how all the hard work turns out.

What is one goal you have set for the dairy this year and how do you plan to achieve it? One of my main goals is to reduce feed costs by putting up better forages and using less purchased protein.

What do you think will be the greatest challenges for your dairy and the industry this year? I see the biggest challenge to be inputs. Everything has skyrocketed in price and makes margins really tight.

Tell us about your farm. We farm alongside with Cody's dad, Alan. We milk 80 cows in a freestall and parlor setup with a swing-8 parabone. We raise our replacement heifers. We farm 550 acres of corn, hay and soybean. We also do custom farming services for area farmers. Those services include planting, big square baling, forage harvesting and combining. We hope that one day our children can have a future in this industry.

What are you looking forward to in 2023?

What were some of your accomplishments on the farm in 2022? My brother and I have shared equipment since we started farming, and this year, we were able to purchase our own corn planter. We also bought a cattle trailer. We have made purchases in the past but made more this year.

What are you looking forward to most in 2023? Building a new house. It will be the most momentous summer yet. Kurtis is a skilled carpenter and will build it with the help of his father.

What is one goal you have set for the dairy this year and how do you plan to achieve it? We do not have new goals for the dairy because we have spent the last year getting things in place so we have more time to build the house this summer. We hope to keep things running smoothly while we build.

What do you think will be the greatest challenges for your dairy and the industry this year? Keeping a good milk price. Hopefully the milk price does not crash before everything else like feed and fuel. Sometimes it does that, and the farmers have to make up the difference themselves.

Tell us about your farm. We milk 51 registered Holsteins in a tiestall barn. We farm just over 300 acres so that includes some cash crops. We have ve children. Both of our dads milked cows, and Valerie’s dad still does. All four of our grandfathers milked cows also.

Star Blends has been helping Midwest farm families by providing, high-quality feed, dairy nutrition, and commodity contracting for more than 20 years. Our state of the art mill can accuratelyblend anything from a custom pre-mix to complete feed, in balancing diets, or work with your private nutritionist or dairy consultant. Contact Star Blends at: 800-462-4125

Matthew and Ashley (not pictured) Canter Cashton, Wisconsin Vernon County 55 cows

Kurtis and Valerie Oberholtzer Hillsboro, Wisconsin Vernon County 51 cows

How many years have you been dairy farming? We have been farming for 15 years.

have you been

Cheyenne Christianson

Chetek, Wisconsin

Barron County

70 cows

How many years have you been dairy farming? I have been dairy farming for 30 years. I grew up on a small dairy. We started on our farm in 1993 when I was 21 and my wife, Katy, was 19.

What were some of your accomplishments on the farm in 2022? It was one of our driest years so it was a challenge to manage pastures and not overgraze or short the cows on quality forage. We supplemented with baleage and dry hay when needed to make sure cows and pasture were taken care of. Dry years show the benets of good pasture and soil management, and this past year really tested that. Increased organic matter soaks in the rain when we do get it and takes a lot longer to dry out than years back.

What are you looking forward to most in 2023? Rain. I am really hoping weather patterns change back to more normal rainfall as we have had three dry years in a row. I plan on seeding some elds with a good mix of alfalfa so we have more drought tolerance. We run long rotations, and alfalfa does well on our lighter soils. But, there isn't much left in many of our elds and pastures. Some alfalfa helps improve yields in the dry years.

What is one goal you have set for the dairy this year and how do you plan to achieve it? One goal is to cut back on cow numbers. Our herd has outgrown our acres and is creating more work than necessary, especially in dry years. We are thinking 50-60 cows total and less youngstock, but it may take a couple years to reach our nal goal.

What do you think will be the greatest challenges for your dairy and the industry this year? Continued weather extremes and the increased cost of everything are challenges we will face in 2023. Land prices are also too high for young folks to get into dairy.

Tell us about your farm. We are certied organic and 100% grass-fed. We have been shipping milk to Organic Valley since 1999 and have been on the grass milk route since 2014. We stopped feeding grain around 1998 and focused on forage-only milk production. Intensive grazing has been a key part of the success and protability of our farm.

Battist Farms Inc.

Jodie Bobolz (from left), Karen Battist, Jim Battist and Philip Battist Waterloo, Wisconsin Jefferson County

180 cows

How many years have you been dairy farming? Jim and Karen celebrated 80th birthdays in 2022 and have basically been farming their whole lives. Jodie started actively milking and feeding calves about age 8 but took off four years for college and taught grades K-3 for two years before returning to the family farm full time 31 years ago. Philip started actively milking and feeding calves at about age 8 but took off four years for college and was a nutritionist for a few years before returning to the family farm full time 25 years ago.

What were some of your accomplishments on the farm in 2022? I hate to admit it, but everything on the farm is getting older – people, buildings and equipment. Every time we can x or modify something on the farm to save money, or make our jobs easier, we consider that a major accomplishment. In 2022, we constructed our rst commodity shed to replace our elderly feed bins. This made feeding chores much easier and more time efcient.

What are you looking forward to most in 2023? In 2023, we are looking forward to seeing all the new blessings the Lord has in store for us – whether it be the beautiful sunrises and sunsets, or the almost daily

miracle of new life as calves are born, or the sprouting of seeds and harvesting of crops, or simply working together as a family pursuing our passion of dairy farming.

What is one goal you have set for the dairy this year and how do you plan to achieve it? My goal remains the same every year. I actively search sire summaries and ask many questions to try to nd the best sires for our herd. I wish to maintain size, strength and, above all, production so I can continue to have trouble-free cows that stay with us for a long time. I have several 10-year-olds and a 12-year-old. I also want to use a variety of bloodlines to keep our bull customers happy when they come to choose their next bull.

What do you think will be the greatest challenges for your dairy and the industry this year? The greatest challenge for our farm and the dairy industry, in general, is how to give our youth and next generation the passion to stay on the family farm or in the dairy industry. Without young blood and new ideas, the family farms will slowly fade away. We cannot let that happen.

Tell us about your farm. We farm roughly 1,000 acres around the farmstead that Grandpa bought about 80 years ago. My parents developed a well-known registered Holstein herd and started selling registered Holstein breeding bulls to customers more than 55 years ago. Twenty-two years ago, we built a double-10 herringbone parlor and freestall setup and increased the herd size to around 180 registered Holsteins with a few Red and White Holsteins which are my passion. Our milk is shipped with Family Dairies. We raise our heifers and all of our bulls, which are available for sale. My brother and I feel blessed to be following our passion of dairy farming alongside our parents who are an active part of the farm at age 80.

Teamwork vital for Engelmann Farms’ breeding program

Edgar Gonzales, herdsman Engelmann Farms Plato, Minnesota McLeod County

740 cows

Describe your facilities and list your breeding management team. Cows are housed in a freestall barn and bedded with manure solids. They are milked in a double-12 parabone parlor. The treated cows are milked in a single-6 parlor separate from the other cows. I am the farm’s herdsman, and Matt Grams is a full-time employee of Engelmann Farms. Together, we do the breeding on the farm. We do genomic testing, and Select Sires Inc. chooses matings.

What is your reproduction program? Do you use a synchronization program? How do you get animals pregnant? After 30 days in milk, cows are given prostaglandin. Two weeks after that, they are given a second shot of prostaglandin. A week later, a GnRH shot is given. The following week, they are given Lutalyse, and a heat patch is applied. If cows do not show heat, they get a CIDR 10 days later.

Describe your breeding philosophy. We use genomics to keep the herd improving. It helps make breeding decisions easier. We work closely with representatives from Select Sires who choose which cows are bred with sexed semen and which are bred with beef.

What guidelines do you follow to reach the goals for your breeding program? We try to keep the cow in the herd, so if she doesn’t stick after the sixth service, we don’t breed her again. We walk through pens three times a day to catch cows in heat.

What are the top traits you look for in breeding your dairy herd and how has this changed since you started farming? In the beginning of the farm, Roger Engelmann was picking for type traits and production due to their kids showing cattle. As the farm grew and time went on, we adjusted the breeding program to t a commercial dairy herd. Now, we don’t look at bulls that are tall and show high dairy type. We breed for moderate frames, good daughter pregnancy rate, high fat and protein, and exceptional feet and legs. We

use all genomic bulls through Select Sires, who do a majority of the bull selection.

What are certain traits you try to avoid? Tall cows, high somatic cell counts and low components.

Describe the ideal cow for your herd. Our cows need to have livability and perform in the freestall barn and parlor. They need to have good feet and legs, a moderate stature and high production without sacricing components.

What role does genetics have in reaching the goals of your farm? We use genomics, which helps boost the rate at which our herd is improved.

What percentage of your herd is bred to sexed, conventional and beef semen? We use 60% beef semen and 40% sexed semen, which helps control heifer inventory.

What is your conception rate? Our conception rate is 48%.

