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C E L E B R A T I N G
2 5
Y E A R S
DAIRY ST R 25
January 27, 2024
“All dairy, all the time”™
Volume 25, No. 23
Her favorite place to be Nielsen fullls dream to farm while managing two herds By Stacey Smart
stacey.s@dairystar.com
STACEY SMART/DAIRY STAR
Madalyn Nielsen poses with a favorite Brown Swiss cow Jan. 11 in the Ɵestall barn on her family’s farm near Lake Mills, Wisconsin. Nielsen began buying Brown Swiss six years ago and now owns 12 head.
LAKE MILLS, Wis. — Every morning, Madalyn Nielsen walks down the stairs of her second-story apartment in her grandma’s red brick house to start the workday with her dog, Reed, at her side. The 22-year-old has a lot of responsibility on the farm, but she could not imagine doing anything else. “I’ve known I wanted to be a farmer ever since I was 3 years old and saw a cow give birth,” Nielsen said. Nielsen farms with her dad, Christopher, and her grandma, Mary Ann. The Nielsens milk 145 cows and farm 530 acres near Lake Mills. Nielsen milks mornings and nights, feeds calves, does herd records, gives vaccinations, treats sick ani-
mals and more. Nielsen manages two herds, splitting her duties between the two — farm A and farm B — named after the county road on which each is located. Nielsen and Mary Ann live on farm A, the home farm, where she milks 65 cows with six units. She typically gets help from her dad or a part-time high school student. Five miles away at farm B, a hired hand milks 80 cows. At farm A, cows are milked and housed in a 65-stall tiestall barn with access to pasture, where they spend nights in nice weather. At farm B, cows are housed in sand-bedded free stalls and milked in a 52-stall stanchion barn. Keeping somatic cell count low is a focus for the Nielsens, who won a milk quality award
Turn to NIELSEN | Page 2
Wisconsin farm numbers fall to 5,661 Retirement, economics contribute to decline By Stacey Smart
stacey.s@dairystar.com
Farmers reaching retirement age and the economic struggles of the year contributed to a portion of Wisconsin dairy farms exiting the industry in 2023. As of Jan. 1, there were 5,661 licensed dairy herds in Wisconsin, according to the United States Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service. Wisconsin lost 455 dairy farms in 2023 — a drop of 7.5% from one year prior when herd numbers were at 6,116. The decline is similar
to recent years when 2022 saw a loss in dairy farms of 6.4% and 2021 experienced of a drop of about 6%. “Farmers are aging out and retiring,” said Chad Vincent, CEO of Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin. “In 2020, 64% of the lead dairy farmers in the family were over the age of 50 while 16% were over 65. That was over four years ago, so now, the vast majority are almost 55 while a big chunk is closing in on 70 years old.” A 2020 study of Wisconsin dairy farmers conducted by DFW and the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
revealed that 17% of farmers were not going to be milking cows in ve years. For farms with 200 cows or fewer, the number was 22%. Only 40% of survey respondents had identied a successor to keep the farm a milking operation. “If the numbers hold true, we can expect to be down to around 3,500 farms when these people retire,” Vincent said. A concentration of dairy farms and cows can be found in pockets across the state. As of Jan. 1, the top 10 dairy counties by farm numbers are Clark 638, Marathon 356, Grant 243, Dane 173, Lafayette 173, Shawano 168, Monroe 166, Chippewa 161, Manitowoc 148 and Dodge 147. Fond du Lac and Taylor counties
The top 10 Wisconsin dairy counƟes by farm numbers Clark Marathon Grant Dane Lafayette
638 356 243 173 173
follow with 146 dairy farms each. The counties that lost the most farms from 2023 to 2024 were Clark with 28, Marathon 26, Grant 25, Monroe 24 and Vernon 24. Vincent said economics and the milk price also played a part in the timing
Shawano Monroe Chippewa Manitowoc Dodge
168 166 161 148 147
of a producer’s choice to exit. The increasing value of cows for beef might have moved up some people’s timeline for selling as well.
Turn to WI FARMS | Page 6
Page 2 • Dairy Star • Saturday, January 27, 2024
DAIRY ST R www.dairystar.com
ISSN Print: 2834-619X • Online: 2834-6203
522 Sinclair Lewis Ave. Sauk Centre, MN 56378 Phone: 320-352-6303 Fax: 320-352-5647 Published by Star Publications LLC General Manager/Editor Mark Klaphake - mark.k@dairystar.com 320-352-6303 (ofce) 320-248-3196 (cell) 320-352-0062 (home) Ad Composition - 320-352-6303 Nancy Powell • nancy.p@dairystar.com Karen Knoblach • karen.k@star-pub.com Annika Gunderson • annika@star-pub.com Editorial Staff Maria Bichler - Assistant Editor maria.b@dairystar.com Stacey Smart - Assistant Editor 262-442-6666 • stacey.s@dairystar.com Danielle Nauman - Staff Writer 608-487-1101 • danielle.n@dairystar.com Abby Wiedmeyer - Staff Writer 608-487-4812 • abby.w@dairystar.com Tiffany Klaphake - Staff Writer 320-352-6303 • tiffany.k@dairystar.com Jan Lefebvre - Staff Writer jan.l@star-pub.com Amy Kyllo - Staff Writer amy.k@star-pub.com Emily Breth - Staff Writer emily.b@star-pub.com Consultant Jerry Jennissen 320-346-2292 Advertising Sales Main Ofce: 320-352-6303 Fax: 320-352-5647 Deadline is 5 p.m. of the Friday the week before publication Sales Manager - Joyce Frericks 320-352-6303 • joyce@saukherald.com National Sales Manager - Laura Seljan (National Advertising, SE MN) 507-250-2217 • fax: 507-634-4413 laura.s@dairystar.com Assistant Sales Manager - Kati Schafer (Northeast WI and Upper MI) 920-979-5284 • kati.s@dairystar.com Jerry Nelson (SW MN, NW Iowa, South Dakota) 605-690-6260 • jerry.n@dairystar.com Mike Schafer (Central, South Central MN) 320-894-7825 • mike.s@dairystar.com Megan Stuessel (Western Wisconsin) 608-387-1202 • megan.s@dairystar.com Julia Merten (Southeast MN and Northeast IA) 507-438-7739 • julia.m@star-pub.com Bob Leukam (Northern MN, East Central MN) 320-260-1248 (cell) bob.l@star-pub.com Mark Klaphake (Western MN) 320-352-6303 (ofce) • 320-248-3196 (cell) Deadlines The deadline for news and advertising in the Dairy Star is 5 p.m. Friday the week before publication. Subscriptions One year subscription $40.00, outside the U.S. $200.00. Send check along with mailing address to Dairy Star, 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave., Sauk Centre, MN 56378. Advertising Our ad takers have no authority to bind this newspaper and only publication of an advertisement shall constitute nal acceptance of the advertiser's order. Letters Letters and articles of opinion are welcomed. Letters must be signed and include address and phone number. We reserve the right to edit lengthy letters. The views and opinions expressed by Dairy Star columnists and writers are not necessarily those of the Dairy Star / Star Publications LLC.
The Dairy Star is published semi-monthly by Star Publications LLC, 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave., Sauk Centre, MN 56378-1246. Periodicals Postage Paid at Sauk Centre, MN and additional mailing ofces. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Dairy Star, 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave., Sauk Centre, MN 56378-1246. © 2023 Star Publications LLC
ConƟnued from NIELSEN | Page 1 from Dairy Farmers of America last year and have had a SCC as low as 32,000. “We make sure cows are clean and that we keep everything clean to produce quality milk,” Nielsen said. “We also test milk from fresh or treated cows before we ship it.” Mary Ann and her late husband, Robert, purchased farm B in 1963. They rented farm A before buying it in 1976. They relocated to farm A but continued to milk cows at both places. Mary Ann owns both farms as well as half the cattle, while Nielsen’s dad owns the other half of the herd. “Dad and I would like this farm to be ours eventually,” Nielsen said. Nielsen owns 12 registered Brown Swiss which are housed at farm A. The Holstein, Red and White and Jersey herd owned by her dad and grandma is split between the farms. “I love the Swiss,” said Nielsen, who bought her rst animal about six years ago. “Swiss have a stubborn and sassy personality — kind of like me. They are a challenge, but I like a challenge. The calves are hard to raise, but the cows are hardy and rarely get sick.” Nielsen started working on her grandma’s farm when she was 13 by caring for calves and, later, milking cows. When her aunt Nancy passed away, Nielsen took over naming the calves and managing their records. Nielsen is responsible for the health of all cows and calves. She is present at every herd check and works with the
STACEY SMART/DAIRY STAR
The Nielsen family — Mary Ann (from leŌ), Madalyn and Christopher — pauses for a photo Jan. 11 on their farm near Lake Mills, Wisconsin. The Nielsens milk 145 cows in two herds and farm 530 acres. farm’s nutritionist and veterinarian to make improvements. “I work with our vet, Dr. Jen Brase of Cattle Creek Veterinary Clinic, a lot,” Nielsen said. “I ask her stuff all the time, and she’s helped me gain a lot of knowledge.” Calf care is a priority for Nielsen, whose intuition keeps her on top of health issues. “I just know if they’re not feeling
good,” she said. “I don’t want to lose any calves, and I’m a critic with calf care from the moment a calf is born.” All calves are raised at farm A in outdoor hutches. Nielsen has about 20 calves on milk. She cares for all newborns, including those born at farm B, ensuring they are promptly fed colostrum and receive preventative treatments.
Turn to NIELSEN | Page 5
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Dairy Star • Saturday, January 24, 2024 • Page 3
Lake Mills, WI
Nielsen fullls dream to farm while managing two herds First Section: Pages 1 - 2, 5
Thorp, WI
Boehlke plans social gathering for dairy women First Section: Page 9
Withee, WI
Pittsville, WI
Blacksmithing a hobby for 11-year-old Hughes First Section: Pages 26 - 27
Women in Dairy: Cherrie Frost First Section: Page 29
Bangor, WI
Elroy, WI
People Moving Product Second Section: Page 17
The Day That Went Awry Second Section: Page 10
FROM OUR SIDE OF THE FENCE: On-farm mechanics: Did you receive schooling in mechanics or are you self-taught? First Section: Pages 15 -16
Understanding the milk carton shortage First Section: Pages 11 - 12
Independence, WI
Dairy Prole: Bob Gierok Frist Section: Pages 32 - 33
Baraboo, WI
Kids Corner: The Turners Third Section: Pages 8 - 9
For additional stories from our other zone, log on to www.dairystar.com
Zone 1
Zone 2
Columnists A Insider Ag Page 10 First F Section Fir
Farmer and Columnist Page 35 First Section
R Ramblings from the Ridge Page 36 First Fi Section
Something So to Ruminate On P Page 37 Fir First Section
Ju Thinking Just Out Loud Page 38 F First Section
D Dairy Good Life Page 39 First Fi Section
The “Mielke” Market Weekly Pages 6 - 7 Second Section
Page 4 • Dairy Star • Saturday, January 27, 2024
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Dairy Star • Saturday, January 27, 2024 • Page 5
ConƟnued from NIELSEN | Page 2
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Madalyn Nielsen looks over her binder of records Jan. 11 during a daily heifer health check near Lake Mills, Wisconsin. Nielsen manages two herds and keeps paper records for every animal. Nielsen also cleans barns, beds calf hutches, does daily herd health checks and helps with eldwork. Nielsen attended the University of Wisconsin Farm and Industry Short Course and was a member of the last class to graduate from the Madison campus in 2022. Nielsen said her heart is at home with the cows, and during her rst semester, she made the 45-minute drive back and forth each day, milking cows before and after classes. “I just had to be here,” Nielsen said. “I don’t want to be away from the farm. When I’m not here, I feel like I’m missing something or that I could be doing something better.” Nielsen has certicates in dairy farm management, management of soils and crops, and foundation of farm and agribusiness management. She is also certied to breed cattle. “I want to start breeding our cows, but I need a little more training,” she said. “I put what I learned toward our farm and continue to learn more each day.” Promoting wellness and identifying the rst signs of ketosis, milk fever or pneumonia are skills Nielsen learned in the short course that have proven of value in managing the herd. “I brought a lot of that back and do all the treating of calves and heifers,” Nielsen said. “My dad helps with bigger heifers and cows.” Nielsen makes culling and purchasing decisions, while her grandma and uncle make nancial decisions. “I always want to do more things on the farm and would like to start getting into the nancial aspects too,” Nielsen said.
Nielsen is accustomed to being a leader. She served as president of her high school FFA chapter and received the American FFA Degree. She was a member of the track team and mentored younger students as well. Nielsen’s short-term goal is to switch to an electronic program for storing all animal records. She would also like to build a dedicated dry cow and maternity pen at farm A with a goal to move all cows to this location. Two farms create twice the challenges, and Nielsen is hoping to consolidate the herds. “It’s challenging to have two farms,” she said. “We have two of everything. It’s a lot of money and maintenance. I have to be in both places, and sometimes I’m just running around all day. It would be nice to have everything in one spot.” She has also considered adding a freestall barn and milking parlor at farm A. “I love the tiestall barn, but it might be easier on my knees,” Nielsen said. “I would retrot the parlor into the barn. I would also like to get a few really nice cows and sell embryos to earn a little more income beyond milking.” Currently, other revenue streams for the farm are cash crops and steers. Nielsen is hands-on, tackling all chores as she fullls her lifelong dream of being a dairy farmer. “Even though it’s a hard business, farming is something I would love to do forever,” Nielsen said. “I love cows so much and have great connections with my animals. I wouldn’t want to do anything else.”
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ConƟnued from WI FARMS | Page 1
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YOU’RE INVITED! On Wednesday, January 31, join Lely Center Monroe for an exciting Learn with Lely Bus Tour! Get on board as we tour four Lely robotic dairies, learn about the beneƬts of automated dairy systems and chat with producers who made the switch. Don’t miss this fantastic opportunity for a deep dive into the future of dairy! Sign up today, space is limited.
