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DAIRY ST R
Volume 23, No. 20
December 11, 2021
“All dairy, all the time”™
A different start in the industry Brothers operate dairy as own By Jennifer Coyne jenn@dairystar.com
BROWERVILLE, Minn. – For twin brothers TJ and John Becker, owning and operating a dairy farm is all they ever thought of doing. With the help of veteran dairy farmer Loren Vetsch, the Beckers are nearly there. The brothers operate Vetsch’s second farm site with long-term plans of purchasing the entire herd and establishing their own dairy. “After high school, we knew we wanted to farm,” John said. “We went to college and met all these dairy kids who had plans to farm, and we thought, ‘Why couldn’t we?’” Since Dec. 15, 2020, John and TJ, 21, have managed Vetsch’s 56-cow herd in rented facilities near Browerville.
Vetsch’s main farm site is nearby, where he milks about 200 cows. “I knew (the Beckers) wanted to do it, and we had the cows to do it,” said Vetsch, who doubled his herd size in less than six years. “We didn’t have that much out of pocket to get them set up, so it was an easy decision to make.” Vetsch and the Beckers have a history of working together. TJ began working at Vetsch’s dairy in the fall of 2015, and John became an employee a year later. The brothers maintained a working relationship with Vetsch while attending Ridgewater College for their associate degrees in dairy and farm management. Following graduation, TJ and John made plans to begin dairy farming at a rented facility in Todd County; they even planted a spring crop for fall harvest. “We had everything lined up and were just hoping to get a loan from the bank,” TJ said. Unfortunately, nancing never came Turn to BECKERS | Page 7
JENNIFER COYNE/DAIRY STAR
John and TJ Becker manage a 56-cow herd for established dairyman Loren Vetsch in a rented facility near Browerville, Minnesota. The Beckers have longterm plans to purchase the herd and begin farming on their own.
Borsts receive naƟonal FARM award for stewardship Family commits to caring for livestock By Kate Rechtzigel kate.r@dairystar.com
ROCHESTER, Minn. – Caring for livestock is what the Borst family knows best, and doing so with the utmost attention to detail has garnered them national recognition. Borst Family Dairy LLC was recognized as a winner of the inaugural National Dairy Farmers Assuring Responsible Management program’s Excellence Award for Animal Care and Antibiotic Stewardship Nov. 16 in Las Vegas, Nevada. “We’ve always felt that it’s a privilege not a right to produce milk and beef,” said Dr. Lindsey Borst. “Prioritizing animal care every day is a necessity in order to keep that privilege.” KATE RECHTZIGEL/DAIRY STAR Borst and her husband, The Borsts – (from leŌ) Lindsey, Kevin, Kyle, Larry and MaƩ – are recognized with their NaƟonal Kevin, accepted the award on FARM award for animal care and anƟbioƟc stewardship on their 230-cow dairy near Rochester, behalf of those who make up the Minnesota. Lindsey and Kevin received the award Nov. 16 in Las Vegas, Nevada. dairy – dad Matt, uncle Larry and brother Kyle. The honor recog-
nized the Borsts’ commitment to the FARM program. “As a veterinarian, I’ve always had a passion for producing safe food and using antibiotics responsibly,” Borst said. “We have a lot of extra steps in place on our farm to make sure any food product or cull animal leaving our farm is safe for human consumption. I think being recognized for animal care and antibiotic stewardship validates our social license to care for animals and produce food for a living.” This fourth-generation dairy farm family milks 230 registered Holsteins in a double-10 herringbone parlor near Rochester. They raise all their youngstock, nish out steers and run over 1,000 acres of corn, alfalfa and soybean. On the farm, Larry and Kyle are the crop experts and do all the feeding. Matt is the parlor and employee manager, and his wife, Julie, does all the accounting for the farm. Kevin manages the animals, and Borst is the herd’s veterinarian. They also have 6 part-time employees who milk, clean the barn, water calves and clean calf feeding equipment.
Turn to BORST | Page 6
Page 2 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 11, 2021
DAIRY ST R www.dairystar.com
ISSN 020355 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave. Sauk Centre, MN 56378 Phone: (320) 352-6303 Fax: (320) 352-5647 Published by Dairy Star LLC General Manager/Editor Mark Klaphake - mark.k@dairystar.com 320-352-6303 (ofce) 320-248-3196 (cell) 320-352-0062 (home) Ad Composition Nancy Powell 320-352-6303 nancy.p@dairystar.com Editorial Staff Jennifer Coyne - Assistant Editor (320) 352-6303 • jenn@dairystar.com Danielle Nauman - Staff Writer (608) 487-1101 • danielle.n@dairystar.com Stacey Smart - Staff Writer (262) 442-6666 • stacey.s@dairystar.com Abby Wiedmeyer - Staff Writer 608-487-4812 • abby.w@dairystar.com Kate Rechtzigel - Staff Writer kate.r@dairystar.com Maria Bichler - Copy Editor 320-352-6303 Consultant Jerry Jennissen 320-346-2292 Advertising Sales Main Ofce: 320-352-6303 Fax: 320-352-5647 Deadline is 5 p.m. of the Friday the week before publication Sales Manager - Joyce Frericks 320-352-6303 • joyce@dairystar.com Bob Leukam (Northern MN, East Central MN) 320-260-1248 (cell) bob.l@star-pub.com Mark Klaphake (Western MN) 320-352-6303 (ofce) 320-248-3196 (cell) Laura Seljan (National Advertising, SE MN) 507-250-2217 fax: 507-634-4413 laura.s@dairystar.com Jerry Nelson (SW MN, NW Iowa, South Dakota) 605-690-6260 jerry.n@dairystar.com Mike Schafer (Central, South Central MN) 320-894-7825 mike.s@dairystar.com Amanda Hoeer (Eastern Iowa) 320-250-2884 • amanda.h@dairystar.com Megan Stuessel (Western Wisconsin) 608-387-1202 • megan.s@dairystar.com Kati Kindschuh (Northeast WI and Upper MI) 920-979-5284 • kati.k@dairystar.com Deadlines The deadline for news and advertising in the Dairy Star is 5 p.m. Friday the week before publication. Subscriptions One year subscription $35.00, outside the U.S. $110.00. Send check along with mailing address to Dairy Star, 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave., Sauk Centre, MN 56378. Advertising Our ad takers have no authority to bind this newspaper and only publication of an advertisement shall constitute nal acceptance of the advertiser's order. Letters Letters and articles of opinion are welcomed. Letters must be signed and include address and phone number. We reserve the right to edit lengthy letters. The views and opinions expressed by Dairy Star columnists and writers are not necessarily those of the Dairy Star LLC.
The Dairy Star is published semi-monthly by Dairy Star, LLC, 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave., Sauk Centre, MN 56378-1246. Periodicals Postage Paid at Sauk Centre, MN and additional mailing ofces. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Dairy Star, 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave., Sauk Centre, MN 56378-1246.
Dairy Prole brought to you by your
America $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill North signed intodealers. law
The infrastructure package includes $550 billion in new spending over ve years for roads, bridges, railroads, ports and waterways. There’s another $65 billion to expand access to the internet across rural America. At the White House ceremony, President Joe Biden said this bill delivers real results. “Here in Washington, we’ve heard countless speeches and promises and white papers from experts, but today we’re nally getting this done,” Biden said. Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar called the infrastructure package “a historic investment in our country’s future.” Klobuchar introduced the portion of the law that expands broadband infrastructure. The Minnesota lawmaker said 42 million Americans, including 16% of the households in rural Minnesota, lack reliable broadband access. U.S. dairy industry meets to discuss farm policy, demand The National Milk Producers Federation and the National Dairy Board met in person in November to look back on the year and plan for 2022. NMPF Senior Vice President of Communications Alan Bjerga said farm programs were part of the discussion. “In the last year, we’ve seen improvements in the Dairy Margin Coverage program,” Bjerga said. “We had seen the creation of new initiatives like the Dairy Donation Program, which links dairy products with families that need them. We also need a revamp of the Federal Milk Marketing Orders.” There were conversations about U.S. trade during the dairy checkoff portion of the meeting. “This involved a discussion with Krista Harden, the head of the U.S. Dairy Export Council,” he said. “It looks like 2021 is going to be a record year for trade, but everyone is hearing about supply chain issues, crimping the ability for the U.S. to be a reliable exporter.”
Opportunities ahead for U.S. Ag Insider dairy exports One bright spot for the dairy industry is export demand. The United States Department of Agriculture is forecasting dairy product exports to increase $200 million in scal year 2022, reecting strong global import demand and tightening competitor supplies. American Farm Bureau Federation Chief Economist Roger Cryan also has optimism for dairy export growth potential. By Don Wick “About 15% to 16% or more Columnist of U.S. milk is going overseas in the form of dairy products,” Cryan said. “A lot of that is dry products that can be used to make and process other products overseas. We also export lots of cheese to Mexico. The future for dairy is bright in the long-term.” Hearings sought for federal order reform New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy and Maine Sen. Susan Collins have introduced a bill calling on USDA to begin national hearings on Federal Milk Marketing Orders. Six Midwest dairy groups released a joint statement saying they are pleased milk marketing orders are top-of-mind in the Senate, and “a lasting solution” is needed for their dairy farmers. The six groups include the Minnesota Milk Producers Association, South Dakota Dairy Producers, Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative and dairy groups representing Iowa, Wisconsin and Nebraska. Turn to AG INSIDER | Page 5
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Dairy Star • Saturday, December 11, 2021 • Page 3
It’s all inside... Columnists Ag Insider
Pages 2, 8 First Section
Mandan
Ottertail
Browerville
St. Stephen
Hugo
Third Section: Pages 3- 4
First Section: Pages 8 - 9
First Section: Pages 1, 7
First Section: Page 39
First Section: Pages 12 - 13
Holle honored for years of Larsons install one AMS dairy promotion efforts for organic dairy
Pages 10 - 11 Second Section
Hutchinson
Charles Mix
Turner
Clay
Lyon
Osceola O’Brien
Sioux
Plymouth
Page 34 Second Section
FROM OUR SIDE OF THE FENCE:
Woodbury
Monona
How do you use data the robots generate?
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Dick
Clay
Palo Alto
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Crawford Carroll
Worth
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Mitchell Howard Floyd
Guthrie
Dallas
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Black Hawk
Polk
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Benton
Mills t on
Zone 1
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Mon
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Taylor
Union ld
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Dela
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Linn
Jackson Clinton
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Iowa
Jo
Madison Warren Marion Mahaska Keokuk
Adair
Clayton
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Bu
Wa
Pottawattamie Cass
First Section: Pages 34 - 35
Houston
Bremer
Wright Franklin Butler
Boone
aw
as
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Ch
Webster Hamilton Hardin Grundy
Greene
Winona
Fillimore
Mower
Hancock Cerro Gordo
ldt
mb
Hu
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ago
neb
Win
Kossuth
as
nt
ho
ca
Po
Sac
Harrison Shelby
First Section: Pages 15 - 16
Faribault
Martin
Au d
Country Cooking
Jackson
ln
co
Lin
Un
Bon Yankton Homme
Nobles
Freeborn
e
McCook Minnehaha
Cottonwood Watonwan Blue Earth Waseca Steele Dodge Olmsted
Murray
Rock
iek
Gregory
Todd
H
Moody
ake
Douglas
s an
Lake
sh
Mellette
on
PEM takes second in state championship
Wabasha
ne
Miner
Rice
am
Sanborn
Nicollet Brown
All
Aurora
Redwood
in
Brule
Tripp Bennett
Jerauld
Lyman
Lyon
Lucas
Decatur Wayne
Monroe Wapello ose
Ap
o pan
Davis
Scott
Muscatine
ton
Buffalo Jones
Brookings
Goodhue
ing
Kingsbury
Kellog
Dakota
Scott
Sibley
W
Beadle
Hughes
Haakon
Carver
iek
Stanley
Hand
Hennepin McLeod
Renville
Yellow Medicine
sh
Hyde
Deuel
Hamlin
we
Sully
Lincoln
Clark
Wright
Meeker
Chippewa
Lac Qui Parle
Codington
Spink
Ziebach
Pipestone
Faulk
Isanti
Anoka Kandiyohi
Grant
Dewey
Jackson
Sherburne
Swift
Po
The “Mielke” Market Shannon Fall River Weekly
Day
ms ey
Edmunds
Stearns
Pope
Ra
Walworth
Benton
Stevens
Big Stone
eu r
Brown
Pennington
Custer
Roberts
Marshall
McPherson
Pine
Mille Lacs
Morrison
Douglas
First Section: Pages 18, 20
Carlton
Crow Wing
Todd Grant
Tra ver se
Campbell
Corson
Sargent
Breeding Focus: The Annexstads
Aitkin
go
Page 33 First Section
Dickey
St. Peter Cass
Su
Richland McIntosh
Otter Tail
Wilkin
Emmons Sioux
Becker
Clay
Ransom
LaMoure
Logan
Grant
PagePerkins 31 First Section
Come Full MeadeDairy Circle
Cass
Morton
Veterinary Wisdom
Butte
Bames
n
Page 30 Adams First Section
Stutsman
io
Stark Dear County Hettinger Agent Guy
Kidder
sh
Mah
Oliver
Lake
Itasca
Washington
en nom
Kanabec
Polk
Trail
Steele
Norman
Potter
Lawrence
Griggs
Cook
isa Ch
Harding
Foster
Le
Sheridan
Hubbard
Wells
Koochiching St. Louis
Red Lake
Eddy
Burleigh
Bowman
Beltrami Pennington
Grand Forks
Mirons welcomed prime-time guests to farm
Lake of the Woods
Benson
McLean
Dairy Profile: Peter, Marilyn and Jim Schumer
Roseau
Marshall Nelson
Billings
Kittson
Walsh
Ramsey
McHenry
Ward
Page 32 FirstDunn Section Mercer
Slope
Pembina
Pierce
From the McKenzie Zweber Farm
Golden Valley
Cavalier
Towner
Wadena
Rolette
Da vi so n
Williams
Page 27 Mountrail First Section
Bottineau
on
On the RoadRenville Burke with Princess Kay
Divide
Brothers operate dairy as own
ub
Page 26 First Section
Clearwater
From My Perspective
son
fer
Jef
Van Buren
Rochester
Borsts receive national FARM award for stewardship First Section: Pages 1, 6
Louisa
Henry Des
Moines
Lee
Zone 2
Montgomery
For additional stories from our other zone, log on to www.dairystar.com
Le Center
Women in Dairy: Leah Schwarz First Section: Page 36
Albert Lea
Tripoli
Second Section: Pages 8 - 9
Second Section: Pages 3 - 4
Larsons receive Freeborn County farm family award
Jaschens milk 400 cows in 203-stall barn
Ryndas add value to farm with pastured livestock, connecting with consumers Second Section: Pages 14 - 15, 17
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Dairy Star • Saturday, December 11, 2021 • Page 5
ConƟnued from AG INSIDER | Page 2 Gov. Walz open to a special session A special session is still possible between now and the end of the year, according to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. “I proposed $250 million in budget negotiations for essential workers and a nice package on drought relief for agriculture that had bipartisan support,” Walz said. “We could bring these two things to the table, but we’re still ghting COVID and there are political differences. I’m open again for a special session; if we could set aside a half day, we could get things done.” Drought conditions improved this fall in western Minnesota, but Walz thinks it’s still important to get drought relief funds to livestock producers. “The support programs don’t do as well in livestock, and we thought this lled the gap. I’m afraid we lost livestock producers in the drought and a little help can make a difference, but that window is closing,” Walz said. Little change in national milk production USDA’s National Ag Statistics Service said milk production in the 24 major milk producing states during October totaled 17.7 billion pounds, down 0.3% from a year ago. Compared to one year ago, South Dakota dairy farms added 21,000 head to the state herd, and October milk production was up 15%. Minnesota milk output rose 3%. Ag banker survey released Seventy percent of ag bankers said overall farm protability was higher in 2021 compared to one year ago. This is the rst time since the survey began in 2016 that the survey found a majority of ag lenders reported in increase in overall protability. The annual survey conducted by the American Bankers Association and Farmer Mac found 38% of net farm income came from government support. There was less demand for farm loans this past year, but lenders expect that to change in 2022.
Regional farm broadcasters elected to lead NAFB Members of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting have three individuals with connections to the region elected to their ofcer team. Spencer Chase is the incoming president. Chase is a Wolsey, South Dakota, native who is with Agri-Pulse. The president-elect is Joe Gill, farm broadcaster at KASM in Albany, Minnesota. Carah Hart of the Red River Farm Network was elected national vice president. RRFN services Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota.
Your business means a lot to us, and we thank you for your friendship and support this year.
From all of us, Happy Holidays!
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Trivia challenge A blizzard is the most popular item on the Dairy Queen menu. That answers our last trivia question. For this week’s trivia, what popular Christmas beverage is also known as milk punch? We will have the answer in the next edition of Dairy Star. Don Wick is owner/broadcaster for the Red River Farm Network, based in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Wick has been recognized as the National Farm Broadcaster of the Year and served as president of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting. Don and his wife, Kolleen, have two adult sons, Tony and Sam, and ve grandchildren, Aiden, Piper, Adrienne, Aurora and Sterling.
Merry Christmas!
C
Kraft Heinz cheese business sold The Kraft Heinz natural cheese business has been acquired by the Lactalis Group for $3.3 billion. Kraft Heinz will retain its Kraft Singles, Velveeta and Cheez Whiz business. The France-based Lactalis Group will operate out of the Chicago area. There are three production facilities in Wisconsin, California and New York that are part of the deal. This acquisition was announced over a year ago, but the Department of Justice stepped in due to antitrust concerns. Divestitures were made to avoid antitrust violations.
Glessing takes the reins at Minnesota Farm Bureau Wright County dairy farmer Dan Glessing is the new president of Minnesota Farm Bureau, succeeding Kevin Paap of Blue Earth County. Glessing has been vice president for seven years and said he wanted to give back to this organization. “My grandparents and parents were members, and when I became a farmer and saw all that Farm Bureau did, I jumped in as well and have that desire to give back to an organization that did so much for us,” Glessing said. MFBF delegates approved policy priorities at the annual meeting. That includes access to meat inspection and processing. “We want to address that and opposition to the California Clean Car Rule was another thing that came out of our delegate session,” Glessing said. Carolyn Olson of Lyon County was elected vice president. Board terms were lled by Peter Bakken of Rock County, Keith Allen of Goodhue County and Miles Kuschel of Cass County. Amanda Cook of Chisago County was elected to serve as the Promotion and Education Committee chair, and Caitlin Keck of Steele County will lead the Young Farmers and Ranchers Committee.
