November 9, 2024 Dairy Star - 1st section - Zone 2
Cows are his service animal
Infantry veteran nds solace in farming
By Stacey Smart stacey.s@dairystar.com
MILLEDGEVILLE,
Ill.
After 17 years of service in the U.S. Army, including four tours to Iraq and Afghanistan, Corey Trobaugh enjoys being with his cows. Trobaugh’s military career took him to the front lines of combat where he met the enemy face to face. The scars of war continued to haunt him long after returning home, but his cows have helped him through dark times.
“If I hadn’t started milking cows, I probably wouldn’t be here,” Trobaugh said. “The cows saved me.”
Trobaugh milks 55 cows and farms 200 acres near Milledgeville. He rents the same farm where he got his rst job when he was 15 years
Corey Trobaugh pets one of his favorite cows Oct. 29 on the farm he
linois. Trobaugh milks 55 cows and farms 200 acres a er serving 17 years
included four tours to Iraq and Afghanistan.
old milking cows for Art Wolf in an 18-stall stanchion barn. Trobaugh grew up on a
farm with stock cows and bucket calves. In addition to working for Wolf, he also
worked for other dairy farmers in the area.
Trobaugh joined the Na-
tional Guard when he was 17. In January 1999, he went on active duty. His rst duty station was in Alaska, his location when 9/11 occurred.
“I re-enlisted and went to airborne school at Fort Benning, Georgia,” Trobaugh said. “I was an 82nd Airborne (Division) infantryman stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. It was 2002, and I had just gotten married. My daughter was 13 days old when my department was sent to Afghanistan in June.”
Trobaugh served a ninemonth rotation in Afghanistan. He was back home for about six months when he was deployed to Iraq in the summer of 2003. During this tour, he fought in Fallujah.
“I got wounded really bad and was sent home,” Trobaugh said. “When I left Iraq on a stretcher for Germany, they told me there was a 50/50 chance I would live.”
Fine-tuning the bedding process
Thompson transitions from sand to pressed manure solids
By Amy Kyllo amy.k@star-pub.com
LEWISTON, Minn. —
When drought in the summer of 2023 revealed an almost 30year build-up of sand in Mitch Thompson’s elds, he decided to change the bedding protocol at Thompson Dairy.
“Trying to better everything, that’s why we were like, ‘OK, this is a decision we need to look at further,’” Thompson said.
In April, Thompson Dairy started using a manure press system to bed with manure solids rather than sand.
“I was so tired of seeing sand in the eld and just hauling
out sand and your manure tank is full of sand,” Thompson said. Thompson Dairy, located near Lewiston, milks 680 cows at two locations. Thompson farms alongside his dad, Cliff, and 18 full-time employees as well as his wife, Hilary, who helps with the bookwork, and his three children aged 14, 11 and 8. All the free stalls at Thompson’s main milking farm are deep bedded with green manure solids. Thompson uses the manure solids mixed with sawdust for the compost pack for some of his heifers as well.
Turn to THOMPSON | Page 8
for changes to show.
AMY KYLLO/DAIRY STAR
The manure press pushes out solids Oct. 30 at Thompson Dairy near Lewiston, Minnesota. Mitch Thompson said adjustments to the press must be made slowly because it takes a while
Mitch Thompson Dairy farmer
STACEY SMART/DAIRY STAR
rents near Milledgeville, Il-
in the U.S. Army, which
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Corey Trobaugh walks his cows home from pasture Oct. 29 on the farm he rents near Milledgeville, Illinois. Trobaugh was a U.S. Army 82nd Airborne infantryman and credits the cows with saving his life a er he returned from war.
Trobaugh was hit by an improvised explosive device, and was also red upon by the enemy.
“I was hit with bullets and shrapnel in the throat, left forearm, right shoulder, face, neck and the right side of my head, but my helmet stopped that one,” Trobaugh said.
Doctors put plates and screws in his left arm and told Trobaugh it was the only way they could save it.
“My bones grew around it and fused all the way around the metal, which causes numbness in the top of my hand,” he said. “It’s like a headache in my arm.”
After his brush with death, Trobaugh was sent home for a while where he did extensive physical therapy to regain the use of his arm and shoulder.
“I technically should have never jumped out of a plane again, but I became a jumpmaster and went back to Afghanistan,” Trobaugh said. “I was there during their rst (Afghan) election, and that was probably the coolest thing I was a part of.”
His unit deployed again to Baiji, Iraq in August 2006, but Trobaugh stayed behind at Fort Bragg because he was slated to go to drill sergeant school.
“I was an E6 about to be sergeant
rst class, and I was going stir crazy,” he said. “I still had my bags packed and talked to my command sergeant major about letting me join the unit since I didn’t have orders yet for drill sergeant school.”
When Trobaugh’s buddy, Sgt. 1st Class Tony Knier, was killed by an IED, they sent Trobaugh to take over his platoon in Delta Company 1st Battalion of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, which was a heavy weapons platoon.
STACEY SMART/DAIRY STAR
Mowers
Alma Center, WI
“It got nasty on our last tour,” Trobaugh said. “We lost about nine guys, and 20-30 more were wounded. We had a problem with a sniper in the area too.”
Trobaugh and his men found out who was responsible for some of the IED attacks and uncovered military intelligence that they turned over to investigators. Trobaugh returned home in February 2008 after a 15-month rotation. His next job would be as an Army recruiter.
“I got orders to go to recruiting school, and by June, I was going to high schools to recruit kids,” Trobaugh said. “I had no time to decompress. After three years of recruiting, it was getting to me. I had issues, and the Army decided to medically retire me Feb. 13, 2013.”
Trobaugh was on terminal leave when he received a phone call that November that would lead him back to Wolf’s farm. Wolf had fallen from the silo and sustained major injuries. He was still milking cows, and Trobaugh stepped in to help. Wolf sold his cows a few months later, but that would not be the end of farming for Trobaugh or Wolf.
“We both still had heifers, and I did chores and put feed up for Art,” Trobaugh said. “In mid-summer, a heifer freshened, so I started milking her. All the milking equipment was still here because I kind of had intentions to milk again.”
Trobaugh said Wolf could
not believe he was coming twice a day to milk one cow and told him, “We might as well get some cows and go back to milking.”
Trobaugh bought 12 cows through a buyer and picked up more cows here and there as his heifers came into milk. On Nov. 14, 2015, Trobaugh started shipping milk again — less than a year after Wolf sold his cows.
When Wolf retired ve years ago, Trobaugh began renting the farm and bought Wolf’s share of the herd.
“I also rent my dad’s farm
and other ground wherever I can,” Trobaugh said. “I have minimal acres, so I have to maximize what I can. I do a lot of double cropping.”
Wolf and his wife, Joretta, passed away this spring, and the land is going up for auction this fall.
“I’m going to try and buy it back,” Trobaugh said. “I want to buy the buildings and keep Wolf Dairy Farm going. I’m trying to keep his name alive. Art and Joretta were like grandparents to me.”
His cows are milked in a
double-6 herringbone parlor and average 75 pounds of milk per day.
“It’s nothing to write home about, but it’s good for our place,” Trobaugh said. “I also have cows hitting 135-140 pounds of milk. My theory is if she has four legs and four teats, I’ll run her through the parlor, but she has to earn her keep.”
Trobaugh’s herd includes Holsteins, Brown Swiss and Jerseys. He also has a herd of 30 beef cows and sells feeder cattle.
“Farming is a dying profes-
sion, but I love it,” Trobaugh said. “My biggest fear is what I’m going to do if I quit milking. These are my ‘service cows’ — like how vets get service dogs. When I came back here, I was in a really bad spot. My wife divorced me. I was so lost. I missed being overseas. There were points in my life before I started milking that I was looking at the long sleep. I didn’t want to keep going.”
Amid these struggles, Trobaugh developed a drinking problem.
“The cows saved me, and now, I’m trying to save my cows,” he said. “I like watching them grow and develop. I can go out and talk to them.”
Trobaugh’s girlfriend, DeeDee, helps him on the farm along with two part-time employees. In addition to his daughter, Trobaugh has a son and two grandsons and is hoping to pass the farm down to his grandsons someday.
Trobaugh said sometimes he still misses being overseas.
“There is a brotherhood in the Army and the infantry,” he said. “I miss the guys and that brotherhood and camaraderie.”
Nonetheless, Trobaugh said there is no place he would rather be than at home with his cows.
“My cows are my life,” he said. “I was used to taking care of soldiers, but I don’t have soldiers anymore. My cows are that now, I guess. They need someone to look over them. That’s why I keep doing it. I love my cows.”
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Cory Trobaugh (front, second from right) gathers with his unit in 2003 while in Iraq. Trobaugh’s highest rank was E-7 sergeant rst class.
Veteran continues to milk cows
Diane
Schnick farms despite adversity
By Dan Wacker dan.w@dairystar.com
ALMA CENTER, Wis. — Fiftyve years ago, Oz Schnick returned home from France after serving a 30-month tour of duty in the 553rd Engineer Battalion of the U.S. Army. He made a home near the farm on which he grew up near Alma Center and started an organic dairy farm. He and his wife, Diane, and grandchildren, Deana and AJ, milk 31 cows in a tiestall barn at DIOZ Dairy.
Schnick joined the army in 1964 as an enlisted soldier. When France pulled out of NATO in 1966, he was sent to France to move equipment to Germany. As a heavy equipment operator, his experience growing up on Irvin and Babe Schnick’s dairy farm paid dividends. He earned a safe driving award during his time in France, driving over 10,000 miles accidentfree.
“We didn’t have a lot going on over there,” Schnick said. “But, they always needed a truck or trailer or some piece of equipment. Which was good because I was always busy when I was there.”
Staying busy was the name of the game, and something his farming background helped him thrive in. When there was not as much going on, the Wisconsinite liked to keep people on their toes.
“I remember one time, I got into a disagreement with someone and my sergeant wasn’t too happy with me,” Schnick said. “He said to me, ‘You farmers don’t know what to do with yourselves (without chores) after 5 o’clock.’ He sent me to get some dirt and ll up some low spots in the yard. That wasn’t too bad.”
When Schnick returned home in 1967, he picked up odd jobs around Alma Center before his dad asked him to return to the home farm. He milked
there for three years before a place about a half mile down the road went up for sale.
In 1970, Schnick purchased his current property and started xing it up. He made the old house more comfortable and then broke ground for a new one in 1982. The home where he laid 3,000 blocks created the foundation for a new life.
Over the next 20 years, Schnick continued to make upgrades to his farm.
“We’ve made so many improvements on the farm,” Diane said. “We’ve added a freestall barn, and put in a manure system. But, the gravity ow system we installed was so important.”
With the new system in place, Oz made the call to double the size of their herd.
“Oz was out doing some eld work one day, and I brought him lunch,” Diane said. “He told me, ‘We’re going up to 80 cows’ and my immediate thought was that he’d been out in the sun too long.”
Diane and Oz milked 80 cows, switching two groups of 40 for the next 10 years before bringing their herd back to 35. The smaller herd proved more manageable for Oz, especially after a routine procedure led to major complications.
Two days after Schnick had a biopsy last fall, he could not regulate his body temperature, and his strength was disappearing. After a fall in the yard, Schnick realized it was time to get help.
Over the next 24 hours, the Schnicks were in three different hospitals. After getting settled in Eau Claire, it was discovered that Oz was septic from his prior surgery. Through the testing, the doctors also discovered that he needed to have a threeway bypass.
“They got me with an infectious disease expert and I was on antibiotics in the hospital for a month,” Schnick said. “For a month after I was released, Diane had to hook up an antibiotic to that port to keep me going.”
DAN WACKER/DAIRY STAR
and Oz Schnick stand outside their milking barn Oct. 18 near Alma Center, Wisconsin. The two have been farming together for 36 years.
