July 10, 2021 Dairy Star - Zone 1 - 1st section by Dairy Star

PREVIEW BUSINESSES THAT WILL BE AT WISCONSIN FARM TECHNOLOGY DAYS PAGES 15-22 OF THE SECOND SECTION!

DAIRY ST R “All dairy, all the time”™

Volume 23, No. 10

Saving energy to save money

July 10, 2021

First District goes live with new processing plants

Zook offers ways Expansion to accommodate 7.5 million pounds of milk per day to increasing onraw milk each day and process By Jennifer Coyne Association. jenn@dairystar.com 40-pound blocks of cheese At the end of June, the cofarm efficiency operative went live with its last in addition to its established By Danielle Nauman danielle.n@dairystar.com

Saving energy means saving money which is something most dairy farmers can get behind. Joel Zook, of Winneshiek Energy District, shared ways to save energy on the farm during the June 23 webinar, “Saving Energy on Your Farm,” as part of the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach 2021 Dairy Team Webinar Series. “Saving energy and saving dollars means money that you won’t have to spend, that won’t leave our communities,” Zook said. There are several ways farmers can save energy, but Zook said one of the easiest ways is to address lighting on the farm. “Lighting is huge,” Zook said. “It is one of the very most cost-effective things that any farm can change. LEDs are going to use roughly half the amount of energy as older fluorescent lights. It is often times the first thing I recommend when walking through farms.” According to Zook, funding for cost-sharing grants for updating on-farm lighting is abundant and can be stacked with incentives or rebates that might be offered by a utility company. “I have run some numbers for people, that looking at costshares and rebates, projects are getting completely paid for,” Zook said. “And this is a way to save sometimes thousands of dollars on your electric bill. It is a pretty painless thing that doesn’t need to change your operation.” Zook estimated that based on an 18-hour day, each fixture changed to an LED can save over $7,000 per year, allowing for a quick payback on light fixture replacement even Turn to ENERGY | Page 5

LITCHFIELD, Minn. – A long-awaited expansion is complete for First District

of three new plants at the Litchfield location allowing it to receive 7.5 million pounds of

500-pound barrels. “We haven’t looked back since it came on board;

JENNIFER COYNE/DAIRY STAR

Jared Terning, First District Associa on cheese plant manager, describes the automated barrel fill line June 30 at the plant in Litchfield, Minnesota. The plant is a part of the coopera ve’s expansion to accommodate 7.5 million pounds of milk per day.

it’s been good,” said Bob Huffman, CEO of First District Association. “Seeing the board and our members put together this vision and strategy for growth is really exciting, especially as we’re in our 100year anniversary.” The project entailed three plants, including an eight-bay receiving and intake area, a lactose drying facility and a state-of-the-art cheese plant. The fully-automated plants allow milk to be processed in its entirety – from the cooperative’s traditional cheesemaking and whey and lactose powder line. “This plant has a way to take the milk and make cheese, and also has found ways to get the full value out of all the protein,” Huffman said. “Here, 100% of every drop of milk has a place to go. We reuse all of the water that is taken off the milk to be used to wash equipment and for our boiler steam.” While there are several benefits to expanding processTurn to FDA | Page 6

Round two of alfalfa

KRISTA KUZMA/DAIRY STAR

John Schiller cuts hay the morning of June 30 on his family’s dairy near Owatonna, Minnesota. Schiller farms together with his wife, Lynn, and their son and daughter-in-law, Dan and Leah, who have two kids, Grayson, 11, and Syndel, 9. The Schillers have 140 acres of hay and were star ng second crop harvest.

Page 2 • Dairy Star • Saturday, July 10, 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 (office) 320-248-3196 (cell) 320-352-0062 (home) Ad Composition Nancy Powell 320-352-6303 nancy.p@dairystar.com Consultant Jerry Jennissen 320-346-2292 Editorial Staff Krista Kuzma - Editor/Wisconsin (507) 259-8159 • krista.k@dairystar.com Jennifer Coyne - Assistant Editor (320) 352-6303 • jenn@dairystar.com Danielle Nauman (608) 487-1101 danielle.n@dairystar.com Stacey Smart - Staff Writer (262) 442-6666 • stacey.s@dairystar.com Maria Bichler - Copy Editor 320-352-6303 Andrea Borgerding - Layout/Design (320) 352-6303 • andrea.b@dairystar.com Advertising Sales Main Office: 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 (office) 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 Hoefler (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 final 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.

A glance at what’s inside Dry weather condition blanket the coverage area Many people in our coverage area have been looking for the clouds in the sky while praying for rain. Drought has been widespread this year with many dairy producers and other farmers feeling the effects. While there have been pockets of precipitation here and there to give certain farmers lush green fields, a lot of areas have not had enough moisture to quench the thirst of dusty and cracking soils holding leaf rolling corn and shorter-than-normal alfalfa. If you are looking to find out how a few farmers in our coverage area are faring for weather, check out Dairy Star’s seasonal crop reporters on pages 32-33 in second section. While Matt Zabel in Wabasha County in Plainview, Minnesota, has had timely rains and most recently had 2.5 inches within the last two weeks, Steve Case from Janesville, Wisconsin, cannot say the same. In the past two weeks, he had a mere 0.1 inch of rain. The lack of rainfall has impacted tonnage on his second crop hay, although the quality is still present. In Case’s latest weather report, he said, “Things are hot and miserable and dry here.” Central Minnesota is one region desperate for more rain. Farmers from that area are hoping they do not repeat what they saw in 1988 or the late 1970s. Editor, Mark Klaphake, writes about both of these years, recalling what it was like during those droughts while working on the dairy farms of his parents and his brother near Sauk Centre, Minnesota. More inside: We continue to celebrate the dairy industry as we head into July. This issue features outstanding young individuals who are driven to promote all good things dairy. The Midwest Dairy Association’s Dairy Ambassador program is designed to help college students serve as advocates for the industry and share their dairy stories with consumers throughout the year. We profiled these individuals on pages 11-14 in third section. There are also an assortment of photos submitted by you, our readers, for our Summer Salute to Dairy Farmers campaign. Those are found on page 22 in second section. Thank you for your participation! Lastly, Wisconsin Farm Technology Days is quickly approaching with the event set for July 20-22 in Eau Claire. Check out the second section of this issue for an assortment of advertisers that are looking forward to exhibiting at the show.

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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 offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Dairy Star, 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave., Sauk Centre, MN 56378-1246.

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Dairy Star • Saturday, July 10, 2021 • Page 3

It’s all inside... Columnists Ag Insider Pages 8-9 First Section

Douglas

Tripp Gregory

Charles Mix

McCook Minnehaha

Hutchinson

Turner

Bon Yankton Homme

Nobles

Jackson

Lin

Lyon

n inso Emmet

Osceola

n Win

ero

Woodbury

Stohrs cultivate market for caprine milk products

Palo Alto

e Buena Vista

Ida

Monona

Plymouth

Milbank

Clay

c Po

Sac

eba

Dick

O’Brien

Sioux

Freeborn

Faribault

Martin

Kossuth

Page 34 Second Section

Clay

Rock

Wabasha

Cottonwood Watonwan Blue Earth Waseca Steele Dodge Olmsted

Mitchell Howard

Hancock Cerro Gordo

ick

Greene

Boone

a rsh

Story

Tama

Harrison Shelby

Guthrie

Dallas

Second Section: Pages 6 - 7

Fayette

Black Hawk

Grundy un Webster Hamilton Hardin

Crawford Carroll

Houston

Polk

Clayton

Bremer

Wright Franklin Butler

lho

Floyd

old

Fillimore

Mower

Worth

First Section: Page 34 Winona

Aurora

Murray

iek

Moody

Goodhue Rice

ake

Lake

Nicollet Brown

Brule

Todd

Miner

Lyman

Mellette

Bennett

Sanborn

Redwood

Jerauld

Lyon

Jones

Jackson

Shannon Country Cooking

Brookings

Jasper

n na

e war Dubuque

Dela

Benton

iek

Buffalo

Pages 8 - 9 Second Section

Fall River

Kingsbury

Thoe advocates for family’s way of life as Princess Kay finalist

Dakota

Scott

Sibley

Hayfield

Iowa

Jones

Linn

Jackson

on Cedar

Guttenberg

Clinton

Women in Dairy: Hilliary Morarend

Scott

First Section: Page 37

Muscatine

hin

Madison Warren Marion Mahaska Keokuk

Adair

Wa s

Pottawattamie Cass

gto

Beadle

Carver

All

Hand

Hughes

Hennepin McLeod

Renville

Yellow Medicine

Haakon

Pennington

Custer

Deuel

Hamlin

Chippewa

Lac Qui Parle

Clark

eu r

Stanley

Anoka Wright

Meeker

Hyde

Isanti Sherburne

Kandiyohi

Codington

Spink

Stearns

Pope

Swift

Faulk

Ziebach

Da vi so n

Lawrence

Benton

Stevens

Grant

Dewey

Sully

TheMeade “Mielke” Market Weekly

Douglas

Big Stone

Day

Mille Lacs

Morrison

Edmunds

Grant

Roberts

Marshall

McPherson

Potter

Pine

Todd

Brown Walworth

Carlton

Washington

Sargent

First Section: Pages 18, 20, 22

Aitkin Crow Wing

Campbell

Corson

Richland Dickey

McIntosh

Otter Tail

Wilkin

Emmons Sioux

Cass

W in

Ransom

LaMoure

Tra ver se

Grant

Becker

Clay

Cass

ms ey

Bames

Gredens manage herd for a 39 percent pregnancy rate

Butte

Stutsman

Morton

Altura

Kanabec

Oliver

Lake

isa Ch

Page 33 First Section

no Mah

Cook

Itasca

Hubbard

Norman

Come Full Dairy Perkins Circle

Harding

men

Lincoln

Page 31 Adams First Section

Polk

Trail

Steele

Pipestone

Bowman

Griggs

Wadena

Foster

Clearwater

Wells

Logan

St. Louis

Red Lake

Mercer

Koochiching

Pennington

Grand Forks

Slope

First Section: Pages 23, 25

Marshall

Eddy

Kidder

First Section: Pages 1, 6 - 7

Beltrami

McLean

Stark

Meyer finds natural fit in role as Princess Kay finalist

Lake of the Woods

Benson

Sheridan

Rollingstone

First District goes live with three new processing plants

McHenry

Litchfield

Roseau

Walsh

Nelson

Veterinary Hettinger Wisdom

Kittson

Ramsey

Burleigh

Golden Valley

Pembina

Dunn Page 30 Billings First Section

Cavalier

Towner

Pierce Ward

McKenzie

Rolette

Bottineau

Page 27 First Section Mountrail

Dear County Agent Guy

Second Section: Pages 12 - 13

First Section: Pages 10, 12 - 13

On the Road Renville with Princess Burke Kay

Williams

Molitors train, participate in triathlons

Bly family invests in industry

Page 26 First Section

Divide

Belgrade

Waubun

On the Mark

y mer

Mills

Zone 1

Adams

Page

Taylor

M nt

Fre

o ontg

Union ld

g Rin

Clarke

Lucas

Decatur Wayne

Monroe Wapello e

oos

n ppa

Davis

Louisa

n rso Henry Des

fe Jef

Van Buren

Moines

Lee

Zone 2

FROM OUR SIDE OF THE FENCE:

Owatonna

For additional stories from our other zone, log on to www.dairystar.com

Dairy Profile: Jan and Jim Pfeifer

Why is having a farm dog important to you?