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“Last year was a really difcult to this number growing by a signinancial year, and a lot of govern- cant percentage every year, Vincent ment subsidies were coming to an said. The state is strong in processing end,” Vincent said. “We never want to see a farmer leave that wants to and manufacturing capabilities with 275 processors. stay in.” “We are so blessed with the inDairy farmer and processor, Ken Heiman, said the reason farmers are frastructure that we have here, from exiting the industry undoubtedly has the farms to the processors to the haulers to state government and all to do with money. “We have a lot of farmers who the facilities and abilities the state are baby boomers, and they’re look- brings, including the Center for ing to get out,” Heiman said. “With Dairy Research,” Vincent said. “No prices so subdued right now, how one on the planet has the infrastrucdoes anybody go in and buy a small ture for dairy like Wisconsin does.” farm out?” Outside general economics of Heiman and his wife, the world, Vincent said Joellen, milk 500 cows the hardest obstacle pronear Marsheld and also cessors face today is laown Nasonville Dairy bor. and Weber’s Farm Store. “Many processors “I’m 70-plus years could be selling more, old and have seen a lot producing more and of guys I went to school packaging more, but they with who farmed with me don’t have enough labor all this time, who are refor second and third shifts tired one way or the other to keep plants running at now,” Heiman said. the levels they wish they Heiman said that Chad Vincent could,” Vincent said. sometimes farmers seek Dairy Farmers of On the ip side of these missed opportuniother opportunities to Wisconsin ties, plant expansions are occurring make a living on the same land. “Right now, the price of corn and new plants are opening. In addiis spectacular, and soybeans are tion, Vincent said, across the board, great too,” he said. “A lot of people government funding is becoming are also buying wheat and alfalfa. available to the processing industry Farmers are seeing they don’t have to support increased equipment and to milk cows to actually make a liv- hauling. As farmers look to keep more ing.” Although Wisconsin has lost of their money on the farm, on-farm nearly half of its dairy farms in the processing is becoming more populast 10 years, cow numbers remain lar. “There’s not a week that goes steady. As of November 2023, Wisconsin was home to 1,270,000 dairy by that I’m not talking to farmers cows. The average number of cows about a farmstead operation,” Vincent said. “There is so much interest per dairy farm is 221. Vincent said those numbers are in it.” positive for Wisconsin. Heiman sees opportunities for “We have an amazing number young people looking to enter the and diversity of farms,” Vincent industry but said they should do said. “There are farms with 50 cows their research before getting started. to farms with thousands of cows. “The rst thing is to make sure It’s not like that in most places.” you know what it costs you to proVincent said the average num- duce milk,” Heiman said. “Never be ber of cows per farm in California is afraid of the (Dairy Revenue Protec1,500 and in Texas, it is 2,000. tion) program. When you have your In 1983, the average cow num- milk price established that you can ber per farm in Wisconsin was 42, a afford, and you can get a DRP progrowth of 81% to today. Since 2015, gram that helps ensure this, you’re when the average herd size was 128 guaranteeing that you’re not going cows, herds have grown by 42%. to lose money.” The largest concentrations of Heiman expects the number of farms and cows tend to be found on dairy farms to drop off at a similar land that supports good crops and a rate as 2023 in the rst half of 2024 but then slow in the second half. strong milkshed, Heiman said. “I’m a rm believer there’s goAlthough dairy herds are disappearing from the landscape, milk ing to be a higher price for milk in production in the state continues to the second half of 2024,” Heiman climb. Total monthly milk produc- said. “This might sustain people tion for November 2023 was at 2.58 who were thinking they could get billion pounds. Better management, out but don’t have to right now befeeding and technology contribute cause the price is good.”
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To register for this Learn with Lely event, scan the QR code or visit www.lely.com/tour. Please note that times listed above account only for on-farm tours and not for traveling to and from the region. If you have any questions please contact Jordan Beyler at jbeyler@moe.lelycenter.com or 888-927-4450. The information given in this publication is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute an oƪer for sale. Certain products may not be available in individual countries and products supplied may diƪer from those illustrated. No part of this publication may be copied or published by means of printing, photocopying, microƬlm or any other process whatsoever without prior permission in writing by Lely Holding B.V. Although the contents of this publication have been compiled with the greatest possible care, Lely cannot accept liability for any damage that might arise from errors or omissions in this publication. For more information on the right on exclusive use please refer to our trademark notice on www.lely.com. Copyright © 2024 Lely Holding B.V. All rights reserved. 0918_0124_US
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Dairy Star • Saturday, January 27, 2024 • Page 7
Extricating his survival Friese on the farm after being crushed between skid loader, mixer By Amy Kyllo
amy.k@star-pub.com
WANAMINGO, Minn. — Marshall Friese said he thought his life was over when he was pinned between the cab of his skid loader and the unloader of the mixer at his family’s farm near Wanamingo. The morning of June 12, 2023, started as usual with Marshall mixing feed. The mixer was backed into a large feed room, and Marshall was driving a skid loader to load hay. The particular skid loader tended to creep forward and no longer had safety features. As he was loading, hay was blocking his view of the scale. As he had done in the past, Marshall leaned up and out of the skid loader part way to move the hay out of his sightline. “That day, (the skid loader) decided to creep forward,” Marshall said. “I don’t know if I thought I had time, or if it
AMY KYLLO/DAIRY STAR
Marshall and Alyssa Friese stand outside the barn Jan. 5 at Rodash-View near Wanamingo, Minnesota. Marshall recovered aŌer being crushed between a skid loader and the unloader of the mixer June 12, 2023, and is back working on the dairy farm.
was revved up more than normal and just moved quicker.” When he was initially trapped, the skid loader was not fully extended so he had room to move. But this ran
out as the skid loader creeped forward. Then, Marshall feared for his life as he heard a crunching sound. “Nobody ever checks on me when I’m doing chores,”
Marshall said. “It would have been hours.” Marshall was able to extricate himself by kicking one side of the skid loader into
reverse. Before getting himself help, Marshall got back in the skid loader and turned it off so that it would not spin in circles and strike the walls or mixer. Marshall’s family was milking 75 cows in the adjoining tiestall barn. “I couldn’t tell them what happened because I couldn’t talk,” Marshall said. “I could hardly breathe. ... Nothing would come out.” Complicating this was the fact that Marshall had no outward bleeding. Marshall’s mom, Becky, drove him to a clinic in Wanamingo then to Cannon Falls to get an X-ray for broken ribs. In the waiting room at Cannon Falls, still unable to speak and with hospital staff unaware of how serious his injury was, Marshall began to pass out, rst losing his sight then his hearing. Marshall was eventually air lifted to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. Marshall’s wife of less than three months, Alyssa, was working at Mayo Clinic when she heard news of an accident. At the time, she was told a skid loader bucket had fallen on Marshall. Turn to FRIESE | Page 8
Page 8 • Dairy Star • Saturday, January 27, 2024
ConƟnued from FRIESE | Page 7
Nikki Bo Boxler | DFA A farmer-owner
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Alyssa and Marshall Friese smile at the hospital during the hospitalizaƟon for Marshall’s pseudoaneurysm in July 2023 at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. From June 2023 through September 2023, Marshall was admiƩed to the hospital six Ɵmes, where he spent a total of six weeks in surgeries and recovery.
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“It was all the feelings but nothing at the same time,” Alyssa said. The ofcial diagnosis was a grade-5 lacerated liver — grade 5 being the most severe possible — but no broken ribs. After undergoing an embolization procedure to stop the internal bleeding from three blood vessels, Marshall spent four days in the intensive care unit. He followed this with another four days in the hospital before heading home. Before the accident, Marshall had worked full time on his family’s dairy farm, Rodash-View, near Wanamingo, alongside his dad, David, mom and brother, Josh. In his absence, one of his close friends from childhood, Parker Erickson, mixed feed every day for ve months. “I didn’t really second guess it,” Erickson said. “I just gured he’s in need and needs help. And, if it was the other way around, he’d do the same.” Erickson woke early to mix feed before going to work at his custom cattle hauling business or on his own beef and crop farm. In the evenings, he would mix again and visit with Alyssa when she needed someone to talk to after her shift at the hospital. “I just added a couple hours to the day,” Erickson said. “I’d do it all over again if I had to.” Marshall’s brother-in-law also coordinated help so Marshall’s custom wrapping business could continue in his absence. The Frieses received other community support, including offers to help with chores and house cleaning and food and household supplies. “I truly never felt alone throughout the experience,” Alyssa said. From the day of the accident on, the Frieses were in and out of the hospital for six admissions. Marshall accumulated about six weeks in the hospital. One of these admissions was July 6, 2023. Alyssa was upstairs getting ready for her volleyball league when she heard Marshall shout. Downstairs, the drain on Mar-
shall’s liver was lled with blood. “(It) felt like somebody stabbed me in the chest with a knife,” Marshall said. Alyssa grabbed a container to empty the drain, and they drove to the hospital. They had driven a short distance when Marshall said he needed an ambulance. At the hospital, medical staff determined Marshall had a pseudoaneurysm. To stop the bleeding, he underwent another embolization procedure. Alyssa said they were in and out of the hospital until Marshall could have surgery on his liver. “The second we would go back home, infection would start,” Alyssa said. Marshall had multiple drains in the three months before surgery. These drains helped remove the blood and bile as well as the decaying liver on the right lobe from the laceration. In the rst 15 days post-injury, they drained about 10 liters of uid from his body. Through the months, the drains were often up-sized, replaced or put into a different place to drain pockets of uid. They drained uid from the liver area, the pleural cavity — where uid would put pressure on Marshall’s lungs making it difcult to breath — and other areas of his body. On Sept. 19, 2023, Marshall had surgery to remove the right lobe of his liver and his gallbladder. Marshall has not been admitted to the hospital since his post-surgery hospital stay. In October, Marshall was able to drive combine for a friend, and in November, he started working on the dairy farm again. Marshall goes to the farm once a day. Marshall moves slower and does not shovel or carry buckets but said he hopes to be close to normal by spring. Marshall is mixing feed with the same mixer and skid loader that caused the accident. Now however, he takes time for safety precautions. “I’d rather waste three minutes of my daily chores than six months of my life,” Marshall said.
Dairy Star • Saturday, January 27, 2024 • Page 9
Building connections in an isolating industry
Boehlke plans gathering for dairy women By Danielle Nauman danielle.n@dairystar.com
THORP, Wis. — Dairy farming can be an isolating career, and while the advent of social media may ease that isolation, a lack of personal interaction is felt by many dairy farmers. That hole spurred Melissa Boehlke into action. Boehlke has been a member of the Dairy Moms Facebook group for the past four years. The group, launched by Ohio dairy farmer Jodi McDonnell in 2017, has become a sounding board for more than 4,900 dairy industry women from around the globe. “There are all these amazing women in the Dairy Moms group, and you begin to feel like you have a close connection with many of them even though you’ve never met,” Boehlke said. “There is a real camaraderie there. Sometimes it’s hard to have someone to talk to who understands the pressures of farming, and those women provide that.” Boehlke milks 65 cows with her husband, Dave, and stepson, Dan, on their dairy farm near Thorp. The idea to host a get-to-
gether has been simmering in her mind for the past year or two, Boehlke said. “Many of the ladies are from this area of Wisconsin, and while I know a lot of them personally, I realized there are probably more who I have never met, even though they live relatively close to me,” Boehlke said. “I thought it would be a good idea to have a gathering to meet in person.” Boehlke decided there was no time like the present to throw herself into planning a gathering. Boehlke will host an in-person event for the group Feb. 15. “Last spring, I was involved with planning the state meeting for the Wisconsin Jersey Breeders Association, and I realized that planning gatherings doesn’t have to be any harder than you make it,” Boehlke said. Keeping it simple has been Boehlke’s guiding principle for setting up the gathering. “I thought about going the route of getting a meal catered in, but I also wanted to be mindful of keeping the cost of the event down,” Boehlke said. “I didn’t want to have to charge to cover the cost of anything. Times are particularly tight right now for anyone involved in
dairy farming, and I didn’t want cost to be anything that prohibited someone from attending.” While she did not solicit donations to offset the cost of the event, Boehlke said she was surprised when donations were extended. “Joe’s Refrigeration and Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin heard about the gathering and contacted me about helping to offset the costs of the event,” Boehlke said. “That was great to receive that support.” Boehlke is asking event attendees to bring a dish to pass for a potluck meal. “I’m not having a signup or assigning certain dishes to certain parts of the alphabet,” Boehlke said. “I hate the idea of telling someone what they need to bring. I want everyone to bring something they enjoy making.” Most of the day will focus on fellowship and building personal relationships, Boehlke said. “I thought about having a speaker or something more structured, but I decided that for this one, I wanted to focus on personal interaction rather than sitting there and listening to someone else talk,” Boehlke said. Boehlke is hoping for an open discussion forum that is conversational. “We’ll have some discussion starting topics and encourage others to bring ideas as
DANIELLE NAUMAN/DAIRY STAR
Melissa Boehlke displays an example of a stencil art craŌ Jan. 22, like the ones that will be featured at the Dairy Moms social she is hosƟng, in Thorp, Wisconsin. Boehlke is hosƟng the Feb. 15 event as a way to help central Wisconsin dairy women connect with other like-minded people. well,” Boehlke said. “People can ask questions to get group feedback and opinion, either in person or anonymously, writing their question on paper.” Besides food and fellowship, Boehlke will provide materials for stenciling crafts. Wood will be provided. If someone would like to decorate a cutting board or another wooden object, she encourages them to bring it along. “I just really want this to be a
laid-back fun day, one where we can all just relax, be ourselves, meet new friends and enjoy each other’s company,” Boehlke said. “Dairy farming is so stressful, and the isolation that you can feel, especially during the long winter months, doesn’t help. I don’t know where this will go. I hope it grows into a regular thing that we can all look forward to and, at the very least, put a smile on the faces of some central Wisconsin dairy moms.”