What is the greatest lesson you have learned through your breeding program? I like working on the farm, as I do something different every day. I’ve been working here for 12 years, and what I’ve learned is that we have to be simple with the breeding program. We walk the pens three times a day to watch for heats. It helps to keep a watch over these things because we end up saving on days in milk, and cows are lasting longer in the herd.

What is the age of your heifers at rst service? The heifers are around 407 days old.

How does your heifer inventory affect your breeding program? We use sexed semen to manage heifer inventory.

Tell us about your farm. We milk 740 cows and farm 2,500 acres. Our milk is shipped to Bongards. We raise the heifers from birth to production. The heifer farm in Mayer, Minnesota, holds heifers from 3 months to around breeding age when they are brought back to Plato, Minnesota. The beefon-dairy calves are raised until about 500 pounds and then are sold.

“What I like best about Udder Comfort™ is really two things that are related: The removal of swelling and how it helps with cell counts. We started using it more routinely with our fresh cows 5 years ago. The Udder Comfort Sprayer makes it easy, fast and uses 30 to 50% less spray per application. With more routine use of Udder Comfort, we get better results, seeing consistently lower SCCs, now averaging below 100,000, and the savings from better udder health,” says Matt Nealy.

Matt is the ‘cow guy.’ He and his father Steve, cousin Tommy and uncle Tom operate the third generation Nealand Farms, milking 400 cows near Newville, Pennsylvania, MDVA co-op’s 2020 Producer of the Year, recognized for outstanding milk quality, animal care, farm and environmental practices.

“Udder Comfort is something we don’t cut. It gets swelling out faster for better milkouts and higher quality milk. We do every fresh cow for a week after calving. We mark high-count cows on DHIA and do them too. We tried knock-offs. They don’t work. Udder Comfort works!”

Earlier calving does not equal more prot

Heifer maturity is vital for reaching production potential

By Abby Wiedmeyer abby.w@dairystar.com

JUNEAU, Wis. – Dr. Gavin Staley has been studying the long-term impacts of calving in heifers at a younger age. While he agreed there are economic reasons to bring heifers into the milking string earlier, he has studied the impacts of these heifers not being mature at calving.

Milk production ultimately suffers, and it goes deeper than the rst lactation alone. Staley has studied production data from 500,000 cows and has discovered a formula that proves the importance of mature heifers.

“I call it the Peter Pan problem, alluding of course to the children’s comic character,” Staley said. “The individual that never grows up.”

Staley is a technical services specialist with Diamond V and a veterinarian who spoke in a Profes-

sional Dairy Producers podcast Dec. 28, 2022.

Heifer maturity means the phenotypic characteristics – frame and body weight – that allow full expression of genetic potential over the animal’s lifetime. For a long time, the standard has suggested heifers need to be 85% of the mature body weight post-calving, and close-up heifers should be about 95% of mature body weight.

If an animal does not reach the required level of maturity before calving, she will reach it during lactation at the expense of production, Staley said. She will inevitably reach the benchmark on the lactating ration, ultimately increasing the growing cost.

“It nets out to an 8:1 ratio,” Staley said. “For every 1 pound that she has to mature after calving, it will cost 8 pounds of milk.”

Staley said it also takes longer because the daily growth rate drops signicantly after calving. Sometimes it can take up to 500 days, which could be a lactation. Some heifers simply never catch up.

Staley has determined that week 10 of the rst lactation approximates the herd annual average milk.

“If you want a 100-pound herd, you’ve got to have a 10-week lactation one that is 100 pounds,” Staley said. “Ninety-two percent of the average annual herd milk variation can be explained in lactation one.”

This predicts the average annual milk for the entire herd from a single value. It also works in reverse,

with the rst lactation setting the ceiling for the whole herd.

“The herd cannot outperform the production level set by lactation one,” Staley said. “You can’t cull your way there, you can’t repro your way there, and you can’t feed your way there. It’s basically the ace card.”

Staley and colleagues have determined that the age at freshening impacts the second and third lactations also.

“This is unfortunately the gift that keeps on giving,” Staley said. “It leaves an awfully long shadow.”

In order to evaluate a herd and be able to shift the focus to mature heifers, Staley said the third- and fourth-lactation groups of cows need to be weighed in order to determine the herd’s mature body weight. Then, springing heifers and fresh cows need to be weighed. After that, the weight difference between desired and actual weights can be calculated. This way, it is clear what the system is delivering, Staley said. From there, the average daily gain can be calculated to see what the heifer raising system is achieving.

The average daily gain or the age at freshening are the two variables to consider when deciding what to change, Staley said. And, if the average gain cannot be increased, breeding must be delayed until the animal reaches that mature point.

Staley said dairy farmers should set health and growth goals for all key stages of growth from birth to calving. The goal can be to calve heifers as early as possible, but they must be mature at calving.

Staley said there has been a trend over the past 20 years encouraging producers to calve their heifers in at a younger age. The thought was the animal would begin milk production earlier, reduce heifer inventory and lower heifer feed costs. The message that got missed, however, is to manage the heifers to be mature at a younger age.

Staley said calving immature heifers has not been successful because the growth management was not changed.

“I’m not saying you should not breed heifers earlier, but you should get them to maturity earlier,” Staley said. “You can have your cake and eat it too.”

IOWA

Prairie Land Ag Supply Inc. Rock Valley, IA 712-476-9290

United Dairy Systems, Inc. West Union, IA 563-422-5355

WISCONSIN

Advanced Dairy Spring Valley, WI 715-772-3201

Ederer Dairy Supply Plain, WI 608-546-3713

DeLaval Dairy Service Kaukauna, WI 866-335-2825

Joe’s Refrigeration Inc. Withee, WI 715-229-2321

Mlsna Dairy Supply Inc. Cashton, WI 608-654-5106

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

Farm Systems Melrose, MN 320-256-3276 Brookings, SD 800-636-5581

Advanced Dairy Mora, MN 320-679-1029 Pierz, MN 320-468-2494 St. Charles, MN 507-932-4288 Wadena, MN 218-632-5416

Winter is the only season to mark the close of a year and the beginning of another.

While winter happens to, more often than not, show the worst weather and the best views, it is the time of year for reection.

One of my favorite scenes are freshly-covered evergreen trees. There are three in my backyard, and during a frosty sunrise, I can usually crack my frozen face to make a smile.

The end of the year gives many families time to gather and celebrate life. With the holiday gatherings, and more time spent indoors, it can also make a person appreciate their alone time. Who would have thought hauling manure could be therapeutic.

By Grace Jeurissen Staff Writer

For me, 2022 has marked large milestones in my life and self-discovery.

In January 2022, I was helping on the farm. Then in February, I started my work with Dairy Star. Coming out of college with zero writing experience, colleagues took me under their wing and showed me the importance of print. I visited a few expos and realized how much people appreciate our content.

It is always nice to receive recognition for the work you are doing. That goes for all career elds.

This brings me to the reason behind Dairy Star. We are so fortunate to have rich dairy owing in the Midwest and so many passionate people to share stories of. Farmers deserve to receive recognition for their challenges and career achievements.

My visits with farmers always make me feel at home. But once I nish their story, the feeling of fulllment oats away because my mind is no longer living their story.

I ran into a young farmer who started farming when he was about my age. When I asked about why he chose dairy farming, he told me this.

“I feel at home here. I knew if I didn’t have a farm of my own, I wanted to be a herdsman for someone else, or I’d be trying to nd every way to make this dream work.”

This made me think on my drive to my parents’ farm that day. Against all odds, that young farmer is pushing through some of the most trying times in the dairy industry.

The passion in each farmer’s voice when we talk about cows together always excites me; I’m interested in their experiences and wisdom. Maybe the reason I feel connected to the stories until they are nished being written is because deep down I wish I was living their life, waking up early, seeing cows greet me at the gate, feeding a new born calf and cutting hay.

I thought the time wasn’t right for me to pursue my next goal, but when God presented me with the opportunity to farm, despite it having underlying concerns, I had to go for it.

I love it.

Every day, I set up the barn and get the barn moving. Then, I start my computer to plug away at work for Dairy Star and Country Acres. After, I have the freedom to take a break from my desk and help on the farm.

I’m truly getting the best of both worlds, and I couldn’t be happier. Like winter, I started my year how I ended it, in the barn.

What stands out to me the most over the last year is that nearly every farmer I have had the privilege of talking to has hope. They show resilience in everything they do, and despite the odds of volatile markets and high inputs, they try new things to make their operation work.

From the family that manages 20 employees to the young guy who milks 50 cows on his own, one thing stands true: No matter what the world around us does, farming is not only a job, but rather a way of life.

Checkoff dollars at work

Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin CEO highlights program’s impact

By Stacey Smart stacey.s@dairystar.com

MADISON, Wis. – Dairy farmers may question the value of the dairy checkoff program. They wonder, “How are my checkoff dollars being spent? Do checkoff dollars equate to more money on my milk check? Am I getting a decent return?”

Through the use of checkoff dollars, Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin promotes dairy products across the U.S. in a variety of ways – from instore campaigns and media interviews to classroom education and online advertising, reaching millions of consumers along with retail and foodservice buyers.