First Section: Page 39

First Section: Pages 15 - 16

Anamosa

Wapsiana Dairy visit highlights breed convention tour day Second Section: Pages 3- 4

Boone

Haub recruits 4-H project participants to show his farm’s animals Third Section: Pages 3 - 4

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Dairy Star • Saturday, July 10, 2021 • Page 5

Con nued from ENERGY | Page 1 before cost-sharing or rebates are considered. Another big draw of energy on a dairy farm is the equipment involved in milk harvesting and cooling. “We are taking milk that is over 100 degrees and cooling it down to 40 degrees as quickly as possible,” Zook said. “That takes a lot of energy.” Reaping the greatest energy-saving benefits from the harvesting and cooling system can be a more complex project than changing lighting fixtures. Zook said the greatest benefit is gained by upgrading more than one area of the harvesting and cooling system at a time as they work in tandem. “You might be spending a lot of energy on cooling your milk, so replacing your compressor with a new, more efficient unit will save a lot of money,” Zook said. “But it won’t save as much on its own as it would if you replace your plate cooler, so the milk is cooler in the first place.” Zook said the most cost-effective way to cool milk is by using a plate cooler. According to Zook, 90% of dairy farms use this method. “A plate cooler is a heat exchanger,” Zook said. “It transfers heat from the warm milk to the cool well water. You’re bringing well water in through one side and milk through the other side. The well water leaves warm, and the milk leaves cooled down. It can be cooled down to 70 to 75 degrees before it goes into the tank, lessening the load on your compressor. It typically can save 40% to 50% on cooling costs.” Other benefits of using a plate cooler include lengthening the life of the compressor and refrigeration system and increasing milk quality by cooling milk faster. The efficiency of the system is further enhanced by using the water from the plate cooler for parlor washing and cleaning purposes or for livestock watering. Another approach is using a variable speed drive on the milk pump to slow the flow of milk through the plate cooler, allowing more water to pass through the plate cooler as compared to the amount of milk flowing through, cooling the milk down to 60 degrees or lower. Refrigeration heat recovery units are another cost-saving option, where the hot fluid from the compressor is used to preheat domestic hot water. The unit can heat water to about 120 de-

grees, lessening the work load for the water heater. Zook said he does not recommend compressor replacement before the end of the unit’s life because of the cost, but he encourages the installation of a new scroll compressor over a reciprocating compressor. He said scroll compressors can be 15% to 20% more energy efficient than an older model and has fewer moving parts. Another cost-saving option Zook suggests is solar energy. “I always caution people to look at energy efficiency first,” Zook said. “I caution people it is usually cheaper to save energy than to produce it yourself. When you have made your farm as efficient as possible, then solar is the next logical step.” He reminded people to take into consideration the efficiency improvements they have made, because those increased efficiencies can lower the amount of solar power needed. When conducting on-farm energy audits, Zook said he does not recommend replacing a working water heater unless the current unit is old and inefficient. He does, however, recommend installing a condensing unit for significant savings. Seeking funding resources is something Zook recommends. He said there are programs available that help off-set the cost of implementing energy saving measures. “You should start with the Natural Resources Conservation Service about the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, which can help with costsharing for energy audits and updating practices for increasing energy efficiency,” Zook said. “They provide significant cost-share for on-farm energy improvements. You need an energy audit of some sort before you can apply.” The United States Department of Agriculture Rural Energy for America Program provides grants to help farmers implement projects for both energy efficiency and renewable energy. There are a variety tax credits and ways to apply depreciation to help cover the costs of projects, Zook said. Zook said the federal tax credit for solar installations is 26% of the total cost of the project through 2022, and drops to 22% for 2023 and then 10% for the years after.

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An eight-bay receiving facility is part of First District Associa on’s expansion project that was complete in June at its plant loca on in Litchfield, Minnesota. The receiving facility is connected to the lab for an eﬃcient tes ng process. ing capacity and capabilities, there are three pivotal points that position the cooperative in the global dairy marketplace, today and into the future. Previously, the plant processed 5.5 million pounds of raw milk daily. By increasing capacity by another 2 million pounds, the cooperative and its members are able to increase volume in the global market by incorporating the production of 40-pound blocks. “We can move milk to use however we need it,” Huffman said. The flexibility of producing different products should create a more stable market for farmer members. “The Class III markets and pricing between blocks and barrels has always been at a disadvantage to First District and any cooperative that produces cheese barrels,” Huffman said. “Having this diversity to manage our position will bring as much value back to members in their milk, and that’s key. Diversity is a big gain for us.” Yet, exploring another avenue of the international marketplace came with its own challenges. Prior to executing the expansion, the cooperative worked tirelessly to ensure its new production line would meet international standards of food production. With all that in mind, the building is constructed to meet the highest level of food safety standards, technology and sustainability, Huffman said. “The infrastructure … it’s a stateof-the-art facility,” he said. “The technology and quality equipment we’re using is top of the line.” Construction began in September 2019 after final approval was given in July 2019. The receiving area came

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online in mid-April, the lactose drying plant in mid-May and the cheese plant at the end of June. “To be frank, I was very humbled by the fact that COVID-19 did not set us back. We did not miss a beat, a milestone,” Huffman said. “We had a great team, internally and externally, and we are absolutely grateful for them and how it’s went.” While the facility and equipment used for milk processing are approved internationally and are some of the largest pieces of equipment in cheese manufacturing, they were built and installed by Minnesota-owned and operated businesses. “This is a proud moment for us,” Huffman said. “This is built mostly in Minnesota in our dairyland for us.” Planning such an undertaking of an expansion was a vision developed many years prior. A decade ago, the cooperative underwent another expansion that brought their processing capacity from 3.8 million pounds of raw milk per day to 5.5 million pounds and increased storage space. When that project was put in place, it was also developed in a way that would accommodate today’s expansion, including working with the city to create a wastewater plan and have utilities available to operate at such a large scale. “It’s not too often a plan over time and a vision come together like it has with this situation,” Huffman said. “All that was done in our last large expansion 10 years ago was set up for this 7.5 million pounds design. That vision was

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Dairy Star • Saturday, July 10, 2021 • Page 7

Con nued from FDA | Page 6 developed by the board of directors and my predecessor, Clint Fall.” While the plant has not yet reached its operating capacity, the cooperative plans to do so with internal growth. Once that limit is attained, the plant will operate in comparable size to some of the nation’s largest processing facilities. The ability to operate at such a large capacity will secure farmer members’ markets as the industry evolves. “As consolidation in the dairy manufacturing industry has happened in the United States, plants in today’s times are becoming the size we just built,” Huffman said. The three pieces of this expansion project – all built on the cooperative’s existing property – guarantees a sharp focus on producing top quality dairy foods for the marketplace all while supporting the community of Litchfield. While the project incorporates the industry’s latest technology and automated capabilities, the cooperative was able to create upward of 30 jobs. As the vision for First District Association and its members was created a century ago, this latest milestone further establishes the cooperative in the ever-changing dairy industry. “First District has been a cooperative through the century that has gone through steps of growth to secure markets 50 to 100 years from now,” Huffman said. “We owe a sincere thank you to our members, milk haulers, partners, employees and team, all who invested in this project. It’s a neat time for us.”

JENNIFER COYNE/DAIRY STAR

An enclosed three-level cheese belt moves cheese through one of the final processing sta ons before packaging at First District Associa on in Litchfield, Minnesota. This belt is currently one of the largest in the world.

EĂǀŝŐĂƟŶŐ ĐŚĂůůĞŶŐĞƐ͘ ^ƵƉƉŽƌƟŶŐ ĞĂĐŚ ŽƚŚĞƌ͘ ͘͘͘ŝƚ͛Ɛ ǁŚĂƚ ŵĞƌŝĐĂŶ ĚĂŝƌǇ ƉƌŽĚƵĐĞƌƐ ĚŽ ĞǀĞƌǇĚĂǇ͘ ƚ D͕ ĞǀĞƌǇƚŚŝŶŐ ǁĞ ĚŽ ƐƚĂƌƚƐ ǁŝƚŚ ƚŚĞ ŚĂƌĚ ǁŽƌŬ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ŵĞƌŝĐĂŶ ĚĂŝƌǇ ĨĂƌŵĞƌƐ ĂŶĚ ƉƌŽĚƵĐĞƌƐ͘ D ŶŝŵĂů EƵƚƌŝƟŽŶ ŝƐ ŚŽŶŽƌĞĚ ƚŽ ǁŽƌŬ ĂůŽŶŐƐŝĚĞ ďǇ ƉƌŽǀŝĚŝŶŐ ŶƵƚƌŝƟŽŶ͕ ĐŽŶƐƵůƟŶŐ ĂŶĚ ŶĞĞĚĞĚ ƌĞƐŽƵƌĐĞƐ ƚŽ ƐƵƉƉŽƌƚ ŽƵƌ ƉĂƌƚŶĞƌƐ ǁŚŽ ĂƌĞ ĂŶ ŝŶƐƉŝƌĂƟŽŶ ŝŶ ƚŚĞŝƌ ƌĞƐŝůŝĞŶĐǇ ĂŶĚ ĐŽŵŵŝƚŵĞŶƚ ƚŽ ƐƵƉƉŽƌƟŶŐ ŽƵƌ ŶĂƟŽŶ͛Ɛ ĨŽŽĚ ĐŚĂŝŶ͘

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Page 8 • Dairy Star • Saturday, July 10, 2021

Legislative session comes to an end

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and the legislature ty are among the seven topics up for negotiation. The were able to avoid a government shutdown, passing a chair for the agricultural negotiations, Gloria Abra$52 billion budget for the biennium. For agriculture, ham Peralta of Costa Rica, said time is short until the session included significant investment in biofu- this ministerial happens and trust must be restored beels infrastructure and money for roads, bridges and tween all trading partners. broadband. Attempts were made to reject Ag Insider Optimism over dairy dispute the California Clean Cars initiative, but House Ways and Means Committee they were unsuccessful. Ranking Member Kevin Brady is optimistic the dairy dispute with Canada can Bipartisan support for omnibus ag bill be resolved. At a hearing June 30, CanMinnesota Agriculture Commisada’s misuse of dairy tariff rate quotas sioner Thom Petersen said there was was one of many trade issues discussed wide-ranging support for the omnibus during the hearing. “I’m optimistic that agriculture finance bill. “It passed the because of the USMCA, we can work Senate 63-3 and in the House 112 to 20 so getting both parties to agree to things through this in a way that affirms rigoris great,” Petersen said. This new law will ous enforcement and in a way that moves support small livestock packer facilities all countries forward,” Brady said. MeanBy Don Wick and build out infrastructure for the ethawhile, U.S. Trade Representative KathColumnist nol industry. erine Tai was in Mexico City this past week to meet with her counterparts from Broadband touted at Biden’s Wisconsin Mexico and Canada to mark the first anniversary of appearance the trade agreement. Trade negotiations that began in President Joe Biden was scheduled to visit a May also resumed. dairy farm northwest of Madison, Wisconsin, June 29 with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. However, Made in the USA the plan changed just before the trip, and Biden inThe Federal Trade Commission is taking steps to stead traveled to LaCrosse, Wisconsin, to promote the improve its ability to enforce the “Made in the USA” infrastructure bill. In addition to roads and bridges, standard. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack praised the president highlighted the investment in broad- the move, saying the United States Department of band. “No farmer here in Wisconsin should lose busi- Agriculture would take “a top to bottom” review of ness because they don’t have reliable connection to the “Product of the USA” label. Accurate, transparent internet; know when to buy, know when to sell and labeling is the goal. The current label does not guarknow what’s going on,” Biden said. Biden compared antee source certification or is tied to any food safety the current move to broadband to the expansion of ru- standard. ral electrification in 1936. Class III milk price updated WTO ag talks enter a critical phase Under the federal milk order pricing system, Leading up to the World Trade Organization Min- the price of Class III milk in June was $17.21 per isterial Conference in November, a report has been hundredweight. That is down $1.75 from May. issued on the key challenges for an agricultural trade deal. Market access, export subsidies and food securi-

May milk production goes up Nationwide, milk production increased 4.6% in May. South Dakota had the biggest increase, up 14.6%. That was helped by a year-over-year increase in the state’s dairy herd by 19,000 head. Minnesota milk production rose 6%. Minnesota dairy farmers also responded to higher milk prices, increasing dairy cow numbers by 19,000 head.

Butter, cheese output rises According to the USDA, U.S. butter production totaled 185 million pounds during the month of May. That is nearly 8% higher than during May of last year. Total cheese output was 1.1 billion pounds, up 5%. Nonfat dry milk production increased more than 30% from one year ago. Dry whey production declined about 8%.

Farm debt declined in Q1 Agricultural debt at commercial banks continued to decline in the first quarter and farm loan performance improved. A report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City found the number of real estate and production loans declined and farm debt dropped more than 5% from one year ago. While the outlook is positive for most commodities, the report said the drought and the lack of profitability in the cattle market are concerns.