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A group of nine House Republicans is asking AgCountry announces special $125M patronage the U.S. Department of Agriculture to quickly open dividend enrollment for the 2024 Dairy Margin Coverage AgCountry Farm Credit Services will distribprogram. In a letter to U.S. Secretary ute a record $125 million patronage Ag Insider of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Farm dividend to its member-owners. The Service Agency Administrator Zach AgCountry board has issued a 1% paDucheneaux, the lawmakers said dairy tronage dividend for the past ve years. farmers are facing a difcult market enDue to the success of this past year, the vironment and need the ability to select board has declared a special secondary their DMC coverage level for this year. 50 basis point patronage dividend. The rst installment will be paid in March Time to get serious on the farm bill with the second tentatively set for midSenate Agriculture Committee year. Chair Debbie Stabenow has outlined her plan to strengthen the safety net in EPA ofcial to leave the agency the new farm bill. In the letter to her The assistant administrator of the committee, Stabenow said farm proU.S. Environmental Protection AgenBy Don Wick grams must be targeted to active farmcy’s Ofce of Water, Radhika Fox, is Columnist ers and adjusted to provide exibility. leaving the agency at the end of FebruPriorities also include providing assisary. Fox has had a key role in the overtance on a timely basis and addressing the needs of sight of water issues, including the controversial emerging farmers. To get the legislation wrapped Waters of the United States rule. up this spring, the Michigan senator said it is time “to get serious.” Host named for 2026 Farm Technology Days The 2026 Wisconsin Farm Technology Days Election-year dynamics will be held in the Stratford area. No Joke Dairy, Combest, Sell & Associates managing partner which is owned by Matt, Brittany and Sam ReTom Sell believes election-year politics could be detzke, will be the host farm. The show will be July good for the farm bill process. “People want to get 14-16, 2026. something done,” Sell said. “That plays well for their constituencies, particularly throughout rural Advocate of the Year America.” The presidential campaign also ts into Tom Crave, of Crave Brothers Farm in Wathat discussion. “There’s been a lot of positive ten- terloo, Wisconsin, was named the Dairy Business sion around ag policy coming out of this Iowa cau- Association Advocate of the Year. Crave had an incus and that’ll benet us in the farm bill,” Sell said. strumental role in the creation of the Clean Water Initiative coalition. WIC funding sought The National Milk Producers Federation, In- Grotegut receives rst-ever Community Builder ternational Dairy Foods Association and ten other Award companies and trade groups have sent a letter to The DBA and Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin congressional leaders to show support for the Spe- have joined together to create an award recognizing cial Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, dairy farmers and their role in the community. The Infants, and Children. The letter indicates there has inaugural Community Builder Award went to Doug been an unexpected increase in WIC participation Grotegut of Newton, Wisconsin. Grotegut hosts and additional funding is necessary. The groups numerous farm tours each year and the Manitowoc also highlight the nutritional benets of staples, like County Breakfast on the Farm. dairy products. DBA elects directors Labeling bill introduced The DBA elected three directors during its A bill has been introduced in the Wisconsin Dairy Strong conference. Greg Siegenthaler of Legislature that would prevent non-dairy food Grande Cheese Company will serve a third term. products from using the “milk” term on their label. Spencer Frost of Frost Farms in Watertown, WisFederal law already has similar language, but the consin, was reelected to his second term. Travis Food and Drug Administration does not enforce it. Speirs of Shiloh Dairy LLC in Brillion, Wisconsin, succeeds Paul Fetzer of Fetzer Farms Inc. in ElmCourt rules on undercover surveillance by activ- wood, Wisconsin, on the board. ists A federal appeals court has reversed a lower Edge returns three to the board court ruling dealing with undercover video surveilEdge Dairy Farmer Cooperative has reelected lance of livestock and poultry farms. Iowa passed three dairy farmers to its board of directors. The this law three years ago, increasing the penalties board members are Brady Janzen of Riverview for animal rights activists who use hidden cam- LLP in Morris, Minnesota; Jamie Witcpalek of era video to document the treatment of animals. A Pagel’s Ponderosa Dairy in Kewaunee, Wisconsin, three-judge panel in the St. Louis district ruled this and Justin Peterson of Creamery Creek Holsteins law protects privacy rights and prevents the theft LLC in Bangor, Wisconsin. of trade secrets. In a separate decision, the appeals court determined it is illegal to knowingly make Trivia challenge false statements on job applications to gain access Domino’s is the No. 1 pizza chain in the United to the business. That would include animal rights States. That answers our last trivia question. For activists lying on their job application with a plan this week’s trivia, what is the best-selling frozen to hurt the farm. pizza brand in the U.S.? We will have the answer in our next edition of Dairy Star. Don Wick is owner/broadcaster for the Red River Farm debt on the rise Ag lending activity has been restrained by Farm Network of Grand Forks, North Dakota. Wick smaller loan sizes, according to the latest Federal has been recognized as the National Farm BroadReserve Bank of Kansas City nance update. A sur- caster of the Year and served as president of the Navey of commercial bankers indicates agricultural tional Association of Farm Broadcasting. Don and lending activity slowed at a fast rate over the past his wife, Kolleen, have two sons, Tony and Sam, and year. The number of new loans was higher than a ve grandchildren, Aiden, Piper, Adrienne, Aurora year ago, but the average loan size when adjusted and Sterling. for ination was the lowest since 2017. The report said farm debt grew during the third quarter.
Dairy Star • Saturday, January 27, 2024 • Page 11
A CLOSER LOOK
Understanding the milk carton shortage
Incorrectly roasted soybeans?
Schools experience packaging disruptions on sporadic basis
Guess where your feed dollars are going?
By Stacey Smart
stacey.s@dairystar.com
Editor’s note: Dairy Star aims to provide our readers with a closer look into relevant topics to today’s dairy industry. Through this series, we intend to examine and educate on a variety of topics. If you have an idea for a topic to explore in a future issue, send Stacey an email. The half-pint milk carton is an important part of the meal tray at every school across America. More than 30 million children participate in school meals daily, including breakfast and lunch. School programs encompass about 8% of all uid milk sales in the country, which equates to 427 million gallons of milk, or 6.5 billion cartons. When a disruption in carton packaging occurred last fall, certain schools were unable to offer milk in its traditional form. California, the Pacic Northwest and central New York — and particularly urban areas in those regions — were hit the hardest. “Before Thanksgiving, national media was reporting this as a national shortage of cartons, but that is not what we saw then or today,” said Matt Herrick, senior vice president of public affairs and communications, International Dairy Foods Association. “The problem was sporadic and localized.” IDFA works closely with a group of 40 school milk processors throughout the country, but not every processor experienced this issue. A couple processors provide the majority of the volume, Herrick said, while smaller ones provide milk to their locality or region. “Larger processors can make adjustments quickly,” Herrick said. “It also depends on where they get their packaging from. Not all suppliers had an issue.” Pactiv Evergreen Inc. is the primary source for half-pint milk cartons, supplying more than twothirds of the market. According to a Nov. 10, 2023, article in Packaging Gateway, the May 2023 closure of Pactiv Evergreen’s paper mill in Canton, North Carolina, impacted output, and the company had trouble keeping up with demand. Last fall, Pactiv Evergreen began offering generic cartons to help ease the supply chain challenge. Rather than branding each carton with the individual processor brand, Pactiv Evergreen is offering three varieties of milk: nonfat white milk, nonfat avored and 1% avored. “That has helped build up ad-
ditional carton stock,” Herrick said. “Processors went from being very concerned to now having a few weeks of surplus. Initially, they didn’t have a surplus, and it was a day-by-day issue.” Processors with extra stock released inventory to other processors to help them weather short-term rough patches, and offering fewer varieties of milk helped processors build up stock over the holidays. “There are abundant supplies of milk in the country,” Herrick said. “This is not a dairy farmer or milk supply issue. It is not a milk processor issue or a school issue or a (U.S. Department of Agriculture) issue. This is strictly a packaging issue, a carton stock issue, and we’re encouraging schools to do everything they can to keep milk on the tray.” On Oct. 25, 2023, the USDA issued a memo stating that schools experiencing milk supply shortages could serve meals with an alternate form of uid milk or without uid milk. Herrick said the memo extended exibilities not previously available and removed constraints on schools and processors alike, allowing them to serve any type of milk in any size container. This was helpful in meeting milk demand. “Milk program requirements are very constraining, and this memo took those constraints away,” Herrick said. “Under the memo, you can serve milk in any form and in any variety. It could be whole, 2%, avored or unavored.” Some schools offered the beverage through a milk dispenser, while other schools offered milk in different-sized containers or cut back on the varieties of milk offered. Processors worked with schools to provide milk in different packaging such as 12-ounce plastic bottles as well as 1-gallon and half-gallon jugs which were poured into a cup. Provided by Diversied Foods and Gossner Foods, some schools switched to shelf-stable milk for a period of time. The milk arrived in aseptic packaging and was refrigerated that day. At other schools, milk was offered on fewer occasions and not available at every meal. Juice and water were offered instead, such as in upstate New York. “There is plenty of dairy production and school milk processors in this area, but the packaging shortage issue came suddenly for some of them, and they didn’t have as much time to prepare,” Herrick said. “When we heard about these situations, we tried to address it imTurn to CARTON SHORTAGE | Page 12
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Page 12 • Dairy Star • Saturday, January 27, 2024
Con�nued from CARTON SHORTAGE | Page 11
STOCK PHOTO
School programs encompass about 8% of all uid milk sales in the country, which equates to 427 million gallons of milk, or 6.5 billion cartons. When a disrup�on in carton packaging occurred last fall, certain schools in California, the Pacic Northwest and central New York were unable to offer the tradi�onal half-pint milk carton.
sue easing by late winter or early spring. “Hopefully, what we’ll see coming out of this is greater resilience in our supply chain,” Herrick said. “That’s an important lesson. We need resilience, and we need options. There are suppliers doing a
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needs before we have run out of inventory,” McGuire said. “That said, we keep substantial back-stock on hand to mitigate any supply issues. The paper half-pints are a very small percentage of our business, so we fortunately do not have a lot of exposure to this supply issue.” Herrick said lead times continue to be a challenge for the industry, but all signs point to the supply is-
★
supply chain issues.” Lamers Dairy supplies milk to 20 schools in the Appleton and Green Bay school districts of Wisconsin. McGuire said their carton supplier caught up with the backlog in production just after Thanksgiving. “Our supplier is still lagging a bit with their fulllment times, but they have been able to meet our
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mediately. We tried to get milk on the tray every day to avoid going to juice, which is high in sugar, or water, which offers no nutrients.” The memo is in effect and will likely remain that way until the end of the school year, Herrick said. “School meal professionals don’t want kids just drinking water,” Herrick said. “They want kids drinking milk, and the schools want kids drinking milk. For many kids, these are the healthiest meals they’re going to get all day. Milk is seen as very important, and they did everything they could to ensure milk was on the tray.” Eric McGuire, business manager at Lamers Dairy near Appleton, Wisconsin, said consolidation in the industry is the primary reason for the carton shortage. “Fewer processors bottling milk means fewer suppliers, and when one of those suppliers has an issue, it affects the industry as a whole,” McGuire said. “Twenty years ago, there were 29 regulated bottling plants in Federal Order 30 (Upper Midwest). Today, there are nine.” Wisconsin is home to only three regulated plants. In addition, a handful of farmstead operations exist in the state. “The vast majority of the bottled milk in this order is processed by two co-ops,” McGuire said. “When there are only two major players left, there isn’t as great of a need for material suppliers, and we see limited exibility or response to
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Dairy Star • Saturday, January 27, 2024 • Page 13
ConƟnued from CARTON SHORTAGE | Page 12
good job at meeting demand for a number of years, but some customers are beginning to explore other options.” Other carton packaging suppliers include Elopak and Tetra Pak, which stepped up production capacity during the shortage. Herrick said Elopak has plans to expand carton production, which may help address shortages in the future. Potential new packaging suppliers are coming onto the scene as well. They are talking to processors and conducting pilot programs. “School milk is a very demandintense environment,” Herrick said. “We’re grateful for those packaging companies stepping up and excited for any new partnerships that might occur. We’ve urged our processors to have backup plans in place. We don’t know that this won’t happen again going forward. That’s why we’re trying to pair up processors with packaging providers so they continue to have options.” Herrick said margins in the dairy industry are tight across the supply chain, and school milk might be the tightest margin around. “It is a very difcult environment to operate in,” he said. “Any change in price by a 10th of a penny or even less, or change in ingredients, packaging or procurement has an immediate effect on the processor’s ability to meet demand and supply.” It is an issue that the IDFA con-
tinues to discuss with the USDA. Herrick said the department could offer a greater share in the reimbursable meal value to milk. Offering greater value to processors on that milk could ease the burden on the margin, which Herrick said is so tight that it might drive a small processor out of the school marketplace. “This is especially difcult in rural areas where there may be a processor just doing a few counties,” Herrick said. “In addition to fresh milk, which is the priority, we’re trying to make sure economies of scale work for everyone when it comes to shelf milk and aseptic milk, especially schools strapped in terms of budgets.” Herrick said the situation has eased considerably in the last few weeks, and as of Jan. 11, he was not aware of any schools going without milk. “I’m not aware of any shortages today, but that’s not to say it couldn’t happen next week or the week after,” Herrick said. “We’re not out of the woods yet by any means.” However, Herrick and the IDFA remain optimistic and heartened to see milk processors working in such a dedicated way with schools and other processors to ensure milk remains on every meal tray in the country. “That is everyone’s shared goal,” Herrick said. “Everyone understands how important that is.”
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How long have you been testing with DHIA?