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Page 6 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 11, 2021
ConƟnued from BORST | Page 1
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Lindsey Borst looks over calves at her family’s dairy near Rochester, Minnesota. The Borsts make sure calves are well bedded and have access to clean water at all Ɵmes. “Everyone pitches in where needed,” Borst said. Ever since Borst graduated from veterinary school at the University of Minnesota in 2015, the dairy has had protocols for treatments, procedures, the milking parlor and on-farm euthanasia. The last couple years, they have also used these protocols to develop training materials for employees. “Having a veterinarian in the family probably brings the amount of veterinary oversight up a notch,” Borst said. On the farm, Borst monitors performance, disease incidence and recorded treatments regularly. They also work with Associated Milk Producers Inc., which provides guidance for compliance with the FARM program. “It’s really nice to have a supportive processor,” Borst said. The family provides animal care by keeping feed in front of animals, and water and bedding clean. They also follow strict protocols for pain management, down cows and euthanasia in addition to providing training for employees on the rst day of employment. “Proper cattle handling helps to show employees how important animal welfare is to us and we expect it to be to them as well,” Borst said. The Borsts also keep records of treatments, follow treatment protocols based on physical exams of sick animals and monitor disease incidence to make sure the antibiotics used are working. “Taking good care of our cows is also just good business,” Borst said. “Exceptional animal care will naturally lead to
good production.” The protocols are kept in a binder in the ofce. And, they also have protocols posted in various places, such as their milking procedures in the parlor. “We have written protocols for almost any process you can think of at the farm,” Borst said. While the process is lengthy and sometimes cumbersome, the Borsts nd the value of having protocols and treatment records up to date worthwhile. “It could potentially save you from having a drug residue, help identify a health issue before it gets out of hand or nd a way to save some money on a farm,” Borst said. “Don’t let the extra things that are asked of dairy farmers be a burden. Embrace and use them to make your farm business better.” The national recognition was a surprise for the Borsts and a meaningful one too. “Getting the award was very meaningful for both our farm and AMPI,” Borst said. “Sara Schmitt nominated us and did a lot of work on the nomination. She tragically passed away before we were announced as winners. It made (getting the award) extra special because we were able to be part of a project that meant a lot to her.” Borst hopes this award will speak to their continued commitment to keeping cows comfortable and healthy. “It’s very humbling to be recognized for something like animal care,” Borst said. “We take a lot of pride in paying attention to small details when it comes to making our animals comfortable.”
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Cows relax comfortably on the Borsts’ sand bedded free stalls Dec. 3 near Rochester, Minnesota. The Borst family takes pride in making sure their cows are as comfortable as possible.
Dairy Star • Saturday, December 11, 2021 • Page 7
ConƟnued from BECKERS | Page 1
through. Yet, the Beckers still had an opportunity to milk cows. “Loren knew we had the crop planted, so he went ahead and rented the facilities,” TJ said. “We started with milking 30 of his cows and grew the herd in three phases.” Today, Vetsch and the Beckers work in a unique partnership. Vetsch owns the milking herd and is leasing the facilities while the Beckers own the calves born, with plans to begin purchasing the herd within the next year. Vet bills and other operating costs are Vetsch’s responsibility, and in turn, he receives 80% of the milk check. “It’s kind of like we’re herdsmen, but we’re also taking ownership of the dairy because we make all the breeding
JENNIFER COYNE/DAIRY STAR
John Becker feeds TMR for the cows Dec. 3 near Browerville. Becker and his brother, TJ, manage the dairy.
decisions, take care of the feed costs and other things,” TJ said. “This really helps us get our foot in the door.” Vetsch agreed. “This is how I got started farming in 2008,” he said. “A cousin of mine sold out because the city was buying him out, but he wanted to help get someone else started. I know how hard it is to get going.” For the most part, the brothers’ herd is managed as a separate entity to Vetsch’s dairy business. The Beckers arrive on the farm site before 5 a.m., milk and do morning chores. Typically, TJ mixes the feed while John beds the stalls, and then they both bring the cows in from the outdoor lot. By midmorning, TJ breeds and does a herd health check. The brothers retreat to their home farm during the day, where they raise all the dairy youngstock – heifers and bulls – and have a beef herd. By 4:30 p.m., they return to the dairy site for evening milking. “It seems like it’s working out well,” Vetsch said. “The cows get milked, and I don’t have to worry about much there.” Vetsch is occasionally called when TJ or John cannot gure out an issue with a cow. “Now that it’s our responsibility, we notice every single detail,” TJ said. John agreed. “It makes us feel good that we really have to work hard for this herd to make it,” he said. “We walk into this barn and there’s a feeling of pride.” As the Beckers have reected on their year in the dairy industry, they are thankful for Vetsch’s willingness to help and trust two young, aspiring farmers. Both understand the uniqueness of their situation and its feasibility existing because of their relationship with an established
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TJ Becker latches cows in their stalls Dec. 3 at a rented facility near Browerville, Minnesota. Becker and his twin brother, John, are employees of the farm and receive 20% of the milk check. farmer. “We’ve known (Vetsch) for a long time and that relationship started with TJ,” John said. Vetsch agreed. “I’ve always known they were good workers, dependable and reliable,” he said. “I felt pretty comfortable helping in this situation, and that hasn’t changed.” As the Becker brothers look to their years ahead in the industry, they think about what they have learned in the past 12 months and know where they want their future to lie. With nearly a year under their belts,
the Beckers are hopeful they have created a balance sheet attractive for nancing. Then, the brothers will begin purchasing the milking herd and other assets for dairy farming. The farm site is under a lease contract for a few more years. After that, John and TJ hope to establish themselves at their home farm. “That relationship we started back in high school has been so important and it’s been a real eye-opener as we slowly work into it,” TJ said. “We’re still getting our start in the dairy industry even if it’s in a different way than others.”
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Page 8 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 11, 2021
Automation saved this family farm
Larsons install one AMS for organic dairy By Jennifer Coyne jenn@dairystar.com
OTTERTAIL, Minn. – The Larson family had reached a crossroads in their dairying career; their herd had grown beyond the capacity of the 74-year-old tiestall barn and the next generation was on the edge of returning to a worn-out facility. To ensure the family could continue dairying, the Larsons decided to build a 69-stall
freestall barn and install one Lely A5 Astronaut robot. They have been in the facility since February of this year. “Family farms are what’s best for our local economy and infrastructure, what’s best for Minnesota,” Ken Larson said. “I truly believe (automation) was the best way for us to save this farm without milking more cows.” Ken and his wife, Dori, milk 65 cows on their organic dairy farm, Silver Dust Farm, near Ottertail. They farm in partnership with their two grown children and their families – Ellen Dilly and her husband, Luke; and Todd and his wife, Melissa. Ellen came back to farm full time in 2014 and now oversees
JENNIFER COYNE/DAIRY STAR
The Larsons – (front, from leŌ) Mckenna and Dori; (back, from leŌ) Melissa, Ellen Dilly and Ken – milk 65 cows on their organic dairy near OƩertail, Minnesota. They began milking with one roboƟc milker last winter. Not pictured are Todd, Trystan and Tanner Larson, and Luke, Lane, Addison and Mac Dilly.
JENNIFER COYNE/DAIRY STAR
Cows at Silver Dust Farm are housed in a 69-stall freestall barn. To the west of the free stall pens is a maternity area.
the livestock portion of the operation. Dori does all the paperwork, while Todd and Melissa manage the crops and eldwork; Todd also works off the farm as a trucker. Ken is as involved as he can be but is also employed full time for a dairy cooperative. “This barn is a part of our long-term transition plan as we’re
having those conversations with the next generation,” Dori said. The 74- by 192-foot facility features a maternity pen on its west end with the robotic milking system separating the pen from the free stalls. This allows for accessibility of the robot without disturbing the milking herd. Unlike many robotic systems
that use a pellet to entice a cow for milking, the Larsons opted for loose feed. “With loose feed, we can use our organic feed,” Ellen said. “Otherwise, the cost for those supplements would have been astronomical.” Turn to LARSONS | Page 9
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Dairy Star • Saturday, December 11, 2021 • Page 9
ConƟnued from LARSONS | Page 8 Cows are housed on waterbed mattresses bedded with sawdust, and the pen is cleaned with a manure collector. In addition to the barn, the Larsons put in a double-gate grazing management system and built a pump manure system to the north of the housing facility. “When we were making plans for this, we wanted something that would save us in labor, have all the cows under one roof and a manure system that worked,” Ellen said. “Those were really our only requirements.” About four years ago, the Larsons started tossing plans around. Milking cows was becoming too labor intensive for Silver Dust Farm – which has no non-family employees – and the younger generation was looking for more exibility as dairy farmers. They toured three retrotted barns and one new build for ideas, but once the decision to go toward automation was made, the Larsons knew the direction they wanted for their farm.
“We were pretty adamant on only wanting one robot,” Ellen said. “We didn’t want more cows. We just wanted something that was going to give us more exibility and less manual labor.” Ken agreed. “The extra time we have now and not being tied to a time gives Ellen time to go see her kids’ activities,” he said. “And, we noticed this summer that we put up better quality forages because we didn’t have to plan harvest around milking times.” Dori especially likes how the technology closely monitors animal health. She can easily keep track of heats and has seen the herd’s pregnancy rate rise over the last year. With nearly a year under their belts, the Larsons are pleased with the new system and how the cows have adjusted. “It keeps getting better with each milking,” Ellen said. But the rst few months did not come without challenges. Not only did the herd have to gure out the automated milking
JENNIFER COYNE/DAIRY STAR
Cows are given loose feed while in the robot. With this opƟon, the Larsons are able to use their organic feed.
JENNIFER COYNE/DAIRY STAR
Ellen Dilly explains the manure collector system Nov. 24 at her family’s dairy near OƩertail, Minnesota. Dilly manages the herd. system, the cows also had to learn how to function in a freestall barn, compared to the tiestall and pack barn previously used. “Before the cows could eat, they had to gure out the headlocks. They also had to learn the robot and get out of (the manure collector’s) way,” Ellen said. “That rst week, we were denitely second-guessing ourselves and this decision. We are appreciative of the help from Leedstone employees as they problem solved and worked with us during our start up.” The Larsons’ entire family was on site during the rst month to help the cows adjust to the new environment. It took another few months before someone did not need to be in the barn at all times. “You go from touching the cows all the time to using a computer to tell you what’s going on,” Melissa said. “I’m glad
we did it, but there was so much new stuff to learn.” Dori agreed. “It’s just a whole different way of milking cows,” said the second-generation farmer. “Growing up, I milked cows by hand. Now, (my grandson) just hops on the computer and has a handle on what’s going on.” For the Larsons, dairy farming is a passion and a way of life they hope to continue for many more generations; and with a robot that may just be possible. “If you can make the payments, it’s a good way to milk cows,” Ken said. “It’s easy on the body and consistent.” Ellen agreed. “For the cows, this just can’t be beat,” she said.
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“(The test) made more sense to do that than sort cows again.” What do you like about the DHIA Pregnancy Tests?
I like the DHIA pregnancy test because it allows us to do a late-lactation pregnancy check on cows before we dry them off without needing to sort animals for the vet an additional time.
How long have you been using the test? We have been using it for about
a year and a half.
Why did you choose to use it? The reason we began using it was that we had a few cows that were coming up open after their dry period. We started sleeving latelactation animals for pregnancy to prevent this. When the test became available, it made more sense to do that than sort cows again. How long have you been testing with DHIA? My father began testing with DHIA in April 1982.
Wishing you an abundance of happiness and good fortune this holiday season and all year!
Why is testing with DHIA valuable to your dairy? Testing with DHIA is valuable
so that we know what our cows are milking and helps us to make herd management decisions.
Tell us about your farm. I farm with my father, Paul, and my brother, Micah, on the farm my grandfather, Fred, bought in 1946. Our herd consists of 270 milking and dry Holsteins. We do a lot of crossbreeding to beef for our non-replacements and fatten out about 200 cattle a year. We run 650 acres of corn, soybeans and hay.
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Page 10 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 11, 2021
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A crew of volunteers use tractors to move trailers in and out of Richard Bosma’s farm on the Sumas Prairie area of BriƟsh Columbia’s Fraser Valley. They were working to rescue and relocate his herd during the historic ooding that occurred Nov. 16.
Sumas Prairie deals with flood devastation, aftermath By Danielle Nauman danielle.n@dairystar.com
Bosma said a crew of about 25 worked diligently to get his milking cows and calves moved to safety that Tuesday, but as they were preparing to start moving heifers, news came that the nearby Barrowtown Pump Station was in danger of failing due to rising waters. “They told us everyone had to get out, because if those pumps failed, it would wash everything away,” Bosma said. “There were hundreds of people at the pump station sandbagging to keep the water away from the pumps. People that had been moving and hauling cattle all day spent the night sandbagging the pump station, and then they went back to rescuing and hauling cattle the next day.” When Bosma returned to his farm Wednesday morning (Nov. 18), he found his heifers slogging through more than 4 feet of water. The farm was inaccessible to trucks, so tractors were used to navigate trailers near the barn to begin loading heifers. The treacherous and exhausting work of rescuing and relocating animals was undertaken by hundreds of volunteers who showed up with all varieties of trucks and trailers. Chris Kloot milks 60 Jerseys near the neighboring city of Chilliwack. Kloot’s farm is on higher ground outside of the ood zone. He has had to dump milk – about 22,000 pounds – on several occasions because some of the routes to the processing facilities in Vancouver were severed by ooding. “My cattle are warm, dry and fed,” Kloot said. “So, it became necessary for me to do what I can to help my neighbors and friends.” Kloot was one of many who heeded the call to help transport as many cattle to safety as possible.
ABBOTSFORD, British Columbia – Nearly a year’s worth of rain that fell in a matter of days and heavy snow melt from the nearby mountain range caused swollen rivers and breached levees to wreak havoc on the Sumas Prairie area of British Columbia’s Fraser Valley and Washington’s Whatcom County, bringing oods of historic proportions. The nightmare began in the overnight hours of Nov. 16 when over 8 inches of rain fell throughout the Fraser Valley, an event meteorologists called an atmospheric river. The rains continued through the remainder of the month, dousing the area in a record-breaking 20 inches of rain for November. The Nooksack River, which ows north from Whatcom County into the Sumas River and eventually makes its way to the Fraser River in British Columbia via the Vedder Canal, was already running high because of snow melt in the northern range of the Cascade Mountains. The Sumas River runs through the Sumas Prairie, which is an old lake bed that was drained to create fertile farmland over 100 years ago, near Abbotsford. “Tuesday morning (Nov. 17), the police were knocking on our door telling us we needed to evacuate,” said Abbotsford dairy farmer Richard Bosma. “I told them we couldn’t leave; we had cattle.” Bosma, who milks 80 Holsteins with his wife, Judy, on their Vedderlea Holsteins Farm, said he has lived on Turn to FLOOD | Page 11 the Sumas Prairie his entire life and never experienced anything resembling the events of the past month. Bosma said they watched the water come across the eld, crest the road and flow into the buildings. As the waters continued to rise, people mobilized convoys of trucks and trailers and set up the treacherous work of rescuing animals. “The way the community rallied and responded was amazing,” Bosma said. “I am so very fortunate; all of my animals were saved and moved. There are over 150 dairy farms PHOTO SUBMITTED that have been affected. I A volunteer helps load Richard Bosma’s Vedderlea Holsteins herd onto a trailer have neighbors who were in order to evacuate the cows from the ood waters that engulfed Bosma’s not as fortunate; one lost farm Nov. 16. 160 head, another 90 and another lost 60.”
Dairy Star • Saturday, December 11, 2021 • Page 11
ConƟnued from FLOOD | Page 10 “The water was moving fast and furious,” Kloot said. “It was pretty dynamic and very scary at times, driving through such fast-moving water. There were some pretty tense confrontations with police who were not allowing us through too. Everyone just continued to defy orders and keep doing what needed to be done.” Kloot said those hauling cattle continuously had to nd different routes around the ood waters and continue to be cautious avoiding washed-out roads and bridges, and exposed pipelines. “There were a lot of mixed emotions throughout. You were able to help some, and then there were some you could not,” Kloot said. “The majority of the dairy cattle in the area were rescued, but the hogs and poultry operations, those are another story.” Kloot said the difculties from the ooding were compounded by drought conditions experienced by the area earlier this year, creating a feed shortage throughout the Pacic Northwest. “All of the roads and railways into the valley were impacted, some underwater and others dealing with mudslides and washouts,” Kloot said. “It has been difcult to get enough grain in.” Kloot serves as a councilor for the city, a position affording him some leverage to petition the provincial government for assistance for ood-ravaged farmers in the area. The Canadian government heeded the calls from the area and stopped all grain exports at the Port of Vancouver and rerouted the grain back to farmers needing feed for their livestock and poultry. “It is not just the animals being affected here,” Kloot said. “We are seeing shortages everywhere in the stores, and we have gas rationing at least until mid-December. The Fraser Valley is the breadbasket of British Columbia.” Short feed supplies worry Bosma as well. Bosma said he is concerned for the farms taking in extra cattle and needing to procure feed for the additional animals as well as their own herds. “I think my silage bunkers will be alright, but we had over 400 wrapped round bales oat away,” Bosma said. “Some might be salvageable, but many of them have already absorbed so much water they are ruined.” D.R. Vaandrager’s Lavender Farms, where his family milks 150 Holsteins, sits about a mile away from the impacted ood areas. “It is really amazing how just the tiniest ridge in the land, like what we sit on,
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Water almost 4 feet deep ows through the freestall barns at Richard Bosma’s farm Nov. 17. A crew of volunteers began moving heifers from the farm that day.
can make such a difference,” Vaandrager said of his location. “Our elds have been ooded, but our farm has been OK so far. But, we have neighbors who have not been back to their farms in over two weeks now because of high water.” Vaandrager helped his neighbor move as many animals as possible and is housing that farm’s youngstock for the time being. “It took us three hours to go the 2 miles and back. The police were making it very difcult for us,” Vaandrager said of the hampered rescue efforts. “It was really an awful thing, the (animals) that could not be saved.” As the waters begin to recede in some areas, recovery efforts have begun on some farms. However, the Bosmas are still faced with over 2 feet of water remaining in their house and barns even though more than two weeks have passed since the initial ooding. Bosma said he has no idea when they might be able to begin the work of clean up and recovery, but said that, for the time being, he is grateful his milking herd has a temporary home on another farm. “I am 62 years old, but I am not ready to be done,” Bosma said of his desire to persevere and move forward. “I nally have the herd of cows I have worked all my life to build. I want more time to enjoy them.”