Another court rules on USDA loan forgiveness program The Biden administration’s loan forgiveness program for socially disadvantaged farmers has suffered another loss in court. The Northern District of Texas ruled the government’s use of race and ethnicity as a preference for this program is unconstitutional. With this program, minority farmers would have 120% of their Farm Service Agency direct and guaranteed loans paid off. Judges in Wisconsin and Florida have already made similar rulings. Turn to AG INSIDER | Page 9

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Con nued from AG INSIDER | Page 8 Proposition 12 will not be heard in the high court The U.S. Supreme Court will not review California’s Proposition 12, which establishes state animal housing standards. The North American Meat Institute sought the action in the Supreme Court and said it was disappointed its petition was denied. Proposition 12 bans the confinement of egg-laying chickens, sows and veal calves. It also forbids the sale in California of eggs, pork and veal from facilities that confine animals without enough space. Washington dealing with permitting challenge A state court of appeals in Washington has invalidated two discharge permits awarded to dairies in the Yakima Valley. The court ruling said these permits do not adequately protect surface waters and groundwater. Farmers Union welcomes new communication director The Minnesota Farmers Union has

a new communications director. Former Agri-News reporter Janet Kubat Willette started in the role this week at the organization. Kubat Willette lives in southern Minnesota on a farm with her family. Trivia challenge New Zealand leads the world in per capita ice cream consumption with each New Zealander averaging 7.5 gallons of ice cream consumed per year. That answers our last trivia question. For this week’s trivia, what is the most popular ice cream flavor in the U.S.? 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 five grandchildren, Aiden, Piper, Adrienne, Aurora and Sterling.

“I like the simplicity of Dart...it is easy to customize reports that we want.” What are some of the DHIA tests you use? We use AM/PM ofÀcial testing. We have participated in young sire programs in the past. Why did you decide to use Dart and how long have you been using it on your dairy? We were transitioning from another herd management program. Dart looked like a good option with good abilities, but not a lot of bells and whistles that aren’t necessary for us. What do you like about the Dart Program? I like the simplicity of Dart. The entry screens are intuitively laid out, and it is easy to customize reports that we want. Tell us about your farm. We farm in the hills of southeast Minnesota. We crop about 250 acres of alfalfa hay, winter rye and corn for silage. We buy most of our concentrates. Our herd is mostly Holstein with a few crossbreds. Kathy works full time off the farm. We have one full-time and three part-time employees. I also serve on the board of Foremost Farms USA dairy cooperative as chairman and the board of the National Milk Producers Federation, currently David and Kathy Scheevel serving as secretary. Scheevel Farms 140 cows • Preston, MN We’ve been DHIA members since 1986

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Bly family invests in industry

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The Bly family – (from le ) Will, Les, Cindy and Travis – milk 300 cows on their dairy in Mahnomen County near Waubun, Minnesota. Les, Cindy and Travis incorporated the farm in 2006.

On-farm improvements help three generations milk cows By Jennifer Coyne

parlor. “We wanted to make changes to improve cow flow and make it easier for the cows and our help WAUBUN, Minn. – Les and Cindy Bly began who do all the milking,” said Travis of the rapid exit their dairying career milking 32 cows on a purchased setup. “This new parlor has done all of that.” farm site. With strategic improvements, the Blys Travis returned to his parents’ farm after college have not only become a lasting livestock farm in in 1996. Two years later, Travis and Les increased rural Mahnomen County but have also incorporated the farm’s overall cow numbers by establishing two generations after them. milking herds – one for each of them. Then, in 2006, “Back when I started, I never would have the father and son incorporated the dairy. imagined what things are like now on our farm and Will began purchasing his own cattle in 2015. in the industry,” Les said. “I would’ve never dreamt He receives a separate milk check for the cows a part we’d be here like we are.” of his herd. Les and Cindy milk 300 cows in a corporation “Not a lot of people have the privilege to work with their son, Travis, near Waubun. The Blys’ with others like we do,” Les said. “I have the old grandson and Travis’ son, Will, has also returned to experience, and Will knows the new technology. the farm after graduating from Ridgewater College. Both are foreign concepts to each of us, but it makes The Bly family’s herd of crossbred cattle are for a compatible blend.” housed in a freestall barn and milked in a swing-14 While the trio works together to accomplish the parlor, which was retrofitted into the farm’s milking daily tasks on the farm, each has their own area of facility last year. Turn to BLYS | Page 12 Previously, the Blys were milking in a swing-18 jenn@dairystar.com

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The Bly herd is comprised of Holsteins, Montbeliardes and Scandinavian Reds to maximize hybrid vigor, and improve health and fer lity traits at the Blys’ farm near Waubun, Minnesota. The family has crossbred for 20 years.

Dairy Star • Saturday, July 10, 2021 • Page 11

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Con nued from BLYS | Page 10

expertise. Travis is the herdsperson and oversees the milking herd. Will has taken on more responsibility with the calves and keeps on top of new technology the farm may want to incorporate in the future. Cindy does the businesses’ bookwork while Les works with Travis to make decisions for the dairy. Les also cares for the dry cows and breeding-age heifers that are housed at his farm site near the dairy.

“It’s been good having us all here on the farm. We can all take oﬀ time and the others pick up the work.” LES BLY, DAIRY FARMER

All help with fieldwork and are handymen when it comes to on-farm repairs. “It’s been good having us all here on the farm,” Les said. “We can all take off time and the others pick up the work.” To get to this point in the Blys’ dairying career has not been easy. Les and Cindy both came from families that farmed, but taking over an existing farm site was not an option for the young couple in the mid ‘70s. “Both of us had a burning desire to farm and dairy was what we knew,” Les said. “The intensive labor and big capital investment didn’t scare us at

MARK KLAPHAKE/DAIRY STAR

Travis Bly and his son, Will, stand in the farm’s renovated swing-14 parlor. The Blys put in the new parlor last year and immediately saw improvements in cow flow.

all. We were 21 and didn’t know what we didn’t know.” The couple established themselves in the industry and then made strategic decisions that have helped sustain their farm. “When we came here, there were 300 licensed dairy farms in the county

and now there are three,” Les said. While changes to the farm’s infrastructure and incorporating the industry’s latest technology, such as cow activity monitors and tractor GPS systems, have certainly aided in the Blys’ longevity, they also credit their approach to ration formulation.

Les has long abided to providing adequate nutrition at a low cost, working closely with the farm’s nutritionist and consultant to do so. “We have respectable production Turn to BLYS | Page 13

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Con nued from BLYS | Page 12

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Will Bly pushes up feed on his family’s 300-cow dairy near Waubun, Minnesota. Bly graduated this past spring from Ridgewater College in Willmar, Minnesota.

with a low feed cost,” Les said. “I guarantee no one produces milk cheaper than us.” The Blys use an assortment of byproducts, including sunflower screening, corn screening, wet cake and more. “It was a real eye opener when we saw data that showed the most profitable herds in the state were not necessarily the highest producing herds. We’ve worked hard to make that progress,” Les said. “We maximize our forages grown and minimize the amount of corn purchased to have healthy cows.” The Blys manage 250 acres of corn, 160 acres of hay and 30 acres of pasture. Activity monitors are also used to improve efficiencies within the herd. The system was installed a month ago. Travis reviews the monitoring system frequently throughout the day. “So far, it’s been huge in herd health,” Travis said. “We’re identifying cows two days before they show any signs of sickness. We’re not treating cows; we’re being proactive and saving cows.”

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Both Travis and Les make the decisions for the farm. The partners talk about ways they could improve the dairy while carefully considering the implications such an improvement could also have. “Seldom do we do anything spur of the moment,” Les said. “We talk a lot about our priorities for the farm.” Travis agreed. “We have to think ahead and what does that look like,” he said. “The priorities are different for each of us, and they change based on the needs of the dairy.” A decision the Blys made 10 years ago is one they believe will be beneficial in the years to come. Their entire herd has A2 genetics. “We’re careful to make our decisions and what we believe will really help us and not be a mistake,” Les said. Dairy farming in northern Minnesota has its challenges, with limited infrastructure and the rising cost of transportation, but the Blys have found ways that have sustained their livelihood and will continue to do so in the years to come.

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From Our Side Of The Fence Why is having a farm dog important to you?

Mike and Naomi Klaphake and their children (pictured, from left): Lane, 2, Case, 5, and Eva, 1 Freeport, Minnesota Stearns County 120 cows What is the name, age and breed of your dog? Jessie is a 2-year-old blue heeler. Why is having a farm dog important to you? Because she looks out for the kids and protects the home and animals. She’s been known to kill a chicken or two, but she’s gotten much better. Case named her Jessie because when we told him she was a cattle dog, he said, “She’s a cowgirl like Jessie from ‘Toy Story.’” And, so it stuck. What is one unique trait about your dog? She herds the kids and never leaves their side. What type of training did you do with your dog and how long did it take? No formal training but a lot of repetition and time. She’s a work in progress. We are working on trying to get her to stop jumping on people. What is you or your family’s favorite activity to do with your dog? In the evening, the five of us take a ride around the farm, and Jessie and the other farm dog, Bauer, run with us. What is the most memorable experience with your dog? She loves the kids. Any attention she gets from them makes her happy. Jessie is photogenic and often watches the sunset, or so it seems. She looks like a painting. Tell us about your favorite dog you have ever had. We would agree that Jessie is our current favorite because she’s our first family dog. Tell us about your farm. We milk 120 cows on Lely robots and raise our calves. The kids helped the farm gain 16 chickens, seven cats, two dogs and one bunny.

Taylor Czech Little Falls, Minnesota Morrison County 200 Holstein cows

Leah Rajkowski Sauk Rapids, Minnesota Benton County 58 cows

Amy Karpinski Waupaca, Wisconsin Waupaca County 210 cows

What is the name, age and breed of your dog? Holly is a 7-year-old yellow lab and border collie mix.

What is the name, age and breed of your dog? Penny is a 7-year-old border collie, Mack is a 2-year-old red heeler, and Sadie is a 1-year-old border collie/ German shepherd.

What is the name, age and breed of your dog? Sheldon, my 1-year-old Boston terrier.

Why is having a farm dog important to you? She adds character to the farm, helps move cattle, offers security, and she always lets us know when the cows are out or if someone is in the yard. What is one unique trait about your dogs? One unique feature about Holly is that she enjoys to eat silage and calf feed as much as the cows and calves do. Once she is full, she enjoys taking a nap on her back with her legs in the air. What type of training did you do with your dog and how long did it take? No training was needed with Holly; she had a natural instinct for the farm dog job and was also broken in by a few veteran farm cats. What is you or your family’s favorite activity to do with your dog? Holly enjoys going for rides with anyone willing to offer. What is the most memorable experience with your dog? One early morning before milking, Holly was barking in the grainery where we discovered she had a family of racoons chased up in the rafters. Tell us about your favorite dog you have ever had. All dogs we have had at our farm hold a special memory to us, but one of my most memorable farm dogs would be my childhood dog, Cocoa. As we grew up together, she let me paint her nails. Cocoa lived a happy life of 13 years. Tell us about your farm. We are a family farm that milks 200 Holstein cattle in a double-12 parallel parlor twice daily. We farm 420 acres of corn and alfalfa. My parents are David and Betty Czech. My brothers, Josh, Joe and Scott, are all involved in the farm.

Why is having a farm dog important to you? Having a farm dog is important to me because they make great companions, and they will always be there no matter what. What is one unique trait about your dogs? A unique trait about the dogs is they all wait for the barn cleaner to start up so they can get the cows up. What type of training did you do with your dog and how long did it take? None of the dogs have had any special training. They were all self-taught. What is you or your family’s favorite activity to do with your dog? We like to play fetch or take the dogs for a ride. What is the most memorable experience with your dog? One morning Sadie found a killdeer in the hay field, and she chased it for 15 minutes before the bird finally gave up teasing her and she came back to the barn tired. Tell us about your favorite dog you have ever had. My favorite dog was our old dog, Yogi, because he would never hurt a fly and would greet anyone who came in the yard. Tell us about your farm. I farm with my husband and his parents. We milk 58 cows in a tiestall barn. We raise our heifers and bull calves and run a 40cow beef herd.

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Why is having a farm dog important to you? Having a farm dog is important to me because my dogs are my family and having them on the farm just makes the day that much more special. Some of Sheldon’s duties include crop scouting and observing cows to watch for any in heat. His favorite is cleaning up the milk replacer after feeding calves.

What is one unique trait about your dog? One unique trait about Sheldon is how devoted to us he is. You can just tell by his actions that we are his people and he always has his eyes on us.

What type of training did you do with your dog and how long did it take? We use positive reinforcement to train our dogs by rewarding the good behaviors instead of only disciplining the bad. Dogs work for rewards, not punishment.

What is you or your family’s favorite activity to do with your dog? Our favorite activity to do is go camping with our dogs out west.

What is the most memorable experience with your dog? The day we brought him home. We were not looking to add another dog to our family, but when we saw him we knew he would fit in.

Tell us about your favorite dog you have ever had. That’s hard to answer. Each dog we have had was special in their own ways, but our first dog, Dorrie, is a great farm dog also. She is what made us want to have more dogs. She has also been there throughout many good and bad times.