Our family has used DHIA as far back as I can remember. I think my grandpa may have started testing in the 1950’s. What tests do you use and what do like about those tests? We use the SCC and pregnancy tests each month, and have occasionally tested for Johnes and Leukosis. I wouldn’t want to go without testing for somatic cell. Each month I can identify any problem cows and which ones are contributing the most to the bulk tank SCC. The milk pregnancy test is convenient and inexpensive compared to having regular vet checks for a smaller herd. Which is your favorite and why? The SCC is the most important test. It’s the Àrst thing I look at each month. Cows that are showing signs of mastitis, we all know about. But, sometimes a cow that you would never expect to be a problem may have a very high cell count. Now that she has been identiÀed, there is an opportunity to do something about it. How does testing with DHIA beneÀt your dairy operation? DHIA provides us with a large amount of data each month with the various reports that are generated. Reproduction, SCC, action lists, and the other reports are all great tools to help with the management of the herd and to make culling decisions. It’s nice to have this information all available on your phone. Tell us about your farm. My wife, Teresa, and I have a 150 acre farm that has been in my family for over 100 years. We raise corn and alfalfa. Our milk is sold to Plainview Coop and is shipped 30 miles to the Kwik Trip plant in La Crosse, WI. Adam Stoehr and Sam Koeller provide part time milking help. Our daughter and son in law, Adriana and Josh Roger Aldinger Herricks and their son Lincoln live on the farm Winona, Minnesota and lend a hand when needed. We also have a Winona County • 110 cows daughter Hannah, that lives in La Crosse.
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Dairy Star • Saturday, January 27, 2024 • Page 15
from our side OF THE FENCE On-farm mechanics: Did you receive schooling in mechanics or are you self-taught? Ken Schrimpf Goodhue, Minnesota Goodhue County 550 cows
Michael Niemann Denzer, Wisconsin Sauk County 700 cows
Benjamin Sperberg, pictured with Jackson Shawano, Wisconsin Shawano County 50 cows Did you receive schooling in mechanics or are you selftaught? I went to Fox Valley Technical College for a couple years and got a technical degree in farm business management. Most of my mechanic repairs are self-taught and what I learned from my father and grandfather. What does your workspace look like? My grandfather built our current 40- by 40-foot shop in the 1970s when him and my father were doing custom work for the neighborhood. We can t just about all of our equipment in through the 15-foot overhead door to repair, except for a couple of tillage equipment pieces. Tell us about the monthly jobs you do. Most of what we do is general wear, parts repairs and oil changes. We repair as much as we can ourselves, from basic parts or bearing changes all the way up to full engine overhauls on our tractors. What’s the most gratifying job you have done and how did you complete it? The most gratifying job we have done was when my grandfather was alive. Grandpa, my father and myself replaced the engine in our IH 1086. Hearing it start up after putting it all back together was satisfying. What are your most-used tools? We really don't use any specic tools more than others, but we use our tire changer the most because we change and repair most of our own tires. What is the most unique x you have ever done? We haven't xed anything in a unique way. We try to keep our xes simple. The only thing we have done is built our own stands for splitting tractors for clutch and engine repairs. They allow us to split our tractors in half at the cab, separating the front from the back. Tell us about the farm you work for. We are a family farm, operated by me, my wife, Alison, and our two boys, Jackson and Jameson. I handle most of the milking with help from Alison. She handles the calf feeding and bedding with help from our boys. We milk in a 60-stall barn with a 44-stall sand-bedded freestall addition. The calves are housed in outdoor hutches until weaned, when they are moved to the heifer barn. The heifer barn is a six-bay straw bedding pack barn open to the south. We do all our own eldwork, and we grow all our feed. My father helps mix feed and works in the elds to put up feed. We farm 200 acres of corn for silage, alfalfa for haylage and dry hay, and oats for grain and bedding. Our milk is shipped to Family Dairies USA, which is a division of FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative.
Did you receive schooling in mechanics or are you selftaught? I have not received any schooling. I am self-taught and have local mechanics to bounce ideas off of and/or ask questions if I run into a situation I can't gure out. What does your workspace look like? My workplace is a 40- by 40-foot shop, but I also x in elds as needed. The shop is an organized mess half the time. Tell us about the monthly jobs you do. I am one of the two herdsmen on our operation. I do basic hourly maintenance on our equipment, x problems as they occur, plant corn, do tillage, work side by side with our employees and take care of basic heifer chores. What’s the most gratifying job you have done and how did you complete it? We purchased a tractor this past fall with error codes reading low fuel pressure. We called the local dealer to address the problem, and they could not gure out the problem. I did research online, and with talking to other mechanics and some process of elimination, I was able to gure out the problem. First, I replaced the fuel lter, which did not change anything. Then, I found a failed wire that caused a fuse to blow in the wiring harness. I also found an inline screen in the fuel system that was partially plugged. After repairing all of that, the machine worked again. What are your most-used tools? I use Milwaukee Tool cordless power tools, basic wrenches and a pair of pliers. What is the most unique x you have ever done? This past fall, a tractor’s hydraulic pump blew up, and I replaced that myself. On a weekly basis, there's generally something that needs to be worked on from milking equipment, to manure equipment, to tractors, to building maintenance. Tell us about the farm you work for. Our farm consists of Tim and Lisa Evert and their son, Jeff Evert, my aunt and uncle, Rick and Ronda Lehman, and myself. We are all owners. We have nine full-time employees and four part-time/seasonal employees. Our milk is shipped to Grande Cheese Company, approximately 69,000-70,000 pounds of milk per day. We milk three times a day in a double-12 parallel parlor. The milk cows are housed in two freestall barns. All our feed is stored in bunker silos and commodity bins. CentralStar Cooperative Inc. does our breeding. I work closely with our vet to be sure all our cattle needs are met. Everyone plays a major role in the success of our operation and in achieving our goals.
Did you receive schooling in mechanics or are you self-taught? I learned from my high school ag mechanics and welding classes as well as my dad. What does your workspace look like? We have a 40- by 64-foot insulated shop, which is also where we park skid loaders, the payloader and a spreader in the winter — so, it's kind of a mess right now. Tell us about the monthly jobs you do. I take care of maintenance on tractors, skid loaders, gates or whatever needs to be done. What’s the most gratifying job you have done and how did you complete it? We rebuilt the cutterhead on our John Deere 7700 self-propelled chopper a few winters ago. We tore it apart, checked on new bearings, sprockets, seals and whatever needed replacing and put it back together. What are your most-used tools? Cordless tools — impact wrench, grinder and drill. What is the most unique x you have ever done? I converted a John Deere 716A chopper box into an all-metal atbed wagon for hauling bales and other stuff. I also converted our parlor garage door to open quickly for cows to exit. Tell us about the farm you work for. Schrimpf Family Farm LLC includes myself, my wife, Kristin, and son, Ross, along with 12 full- and part-time employees. Another son, Brett, helps part time also. Our cows are milked in a double-12 parallel parlor, originally built in 1969 and remodeled several times. We ship our milk to Dairy Farmers of America. We raise our replacements. Bull calves — which includes a lot of Angus crossbreds — are sold every week. We farm about 800 acres. We're lucky to have our 11 grandchildren — ages 5 to 6 months — nearby, anxious for skid loader and tractor rides, seeing newborn calves and looking for kittens.
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Page 16 • Dairy Star • Saturday, January 27, 2024
ConƟnued from OUR SIDE | Page 15 Dan Miller Avoca, Wisconsin Iowa County 250 cows
in the fall. Once we’re moved in the shop, we hope to have more of a schedule for maintaining equipment. What’s the most gratifying job you have done and how did you complete it? We bought a combine last fall, and we went through it this spring. We used my brotherin law’s shop since ours wasn’t built yet. We broke it down to see what it needed for maintenance. That’s the biggest project of recent, just digging into a combine. We’ve always hired the combining done, and we nally broke down and got our own this year. We picked up more acreage, and we could afford to do something last year while milk prices were decent.
Did you receive schooling in mechanics or are you self-taught? I am self-taught. I grew up on a farm. On a farm, you're always xing something. I’m fairly mechanically inclined with common sense, and in the old days, you could gure things out by calling the dealership for help. Nowadays, things are more complicated with technology. My son, being a younger generation, understands some things better.
What are your most-used tools? Wrenches, impacts and sockets. We don’t really have any fancy, exotic tools. We hope to collect more as time goes on now that we have space to use them.
What does your workspace look like? We built a shop this summer, which improved a lot of things. It is a 60- by 72-foot shop, and we’re still working on getting moved into it. Some things are under construction, but at least the outside of the building is done so we can close the doors and put a portable heater in there until we get the permanent heater installed. It used to be where we just worked in the driveway, so it is a lot better than it was. Tell us about the monthly jobs you do. Normal jobs like greasing, oil changes and stuff like that gets done on the skid loaders and tractors that we use for the total mixed ration monthly or every other month. The other equipment that is used for eldwork is more seasonal and gets done in the spring, partway through the summer and again
What is the most unique x you have ever done? We had an old manure tanker we bought shortly after building the parlor. We needed to change out the pump, but the pump was attached to the old tanker. We cut off the front end and customized a whole new housing on the front for a new pump on the manure tanker. I’ve rigged a lot of things, but this was the most unique x that worked long term. It took creativity to line it up. We had help from a local shop, the same guy who does our custom chopping. Tell us about the farm you work for. We ship to Scenic Central Milk Producers. I take care of herd work, and my wife, Jody, takes care of the milking with the employees. We milk three times a day. My son and brother are here full time, helping with outside chores, youngstock, feeding and eldwork. My son is also involved with mechanics.
What are your most-used tools? A grease gun and general preventative maintenance tools are what we use most. For equipment, skid loaders and feeding equipment are used seven days a week.
Aaron Augustian Kewaunee, Wisconsin Kewaunee County 1,000 cows
What is the most unique x you have ever done? Every x we have can be unique and challenging in its own way. Since the pandemic, we have to make short-term situations work due to the length of time it takes to get parts. We stock more parts in our shop now than we ever have, but that comes with a cost as well.
Did you receive schooling in mechanics or are you self-taught? I received an associate degree in welding from Northeast Wisconsin Technical College in Green Bay, Wisconsin. I worked as a welder at a local shop for two years. After that, my brother worked as a mechanic at Fabick Cat in Green Bay, and I was able to get a welding job at the same place through him. From there, I became a full-time mechanic. I worked in that role for 10 years before going back to the farm full time. What does your workspace look like? We have a heated shop on the farm along with all of the necessary tools for our projects and jobs. We also have a fully equipped service truck for various jobs around the farm. Tell us about the monthly jobs you do. We do preventative maintenance on all the equipment we utilize on the farm every day. Along with that, we pull in each piece of equipment in the shop once a year to make sure it is working to expectations. Projects may include oil leaks and minor repairs up to full transmission or engine overhauls. In addition to equipment maintenance, we also do all of the barn maintenance, which includes welding stalls, crowd gates, manure system and fans. By doing that, it has allowed us to bring on a full-time employee rather than having to hire outside contractors. What’s the most gratifying job you have done and how did you complete it? Working with the employees to train them to be able to take on more of the daily/ weekly maintenance tasks is quite gratifying. Along with that, we build equipment that we cannot purchase. An example of this would be dump wagons, a 12-row inter-seeder and many other items to help make daily tasks easier.
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Tell us about the farm you work for. Augustian Farms LLC started in 1882. The farm is owned and operated by Todd, Ginane and Aaron Augustian. My brother, Todd, took ownership of the farm from our parents, Edward and Claire, in 2001, milking 60 cows in a stanchion barn. In 2005, a barn re destroyed the farm facilities, including a barn that was over 100 years old, and the entire milking herd. Todd was able to rent a barn from a neighbor and started to build back the herd. He began with 40 cows and grew to 240 in that facility. In 2007, I joined him, bringing 100 animals to the farm. In 2009, we started a LLC and came home to the original farmland to build a new dairy, which included a double-6 parlor, accommodating 400 cows. The farm continued to grow to what it is today, housing 1,100 Holstein cows. In 2015, we upgraded to a double-14 parallel parlor where cows are milked three times a day. Cows are housed in a crossventilated freestall barn and bedded with sand that is raked daily and replaced weekly. Feed is pushed up 12-15 times a day to make sure cows always have fresh, quality feed to eat. We use the CowManager system to track individual cow movements and temperature. Youngstock are raised in Kansas by a custom grower. Calves leave the farm daily and return two months pre-calving. We farm 1,500 acres of corn silage, alfalfa and winter wheat. To ensure healthy soils for future generations, we belong to the Door-Kewaunee Watershed Demonstration Farm Network. The network features four farms that demonstrate the best conservation practices to protect the Great Lakes. We have implemented no-till practices and use cover crops to help protect the soil. We have reshaped grassed waterways to meet today’s standards and have planted a portion of our land in native grasses for wildlife and a bee habitat. Todd and I have a passion for the agriculture industry and challenge each other to make Augustian Farms an operation that will be part of Wisconsin’s strong dairy tradition well into the future.