Even with the ability to administer an antibiotic at home, the Schnicks had minor setbacks and were back in the hospital several times over the next six months to make sure everything was running as it should.
With Oz unable to make the walk down to the barn to milk cows, a walk he made an estimated 37,000 times, the work fell on his support system. Diane, along with the help of their long-time hired man, Dustin Kolve, shouldered the responsibility of the farm.
“Dustin was the saving grace during that time,” Diane said. “I leaned on him a lot and would he not have been as gracious as he was, we wouldn’t still be milking today.”
Kolve took over the morning milkings, milking every day from November until Oz was ready to return in May. In the evening, their grandson, Austen, took on some of the milking responsibilities before their other grandsons, Dalton and Dillon, took over the shift. The Schnicks were back milking in May, but laboring through fatigue was a consistent issue for the recovering Oz.
After school was nished in May, Deana and AJ, who the Schnicks have adopted and have guardianship over, took on the challenge of the farm. Deana, who just graduated from high school, handled the evening milkings, with the younger AJ taking over in the morning. This allowed Diane and Oz to concentrate on the eldwork and trust the herd would be taken care of.
“I can’t thank everyone enough for helping us as they did during that
31 cows at DIOZ Dairy. time,” Diane said. “Dustin, Austen, Dalton, Dillon, Deana, AJ, Neveah and Deagan, I just can’t say thank you enough for what they did for us.”
Oz echoed a similar sentiment.
“When you face the kind of ad-
versity we have, it’s really touching to see who is in your corner,” Oz said. “Those kids saved our cows.” Deana and AJ continue to help on the farm, with Deana handling the majority of the milking with AJ back in school. Oz is still recovering from his medical bouts from a year ago, but with the help of his adopted children, a loyal friend and the love of his life, DIOZ Dairy continues to put the milkers on.
DAN WACKER/DAIRY STAR
Oz Schnick sits on the side of one of the e stalls in his milking barn Oct. 18 near Alma Center, Wisconsin. Schnick currently milks
Thompson’s other milking farm, which houses far-out dry cows through post-fresh cows, is still bedded with sand.
Last winter they built a leanto for the setup, including a press room, an area for the pressed solids and a large grate area to siphon manure into the system. During the project, Thompson also added stalls to the freestall barn to spread out his cows.
Thompson’s manure press is from ALL-INS of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Thompson said having the company nearby has been helpful to problem solve.
The manure press operates by auguring manure through weighted screens and pushing out the brous solids at the end.
“You think, ‘OK, how hard it can it be? It’s an auger and some screens, and it pushes,’” Thompson said. “There’s so much more to it. … The mechanics of it is that simple, but the ne tuning of (it is harder) because everything is variable: speed, drive and control.”
All water and manure at the main farm go through the manure press. Thompson has to manage the effects of excess water when the barn is cleaned, which change the consistency of the manure and therefore the efcacy of the press.
Thompson said adjustments to the press must be slow.
“Depending on what time of day it is, you go drink a cup of coffee, or you go drink a beer, before you come back and look,” Thompson said. “If you make too many changes too quickly, it’s too hard to see what you did.”
The holding tank for the press holds 14,000 gallons. Us-
ing the press saves Thompson about 30% of his lagoon space.
Thompson said he likes the recycling aspect of the manure press and that he no longer has abrasive sand wearing out his equipment.
Thompson considered a sand separator. However, installing a manure press costs 10%20% of a sand separator.
“If costs were the same, I probably maybe would have stayed with sand just because of the fact of the stigmatism with manure press,” Thompson said.
“There’s a lot of love hate.”
Each day during rst shift, stalls are bedded with a thin layer of manure solids placed near the cows’ knees. Any solids on hand for bedding are discarded if they are not used within 12 hours.
Stalls are mechanically
raked and smoothed during the second and third shifts in addition to hand raking as needed.
Thompson is saving money on labor costs per stall because he does not have the eight hours of labor and skid loader time for weekly adding sand in addition to processing the stalls three times daily.
“I was always very heavy on stall maintenance,” Thompson said. “It was pretty easy for my guys to be able to keep doing the stall maintenance.”
Figuring out how dry to press the solids has been a challenge Thompson said. He has settled at 62%-66% moisture.
“The details matter, as far as how getting the machine set to try to get it to the right moisture,” Thompson said. “That’s kind of been a roller coaster trying to gure out where that
is, because there also is a point where we can get it drier, but are we pushing the machine too far and we’re wearing it out prematurely?”
Thompson’s barn has a forced air system which further dries out the manure solids. Thompson said he recommends having this air system if working with pressed solids. The farms test dryness by kneeling in the stalls and checking if their knees become damp.
Thompson said his cows are cleaner since switching.
“Their legs aren’t splashed because the manure is so much drier,” Thompson said. “You’re kicking that dry bedding in the alleyway that’s soaking up moisture.”
Thompson made multiple other changes to his operation at the time of the transition to
pressed solids which together caused his somatic cell count to increase. Thompson said some professionals have a prejudice against pressed solids.
“It has really seemed like there’s certain professionals that are just 100% against it,” Thompson said. “It’s very hard to get them to come in with an open mind.”
Thompson has been able to determine those other changes are part of the issue, not the pressed solids.
“It’s very dry, it’s clean, the cows are clean,” Thompson said. “The more we’ve been digging into this and nding out, we don’t feel that’s where it’s coming from.”
He said they expect to get their SCC back to normal. Managing pressed manure solids requires attention to detail Thompson said.
“Sand denitely can forgive and cover up a lot of things,” he said.
Traction-wise, Thompson said he has not noticed slime build-up on the oors. Thompson said having the barns regrooved eliminated the traction problems he had seen.
Overall herd health and milk production has remained the same.
“I was expecting to not notice much difference,” Thompson said. “What I was hoping for, for the best success with doing it was noticing no change.”
Thompson said he expects to continue to make changes.
“It’s a learning curve thus far, and it will be continuing through the foreseeable future,” Thompson said. “We’ve done a lot of adjusts.”
AMY KYLLO/DAIRY STAR
Mitch Thompson si s pressed manure solids through his hands Oct. 30 at his dairy farm near Lewiston, Minnesota. Thompson aims for the solids to be at 62%-66% moisture.
New RFID rules on horizon
Cornille, Bergum speak about changes for cattle, bison
By Sarah Middendorf sarah.m@star-pub.com
Regulations regarding the movement of cattle and bison are changing. On Nov. 5, new rules regarding ofcial identication for interstate and intrastate movement will take effect.
Dr. Katie Cornille, a senior veterinarian at the Minnesota Board of Animal Health, and Avrey Bergum, a state program administrator for cattle and traceability, spoke about the changes in a webinar entitled “Electronic Identication Requirements” which aimed to help farmers adhere to the new regulations.
only handling facility will not need to be ofcially identied with an RFID tag. This does not include back tag requirements, Bergum said.
Slaughter establishments include butcher shops and packing plants whereas slaughter-only handling facilities house animals prior to slaughter.
Breeding cattle are dened as sexually intact female dairy cattle, all beef cows over 18 months of age and all bulls over 10 months of age, even if they are maintained for feeding. Any animals under these ages that will be used for breeding purposes will need identication as well, Bergum said.
Dr. Katie Cornille
“We are always thinking about foreign animal diseases and preparing for those,” Cornille said.
Earlier this year the U.S. Department of Agriculture nalized the rule, “Use of Electronic Identication Eartags as Ofcial Identication in Cattle and Bison,” which changed regulations for cattle and bison movement.
Determination for ofcial identication depends on the age of the animal, class of the animal, purpose of the movement and where it is going. There are two types of movement that each have their own requirements — intrastate, within Minnesota, and interstate, across state lines. In intrastate movements of breeding cattle, rodeo cattle and exhibition cattle, all must have an ofcial identication to move from their original farm to another location.
Any cattle moving to an approved livestock auction market, slaughter establishment or slaughter-
There is an exception for some animals — beef heifers under 18 months of age maintained for feeding, bulls under 10 months of age maintained for feeding and steers or spayed heifers. These animals will not need an RFID tag if moving intrastate unless moving for rodeo or exhibition.
Interstate requirements may require identication for sexually intact animals that are over 18 months, female dairy cattle at any age, male dairy cattle born after March 11, 2013, and those used for rodeo, recreational events or exhibitions.
When importing cattle, ofcial identication will be required, unless the cattle are going from the farm of origin directly to market, slaughter or a slaughter-only handling facility.
Each state has its own rules regarding the movement of cattle and bison.
“This is just a friendly reminder, anyone exporting from Minnesota please always check with the receiving state for their import requirements,” Cornille said.
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U.S. Department of Agriculture steps up H5N1 surveillance
To prevent the spread of H5N1, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is testing raw milk. This surveillance will begin in the 14 states where dairy cattle have tested positive for the virus. “(We need to get) a clear idea of where (it is) in the states that have the virus, whether it is expanded, or whether there are areas of the state that we need to address as far as biosecurity,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said. Testing will eventually expand to all other states in a tiered approach. “We’ll test the silos (at dairy processing plants) and if there is the virus we’ll begin the process of going to more specic testing with bulk tank testing on farms so we can identify exactly where the virus might be.” Vilsack said the decision to expand H5N1 testing was made due to recent developments in California and Colorado dairy herds.
International Dairy Foods Association President and CEO Michael Dykes praised the news. “The Dietary Guidelines for Americans highlights that between 68% and 76.2% of school-age males and between 77.4% and 94.3% of school-age females are not consuming enough dairy.” Dykes encouraged USDA to continue to focus on creative ways to increase the consumption of dairy foods.
H5N1’s impact on milk production is noteworthy. “With individual herds, there’s a pretty big dip actually,” said Jim Salfer, dairy specialist, University of Minnesota Extension. The recovery period for affected dairy cows is longer than initially thought. “It seems like even after a couple of months, cows never quite come back to original production levels so we never quite get that level of milk production back.”
Running out of time
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is sounding the alarm over the farm bill. “We’re quickly running out of time this fall for this Congress to come together to address the farm bill in a bipartisan way,” Vilsack said in a call with the American Farmland Trust. “Either we have a real bipartisan deal on a new farm bill or at a minimum an extension of the existing farm bill.” The 2018 farm bill expired a year ago but was extended until the end of last month. Most of the farm programs have funding through the end of this calendar year but would be reverted to permanent law in January. That would send price supports back to the parity levels from the 1938 and 1949 farm bills. “Frankly, the longer we wait, the harder it is to get this done.”
A dairy renaissance
Dairy Management Inc. President and CEO Barbara O’Brien believes the dairy industry is experiencing a renaissance. Speaking at a national dairy meeting in Phoenix, O’Brien cited increased consumer retail spending and volume sales for dairy products. The millennial generation is driving the growth. In the year ahead, O’Brien said the dairy checkoff is rening its reputation strategy to target thought leaders and consumers.
Making every drop count
The dairy industry is standing tall against the threat of H5N1 and farm bill delays. National Milk Producers Federation Chairman Randy Mooney made that point at the joint annual meeting for NMPF, National Dairy Board and the United Dairy Industry Association. Changes to the Federal Milk Marketing Order and strong dairy margins were also discussed. Attendance totaled 750 people for the Phoenix event.
Hay prices steady to slightly lower
According to the latest Hay Market Demand and Price Report for the Upper Midwest, hay prices were steady to slightly lower in October. Prime alfalfa hay with greater than a relative feed value of 151 averaged $172 per ton for large squares, $278 per ton for small squares and $114 per ton for large rounds. Grade 1 hay was priced at $120 per ton for large squares and $100 per ton for large rounds. The Grade 2 hay had an average price of $74 per ton for large squares and $55 per ton for large rounds.