Tell us about your farm. Our dairy farm is operated by my parents, Mark and Dawn Anderson, (the third generation) and my husband, Josh Karpinski, and me (the fourth generation). We milk 210 cows and pride ourselves on taking excellent care of our herd.

Page 16 • Dairy Star • Saturday, July 10, 2021

Con nued from OUR SIDE | Page 15

Chuck Hill Lake Wilson, Minnesota Murray County 240 cows

Mindy Sieja Weyerhaeuser, Wisconsin Rusk County 105 cows

Carrie Sachs Eyota, Minnesota Olmsted County 120 cows

Rachel O’Leary Janesville, Wisconsin Rock County 140 cows

What is the name, age and breed of your dog? We have two purebred Border Collie dogs. Gus is 14 years old, and Delta is 2 months old.

What is the name, age and breed of your dog? Bear, a 1-year-old CollieAussie mix.

What is the name, age and breed of your dog? We have a brother and sister pair of Australian shepherds, Mac and Ella, who are 10 years old. My favorite is Mac. Our son, CJ, also has a farm dog, Captain, who is a German shepherd and just turned 1 year old July 7. We got him from our hoof trimmer.

What is the name, age, and breed of your dog? Otto is a 10-year-old St. Bernard lab cross.

What is one unique trait about your dogs? Their intelligence. A border collie can exert total control over the cows without herding them. We can direct Gus to go here or there with hand gestures. We never get into a pen that has a bull in it unless we have one of our dogs with us. The bull quickly learns he will never be able to outsmart or outmaneuver the dog. What type of training did you do with your dog and how long did it take? I would walk out to the pasture with the dog and bring the cattle up, and pretty soon, the dog would know how to do it all by himself. We only had to show Gus how to bring up the cows a couple of times before he caught on. We also use our older dogs to help train our new pups. What is you or your family’s favorite activity to do with your dog? Above all, the dogs enjoy their work. We will sometimes take the dogs hunting with us; they are pretty good retrievers. Border collies seem to enjoy killing rats. It’s fun to watch them go to town on the rats when we empty out the corn crib. What is the most memorable experience with your dog? Raising puppies when our kids were younger. When our kids were 10, 8 and 4, we had a border collie who gave birth to two consecutive litters of 12 puppies, followed by litters of nine and six puppies. The kids loved playing with the puppies on the lawn by our house. Tell us about your favorite dog you have ever had. Our first border collie, Peti, was a natural. I have never seen a dog who knew so much about working with cattle without being trained. She somehow knew it was her job to guard

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Why is having a farm dog important to you? He is a good companion and great help. What is one unique trait about your dog? When he perks his ears up, his one ear goes up. What type of training did you do with your dog and how long did it take? He gets the cows out of their beds when it is time to milk; it took a couple weeks to train him to do that. What is you or your family’s favorite activity to do with your dog? We love going for bike rides with the dogs. What is the most memorable experience with your dog? The first time he jumped into the tractor with me and rode with me all day. Tell us about your favorite dog you have ever had. I had a Rottweiler growing up. I was 4 years old when we got him as a puppy. He was my favorite because he was my best friend growing up and always kept me busy. Tell us about your farm. We milk 105 cows in a double-6 parlor. All together on the farm, there is around 285 head, including the milking cows, heifers and calves.

the gate whenever I drove the skidloader into a pen of cattle. Peti was an outstandingly smart dog. Tell us about your farm. I farm with my son, Weston. We milk 240 cows with robots in our hoop barn facilities. We farm about 280 acres and raise all of our own replacement animals. We sell our bull calves at birth. We buy some of our feed from our neighbor, who also does many of our field operations for us. We have had this arrangement with our neighbor for two generations. This situation has worked out well for everyone concerned.

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What is one unique trait about your dog? Mac has two different eye colors. Ella offers a comforting paw, and she likes to hold hands. Both of them smile at you and have the wiggle butt. Captain lives to help water plants and play in the sprinkler. He also likes to grab your hand with his mouth when he wants you to go somewhere. What type of training did you do with your dog and how long did it take? Mac and Ella did 4-H obedience training until we figured out Ella gets car sick. Captain learned from Mac and Ella. You have to be consistent with commands and reinforcement. Overall, Captain is really smart. What is you or your family’s favorite activity to do with your dog? Our dogs love to work. They help us do everything. They like to stay home, but Captain loves car rides. They love dog treats. What is the most memorable experience with your dog? They love cheese. They have gone Easter egg hunting. They attended CJ’s wedding we had at the farm a few weeks ago, and Captain was the best man. Tell us about your favorite dog you have ever had. Mac is my favorite. I remember when he was sick a few years ago, he still followed me on the farm. Our vet said he thought Mac would follow me around if he only had three legs. He is a very loyal dog. He only works cattle, but he knows what I am thinking when we work together. He is my four-legged cow mover. All he has to do is quietly walk through the stalls and the cows get up. Tell us about your farm. Charlie and I farm together with CJ. He purchased 36 Brown Swiss from a farm in Iowa in January. We have 320 acres where we grow our own feed and raise our own heifers. Towerview Dairy is our farm name. CJ’s is Orange Creek Dairy. We don’t have any employees. Our family does all the work. MIDWEST ALKOTA

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Why is having a farm dog important to you? These three help herd cows, and they provide safety for all of us in more ways than one. They are companions and the best therapists one could ask for. They are always happy to see all of us when we come home. They help with chores and provide comedic relief.

Why is having a farm dog important to you? There is nothing better than a good dog to help when the cows get out. I don’t know how I ever managed before we got the dogs and a fourwheeler.

I F A

Why is having a farm dog important to you? A farm dog is normally nice for helping sort cattle, alert you when someone is there, etc., but that’s not Otto. He is more of a companion dog. He’s always there to remind you to take a break and share some food. What is one unique trait about your dog? He can sleep through a stampede of cows running past him, but the second a raccoon or muskrat is in the area, he is up and hunting. What type of training did you do with your dog and how long did it take? No training for him. He’s always been a gentle giant. What is you or your family’s favorite activity to do with your dog? We like to take Otto on ATV/Gator rides. What is the most memorable experience with your dog? We use bulls to breed our heifers on an open lot. While sorting heifers, one of them started getting ornery. Out of nowhere, Otto took off after the bull with our other two terrier cross dogs close behind him. Even Otto was surprised when the bull ran. Otto might act too tired to help out moving cattle daily, but he was there to help when we needed it the most. Tell us about your favorite dog you have ever had? Otto is my favorite dog. He’s been in my life for a decade now and helped me go through both undergrad and veterinary school. It was always nice coming home to the farm every weekend knowing my pup was going to be there and paling around with him. Tell us about your farm. We milk about 140 cows twice a day in a double-6 parallel parlor. Our herd consists of Holsteins and Holstein and Jersey crosses. We grow and harvest all of our own feed and raise all of our youngstock. Our farm is family run with the help of three part-time employees. My uncle, Bryce, manages the crops; my father, Keith, manages the herd; my brother, Chad, assists on the crops and dairy side; and I complete all veterinary care and raise the calves.

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Dairy Star • Saturday, July 10, 2021 • Page 17

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Page 18 • Dairy Star • Saturday, July 10, 2021

Breeding Focus

Team effort propels Greden herd to 39% pregnancy rate Larry and Nancy Greden; and Ross and Victoria Greden, along with their children, Ethan, 22, Josie, 21, Lydia, 19, and Megan, 17 Greden’s Ponderosa Dairy Altura, Minnesota Winona County 550 cows Describe your facilities and list your breeding management team. Cows are housed in two fourrow freestall barns bedded with sand and milked in a double-12 parallel parlor we built in 1995 (and have made updates when needed). Fresh and sick cows are milked on one side of our old double-6 herringbone parlor that was built in 1959. Our team includes our veterinarians, Dr. Tom England from Winona Vet Hospital and Dr. Megan Weisenbeck from Northern Valley Livestock Services; Paul Tveten, Jordan Pahl, Makayla Hickman, Kim DeFrang and the entire southeast Minnesota Select Sires team; Global Genetics Resources, especially Rick Blaser; and our kids, Ethan, Josie, Lydia and Megan Greden, who perform data entry/data management and software duties. Our talented breeding team cooperates and communicates well with one another. Each person on our team deserves the credit for our farm’s reproductive success. What is your current pregnancy rate? 39% What is your reproduction program? Do you use a synchronization program? How do you get animals pregnant? In November 2019, we started using a double ovsynch program, which involves Turn to GREDENS | Page 20

KRISTA KUZMA/DAIRY STAR

Ross Greden and his daughters – Lydia (center) and Megan – stand in one of the freestall barns where they house their 550-cow herd on their dairy, Greden’s Ponderosa Dairy, near Altura, Minnesota. The Gredens’ herd as a pregnancy rate of 39%.

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Page 20 • Dairy Star • Saturday, July 10, 2021

Con nued from GREDENS | Page 18 looking at a lot of herd reports and tail paint. Before that, we were using a presynch/ ovsynch approach with a voluntary waiting period of 50 days. We were getting 15%20% twins with this way of breeding and the conception rates were poor and inconsistent. But now with double ovsynch and a later voluntary waiting period of 73 days, it requires a lot more records, and there is no room for error. There is no way we could do this ourselves. We need a team of people who work together to achieve this. With this approach, we have been more consistent with conception at first breeding. We might be spending more for the first

breeding, but we are reducing the number of animals who need a repeat breed. Describe your breeding philosophy. We want to get cows pregnant as soon as possible after the voluntary waiting period of 73 days while also being mindful of inbreeding. What guidelines do you follow to reach the goals for your breeding program? We put an emphasis on a clean pre-fresh pen, which is loose housing with sawdust as bedding. We try not to overcrowd this pen to give the cows space. To help with this, we have far-off animals housed on another site. Good uterine

KRISTA KUZMA/DAIRY STAR

Tail paint is visible on cows as they rest in the freestall barn at the Greden family’s dairy near Altura, Minnesota. The tail paint is part of the double ovsynch program the Gredens use for their herd. health is also important to us. We try to do things that would prevent sickness rather than treat it. One way we do this is using an iodine-based uterine infusion product made by Dr. Tom England. We use this product to treat metritis.

KRISTA KUZMA/DAIRY STAR

Lydia Greden checks the data she entered into the dairy’s so ware. Detailed record keeping is crucial to the Gredens’ herd’s reproduc ve success.

What are the top traits you look for in breeding your dairy herd and how has this changed since you started farming? Using the aAa Breeding Analysis, we select traits for aAa No. 6. We place

an emphasis on feet and legs, uniform size and animal longevity. Also, we now have two people helping us mate our cows. DeFrang looks more at the pedigree and how the cow looks on the computer while Blaser walks the cows monthly to determine what type traits would benefit each cow. The two then mesh their matings together to create the best one possible. Less emphasis is placed on Net Merit Dollars than in the past. Polled genetics were used in the past, but

we felt we were giving up too much milk so we abandoned that.

What are certain traits you try to avoid? We avoid traits for extremely tall and high pins.