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Dairy Star • Saturday, January 27, 2024 • Page 17
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Page 18 • Dairy Star • Saturday, January 27, 2024
TOP PERFORMERS John Vander Waal, of J & S Dairy | Sioux Center, Iowa | Sioux County | 250 cows
How many times a day do you milk, and what is your current herd average, butterfat and protein? Our cows are currently being milked an average of 2.8 times a day in our robotic milking system. The herd is producing 95 pounds of milk per head per day with 4.2% butterfat and 3.25% protein. Describe your housing and milking facility. We have a cross-ventilated barn. We milk with four Lely A4 robots and bed our free stalls with recycled manure solids. Our barn has room for all of our dry cows and calves. During the recent cold snap, we were able to maintain the temperature inside the barn at 36 degrees. Who is part of your farm team, and what are their roles? My wife, Sharon, is in charge of recordkeeping. Our eldest daughter, Pearl, is a registered nurse in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Our daughter, Krysta, feeds and cares for our calves. Our son, Craig, beds the cows and brings up fetch cows. Our youngest daughter, Dawn, is only 7 years old and is too
young to help much. What is your herd health program? We do pregnancy checks the rst week of every month. We dry off late-lactation cows once per week. We vaccinate at dry off and again when the cows are moved into the maternity pen. All of our heifers are given a magnet during their pre-breeding vaccinations. What does your dry cow and transition program consist of? We dry off our cows at 210-220 days in milk, and they calve at 280 days. About 20 days prior to calving, we move them into a maternity pen that has a bedding pack. After calving, the cows are moved into a fresh pen where they remain for three days. Our dry cow ration consists of grass hay, minerals and corn silage. We add a high-energy pellet along with extra vitamins and minerals to the ration that we feed to the close-up cattle. What is the composition of your ration, and how has that changed in recent years? Our ration contains alfalfa hay, haylage, corn si-
JERRY NELSON/DAIRY STAR
John Vander Waal uses the informaƟon gathered by his milking robots to monitor his dairy herd’s health and milk producƟon Jan. 16 on his farm near Sioux Center, Iowa. Vander Waal has used selecƟve geneƟcs to increase milking speed and milk components.
lage, water and a custom grain mix that we get from our local elevator. The only thing we have changed is buying
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lage to the ration has reduced milk production uctuations. Turn to TOP PERFORMERS | Page 20
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Page 20 • Dairy Star • Saturday, January 27, 2024
ConƟnued from TOP PERFORMERS | Page 18
Tell us about the forages you plant and detail your harvest strategies. We only have 110 acres, and we plant them all to silage corn. Our goal is to harvest our silage at 66% moisture.
What is your average somatic cell count and how does that affect your production? Our somatic cell count averages between 210,000 and 220,000. It has been somewhat lower, but we didn’t see much of a change in milk production. What change has created the biggest improvement in your herd average? The consistency of our forages has brought the biggest improvement. Adding haylage to our lactating ration has helped us get the cows dialed in. It’s a constant battle if your forages aren’t consistent. What technology do you use to monitor your herd? We use the information gathered by the robots and from the activity collars that all of our cows wear. What is your breeding program, and what role does genetics play in your production level? We have a voluntary waiting period of 60 days. Every month, we breed 15-20 cows to sexed semen, and the rest of the cows are bred to beef bulls. Virgin heifers are bred twice with sexed semen then switched to beef sires. Sharon monitors our herd closely. We will take a heifer off the sexed semen list if Sharon doesn’t think that the heifer’s mother was very good. Using sexed semen has enabled us to be more selective and produce replacement
JERRY NELSON/DAIRY STAR
JERRY NELSON/DAIRY STAR
The herd rests in free stalls bedded with recovered manure solids Jan. 16 at J & S Dairy near Sioux Center, Iowa. The temperature in the cross-venƟlated barn remains above freezing even during the deepest cold snaps.
animals from just the top 10%-15% of our herd. Because we milk with robots, we are interested in milking speed. Selective genetics has enabled us to increase milking speed by a full pound per minute. List three management strategies that have helped you attain your production and component level. The top of the list would be milking our cows with robots. The information that the robots gather has enabled us to make better decisions. Next is adding haylage to our ration, which has helped make our herd’s milk production and milk components more consistent. Third is genetics. We have started to pick out the sires ourselves
with an eye toward increasing fat and protein production. Tell us about your farm and your plans for the dairy in the next year. We built this dairy farm from a blank slate seven years ago. A lot of thought went into the planning, and things have worked out pretty well so far. There are very few items that we would change. Our plans include continuing to improve our herd’s milk production and its levels of milk components.
Krysta Vander Waal takes a break from calf care Jan. 16 on her parents’ farm near Sioux Center, Iowa. Vander Waal is in charge of calf care at J & S Dairy where they breed the top 1015% of their cows with sexed semen; the balance of the herd is serviced with beef sires.
Dairy Star • Saturday, January 27, 2024 • Page 21
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Dairy Star • Saturday, January 27, 2024 • Page 23
Farming gives her life back Biviano nds solace among cows on New York dairy By Danielle Nauman danielle.n@dairystar.com
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — As a high school graduate in 2008, Jamie Biviano planned to make a career of her military service in the U.S. Air Force. However, fate dealt her a cruel hand, bringing those dreams to a crashing end. Picking herself up from the depths of rock bottom, Biviano said she found solace in a dairy barn. In 2012, Biviano was deployed to Bagram, Afghanistan, where she worked as part of the security force at the base. Rather than that becoming her life’s work, she found herself medically retired in 2014. Then, Biviano found herself on Craig Dennis’ 50-cow dairy farm near Pompey. “Craig doesn’t realize he was saving my life, but he did,” Biviano said. “Being on the farm, with the cows, it really saved me. He taught me these cows have so much to give us, and he was right.” Recovering from the trauma of her deployment — trauma she did not even realize she had endured when she left Afghanistan — took Biviano
to the lowest points of her life. “I didn’t see combat in the sense that I was actively pulling a trigger on anyone or they were on me,” Biviano said. “But I saw enough things that denitely hurt my soul. You see so much.” Biviano was also burdened with becoming a whistleblower to a sexual assault of which she had become aware. “That was traumatizing, knowing so many women overseas who had faced that,” Biviano said. “It was traumatizing to tell on people I knew and cared about who had done this, but they took part in this horrible thing. It put me in a tough position. I had a lot of guilt too.” After returning from deployment in 2012, Biviano was diagnosed with Transverse myelitis. The rare, acquired focal inammatory disorder that manifests as lesions on the spinal cord left her paralyzed for some time. “I had been back home for about a week and started feeling this strange sensation in my torso, kind of a burning, almost like when your foot falls asleep,” Biviano said. “It started as a small patch in my back
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Jamie Biviano brings the cows to the barn at the Dennis Family Farm in Pompey, New York. Biviano is currently going to school with the goal of eventual admission into veterinary school. and spread from my armpits all the way down and got to the point where I couldn’t walk.” Biviano was also diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and a traumatic brain injury, all stemming from
her experiences in Afghanistan. As she began to physically recover, Biviano’s mental health continued to deteriorate. “I was able to walk again
after about a month on steroid drips, but the physical ailments were nothing compared to the mental struggles,” Biviano said. “The depression grew worse. I struggled with the spiritual stuff. I got to the point where I was suicidal. I was out of my mind, on a lot of medications.” Biviano asked to receive mental health treatment at a Veterans Health Administration hospital. As she was weaned off medications to alleviate her symptoms, it was her sister who pressed her to begin working at Dennis’ farm. “I thought she was the crazy one,” Biviano said. “I couldn’t get out of the house let alone go and hang out with cows. I grew up in the city. I had zero farm background.” At the farm, Biviano was rst struck by the serene power of her new surroundings. Slowly, she began to heal, physically, mentally and spiritually. “Craig was so patient and so grateful for me to be there,” Biviano said. “He gave me so many lessons I could have never learned any other place. That changed my life — that somebody needed me, that I had a purpose, a reason to live again.” Turn to BIVIANO | Page 25
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Biviano’s farm experiences began with simple chores like pushing up feed and scraping oors, and then moving into milking and feeding calves. “It was just little pieces here and there, and I learned what the animals and the farm needed,” Biviano said. “It felt very natural, like a well-oiled machine, a routine that I could fall back into.” As the fresh air and the camaraderie of the animals began to heal her soul, Biviano grew healthier, eventually stopping all medications. “I felt so much better, and I had so much energy,” Biviano said. “It was this natural, therapeutic thing that happened to me. I found a version of me that I never even knew existed.” Biviano found comfort in the routine she settled into. She became procient as a herdsperson, working there for more than seven years. Last spring, when Dennis made the decision to sell his cows, Biviano faced uncertainty again. “I was heartbroken,” Biviano said. “I loved them so much. They were my ladies. I pretended to be OK, but I was scared what would happen. Would I end up being afraid to leave the house again? I had so much knowledge, so much I have gained from this. I decided to do something with it to give back.” Biviano took advantage of her military benets to go back to school with the goal of eventual admission into veterinary school. With her rst semester as a full-time student behind her, Biviano will resume classes at the end of January. During semester break, Biviano turned to social media in search of experiences to occupy her time, asking fellow dairy farmers for the opportunity to visit their farms. “I was blown away,” Biviano said. “There were hundreds that responded, from those who were in
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Dairy Star • Saturday, January 27, 2024 • Page 25
desperate need of help to those who said, ‘Hey, let me help you.’” Biviano spent much of her midterm break helping at a small farm in Massachusetts that is involved with direct marketing. “I had hoped to visit several farms over the course of my break, but the weather thwarted those plants,” Biviano said. She hopes to plan further travels this summer. “I like this idea, and it seems like something I can probably get the hang of,” Biviano said. “There was a lot of response from farmers in Wisconsin, and I would like to go there this summer.” The trajectory of Biviano’s life was not expected and was certainly not easy, but Biviano said she realizes those experiences have brought her to exactly the place she needs to be. “When the sun rises on the farm, it is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life,” she said. “The only other place I had ever seen that raw land was in Afghanistan. I went from feeling that there was no God to believing there had to be something greater than my own understanding, because this had to be created by something.”
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Jamie Biviano (right) served as a heavy gunner at Bagram Air Base in 2012. Biviano contracted a debilitaƟng disease that leŌ her paralyzed for over a month and created a myriad of physical and mental health issues for her.
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Page 26 • Dairy Star • Saturday, January 27, 2024
Forging his own re
Blacksmithing a hobby for 11-year-old Hughes By Danielle Nauman danielle.n@dairystar.com
PITTSVILLE, Wis. — When it comes to hobbies and interests that might spark the interest of an 11-yearold boy, blacksmithing might not be at the top of the list. But Gavin Hughes found himself drawn to the art form last summer. “We would go to some of the steam shows and activities around and there would sometimes be blacksmiths demonstrating how they did it,” Gavin said. “I thought it was cool to watch them. Then I got hooked on the show, ‘Forged in Fire,’ and decided I wanted to try and do it.” Gavin, his parents, Alan and Stephanie, and brothers, Bryce and Derek, milk 60 cows on their Wood County dairy farm near Pittsville. “I found him one day, with his grandpa’s can of old, bent nails, working on pounding them straight,” Alan said. “He had fashioned an anvil from a metal block, a stump and wire. Gavin is a builder, xer and creator by nature, and that is when I realized he really had an interest in metalworking.” As Gavin continued his hobby of pounding nails straight, Alan pro-
cured a small cast iron forge, that was in pieces. The pair reconstructed the forge and, together, set out to learn the ner points of operating a forge. “It has been a lot of trial and error, and a lot of learning,” Alan said. Once they completed the reconstruction of the forge, they lined it with a clay mixture to insulate the cast iron bowl. In their forge, the two use a hand pump to operate the bellows, providing additional air to fuel the re and reach a higher temperature. The re in the forge is fueled by coal. Since they started the forge, Alan and Gavin said they have learned about the physical properties of coal and how it burns. Alan said that coal does not burn hot in the beginning because it has impurities. As it burns, coke is left behind. Coke burns much hotter because it is purer than the original lump of coal. Traditional tales say getting a lump of coal for Christmas is a bad thing, but the 100-pound bag of coal Gavin received at Christmas will fuel his forge for a long time, he said. “The rst time we red it up, we used the hand pump to provide the air for the re,” Alan said. “He had me out here pumping for almost three hours. After that, we made a modication, and I hooked up a hose from the air compressor to provide the air.”
DANIELLE NAUMAN/DAIRY STAR
Gavin Hughes displays a sword he created from his forge Jan. 19 near PiƩsville, Wisconsin. The Hughes family milks 60 cows.
Turn to HUGHES | Page 27
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Dairy Star • Saturday, January 27, 2024 • Page 27
Con�nued from HUGHES | Page 26
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Alan Hughes (le�) holds a hook Gavin created while Gavin uses a punch to make a hole for hanging Jan. 19 near Pi�sville, Wisconsin. Gavin made the hook by forging an old steel electric fence post.
As the fall progressed, Gavin became procient at operating the forge by himself. In his spare time, he can often be found in the farm shop working with the metal. “I have been making a lot of different hooks for around the farm,” Gavin said. “I have been using old steel electric fence posts, but I’m starting to run out of those.” While his hooks have been more utilitarian, Gavin has tried his hand at making more decorative designs by twisting the metal. To work with the steel, Gavin said that he holds it in the re until it is red hot and then uses a ball peen hammer to atten and shape the hot metal. “You can shape it until it starts to cool down, and then you have to put it back in the re for it to get red hot again,” Gavin said. “The whole process just keeps repeating while you keep working toward what you want to make.” An early lesson for Gavin was learning how long it takes for the met-
al to heat each time it is in the forge. “If you leave it in too long, if it gets too hot, it will just melt and fall apart,” Gavin said. “The more you do it, the more you know how long to leave it in and how to turn it to get it to heat the way you want. The same (applies) with shaping it.” Gavin and his dad traveled to Thorp Jan. 13 to attend the monthly meeting of the Badger Blacksmiths, where the pair said they learned more about the process. “They talked a lot about the different kinds of hammers you can use and different techniques of swinging the hammer and how that makes a difference,” Gavin said. The methodical practice and the ability to make something new from a piece of steel is what draws Gavin to blacksmithing. “I like being able to make something like this,” Gavin said. “To be able to start with just a piece of steel and turn it into something completely new and useful is a lot of fun.”
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Gavin Hughes displays a piece of coal in front of the re burning in his forge Jan. 19 near Pi�sville, Wisconsin. A�er the impuri�es burn off the coal, coke remains, which burns ho�er than coal.
