THE GREAT
See pages 24 and 25 of this section for details!
C E L E B R A T I N G
2 5
Y E A R S
DAIRY ST R 25
November 25, 2023
“All dairy, all the time”™
Volume 25, No. 19
Dairy farming for themselves Fancsalis buy farm of their own By Amy Kyllo
amy.k@star-pub.com
AMY KYLLO/DAIRY STAR
Bradley and KaƟe Fancsali, holding Buckley, smile Nov. 14 in a shed on their farm near Hayeld, Minnesota. The Fancsalis bought their farm in 2022.
BBE High School adds dispensers in cafeteria, weight room
HAYFIELD, Minn. — On a morning late in May 2022, a semi-trailer, three trucks with cattle trailers and personal vehicles left a farm near Dodgeville, Wisconsin, and drove to a new farm in Minnesota. “I wish I would have gotten more pictures of it,” Katie Fancsali said. “The whole caravan … everything in our whole lives (was) right there.” Bradley and Katie Fancsali and their son, Buckley, own and operate a 100-cow dairy farm near Hayeld. They purchased the farm, house, land and a herd of dairy cows from Daryn McGowan in 2022. Neither Bradley or Katie grew up on a dairy farm. Brad-
ley was introduced to the dairy industry by a dairy farmer who babysat him. Katie milked a cow for the rst time at about the age of 16. The young couple has experienced many naysayers in their dairy-farming journey. “Everybody’s going to tell you that there are no opportunities in dairy, (that) it’s not a smart thing to get into,” Katie said. Bradley agreed. “We’ve had a lot of people who told us that we couldn’t do it,” he said. Among the people who were negative were dairy farmers. Katie said it is unfortunate that people have this perspective. “It’s a hard life; it’s not easy,” she said. “It’s a lot of work, but it’s a good life.” Bradley, who was in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve from 2012-19, started working on dairy farms in 2013 as soon as he completed basic training and even worked on two research farms.
Fresh milk is served
By Jan Lefebvre jan.l@star-pub.com
BELGRADE, Minn. — Students at Belgrade-BrootenElrosa High School live in the heart of Minnesota’s dairy country, so most are familiar with the pleasure of drinking fresh milk. On Oct. 24, two new milk dispensing machines were added to the school’s cafeteria, providing a local, fresh product. A few weeks later, a third milk machine became available to students using the weight room. Aaron Radermacher, a dairy farmer who has been on the BBE School District’s board for six years, took part in launching
JAN LEFEBVRE/DAIRY STAR
Students Aiden Radermacher (from leŌ), Gunnar Heieie and Max Heieie, along with school board member Aaron Radermacher, hold cups of fresh chocolate milk Nov. 9 at Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa High School in Belgrade, Minnesota. Two milk dispenser machines were added to the school’s cafeteria this fall through a grant from Midwest Dairy. the change. He said it all began with a question from high school principal Laura Spanier.
“(Adding dispensers) was something I had brought up to people before, but it didn’t gain
much traction,” Radermacher said. “Then Laura mentioned to me about another school get-
The couple met in 2019 when Bradley was working as a herdsman at a dairy near Zumbro Falls and Katie was a sales representative for ABS Global. They married in 2020 and had Buckley in 2021. After working together on various dairy farms, the Fancsalis nally came to a dairy farm near Dodgeville, Wisconsin, where they were in charge of the dairy herd for two years. However, buying or renting that farm for themselves was not an option, and the Fancsalis’ goal was to eventually work for themselves. The Fancsalis began looking for a farm near to either Bradley’s parents in Wisconsin or Katie’s parents in Minnesota. In early winter of 2022, Daryn McGowan, a former classmate of Katie’s mom, reached out to Katie’s dad with the news his farm was going to be for sale. Turn to FANCSALIS | Page 7
ting dispensers, and she asked me, ‘What’s this all about?’ So, I checked into getting a grant through Midwest Dairy, and that’s how we got the ball rolling.” Spanier said Radermacher was instrumental in making everything happen. “He really took the lead and got the grant,” she said. “For the rst day we rolled out (the dispensers), Aaron did a good job of contacting local dairy farmers and having them come in and help the kids and explain how to use the machines.” Radermacher completed paperwork for the grant in July in time for Midwest Dairy’s August due date. Beginning Oct. 24, two machines were operating at the school. The grant included both machines that have two dispensers each, the stainless-steel
Turn to BBE DISPENSER | Page 6
Page 2 • Dairy Star • Saturday, November 25, 2023
North America dealers. Farm bill extension includes DMC funding
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The farm bill has been extended through Sept. 30, 2024. President Joe Biden signed a continuing resolution, which included the farm bill extension. With this action, the Dairy Margin Coverage program remains in place. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he heard from his dairy farmer constituents about farm bill uncertainty. “They came to me worried that this year we could be going over the dairy cliff,” Schumer said. “I immediately started ringing the cowbell and promised I would churn up support to ensure these payments wouldn’t lapse.”
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Ag Committee leaders work together on farm bill extension The four corners, which is the term given to Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow, Ranking Member John Boozman, House Agriculture Committee Chair Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson and Ranking Member David Scott, worked together to avoid a lapse in farm bill funding. In a joint statement, the lawmakers said, “This extension is in no way a substitute for passing a ve-year farm bill, and we remain committed to working together to get it done next year.” Milk Marketing Order hearing process to resume Testimony on the pricing formula for Federal Milk Marketing Order reform will resume Nov. 27. The hearings outside of Indianapolis were recessed Oct. 11. This process began in late August. The milk marketing orders have not seen signicant reform in more than 20 years. ‘Butter’ days ahead for the dairy industry A new report from CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange said there is tremendous upset potential for domestic butter demand. That is on top of the signicant growth in domestic
butterfat production over the past ten years. While milk consumption is down, CoBank is seeing a bright future for premium butter and butter spreads. The report said more consumers are favoring full-fat dairy foods over reduced fat options.
Ag Insider
House task force seeks reform for H-2A program A U.S. House Committee on Agriculture task force is recommending changes to the H-2A visa program. Their By Don Wick interim report cites a rule imColumnist plemented by the U.S. Department of Labor in January that increased the minimum wage rates for these foreign workers. Nearly 80% of the employers surveyed said administrative delays prevented H-2A workers from starting on a timely basis. Adverse wage effect rule called ‘off target’ National Coalition of Agricultural Employers CEO Michael Marsh is working to turn back a U.S. Department of Labor ruling that requires an employee to be paid the base wage for the highest paying task they perform for the duration of their contract. The purpose of this rule is to encourage hiring of local and domestic labor before using the H-2A program. Marsh said low unemployment numbers make it difcult for those looking for labor. “It’s hard to imagine you’re having Turn to AG INSIDER | Page 5
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Dairy Star • Saturday, November 11, 2023 • Page 3
Millville, MN
Staceyville, IA
Michels siblings are three-sport athletes, active on dairy First Section: Pages 12 - 13
Top Performers: Stelling Farms First Section: Pages 18, 20
Bernard, IA
Stearns County, MN
Conservation pays off for Stearns County dairy farmers Frist Section: Page 26 - 27
Dairy Prole: Jay and Marlene Decker First Section: Page 33
Pine River, MN
Leveringtons are named farm family of the year for Cass County First Section: Page 23
Pipestone, MN
The Day that Went Awry Second Section: Pages 3 - 4
Melrose, MN
Cook, MN
Kids Corner: The Klaphakes Third Section: Pages 10 - 11
Hunting deer, talking dairy Third Section: Pages 3- 4
FROM OUR SIDE OF THE FENCE: What are you thankful for? First Section: Pages 15 -16
Ames, IA
Navigating the dry period Third Section: Page 13
For additional stories from our other zone, log on to www.dairystar.com
Zone 1
Zone 2
Columnists Ag Insider Pages 2, 5 First F Section
Something S to Ruminate On Page 34 Fi First Section
Dea County Dear Ag Agent Guy P Page 36 First Firs Section
Ju Thinking Just Out Loud Page 38 F First Section
Dairy Good D Life Page 39 First Fir Section
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Dairy Star • Saturday, November 25, 2023 • Page 5
ConƟnued from AG INSIDER | Page 2 an adverse effect on a domestic worker when they don’t even apply for the job,” Marsh said. While the petition will take time to work its way through the courts, he said, Congress could take action. “If there is no adverse effect, there is no need for an adverse effect wage rate,” Marsh said. Shapiro delivers a ‘big picture’ look at ag issues For decades, the United States was the sole global superpower. In the view of geopolitical analyst Jacob Shapiro, the shift has been made to multipolarity without a dominant global power. In this environment, Shapiro said, U.S. agriculture needs a more focused trade policy with countries who share its interests. “So, China is probably not a long-term partner for us on a trade or economic basis; our interests are just not in common,” said Shapiro. “Neither is a country like Mexico, which is already angry at us for a lot of different reasons, or Japan. We need to solidify relationships with those countries that we know are not hostile to American interests but still want to import American goods.” Shapiro, who is a partner with Cognitive Investments, has a mixed view regarding biofuels. “If we haven’t xed global hunger, why are we taking calories and putting them into fuel, especially when we’re awash in natural gas?” Shapiro said. “We could be building nuclear reactors, and there’s solar and wind. The idea of growing crops for energy when you have plenty of other energy sources, there’s cognitive disconnect there that I can’t work out.” Shapiro said he remains optimistic about the next ve to ten years. Shapiro spoke Thursday at the Ag and Food Summit in Minneapolis. Interest rate concerns The results of the annual Ag Lender Survey were released at the Agricultural Bankers Conference. Farmer Mac Chief Economist Jackson Takach said the survey showed a slight shift in the biggest concern for lenders. “Interest rate volatility became the No. 1 concern that ag lenders reported facing their institution,” Takach said. Lender competition and credit quality were found to be less important. According to lenders, liquidity and farm income are the biggest concerns for producers.
AgriGrowth Council elects slate of directors Six current Minnesota AgriGrowth Council board members have been reelected. They are Mark Davis of Davis Family Farm, Jake Hamlin of CHS, Hillary Myers of Cargill, Rob Orsten of R&R Family Farms, Beth Schnell of Sparboe Companies and Matt Wohlman of Land O’Lakes. Newly elected board members are Geraint Powell of Rosen’s Diversied, Jim Roberge of Compeer Financial, Jaime Goehner of ADM Dairy, Tom Rabaey of General Mills and Chuck Tryon of Bushel Boy. Veteran board members Tom Rosen of Rosen’s Diversied and Steve Peterson of Peterson Farms did not seek re-election. MN Farm Broadcasters shine at NAFB convention The National Association of Farm Broadcasting wrapped up its 80th convention with the passing of the gavel from President Joe Gill to Presidentelect Carah Hart. Gill, who is the farm director at KASM Radio in Albany, will serve as NAFB president until the end of the year, but the ceremonial passing of the gavel took place at the Kansas City convention. Hart, who is based in Missouri for Browneld Ag, previously was a farm broadcaster for the Red River Farm Network. During the event, retired farm broadcaster Mike Murphy was inducted into the NAFB Hall of Fame. Murphy was the farm director at KFMC-KSUM in Fairmont for ve decades. Trivia challenge India is the largest producer of butter worldwide. That answers our last trivia question. For this week’s trivia, what country consumes the most butter on a per-capita basis? We’ll have the answer in our next edition of Dairy Star. Don Wick is owner/broadcaster for the Red River Farm Network, based in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Wick has been recognized as the National Farm Broadcaster of the Year and served as president of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting. Don and his wife, Kolleen, have two adult sons, Tony and Sam, and ve grandchildren, Aiden, Piper, Adrienne, Aurora and Sterling.
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Page 6 • Dairy Star • Saturday, November 25, 2023
Con�nued from BBE DISPENSER | Page 1
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Director of food service Pa�y Viaene (le�) and principal Laura Spanier prepare to add a 50-pound bag of milk to one of the milk dispenser machines Nov. 9 at Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa High School in Belgrade, Minnesota. During the school’s adjustment from milk cartons to dispensers, various staff, including Spanier, have stepped in to help change bags during lunch�me. tables to put them on and dishwasher racks lled with the needed number of plastic glasses. BBE Schools purchases 50-pound bags of milk for the dispensers from Prairie Farms. At rst, lunch staff offered chocolate milk at two dispensers and white at the other two. However, they soon changed the ratio. “We have three chocolate (dispensers) and one white,” Spanier said. “The chocolate is denitely what we are changing out faster.” Another option many students choose is to mix chocolate and white. “I think students get a little more ownership in it — such as if they want to mix it — and they don’t have to take a full cup,” Spanier said. “They have more control in what and how much they’re drinking.” Both avors come in 1% milkfat because of government dietary guidelines for all school meals, which are now free to all students in Minnesota. Students receive an 8-ounce glass of milk with their meals and can purchase a second glass for 50 cents. “We have more kids coming back for second milks than we did with cartons,” Spanier said. Spanier credits the taste. “You get a better-tasting product — a cold product — that is more consistent and that correlates to not turning kids away from milk because of a bad-tasting milk,” Spanier said. “It increases consumption.” Student and staff reactions have been positive. “It’s a good change,” said Max Heieie, junior. “It’s easier to get milk.” Max’s twin brother, Gunnar, agreed. “You don’t taste a little bit of cardboard when you take a sip of it,” he said. Sophomore Aiden Radermacher approves of his dad’s, Radermacher, efforts to bring fresh milk to the school. “It tastes a lot better out of a cup,” he said. “It’s a more natural avor. We also reduce waste; we reuse better. It’s good to have local (milk) in the school because it pulls the community together.” Lunch staff, led by food service director Patty Viaene, were on board with adjusting to the change. “The rst couple of days, it took all of us a little time to gure out how to make it all work, but it’s gone well,” Viaene said. “I thought there would be a lot more spilling, but I don’t think hardly any spills happened.” They made adjustments as needed. For instance, they rst put the dishwasher racks for depositing used plastic cups at the end of the cleanup line. Kids had previously put their used silverware in a plastic bin and then dumped cartons, napkins and leftover food off their trays into the garbage before depositing their trays at the end. This ingrained process led to many cups ending up in the garbage by accident. A simple switch to moving cup
racks to the beginning of the cleanup line took care of the problem. Viaene complements lunch staff for being open to changing their system in order to help their school. “Denitely the garbage is less because of the cartons, and the kids are drinking more milk,” Viaene said. “Kids like using (the dispensers), and I don’t mind lling them. I also nd it exciting.” The decision to add dispensers created somewhat of a fresh-milk renaissance at BBE High School. “I had heard that Melrose (High School) athletes get free milk after they are done lifting because there are a whole bunch of benets from chocolate milk replenishing a body after workouts and practices,” Spanier said. “So, I talked with Nate Teres at Stoney Creek (Dairy). He said, ‘Buy the milk from us, and we’ll get you the machine.’” As of Nov. 13, students in physical education classes as well as athletes began having access to free chocolate milk after workouts because a milk dispenser machine from Stoney Creek was installed in the ofce of the weight room. “The kids can have as much as they want; it’s free for our students,” Spanier said. “We fund it through our fun run.” The fun run is the school district’s big annual fundraiser that helps support needs across all grades and schools in the district. BBE High School is also working with Stoney Creek Dairy to offer pint bottles of milk in its concessions stand. Stoney Creek Dairy was willing to let the school try selling milk on a trial basis. Selling bottles of milk brings with it logistics challenges because of the faster expiration date in comparison to pop, but the school will rst try selling milk during the winter season when concessions are busier with more indoor sporting events leading to faster product movement. One of the greatest benets of the school’s focus on milk, Spanier said, is how it highlights the community. “It brings focus back to our rural area — a large number of our students come from farming families, and we are a farming community,” Spanier said. “For those kids, it’s a different work ethic; they are getting up early in the morning and milking cows and then coming to school and not being able to participate sometimes because they have to go home and milk cows. To see them have some ownership and have some joy in this is a really cool thing. They can say, ‘This is my hard work; this is my family’s hard work.’” Viaene agreed. She shared a story of a student in the cafeteria recently asking her several questions about the milk dispensers. She could tell from his questions that he was from a dairy farm family. He asked her where the school got the milk that the students were drinking. Viaene smiled and answered him. “This is your milk,” she said.
