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DAIRY ST R
November 13, 2021
“All dairy, all the time”™
Volume 23, No. 18
Rising from tragedy Lundbergs return to dairy scene after battling stray voltage By Abby Wiedmeyer abby.w@dairystar.com
ABBY WIEDMEYER/DAIRY STAR
Members of Bert-Mar Farms – (from le�) Erica Lundberg’s ancé, Grahm Giese, Loveiisa Mackey, Erica Lundberg holding Aksel Mackey, Allan Lundberg, in-house breeder Ryan Nordahl and James Nordahl – pose with Josey LLC Duc Saber-Red EX94, one of their elite cows, on their farm near Osseo, Wisconsin. The Lundbergs are rebuilding their herd a�er suffering from years of stray voltage. The Mackeys are Allan Lundberg’s grandkids.
OSSEO, Wis. – Allan Lundberg and his daughter, Erica, have spent the last 11 years reintroducing elite genetics to their herd after the farm nearly fell apart because of stray voltage issues. “I probably should have quit, but I knew I was not a bad farmer and that there was something else going on,” Allan said. For more than a decade, Allan has worked to rebuild the Bert-Mar Farms herd where he and Erica milk 120 cows near Osseo. While the resolution began in 2010, the tragedy persisted for 20 years before the problem was rendered and the family was able to focus on their passion for elite genetics. “We lost it all with stray voltage,” Allan said. “We had nothing left, no pedigrees. That’s
why we bought the animals we did to start over.” Allan was in partnership with his dad for many years and nished buying the farm in 1993. They had success with a state record cow, class leaders, the top herd in the county and World Dairy Expo tours in the 1980s. They had contract cows and the rst embryo transfer cows in western Wisconsin, ying veterinarians in to do the work. One of the cows made 59 calves, with 29 of them being heifer calves. By the end of the stray voltage nightmare, there was not a single relative of that cow left. Problems began in the late 1980s when the power company replaced the original overhead service with an underground line. “At the time, I thought that Turn to LUNDBERGS | Page 8
Bartender becomes dairy farmer Madden trades in high heels for barn boots By Stacey Smart
stacey.s@dairystar.com
NEW LONDON, Wis. – She can deliver a backward calf, drive a tanker full of manure, give vaccines, dehorn calves, treat a sick cow and operate any tractor on the farm. Just three years ago, these jobs were foreign to Lisa Madden, a former bartender. But she learned how to do all of this and more in short order when her husband, Dan, faced an employee shortage on the farm. “It was a sink or swim moment when I started working here,” said Lisa, who replaced two key people involved with herd health and management. “I had to come out and grab the bull by the horns and learn it all. It wasn’t easy, but Dan is a good teacher. I started out slow, and little by little, I took on more responsibility.” Lisa and Dan milk 400 cows and run 650 acres near New London. The
Maddens took over the farm in 2017 from Dan’s parents, Dan and Brenda, who continue to help on the dairy. Lisa came on board full time at the end of 2018. A party girl at heart, she traded in her high heels for barn boots and never looked back. “It was a welcome culture shock,” Lisa said. “I grew up in the country, but I didn’t grow up on a farm, so this was all new to me. I started at ground zero, not even knowing how long a cow was pregnant. It was a lot to take in, but it was also exciting. There was a lot of trial and error, but I was driven to do it and found the work really interesting.” Lisa received a crash course in dairy farming from Dan, the breeder and the veterinarian. “From learning the normal temperature of a cow to learning how to diagnose and treat an animal to the best of my ability, I was taught everything from A to Z,” Lisa said. “I wondered if I was getting in over my head, but you don’t Turn to MADDEN | Page 6
STACEY SMART/DAIRY STAR
Lisa and Dan Madden milk 400 cows and farm 650 acres near New London, Wisconsin. Lisa, a former bartender, became Dan’s right-hand man nearly three years ago when the farm was faced with an employee shortage.
Page 2 • Dairy Star • Saturday, November 13, 2021
DAIRY ST R www.dairystar.com
ISSN 020355 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave. Sauk Centre, MN 56378 Phone: (320) 352-6303 Fax: (320) 352-5647 Published by Dairy Star LLC General Manager/Editor Mark Klaphake - mark.k@dairystar.com 320-352-6303 (ofce) 320-248-3196 (cell) 320-352-0062 (home) Ad Composition Nancy Powell 320-352-6303 nancy.p@dairystar.com Editorial Staff Jennifer Coyne - Assistant Editor (320) 352-6303 • jenn@dairystar.com Danielle Nauman - Staff Writer (608) 487-1101 • danielle.n@dairystar.com Stacey Smart - Staff Writer (262) 442-6666 • stacey.s@dairystar.com Abby Wiedmeyer - Staff Writer 608-487-4812 • abby.w@dairystar.com Kate Rechtzigel - Staff Writer kate.r@dairystar.com Maria Bichler - Copy Editor 320-352-6303 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@dairystar.com Bob Leukam (Northern MN, East Central MN) 320-260-1248 (cell) bob.l@star-pub.com Mark Klaphake (Western MN) 320-352-6303 (ofce) 320-248-3196 (cell) Laura Seljan (National Advertising, SE MN) 507-250-2217 fax: 507-634-4413 laura.s@dairystar.com Jerry Nelson (SW MN, NW Iowa, South Dakota) 605-690-6260 jerry.n@dairystar.com Mike Schafer (Central, South Central MN) 320-894-7825 mike.s@dairystar.com Amanda Hoeer (Eastern Iowa) 320-250-2884 • amanda.h@dairystar.com Megan Stuessel (Western Wisconsin) 608-387-1202 • megan.s@dairystar.com Kati Kindschuh (Northeast WI and Upper MI) 920-979-5284 • kati.k@dairystar.com Deadlines The deadline for news and advertising in the Dairy Star is 5 p.m. Friday the week before publication. Subscriptions One year subscription $35.00, outside the U.S. $110.00. Send check along with mailing address to Dairy Star, 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave., Sauk Centre, MN 56378. Advertising Our ad takers have no authority to bind this newspaper and only publication of an advertisement shall constitute nal acceptance of the advertiser's order. Letters Letters and articles of opinion are welcomed. Letters must be signed and include address and phone number. We reserve the right to edit lengthy letters. The views and opinions expressed by Dairy Star columnists and writers are not necessarily those of the Dairy Star LLC.
The Dairy Star is published semi-monthly by Dairy Star, LLC, 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave., Sauk Centre, MN 56378-1246. Periodicals Postage Paid at Sauk Centre, MN and additional mailing ofces. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Dairy Star, 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave., Sauk Centre, MN 56378-1246.
America dealers. Cybersecurity temporarily North shuts down Wisconsin dairy processor
Dairy Prole brought to you by your Green Bay-based Schreiber Foods is the latest food manufacturer to be shut down by cyber criminals. The ransomware attack shut down all of the dairy company’s plants and distribution centers. Schreiber Foods had a specialized response team in place, and the company came back online after three days. The company was reportedly hit with a $2.5 million ransom demand. Task force formed to tackle supply chain crisis To address the supply chain disruptions facing the dairy industry, the International Dairy Foods Association has created a Supply Chain Task Force. “Our supply chain is hurting, and it’s going to take an all-hands-on-deck approach to x it,” said Michael Dykes, president and CEO of IDFA. “At any given time in recent weeks, between 70 to 90 cargo ships were anchored outside the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach waiting to unload thousands of containers.” Due to the supply chain bottleneck, Dykes said the U.S. is unable to fulll 22% of agriculture-related foreign sales. The IDFA Supply Chain Task Force will work with industry partners to nd solutions to this crisis. CoBank: Supply chain bottleneck to continue into 2022 In its quarterly agricultural outlook, CoBank said supply chain disruptions and labor shortages are increasing costs. The supply chain problems are expected to continue well into 2022. The export situation remains a question mark for the short term as the Gulf ports are beginning to reopen. After 11 months of expansion, CoBank said dairy cow numbers declined due to high feed costs and rising construction costs. USDA to help with supply chain issues The Biden administration is working on addressing sup-
ply chain disruptions, including agriculture. The Port of Los Angeles will be operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week. AgriculAg Insider ture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the United States Department of Agriculture is focused on getting more people and work done at the ports. “We, of course, are also working in an effort to determine how to best use resources we’ve recently announced to provide assistance,” Vilsack said. Vilsack said U.S. infrastructure also needs an update. “It’s important to make sure we take this opportunity to modernize infrastructure so we’re By Don Wick in a position to have a much more resilient system than we have Columnist today,” he said.
Ag transportation group offers recommendations to Buttigieg Fifty-two farm and food organizations, who are part of the Agricultural Transportation Working Group, sent a letter to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg with recommendations to address supply chain issues. The lack of available labor is the No. 1 issue. The coalition is seeking infrastructure improvements and voiced concerns about climate change policies that could idle cropland. The National Milk Producers Federation is included among the groups that make up the transportation working group.
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Dairy Star • Saturday, November 13, 2021 • Page 3
It’s all inside... Columnists Ag Insider
Pages 2, 8 First Section
Bloomer
Fall Creek
Dairy Star Christmas giveaway calf from Woodmohr Jerseys
First Section: Pages 22 - 23
First Section: Pages 12 - 13
Ramblings from the Ridge ur
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Barron
Rusk
Flo
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Price
Oneida
M
Forest
First Section: Pages 1, 8
Polk
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Menominee
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Lincoln Taylor
First Section: Page 39
Stratford
Breeding Focus: Ralph Petersheim
Pages 8 - 9 Second Section
Third Section: Page 17
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O Adams
Monroe
Juneau
Vernon
Richland
go ba Calumet
Waushara
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Green Lake Fond Du Lac
Columbia Dodge
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Jackson
La Crosse
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Wood
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Viroqua
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Buffalo
Portage Waupaca
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Dairy Profile: Ryan Nordahl
The “Mielke” Market Weekly
Shawano
Clark
Eau Claire Pepin
Osseo
Oconto
Marathon
tte
Page 33 First Section
Menominee
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Come Full Circle
Pierce
Chippewa
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Page 32 First Section
Dunn
Langlade
Ma
St. Croix
Trempealeau
From the Zweber Farm
Dane
Iowa
Grant
Breeding Focus: Ralph Petersheim
Lafayette Green
Jefferson Waukesha
Racine
Rock
Walworth
Carroll
ago
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Whiteside
First Section: Page 10
Kenosha
Ogle Kane
Lee
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McCulloughs’ barn home to nine EX-94 cows
Rock Island
First Section: Page 36
Hull, IA Watertown, SD
Hen ders
Women in Dairy: Carrie Ritschard
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Mercer
Monroe
For additional stories from our other zone, log on to www.dairystar.com
Agropur expands in Little Chute
McHenry
DeKalb
Zone 2
Little Chute
Bo
Jo Daviess
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First Section: Pages 18, 20
Zone 1
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Burnett
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Lundbergs return to dairy scene after battling stray voltage
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Osseo
Delta
Dickinson
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Page 31 First Section
First Section: Pages 1, 6
Iron Ashland
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Veterinary Wisdom
First Section: Pages 34 - 35
Hoewisches appointed Madden trades in to Farm Bureau’s YFA high heels for barn boots Committee
Bayfield
Douglas
Page 30 First Section
New London
wa
Page 27 First Section
Fremont
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Farmer and Columnist
Staneks’ dairy focused around Wisconsin Holstein Association Wall of Fame cow
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War
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Third Section: Pages 3 - 5
When did you begin harvest? First Section: Pages 15 - 16
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ConƟnued from AG INSIDER | Page 2 New DMI CEO seeks a deliberate approach to dairy exports In a news brieng, Dairy Management Inc.’s new CEO, Barbara O’Brien said she wants to see a more measured approach to exports. “Rather than taking a pro forma approach annually, we’ve talked about putting together a three-year plan and being deliberate on how those dollars ow depending on where the business is and how the opportunities come forward,” O’Brien said. That includes a growing investment in the export arena. O’Brien said the promotion of dairy products is critically important. Partnerships are described as a way to expand those efforts. “We need to continue to look at milk and milk-based products that meet consumers’ changing lifestyles,” she said. O’Brien has been with the dairy checkoff program for 20 years, most recently as DMI’s president and the CEO of the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy. Record-breaking cheese stocks According to USDA’s cold storage report, total U.S. cheese stocks were at record levels in September. At 1.46 billion pounds, the total was up nearly 8% from one year ago. Butter stocks in cold storage were reported at 330 million pounds. That is down 4% from September 2020 and down 9% from August. Butter stocks seasonally decline as holiday purchases increase, but the August-to-September situation was the biggest drop since 2016. Tai hopes to stabilize trade relationship with China Speaking to an agricultural trade group, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said trade relationship with China is in a difcult place. Tai highlighted a recent call with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He where she spoke about the importance of working together. However, the Chinese ofcials wants the U.S. to eliminate tariffs on their products. Tai said her goal is to bring the temperature down so the two sides can stabilize the trade relationship.
IDFA promotes Newman The International Dairy Foods Association has promoted Colin Newman to chief of staff. Most recently, Newman was IDFA’s director of industry relations and political affairs. Tracy Boyle has been promoted to chief of people strategy. Most recently, Boyle co-created the Women in Dairy community for IDFA. DATCP hires communications lead The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection named Sam Otterson as its communications director. Otterson was a research assistant for state Rep. Dave Considine.
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Wisconsin native elected to National FFA ofcer team Cortney Zimmerman is one of six
DFA board announces CEO transition At the end of 2022, Dennis Rodenbaugh will take over as the president and chief executive ofcer of Dairy Farmers of America. Rodenbaugh currently is DFA’s executive vice president and president of council operations and ingredients solutions. DFA’s current president and CEO Rick Smith plans to retire after serving in the role for 16 years.
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Export growth U.S. dairy exports are on track to set a new volume record this year. The monthly dairy market report from the National Milk Producers Federation and the dairy checkoff program said dairy exports are up for all key products except dry whey. U.S. milk production in the June-through-August time period was up 2% from one year ago. That is down from growth of nearly 4% during the second quarter.
newly-elected National FFA ofcers. Zimmerman is from Spencer, Wisconsin, and was a state FFA vice president. Zimmerman is an agricultural communications student at South Dakota State University. Zimmerman’s goal is for the next generation to understand how important they are to the FFA. “It happens in one-on-one connections with students, being able to nd students through our travels at conventions or in the classroom,” she said.