Promoting organic dairy products to youth
USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service has launched the Organic Dairy Production Promotion program investing $15 million to expand access to organic dairy products in schools and youth programs.
The National Dairy Farmers Assuring Responsible Management Program has updated its latest environmental stewardship version. The goal is to achieve greenhouse gas neutrality by 2050. Version 3 incorporates a whole-farm model called the Ruminant Farm System that includes estimates of carbon sequestration and the ability to analyze productivity.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals takes credit for Starbucks’ decision
Starbucks is no longer charging extra for customizing drinks with non-dairy milk, such as beverages made with soy, oat or almond-based products. Starbucks traditionally is one of the biggest buyers of milk nationwide, purchasing more than 140 million gallons of milk per year. The animal rights activist group, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, immediately claimed victory. In a statement, PETA said this move follows its four-year campaign, which included protests at Starbucks locations and celebrity intervention from actor James Cromwell and singer Paul McCartney
Environmental Protection Agency OKs NovaGraz for pasture weed control
Corteva Agriscience has announced the Environmental Protection Agency has approved NovaGraz herbicide. “Most producers rely on white clover and annual lespedeza in their pastures,” said Morgan Bohlander, range and pasture portfolio lead. “These legumes can provide forage quality for grazing and haying and offer nitrogen-xing capability that enhances soil fertility and health. Without effective broadleaf weed control, the harm that weeds cause to forage production and quality can outweigh the benets that these legumes provide.” NovaGraz will be available for the 2025 application season, pending state registrations.
New products from Lely
Lely has introduced three new products for the dairy industry. Lely Zeta is a cow monitoring system that uses cameras, LED lighting and articial intelligence technology to improve animal welfare. Lely Juno Max is an autonomous feed pusher for largescale farms and Lely Discovery Collector C2 uses vacuum technology to clean barn oors by collecting the manure.
Wisconsinite on national FFA ofcer team
The new National FFA ofcer team includes Wisconsin’s Mary Schrieber. Schrieber, who was part of the East Troy FFA Chapter, will serve as the central region vice president. The other national ofcers are from Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky, California and Georgia.
Trivia challenge
Gorgonzola is the blue cheese named after the Italian village where it was rst produced. That answers our last trivia question. For this week’s trivia, what president made Thanksgiving an ofcial holiday? We’ll have the answer in our next edition of the Dairy Star.
Don Wick is owner/broadcaster for the Red River Farm Network of 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 sons, Tony and Sam, and ve grandchildren, Aiden, Piper, Adrienne, Aurora and Sterling.
There are some exceptions when moving cattle or bison across state lines, Cornille said. These include all of the following. Having a commuter herd or ofcial agreements. Moving animals through another state back to the original state. Moving animals directly to an approved tagging site and giving ofcial identication back tags prior to comingling. Moving animals directly to slaughter. Finally, moving animals directly to no more than one approved livestock facility market, then directly to slaughter with a back tag.
As animals are getting RFID tags administered, there needs to be a record to trace each animal. Cornille said to record the tag number, animal species, sex, age, type, date applied and name and address where the identication was administered. She said to maintain these records for ve years.
“Really the only time that it is utilized by us is in the event of disease traces,” Cornille said. “When we do have a trace and we are following the Hansel and Gretel bread
crumbs to gure out what animals were exposed, whatever the situation is, we can do that faster.”
The ofcial identication for cattle and bison is an electronic identication tag and a visual tag. The current technology is called RFID.
The rules for general ofcial identication have not changed federally or state-wide for Minnesota.
There are many places to nd RFID tags, including approved manufacturers like Allex, Datamars, Destron Fearing, Leader Products, Shearwell, Wuxi and Y-Tex, a veterinarian and the USDA distribution program.
By using the tags during a disease traceback, fewer animals may need to be quarantined because it is easier to determine which animals were potentially exposed, Cornille said.
“My objective is to keep the industry moving as much as possible while still protecting the industry,” Cornille said. “Things that improve traceability help me do that.”
CORRECTION
The Oct. 12 edition of Dairy Star incorrectly identied Graham Giese and Erica Lundberg of Bert-Mar Farms. Dairy Star sincerely apologizes for this error.
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Improving agricultural incident response
National Farm Medicine Center training reaches over 500
By Danielle Nauman danielle.n@dairystar.com
CHILI, Wis. — Every farmer and farm family hopes to never encounter an accident, but when a farm accident does occur, it is in everyone’s best interest to have a well-trained response and rescue team.
That was the mission of the National Farm Medicine Center’s Agriculture Rescue Training Oct. 26 at Heiman Holsteins in Chili.
This year marked the fth version of this program, revived from a successful predecessor in the 1980s and 1990s, said NFMC director Casper Bendixsen, who is a former reghter. The program was restarted due to a $50,000 donation earmarked for the program, raised through the center’s Auction of Champions ve years ago. Bendixsen said with that donation, the NFMC had the goal to operate the program for ve years, training at least 500 reghters — a goal they
exceeded with this year’s training.
“Twenty years ago, half a rural re department might have farm experience,” Bendixsen said. “Now there are fewer with farm experience, so when we revived this training, we were looking at a new generation of reghters.”
The training provided each year is vital to the agricultural community and the teams that respond when the unthinkable happens, Bendixsen said.
“Ag workers and farm families are at high risk for injury,” Bendixsen said. “Rural (emergency medical services) covers large areas of land. Farm environments are unique; the things that pose problems and create the incidents are very unique.”
This year, 38 Wisconsin re departments sent 76 trainees to the event. In addition to Wisconsin reghters being trained, guests from re and EMS departments in six states, along with members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Centers for Agricultural Safety and
ff
Maine.
Health attended three days of training for trainers, with the intent to create additional training resource events in their areas.
“We really do not want to be the only shop in town,” Bendixsen said. “We want to have as many of these events as possible, all over the country to get people the training they need.”
Thirty-four trainees undertook the training for trainers instruction.
“We want folks to take back the highest quality version of training to their department, to customize it to what they need and spread the information to their people,” Bendixsen said. “We
go through everything with them, how we plan, organize, set the equipment up; then they watch as the master trainers teach the training. The more trainers we have out there, the more accessible the training becomes.”
Feeding Flexibility & Durability
DANIELLE NAUMAN/DAIRY STAR
Je
Fournier assesses how to approach a chopper box extrica�on simula�on Oct. 26 during the Na�onal Farm Medicine Center’s Agriculture Rescue Training near Chili, Wisconsin. Fournier said agriculture and forestry are the primary industries in his home area of Aroostook County,
Five hands-on incidents were simulated for training this year, including both vertical and horizontal entry conned space rescues; large animal rescue; extrication; tractor rollover; and grain bin re and rescue scenarios.
“To have two farms next to each other where you can have the space to do everything in one spot with ve trainings is unique,” Bendixsen said.
ally stays there. Being able to prevent and to mitigate those injuries is a huge thing. It’s important for the re department. We’re doing a disservice because we don’t know, what we don’t know.”
Jeff Fournier was one of the attendees. Fournier retired from reghting in Massachusetts and is now a member of his local volunteer re department in St. Agatha, Maine. His experiences in agricultural response training, or the lack of it, prompted his trip to central Wisconsin.
Fournier explained that his area in northeast Maine is remote. Agriculture is a primary industry, growing potatoes, broccoli, oats and grains, with a few small dairy and beef farms scattered. Forestry is the second largest industry.
“When I came back to Maine, I started asking questions, was anyone doing training regarding this,” Fournier said. “The answer was no one was.”
Fournier began searching for training classes and connected with Bendixsen at the NFMC.
“We have a lot of farms; ag is a huge business and it is very important to our community,” Fournier said. “When you have a major incident, just like any other traumatic incident to a community, it re-
“Aroostook County is the size of Massachusetts and Rhode Island put together, so it’s a big place and response times are long,” Fournier said. “Farm incidents are not common, but they aren’t uncommon, either. When they happen, it is a big deal. Farmers are very independent, when we get called, it is usually way after the incident because they have tried to mitigate it themselves.”
Because remoteness often affects agricultural incidents, Fournier’s goal is to train as many of his fellow Aroostook County responders as possible. Weather can also be a factor, as the area typically receives nearly 120 inches of snow annually.
“We don’t have a lot of
volunteers and not everyone can show up all at once,” Fournier said. “Educating
can go in numbers. We need to respond to those agricultural accidents with a lot of people because it often takes a lot of people to accomplish the task. That’s the goal — sharing resources and equipment, working together.”
Besides the training on dealing with the situation, Fournier is hoping to utilize the Rural Fireghters Delivering Agriculture Safety and Health training, creating relationships with farmers before a tragedy occurs.
“It’s really important for us to form those relationships, go out there so they know us and we know them,” Fournier said. “We don’t want to show up to an emergency and have it be our rst date.”
Fournier said the three days of training he received from the NFMC event was phenomenal.
other departments will help, so that when one of us has to respond to an incident, we
“This is so important because when you look at ag businesses as a whole, most people don’t understand that people could have millions of dollars of assets on that farm, whether it’s animals or DNA stored in a barn, machinery or harvested crops,” Fournier said. “You have families that have been doing the same thing for multiple generations; they have an investment. The municipality and the re departments owe it to the taxpayers to be able to respond and respond well.”
Casper Bendixsen
DANIELLE NAUMAN/DAIRY STAR
Je
ff Fournier (front) and Andrew Guerre�e discuss a chopper box extrica�on simula�on Oct. 26 during the Na�onal Farm Medicine Center’s Agriculture Rescue Training near Chili, Wisconsin. The two traveled from Maine to par�cipate in the training with the intent to train emergency personnel in their area to improve response to agricultural incidents.
from our side our side OF THE FENCE
How many acres of crops do you have and what did you plant on those acres?
Dale Gaul Peosta, Iowa Dubuque County 400 cows
How many acres of crops do you have and what did you plant on those acres? I farm a total of 300 acres of corn, 75 acres of alfalfa and 170 acres split up between pastures for heifers. I normally try to do some kind of cover crop. This year I put in about 250 acres of rye in the corn silage areas. We took 45 acres of ground ear corn this year.
What was the growing season like in your area and what was the biggest challenge you faced? Early on we had a lot of rain so it was kind of difcult getting the corn and new seeding alfalfa in. By July the rain stopped and the corn looked really good due to all of the moisture it had. We made a lot of hay this year. It got really dry once the rain stopped, and it didn’t rain for about two months. During harvest we didn’t have to worry about any mud and we had everything done before the rain. It is very enjoyable to harvest without rain. Another challenge we ran into this spring was spreading manure and the elds getting wet. We just had to wait it out and we probably went a little too soon, but at that rate we are better just getting it in a little too soon than too late.
How did each crop yield this year? The corn yielded between 240-270 bushels, and we got 5-6 tons of dry matter alfalfa to an acre. The corn was a little better this year because we had more moisture. The yield was maybe 20-40 bushels better on corn. Hay didn’t really seem to matter between last year’s drought and this year’s rain. The pastures kind of petered out in the dry spell, but that is expected.
What do you enjoy most about the fall harvest season? I enjoy just seeing how well the crops did because you never know what it will look like in the end. In the spring we are just hoping for a good crop. The satisfaction is seeing all your work come out to a well-produced crop.
What have you done in the past years to improve your soil health on your dairy? We hose the dairy manure onto the corn ground and we soil sample so we know what we are needing for fertilizer. We also use a cover crop to try and hold the nutrient in the soil where it needs to stay. I have been doing cover crops for the last 3-4 years. It also helps stop the soil from eroding.
Tell us about your farm. My wife, Dee, and I are in a partnership with my daughter and son-in-law, Elizabeth and Andrew Elsinger. We milk 400 cows in a double-16 swing parlor. The cows are housed in two freestall barns with sand bedding. We raise mostly all of our own heifers. Then we also do some AI breeding to Angus to sell the bulls on the lower third of the cows. We ship our milk to Wapsie Valley Creamery.