Dairy Star • Saturday, November 25, 2023 • Page 7
ConƟnued from FANCSALIS | Page 1
By March, the Fancsalis had agreed to move to the farm and had begun the process of getting nanced through the bank and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency. Katie’s parents looked at the farm for them since they were about three hours away. “They (said), ‘It’s got good bones; it’s a good place to start,’” Katie said. Bradley said he did not see the farm until about two weeks before they moved there. In late May, after having fullled their 60-day notice with the farm in Dodgeville, they moved their 30 head of cattle and a crateful of barn cats to their new home. When the Fancsalis arrived, they did not own the farm and their FSA loan had yet to be approved. “Sometimes you have to just jump off the cliff,” Bradley said. The loan was approved by July. “We really came here on a wing and a prayer (and thinking), ‘Fingers crossed. I hope this works,’” Katie said. They worked with McGowan for the next two milkings to learn the farm and setup. It was a stressful time. Bradley said he had a migraine for about a week — and he does not usually get migraines. The Fancsalis said, if they were visiting with someone else preparing to go through a similar transition, they would tell them to build in more time with
AMY KYLLO/DAIRY STAR
Buckley Fancsali plays with feed and his toy truck Nov. 14 on his family’s farm near Hayeld, Minnesota. The Fancsalis switched the herd they purchased in 2022 from grass to a total mixed raƟon. the past owner to learn the setup, unlike they had done with their transition. “If you’re buying from a specic person, ask that person everything that you can think of,” Katie said. “(The previous owner) ran that farm successfully for years. They’re going to be your best resource.” Initially, the Fancsalis lived
with Katie’s parents for about a month. McGowan moved to his new home about a week after they arrived. The house was sold as is, so the Fancsalis spent several weeks making interior updates to the home and completing other tasks before moving in. The farm had previously been a seasonal, rotationally
grazed farm. The Fancsalis decided to go away from seasonal milking and to start feeding a total mixed ration. The last of the Fancsalis’ spring 2022 calving cows will calve in this December after being switched from seasonal. Bradley said the cows are transitioning and that it seemed to be most difcult for the mid-
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aged cows to adjust versus the young cows and the old cows. The Fancsalis have taken out most of the pasture and put them into elds. The farm is about 120 acres, 100 of which is tillable. They also were able to take over the farm’s land leases, which gives them another 110 acres of land. The couple practices no till and plants cover crops. They rely on cover crops for more feed, and these practices help with soil health and prevent erosion. In their rotation, they have corn, sorghum-sudan and alfalfa as well as cover crops which mostly consist of rye but include cover crop mixes. Production-wise, Bradley hopes to get the herd average to 65 pounds a day within the next ve years. He also wants to increase the herd’s milk components. The herd is mostly Jersey, Brown Swiss, Holstein and Red & White. Their components are 5.1% butterfat and 3.7% protein. Bradley would like to average between 5.6% and 6% butterfat. He said the herd has reached 5.6% before. For protein, Bradley would like to be at or above 4%. The herd has reached 4% before. In the far future, the Fancsalis would like to put up new buildings such as a freestall barn, a milking area and a house. Today, after already having come so far, the Fancsalis said they are thankful for all who have helped them on their journey.
Page 8 • Dairy Star • Saturday, November 25, 2023
Outstanding in their eld Didiers recognized for conservation practices By Tiffany Klaphake tiffany.k@dairystar.com
OSAKIS, Minn. — Conservation has always been at the forefront of Didier Farms LLC and Didier Dairy LLC, incorporating cover crops, notill practices and other environmentally friendly methods. The Didiers also work with the Todd County Soil and Water Conservation District for the farm’s manure management plan. These reasons and others are why the Didier family was named Todd County’s 2023 Outstanding Conservationists. Gerryl “Fritz” Didier, his wife, Sharon, and their two grown children, Nick Didier and Kayla Bromenshenkel, all work together and have ownership in the farm near Osakis. “Everybody takes care of their farm and land for the next generation,” Fritz said. Sharon agreed. “It’s just what we do,” she said. Sharon and Kayla manage the 120 cows that are milked with robotic milking units, while Fritz and Nick handle eldwork — 1,250 acres of corn, soybeans, alfalfa and wheat. They also operate a
custom planting and chopping business. After Nick graduated from high school, he went to college for diesel mechanics. Kayla went to college for dairy management. Today, they are both using their skillsets to farm full time with their parents. “My driving force is to keep the farm in the family and pass it onto the next generation,” Fritz said. “A lot of people have asked me what I did to get my kids to stay on the farm. I didn’t do anything special; they were with my wife and I all the time. They chose to come back to the farm on their own.” The Didier farm has been in the family since 1911. Each generation has passed on an appreciation for the farm’s land, dedication to quality animal care and a sense of community for helping neighbors in times of need. Trying new things is a mainstay for the Didiers, who often try emerging conservation methods on their farm before others do. They were considered pioneers when they utilized reduced tillage in the 1980s, a new concept to most farmers then. By 1990, the Didiers stopped plowing their ground altogether, using a ripper on some of their ground while experimenting with no till in their soybean elds. “I have been experimenting with no till since the early
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Kayla Bromenshenkel (front, from leŌ), holding Boone Bromenshenkel, and Sharon Didier, holding Keeva Bromenshenkel; (back, from leŌ) Nick Didier and Gerryl “Fritz” Didier stand together on their farm near Osakis, Minnesota. The Didiers milk 120 cows with a roboƟc milking system. 1990s,” Fritz said. “One year, we had a lot of erosion in this one eld, and then I started using the ripper or using crops. I have not had any problems with erosion. It works great on
lighter ground.” In the years since, the Didiers have worked with the local SWCD to regulate both their manure and irrigation management. The Di-
diers worked closely with the SWCD in 2015 when they built their robot barn and redid their manure pit. Having land right up against the Sauk River and Guernsey Lake made the Didiers even more determined to be good stewards of the land. They have their soil moisture tested weekly during the growing season to help them regulate the variable rates of their irrigators. Maintaining soil health is important to the Didiers, and they have taken several measures to preserve their soil and prevent erosion. Some of their acreage is highly erodible land, and they follow an HEL management plan to decide crop rotation, tillage methods and cover crops. Earlier this year, the Didiers used cover crops on their HEL, planting rye, triticale and oats. They put up ryelage and oatlage this year from cover crops. They also have land enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program and have adopted modern techniques such as transitioning their equipment to having tracks instead of tires to reduce soil compaction and using GPS to better manage their crops. Even when doing custom work, the Didiers make sure to do the best job that they can. “I do a lot of custom work, planting and harvesting, and I Turn to DIDIERS | Page 10
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ConƟnued from DIDIERS | Page 8
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want to do the best job possible for the people I plant and harvest for,” Fritz said. “I told myself that if I’m going to be a farmer, I’m going to do it with nice machinery.” The Didiers family has a strong sense of community and plays an active role with various community organizations. They have hosted farm tours for conservation organizations to share about their practices. Their reach goes beyond their own community in that they have hosted visitors from abroad on several occasions. “They liked seeing the cows and the robots,” Fritz said. As the Didiers look to the future, they are letting their children make more of the decisions. That is why they recently formed a limited liability company so that Fritz, Sharon, Nick and Kayla would each have ownership in the farm. “We communicate very well,” Fritz said. “That is keeping us thriving.” Fritz said he is lucky to be able to farm each and every day. “It doesn’t get any better than this — farming with my kids and my grandkids by my side,” Fritz said. “It’s awesome.”
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Dairy Star • Saturday, November 25, 2023 • Page 11
Calf management for healthier immune systems Reed discusses feeding, effects of dry cow stress, vaccines By Amy Kyllo
amy.k@star-pub.com
The Dairy Calf and Heifer Association hosted a webinar Oct. 12 titled “Connecting the dots between calf immunity, health and management.” The featured speaker was Dr. Kelly E. Reed, DVM, who works for Diamond V as a ruminant technical eld specialist. The session focused on calf immunity and featured how this connects to colostrum and nutrition needs and the effects of dry cow manageDr. Kelly E. Reed, DVM ment on the next genDiamond V eration of calves and vaccine protocols. Reed began her presentation with an overview of calf anatomy as it relates to immunity. The immune system features three layers of defense. The rst is the physical barriers which include skin, mucus, secretions and more. The second barrier is the innate barrier which includes the non-specic immune response. The third barrier is the acquired barrier with its specic immune responses. Since the rst barrier is reliant on water, to help keep calves healthy, Reed said, producers need to make sure they are hydrated. “Hydration is super important ... to maintain that cellular integrity,” Reed said. “We also need water in our vasculature and our blood system for cells to be able to move throughout the body.” Calves are born without an immune system. Because of this, they must receive immunoglobulins from colostrum in order to have any defense in the rst two to three weeks of life. Reed said regular colostrum immunoglobulins have a half-life of approximately 28.5 days, and colostrum replacer has a halflife of 19.1 days to 23.9 days. Reed said timely receipt of colostrum is key. “Two hours is really the magic timeframe,” Reed said. “Those calves do so much better if we get that colostrum in there within two hours.” Reed said that if colostrum is clean and fed within two hours of birth, there is not an advantage to pasteurizing colostrum before feeding. However, she said for less ideal management situations or long-term storage, using a low-temperature long-time pasteurization can be benecial. However, it does not solve poor handling problems. “Garbage in is garbage out, right?” Reed said. “Pasteurization doesn’t sterilize it. It just reduces the bacterial load.” Reed said colostrum should be harvested as soon as possible so that there are the highest levels of immunoglobulins present, and it should be kept clean and cooled down quickly to keep the amount of bacteria down. It is benecial, Reed said, for calves to receive at least a second feeding of colostrum because it helps decrease deaths and improve gain in calves who received this meal ve to six hours after birth, according to a study by Abuelo, et al 2021. For dairy farms that have their colostrum management system well under control, Reed
said she suggests that they start incorporating transition milk for the second through sixth feedings. Research by Van Soest, et al 2021, found that at 5 days of age, calves that had received transition milk showed signicant improvements in development, weight, health scores and number of immune cells in the gut. Another important item for calf health, Reed said, is the nutrition and energy given to calves. “Are we feeding these calves to grow and thrive, or are we really just feeding these calves to survive?” Reed said. Cows will spend their energy rst on maintenance, then on growth with bone and muscle development and then nally on reproductive and lactation performance. Immune responses take a signicant amount of energy. A 1-degree Celsius fever results in a 10% to 13% higher metabolism rate, according to Kluger and Rothenberg, Science, 1979. “As soon as we have one of these immune challenges, then we have less resources for maintenance and growth,” Reed said. “We increase the chance that we’re going to have mortality due to the buildup of damage and then the energy it takes to repair that damage.” Another topic Reed covered was the effects of dry cow stress on the calves they give birth to. “We really need to think harder about how we’re managing those dry cows,” Reed said. “How can we mitigate stress in the dry cow? … It’s having a signicant effect on these calves.” Though there are multiple stress factors that can be present in dry cows, one of the stress factors that has had research completed on it is heat stress. Heat stress can cause calves to have a shorter gestation period. To illustrate the challenges of this, Reed compared a premature calf to a premature human. “A preemie baby (spends) time in the neonatal ICU and they get all this special care because they don’t have complete organ development,” Reed said. “That’s the same thing that’s happening in these calves.” Reed said, according to LaPorta, et al 2020, the effects of premature birth include decreased capacity to absorb immunoglobulin G, lower circulating IgG, more susceptibility to disease, lower birthweight, smaller body size and lower feed intakes. These calves are less likely to make it to rst lactation or to the lactations after that, and they have a shortened productive life by ve months. The shortened gestation period also affects the amount of time for colostrogenesis, which begins over a month before calving. “If we shorten up those dry periods, we lose the opportunity to get as much quality colostrum as possible,” Reed said. “We don’t get as many immunoglobulins developed and then transferred into that colostrum.” When it comes to vaccines, Reed said she encourages them to be farm specic and even possibly have a seasonality component to the plan as well. “It’s super important that we don’t get caught up in what somebody else is doing,” Reed said. “When we’re talking about vaccine protocols, there is really no one-size-ts-all.” Reed said giving vaccines to very young calves presents challenges. “We’re just using up those maternal antibodies,” Reed said. “You can prime for that memory response to some extent, but in calves less than a month old, you’re really not going to see that unless they didn’t get any passive immunity from mom.” Reed said using mucosal vaccines in these young calves can work better because this type of vaccine does not interact with maternal antibodies as much.