“I could speak for days about programs and promotions DFW has created and implemented to drive demand for Wisconsin dairy products and to build trust in dairy,” said Chad Vincent, CEO of DFW. “We work extensively with all the major grocery

chains across the country to the point where Wisconsin cheese can now be found in 99% of grocery stores nationwide and in 140 countries.”

Since 1983, total dairy consumption has increased nearly every year and is standing at record levels. Consumer consumption of cheese has doubled, and U.S. per capita cheese consumption is up over 70%. Butter consumption is currently the highest it has been in 50 years.

Yogurt consumption has increased more than 300%, which Vincent attributes to new product development.

“The Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin checkoff has supported the Center for Dairy Research since the early 1990s, giving Wisconsin processors the rst opportunity at the innovation, skills, and technologies available through this world-class facility,” Vincent said. “Research conducted here has jumpstarted the development of new products using dairy –

from sports drinks to entirely new varieties of cheese.”

The dairy checkoff program began in 1983 when dairy farmers voted in favor of the milk marketing order and created the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board (DFW) to build awareness and demand for Wisconsin dairy farmers’ milk.

Fifteen cents for every 100 pounds of milk is deducted for the checkoff, and this deduction has remained the same since 1983. Therefore, when milk is at $16 per hundredweight, promotion deductions are less than 1%. Five of the 15 cents go to the national checkoff organization – Dairy Management Inc. – while the remaining 10 cents stay instate with DFW.

Total milk usage over the last 35 years has increased by 79%, and since 2013, annual cheese sales have risen by 45 million pounds. Furthermore, about 16% of dairy is exported outside the country.

“Dairy economists estimate this export impact returns nearly $4 to the milk price,” Vincent said. “By law, checkoff cannot get involved with any lobbying efforts nor

PHOTO SUBMITTED

This cheese case in November 2022 at Dierbergs in the St. Louis, Missouri, area is lled with Proudly Wisconsin Cheese products due to the retailer’s par cipa on in Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin’s The More the Merrier sales promo on. Wisconsin cheese can be found in 99% of grocery stores na onwide and in 140 countries.

Chad Vincent CEO of Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin

Turn to CHECKOFF | Page 25

Denny Sanford Premier Center, Sioux Falls,

impact milk pricing or supply. Obviously, farmers know there are still a lot of factors that inuence their milk price; however, growing exports will continue to benet them.”

Partnering with retailers via in-store demonstrations, print ads, point-of-sale materials, and digital and social marketing helps drive sales of Wisconsin cheese which results in a home for farmers’ milk, Vincent said.

DFW built the Wisconsin Cheese brand, and now Proudly Wisconsin Cheese and Proudly Wisconsin Dairy badges can be found on more than 4,650 Wisconsin dairy products. Vincent said consumers look for this identication and see it as a sign of quality.

“The badges, driven by Wisconsin dairy farmer checkoff dollars, make it easy for consumers to recognize and trust our outstanding cheeses when making purchase decisions,” Vincent said. “Cheeses identied as Wisconsin Cheese sell four times faster than non-Wisconsin identied cheeses.”

DFW regularly has promotions running in 5,000 grocery stores at one time. The More the Merrier holiday sales promotion is one of Vincent’s favorite promotions to date. Its purpose was to promote and sell Wisconsin Cheese in 2021 and 2022 during the November and December holiday shopping period – traditionally a peak time for specialty cheese. Retailers partaking in the promotion leverage recipes and how-to videos to educate shoppers on building beautiful cheeseboards.

“Because we know shoppers are looking for specialty cheese at that time of year, we want to make sure they see and choose Wisconsin specialty cheese over anything else in the case,” Vincent said.

The More the Merrier campaign highlights the Proudly Wisconsin Cheese badge through retailer print and digital ads, online events, sampling and point-of-sale materials. Beyond in-store promotion, sales and merchandising, Vincent said the campaign created excellent brand awareness using a store’s social media and digital marketing to reach millions of people.

“The More the Merrier program is one of our most successful campaigns because of the awareness it drives for Wisconsin Cheese along with the lift in sales we help generate,” Vincent said. “It

takes roughly 10 pounds of milk to make 1 pound of cheese, so promoting Wisconsin Cheese during the highest purchase period moves a lot of Wisconsin milk.”

The Cheese is Our Love Language campaign, held from Jan. 20 – National Cheese Lover’s Day – through Valentine’s Day, has helped replace traditional gifts of chocolates and owers, thereby promoting Wisconsin cheese and cheese boards as the gift many want to receive.

According to Vincent, May is not typically a month for high cheese sales at retail, but since DFW’s Wonders of Wisconsin campaign – a monthlong celebration in May – launched in 2021, participating retailers have seen an average increase in sales of more than 35%.

“The goal of each campaign is to create demand and sales for Wisconsin Cheese and drive awareness and visibility of the Proudly Wisconsin Cheese Badge,” Vincent said. “We often have retailers reporting a double-digit sales increase of Wisconsin Cheese resulting from these promotions.”

Through educational initiatives like the Adopt a Cow program, DFW interacts with schools in Wisconsin, teaching students and educators about the importance of dairy and agriculture. The program has reached 60,000 students in 71 of Wisconsin’s 72 counties within 2,100 classrooms as they follow the life of a real dairy calf.

DFW also funds Alice in Dairyland and helps tell dairy farmer stories and get consumers to visit farms through June National Dairy Month activities. In 2021, DFW had more than 45 farm families on local news stations telling their stories, reaching more than 3 million people in the state and beyond.

DFW engages with inuential dairy organizations and local grass roots dairy promotion groups to promote and activate nearly 70 breakfast on the farm events and elevate in-state pride to tell positive stories about dairy farmers and their commitment to the health of Wisconsin’s communities and land.

DFW has also invested in strategic partnerships with digital media outlets that reach core consumers. Most recently, they invested in a partnership with Food52 that reaches consumers nationwide who believe food is central to their world. This partnership

brought to life the Wisconsin Cheese story through video storytelling that was promoted on the Food52 website and social channels. The promotion also included a custom Wisconsin Cheese brand- focused landing page as well as traditional digital ads running throughout the website and on relevant content.

“These types of partnerships allow us to share our story in a way that is interesting and engaging to our audience,” Vincent said.

DFW also invested for the rst time in advertising through podcasts. Saveur, a popular site for foodies, entered the podcast world with Wisconsin Cheese as its main partner. Through this, DFW was able to insert its messages into all episodes and share the Wisconsin story through a feature on a Wisconsin cheesemaker.

DFW also continuously works to combat the alternative milk category by increasing positive perceptions of dairy.

“Over 96% of U.S. households contain dairy,” Vincent said. “Real dairy milk contains 13 essential nutrients that are unmatched by alternatives, and we are excited to see real dairy towering over plantbased beverages in size and absolute growth. Plantbased beverages are seeing signicantly less growth over the past year.”

The Brighteld Group’s consumer insights team found that purchases of plant-based creamers fell 25% in the second quarter of 2022, dairy-free yogurt sales were down 9%, dairy-free cheese fell 8%, and dairy-free ice cream realized a 3% loss.

“Price is one factor affecting declines, but the category’s health and environmental halos also lose their luster as more consumers look for clean labels including familiar ingredients,” Vincent said.

DFW proactively reaches out to media with positive stories, building trust in dairy products and dairy farming to grow demand for real Wisconsin dairy products.

“DFW is a tireless advocate for our dedicated dairy farmers,” Vincent said. “I encourage farmers who want a deeper understanding of how their checkoff dollars are being used to call us, call their elected board representative, and visit the Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin website.”

ARCADIA, WI

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Fuller’s Milker Center 608-647-4488

ROCK VALLEY, IA Prairie Land Ag Sup. 712-476-9290

SAUK CENTRE, MN Dairyland Supply 320-352-3987 800-338-6455

SPARTA, WI Preston Dairy Equip. 608-269-3830

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Ag department awarded $20,000 grant

Hayden has big plans for OsseoFairchild High School

By Abby Wiedmeyer abby.w@dairystar.com

OSSEO, Wis. – The Osseo-Fairchild High School is $20,000 richer after being awarded a grant from the CHS Foundation.

In celebration of its 75th year, the cooperative awarded $75,000 to agriculture instructors across the country. The top prize went to Osseo-Fairchild High School of Osseo after their new ag teacher, Amelia Hayden, applied.

“As a rst-year teacher, I have a lot of dreams for where I want the Osseo-Fairchild ag department to go and things I want to teach the students,” Hayden said. “I knew that $20,000 would help me a lot to give them those experiences so I gured I would apply.”

Hayden plans to use the funds to grow the ag program at the school. The rst item on the agenda includes xing the school’s greenhouse. The broken ventilation system prevents students from using the greenhouse in spring or summer months because it gets too hot.

Once that is xed, Hayden plans to fund the new biotechnology class

she introduced to the program this year. The class covers subjects like animal genetics and genetically modied crops.