Kurt Moeller Seymour, Wisconsin Outagamie County 30 cows
How many acres of crops do you have and what did you plant on those acres? There are 85 tillable acres on our farm. We planted 40 acres of corn, 12 acres of oats for grain that was seeded down with alfalfa, 11 acres of soybeans, and we have 22 acres of established hay ground.
What was the growing season like in your area and what was the biggest challenge you faced? The growing season started out wet but became more favorable as the year progressed. The biggest challenge was to get the crops planted on time. We had to take full advantage of the small windows of dry weather, which meant a couple of late nights in the tractor.
How did each crop yield this year? Overall, we had a good crop year and probably the best in quite a few years. The oats ran 70 bushels to the acre. Our soybeans were just under 50 bushels, which was not bad for being planted June 12. We had an average hay year and were able to put about 1,200 small squares of hay in the barn. Haylage was made from the rst crop and the third crop haylage was mixed with wet corn silage to top off the silo. There are nine acres of corn to combine yet so the yield is not known, but it looks decent. Our neighbor bought about 22 acres of corn for silage from us, and we put the remainder in our silos. The yield was above average but nothing ofcial to report.
What do you enjoy most about the fall harvest season? I enjoy seeing the crops come off the eld. You plant in the spring and hope for the best. Seeing the fruits of your labor in a good year is very satisfying and rewarding.
What have you done in the past years to improve your soil health on your dairy? I would have to say crop rotation. With the small amount of acreage, it can be a challenge. I try to get manure on all elds at some point. Most of the time it occurs either after the nal year of hay or oats harvest. I feel I am making the best use of what I have, which lessens the amount of fertilizer that I need to purchase.
Tell us about your farm. We milk 30 cows, and the work is done by my wife, Meghan, our sons, Blake, 11, and Adam, 10, and me. In 2018 after going back down to 30 cows from 60, we began breeding all cows to beef and purchasing any needed replacements. Raising heifers costs money, and a calf out of your better cows does not equal a good cow. I have done both, and at this stage of my farming career, it is about personal preference. I lean towards less work, not more, so it ts that bill. For the past 4.5 years, I have worked at the neighboring farm in exchange for seed, replacements, and other goods and services, which has worked out well for both of us.
Dennis Hateld Hateld Dairy Viola, Wisconsin Richland County 200 cows
How many acres of crops do you have and what did you plant on those acres? We have 116 acres of corn, 65 acres of oats and 180 acres of alfalfa for hay. We also have 80 acres of cropland pasture.
What was the growing season like in your area and what was the biggest challenge you faced? The growing season was good. We had plenty of moisture, maybe a little too much during the spring and corn was planted later than we liked in June. Our challenge with organic was getting into the eld to cultivate and rotary hoeing the corn was a challenge. Timely rain later in the season was good for us. The drier fall was excellent. We overcame those challenges by picking our spots where we could get into the elds. Some elds just couldn’t get cultivated as much as we wanted because of those wet conditions early on. This fall, we had the dry weather which helped us make small square hay bales to feed our calves. Some falls we don’t have a dry enough period to make small squares, but this will be a nice addition to the youngstock ration.
How did each crop yield this year? We don’t have our exact numbers back yet, but the harvest was above average this year for hay and corn. When we made highmoisture corn, that was at 36%-38% snaplage corn. Our corn silage was at 68% moisture. We stayed pretty consistent on our moisture levels compared to other years. Last year we had to harvest earlier because of the drought, but that helped keep our numbers consistent.
What do you enjoy most about the fall harvest season? You get to nally see the rewards of your work from raising and producing the crop. You get to see it come to fruition.
What have you done in the past years to improve your soil health on your dairy? We work with a nutrient management planner to help us more closely manage our nutrients. Farming it organically helps us improve our soil health since we don’t put any chemicals on it. We also rotate our crops more often and manage our manure. We apply our manure and incorporate it fairly soon after we apply it.
Tell us about your farm. We have 210 acres and are a 200-cow organic dairy farm in Viola, Wisconsin. We use free stalls and milk in a double-8 parallel parlor. We rent 300 acres of cropland to help make our feed for our herd. We have 200 replacements. My wife, Virginia, my son, Aaron, and I along with three employees work on the farm. We started the farm in 1990.
Mark Karow
Augusta, Wisconsin
Eau Claire County
70 Cows
How many acres of crops do you have and what did you plant on those acres? We farm roughly 485 acres of cropland. This includes 220 acres of corn, 80 acres of soybeans, 100 acres of alfalfa hay, 25 acres of oats and peas and new seeding, and another 60 acres of grass hay on our dairy and crop farm.
What was the growing season like in your area and what was the biggest challenge you faced? This year, spring started very wet. We were able to get most of our corn and beans in the ground in a timely fashion on our better-drained elds. Some of our poorly drained soil became saturated, and we had some stand loss in the corn elds. We had challenges getting our rst crop hay chopped between the rain showers and very soft elds. Our rst crop yields were big but a little late. We just pushed through and took advantage of any good weather windows that we got. As the season progressed, we got abnormally dry, but our hay crops were still decent for the most part.
How did each crop yield this year? Our corn silage yields were down this year compared to 2023. We chopped 10-15 acres more this year compared to last year to get the same amount of silage. High-moisture corn had exceptional yields in some elds while some of the more marginal soils struggled on yield. Tar spot probably hurt some of the more marginal elds. Soybean yields were more aver-
age. The plants looked good all year, but towards late summer we struggled with drought conditions and did not get enough rain to put on exceptional yields. Our Legacy Seeds test plot showed ranges of 49-61 bushels to the acre. We are hoping to be combining our Legacy Seeds corn plot later this week. Later alfalfa crops were adequate, but also a little down from lack of rain.
What do you enjoy most about the fall harvest season? I enjoy harvesting crops in the fall as you get to see all your hard work and long hours hopefully pay off. As our kids also get older, I enjoy watching my 14-year-old son honing his tractor and equipment operating skills. I also do some custom silage bagging jobs in the fall, so it is always nice to get out into the countryside to see what the neighbors are up to and help them put up their feed.
What have you done in the past years to improve your soil health on your dairy? Over the past 30 years we have been no-tilling around half of our corn each year to improve soil health and lessen erosion. In the past ve years we have been working on improving the drainage on our poorly draining elds with tile. We have been considering doing some cover crops, but we have not jumped on that bandwagon yet.
Tell us about your farm. My wife and I own and operate Karow Farms near Augusta. We are raising the sixth generation with our two boys right now, who are 7 and 14. The original 80 acres have been in my family since 1901. We currently have a herd of 70 cows including registered Holsteins, Jerseys and Brown Swiss. We also raise all our dairy steers and feed them to nished weight. We raise all of our own corn and forage for our cattle and the remainder is marketed as cash crops. My wife also has a ock of over 100 chickens and sells eggs. We also market a handful of nished steers directly to consumers each year.
Owatonna, Minnesota
Steele County 15 show cows
How many acres of crops do you have and what did you plant on those acres? We operate a farm in Minnesota and a farm in Wisconsin. Both are corn and soybean operations. There are a couple thousand acres at each operation.
What was the growing season like in your area and what was the biggest challenge you faced? The growing season in Owatonna, Minnesota, was one of the worst on record. We had over 40 inches of rain. It not only drowned out many acres, it also leached away the nitrogen. The Wisconsin farm was the opposite. We got about 20 inches of rain. Not only did Mother Nature kick us in the teeth this year, but the value of our commodity dropped over $1 on corn. Between the poor yields and decreased value of corn and soybeans, 2024 will go down as one of the most challenging years ever. In agriculture as a whole, if you want to stay involved and be viable, you have to be huge, you have to grow. This is a real challenge. You have to be in the thousands whether it is in acres or cows or pigs. If you’re not in the thousands, especially if you have kids you want to stay involved, you are forced to keep growing to stay viable.
How did each crop yield this year? On our Minnesota farm it was the worst corn crop I’ve seen in my career. In Wisconsin, on the other hand, that farm usually yields 20 bushels less than Minnesota, but this year it was 30 more.
What do you enjoy most about the fall harvest season? In normal years you enjoy seeing the fruits of your labor. You pick out a variety of corn and you place it on a certain soil type or a certain type of farm and you pick out which fertilizer you will use and how much. There are also other products you choose, like growth inhibitors, fungicides and insecticides. You try all these different products that you think will justify the cost because of the increased yields. You basically have test plots all across the elds. When you come with the combine, it is collecting the data. The fun part is seeing what worked and what didn’t and trying to build on that next year.
What have you done in the past years to improve your soil health on your dairy? In southern Minnesota, we have a black, heavy clay-based soil that is very high in organic matter and is high in cation exchange capacity. In Wisconsin, it is the bigger challenge to increase organic matter and CEC. We use cover crops to increase organic matter when we till in the spring. We also use some no-till practices. Cover crops and no-till are tools to help retain moisture and avoid runoff to constantly stay on top of organic matter and CECs.
Tell us about your farm. My wife, Daria, and I have four boys, Joseph, Zach, Jerome and Darian. We farm with Joseph and Zach. We farm the farm that I grew up on near Owatonna, Minnesota. We also farm the farm my wife grew up on near Barron, Wisconsin. At the moment Joseph is on the farm with us in Owatonna and Zach is manning the farm in Wisconsin because both farms were ready to harvest at the same time. We also still own and milk some dairy show cattle. Jerome is the one who enjoys the showing business. My father, Joe Stransky, has about 200 cattle, half dairy and half beef. All the dairy animals are youngstock.
Reid Stransky (pictured with his wife, Daria)
How many times a day do you milk, and what is your current herd average, butterfat and protein? We milk three times a day. Our herd is averaging 106 pounds of milk per day with tests of 4.33% butterfat and 3.25% protein.
Describe your housing and milking facility. We milk in a double-16 parallel parlor. We have six-row freestall barns and utilize sand bedding.
Who is part of your farm team, and what are their roles? Our ownership group consists of John and Luann Shea, my wife, Katie, and me. Katie is more of our herd manager. She works really well with people and is uent in mastitis treatments as well as the transition cows. Juvenal heads the calf department and has a really good eye for calves and making sure they are drinking to the level they should be and how to handle the calves when they are not. Jesus is one of our top guys. He handles all our sand operations. He helps organize the hoof trimmer and the dry-offs and does a really good job in our herdsman role. He milks a couple of shifts a week and is a crucial part of our team. Jill Wiederholt manages our calves and does a lot of our nancial paperwork. She is our primary bookkeeper, handling the nances.
What is your herd health program? We have herd check every Monday. There we do our traditional pregnancy checks and our ovsynch protocol. We use Bovi-Shield and a J5 vaccination at 35 days of milk during herd check. We will dry off and do ScourGuard and a J5 vacci-
nation at that time. We are selective on our dry cow treatment, individualizing it based on each cow. From there, we will also utilize a teat sealant. At 25-28 days out, we will move them to pre-fresh and administer another round of ScourGuard and J5. Fresh cows all get Inforce nasal
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vaccine and cows third lactation and older get a calcium bolus at calving. We monitor for the rst 10 days in milk.
What does your dry cow and transition program consist of?
Our dry cow period averages 60 days, and that uctuates depend-
ing on the individual cow. We’ll vaccinate with ScourGuard 4KC and J5. We’re pretty selective on the dry cow treatment, monitoring their cell count. If it is below our threshold, we will not give Spectramast DC, only a teat sealant. If they are over 100 pounds or have a mastitis event, they will get the Spectramast dry cow treatment. For the dry cow area, we built a new barn in 2022, a six-row, sand-bedded freestall barn. Our ration depends on how close they are to calving. We mix a different ration for the far-off group and another for the pre-fresh group. The pre-fresh group is 28 days before they’re scheduled to calve. When we get to their calving date, we’ll bring them into a straw bedded calving pen. That pen is more visible from all areas of the farm, which is super critical for us because we always want to have someone checking on that group to make sure they are all comfortable. They will return to the herd varying on their lactations. The more mature cows will return between 14-21 days post-fresh. Heifers and younger ones might be 35 days post-fresh before they join the herd.