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Page 12 • Dairy Star • Saturday, November 25, 2023
Michels siblings are three-sport athletes, active on dairy
Farm-kid work ethic
By Amy Kyllo
amy.k@star-pub.com
STACYVILLE, Iowa — Upon rst look at the Michels family’s haymow, everything seems pretty normal. Hay is stacked on one side, and across the way, a plywood structure blends into the scene. However, when the door of that plywood room opens, it reveals a lighted, nished wrestling area covered in mats. When the Michels children nish milking in the parlor below, they can go up to the haymow and practice. The Michels family — David, Heidi and their children — have a 140-cow dairy farm on the outskirts of Stacyville. There, the family blends an active sports life with farming. Noah, the oldest child, is in college, while Christian, Mariah and Korben are a senior, junior and sophomore, respectively. Each of the younger trio is a three-sport athlete who has competed in a state tournament. Mariah also
AMY KYLLO/DAIRY STAR
Mariah (from leŌ), Heidi, David, Korben and ChrisƟan Michel stand in their freestall barn Nov. 8 on their dairy farm near St. Ansgar, Iowa. The Michels milk 140 cows.
was instrumental in helping bring a girls wrestling program to St. Ansgar Community High School. Christian led as captain of the football team the past two years and has volunteered many years with the wrestling Youth Booster Club as an assistant teacher. What sets the siblings apart, according to their coaches, is their work ethic. “The biggest trait is they
work hard,” said Barry Kittleson, St. Ansgar’s boys head wrestling coach. “You don’t have to tell them to; you don’t have to remind them. They’re there.” The Michelses are all wrestlers and on the track team. Christian and Korben also play football, and Mariah plays volleyball. Girls wrestling is in its second year as a sanctioned sport in the state of Iowa.
Mariah started wrestling in middle school, and the boys started in booster club. During her freshman year, Mariah wrestled on the boys team under Kittleson and placed fourth at the girls state tournament. Last year, after Iowa sanctioned girls wrestling, Mariah was part of the North Central Trailblazers, a girls team from ve schools in the area, and she placed fourth at state again.
This past spring, Mariah and senior Emma Hall worked to bring girls wrestling to St. Ansgar. Mariah and her mom spoke with the athletic director to know what steps and barriers there were to having their own program, gured out how many people were interested in being part of a team, helped nd a coach and presented before the school board, which unanimously approved the request. “It’s really cool because when I rst started, there were only two of us (girls) wrestling at our school,” Mariah said. “Now that’s grown to be a lot more, and it’s been the same for other schools.” The St. Ansgar’s girls high school team has seven wrestlers, and a large number of middle schoolers are interested in wrestling when they reach high school. Mariah’s wrestling coach, Katie Walk, coached against her last year and said Mariah’s work ethic and determination were clear to her even then as a competing coach. Now she said she sees the behind-thescenes effort Mariah puts in with nutrition, weight lifting and dedication that brings her to 5:30 a.m. wrestling practice 10 minutes early. Turn to MICHELS | Page 13
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Dairy Star • Saturday, November 25, 2023 • Page 13
ConƟnued from MICHELS | Page 12
AMY KYLLO/DAIRY STAR
Korben (from leŌ), Mariah and ChrisƟan Michel gather on a beam next to their wrestling room Nov. 8 in the haymow of their barn near St. Ansgar, Iowa. All three of the Michels are wrestlers, and ChrisƟan and Mariah have both gone to state in wrestling.
“For the goals she sets for herself, she understands the amount of work that’s going to be put into them,” Walk said. “She doesn’t ever just expect to be handed success.” Walk described Mariah as a “silent leader” who the other girls look up to. One of the ways that Mariah, Christian and Korben prepare for their sports is by lifting weights three times a week year-round. “Getting up in the morning to lift and (do) agility (training) is pretty easy because you get up in the morning to milk cows,” Christian said. “The cows aren’t going to milk themselves. ... You have to get up no matter what.” Christian’s and Korben’s favorite sport is football. Both brothers said that one of the things they enjoy is playing on the eld together. They both were starters this past fall on
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their team which advanced to the state quarternals. The football coach, Drew Clevenger, who also overlooks the lifting program, said the siblings are good workers. “The fact that they’re as effective as they are on both sides of the ball on offense and defense is just a testament to their work ethic and athletic ability,” Clevenger said. “They’re both just incredibly tough kids. I mean, in terms of pound for pound toughness, I’m not sure we’ve had a lot of kids in my 24 years here that are tougher pound for pound than they are.” He also said Christian is a good leader for the team. As the oldest, Christian wants to help his siblings become better. “(I want to) get them to be the best they can because it’s fun to play varsity with them,” Christian said. Not only are the siblings busy
AMY KYLLO/DAIRY STAR
ChrisƟan (leŌ) and Korben Michel wrestle Nov. 8 in the wrestling room in the haymow of their barn near St. Ansgar, Iowa. ChrisƟan and Korben, as well as their sister Mariah, are three-sport athletes and acƟve on their family’s dairy farm.
with athletics, they also are active on the dairy farm. They help with milking on the weekends, apply manure and do eldwork, especially forage harvesting. Christian cuts the hay and packs the pile, Korben merges, and Mariah rakes or hauls loads. The Michelses are also part of 4-H and FFA. Currently, Christian and Mariah are in FFA, and Mariah is the secretary of their chapter. Korben is in 4-H and FFA and is the vice president of the 4-H club. Heidi sees how dairy farm work
has helped her children in sports. “Through the years, when we’re chopping and the rain is coming, you just keep going and going until it’s done,” Heidi said. “They really have built endurance over the years.” Korben’s motivation for sports is simple. “I have just always done it, and it is fun to be the best I can be,” Korben said. Christian agreed. “It’s just fun to do, and it’s fun to win,” he said.
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from our side OF THE FENCE What are you thankful for this year?
Jenelle and Morris Medlang Kensett, Iowa Worth County 30 cows What are you thankful for this year? We are really thankful for our farm and for the life we have had on our farm. We raised six kids on it. We are thankful for our crops. Even though we were in a drought, we were able to put up enough feed to feed the cows for another year. We also have a nice bunch of heifer calves this year. Also, we nally did get some rain this fall to help ease the drought conditions we were in. We are very grateful to our family and friends who all pitched in to help when Morris had surgery last spring. He is all healed up now. We are also expecting another grand-baby next April. What are you most grateful for, besides your family? We are grateful for our church and pastor, who helped us through a struggle. We have been blessed with good friends, who are always there for us and are happy for us in good times and help us in tough times. On a daily basis, what are you thankful for? We are thankful for our farm and that we were able to raise our family on the farm and are able to keep farming. It’s been a good life. We are thankful for the little things that farm life provides us, such as the smell of fresh-cut hay, silage or a load of corn coming out of the eld. We are thankful for each healthy calf and that we haven’t had any major breakdowns this year. Also, we are grateful for our friends through the years, who have helped us and given us advice. One of the biggest things we are most thankful for is when our 2-year-old granddaughter said, “I help feed the cows.” We often take the little things in life for granted. How do you show appreciation for the people you work with? We mostly tell them thank you. Sometimes we give them a plate of goodies. We will also try to help them when they need it. What is your Thanksgiving Day tradition? We get to have a house full of our six kids, their spouses and our 18 grandchildren. They don’t all live nearby, but everyone always comes home to the farm for Thanksgiving. So, we have good food, good conversation and good people to share it with. The cousins get to play together, and having our family together under one roof means a lot. This is the one holiday that we do all get together for. Tell us about your farm. We live on the farm that Morris’ grandparents started with in 1920. We have been farming here since we got married 41 years ago. We still milk in the tiestall barn that was built in 1926. We milk 30 Holstein and Brown Swiss cows, and we farm 160 acres. We raise corn, soybeans, oats and alfalfa and have pasture. Our daughter, Sarah, and her son, Zach, help a few days a week, and our neighbor, Aaron Thomas, helps a few nights a week too. Our milk is shipped to Agropur in Le Sueur, Minnesota.
Lincoln Lagerock (pictured with daughter, Kennedi) Marion, South Dakota Turner County 180 cows
What are you thankful for this year? I have been especially thankful for our friends and neighbors. We had a run of bad luck this fall. My brother, Logan, fell off a roof and broke his leg, and three weeks later, my dad found out that he needed quadruple bypass surgery. It wasn’t a very good feeling going into silage chopping and harvest with two guys recovering from injury/surgery, but our friends and neighbors stepped in and helped us. We were able to get things done. What are you most grateful for, besides your family? I am most thankful for all the people I am surrounded with. Whether it’s employees, our vet, the people at the feed mill or anybody we work with, it seems like they are always going out of their way to help us, especially when we’re in bad situations. On a daily basis, what are you thankful for? I am thankful every day that I’m able to do what I love. Not every day is easy, but getting to spend all of my time on the farm is worth all the struggles. How do you show appreciation for the people you work with? I just try to say thank you to everyone as much as I can even if it’s for doing an everyday task. I acknowledge it when someone puts in extra effort or does a good job. What is your Thanksgiving Day tradition? Thanksgiving usually isn’t a whole lot different than a normal day. We get our chores and some other things done in the morning and then have a big dinner with the whole family. We maybe stay in the house a little longer and watch some football, and then we go back outside for afternoon chores and whatever else needs to be done. Tell us about your farm. We are a fth-generation family farm, but my second oldest brother, Landon, and I are rst-generation dairy farmers. We started dairying in July of 2017 with 15 cows in a single-8 herringbone parlor that had been sitting empty on our farm. We got up to 60 cows in that facility, and in November of 2019, we started renting a 200-cow freestall barn with a double-8 parabone parlor. We have built our herd up to 180 cows since then. The farm includes my parents, Karolyn and Larry, my wife, Haley, our daughter, Kennedi, my brothers, Logan and Lawton, and a few employees. Our family’s farming operation includes raising row crops, cow/calf pairs, fat cattle and bison. We also do some custom farming.
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Austin and Kiley Dobmeier Albany, Minnesota Stearns County 70 cows What are you thankful for this year? We are very thankful for the harvest we received this year considering the lack of rain. We are also very thankful to have healthy and productive cattle. Most importantly, we are very thankful to have welcomed our daughter into the farm life and to be able to make memories as a family of three. What are you most grateful for, besides your family? We are grateful for farm life — grateful that every day is different and rewarding and we can be outside in the fresh air. Also, we are grateful to be able to work with the cows every day. We are grateful to be able to raise our family on the farm and work with family every day. On a daily basis, what are you thankful for? We are thankful to be able to wake up every day healthy and safe and to be able to live a life we love and be together as a family. How do you show appreciation for the people you work with? We make it a big part of our lives to always say thank you whenever helping each other out and working together. What is your Thanksgiving Day tradition? We like to gather with family and relatives. We make sure to have a large traditional meal with turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, gravy and dinner rolls. Then we enjoy spending the afternoon visiting and watching football. We always nish the day off with some kind of pie for dessert. Tell us about your farm. We farm with Austin’s parents, Tom and Anita. We milk in a tiestall barn and raise all our replacements. Our herd consists primarily of Holsteins with a good portion being Holstein crosses. We farm 150 acres of alfalfa, corn, winter rye and barley. Tom and Austin take care of most of the day-to-day tasks. Kiley is a registered nurse in St. Cloud and helps on the farm most nights and weekends. Anita does all the bookkeeping and day care for our daughter. Our milk is shipped to First District Association in Litcheld, Minnesota. Turn to OUR SIDE | Page 16
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Page 16 • Dairy Star • Saturday, November 25, 2023
ConƟnued from OUR SIDE | Page 15 Delvin Nolt Dodge Center, Minnesota Dodge County 130 cows
Christy, complain during her cancer journey. She passed away two years ago.
What are you thankful for this year? What I am most thankful for is the people who are around me that care about me. The ones who are there when the times are good and when the times are not good. Having a church with good people who care means so much. Should not life be about relationship? Yes, there are toxic people, but we do not need to be toxic ourselves. There are lots of good people out there. But maybe we do sometimes need to listen to those who may be critical, even those who rub our fur the wrong way. Abraham Lincoln said, “I don’t like that man. I must get to know him better.” What are you most grateful for, besides your family? I just love being able to partner up with the creator (God) as I farm. I get to see many miracles each day. Seeing the seeds that we plant bring forth a harvest, seeing a newborn calf on wobbly feet. Seeing the red-tailed hawk that so faithfully nest in our woods and feeds on mice while cutting hay or baling. Seeing a beautiful sunrise or sunset. Living life in the country, especially Minnesota, has its rewards. On a daily basis, what are you thankful for? Having good health. There is no dollar amount that can buy good health. We have made great advancement in our health care system, and that is great, but at the end of the day when you have good health, enjoy it and be thankful for it. We never know when it may be our turn. We can nd thankfulness even when our health is deteriorating. I never heard my wife,
How do you show appreciation for the people you work with? Relationships are valuable, and the older I get, the more I realize that. Do not take advantage of someone to get your own gain but to value what they can contribute to the operation. Find their strong points and use that. To listen and be slow to respond is what I try to live by, not saying that I always succeed in that, but sometimes I get it switched around. What is your Thanksgiving Day tradition? Our tradition is that our church gets together for a short Thanksgiving service in the morning followed by a big Thanksgiving dinner. You may nd items like smoked turkey, stufng, sweet potatoes, cranberry salad and dessert — yes, the stuff that is common to a Thanksgiving dinner. I’m not a big pumpkin fan, but if there is pumpkin pie or any kind of pumpkin dessert, I will take my serving of pumpkin and enjoy it — my yearly tradition. Tell us about your farm. Growing up, I hated cows and said I would never dairy farm. It took me 20 years of working for a crop farmer. I enjoyed those years and don’t regret them, but coming back to the dairy seemed like a good thing to do. I appreciate being my own boss and getting to work with my children. Our milk is sold to Land O’Lakes. Continuing to dial in the small details of running a farm, it is fun to see the payback. My father helps on the farm. He is enjoying the more laid-back schedule since we switched to a robotic milking system in June. The children seem to enjoy the farm life. Maleah, my oldest daughter, has been a big help on the dairy and with the calves. Shawn helps with eldwork and feeding. Deklan and Brenden might as well have been twins. They are always together. They help with the small chores and occasionally will assist a cow in the robot that needs help. We love it and hope to have many more enjoyable years.
Joe Wuethrich Brownton, Minnesota McLeod County 30 Milking Cows
On a daily basis, what are you thankful for? I’m thankful for my health every day and that I am able to get out of bed and continue running both of my businesses.
What are you thankful for this year? I am thankful for my wife taking over the care for the youngstock so that I have more time for my other stuff. I am also thankful for my dad, that when I am busy at work or making hay, he can keep the construction projects going so that they are done before winter.
What is your Thanksgiving Day tradition? We go to my wife’s parents down by Cleveland and St. Peter and spend the day down there with them.
How do you show appreciation for the people you work with? I just let them know that they are appreciated. I try to go out of my way to tell them thanks for everything they do even though it might be hard at times.