Describe the ideal cow for your herd. A cow that can compete in our commercial herd with high milk producTurn to GREDENS | Page 22

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JD 625F 2012, 25 ft., Flexible, #173628....................................................................$22,900 JD 625F 2009, 25 ft., Flexible, #178163....................................................................$22,500 JD 635F 2009, 35 ft., Flexible, #183382....................................................................$19,900 JD 635F 2014, 35 ft., Flexible, #184935....................................................................$18,500 JD 630F 2011, 30 ft., Flexible, #182970....................................................................$15,900 JD 620F 2009, 20 ft., Flexible, #162055....................................................................$14,900 JD 635F 2009, 35 ft., Flexible, #184430....................................................................$14,500 JD 630F 2006, 30 ft., Flexible, #180603....................................................................$13,900 JD 635F 2010, 35 ft., Flexible, #179149....................................................................$12,900 JD 635F 2009, 35 ft., Flexible, #168276....................................................................$11,900 JD 630F 2004, 30 ft., Flexible, #181625....................................................................$11,000 JD 635F 2008, 35 ft., Flexible, #184004....................................................................$10,000 JD 635F 2004, 35 ft., Flexible, #172501...................................................................... $9,900 JD 635F 2006, 35 ft., Flexible, #177859...................................................................... $9,900 JD 635F 2007, 35 ft., Flexible, #176011...................................................................... $9,500 JD 930F 2002, 30 ft., Flexible, #184385...................................................................... $8,900 JD 925 1998, 25 ft., Flexible, #181868 ........................................................................ $7,500 JD 930F 2000, 30 ft., Flexible, #174000...................................................................... $6,400 JD 925F 1994, 25 ft., Flexible, #175029...................................................................... $5,900 JD 925 1991, 25 ft., Flexible, #171931 ........................................................................ $4,500 JD 220 1979, 20 ft., Flexible, #175593 ............................................................................ $795

3 2 10 7 3 14 1 6 5 1 3 7 15 15 3 17 7 17

JD S690 2013,Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, 1648 hrs., 1161 Sep. hrs., #167773 ..... $199,900 JD S670 2016, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, 2288 hrs., 1453 Sep. hrs., #176660 .... $199,500 JD S680 2013 Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, 2047 hrs., 1638 Sep. hrs., #166363 ..... $185,900 JD S660 2014, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, 1564 hrs., 1154 Sep. hrs., #185284 .... $185,500 JD S690 2012, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, 1983 hrs., 1530 Sep. hrs., #171923 .... $179,000 JD S680 2013, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, 1992 hrs., 1300 Sep. hrs., #174756 .... $174,900 JD S680 2013, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, 2729 hrs., 1800 Sep. hrs., #176089 .... $169,900 JD S680 2015, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, 2202 hrs., #169577............................. $169,500 JD S670 2013, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, 2002 hrs., 1379 Sep. hrs., #182044.... $165,000 JD S690 2013, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, 2101 hrs., 1505 Sep. hrs., #175026 .... $162,900 JD S690 2012, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, 2203 hrs., 1400 Sep. hrs., #179929 .... $160,000 JD S680 2014, Corn/Bean, 2WD, Duals, 2061 hrs., 1658 Sep. hrs., #172017....... $159,500 JD S690 2013, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, 2237 hrs., 1588 Sep. hrs., #177562 .... $159,500 JD S680 2013, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Singles, 2506 hrs., 1900 Sep. hrs., #183520 .. $153,900 JD S680 2012, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, 2365 hrs., 1642 Sep. hrs., #176788 .... $149,500 JD S680 2014, Corn/Bean, 2WD, Duals, 2353 hrs., 1703 Sep. hrs., #178114....... $147,900 JD S680 2014, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, 2959 hrs., 2063 Sep. hrs., #182070 .... $144,900 NH CR8090 2012, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, 2405 hrs., 1810 Sep. hrs., #183218 .................................................................................................................... $136,500 JD S680 2013, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, 2907 hrs., 1904 Sep. hrs., #161858 .... $129,500 JD S680 2012, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, 2472 hrs., 1739 Sep. hrs., #154637 .... $124,900 JD S680 2012, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, 2930 hrs., 2043 Sep. hrs., #175550 .... $112,900 JD 9870 STS 2008, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, 3105 hrs., 2500 Sep. hrs., #175945 .................................................................................................................... $109,000

COMBINES

5 3 15 1

11 5 8 1 10 10 2

JD S670 2012, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, 3625 hrs., 2557 Sep. hrs., #172954 .......$92,900 JD 9650W 2001, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, 4495 hrs., 3314 Sep. hrs., #183897 ...$54,000 JD 9550 1999, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, 4982 hrs., 3450 Sep. hrs., #178638 .......$43,900 JD 9610 1998, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, 6160 hrs., #179045 ................................$29,900 JD 9600 1996, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Singles, 4718 hrs., 3171 Sep. hrs., #175562.....$29,000 JD 6620 1987, Corn/Bean, 2WD, Singles, 3903 hrs., #177388 ................................$15,900 JD 9500 1995, Corn/Bean, 2WD, Duals, 5392 hrs., 3503 Sep. hrs., #171987 .........$14,900

17 15 10 17 7 16 7 3 14 3 10 3 9 14 2 17 6 2

JD 608C 2017, 8 Row, 30” Spacing, StalkMaster, #183100 ......................................$69,500 JD 612C 2014, 12 Row, 30” Spacing, StalkMaster, #151308 ....................................$69,500 JD 616C 2012, 16 Row, 30” Spacing, StalkMaster, #179657 ....................................$67,400 Geringhoff RD1230F 2013, 12 Row, 30” Spacing, StalkMaster, #183220...........$64,900 JD 608C 2013, 8 Row, 30” Spacing, StalkMaster, #176721 ......................................$55,900 JD 612C StalkMaster 2013, 12 Row, 30” Spacing, #177920 ...............................$54,500 JD 612C 2013, 12 Row, 30” Spacing, StalkMaster, #151998 ....................................$52,800 Geringhoff 16R22 2012, 16 Row, 22” Spacing, StalkMaster, #176737................$49,000 JD 606C 2013, 6 Row, 30” Spacing, StalkMaster, #185259 ......................................$44,900 Geringhoff 16R22 2011, 16 Row, 22” Spacing, StalkMaster, #176736................$42,900 JD 612C StalkMaster 2009, 12 Row, 30” Spacing, #175440 ...............................$38,000 JD 608C StalkMaster 2011, 8 Row, 30” Spacing, #169171..................................$37,500 JD 608C StalkMaster 2011, 8 Row, 30” Spacing, #182813..................................$33,900 JD 608C StalkMaster 2011, 8 Row, 30” Spacing, #173016..................................$33,900 Harvestec 5308C 2012, 8 Row, 30” Spacing, StalkMaster, #173992 ....................$27,900 Geringhoff RD630 2010, 6 Row, 30” Spacing, StalkMaster, #177393 .................$22,400 Geringhoff RD630 2000, 6 Row, 30” Spacing, StalkMaster, #181118 .................$16,900 Geringhoff RD820, 8 Row, 20” Spacing, StalkMaster, #181342 ...........................$13,900

CORN AND ROW CROP HEADERS

MOUNTED HAY MOWERS 7 MF DM306P 2017, #177617 ...................................................................................... $9,900 3 New Idea 5410, #181153 ......................................................................................... $7,250

MOWER CONDITIONERS 6 JD 956 2015, #180948...............................................................................................$35,900 10 NH H7230 2015, #176984........................................................................................$22,400 6 JD 956 2007, #185385...............................................................................................$18,900

PULL-TYPE FORAGE HARVESTERS 6 JD 3950 1989, #184095 .............................................................................................. $7,900

PULL-TYPE SPRAYERS 16 5 6 16 17 7

Fast 9518T 2014, #185285 ......................................................................................$42,500 Hardi Commander Plus 1200 2002, #181150 ..................................................$17,500 Redball 570 2006, #185158....................................................................................$15,900 Hardi Navigator 4000, #180889 ..........................................................................$15,000 Top Air TA1200 2005, #180618.............................................................................$12,500 Fast 1000 1998, #183187 ......................................................................................... $6,690

RAKES 10 Vermeer R23 Twin Rake 2015, #183206 ............................................................ $5,900 7 NH 258, #185054......................................................................................................... $2,200

ROUND BALERS 6 Krone Comprima V180XC T 2016, Mega Wide Pickup, Twine & Surface Wrapping, 7450 Bale Count, #182694 ........................................................................$43,900 6 JD 569 2016, Mega Wide Pickup, Surface Wrapping, 5085 Bale Count, #180947 .......................................................................................................................$42,400 10 JD 569 Silage Special 2015, Mega Wide Pickup, Twine & Surface Wrapping, 3300 Bale Count, #178210 ..........................................................................................$41,500 10 JD 560M 2018, Mega Wide Pickup, Surface Wrapping, 7600 Bale Count, #181057 .......................................................................................................................$41,500 10 JD 469 Silage Special 2014, Mega Wide Pickup, Twine & Surface Wrapping, 6300 Bale Count, #184426 ..........................................................................................$36,500 6 JD 459 Silage Special 2017, Mega Wide Pickup, Surface Wrapping, 3800 Bale Count, #177855 ..........................................................................................$35,900 6 Claas 480RC 2017, Mega Wide Pickup, Surface Wrapping, 5165 Bale Count, #179187 ...................................................................................................................... $31,500 10 JD 569 2016, Mega Wide Pickup, Twine & Surface Wrapping, 9800 Bale Count, #181002 .......................................................................................................................$31,400 6 JD 568 2012, Mega Wide Pickup, Twine & Surface Wrapping, 6366 Bale Count, #183788 .......................................................................................................................$30,900 5 JD 569 2013, Mega Wide Pickup, Twine & Surface Wrapping,18000 Bale Count, #172972 .......................................................................................................................$30,900 6 JD 569 Silage Special 2013, Mega Wide Pickup, Surface Wrapping, 9540 Bale Count, #177861 ..........................................................................................................................$29,400 10 JD 854 Silage Special 2013, Mega Wide Pickup, Twine & Surface Wrapping, 6000 Bale Count, #181465 ..........................................................................................$27,900 17 JD 569 2014 Mega Wide Pickup, Twine & Surface Wrapping, 15560 Bale Count, #179194 .......................................................................................................................$25,900 6 JD 568 2010 Mega Wide Pickup, Twine & Surface Wrapping, 12200 Bale Count, #181866 .......................................................................................................................$25,400 2 NH BR7060 2011, Mega Wide Pickup, Surface Wrapping, 7300 Bale Count, #169262 ...................................................................................................................... $23,900 11 Vermeer 504 Pro 2013, Mega Wide Pickup, Surface Wrapping, 8500 Bale Count, #185154 .......................................................................................................................$22,900 6 JD 566 1998, Regular Pickup, 14000 Bale Count, #181621........................................ $9,400 4 NH 658 1999, Regular Pickup, Twine Wrapping, 15000 Bale Count, #184389 .......... $8,950 10 NH BR770A 2006, Regular Pickup, Twine Wrapping, 11500 Bale Count, #182463.. $8,400 6 JD 566 1999, Mega Tooth Pickup, Twine Wrapping, 19000 Bale Count, #184932 ..... $7,400 10 JD 430 1984, Regular Pickup, Twine Wrapping, #185189 .......................................... $3,900

TEDDERS 12 H&S 5200, #185404.................................................................................................... $4,295

WINDROWERS 6 JD R450 2013, Hay Head, Rubber/Urethane Conditioner, 582 hrs., #185157 ...... $112,900

Visit one of our 17 locations in Central Minnesota! CALL (7) = ALEXANDRIA (9) = PRINCETON (12) = AITKIN (4) = ST. CLOUD (1) = GLENCOE 4561 Hwy. 212

1035 35th Ave. NE

(2) = HOWARD LAKE (5) = GLENWOOD 5845 Keats Ave. SW

1710 N. Franklin

(3) = STEWART

(6) = SAUK CENTRE

78412 Co. Rd. 20

1140 Centre St.

320-763-4220 5005 Co. Rd. 82 SE

(8) = PAYNESVILLE 725 Lake Ave. S.

3708 Baptist Church Rd.

1120 2nd St. NW

(10) = LITTLE FALLS (13) = BAXTER 16069 Hwy. 27 E.

(11) = WADENA 62505 US Hwy. 10

7045 Foley Rd.

TODAY! (320)365-1653 (14) = ELBOW LAKE

(16) = BENSON

(15) = MORRIS

(17) = MADISON

110 2nd St. NE

23604 State Hwy. 9

380 Atlantic Ave. 516 1st St. E

SEE OUR COMPLETE INVENTORY WITH PICTURES AND DESCRIPTIONS AT: www.mmcjd.com

Page 22 • Dairy Star • Saturday, July 10, 2021

Con nued from GREDENS | Page 20

Could a retroﬁt be the right ﬁt for you?

KRISTA KUZMA/DAIRY STAR

An Angus calf stands next to a Holstein in one of the calf pens at the Gredens’ dairy. A small percentage of the herd has an Angus embyro implanted at breeding me.

tion, good feet and legs, and longevity. We also want cows to calve easily and settle fast. With our double ovsynch program, settling fast is less of an issue, but it is important to us.

What role does genetics have in reaching the goals of your farm? Our investment in genetics helps us look to the future where we constantly increase expectations.

What percentage of your herd is bred to sexed, conventional and beef semen? We breed 60% of the herd to Angus and 5% of the herd receives an Angus embryo. The rest of the cows are mated. They are bred four times using conventional semen and then Angus. All heifers are bred twice to sexed semen, once to conventional and then Angus.

What is your conception rate? How does this differ with different types of semen? Conception rate is 46%. Beef semen is 58%, sexed semen is 32% and conventional semen is about 47%. Retrofitting a dairy barn with a new DeLaval parlor milking system P500 has been a popular choice to make upgrades more affordable compared to building new.

Find out today! SCAN HERE

Connect with a DeLaval representative today to see if a retroﬁt is the right ﬁt for you.