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Lisa Madden listens to the heart and lungs of one of the farm’s milk cows and also checks for any diges�ve issues. Madden spends a lot of �me with fresh cows to ensure their lacta�on gets off to a good start. know that until you try. I was fortunate to have good teachers and patient people who worked with me. They assured me no question was stupid, and if I made a mistake, I was told to keep going because that’s how you learn.” Dan had faith in Lisa’s abilities and gave her any job she was willing to tackle. “Lisa is a very fast learner,” Dan said. “I could tell she could do it. She’s the type of person that can take on almost any job out there that I can do. Some jobs are really scary and I told her, ‘If you don’t want to do it, you don’t have to.’ But she would say, ‘No, I’ll try it.’ You can’t take a job away from her now. It’s funny how things evolve.” When she was 18, Lisa began bartending at a local bar. She was still bartending three days a week when she realized Dan needed her help on the farm more. “I loved bartending,” Lisa said. “Getting to have fun for a job was cool, but it was also demanding. I worked nights for many years and had to totally switch my schedule to mornings when I started farming and reorganize my whole life.” But Lisa embraced her new lifestyle, transferring her passion for bartending into a passion for farming. “I didn’t think I could do it at rst,” she said. “The hardest part was that I didn’t want to let anyone down or screw up. I wanted to do things properly and efciently otherwise you’re losing money, and farms can’t afford that.” Now, it is hard to nd a job on the farm Lisa cannot do. Her versatility and willingness to learn new tasks has made
her the go-to person and a valuable asset on the farm. “Everybody is pretty impressed,” Dan said. “I needed a right-hand man – someone who could do what I do – and Lisa was that person.” Lisa has taken on the role of herdsman, managing overall herd heath and cows at every stage of lactation. Pre-fresh and fresh cows are her specialty, and Lisa spends a lot of time in the postfresh pen, doing everything she can to make sure cows enter the milking group healthy. Lisa handles all calvings as well as newborn calf care through weaning. “I love the birthing aspect,” Lisa said. “It’s pretty awesome, and we take care of most calvings by ourselves. We’re very hands-on with herd health and taking care of situations many people call vets for.” Lisa also feeds heifers, helps clean barns, pitches calf stalls, and washes and sanitizes hutches. She does most of the chisel plowing and discing, cuts hay, runs her own feed trailer during harvest and hauls manure. While putting in 15-hour work days, the busy mother of three also makes sure to carve out time for parenting her children – Neveah, 18, Jaylynn, 14, and Brayson, 11. “Every day is so different, and I like that,” Lisa said. “There’s a lot of learning involved. As soon as you think you know everything, you realize you don’t. You have to keep challenging yourself and trying to advance, which is something I really like about farming.” From 5-inch stilettos to heels with Turn to MADDEN | Page 7
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Dairy Star • Saturday, November 13, 2021 • Page 7
ConƟnued from MADDEN | Page 6
some tillage, but using big machinery to haul feed was a new experience for me,” Lisa said. “The rst time I drove it, I could barely back up. It was very scary. Dan sat in the buddy seat for one round, and then I was on my own. He said the most important thing was, ‘Don’t hit the chopper and get the feed in the box.’” Lisa loves to problem solve and nds it to be the most interesting part
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Lisa Madden gives a vaccine to a newborn calf Oct. 26. Madden handles all calvings and newborn protocols at Madden Farms. sparkles or patterns, this fun-loving farmer is known for her high-heel collection. “I was always the life of the party, and friends of mine will ask, ‘How did you go from a fun, party girl to this?’” Lisa said. “But I still like to doll up if I get the chance and wear cool hoop earrings and put big curls in my hair. I love to dance – that’s my favorite thing.” This brave bartender was not afraid to try jobs others might say no to. When the Maddens bought a new feed trailer, Dan asked Lisa if she wanted to learn how to drive it. “I had driven tractor before and done
of her work. “Whether dealing with a retained placenta, respiratory issues or a different problem, I like guring out what’s wrong,” she said. “It’s like an investigation. I also think it’s cool to pull a slimy calf out of a cow or stick my arm in there to see if a cow is pregnant or which way a calf is coming. My friends are amazed I know how to do these things.” Lisa believes people should try things that are outside of their comfort zone. “Don’t be scared to learn ... you might surprise yourself,” she said. “Why put limits down?” Lisa had the determination and selfcondence needed to succeed in a tough career like dairy farming. Now, she can ll in most anywhere and could not imagine working anywhere else. “I’ve had a lot of support to get to this point, and I appreciate that,” Lisa said. “Farming is denitely demanding, but I love it.”
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Page 8 • Dairy Star • Saturday, November 13, 2021
ConƟnued from LUNDBERGS | Page 1 was pretty neat because it got rid of all the poles,” Allan said. The underground cable they used was an insulated wire wrapped with bare ground wire which drew in current. For almost 10 years after that cable was installed, the Lundbergs had health problems with their cows. First, production started to suffer. Then breeding was a challenge, and herd health went south. Toward the end, there was a 20% death loss, a 1 million somatic cell count, and they could not keep the barn full. “Whatever they got, DA or anything, they could not recover from,” Allan said. “There were swollen hocks. It was awful, just awful.” Trying to get answers seemed to be impossible. The blame was passed to Allan, who had to watch his life’s work disintegrate around him. In 1998, they determined the root of the problem was electrical. The power company built a new overhead line, abandoning the underground cable, and installed an isolator with a ground rod. With renewed hope, Allan bought a few good animals and was ready to enjoy farming again. Unfortunately, the isolator made things worse. That ground rod almost hit the abandoned cable, which tied them in tighter to the lines. The family continued to struggle until 2010. The Lundbergs heard about an independent contractor from Fort Atkinson who specialized in stray voltage problems. He came to assess the farm.
“He worked in the barn all morning while we did chores,” Allan said. “After chores, he called a meeting and said, ‘You’re hotter than a pistol here, and I have no idea where it’s coming from.’” Allan told the specialist of his concerns about the underground cable. After further investigation, the specialist turned all the power to the farm off, and there was still enough voltage to run a few lights. The abandoned cable was indeed the culprit. “I told the power company they had to come dig it out, but they wouldn’t do it,” Allan said. “I asked them to at least mark the thing so I could dig it out myself, which they did.” During the rst night of digging, they brought 100 feet of abandoned cable up. The next morning, Allan was mixing feed while hired help milked the cows. They came to Allan and ABBY WIEDMEYER/DAIRY STAR said something was going on Erica Lundberg and her father, Allan Lundberg, check on their show cows in the barn on their in the barn and the cattle were farm near Osseo, Wisconsin. The father-daughter duo is rebuilding their geneƟcs aŌer a long acting different. baƩle with stray voltage in their dairy barn. “The cows were standing still,” Allan said. “We had gotten so used to them dancing around age problems were resolved, she Asia alone. to diversify by merchandising and being nervous, but suddenly left her job as a teacher to come Bert-Mar Farms has since genetics. everything was still. From then back to the farm with a goal to become home to Kandie, who The Lundbergs have been on, we went straight up.” invest in elite genetics. was senior champion at World a resource to many people with Cows started looking betErica has since invested Dairy Expo in 2014. electrical concerns. They are ter, herd health and breeding in Luck-E Advent Atlanta and “Those are the big three of honest with their story and feel as improved, and production went Luck-E Advent Asia. Asia’s bull, the Luck-E Herd,” Erica said. though the struggles have made consistently up for 48 months Awesome, has been the No. 1 “It’s brought a lot of trafc here, them stronger. in a row. udder bull of the breed for the and we have had Expo tours “You hear too many stories “It’s been fun again,” Allan past few years. Last year, Asia again.” where it’s all wine and roses, but said. “I’m proud of Erica.” was named Holstein InternaThey have sold a few off- it’s not,” Allan said. “Everybody Erica had always been dis- tional’s Red Impact Cow of the spring while continuing to goes through something. It’s how couraged by her dad to take part Year and People’s Choice Cow focus on rebuilding the herd. you come out of it that matters.” in the farm because of everything of the Year. Bert-Mar has gained With the economics of dairying that went on. Once the stray volt- over 120 calves from Atlanta and being poor, the Lundbergs plan
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Dairy Star • Saturday, November 13, 2021 • Page 9
Protecting the transition cow Avoid losses from subclinical ketosis By Danielle Nauman danielle.n@dairystar.com
MARSHFIELD, Wis. – The early days of a dairy cow’s lactation, referred to as the transition period, are the most trying for both the cow and the caretaker. The transition period is full of changes in the cow’s body which can be metabolically challenging, putting a cow at risk of metabolic disorders such as ketosis. During the Professional Dairy Producers Herd Management Nov. 2 in Marsheld, Dr. Ryan Pralle, of the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, addressed concerns about ketosis and fatty liver, and how to help the cow get off to a healthy start in his presentation titled “Protect Transition Cows.” During the dry period, a cow typically consumes more energy than the body needs, which puts a cow in a positive energy balance. As the cow nears the freshening date, the cow’s needs and intake will change, resulting in a negative energy balance. “We start to see a decline in the amount of energy she eats, a decline in the amount of dry matter she eats,” Pralle said. “It is a little slow to raise after she calves compared to the drastic increase in the amount of energy she needs after calving.” Pralle said as a cow’s production increases in the early days of lactation, the cow is putting out more energy in milk production and maintaining body tissues than what can be consumed. “But the cow still needs that energy, it doesn’t just come from nowhere,” Pralle said. “So she has to start moving energy reserves that are already in her body, mobilizing her body fat and using that to maintain her key functions.”
Pralle said the liver plays the primary role in converting stored body fat into available energy for the cow. “When we talk about ketosis and fatty liver, we focus on the liver,” Pralle said. “It is the organ that is responsible for a lot of the energy coordination in all mammals. Once the fat arrives in the liver, it has three simple fates: it can be used for energy as (adenosine triphosphate), or it can be stored as triglycerides, or it can be converted to a simple form of energy that other tissues can use called ketone bodies.” When a cow produces too many ketone bodies, it is said the cow has ketosis, which can be detected in blood, urine or milk. If the cow shifts to storing too much fat as triglycerides in the liver, the result is fatty liver, which Pralle said is a poorly understood metabolic issue in dairy cows. According to Pralle, studies that intensively sample BHBA suggest that ketosis occurs in 43 to 55% of lactations. The most likely time for cows to suffer from subclinical ketosis is during the rst 30 days in milk, with most cows experiencing subclinical ketosis in days three through nine, with 50% of cases lasting ve days or less. “Ketosis tends to be a silent problem,” Pralle said. “Symptoms might include excessive body weight loss, a fruity odor on the breath or inappetence; but really, most cows don’t have any clear visual symptoms that indicate she has a problem. But we still have a real impact nancially and in productivity even though we don’t see ketosis.” There are tools available for on-farm testing and monitoring of ketosis. One tool available is a digital hand-held BHBA meter with a test strip to test blood for the ketones present. A BHBA reading between 1.2 and 2.9 mmol/L indicates a case of subclinical ketosis. Cows that are subclinical will show no physical symptoms, but there will be a loss in protability. A BHBA reading over 3 mmol/L indicates clinical ketosis, which is a
more serious case of ketosis with symptoms presenting. Strips to test milk and urine are less precise but will offer an indicator of the level of ketones present. Pralle also said that data can be used through the program KetoMonitor to help monitor and identify prevalence of ketosis in a herd and it helps identify what cows need to be screened or tested for subclinical ketosis. Pralle detailed a study that looked at 174,690 cows in 335 herds to help determine the detrimental impact ketosis can have. Cows that suffer from subclinical ketosis are ve times more likely to experience a displaced abomasum and three times more likely to suffer from metritis. They are culled more frequently than cows that do not experience the disorder and they average 1,000 pounds less mature equivalent milk for their lactation. Cows that experience subclinical ketosis also have a calving interval that is 17 days longer than their non-affected herdmates. On average, a case of subclinical ketosis in a rst-lactation cow costs about $375 per
case and about $256 per case for cows in their second lactation and beyond. In a herd of 150 calvings per year, with a relatively low 20% incidence of subclinical ketosis, the annual cost is $8,670; a higher rate of incidence at 40% costs the producer $17,340. For treating cows with subclinical ketosis, Pralle recommends drenching the cow with 300 mL of propylene glycol once a day for three to ve days. “Propylene glycol is the best researched treatment tool we have for cows,” Pralle said. “It is really effective, especially for those subclinical cows He recommended limiting the use of intravenous dextrose to more serious cases of clinical ketosis with BHBA readings over 3 mmol/L. Pralle said overuse of dextrose can negatively impact the liver. “Most every herd can benet from some level of ketosis testing and treatment protocols,” Pralle said. “Metabolic disorders like subclinical ketosis and fatty liver are potentially silent killers of a dairy farm’s productivity and protability.”
The economic impact of ketosis is noted in the graph above.
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Page 10 • Dairy Star • Saturday, November 13, 2021
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Project will more than double processing capacity at Fox Valley location By Stacey Smart
stacey.s@dairystar.com
LITTLE CHUTE, Wis. – Agropur, the largest dairy cooperative in North America, is investing in the Fox Valley community with a $168 million expansion of its Little Chute facility. The expansion can be seen as good news for area dairy farmers, as milk processing will more than double at this location from 300 million pounds a year to 750 million pounds with about 85% of that milk coming from within 40 miles of the plant. “We are indeed very proud of the impact the new plant will Doug Simon have in the community and for Agropur president of Wisconsin dairy farmers,” said U.S. operations Doug Simon, Agropur’s president of U.S. operations. “The increase for milk supply is equivalent to the annual milk production of approximately 20,000 cows. The Wisconsin dairy industry contributes more than $45 billion to the economy each year, and Agropur is proud to take part in the rural development of this region.” The cooperative plans to signicantly increase production of cheese and dairy ingredients at their new state-of-the-art cheese factory. The increase in milk demand from dairy farmers to support this surge in production is estimated at up to $60 million, providing a growth opportunity for the state’s dairy industry. “The decision to invest in the Little Chute plant was based on a few strategic factors, including a favorable market and an ample supply of milk,” Simon said. “We will be able to double our production capacity in a product category in which Agropur is the No. 1 manufacturer in the United States. This investment is supported by client contracts that ensure it will be protable.” The company will be investing in the latest cheesemaking technology at their new facility along with incorporating new processes and milk processing equipment. These investments will provide greater exibility and allow Agropur to offer a broader line of products to meet customer needs. The construction will also include a new wastewater treatment facility that will generate energy for the plant and directly support Agropur’s sustainable efforts. “This equipment will make a daily difference in our use of energy and water,” Simon said.
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Construction on the 210,000-square-foot facility will begin in the next few months, and the plant is expected to be fully operational by early 2023. The state of Wisconsin is supporting the expansion by offering up to $4.5 million in business tax credits over the next four years based on meeting hiring and capital expenditure goals. “To know that the state of Wisconsin, which is recognized as one of the most important states in the dairy industry, is supporting our activities is also a big motivation for Agropur,” Simon said. “We are very proud of the collaboration and hope to continue to develop relations with the community.” Within Wisconsin, Agropur operates facilities in La Crosse, Appleton, Little Chute, Weyauwega and Luxemburg, employing about 850 people. The Little Chute facility was acquired when Agropur bought TREGA in 2008, poising the company for continued growth in North America. “We were condent this was a wise acquisition for us and that the new plant could pave the way for other expansion or development projects,” Simon said. The construction of the new facility is expected to have a substantial economic impact on the Fox Valley area as well. Simon said it is projected that over $100 million will ow directly or indirectly to Wisconsin suppliers and subcontractors for concrete, tradespeople, materials, project management, packaging, transportation and more. “In addition, the new ultramodern plant will also create up to 54 new high-skilled and well-paying jobs for local workers in the dairy industry,” Simon said.
“We will be able to double our production capacity in a product category in which Agropur is the No. 1 manufacturer in the United States. DOUG SIMON, AGROPUR
This investment is the cooperative’s second largest ever in the United States after the expansion of the Lake Norden facility in 2018. “The announcement of this signicant investment highlights our commitment to modernize our asset base and expand our cheese manufacturing activities in the Midwest,” Simon said. “The new plant will allow Agropur to solidify its leadership position and produce more dairy and cheese products for a diversity of clients.”