Tell us about your farm. I ship my milk to Bongards. I have only been milking here for seven years. I used to have a at parlor with a free stall, but I ran out of What are you most grateful for, besides your room, so I gutted the barn and put in comfort stalls and a barn cleaner this summer. family? As challenging as it can be, I’m grateful My wife takes care of the youngstock, and my dad, who is retired, comes out and to work in the dairy industry. I’ve been milking cows on and off since I was in high helps with any construction projects. school in 1997. I am also grateful for being able to run an equipment dealership and being able to help other farmers.
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TOP PERFORMERS Brent and Jake Stelling of Stelling Farms Inc. | Millville, Minnesota | Wabasha County | 300 cows
How many times a day do you milk, and what is your current herd average, butterfat and protein? We milk three times daily. Our herd average is 32,491 pounds of milk, with 1,404 pounds of butterfat and 1,029 pounds of protein. This equals 4.4% fat and 3.2% protein.
corn silage and 25%-30% dry matter of haylage for a total of 59%-70% forage. We also feed high-moisture ground shelled corn, a small amount of soy hulls, linseed meal, custom mineral mix and palm fat. We have increased the amount of corn silage somewhat but not signicantly.
Describe your housing and milking facility. We have a double-8 parallel parlor and a 6-row sand-bedded freestall barn.
Tell us about the forages you plant and detail your harvest strategies. We plant low-lignin alfalfa and try to harvest the rst cutting at 28 inches pre-bud. The rest of the cuttings are taken every 24-28 days depending on weather and plant maturity. We plant regular corn varieties for silage and high moisture. Silage is harvested at 65%-68% moisture, and corn is harvested at 27%-30% moisture.
Who is part of your farm team, and what are their roles? Our family and employees exhibit a strong work ethic, and we work together as a team in all aspects of our farming operation. We all take care of the animals in the best way possible and take pride in doing so. What is your herd health program? Our veterinarian comes every other Friday morning to do ultrasound pregnancy checks on our cows and heifers. Vaccination occurs on a weekly and monthly schedule. What does your dry cow and transition program consist of? The cows are dry
AMY KYLLO/DAIRY STAR
Jake and Brent Stelling stand in their freestall barn Nov. 8 on their dairy near Millville, Minnesota. The Stellings use genomics to make breeding and culling decisions on their farm.
for an average of 60 days. They are dried up and hauled to our other farm to a loosehousing shed. The cows are fed a total mixed ration consisting of grass hay, straw, rye/oats silage, haylage, corn silage and mineral. One week prior to their calving date, the
cows are brought home to the milking freestall barn where they are put in the pre-fresh bed pack pen. This feed ration consists of straw, haylage, corn silage and mineral. After calving, the fresh cows are milked and put into the fresh pen where they are monitored
for an average of 10 days before they go in with the rest of the herd. What is the composition of your ration, and how has that changed in recent years? Our ration consists of 33%-40% dry matter of
What is your average somatic cell count and how does that affect your production? Our somatic cell count averages around 100,000. Having a low somatic cell count indicates your cows are healthy which coincides with high production. Turn to TOP PERFORMERS | Page 20
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Page 20 • Dairy Star • Saturday, November 25, 2023
ConƟnued from TOP PERFORMERS | Page 18
What change has created the biggest improvement in your herd average? Genomics. We genomic test all of our heifers which has guided us to make important decisions on breeding and culling. High indexing heifers are ushed, and the embryos are placed into lower genetic recipient heifers and cows. We also utilize beef semen on the lower indexing animals. What technology do you use to monitor your herd? None.
What is your breeding program, and what role does genetics play in your production level? We start watching and recording heats on the cows after calving. First breeding starts around 90 days in milk. If cows are showing heat irregularly than 21 days, they are given GnRH or checked by our veterinarian. Cows that have not shown a heat prior to 90 days in milk are checked by the veterinarian and possibly placed on an ovsynch program or brought into heat. Genetics play an important role in our herd’s high production. We have been using A.I. for 65 years using bulls with high milk, fat and protein, along with high type and great health traits. We strive to breed the best cow for our herd.
AMY KYLLO/DAIRY STAR
Cows rest in free stalls Nov. 8 at Stelling Farms Inc. near Millville, Minnesota. The Stellings have a herd average of 32,491 pounds of milk, with 4.4% buƩerfat and 3.2% protein.
List three management strategies that have helped you attain your production and component level. Cow comfort, genetics and highquality forage production. Tell us about your farm and your plans for the dairy in the next year. Our farm has been in our family for over
100 years. We aim to take the best care of our animals and land. We have 300 milk cows, 300 heifers and 200 steers. Our crops consist of 900 acres of corn, alfalfa and winter rye. In the next year, we are looking into purchasing an activity/rumination monitoring system.
AMY KYLLO/DAIRY STAR
Cows stand in free stalls Nov. 8 at Stelling Farms Inc. near Millville, Minnesota. The Stellings’ total mixed raƟon is approximately 59%-70% forage and consists of corn silage, haylage, high-moisture ground shelled corn, soy hulls, linseed meal, custom mineral mix and palm fat.
Dairy Star • Saturday, November 25, 2023 • Page 21
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Case IH 8240 2016, PRWD, Duals, 1289 hrs., 920 Sep. hrs., #572343.....$243,900 Case IH 8250 2022, 2WD, Duals, 1300 hrs., 1000 Sep. hrs., #572186 .....$394,900 Case IH 8250 2022, PRWD, Duals, 1300 hrs., 1000 Sep. hrs., #572189...$409,900 Case IH 8250 2022, PRWD, Tracks, 1100 hrs., 800 Sep. hrs., #572187 ....$489,900 JD 8820 1980, PRWD, Duals, 3900 hrs., #570003 ....................................... $9,900 JD 9500 1990, 2WD, Singles, 5623 hrs., 3908 Sep. hrs., #571471 .............$18,800
JD 9500 1990, 2WD, Singles, 5448 hrs., 3588 Sep. hrs., #571381 .............$21,000 JD 9500 1989, PRWD, Singles, 2675 hrs., 1586 Sep. hrs., #572387 ...........$21,900 JD 9550 2001, 2WD, Singles, 4976 hrs., 3145 Sep. hrs., #572170 .............$52,500 JD 9600 1995, 2WD, Singles, 4000 hrs., #568110 .....................................$28,900 JD 9560 STS 2004, 2WD, Duals, 4638 hrs., 2982 Sep. hrs., #567094.........$52,500 JD 9570 STS 2008, PRWD, Duals, 3464 hrs., 2237 Sep. hrs., #568406 ......$99,500 JD 9570 STS 2009, 2WD, Duals, 2367 hrs., 1597 Sep. hrs., #556547.......$104,900 JD 9570 STS 2009, 2WD, Duals, 2560 hrs., 1630 Sep. hrs., #571894.......$105,900 JD 9650W 2000, 2WD, Duals, 3680 hrs., 2665 Sep. hrs., #568122 ............$45,000 JD 9670 STS 2009, PRWD, Duals, 4140 hrs., 2980 Sep. hrs., #568814 ......$78,400 JD 9750 STS 2001, PRWD, Duals, 5100 hrs., 4800 Sep. hrs., #571375 ......$38,500 JD 9760 STS 2005, 2WD, Singles, 4300 hrs., 2575 Sep. hrs., #571176 ......$79,900 JD 9770 STS 2008, PRWD, Singles, 3480 hrs., 2448 Sep. hrs., #569958 ....$99,900 JD 9870 STS 2010, PRWD, Duals, 3558 hrs., 2425 Sep. hrs., #568308 ......$94,500 JD 9870 STS 2008, PRWD, Duals, 3385 hrs., 2494 Sep. hrs., #566621 ......$97,500 JD 9870 STS 2011, 2WD, Duals, 3809 hrs., 1747 Sep. hrs., #567383.......$109,900 JD S680 2012, 2WD, Duals, 2756 hrs., 2032 Sep. hrs., #552659..............$119,900 JD S680 2014, PRWD, Duals, 2700 hrs., 1950 Sep. hrs., #572388............$129,000 JD S680 2013, 2WD, Duals, 2186 hrs., 1720 Sep. hrs., #571079..............$146,500 JD S680 2013, PRWD, Duals, 2728 hrs., 2010 Sep. hrs., #563909............$160,000 JD S680 2014, PRWD, Duals, 2515 hrs., 1668 Sep. hrs., #531966............$195,000 JD S680 2017, PRWD, Duals, 2787 hrs., 1850 Sep. hrs., #572100............$197,900 JD S690 2017, PRWD, Duals, 2514 hrs., 1605 Sep. hrs., #568113............$239,000 JD S760 2021, 2WD, Duals, 539 hrs., 240 Sep. hrs., #572601..................$369,900 JD S760 2023, 2WD, Duals, 300 hrs., 180 Sep. hrs., #572365..................$499,900 JD S770 2018, PRWD, Duals, 2439 hrs., 1652 Sep. hrs., #549678............$259,900 JD S770 2022, PRWD, Floaters, 58 hrs., 20 Sep. hrs., #563704 ................$546,000 JD S770 2022, PRWD, Duals, 365 hrs., 148 Sep. hrs., #567222................$564,900 JD S770 2022, PRWD, Duals, 284 hrs., 91 Sep. hrs., #567225..................$574,900 JD S780 2018, PRWD, Duals, 2835 hrs., 1901 Sep. hrs., #567178............$234,900 JD S780 2018, PRWD, Duals, 1735 hrs., 1200 Sep. hrs., #571593............$283,500 JD S780 2018, 2WD, Duals, 1224 hrs., 826 Sep. hrs., #555412................$319,000
JD S780 2020, PRWD, Singles, 1640 hrs., 1204 Sep. hrs., #531610 .........$349,000 JD S780 2022, PRWD, Duals, 932 hrs., 750 Sep. hrs., #571615................$489,900 JD S780 2021, PRWD, Duals, 520 hrs., 300 Sep. hrs., #567515................$519,900 JD S780 2021, PRWD, Floaters, 720 hrs., 360 Sep. hrs., #567882 ............$524,900 JD S780 2022, PRWD, Duals, 896 hrs., 420 Sep. hrs., #569414................$529,000 JD S780 2022, PRWD, Singles, 693 hrs., 424 Sep. hrs., #571725 .............$533,000 JD S780 2022, PRWD, Duals, 530 hrs., 347 Sep. hrs., #563635................$549,000 JD S780 2022, PRWD, Floaters, 568 hrs., 323 Sep. hrs., #553546 ............$549,900 JD S780 2022, PRWD, Duals, 254 hrs., 183 Sep. hrs., #554094................$565,000 JD S780 2022, PRWD, Floaters, 432 hrs., 170 Sep. hrs., #554623 ............$569,000 JD S780 2022, PRWD, Duals, 433 hrs., 262 Sep. hrs., #568072................$569,900 JD S780 2022, PRWD, Duals, 316 hrs., 165 Sep. hrs., #567271................$585,000 JD S780 2023, PRWD, Duals, 275 hrs., #545327 .....................................$619,000 JD S780 2022, PRWD, Tracks, 300 hrs., 280 Sep. hrs., #561020 ...............$623,000 JD S780 2023, PRWD, Duals, 88 hrs., 30 Sep. hrs., #545523 ...................$629,900 JD S780 2023, PRWD, Tracks, 400 hrs., 300 Sep. hrs., #572364 ...............$656,000 JD S790 2019, PRWD, Duals, 2003 hrs., 1426 Sep. hrs., #532032............$299,000 JD S790 2018, PRWD, Duals, 1710 hrs., 1218 Sep. hrs., #549845............$309,000 JD S790 2018, PRWD, Duals, 1597 hrs., 1055 Sep. hrs., #549846............$329,000 JD S790 2021, PRWD, Duals, 1758 hrs., 1500 Sep. hrs., #572086............$364,900 JD S790 2021, PRWD, Singles, 1029 hrs., 770 Sep. hrs., #557277 ...........$479,000 JD S790 2020, PRWD, Floaters, 734 hrs., 485 Sep. hrs., #568213 ............$497,000 JD S790 2021, PRWD, Duals, 929 hrs., 551 Sep. hrs., #565421................$499,900 JD S790 2020, PRWD, Singles, 740 hrs., 425 Sep. hrs., #568212 .............$501,000 JD S790 2021, PRWD, Tracks, 1040 hrs., 530 Sep. hrs., #191075 .............$549,500 JD S790 2022, PRWD, Singles, 655 hrs., 438 Sep. hrs., #563815 .............$579,500 JD S790 2022, PRWD, Duals, 627 hrs., 316 Sep. hrs., #566694................$579,900 JD S790 2022, PRWD, Duals, 298 hrs., 155 Sep. hrs., #563325................$599,900 JD S790 2022, PRWD, Duals, 497 hrs., 368 Sep. hrs., #566460................$624,900 JD S790 2022, PRWD, Singles, 264 hrs., 90 Sep. hrs., #557140 ...............$629,900 JD S790 2023, PRWD, Duals, 178 hrs., 100 Sep. hrs., #545821.................$649500
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Page 22 • Dairy Star • Saturday, November 25, 2023
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Dairy Star • Saturday, November 25, 2023 • Page 23
Keeping tradition alive Leveringtons are named farm family of the year for Cass County By Emily Breth Staff Writer
PINE RIVER, Minn. — For 120 years, Leveringtons have been farming in Bungo Township near Pine River, running a dairy and beef operation. This hard work was recently rewarded when the Leverington family was named Cass County Farm Family of the Year. “We were asked if we’d accept (the award) and go to the events that are associated with it,” Greg Leverington said. “We were honored to accept.” Greg’s daughter, Jenny Dalquist, said she believes her grandpa, Glen, would be proud that the family tradition was continued and now received recognition. “Farming runs deep in the family,” Dalquist said. Greg and his wife, Dana, along with their daughters and their families, milk 30 Holstein cows in a tiestall barn, raise around 170 Angus cattle and crop farm a total of 960 acres. Greg said his father had played a part in forming the Minnesota Cattlemen’s Association, which is a seperate organization from the Minnesota State Cattlemen’s Association. After Greg and Dana married, they began attending monthly meetings and are still active
EMILY BRETH/DAIRY STAR
James (leŌ) and Jenny Dalquist, holding their daughter Emilia, gather with Dana and Greg Leverington Nov. 14 at the Leverington family farm near Pine River. The farm consists of 960 acres. within the association. The Leveringtons are also active on their township board, where Dana served as treasurer. Both of the Leveringtons’ daughters served as dairy princesses after high school and were active within community events. Dalquist, her husband, James, and their three children — Everett, Quen-
PHOTO SUBMITTED
JusƟn Hughes (from leŌ), holding daughter Makenna, Kristy Hughes, Dana Leverington, EvereƩ Dalquist, Greg Leverington, Jenny Dalquist, holding daughter Emilia, and James Dalquist, holding son QuenƟn, gather for a family photo. Together the family members run a dairy and beef farm.
tin and Emilia — live at the old farm site just down the road from Greg and Dana’s house. The Leveringtons’ other daughter, Kristy Hughes, her husband, Justin, and their daughter, Makenna, also live nearby. “This is a family farm were the family takes care of it themselves,” Greg said. “(For instance), very seldom do we call the vet out. That’s the way we were brought up. The whole family pitched in and worked.” Greg said the cows are more like pets to him than anything else, and he hates to see any of them leave the farm. Dalquist was able to remember a time when this was proven. “(James and I) had one of the cows named Granny Cow on a trailer, and Dad came and let her out the side door,” Dalquist said. “Dad said, ‘We can’t get rid of Granny Cow; she has to stay forever.’” Greg’s affection for his cows seems to be mutual. “The cows are my best friends,” he said. “I drive in the yard and they come home.” Like the Leveringtons themselves, there are families of their cows that remain on the farm for generations. There are times when the Leveringtons are walking amongst the cows and they will see a calf that is following its grand-dam around instead of staying by its dam.