What is the composition of your ration, and how has that changed in recent years? Our main milking diet is a premix
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PHOTO SUBMITTED
TJ Roth (from le ), Jesus Hernandez, Juvenal Hernandez and John Shea gather at Banner Ridge Farms LLC near Pla eville, Wisconsin. Roth and Shea own the dairy where they milk 500 cows.
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“We have seen good results with Udder Comfort™ through the years. We didn’t see that with other products we tried. We love what it does for our fresh cows, especially 2-year-olds. It gets swelling out fast, softening udders quicker for more comfortable milking. We really like the ease of use and doing fresh groups in the barn with the Udder Comfort Battery-Operated Backpack Sprayer. We do pre-fresh heifer groups once a week when we vaccinate. We do post-fresh heifers and cows every morning for 10 days after calving while in lockups for daily temps,” says Jim Rickert of Rickland Farms, Eldorado, Wisconsin.
Four generations farm 2000 acres and milk 975 Reg. Holsteins. They were profiled in a Sept. 2023 Holstein America on RFD-TV. (Watch it at https://qrco.de/Rickland or scan QR.)
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We wouldn’t be doing this if it didn’t pay.”
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consisting of high-moisture corn, dry corn, dry gluten feed, soybean meal and whey/delactosed permeate. We’ll also use a mineral package to go with our traditional haylage and corn silage. Currently, we run about a 60% forage diet.
Tell us about the forages you plant and detail your harvest strategies. We grow alfalfa and corn. We harvest the alfalfa at two feet high. After we cut it, we try to have it harvested within 30 hours. We average 28 days between crops. For corn silage, we pay attention to dry matter. Sixty-ve percent moisture looks different every year, so we monitor kernel and stalk moisture because that varies by year.
What is your average somatic cell count and how does that affect your production? Our SCC is sitting at 52,000. Our sand crew does a fantastic job of keeping the stalls full and properly groomed. The scrapers on every milking shift also clean out the stalls as they push cows to the parlor. Attention to detail in the prep routine is another area of focus for keeping the SCC low. Lastly, a healthy cow on a well-balanced diet will better ght off infections, therefore producing more milk.
What change has created the biggest improvement in your herd average? The largest improvement came when we were able to match our feed quality with the overall ration. Small changes amounted to big milk. Having the right people in the right places really makes a big difference as well. Over the last four or ve years, we have focused on timely harvesting, making the most of every acre, and, most importantly, cow comfort.
What technology do you use to monitor your herd? Currently, we rely on our great employees. In the future, we plan to use CowManager. But at this point, we
rely on our people monitoring and paying close attention to the herd.
What is your breeding program, and what role does genetics play in your production level? We run a presync/ ovsych program. That plays a massive role for us. We have improved our genetic potential over the last 15 years by changing our strategy. We have focused more on breeding for components and daughter pregnancy rate, and that’s been super critical for us and our herd. It has enabled us to bump our voluntary waiting period back to 80 days in milk from the original 60 or 65 and has helped us gain milk.
List three management strategies that have helped you attain your production and component level. Our top management strategies are hiring and retaining quality employees, paying attention to detail and having a great support team. Most of our employees have been here for the past 10-15 years and they care about our dairy. They want to see us do well, and that investment in us and our herd really helps us. Our attention to detail has been crucial, too. There are a lot of other producers out there, but how closely we monitor our herd and pay attention to details helps us nd things early and get them xed. The support team of our hoof trimmer, nutritionist, breeder, vet and everyone else works well together. We know they want us to succeed as much as we want to. Having that kind of synergy from the top down has been such an important piece. We are lucky to work with the people we do.
Tell us about your farm and your plans for the dairy in the next year. We want to keep operating at a high level and keep costs low. We want to look to the next generation to see where we can make that transition smoothly years from now when it becomes more of a reality.
Contact one of the following dealers to learn more:
IOWA
Prairie Land Ag Supply Inc. Rock Valley, IA 712-476-9290
United Dairy Systems, Inc. West Union, IA 563-422-5355 Monticello, IA 319-465-5931
WISCONSIN
Advanced Dairy Spring Valley, WI 715-772-3201
Bob’s Dairy Supply Dorchester, WI 715-654-5252
Ederer Dairy Supply Plain, WI 608-546-3713
DeLaval Dairy Service Kaukauna, WI 866-335-2825
Joe’s Refrigeration Inc. Withee, WI 715-229-2321
Professional Dairy Services Arlington, WI 608-635-0268
Redeker Dairy Equipment Brandon, WI 920-346-5579
The Scharine Group Inc. Whitewater, WI 800 472-2880 Mt Horeb, WI 800-872-3470
MINNESOTA & SOUTH
DAKOTA
Farm Systems
Melrose, MN
320-256-3276
Brookings, SD
800-636-5581
Advanced Dairy Mora, MN
320-679-1029
Pierz, MN
320-468-2494
St. Charles, MN
507-932-4288 Wadena, MN 218-632-5416
Gear Up for Fall
Ready to spread holiday cheer
Albedarned Dairy donates
Great Christmas Giveaway calf
By Danielle Nauman danielle.n@dairystar.com
BALDWIN, Wis. — Santa Claus is a rm believer that the best Christmas gift he can bring any young dairy enthusiast is their own registered calf.
Dairy Star is holding its annual Great Christmas Giveaway, with the most exciting prize being a registered Holstein calf hailing from Albedarned Dairy LLC in Baldwin. The drawing will be held Dec. 11.
Ms Albedarn Admire Bella, a Mystique Admire daughter born Sept. 12, has a pedigree worthy of ribbons and bows. She is out of a Good Plus 83 two-yearold daughter of Brenland Domino, followed by a Very Good 88 daughter of Dymentholm Mr Apples Avalanche. The third dam is Probert C Bree-Ella-Red EX-94, the 2014 All-American Red & White Junior Three-Year-
Old. Bree-Ella also earned honorable mention honors as a 125,000-pound cow in 2017 and was nominated in
the same class again in 2018. Bella’s fourth dam, also nominated All-American Red & White Junior Three-Year-Old
in 2012, was Probert D Babette-Red EX-91. The calf’s fth dam, Reedale Devil Bonita-Red VG-86, was nomi-
nated Junior All-American Winter Calf in 2007.
Albedarned Dairy is a fourth-generation family dairy farm located in St. Croix County and is home to 550 milking cows. The farm is operated by the third generation, brothers Bruce and Joseph Achterhof, and the fourth generation, Vanessa Gunderson and Paul and Jenna Grulke.
Both Jenna and Vanessa wanted to return home to their family farm following college, and Paul joined the operation as well. Bringing on the next generation required the Achterhof family to prepare to expand their business. The dairy was moved from their original site in Woodville to the current location outside of Baldwin. They continue to raise heifers at their Woodville location.
“We both had the same passion, the same dream, so we decided we might as well try it,” Vanessa said.
The move began to put the wheels in motion for growing the milking herd from 250 cows to its current size.
Turn to CALF GIVEAWAY | Page 26
DANIELLE NAUMAN/DAIRY STAR
Ms Albedarn Admire Bella, the Great Christmas Giveaway calf, stands with Vanessa Gunderson (from le ), Paul Grulke and Jenna Grulke Nov. 1 at Albedarned Dairy near Baldwin, Wisconsin. Bella will be given to a lucky young dairy enthusiast Dec. 11 through the Dairy Star’s Great Christmas Giveaway.
DAIRY ST R THE GREAT 2024
Grand Prize Drawing Will Be Held Wednesday, December 11, 2024
THE WINNERS WILL BE POSTED ON WWW.DAIRYSTAR.COM, MILK BREAK NEWSLETTER AND ON FACEBOOK.
Look for the red box at participating locations to enter!
• Ag Partners Plainview • 507-534-2531 Lake City • 651-345-3328
• Beck Implement Elgin • 507-876-2122
• Leedstone Plainview • 800-548-2540
• Midwest Machinery Plainview • 507-534-3116
• Wingert Sales & Service Plainview • 507-534-2285
WINONA COUNTY
• Ag Partners Lewiston • 507-523-2188
• Elba Co-op Creamery Elba • 507-796-6571
• Kalmes Implement Altura • 507-796-6741
• Lang’s Dairy Equipment Lewiston • 507-452-5532
• Lewiston Sales Lewiston • 507-523-2112
• Midwest Machinery
St. Charles • 507-932-4030
• Minnwest Bank Lewiston • 507-523-2161
“It’s been extremely tough — moving to a new facility, starting over, trying to grow your herd,” Vanessa said. “Those challenges are what keep us going, they make us want to continue to strive to reach our dreams.”
They all agree that one of the biggest challenges they have faced was not having the heifer numbers they needed to facilitate their expansion.
“We had to wait for two years for those replacements to start showing up and making an impact,” Vanessa said.
The past ve years have included success and achievements though.
“We’ve really brought our genetics a long way,” Vanessa said. “You can see the improvements in our heifers. They are really starting to take off.”
Having grown up with experience in breeding registered dairy cattle, Paul took over decisions about breeding the cows, moving the herd from being bull-bred to using A.I. A venture that started with about 10 registered animals has grown to now having nearly 200 registered animals on the farm.
“We have great heifers calving in now, not the short little heifers we used to have,” Vanessa said.
Providing the grand prize
calf for the Great Christmas Giveaway is a full-circle moment for the family, Vanessa said.
“Jenna and I always showed all grade animals,” Vanessa said. “We never got to be a part of the show
world. That dream of being able grow your own herd, have your own animals and build your own pedigrees, that’s why we try the best we can to give back.”
Providing opportunities for youth does not stop in the barns at Albedarned Dairy. Paul and Jenna have taken on the task of revitalizing the St. Croix County Junior Holstein Association, opening doors to the youth of their county to compete in a variety of education and social events.
“I grew up in a really good junior program in Dodge County,” Paul said. “I had lots of mentors that took their time to help me out, to teach me. It’s important to give back and help junior members as much as I can.”
Hearing about Paul’s experiences, Jenna was driven to provide those experiences for the youth in her county.
“We didn’t really have a junior program growing up,” Jenna said. “Hearing about the things Paul got to do, I wanted the youth around here to have those opportunities. We started with a great group of kids. They have been awesome since day one. They have a lot of passion, they want to learn and they want to do well.”
Jenna and Paul recruited youth to participate in dairy quiz bowl and jeopardy at the Wisconsin Junior Holstein Association convention. This year marks the fourth year they will take youth to the event.
“Putting the time and the effort in, that is how you build the future leaders in our industry,” Paul said. “If we can help light that re in a kid somewhere by providing this calf, then that is something great we can do for our industry.”
DANIELLE NAUMAN/DAIRY STAR
Ms Albedarn Admire Bella, a registered Holstein calf, takes a break Nov. 1 at Albedarned Dairy near Baldwin, Wisconsin. Dairy youth can register to win Bella in the Dairy Star’s Great Christmas Giveaway.
Students see technology at work
the Lely robo c milking unit Oct.
at Bailey’s Cherry Valley Dairy near Tomah, Wisconsin. Western Technical College’s Agri-Business Science Technology Academy visited the farm to learn about technology advancements.
Western Technical College teaches next generation through academy
By Dan Wacker dan.w@dairystar.com
TOMAH, Wis. — The dairy industry is always advancing and Western Technical College in La Crosse is helping to prepare students for the workforce by learning about new technology, like robotic milkers. Students involved with the school’s AgriBusiness Science Technology Academy experienced this rsthand Oct. 23 when they visited Bailey’s Cherry Valley Dairy near Tomah.