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Page 12 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 11, 2021
Education at core of agritourism initiatives Mirons welcomed prime-time guests to farm By Jennifer Coyne jenn@dairystar.com
HUGO, Minn. – Fran Miron and his family are no strangers to agritourism, but some of their more recent visitors helped the Minnesota dairy industry garner national attention. “We have a lot of opportunities to share our stories and passion for agriculture because of our closeness to the Twin Cities and metro area,” Miron said. “In this particular case, there were probably millions of viewers who got a 7-to 8-minute look at dairy farming.” The Mirons hosted the cast of “The Bachelorette” earlier this year on their 180-cow dairy in Washington County near Hugo. The content from the tour was broadcast in the episode which aired Nov. 23 on ABC. “When I saw the episode, I was really pleased with the amount of attention that was provided to Midwest agriculture and dairy in particular,” Miron said. The episode depicted activities on the farm, some
more modern than others, for the group of men to engage in friendly competition – a staple of the prime-time show. The guests had a chance to milk a cow by hand, bottle feed calves, pitch manure and churn butter. “Milking cows by hand is not something we typically do on a farm, but we do strip cows out,” Miron said. “It seemed like it was really wholesome competition and all the guys were engaged.” Miron and his wife, Mary Ann, farm in partnership with two of their sons, Paul and Andrew, and their families. With each farm tour, the Mirons make a point to accommodate their guests by directing activities to meet the desires of the tour participants. In this case, there was a lot of interest in the livestock on the dairy, said Miron. But perhaps what the guests found most astonishing was how a current-day dairy farm operates. “Any time we do tours, I think what impresses people most is that there isn’t a day off from farm work,” Miron said. “Just because we do a tour, or it’s a holiday, doesn’t mean the work stops. There is always somebody still working on the farm.” The tour of the Mirons’ farm was a part of “The Bachelorette” episode in which the woman
PHOTO COURTESY OF ABC
Fran Miron (leŌ) watches as the cast of “The BacheloreƩe” churns buƩer on his family’s 180cow dairy near Hugo, Minnesota. The Mirons hosted the crew this summer to give a glimpse of farming in Minnesota. brought a select number of men to her home state of Minnesota. When the episode aired and the bachelorette decided which men would continue in the competition, Miron watched and hoped the experience of his farm played a small role.
“Michelle was making tough decisions on the type of people she wants in her life and some of those characteristics she was looking for in a person,” Miron said. “I look at the values we have on our farm – respect and hard work, caring for live-
stock – it t in with some of the things she seemed to be looking for based on her comments on the show. And hopefully other people made that connection as Turn to MIRONS | Page 13
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Dairy Star • Saturday, December 11, 2021 • Page 13
ConƟnued from MIRONS | Page 12 well. As farmers, we’re passionate about what we do.” When planning the episode, the Mirons were contacted by Heather Coffelt of Prior to the Plate Agritours, LLC. “I’m passionate about agriculture, and anytime we have a chance to share farm life with others it’s a win,” Coffelt said. “The Miron family is such a wonderful ambassador for the dairy industry and great people.” Miron is a dairy farmer by trade but has a degree in agriculture education. Likewise, half of his grown children teach agriculture in the state. “Any time we can communicate our story with the public, I think that’s kind of neat,” Miron said. Every year, the family hosts a variety of people, including private parties, school-aged children and government leaders. One of their most impactful events was the county’s breakfast on the farm in 2019, where the Mirons welcomed about 2,000 people to their dairy. “Everyone has a right to know where milk comes from and how it’s produced,” Miron said. “There’s always
an opportunity to provide that information to people.” With fewer people directly involved in farming, taking the time to expose consumers to this sector of agriculture is a vitally important part of being a dairy farmer, in Miron’s view. Not only is his family able to help be the face of a product for consumers but they can potentially inuence future regulations in the industry. “As I provide tours to young people, at some point they are going to be our future leaders and they may have the potential to inuence agriculture in some way,” Miron said. “I hope with these tours there’s an imprint of our farm and how we operate, to build a level of trust and understanding.” And with each interaction, there is a multitude of people who are indirectly reached, as was the case with the cast of “The Bachelorette.” “We have an opportunity to talk with people and show them rst-hand the farm,” Miron said. “Today, when we do those tours, our reach goes extends much further with social media.”
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Dairy farmers:
How do you use data the robots generate?
Gary and Paul Beckman (Pictured with Paul’s daughter, Sutton) Pennock, Minnesota Kandiyohi County 130 cows
Describe your robotic milking setup. We built a new 123-stall freestall barn with two Lely A4 robots. We started December 2013.
Aaron Willie Detroit Lakes, Minnesota Becker County • 140 cows Describe your robotic milking setup. We have an AMS Galaxy with two milk boxes with a free-ow setup. We retrotted our existing freestall barn in August 2014. Describe your milking facilities prior to using robots. Why did you install robots? Prior to the robots, we milked in a double-6 parallel parlor with a freestall barn. We decided to put in robots because our milking parlor was worn out and the price was comparable with putting in a new parlor with similar technology. In what ways has your farm and family benetted from this technology? It’s nice to be able to nish doing eldwork without having to stop at a certain time to milk cows, nish, then go do barn chores. The same goes for family, taking the kids shing or to school activities without worrying about doing chores at a certain time. How do you use the data the robots generate? Which reports are your favorite? With the data the robot generates, it helps with adjusting feed and the best time to inseminate cows. It also shows if any cows are having health issues. One of the reports is milking system information, which gives me an overview of the robots’ efciency with herd data and all for each box. Another one is the action list, which gives information on if there are any cows that didn’t get milked, or have a complete milk or if a cow has conductivity. Then, I can go out and check that individual animal. What changes have you made since installing the milking robots? We have expanded from 100 cows to 140 cows. What type of research did you do prior to installing robots? We went to several farms and to World Dairy Expo to see all of the different brands. In hindsight, what would you do differently with implementing automated technology on your farm? I wish I would have updated to the new post-sprayer sooner than I did, which helped lower the somatic cell count. Tell us about your farm. I farm with my dad. We have 300 acres that we farm. It is hay and corn silage.
Describe your milking facilities prior to using robots. Why did you install robots? We milked in a 58-cow tiestall barn. We installed robots because the next generation wanted to return to the farm and the old facility was worn out. We were at the point of building a new facility or retiring from dairying. In what ways has your farm and family benetted from this technology? The robots allowed us to double the size of our herd without increasing our workload and not having to hire help. It also gives us more exibility during the spring and fall doing eldwork and putting up better quality forage in the summer. In what ways has your farm and family benetted from this technology? Every daily decision is based on the data we get from the robots. Whether it be a cow in heat, this cow may have mastitis in a quarter, this cow hasn’t been milked in a while, this cow may be getting sick because she didn’t milk as much as she was projected to. All the data tells you everything you need to know about the cow before you even go look at the her. How do you use the data the robots generate? Which reports are your favorite? Heat detection is the big one
because we don’t spend as much time in the barn as before, and you don’t have the same one-on-one interaction with each cow as they are all on their own schedule with the robots. What changes have you made since installing the milking robots? We more than doubled the herd when we switched to robots. The management style changed from the tiestall barn to a robot barn. We always kept the tiestall barn full of cows. Now we keep the barn full of efcient cows. There are times where we culled cows and increased production because the inefcient cows were taking up too much robot time and taking away from the more productive cows. What type of research did you do prior to installing robots? We toured a number of farms in the area and throughout the Midwest to get a good idea of what we wanted and what would work on our farm. In hindsight, what would you do differently with implementing automated technology on your farm? Nothing, we are very happy with the robots and wouldn’t go back to the way we were milking cows. Like any technology, you’re going to have days where things don’t work quite right, but keeping up on the daily maintenance and washing the robots twice a day makes things run very smooth. Tell us about your farm. Our farm consists of Gary and Julie Beckman, along with Paul and Kali and their two kids, Sutton and Hayes. We milk cows, raise our replacement heifers and farm about 1,200 acres of corn, soybeans and alfalfa. this information to help us determine any cull cows.
Joe and Kalie Klaphake (Pictured with their children, Peyton, Stella and Jack) Albany, Minnesota Stearns County 240 cows
What changes have you made since installing the milking robots? We have more tools and information to look at. The main change was that we decreased our herd size from 260 to 240.
Describe your robotic milking setup. In December 2012, we installed four DeLaval robots in a retrotted barn. Describe your milking facilities prior to using robots. Why did you install robots? We previously were milking in a double-8 parlor. We installed the robots because the parlor was needing updates and labor was becoming hard to nd. In what ways has your farm and family benetted from this technology? We have more time exibility and better overall herd health. How do you use the data the robots generate? Which reports are your favorite? We can see daily how well each cow is or is not doing; multiple times a day if needed. We watch milk deviation, Mastitis Detection Index, activity, veday production average and stall time reports. We also use
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What type of research did you do prior to installing robots? We talked to other local farmers, toured farms and talked to our local
In hindsight, what would you do differently with implementing automated technology on your farm? There are always small things that you maybe would have changed, but for the most part, everything is working smoothly. Tell us about your farm. We milk 240 cows along with my parents, Jeff and Judy, and two full-time employees. We also raise our own heifers, nish our steers, crop farm and do some custom work.
Turn to OUR SIDE | Page 16
Page 16 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 11, 2021
ConƟnued from OUR SIDE | Page 15 Bill and Merri Post Chandler, Minnesota Murray, Minnesota 120 cows
Doug Gernes Winona, Minnesota Winona County 240 cows
Describe your robotic milking setup. We built a new freestall barn in the summer of 2012 and moved our cows to the new barn Dec. 4, 2012. On Dec. 11, 2012, we started the robots, and the cows have been there since. We have two Lely A4, which were the last A4s made in the Netherlands.
Describe your robotic milking setup. We have four DeLaval VMS Classic Free Flow system robots. We retrotted our barn; two groups with two robots per group. We started milking with robots in August 2016.
Describe your milking facilities prior to using robots. Why did you install robots? We were milking in a 64-cow stanchion barn that was built in 1974 by Bill’s father and uncle. The barn was in good shape, but the equipment required updating. The decision was made to retrot our stanchion barn as a calf facility and build a new barn with the hope of future expansion. Bill’s body was also wearing and needed repair. We felt the cost of a new parlor and larger building versus the lower blueprint space and less reliability on hired labor for robots t our needs. We wanted to manage cows, not people, and be able to continue farming as a family. We liked the ability to be able to watch cow health more intensely and allow natural cow behavior with robots. In what ways has your farm and family benetted from this technology? We spend the same amount of time managing cows in the robots, but they allow us to complete chores and tasks on our schedule. We also are able to monitor udder and gut health better. If something changes in nutrition or health on the cows, you know before the bulk tank does. Cows either stop visiting the robots, their rumination declines or the milk will drop on the computer right away. This has made us better managers by being more proactive with feed changes and with health protocols to help keep cows healthy and thriving. How do you use the data the robots generate? Which reports are your favorite? Fetch lists, heat lists and the udder health check list. If we nd problem cows, we are able to dive deeper into their data and determine what is going on. Our nutritionists use rumination and production graphs to see how changes affect the cows. With activity and health monitoring, we can pick up a sick cow before her milk production suffers. This
allows us to keep the cows healthier and use fewer antibiotics. What changes have you made since installing the milking robots? We doubled the herd when we built the new barn, going from 64 cows to 120. Since then, we have updated the calf barn and installed a Lely automatic calf feeder. We have built new yards for the added number of heifers. We sell breeding bulls, and since those numbers have doubled as well, we needed more yard space for them. For forages, we have moved from putting corn silage in bags to putting on a pile. What type of research did you do prior to installing robots? We visited other dairies in Canada and some in the states. We also worked closely with Jim Salfer with the University of Minnesota and with Gorter’s, our equipment dealer. In hindsight, what would you do differently with implementing automated technology on your farm? Some minor little moves where we put equipment and other things. Tell us about your farm. We have a herdsman, Daryl Rylaarsdam, who has worked for the farm for more than 20 years and is like family to us. We created an LLC in January of this year, taking in our two kids and their spouses. With the kids came equipment and a beef herd they had started together in their partnership. Currently, we have about 100 cow/calf pairs on top of our dairy herd and replacements. We also raise breeding bulls we sell in a ve-state area. We raise our own forages and corn, and run cow/calf pairs and some dairy heifers on pasture in the summer. We look forward to making the next transition, in time, from Bill and Merri to the kids and seeing the farm grow.
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Describe your milking facilities prior to using robots. Why did you install robots? We used to milk in a double-12 parallel parlor and switched to robots because of the inability to nd quality help. In what ways has your farm and family benetted from this technology? Freedom to not have to rely on nding help and exibility to not have to keep a strict milking schedule. Herd-wise, we’ve seen a 20% increase in milk production along with a signicant bump in fat and protein percentage. A decrease in somatic cell count and health issues paired with an increase in pregnancy rate and conception percentage. How do you use the data the robots generate? Which reports are your favorite? There’s so much data on each individual cow provided from the robots. I use a couple different metrics from the data along with the genomic tests to determine whether I breed that cow with beef or sexed semen. The data also helps with culling instead of just culling based on daily milk production. What changes have you made since installing the milking robots? We had to reduce herd size from 300 to 240 because our barn was set up perfectly to t four robots in it. We tweaked our sire selection to be more friendly to the robots without sacricing production and health traits. We also stopped using conventional semen completely and started genomic testing once we started to plan to transition to robots. What type of research did you do prior to installing robots? We went to the World Dairy Expo, looked and talked to all the major companies about their robots and chose the brand we thought was far superior over the others. In hindsight, what would you do differently with implementing automated technology on your farm? We would have put up a parts room from the beginning when we built the add-on, instead of squeezing one in after the building was done. Also, we would have made the pit outside the robots 10 feet wide instead of 8 feet. Otherwise, besides the learning curve in the rst year, the transition has been about as awless as you could ask for. Tell us about your farm. I’m a third-generation farmer. We’ve been farming at this site for 52 years. My wife, Melissa, and I farm with my parents, Stephen and Margaret, and our one full-time employee, Bill. We milk 240 cows with four DeLaval robots, raise our own replacement heifers and farm about 900 acres of alfalfa, corn and soybeans.
Dairy Star • Saturday, December 11, 2021 • Page 17
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Page 18 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 11, 2021
Breeding Focus
Annexstads breed for functional, trouble-free cows
Mike, Rolf and Jean Annexstad Annexstad Dairy Farms Inc. St. Peter, Minnesota 200 cows
Describe your facilities and list your breeding management team. We have a sand-bedded freestall barn built in 1996. We remodeled the existing tiestall barn into a holding pen and double-9 parallel parlor the same year. The freestall includes cooling fans and sprinklers to mitigate heat stress. The breeding management team involves almost our entire crew: veteri-
narian, nutritionist, Genex and Select Sires representatives, our A.I. technician and also the people involved in the farm’s feeding and milking who observe cows showing heat signs. What is your current pregnancy rate? 25%. What is your reproduction program? Do you use a synchronization program? How do you get animals pregnant? Ninety percent of our cows are bred with an ovsynch program. All cows receive two Lutalyse shots 14 days apart before 60
KATE RECHTZIGEL/DAIRY STAR
Mike (from leŌ), Jean and Rolf Annexstad have a concepƟon rate of 53% on their 200-cow dairy near St. Peter, Minnesota.
KATE RECHTZIGEL/DAIRY STAR
This cow reects what the Annexstads look for in an ideal cow. They want animals of moderate size with excellent feet and legs and a well aƩached udder with correct teat size and placement.
days in milk. Our vet does a reproductive check every two weeks starting at 60 days in milk. Cows are then started on ovsynch. Cystic cows receive GNRH and are rechecked in two weeks. If cows are still cystic, they receive a CIDR and are started on ovsynch. Cows that are open at 28-32 days are restarted on ovsynch. The remaining 10% of cows are bred on observed heats.
Describe your breeding philosophy. We try to breed for high-functional, commercial cows that produce high volumes of high-component milk that are as trouble-free as possible. What guidelines do you follow to reach the goals for your breeding program? We don’t have specic guidelines that we follow.
What are the top traits you look for in breeding your dairy herd, and how has this changed since you started farming? The top traits we look for are net merit dollars, pounds of fat and protein, daughter pregnancy rate, somatic cell score and rear teat placement. Most of those traits didn’t exist when we started farming. We used to pay Turn to BREEDING | Page 20
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Page 20 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 11, 2021
ConƟnued from BREEDING | Page 18 a lot of attention to improving udders, What is your conception rate? How and feet and legs. Now we very rarely does this differ with different types of cull cows based on those traits. semen? Our current conception rate on cows is 53%. We don’t track the concepWhat are certain traits you try to tion rates on different types of semen. avoid? We avoid bulls that transmit too much stature, a negative daughter preg- What is the greatest lesson you have nancy rate or high somatic cell score. learned through your breeding program? Genetic progress is slow, but Describe the ideal cow for your herd. after 50 years of being enrolled in mating The ideal cow in our herd is of moder- programs, the genetic improvement is ate size with excellent feet and legs and very impressive. We rarely have a heifer a well-attached udder with correct teat with poor feet, legs or udders today. size and placement, and ease of milking. They are healthier and milk production She has consistently high-quality milk is very good. production with the focus on total pounds of fat and protein produced daily. She is What is the age of your heifers at rst a healthy cow with negligible treatment service? Thirteen months. costs, and she breeds back with ease in every lactation. The ideal cow would have How does your heifer inventory affect several trouble-free lactations. We also your breeding program? We try to have appreciate cows with special personali- 0.75 heifers for every cow. This dictates ties. All of those traits would make her our use of sexed, conventional and beef a money maker and fun to work with semen. We used to sell a number of bred each day. heifers, but we try not to have surplus heifers at this time. What role does genetics have in reaching the goals of your farm? Tapping into Tell us about your farm. Mike and Rolf’s top genetics provides us with the oppor- parents started dairy farming here in the tunity to work with healthy, functionally 1950s. With several employees, we milk, correct cows. That’s what makes it fun feed and grow crops for 200 cows. The to wake up every morning and head to third Annexstad generation of Matthias, the barn. Good cows help all of the rest Leif and Emily pursue college and careers of the dairy farming tasks fall into place. at this time, helping when they can. We raise calves and heifers until a year of What percentage of your herd is bred age, then heifers are custom-raised and to sexed, conventional and beef semen? bred off the farm until they calve. We About 10% of cows and 30% of heifers grow alfalfa and corn for forage, corn are bred to sexed. About 40%-50% of for grain, canning pea, soybean and varicows are bred to beef, and the balance ous other cover crops on 620 acres. We are bred to conventional semen. market beef and male Holstein calves at 7-14 days of age.
KATE RECHTZIGEL/DAIRY STAR
Mike Annexstad goes through DHIA reports on Dec. 2 at his family’s farm near St. Peter, Minnesota. The Annexstads use the current DHIA reports when examining cows on their farm.