“The (cattle) stay with their families,” Greg said. “Some people don’t know how smart they are.” Between watching the cattle for health issues, getting cows fed and milked, and doing eldwork, the Leveringtons are also busy with other responsibilities and activities. Dana has worked a full-time job off the farm as bank teller at a few different banks and retired in December 2022. “I learned how to feed the calves from Greg’s dad, Glen,” Dana said. “Now (that I’m retired), I’m able to spend a lot more time with them.” Dana said there are times Greg will not eat until the calves are all taken care of. It does not matter how late it gets. That kind of dedication to their animals is considered normal on their farm. “I don’t think people who are not farmers really understand how much care we take for the animals,” Dalquist said. Like all farm families, the Leveringtons have faced struggles that were thrown at them through the years, but the Leveringtons have always managed to pull together, get the work done and keep the farm running. There is no such thing as a stress- or struggle-free job, and the Leveringtons said they are happy with the job they were born into. “I’ve enjoyed it,” Greg said.
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Page 24 • Dairy Star • Saturday, November 25, 2023
+
DAIRY ST R
THE GREAT
2023 Grand Prize Drawing Will Be Held Wednesday, December 13, 2023 ADULT
THE WINNERS WILL BE POSTED ON WWW.DAIRYSTAR.COM, MILK BREAK NEWSLETTER AND ON FACEBOOK.
“GRAND” PRIZE
2) $500 CASH GIFTS! 17 & UNDER “GRAND” PRIZE
PLUS: 11 DAYS OF
GIVEAWAYS
FOR ADULTS LEADING UP TO GRAND PRIZE DRAWINGS
2) HEIFER CALVES! Gr Calf o and Prize Donn wned by Na ay Sunk comes fr te o is Glen t Acres in m coe, M inn.
“Grand” Prize Heifer Calf:
SUNKIST ROMPEN LAYLA-RED
Born: September 11, 2023 Sire: Trent-Way-Js Rompen-Red-ET Dam: Sunkist Doorman Lennox Nate Donnay is pictured with Sunkist Rompen Layla-Red, the heifer calf that will be given away in the Great Christmas Giveaway drawing.
REGISTER FREE AT ANY OF THE PARTICIPATING BUSINESSES FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN!
Dairy Star • Saturday, November 25, 2023 • Page 25
REGISTER AT THESE PARTICIPATING BUSINESSES:
IOWA
ALLAMAKEE COUNTY • Waukon Veterinary Service Waukon • 563-534-7513 DELAWARE COUNTY • Del-Clay Farm Equipment Edgewood • 563-928-6445 • Edgewood Feed Mill Edgewood • 563-928-6405 DUBUQUE COUNTY • 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 • New Vienna Ag Automation New Vienna • 563-921-2896 • Rexco Equipment Farley • 563-744-3393 • Roeder Implement Dubuque • 563-557-1184 • Scherrmann’s Implement Dyersville • 563-875-2426 • Skip Breitbach Feeds Balltown • 563-552-2393 • Ungs Shopping Center (IAS) Luxemburg • 563-853-2455 CLAYTON COUNTY Windridge Implement Elkader • 563-245-2636 FAYETTE COUNTY • Baumler Implements Inc. West Union • 563-422-3835 • United Dairy Systems West Union • 563-422-5355 • ViaÀeld Elgin • 563-426-5566 FLOYD COUNTY • Livestock Systems Charles City • 641-220-5257 HOWARD COUNTY • Farmers Win Co-op Cresco West • 563-547-3660 • Windridge Implement Cresco • 563-547-3688 SIOUX COUNTY • Sioux Dairy Equipment, Inc. Rock Valley • 712-476-5608 WINNESHIEK COUNTY • Brynsaas Sales & Service Decorah • 563-382-4484 • Franzen Sales & Service Fort Atkinson • 563-534-2724 • Lang’s Dairy Service Decorah • 563-382-8722 • Windridge Implement Decorah • 563-382-3614
DAKOTA COUNTY • Midwest Machinery NorthÀeld • 507-645-4886 • Werner Implement Vermillion • 651-437-4435 DODGE COUNTY • Concord Store and Locker West Concord • 507-527-2736 DOUGLAS COUNTY • Midwest Machinery Alexandria • 320-763-4220 • Osakis Creamery Assn. 320-859-2146 • Pro Ag Farmers Co-op GarÀeld • 320-834-2271 FILLMORE COUNTY • Farmers Win Co-op Rushford • 507-864-2161 • Hammell Equipment Harmony • 507-886-2255 Rushford • 507-864-2845 • Northern Valley Livestock Service ChatÀeld • 507-534-4356 GOODHUE COUNTY • Ag Partners Farm Store Cannon Falls • 507-263-4651 Goodhue • 651-923-4496 Pine Island • 507-356-8313 • Central Livestock Zumbrota • 507-732-7305 • Midwest Livestock Systems, LLC Zumbrota • 507-732-4673 • Midwest Machinery Cannon Falls • 507-263-4238 Wanamingo • 507-824-2256 • Zumbrota Stockman’s Supply Zumbrota • 507-732-7860
OTTER TAIL COUNTY • Bongards’ Perham • 218-346-4680 • Farmers Elevator of Fergus Falls & Henning 218-736-3301 • PCCA-Country Store Perham • 218-346-7075 • Perham Stockyards Perham • 218-346-3415 • Pro Ag Farmers Co-op in Henning 218-583-2947 • Pro Ag Farmers Co-op in Urbank 218-267-2401 PIPESTONE COUNTY • Gorter’s Clay & Dairy Equipment Pipestone • 507-825-3271 POPE COUNTY • Midwest Machinery Glenwood • 320-634-5151
HOUSTON COUNTY • Caledonia Implement Company Caledonia • 507-725-3386 • Farmers Win Co-op Caledonia • 507-725-3306 Houston • 507-896-3147 • Hammell Equipment Eitzen • 507-495-3326 • Midwest Machinery Caledonia • 507-725-7000
STEARNS COUNTY • A&C Farm Service Paynesville • 320-243-3736 • Albany Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram Albany • 320-845-2801 • Arnold’s of Kimball Kimball • 320-398-3800 • Arnold’s of St. Martin St. Martin • 320-548-3285 • Arnzen Construction/St. Rosa Lumber Freeport, In St. Rosa 320-836-2284 or 1-888-276-1751 • Centre Dairy Equipment & Supply Inc. Sauk Centre • 320-352-5762 or 1-800-342-2697 • Dairyland Supply Sauk Centre 320-352-3987 or 1-800-338-6455 • Ecker Feed Service, LLC New Munich • 320-837-5800 • Elrosa Grain & Feed Elrosa • 320-697-5515 • Elrosa Lumber Elrosa • 320-697-5591 • Farm Systems Melrose 1-800-636-5581 • 1-800-247-0012 • Feed Co. Paynesville • 320-243-3938 • Freeport State Bank Freeport • 320-836-2126 Greenwald • 320-987-2265 Melrose • 320-256-7208 • Hartung Sales & Service, Inc. Freeport • 320-836-2697 • Leedstone Melrose • 800-996-3303 • MagniÀ Financial Albany • 888-330-8482 Avon • 888-330-8482 Belgrade • 888-330-8482 Cold Spring • 888-330-8482 Freeport • 888-330-8482 Melrose • 888-330-8482 Paynesville • 888-330-8482 Sauk Centre • 888-330-8482 • Melrose Implement Inc. Melrose • 320-256-4253
ISANTI COUNTY • Midwest Machinery Princeton • 763-263-6000 KANDIYOHI COUNTY • D&D Ag Supply & Construction Pennock • 320-599-4466 • Farm-Rite Equipment Willmar • 877-484-3211 • Midwest Machinery Stewart • 320-562-2630
BENTON COUNTY • Farm-Rite Equipment St. Cloud • 844-262-2281 • First National Bank of MilacaGilman OfÀce • 320-387-2233 • Gilman Co-op Creamery Gilman • 320-387-2770 • Midwest Machinery Sauk Rapids • 320-259-6222
MEEKER COUNTY • Farm-Rite Equipment Dassel • 888-679-4857 • Schlauderaff Implement Co. LitchÀeld • 320-693-7277
CARVER COUNTY • Bongards’ Cologne • 952-466-5521 • Lano Equipment of Norwood Norwood/Young America 952-467-2181
OLMSTED COUNTY • Ag Partners Stewartville • 507-533-4222 • Hammell Equipment ChatÀeld • 507-867-4910
RICE COUNTY • Ag Partners - Agronomy Le Center • 507-357-6868
MCLEOD COUNTY • Leedstone Glencoe • 877-864-5575 • Midwest Machinery Glencoe • 320-864-5571
BROWN COUNTY • New Ulm Regional Vet Clinic New Ulm • 507-233-2500
MOWER COUNTY • Midwest Machinery Grand Meadow • 507-754-1100
GRANT COUNTY • Midwest Machinery Elbow Lake • 218-685-4438
MINNESOTA
BECKER COUNTY • Adkins Equipment Inc. Detroit Lakes • 218-847-3131
• Modern Farm Equipment Pierz • 320-468-2161 • Pierz Co-op Pierz • 320-468-6655 • Sunrise Ag Cooperative Buckman • 320-468-6433 Lastrup • 320-468-2543 Little Rock • 320-584-5147
MILLE LACS COUNTY • First National Bank of Milaca Milaca • 320-983-3101 • Foreston Farmer’s Co-op Creamery Foreston • 320-294-5711 MORRISON COUNTY • Elmdale Creamery Association & Locker Bowlus • 320-573-2607 • Litke’s Veterinary Service Pierz • 320-468-6666 • MagniÀ Financial Little Falls • 888-330-8482 • Midwest Machinery Little Falls • 320-632-5469
• Midwest Machinery Paynesville • 320-243-7474 Sauk Centre • 320-352-6511 • Modern Farm Equipment Sauk Centre • 320-352-6543 • Nutrien Ag Solutions 320-352-6564 STEELE COUNTY • Northland Farm Systems Owatonna • 507-451-3131 SWIFT COUNTY • Midwest Machinery Benson • 320-843-2610 Madison • 320-598-7575 Morris • 320-589-2011 TODD COUNTY • MagniÀ Financial Grey Eagle • 888-330-8482 Long Prairie • 888-330-8482 • Farm-Rite Long Prairie • 866-514-0982 • Olson’s Custom Farm Service Staples • 218-894-2474 • Pro-Ag Farmers Co-op in Browerville Browerville • 320-594-2711 • Pro-Ag Farmers Co-op in Clarissa Clarissa • 218-756-2112 • Pro-Ag Farmers Co-op in Eagle Bend Eagle Bend • 218-738-2552 WABASHA COUNTY • Ag Partners Farm Store Plainview • 507-534-2531 • Beck Implement Elgin • 507-876-2122 • Leedstone Plainview • 800-548-2540 • Midwest Machinery Plainview • 507-534-3116 • Wingert Sales & Service Plainview • 507-534-2285 WADENA COUNTY • Dairyland Equipment of Menahga Menahga • 218-564-4958 • Midwest Machinery Wadena • 218-631-2311 • Olson’s Custom Farm Service Verndale • 218-445-5500 Sebeka • 218-837-5749 WINONA COUNTY • Ag Partners Lewiston • 507-523-2188 • Ag Specialists St. Charles • 507-932-4800 • Elba Co-op Creamery Elba • 507-796-6571 • Kalmes Implement Altura • 507-796-6741 • Lang’s Dairy Equipment Lewiston • 507-452-5532 • Lewiston Rentals and Repairs Lewiston • 507-523-3564 • Midwest Machinery St. Charles • 507-932-4030 WRIGHT COUNTY • Hobert Sales Inc. Cokato • 320-286-6284, 1-800-820-6455 • Midwest Machinery Howard Lake • 320-543-2170
SOUTH DAKOTA BROOKINGS COUNTY • W.W. Tire Brookings • 605-696-7400 CODINGTON COUNTY • Glacial Lakes Livestock Watertown • 605-886-5052 MINNEHAHA COUNTY • Central Valley Dairy Supply Garretson • 605-467-0812 • Midwest Livestock Systems Renner • 605-274-3656
ROBERTS COUNTY • Valley Dairy Supply Corona • 605-432-5224
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 25, 2023
Conservation pays off for Stearns County dairy farmers HASP protability study shows benets By Jan Lefebvre jan.l@star-pub.com
STEARNS COUNTY, Minn. — The movement toward using environmentally sound practices on dairy farms received support this month when Headwaters Agriculture Sustainability Partners released results of a four-year study conducted on Stearns County dairy farms within the Sauk River Watershed. The project explores the return on investment from conservation practices implementation on dairy operations. The study began on three farms in 2019, with more farms added each year. By 2022, 10 farms were involved. As more farms are enrolled and analyzed in the coming years, the project will continue to provide insights. As of now, a total of nearly 4,000 acres is involved in the study. HASP has specically looked at corn silage, corn grain, alfalfa and soybean crops on participating farms and found a correlation between the increased adoption of conservation practices leading to increases in prot
when compared to benchmarks based on data collected on other farms across the same region. “ T h e data collected shows that corn silage and alfalfa crops on the participating farms had higher net returns compared to benchmark Deborah Carter farms, which McCoy are the median SteaEnviromental rns County Initiatives farms for each of the analyzed crops in 2022,” the study stated. “Participating alfalfa and corn grain elds also had more than 40% less soil Tom Gregory erosion than Dairy farmer benchmark elds, resulting in reduced runoff and improved local water quality.”