The academy is led by Dona Goede, an instructor with WTC, and Rochelle Hoffman, the high school academy coordinator.
The pair teamed with farm owners Nelda and Brock Bailey for a tour of the Baileys’ 300-cow dairy that features six robotic milking units. Helping with the effort were Alleck Olerud and Aimee Schomburg of Seehafer Refrigeration. Olerud and Schomburg explained the technology behind the robots and the nutrition required to produce high-quality milk.
The academy offered by WTC came about because of a growing need for higher-level agriculture classes. Though students at Tomah High School have agriculture classes early in their education, the further they progress, the fewer their options become. Goede, in conjunction with Nelda Bailey, who in addition to dairy farming is the Tomah agriculture educator, now has seven students enrolled in the academy, six from the Tomah area and one
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DAN WACKER/DAIRY STAR
Alleck Olerud (right) teaches Western Technical College students Sarah Guthrie and Izzy Hayes about the technology inside
23
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from Melrose-Mindoro High School. They are also working on expanding the academy to two or even three locations next year.
The academy helps streamline the path for these students to earn an associate’s degree one year after high school.
“Our goal is to get employees ready for work at an earlier rate,” Goede said. “It’s hard to nd employees in the agriculture industry, so our goal is to get them educated and entered into the workforce quicker.”
Among the students with a background in dairy is Mason Stanton, who works at his family’s dairy farm near Black River Falls.
“The best part about this program is being out and getting to experience new things,” Stanton said.
Stanton’s family milks in a double-6 parlor, so the robots were a new experience.
“This was pretty cool,” Stanton said. “I grew up on a farm, but this was really the rst time I got to see robots in action.”
Along with the visit to Bailey’s farm to see the robots operate, the group has also visited Allied Cooperative in Tomah to see how technology is used in different avenues of the dairy industry. The class also illustrates the changing environment the agriculture industry experiences.
“We think back 50-100 years ago, and what production used to look like,” Hoffman said. “There’s been leaps and bounds of advancement in technology. When we think about industry opportunities on the farm, we look at automation and how to reduce cost. We’ve talked about different herd management styles and how to optimize nutrition. All of that is important when preparing new employees.”
Brock Bailey, one of the owners of Bailey’s Cherry Valley Dairy, knows the importance of educating the incoming workforce.
“There’s a lot more computer technology now,” he said. “It’s been a real advantage, but it’s also been a big change.”
That change is what Goede, Hoffman and Nelda Bailey have
the dairy to see their technology.
been trying to help their students get ahead of.
“We want to raise the next generation of thinkers, xers and doers,” Hoffman said. “These kids are going to be going into elds, and they’re going to have new problems that they’re going to have to nd solutions for. So we’re trying to expose them to different experiences and problems while they’re here to help prepare them to move forward.”
The newer technology paints a clearer picture for the students that shines light on the process, more than just the output.
“There’s a lot more that goes into farming,” Stanton said. “It’s not what people think. It’s not just thrown to-
gether. There’s a lot that goes into it: time, money, people you work with.”
Not only does the academy teach about the advancement of milking practices, it also offers classes related to soil fertility, technical reporting
and development. All this leads to an internship to help the students gain real-world experience, and eventually, a full-time position where they can further advance the agriculture industry.
DAN WACKER/DAIRY STAR
Tour members and hosts — Aimee Schomburg (front, from le�), Rochelle Hoffman, Sarah Guthrie and Izzy Hayes; (back, from le�) Ethan Oppert, Riley Be�hauser, Mason Stanton, Brock Bailey and Alleck Olerud — pause Oct. 23 at Bailey’s Cherry Valley Dairy near Tomah, Wisconsin. The Western Technical College’s Agri-Business Science Technology Academy visited
Low colostrum in Jersey cows
If you have Jersey cows, have you noticed that they tend to produce less colostrum during the fall and winter months? In some cases, this reduction is reported as a complete lack of colostrum. Despite these observations, the causes remain largely unknown.
Colostrum is crucial for a calf’s health and growth. It provides essential antibodies (immunoglobulins), fats, sugars, minerals, vitamins and water, helping the calf ght off disease from day one. However, colostrum can also carry bacteria and other pathogens, potentially exposing calves to serious diseases like E. coli infections, leukosis and Johne’s disease. Ensuring clean, high-quality colostrum is key to giving calves a strong, healthy start.
ter when cows naturally produce less. We know that nutrition, the length of the dry period, previous milk production and lactation number all impact colostrum quality. But what leads to low colostrum production in Jersey cows is still a mystery to some.
By Brad Heins University of Minnesota
Previous research on a Texas Jersey farm found the average colostrum production was 9 pounds. (about 1 gallon) and ranged from 0-60 pounds. Colostrum production was lower in December compared to June and was 50% lower during the winter. The conclusion was that cows exposed to longer daylight 21 days before calving produced more colostrum. Genetic analysis indicated a potential genetic component, with certain sire lines more prone to low colostrum production.
Successful transfer of immunity to the calf depends on how soon it receives colostrum and on the colostrum’s quality, cleanliness and quantity. Getting enough colostrum can be especially challenging in fall and win-
Recently, a study by the University of New Hampshire identied variables affecting colostrum production and quality in Jersey cows. Data from 415 cows across 28 U.S. Jersey farms were analyzed to predict colostrum produc-
tion, IgG concentration and IgG production based on farm and lactation performance variables. Key predictors included previous lactation days open, which increased colostrum production, and time to colostrum harvest, which decreased IgG concentration.
Here are some key highlights from their study: colostrum production increased with longer dry periods. Also, cows in the northern U.S. had lower colostrum production than cows in the South. Production was negatively correlated with pasture access, suggesting that indoor management may favor more colostrum production. Time between birth and colostrum harvesting inversely affected IgG concentration, highlighting the need for prompt colostrum collection. The ndings suggest that colostrum production in Jersey cows can be improved by optimizing dry period management, reproductive strategies and rapid colostrum harvesting.
Some practical tips for enhancing colostrum quality and improving antibody transfer include feeding colostrum immediately after birth, ideally
Dana Adams adam1744@umn.edu 320-204-2968
Luciano Caixeta lcaixeta@umn.edu 612-625-3130
Gerard Cramer gcramer@umn.edu 612-625-8184
Marcia Endres miendres@umn.edu 612-624-5391
Brad Heins hein0106@umn.edu 320-589-1711
Nathan Hulinsky huli0013@umn.edu 320-203-6104
Karen Johnson ande9495@umn.edu 320-484-4334
Emily Krekelberg krek0033@umn.edu 507-280-2863
Claire LaCanne lacanne@umn.edu 507-332-6109
Brenda Miller nels4220@umn.edu 320-732-4435
within the rst two hours, as the calf’s ability to absorb antibodies decreases quickly. Farmers should aim for highquality colostrum with over 50 grams/ liter of IgG, which helps ensure the calf receives enough immunity to lower risks of disease.
Freezing colostrum is a good way to have reserves, but it is best to feed it fresh to maintain immune benets. Pasteurizing colostrum (heating to 60 degrees Celsius for 30-60 minutes) can kill pathogens, improving health outcomes for calves. Adding certain supplements like selenium or nicotinic acid (vitamin B3) to the cow's diet before calving has been shown to boost colostrum quality.
In summary, good pre-calving cow management, feeding colostrum quickly, pasteurization and having backup colostrum can all improve the immunity and health of newborn Jersey calves. To listen more to the conversation about colostrum quality in Jersey cows listen to our recent episode (264) on The Moos Room Podcast which can be found wherever you get your podcasts.
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
Michael Boland boland@umn.edu 612-625-3013
Sabrina Florentino slpore@umn.edu 507-441-1765
Scott Wells wells023@umn.edu 612-625-8166
Erin Cortus ecortus@umn.edu 612-625-8288
Evaluating camera-based lameness detection
By Drew Swartz, Elise Shepley and Gerard Cramer
Lameness is a signicant issue in the global dairy industry due to its adverse effects on welfare, farm profitability and environmental sustainability. It is a painful condition that changes pain thresholds, alters eating and lying behaviors and increases risk of culling due to decreased milk production and reproductive efciency. This reduction in productivity increases the number of animals required to maintain dairy production, thus impacting environmental sustainability.
To address these concerns, quality assurance programs like the National Dairy Farmers Assuring Responsible Management Program in the United States have been developed to evaluate animal care. However, current methods, such as visual locomotion scoring, have limitations due to their subjective nature and variability in observer accuracy. As a result, there is a growing interest in automated approaches for lameness detection, such as camera-based technologies that utilize deep learning to enhance accuracy and early detection. These systems, including the recently released technology from CattleEye Ltd., have shown promise in being comparable to human assessors in detecting lameness.
Given the potential of these new technologies, it is important to examine the relationships between camera scores, lesion location and lesion type as lesions are present in 70%-90% of lameness events. Knowledge of these relationships could provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of automated systems in improving lameness detection and management in dairy herds.
To evaluate these relationships, we utilized a camera-based technology (CattleEye) that assigns locomotion scores to dairy cows, where 0 is a sound cow and 100 is a severely lame cow. This system, installed in the return alleys, uses a two dimensional camera to capture video of cows as they pass under the camera, identifying them via RFID tags or visual markings. We combined the camera data with cow and hoof trimming data that were extracted from the farms' herd management software and standardized across the farms to describe
the different trends of the CattleEye locomotion scores leading up to each hoof lesion diagnosis. Hoof lesions were categorized into digital dermatitis, sole ulcer, white line disease, and other types, with further classication based on the affected hoof. The study accounted for a cow's hoof trimming history by classifying the order of trimming and lesion events, with cows being categorized into various groups based on the presence or recurrence of lesions. This approach allowed for a detailed analysis of the relationship between locomotion scores and hoof health.
In our study, at the population level, cows with hoof lesions consistently exhibited higher median camera-based locomotion scores compared to cows without lesions across all observed weeks. For cows without lesions, the median scores remained relatively stable, with values of 39-40 over the four weeks leading up to the lesion diagnosis. In contrast, cows with lesions showed a gradual increase in median scores, rising from 44 in week -4 to 50 in week -1 before diagnosis. These trends were consistent across two-thirds of the farms.
When examining the data by specic lesion categories, cows with no previous lesions had the lowest and most stable median scores. With each subsequent trimming or lesion event, scores increased, with cows with lesions showing more signicant increases, ranging from 4-8 points over the four weeks. Among specic lesions, digital dermatitis had the lowest median scores, followed by white line disease and sole ulcers. Notably, white line disease had the largest increase in median scores over the fourweek period, with an increase of 12 points, compared to increases of 3 and 8 points for digital dermatitis and sole ulcers, respectively.
Given the results from our study, we are conducting further research validating other components of the technology such as its ability to accurately identify cows and perform other tasks such as body condition scoring. We have also conducted an on-farm trial using this technology combined with other farm and cow level metrics to try and ne-tune ways to detect cows that have hoof lesions.
How did you get into farming? The only reason is our dads, Keith (Matt’s dad) and Ken (Tim’s dad), were doing it and we started helping. Our dads are brothers. We bought the cows in 2013, but we started farming the land in 2010. We joined the farm out of high school. We started with getting paid to help. Under our occupation on taxes, we’ve always been dairy farmers. Growing up, we milked for neighbors, helped with hay and worked for odds and ends. We were helping neighbors before we could drive as soon as we could throw a hay bale. The rst business we did together is we bought steers, our dads fed them, and that was our bonus. We had some of our own cows, so we already had a few animals in the herd when we purchased it.