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Dairy Star • Saturday, January 27, 2024 • Page 29
women
IN DAIRY
Tell us about your family and farm. My husband, Mark, and I moved onto this farm Nov. 1, 1987. Today, with this farm, the farm across the road and my husband’s parents’ farm, we have around 300 acres. We raised our two kids, Nicole and Travis, on this farm. Mark and I have managed all three farms pretty much by ourselves. The kids helped in the summertime. What is a typical day like for you on the dairy? I get up at 4:15 a.m. and head to the barn. I get the cows up and clean the alley. While my husband cleans, I get the milking stuff ready and start milking. I do the milking and then head across the road to feed and clean over there. Mark and I each have our chores, and when one needs help, we always are there to help each other. When all the animals are fed and cleaned, we head in for breakfast. Every day can be different depending on what needs to be done besides the normal chores. In the spring, I head out to get the elds ready to plant, and in the summer, I cut hay and chop. I love doing yard work. I also take care of the bookwork. What decision have you made in the last year that has beneted your farm? We built a shed across the road on the farm there. We were able to bring our heifers home from Mark’s parents’ place. Now we don’t have to run over there every day to feed. Instead, we only go there for eldwork. Mark still goes over to check on his mom. Tell us about your most memorable experience working on the farm. The most memorable day for me was the day we drove two and a half hours to my uncle’s. He had purchased a Brown Swiss heifer calf for me. We brought her home in the back of our vehicle. We also have hosted a wed-
Cherrie Frost
Withee, Wisconsin Clark County 55 cows
ding, my parents’ memorial services, graduations and 31 years of family reunions on the farm. What have you enjoyed most about dairy farming or your tie to the dairy industry? I love working with the animals and that every day is different. I love watching the animals grazing and watching a new life being born. I love working in the elds and seeing the crops grow. I love being our own boss and raising our kids here. What is your biggest accomplishment in your dairy career? The biggest accomplishment is that my husband and I have been farming together for over 37 years, and that even with all the highs and lows, we are still here. We enjoy working with the animals, even though it takes us longer because we are getting older. What are things you do to promote your farm or the dairy industry? We host a reunion every year for family and friends. This year will be 32 years. Everyone enjoys coming and learning about what we do, and if they want, they get to milk a cow. Our family sometimes brings friends with who want to come and see the farm. What advice would you give another woman in the dairy industry? Always make a little time for yourself. Remember that times do get tough, but always remember the good times outweigh the bad. What is a challenge in the dairy industry you have faced and how did you overcome it? They keep taking medications away from us that we rely on to treat our animals when needed. We feel like we are always trying to nd different medications that will work.
DANIELLE NAUMAN/DAIRY STAR
Cherrie Frost stands with a favorite cow Jan. 22 on her dairy farm near Withee, Wisconsin. Frost and her husband milk 55 cows in Clark County.
When you get a spare moment, what do you do? We like to go dancing and listen to live bands. In the winter, I love reading and baking. During the summer, I love yard work.
We also love going to our oldest grandson’s football, basketball and baseball games. Spending time with family, friends and our grandkids is always special.
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Page 30 • Dairy Star • Saturday, January 27, 2024
www.extension.umn.edu/dairy
Improving parasite resistance in dairy cattle Parasites remain a major prob- selection in resistance to horn ies. lem on dairies. There are ways to Researchers categorized the number categorize parasites, for example of horn ies on the body of Holstein internal versus external parasites. cows utilizing a 5-point scale that One of the most well-known exter- ranked animals from low to high y nal parasites on the dairy farm is the infestation. They found interesting horn y, which is not only results. a nuisance to cattle but also First, there is an opporto farm workers. Research tunity to select animals that from the 1980s suggests are more horn y resistant. over $700 million in estiAbout 25% of the variation mated economic losses for in the number of horn ies North American cattle due in the study was due to geto the horn y (this gure netics. This is approximateincludes beef cattle). ly equivalent to the amount Horn y infestation is By Isaac Haagen of variation for production especially relevant to pas- University of traits, such as fat and protured cattle. Therefore, it Minnesota tein yield, that is attributed is no surprise that the horn to genetics. Second, coat y is commonly cited as a frustra- color made a difference. White hair tion to organic dairy producers coat was associated with a reduced who are required to graze cattle for y load. While I am not advocating parts of the year. Researchers from for a herd of mostly white Holsteins, Ohio State University surveyed 23 it is fascinating that ies appear to organic dairy producers about the be more attracted to black hair coats. herd health challenges they faced. The above study was an early Perhaps a little surprising, ies were exercise that demonstrated a potenthe second most commonly noted tial method to reduce horn y infeshealth concern following mastitis tation in dairy cattle. However, it is and on par with lameness as a per- clear that more detailed information ceived challenge. and strategies are needed. Previous research suggests progResearchers at Pennsylvania ress could be made through genetic State University, as well as research-
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MISCELLANEOUS
ers at University of Minnesota, will start evaluating strategies to reduce parasites in organic dairy cattle starting this year. The new project will address the knowledge gaps we have on the impacts of parasite infestation in organic dairy cattle. For instance, reductions in animal health and performance due to parasites specic to organic dairies will be looked at. These data will be collected not only for mature cows but also youngstock. In addition, if you are an organic dairy producer, be on the lookout for how you can par-
ticipate in this study. We will be recruiting organic dairy producers for participation and will have ways for producers to contribute parasite data that can help us tackle this issue. In conclusion, parasites remain a challenge for many dairy producers, particularly organic dairy producers and those that pasture dairy animals. However, we are actively working on not only categorizing the extent of the problem but also on identifying potential solutions. Stay tuned for more information.
Dana Adams, adam1744@umn.edu 320-204-2968
Brad Heins hein0106@umn.edu 320-589-1711
Isaac Salfer ijsalfer@umn.edu 320-296-1357
Joe Armstrong armst225@umn.edu 612.624.3610
Nathan Hulinsky huli0013@umn.edu 320-203-6104
Jim Salfer salfe001@umn.edu 320-203-6093
Luciano Caixeta lcaixeta@umn.edu 612-625-3130
Karen Johnson ande9495@umn.edu 320-484-4334
Mike Schutz mschutz@umn.edu 612-624-1205
Gerard Cramer gcramer@umn.edu 612-625-8184
Emily Krekelberg krek0033@umn.edu 507-280-2863
Melissa Wilson mlw@umn.edu 612-625-4276
Marcia Endres miendres@umn.edu 612-624-5391
Claire LaCanne lacanne@umn.edu 507-332-6109
Isaac Haagen hagge041@umn.edu 612-624-7455
Les Hansen hanse009@umn.edu 612-624-2277
Brenda Miller nels4220@umn.edu 320-732-4435
Michael Boland boland@umn.edu 612-625-3013
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Dairy Star • Saturday, January 27, 2024 • Page 31
Dairy trade issues have been in ment with the European Union called the news in the latter months of 2023. the Canada-European Union CompreA United States-Mexico-Canada hensive Economic and Trade AgreeAgreement dispute panel found that ment. Canada’s dairy tariff-rate quotas were As part of that agreement, Canada not in violation of the trade agree- recognized geographical indications ment. with regard to certain foods, including While the history of the well-known cheeses such as program has its roots before Camembert de Normandie, the original North American Comte, feta and Roquefort. Free Trade Agreement in These names have similar 1994, and beyond the scope protections that are used for of this short article, the realwines, such as Champagne, ity is that U.S.-branded dairy or alcoholic spirits, such as products will continue to bourbon whiskey, or foods, have a harder time nding a such as Vidalia onions. home on store shelves in re- By Michael Boland Canadian dairy procestail supermarkets in Canada. University of sors cannot use these exact Dairy farmers in Canada, Minnesota words but can use phrases whose production costs are such as Greek-styled instead higher than many U.S. dairy farm- of feta or Italian-styled instead of ers, have a reason to be thankful, Parmigiano-Reggiano. Canadian imwhile U.S. dairy farmers are likely ports of such EU cheeses have almost not happy. Many U.S. dairy stake- doubled since 2017. holders were optimistic that the TRQ While the headlines of these trade program would be revised, especially disputes get attention, they can someafter a similar panel in 2022 had ruled times be misleading in the big picture. that the TRQ program was not living For example, a state like California or up to the USMCA terms by favor- Wisconsin produces more milk than ing Canadian dairy processors using the entire Canadian dairy industry, milk from Canadian farmers. In a nut- most of which is centered in Quebec, shell, Canada’s program seeks to keep and the U.S. is a leading volume exhigher valued consumer dairy prod- porter of cheese to Canada. ucts produced in Canada using milk The U.S. uses a TRQ program in from Canadian dairy farmers, and its its beet and cane sugar industry, as do imports of dairy products from the other countries. They can be complex United States tends to be lower val- to administer, and it is difcult to unued cheeses. derstand the exact economic value This is not the only trade issue the being gained or lost. This is because U.S. dairy industry has with Canada. the economic models used to analyze In 2017, Canada signed an agree- them have moving parts. One draw-
back of the Canadian dairy TRQ programs is that retail supermarket chains and grocers, food distributors and restaurant chains must buy from Canadian dairy processors and cannot buy direct from dairy processors in the U.S., for example, to create their own store brands. It is unclear whether the TRQ program has affected the dairy structure in the U.S. For example, Canadian dairy cooperative Agropur owns dairy processing plants in the U.S. They have made major investments in upgrading and expanding these plants. Similarly, Saputo Inc. has expanded its footprint in the U.S. with new investments. Irish processors such as Glanbia have investments in the U.S. Are these investments being made because the dairy industry in their countries is too small with too high of production costs relative to the United States, and so, the cheese and other dairy products needed in Canada is manufactured in the U.S. by Canadian rms and exported to Canada? Trade works in many ways. As a philosophy, the United States has always been committed to lowering trade barriers and creating greater competition because our farmers tend to be lower cost. Critics of geographic indications suggest that they are confusing to consumers because most may not know what a Dutch Gouda tastes like relative to a Wisconsinproduced Gouda. In addition, such labeling may create local food markets when that same quality food could have been priced elsewhere at a low-
er cost and sold in that market. Such local markets also result in higher land prices since a xed input, such as land, is the residual claimant on income, and it becomes difcult for new farmers to enter production agriculture. In addition, creation of local markets may result in higher food prices in that region independent of the rest of the country. Finally, most consumers do not know the notion of a trademark relative to a geographic indication or certication mark. Supporters of these programs note that the EU chooses to maintain smaller farms in western European countries because it cannot afford to have a rural to urban migration. This could result in lack of jobs, higher housing prices and lack of suitable housing. There is a desire to maintain a domestic agricultural economy due to uncertainty caused by relationships between countries, such as the U.S. and the rest of the world, and a desire to maintain small farms. An economist might argue that there are other ways to do this, such as direct cash payments to farmers to allow them to live in such areas, but these may not be politically appealing. Geographic indications may be as much a cultural issue as it is a political-economy issue, which makes it difcult to solve. The EU now allows other countries to apply for such geographic certication marks for use within the EU, and Idaho potato farmers and Columbian coffee growers have done so too.
It’s back… actually never really left Staphylococcus aureus has been a notorious contagious mastitis pathogen that has plagued the dairy industry for more than 50 years. Overall prevalence has been reduced significantly, but it continues to be a threat to nearly every dairy herd. – Dr Allen Britten, Udder Health Systems. Presentation at the 2004 NMC Annual Meeting
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Page 32 • Dairy Star • Saturday, January 27, 2024
DAIRY PROFILE Bob Gierok of Independence, Wisconsin | Trempealeau County | 50 cows
How did you get into farming? I grew up with it. I bought this farm from my dad in 1995. I have seven brothers and one sister. My older brother was going to farm here, but he found a different place close by, so the opportunity showed up for me to take this place over.
neighbors. They just wanted to see it get done.
What are the most signicant ways your farm has changed since you started farming? Dairy farming in general has changed so much since I started. The spread of pay between milk plants has gotten wider. At the beginning of my career, everyone paid within 20-30 cents of each other and everyone needed milk. Now, no one wants milk, and there is as much as a $6 per hundredweight gap of pay between dairies.
What are three things on the farm that you cannot live without? The skid loader, because we do so many jobs with it. I often tell my kids that we are going to have a skid loader appreciation day where we do everything the skid loader normally does but by hand as a reminder to take care of the skid loader by greasing and maintaining it regularly. The second thing I couldn’t live without is our milking units. We use Surge one-touch machines, and they tell me everything I need to know. It’s so helpful being able to keep an eye on milk weights. Finally, my dog, Patches, because he is my best friend. He’s the rst thing I see when I go out in the morning and the last thing I see before I go in for the night.
What was a challenge you faced in your dairy farming career and how did you overcome it? We had a barn re in 2016 and had to determine whether to build back or not. We lost all of our hay and facilities, and the industry was in a good place at that time. We overcame it by milking our cows at the neighbor’s farm. We ended up building a new tiestall barn. We salvaged the barn cleaner chain and purchased a lot of used equipment to get back up and running. A lot of the neighbors helped to rebuild. It’s funny now to think that all the neighboring dairy farmers took what little time they had between chores to do more work and help me rebuild. Especially on the day we hung the rafters, it was surreal to see all my neighbors swinging around up there. It allowed me to really see the heart of my
What is the best decision you have made on your farm? Marrying my wife and having kids. There is a 10-year gap between my wife and I, and she works off the farm. We have four kids.
What are your thoughts and concerns about the dairy industry for the next year? Having a plant to process my milk. There are so many small creameries closing down and more farms selling out all the time. Then, the milk haulers have to go farther between farms to haul the milk, and the plants have less patrons. Turn to DAIRY PROFILE | Page 33
ABBY WIEDMEYER/DAIRY STAR
Bob Gierok stands in his milkhouse Jan. 17 on his farm near Independence, Wisconsin. Gierok milks 50 cows in a Ɵestall barn in Trempealeau County.
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Dairy Star • Saturday, January 27, 2024 • Page 33
ConƟnued from DAIRY PROFILE | Page 32
ABBY WIEDMEYER/DAIRY STAR
ABBY WIEDMEYER/DAIRY STAR
Bob Gierok Ɵes cows up Jan. 17 on his farm near Independence, Wisconsin. Gierok milks in a barn that was rebuilt aŌer a re in 2016.