HASP’s report includes a summary of positive trends recorded on participating farms that shows a 14% higher net prot return, a 5% lower cost of production, 35% less soil erosion and 3% higher yields when compared to benchmark data. Although the report noted that the ongoing study focuses on a small number of farms, it also said that similar research done by other organizations in other regions aligns with HASP’s ndings. Some of the many implemented practices followed in HASP’s study are cover crops, lter strips, grass waterways, minimal till, no till, nutrient management, prescribed grazing, water and sediment control basins, and irrigation water management. Deborah Carter McCoy is director of communications for Environmental Initiative, which assisted in the formation of HASP in 2018. “The mission (of HASP) was to explore solutions to benet the environment, economic vitality of farmers and liveliness of rural communities,” Carter McCoy said. “The diverse group of leaders who envisioned and convened the partnership represent environmental and agricultural organizations. Farmers are an integral part of the partnership, serving in leadership roles and participating in a variety of projects.” Tom Gregory, of Mill Creek
Dairy Farm near Kimball, was one of the rst three dairy farmers to enroll in HASP’s project. His farm milks 675 cows in a double-12 parallel parlor and grows corn and alfalfa, as well as a cover crop of rye, on 500 acres of owned and rented land across three sites. “I felt it was a good idea,” Gregory said. “Record keeping is very important for farming. After all the information about the dairy was compiled, HASP produced a series of graphs which compared Mill Creek to the other dairies — nancially, greenhouse gas (emissions), carbon footprint, etc.” Although HASP informed farmers involved that it would take years to gather enough information for a thorough picture, Gregory said he has already seen his farm benet from changes he made through the program. “We had been implementing cover crops, but because of HASP, we got in much deeper and are now doing at least 150 acres,” Gregory said. “We harvest cover crops for feed in late May then surface apply liquid manure to support a corn crop — corn is planted directly into the rye stubble. Turn to HASP | Page 27
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ConƟnued from HASP | Page 26 We have a manure management plan written by the Stearns County Soil and Water Conservation District, and we have always had a crop consultant, but HASP helps Mill Creek improve on what was already being done.” Gregory also said using cover crops has improved his farm’s soil health, allowed him to use fewer chemicals and led to plants better tolerating lack of moisture during dry weather. According to HASP, data from the study indicates there may be increased short-term risks for farmers who recently adopted conservation practices because of the time it can take to build the health of the soil and the upfront costs involved when changing practices. However, in the long-term, these practices help build a more resilient agriculture system. More data on short-term risks versus long-term results will continue to be explored and collected, but trends over the past four years of the study demonstrated that participating farmers experienced higher returns and increased crop yields along with lower production costs. HASP is a cross-sector partnership administered by Environmental Initiative, which is a nonprot organization based in Minneapolis that fosters collaboration across various entities to improve environmental health. Members and funders of HASP include a collaboration of nonprots, farmers, agribusinesses, cooperatives and government agencies. HASP is part of Edge Dairy’s U.S. Department of Agriculture Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities program. In its report, HASP said although the percentage of U.S. farmers adopting conservation practices is growing, it is somewhat small. For instance, a 2022 report on research conducted by Qu Zhou through the University of Illinois showed that cover crop adoption in the Midwest reached 7.2% in 2021, up from 1.8% in 2011. Stearns County SWCD, which assisted with gathering environmental metrics for HASP’s project, estimates the adoption of cover crops at under 10% in its county. Of farmers using cover crops today, most tend to use them on some, not all, of their elds where cover
Dairy Star • Saturday, November 25, 2023 • Page 27
crops could make good sense. The upfront costs of changing farming practices is most often cited by farmers as the main reason they do not use more, if any, cover crops. However, outcomes from HASP’s Return-onInvestment Study demonstrate that conservation practices such as cover crops increase prots over time, offsetting costs. The report demonstrates that most participating farmers had higher environmental and nancial benets than regional benchmarks. Each of the 10 farm operations enrolled in HASP is a different size, utilizes different farming practices and has exhibited different environmental benets. The participating farmers have completed the Minnesota Agriculture Water Quality Certication Program. Beyond supporting and gathering data on conservation practices, HASP works to promote peer-to-peer sharing among farmers as to conservation practices and protability and bringing those stories to broader communities. Four years into the project, HASP is continuing to work toward and expanding on its mission. “Over the next four years, farmers with integrated dairy operations and row crops will share conservation and nancial data that will (continue to) result in the creation of trends,” Carter McCoy said. “Farmers want to lead by example, protect their investments and serve customers the highest quality products. At the end of the USDA investment, HASP will demonstrate that pairing these farmer values with farmer-led conservation practices results in a climate-smart dairy supply.” For HASP’s full report, visit environmental-initiatives.org and nd the Headwaters Agriculture Sustainability Partners’ page under the “Our Work” tab. Financial sponsors for HASP’s project include AgCountry Farm Credit Services, Compeer Financial, Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative, Houston Engineering, Midwest Dairy, Minnesota Department of Agriculture, The Nature Conservancy, SLP, LLC, Syngenta and USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Services.
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I milked too many cows
A few of you might remember that, six years ago, I wrote a monthly column for Dairy Star. That ended about two years ago because I ran out of things to write about. Much of my family’s life is still the same since then, yet many things have changed. I still own and operate our 2,200cow dairy 50-50 with my son and daughter-in-law. I am still actively farming quite a few acres with help from employees and two grandsons. My wife and I bought a beautiful 160acre grassland cattle ranch with a log home in the northern Missouri Ozarks a few years ago. It has been a wonderful retreat for our family and friends. So, life has been good — other than tight dairy margins. Late into this year’s corn harvest, I was driving a semi when I experienced weird leg pain. I went to the emergency room, but medical staff couldn’t nd anything and said it couldn’t be a blood clot because I was already on a blood thinner from some previous heart issues. So, they sent me home, telling me to watch for red swelling. Two mornings later, I went to feed 20 newborn calves, and I could hardly nish because the leg pain was so severe. When I got to the house, I pulled off my overalls and saw a huge red area on my knee. My wife was already gone for the morning, so I got back in my truck to drive to the ER. My right leg hurt so bad that I used cruise control for speeding up and my left foot for the brake. I lay in the ER for several hours while basically nothing happened. Then, a doctor who is also a family friend stopped to check on me. She immediately got things rolling and consulted with a vascular expert in Sioux
Falls, South Dakota. His preliminary diagnosis was that I was suffering from a popliteal aneurysm of the artery of my right leg and I needed By Dave Vander Kooi to get in Former columnist an ambulance ASAP to Sioux Falls for treatment. The 22-year-old ambulance driver was interesting, and she ran over more rumble strips than my 15-year-old granddaughter with a farm permit. Upon arrival at Sioux Falls Sanford Vascular Hospital, I was rushed into surgery for exploratory procedures. For this, they didn’t put me under and ran a wire up my left groin through my heart and back down my right leg. I was able to tell the surgeon when the wire reached the bottom of my right heel. Somehow, this procedure really eliminated my immediate pain, and it was repeated again the next day to clean out more of my artery. On the morning of Day 3, the surgeon came into my room and said I had two options for long-term recovery. One was to amputate my leg because the artery behind my knee was shot and beyond repair. The other option was to put me under the knife for a six-hour surgery to steal a vein from my leg and replace the bad section of artery. The surgeon said the surgery was rarely
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Dairy St r Milk Break
Dairy Star • Saturday, November 25, 2023 • Page 29
done and had a long, painful recovery. Needless to say, I immediately chose the surgery for that afternoon. The surgeon and I then chatted a bit about the cause of my problem, and he said it can be hereditary, but he had already ruled that out based on examination of my good leg. Then I told him that I had milked cows in at stanchion-type barns from age 15 to 55 — for 30 of those years it was 80 cows pretty much morning and evening — and my right
plains why I have had such cold feet for so many years. I found out I could rest fairly comfortably in a straight-back chair with my feet on a pillow. The only problem with that was my head bobbed like a dairy farmer in church after a long, cold morning of Sunday-morning chores. After 13 days in the hospital, I was able to go home, thinking it was all an easy street from there. However, gastrointestinal issues from the hydrocodone
I’ve never needed hip or knee replacement, but this was my reward, I guess. leg was my deep-squat leg. He said that probably wore it out and now, 15 years later, it failed. I’ve never needed hip or knee replacement, but this was my reward, I guess. After surgery, I spent two days in the intensive care unit, accompanied by drug-induced hallucinatory dreams. Then I was moved to a trauma unit for eight days, and the reason they call it a trauma unit is because they traumatize people by drawing blood every four hours from your scarred, emaciated arm. In the trauma room, I could not sleep in the bed for the rst ve nights because my foot would start throbbing in pain. I was told this was due to my foot cells regenerating after years of low blood and oxygen supply. That ex-
pain pills instead had me headed in the wrong direction. I cold-turkey forced myself off the pain pills and started eating some Greek yogurt. Since then, I’m doing much better. Now I need time and exercise to get rid of all the swelling in my foot and lower leg. I can walk quite well with a cane and am driving around the farms and doing ofce work. My goal is to be good enough that Deb and I can drive to our Missouri getaway by Thanksgiving. My daughters and daughter-in-law have provided many good meals and helped in so many ways. When any of our 16 grandchildren show up to say hi, it makes my day. As I make occasional stops at the dairy and my employees come into the ofce and give me huge hugs, I realize how blessed I am.
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Page 30 • Dairy Star • Saturday, November 25, 2023
www.extension.umn.edu/dairy
Breed progress drives improvement in dairy crossbreds
Dairy crossbreeding continues to tween Alpine cattle breeds (for example, gain popularity in the United States, Brown Swiss and Montbeliarde) and including the Upper Midwest. Exact U.S. Holsteins generally range from 2% numbers of crossbred animals are dif- to 7% with higher heterosis estimates cult to determine, but we can begin to generally occurring for tness traits. scratch the surface by looking at Dairy To illustrate this, let us compare rst Herd Information Association lactation 305-day milk production of Holsteins, Montbedata. Holsteins still represent liarde and F1 Montbeliarde x the bulk of animals that particiHolstein crosses. This data is pate in DHIA testing, approxifrom U.S. dairy herds that had mately 80%. This is followed Holsteins, Montbeliarde and by Jerseys at 12.3%. However, F1 crosses. Holsteins averaged crossbred animals now make 29,396 pounds, and Montbeup 6.5% of animals that particliarde averaged 26,827 pounds. ipate in DHIA testing, and this Without heterosis, we would proportion continues to grow year over year. It is important By Isaac Haagen expect the crosses to average University of 28,112 pounds of milk, which to recognize that many herds Minnesota is the average of the two parent do not participate in DHIA testing. In fact, less than 50% of herds breeds. However, the F1 crosses actually and cows are represented in national produced 29,532 pounds of milk, which DHIA testing. However, this does illus- is 1,421 pounds more than expected and trate that crossbred animals continue to represents 5% heterosis. While heterosis explains improved gain popularity on dairy operations. The benets of crossbreeding are performance of crossbred offspring well documented, especially related to compared to purebred parent breed avhealth and reproduction. These benets erages, it is the within-breed genetic are mainly attributed to heterosis, which progress that is the driving force behind refers to crossbred offspring performing improved performance across generabetter than expected when compared to tions of a well-managed crossbreeding their purebred parent average. Most es- program. This is why breed selection in timates of the heterosis for dairy cattle a crossbreeding program is important. It are around 5%, depending on the trait. is essential to choose breeds that have In fact, estimates of the heterosis be- high within-breed genetic gains.
Common breeds used in the United States, such as Holstein and Jersey, are making rapid progress. For instance, publicly available data from the Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding suggests that over the last 10 years, Holsteins and Jerseys have made $746 and $409 of progress in net merit dollars, respectively. But what about European breeds that are often used in crossbreeding programs, such as Montbeliarde, Normande or Viking Red? The great news is that these breeds are making steady progress as well for important economic traits such as component yield, reproduction and health. In France, the home location of the Montbeliarde and Normande breeds, selection is based upon ISU, which is a selection index like NM$ or TPI. Every selection index differs by how much weight it puts on various traits, and ISU and NM$ are no different. For instance, ISU places more emphasis on udder health and carcass traits. Studies conducted in France suggest that the Mont-
beliarde breed is improving about 4.4% per year in the ISU index while Normande cattle are progressing at about 5% per year. Remember that any genetic program is a long-term goal. If you are choosing breeds that are making genetic progress, then you should expect your herd to continue to make progress across generations. If breeds and bulls are chosen carefully, you should not be concerned about giving up genetic progress when compared to a single breed of selection. Finally, all inputs and outputs should be compared when evaluating the performance of a crossbreeding program. Many of the economic advantages to crossbreeding come from decreased reproductive costs, lower health treatment cost and increased longevity. In conclusion, if the purebred breeds utilized in a crossbreeding program are steadily making genetic progress, you can expect this progress to be realized across generations of crossbred cattle.