Dairy Star • Saturday, December 11, 2021 • Page 21
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JD S670, 2016, 1421 hrs., 915 $ sep hrs., #191133
233,000
JD 1770, 2008, 24 row, 30” #191119
99,500
$
Equipment and pictures added daily • Go to www.mmcjd.com 16 7 3 10 10 7 4 5 2 5 17 16 7 6 3 4 14 7 10 4 15 14 3 14 4 15 16 10 16 5 17 11 14 8 16 16
COMBINES
JD 6620, 1979, Corn/Bean, 2WD, Singles,1557 hrs., #187694 .................$7,900 JD 7720, 1986, Corn/Bean, 2WD, Singles, #188736..................................$8,500 JD 6620, 1983, Corn/Bean; 2WD; Singles, 3800 hrs., #188350 .................$9,500 JD 6620, 1987, Corn/Bean, 2WD, Singles, 3903 hrs., #177388 ...............$12,500 JD 9500, 1993, Corn/Bean, 2WD, 5785 hrs., 3893 Sep hrs., #189641......$19,900 JD 9500, 1991, Corn/Bean, 2WD, 6754 hrs., 5000 Sep hrs., #185458......$22,400 JD 9510, 1998, Corn/Bean, 2WD, 5225 hrs., 3475 Sep hrs., #189676......$28,500 JD 9650 STS, 2003, Corn/Bean, 5240 hrs., 3504 Sep hrs., #190984 .......$38,500 JD 9510, 1999, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 3887 hrs., 2694 Sep hrs., #190861 ...$42,500 JD 9550, 2001, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 5054 hrs., 3424 Sep hrs., #189036 ...$42500 JD 9750 STS, 2003, Corn/Bean, 3684 hrs., 2499 Sep hrs., #191070 .......$49,500 JD 9660 STS, 2003, Corn/Bean, 3044 hrs., 2063 Sep hrs., #190643 .......$64,500 JD 9770 STS, 2009, Corn/Bean, 4548 hrs., 3172 Sep hrs., #190521 .......$81,000 JD 9770 STS, 2010, Corn/Bean, 3550 hrs., 2460 Sep hrs, #191137 ........$97,500 JD 9670 STS, 2009, Corn/Bean, 2625 hrs., 1650 Sep hrs., #190656 .......$99,500 JD 9670 STS, 2011, Corn/Bean, 3669 hrs., 2503 Sep hrs., #188158 .......$99,900 JD S680, 2014, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 2974 hrs., 2063 Sep hrs., #182070 $144,900 JD S680, 2014, Corn/Bean, 2WD, 2081 hrs., 1658 Sep hrs., #172017... $145,900 JD S680, 2014, Corn/Bean, 2WD, 2373 hrs., 1703 Sep hrs., #178114... $147,900 JD S680, 2013, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 2006 hrs., 1350 Sep hrs., #174756 $159,900 JD S680, 2013, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 2016 hrs., 1446 Sep hrs., #190055 $161,000 JD S680, 2015, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 2426 hrs., 1762 Sep hrs., #190078 $191,000 JDS670, 2016, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 2430 hrs., 1453 Sep hrs., #176660 . $199,500 JD S680, 2014, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1980 hrs., 1183 Sep hrs., #189953 $202,000 JD S670, 2016, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1421 hrs., 915 Sep hrs., #191133 .. $233,000 JD S670, 2016, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1614 hrs., 963 Sep hrs., #181669... $237,500 JD S770, 2018, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 2242 hrs., 1587 Sep hrs., #181147 $245,000 JD S790, 2018, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1366 hrs., 1058 Sep hrs., #179097 $315,400 JD S780, 2018, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1376 hrs., 800 Sep hrs., #175318... $319,500 JD S780, 2018, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1377 hrs., 916 Sep hrs., #183533... $355,000 JD S780, 2018, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1080 hrs., 690 Sep hrs., #177549... $364,400 JD S780, 2019, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1070 hrs., 653 Sep hrs., #171103... $385,000 JD S790, 2019, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1180 hrs., 683 Sep hrs., #171378... $389,500 JD S780, 2019, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 744 hrs., 508 Sep hrs., #169507 .... $409,500 JD S780, 2020, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 996 hrs., 556 Sep hrs., #187111 .... $435,900 JD S780, 2020, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 834 hrs., 247 Sep hrs., #188458 .... $454,900
9 17 7 9 5 9 5 2 5 1 5 9 5 8 8 8 4
FIELD CULTIVATORS
Case IH 4800, 28 ft, 3-Section Folding, C-Shank, #182692 .....................$5,900 Case IH 4300, 30 ft, 3-Section Folding, C-Shank, #181148 .....................$8,500 Case IH 4300, 2001, 38 ft, 3-Section Folding, C-Shank, #186653..........$11,995 JD 985, 1998, 47 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #185899......................$12,000 Wil-Rich Quad 5, 2000, 42 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #191024....$12,900 JD 2200, 2002, 34 ft, 3-Section Folding, C-Shank, #185898 ...................$19,000 Case IH TIGERMATE II, 2003, 50.5 ft, 5-Section Folding, #186586 ......$19,000 Case IH TM14, 2005, 50.5 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #187546......$26,900 Case IH TIGERMATE II, 2004, 60.5 ft, 5-Section Folding, #186585......$28,000 JD 2210, 2006, 57 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #181942 ...................$32,500 Case IH Tigermate 200, 2014, 50.5 ft, 5-Section Folding, #184441 ...$39,900 JD 2210, 2017, 45.5 ft, 3-Section Folding, C-Shank, #190971 ................$66,000 JD 2230, 2018, 52 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #190847 ...................$86,500 JD 2230, 2021, 56 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, # 190849 ............... $110,900 JD 2230, 2021, 60.5 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #190850 ............. $113,900 JD 2230, 2019, 60 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #190851 ................ $125,500 JD 2230, 2019, 60.5 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #191162 ............. $134,000
MULCH FINISHERS
7 JD 726, 1998, 30’, 3-Section Folding, #185271..........................................$22,900 14 JD 726, 2001, 38’, 3-Section Folding, #186290 .........................................$24,900 14 Kuhn Krause 6200-45, 2014, 45’, 9” spacing, #180001 ...........................$45,900
BOX DRILLS
11 JD 455, 1992, 25 width, 7.5”spacing, #190817 .........................................$19,800 14 JD 1590, 2013, 15’, 7.5” spacing, #191157 ................................................$42,900
9 7 10 14
PLANTERS
White 6100, 6R30”, 1.6 Bushel Hopper, #187246 .......................................$6,500 JD 7000, 8R30”, 1.6 Bushel Hopper, #183615 .............................................$9,900 JD 1750, 1999, 6R30”, 1.6 Bushel Hopper, #186405..................................$18,500 JD 1780, 2001, 16/31R15/30”, 3.0 Bushel Hopper, #190820 .....................$19,000
9 5 5 2 1 10 2 4 17 11 7 2 16 16 17 2 2 3 3 5 15 4 4 16 2 16 6 16 15 5 3 8 8 7
JD 1770, 1997, 16R30”, 3.0 Bushel Hopper, #180078................................$19,500 White 6524, 24R22”, Flex Fold, #190593 ..................................................$20,900 White 8516, 16R30”, #189396 .................................................................$22,000 JD 7200, 1993, 12R30”, 3.0 Bushe Hopper, #190107.................................$22,900 JD 1770, 1999, 16R30”, 1.6 Bushel Hopper, #186432................................$28,500 JD 1755, 2019, 6R30”, 1.6 Bushel Hopper, #186443..................................$39,400 JD 1755, 2018, 8R30”, 3.0 Bushel Hopper, #186434..................................$52,900 JD 1770NT CCS, 2006, 16R30”, #181880...................................................$59,500 JD 1770NT CCS, 2008, 24R30”, #186498...................................................$86,900 JD 1770NT, 2014, 12R30”, #186459..........................................................$89,900 JD 1770, 2008, 24R30”, #191119 ..............................................................$99,500 JD 1770NT CCS, 2008, 24R30”, #186442...................................................$99,900 JD DB66, 2005, 36R22”, #186477 ...........................................................$119,900 JD 1770NT CCS, 2013, 24R30”, #186453.................................................$124,900 JD1775NT, 2018, 16R30”, #186435.........................................................$145,400 JD 1775NT, 2021, 12R30”, #186465........................................................$164,900 JD 1775NT, 2020, 16R30”, #186437........................................................$172,900 JD DB60, 2013, 24R30”, #186440 ...........................................................$178,500 JD DB60, 2014, 24R30”, #186429 ...........................................................$184,000 JD 1775NT, 2021, 16R30”, #186497........................................................$184,900 JD DB60, 2014, 24R30”, #186455 ...........................................................$185,900 JD 1775NT, 2021, 16R30”, #186470........................................................$219,900 JD 1775NT, 2021, 6R30”, #186469..........................................................$219,900 JD DB88, 2013, 48R22”, #186478 ...........................................................$229,500 JD 1775NT, 2020, 24R30”, #186454........................................................$264,900 JD DB60, 2017, 24R30”, #186492 ...........................................................$289,500 JD DB66, 2012, 36R22”, #187683 ...........................................................$299,000 JD DB66, 2017, 36R22”, #186501 ...........................................................$349,500 JD DB90, 2019, 36R30 in, #186444 ........................................................$425,000 JD 7300, 1989, 12R30”, 1.6 Bushel Hopper, #180958..................................$9,000 JD 7300, 1989, 12R30”, 1.6 Bushel Hopper, #190126..................................$9,000 White 6700, 12R22”, 1.6 Bushel Hopper, #186493 .....................................$9,900 White 6700, 22”, 1.6 Bushel Hopper, #186494 .........................................$10,900 JD 1730, 2000, 12R22”, 1.6 Bushel Hopper, #190191................................$17,900
Visit one of our 17 locations in Central Minnesota! CALL TODAY! (320)365-1653 (7) = ALEXANDRIA (9) = PRINCETON (12) = AITKIN (14) = ELBOW LAKE (16) = BENSON (4) = ST. CLOUD (1) = GLENCOE
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(3) = STEWART
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AND DESCRIPTIONS AT: www.mmcjd.com
Page 22 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 11, 2021
OVER 700 COWS PER HOUR*
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Contact one of the following dealers to learn more: IOWA Kramer Bros. Monticello, IA 319-465-5931 Prairie Land Ag Supply Inc. Rock Valley, IA 712-476-9290 United Dairy Systems, Inc. West Union, IA 563-422-5355 WISCONSIN Advanced Dairy/Bob’s Dairy Supply Spring Valley, WI 715-772-3201 Ederer Dairy Supply Plain, WI 608-546-3713
DeLaval Dairy Service Kaukauna, WI 866-335-2825 Joe’s Refrigeration Inc. Withee, WI 715-229-2321 Mlsna Dairy Supply Inc. Cashton, WI 608-654-5106 Professional Dairy Services Arlington, WI 608-635-0267 Redeker Dairy Equipment Brandon, WI 920-346-5579 The Scharine Group Inc. Whitewater, WI 800 472-2880 Mt Horeb, WI 800-872-3470
MINNESOTA & SOUTH DAKOTA Advanced Dairy of Mora Mora, MN 320-679-1029 Farm Systems Melrose, MN 320-256-3276 Brookings, SD 800-636-5581 S&S Dairy System LLC St. Charles, MN 507-932-4288 Professional Dairy Systems Wadena, MN 218-632-5416
is a registered trademark of Tetra Laval Holdings & Finance S.A. and “DeLaval” is a registered trade/servicemark of DeLaval Holding AB © 2021 DeLaval Inc. DeLaval, 11100 North Congress Avenue, Kansas City, Missouri 64153-1296. All facts and figures are the result of data collected on test farms. Results may vary and are not guaranteed. Nothing in this document shall constitute a warranty or guaranty of performance. www.delaval.com
Tragedy strikes the town I call home On Nov. 21, an unspeakable tragedy occurred in Waukesha, Wisconsin, where my family and I live. During our city’s annual Christmas parade, a man with a long criminal history intentionally drove an SUV through the crowd, killing six people and injuring more than 60 others. All of this happened less than 1.5 miles from my house. Although my husband, children and I were not at the parade, we know plenty of people who were. Some narrowly escaped injury or worse. A friend of mine described it as a war zone, like something By Stacey Smart out of a movie: bodies lyStaff Writer ing in the street, blood everywhere, people running and screaming. A fun and festive event became a deadly and horrible memory. Filled with anger and sadness, I prayed for everyone who was at the parade that night. I prayed for those who died and those who were injured, and their families, as well as for the mental health and wellbeing of every spectator who saw and heard things no person should ever have to experience. I continue to hold all parade-goers close to my heart in prayer. Thousands of people came to enjoy the festivities that day and watched with happy hearts as 68 parade entries marched by in the 58th annual Waukesha Christmas Parade, the theme of which was Comfort and Joy. Participants included the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies, high school marching bands and sports teams, dance troupes, businesses and more. The Waukesha Christmas Parade is an event my family and I have attended many times. It takes place on Main Street, in the heart of downtown, and people set up chairs to claim a seat hours before it starts. The city is lled with smiles and the laughter of those in attendance – both young and old – as they celebrate the excitement of the holiday season. Children scramble to collect candy as they wait to glimpse Santa and Mrs. Claus. Since my children are older, it had been a few years since we went to the parade. However, this year both of my kids would have marched in it had we not been out of town. Students from their high school’s state champion sports teams were marching in the parade; therefore, my daughter would have walked with her softball team and my son with his football team. I am grateful we were not there. Thankfully, none of the students from their school were injured. Following the shock and horror of that November night, school was canceled across Waukesha the next day. Some schools canceled classes for the entire week. My kids and I attended Mass at their high school that Monday and were joined by many others who came together to mourn, remember and pray. There was also a vigil in downtown Waukesha that evening, along with other Masses and prayer services in the community. It was a surreal feeling seeing and hearing my town’s name splashed across national and world news. Waukesha was featured for a terrible reason. But there is so much to love about this town. It is not a dangerous city by any means. I have lived here for 21 years and always felt safe. I have enjoyed raising my family here. This is our home. We will not let this tragedy dene our city. By the grace of God, we will triumph over evil. Churches, local businesses and other organizations collected money for the victims’ families. Churches and schools offered counseling services to help people cope with mental anguish and emotional distress. One week later, the city of Waukesha observed a minute of silence at 4:39 p.m. as bells rang at two local churches in remembrance of the Nov. 21 tragedy. Ten days after the parade, my daughter and I visited the memorial for the deceased at Veterans Park that sits at the end of Main Street – the end of the parade route. Six white crosses stand in remembrance of each life lost, displaying messages of condolences and love. The site is lled with stuffed animals, owers, candles, balloons and more, symbolizing an outpouring of community love and support. It was my rst time visiting downtown since the Turn to SMART | Page 23
Dairy Star • Saturday, December 11, 2021 • Page 23
parade. It felt weird to drive down the street where people had been brutally murdered, or walk down the sidewalks knowing what people witnessed from the very place I was standing. As we sat in our favorite coffee shop that evening, with Christmas trees
Brewers baseball jerseys to school, and my husband wore a Brewers jersey to work. Although our hearts are broken here in Waukesha, there is a strong sense of unity among its citizens. The tagline, Waukesha Strong, appears everywhere, aand the campaign, Unite with a Blue Light, Although Al h h our h hearts are has blue light glowing from broken here in Waukesha, homes and businesses all over and surrounding there is a strong sense of unity Waukesha communities. among its citizens. Last Saturday, my child dren and I visited downtown W Waukesha again. I was happy li i iin the h windows, i d I llooked k d out glistening to see the city was lled with Christmas onto the somber street where disaster so recently occurred. Our city is forever spirit. Decorations lled the town, changed. It was violated, and a large scar casting a festive glow over everyone – remains. I don’t think any Waukesha tokens of the season set in place prior resident will ever step foot downtown to the parade. People of all ages were again without recalling that tragic day. lined up to have their picture taken with One of the victims who died was Santa and his reindeer. A horse-drawn an 8-year-old boy named Jackson. carriage strung with Christmas lights Jackson loved baseball and played for carried people up and down Main Street. the Waukesha Blazers. On Friday, Dec. It warmed my heart. Flags in the city remain at half-staff. 3, people from across Wisconsin and But amid the suffering and grieving, beyond showed support for Jackson and there is hope as people seek peace and his family by wearing baseball jerseys as part of a campaign called Jerseys healing. for Jackson. My kids wore Milwaukee
Attention Readers:
FALL F A L LSALE FA SALE 5% 5 %DISCOUNT DISCOUNT
DECEMBER 6TH T–H 10TH
DECEMBER 6
- 1 1 TH Come In and Design Your Building Fall Sale Ends December 11th Cash & Carry
N14685 N 14685 C Copenhaver openhaver A Ave. ve. S t a n l e y, W Stanley, WII Phone: 715.644.0765
V Visit i s i t oour ur w website: ebsite: Hixwood.com Hixwood.com
• STEEL 27ga. SEAMLESS RESIDENTIAL SIDING - 8 PROFILES • SNAP-LOC PANELS 26 & 24ga. - 40 YEAR WARRANTY • SUPER 100 28ga. 9” O.C. - 40 YEAR WARRANTY • RES. 60 29ga. (FOR ROUND ROOF BARNS) 6” O.C. • TEXTURED RES. 100 (FOR RESIDENTIAL APPLICATIONS) • DIMENSIONAL AND TREATED LUMBER • GLUE-LAM COLUMNS - 50 YEAR WARRANTY • CELLULOSE AND FIBERGLASS INSULATION BEAUTIFUL RESIDENTIAL ROOFS • C.H.I. OVERHEAD DOORS We are your To Last A Lifetime headquarters • SILVERLINE / ANDERSEN WINDOWS At A Price You Can Afford! for supplies & All material must be paid for on sale days with delivery being completed in 2 weeks from end of sale days. Prices subject to change without notice.
From RECREATIONAL....... To AGRICULTURE......
Due to the upcoming holidays, there will be early ad deadlines for the December 25th issue of Dairy Star. Ad copy will need to be submitted by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, December 15.
EXPERTISE
To COMMERCIAL.......
Or for all your SMALL STORAGE SOLUTIONS...
DELIVERED & READY FOR SERVICE
Full Line of PROFESSIONAL TOOLS, Including MILWAUKEE & DEWALT Tools
Wishing You a
Merry Christmas!
B
R
N FL O O R A
Appleton, WI
AND
G
RO
OVIN
For your friendship, for your patronage, for your kindness and for your patience, we’d like to come together and thank everyone in this community who has inspired and supported us this year. We’re so very grateful to be here, and we wish everyone around us a joyous and beautiful holiday season.
G
608-225-3595
Servicing Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa, Illinois and Upper Michigan!
Grooving America’s dairies since 1992!
11.22.21am
ConƟnued from SMART | Page 22
Page 24 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 11, 2021
+
DAIRY ST R
The Great Christmas “GRAND” PRIZE
GIVEAWAY 2021
Grand Prize Drawing Will Be Held Tuesday, December 14, 2021 THE WINNERS WILL BE POSTED ON WWW.DAIRYSTAR.COM, MILK BREAK NEWSLETTER AND ON FACEBOOK.
ADULT “GRAND” PRIZE
2) $1,000 CASH GIFTS! 17 & UNDER “GRAND” PRIZE
“Grand” Prize Heifer Calf: FOREST LAWN SELECT 3777 Born: September 6, 2021 Dam: Forest Lawn Undenied 3362 Sire: Avant-Garde Unix Select ET Granddam Granddam: Forest Lawn Domain 2590 Grand P Calf come rize sF Forest-Lawrom n Holsteins, o w n e d by The Swens on family in Nicollet , Minn.