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Dairy Star • Saturday, November 13, 2021 • Page 11
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Page 12 • Dairy Star • Saturday, November 13, 2021
The herd that Melvina built
Staneks’ dairy focused around WHA Wall of Fame cow By Danielle Nauman danielle.n@dairystar.com
FALL CREEK, Wis. – In the spring of 1992, Todd Stanek was looking to make a purchase to achieve the goals he had set for himself as a registered Holstein breeder. While Stanek was interested in the index side of breeding registered Holsteins, a unique cow selling in a herd dispersal in Palmyra caught his eye. That cow was EDR V I Angie Melvina, who went on to score EX-93 3E and received both gold medal and dam of merit recognition from the Holstein Association USA. Earlier this year, Melvina was added to the Wisconsin Holstein Association Wall of Fame as the 2021 cow inductee. “Melvina was a show cow, but I was not interested in buying her as a show cow,” Stanek said. “What intrigued me about her was that she had a pretty decent index, and I thought that maybe she was a cow that I could use to put bulls into (stud).” Melvina was bred by Ron and Doris Marsh and their
daughters, Karen and Laura. Melvina was shown by Laura for the years leading up to the family’s dispersal sale, where Stanek raised his hand to become the nal bidder and the new owner of the cow. When Stanek signed the slip at the sale, it is unlikely he realized the impact Melvina would come to make in his life and in his career as a registered Holstein breeder. Today, Stanek and his son, Cade, milk 65 cows, and nearly 70% of the herd has Melvina in their pedigree. Earlier in his career, Stanek was milking 200 cows on three farms. Cade expressed an interest in continuing with the dairy farming tradition but on a much smaller scale, placing his focus on genetics. “I was going to retire, but somehow I couldn’t walk away from the Melvina family,” Stanek said. The downsizing process to their current size began in 2016 when Stanek held a sale, keeping back two descendants of Melvina: Our-Favorite Unlimited EX-94 2E and her daughter, Our-Favorite Endless
DANIELLE NAUMAN/DAIRY STAR
Todd Stanek (leŌ) stands with Our Favorite Unlimited while his son, Cade Stanek, holds her daughter, Our Favorite Endless. The pair of cows, both descended from Todd’s 1992 purchase EDR V I Angie Melvina, launched the Staneks into the world of breeding and markeƟng high genomic type animals on their farm near Fall Creek, Wisconsin. EX-94, who complete nine and 10 generations of Excellent and Very Good cows. Both continue to occupy box stalls on the farm. “Unlimited has a great story; we never really saw her coming,” Stanek said. “I was an
index breeder most of my life, and Unlimited was the rst real type animal we ever genomic tested. My son deserves credit for the mating. Her mother was one of our best Shottles we ever had; she was named Obvious
because she was obviously the best heifer on the farm when she was young. As a heifer, Cade bred her to Atwood, who was a genomic young sire at Turn to STANEKS | Page 13
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ConƟnued from STANEKS | Page 12
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Our Favorite Unlimited surprised the Staneks as a heifer, becoming the number one genomic type animal in the world at the Ɵme. Her geneƟcs launched Our Favorite Holsteins into the global genomic type business. the time.” Neither Stanek nor Cade are certain exactly why Unlimited ended up being genomic tested, as her breeding would have not readily put her on the list. They agree divine intervention had to have played a role. “We genomic tested all our index animals, but Unlimited did not fit those criteria,” Stanek said. “When we received Unlimited’s genomic results back, we were shocked to nd out she was over four points on type. That wasn’t usually a focus, so we didn’t really know what that meant.” After some investigation, the Staneks learned that Unlimited’s potential was just that: She was the No. 1 Holstein in the world for type. “We had some other Atwoods, so we went ahead and tested them, but no one else came close,” Stanek said. “For some reason, that cross worked, and for some reason she got tested. It has turned out to be a really good run for us.” Unlimited’s high genomic type prole opened doors for Stanek into an avenue of breeding registered Holsteins other than the one he had spent most of his career pursuing. She has transmitted those numbers through her offspring, giving the Staneks the opportunity to transition into breeding for high genomic type numbers. Unlimited herself has had several sons enter into stud, including the popular bull Undenied. Her daughters have created a market for embryos internationally, and that
demand has continued with her descendants as well. “There are animals on this farm that go back to Melvina that have my prex for 10 generations,” Stanek said. “Not only are the pedigrees full of many Excellent cows, but they tend to be relatively high-scoring cows.” Stanek did not grow up with registered dairy cattle but he became interested in the idea of breeding pedigreed cattle by what he saw in his youth. “I was in 4-H and showed some grade animals at the fair, and I was involved in dairy judging and activities like that,” Stanek said. “I watched others who had registered animals at the fair or the farms that we visited for dairy judging. You could see the pride those farmers took in their cows, and I liked that. I couldn’t take an animal to the state fair because I didn’t have a registered one.” Those experiences led Stanek to purchase registered animals after graduating from high school, when he began farming with his father before striking off on his own. He continued to improve his herd and set goals for himself, which led him down the path toward the eventual purchase of Melvina. “Because of Melvina, my life is very different,” Stanek said. “The cow family just keeps making these really nice animals. They are consistently good, solid, pretty cows. We believe in cow families in our breeding program, and we believe in this one in particular.”
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Farmers:
When did you begin harvest?
What was the biggest challenge you had with this year’s harvest? After we started our corn silage, we got a couple inches of rain. We went from using trucks to using dump carts, and that’s always a challenge as far as ground compaction. It slows the whole process down. We had no problem with our tropical corn. It dried out, so we didn’t use the dump cart. We are in heavy, red clay soil, and it’s not real exible with water. If we get a few inches of rain before harvest, it’s a struggle. It doesn’t dry out like other lighter soils.
What crops did you have to harvest and how many acres of each? We harvested 600 acres of corn silage. We also harvested 350 acres of alfalfa earlier in the year. When did you begin harvest? How far along are you with fall harvest? We started fall harvest Oct. 1 and nished up a week later. What was your average bushels per crop? How does this compare to other years? It didn’t go out over the scale so we’re going with what the chopper told us – 20 to 22 tons per acre. We also raised some tropical corn for heifers and got 33 tons per acre. The tropical corn gets really tall – 12 to 14 feet but with no cob. However, we’re not looking for the starch in the cob; rather, we’re looking for the sugar in the stalk to maintain heifer weight without her getting too fat. It’s our third year growing that. We had a good growing season and were above average this year for both crops.
Dairyy Star • Saturday, November 13, 2021 • Page 15
What will you remember most about this year’s harvest? No one got hurt, and we had a good harvest. We had some challenges earlier with wet weather, but it all straightened out. All in all, it was a good harvest. What do you enjoy most about the fall harvest? I like when it’s done. When farming in heavy, red clay, it’s always a challenge to get the corn planted, receive timely rains and get a good, dry fall harvest. But, we’re happy because it turned out pretty good this year. We have nothing to complain about. Our alfalfa ran well this year too.
Tell us about your farm. I farm with my wife, Lynn, and our oldest son, Ben. We also have 11 employees. My wife and I started this Who all helps with fall harvest, and what are their responsibili- farm in 1989, and it now includes 550 milk cows. We farm about ties? We do not have any harvesting equipment of our own; therefore, 1,000 acres. We also have 450 youngstock and raise a few beef we hire it out. We have a neighbor with harvesting equipment, and cattle on the side as well as 10 turkeys. We milk three times a day they come in and do the harvest for us. in a double-12 step-up at-barn parlor. Shirley Nowak Coleman, Wisconsin Marinette County 70 cows What crops did you have to harvest and how many acres of each? We harvested 140 acres of corn – 40 acres of corn silage, 65 acres of high-moisture corn and 35 acres of a cash crop because it was such a good year.
slow through the mill because it has to be rolled so it’s ready to eat. Therefore, it was a bit of a struggle to keep up when putting the corn into the cement silo. We also cover the bunkers with plastic after the corn silage is done. A couple of our kids come and help and whoever else we can get. Sometimes we call up a neighbor to help too. What was the biggest challenge you had with this year’s harvest? There were no challenges. It was just a perfect year.
When did you begin harvest? How far along are you with fall harvest? We did corn silage Sept. 8. We What will you remember most about this year’s harvest? Probably that it was a great harvest, and hire a custom harvester, and he’s in and out within six the weather was ideal even through harvest. Evhours, which is awesome. We did high-moisture corn erything went perfect. Oct. 5 and relled our Harvestore. Then on Oct. 14, we put high-moisture corn into a cement silo that we haven’t used in several years. We had to rent a hammer mill and blow the corn up the What do you enjoy most about the fall harvest? For me, it’s silo. We did that instead of putting up a bag of high-moisture corn. kind of a culmination of the growing season and looking at the At the beginning of November, we nished combining our cash crop. rewards of what we grew during the summer and knowing that the hot, humid weather is gone. Now, we get to reap the rewards What was your average bushels per crop? How does this com- of the harvest. At this time of year, we’re also on the downpare to other years? Our high-moisture corn and cash crop corn swing of worrying about the weather and if we’ll get the crops yielded 200 bushels per acre, which is much better than we’ve in. Weather can be your best friend and also your worst enemy. had in the past. This was probably a record year for us. For corn silage, we got about 20 tons per acre. The weather was ideal this Tell us about your farm. My husband, Benedict, bought the farm year – conditions were just right. We were blessed. We had hot and in 1974 after getting out of the Army, and we started milking cows humid weather and enough rain when we needed it. And, we never in 1978. Today, my husband is kind of retired, so I farm in parthad a severe thunderstorm where we were pounded on. It was the nership with my son, Todd. We milk about 68 cows and farm 270 acres. We milk in a 51-stall tiestall barn, but cows are housed in an perfect growing weather for us. attached freestall barn. My daughter, Virginia, milks in the morning, Who all helps with fall harvest, and what are their responsibili- and she’ll help with covering the corn silage at night if we need her ties? The custom harvester takes care of most of that for us, but during harvest. We have eight children and 21 grandchildren, and we did unload the high-moisture corn. We also put up the hammer the family farm draws them back to help at different times. We’re mill and had to try to keep up with the combine. The corn runs so lucky to always have someone to call on.
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Nate Isensee Norwalk, Wisconsin Monroe County 37 cows What crops did you have to harvest and how many acres of each? I harvested eight acres of ear corn and 20 acres of corn for silage. When did you begin harvest? How far along are you with fall harvest? I started Sept. 25, and I was done in ve days. What was your average bushels per crop? How does this compare to other years? I averaged 200 plus bushels of ear corn and at least 25 tons of silage. This was better than other years because we did not have so much rain. Who all helps with fall harvest, and what are their responsibilities? I did all the corn silage. My Grandpa Jim picks corn, and cuts and rakes some hay. What was the biggest challenge you had with this year’s harvest? I had to get everything harvested before tar spot hit. What will you remember most about this year’s harvest? I had no breakdowns except for one simple gathering chain on the corn head which was a 10-minute x. I also built a 16-by-60 silo just in time to ll with corn. We also had nice weather. What do you enjoy most about the fall harvest? I like seeing the scenery and the leaves change, seeing big bucks and watching the wildlife in general. Tell us about your farm. I have farmed here for 16 years and bought the farm from my grandpa last year. I own 200 acres, have dairy cattle and beef cows, sell a few crops, raise all my replacements and sell a few steers every year. Turn to OUR SIDE | Page 16
Page 16 • Dairy Star • Saturday, November 13, 2021
ConƟnued from OUR SIDE | Page 15
Rob Klinkner Viroqua, Wisconsin Vernon County 55 cows
Gail chopped, I hauled wagons, and the kids unloaded and kept up with regular chores.
What crops did you have to harvest and how many acres of each? We harvested 30 acres of corn, 10 acres of sorghum, 10 acres of oat and pea, and 20 acres of hay. We planted triticale and rye on the corn ground. When did you begin harvest? How far along are you with fall harvest? We began harvest Sept. 21, and we are done.
Wayne Artac Greenwood, Wisconsin Clark County 90 cows What crops did you have to harvest and how many acres of each? We had 110 acres of corn, 33 acres of beans and 90 acres of hay. When did you begin harvest? How far along are you with fall harvest? We started beans during the third week of October and we started corn during the rst week of November. What was your average bushels per crop? How does this compare to other years? The soybeans came in at 58 bushels per acre, which is slightly lower than last year. Corn was at 180 bushels per acre. That is the second best average we have ever had. Who all helps with fall harvest, and what are their responsibilities? We hire out combining and trucking to mill. What was the biggest challenge you had with this year’s harvest? Semis not showing up when they said they would be here. What will you remember most about this year’s harvest? It was a nice fall weather with no mud to deal with. What do you enjoy most about the fall harvest? Knowing I will have enough feed for my animals for the next year. Also comparing how different varieties perform under each year’s varying conditions. Tell us about your farm. I milk 90 cows with my family near Greenwood, Wisconsin.
What was your average bushels per crop? How does this compare to other years? We averaged around 187 bushels of corn. We thought this was good because the corn had just come off of being fallow. Who all helps with fall harvest, and what are their responsibilities? Our family worked together to harvest. We had half the corn done by a custom operator.
Daniel Olson Lena, Wisconsin Oconto County 400 cows What crops did you have to harvest and how many acres of each? Corn 400 acres, perennial grass 150 acres, photo-period sensitive sorghum Sudan 100 acres and annual cocktail mixes 300 acres. When did you begin harvest? How far along are you with fall harvest? We chopped our corn around the middle of September, combined highmoisture corn two weeks ago, and we nished fth crop this week. We would like to bale some corn stalks, but otherwise, we are done harvesting for the year. What was your average bushels per crop? How does this compare to other years? The corn was excellent this year. We averaged around 24 tons silage on our BMR corn, and the better grain corn was around 200 bushels per acre. This is probably 20% better than average for our area. Who all helps with fall harvest, and what are their responsibilities? I am involved in three different dairies. On the home farm, the cropping is mainly managed by my brother, John. We have the eldwork custom harvested on the other dairies.
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What will you remember most about this year’s harvest? That we were successful in growing our feed for the rst time. We had previously purchased all of our feed. What do you enjoy most about the fall harvest? We get some pretty awesome sunsets here, and it was cool that the kids started noticing them too. Tell us about your farm. We are a family farm with Jerseys and Holsteins. We have 70 acres. We raise our own replacements and some steers, and we run an onfarm store. We have ve kids.
What was the biggest challenge you had with this year’s harvest? It was the easiest harvest I can ever remember from a weather standpoint. Probably the biggest challenge was deciding where to put all the feed. We ended up putting a few piles on dirt because we ran out of room on our feed pad. What will you remember most about this year’s harvest? So much sun. We have very heavy soils, and most falls we deal with mud and rain while harvesting. The weather this fall made harvesting so much easier. What do you enjoy most about the fall harvest? The satisfaction of completing a plan. We start planning at least a year ahead of time with eld placement, variety selection and targeted inventories. It is always good when a plan comes together and you can assess whether our plan worked. Tell us about your farm. We are milking on three dairies. The home dairy is a grazing based dairy where I farm with my dad and brother. We have 200 cows on another dairy that I use as a research farm. This is a higher production dairy (90-plus pounds per day) that is run with a farm manager who is working on getting into the industry. The third dairy is a show and genetic cow dairy. We have a good group of Red and White Holsteins and Jerseys there and are active in the national show scene.
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Page 18 • Dairy Star • Saturday, November 13, 2021
Breeding Focus
Welsh-Edge Holsteins breed, feed for longevity Ralph Petersheim Welsh-Edge Farm Viroqua, Wisconsin 75 cows
Describe your facilities and list your breeding management team. We milk in a tiestall barn. We have been using sand bedding since 1998. Since putting sand in, approximately 70% of the cows that leave here are sold for dairy purposes. I do most of the A.I. work. My daughter, Heather, and son, David, help with heat detection and herd health checks.
What is your pregnancy rate? I’m not even sure. It’s not been something I focus on.
What is your reproduction program? Do you use a synchronization program? How do you get your animals pregnant? We primarily A.I., though we do put in some embryos in heifers. We work closely with a great veterinarian twice a month for reproduction work. We are using ovsynch on problem breeders but prefer to breed cows on natural heats. Heather writes the cows’ names on
ABBY WIEDMEYER/DAIRY STAR
Ralph Petersheim milks 75 cows at Welsh-Edge Holsteins near Viroqua, Wisconsin. Petersheim breeds for longevity.