Dana Adams, adam1744@umn.edu 320-204-2968
Les Hansen hanse009@umn.edu 612-624-2277
Brenda Miller nels4220@umn.edu 320-732-4435
Joe Armstrong armst225@umn.edu 612.624.3610
Brad Heins hein0106@umn.edu 320-589-1711
Erin Royster royster@umn.edu
Luciano Caixeta lcaixeta@umn.edu 612-625-3130
Nathan Hulinsky huli0013@umn.edu 320-203-6104
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Joleen Hadrich jhadrich@umn.edu 612-626-5620
Claire LaCanne lacanne@umn.edu 507-332-6109
Isaac Salfer ijsalfer@umn.edu 320-296-1357 Jim Salfer salfe001@umn.edu 320-203-6093 Mike Schutz mschutz@umn.edu 612-624-1205 Melissa Wilson mlw@umn.edu 612-625-4276 Isaac Haagen hagge041@umn.edu 612-624-7455
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Blood, milk pregnancy diagnosis
Dairy Star • Saturday, November 25, 2023 • Page 31
A recent conversation I had with quences or benets of a given decimy colleague, Brad Heins, revolved sion. That is the value of a veterinararound on-farm blood pregnancy test- ian. That is what makes you money ing. Brad has used on-farm kits for and makes you more efcient when pregnancy diagnosis, either a single you seek veterinary advice. If you see kit or the capability of up to 96 ani- your veterinarian as just an arm and mals at once. a pregnancy diagnosis tool, I could absolutely do I encourage you to talk to without the physical act of your veterinarian and engage pregnancy checking cows; it them in a conversation about is hard on your body and, afall the other things that they ter thousands and thousands can bring to your farm. of cows, it is boring. Blood A veterinarian could and milk pregnancy testing bring employee training, proare excellent technologies. I tocol development, developam happy that they are being ment of standard operating used by producers. By Joe Armstrong, procedures, problem-solving DVM skills on a weekly basis, reThese technologies have University of cord analysis, biosecurity been coming for a long time. Minnesota management, vaccine schedIt should not be a surprise ules and more. Hopefully, that farmers are looking for more exibility and to potentially cut you have a relationship with your vetcosts and still get the same informa- erinarian already and you have recogtion. The veterinary profession should nized some of those things. Let us get back to the issue at have been preparing for this moment when it comes to not pregnancy hand. We were talking about blood checking cows with an arm anymore. and milk pregnancy diagnosis. The However, there is still value in big thing we need to talk about is what manual or ultrasound pregnancy diag- you are not getting out of that test that nosis. Producers need to think about you might be getting from an ultrawhat information they are missing sound, especially early in pregnancy when they consider moving to a blood from a veterinarian. When I check an animal, especially when they are or milk pregnancy diagnosis. There are not a whole lot of peo- early in gestation at that 30- to 40-day ple who are trained the way a veteri- mark, even all the way up to 60 days, narian is and have the ability to com- I have a lot of information at my nment on your whole system, how it gertips (literally). When we are looking at blood operates, how all the moving pieces t together, and the potential conse-
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or milk, the test does not assess calf viability. With an ultrasound, I can answer the question, “Does that calf look viable? Does it have a heartbeat? Is there something wrong with the uid in the uterus or in the embryo itself?” I can tell you if she is likely to slough that calf or if it is going to be resorbed. I can give you that information with an ultrasound, and you cannot get that information from a blood or milk test. Something that happens frequently and probably more frequently than we would like to admit is that things are written down incorrectly and breeding dates are off. With the tests, you are not going to know the age of the calf. With an ultrasound, I can make sure the recorded breeding date is correct. One thing many people want to know ahead of time that I can give you with the ultrasound is the presence of twins or multiple calves. The test is going to tell if the cow is pregnant or not. The test is not going to tell you if there is one calf, two, three or more. Some farms manage cows (or especially heifers) having multiple calves differently and want to be prepared. If we check in the correct window (55- to 75-day-old fetus), I can give you the sex of the fetus. At this point, we are not able to do that with on-farm testing. That may change in the future, but right now, that is an ad-
vantage to the ultrasound. An ultrasound can evaluate the ovaries of the cow while the test cannot give you that information. Is the cow cystic? Is the cow cycling at all? Is there a big corpus luteum there? That is important when we are talking about syncing programs and where we start in that process. It is not something you can get from a blood or milk test. An ultrasound can evaluate uterine health and if the cow is likely to become pregnant. Adhesions, abscesses and pyometra are great examples of information you will get from an ultrasound that a blood or milk test will not give you. You can breed an animal with one of these problems repeatedly and the blood and milk test will just read open, while an ultrasound will tell you why she remains open. Hopefully, you get the sense that I value blood and milk pregnancy diagnosis tools. The technology is becoming more accessible and more affordable. I hope you also learned a little bit about the value of a veterinarian manually pregnancy checking with an ultrasound. Each farm is different and each situation is different. Likely, there are many farms where a combination of blood or milk pregnancy diagnosis and manual pregnancy checking are a perfect match. Talk with your veterinarian about the possibilities.
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Page 32 • Dairy Star • Saturday, November 25, 2023
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Dairy Star • Saturday, November 25, 2023 • Page 33
DAIRY PROFILE
Jay and Marlene Decker of Bernard, Iowa | Dubuque County | 500 cows How did you get into farming? I grew up with it. It’s a deal where my dad farmed, but I was pretty young when he sold the cows. He sold them Dec. 6, 1966, and on Dec. 6, 1989, I built a barn and started milking my own. I just always liked the lifestyle and the animals. What are your thoughts and concerns about the dairy industry for the next year? For the next year, we just need to keep on keeping on and hope for the best. We are operating on break-even prices, but I am very positive about the dairy industry. People are starting to realize that milk is more natural and better than all of these sports drinks. What is a recent change you made on your farm and the reason for it? I brought my boys into the operation as owners. They brought in new technology and new ideas, and everything has been positive. My oldest son, Richard, has been on the farm for about 12 years, and my other son, Robert, for about seven years. I’ve always paid them, and now I made them part owners. That all happened within the last year. Tell us about a skill you possess that makes dairy farming easier for you. We’ve always been able to adapt to new technology, and we always move forward with it. An example is our herd managing system. I used to take hours getting ready for herd health, but now my son pushes a few keys on the computer, and in eight minutes, he has it printed out and ready to go. What is the best decision you have made on your farm? Letting the boys take over. They know what has to be done, and I know the cows are in good hands. I let them bring forward new ideas. The younger generation has honestly been a tremendous advantage for us and the farm. What are three things on the farm you cannot live without? Three things I cannot live without would be our heatdetect system, battery-operated tools and our shop. I wouldn’t give up my shop for anything. I would quit farming if we didn’t have it.
PHOTO COURTESY OF DANIELLE BURKLE
Jay Decker stands near a freestall barn Nov. 16 on his dairy farm near Bernard, Iowa. The Deckers milk 500 cows.
What strategies do you use to withstand the volatile milk prices? When we can, we try to forward-contract our milk as much as possible; that’s the main thing. Then, we try to lock in our commodities at decent prices.
What do you enjoy most about dairy farming? Producing quality cattle and watching them grow and becoming healthy animals. There is nothing I like better than seeing a healthy critter hit the ground.
How do you maintain family relationships while also working together? As any father and son know, the relationship at times can be difcult. A lot of times, I just take a step back and let them do it. You have to remember they are your sons, not your friends, and you have to let them grab a hold and do it. We all have a good working relationship on the farm, and our biggest thing is we all need to take time off.
What advice would you give other dairy farmers? Stay strong and always be the advocate for our industry because there are so many people who don’t know what we do every day and how much care we take for our animals.
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genetics. Our ve-year goal is to further improve our genetics; we have already been using articial insemination for 30 years to improve the herd. How do you or your family like to spend time when you are not doing chores? My wife, Marlene, and I travel a lot. When we come back home, we always make a comment on how we have heaven right here. The best part of traveling is coming back home. We’ve also hosted people from all over the world here, and they are always intrigued by the hard work and quality we put into producing milk, and that is another thing we all enjoy doing and seeing.
Feed efciency drives protabilityy Page 34 • Dairy Star • Saturday, November 25, 2023
As dairy farm prot margins tighten, it is critical to evaluate on-farm nutrition strategies to determine if any potential changes can improve the dairy’s cash ow. Feed efciency is an important economic measure used to evaluate the amount of milk produced per unit of feed. Utilizing energy-corrected milk will give credit to the milk component contribution. Protability must be considered alongside feed efciency. High feed efciency does not always equate to high protability. One dairy might have higher milk production than another, but that doesn’t mean that it is more protable. If that dairy is spending more money on feed to produce more milk, that will erode its protability. Likewise, higher feed ef-
ciency doesn’t guarantee higher milk production. A farm may maintain milk production at a consistent level, spend less on feed to do so, and thus be more protable. Long story short, a high feed efciency means little if a farm is not protable because of it. With that in mind, let’s explore some of the factors that can help improve feed efciency. Fresh cow performance Transition cows must maintain adequate dry matter intake through the prefresh period and freshen with minimal metabolic issues. This will not only improve productivity throughout the lactation but also result in improved feed efciency. Beware that fresh cow feed
Editorial disclaimer: The views expressed by our columnists are the opinions and thoughts of the author and do not reect the opinions and views of Dairy Star staff and ownership.
efciency that is too high could indicate excessive fat mobilization in early lactation. This can have longterm negative consequences.
Forage quality, corn processing Harvesting at the correct moisture and maturity is a critical component to making high-quality forages. Hybrid selection can be part of the solution to improved forage quality but needs to be balanced against input costs. High-quality forage allows the cow to maximize forage ber digestibility, resulting Something to Ruminate On in reduced grain fed, improved rumen health and reduced purchased feed costs. The result is greater feed efciency driven by higher DMI and improved milk production. Adequate kernel processing of corn silage and corn grain is also valuable to imBy Barry Visser proving starch digestNutritionist ibility and feed efciency. Having sufcient inventory carryover on wet corn sources, such as corn silage, will improve starch digestibility, resulting in less starch in the manure and improved efciency. Nutrition, grouping strategies Feeding cows to maximize rumen microbial protein will result in maximum efciency. To achieve the best microbial growth, the availability of carbohydrates and protein to the microbes should be matched using blends of rapidly and slowly degradable feeds. If too much protein is supplied without an available source of carbohydrates, the microbes will use the protein as a source of energy and waste the nitrogen in the protein. This may be indicative of higher milk urea nitrogen levels in the bulk tank. Cows will partition nutrients differently depending on their stage of lactation and gestation. The number of pens or groups is often dictated by facility and herd dynamics. If size permits, multiple lactating groups will allow for more precise targeting of nutrients and additives designed to improve feed efciency. Early lactation cows will respond protably to a higher-quality diet balanced for amino acids, higher levels of fat and fermentable carbohydrates. Latelactation cows can maintain their production while controlling body condition on a more basic diet with feedstuffs such as fermentable ber sources. Bunk management, refusals Maximizing DMI to increase milk production will improve feed efciency. One pound of additional dry matter can lead to a 2-pound increase in milk production. In some cases, the percentage of refusals may be reduced below 3%. Feed distribution, push-up frequency and overall bunk management need to be excellent to make this happen.
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Other management factors Cow comfort and heat abatement for both milk cows and dry cows will result in greater productivity and feed efciency. Aggressive and effective reproduction strategies will result in more cows at peak lactation (a timepoint of improved efciency). A strong heifer-rearing program to freshen rst-lactation cows at 85% of mature body weight will also help maximize feed efciency. Evaluate culling strategies to remove low-end producers with the poorest feed efciency. Work with your nutrition consultant to review feed efciency in your herd. Barry Visser is a nutritionist for Vita Plus.
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Pop-up milk, cereal bars connect with Generation Z
Midwest Dairy aims to bring dairy to life in fun and creative ways. One of these creative ways is reminding local Generation Z of nostalgic childhood memories, including enjoying a bowl of cereal. Midwest Dairy has brought this childhood memory to life through different cereal bars this past year. Not only are these experiences popular, but more importantly, they are connecting Gen Z to dairy products. Midwest Dairy was excited to engage with festival goers through a pop-up milk and cereal bar during the 80/35 Music Festival. The festival is a celebration of music and culture presented by the nonprot Des Moines Music Coalition. In its 10th year, the festival presents a diverse lineup of musicians from all genres across four free stages and one paid stage in the heart of downtown Des Moines, Iowa. Over 20,000 consumers attended the event during the two-day festival in July. Thanks to a generous donation from local proceswe were able to hand out By Alyson Fendrick sors, over 1,000 Undeniably Dairy Midwest Dairy branded cups of cereal and milk. Working with our partner Rip Roar Media, we designed a fun, Undeniably Dairy-themed tent to draw in a crowd and showcase dairy’s role in sustainable nutrition. Their Gen Z staff attended and shared dairy’s story and provided a true Undeniably Dairy experience. We reached over 100,000 consumers through social marketing, online presence and in-person engagement. Following the success of the 80/35 Music Festival pop-up milk and cereal bar, Midwest Dairy partnered with Iowa State University AfterDark to serve over 500 ISU students an excellent dairy experience. ISU AfterDark is a student-run organization that plans three late-night activities on campus each semester. Midwest Dairy was eager to bring the pop-up milk and cereal bar to life again to engage with students. Thanks to a generous donation from local processors, we were able to hand out over 500 Undeniably Dairybranded cups of nostalgic cereal and milk in under two hours. ISU students eagerly lined up at the Memorial Union to enjoy the milk and cereal bar, and many were enthusiastically posting on social media about their experience while recruiting their peers to attend. This truly was a positive environment for Gen Z to engage with dairy, which is key to our success in building trust. Again, Rip Roar Media designed an Undeniably Dairy-themed setup showcasing dairy’s role in sustainable nutrition. Their Gen Z staff provided an Undeniably Dairy experience, mixing up a fun combination of milk and cereal. In addition, Dairy Science Club volunteers engaged with the students, answering questions about responsible dairy production and refueling with dairy. Later this fall, the versatility of the milk and cereal bar spread to Illinois. A pop-up milk and cereal bar was showcased during the Illinois vs. Indiana football game during dad’s weekend, serving up fun to 500 fans. Playing to the dad’s weekend theme, participants enjoyed milk and cereal and participated in a football toss to win dairy swag. Lastly, the milk and cereal bar was presented to 600 Illinois student leaders during the Illinois High School Association Leadership Conference. Student leaders fueled their fun with milk and cereal while participating in dairy trivia. I am proud of this creative concept that is seeing great success. Midwest Dairy is excited to continue sharing our cereal bar to connect the Gen Z audience to dairy across the 10-state region.