What are the most signicant ways your farm has changed since you started farming? We were milking 86 cows at two farms. On the home farm we were milking with buckets and a step saver and had no barn cleaner. In 2000 the rst barn cleaner was installed. Before 2000 I was a lean guy. We had to haul all our feed over to the other farm and haul all the manure back. Labor Day 2011 we added the pipeline at the home farm. We added 14 tie stalls in the old calf area so the barn went from 49 stalls to 63 stalls. In June 2012, we reduced cow numbers and went down to one barn instead of two. We grew up working with our dads, but now predominantly it is the two of us. We bought another 240-acre farm in 2021. We started our trucking business so we could help pay for it. We keep our beef herd at this new farm. The beef freshen at our main farm, and then once they are established, we take them to the other farm.
DAIRY PROFILE
What was a challenge you faced in your dairy farming career and how did you overcome it? Keeping up with the rules and regulations as they get tighter and tighter and all the stuff you have to do to just sell milk nowadays. Trying to keep up with the National Dairy FARM Program rules. We have to switch our dehorning practices because the rules no longer allow us to use gouging.
What is the best decision you have made on your farm? Matt: Putting in the milk house and the pipeline and the ease of having one barn. Tim: Purchasing the truck and diversifying. We got into trucking in 2020. It’s been a lot of long, hard days trying to do both, but the amount of revenue that that’s brought in has far exceeded anything that we could have brought out of this barn. We have a 1998 Peterbilt 379. The rst year we had
it, Matt hauled gravel all summer during the day and Tim hauled turkeys at night. For a few years we hauled sweet corn. With sweet corn we had to keep a guy in the truck 24/7. That got to be too much, so we stopped. One of the things we haul currently is turkeys which still happens at night. The trucking business has allowed us to purchase nicer stuff when the milk price goes south.
What three things on the farm can you not live without? Explain. The skid loader. It saves a lot of manual labor. The heated shop. Just being able to drive something in there and work on it on cement with heat or we can put a tractor or spreader in there during a real cold spell and know that it will start in the morning. The third thing is family. Everybody has everybody’s back. We are so blessed. If one of us wants to get away someone can pick it up. To do this job by yourself would be really difcult. At any given point we can have a lot of stuff going on at once. One day we were picking corn, running grain cart, combining corn, chopping stalks and hauling cattle. It just makes you smile. To have that capability is awesome. Sometimes it takes one guy to put out res and keep everyone and everything moving.
What are your thoughts and concerns about the dairy industry for the next year? For a while it was the uncertainty of whether somebody wants our milk, but not so much anymore. It’s hard to produce a product that nobody wants. If you don’t have a place for your milk, you don’t have anything. How many places are taking places farms with less than 100 cows?
Dan
KYLLO/DAIRY STAR
Ma hew (le ) and Tim Boese smile Nov. 1 in their estall barn on their farm near Morristown, Minnesota. The Boeses milk 60 cows.
AMY KYLLO/DAIRY STAR
Nathan (from le ), Jared and Tim Boese x a barn cleaner Nov. 1 on the Boese family dairy near Morristown, Minnesota. Ma and Tim Boese said working together is one of the most rewarding parts of dairy farming.
What strategies do you use to withstand the volatile milk prices? Diversifying through all the extra stuff that we do. We don’t just milk cows. We have a trucking company. We have H&S bale wrappers that we rent out and go do that. We do a little custom baling. We have beef cows and we’re able to raise the steers. We also bought a cutter baler.
How do you maintain family relationships while also working together? Communication is huge. It’s better that we’re cousins instead of brothers. We have seen our dads grow up as brothers and that was more difcult. Knowing each other. As time evolves, people often will have different goals. Through those differences, the less ambitious person will hold the more ambitious person back while the ambitious person can push the less ambitious person. You don’t have to have the same goals, but just the same mindset on where you want to be and to not let yourself get far apart.
What do you nd most rewarding about dairy farming? Working together, absolutely. Watching everything go on. Everyone for the most part has their roles, but everyone can do everything.
Tell us something special about your farm. We let our cows in and out. Not many people do that anymore, especially in the tie stalls. Cows go in and out every day except if the weather is especially nasty.
What are your plans for your dairy in the next year and ve years? In the next year, it probably will be pretty much the same. In the next ve, there could be potential for change depending on what some of the kids do and whether they are interested in joining the farm. If they are, we would try to integrate them into the farm. We could have enough work for more people between the trucking, beef cows and dairy.
How do you or your family like to spend time when you are not doing chores?
Tim: I like snowmobiling. I try to take a few trips each year. As a family we went up north in August. Matt: We go camping every year with my wife’s family. Its tent camping with a softball tournament, eating pie at the local pie social and sitting around the campre at night. Both: Overall, family is very important to us. Going to sporting events is a priority. Those get more fun as they get older. Watching T-ball compared to Little League and similar advances in other sports, it’s fun to see the plays set up. We don’t go anywhere together really because on-farm we spend more time with each other than we do with our wives.
Now dispensing fresh milk
School milk dispensers have piqued my interest the past several years.
The concept seemed quite simple. If we provide kids with a great milk-drinking experience now, maybe we can make them lifetime consumers of milk.
Several school districts in Minnesota, such as Hutchinson, Waconia, Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa and Minnewaska Area, have implemented the dispensers, and the results have been positive.
The districts have reported more milk consumption and less waste.
As school administrators, who wouldn’t want to serve students cold milk out of a cup rather than that of a carton?
pensers, stainless steel tables, cup racks, cups and even a dishrack dolly for the cups.
We went over the bids and ordered three dispensers.
Next was the nancial side of things. Interestingly enough, this was far less difcult than I thought it was going to be.
By Mark Klaphake Staff Writer
In addition, schools have provided students the opportunity to have free rells. Others have placed a milk dispenser in the weight room to refuel after a practice or a game. It makes a lot of sense to let students refuel with milk, and all the health benets it provides, rather than alternatives.
In Sauk Centre, where my kids attend school, the district wasn’t equipped with dispensers. Now, that has changed.
About a year ago, superintendent Don Peschel was approached regarding the idea.
Peschel said he needed to talk to the food service provider and see if they had an outlet for bulk milk.
Fortunately, they did.
Then, I spoke to several dairy farmers and agricultural businesses and told them about the idea. The consensus was to get the job done. They were willing to offer nancial assistance.
For the next step, Peschel proposed the idea to the school board to gather their thoughts.
After one meeting, he reported they were on board with the idea.
We proceeded to the bid stage.
We found businesses that provide dis-
We received over half the money necessary from Midwest Dairy and the Stearns County American Dairy Association.
The remaining funds came from like-minded dairy enthusiasts. Three local dairy farmers: Vogt Dairy LLC, Dan and Jason Klaphake, and Meyer Dairy, LLC; two agricultural businesses, KLC Farms Roasting, MBC Drainage LLC; and the Sauk Centre Area Community Foundation, all wanted to see the project become reality.
When the school year commenced this fall, it was gratifying for me to know two milk dispensers had supplanted cartons. Each machine has three spigots, two for chocolate milk and one for white.
A couple weeks into the school year, Peschel gave a tour to the nancial supporters. This was also a chance to talk about the students’ reactions.
The immediate responses were super. The students enjoyed having cold milk out of a cup. They could ll their cup to whatever level they wanted. Plus, there was no carton waste.
The third dispenser arrived about a month into the school year and will be an a la carte machine. Students can drink as much milk as they want at no cost to their families.
The funds for providing free milk in the third machine will be gathered from local businesses as the year progresses.
If your school recently added milk dispensers, let me know about the process and students’ feedback by emailing me at mark.k@ dairystar.com.
DECORAH, IA
Lang’s Dairy Equip. 563-382-8722
MONTICELLO, IA United Dairy Syst. 319-465-5931
WEST UNION, IA United Dairy Syst. 563-422-5355
FREEPORT, MN Arnzen Construction 320-836-2284
Hartung
Goodbye ies
By Tina Hinchley Farmer & Columnist
The rst of the hard frosts has hit us. I really like to have that event because that means ies are dying, and I can stop hanging up those gross y strips. So many visitors have not been around a farm that has ies. With all the ies trying to stay warm to keep alive, many head into my house and the tour shed where I start with an introduction on safety for the tours. I don’t hang y strips up in my house or in the tour shed, but often enlist a group of kids with y swatters and call them the Swat Team. They get to practice their hand-eye coordination, and with the competition, many ies die quickly. The game can get pretty intense, with some of the kids acting like evil characters cackling with every kill.
I think we have a lot of ies in the areas where we raise calves, cows and replacement heifers. These little pests are dormant at night, so hanging y strips after the morning calf chores works well. The y strips that we hang are clean one day and by the next, need to be changed. It looks like hundreds of ies on the yellow strip. Students and foreign visitors are amazed by these strips. This is often the topic of many conversations. Some of these visitors from other countries comment that they have many more ies than our farm. They don’t have y strips and ask where to purchase them. Some of the ies that are stuck do a lot of buzzing and will catch the eye of students. They are the ones who ask, “Why do you have so many ies?”
Flies can live anywhere there is manure or garbage. The life cycle of a y in the summer can be complete in as little as 7-10 days. In the spring and summer, many generations of the ies will carry on. When we clean our calf and heifer pens, we move the y eggs from the pens out to the elds where we spread the manure. They hatch out there and when we are chopping hay throughout the summer and then on to corn silage in the fall, the ies come back to the farm in a massive congregation. There are two types: the house y and the stable y that bites cows and people. Flies need food to live. They love sugar that is in corn naturally and that is in all the feed we feed our cattle. To complete the life cycle, they will need to lay their eggs in wet manure or old feed. We can spray for ies and have used other products and traps, but typically the answer is to keep food mangers and pens clean. Usually, if it is wet, we get it out.
That explanation usually works. But then we have a few students who need to stimulate their brains more and ask, how many ies can two ies make in a summer. It has been looked up several times with kids that have their own cell phones to ask Google. The answer is 191,010,000,000,000,000,000 by August. I don’t even know how to say that number except that it has many zeros. The answer is so big that we must eliminate as many as we can because they spread diseases to our cows and to us.
It is the end of the growing season, harvest is nishing up and I am thrilled to not be hanging y strips any longer. I like that the mornings are cooler, and the days are still warm. The smell of the dry
leaves is pleasing, and the leftover pumpkins are being tossed to the pigs for a healthy snack. Walking around the pens on the farm I can still see the ies that are still alive grouped together on posts and headlocks. This might sound gross to some, but when I have my gloves on, it is very satisfying to just give a little pat to that group of ies. I even sometimes giggle and cackle knowing those little buggers are dead. Goodbye ies.
Tina Hinchley, her husband Duane and daughter Anna milk 240 registered Holsteins with robots. They also farm 2,300 acres near Cambridge, Wisconsin. The Hinchleys have been hosting farm tours for over 25 years.
Rainy parodies
I love a good rainy night, or day, as the following lyrics allude to. “I Love a Rainy Night” is one of my favorite rainy day songs. I am an especially big fan of rainy days when they fall on a Sunday and I do not actually have to leave my house all day long. I can sew, cook, read, clean and have no “outside guilt” (the guilt that comes with not doing any outside work, like cleaning out ower beds). The past few weekends it has even been too windy here to attempt to hang out laundry. I also love old musicals, and when it starts to sprinkle, I catch myself singing Gene Kelly’s classic “Singing in the Rain.” I also kick puddles but do not try to swing around any poles and make it look good. In light of the rain that has been falling for almost 24 hours, I took some liberty in reworking these
two songs for pure entertainment. Do not worry,
I’m not quitting my day job anytime soon.