ABBY WIEDMEYER/DAIRY STAR
Heather Metzler and her children – (from leŌ) Connor, Caiden, Aimee and Lexi – milk with Metzler’s parents on their 75-cow dairy near Viroqua, Wisconsin.
the calendar 21 days from when they are bred as a reminder to watch for repeat heats. Describe your breeding philosophy. In the 1980s when we began, we were getting 90
pounds of milk, but our milk check went to the veterinarian and the feed mill. Now, we breed and feed for longevity. By focusing on type, deep cow families, nutrition from the soil up and milk components, we are far
more protable at our 75 pounds per day average than we ever were at the 90 pound average. Turn to PETERSHEIM | Page 20
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Page 20 • Dairy Star • Saturday, November 13, 2021
ConƟnued from PETERSHEIM | Page 18 What guidelines do you follow to reach the goals for your breeding program? We believe aAa analysis is a valuable tool for breeding healthy and balanced animals, and strong cow families that have stood the test of time. This analysis is a breeding tool that analyzes the structural makeup of the cow in order to breed healthier and more balanced cows. What percentage of your herd is bred to sexed, conventional and beef semen? When doing in vitro fertilization work, we use sexed semen. Otherwise, the herd is AI’d with conventional semen. We do not use beef semen as our heifers stay in the herd at least until calving (other than a few dairy sale consignments each year), and we have a great market for our breeding bulls.
What is your conception rate? How does this differ with different types of semen? Again, it’s not something that I have tracked, and we only use conventional semen. Tell us about your farm. My wife, Sheila, and I have six children and seven grandchildren (with two more on the way). We farm 500 acres and raise everything the cows eat other than the minerals. We diversify our income by selling dry hay and dairy animals. Sheila does the bookwork, and every Sunday she makes lunch for the whole family. Heather milks every evening and brings her four kids. Our son, Derek, does the mechanic work, and his wife, Justine, and their two children take care of the calves. Every evening the grandkids are here running around during chores, and it’s all I could ever want.
ABBY WIEDMEYER/DAIRY STAR
Heather Metzler enters data onto a calendar at Welsh Edge Holsteins, where she farms with her parents near Viroqua, Wisconsin.
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happenings in the dairy industry for a whole year.
Finding a way
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23, No.
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Andy and Valerie, don, Minnat his farm in Dousystem durIt has been barn to accommodate a growinto the dairy. cows. KLAPHAKE/DAIRY return esota. Shou glas Coun Bradfarm In March, Lexi and her dad milk 250 They MARK and and have generation’s Markcows onto their tiestall weiler milk Peterthink we would builtand went out and spray painted off antly, the next of hay 1,000 acreswas around leŌ) Ryan, s 70 more import for these rascals, I don’twas our obligation to The addiƟon Ashl Jill; (back, fromMinnesota. and ey Hols felt it the area they wanted to leave in silage. corn g.” Lynn “If it wasn’t “We ga, farmin said. t Sarah, stands ark leŌ) dairy near Menah to try dairy Scho barnprod Preparations for the wed- hay. Her dad then dug it up and Ɵestall ucƟon andin the dairy barn done this,” Peter-Mif they really wantedcows with their four uweilericksons – (front, from to keep g. up 113 stalls on to their t in farmin on The Hendr foc the year. planted corn. 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The wedding uent Turn to HEND happy PHOTO COURTESY OF MAX LEE and phon ifer approximately 200 feet apart. e calls to ying jenn@dairy Coyne family The couple was married Sept. 25 at Zunknewlyweds. are “Since I was a little girl, I Lexi Zunker and Pete Kaufmann-LuŌ star.c om said I was going to get married er’s family’s 250-cow BRA dairy near Conrath, Wisconsin. Turn to ZUNKER | Page 13 thing but NDON, Minn. between those oak trees,” Lexi west. 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Dairy Star • Saturday, November 13, 2021 • Page 21
LOW-RATE FINANCING AVAILABLE
Financing subject to pre-approval through JD Financial. Some restrictions apply. See dealer for details.
JD S670, 2289 hrs.,1453 $ sep, #176660
JD 8370R 2019, 275 hrs. $ #184016
JD S680, 2014 2973 hrs., 2063 $ sep hrs., #182070
JD, S770, 2018, 2203 hrs., 1587 $ sep, #181147
Case IH 330, 2015, 34’ #178991
Kuhn Krause 6200-45, 2014, $ 45’, #180001
JD S670, 2016, 2295 hrs., 1453 $ sep hrs., #176660
JD S790, 2018, 1535 hrs., 1058 $ sep hrs., # 179097
199,500
42,900
$
349,000
45,900
144,900
199,500
245,000
315,400
Equipment and pictures added daily • Go to www.mmcjd.com 10 10 14 10 3 4 15 5 1 5 4 16 4 14 7 17 4 15 15 14 11 1 14 15 16 10 16 1 17 11
COMBINES
JD 6620, 1987, Corn/Bean, 2WD, Singles, Chopper, #177388 ...............$12,500 JD 9500, 1993, Corn/Bean, 2WD, 5785 hrs., 3893 Sep Hrs., #189641 .....$19,900 JD 9500, 1991, Corn/Bean, 2WD, 6754 hrs., 5000 Sep Hours, #185458..$22,400 JD 9500, 1991, Corn/Bean, 2WD, 6266 hrs., 3872 Sep Hrs, #189946 .....$25,500 JD 9610, 1998, Corn/Bean, 2WD, 4300 hrs., 2873 Sep Hrs., #189672 ....$28,000 JD 9510, 1998, Corn/Bean, 2WD, 5225 hrs., 3475 Sep Hrs., #189676 ....$28,500 JD 9650 STS, 2000, Corn/Bean, 5443 hrs., 3860 Sep Hrs., #188938 .. $33,000 JD 9550, 2001, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 5054 hrs., 3424 Sep Hrs., #189036$42,500 JD 9870 STS, 2008, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 3243 hrs., 2500 Sep Hrs., #175945..............................................................................................$99,500 JD 9670 STS, 2011, Corn/Bean, 3669 hrs., 2503 Sep Hrs., #188158 .. $99,900 JD, 9670 STS, 2008, Corn/Bean, , 2246 hrs., 1488 Sep Hrs., #189622 .$103,500 JD 9770 STS, 2010, Corn/Bean, 2705 hrs., 1956 Sep Hrs., #189933 $109,900 JD 9670 STS, 2009, Corn/Bean, 2210 hrs., 1263 Sep Hrs., #185612 $110,400 JD S680, 2014, Corn/Bean, , 2973 hrs., 2063 Sep Hrs., #182070 ......$144,900 JD S680, 2014, Corn/Bean, 2WD, 2078 hrs., 1658 Sep Hrs., #172017$145,900 JD S680, 2014, Corn/Bean, 2WD, 2372 hrs., 1703 Sep Hrs., #178114$147,900 JD S680, 2013, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 2006 hrs., 1350 Sep Hrs., #174756$159,900 JD S680, 2013, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 2015 hrs., 1446 Sep Hrs., #190055 $161,000 JD S690, 2012, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1983 hrs., 1530 Sep Hrs., #171923 $179,000 JD S680, 2015, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 2423 hrs., 1762 Sep Hrs., #190078 $191,000 JD S670, 2015, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1664 hrs., 662 Sep Hrs., #181668 .. $197,500 JD S670, 2016, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 2370 hrs., 1453 Sep Hrs., #176660 $199,500 JD S680, 2014, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1978 hrs., 1183 Sep Hrs., #189953 $202,000 JD S670, 2016, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1612 hrs., 963 Sep Hrs., #181669 .. $237,500 JD S770, 2018, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 2241 hrs., 1587 Sep Hrs., #181147 $245,000 JD S790, 2018, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1365 hrs., 1058 Sep Hrs., #179097 $315,400 JD S780, 2018, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1360 hrs., 800 Sep Hrs., #175318 .. $319,500 JD S780, 2018, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, 755 Sep Hrs., #183533 ........ $355,000 JD S780, 2018, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1077 hrs., 690 Sep Hrs., #177549 .. $364,400 JD S780, 2019, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1059 hrs., 653 Sep Hrs., #171103 .. $385,000
14 2 16 16 16 16 16
JD S790, 2019, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1169 hrs, 683 Sep Hrs., #171378 ...$389,500 JD S780, 2019, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 560 hrs., 331 Sep Hrs., #169509 ....$409,500 JD S780, 2019, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 742 hrs., 307 Sep Hrs., #169507 .... $409,500 JD S780, 2020, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 996 hrs., 556 Sep Hrs., #187111 ....#435,900 JD S780, 2020, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 759 hrs., 235 Sep Hrs., #188459 ....$454,900 JD S780, 2020, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 790 hrs., 281 Sep Hrs., #188309 ....$454,900 JD S780, 2020, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 784 hrs., 247 Sep Hrs., #188458 ....$454,900
3 4 7 7 9 9 5
JD 650, 1997, 32 ft, 3-Section Folding, #185256 ....................................$18,000 Case IH RMX340, 2009, 35 ft, 3-Section Folding, Spacing: 9”, #181151$29,400 JD 637, 2011, 42 ft, 5-Section Folding, Spacing: 9”, #190223.................$35,000 Case IH 4300, 2001, 38 ft, Kind: 3-Section Folding, C-Shank, #186653 $11,995 JD 985, 1998, 47 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #185899 .....................$12,000 JD 2200, 2002, 34 ft, 3-Section Folding, C-Shank, #185898 ...................$19,000 Case IH Tigermate II, 2003, 50.5 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #186586 ...................................................................................$19,000 Case IH TM14, 2005, 50.5 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #187546..... $26,900 Case IH Tigermate II, 2004, 60.5 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #186585 ....................................................................................$28,000 JD 2210, 2006, 57 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #181942 ...................$32,500 Wil-Rich QX2, 2008, 60 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #187555 .........$36,000 Case IH Tigermate 200, 2014, 50.5 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #184441 ....................................................................................$39,900 JD 2210, 2008, 46 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #189575 ...................$40,000 Case IH 330, 2015, #178991 .................................................................$42,900 Summers VRT3530, 2015, #189645 ...................................................$42,900 Mandako Twister, 2017, #188311 ......................................................$56,500 Kuhn Krause 8000 Excelerator, 2014, #181417 ..............................$59,900
2 5 1 15 5 15 2 15 7 2
TILLAGE
UTILITY TRACTORS
14 JD 5103, 2004, Syncro, 2WD, 540 pto, 500 hrs., #189624 .......................$16,900 12 JD 5055D, 2009, Syncro, 2WD, 540 pto, Loader, 668 hrs., #190224 ........$19,900
6 JD 5065E, 2011, Syncro, 2WD, 540 pto, 1825 hrs., #190085..................$22,000 10 JD 5055E, 2020, Cab, Power Reverser, MFWD, 540 pto, 100 hrs., #163199 ...................................................................................................$41,000 9 JD 5055E, 2018, Cab, MFWD, 540 pto, Loader, 1230 hrs., #188967 ........$41,500 10 JD 5075E, 2020, Cab, MFWD, 540 pto, 49 hrs., #175484.........................$46,000 12 JD 5055E, 2014, Cab, MFWD, 540 pto, Loader, 429 hrs., #188734 ..........$46,000 10 JD 5100E, 2020, Cab, MFWD, 540 pto, Loader, 100 hrs., #165333 ..........$67,000 4 JD 5100E, 2020, Cab, MFWD, 540 pto, Loader, 200 hrs., #171435 ..........$68,000 4 JD 5100E, 2020, Cab, MFWD, 540 pto, Loader, 200 hrs., #165335 ..........$68,500 4 JD 5100E, 2021, Cab, MFWD, 540 pto, Loader, 200 hrs., #171433 ..........$69,000 4 JD 5100E, 2021, Cab, MFWD, 540 pto, Loader, 200 hrs., #166542 ..........$69,500 6 JD 5100E, 2021, Cab, MFWD, 540 pto, Loader, 303 hrs., #166541 ..........$69,500 4 JD 6120E, 2021, Cab, MFWD, 540 pto, 200 hrs., #173851.......................$80,000 4 JD 5100M, 2021, Cab, Partial PS, MFWD, 540/1000 pto, Loader, 200 hrs., #166707 ....................................................................................$80,000 10 JD 6120E, 2020, Cab, 540/1000 pto, Loader, 100 hrs., #167015 .............$84,000 10 JD 6135E, 2020, Cab, MFWD, 540/1000 pto, Loader, 100 hrs., #166735 .$89,000 10 JD 6135E, 2020, Cab, MFWD, 540/1000 pto, Loader, 100 hrs., #166973 .$90,500 10 JD 6135E, 2020, Cab, MFWD, 540/1000 pto, Loader, 86 hrs., #166971 ...$90,500 4 JD 6135E, 2021, Cab, MFWD, 540 pto, Loader, 250 hrs., #174302 ..........$93,000 4 JD 6135E, 2021, Cab, MFWD, 540 pto, Loader, 200 hrs., #173850 ..........$93,000 1 JD 6135E, 2021, Cab, MFWD, 540 pto, Loader, 300 hrs., #174303...........$93,000 8 JD 6135E, 2021, Cab, MFWD, 540 pto, Loader, 200 hrs., #173467..........$93,000 4 JD 6110M, 2021, Cab, Partial PS, MFWD, 540 pto, Loader, 300 hrs., #174297 .................................................................................. $115,000 4 JD 6110M, 2021, Cab, Partial PS, MFWD, 540/1000 pto, Loader, 250 hrs., #174296 .................................................................................. $115,000 8 JD 6110M, 2021, Cab, Partial PS, MFWD, 540/1000 pto, Loader, 200 hrs., #173464 .................................................................................. $115,000 4 JD 6130M, 2021, Cab, Partial PS, MFWD, 540/1000 pto, 200 hrs.,#173465................................................................................... $120,000 10 JD 6130M, 2020, Cab, Partial PS, MFWD, 540/1000 pto, Loader, 149 hrs., #167014...................................................................... $131,000
Visit one of our 17 locations in Central Minnesota! CALL TODAY! (320)365-1653 (7) = ALEXANDRIA (9) = PRINCETON (12) = AITKIN (14) = ELBOW LAKE (16) = BENSON (4) = ST. CLOUD (1) = GLENCOE
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Page 22 • Dairy Star • Saturday, November 13, 2021
OVER 700 COWS PER HOUR*
*based on a 106-bail PR3100HD turning at 4.9 seconds per bail
Increase labor efficiencies by using DeLaval TSR
Over
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PR3100HDs installed in North America
Woodmohr Jerseys provides calf for Christmas giveaway
15° angled bail
DeLaval Parallel Rotary PR3100HD High capacity milking
The PR3100HD was designed with throughput in mind. Its unique features enable quick cow entry and exit, while our milking automation technology enhances work routine efficiency.
DANIELLE NAUMAN/DAIRY STAR
Scan to view virtual tours now!