“There’s a lot of really cool ties to the science of agriculture with that class that we’re going to buy supplies to support,” Hayden said. “We’ll be able to give students hands-on experiences.”

One of Hayden’s seventh grade students acquired two calves to raise for the fair, and Hayden is hoping to make a school project out of it by housing the animals in the school shop. The shop has a ventilation system, and Hayden secured grant funding to purchase gates to construct a livestock pen. Hayden said it is everything a person needs to raise a calf indoors, and the shop is vacant due to no mechanics classes being held this semester.

“I’m game for any new adventure that will give students experiences,” Hayden said. “Some people have classroom rabbits and guinea pigs, and we’re going to have classroom calves.”

The dairy science class is learning how to articially inseminate cows this semester as well. Hayden is partnering with CentralStar Cooperative and going to a farm to practice A.I. on cull cows.

“I’m super excited about it,” Hayden said. “I’m still working on building those connections with local agriculture as I get to know more people.”

Hayden is from Walworth County and moved to the area after accepting the teaching position in 2022. She grew up involved in FFA and 4-H, and served as a state FFA ofcer for two years. She was also a 2022 top candidate for Alice in Dairyland.

The application process for the CHS grant involved answering essay questions and submitting a video. Hayden learned in October 2022 that she was one of the top three nalists

ABBY WIEDMEYER/DAIRY STAR Amelia Hayden stands in her classroom Dec. 14, 2022, at the Osseo-Fairchild High School in Osseo, Wisconsin. Hayden is in her rst year of teaching and was awarded $20,000 from the CHS Founda on to use for the ag program.

in the nation.

“As one of the top three, you’re guaranteed at least $10,000,” Hayden said. “So, I was already excited for the school to have funding.”

To narrow down the winners, the nalists attended the CHS annual meeting in December 2022. While there, they gave speeches and showed videos to the farmers in attendance. Those farmers voted live for the top prize winner.

“That’s the even cooler part,” Hayden said. “Not only did I get the grant for my ag education program, but the fact that it was farmers who selected me makes it all the more rewarding.”

As part of the effort to involve the community, Hayden and the students have put on various events and projects. Last fall, the FFA students hosted an event with pumpkin painting, bouncy houses and a cornhole tournament. They also hosted a supper to celebrate the opening of hunting season. In December 2022, they held a wreath making event as well.

“I talk (to the students) about wanting to get more involvement in

the local community and really give back to the people that raised them,” Hayden said. “It also gives the community an opportunity to learn more about FFA and all the ways that we’re working with youth in agriculture.”

Hayden said it is important to impart to students the importance of how much the agriculture community cares about and supports each other.

“I want students not only to leave my classes knowing the concrete skills that they need to pursue those careers but also to have that mentality of helping your neighbor and being involved in the community and giving back,” she said.

Hayden believes the grant will help to make her teaching dreams a reality by offering opportunities to her students to gain practical knowledge.

“We’re doing more than just talking about agriculture and what it means to be involved in the industry,” Hayden said. “But really giving the students the experience and career skills that they need to be successful.”

ABBY WIEDMEYER/DAIRY STAR

Henry Cash, a student at Osseo-Fairchild High School, stands with his calves Jan. 5 in the school shop in Osseo, Wisconsin. Cash is housing his calves at the school as part of an FFA project.

“As one of the top three, you’re guaranteed at least $10,000. So, I was already excited for the school to have funding.”

AMELIA HAYDEN, OSSEO FAIRCHILD HIGH SCHOOL AG INSTRUCTOR

Norwalk, Wisconsin Monroe County

Family: I farm with my two brothers, Walker and Tanner, and my grandparents, Bob and Connie, and my mom and her husband, Andi and Lawrence.

Tell us about your farm. We milk in a double-12 parallel parlor that we built in 2016. We direct ship to Grassland. All of our replacements are raised, and the bull calves go to my mom’s where they are raised as steers. We milk our treated and fresh cows in our original parlor and that milk is pasteurized and fed to the calves.

What is a typical day like for you on the dairy? On mornings that I feed calves, I get to the farm at 4; otherwise, I get to the farm by 5 a.m. The rst thing I do is check on the maternity pen to see who calved overnight. Then, I go to the ofce. We installed an activity monitoring system in June 2022, and I check for low activity cows. Then, I go and look at those cows and decide to treat them or what to do with them.

On Tuesdays, we dry up cows. On other days, we do herd health and take care of other projects. I get all the herd health paperwork prepared, and my grandpa enters it into the computer. At night, I help the calf feeder person get milk fed.

What decision have you made in the last year that have beneted your farm? I made the decision to stay on the farm when I graduated from the University of WisconsinPlatteville in 2021, and that has benetted the farm in the last couple years. My brothers and I all have our areas that we work with. I am in charge of the animals; Walker is

in charge of the business aspects and feeding cows; and Tanner manages eldwork and machinery maintenance.

Tell us about your most memorable experience working on the farm. Hosting the dairy breakfast in 2022. That was fun to see all the people and have the community come together. My family and I bonded over getting ready for the breakfast as well. It was a lot of work.

What have you enjoyed most about dairy farming or your tie to the dairy industry? I love the animals. I’m not in it for the money. I’m here for the animals. I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.

What is the biggest accomplishment in your dairy career? Improving the herd health with the help of the activity system. Our reproduction has really improved since implementing that.

What are things you do to promote your farm or the dairy industry? Besides hosting the dairy breakfast, I also run a Facebook page for the farm. I try to post frequently about the industry.

What advice would you give another woman in the dairy industry? Let your voice be heard. We are in a male-dominated industry, even though there are more and more women becoming involved. Don’t let others put you down.

When you get a spare moment, what do you do? I coach high school volleyball at Brookwood High School. My ancé and I also play volleyball in a league. We also work on wedding planning in our spare time and hope to tie the knot in August 2024.

Wicked problems: Why we struggle to solve major challenges

By Jim Salfer

Our country is divided when it comes to solving some of our major issues. Surveys even show many people want to split the country up because it appears different regions of the country cannot agree on anything, even when urban centers and rural areas benet greatly from each other’s strengths. Part of the reason is that issues rural and urban dwellers see affecting them and their neighborhoods are different. These perspectives of problems make it difcult to come up with solutions to big societal issues such as sustainable food production, climate change, immigration/ border policy and achievement gaps in schools. This consequently results in conict over how to spend tax dollars and policies. There is a scientic term for these large, complex societal problems. They are considered wicked problems.

A wicked problem is dened as a problem that is difcult or impossible to solve because of its complexity and interconnected nature. In our environment of political division, social media and often the attitude that anyone who disagrees with us is an enemy, it is challenging to solve these complex problems. Wicked problems have no perfect solutions and require open discussion and listening to all perspectives before arriving at a compromise that works for everyone. Figure 1 shows 10 properties of wicked problems. A few reasons wicked problems are particularly challenging are:

– Wicked problems involve several stakeholders with perspectives on the problem. One reason it is difcult to agree on a solution is that stakeholders have different values. If you were to ask 10 people about what constitutes sustainable food production, you could easily receive 10 different responses. Responses will vary because of personal values and circumstances. For some, the highest priority of a sustainable food production system is producing nutritious food that is low cost. Other people may be more concerned about using less herbicides and wanting products from animals raised in their natural environment. Cost

is less of a concern. People living in the rural areas may be more interested in supporting a food production system that keeps their local schools and small towns vibrant. All these stakeholders’ perspectives are valid and important; however, potential solutions may compete against each other.

– Wicked problems are unstructured making it difcult to sort out the cause and effect, and there is little consensus in identifying problems and solutions. Is our current food production economically, socially and environmentally sustainable? What are the long-term effects on the environment and food cost if we eliminate all herbicides? Are there any long-term human health or environmental effects of the herbicides we are using? Is grazing better for the environment and animal welfare than connement dairying? Is eliminating all ruminants better for the environment?

For many of these questions, the answers are not clear, and research results are inconclusive or conicting. There are potential tradeoffs with different solutions. Eliminating ruminants will decrease methane production, but many of the human inedible by-products we feed are converted to highly nutritious human food. Landlling these by-products may result in methane production. Grazing cows will result in more perennial crops being grown, potentially lowering erosion while less fuel will be needed to harvest the crop and haul the manure. However, if cows produce less milk, we may need more land and cows to produce the same amount of milk resulting in increased methane production.

– Wicked problems are interconnected, never go away and can only be managed. Solutions involve compromise and tradeoffs. Will eliminating ruminants solve climate change if we keep using fossil fuels? Will building a border wall prevent refugees from attempting to migrate here if their native countries remain in political, social and economic crisis? Will spending more money in schools to narrow the achievement gap work if students are homeless

Dana Adams, adam1744@umn.edu 320-204-2968

Joe Armstrong armst225@umn.edu 612.624.3610

Luciano Caixeta lcaixeta@umn.edu 612-625-3130

Gerard Cramer gcramer@umn.edu 612-625-8184

Marcia Endres miendres@umn.edu 612-624-5391

Fig. 1

without adequate nutrition and parental support?