“I Love a Rainy Night (Day)”
Well, I love a rainy day
I love a rainy day
I swear I hear the owers
Thank the Good Lord as it drenches their roots
You know it makes them feel good
Well, I love a rainy day
It’s such a wonderful way I love to hear the rain on my roof
See the rain on the shed
And the daytime’s cloudy
Sprinkles wash all the grime away
I have reason to sew all the day
‘Cause I love a rainy day
Yeah, I love a rainy day
Well, I love a rainy day
Well, I love a rainy day
Ooh, ooh
“Singin’ (Playin’) In The Rain”
I’m playin’ in the rain, just playin’ in the rain
What a childlike feeling, I’m soaking again
I’m jumpin’ in holes, I stomp up and down
A kid in my heart, and there’s nary a frown
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Let the foggy skies bring everyone to the farm
Come on with the rain, it just brings out the charm I hop down the lane, with a joy on my brain
I’m playin’, playin’ in the rain
Jacqui Davison and her family milk 800 cows and farm 1,200 acres in northeastern Vernon County, Wisconsin. Her children, Ira, Dane, Henry and Cora, help on the farm while her husband, Keith, works on a grain farm. If she’s not in the barn, she’s probably in the kitchen, trailing after little ones or sharing her passion of reading with someone. Her life is best described as organized chaos, and if it wasn’t, she’d be bored.
Jacqui Davison Columnist
Ramblings from the Ridge
What’s the big deal with aspirin?
I am going to apologize in advance as this article gets a little in the weeds when it comes to drug approvals. However, given the recent attention that the Food and Drug Administration has given to aspirin use in lactating dairy cattle, I wanted to provide clarity on the FDA’s recent communications. The FDA is the main regulatory body responsible for approving and monitoring drug use in food-producing animals. Recently, veterinarians were sent a letter regarding the use of aspirin in lactating dairy cattle. The FDA clearly stated that they are aware that aspirin is being used to treat lactating dairy cattle for fever and pain and such use of aspirin is prohibited. Until now, the FDA has turned somewhat of a blind eye to aspirin use in lactating dairy cattle. Previously, the FDA had stated that aspirin was of low regulatory concern, so while its use was not legal, it didn’t appear to be a high priority for monitoring or enforcement. However, this is no longer true, and the FDA’s change of stance appears to be due to the rise in aspirin use with the spread of highly pathogenic avian inuenza in cattle.
By Megan Weisenbeck Veterinary Wisdom Veterinary Wisdom
So why is aspirin prohibited by the FDA? Despite its widespread availability, aspirin has never actually gone through the approval process for use in cattle. All FDA-approved animal products carry the statement “Approved by FDA under NADA/
ANADA #XXX-XXX.” In fact, there are several other drugs used in animal health that do not have an FDA approval such as lidocaine, epinephrine and calcium solutions. You might wonder why these drugs don’t have FDA approvals. This can be typical of low-revenue products where companies do not foresee a signicant return on investment in the expensive and sometimes lengthy FDA approval process.
How exactly is aspirin used on farms? I typically see aspirin used in two different scenarios. The rst is for a sick cow that may or may not be culled; therefore, the producer does not want to administer drugs that carry a signicant withdrawal period but may still want to provide some sort of supportive care. The second scenario is the widespread administration of aspirin in fresh cows after freshening to reduce inammation and increase milk yield. Although several studies have shown potential boosts in milk yield following aspirin use, the follow-up work on milk withdrawals by Kansas State University is somewhat discouraging considering the FDA’s prohibition of aspirin. In one KSU study, researchers administered oral aspirin (3-5 boluses of 480 grain) to rst lactation and mature cows after freshening and again 24 hours later. Blood and milk samples were then collected to evaluate aspirin concentrations and used to estimate withdrawals based on FDA methods.
The study found that the previous 24-hour milk withdrawal guideline for cattle treated with aspirin may need revision to 156 hours for whole-herd treatment scenarios and 120 hours for individually treated cows. This data also found that aspirin appeared to mitigate prostaglandins, or inammatory markers, for only 12 hours after administration.
Should we continue to use aspirin? At this time, I would say no. Due to its lack of ofcial approval, the FDA has no established withdrawal and if milk was tested, the tolerance would be considered zero. The FDA does have the capability to test milk, though we haven’t had any indication that they plan to test or how they might implement such testing. If one decides to continue aspirin use in lactating dairy cattle, consider extending the milk withdrawal period signicantly longer than 24 hours. Additionally, I would challenge pharmaceutical companies manufacturing aspirin to take the time and resources to nally seek FDA approval so producers can use their products with condence knowing that they work and not have the liability of guessing at withdrawal periods.
So, what should be used instead of aspirin? This is another potentially loaded question that producers should discuss with their veterinarian of record. If we follow the FDA-approved products available for cattle with specic pyrexia and pain labels, veterinarians and producers should be using injectable and pour-on unixin options. Injectable unixin should be given intravenously only. If IV administration is difcult to perform on the farm, there is a pour-on unixin product available called Banamine Transdermal that is easy to use and has been approved in both beef and dairy cattle. Another option might also include meloxicam when used under the direction of a veterinarian.
Megan Weisenbeck is one of six veterinarians at Northern Valley Livestock Services in Plainview, MN. She practices primarily dairy production medicine in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Megan can be reached at meganweisenbeck.dvm@gmail.com.
E-EDITION
Wide loads
My boys and I went on a short road trip recently, leaving after evening milking and driving all night to get to the Red River Gorge in Kentucky to do some rock climbing and camping behind the famous Miguel’s pizza restaurant. It is famous among rock climbers anyway. I don’t know if anyone else outside of Kentucky locals knows it is there. After a couple of days of hiking the hollers and climbing cliffs with pizza and guitar-accompanied evening bonres, we drove back all day to get home just in time for bed so we could get a good night’s sleep to recover from our weekend activities before morning milking.
a bit more.
From the Zweber Farm
Thirty or so hours of driving gives you a lot of time to spot interesting things. One of them was the variety of wide loads going down the freeways with pilot car escorts: half a house, a whole house, the left and right wings of an airplane each on its own truck and trailer, and numerous pieces of farm equipment. The freeway system was designed for moving big military equipment quickly in the event of a military invasion with the side benet of commerce being able to move materials quickly. It seems to be serving the purpose originally envisioned in 1916 quite well.
By Tim Zweber Farmer & Columnist
We’ve had trouble feeding enough haylage to stay ahead of it heating with the 80-plus degree weather the last month as well as the delays that happened due to rain when we were bagging it. It seems like any time we must pause lling a bag there will be quality problems at feed out of that bag. There were denitely pauses during the rst crop this year. When it cools down, we’ll open a bag of higherquality feed to mix with the lowerquality rst crop we’ve been feeding. Feeding grass-fed cows is tricky. We can’t just up the corn or protein mix to balance out lower-quality pasture or hay. We have to plan out feeding what we have in a way that we feed a fairly consistent protein and energy ration all year by mixing the forages we have on hand and maybe buying some high-quality hay.
The last couple of weeks, the cows have been grazing a hay eld during the day and eating haylage at night. After almost two months without rain, the hay elds I was planning to make a fourth crop on are about all that is left to graze. It turns out the cows really, really enjoy grazing the hay and come in from the pasture looking like the wide loads we saw on the freeway: big bellies on little legs. Their extra width makes tting them in the parallel parlor a bit tough at night, but I love seeing cows looking like they should have some ashing lights and a yellow banner across their butt. They came up a bit in milk and hopefully will go up more when we start feeding the better haylage when it cools down
We got the rst little bit of snow the other day, which, after the seemingly endless summer, puts me in the mood to start wrapping up projects and getting things ready for winter. Hopefully we’ll get another few weeks of good weather to get all the things done and equipment put away before winter shows up for real. We’ve been spoiled with consistent warm weather and better get-into-winter prep mode or we will end up nishing up projects in either snow or mud, neither of which are fun to work in.
Until next time, keep living the dream and get out there to nish up those fall projects. Winter is coming as they say. If you’re already done with everything, go enjoy the fall season. Should you nd yourself near Slade, Kentucky, a stop at Natural Bridge State Park is worth your time.
Tim Zweber farms with his wife, Emily, their three children and his parents, Jon and Lisa, near Elko, Minnesota.
Making every drop count
From space, it is said that there are three man-made technologies visible: electried cities spread across vast continents, the Great Wall of China, and green crop circles irrigated by center pivots. This fact recently came to mind as we were ying across the Great Plains to attend the joint annual meeting of the National Milk Producers Federation and Dairy Management Inc. in Phoenix, Arizona.
Center pivot irrigators are perhaps the most signicant mechanical innovation in agriculture since the replacement of draft animals by the tractor. They reshaped the entire course of food production in America. In the
commodity prices exploded, resulting in a surge in sales of the center pivot system. Today, there are thought to be over 400,000 center pivots irrigating over 30 million acres of land.
By
early 1900s, before the invention, the region between the Rocky Mountains and the 100th Meridian — where the Great Plains began — was known as the Great American Desert. Today this region is one of the most important agricultural regions of the world, making it a key player in the global food supply. That is all due to the invention of the center pivot irrigator by Frank Zybach in 1948. Zybach lived in Columbus, Nebraska and held a total of nine patents for various inventions throughout his career. An interesting side note; besides the center pivot, he invented the driverless tractor. The tractor would plow concentric circles in ever-decreasing size from the outside to the middle.
Irrigation was traditionally carried out using various methods such as systems of ditches and canals to wells and pumps powered by windmills, and eventually replaced by gas engines due to technological advancements. Zybach, after witnessing the struggle to construct complex pipeline irrigation systems with gates, siphon tubes and aluminum pipes, developed the idea of a rotating irrigation pipe system. Originally, water pressure was the driving force to move the irrigator, which had a 600-foot boom, 15 sprinkler heads, and irrigated a 135-acre circle or an entire quarter section. In the summer of 1954, the manufacturing rites of the center pivot system were sold to Valley Manufacturing Company — known today as Valmont Industries — until the patent expired in 1969. In 1974,
Coincidentally, the man who invented the center pivot irrigator also happened to live on top of the world’s largest aquifer — the Ogallala Aquifer. The Ogallala Aquifer holds approximately 978 trillion gallons of water, which is similar in quantity to that of Lake Huron. It provides water for about one-third of the country’s irrigated agriculture. It is the most important groundwater resource in the U.S., lying under eight states including Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming. This area is 174,000 square miles.
Many areas of our country rely on underground aquifers to supply precious water resources for agricultural production. Center pivot irrigators are used all across the country to maximize efciencies in the production of commodity crops and feed for livestock. They have brought relative prosperity and abundance to many areas of the country. A stable water supply is critical for dairy farms, providing optimal health of both cows and crops, efcient milk production and quality nutrition for American citizens. In recent decades, conversations about our most vast and nite resource have arisen across the country. It was a topic of discussion about the Arizona dairy industry at the joint meeting as well as with producers we met from all over the U.S. Water is our most valuable resource for food production not only here in the U.S., but across the globe.
The global demand for center pivot irrigation systems was valued at $3.5 billion in 2023 and is expected to jump to $9 billion by 2030 according to PR Newswire in their global report on center pivot irrigation systems. Most of the growth expected in the next decade will be in Africa and the Asia-Pacic regions in response to population growth in these areas.
As we progress into the next quarter century, this is a situation that has a vast and complex history and no easy answer. As dairy farmers, we are no strangers to facing challenges head on with innovation in science and technology. Many dairy farms are already developing ideas to reuse water while also increasing the efciency of that water. As these technologies continue to improve — plant and animal genetics, precision technologies and milk processing efciencies — we will continue to develop new solutions that will further display to the world that we are the American farmer.
Megan Schrupp and Ellen Stenger are sisters and co-owners of both NexGen Dairy and NexGen Market in Eden Valley, Minnesota. They can be reached at Nexgendairy@gmail.com.
Megan Schrupp & Ellen Stenger Columnists
The NexGen: Adventures of two dairy daughters
CowScout™ has improved our pregnancy rate by 7%
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