View the barns that use DeLaval rotary parlors to maximize the efficiency of their operation.
www.delaval.com
Contact one of the following dealers to learn more: IOWA Kramer Bros. Monticello, IA 319-465-5931 Prairie Land Ag Supply Inc. Rock Valley, IA 712-476-9290 United Dairy Systems, Inc. West Union, IA 563-422-5355 WISCONSIN Advanced Dairy/Bob’s Dairy Supply Spring Valley, WI 715-772-3201 Ederer Dairy Supply Plain, WI 608-546-3713
DeLaval Dairy Service Kaukauna, WI 866-335-2825 Joe’s Refrigeration Inc. Withee, WI 715-229-2321 Mlsna Dairy Supply Inc. Cashton, WI 608-654-5106 Professional Dairy Services Arlington, WI 608-635-0267 Redeker Dairy Equipment Brandon, WI 920-346-5579 The Scharine Group Inc. Whitewater, WI 800 472-2880 Mt Horeb, WI 800-872-3470
MINNESOTA & SOUTH DAKOTA Advanced Dairy of Mora Mora, MN 320-679-1029 Farm Systems Melrose, MN 320-256-3276 Brookings, SD 800-636-5581 S&S Dairy System LLC St. Charles, MN 507-932-4288 Professional Dairy Systems Wadena, MN 218-632-5416
is a registered trademark of Tetra Laval Holdings & Finance S.A. and “DeLaval” is a registered trade/servicemark of DeLaval Holding AB © 2021 DeLaval Inc. DeLaval, 11100 North Congress Avenue, Kansas City, Missouri 64153-1296. All facts and figures are the result of data collected on test farms. Results may vary and are not guaranteed. Nothing in this document shall constitute a warranty or guaranty of performance. www.delaval.com
Woodmohr Victorious Ginnay, bred by Jon and Wendy Schmidt of Woodmohr Jerseys in Bloomer, Wisconsin, is the youth prize in the Dairy Star’s Great Christmas Heifer Giveaway. By Danielle Nauman danielle.n@dairystar.com
BLOOMER, Wis. – One lucky Wisconsin youth will get quite the Christmas gift next month when their name is drawn in Dairy Star’s The Great Christmas Giveaway 2021. The child will be the new owner of a deep-pedigreed Jersey calf to potentially create the foundation for a future herd. Woodmohr Victorious Ginnay will be the prize calf awarded to a young dairy enthusiast Dec. 14. Ginnay is a registered Jersey bred by Jon and Wendy Schmidt of Woodmohr Jerseys in Bloomer. The Schmidts milk 44 registered Jerseys. Their Woodmohr herd is well-known for breeding high type Jersey cows with outstanding components. The rolling herd average is 21,744 pounds of milk with 5.95% butterfat and 3.74% protein. The average classication score in the barn is 91 points. Those statistics are the result of the longtime breeding philosophy employed at Woodmohr Jerseys with a focus on developing cow families that consistently produce high scoring cows with exceptional fat and protein production. Ginnay, sired by River Valley Victorious-ET, was born Sept. 23, with a deep and storied maternal pedigree behind her, providing her new owner with the key ingredients to develop their own branch of this cow family. “This is a really nice, well-made, show-type calf,” Jon said. “This will be a great calf to start building a Jersey herd from. She’s one that is kind of hard to let go, but we are excited to help a youth excel with a special one.” Her impressive pedigree begins with her dam, Woodmohr Gentle Ginny-ET EX-93. Ginny is a Turn to WOODMOHR | Page 23
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Dairy Star • Saturday, November 13, 2021 • Page 23
ConƟnued from WOODMOHR | Page 22
Rapid Bay Indiana Gentry-ET daughter of Budjon-Vail Jade Gianna-ET EX-94. The next dam is the two-time national champion Llolyn Jude GriffenET EX-95. There are three more generations of Excellent cows in Canada behind Griffen. “We made this mating because we really liked the Victorious calves we were getting, especially the ones crossed on Jade blood,” Jon said. “This calf has not disappointed us. She is so active and aggressive. She will excel.” Ginnay is her dam’s fth calf; she has sisters sired by Chili Action Colton-ET, River Valley Ricki Rockstar and Rapid Bay Reviresco. Ginny’s best record to date was her fourth lactation. In 305 days, she made 25,570 pounds of milk with 6.8% butterfat and 3.7% protein. The Schmidts purchased the calf’s granddam, Gianna, as a young cow after Jon saw her while delivering sale cattle to Avon Road Jerseys in Alma Center. “Jon called me and told me there was a young cow at Avon Road that I needed to see,” Wendy said. “She was a 2-year-old. We really liked her, and she had a great pedigree, being a daughter of Griffen.” After they purchased her,
DANIELLE NAUMAN/DAIRY STAR
Wendy and Jon Schmidt of Woodmohr Jerseys in Bloomer, Wisconsin, are pictured with Woodmohr Victorious Ginnay, the top prize in the Dairy Star’s Great Christmas Heifer Giveaway for youth.
Gianna went on to be named reserve intermediate champion of the 2013 Wisconsin Spring Spectacular Show. Besides Ginny, Gianna has four other Excellent daughters, including three 93-point cows bred by the Schmidts. One of those 93-point cows is Woodmohr Gentry Gin-ET. Gin was the 2017 reserve allAmerican spring yearling after being named the reserve junior
champion at World Dairy Expo. Gin was also the junior champion of the 2017 AllAmerican Junior Jersey Show and supreme junior champion of the North American International Livestock Exposition Junior Shows. Another daughter of Gianna, also sired by Victorious, was classied VG-87 as a 2-year-old. Ginnay’s third dam, Llolyn Jude Griffen EX-95, was a
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predominant show champion. In addition to being one of only 12 cows to lay claim to multiple national champion banners, Griffen was grand champion and reserve supreme champion of the 2007 World Dairy Expo and took home reserve grand champion honors from WDE in 2004 and 2010. “This is a family that has a lot of demand as sale consignments,” Wendy said. “They
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sell well because they perform well. They milk well with high components, they score high, and they are competitive in the showring.” Letting a calf like Ginnay go is not an easy task for the Schmidts, but they said it is something they are willing to do to promote the Jersey breed and help a child start their own herd. “We think this is a great opportunity to introduce Jerseys into a new herd,” Jon said. “Ginnay can allow someone the chance to get started with a really good Jersey heifer from a really good Jersey pedigree.” The Schmidts take promoting the Jersey breed to heart and host a variety of judging teams at their farm each fall. “It is really important to us to help build our future dairy leaders through the judging programs,” Jon said. “Besides the learning value they get from the classes we are able to put together for them, we enjoy the conversation and discussion and the chance to teach people that might not have a lot of experience with Jerseys more about the characteristics of the breed and how they are an extremely efcient, true dairy model, with the potential for increased prot margins.”
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Page 24 • Dairy Star • Saturday, November 13, 2021
+
DAIRY ST R
The Great Christmas “GRAND” PRIZE
GIVEAWAY 2021
Grand Prize Drawing Will Be Held Tuesday, December 14, 2021 THE WINNERS WILL BE POSTED ON WWW.DAIRYSTAR.COM, MILK BREAK NEWSLETTER AND ON FACEBOOK.
ADULT “GRAND” PRIZE
2) $1,000 CASH GIFTS! 17 & UNDER “GRAND” PRIZE
“Grand” Prize Heifer Calf: WOODMOHR VICTORIOUS GINNAY Born: September 23, 2021 Dam: Woodmohr Gentle Ginny-ET EX- 93 Sire: River Valley Victorious-ET Granddam: Budjon-Vail Jade Gianna-ET EX-94 Gr G Ganddam: Llolyn Jude Griffen-ET EX-95
Grand P Calf come rize sF Woodmohrom Jerseys, ow r by Wendy ned &J Schmidt o ohn Bloomer, Wf I
Wendy and Jon Schmidt of Woodmohr Jerseys are p pictured with Woodmohr Victorious Gennay, the heifer calf that will be given to a lucky youth in the Great Christmas Giveaway drawing.
REGISTER FREE AT ANY OF THE PARTICIPATING BUSINESSES FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN!
Dairy Star • Saturday, November 13, 2021 • Page 25
REGISTER AT THESE PARTICIPATING BUSINESSES:
WISCONSIN
MANITOWOC COUNTY
• Chippewa Farm Service, LLC Chippewa Falls • 715-382-5400 • Chippewa Valley Dairy Supply Stanley • 715-644-2350
MARATHON COUNTY
CHIPPEWA COUNTY
CLARK COUNTY
• Bill’s Tire & Service Inc. Colby • 715-223-4762 • Cloverdale Equipment Curtiss • 715-223-3361 • Premier Livestock Withee • 715-229-2500 • Silver Star Metals Withee • 715-229-4879
COLUMBIA COUNTY • Central Ag Supply Baraboo • 608-356-8384
DANE COUNTY
• Argall Dairy Systems, Inc Belleville • 608-424-6110
DODGE COUNTY
• Central Ag Supply Juneau • 920-386-2611
DUNN COUNTY
• Leedstone Menononie • 866-467-4717 • Midwest Livestock Systems Menomonie • 715-235-5144
FOND DU LAC COUNTY • Redeker Dairy Equipment Inc. Brandon • 920-346-5576
GRANT COUNTY
• EIS Implement Two Rivers • 920-684-0301
• Brubacker Ag Equipment, LLC Edgar • 715-613-7308
MONROE COUNTY
• Preston Dairy Equipment Sparta • 608-269-3830
PEPIN COUNTY
• Anibas Silo & Repair Arkansaw • 715-285-5317 • Komro Sales & Service Inc. Durand • 715-672-4263
PIERCE COUNTY
• Ag Partners Grange Hall • 715-647-5002 • Western Wisconsin Farm Store Ellsworth • 715-273-5066
RICHLAND COUNTY
• Fuller’s Milker Center, LLC Richland Center • 608-647-4488 • Premier Co-op Richland Center • 608-647-6171
SAUK COUNTY
• Central Ag Supply Baraboo • 608-356-8384 • Central Ag Supply Juneau • 920-386-2611
TREMPEALEAU COUNTY • Komro Sales & Service Inc. Whitehall • 715-538-1495
• Argall Dairy Systems, West Platteville • 608-348-3385 • Fuller’s Milker Center, LLC Lancaster • 608-723-4634 • Innovative Ag Services Cuba City • 608-744-2287 • J. Gile Dairy Equipment Inc. Cuba City • 608-744-2661 • Premier Co-op Lancaster • 608-723-7023 • Scott Implement Platteville • 608-348-6565
VERNON COUNTY
GREEN COUNTY
• Innovative Ag Services Waukon • 563-568-3455 • Waukon Veterinary Services Waukon • 563-568-2487
• Monroe WestfaliaSurge/Koehn, Inc. Monroe • 608-325-2772 • Top Notch Feed & Supply New Glarus • 608-527-3333
IOWA COUNTY
• Koon Kreek Feeds Coon Valley • 608-452-3838 • Premier Co-op Westby • 608-634-3184
WALWORTH COUNTY
• Triebold Outdoor Power Whitewater • 262-473-2464
IOWA
ALLAMAKEE COUNTY
CLAYTON COUNTY
• Premier Co-op Mineral Point • 608-987-3100
• Innovative Ag Services Elkader • 563-245-1230 Monona • 563-539-2001
JACKSON COUNTY
DUBUQUE COUNTY
• W.H. Lien, Inc.
Hixton • 715-963-4211
LAFAYETTE COUNTY
• Center Hill Veterinary Clinic Darlington • 608-776-4083
• Brunkan Equipment Worthington • 563-855-2434 • CJ Beeps Equipment Farley • 563-744-5010
• Eastern Iowa Dairy Epworth • 563-876-3087 • Helle Farm Equipment Dyersville • 563-875-7154 • Innovative Ag Services Cascade • 563-852-7245 Farley • 563-744-3337 • New Vienna Ag Automation New Vienna • 563-921-2896 • Skip Breitbach Feeds Balltown • 563-552-2393 • Scherrmann’s Implement Dyersville • 563-875-2426 • Ungs Shopping Center (IAS) Luxemburg • 563-853-2455
JACKSON COUNTY • Innovative Ag Services Andrew • 563-672-3228
MINNESOTA DAKOTA COUNTY
• Werner Implement Vermillion • 651-437-4435
HOUSTON COUNTY
• Farmers Win Coop Caledonia • 507-725-3306 Houston • 507-896-3147 Spring Grove • 507-498-5321 • Hammell Equipment Eitzen • 507-495-3326
GOODHUE COUNTY
• Ag Partners - Grain Site Bellchester • 651-923-4453 Wanamingo-Grain Site • 507-824-2231 Wanamingo-Agronomy Location 507-824-2215 • Ag Partners Farm Store Cannon Falls • 507-263-4651 Goodhue • 800-732-1439 Pine Island • 507-356-8313 • GB Feed and Supply Bellchester • 651-923-4425 • Midwest Livestock Systems Zumbrota • 507-732-4673
WABASHA COUNTY
• Ag Partners Farm Store Lake City • 651-345-3328 Plainview • 507-534-2531 • Beck Implement Elgin • 507-876-2122 • Leedstone Plainview • 800-548-2540 • Wingert Sales & Service Plainview • 507-534-2285
WINONA COUNTY
• Ag Partners Lewiston • 507-523-2188 • Elba Coop Elba • 507-796-6571 • S&S Dairy Systems St. Charles • 507-932-4288
To view a complete list of participating businesses, log on to www.dairystar.com
*Enter as often as you like. One entry per store visit, please. Winners must be 18 years or older and a Grade A or B dairy farmer for adult prize, or 17 years or younger and a son or daughter of a Grade A or B dairy farmer for heifer calf. Winners must also live in the Dairy Star circulation area to be eligible and are responsible for transport of animal.
Page 26 • Dairy Star • Saturday, November 13, 2021
Income tax planning
It has surely been a most interesting year with many unusual situations. The coronavirus pandemic has affected many areas of our lives and businesses that we believed to be fairly stable. Weather, From My Perspective transportation, shipping and a reduced workforce has had a major impact on our farm operations. Commodity prices continue to be volatile and surely attractive on at least the crop side. Some livestock industries continue to struggle with the high-priced feed inputs. Crop input prices for 2022 look to be greatly affected By Tom Anderson by both the transportation Columnist issues and inuence of current crop pricing. So, what lies ahead for 2022, we can only predict. But, we can only assume volatility will continue. The one assured thing is taxes. As it is now November, I am in hopes you have begun to look at assembling a tax planning strategy. Now is the time to plan and likely review the plan again as you get closer to the end of the year. Dairy producers have many tools in their toolbox to implement. Below are just a few points to consider. Owing tax is a good thing. It means you are most likely protable. That is not to say you should pay more than you need to, so planning is critical. Plan for a longer term than just 2021. What are your capital plans for 2022? If you’re planning a growth strategy and capital investment in 2022, perhaps this is the year to implement prepay strategy or income deferment as next year you will likely have signicant depreciation. Use the 179 deduction. Using 179 expensing is generally not a bad thing, but in my opinion, using it in excess of the amount you paid as money down or cash can put you in a bind the following years. Depreciation is a great way to off-set principle payments on a loan, but if you expensed (179 deduction) the entire amount the rst year, yet have a loan the following years, you will nd that taxes will become more of an issue in the remaining years of the loan. You will have what is called debt in excess of basis. In other words, the tax basis in the new machine, for example, is zero due to using the 179 deduction while you still have debt on the machine. This may also cause some taxable issues if you plan to have a sale or implement a farm transition process. Prepaying expenses for the next year is permissible up to 50% of your typical annual expense and may be benecial. After all, if you prepay feed for $50,000 and you’re in a 20% tax bracket, you save $10,000 in tax (this year). Even if you borrow the money for a few months at 5%, the cost is only a little over $200 per month for interest. Generally, prepaying feed is a wise tax maneuver as you will use that prepay up in a few months. Instead of buying the feed each month, you apply an equal amount to the loan. Deferring income can also be a tax strategy. Deferring crop, milk or cattle sales into the next year may allow you to even out your income from year to year. This, however, requires some multi-year tax planning to have the best outcome in the long run. One point to remember, if you generally sell corn in both years and you decide to defer corn sales made in the current year to the next year, tax x law allows you to defer income to the next year or bring back into the current year. This may be a real benet if you nd that you could have had more income in the current year. However, you must treat the entire contract the same – defer all or use it all in the current year. Therefore, the use of small deferment contracts is a strong suggestion. This is a great tool for exibility right up to ling tax. One caution, if you defer income with a company, there is a risk of not getting this deferred income should the company go bankrupt in that time frame. Generally, this is a small risk with most agricultural companies. Remember to utilize the traditional IRA to help put funds into your retirement planning. The limit is $6,000 per person or $7,000 if over 55 years of age. In summary, plan early and revise as you progress through the balance of the year. Use your farm management person to provide some ideas, work closely with your tax accountant to create a long-range plan and utilize the tax tools for the best tax advantage for your operation. Leave the door open as much as possible for adjustments right up to ling your taxes. Tom Anderson is a Farm Business Management faculty member at Riverland Community College.