A Ashley and Paul Swenson are pictured with F Forest Lawn Select 3777, the heifer calf that will b be given away in the Great Christmas G Giveaway drawing.
REGISTER FREE AT ANY OF THE PARTICIPATING BUSINESSES FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN!
Dairy Star • Saturday, December 11, 2021 • Page 25
REGISTER AT THESE PARTICIPATING BUSINESSES:
IOWA
ALLAMAKEE COUNTY • Innovative Ag Services Waukon • 563-568-3455 • Waukon Veterinary Services Waukon • 563-568-2487 BREMER COUNTY • ViaÀeld Sumner • 563-578-3214 BUCHANAN COUNTY • ViaÀeld Winthrop • 319-935-3336 CLAYTON COUNTY • Innovative Ag Services Elkader • 563-245-1230 Monona • 563-539-2001 DELAWARE COUNTY • Del-Clay Farm Equipment Edgewood • 563-928-6445 • Edgewood Feed Mill Edgewood • 563-928-6405
BROWN COUNTY • New Ulm Regional Vet Clinic New Ulm • 507-233-2500 CARVER COUNTY • Bongards’ Bongards • 952-466-5521 • Lano Equipment of Norwood Norwood/Young America 952-467-2181 • Storms Welding Cologne • 952-466-3343 DAKOTA COUNTY • Werner Implement Vermillion • 651-437-4435 DOUGLAS COUNTY • Midwest Machinery Alexandria • 320-763-4220 • Nelson Creamery Nelson • 320-762-0115 • Osakis Creamery Assn. 320-859-2146 • Pro Ag Farmers Co-op GarÀeld • 320-834-2271
DUBUQUE COUNTY • Brunkan Equipment Worthington • 563-855-2434 • CJ Beeps Equipment Farley • 563-744-5010 • Eastern Iowa Dairy Epworth • 563-876-3087 • Helle Farm Equipment Dyersville • 563-875-7154 • Innovative Ag Services Cascade • 563-852-7245 Farley • 563-744-3337 • New Vienna Ag Automation New Vienna • 563-921-2896 • Skip Breitbach Feeds Balltown • 563-552-2393 • Scherrmann’s Implement Dyersville • 563-875-2426 • Ungs Shopping Center (IAS) Luxemburg • 563-853-2455
FILLMORE COUNTY • Farmers Win Coop Rushford • 507-864-2161 • Hammell Equipment Harmony • 507-886-2255 Rushford • 507-864-2845
FAYETTE COUNTY • ViaÀeld Arlington • 563-633-3415 Elgin • 563-426-5566 Maynard • 563-637-2285
HOUSTON COUNTY • Farmers Win Coop Caledonia • 507-725-3306 Houston • 507-896-3147 Spring Grove • 507-498-5321 • Hammell Equipment Eitzen • 507-495-3326
FLOYD COUNTY • Livestock Systems Charles City• 641-220-5257 HOWARD COUNTY • Farmers Win Coop Cresco West • 563-547-3660 JACKSON COUNTY • Innovative Ag Services Andrew • 563-672-3228 SIOUX COUNTY • Sioux Dairy Equipment, Inc. Rock Valley • 712-476-5608 • Tri-State Livestock Auction Sioux Center • 712-722-0681 WINNESHIEK COUNTY • Brynsaas Sales & Service Decorah • 563-382-4484 • Farmers Win Coop Ridgeway • 563-737-2244 • Fort Atkinson Hay Fort Atkinson • 563-534-7513 • Franzen Sales & Service Fort Atkinson • 563-534-2724 • Lang’s Dairy Service Decorah • 563-382-8722
MINNESOTA
BECKER COUNTY • Adkins Equipment Inc. Detroit Lakes • 218-847-3131 BENTON COUNTY • Arnold’s of St. Cloud Sauk Rapids • 320-251-2585 • Farm-Rite Equipment St. Cloud • 320 240 2085 • First National Bank of MilacaGilman OfÀce • 320-387-2233 • Gilman Co-op Creamery Gilman • 320-387-2770
GOODHUE COUNTY • Ag Partners - Grain Site Bellchester • 651-923-4453 Wanamingo-Grain Site • 507-824-2231 Wanamingo-Agronomy Location 507-824-2215 • Ag Partners Farm Store Cannon Falls • 507-263-4651 Goodhue • 800-732-1439 Pine Island • 507-356-8313 • GB Feed and Supply Bellchester • 651-923-4425 • Midwest Livestock Systems Zumbrota • 507-732-4673
KANABEC COUNTY • Fluegge’s Ag Mora • 320-679-2981 KANDIYOHI COUNTY • D&D Ag Supply & Construction Pennock • 320-599-4466 • Farm-Rite Equipment Willmar • 817-484-3211 LE SUEUR COUNTY • Ag Partners - Agronomy Le Center • 507-357-6868 MCLEOD COUNTY • Arnold’s of Glencoe Glencoe • 320-864-5531 • Leedstone Glencoe • 877-864-5575 • Midwest Machinery Glencoe • 320-864-5571 • Mueller Sales & Service Dairy Equipment Glencoe • 888-205-0974 MEEKER COUNTY • Farm-Rite Equipment Dassel • 320-275-2737 • Schlauderaff Implement Co. LitchÀeld • 320-693-7277 MILLE LACS COUNTY • First National Bank of Milaca Milaca • 320-983-3101 MORRISON COUNTY • Central MN Credit Union Little Falls • 888-330-8482 • Lash’s Auto Pierz • 320-232-0537 • Litke’s Veterinary Service Pierz • 320-468-6666
• Midwest Machinery Little Falls • 320-632-5469 • Modern Farm Equipment Pierz • 320-468-2161 • Pierz Co-op Pierz • 320-468-6655 • Sunrise Ag Cooperative Buckman • 320-468-6433 Lastrup • 320-468-2543 Little Rock • 320-584-5147 OLMSTED COUNTY • Ag Partners Stewartville • 507-533-4222 • Hammell Equipment ChatÀeld • 507-867-4910 OTTER TAIL COUNTY • Bongards’ Perham • 218-346-4680 • Farmers Elevator of Fergus Falls & Henning 218-736-3301 • PCCA-Country Store Perham • 218-346-7075 • Perham Stockyards Perham • 218-346-3415 • Pro Ag Farmers Co-op in Henning 218-583-2947 • Pro Ag Farmers Co-op in Urbank 218-267-2401 PIPESTONE COUNTY • Gorter’s Clay & Dairy Equipment Pipestone • 507-825-3271 POPE COUNTY • Midwest Machinery Glenwood • 320-634-5151 RICE COUNTY • Ag Partners - Agronomy Morristown • 507-685-2700 SCOTT COUNTY • Ag Partners - Farm Store Belle Plaine • 952-873-3224 • Ag Partners - Coop Tire & Auto Belle Plaine • 952-873-3001 SHERBURNE COUNTY • Midwest Machinery Princeton • 763-389-3453 SIBLEY COUNTY • Gibbon Lumber Gibbon • 507-834-6366 STEARNS COUNTY • A&C Farm Service Paynesville • 320-243-3736 • Albany Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram Albany • 320-845-2801 • Arnold’s of Kimball Kimball • 320-398-3800 • Arnold’s of St. Martin St. Martin • 320-548-3285 • Arnzen Construction/St. Rosa Lumber Freeport, In St. Rosa 320-836-2284 or 1-888-276-1751 • Central MN Credit Union Albany • 888-330-8482 Avon • 888-330-8482 Belgrade • 888-330-8482 Cold Spring • 888-330-8482 Freeport • 888-330-8482 Holdingford • 888-330-8482 Melrose • 888-330-8482 Paynesville • 888-330-8482 Sauk Centre • 888-330-8482 • Centre Dairy Equipment & Supply Inc. Sauk Centre • 320-352-5762 or 1-800-342-2697 • Cold Spring Co-op & Country Store Cold Spring • 320-685-8651 • Dairyland Supply Sauk Centre 320-352-3987 or 1-800-338-6455 • Ecker Feed Service, LLC New Munich • 320-837-5800 • Elrosa Grain & Feed Elrosa • 320-697-5515 • Elrosa Lumber Elrosa • 320-697-5591 • Farm Systems Melrose 1-800-636-5581 • 1-800-247-0012
• Feed Co. Paynesville • 320-243-3938 • Freeport State Bank Freeport • 1-800-252-9856 320-836-2126 Greenwald • 320-987-2265 New Munich • 320-837-5297 Melrose • 320-256-7208 • Hartung Sales & Service, Inc. Freeport • 320-836-2697 • Lake Henry Implement Lake Henry • 320-243-7411 • Leedstone Melrose • 800-996-3303 • Melrose Implement Inc. Melrose • 320-256-4253 • Midwest Machinery Paynesville • 320-243-7474 Sauk Centre • 320-352-6511 Sauk Rapids • 320-252-2010 • Modern Farm Equipment Sauk Centre • 320-352-6543 • Nutrien Ag Solutions 320-352-6564 STEELE COUNTY • Northland Farm Systems Owatonna • 800-385-3911 TODD COUNTY • Central MN Credit Union Grey Eagle • 888-330-8482 Long Prairie • 888-330-8482 • Farm-Rite Long Prairie • 320-732-3715 • Olson’s Custom Farm Service Staples • 800-477-7059 • Pro-Ag Farmers Co-op in Browerville Browerville • 320-594-2415 • Pro-Ag Farmers Co-op in Clarissa Clarissa • 218-756-2112 • Pro-Ag Farmers Co-op in Eagle Bend Eagle Bend • 218-738-2552 WABASHA COUNTY • Ag Partners Farm Store Lake City • 651-345-3328 Plainview • 507-534-2531 • Beck Implement Elgin • 507-876-2122 • Leedstone Plainview • 800-548-2540 • Wingert Sales & Service Plainview • 507-534-2285 WADENA COUNTY • Dairyland Equipment of Menahga Menahga • 218-564-4958 • Midwest Machinery Wadena • 218-631-2311 • Olson’s Custom Farm Service Verndale • 218-445-5500 Sebeka • 218-837-5749 WINONA COUNTY • Ag Partners Lewiston • 507-523-2188 • Elba Coop Elba • 507-796-6571 • S&S Dairy Systems St. Charles • 507-932-4288 WRIGHT COUNTY • Hobert Sales Inc. Cokato • 320-286-6284, 1-800-820-6455 • The Country Store/Munson Lakes Nutrition Howard Lake • 320-543-3517, 800-663-9177
SOUTH DAKOTA BROOKINGS COUNTY • W.W. Tire Brookings • 605-696-7400 CODINGTON COUNTY • Glacial Lakes Livestock Watertown • 605-886-5052 MINNEHAHA COUNTY • Central Valley Dairy Supply Brandon • 605-467-0812 • Midwest Livestock Systems Renner • 605-274-3656 ROBERTS COUNTY • Valley Dairy Supply Corona • 605-432-5224
To view a complete list of participating businesses, log on to www.dairystar.com
*Enter as often as you like. One entry per store visit, please. Winners must be 18 years or older and a Grade A or B dairy farmer for adult prize, or 17 years or younger and a son or daughter of a Grade A or B dairy farmer for heifer calf. Winners must also live in the Dairy Star circulation area to be eligible and are responsible for transport of animal.
Year-end planning Page 26 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 11, 2021
Good harvest and good prices have been achieved perhaps beyond. by many this season. Seasonable fall weather has Income tax planning is essential. Farmers, as allowed most to complete fall tillage g in ppreparation p cash taxpayers, p y , have a lot of methods to control for the 2022 crop. aand balance the amount of So, what is next? High F tax paid each year. Work Farmers, as cash h taxpayers, crop input cost for 2022 with your farm business and apparently the lack of have a lot of methods to management instructor and/ availability for some inputs control and balance the or your tax accountant to may be a great cause for review options including concern. What’s next is amount of tax paid each year. prepaying for 2022 inputs, the evaluation of 2021 and ddeferring income or using planning for 2022. To begin 1179 deductions (remember this process, I would suggest the following steps: not to use this if you have a loan on the item). If you income tax planning; developing a capital purchase are planning on a major capital improvement project plan for the next three or more years; creation of next year, it may work in your best interest to reduce the Dec. 31 balance sheet; analysis for the whole your taxable income as much as possible this year via farm return on investment and a complete enterprise prepaying, etc. This should allow you to increase cash analysis; and cash ow projection for 2022 and (working capital) in your bank account early in 2022.
One other item to consider in tax planning is the Employee Retention Credit. If you qualied in 2021 for this credit and plan to apply for the funding early in 2022, the ERC credit is taxable in 2021 even though you may not get From My Perspective the money until 2022. For those operations with several employees and potentially a sizable ERC credit, this could have a signicant impact on your income tax plan. The ERC funds are taxable in the year of the expense. It is important to create a tentative 2- to 3-year (or more) capital replacement By Tom Anderson and improvement plan. Columnist Determining how much the cash ow can handle with the volatile market swings is crucial to continued success and growth. Machinery will depreciate (at least on the balance sheet) 10% or more on an annual basis, so machinery replacement is critical to balance sheet growth. However, in an era of highpriced machinery, it may be difcult to come across good deals. On dairy farms, my benchmark is to keep the loan and lease payments under $2.50 per hundredweight of milk. Figuring out where you are (debt payment per cwt.) and where you will be if you make a capital purchase is an excellent exercise in helping make that decision. The balance sheet is likely the single most determining factor to your farm’s protability. Measuring and tracking equity (net worth) growth year-over-year, at the same time of year, is essential for setting trends. With inventories (especially feed/ grain) varying from month to month, a balance sheet at various times of the year could give undesired results when comparing trends. I suggest using reasonable market values on all grain, forages and market livestock. Valuing corn, for example, at $6 on the balance sheet and then eventually selling it for $4.50 will likely give a false impression of real gains. My preference, if the commodity is not contracted, is to use a valuation number closer to your cost of production and take the gain on your balance sheet when the real gain is recognized at the time of sale. Some will disagree with me on that statement, and perhaps I am too conservative, but this method will result in true equity gains being realized when they occur. A farm nancial analysis should be done on an annual basis. It allows you to see the return on your investment in various categories as shown below. The Finpack analysis system used by the Minnesota Farm Management program calculates: – Liquidity: Compare the beginning to the end of the year. It measures the nancial position of the business to meet short-term obligations. – Solvency: Change in net worth. The ability of the business to pay all its debts, if liquidated. – Protability: Including net farm income (income – expense – depreciation), rate of return on assets, rate of return on equity and an operating prot margin. – Repayment capacity: Measures the capacity of the business to repay debt and replace assets. – Efciency: Measures the strengths and weaknesses of cost control, including operating expense ratio. In addition, doing an enterprise analysis (dairy, corn, corn silage, hay, etc.) allows you to see the protability and cost of production for each area of your farm business. I encourage you to connect with a farm management person or your banker to have these discussions on the nancial performance of your business. Cash ows are merely a nancial projection of the upcoming year. It is important for the banker, but more importantly, it helps you have a road map and mentally process what your intentions will be for the upcoming year in terms of capital purchases, sale prices and net prot. I would challenge everyone to review this plan more frequently throughout the year to see how their business is progressing. If you have questions about any of these ve areas, contact your local farm management person or your banker. Tom Anderson is a Farm Business Management faculty member at Riverland Community College.
Wishing you a merry, dairy Christmas
Dairy Star • Saturday, December 11, 2021 • Page 27
Now that Thanksgiving is in the rear view and colder temperatures are in our near future, the winter holiday season is nearly here. This is a great time to incorporate more dairy On the Road with into your loved ones’ diets, too, with so many Princess Kay opportunities to do so, whether it be a cheese board appetizer with some of your favorite cheeses paired with fruits and chocolate, or your favorite hot chocolate made with milk and topped with extra whipped cream. For those of you wanting to bake some By Anna Euerle holiday goodies that aren’t 68th Princess Kay of the necessarily cookies, there Milky Way is a recipe below for one of my favorite chocolate chip breads. Not only is it just as enjoyable as a chocolate chip cookie, but it’s also packed with dairy products we all love, and it pairs perfectly fresh out of the oven with a cold glass of milk. It is the perfect after-chores snack, an appreciation gift for those close to us or a family favorite that’s sure to please everyone at the table. This past month, I attended various events full of great conversations, individuals and, of course, dairy products. I started off the month with the Meeker County Historical Society, where I visited with community members about my experiences leading up to and during my reign. Everyone had lots of questions about what my role looks like for the next year and what I’m looking forward to.
Chocolate chip bread 1 1/2 cups our 1 cup chocolate chips 3/4 cup sugar 1/2 cup butter, room temperature 1/2 cup whole milk 2 eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, grease a 9-by-5 loaf pan and line with greased parchment paper. In a medium bowl, sift our, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, add butter and sugar. Cream until pale and uffy, add eggs one at a time and then add vanilla. Next, add half the our mixture and stir gently, then add all the milk and mix in the remaining our. Once
incorporated, add the chocolate chips. Pour batter into the loaf pan and bake for 45-55 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the pan after 5-10 minutes of cooling. Serve warm or wrap and serve later. Princess Kay of the Milky Way Anna Euerle serves as the Minnesota dairy community’s goodwill ambassador. Princess Kay is very active doing school visits, representing dairy farmers at the Fuel Up To Play 60 activities in conjunction with the Minnesota Vikings, and sharing the importance of dairy farming and dairy foods at appearances across Minnesota. Euerle grew up in Litcheld, Minnesota, working on her family’s dairy farm. She will soon graduate from Ridgewater College in Agribusiness with a dairy emphasis. In her free time she enjoys cooking, baking and being outdoors.
Thi iis a great time This i to incorporate more dairy into your loved ones’ diets, too... I continued my month with the Minnesota Farm Bureau, speaking during their convention. I had a series of media interviews and visited with many individuals over dinner and during the silent auction. I witnessed the new Farm Bureau president, Dan Glessing, begin his term after the retirement of Kevin Paap, who held the position for 16 years. My next appearance was with the Minnesota Farmers Union during their 80th convention. I was honored to speak at this special event while visiting with members and enjoying a locally sourced meal together. I rounded out my appearances in Austin, visiting two elementary school classes. We took a virtual tour of a dairy farm, and students asked questions throughout the presentation. They especially enjoyed learning all about what we feed our cows and how many people help us take the best care possible of our herd: our nutritionists, veterinarians and many more. If you are looking to show your appreciation for those who work with your herd, or those you are celebrating the holiday season with, here is one of my favorite recipes that uses dairy products and is sure to please anyone. Wishing you a merry, dairy Christmas.