What is the greatest lesson you have learned through your breeding program? Always keep accurate records and an open mind. Most recently with our double ovsynch program, we have learned that details and record keeping matter.

What is the age of your heifers at first service? 400 days. www.delaval.com

Contact one of the following dealers to learn more: IOWA Kramer Bros. Monticello, IA 319-465-5931 Prairie Land Ag Supply Inc. Rock Valley, IA 712-476-9290 United Dairy Systems, Inc. West Union, IA 563-422-5355 WISCONSIN Advanced Dairy/Bob’s Dairy Supply Spring Valley, WI 715-772-3201 Ederer Dairy Supply Plain, WI 608-546-3713

DeLaval Dairy Service Kaukauna, WI 866-335-2825 Joe’s Refrigeration Inc. Withee, WI 715-229-2321 Mlsna Dairy Supply Inc. Cashton, WI 608-654-5106 Professional Dairy Services Arlington, WI 608-635-0267 Redeker Dairy Equipment Brandon, WI 920-346-5579 The Scharine Group Inc. Whitewater, WI 800 472-2880 Mt Horeb, WI 800-872-3470

MINNESOTA & SOUTH DAKOTA East Central Dairy Supply Mora, MN 320-679-1029 Farm Systems Melrose, MN 320-256-3276 Watertown, SD 605-886-7401 Sioux Falls, SD 800-284-0015 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. Nothing in this document shall constitute a warranty or guaranty of performance. www.delaval.com

How does your heifer inventory affect your breeding program? Healthy heifers are critical to our farm’s future. Percentage of Angus breedings is frequently adjusted based on the number of healthy heifer calves born. The goal is to maintain herd size.

Tell us about your farm. Our family dairy farm has been in business since 1866. The dairy is owned and operated by Larry and Nancy Greden, and their son and daughter-in-law, Ross and Victoria Greden. As part of the sixth generation, Ethan, Josie, Lydia and Megan Greden contribute to work on the farm on a daily basis. The farm has 900 acres of owned and rented land to grow all the alfalfa and corn silage needed to feed the herd. Our family farm is committed to soil conservation. We use cover crops, contour strips, grassed waterways, erosion control structures, riparian buffers, tree plantings and native prairie grass to benefit the soil and wildlife. We have made many changes to our dairy in the last three years. In addition to changing our reproduction program, we rewired barns to install fans, created a more intense vaccination protocol and became more detail oriented. We also do weekly herd checks instead of every other week. All cow groups are milked three times a day rather than only milking our late lactation group twice each day. Cows are sampled more frequently to detect potential mastitis cases and to try to prevent it before it even happens. Over a year ago, we added a calf feedings, going from two feeding each day to three. We feed the same amount of milk but over more feedings. Calves now reach weaning weight 10 days sooner. In February 2020, we retrofitted the milking parlor by adding a Turner vertical lift system. Parlor throughput and cow comfort improved immediately.

Dairy Star • Saturday, July 10, 2021 • Page 23

PRINCESS KAY FINALIST

Always advocating for agriculture Meyer finds natural fit as Princess Kay finalist By Krista Kuzma

krista.k@dairystar.com

ROLLINGSTONE, Minn. – Despite LewistonAltura being more of a rural school district, Megan Meyer was only one of a few students in her class who grew up on a farm. “I was always known as the farm girl in my class,” said 17-year-old Meyer, who graduated from high school in May. “I was always the person who would advocate for agriculture. When kids would talk about it, I would definitely say the role dairy farmers play. I really like talking about it and answering questions.” That love of sharing about dairy is how she became the Winona County Dairy Princess and eventually a Princess Kay of the Milky Way finalist this year. She gained this love for dairy while growing up and assisting with chores on Quarry Hill Dairy, the 900-cow farm owned and operated by her parents, John and Connie, near Rollingstone. In May when the finalists were announced through a

KRISTA KUZMA/DAIRY STAR

Megan Meyer is one of the 10 Princess Kay of the Milky Way finalists, and represents Winona County. Her parents, John and Connie Meyer, milk 900 cows at Quarry Hill Dairy near Rollingstone, Minnesota. video posted on Facebook, Meyer did not watch it right away. Too nervous to know the results, she instead went to the barn to work with her show heifers.

“Right away my dairy judging coach texted me, ‘Congrats,’ and then I started getting more texts. I was so excited,” Meyer said. “I just thought of my parents and

how hard they work. That’s really the reason I wanted to do this. There needs to be a voice for them – a friendly person to the public that will answer questions, get people to under-

stand that my dad and so many other farmers work super hard for this. And we couldn’t live without the farmers. They need to be thanked, and they need the facts to be straight.” So far this year, Meyer has been able to do that while handing out dairy bags through her FFA chapter and the Winona County Chamber of Commerce, which sold bags with $50 worth of dairy products for $30 to celebrate National Dairy Month. While ice cream is her favorite dairy product, Meyer has a close second of yogurt. “It’s a really filing snack with a lot of protein,” she said. “I usually dress it up with chia seeds and granola because I need something to crunch. Then I add strawberries, bananas or peanut butter.” During June, Meyer was also been active on the Winona County Dairy Princess social media pages. She has more parades and in-person events coming up in July. During that time, she wants to make sure people know dairy is not easily replaced in a diet. “You can’t just cut out dairy and rely on oat or almond milk because you’ll miss out on the protein and rare nutrients like zinc and niacin,” Meyer Turn to MEYER | Page 25

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Page 24 • Dairy Star • Saturday, July 10, 2021

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DAVE’S FEED STORE Luxemburg, IA • 563-853-2415 EDGEWOOD FEED MILL Edgewood, IA • 563-928-6405 DOON ELEVATOR CO. Doon, IA • 712-726-3215

LEWISTON FEED & PRODUCE Lewiston, MN • 507-523-2196 DOANE’S GRAIN SERVICE Plainview, MN • 507-534-3165 GLACIAL PLAINS COOP Benson, MN • 320-843-3999 GLACIAL PLAINS COOP DeGraff, MN • 320-843-5634

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GLACIAL PLAINS COOP Sunburg, MN • 320-366-3456

MILLVILLE FEED INC. Millville, MN • 507-798-2391

ELROSA GRAIN AND FEED Elrosa, MN • 320-697-5515

PRAIRIE FARM SUPPLY Belle Plaine, MN • 952-873-4234 HOLDINGFORD MILL Holdingford, MN • 320-746-2281 ALBANY FEED SHED Albany, MN • 320-845-2303 UNITED FARMERS COOP LeSueur, MN • UFCMN.com 507-665-6421 LUXEMBURG FEED SERVICES, INC. St. Cloud, MN • 320-252-1513 OAK PARK CREAMERY Oak Park, MN • 320-968-7864

Dairy Star • Saturday, July 10, 2021 • Page 25

Con nued from MEYER | Page 23 said. “Those aren’t found in a lot of other products so if you want to get all your nutrients, you have to incorporate dairy in your diet.” Meyer also likes to talk to people about dairy’s sustainability. “We take care of the land, air and water, … and we are taking as many steps as possible to make sure our carbon footprint is down,” Meyer said. “I think it’s good to let people know we have a goal to have our net carbon footprint be zero by 2050. We’re trying, and we’re doing what we can and it’s working. We’re getting good results from it. We’re doing a lot of different things to reduce, reuse and recycle.” At Quarry Hill Dairy, the Meyers reuse sand for bedding and reuse water used to cool down the milk either for the flush system or for the cows to drink. They also rotate crops and use cover crops to make sure land has growth in the winter and reduce soil erosion and increase water retention. “It’s a lot of engineering and thinking about what we’re going to do,” Meyer said. Overall, Meyer wants to show people how easy it is to find a sustainable product that is also healthy. “We have the crops, we use the cows’ manure to fertilize the crops, we harvest the crops, we give the crops to the cows, they make the milk and then the milk goes to your table in less than 48 hours,” Meyer said. “People need to know it’s so nutritious for such a simple product that will give you so much and give back to your community as well.” In the fall when she starts college at Iowa State University, she will take a break from dairy to study social science with hopes of being a lawyer to work on social justice and civil rights; however, she hopes to stay connected to

the industry in some way. “I couldn’t give it up,” she said. Until then, she has her sights set on a closer goal – becoming the next Princess Kay of the Milky Way in August. “I would be so excited,” Meyer said if she claimed the next crown. “With the restrictions being lifted, I would have the opportunity to get out in the

“People need to know it’s so nutritious for such a simple product that will give you so much and give back to your community as well.” MEGAN MEYER, PRINCESS KAY FINALIST

KRISTA KUZMA/DAIRY STAR

Megan Meyer gives water to a calf on her family’s dairy, Quarry Hill Dairy, near Rollingstone, Minnesota.

public. I would use social media to get the word out about dairy and share my story, share about Quarry Hill Dairy and what we do here. And how it’s similar to other farms but everyone has a different way of doing things.” Regardless of the outcome, Meyer will get her likeness carved in a 90-pound block of butter. “It will be so awesome to sit in the butter booth,” Meyer said. “We would always go see who’s getting their butter head done while we’re at the state fair with our show calves. Now, it will be me.” And as her classmates have always known her to do, Meyer will continue advocating for agriculture and dairy farmers.

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Page 26 • Dairy Star • Saturday, July 10, 2021

Drought memories

I have always loved rain. It probably stems from growing up on a dairy farm. I knew if we had timely rains, my parents would have a crop, and our dairy farming livelihood relies on abundant moisture throughout the growing season. Adequate moisture during the summer meant doing three crops of small, square bales of hay. First, we had hayracks and stacked bales On the Mark behind the square baler. When I was in my teens, we had a throw baler. But, we still stacked behind the baler. We also always stacked in the barn or sheds where the hay was housed for the winter. Another reason I thoroughly enjoyed rain was that if it rained the night before, we couldn’t be making hay the next day. So, we would have more time to do By Mark Klaphake what kids do: play and goof Editor around. After a rain, we would play in the pasture and the mud puddles with our shoes off. We would also bike through any standing water we could find. I even like standing in the rain. I was also fond of thunderstorms. I liked watching them form in the west and edge closer to the farm. If we were in the middle of a thunderstorm when we were doing chores, we would wait for a lightning bolt and then run to the next building before the next one happened. I don’t think I have ever run faster than during a thunderstorm. Those days seem light years away compared to this summer. In central Minnesota, where my brothers milk cows, lawns are brown, the second cutting hay wasn’t very tall or thick, and the corn is curling in some areas. This summer is similar to a couple others I have experienced, 1976 and 1988. In 1976, when I was just 8, it was quite dry near my parents’ farm south of Sauk Centre, Minnesota. We were milking 52 cows at the time, and by mid-summer, my parents bought four semi loads of hay for our heifers and dry cows. The loads were trucked in from Thief River Falls, and near the Twin Cities. One load came in shortly after breakfast, and my parents had several of us 11 kids help with unloading the hay and others stacking in the barn after they fell off the conveyor. I will never forget the experience for several reasons. The bales were held together with wire similar to what you would use for an electric fence. Plus they were on the heavy side, 60-70 pounds a bale. Gloves were needed. The other unique thing about the hay was its contents. We were used to alfalfa/orchard grass. This was more of a prairie grass mix. The hay was used for heifers and got us through to the next year. A more recent drought I remember vividly was in 1988. I was attending St. Cloud State University, and during the summer months and on weekends, I worked for my oldest brother, Chuck, on his 35-cow dairy. That year, we had a good first crop, and then the faucet turned off. It was so dry my brother told me I might as well get an off-farm job between morning and night chores because if we don’t have any hay to make, he wouldn’t have much work for me. I got a job with a local excavator, Chuck, who installed sewer lines and drain fields. He needed someone to operate a shovel and lay pipe. Much of our days consisted of him sitting in the excavator digging in trenches for sewer pipe and me laying the pipes and then shoveling small rock around them until they were covered. Then, we would back fill the trenches. On some jobs, he had another dump truck driver, Peanuts, haul in the rock or the dirt so we could stay at the site and get more work done. Otherwise, Chuck would get a load while I laid the PVC pipe in the trenches. We also put in water lines. Perhaps the highlight of the summer was when Peanuts had something going on one night and we needed to get his truck back to an excavation site. Chuck told me he wanted me to drive it back. I was excited and a little bit nervous, mostly because I had never driven a gravel truck before. But the view from sitting so high combined with the sound of the truck as I changed gears was a great experience. We got some rain in August 1988 that produced a third crop of alfalfa. In 1989, it was dry again but not like the year before. I haven’t given up hope on this summer yet, and really hope and pray we get some more rain.