Fall work brings spring blooms
Dairy Star • Saturday, November 13, 2021 • Page 27
The leaves have been falling from the trees and it smells like autumn. We had our rst frosty morning last week, and I am wanting to get into my gardens and doing some cleaning. Last year at this time, I was making apple and pear pie lling. I have many bags in the freezer lled so I can grab a bag and come up with a quick and easy dessert. This year, we only had a few apples and pears on our trees due to a late spring frost nipping at the blossoms. Out in the patch, there is an abundance of squash and sweet By Tina Hinchley Farmer & Columnist sugar pie pumpkins to cook down on the cold days when I don’t want to stay outside after chores. This year’s farm tours were difcult for most schools to come for a fall eld trip. Some of the schools made reservations only to cancel when the bus companies didn’t have enough drivers to bring them to the farm. The classes that did attend were driven by parents. Needless to say, we have many pumpkins on the ground. Plans for bringing some to the Second Harvest Food Bank are underway, but the list of volunteers is short. I am looking forward to a few more beautiful fall days with a bright sun to keep me warm if the air is cool. I seem to relax when I am putzing around in the gardens. My hosta plants have wilted down, and I will try to tackle trimming them back and seeing if any should be divided. I always think I will have time in the spring, but then the weeks y by and I miss the window of opportunity. The leaves unfold quickly, and I don’t want to chop them up and make them wilt, so they haven’t been divided for several years. Many are so big I am sure they are root bound and waiting for some more room to grow. I plan on looking for some good deals on bulbs at the local box stores. I will p plunk in a few
they dry up like they did this past year, I will invest in new tubers in the spring. I love how big the blooms are and how beautiful they are with such vibrant colors. Our sunowers, black-eyed Susans and coneowers have been standing dead for several weeks. The sparrows and nches take a break on the dried stems and branches and eat a few seeds before they y off. These owers will self-seed with the help of the birds. Unfortunately, we will be feeding other birds in the bunker silos with corn silage and letting them drink in the heated cattle waterers. There will be plenty for all the birds to eat, even the starlings and pigeons. I plan on gathering some dried ower pods
from the marigolds, snapdragons and moon owers. This is an easy way to get a head start on my annuals for next year. I dry the pods in a single layer on newspaper in the shed where they will not be in anyone’s way. Later in the winter, when I remember they are out there, I clean the seeds and store them in labeled envelopes or paper bags. You can bet as soon as the snow starts to melt, I will be itching to get the seeds into my pots and planters. Every day is a day closer to spring. Tina Hinchley, and her husband, Duane, daughter Anna, milk 240 registered Holsteins with robots. They also farm 2300 acres of crops near Cambridge, Wisconsin. The Hinchley’s have been hosting farm tour for over 25 years.
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I am llooking ki fforward d to a ffew more beautiful fall days with a bright sun to keep me warm if the air is cool. bulbs here and there as I am tearing up some of the soil from moving the hostas from one area to the next. The tulips and daffodils are usually up and nished blooming by the time the hostas have started to spread their leaves. Pretty owers are just waiting under the snow, and that is what makes spring my favorite season. I did a little research to see what I did wrong last fall with my dahlias. I took them out of the soil and put them in a box in the shed. I learned that I need to let them die down before digging them out, cutting off the wilted foliage with the main stem coming up. I will then need to wash the tubers off and try to nd the eyes that are just under the stem. If I want to have big bushy dahlias next year, I need to have a few eyes along with the tubers. Or, if I want them just a single stem, one eye with a few tubers. So, my plan is to divide up some and put them into a bag so they are dark and store them in a cool spot. If they make it through the winter, I will plant them again. However, if
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Page 28 • Dairy Star • Saturday, November 13, 2021
www.extension.umn.edu/dairy
Survival, protability from the crossbreeding trial By Brad Heins
University of Minnesota
Decreased survival and increased death loss of Holstein cows has resulted in a renewed interest in crossbreeding of dairy cattle. The nal results from the Minnesota crossbreeding trial are showing promise that crossbred dairy cows have a higher rate of survival and higher prot compared to Holstein cows during their lifetimes. Previous published reports from the Minnesota crossbreeding study focused on the rst few lactations of cows; however, the nal analysis compared cows for fertility, somatic cell count, production, survival and protability throughout their lifetimes. The results for herd life and protability from rotational crossbreeding were published in the Journal of Dairy Science in 2020 and 2021. In a research study on seven Minnesota dairies, three-breed crossbred cows (composed of Holstein, Montbéliarde and Viking Red) calved for the rst time from November 2012 to April 2014 and were followed throughout their lifetimes. All cows had at least 1,370 days (45 months) of opportunity of herd life from rst calving to the end of data collection, which was Dec. 31, 2017. For the
analysis of lifetime production and protability, the data were restricted to three of the seven herds because they had at least 20 cows in each of the breed groups to provide a meaningful comparison of cows for lifetime performance within herds. Prot was dened to include revenues and expenses for milk, fat, protein and other solids production; somatic cell count; reproduction; feed intake; calf value; salvage value; dead cow disposal; xed cost; replacement cost and health cost. The three-breed crossbred cows were all consistently superior to the Holsteins for fertility across the rst three lactations (see accompanying table). Advantages for fertility of the crossbreds compared to Holsteins may have been partially due to the reduced stillbirths observed for the crossbreds. The differences were small for daily costs related to fertility. The costs for insemination, fertility hormones and pregnancy diagnosis only accounted for a $0.03 advantage for the crossbred cows. The advantage of fertility resulted in longer herd life of crossbred cows compared with Holstein cows. Crossbred cows had increased lifetime fat plus protein production compared to their Holstein herdmates, but the magnitude of the difference from Holstein cows was small for Viking Red × Montbéliarde × Holstein and
Montbéliarde × Viking Red × Holstein cows. The table also has survival rates for crossbred cows versus Holsteins, and all crossbred groups had higher percentages of cows that calved a second, third and fourth time than Holsteins. The three-breed crossbreds had 11% higher survival from rst to third calving compared with Holstein herdmates. Survival to fourth calving was 19% higher than Holstein herdmates. For protability, Viking Red × Montbéliarde × Holstein cows had 32% greater lifetime prot per cow and 4.3% more prot per day than Holstein cows. On the other hand, Montbéliarde × Viking Red × Holstein cows had 33% more lifetime prot per cow and 13.2% more prot per day than Holstein cows. The three-breed crossbred cows had more prot because of lower expenses. The largest difference was the crossbred cows had $0.21 lower replacement costs per day compared with Holstein herdmates. The advantages for prot per day of the crossbreds over Holsteins may seem modest. However, the daily prot margin must be multiplied by 365 days to estimate annual difference in prot. The prot advantage for the three-breed
Results for three-breed crossbred cows and Holstein cows Holstein
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crossbreds was $0.34 per cow per day or $124 per cow per year. The additional prot per day on an annual basis was $62 for Viking Red × Montbéliarde × Holstein and $190 for Montbéliarde × Viking Red × Holstein cows compared to Holstein cows, which, for a 250cow herd, would result in an additional annual prot of $15,500 for Viking Red × Montbéliarde × Holstein and $47,500 for Montbéliarde × Viking Red × Holstein cows compared to Holstein cows. Crossbreeding of dairy cattle is being explored mostly for its potential to improve the calving ease, fertility, health and survival of cows. Advantages for these functional traits will compensate substantially for any potential loss of production of crossbreds compared to Holsteins. Increasingly, dairy producers, consultants, extension educators and industry leaders should measure dairy cow performance in a more comprehensive way instead of by milk production alone. Unfortunately, health costs are often overlooked by dairy producers when assessing the protability of alternative breeds of dairy cattle. Data on replacement and health costs will be important for dairy producers to compare crossbred and Holstein cows.
Trait Days open – 1st lactation (d)
Viking Red × Montbéliarde Combined Montbéliarde × Viking Red crossbreds × Holstein × Holstein
(n = 250)
(n = 226)
(n = 109)
(n = 117)
126
111**
111*
110*
Days open – 2 lactation (d)
134
115**
114**
117**
Days open – 3rd lactation (d)
134
114**
119
109**
Fat + protein (lbs)
2,132
2,478**
2,517
2,439
Revenue from production ($)
12,588
14,564*
14,787
14,340
nd
Survival to 2nd calving (%)
84
86
88*
83
Survival to 3rd calving (%)
51
62**
65**
59* 37**
Survival to 4th calving (%)
22
41**
46**
Days of herd life (d)
850
997**
+1,026*
967
Lifetime prot ($)
2,823
3,743**
3,725*
3,761*
Prot per day ($)
3.95
4.29**
4.12**
4.47**
** P < 0.01 for contrast of difference from Holstein. * P < 0.05 for contrast of difference from Holstein. n = number cows
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Dana Adams, adam1744@umn.edu 320-204-2968
Brad Heins hein0106@umn.edu 320-589-1711
Joe Armstrong armst225@umn.edu 612.624.3610
Nathan Hulinsky huli0013@umn.edu 320-203-6104
Luciano Caixeta lcaixeta@umn.edu 612-625-3130
Kevin Janni kjanni@umn.edu 612-625-3108
Gerard Cramer gcramer@umn.edu 612-625-8184
Karen Johnson ande9495@umn.edu 320-484-4334
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Emily Krekelberg krek0033@umn.edu 507-280-2863
Joleen Hadrich jhadrich@umn.edu 612-626-5620
Claire LaCanne lacanne@umn.edu 507-332-6109
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Erin Royster royster@umn.edu Isaac Salfer ijsalfer@umn.edu 320-296-1357 Jim Salfer salfe001@umn.edu 320-203-6093 Mike Schutz mschutz@umn.edu 612-624-1205 Emma Severns sever575@umn.edu 507-934-7828 Melissa Wison mlw@umn.edu 612-625-4276
Combining technology data, genetics to reduce lameness prevalence
Dairy Star • Saturday, November 13, 2021 • Page 29
By Gerard Cramer and João Dürr University of Minnesota
The seventh annual Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding industry meeting was held virtually Oct. 20, focusing on cow mobility and attracting 335 individuals from 26 countries. I, Cramer, was one of ve presenters at this event and stressed it is time for the industry to take more cohesive action on lameness. During this meeting, I described a new initiative to address lameness, which is a condition that affects approximately 50% of dairy cows during their productive life and results in economic losses and poor animal welfare. The University of Minnesota and the CDCB are leading a project that brings together dairy farms, hoof trimmers, technology developers and many others to objectively identify lame cows, develop a data pipeline and use the data to make onfarm decisions, document change and develop genetic evaluations. One of our main challenges is nding lame cows, and this project should help with this challenge. The idea is to involve all the stakeholders – hoof trimmers, veterinarians, genetic companies, CDCB and camera technology companies – to try to drive change and test theories out on the farm.
provide hoof trimming services to approximately 9.3 million dairy cows in the U.S. The United States Department of Agriculture estimates that 64% of these cows undergo 1.5 regular preventive trimmings per year. Based on these gures, there is an opportunity to collect hoof health records to result in higher heritability estimates to allow producers to genetically select for dairy cows that can better resist foot and mobility problems. With data, we can also do more detailed epidemiological research studies to answer questions such as what the best time and frequency for hoof trimming is.
This opportunity to work together with industry stakeholders to improve lameness is quite exciting and will improve dairy farm economics, cow health and animal welfare. With automation and new technologies, we can reduce the prevalence of lameness quite quickly by detecting early and reducing the duration of lameness. Combining that with genetic evaluations for lameness conditions, we have the potential to improve lameness in both the short and long term. If you are interested in participating in this study, contact umnhoofhealth@umn.edu.
O off our main One i challenges h ll iis finding lame cows, and this project should help with this challenge. One question CDCB geneticist Kristen Parker Gaddis receives frequently is about having a genetic evaluation for lameness. Especially since April 2018, CDCB introduced genetic evaluations for six health conditions – displaced abomasum, hypocalcemia, ketosis, mastitis, metritis and retained placenta. Hence, CDCB has been interested in genetic solutions for lameness for some time and looking for a way to develop them. However, when Gaddis and other geneticists assessed the lameness records in the current U.S. data system, the lameness data was inconsistently documented and resulted in very low heritability. To have an effective genetic evaluation for lameness, we need to have a more accurate way of recording lameness and then include this information in the national cooperator database of dairy phenotypes (performance records) and genotypes. During the meeting, I suggested the creation of an integrated framework where hoof health data resides on the farm and is pushed in different directions under control of the farm owner or herd manager. The lameness data can create action lists for farm personnel, hoof trimmers or veterinarians. Data could go to dairy cattle welfare auditors/evaluators or milk processors, as requested. It can also be added to other health data in the national database for genetic evaluations. This type of data structure already exists for records like production and somatic cell count. Currently, however, lameness or hoof lesion data are sitting outside this framework. This integrated framework should function as a two-way pipeline with data available in the farm management software to make farm-level decisions. In addition to farm management decisions and future genetic evaluations, we view the integrated data as key to providing transparency and increasing dairy sustainability. For example, the National Milk Producers Federation Farmers Assuring Responsible Management Animal Care program has set a standard of less than 5% severely lame cows as acceptable. I expect that in time those standards are going to change and probably get tighter. Therefore, we need to be ready, prepared and have data to support the setting of appropriate standards for the industry. The CDCB and the University of Minnesota will collect hoof health data recorded by hoof trimmers and farm managers. In a subset of farms, lameness data will also be captured on farms using a video analytic platform that analyzes digital locomotion images and assigns lameness scores. It is estimated that around 1,100 hoof trimmers
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Letter to self
Page 30 • Dairy Star • Saturday, November 13, 2021
Dear Self, I’m writing to you because, during the upcoming holiday season, you tend to lose your mind. This may help you hold it together a little bit. So, when things start getting overwhelming and you can feel your head start to spin from all of the things you are expected to do, take this letter out and reread your promises to me. Self, I won’t let the holidays take you over and turn you into a crabby, grumpy woman who looks like Scrooge’s sister and worse yet, sounds like Scrooge himself. I will remember to take a breath and stop and enjoy the feelings, smells and sounds that make the next two months some of the best of the year. Those are the things that help keep you calm; you tend to forget it in the hustle and bustle. If you need to nd a corner to breathe deeply and remember how excited you were about deer season, Thanksgiving and
Christmas in mid-November, for the sake of everyone around you, just do it. I know the recent cold, dreary days have prompted some pumpkin baking to the sound of Christmas music. Music in moderation, though; it will help it retain its power of fantasy longer into the season that way. Yet, it is totally legal to sing a verse or two every time you make hot chocolate after a cold morning in the barn. Let’s be honest, that makes you just as excited about the warmth of the chocolate as it does Cora. She likes to sing it as much as you. Oh, you really must do your best to slow down long enough to watch some of those holiday classics with your family. They need to watch “White Christmas,” so in 10 years they can shake their heads at the memory and wonder how their mom got them to sit through the movie. After watching that wonderful Bing Crosby classic, then you can add those songs
to your singing repertoire and sing them until your children roll their eyes. You must take time to watch “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” and drink Grinch punch while doing so. No farmer’s Christmas season is complete without “Annabelle’s Wish,” either. As soon as Cora Ramblings from the Ridge unearths the DVD, it will be played nonstop if she has her wish. On the topic of Christmas shopping, remember to stay true to your own ideals. You always do good for a while then get sucked in when you start to feel like your kids aren’t getting By Jacqui Davison enough. That’s when the spirit of the season starts Columnist to get sucked out of you, when you begin to feel overwhelmed with the pressure to compete with gift giving. Take a breath, chill out with some Bing Crosby and remember it’s the gifts from the heart, the ones that real thought went into giving, that mean the most for your children and others. Want, need, wear, read is your gift motto. Say it over and over. On the order of holiday baking and eating, moderation is the key word. You need to remember that chocolate covered cherries are not considered healthy because there is a cherry involved or even dark chocolate. You can start making breads to have on hand for unexpected visitors. Be a little ambitious and plan a cookie baking day with the girls on the farm. They would all love the comradery in the kitchen.