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Page 28 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 11, 2021
www.extension.umn.edu/dairy
Traits of successful multi-generation businesses By Jim Salfer
University of Minnesota
Farmers pride themselves on being part of farms that have been passed on through multiple generations. States give out awards for century farms. This is a major accomplishment because not many businesses succeed for multiple generations. According to the Family Business Institute, only 30% of family-owned businesses transition to a second generation, 12% to a third, and 3% operate into the fourth generation or beyond. It is best for the vitality of our country and, even more importantly for our rural communities, if farms and other small businesses thrive. In the United States, family-owned businesses employ 60% of workers and create 78% of new jobs. Family Business International analyzed family-owned businesses throughout the world. They discovered four traits consistently found within thriving and successful multigenerational family businesses. These four traits were: good governance; the ability to identify and develop family and non-family talent; an orderly succession strategy; and having what they called family gravity. Family gravity is the business’s ability to capitalize on what makes their business special. Even though these small businesses were not farms, many of the keys to success are the same. Here are some take home messages about the traits that led to success. Good governance: These businesses had boards and were operated in a professional manner, not mixing business decisions with family dynamics. These businesses did not have family members with hidden agendas but instead had transparency relating to business decisions. They believed this led to sound decision making and management practices. Common traits of unsuccessful family businesses had family members with hidden agendas and preferential treatment favoring certain family members, which may result in irrational business decisions. Committing to sound decision-making and management practices was important for success. Identied and trained future leaders: The Family Business Institute observed that this is an area in which most family businesses could improve. Often not much time or thought is invested in identifying a leader who has the skills to maintain or grow the business. The most successful businesses evaluated future leaders on the skills, potential and value they brought to the business. The most important trait business owners looked for in their successors was shared values, vision and a good cultural t. This, along with a desire to change, learn new skills and the vision to adapt to the changing industry were important. These future business owners/leaders worked within the business for several years and were provided training to be set up for successful. All family members joined the business were expected to add value to the business. Family gravity: This term encompassed six key elements the successful companies aspired to implement. – These businesses had clearly dened values which united family members
and built strong relationships. This gave these businesses a moral center that helped sustain it in the face of challenges and difcult decisions. – The businesses’ vision for the future was clearly dened and communicated, and was the basis for the family’s business decisions. This is important in a rapidly changing business environment. This allowed the businesses to set goals and determine priorities. – Excellent communication ensured everyone could carry out his or her responsibilities and be a positive force for the business. – Family members had a mutual understanding of respect and support. This allowed for a healthy exchange of ideas, and discussion of key and delicate issues. This determines how resilient the family will be and how it will respond to change. – Good family governance and a commitment to professionalism helped ensure decisions were made and authority exercised to minimize conict. This also allowed the business to attract and retain superior employees. – Family roles were clearly dened for all members. Not only were business that exhibited these traits more likely to end up in a successful transition, but they were also more nancially successful. University of Minnesota Extension and Minnesota Dairy Initiatives offer a four-session course that focuses on many of these principles, called “Planning Your Dairy Farm Future.” We will again be offering this course in a couple of locations in 2022. If you want to learn more, email salfe001@umn.edu or call 612-360-4506, and I can share more details. Dana Adams, adam1744@umn.edu 320-204-2968
Brad Heins hein0106@umn.edu 320-589-1711
Joe Armstrong armst225@umn.edu 612.624.3610
Nathan Hulinsky huli0013@umn.edu 320-203-6104
Luciano Caixeta lcaixeta@umn.edu 612-625-3130
Kevin Janni kjanni@umn.edu 612-625-3108
Gerard Cramer gcramer@umn.edu 612-625-8184
Karen Johnson ande9495@umn.edu 320-484-4334
Marcia Endres miendres@umn.edu 612-624-5391
Emily Krekelberg krek0033@umn.edu 507-280-2863
Joleen Hadrich jhadrich@umn.edu 612-626-5620
Claire LaCanne lacanne@umn.edu 507-332-6109
Les Hansen hanse009@umn.edu 612-624-2277
Brenda Miller nels4220@umn.edu 320-732-4435
Erin Royster royster@umn.edu Isaac Salfer ijsalfer@umn.edu 320-296-1357 Jim Salfer salfe001@umn.edu 320-203-6093 Mike Schutz mschutz@umn.edu 612-624-1205 Emma Severns sever575@umn.edu 507-934-7828 Melissa Wison mlw@umn.edu 612-625-4276
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Dairy bedding considerations
Dairy Star • Saturday, December 11, 2021 • Page 29
By Karen Johnson
University of Minnesota
By this time of year, farmers have either made or purchased the necessary bedding for winter. However, do you know the positives and negatives of the bedding you have selected for your farm? There are a number of bedding choices to pick from. When selecting a bedding type, you must think through a number of factors such as your farm’s manure handling system along with bedding availability, cost, cow comfort, pathogen growth potential and ease of use. Research has shown effective bedding management encourages cows to rest longer, decreases injuries, reduces fatigue and decreases the potential for mastitis. Increases in quality lying/resting time has been proven to increase the overall health and productivity of the cow. According to the typical daily time budget published by Rick Grant of the W. H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute, lactating dairy cows devote 12 to 14 hours per day to lying down or resting. Effective bedding management ensures clean cows, specically the udder and legs, to help reduce environmental pathogens and bacteria from entering the udder. It is important to keep the stall surface and the bedding as clean and dry as possible. Although a mattress adds to the comfort of the cow, the mattress doesn’t replace the benet of some type of bedding. Adequate amounts of clean, dry bedding will ensure minimal contamination to the udder. Compost bedded pack barns rst started being built in Minnesota 20 years ago. Approximately 12-18 inches of a material such as wood shavings or sawdust is initially spread in the barn. Manure builds up gradually. The barn must be aerated to a depth of 8-12 inches twice daily to encourage active composting. Wood shavings or sawdust are added weekly as needed. The pack is removed once or twice a year to be spread on elds, reducing the need for additional manure storage. Compost bedded pack barns are noted for cow comfort, as cows have the freedom to lie down more naturally. Cows have a soft bed to increase lying time and decrease hock lesions compared to other bedding types. There are additional costs for bedding to maintain the pack for optimal composting temperatures. The heat generated by the composting process helps keep the resting surface dry and controls pathogens and y larvae. Proper ventilation is critical to help reduce bedding moisture and remove the gases produced by the composting process from building. Care must be taken to ensure teats are cleaned and dried properly before milking. Cornstalks can be baled from the residue remaining in a harvested eld of corn. In most cases, this is a good economic option, as the cornstalks, after being used as bedding, are returned to the eld with the addition of manure. Similar to wood shavings or sawdust, cornstalks have a high water-holding capacity. Cornstalks are commonly used in deep-bedded packs but not in compost barns. Harvesting, bedding and manure removal of cornstalks can be hard on equipment. Sand, inorganic by nature, doesn’t support pathogen growth, resulting in reduced risk for mastitis. Bedding depth of 6-8 inches in a tie stall or free stall is recommended for optimal cow comfort and cleanliness. Be careful where you source your sand. Naturally occurring sand has smooth edges that increase cow comfort, versus crushing rock into sand which creates sharp edges. Sand particle size matters as well. The big negative to sand is that it can be hard on facilities and equipment. Disposal is difcult since the sand must be separated from the manure before applying to the eld. There are systems designed to capture, clean and recycle sand for use as bedding again. In most areas, straw is a relatively easy bedding type to source. Its soft, absorbent nature provides an ideal surface on which cows can lie down. Straw is easy to handle, breaks down quickly and adds organic matter to elds. Bacteria counts are generally lower compared to sawdust. Whether used in bed packs or stalls, cows tend to get dirtier with straw, which increases the potential for mastitis. Cost and the farm’s manure handling system are the top reasons why farmers don’t use straw. Wood shavings or sawdust are commonly used across dairy farms as they are easy to use, very absorbent and break down easily. Due to their organic nature, wood shavings and sawdust allow for rapid pathogen growth. Some farmers have chosen to add lime to the bedding to reduce the pH, slowing down pathogen growth and bacteria counts. Increased laying time for cows has been observed in deep-bedded wood shavings or sawdust. Availability and price are the biggest negative factors for use. Regardless of the bedding type, removal of all soiled bedding material is necessary. Most farmers clean stalls during milking; however, more frequent cleaning may be necessary to make improvements to cow cleanliness. In addition, periodic removal of all bedding from the stall or bedded pack and replacing with fresh clean bedding will be necessary to keep pathogen and bacteria levels down. Know what type of bedding you have and create a strategy that works best for you to manage that bedding type on your farm.
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Pleasant weather blues Page 30 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 11, 2021
After jumping out and delivering a hard right cross cranked up to charbroil. in the rst round, winter seems to have retreated back Normally, venturing forth in a car at this time to its corner. Indeed, the post-Thanksgiving weather of year is similar to mounting an arctic expedition. was balmy enough to actually enjoy the outdoors. You pack your vehicle to the ceiling with emergency ssupplies and, as an added All of which bodes ill for we hardened denizens of the mentally note Normally, N ll venturing i fforth h iin pprecaution, Northland. the locations of wayside It’s confusing for us a car at this time of year is roadkills. northerners to see folks When I gaze at my cattle walking around during the similar to mounting an artic yard, what I see seems oddly rst week of December expedition. out of place. Our Jersey ssteers are lounging in a snowwearing shorts instead of ffree dry lot, lazily soaking up parkas. At this time of year, our instincts urge us to pull on two pairs of socks, solar radiation. Ordinarily at this time of year, the cattle long johns and insulated coveralls. It’s strange to see would be standing in belly-deep snow with their tails people going about in sweatpants. to the wind, giving me the stink eye because they have It’s spooky to be able to drive around in December to sleep in the barn instead of in our cozy farmhouse. with the windows rolled down. We’re normally And when the steers munch their hay during snuggled up to the heater with its temperature control subzero weather, I know some of the fodder will be
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Productive Lactations ³ÐÒÔÙ Ìß µÝä#Àõ By John Champagne, D.V.M., M.P.V.M. Cattle Technical Services Merck Animal Health
Proper use of core-antigen vaccination has a tremendous impact on udder health in the next lactation. More than 50% of clinical coliform mastitis cases that ÚÎÎàÝ ÔÙ ßÓÐ öÝÞß ^]] ÏÌäÞ ÔÙ ØÔ×Ö ÚÝÔÒÔÙÌßÐ ÏàÝÔÙÒ ßÓÐ dry period.1 That’s why a core-antigen vaccine like Bovilis® »#b ÞÓÚà×Ï ÍÐ ÒÔáÐÙ Ìß ÏÝä#Úõ Core-antigen vaccines help a dairy cow’s immune system recognize coliform bacteria, such as Escherichia coli (E. coli), when they invade the udder. ÅÓÐ ÍÐÙÐößÞ ÚÑ áÌÎÎÔÙÌßÔÚÙ Vaccine which occur by enhancing endotoxin the cow’s immune response, levels correlate can include reductions in mastitis severity, milk loss, with safety, pregnancy loss, culling and ÙÚß ÐøÎÌÎä death associated with E. coli infections.
damage to the udder. This reduces the potential for systemic disease. Core-antigen vaccines contain levels of endotoxins, which can be the result of the manufacturing process. That’s why it’s so important to evaluate the amount of endotoxin present when selecting a vaccine. Bovilis J-5 is a Gram-negative core-antigen vaccine that’s ÑÚÝØà×ÌßÐÏ ßÚ ÛÝÚáÔÏÐ ÌÏÐÜàÌßÐ ÌÙßÔÒÐÙ ÐãÛÚÞàÝÐ ÑÚÝ ÌÙ ÐõÐÎßÔáÐ ÌÙßÔÍÚÏä ÔØØàÙÐ ÝÐÞÛÚÙÞÐ âÓÔ×Ð minimizing the potential adverse endotoxin loading associated with vaccine endotoxin levels. ÄßàÏÔÐÞ ÞÓÚâ ³ÚáÔ×ÔÞ »#b ÓÌÞ ÙÚ ÙÐÒÌßÔáÐ ÐõÐÎß ÚÙ ØÔ×Ö production.2 And when compared to similar products, ³ÚáÔ×ÔÞ »#b ÓÌÏ ßÓÐ ×ÚâÐÞß ÐÙÏÚßÚãÔÙ ×ÐáÐ×Þ (¶Æ*ؽ) ÛÐÝ ÍÚßß×Ð Ôß ÔÞ ^b ßÔØÐÞ ×ÚâÐÝ ßÓÌÙ ßÓÐ Æ Ä ÁÓÌÝØÌÎÚÛÐÔÌ recommendation.3 Reducing E. coli mastitis with Bovilis J-5 It is important to note that vaccine endotoxin levels ÎÚÝÝÐ×ÌßÐ âÔßÓ ÞÌÑÐßä ÙÚß ÐøÎÌÎä ÃÐÞÐÌÝÎÓ ÚÙ ÐøÎÌÎä found the use of Bovilis J-5 reduced the rate of clinical coliform mastitis 2.4-fold compared with the use of ¶ÙáÔÝÌÎÚÝ® »#b ÏàÝÔÙÒ ßÓÐ öÝÞß ^]] ÏÌäÞ ÚÑ ×ÌÎßÌßÔÚÙ 2
Why vaccination works In the udder, Gram-negative coliform bacteria can reproduce rapidly with each bacterium containing ÐÙÏÚßÚãÔÙ âÔßÓÔÙ ßÓÐÔÝ ÎÐ×× âÌ××Þ ¶ÙÏÚßÚãÔÙ ÎÌÙ ÛÝÚÏàÎÐ Ì ÎÌÞÎÌÏÐ ÚÑ ÏÐßÝÔØÐÙßÌ× ÔÙ÷ÌØØÌßÚÝä ÝÐÞÛÚÙÞÐÞ ÔÙ ßÓÐ ÃÌßÐÞ ÚÑ Î×ÔÙÔÎÌ× ÎÚ×ÔÑÚÝØ ØÌÞßÔßÔÞ âÐÝÐ ÓÔÒÓÐÝ ÔÙ ßÓÔÝÏ# ÌÙÏ ÑÚàÝßÓ#×ÌÎßÌßÔÚÙ ÎÚâÞ ÎÚØÛÌÝÐÏ âÔßÓ öÝÞß# ÌÙÏ ÎÚâ ÅÓÐ ÌÍÔ×Ôßä ÚÑ ßÓÐ ÎÚâ Þ ÔØØàÙÐ ÞäÞßÐØ ßÚ ÜàÔÎÖ×ä second-lactation recognize, destroy cows.2 While not and remove ® ® ® ® BOVILIS J-5 ENDOVAC-DAIRY ENVIRACOR J-5 J-VAC restricted to older these bacteria cows, the greatest Û×ÌäÞ Ì ÞÔÒÙÔöÎÌÙß Dose 5 mL 2 mL 5 mL 2 mL ÏÔõÐÝÐÙÎÐ ÔÙ role in reducing ³ÚáÔ×ÔÞ »#b ÐøÎÌÎä the negative a b c d Mean EU/mL* 44 85,156 5,936 351,636 over that of outcomes from a ¶ÙáÔÝÌÎÚÝ »#b a,b,c,d coliform bacteria ¾ÐÌÙÞ âÔßÓ ÏÔõÐÝÐÙß ÞàÛÐÝÞÎÝÔÛßÞ ÏÔõÐÝ (Á~] ]b) was in cows that infection. ÓÌáÐ ÎÌ×áÐÏ Ìß ×ÐÌÞß ßâÔÎÐ ÅÓÔÞ ÔÞ ÞÔÒÙÔöÎÌÙß ÍÐÎÌàÞÐ Vaccination increases antibody numbers. Therefore Ú×ÏÐÝ ÎÚâÞ ÏàÝÔÙÒ ßÓÐ öÝÞß ØÚÙßÓÞ ÚÑ ×ÌÎßÌßÔÚÙ ÌÝÐ Ìß the cow’s immune system is better able to destroy and greatest risk to clinical coliform mastitis remove these bacteria before they cause further local caused by E. coli and Klebsiella species. s.4
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION This product contains oil adjuvant. In the event of accidental self-injection, seek medical attention immediately. For additional information, see the product label. ^ ³ÝÌÏ×Ðä »² ¸ÝÐÐÙ ¾» ² ÞßàÏä ÚÑ ßÓÐ ÔÙÎÔÏÐÙÎÐ ÌÙÏ ÞÔÒÙÔöÎÌÙÎÐ ÚÑ ÔÙßÝÌØÌØØÌÝä ÐÙßÐÝÚÍÌÎßÐÝÔÌ× ÔÙÑÐÎßÔÚÙÞ ÌÎÜàÔÝÐÏ ÏàÝÔÙÒ ßÓÐ dry period. J. Dairy Sci. 2000:83(9):1957-1965. _ ·ÔÐ×Ï ßÝÔÌ× ßÚ ÎÚØÛÌÝÐ ÐøÎÌÎä ÚÑ ³ÚáÔ×ÔÞ »#b ÌÙÏ ¶ÙáÔÝÌÎÚÝ »#b áÌÎÎÔÙÐÞ ÌÒÌÔÙÞß Î×ÔÙÔÎÌ× ÎÚ×ÔÑÚÝØ ØÌÞßÔßÔÞ ÏàÝÔÙÒ ÐÌÝ×ä ×ÌÎßÌßÔÚÙ Merck Animal Health technical bulletin, 2020. 3. Comparison of endotoxin concentrations in Bovilis J-5 with those in three commercially available Gram-negative, lipopolysaccharide core-antigen vaccines. Merck Animal Health technical bulletin, 2020. a ¹ÚÒÌÙ »Ä ÄØÔßÓ ¼½ ÅÚÏÓàÙßÐÝ µ² ÄÎÓÚÐÙÍÐÝÒÐÝ ÁÄ ·ÔÐ×Ï ßÝÔÌ× ßÚ ÏÐßÐÝØÔÙÐ ÐøÎÌÎä ÚÑ ÌÙ E. coli J5 mastitis vaccine. J. Dairy Sci. 1992;75:78-84. ©2021 Intervet Inc., d/b/a Merck Animal Health, a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc. All rights reserved. All trademarks are property of their respective owners.