Most of the major challenges our society faces, what we hear about on the news and what is being debated in the political arena are wicked problems. Before we jump to what may appear to be a simple solution, it is important for us to try and understand everyone’s perspective. We need to have more respectful conversations about all the potential solutions, realizing that solutions will involve compromise and tradeoffs. If we do this, we will craft better solutions that work for everyone.

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

Isaac Salfer ijsalfer@umn.edu 320-296-1357

Jim Salfer salfe001@umn.edu 320-203-6093

Mike Schutz mschutz@umn.edu 612-624-1205

Melissa Wison mlw@umn.edu 612-625-4276

Wisconsin Holstein junior members celebrated

Gunst, Siemers named association’s outstanding youth

By Danielle Nauman danielle.n@dairystar.com

MANITOWOC, Wis. – The Wisconsin Junior Holstein Association celebrated the achievements of its members at its annual convention Jan. 6-8 in Manitowoc.

Junior Holstein enthusiasts from across Wisconsin gathered to take part in a variety of activities and contests at the group’s annual gathering.

The association’s top junior awards, the Wisconsin Outstanding Holstein Boy and Wisconsin Outstanding Holstein Girl, were presented to Matthew Gunst of Hartford and Lauren Siemers of Kiel.

Gunst, 20, is the son of Dennis and Nicole Gunst. He is a junior at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities where he is majoring in animal science and agricultural communications and marketing. Gunst was recognized as a National Distinguished Junior Member in 2022.

“This is something I have worked toward throughout my whole career as a Wisconsin Junior Holstein member,” Gunst said. “I was overwhelmed with excitement and joy to reach that goal I had set for myself as a very young junior member.”

Gunst recalls the beginning of his involvement in the Wisconsin Junior Holstein Association, being pushed by his dairy judging coach, Linda Behling, to take part in Dodge County’s dairy bowl team.

“That really wasn’t something I was certain I wanted to do, but I am grateful to Linda for pushing me toward it,” Gunst said. “That really laid the foundation for everything I have been able to accomplish and experience as a junior.”

As his relationship with Behling grew, she became a mentor for Gunst; and now, Gunst said he wants to become that same mentor for youth.

“Linda really became a role model for me, someone that I decided I wanted to be like in every way possible,” Gunst said.

A highlight of his junior membership came from serving for three years on the Junior Activities Committee, including serving as the group’s chair where he gained knowledge of the in-

ner workings of the association. During that time, Gunst developed a relationship with another industry professional he would come to view as a mentor.

“Wisconsin Holstein’s Executive Director Laura Wackershauser really does such an amazing job, and she has really helped me in the leadership roles I have taken and helped me to succeed,” Gunst said. “From interview preparation, to making sure my applications look fantastic, to being a reference, she is always someone I know I can depend on.”

Networking experiences like those and the friendships Gunst has been able to cultivate are what he considers to be the greatest benets he has taken away from his time as a junior member.

“Never be afraid to try something outside of your comfort zone,” Gunst said. “Don’t be afraid to take every opportunity when it presents itself.”

Siemers, 20, is the daughter of Paul and Jenny Siemers and is in her junior year at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh where she is studying marketing and journalism.

“This is something that I had aspirations for, but to actually achieve it is an unbelievable experience,” Siemers said.

Siemers’ involvement as a junior member goes back as far as she can remember.

“My family has been a huge motivator,” she said. “I have two older brothers and three older cousins who were all really active in the junior association. For as long as I can remember, I have been tagging along to dairy quiz bowl practices, dairy judging and the junior convention.”

Siemers said her parents and her aunt pushed her to try new things as did her dairy judging coach, Angie Ulness.

“They have been the best supporters and role models anyone could ask for,” she said.

Those early experiences allowed Siemers to witness the benets of being an active junior member.

“As I got involved, I really fell in love with everything the association had to offer,” Siemers said. “I am a people person, and I loved the connections and friends I was able to make. That really encouraged me to continue growing my involvement as I got older.”

Siemers said she has always enjoyed the competition and camaraderie that accompanies activities like dairy bowl. With her teammates, Siemers won the senior dairy bowl competition at the convention, earning the right to

compete in the national contest in Kentucky in June.

In 2019, Siemers found her true passion in sharing the story of not only the Holstein cow but the dairy industry in general, serving as the Wisconsin Holstein Princess.

“That was a great honor for me, and I had so many great experiences across the state,” Siemers said. “Being that spokesperson for the Holstein cow and for the association was really a positive experience for me.”

Siemers said the looming end of her career as a junior member is a bittersweet time in her life, and she encourages younger members not to take anything for granted.

“Be grateful for everything you have, and the adults in your life,” she said. “Realize that when you feel they are being tough on you, they are really just pushing you because they care and want to see you succeed. Be open-minded, be outgoing, make great friends; those friends and connections are what you will have forever.”

In addition to Gunst and Siemers, Wisconsin Distinguished Junior Member awards were presented to Ashley Brandel of Lake Mills; Zoe Ertel of Plymouth; Courtney Glenna of Amery; Jacob Harbaugh of Marion; Madeline Hensel of Pittsville; Evan Jauquet of Pulaski; Chloe LaCrosse of Forestville; Sam Mess of Rosendale; Ainsley Noble of Lancaster and Emily Stumpf of Appleton.

Siemers, Ashley Brandel, Glenna and Hensel were selected to represent Wisconsin in the National Distinguished Junior Member contest.

Younger Distinguished Junior Member awards were presented to Jaron Begert of Neillsville; Justin Bran-

del and Katie Brandel of Lake Mills; Alison Gartman of Sheboygan; Cathryn Gunst and Christopher Gunst of Pine River; Vivian Lichty of Beaver Dam; Leah Mess of Rosendale; Laney Neuser of Cato; Ella Raatz of Colby; Cameron Ryan and Dylan Ryan of Fond du Lac; Stella Schmocker of Whitewater and Madison Wiese of Wrightstown.

Katie Brandel, Cathryn Gunst, Christopher Gunst and Dylan Ryan were selected to apply for the National Younger Distinguished Junior Member award.

The 12 and Under Member Recognition award was presented to Royce Booth of Plymouth; Evan Brey of Sturgeon Bay; Kayla Buttles of Lancaster; Elise Gilbertson and Makenna Gilbertson of Hollandale; Madison Harbaugh of Marion; Adella Loehr of Eden; Natalie Mauk of Plymouth; Lexi Metzler of Viroqua; Braelyn Sarbacker of Verona; Madison Sarbacker of Whitewater; Landon Wendorf of Ixonia and Alivia Wiese of Wrightstown.

Ava Booth of Plymouth was named the 2023 Wisconsin Holstein Princess, and Aubrey Behling of Athens was named the Wisconsin Holstein Princess Attendant.

The juniors elected four representatives to their Junior Activities Committee: Paige Sweatt of Dane was elected to join Evan Hathaway of Barneveld representing the southwest district; Madeline Hensel of Pittsville was elected to join Emma Bangart of Stratford representing the northwest district; in the southeast district, Ashley Brandel of Lake Mills will join Lauren Bruenig of Sauk City; and Jacob Harbaugh of Marion will join Brianna Meyer of Calumet-Manitowoc County in representing the northeast district.

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Ma hew Gunst

Lauren Siemers

Years of memories in the making

Johnson retires from Brown Swiss Association

By Danielle Nauman danielle.n@dairystar.com

BELOIT, Wis. – Leonard Johnson has spent the past 27 years devoted to the Brown Swiss breed, an adventure he said has been full of memories and friendships.

“There certainly have been many things about my career that I will remember for a long time,” Johnson said. “I have had the opportunity to travel quite a bit and meet a lot of people, all who are enthusiastic about the Brown Swiss breed.”

Johnson’s journey with the breed began in his youth. His family milked a small herd of Brown Swiss cows near Edgerton; Johnson resides on that farm today. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in dairy science, Johnson served a tour of duty in the United States Army.

When he got out of the Army, Johnson’s dairy career began in earnest in the early 1970s as he went to work for David Bachmann at Pinehurst Farm near Sheboygan Falls. During his time at Pinehurst Farm, Johnson was primarily involved with Bachmann’s business of exporting cattle, although he also spent time

working with the farm’s herd of show cattle.

Following his time at Pinehurst Farm, Johnson worked for ABS Global in the bull barns and serving as a sire analyst, buying bulls for the stud.

“That was kind of an exciting time period,” Johnson said. “While I worked for ABS, they were starting to get into working with embryos, and it was at the beginning of their work with cloning. I was buying high-end heifers for those programs and reselling them after they were nished working with them.”

Eventually, Johnson moved into the position that would become his home for the remainder of his career, working for the Brown Swiss Cattle Breeders’ Association of the USA in Beloit.