T k ab Take breath, h chill hill out with ih some Bing Crosby and remember it’s the gifts from the heart, the ones that real thought went into giving, that mean the most for yyour children and others. You must remember the holidays require extra patience with your growing brood. Cora, especially, may not always perform perfectly in the presence of company. She may hide behind your legs instead of hug or want to play with her cows. All three boys may prefer to be home with no guests and lounge around in their underwear. Remind them to be polite, that people want to see them. They will have a good time. Make them hug anyone over 50. Allot plenty of time for running around outside before or after and extra time for Lego building. On the subject of visiting people, take time to visit with those important to you. Take some friends on a shopping date, go out for lunch for no reason other than you enjoy the other person’s company. Spending time with someone is often better than spending money. Finally, make sure to schedule in some snuggles. Your children all need it. Even those towering teenage boys like to sit near you on the couch, though they likely won’t admit it. Look for Cora’s shining moments instead of the ones that make you want to scream about girls being dramatic. Remember that Ira may be taller than you, but he wants to be a kid sometimes. Dane needs his downtime at the end of the zaniest days, and going to bed 10 minutes later just so he can get a hot shower in is worth it. Let Henry draw his tractors and read in bed; it will get him to a good place before closing his eyes. No matter how this year’s holiday season turns out, it will no doubt create many new and wonderful memories for you and your family. It wouldn’t be quite the same without a few wild moments thrown in there. Sincerely, Pre-Holiday Season Me Jacqui and her family milk 800 cows and run 1,200 acres of crops in the northeastern corner of Vernon County, Wisconsin. Her children, Ira (14), Dane (12), Henry (7) and Cora (4), help her 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.
Feet, feet, feet: How many feet do you meet? Dairy Star • Saturday, November 13, 2021 • Page 31
How many lame cows are on your dairy? Do you know? If you have a small farm, the answers to these questions are probably, none or, very few, and, yes. If you have hundreds or Veterinary Wisdom thousands of cows, the answers are more likely to be that you don’t know and no. Lameness has a higher prevalence than mastitis on many wellmanaged dairy farms. Lameness is expensive. Lame cows produce signicantly less milk than they should. They are more likely to be culled. By Jim Bennett They are less likely to Columnist become pregnant. How can you reduce the number of lame cows in your herd? The simplest and most effective way, according to Dr. Gerard Cramer, an internationally recognized lameness expert at the University of Minnesota, is to do a better job nding lame cows. The number of lame cows on any given day is the total of newly lame cows that have not yet been effectively treated and the total number of chronically lame cows that do not get better. So, wouldn’t doing a better job nding lame cows be expected to increase, rather than decrease, the total number of lame cows? That could be true for a dairy that does a poor job of detecting lame cows, but for most farms, the key to reducing the number of lame cows is nding and effectively treating them. For example, if you only treat lame cows once a week, the total number of lame cows on any given day includes a whole week’s worth of newly lame cows. But, if you treat lame cows every day, that total will only include today’s newly lame cows plus any others that have been treated but have not yet recovered. Most lame cows, if treated early, show signicant improvement in just a few hours after treatment. So going from
treating once a week to twice a week should reduce caked manure. More commonly though, especially in the number of newly lame cows by almost 50%. clean, just-limed barns, the hooves were rock hard. There is another reason why better detection This made nding lesions difcult. Hoof knives were reduces the total number of lame cows. Dr. Cramer never sharp enough. Because of all of this, hardly any explains that lameness is a disease of inammation. dairy farmers or dairy veterinarians miss lifting feet. Inammation can cause a lot of changes in body However, as farms transitioned to freestall facilities, tissues, including bone. The longer the inammation detecting lameness became harder, and regular use of lasts, the more likely bony changes are to occur. This professional hoof trimmers became more common. happens with some hoof and sole lesions. Bone spurs Along with this came the practice of leaving lame develop on P3, or the pedal bone, which is the lowest cows for the hoof trimmer to x on hoof trimming bone in the leg and is located mostly within the hoof. day. As farm sizes grew, hoof trimmers started coming Once spurs develop, they typically do not go away, and to farms more frequently, and so leaving lame cows the cow is much more likely to for the hoof trimmer became be lame again, with a similar a more accepted practice. Every ffarm needs d lesion in the same place, in E However, that does not mean the future. Thus, delaying a way to deal with a severely is it right or the best practice. treatment can turn acutely Every farm needs a way to lame cows into chronically lame cow promptly, which deal with a severely lame lame cows. Nobody wants usually means today. cow promptly, which usually more chronically lame cows means today. For larger farms, on their dairy. Chronically this usually means having a lame cows are at extreme risk for culling and, on some hoof trimming chute on the dairy and a staff member farms, make up a large part of the cows that are trimmed trained to examine and treat lame cows, or having at every hoof trimming visit. Delaying detection and the hoof trimmer come for lame cows. For smaller treatment can thus increase both the number of newly farms, it might mean calling the veterinarian, calling lame cows and the number of chronically lame cows the hoof trimmer or treating them yourself. Not every on any day on your farm. Remember, too, that lame lame cow can be xed, but detecting lame cows and cows are lame because they have signicant pain. As treating them promptly can signicantly reduce the animal caretakers, we have a responsibility to reduce number of lame cows on most dairies. Doing this will that pain promptly when reasonably possible. mean the answer to the opening question is none or Forty years ago, a typical Minnesota dairy farm very few. had around 40 adult cows. They were most commonly Information for this article came from, “A housed in tiestall or stanchion barns. Farmers saw veterinarian’s role in creating more days with 0% them walk at least twice a day. Lame cows were hard lameness,” presented by Dr. Cramer at the 2021 to miss. Some farmers would lift affected feet and AABP Annual Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. treat them themselves, but probably the most common Bennett is one of four dairy veterinarians at thing farmers did was to call their veterinarian. Northern Valley Dairy Production Medicine Center Veterinarians used a variety of devices to restrain lame in Plainview, Minnesota. He also consults on dairy cows, including clamps, beam hooks, straw bales, farms in other states. He and his wife, Pam, have four straps, posts, ropes with a variety of clever knots and children. Jim can be reached at bennettnvac@gmail. strong farmers. Treating lame cows was almost never com with comments or questions. fun, especially if the cow was lame on a front foot. Sometimes feet were really dirty or covered with
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Knowledge is valuable
There are things to be said for knowing a small area of the world really well. As farmers, we tend to pride ourselves on knowing every spring and sand knoll in a eld and what conditions make it show up in the crops or pasture. We know where the tile lines and water lines are buried and From the Zweber Farm sometimes even how deep. Or, at least we think we know until we start digging and either tear into it early or spend a lot of time slowly digging toward something that was much deeper than we thought. There is also much to be gained by By Tim Zweber knowing about a broad Farmer & Columnist area of the world. Emily and I had quite a few opportunities growing up, through 4-H and in college, to travel and learn about the cultures and agricultural practices outside of our region and state. We have always felt that those experiences were important to bring new ideas to our farm and to understand how and why things are done elsewhere. We decided that our children would get to have even more opportunities than us to travel and learn about the world. An idea we stumbled into was taking our kids on a one-on-one trip of their choosing for their 7th, 14th and 21st birthdays. Emily had the opportunity to attend an agricultural meeting in Washington, D.C., around our oldest son’s, Erik’s, 7th birthday so she brought him with, and they stayed after the conference to see the sights which started a 7th birthday tradition. Jonnie came to California with me to visit my brother Steve for his 7th birthday and saw huge trees, valleys and cliffs. Hannah traveled to Oregon with Emily, and they stayed with our friends on their dairy farm which she found out was quite different from ours. They irrigated from a river that was alternately fresh and salty and had different seasons from us. The highlight of the trip was riding horses by the ocean. Erik turned 14 this year, and after hearing about how amazing Yosemite National Park was from his younger brother, he wanted to go rock climbing there and see the huge redwoods of Muir Woods. We planned the trip for November thinking we’d be done with all the eldwork and have cattle home from summer pastures. Turned out that fall stretched on and was nice for a bit longer than expected, and we were still doing the last crop of hay right up to the night before our ight and the cattle were still on pasture. Erik usually isn’t in a huge hurry to nish hay. The longer hay goes on, the more time in a tractor listening to music and sipping Dr. Pepper he gets, and the less school work he gets bothered to complete. This time he was in a rush to get done. I’m writing this on our way back to Minnesota. We had an amazing time seeing thousands of acres of trees, both agricultural and natural. Some were planted in neat rows and others were hundreds of years old and as many feet tall, growing however nature saw t along creeks and rivers. We drove by dairy farms, and Erik learned about why they don’t have the same types of facilities as us, thanks to the far more agreeable climate and year-round cropping. Once we got to Yosemite Valley, we climbed and hiked and took in the sights of the immense cliffs. We, of course, went a few rope lengths up to get even better views and a great experience in team work and climbing gear use. Our plane is about to board, so I better get my beef jerky shoved in my bag and headphones ready to sit for a few hours watching a movie or two. Until next time, keep living the dream and don’t forget to look at how others are living theirs. You might be able to borrow a few good ideas from them. Tim Zweber farms with his wife Emily, their three children and his parents Jon and Lisa by Elko, Minnesota.
Dairy food choices amaze, delight
My eyes were opened to all of the choices in the milk case of the dairy aisle about 10 years ago. I was in a local grocery store, invited by the store’s on-staff dietician to take part in local ag food day and was handing out samples of avored milk from a local uid milk supplier. With surprise, I watched for hours as people walked Come Full Dairy Circle around me to grab almond, oat, rice and other milk alternatives from the dairy case. Sometimes they put plastic jugs of both cow’s milk and milk alternatives in their carts and said, “I am lactose intolerant, but my kids like to drink whole milk.” Most kids were delighted with the avored milk I gave them, but many adults declined. There were some lessons I took away from that experience: kids typically enjoy whole milk and avors in their milk, many people consider themselves lactose intolerant, and the dairy milk offered was not By Jean Annexstad fullling their needs or desires and they had switched to alternatives. Columnist I don’t mean to accentuate the negative, but it was astounding to me, because I did not realize this transformation had taken place. Our family drinks pasteurized whole milk from our bulk tank, so I had paid little attention to what was offered in the milk case. Now when I shop in a grocery store or at a convenience store in the beverage section, I continue to be amazed at the vast array of choices for what a person can have to drink. As I have recently learned from listening to an I-29 Moo University podcast about national dairy checkoff strategies, only 9% of the milk produced in Minnesota goes to uid milk. The rest is going to plants where cheese, butter, cultured dairy products and byproducts, such as whey, dried lactose or skim milk powder are made. That is what Minnesota dairy farmer and DMI and Midwest Dairy board member Charles Krause said in the podcast. Krause went on to explain that the checkoff is there to help dairy companies use research, develop products including a supply chain, and assist people in selling that product. He explained that the checkoff dollars every dairy farmer contributes through milk sold helps to build partnerships with food companies, such as fairlife®, Taco Bell® or McDonald’s. The fastfood places are selling value-added milk products through their menus for us, Krause said in the podcast. Taco Bell®, for instance, has 90% of its menu items that include some dairy, such as cheese, sour cream or cheese sauce. Today, while generic milk ads no longer appear on T.V., an ad for fairlife® or another branded dairy food pops up every so often on T.V. or digital media. I have thought a lot about dairy foods in the past few decades. That is because when hosting tours at our farm, speaking to kids, adults or in the community, we try to inform people about dairy foods’ good value based on their nutrition and their importance in our diet, as well as how delicious cheese, yogurt, ice cream and (insert your favorite here) are! But I don’t talk very much about uid milk options. I have sat around our kitchen table with people who are typically selling us something and have them say, “I don’t drink milk. It doesn’t agree with me.” What can you say to that except, “Well, you can still enjoy yogurt and cheese.” Milk options in schools are problematic. I grew up drinking Polka Dot Dairy milk in little cartons in the Hastings Public Schools. I don’t recall ever having milk that did not taste good. I suppose the milk was very fresh since the Hastings Co-op Creamery was in our town. I’ll bet it was whole milk and kept cold and served that way. I wish that could be the case in every school today. I know that it is very difcult and complicated, involving layers of science, rules, regulations and bureaucracy. I know there are efforts to allow whole milk to be served again. I know chocolate milk is a winner for kids. I do not know how to pull those facts together to get things changed. I hope someday it will be. In the meantime, there are many bright spots in our stories we can tell about dairy goodness. People like cheese, yogurt, ice cream and so much more. A recent blog from a New York based millennial writer, Emily Sundberg, who was traveling around Europe this past summer proclaimed, “The real international delight, I realized, is pouring whole, full-dairy milk into your coffee; it is perhaps the most civilized activity in which a person can partake.” She conrmed her realization with coffee shop baristas back home in New York and found that people are ditching the milk alternatives and going back to basics. It is November and time to enjoy your Thanksgiving coffee and pie with real cream and a tall glass of milk. Jean dairy farms with her husband, Rolf, and brother-in-law, Mike, and children Emily, Matthias and Leif. They farm near St. Peter, Minnesota, in Norseland, where she is still trying to t in with the Norwegians and Swedes. They milk 200 cows and farm 650 acres. She can be reached at jeanannexstad@ gmail.com.
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Page 34 • Dairy Star • Saturday, November 13, 2021
Voices for the next generation
Hoewisches appointed to Farm Bureau’s YFA Committee By Stacey Smart
stacey.s@dairystar.com
FREMONT, Wis. – Networking with his peers and helping farmers make their voices heard is what motivated dairy farmer Jacob Hoewisch to join the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation. Fresh out of college, WFBF provided a place for Hoewisch to meet like-minded people and become involved with a farmrelated organization where he could make a difference. “It seems when you get out of high school or college, there’s a little bit of a social gap you fall into, especially when you come back home,” said Jacob, a graduate of Fox Valley Technical College in Grand Chute. “Through the Farm Bureau, I’m able to build my personal and business networks and maintain important connections in the industry.” Jacob is taking his county involvement with WFBF to the state level following a recent appointment to the WFBF Young Farmer and Agriculturist Committee – a position he will co-chair with his wife, Jennifer. Representing District 7, the Hoewisches’ main responsibility in this new role
is to get more people involved in the WFBF. The couple will oversee the six counties in their district – Waupaca, Outagamie, Shawano, Marinette, Langlade and Oconto – as they help support and improve the YFA program in each county. “Recruitment and retainment are our biggest jobs,” Jennifer said. The Hoewisches are fth-generation farmers on Hoewisch Homestead Dairy near Fremont where they milk 160 registered Holsteins and farm 450 acres with Jacob’s parents, Kevin and Candi. Jennifer, a registered nurse, works full time at a local hospital in addition to helping on the farm. She and Jacob have two daughters – Adalynn, 3, and Everlee, 4 months. “As a member of the YFA Committee, we’ll have the opportunity to build leadership skills while meeting more people within the industry and continuing to build our network,” Jacob said. “That’s a big thing in agriculture because the profession is so different everywhere. The more people you know from other areas, the more it can open your eyes to things you’ve never seen before.” After serving as the
STACEY SMART/DAIRY STAR
The Hoewisches – (from leŌ) Jennifer, holding Adalynn, and Jacob, holding Everlee – milk 160 cows and farm 450 acres with Jacob’s parents, Kevin and Candi, near Fremont, Wisconsin. Jacob and Jennifer were recently appointed to Wisconsin Farm Bureau FederaƟon’s Young Farmer and Agriculturist CommiƩee. Waupaca County YFA chair for the past ve years, Jacob was ready for a bigger challenge and is looking forward to bridging the generation gap he sees at WFBF. Designed for members ages 18 to 35, Jacob views the YFA as being the next step after FFA and is excited to get the next generation going strong. “Farm Bureau members
are on the older side, so we’re trying to get the younger generation more involved,” Jacob said. “Our county bureau is not necessarily young, but they’re open to change. However, we need some more young blood in there. The YFA is a good t for me. I can corral young members and get my peers involved in this great organization.”