To learn more more, contact your veterinarian and visit BovilisJ5.com.
converted to body heat: heat that will be snatched from the cattle by the hyper-chilled air, warmth that will eventually dissipate into the innite cold of outer space. The inherent danger of this magnicent weather is that we might begin to lose our grip on reality. Dear County Agent Guy We might start to think we live in a Mediterranean climate, the kind of place where winter is merely a theoretical concept, not a season of brutal chilliness. It would be a tragedy if that were to happen. We would soon forget how lucky a person is to live in a benign By Jerry Nelson climate and start to think Columnist comfortable weather is our birthright. We would join wine clubs and eat kale and take up rollerblading. At parties, we would critique movies using snobbish terms like “genre” and “milieu.” We would begin to wear tight-tting cycling shorts whether we have the hinders for it or not. In this balmy fantasy, one can imagine all sorts of grand developments. Major theme parks would beg to locate here. Our cities would swell and sprawl; the population of banal strip malls would explode. As this region becomes known as a trendy destination, we would be forced to deal with all the otsam and jetsam that arrives with masses of humanity. We would begin to see more and more squeegee guys hanging around at stoplights, and a new Starbucks would spontaneously spring up every few minutes. We would nd ourselves locked in eight lanes of trafc, insulated in our automotive cocoons as we all crawl toward the same nowhere. If that came to pass, we would soon begin to pine for the good old days. We would recall that winter brought out the best in us. We would remember how blizzards would invoke a sense of unity, that strangers would stop to help stranded motorists instead of zipping by as they posted about the weather on Facebook. We would reminisce about seeing stars in the night sky instead of the garish glow from a gazillion streetlights. We would secretly lust for a sinfully delicious ribeye as we slurp our wheatgrass smoothies. Suspicious wives would check their husband’s breath for traces of bacon. We would fondly think back to the time when a movie was either not bad or a real stinkeroo. We would remember how enjoying wine used to involve unscrewing the cap and swigging from the bottle instead of pouring Chateau la Snooty into dainty long-stemmed glasses. We would recall how there’s a mathematical relationship between colder temperatures and the number of squeegee guys. Good news is on the horizon. As I write this, the forecast predicts an arctic cold front will soon plunge into my region. Not only that – dare we hope? – snow urries are a possibility. Before we know it, we will again be wallowing in the comforting misery of a good, old-fashioned winter. With any luck, we’ll be spared all the nonsense that comes with an overabundance of nice weather. But in any case, I’m going take advantage of the current conditions and toss a sirloin on the grill. Jerry is a recovering dairy farmer from Volga, South Dakota. He and his wife, Julie, have two grown sons and live on the farm where Jerry’s great-grandfather homesteaded over 110 years ago. Jerry currently works full time for the Dairy Star as a staff writer/ad salesman. Feel free to E-mail him at: jerry.n@dairystar.com.
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Painting by numbers Numbers can tell a story. For example, numbers that represent key performance indicators can tell at least part of the story of a dairy farm. When numbers from a group of farms are combined, they can tell the story of the group. Veterinary Wisdom Every year, our practice completes a benchmarking project to paint the story of a large share of the freestall herds in the practice. Let’s take a look at some of the numbers to paint a picture of these dairies for the time period from mid-2020 to mid-2021. The numbers below are the average (mean) of By Jim Bennett 29 herds representing Columnist over 21,000 cows. The numbers for each herd represent a 12-month average for each parameter. First, inventories and culling: The ratio of youngstock to cows was 89% this year. This is total heifer inventory divided by lactating and dry cow herd size. The trend here is downward. Farms used to typically have well over 100% heifers to cows. The turnover rate (culling and dead divided by total number of calvings) supported by the heifer supply (live births minus deaths and sold) in the last 12 months was 36%. The actual turnover rate for the herds was 30%, so on average, herds are producing enough heifers to maintain turnover rates. The average culling rate (sold and deaths divided by average lactating and dry cow herd size) was 34%. The average percentage died was 4%, and the percentage of herd culled in the rst 60 days of lactation was 8%. The average age of the herd was 47 months, and the percentage of herd that are in lactation one was 35%. We have seen a trend of reducing culling and increasing average herd age in the last few years, but the trends had been going the other way until recently. In 2004, the average culling rate was 32%, but by 2013, it had reached 40%. The average age was 46
months in 2004 but reached a nadir of 43.5 months in 2014. Heifer supplies have been getting smaller, and we expect the effects of smaller inventories on culling and herd age to become more prominent in the next few years. Farms will need to learn how to manage lower culling rates. Production: Our herds averaged 94 pounds of energy-corrected milk (ECM), with remarkable component levels of 4.1% butterfat and 3.2% protein. The average pounds of fat and protein combined per cow per year was 6.4. This is a testimony to our farmers’ management skills and the efforts of their nutrition professionals. For energy corrected milk by lactation, we see averages of 82, 97 and 101 pounds for lactations one, two, three and up, respectively. On average, lactation three and up cows gave 19 pounds more ECM than lactation one, which is why our farmers want a greater percentage of older cows in their herds. Reproduction: The average for pregnancy rates and conception rates was 32% and 49%, respectively. In 2004, the respective averages were 18% and 34%. Our farmers have had remarkable success increasing pregnancy and conception rates in the last two decades. The success in improving conception rates is particularly stunning, because it is often difcult to signicantly increase conception rates in dairy herds. Improvements are most likely due to more farms using timed A.I. programs, improvement in timed A.I. programs and better herd nutritional management. Youngstock pregnancy rate and conception rate averages were 28% and 57%, respectively, with a wide range of pregnancy rate (4%-44%). The value of high youngstock pregnancy rates is becoming better understood by our producers, as lower youngstock pregnancy rates are usually due to low service rates rather than conception rates, and thus are fairly easy to change. Abortion rates (total abortions divided by average herd size) averaged 8% for cows and 2% for youngstock. Abortion rates in cows tend to track conception rates; as conception rates have gone up, abortion rates have declined. Twinning rates have also declined to an average of 3% last year. Most likely this is due to more herds using timed A.I. programs, and
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better nutrition and control of periparturient diseases. Youngstock: 5% of heifers died up to calving; this includes 3% of heifers that died in the rst 60 days of life. The average age at rst calving was 23 months. This has declined signicantly over the last two decades. The average net herd replacement cost was $1.46 per hundredweight ECM. Disease rates: The ability to capture disease rates is
F example, For l numbers b that h represent key performance indicators can tell at least part of the story of a dairy farm. limited to diseases where one can develop a relatively standard denition and by the ability of the producers to record that data. For the farms that have good data, the average rates of displaced abomasum, retained placenta, milk fever, ketosis and metritis were: 1.5%, 3.1%, 2.2%, 9% and 5%, respectively. These rates are calculated by the number of cases divided by total number of calvings, because they occur after calving. All of these have declined tremendously over the last couple of decades. For example, the highest rates of displaced abomasum, metritis and retained placenta reported for any year since 2004 were 7%, 18% and 8%, respectively. Clearly, fresh cow health is much better than it used to be. This is a snapshot of some of the more interesting parameters tracked in our last herd survey. So, now you have a partial picture of how dairies look in southeastern Minnesota. How does the picture of your dairy compare? Bennett is one of four dairy veterinarians at Northern Valley Dairy Production Medicine Center in Plainview, Minnesota. He also consults on dairy farms in other states. He and his wife, Pam, have four children. Jim can be reached at bennettnvac@gmail. com with comments or questions.
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Page 32 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 11, 2021
Prepping for winter
It’s the time of year where brisk mornings and warm days have changed to cold mornings and, well, also cold days. The kids get excited every time the weather forecast mentions snow, and I feel a tiny bit of panic. No matter how long the fall season goes on, I never seem to get From the Zweber Farm to all the projects to prepare for winter. Could be that I’m a person who needs a deadline on a project or it will continue in perpetuity toward the unachievable goal of perfection. On our farm, we don’t grow any row crops or own a combine. So, when the forages are done growing, By Tim Zweber we’re done with eldwork Farmer & Columnist for the year. Not entirely true, as there’s usually a big pile of compost to haul and a hay eld or two to plow down to get ready for reseeding next year, but close enough. You’d think that would give me time to clean all the equipment for storage and get everything crammed into the sheds long before urries threaten to fall. You’d be wrong. The part that screws up having everything put away long before November is that I always seem to need to do just one more little repair on the equipment that ts best if it goes in rst, so everything else has to wait for that to be put away. There is a very specic way everything has to get parked in the sheds to t it all in, like a large, expensive game of Tetris played with tractors and the skid loader. The cost of not ipping a piece in time or picking the wrong spot is usually some time spent with a mallet or jack, bending a guard or part back into shape. I usually employ one or more of the kids to stand there and watch as I back things in, so they can shout and wave after it’s too late and I’ve backed up an inch too far. Fall is also the time we do major construction projects. It’s nice to not have to work on building projects in between hay crops, as sometimes there are no “between” days for a month or two. It’s also nice to have a bit of motivation to keep the project moving along, in the form of fearing that if we don’t get it done quickly the ground will probably freeze and a foot of snow will fall. This year we waited a bit too long to pour a new feeding area for the milk cows by the free-stall barn, but there should be time to put up a nice new hoop house for the layers. The old chicken barns are starting to resemble Swiss cheese thanks to the rats that love the all-you-caneat chicken feed buffet and refreshment bar. I’m looking forward to moving the chickens to some much-easier-toclean housing, and I’m especially excited to permanently evict the rats. My parents’ house and our woodshop are heated by an outdoor wood boiler. Fall is the time we cut rewood. There is no lack of trees along the eld edges needing to be cut down due to wind damage or just plain growing the wrong direction. Cutting wood is a job I denitely prefer to do when it’s chilly out. First, it’s hard, sweaty work, and second, it’s a lot easier when there aren’t leaves on the trees. It takes quite a few cords of wood to keep everyone warm all winter so we better get started. Hopefully you all are ready for winter to show up and are kicking back waiting for the snow, humming Christmas songs while the chilly wind blows between chores. If not, know you’re in good company. Let’s all hope the snow holds off just a little longer because there’s always a bit more that needs to get done. Until next time, keep living the dream and go nd those Carhartt overalls because you’re going to need them sooner than you think. Tim Zweber farms with his wife Emily, their three children and his parents Jon and Lisa by Elko, Minnesota.
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Where’s the beef butcher?
We had an animal ready for butchering recently. So, we called a local meat butchering, cut and wrap shop to get an appointment to bring in an animal from our farm. July 2022 was the rst available appointment. The lack of butchers is not a new thing, though it has been getting more attention lately. An article in the Nov. 30 Star Tribune detailed the problem and focused on meat-cutting programs that will be added to the curriculum in two Minnesota community colleges next fall. It was also reported that interest in this type of course offering around the country is picking Come Full Dairy Circle up. Both schools are offering a semester of classes for students to understand the business from farm to slaughter to market to kitchen. “The students will graduate from the schools and enter the workforce at an apprentice level and know the basic fundamentals of meat-cutting, food safety and handling,” according to Willmar Ridgewater College’s Dean of Instruction Jeff Miller. This sounds like an excellent idea because the shortage of people with these skills and those who are pursuing this profession is painfully felt in rural By Jean Annexstad America. As butchers retire, livestock farmers have Columnist fewer options to have their animals slaughtered. Just a few years ago, we could call our local butcher shop about 15 miles away and set up a day to pick up the animal we wanted to have butchered. Then I would pick up the boxes of beef they had cut, wrapped and ground several weeks later. The next task was depositing the meat in several freezers around our farm and distributing it to other family members, employees or neighbors. The owner of the plant, who picked up our animal himself, had often told us about his difculties nding employees. He also spoke of the regulations that were becoming overwhelming for his family-owned business. Then the pandemic made things more complicated. We had an appointment for a beef to be processed in October 2020. In August of that year, a phone call alerted us they were no longer able to slaughter and process whole beef animals. In the meantime, a friend had an unused slot elsewhere, so we were able to have our animal processed a few months later. The urgent need for more butcher shops and trained workers is well documented in rural communities. Our situation was not unique. The meat processing industry has undergone many transformations. First the animals were butchered and processed on the farm by family members. What a huge job just the butchering must have been, and I can’t imagine preserving it all with no freezers. In our local area, the Norseland Locker Plant operated from 1937 to 1980. The locker plant was a part of the Norseland Cooperative Creamery, and families using it could arrange to bring livestock from their farm to the butcher shop where the butcher would slaughter, cut, wrap and freeze the meat for them. Curing was also available. The meat was stored in one of 150 deep-freeze lockers large enough to hold 200 pounds of food. Each locker was rented with a separate key for the family to use whenever they wanted their meat. What a help this must have been for large, busy farm families living only a few miles away. Today many local butcher shops have shut down, leaving less capacity for those seeking this service. Just a few multinational companies dominate the meatpacking industry today. Recent pandemic-related plant shutdowns shed light on this. All of this brought back memories of my mother’s stories of her father’s butcher shop. She grew up next to it in the small town of Cleveland, Minnesota. Although I never met my grandfather, I knew he had apprenticed in a St. Peter butcher shop and then started his own in nearby Cleveland. My mother told us how he opened his shop for a few hours after church on Sundays for people who needed last-minute meat or other items for their dinners. It seems more people wish to make their meat purchases from local farmers these days. Sometimes trends swing back around to where they started. Some of the male calves sold from our farm and raised as steers are butchered, processed and frozen in local shops, with frozen meat cuts or hamburger sold directly from the farms. Many people prefer local. It is really an interesting trend, and I am glad there is industry backing and money from the Minnesota Legislature for the community colleges to teach meat cutting once again. The program offered through Central Lakes College in Brainerd involves a “mobile slaughter unit” which is a customized 36-foot truck that is a small slaughterhouse on wheels, according to the Star Tribune article. The $500,000 cost of the unit was approved by the Legislature. Enjoy delicious meat. I know I don’t take it for granted now as I once did. Jean dairy farms with her husband, Rolf, and brother-in-law, Mike, and children Emily, Matthias and Leif. They farm near St. Peter, Minnesota, in Norseland, where she is still trying to t in with the Norwegians and Swedes. They milk 200 cows and farm 650 acres. She can be reached at jeanannexstad@ gmail.com.
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Page 34 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 11, 2021
Farming aids in football season
PEM takes second in state championship By Kate Rechtzigel kate.r@dairystar.com
KELLOGG, Minn. - John Evers and Peyton Schumacher believe growing up on their families’ dairies made them successful on the football eld this season. “It made me a little stronger,” Schumacher said. Evers agreed. “I would say the work
ethic (learned in farming) led to football,” Evers said. “You obviously need to have a strong work ethic with all the teammates you have, and be a leader too.” Evers is the son of Wayne and Tammy Evers, who milk 2,800 cows near Kellogg, and Schumacher is the son of Kurt and Trisha Schumacher, who milk 1,100 cows near Elgin. Schumacher and Evers played on the Plainview-Elgin-Millville (PEM) team during the Class AAA state championship football game against DasselCokato at U.S. Bank Stadium Nov. 27 in Minneapolis. “A lot of people didn’t think
KATE RECHTZIGEL/DAIRY STAR
Peyton Schumacher (leŌ) and John Evers are pictured in the Evers family’s freestall barn Dec. 4 near Kellogg, Minnesota. Schumacher and Evers played for the Plainview-Elgin-Millville Bulldogs who took second in the Class AAA football state championship game Nov. 27.
PHOTO SUBMITTED
John Evers runs the ball during Plainview Elgin Millville’s championship game against the Dassel Cokato Chargers Nov. 27 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. Evers played Ɵght end, full back, running back and outside linebacker this season.
we could get there, and even on the team, I think a lot of players didn’t think we would be where we were at the end of the year, so that was kind of cool,” Evers said. The two young men rst started playing football in middle school. Nov. 27 marked the end of their senior season on
and outside linebacker on defense. Schumacher played wide receiver on offense and cornerback on defense. “My favorite play of the game was this trick play at the end of the half,” Evers said. “We were down by seven and that
the eld. “I’ve played ag football in the backyard since I was tiny,” Schumacher said. “But I started in 4th grade in Rochester playing full tackle football because there wasn’t any at PEM.” This season Evers played tight end, full back and running back on offense,
Turn to FOOTBALL | Page 35
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we played the week before there,” Evers said. “It was a cool experience, but at the same time, I had to take it all in because I wanted to win too.” Schumacher agreed. “Obviously it was a tough game because they ran the ball a lot,” Schumacher said. “It was fun.” Evers said his favorite memory was playing in the section championship game against Cannon Falls earlier in the playoffs. “We lost to them by quite a bit in the regular season and then beat them by three in the section championship game to go to state,” Evers said. On the other hand, Schumacher preferred the PEM state semi-nals game. “I had three picks and a pick-6, so that was pretty cool,” Schumacher said. “And, I caught a 70-yard touchdown.” Before every game, the Bulldogs listen to music on the bus and pray right before they take the eld. “We’ve been doing it ever since Aidan Miller passed away,” said Evers, speaking of a former teammate and dairy farmer. Overall, Evers and Schumacher believe teamwork, chemistry and coaching led them to the state championship. “Everybody came together as a team and did their part,” Schumacher said. Both said are thankful for the lessons they learned growing up on the farm and look forward to the rest of their senior sports seasons. “I learned to nish a job,” Evers said. “We had some close games this year and sometimes you want to be done and give up.” Schumacher echoed those comments. “When you mess up or make a mistake, do not get upset or mad about it,” he said. “Learn from your mistakes and get better.”
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Peyton Schumacher catches the ball in Plainview Elgin Millville’s game against the Dover-Eyota Eagles earlier this fall. Schumacher played wide receiver and cornerback this season. was denitely a momentum booster for us going into the half.” Schumacher agreed the play, called hook ladder, was also his favorite. “You have to get the ball to the wide receiver rst and then try to get the timing right to ip it to him when he comes around,” Schumacher said. Schumacher broke the prep bowl tackle record in the championship game. “And then my teammate broke my record in the same game,” Schumacher said. During the school year, Schumacher and Evers focus on sports, but during the summer, they are put to work on their farms. “My dad’s kind of lenient (during my sports season),” Schumacher said. Schumacher helps with merging when his family chops alfalfa and helped his family add on to their shop during summer 2020. Evers helps in the eld and occasionally feeds calves. His family began renting a farm site last year before the new freestall barn was completed, so Evers also milked those 500 cows in a double-12 parlor while he was distant learning. The cows are now milked at the home farm. He also helped employees pour concrete in the new freestall barn during the summer of 2020. The PEM Bulldogs were 11-3 overall and 6-2 in their regular season this year. “It was pretty cool, especially to have the whole community up there and all the sendoffs we had; that was awesome too,” Evers said. “As small of a town as we are, to have everyone together, and when we’re playing and there’s a big play, you can just hear the stadium go crazy.” Going into the championship game, Schumacher and Evers were not nervous. “I knew they were a good team but I wasn’t really nervous at all since
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Page 36 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 11, 2021
Women In Dairy Leah Schwarz Le Center, Minnesota Le Sueur County 300 cows
Family: My parents, Darcy and Mike, my husband, Kaleb, my brother, Trevor and his wife, Sam. Tell us about your farm. I am the herd manager on my parents’ dairy farm. I work full time with the calves, do all of the breeding shots, herd health and work with the veterinarian. We milk in a double-12 herringbone parlor, and my dad and brother also run about 650 acres of corn, alfalfa and soybeans. What is the busiest time of day for you? My busiest time is between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. It really just varies on the day, because of either breeding shots, herd health protocols or calf chores. I get my afternoons off and night chores usually aren’t too busy. When you get a spare moment, what do you do? When I get a spare moment, I like to take breathers. I also like to spend a lot of time with my mom and sisterin-law. In the summertime, we go and sit on patios to catch a break from the farm. Tell us about your most memorable experience working on the farm. I like to work a lot with our vet. Whenever he is doing something like a DA surgery, I have been able to sit with him, put on a glove, go inside, see what’s going on and feel the DA. I work alongside him and do a lot of different things, like we’ve had to roll a cow and treat abscesses. I just enjoy working with the vet and learning how to do that kind of stuff. I also work with a ketone monitor, probably one of the best things a dairy farmer can have, so I can test the cow’s ketones whenever I want. It’s just nice to learn how to do things without having to call the vet all the time and have them come out. What have you enjoyed most about dairy farming or your tie to the dairy industry? I’ve enjoyed being able to come back to the home farm; I never had to leave. There was always something that I was able to do here, whether it was to work with the calves or something else. How do you stay connected with others in the industry? For the past three years, my husband and I have attended the Central Plains Dairy Expo in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. We like to go there, talk with other people in the industry,
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› Somatic Cell Count Conteo de células somáticas Kohn-teh-oh deh seh-loo-lahs so-muh-tee-kahs
› Milk quality is very important
learn new things about the industry and talk with different companies to see new things that I can bring back to the farm. I’m also still very involved with the county 4-H program and run the dairy show, so I’m still able to connect with those parents and 4-Hers in the dairy industry. Who is someone in the industry who has inspired you? Why? Somebody in the industry that’s inspired me are my parents. I wouldn’t be in the industry without them. They got me started and I’ve learned everything by just watching them work every day and seeing what they do. I also learned a lot at Ridgewater College in Willmar, but I wouldn’t know what I know today without either one of my parents. What is the best vacation you’ve ever taken? The best vacation I’ve ever taken was actually my rst year of college, when I got the chance to study abroad for a week in Costa Rica. We got to see their farming practices. I saw their crops, dairy farming and bananas. It’s weird how they do things, but it was a really fun and cool experience. During the summertime, my husband and I take a few days off and go to my parents’ cabin up north for a little bit of shing and time outside. But Costa Rica was probably the most fun, most memorable vacation. What are some words you like to live by? Everything happens for a reason. I know some people don’t always want to hear that or accept it, but everything does happen for a reason; there’s always something good or bad in every situation. Those are the words that I really like, and I nd myself replaying them in my head over and over again.