When he rst joined the association, Johnson led the association’s young sire sampling program, working to coordinate the procurement and distribution of semen and the collection of data.

From there, he began to work with the All-American program and the Junior Bell Ringer program as well as overseeing the association’s national shows.

“World Dairy Expo is always a highlight,” Johnson said. “There is so much pageantry and so many beautiful cows.”

Eventually, Johnson added serving as a classier into his job description and ultimately took over coordinating the scheduling of all classiers. During his

time working with the association’s classication programs, one of the major changes Johnson oversaw was the increase in the breed’s pinnacle score from 94 points to 95.

“Eloc Wagor Kandid was the rst cow to ever score 95 points in the U.S. after we increased the pinnacle score,” Johnson said. “That was really something exciting to be involved with.”

Throughout his time with the association, Johnson enjoyed the opportunity to travel to other countries as a representative of the Brown Swiss breed in the U.S.

“One of my favorite trips was traveling to Japan where we visited with Japanese Brown Swiss breeders who were processing their milk into cheese,” Johnson said.

Another memorable trip for Johnson was when he spent several weeks in Mexico traveling among dairies to classify cows.

“It was a totally different world there than here,” Johnson said. “Especially the way the dairy farms are operated.”

Throughout his years of involvement with the breed, Johnson has marveled at how the breed has progressed and chang ed.

“The breed has made great strides in type in the past 30 years,” Johnson said. “Udder quality and dairy quality are the two things that really stand out for me.”

While Johnson said many cows have earned his admiration over the years, two rise to the top of his memories.

“Anyone with an interest in Brown Swiss, or just an interest in good cows, has always loved (Old Mill E) Snickerdoodle,” Johnson said. “She was denitely in a league of her own.”

Another cow that stands out in his memory is Top-Acres Present-ET, a cow he scored at Sunshine Genetics.

“She was really ahead of her

time and a cow I really loved seeing,” Johnson said.

After scoring his last herd Dec. 29, 2022, Johnson said he has yet to make any denitive plans for retirement.

“I’m going to take the rest of the winter and just relax a bit and just enjoy my time,” Johnson said. “After that, I will maybe go to some shows to watch and enjoy them, and I plan to continue to remain involved with both the breed and the association to some extent.”

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PHOTO COURTESY OF BROWN SWISS CATTLE BREEDERS’ ASSOCIATION OF THE USA Leonard Johnson enjoys his last day as an employee of the Brown Swiss Ca le Breeders’ Associa on of the USA Dec. 30, 2022 in Beloit, Wisconsin. Johnson wrapped up 27 years of service to the breed.

How did you get into farming? I started farming for money and equity at age 9. I helped with kid chores when my uncle Earl rented and milked cows on my parents’ farm. I begged my dad to get some cows. So, in 1980, at age 9, my dad and mom bought neighbor Donny Schultze’s herd and mortgaged for the cows and silo. My deal was to help every day and get allowance and stock in calves. I farmed summers and every break in college and always wanted to continue farming. Grazing started in the mid-1990s and provided a path to a dairy future.

What are your thoughts and concerns about the dairy industry for the next year? I see the conventional pay price is higher. Organic has been stable but not increasing for a long time. Ination, lack of labor to help and ever fewer dairy services and people is getting to be a major concern. I realistically plan to do most of the work myself and will scale to handle everything possible with very limited labor.

What is a recent change you made on your farm and the reason for it? I purchased a headlock feeder wagon that makes breeding and handling grazing cattle 10 times easier. It is portable and useful for vet work and makes working with cattle safe and keeps them really tame on pasture when I can work with them anytime needed.

Dairy prole pro

Tell us about a skill you possess that makes dairy farming easier for you. My main skill is managing grazing and managing cows organically. I really focus on herd health and prevention of health issues.

What is the best decision you have made on your farm? I’ll be a broken record and say the decision to do intensive managed grazing. It made farming fun again and is a welcome management challenge every day.

What are three things on the farm that you cannot live without? Good quality, weed-free organic land, family help, and good dogs and cats to supervise my work.

What strategies do you use to withstand the volatile milk prices? I went to Organic Valley in 2011 in part because of a stable and fair milk price to farmers. So realistically, organic management and grazing and tons of low cost strategies now and when we were selling conventional milk.

How do you retain a good working relationship with your employees and family? With both family and employees, good communication is key. We emphasize goals and try to make work enjoyable and make the farm into a landscape people want to work on.

What do you enjoy most about dairy farming? Honestly, I love the sense of accomplishment in work while providing good, healthy food to everyone.

What advice would you give other dairy farmers? Work together and cooperate for fair prices and a healthy rural community. Please consider managed grazing as a strategy to raise and milk healthy dairy cattle. Organic farming has been a lifesaver for our farm over the last decade.

What are your plans for your dairy in the next year and ve years? I will increase our focus on cattle breeding this year. We will move toward net zero carbon practices and implement renewable energy solar panels to feed the grid. We will make the work such that someone could be easily trained to help on the farm when needed.

How do you or your family like to spend time when you are not doing chores? We love nature-related activities and travel when possible. Locally, we go snowmobiling and skiing in winter and jet skiing and boating in summer with machines we xed. We love to share meals together and talk about everything going on in the world. Also, we love to be involved with farmer organizations like GrassWorks and the River Country Grazing Network. I always love touring farms and knowing and learning from so many great farmers.

Kevin

SomeStuff Udder

News and Dairy Views from across the region

Compeer Financial offers scholarships to high school seniors

The Fund for Rural America, Compeer Financial’s corporate giving program, is offering 123 scholarships to students this year. Graduating high school seniors who have an agriculture or rural background, or plan to major in an agriculture-related eld at a community college, university or technical school are encouraged to apply between now and March 15.

Each scholarship recipient will receive $1,500 for educational tuition expenses. Qualied applicants must be graduating seniors who live in Compeer Financial’s 144-county territory and have a 3.0 GPA or higher. Recipients will be selected based on a combination of academic achievement; agricultural, community and youth organization involvement; and essays.

To date, the fund has awarded 591 scholarships to graduating seniors, totaling $886,500.

“At Compeer, our mission is to champion the hopes and dreams of rural America, and providing scholarships is just one way we can help fulll our mission,” said Karen Schieler, senior corporate giving specialist. “We know there is a bright future for agriculture and rural communities with these students.”

Students can nd more information and link to the scholarship application at compeer.com/scholarships. All applications must be submitted through the online platform. No paper or email copies will be accepted. The application deadline is March 15.

Holstein Association seeks nominations and scholarship applicants

Nominations are open for Holstein Association USA’s annual awards. These include the 2023 Distinguished Young Holstein Breeder, Elite Breeder and Distinguished Leadership awards.

Award applications are available at: www.holsteinusa.com/awards/individuals.

Nomination applications must be postmarked by Jan. 31. Honorees will receive their recognition during the 2023 National Holstein Convention, June 2327, in Lexington, Kentucky.

Additionally, a scholarship is available to students interested in agriculture who plan to pursue their master’s degree in business administration. The Robert H. Rumler MBA Scholarship awards $3,000 to a qualied individual pursuing their MBA at an accredited university. Applications for this scholarship must be received by April 15

Applications open for funding to help new farmers purchase land

Qualied farmers will receive dollar-for-dollar matching money up to $15,000

Applications are now being accepted for a new grant program to support Minnesotans purchasing their rst farm. The Down Payment Assistance Grant Program is managed by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture and offers dollar-for-dollar matching up to $15,000 for qualied small farmers to purchase farmland.

The MDA’s Rural Finance Authority is awarding this funding using a rst-come, rst-served application process opened Jan. 4. The Minnesota Legislature appropriated $500,000 in scal year 2023 for these grants. The RFA expects to award between 30 and 40 grants in this cycle, depending on the size of requests. A second cycle of $750,000 in funding has been secured and will be made available on July 1.

Farmers must be Minnesota residents who will earn less than $250,000 annually in gross agricultural sales and plan on providing the majority of the day-today physical labor on the farm for at least ve years. Applicants must not have previous direct or indirect farmland ownership.

Applications will continue to be accepted until a waitlist of 100 applicants forms or May 15, whichever comes rst. Approved applications will remain valid for purchases closing within 90 days of approval or until May 15, whichever comes rst.

The application and more information on the Down Payment Assistance Grant can be found at https://www.mda.state.mn.us/down-payment-assistance-grant-program.

Onward

How exciting it is to make New Year’s resolutions. This annual event rings in the new year to start off better, do more or less of something, and focus on personal improvement so I can live happier than the previous year.

I have made resolutions to lose weight, exercise more, drink more water, spend more time with family and less time on the phone or computer. These intentions are good and healthy.

By Tina Hinchley Farmer & Columnist

When I think of resolutions, I also think of resolutions that are made through our farm organizations and cooperatives at our annual meetings. These resolutions get proposed by members of the organization’s body to share with the hopes of making policies that will improve our farms, our communities and the future of our world. These resolutions become the policy that can affect our livelihood and how we go forward to continue to keep our family farms successful.