Dairy Star • Saturday, November 25, 2023 • Page 35
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Thankful for Thanksgiving Page 36 • Dairy Star • Saturday, November 25, 2023
It’s that time of year again when we Americans are spending an inordinate amount of time thinking about an overstuffed bird who is sitting in a small, hot box. We collectively watch with abject fascination as the bird stews in its own juices. But enough about the Kardashians. It’s also Thanksgiving, that traditional holiday wherein we pause to give thanks for having such vast amounts of food that many of us bear a close resemblance to the Michelin tire guy. Thanksgiving is about more than stufng ourselves silly. It’s also about history, a time to pause and remember that historical day in 1492 when Christopher Columbus stood on Plymouth Rock and uttered those immortal words, “Four score and seven years ago, our forefathers brought forth … hey, please pass
the gravy.” One of the things I’m personally thankful for is the fact that history is in the past. This is because the “good old days” weren’t always all that good. Corn picking would be a good example of this. When I was a pup, Dad, like most farmers back then, harvested ear corn with a two-row pull-type picker. This machine harvested corn at a speed one might associate with Peter Piper picking pecks of pickled peppers. Comparing a two-row corn picker to a modern, computer-controlled (no actual operator required) grain combine would be like comparing a Geo Metro to a Formula One racecar. But Dad told me we should simply be thankful that we didn’t have to pick all that corn by hand. Dad and I would take turns driving the picker, piloting our
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cab-less John Deere A tractor up and down the endless rows as the wind’s icy stiletto relentlessly probed for chinks in our clothing. The main reason we took turns was that while one guy picked, the other guy got to unload the wagon. I say “got to” because shoveling ear corn out the back of the wagon and into the clattering old Kelly Dear County Agent Guy Ryan elevator gave the shoveler an opportunity to warm up. But Dad said we should just be thankful that we had an elevator and didn’t have to handshovel all that corn into the crib. We generally didn’t shell our corn, instead opting to grind the whole ears, transforming By Jerry Nelson them into feed for our Columnist herd of 35 Holsteins. I was thankful for the absence of a corn cob pile. This spared me from hearing yet again that shopworn old quip about how, back in the day, there was always a basket of white corn cobs in the outhouse along with a basket of red cobs because using a white cob would tell you if you needed to use another red one. Winter arrived before Thanksgiving one autumn. We still had a large eld of corn to pick, so Dad decided that we should save time by cribbing the corn on the headland. We were thankful when we got the job done just before a ferocious blizzard roared across the prairie, halting all eldwork until spring. But there was a problem. Storing our corn on the headland meant that we had to grind feed out on the headland. During the summertime, the eld was located about a mile from our farmstead. It was approximately ten times that distance in the depths of winter. Dad said I should be thankful that at least he had a warm pickup to ride in as he tooled along behind me as I drove our old (and cab-less) Farmall 560 and feed grinder out to the eld. Once there, I would re up the grinder mixer and proceed to shovel ear corn into its insatiable auger. Dad would dump in bags of protein concentrate and minerals before quickly retreating to the warmth of the pickup cab. As he did so, he would remind me that I should be thankful for the new shovel he had just purchased, a shiny aluminum model with a keen cutting edge that would make shoveling easier. He would also remind me to be careful with the shovel and not bang it up. Thankfully, those days are now history. For me, Thanksgiving no longer means shoveling ear corn in freezing temperatures. Thanksgiving has mainly become an opportunity to reconnect with friends and family while gobbling mass quantities of roast gobbler. And let me say this to you video game-addicted whippersnappers who think it’s the world’s most irksome chore to spend Thanksgiving listening to your stodgy old relatives drone on and on about the old days: Come over to my house and I will show you my video game. It’s called Etch A Sketch, and I am very thankful for it. Jerry is a recovering dairy farmer from Volga, South Dakota. He and his wife, Julie, have two grown sons and live on the farm where Jerry’s great-grandfather homesteaded over 110 years ago. Jerry works full time for Dairy Star as a staff writer and ad salesman. Feel free to email him at jerry.n@ dairystar.com.
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Assistance available for losses caused by climate events
Dairy Star • Saturday, November 25, 2023 • Page 37
By Steve Frericks
Stearns County FSA executive director
Mother Nature has blessed us with a nice extended fall to get in as much fall cropping activity as possible. Reports coming into the ofce suggest yields are much better than expected for most producers, but not all. We await new farm bill actions, and this has delayed Farm Service Agency activities like Dairy Margin Coverage signups along with other program rollouts. If you are a livestock producer, reach out to your local FSA ofce to see what might be available for you. Most of the eastern half of Minnesota is eligible for livestock disaster programs. FSA staff await notication of Pandemic Assistance Revenue Program payment eligibility for those who applied and were approved. The FSA county committee elections began Nov. 6 when ballots were mailed to eligible voters. The deadline to return ballots to local FSA ofces or to be postmarked is Dec. 4. Below are a few options to consider if you are in an eligible area of the state that suffered drought-related conditions. As you take stock of your year-end nancials, remember that the FSA credit teams are a valuable asset if things did not work as expected or planned. Are you looking for options to start farming or a beginning farmer looking for assistance to begin a farm operation?
Are you a farmer planning to retire and looking for options to transfer the farm or an existing farmer having nancial difculties? It can be a challenge trying to determine where to start or how to learn about options. FSA may have a loan option to assist you. An excellent place to start is the FSA Farm Loan Discovery Tool. This can be found at farmers.gov. You can also contact your local FSA ofce to review the programs or discuss any questions that you may have. Change to policy on ling a notice of loss for grazed forage producers with NAP coverage For the 2023 crop year, Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program forage producers with the intended use of grazing who elect to use independent assessments or other approved alternative loss percentage methods to establish their loss are no longer required to le a CCC-576 Notice of Loss with FSA. However, a CCC-576 Application for Payment form must be submitted to FSA no later than 60 calendar days after the coverage period ends. If an independent assessment is used to determine the loss, producers have 180 days to le an application for payment. Producers who elect to have the grazing loss determined using similar mechanically harvested units still must timely le a CCC-576 Notice of Loss within 15 days of the disaster event or damage to the crop rst becomes appar-
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Disaster assistance for 2023 livestock forage losses Producers in many Minnesota counties are eligible to apply for 2023 Livestock Forage Disaster Program benets on pasture acres. Call your specic county ofce to verify if your county is eligible. LFP provides compensation if you suffer grazing losses for covered livestock due to drought on privatelyowned or cash-leased land or re on federally managed land. County committees can only accept LFP applications after notication is received by the national ofce of qualifying drought or if a federal agency prohibits producers from grazing normally permitted livestock on federally managed lands due to qualifying re. You must complete a CCC-853 and the required supporting documentation. For additional information about LFP, including eligible livestock and re criteria, contact your local U.S. Department of Agriculture Service Center or visit fsa.usda.gov. Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybee, and Farm-Raised Fish Program ELAP provides emergency assistance to eligible livestock, honeybee and farm-raised sh producers who have losses due to disease, adverse weather or other conditions, such as
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blizzards and wildres, not covered by other agricultural disaster assistance programs. Eligible losses include: — Livestock: Grazing losses not covered under the LFP, loss of purchased feed and/or mechanically harvested feed due to an eligible adverse weather event, additional cost of transporting water because of an eligible drought and additional cost associated with gathering livestock to treat for cattle tick fever. — Honeybees: Loss of purchased feed due to an eligible adverse weather event, cost of additional feed purchased above normal quantities due to an eligible adverse weather condition, colony losses in excess of normal mortality due to an eligible weather event or loss condition, including CCD, and hive losses due to eligible adverse weather. — Farm-raised sh: Death losses in excess of normal mortality and/or loss of purchased feed due to an eligible adverse weather event. If you’ve suffered eligible livestock, honeybee or farm-raised sh losses during calendar year 2023, you must le an application for payment by Jan. 30, 2024. Farm Service Agency is an Equal Opportunity Lender. Complaints about discrimination should be sent to: Secretary of Agriculture, Washington, D.C., 20250. Visit www.fsa.usda.gov for necessary application forms and updates on USDA programs.
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Second chance Page 38 • Dairy Star • Saturday, November 25, 2023
Some would call our recent turn of weather an Indian summer in November. I like to think of our warmer and drier weather as a second chance, kind of like a snooze alarm for winter. Unfortunately, we can’t keep hitting the snooze until we feel we are ready to start the new day or the new season. We were facing a philosophical dilemma as October came to a sudden close with frigid temperatures and our rst inch of snowfall. We weren’t ready for fall to end. We still had cornstalks to chop and bale as well as other fall eldwork. I had neglected yard projects which had to be done before the ground was frozen solid. We needed a second chance at fall to get everything done, but things weren’t looking very promising. ★
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We were down to our last bales of cornstalk bedding. The looming question was if we should bale right behind the combine as it took out the last acres of corn. The standing stalks would be drier than the ones already combined and covered with snow, but they would still be considered wet. Should we wait and hope the weather in November would give us a second chance? With over 50 fall harvest seasons under his belt, Mark was hesitant to wait. He knew November weather could be cloudy, damp and ckle. Winter could be here to stay. There didn’t seem to be much wiggle room to hedge our bets of getting up dry bedding. Austin, on the other hand, is in the early years of his fall seasons. With little experience on which to
base his decision, he looked at the extended forecast calling for a stretch of above-average temperatures in mid-November. He trusted the science to give us a second chance at baling dry bales despite the current weather conditions. I guess the real ques- Just Thinking Out Loud tion is who do you trust — your past experiences or a weather forecaster? We compromised and baled a portion of the stalks we needed and hoped for the forecast to give us a second chance to nish the job of baling dry stalks. Paul Huttner wrote that Minnesota has reBy Natalie Schmitt corded a string of six Columnist straight warmer than average months starting in May of this year. He thinks we may make seven. Huttner said the upper air patterns strongly favor a run of unseasonably mild days with highs in the 50s and 60s, which is 10-20 degrees warmer than average. Even though we closed out October with an earlier than average rst inch of snowfall, a second chance looked possible. Clouds hung over our area for the rst week of November as temperatures kept us chilled. We had put blankets on the new calves because we were only hitting highs in the 30s. Things were not drying out, and patience was wearing thin. Then the clouds blew out of the area, the sun appeared, and the blankets were removed. We were getting our second chance. The forecasters were right.
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Things were not drying out, and patience was wearing thin. Then the clouds blew out of the area, the sun appeared, and the blankets were removed. We were getting our second chance. We have been scrambling to nish up our projects with the second chance of fall weather. All the elds have been chopped. Stalks are raked and ready for the baler to nish baling dry bedding for the coming year. A young friend has staked out a portion of my garden to create a ower garden with spring bulbs. I’m planting the extra bulbs throughout my ower beds. I just hope the squirrels are satised with the dropped ears of corn at the edge of the elds for their winter snacks instead of searching for the buried bulbs. I still need to dig up dahlia bulbs and carrots from the garden as I start to tuck in my plants for the winter. There are other projects on my list (washing windows, cleaning out storage sheds and garages) which may have to wait until next year, unless we get to hit the snooze button again and have a third chance at a late fall season. As their four children pursue dairy careers off the family farm, Natalie and Mark are starting a new adventure of milking registered Holsteins just because they like good cows on their farm north of Rice, Minnesota.
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Full-spectrum fall We have experienced the full spectrum of fall weather so far this season: rain, snow, wind, clouds, and sun. Our cool, sunny, lovely fall turned cold and winter-like just in time for Halloween. We closed the pasture gate and brought the cows inside, for what I
Dairy Good Life
By Sadie Frericks Columnist thought would be the remainder of the year. Then, like the ip of a coin, the weather switched back to something September-like. So, we turned the cows back out to pasture. We did decide to keep the tiestall group separate from the sand barn group by sending each group to its own paddock. It took us almost as long as the cows had been inside to ne tune the groups; undoing all of that sorting would have been pointless. We have also experienced a full spectrum of emotions this fall, often wavering between sorrow and joy as fast as the temperature rose and fell: Resigned, which I always feel when the pasture gate is closed for the year. Sorrow, as we mourned the passing of a dear family friend. Nancy was a true fairy godmother, lled with magic and energy. She made everyone feel welcome, loved, and cared for as she hemmed, altered, and transformed everything from business suits to princess dresses to musical costumes. Hope, which came with the addition of a couple young people to our team. After Dan, Monika, and Daphne went back to school, we were more than a little shorthanded for a while, and it felt like we were falling a little more behind each day. The young women and men who joined us are wonderful to work with, and we are catching up on all of our should-do and could-do tasks. Utter disappointment, when Shine, one of our favorite cows of all time, delivered a set of stillborn twin heifer calves to start her ninth lactation. We were really looking forward to another heifer calf from Shine. Thankfully, she cleaned right away and her transition is going well. Heart-pounding excitement, with Dan’s rst successful white-tailed deer hunting season. The well-grown, 9- or 10-point buck — depending upon whether you count the nubbin on his antlers as a point — showed up less than 20 yards from Dan’s stand. He said it felt like his heart was trying to break out of his chest while he waited for the buck to turn. One shot stocked our freezer with venison for the coming year.
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Sadness and disappointment, again, as we said goodbye to Justice, the young Jersey cow who helped Daphne earn reserve champion junior showman at our county fair last summer. Justice, or perhaps a neighboring cow, stepped on her teat and she developed mastitis in that quarter. We’ve learned the hard way that it is difcult to cure mastitis in a quarter with a badly damaged teat end. Happiness, with each showing of the musical that Monika performed in. Our high school has a fantastic theater department, and each fall they ll the auditorium for ve performances over ve days. This year’s show was “Matilda the Musical,” and it was both heartwarming and laugh-out-loud funny. I loved watching Monika’s energy as she sang and danced across the stage. Panic, fear, worry, and relief: Norbert, Daphne’s beloved black-and-white cat, is truly the most personable cat I’ve ever known. Daphne might claim him, but we all love him. Norbert lives in our house and sleeps at my feet, but he also enjoys hunting in the grove and hay shed. He was hit by a car last weekend while out hunting. When I rst found him, his breathing sounded so horrible that I wasn’t sure he was going to make it. He stabilized, though, and it turned out he sustained only some broken ribs and a bruised lung. After a couple days of lying around and not eating, Norbert is now acting more like himself. It seems cats truly do have nine lives. Joy, from seeing the cows on pasture again. These bonus grazing days are gifts. Dismay, with the loss of another great cow. Steam was one of the highestranked cows in our herd and had several purple ribbons to her name as well, with our nephew on the halter. She developed a case of coliform mastitis, and the endotoxin load was just too much for her body. It was a solemn reminder that, despite all of the remedies that have worked in the past — and our darnedest efforts — we can’t save them all. Surprise and delight, when Jon from Boehringer-Ingelheim stopped in to introduce himself as the territory manager for our area. This was the rst time in 16 years of farming here that a representative from an animal health company has visited our farm. I fully understand why most companies who serve dairies often focus on farms much larger than ours, so it was especially nice for our small farm to be acknowledged by Jon. We had an enjoyable conversation, and, even better, Jon brought cinnamon rolls — just in time for Glen’s birthday. It’s good to know that B-I has great people behind their products. Gratitude, most of all, because, through the many ups and downs that come our way, we have a beautiful family, a beautiful farm, and beautiful cows. We’re lucky to be doing what we love. Sadie and her husband, Glen, milk 100 cows near Melrose, Minnesota. They have three children – Dan, Monika, and Daphne. Sadie also writes a blog at www. dairygoodlife.com. She can be reached at sadiefrericks@gmail.com
Dairy Star • Saturday, November 25, 2023 • Page 39
Call 320-352-6303 to place your classied or mail to: Dairy Star, 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave., Sauk Centre, MN 56378.
820 W. MAIN ST. • CHILTON, WI 53014
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Page 40 • Dairy Star • Saturday, November 25, 2023
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