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La Calidad de la leche es muy importante Lah kah-lee-dahd deh lah leh-cheh ehs mwee eem-pohr-tahn-teh
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Dairy Star • Saturday, December 11, 2021 • Page 37
Be grateful this Christmas season Tilderquist shares family’s remarkable journey By Mandie Tilderquist Contributing Writer
They say farming is in your blood. I believe that to be 100 percent true. I can’t think of too many people who would suddenly decide that working 18-hour days, dealing with the ckle Mother Nature and an unsteady paycheck sound like an enticing midlife vocation transition. No, the 2% who feed the world have a little sweat, dirt and silage mixed in with their viscous, crimson liquid running through their pale, blue veins. And, it starts the moment when God intricately knits them together in their mother’s blessed womb. I feel qualied to make these statements because I gave birth to a farmer. Max Omer Tilderquist came into this world like a true farmer. He did it his way and came out how he wanted to, sunny side up. No doctor was going to tell him what to do. And as soon as he was able, he was wearing boots, overalls and anything John Deere. His very rst sounds were those a Johnny Popper makes. When I couldn’t get him to settle down, Max would go a few rounds in the tractor with Daddy and would immediately be lulled to sleep. And when the pint-sized seventh-generation farmer would have to go home for his nap, it would take the strength of two grown adults to buckle him in his car seat. When Max was 3 years old, we nally moved out to our 165-year-old farm. I was so nervous that he’d try to sneak out to go help Dad, that I almost installed locks on the doors he couldn’t reach. In his own responsible way, my toddler would leave notes on my nightstand that he’d gone over to the farm to do chores. By the time he was 4, he could back up the John Deere Gator better than I could. Kindergarten was just plain torture for this working man, who stubbornly told his principal, “I ain’t going back to class. Dad needs my help, and I’m just going to be a farmer anyways.” After much cajoling, he did nally go back and became an excellent student. When the school and studying part were over, it was all about the farm. Max soon started milking the cows, driving anything on the farm that had an engine and helping with chores. When he was 10 years old, life was looking pretty good, until it wasn’t. The summer of 2018 was the very rst time Max and his siblings (Maggie, 12; Hank, 11; and Jack, 10) showed calves for 4-H. Something was off, and I could feel it in my gut. My oldest son just didn’t look quite right to me. His coloring wasn’t as vibrant as my other three, and he wasn’t sweating in the sweltering July heat. He sat around a lot, and if you know farmers, you know this is a red ag. So, once we were home and the fair had ended, I quickly made him an appointment. Blood work conrmed our worst nightmare. Along with the sweat, dirt and silage comingled with his farmer blood, there was also cancer. We made the 50-mile trip to Rochester, Minnesota, and walked into St. Mary’s Hospital for what would be the rst time of many. Max was diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia. It’s a cancer that is usually only detected by blood work in people that are older. Not a typical cancer 10-year-old children are told they have. And, we laughed at the irony because, of course, our oldsoul son would get a disease that’s incredibly rare for his age group. After a two-week hospital stay, we went back home, where all that was required was a
daily chemotherapy pill and a relatively normal life. The word easy isn’t usually associated with cancer, but in our case, it really was. I will never forget that hard conversation Max and I had, not too long after we came home from the hospital. I told him he had two options: take a daily chemotherapy pill for the rest of his life or go through a grueling bone marrow transplant. Without hesitation, he replied, “I want to get the transplant, Mom. I don’t want the restrictions that come with the pill. Because I’m going to farm someday.” One of the biggest decisions of our lives was made in seconds. That was very unlike a farmer. The most ideal donor candidate is a family member because the host will more easily recognize those cells. And a 10 out of 10 matched (having the same tissue type) sibling is the very best. Max was very blessed to have one in his middle brother, Hank. His 8-year-old brother didn’t even have to think about if he wanted to do it or not. “I want to save my big brother’s life,” Hank said, as he proudly puffed out his little chest. Max was blessed to have two other partial matches in his family as well, his dad and his youngest brother. I felt like this was God’s way of giving us the green light. And, we sure went full-speed ahead. The two boys went through rigorous testing at Mayo Clinic to ensure both were healthy enough to undergo such a major medical endeavor. They both passed with ying colors, and a date was set for transplant: June 28, 2019, almost a year after the word cancer was painfully added to our family’s vocabulary. We were more than ready to take that awful word out again. A bone marrow transplant is pretty uneventful. To be honest, it was a bit of a letdown. No one hastily ran through the hallways with a red cooler like they do in medical dramas. The nurses just hung the bag from an IV pole, while Hank’s glorious donor cells ran into Max’s depleted body. For the ve or so days prior, the patient receives conditioning chemotherapy, completely bringing them down to zero. This prepares their body to eagerly receive the new, healthy cells. Hank had gotten his cells harvested earlier that morning and came to join his big brother after he recovered from his ordeal. Both of the boys did remarkably well throughout the entire process. Hey, they’re farm kids. Of course, they did. I even decorated Max’s hospital room with all things farming. His toy tractors lined the window sill, pictures of our farm were tacked on the walls, and Kemps graciously sent over some inatable cows and other décor. 4-H clubs and farm families from all over sent cards, letters and gifts. What an amazing community to be a part of. We were eventually discharged to the Ronald McDonald house, so we could be close enough to the hospital and get some sense of normalcy again. The rest of the kids joined us, but Dad had to stay at the farm. It was really hard to be separated because when you’re a farm family, you are so used to working together and being together a lot. We were so grateful because everything had gone so smoothly, all according to plan. Everyone was so optimistic. When Max was born, he didn’t cry once our entire hospital stay. I thought I had hit the new mom jackpot, until we got home. Then it seemed like the screaming didn’t stop. This very same scenario seemed to play out again. Generally, 100 days after transplant, you are pretty safe of anything really sinister happening. Well, for Max, that’s when it all really began. He developed a major complication of a bone marrow transplant. It is called GVHD, or graft-versus-host disease. It is an immune condition that occurs when
PHOTO SUBMITTED
The Tilderquists – (front, from leŌ) Max and Mandie; (middle, from leŌ) Maggie and Jack; (back, from leŌ) Hank and Eric – gather for Easter last spring at Mayo Clinic Hospital, St. Marys Campus in Rochester, Minnesota. the immune cells from the donor tissue attack the host’s own tissue. And none of us were prepared for this, because we had an exact match. I cannot even begin to explain all the havoc this disease brings, and the absolute destruction and scarring it leaves as souvenirs. It has affected his skin, eyes, mouth and, the worst of them all, his lungs. For the next two years, Max and I would be in and out of the hospital more times than I can even count. If I listed everything that happened, every diagnosis and prognosis, I’d have an entire book written. There have been so many times I’ve screamed at God and cried angry tears. I’ve begged and pleaded with doctors to save my son’s life. I’ve fought to advocate for him. And
as awful as those experiences were, I’ve never felt closer to God or seen him work in such miraculous ways. We will never forget all the amazing people we have met along the way. So, let’s skip to the good part. Max’s journey is far from over. The future is very uncertain, and we are still anxiously waiting to see how his body will heal. He wears constant oxygen and has to sleep with a BiPAP. But, Max is still here. He does a large majority of our eld work and is the brains behind the operation. His will to ght and to keep going amazes everyone who knows him. We are so proud of our rstborn son. Max means “the greatest.” It ts him darn well. This morning, I am thankful for my cup of coffee, made exactly the way I like it. I’m thankful I got a good night’s sleep in my own bed. I’m thankful God saw t to bless me with another day to be my kids’ mom and my farmer’s wife. I’m thankful to see all four of my children begrudgingly, I mean happily, doing their school work at the kitchen table. I’m thankful I’ve learned to love my family harder, forgive easier and live each day as if it were our last. I’m thankful for this beautiful mess of a life and every single person who has helped to write my story so far. Most of all, I’m thankful to have a merciful God, who sent his one and only Son down to earth as a baby in a manger to love me and take care of me, even when life is hard and I am clinging to the hem of his garment. My sincere hope is that each and every one of us can nd something to be grateful for this Christmas season, despite the harrowing circumstances we may face. After all, there is always something to be thankful for even when it seems impossible. Merry Christmas from our farm family to yours.
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Page 38 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 11, 2021
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Keeping up with the industry Fuller’s Milker Center adds second location By Abby Wiedmeyer
LANCASTER, Wis. – Fuller’s Milker Center in Lancaster has added a second location in Richland Center through the acquisition of the formerly named Advanced Dairy Solutions Inc. Effective Nov. 1, Advanced Dairy Solutions has sold the milking and cooling division to Fuller’s Milker Center. “Basically, things lined up just right and we took advantage of it,” said Mike Thousand. Thousand is an owner of Fuller’s Milker Center and is joined by fellow owners Ronald Wilson, Mark Bahl, Heather Fuller and Bart Fuller, all of whom are involved in the daily operation of the business. There were no plans to add a second location until the owners were approached by Advanced Dairy Solutions. Fuller’s Milker Center had support from GEA to complete the consolidation, and they felt a combination of forces was a good move.
“We are working to make our business adapt to the challenges and changing circumstances that the dairymen face,” Bart Fuller said. Fuller’s Milker Center has acquired the milking and cooling staff from Advanced Dairy Solutions, so customers can rest easy knowing their route delivery crews and maintenance technicians will remain the same. Those technicians are working out of the same Richland Center location as always, and the store is open for parts as usual. The phone number for the Richland Center location is staying the same for the milking and cooling division as well. There is staff on site in Richland Center to answer phones and be available to customers. Management duties and service calls are being dispatched from the main ofÀce in Lancaster. The combination of workforces will bring expanded services to the Richland Center area. Fuller’s Milker Center has trained their staff, updated tools and equipment, and expanded their electrical expertise with one master electrician and two journeymen. This knowledge will
carry over to the new location. The owners believe that with the changes happening in the dairy industry, this acquisition will help keep them relevant in the volatile dairy industry. “This really ensures that we can stay competitive in purchasing so things don’t change for the customers,” Fuller said. The owners said their time in the industry so far has been busy, and they are doing their best to keep up. “The dairy industry has changed, and we are changing with it,” Wilson said. “I think we’ve always kind of felt that as the industry grows and the dairymen grow, we want to continue to grow with them and keep up with the industry.” Fuller’s Milker Center was started in 1953 by Bill and Jean Fuller and one employee. It began as a small business in a basement. By 1978, the business had grown from the basement to the garage to a brand-new building in Lancaster. The business was purchased at that time by John, Jim and David Fuller. In August 2001, Fuller’s Milker Center moved to its current location on U.S. Highway 61 North in Lancaster.
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Dairy Star • Saturday, December 11, 2021 • Page 39
Peter, Marilyn and Jim Schumer St. Stephen, Minnesota Stearns County 76 cows
What advice would you give to other dairy farmers? Trust in God. A couple others are do what you think is right and know your nancial information so you can make good decisions. We joined the farm business management program in about 1989. Knowing our numbers and where we were nancially all these years has helped us make decisions. We made mistakes, too, but with God›s help and knowing our numbers, it helped us make decisions. We know we are not the best or biggest farmers out there, but are just doing the best we can with what we have. Everyone’s situation is so different; it’s very hard to give anyone else advice. We kind of live by, “Just do your best, and let the Almighty do the rest.”
How did you get into farming? Peter: I grew up into it. I always liked the cows. I like their demeanor and they are fun to work with. I also enjoy the genetics part. Jim and Marilyn: This was my (Jim) parents’ farm and has been in the family since 1867. Peter will be the fth generation to farm here. I (Jim) worked for ve years and then came back to the farm. I knew the only way to stay on the farm was to milk cows. We bought 18 cows April 30, 1982, and started milking. We always concentrated on the cows. What are your thoughts and concerns about the dairy industry for the next year? The biggest concern is the continued growth of these large farms; they get bigger and bigger. The small farms are getting out. We hope more young people will stay on the family farms. It is so important. What is the latest technology you implemented on your farm and the purpose for it? The skidloader. It is the most important piece of equipment we have. What is a management practice you changed in the past year that has benetted you? We built a new barn. It’s a loose housing building that faces the south that we bed with corn stalks or straw. The cows went in Jan. 29. The cows were outside the rst 38 years we farmed. What cost-saving steps have you implemented during the low milk price? None really. We’ve always been conservative. We spend what we have and put our trust in God. How do you retain a good working relationship with your employees? We don’t have any employees. The cheapest thing you can buy is your own labor. But we do hire out our corn planting, and chopping and combining of corn.
What has been the best purchase you have ever made on your farm? The skidloader. You have to have a good skidloader.
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Peter, Jim and Marilyn Schumer stand in front of their new loose-housing facility on their farm near St. Stephen, Minnesota. Tell us about a skill you possess that makes dairy farming easier for you. Peter: I know the cows inside and out. I know their personalities and pedigrees without referring to a sheet of paper. Jim: I try to keep the mood light around here. I like to joke around. Marilyn: I always keep the farm books up to date, and I’m very organized and particular about everything I do. What do you enjoy most about dairy farming? Peter: Being your own boss and working with my family and cows every day. Jim: I love to work outside and the variety of work there is. Marilyn: Being with family every day, being with the kids (ve, all of whom have grown up) and raising them on the farm.
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What has been your biggest accomplishment while dairy farming? Being able to raise our kids on the farm with all the life lessons that brings. Making the farm into what it is today. We have only two buildings left from when we started: an old log granary, which we are trying to preserve, and the house. We have had to tear down the old buildings and replace them with what we have today. Keeping the farm in the family for four generations and hopefully into the fth if Peter continues to farm. What are your plans for your dairy in the next year and ve years? We would like to either build a parlor or make improvements to what we have, to make it more efcient. Turn the farm over to Peter. How do you or your family like to spend time when you are not doing chores? Watch amateur baseball. All four of our sons played amateur baseball and Peter, John and Paul still play. John and Paul play for the Sartell Muskies, and Peter plays for the St. Wendell Saints. If the boys don’t have a game, we’ll nd a different amateur game to watch. It’s great entertainment; baseball players and the fans are great.
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Effective, proprietary chlorine dioxide solution
Antimicrobial brushes inhibit bacterial growth
A brush with greatness FutureCow® Prep System: the most consistent cow prep for any herd size. The future of your herd’s milk quality starts with consistency. Prep each cow the same way at every milking session with the FutureCow® Prep System from GEA. With the lightest brush on the market, FutureCow® provides optimal teat cleaning, stimulation and mastitis prevention. Whether it’s the first hour of milking or the very last, ensure greatness in one easy step with the FutureCow® Prep System.
Your Local GEA Milking Equipment Dealers Advanced Dairy Solutions Centre Dairy Equipment Richland Center, and Supply Inc.WI 608-647-4488 • 800-772-4770 Sauk Centre, MN
Fuller’s Milker Center, Inc. Monroe WestfaliaSurge Leedstone, Inc. Sioux Dairy Equipment, Inc. J Gile Dairy Equipment Lancaster, WI • 800-887-4634 Monroe, WI •Cuba 608-325-2772 Melrose, MN Rock Valley, IA City, WI • (608) 744-2661 320-256-3303 • 800-996-3303 712-476-5608 • 800-962-4346 Leedstone, Inc. Sioux Dairy Equipment, Inc. 320-352-5762 • 800-342-2697 Glencoe, MN Colton, SD Service 800-944-1217 Kozlovsky Dairy Equipment Central Ag Supply, Inc. Melrose, MN Rock Valley, IA 320-864-5575 • 877-864-5575 Edgerton, MN Chemical Sales Kaukauna, WI •920-759-9223 Baraboo, WI • 608-356-8384 320-256-3303 • 800-996-3303 712-476-5608Weston, • 800-962-4346 Fuller’s Milker Center, LLC Plainview, MN • 800-548-5240 507-920-8626 WI • 715-298-6256 Juneau, WI • 920-386-2611 Glencoe, MN Colton, SD Lancaster, WI • 800-887-4634 Menomonie, WI • 715.231.8090 320-864-5575 • 877-864-5575 RichlandDairy Center, WI • 608-647-4488 Central Ag Supply Inc. Stanley Schmitz, Inc. Service 800-944-1217 Centre Equipment and Supply Inc. Monroe WestfaliaSurge Juneau, WI • 920-386-2611 Sauk Centre, MN Midwest Livestock Systems, Inc. Edgerton, MNChilton, WI • 920-849-4209 Midwest Livestock Systems, LLC Monroe, WI • 608-325-2772 Baraboo, WI • 608-356-8384 320-352-5762 • 800-342-2697 Menomonie, WI • 715-235-5144 Chemical Sales 507-920-8626 Zumbrota, MN • 800-233-8937 Tri-County Dairy Supply Owen, WI • 715-229-4740 Menomonie, WI • 715-235-5144 Preston Dairy Equipment Eastern Iowa Dairy Systems Janesville, WI • (608) 757-2697 Pine Island, MN • 800-233-8937 Renner, SD • 800-705-1447 Sparta, WI • (608) 269-3830 Epworth, IA • (563) 876-3087 Sioux Falls, MN • 800-705-1447 Beatrice, NE • 800-742-5748