Every year in the United States and specically in Wisconsin, we are losing record numbers of family farms.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s website, in Wisconsin, January started off with 6,116 dairy farms. This is 437 less than 2022, and in 2021, we lost 379 farms coming out of the pandemic when there was government money trying to assist farms through the struggle. Dairy farmers are less than 1% of the American population, and this is the result of catastrophic loss of the family farms throughout our nation.

I do want to recognize that some of the farms sold out due to farmers retiring without an heir or the lack of a family member’s interest to continue the legacy. A few decided not to rebuild after a weather calamity, be it a re, tornado or ooding. The large majority of the loss of farms was clearly due to nancial struggles to cover the cost of what it takes to farm in these volatile times. I am not saying anything new that dairy farmers haven’t heard before. We have had hard times, and 2023 is going to be similar with high inputs, low milk prices and worker shortages.

I am asking how many more barn doors need to close, how many more trucks full of cows need to leave, how many more heartbreaks can farmers take before we realize we need to nd a way to stop the loss of our dairy farms?

If anything can be predicted, we can say that the past has shown we will be losing at least another family dairy farm every day in Wisconsin. Each and every dairy farm contributes to its community by supporting schools, grocery stores and churches. Dairy farms have a direct economic impact because of their dollars spent on the inputs it takes to feed and care for cows, equipment and land. When a farm goes out of business, the family is devastated, and our communities suffer too.

Looking at the past to predict the future, if we do not get our overproduction into control, we will continue to see farm loss. Basic economics say that when there is too much of any product, the price will drop. When the price drops, farmers need more money to pay the bills so we bring in more cows to make more milk. Where does the milk go? The cooperatives and processing plants have been scrambling for years to keep up with building new infrastructures and closing older inefcient plants to make cheese, powder and other great dairy products at a prot. They do an amazing job for all of us dairy farmers, but they are also creating policies for farmers to control the volume of milk. Maybe it is called a base program or a tier program that holds back the amount of milk to ensure milk is used and not wasted. It is a program that allows for growth but within a reasonable amount.

Both of Wisconsin’s farm organizations have dairy

policy. Wisconsin Farmers Union supports a dairy growth management plan called the Dairy Revitalization Plan, and Wisconsin Farm Bureau supports nding approaches to reduce the risk for the dairy industry and also continued education of producers on the Dairy Revitalization Plan as based on the research by the University of Wisconsin Center for Integrated Agriculture Systems. Other organizations such as the Holstein Association USA, National Dairy Producers Organization Inc., National Farmers Organization, Organization for Competitive Markets and the National Farmers Union also support the Dairy Revitalization Plan.

What is in store for dairy farmers in 2023 is more of the past until we can nd a solution that slows down the dairy farm loss. It is our best interest to nd a way to

reduce the risk to all farms and look into this plan that has research behind it.

Look forward to 2023 with a possibility that the dairy industry could have a better future. Discover what the possibilities would be to your family farm by using online resources. The research has shown it could benet all dairy farmers. Take a moment to learn how this could work and impact dairy farmers, processors and consumers.

Tina Hinchley, her husband Duane and daughter Anna milk 240 registered Holsteins with robots. They also farm 2,300 acres of crops near Cambridge, Wisconsin. The Hinchleys have been hosting farm tours for over 25 years.

Editorial disclaimer: The views expressed by our columnists are the opinions and thoughts of the author and do not reect the opinions and views of Dairy Star staff and ownership.

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professional

I’m a professional

Is what we say

Around the farm, doing this and that Carrying on our way

I’m a professional

We smile and roll our eyes

Grab a pitchfork, syringe, scrub brush

And work like work is a prize

I’m a professional

At so many things it turns out

Keep reading this poem

To see if you have any doubt

At cleaning up messes

Observe me on a Sunday evening When Cora has worn 15 different dresses

I’m a professional

At washing loads and loads of clothes Probably one at folding, too Denitely one of the underwear folding pros

I’m a professional

At feeding three calves at once

Provided they are all starving geniuses It is a fail if one is a dunce

I’m a professional

At being completely in my reading zone House can be crashing down around me I may as well be on an island alone

I’m a professional

At washing dishes in the early morning hours Scraping and scrubbing off food

It is one of my special powers

I’m a professional

At dancing across the kitchen oor

Turn on some polka, “Footloose”

Boys will learn these moves and more

I’m a professional

At tending to livestock in need

Ramblings from the Ridge

Milking them, pulling calves, giving pills Especially hauling down cows’ feed

I’m a professional

At whipping up a meal and a treat Attempting to please all the palettes That in and of itself is no small feat

I’m a professional

At writing crazy poems galore Probably should end this one though I wouldn’t want to be a bore

E-EDITION Read Dairy Star iry Star online FREE at www.dairystar.com

What’s in my car?

Veterinary

Wisdom

Most dairy vets probably still drive trucks with berglass inserts. I used to, but my last few vehicles were small SUVs with a much smaller cabinet inside, because I do not need to carry all that stuff anymore. What’s in my car has changed a lot. Here are a few of the changes.

have treated her except that he did not think milk fever was possible in such a cow. I reminded him that the saying, “Every down cow deserves a bottle of calcium,” is still true. In the old days, I might have treated four to 10 cows for milk fever on a weekend and may have treated some of them twice. Now, I probably treat one every three or four months.

IV needle: Like many dairy doctors, I used to carry a couple of reusable, big, 10- to 12-gauge, 3-inch needles. These were used to administer IV medications to adult cows. Now, I carry six or eight disposable, 2-inch, 14-gauge needles. I estimate that I IV a cow once every couple of months now, so I do not need many. Most conditions that require IV therapy are now treated by our farmers or their staff. My standards have changed as well, in that I would never dream of pounding one of those big, dull needles into the neck of an ailing bovine. Disposable needles are cheap.

By Jim Bennett Columnist

Calcium: I carry two bottles of 23% calcium and one bottle of CMPK. I used to carry at least six to 10 bottles, because milk fever was much more common and most farmers did not treat their own as they do now. The last milk fever cow I treated had been dried up two days earlier, and the farmer would

Mastitis tubes and antibiotics: I do not carry any lactating or dry tubes. Ninety percent or more of our product sales are done direct to the farm, so I do little dispensing. We could not do that in the old days, so everything went off the truck or out of the ofce. Plus, I rarely treat cows for mastitis anymore. I used to carry at least three kinds of lactating tubes and a couple boxes of dry tubes. I am somewhat embarrassed to say that some of those lactating tubes were squeeze-jets lled with a variety of antibiotics and antibiotic concoctions. We thought we were doing the right thing, but today, we understand treatment failure is not usually due to using the wrong antibiotic and the use of antibiotics by dairy veterinarians is much more regulated. As everyone knows, there are only a few parenteral antibiotics we can use in dairy cows, so I carry ceftiofur in various forms, ampicillin and long-acting tetracycline. I do have two or three bottles of other antibiotics for treating respiratory disease in calves. I do not carry any antibiotics or disinfectants for uterine infusions or cleaning cows, because we do not do that anymore either. I used to carry enough tetracycline to infuse at least a couple dozen cows.

Restraint aids: I carry a halter, cow hobbles, a 3-foot section of chain with extra snaps and a trailer tie-down strap. I used to carry a nose lead and a block and tackle apparatus to lift feet. The tie-down strap is used to restrain cows for surgery if a farm does not have a proper chute. Hobbles are for particularly agitated cows or for cows that might need some sort of surgery on the teats or udder. In the old days, I did not carry hobbles or the tie-down strap because I was young, did not think I needed to and, in retrospect, stupid. Now, the nose lead seems to cause too much fear and unpleasantness for the cow, so I would not use it even if I had to IV a cow. Cows are, on average, much calmer than in the old days too. If one cannot hit a vein with a halter, one probably cannot hit a vein. The chain is useful for a bunch of things, including attaching behind a cow in a chute so she cannot back up, to tie a swinging gate to the post on the wall when we are trying to assist a calving cow and other situations where something needs to be tied down. Plus, one can never have too many snaps.

Rectal sleeves: I carry two bags of 100. I palpate a lot of cows and assist with dystocia. Now, I carry a portable

ultrasound machine, which did not even exist in the old days.

Computers: I have a computer, a cell phone and an iPad. I used to have paper invoices in a steel box. Back then, computers were bigger than my car, phones were attached to a wall, and there was no iPad because apple was only something we ate. Now, we do mobile invoicing, mobile reporting, mobile health certicates and veterinary feed directives, and so much more. We have a variety of other electronic gadgets, too, that we sometimes bring to farms. What has changed in my car reects the big changes the dairy industry has seen in the last 40 years. I will not be around in another 40 years, but I sure would like to know what will be in Doc’s car then, and I bet what’s in there will have changed again.