Cows eat hay Jan. 17 at Bob Gierok’s farm near Independence, Wisconsin. Gierok ships his milk to Associated Milk Producers Inc. in Blair, Wisconsin.
What strategies do you use to withstand the volatile milk prices? We put things off if we can, and we just x what we have.
good because the kids have started to they paid $4 per acre for that 40-acre begin chores without me having to tell parcel. them to. What are your plans for your dairy What do you nd most rewarding in the next year and ve years? To about dairy farming? The kids getting survive. We have no plans to expand at involved and nding what they like all. I don’t want to milk any more cows about farming. My oldest girl, Hannah, than I already am. has started doing the records, and my son, Albin, has started to learn milking. How do you or your family like to spend time when you are not doing Tell us something special about your chores? We try to get away for vacafarm. This year will mark the 150th tion when we can. We went to Mount year the farm has been in my family. Rushmore a while back, and it was inThere are 40 acres that were home- teresting to see how different the land steaded, and the abstract shows that is out there.
How do you maintain family relationships while also working together? My kids help me a lot, and we just try to communicate. We’re doing pretty
Life lessons learned at a young age
When I was 8 years old, I was re- ing. He would have to get up shortly afquired to get up shortly after 5 a.m. to ter 4 a.m. and help for about 2.5 hours. do chores on my parents 52-cow dairy He chose Monday. He also works operation. most Saturdays. Plus, he I didn’t necessarily like has the chores that go with it all the time, but it was an raising a small herd of faintestablished rule for all 11 of ing goats at our home. This us kids. For me, it was tough combined with his involveto get out of a bed that earment in football, basketly and make my trek to the ball and track leads to full barn, especially on the bitter weeks. cold days. But I can see that the In my late teens, the eartraits I listed above are bely rise didn’t get any easier. ing absorbed by him. I enjoyed nightlife, play- By Mark Klaphake There have been several Editor ing softball and spending times when Mason’s friends time with friends too much. wanted him to come over Getting home at 1 a.m. and and he said he can’t until he awaking in a short four hours later was is done farming. This past fall, we were challenging. at an afternoon football game. Mason Besides morning chores, my sib- looked at me after the third quarter and lings and I were required to help with told me that we had to leave; he had chores after school and then again after chores to do. supper and on the weekends. Christmas and New Year’s Day We were really busy and would both landed on Mondays last year. Inoften sandwich 5-6 hours of chores stead of trying to get those days off, around school. Mason met the work head on. In retrospect, it taught me a lot. He didn’t gripe at all. He went to I learned discipline, work ethic, bed early and caught up with sleep with toughness, time management and team- a nap the next day. work; after all, at most times, there Mason enjoys his job because of the were eight to 10 of us working together. freedom he has and the variety of work Even though there were times I he partakes in. My wife and I enjoy it didn’t want to do chores, there was no because of the continued maturity and option. The work had to be done. condence it’s brought out in Mason. Fast forward to my family and our He likes telling his friends what he three children. has to do on the farm and that he can’t Last year, my middle child, come over until he nishes chores. He 15-year-old Mason, started working for is disciplined, and his work ethic is terone of his uncles. ric. During the summer, he helped There are probably many kids who with milking, fed calves, picked rock, dread the early morning alarm clock stacked bales and did other necessary and the demands of farm chores every jobs on the farm. day. They would rather be doing someThe experience has helped him thing else. develop into an even better kid than I But looking back at my childhood, thought he was. and now watching my son, I rmly He doesn’t complain about the believe the routine of a dairy farm enwork and takes on his job with an ea- grains extremely desirable traits in the gerness I admire. person carrying out the work. Those When school started in September, traits will benet a person at any point Mason was asked to choose one day a in their life, both tomorrow and well week where he could help in the morn- into the future.
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Page 34 • Dairy Star • Saturday, January 27, 2024
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Mother Nature has made it clear again who is in charge. Our No. 1 question in the ofce right now is about the Dairy Margin Coverage program. When is the 2024 sign-up? We, too, are asking that question and will relay the message just as soon as we are given the green light and the program information. We, like you, are hoping this program rolls out soon. The Agriculture Risk and Price Loss Coverage programs are open. We highly encourage you to sign up as soon as possible. The deadline to apply is March 15, but we encourage you to avoid any long lines closer to the deadline. Jan. 30 is the nal date to apply for Livestock Forage Disaster Program FP for 2023 losses, if you were in an eligible county. During these tough weather conditions, Farm Service Agency staff wish you: water fountains that are not frozen, tractors that do not jell up, healthy livestock with the weather extremes and grain that stays in good condition. Did you know FSA’s Farm Storage Facility Loans can help you with your storage and handling needs? During harvest, were you thinking about what needs you might have to make your storage and handling more efcient? Could you use a truck, grain cart, sugar beet cart, auger or another piece of equipment to meet your handling needs? Do you need additional storage? Are interest rates at your local lender holding you back from making that purchase? Then why don’t you give our FSFL program a chance to help you: — Acquire new or used storage and handling trucks. — Acquire portable or permanently afxed storage and handling equipment. — Acquire new storage facilities. A variety of structures, handling equipment and trucks are eligible under this loan, including new and used dryers, augers, trucks, semi tractors, grain trailers (hopper, live bottom and end dump), baggers, bale wrappers, grain carts, chopper boxes, gravity boxes, sugar beet carts, forklifts and skid loaders, bulk milk tanks, propane tanks, hay sheds, facilities for cold storage, storage, drying and handling facilities, and many more. Contact the FSA ofce early in your planning process to determine what level of environmental review is required for your application so that it can be completed in a timely manner. The Livestock Indemnity Program provides assistance for livestock deaths in excess of normal mortality caused by adverse eligible weather, disease and attacks by animals reintroduced into the wild by the federal government or protected by federal law. For disease losses, FSA county committees can accept veterinarian certications that livestock deaths were directly related to adverse weather and unpreventable through good animal husbandry and management. Pneumonia (stand-alone) is not an eligible loss condition. For 2023 livestock losses, you must le a notice and provide the following supporting documentation to the FSA ofce no later than 60 calendar days after the end of the calendar year in which the eligible loss condition occurred. — Proof of death documentation. — Copy of grower’s contracts. — Proof of normal mortality documentation. — Livestock beginning inventory documentation. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has established normal mortality rates for each type and weight range of eligible livestock, i.e. adult beef cow = 1.5% and non-adult beef cattle = 5%. These established percentages reect losses that are considered expected or typical under normal conditions. In addition to ling a notice of loss, you must submit the application for payment by March 1. For more information, contact a USDA Service Center or visit fsa.usda.gov. Farm Service Agency is an equal opportunity lender. Complaints about discrimination should be sent to: Secretary of Agriculture, Washington, D.C., 20250. Visit www.fsa.usda.gov for application forms and updates on USDA programs.
The purge
Dairy Star • Saturday, January 27, 2024 • Page 35
We have made it through the messiest part of the remodeling project. Our old house had smaller rooms that had just enough room for a couch, recliner and oversized chair. We plan to make two rooms into one by opening another wall to expose our staircase, creating one big room to gather and relax where everyone can sit together. The plan includes hardwood oors and also a replace — gas not wood. We moved out barrels of dusty plaster and lathe, pulled up carpeting and old, unlevel wood ooring. Our carpenters told us that every old house they work on has similar issues. The oor needs to be leveled, and extra support for the replace is needed. The new beams and jacks would be put into By Tina Hinchley the area of the living Farmer & Columnist space down in the basement. Our basement has been full of decades of collections. I shufed boxes, totes and bags from one side of the basement to the other. I opened boxes and reminisced about the old treasures from our childhood or further back to what our parents had left us that was stored because we just couldn’t let it go. There were boxes of taxes that need to be saved, a beer can collection and farm hats. Who would have thought those hats would be slowly falling apart with age. The foam cushion around the rim has started to crumble. Those were sorted into piles, save, donate and toss, only to be boxed and bagged up to move to the dumpster, donation center or to the other side of the basement on a shelf. Well, we must be cool, because we have a bunch of coolers. There are small ones for farmers to take to the tractor with lunch in it. Then, those medium ones hold a couple six-packs of soda or beer, and the large ones are used for events to hold lots of soda and beer, with ice. There are even a few extra large ones for the hauling of processed chickens, beef or pork to get home from the butcher. In the back corner, there was the sewing and art supplies from when I was a 4-H leader, as if it all had been frozen in time. That area was a great place to store the ceramic items and art work my kids made. Some items were masterpieces of childhood dreams that had to be saved; others were bowls or cups made from clay that didn’t are up any emotion. There were the shelves of jams and jelly, apple sauce and pear butter. The jars need to be opened and washed, and the hard work will go out to the gutter to be spread on the elds. It was as depressing as it was exciting, clearing a shelf to put more stuff on. We all worked together to get it moved and cleaned out because the carpenters needed to work in the basement the next day. Egg cartons? Yes, those have to be saved. There are times when the chickens lay several dozen a day. Do I really need to have 200 cartons? What about all of these pens and pads of paper? Those were collected by Duane’s mom, some of those companies have gone out of business, and I do the same thing. At every farm meeting and expo, I bring home more stuff that gets stashed in the drawers. If in doubt, throw it out. " %
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We purged the basement, then the pantry, and now, we are onto the ofce. There seems to be a theme with many of the items that we have stacked and stored. All are farm-themed promotional items, like seed corn hats, herbicide coolers, tractor brand jackets and coffee cups. They are gifts given to us to use and treasure, or to put on a shelf to forget. We actually use promotional items like T-shirts, sweatshirts, sunglasses and socks. I am waiting for a brilliant company to start to hand out boots, and on the toe, it could say, “Stepping out ahead,” with their product. Those would never get put on a shelf.
As we put many items in donation boxes, we thought of the person who will see these items as a treasure and put them on their shelf, in their drawer or, who knows, sell it on the internet. We need these treasures gone to make room for the carpenters for now but also for other stuff we will stash in the years to come. Tina Hinchley, her husband Duane and daughter Anna milk 240 registered Holsteins with robots. They also farm 2,300 acres 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 reect the opinions and views of Dairy Star staff and ownership.
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Boots in the barn, head in the kitchen Page 36 • Dairy Star • Saturday, January 27, 2024
It was cold last week, in case you were hibernating and didn’t know. I had a great routine of thawing out waterers every morning on the way to check on my cows. I even had to bust out my extra-thick, leather barn mittens one day because I could not feel my ngers after moving cows. I had long conversations with the cows daily, pleading with them not to calve until it warmed up a bit. The maternity pens all became temporary packs, as all liquids froze to the cement and were impossible to clean. I am thankful for the heater in my parlor, as it kicks on every so often to keep the temperature tolerable. When my ngers started to tingle with coldness, my mind would instantly start dreaming of what I could make in the house to warm up. The mere thought of being in the kitchen and baking has the desired effect on me — I warm up a bit, nish my chores and rush to the house. By the
time I get to the house in the afternoon, all my plans are made. I just need to check all the ingredients and cook for a bit before I have to brave the cold once again to head back to milk cows. I thought I would share the recipes that graced the farmhouse kitchen this past week. If it gets miserably cold again, you may need to use these to warm up your mind and your house. As your boots are ghting to keep you upright amid the snow drifts, slush and impending ice, let your mind wander back to the kitchen and the delicious meals you can make to nourish the cold bodies when they wander in. Cream cheese brownies 2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened 2 cups sugar, divided 3 tablespoons milk 1 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup instant hot cocoa mix 4 eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla 1 1/2 cups our In a small bowl, beat cream cheese, 1/2 cup of sugar and milk until uffy, set aside. In a large bowl, cream the butter, hot cocoa mix and remaining sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in our. Pour half into a greased 9-by-13 pan. Spread with the cream cheese mixture. Top with the remaining batter. Cut through the batter with a knife to swirl the cream cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes Ramblings from the Ridge out clean, and the center is set. Cool on a wire rack. Cut into bars. Crab quiche 1 unbaked pastry shell, 9 inches 1 cup shredded Swiss cheese, divided 1/2 cup chopped sweet red pepper 1/4 cup chopped green By Jacqui Davison onions Columnist 1 tablespoon butter 3 large eggs 1 1/2 cups half-and-half cream 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper 3/4 cup aked imitation crabmeat, chopped Line the un-pricked pastry shell with a double thickness of heavy-duty foil. Bake at 450 degrees for 5 minutes; remove foil. Bake 5 minutes longer. Immediately sprinkle 1/2 cup cheese over the crust. Reduce heat to 375 degrees. In a skillet, saute red pepper and onions in butter until tender. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, cream, salt and pepper. Stir in the crab, pepper mixture and the remaining cheese. Pour into the crust. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for 10-15 minutes before cutting. This was our wild menu item for last week’s breakfast, and it was a hit. It was bright, colorful and very much different from the ordinary egg bake. Jacqui Davison and her family milk 800 cows and farm 1,200 acres in northeastern Vernon County, Wisconsin. Her children, Ira, Dane, Henry and Cora, help on the farm while her husband, Keith, works on a grain farm. If she’s not in the barn, she’s probably in the kitchen, trailing after little ones or sharing her passion of reading with someone. Her life is best described as organized chaos, and if it wasn’t, she’d be bored.