The Hoewisches will fulll their duties in between running the family dairy operation. The farm has been in constant improvement mode since 1999 when Jacob’s dad and his uncle, Jeff, combined herds and began farming Turn to HOEWISCHES | Page 35
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ConƟnued from HOEWISCHES | Page 34
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Jacob Hoewisch and his his daughter, Adalynn, feed grain to calves with on the morning of Oct. 26 on their farm near Fremont, Wisconsin. together. They built a double-6 step-up milking parlor that year and continued updating and adding facilities in the years that followed. After building a 3 million-gallon manure pit in 2015, the Hoewisches converted their old pit into collection for rainwater runoff and now collect 100% of the runoff which is sent to manure storage in a fully contained system. The family has also seized opportunities to diversify. Six years ago, they started working with a local cash cropping farm and now benet from a crop sharing situation. In 2019, they began to direct market beef after forming an LLC called H&S Tasty Acres with a neighbor who has pigs and chickens. Now, they sell all three types of meats directly to the consumer. Amid their work on and off the farm, the Hoewisches nd that their involvement in WFBF is something worth making time for. “I don’t want Farm Bureau to go by the wayside,” Jacob said. “Whatever I can do to get involved, I’ll do it. It’s a time commitment, but at the end of the day, I feel like I’m doing something. As much as you put into the Bureau, you’re going to get back out. The time you give to the Bureau is rewarding in so many ways.” A love for agriculture and new ideas keeps Jacob coming back for more. “You can learn so much by being part of the Farm Bureau,” he said. “As a member of the dairy committee, I’m exposed to farms of all sizes and various marketing strategies run by people of different educational backgrounds. They know so much, and I listen to them and learn a lot.”
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As members of the YFA Committee, Jacob and Jennifer will have the opportunity to attend state and national events. “It’s a chance to network and also gets us off the farm,” Jacob said. “When you attend these events, you come back with more than you left with.” Jacob also enjoys talking to dairy farmers about struggles they may be facing. “We’re a voice for the dairy farmer,” he said. “The Farm Bureau is a voice at the government level, and it’s how I feel I can connect the dots for local dairy farmers.” While bringing energy and vitality to the future of WFBF is a priority in their new role, Jacob and Jennifer also appreciate the platform WFBF provides for instilling change. “The Farm Bureau provides a great opportunity for networking and is a place to get your concerns heard,” Jennifer said. “Once you become part of an organization that has relationships with legislators, that’s where changes can be made.” Jacob agreed. “If you feel strongly about something and want to see change, sit down with your state legislators during Ag Day at the Capitol,” Jacob said. “The Farm Bureau has a good reputation, and legislators want to hear from us. Those with dairy on their list look to the Bureau for guidance on how to vote and where to stand on a topic. Make sure you’re at the table when the discussion comes up, because if nobody is there, we’re not going to be heard at all.”
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Women In Dairy
Carrie Ritschard Monroe, Wisconsin Green County 60 cows Family: My ancé, Scotty Young, and I have a 1-year-old daughter, Emma. I also have two sons – Brett, 17, and Tyler, 10. Tell us about your farm. We own our dairy farm which consists of 7 acres. I’ve been here for 16 years, and we have no hired employees. We milk in a tiestall barn, and all the work is done by us as a family. Our herd is 90% Milking Shorthorns. What is the busiest time of day for you? The busiest time of day is 3:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. as those are the times we milk. Although, owning a dairy farm can require 24-hour days at times. Sometimes, those cows like to have babies in the middle of the night. When you get a spare moment, what do you do? When I have a spare moment, I like to spend time with my mom and dad. We love to play cards. I also love watching the local towns play sports. Tell us about your most memorable experience working on the farm. One of the most memorable experiences I have working on my dairy farm involves genetics. Breeding cattle to show all over the U.S. is one big accomplishment. We’ve had over 65 all-Americans since I have been farming. Another memorable experience occurred when our cow had triplet heifer calves – that was amazing. What have you enjoyed most about dairy farming or your tie to the dairy industry? The thing I have enjoyed most about dairy farming is being able to show and breed quality cattle, and promote the agriculture industry. Teaching the public about agriculture is a role I love to do when I am at a cattle show. There are a lot of people who know nothing about agriculture and want to learn. How do you stay connected with others in the industry? I stay connected with others in the industry by talking on social media or at agriculture events. Showing cattle is the biggest way I stay connected. Our family attends several shows a year throughout the U.S. Who is someone in the industry who has inspired you? My parents are the people who have inspired me in the dairy industry. If it wasn’t for my parents being dairy farmers when I was growing up, I would not have the passion I do for farming. They taught me how to ght the battles and learn how to do everything on a dairy farm. I bought my parents’ herd the day I graduated from high school.
If you could give a tour of your farm to a prominent woman in today’s society, who would it be? It would be young, new moms to promote agriculture and dairy products they can raise their children on. Teaching new people about agriculture is a huge plus. What is the best vacation you have ever taken? Taking a vacation is hard to come by when dairy farming. It’s very hard to nd people who want to do farming jobs. When I leave the farm, it is usually to a cattle show. So honestly, I can say I have never been on a vacation. What are some words you like to live by? Never let your sparkle dull … show on. Don’t be afraid to smile. Keep up the hard work. Don’t let anyone let you down. Be strong.
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Dairy Star • Saturday, November 13, 2021 • Page 37
Calm cows are key
Reid describes ways to increase milkability, quality By Kate Rechtzigel kate.r@dairystar.com
The key to improving milkability and increasing milk quality lies in the hands of the milkers and the people bringing the cows in to the parlor or barn. “When you are in a parlor or a barn, go in there, open your eyes and really, really look,” Dr. David Reid said. Reid, who launched Rocky Ridge Dairy Consulting in Hazel Green, Wisconsin, was featured in a National Mastitis Council webinar, “Improving milkability without testing equipment,” Nov. 2. Reid is a graduate from Kansas State University and offers milk quality consulting services for individual dairies and dairy industry companies, and develops training programs for dairy employees, veterinarians and dairy companies’ eld representatives. The purpose of Reid’s presentation was to help farmers gain a better understanding of their milking system in an effort to improve milkability, which is dened as the milking unit’s expected ability to remove available milk from the quarter gently, quickly and completely. Reid also touched on the association of milkability and milk quality. “I guess one of my main points
would be to get people to look around a parlor or a barn without any equipment to really knowing what’s going on in there,” Reid said. “It’s extremely important.” To better understand what factors in the parlor effect milkability and milk quality, and ultimately improve protability, Reid, his team and his coresearcher, Dr. Andy Johnson, analyzed dairy farms and their milking systems. “The results were repeatable and you could compare farm to farm,” Reid said. “Probably at the time we didn’t realize what it was, but it really turned into something good.” The researchers handled all of the analysis on the farms, making sure nothing was changing, like the udder preparation and cow handling, for example, as they made changes to the equipment settings and vacuum levels. “We tried a lot of different things with takeoff settings and the adjustment of the milking equipment,” Reid said. “If you could measure these areas in the milking, then you could really have a good idea of what’s going on.” To measure milkability, Reid and his team assumed good udder preparation had occurred and that as soon as the last teat cup was placed on the teat, milk ow would ramp up quickly. It would then reach a peak to allow all four quarters an even milk out before milk ow stopped and the units came off. “And when that is happening, we want the cow to be standing reasonably still, not kicking at the operator, not
kicking at the unit and not inching,” said Reid of the time when milking is completed. Cows were then monitored for their behavior. Some inched, meaning they shifted their weight, not really picking up a foot but still moving; some stepped by picking up a foot and putting it back down; and some kicked at the operator, technician or unit during milking. “Virtually every fresh animal was kicking at these guys when they were milking them,” Reid said. Poor milkability lends itself to an increase in poor milk quality. “Whenever we see the milkability issue with a lot of kicking, we’re going to have signicantly more manure deposited on the unit itself, so on the claw, on the teat cup assemblies and milk hoses,” Reid said. “Things get dirty, and once things get dirty, it’s hard for people to think clean. You don’t need test equipment to go in there and say what kind of behavior are these cows showing.” Reid also noticed that milk hose length matters. Because of how some hoses are managed, shortening hoses are one of the best ways to improve milkability, said Reid. “When one of these silicone hoses tears, some technician goes back and cuts off a piece of hose and uses it,” Reid said. “Now, we have different lengths, and that makes a difference because upstairs there are tremendous amounts of kicking, stepping and cow-assisted takeoffs.”
Reid also said cow handling both to and from the parlor is a major factor in milkability. “If we have an adrenaline release within a half hour of milking, we’re going to impact milk letdown,” Reid said. “Calm cows are more willing to enter the parlor, and they’ll have better oxytocin letdown.” Calm cows also tend to move slower which means there is less manure splashing to help control new infection rates. Other points Reid talked about in his study consisted of liner and pulsator quality; obstruction of the milk hose, line or tank; teat end condition and the frequency; instance or location of rings on teats, among other things. “If we can improve the milkability on a dairy, we can actually do a couple of things. For one, we’re going to maximize the milk from individual cows,” Reid said. “We may not see it in the tank but we’re going to get it from those cows.” Understanding milkability and its role in creating quality milk is essential for dairy farms. And with knowing that, calm cows really are the key to increasing milkability on farms. Farmers should evaluate milking processes and those a part of those processes when striving for better milk quality. “Open your eyes, look and see,” Reid said.
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Page 38 • Dairy Star • Saturday, November 13, 2021
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Passion turned career
Growing up, some of my favorite activities included writing, telling myself stories and hanging out in the barn with my two brothers. I felt like an odd ball because I found that telling myself stories while doing chores actually allowed me to have more fun and still be productive. I never thought this could actually make a good career. And then one day, my seventh grade English teacher took me aside and said, “Kate, you have a talent for writing. Don’t ever lose sight of that.” And from that day on, I participated in speech, plays and musicals, 4-H and FFA. All with one goal in mind: to grow up to work for either the Dairy Star or the Hoard’s Dairyman. I grew up on a small dairy farm southwest of Wanamingo, Minnesota, where my family milked 60 Holsteins, Jerseys and some Holstein/Jersey crossbreds in a tiestall barn, mostly because my By Kate Rechtzigel grandmother insisted my dad and grandpa Glen have some color in the herd. In addition to the cows, Staff Writer we also planted about 1,000 acres of corn, soybean, alfalfa and some sweet corn. Today, the farm manages about 500 acres and is home to about 200 meat goats, some beef cattle, a couple organic elds and lots of poultry (chickens, turkeys, geese and ducks, you name it). Surprisingly enough, my mother actually comes from a dairy farm background as well. Grandpa Leo milked around 150 cows and ran some acreage by Goodhue, Minnesota. Today, this farm runs mostly beef cattle as they sold the dairy a long time ago. On the farm, I did everything from scraping manure, bedding the barn, bringing cows in and tying them up, breeding cows, feeding the cows and calves, helping with morning and night milkings, gathering eggs and eld work. After graduating from Kenyon-Wanamingo High School in the spring of 2017, I attended the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities where I studied animal science dairy production and food systems. While there, I participated in a bunch of activities such as being a Goodhue County Dairy Princess for three years, Beta of Clovia Sorority, Gopher Dairy Club, the Rural Student Association, Crops and Soils Club, Reformed University Fellowship and Anselm House; all of which allowed me to make connections with others in the agricultural industry and share my dairy story. Throughout my college years, I also participated in a host of jobs including scraping manure, bedding stalls, pushing up feed, bringing cows to the parlor, raking the compost and feeding calves the University of Minnesota dairy barn. I also helped a grad student with his research project on the viscosity and tenderness levels in steak for the beef team. I wrapped meat and helped with slaughter for the Andrew Boss Laboratory of Meat Science, ground and stuffed hamburger at Blondie’s Butcher Shop and interned for the Dairy Star in 2019. Branching out from that, I took a job working as an assistant cheesemaker for Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery in Comstock, Wisconsin, post-graduation. While there, I made some really great connections, learned everything about the cheesemaking process, which ingredients go into making cheese, and that factory life isn’t for me. However, I did get to pour a lot of cheese curds into forms with a huge hose, and I thought that was pretty awesome. My coworkers and I joked that it was almost like being a reghter because our shoulders hurt so much after the fact. In my downtime, I enjoy playing a competitive game of beanbags, going on walks, reading a good book, watching movies and hanging out with friends. In the spring, I hope to be milking my three cows and making my own cheeses and soaps as a side hobby to my career as a writer. While I’m new at Dairy Star, I look forward to serving as the writer in southeastern Minnesota, promoting dairy and meeting as many dairy farmers as possible.
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Dairy Star • Saturday, November 13, 2021 • Page 39
Ryan Nordahl Osseo, Wisconsin Trempealeau County Three cows
What do you enjoy most about dairy farming? The freedom and diversity that come along with it. It’s given me a life a lot of people wish they had.
How did you get into farming? I grew up on my grandparents’ farm. My grandpa sold his cows in 1986 and continued raising replacement heifers all through my high school years. I got into 4-H and showing at a young age. I slowly built a herd by buying heifers from my grandparents and started milking cows the day I graduated high school. In 2003, I bought a herd of 30 cows out of Quebec, Canada. I farmed with my brother for a number of years until we parted ways. I worked various hourly jobs until we moved back to this area in 2016. I was breeding cows when we moved here, and I did not want to continue that because it took me away for long days. I started working at Bert-Mar Farms for extra income and now have the opportunity to own a few show cows, which are housed at Bert-Mar Farms. What are your thoughts and concerns about the dairy industry for the next year? I worry about the rapid pace we are losing dairy farmers. Price volatility and cost of production are big concerns too. My biggest concern is that the middleman is getting all of the prots from milk. I also worry about the removal of society from the farm and all of the people who are so out of touch with reality. What is the latest technology you implemented on your farm and the purpose for it? Social media has helped us make connections with people around the world.
detail. I bring a positive attitude, which is something I have worked hard on in my life.
What advice would you give other dairy farmers? Follow your dreams and heart. Your heart knows what is best. Don’t worry about what other people think. What has been the best purchase you have ever made on your farm? When I was at the home farm, the best purchase was El-Du Talent Mable.
ABBY WIEDMEYER/DAIRY STAR
Ryan Nordahl and his son, James Nordahl, pose with Luck-E-Stronger Asuko on Bert-Mar Farms near Osseo, Wisconsin. Ryan is part of the breeding team at Bert-Mar Farms and owns a few show caƩle which are housed on the farm. What is a management practice you changed in the past year that has beneted you? Just getting to the farm earlier than I need to help make sure there is time to take care of things when something out of the ordinary happens. I try to keep things as nice,neat and swept up as best I can. What cost-saving steps have you implemented during the low milk price? The people I work for have asked my opinion, and that tells me I’m not just
an employee here. I do all the breeding which saves them the fee of calling the A.I. technician. How do you retain a good working relationship with your employees? We keep a good working relationship by communicating. It’s something we continue to work on. Tell us about a skill you possess that makes dairy farming easier for you. My ability to focus and my attention to
What has been your biggest accomplishment while dairy farming? My personal accomplishment when I was at my home farm was increasing production from a 20,000-pound herd average to a 28,000-pound herd average, along with keeping a low somatic cell count. Just being able to tap into the world market by merchandising the genetics that we had. What are your plans for your dairy in the next year and ve years? One of my biggest goals is being part of a team that breeds the next 96- or 97-point Holstein. We have the potential to do it. How do you or your family like to spend time when you are not doing chores? My greatest passion in life is whitetail deer. I created a business out of habitat improvement for whitetails and whitetail hunting. My clients are private property owners that stretch from New England, Vermont, Wyoming, Louisiana and the Upper Midwest.
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Page 40 • Dairy Star • Saturday, November 13, 2021
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