Bennett is one of four dairy veterinarians at Northern Valley Dairy Production Medicine Center in Plainview, Minnesota. He also consults on dairy farms in other states. He and his wife, Pam, have four children. Jim can be reached at bennettnvac@gmail.com with comments or questions.

has changed in my car reflects the big changes the dairy industry has seen in the last 40 years. I will not be around in another 40 years, but I sure would like to know what will be in Doc’s car then.

It probably seems a bit late to be writing a column about Christmas traditions.

The season is over for some people, but as I’m writing this, our family is still celebrating or at least doing activities together that are traditions for us, like going skiing and playing lots of board games. Our family tends to stretch Christmas and New Year’s out over at least a couple weeks. In my opinion, this is the best way to do it as I feel awful if I eat more than one huge holiday meal in a day but prefer to eat as many seasonal meals and hang out with as many family members and friends as possible per holiday.

I used to think it was just our family that celebrated Christmas from around Dec. 20 to Jan. 10. Turns out we just celebrate like they do in Romania and Moldova.

Occasionally, we get calls from people who want to process their own hog for a special event or holiday. A couple weeks ago, a family called us wanting a Christmas pig to butcher for their cel-

ebrations. I told them I had a few extra pigs that weren’t spoken for yet and could help them out with that. They came out to the farm with the whole family, food, drinks and a large propane torch. I’m glad it was a Sunday, and I didn’t have big plans for the middle of the day.

I sorted out the pig they wanted with a little help from them running the gate. We then spent the next four hours having the best time drinking, eating, laughing and disassembling a pig. I mostly stood around and chatted and drank wine as only so many people can torch, wash and scrape hair off a pig at a time, and no one had expected me to be involved past providing the pig. A week later, we repeated the party for some friends of theirs from Moldova who also wanted a pig for their Christmas celebrations.

I learned a lot about the countries of Romania and Moldova and how they celebrate the holidays.

Turns out, they celebrate Christmas like our family does. They begin celebrating around Dec. 20

and end Jan. 7. The family kills a pig at the beginning of the Christmas celebration, and they make different pork dishes throughout the couple weeks of celebrating.

A delicacy I’d never had until this year that they insisted I try was skin right off the pig. At rst, I thought that didn’t sound all that sanitary, but then, they had torched, scraped and washed the whole thing twice then wrapped it in plastic covered in salt. Pig skin and ears are pretty good with a sprinkle of salt.

From the Zweber Farm

Over the years while raising hogs, I’ve never butchered one myself for our family. With the farm store just a quick walk through our garage, we don’t generally have pigs in our basement freezer just for ourselves. We usually are eating all the dropped, weird-looking or odd-sized packages of meat.

By Tim Zweber Farmer & Columnist

That said, after seeing how much those families enjoyed the process of working together while having a great time butchering their own hog, I might propose we add one more tradition to our Christmas season. After seeing quite a few people butcher hogs here, I know there are at least 20 different ways to do it, because not a single one of them has done it the same as the last person.

Maybe try that method of roasting a whole hog in a hole in the ground. That has always intrigued me, but if we’re going to do that for Christmas, I

better plan ahead and dig that hole in the fall before the ground freezes.

Until next time, keep living the dream, providing the foods that make people’s holidays a bit merrier. And, if someone offers you something you’ve never eaten before, give it a try. You never know what weird things you may nd enjoyable.

Tim Zweber farms with his wife, Emily, their three children and his parents, Jon and Lisa, near Elko, Minnesota.

After seeing how much those families enjoyed the process of working together while having a great time butchering their own hog, I might propose we add one more tradition to our Christmas season.

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Carrying on the multigenerational farm

One of the greatest things about America is its farmers; in particular, its dairy farmers.

For generations, they have been the hard-working backbone of countless communities across this great

started 60 years ago. We are strongly invested in learning new ideas, techniques and management practices, allowing almost all services to be executed by the team within the dairy.

By

& Ellen Stenger Columnists

country. At one time, America’s dairy farms totaled more than 5 million. Now, they number less than 32,000. Of those that remain, many of them are multi-generational farms with family livelihoods, histories and knowledge that have been passed down from generation to generation.

Our dairy farm is one of those farms.

The story of our family dairy began with our grandfather, Wilfred Becker. Wilfred was not the eldest son and did not have the opportunity to take over the family dairy farm. Therefore, Wilfred and his young family set out on their own, eventually purchasing a neighboring dairy farm in 1964, which consisted of 14 Holstein cows, an array of pigs and chickens, and 160 acres.

Transforming over the decades, the dairy transitioned from grandfather to sons, adding more cows, discontinuing the pigs and eventually shifting again from sons to daughters, evolving into what is currently NexGen Dairy.

NexGen is now a third-generation dairy farm owned and operated by our family, Megan and Tim Schrupp, Ellen and Brandon Stenger, and Vern and Mary Kay Becker.

What started out with 14 Holsteins has now become a family farm milking about 1,000 Jersey and Jersey-cross cows. Instead of brothers at the helm, we’re two sisters, Megan and Ellen, who, along with our husbands, are in pursuit of not only continuing our family heritage and legacy but building the increasingly rare and priceless lifestyle that only dairy farming affords.

Our dairy aims to remain protable and sustainable to allow us to carry on the legacy our grandparents

Megan, a large animal veterinarian specializing in dairy medicine, is responsible for all the reproduction and herd health of the dairy. Ellen tackles all things accounting and assists with the daily care of the cows and heifers. Brandon, an agronomist, and Tim, a contractor by trade, are busy with crop production and manure pumping. Tim teams up with Vern on nutrition for the dairy, and Vern presides over a portion of the hoof trimming as well as assisting with the eldwork and manure operations. Brandon is also busy managing replacement heifers and, along with Tim, spearheads any construction projects that have occurred on the dairy farm.

Most recently, we have added new heifer facilities, including a grouphoused calf barn with individual feeding and a new fresh cow milking parlor and transition cow facilities. In addition to the milking herd, we raise our replacements on-site and tend to just over 1,000 acres, providing forages for our dairy. We are constantly vigilant, looking for new ideas and technologies to implement that enable us to eliminate bottlenecks or increase efciencies.

Individual cow data from smart tags has been implemented on the dairy and is utilized in conjunction with other systems to maximize cow health and longevity. Several side projects have also been added to our dairy, such as beekeeping, Guernsey cows, maple syrup production, solar energy generation for the dairy, and the addition of a vegetable and cut ower farm and farm market.

We enjoy working as a team, building off of each other’s strengths and interests to achieve success. We constantly strive to learn more, to do better and to invest in technologies and ideas while maintaining the core lessons and values that we as farmers have passed down through the generations.

In the coming issues, we, Megan and Ellen, hope to share more about our dairy, new ideas we’ve implemented and lessons we’ve learned with you, our readers, in the hopes that you, too, are proud of your family dairy heritage and committed to carrying it forward.

Megan Schrupp and Ellen Stenger are sisters and co-owners of both NexGen Dairy and NexGen Market in Eden Valley, Minnesota. They can be reached at nexgendairy@gmail. com.

Megan Schrupp

The NexGen: Adventures of two dairy daughters

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Sauk Centre, MN 320-352-5762 • 800-342-2697

Centre Dairy Equipment and Supply Inc.

Sauk Centre, MN

Fuller’s Milker Center, LLC

Lancaster, WI • 800-887-4634 Richland Center, WI • 608-647-4488

Fuller’s Milker Center, Inc.

Midwest Livestock Systems, LLC

Zumbrota, MN • 800-233-8937 Menomonie, WI • 715-235-5144

J Gile Dairy Equipment, Inc.

Renner, SD • 800-705-1447

Kozlovsky Dairy Equipment

Leedstone, Inc. Melrose, MN

Glencoe, MN

Leedstone, Inc. Melrose, MN 320-256-3303 • 800-996-3303 Glencoe, MN 320-864-5575 • 877-864-5575 Plainview, MN • 800-548-5240 Menomonie, WI • 715.231.8090

Sioux Dairy Equipment, Inc.

Sioux Dairy Equipment, Inc. Rock Valley, IA

Rock Valley, IA 712-476-5608 • 800-962-4346

Colton, SD Service 800-944-1217 Edgerton, MN Chemical Sales 507-920-8626

Midwest Livestock Systems, LLC

Monroe WestfaliaSurge

Monroe, WI • 608-325-2772

Preston Dairy Equipment Sparta, WI • (608) 269-3830

Central Ag Supply Inc.

J Gile Dairy Equipment

Cuba City, WI • (608) 744-2661

Kozlovsky Dairy Equipment

Kaukauna, WI •920-759-9223 Weston, WI • 715-298-6256

Stanley Schmitz, Inc.

Juneau, WI • 920-386-2611 Baraboo, WI • 608-356-8384

Monroe Westfalia Surge

Stanley Schmitz, Inc. Chilton, WI • 920-849-4209

Tri-County Dairy Supply

Eastern Iowa Dairy Systems Epworth, IA • (563) 876-3087

Preston Dairy Equipment

Tri-County Dairy Supply Janesville, WI • (608) 757-2697