Dairy Star • Saturday, July 10, 2021 • Page 27

A busy month on the road to celebrate dairy

I hope you all had a great time celebrating National Dairy Month by connecting with others to share your dairy story while enjoying your favorite dairy foods. My month was packed with fun-filled events and interactions with people across our state. I was able to make 16 official appearances and travel over 1,700 miles. I am so On the Road with grateful for the opportunity to be out on the road Princess Kay and getting to see everyone in person. I could not have asked for a better month with many miles on the road, a multitude of events, endless smiles and a lot of yummy dairy foods. I started off the month by celebrating World Milk Day June By Brenna Connelly 1. I had the opportunity 67th Princess Kay of the to be in a National Milk Milky Way Toast video. This video was put together by the Pennsylvania dairy princesses, and it included messages from other state dairy princesses from across the United States. It is so cool to see passionate dairy advocates represent their state in a unique way. That day, I also traveled to a June Dairy Month Kick-Off event where visitors could see the dairy farm and cows, drink an ice-cold glass of milk, enjoy ice cream and more. During the first weekend of June, I traveled to Hutchinson Dairy Days which included media interviews, a cow milking contest and a delicious meal. Next, I headed to the Stearns County Breakfast on the Farm. Visitors drove through the farm and stopped at stations to learn about calf care, dairy nutrition, agronomy, milking, veterinary care and dairy foods. Just in time for National Dairy Month, the milk science experiment video with the Science Museum of Minnesota was complete. This video was fun to create and was an incredible experience. If you have not seen it, be sure to check it out on Princess Kay’s Facebook page or on the Science Museum’s website. Another filming opportunity I had was a cooking segment called “Aprons Optional” hosted by Sara Bremer. During the episode, Sara and I made three dairy-filled recipes to share with the audience in honor of National Dairy Month. I brought my own recipe which was cheesy hash browns. We had fun in the kitchen talking about all things dairy from dairy nutrition to the dairy princess program for viewers to learn more about. Next came a Food Trucks on the Farm event with Midwest Dairy ambassadors and also an event close to my heart. I attended my home county’s breakfast on the farm. I loved getting to see familiar faces, interacting with everyone, handing out dairy goodies and enjoying delicious breakfast and dairy foods. I also headed to the Steele County Drive-In Dairy Days to meet people in the community, help at the petting zoo calf station and do farm animal tattoos. A busy week brought two virtual events: Gopher Dairy Club Camp and Minnesota 4-H Tasty Tuesdays. At the Harmony Learning Center, I read dairy stories with the kids and discussed the job of dairy farmers. Next, I visited the Maplewood Historical Society for Dairy Day at the Bruentrup Heritage Farm. They had ice cream, hayrides, milking demonstrations and butter making for guests to enjoy. My busiest day was three appearances. I began my day at the Goodhue County Drive-Thru Dairy Experience then traveled to Dairy Day at the Glock in New Ulm, Minnesota, at the KNUJ radio station and ended my day at the Barnyard Bash at FarmAmerica in Waseca, Minnesota. It was a day filled with greeting visitors, talking on the radio show, pouring glasses of milk, serving ice cream and interacting with guests. Finally, I ended my month at the NECC Daycare reading stories with the children there. It was fun to see their excitement and eagerness to learn about dairy. From start to finish, National Dairy Month was filled with great events and incredible people. The amount of interactions and connections I can have with people continues to amaze me every time. You never

realize the impact each conversation you have with someone can have. Every single interaction brings forth the opportunity to connect with consumers and help them gain a better understanding of dairy farming and where their food comes from. Although the month has come to an end, we get to encourage those around us to drink an extra glass of milk, add an extra ounce of cheese and enjoy an extra scoop of ice cream. I hope through our connections with consumers, we are able to help them experience the real enjoyment of dairy and know they are choosing a nutritious, wholesome and local product. I cannot wait to keep promoting dairy all summer long at a multitude of events. July also marks the start of National Ice Cream Month. Let’s all celebrate accordingly this month by enjoying our favorite ice cream treats and encouraging others to do the same.

Princess Kay of the Milky Way, Brenna Connelly serves as the Minnesota dairy community’s goodwill ambassador. Throughout the year, Princess Kay helps people understand the dedication of dairy farmers to wholesome and nutritious food, and the way milk is produced. Princess Kay does many school presentations, represents dairy farmers at the Fuel Up To Play 60 events that are held in conjunction with the Minnesota Vikings, and is very active during June Dairy Month sharing the importance of dairy farming and dairy foods. Brenna grew up in Byron, Minnesota, working on her cousin’s dairy farm. She is a sophomore at the University of Minnesota- Twin Cities, studying Agricultural Communication and Marketing. When she is not showing cattle or participating in dairy judging, she loves to read and travel.

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Page 28 • Dairy Star • Saturday, July 10, 2021 Dana Adams, adam1744@umn.edu 320-204-2968 Joe Armstrong armst225@umn.edu 612.624.3610

www.extension.umn.edu/dairy

Luciano Caixeta lcaixeta@umn.edu 612-625-3130 Gerard Cramer gcramer@umn.edu 612-625-8184

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Marcia Endres miendres@umn.edu 612-624-5391

Dairy managers need to adjust day-to-day, season-to-season and year-to-year as conditions change. When planning to build new or remodel facilities, managers need to work with engineers to build in resilience by considering future conditions. Historical weather data is used to produce a climate normal (e.g., normal high and low temperatures) and values used by engineers to design buildings, runoff collection systems and uncovered manure storage units. Wind data is used to develop wind loads for structural engineers to design buildings to withstand typical wind loads during storms. Snowfall data is used to develop snow loads. Dry-bulb and dew-point temperature summaries are used to size heating and cooling systems. Rainfall data is used to By Kevin Janni University of MN design open lot runoff systems to prevent surface water contamination and size uncovered manure storage structures to avoid overtopping. However, many of these design numbers are changing. New U.S. climate normals based on 1991-2020 data were released in May by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Centers for Environmental Information. Climate normals are updated every 10 years. They report temperatures, precipitation, snowfall and other weather data. The results indicate that Minnesota has continued to become warmer and wetter over the long term. Ideally, rain should fall at rates that the soil can best use the moisture for crop production and replenish surface and groundwater supplies. However, some rainfall events drop more moisture or at such high rates that the ground cannot absorb the rain and there is runoff from crop fields and uncovered animal lots. Fortunately, most farms implement practices that minimize soil erosion and animal lot runoff to protect the soil and public waters. Excessive rain and poor management can cause manure storage overtopping. Overtopping occurs when an uncovered manure storage is nearly full because land application was delayed for some reason (e.g., wet soil conditions or equipment availability problems). Then a heavy local rainfall event fills the manure storage to the point where it overtops the storage walls. Manure storage overtopping is rare because manure storages are designed to store a 25-year, 24-hour rainfall event. The storage space for the 25-year rainfall event is called freeboard. Well-managed manure storages have pump down markers that clearly indicate when the storage has reached the depth when pumping needs to start so that freeboard space is maintained. A challenge these days is that some localized heavy rainfall events can drop more rain than the old design tables suggest. The 25-year, 24hour rainfall event is used to size the freeboard space. In Minnesota, the corresponding rainfall amount has been 4 inches. Engineers designing uncovered manure storages in Minnesota sized the storage freeboard space to hold a 4-inch rain that falls in 24 hours from a storm event that had a 1 in 25, or 4%, chance of occurring in a year. The 4% chance of occurring in a year at a location is a more correct

Joleen Hadrich jhadrich@umn.edu 612-626-5620 Les Hansen hanse009@umn.edu 612-624-2277 Brad Heins hein0106@umn.edu 320-589-1711 Nathan Hulinsky huli0013@umn.edu 320-203-6104 Kevin Janni kjanni@umn.edu 612-625-3108 Karen Johnson ande9495@umn.edu 320-484-4334 Emily Krekelberg krek0033@umn.edu 507-280-2863 Claire LaCanne lacanne@umn.edu 507-332-6109 Brenda Miller nels4220@umn.edu 320-732-4435 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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way to describe 25-year events. The common and incorrect description is an event that occurs only once in 25 years and is not expected to happen again for another 25 years. The more precise and correct wording for a 25-year storm is a storm that has a 4% probability of occurring at that location that year. A 50-year storm event has a 2% chance; a 10-year storm event has a 10% chance of occurring. The rainfall amounts are based on historical data. Updated rainfall amounts for several recurrence intervals for over 300 locations in Minnesota was published by the NOAA Hydrometeorological Design Studies Center in 2013. Table 1 gives NOAA ATLAS 14 precipitation estimates for eight Minnesota locations for the 4% chance (25-year) and 2% chance (50-year) probabilities. All 25-year amounts are more than the 4-inch value used in the past. Some locations have precipitation amounts over 5.5 inches. The American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers collects and summarizes dry-bulb and dewpoint temperature data from over 1,400 stations in the U.S. They publish design temperatures for sizing heating and cooling systems based on eight to 25 years of data. In the 2013 summary, ASHRAE noted that cold weather dry-bulb design temperatures had increased by 0.3 degrees, and hot weather season dry-bulb design temperatures had increased by 0.18 degrees since the summary published four years earlier in 2009. In the 2017 summary, ASHRAE reported that cold weather dry-bulb design temperatures had increased by another 0.1 degrees, and the hot weather season dry-bulb design temperature had increased by 0.15 degrees since the summary in 2013. Changes in NOAA climate normals, precipitation values and ASHRAE climate data summaries illustrate how design values are changing with time and climate change. When designing new facilities that you expect to use for more than 10 years, you might want to have your engineers use design values that consider these recent and potential future increases to build in resilience. Precipitation (inches) Minnesota locations

25-year or 4% chance

50-year or 2% chance

Detroit Lakes

4.62

5.46

Mankato

5.24

6.23

Marshal

5.03

5.88

Morris

4.56

5.24

St. Cloud

4.83

5.57

Thief River Falls

4.70

5.48

Rochester

5.65

6.68

Worthington

5.56

6.47

Table 1. Precipitation estimates in inches for eight Minnesota locations for 24-hour durations and 25-year and 50-year frequencies (NOAA ATLAS 14 Volume 8 Version 2, 2013).

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Dairy Star • Saturday, July 10, 2021 • Page 29

Alfalfa during dry times By Adam Austing, Jared Goplen & Craig Sheaﬀer University of Minnesota

Hot and dry. That is the simplest way to sum up the weather Minnesota farmers have had to deal with so far this year. Alfalfa stands are no exception to the stress this weather is having on our crops. Let us look at the effects of drought on alfalfa based on levels of establishment. Alfalfa seed that has been sitting in dry ground all spring should be just fine. It is capable of surviving the dry conditions while we wait for rainfall to start the germination process. A good seedbed and proper planting depth of one-quarter to one-half inch will be important to starting a successful stand once moisture shows up. With small seedlings come small roots. Unlike seeds that can sit and wait patiently for rain, seedlings need water to continue growing. If the moisture is not there, these seedlings will not put up much of a fight before dying. Even if the seedling emerges and reaches the first trifoliate leaf stage, it has little tolerance to drought because of its inadequate root system. The growth stage at which alfalfa can tolerate extended soil moisture deficits has not been established, but by eight weeks, the risk of drought damage is minimized as plants have a well-developed crown and multiple stems. Alfalfa uses a lot of water. Thanks to its high stem density and dense canopy, alfalfa uses 0.1-0.3 inches of water per day. It uses less water during the spring and fall when the sun is less intense and air temperatures are lower. It also uses less water after harvest. Water use is highest during hot, sunny, windy days in the summer; basically, what we experienced for most of June. As alfalfa grows a thick canopy, water use also increases. Depending on environmental conditions, alfalfa uses 4-7 inches of water per ton of forage harvested. Thankfully, alfalfa is good at tolerating drought. Alfalfa has an impressive root system, with roots sometimes reaching depths of 16 feet, although most roots are concentrated toward the top 4 feet of the soil profile. In dry times, alfalfa will increase root growth in search of moisture. However, once things get too dry, alfalfa will go dormant. Some farmers have seen this in their fields after what was a mostly good first harvest. In the Midwest, alfalfa can survive several months of dormancy. During dormancy, the plants will store a lot of carbohydrates in the crown. When water is available again, the alfalfa will regrow rapidly from the crown. So, the good news is that established alfalfa can survive drought. But of course, moisture stressed alfalfa will take a yield hit. This can be attributed to many factors, including a decrease in leaf size, stem number, stem diameter and stem length. Initially, alfalfa will cup or fold their leaves to try to hold in the moisture, very similar to soybean. Then, leaves lower on the canopy will start to be killed off. Alfalfa experiencing moisture deficits will also mature more slowly than a crop with adequate water. This leads to reduced yields but can also increase the forage quality of the crop. Drought stress will also reduce the amount of nitrogen fixation done by alfalfa. Alfalfa can normally fix 100-200 pounds of nitrogen per acre per year. Growers might need to lower the expected nitrogen credit for corn or other grass crops following moisture-deprived alfalfa. Should you harvest your fields of drought-stressed alfalfa? If the stand is less than a foot tall, avoid cutting the crop as yield will be underwhelming and potential damage to the crop is high. Alfalfa that has had sufficient water to reach harvest maturity should be harvested. During harvest, keep in mind that stressed plants are more susceptible to physical damage. To counter this, make sure you are being efficient in your passes through the field and avoid extra wheel traffic where possible. Like all crops, alfalfa needs water to be successful. Unlike many crops, alfalfa’s extensive root system and ability to go dormant make it resilient through dry times. Be patient with slow growing alfalfa stands. It probably is not worth harvesting a marginal second cutting at the expense of the stand’s future success. For more information on this topic, visit https://blog-crop-news.extension. umn.edu/2021/06/alfalfa-during-drought.html. To follow along with the drought conditions throughout the country, visit droughtmonitor.unl.edu.