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Feeding high oleic soybeans to dairy cows
Dairy Star • Saturday, January 27, 2024 • Page 37
High oleic soybeans have been and alter rumen fermentation, leading around for more than 10 years, most- to milk fat depression. ly in the eastern United States. More While conventional and high oleic recently, they have worked their way soybeans have similar protein and fat into the Midwest market, catching the content, they differ in their fatty acid attention of the dairy industry. proles. In conventional soybeans, High oleic soybeans were devel- less than 25% of the fat is comprised oped for the food indus- Something to Ruminate On of oleic acid and the retry because the oil has a mainder is comprised higher concentration of mostly of linoleic acid. oleic fatty acid and lowIn high oleic soybeans, er concentration of linthe percentage of oleic oleic fatty acid, a polyacid is closer to 75% unsaturated fatty acid, and less than 10% is linleading to longer shelf oleic acid. This higher life and fryer oil life. concentration of oleic In more recent years, fatty acids is much more researchers have recrumen-friendly, reducognized these soybeans ing the risk of milk fat with more oleic fatty depression. By Barry Visser acid can also increase Research on feedNutritionist dairy cow milk fat proing high oleic soybeans duction. to dairy cows has been Whole soybeans and their byprod- conducted at Penn State University, ucts serve as an excellent source of Michigan State University and the essential nutrients to dairy cows. De- University of Wisconsin. A PSU study pending on how they are processed, comparing normal to high oleic ground soybeans can provide high-quality roasted soybeans showed higher milk protein and energy from fat. Roasted fat concentration and higher fat yield. soybeans have traditionally been used A MSU study comparing increasing as an economical source of rumen- levels of roasted high oleic soybeans degradable protein, bypass protein showed overall higher milk yields and fat, allowing producers to utilize and increased fat and protein yields. a homegrown feed in some cases. The UW study showed an increase in Historically, producers have had milk fat percentages for mature cows to limit the amount of roasted conven- when feeding whole, raw high oleic tional soybeans they can feed because soybeans versus conventional whole, their high levels of PUFA can be det- raw soybeans. rimental to rumen microbes. PUFA The return on investment with can disrupt normal rumen function high oleic soybeans will vary by
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with 1.9 as the lowest maturity rating currently available. Growers of high oleic soybeans may also experience limited seed and elevator options. High oleic beans need to be stored separately from conventional soybeans; anyone wishing to grow them to sell must be near an elevator that is contracted to specically receive high oleic soybeans. Weed control can also be a challenge with limited herbicide options. Future varieties will soon be available with traits that allow for controlling the weed populations. If land base and logistics allow, raising and feeding high oleic roasted soybeans can be an option to reduce purchased feed costs while having a positive impact on milk component yields. Work with your agronomist and nutritionist to determine if high oleic soybeans t in your operation. Barry Visser is a nutritionist for Vita Plus.
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Christmas wish Page 38 • Dairy Star • Saturday, January 27, 2024
All I wanted for Christmas was to create memories with Mark. I told Mark all I wanted were 12 gifts. I would like for him to plan a date each month for the year. It could be a movie night, cards with friends, a lunch break or exploring interesting sites in the area. I would even fudge to include seed corn meetings or cooperative dinners if he was pressed for ideas and time. Deep down, I imagined heart-pumping, breath-taking events. I even longed for quiet time to just be together without interruptions. I have been scheduling our social calendar around life on the farm for way too long, and I wanted to share this job with him. I suggested we see a movie in town. I don’t remember the last movie we saw together in a theater, but our rst date was a movie. I thought this would be a good way to start my 12 gifts of Christmas. We agreed to see, “The Boys in the Boat.” I read the book a few years ago and knew Mark would be captivated by the story. We were set to go when Mark had another idea. We had sold six bred heifers to a farmer in northeast
Iowa with the intent of delivering them ourselves. The blizzard that roared across Kansas, Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin delayed our original trip. When the weather and roads were nally cleared, Mark saw his chance to make a road trip. We couldn’t miss two evening chores in a row, so we decided to postpone the movie date and make it a road trip adventure. It was a blustery, windy day when we loaded the heifers in our bumper hitch trailer. Luckily, they were packed in tightly, and they had their long winter coats on. They would be able to handle the four-hour trip snuggled together. Mark checked the oil in the engine and air in all the tires, including the trailer spare. There was one slightly bad tire on the trailer, and he wanted to be prepared. He threw the oor jack and tools in the truck bed, just in case. I packed a tote with insulated coveralls, extra gloves, hats and blankets just in case too. As we merged onto Highway 10 and four lanes of trafc, we soon realized we would not be traveling in the left lane. With a fully loaded trailer behind us, we were
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not going to reach the maximum speed limit. The northwest tailwind helped to propel us down the road, but it wasn’t going to help us come to a quick stop. Our fourhour trip would stretch out to a six-hour road trip, with a few bumps in the road. We made it around the Twin Cities and were Just Thinking Out Loud heading south on Interstate 35. It was a good trip. We were nding our rhythm on the road with snacks and conversations. Then, there was a bump-bumpbump. The road was clear. We didn’t hit anything, but that was not a good sound. Mark eased to a stop on the side of the road. He quickly discovered the problem. By Natalie Schmitt The right rear tire on the trailer had lost its face/ Columnist tread. What remained was wrapped around the hub. This wasn’t even the bad tire. Luckily, we were only a few miles away from an exit. We limped slowly down the edge of the road with ashers blinking. Mark pulled into a gas station and tried to park where the building could be a windbreak. He wiggled into the insulated coveralls and grabbed his tools as he set about to changing the tire. I called a friend in the area to nd out where would be a good place to pick up a new spare tire. We still had the bad tire on the trailer, and we didn’t want to be caught without a spare. As the sun was setting, we nally made it to our nal destination. It was probably one of the quickest stops we have ever made. They needed to get to milking, and we needed to get back on the road. We had a long drive ahead of us, and the winds were swirling the snow across the highways. With our load removed, we were curious of how the trailer was going to handle the road conditions. We made it to Mason City, Iowa, for a quick dinner to-go from Culver’s. This date was meeting my wish. We were enjoying time together without interruptions and dinner to boot. It was a nice time to relax and breathe. As we made our way northward, we were making better time despite the headwinds. We settled in for the rest of our trip when the real entertainment kicked in. We noticed a bunch of snowplows on the roads around Owatonna. That was strange. The snow had subsided, and there was nothing to plow. Then, suddenly, the truck slipped and jerked me awake. Mark kept us moving in the right direction, but we had no idea what had happened. As we approached an exit, a semi decided we were traveling too slow and started to pass us on the left. That is when our hearts stopped. The draft of the semi blocking the headwinds shifted the trailer away from our truck, and then, we hit black ice. All I could see were the exit sign and road markers barreling straight toward my side of the truck. Just as we were about to slide down the embankment and into the signs, Mark gained control and steered us out of danger. Now we realized why the trucks were out. It wasn’t to plow but to put down salt at the exit areas of the interstate where ice had formed. Eventually, our breathing calmed, and our heart beats returned to normal. I was so glad Mark decided he would continue driving. I don’t think I would have been able to keep us from sliding off the edge of the road. We nally made it home, 11 hours after we started. Mark’s rst Christmas gift to me was lled with heartpounding adventures, dinner and uninterrupted time together. He might be getting the hang of this. I can’t wait to see what he comes up with next month. As their four children pursue dairy careers off the family farm, Natalie and Mark Schmitt started an adventure of milking registered Holsteins just because they like good cows on their farm north of Rice, Minnesota.
Real, not perfect If you drive into our yard right now, it looks like a hay auction and an equipment dealership got together and had a baby. We always buy several loads of hay during the winter, but because
Dairy Good Life
By Sadie Frericks Columnist the drought this summer severely curtailed the growth of our crops and our pasture, we’ve been buying extra. We couldn’t unload the last couple loads out by our feed storage area because of the mud caused by the Christmas rain, so there’s a load or two worth of hay bales sitting in our yard. Equipment is scattered throughout the yard because everything with an engine needs to be parked close to an outlet — extension cords only reach so far. But plugging them in wasn’t even enough last week; because it’s the warmest room on the farm, the milkhouse became a battery warmer. We have three groups of heifers crowded into two bays of the heifer shed because the water line supplying one of the waterers is frozen. Our yard is far from the pristine white that makes winter so beautiful. It looks more like an almost-burnt marshmallow. This week’s south wind dusted our yard with the neighbors’ topsoil. In the past, for all of these reasons, I would have insisted that our farm look perfect. But, I have been embracing the mantra, “Real, not perfect.” My house will never look like something out of a magazine because we work hard and play hard, and that’s hard on a house. Our farm is not always picturesque, either, because it’s a real, working farm. So, when our co-op’s government relations team asked if we would host a visit for the Minnesota Senate Agriculture Committee, I embraced all of our real-ness and said yes. With the next session of the Minnesota Legislature starting Feb. 12, I gured it could be good for lawmakers to see “real, not perfect.” I’m so glad I did. We had a great visit. The entire committee wasn’t able to attend, which was probably good, as there’s not a lot of room in the front of our barn. We did have Sens. Aric Putnam (the committee’s chair), Torrey Westrom, Robert Kupec, and Gene
Dornink. They were joined by several ag committee staff and a couple folks from our co-op’s government relations team. Plus, Dan, Monika, and Daphne opted out of their rst couple hours of school so they could meet the senators. We all had great conversations. The senators and staff asked excellent questions about our farm. But, to me, the most important question they asked was: What can the state of Minnesota do to help small and mid-size dairy farms be successful? I didn’t have specic ideas to share, but I did say that anything that makes our jobs easier would be welcome. In the past 18 years, we have increased the number of cows we milk from 40 to 100. The hours we can work in a day are maxed out. We don’t have a separate human relations department or accounting department. The more time we can spend working with our cows and not doing paperwork, the better. Likewise, our land base and our facilities are maxed out. Increasing our output hasn’t been enough to offset rising prices. Our annual farm business analysis shows that our prot per cow continues to decline. If Minnesota truly wants to keep smaller dairy farms in business, we’ll have to think outside the box to come up with solutions. Why should we? Because small and mid-size dairy farms are part of the backbone of Minnesota’s rural economies. We generate millions of dollars of economic activity in our communities. We also play an important role in workforce development. We provide work experiences for our children and part-time jobs for high school and college students. Young people who don’t live on farms but work on farms during their youth are more likely to pursue agriculture-related careers. How would you answer the senators’ question? No policy solution will likely be perfect, but perhaps the state can nd real, meaningful ways to support dairy farms. If you have ideas on how the state can preserve dairy farms in Minnesota, the committee genuinely wants to hear them. I encourage you to contact a member of the committee or the committee’s staff. Even better, make plans to attend a lobby day at the Capitol. Minnesota Milk’s Dairy Day at the Capitol is March 7. Other organizations, including Minnesota Farm Bureau and Minnesota Farmers Union, will hold lobby days as well. Sadie Frericks and her husband, Glen, milk 100 cows near Melrose, Minnesota. They have three children: Dan, Monika, and Daphne. Sadie also writes a blog at www.dairygoodlife.com. She can be reached at sadiefrericks@ gmail.com.
Dairy Star • Saturday, January 27, 2024 • Page 39
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HEAVY DUTY
MINI MINI BRUSH CUTTER BRUSH CUTTER ROTO TILLERS MINI EXCAVATOR MOUNT
Ideal for grass, brush and small trees
Ideal for pond banks, waterways and ditches
Ideal for food plots, gardens and landscaping
SILVER STAR METALS LLC N15435 Frenchtown Ave., Withee, WI
715-229-4879
Visit www.silverstarmetals.net for details and options on attachments
THESE QUALITY ATTACHMENTS ALSO AVAILABLE:
• Concrete Chuter • Brush Cutter • Roto-Tiller • Pallet Fork
• Driveway Grader • Bale Bedders • Brush Grapple • Wood Splitter • Dirt Buckets • Trailer Mover • Rock Buckets
Shavings
Built to dairy better.
BIGGER AUGERS. BIGGER PERFORMANCE. Our continuous ȵighting system picks up more feed, provides the best lift action and maintains a steady, uniform reintroduction of feed back into the mix.
BULK OR BAG
S&S Wood Products
35335 Green Street | Independence, WI 54747
800-234-5893 | 715-985-3122
joewelcheq.com
507-724-3183 SKIDLOADERS TRACTORS BACKHOES EXCAVATORS & BULLDOZERS
Dealer Inquiries Welcome
COMMITMENT • QUALITY • DURABILITY • RESULTS
Experience the NDEco dierence.
Wood
M I N I A T T A C H M E N T S
@NDEcoTMR www.NDEco.com | 888.336.3127
Page 40 • Dairy Star • Saturday, January 27, 2024
New Patz 1300
New Patz 350
New Patz 420
New Patz 500
New Patz 500
New Patz 615
New Patz 750
New Patz 950
New Patz 950
New Kuhn FC 3161 TCR
New Kuhn FC 3561 TCR
New Kuhn Knight PS 270, #6356 - Call
New Tubeline Nitro 575RS, #6441 - Call
New Tubeline Nitro 750, #6116 - Call
New Dryhill DH-310
New Dryhill DH-4006.42, #6389 - Call
New Dryhill DH-480, #4622 - Call
New Dryhill DH-4808.42, #5862 - Call
New Dryhill DH-4808.52, #6388 - Call
New Dryhill DH-481
New Kelly Ryan 4 X 10
New Kelly Ryan 4 X 12
New Kelly Ryan 5 X 12
New Vermeer BF250 #6381 - Call
New Valmetal 5600 Agri Chopper,
New Valmetal AT5600
New Valmetal AT5600
#6288 - Call
#6411 - Call
#6160 - Call
#6463 - Call
New Valmetal 5600 #6488 - Call
#6304 - Call
#6162 - Call
#6461 - Call
New Valmetal 5600 #6377 - Call
#6161 - Call
#6425 - Call
#6462 - Call
New Valmetal 5600 #6370 - Call
#6427 - Call
#6294 - Call
#6393 - Call
#6329 - Call
#6155 - Call
#6390 - Call
#5934 - Call
#6182 - Call
#6394 - Call
Salesmen: Shawn Martin (608) 778-4554 or Joe Ryan (608) 778-2900
4116 Hwy. 80 S. Platteville, WI
Office: (608) 348-9401 or Toll Free: 1(888) BUY-Patz www.steinhartsfarmservice.com
4116 Hwy. 80 S. Platteville, WI