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Page 30 • Dairy Star • Saturday, July 10, 2021

Farming flax

“The trouble with this country,” an old farmer in the middle of nowhere, a body of water that, groused to me recently, “is that nobody raises flax incredibly, runs up and over the tops of hills. anymore.” The spring when I was 14, Dad proposed a deal: I asked him to elaborate, and he was happy to In exchange for my labor during the coming summer, oblige. I could have an 8-acre field to “It’s as if we farmers have farm. I jumped at the offer. When h fl flax simply i l asked what I wanted to plant, I lost our collective imaginations. I chose answered in an instant. Flax. All you see out in the country because it looks pretty I would like to say this nowadays is corn and beans, corn decision was reached after a and beans. Why can’t folks raise when it’s in full bloom. comprehensive study of the flax and pretty things up?” markets. I would like to say this I couldn’t disagree. I’ve always had a soft spot for flax, one of the most choice was based on a carefully calculated analysis. I would like to say those things, but they wouldn’t stunning crops known to man. It’s unsettling when you first catch sight of a be true. I chose flax simply because it looks pretty field of blooming flax. A patch of ground that was an when it’s in full bloom. I had to foot the bill for some of the expenses, emerald carpet the day before has turned a glorious sky-blue. It’s as if a lake had suddenly formed out including the seed. When flax planting time arrived,

I drove to our local grain elevator and purchased eight bushels of seed flax, exactly enough to plant my 8-acre patch. The seed flax set me back $7 per bushel. As I loaded the bags of seed, the elevator manager remarked I could lock in a harvest deliv- Dear County Agent Guy ery price of $4.35 per bushel. I would like to say that after considering all possible market contingencies, I told him I would take my chances, but that wouldn’t be true. I simply didn’t like the term “lock in.” And besides, I was too busy imagining how beautiful my field of flax would By Jerry Nelson be. Columnist When the flax had grown to ankle high, I noticed it was infested with an abundance of weeds. The weeds would mar my flax’s beauty and reduce its yield. I consulted the elevator manager, who advised me to apply a herbicide. After purchasing 8 acres worth of the recommended chemical, I made the application. I followed the label’s directions to the letter. Or at least I thought I had. When I went to check on the flax the next day, it was dying. Every single plant was curled into a freakishly unnatural pose, mirroring that of the target weeds. My first farming venture was a total bust. I couldn’t bring myself to look at the field for several days. I finally had to, thinking I should rip it up and plant a fast-maturing crop and salvage something from the summer. A field of flawless, weed-free flax stretched out before me like a luxurious emerald carpet. I would have hugged it if it were possible to get my arms around 8 acres. Two weeks later, I nearly broke my face due to excessive grinning as I strolled through an 8-acre lake that ran up and over the hill. A lake comprised of jillions of tiny sky-blue flowers. My flax yielded 15 bushels per acre. By harvest time, the price of flax had rocketed to $7.10 per bushel. I would like to say in all truthfulness this was due to nothing but dumb luck. It took about an acre’s worth of flax to cover my expenses. But additional profits were there for the taking in the form of the flax straw. We baled the flax straw and sold it at our local elevator. It was difficult to believe this scratchy, dusty, brown, stick-like substance would eventually become linen, that flax can be made into comfy slacks. The popularity of flax could be seen at the elevator’s straw stack, which was wider than our barn and just as high and stretched for a good quarter of a mile. That summer was profitable for me. I certainly made more than if Dad had paid me a wage. And that was too bad, because I got the impression farming was like having a license to print money. I spent the next several decades trying to duplicate that summer, chasing profits that were as mirage-like as a sky-blue lake that runs up and over the tops of hills. 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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Dairy Star • Saturday, July 10, 2021 • Page 31

Are older cows less fertile?

It is often stated that it is easier to get first lactation animals pregnant than older cows. They do not milk as much, and because it is also often thought that high milk production reduces conception rates, we might think that older Veterinary Wisdom cows are less fertile because they produce more milk. A scientific paper published way back in 1986 by Gwazdayskas listed average conception rates for virgin heifers, lactation one, lactation two, lactation three, lactation four and lactation five of 54%, 44%, 41%, 40%, 27% and By Jim Bennett 18%, respectively. Until Columnist recently, it was assumed that overall dairy cow fertility was declining, too, in part because of declining conception rates. For example a scientific paper by Lucy, in 2001, was titled “Reproductive loss in high producing dairy cattle, when will it end?” A paper by Royal, in 2000, stated that “first service conception rates are now below 40%.” Thatcher, in a scientific paper in 2006, said, “The high producing dairy cow of the 21st century is sub fertile during lactation.” In reality, none of the above assumptions are true. Case in point: Recently, I typed the command “Bredsum by lact” into DairyComp 305 on a highproducing, high-fertility farm. The conception rates for lactation one, two, three, four, five, six and seven were, respectively, 53%, 56%, 58%, 53%, 57% 50% and 68%. The overall conception rate for all breedings on all cows was 55%. By the way, this dairy consistently produces between 105 and 110 pounds of energy corrected milk per cow per day. Their annual pregnancy rate is 41%. Are older cows less fertile in this herd? It sure does not look like it. Furthermore, if one looks at a lot of data, high-producing

herds, with high-producing cows, have higher not lower conception rates than low-producing herds. Go figure. I decided to look at another herd. Here are the conception rates by lactation for lactations one through five and overall: 48%, 45%, 53%, 36%, 52% and 48%. This herd produces around 110 pounds of energy corrected milk per cow per day, while the pregnancy rate is 37%. To be fair, first service conception rates may be slightly lower than they might be because both herds use some sexed semen in lactation one. Nevertheless, in both herds, older cows conceive as well or better than lactation one, and overall conception rates are great. Why would it be normal for a second lactation cow to have a lower conception rate than a first lactation cow, or for that matter, a first lactation cow to have a lower rate than a heifer? Do we accept this as normal for any other species? Sure, more calvings are more opportunities for infections and reproductive damage, but these are not all that common anymore. So it must be milk production that changes the reproductive efficiency, right? But remember, high-producing herds have better conception rates, so it is not production. The answer is most likely negative energy balance. Higher-producing cows do not necessarily have more negative energy balance than low-producing cows, but they need to eat a lot more, so anything that interferes with intake can be relatively more important in a high-producing versus a low-producing cow. So maybe the reason these herds have such great reproductive performance and why their old cows do so well is that they are owned by great dairymen and dairywomen. We also know herds have gotten better in recent years, not worse. Some of this improvement may be genetic selection for reproduction. In our practice, the average conception rate for all breedings in 2004 was 33.9%, and in 2020, it was 46%. That is a relative increase of 40% with a straight trend line going up. So perhaps the new headline should be, “Reproductive performance gains in high producing dairy cattle, when it will end?”

The new normal for high-producing herds is probably around 50% conception rates for all lactations. That is impressive. It is important, too, not just because reproduction is important but because just about every dairy farmer has been told repeatedly to raise fewer heifers, calve fewer heifers, cull fewer cows and increase the proportion of the herd that is second lactation and up. Farmers do this because it is expensive to raise heifers and old cows produce a whole lot more milk than heifers. Thus, if one wants to keep older cows in a herd, one has to get them pregnant. If it is significantly harder to get them pregnant than lactation one animals, it will be hard to keep them in the herd. The good news is we now know how to get older cows pregnant, and we know how to get high-producing cows pregnant. Take a look at conception rates by lactation in your herd. Are your older cows underperforming? Older cows are not inherently significantly less fertile nor are cows giving a lot of milk. What we once thought was normal is no longer so. Keep up the great work. 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, July 10, 2021

Hearing protection An awful lot of farmers I know over the age of 50 need hearing aids. Same goes for my friends in excavating, construction, cabinet making and a number occupations involving running loud machinery all day, every day. So far, my hearing is pretty good except in places with a lot of background noise. In which case, I only catch half of what is said, at best. In other words, don’t bother trying to have a conversation beyond who’s buying the next round with me at a loud bar. I’ll probably smile and nod like your story is funny even if you’re telling me about the untimely death of a relative. That’s awkward for both of us. Growing up, I don’t remember there being many options for hearing protection beyond the giant yellow marshmallows. I could squeeze those and sometimes force them into my ear canal only to have them pop out when I turned my head. They would hit my

sweatshirt hood and fall into the grain auger never to be seen again. There were also orange and black earmuff-style hearing protectors that weren’t at all comfortable to wear and didn’t seem to actually stop much, if any, of the noise. Given the options available, I didn’t go out of my way to protect my hearing as a kid or even into my teenage years. In my teen years, I liked listening to music while doing field work, but none of our tractors had functional radios. I had a Walkman that could play tapes and the radio. I would crank it up to its maximum volume to hear the music over the whine of the old New Holland 499 mower conditioner. I don’t think that was a particularly good idea for keeping my hearing. I’m sure I’m not the only person on the planet guilty of doing something like that, and apparently it

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continues to be a problem. My iPhone informed me a while back it now has the ability to let me know if I’ve listened to music at too high a volume for too long. If someone bothered to program iPhones to shout, “Turn that down or you’ll go deaf,” then today’s youth haven’t changed From the Zweber Farm substantially. Thankfully, 3M and a few other companies must have taken a look at their hearing protection products and asked their own employees why no one willingly wore the crappy products they produced. I imagine a smart person saw that people would like to By Tim Zweber both not hear the full volume of the piece of Farmer & Columnist equipment they were running but would like to hear some music at a reasonable volume as well. From this dramatic leap in thinking, where they decided to actually provide customers the product they’d been asking for all along, was born hearing protectors with a radio. Soon you could get ones that plugged into a phone or MP3 player to listen to news and podcasts. You didn’t have to plug them in at all, and they could wirelessly communicate with Bluetooth. Finally, they made hearing protectors with a microphone so you could answer phone calls without taking them off. I have to say with the quality and features of today’s hearing protection, there’s not much of an excuse not to be wearing it when doing noisy work. I wear a pair of headphones all day because I like to listen to music and audiobooks while I work. The fact my hearing is protected is just a bonus. I’ve written about this in a lighthearted way, but seriously, hearing loss sucks for everyone. It’s extremely frustrating for the person who can’t hear and just as much so for the people shouting at them hoping they’ll accurately hear what they are saying. I’ve made sure my kids and employees understand the importance of hearing protection. Encourage yours to protect their hearing as well. And don’t forget: You are never too old to protect what hearing you have left. Until next time, keep living the dream and occasionally crank up those tunes and sing along. Tim Zweber farms with his wife Emily, their three children and his parents Jon and Lisa by Elko, Minnesota.

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Dairy Star • Saturday, July 10, 2021 • Page 33

Fair time 150 years running

Can you imagine what going to a county fair might have been like in 1871? Hitch your wagon to the horses or oxen, load up the family and make a long journey. What would you find once there? Minnesota had only been a state for 12 years. The Dakota Conflict had recently occurred, and people were again populating rural areas. Railroads were replacing steamboats as the mode of transportation. The McCormick reaper had been in use for a few decades and wheat production was thriving in the state. The lives of farm men, women and children were filled with endless chores, hard labor and often hardships. Water was hauled by hand for watering stock and every household need. Cash came in the fall at harvest, and the family had to plan and save in order to make it through the winter and buy seed in the spring. Despite these challenges, county fairs were started as agricultural competitions. Among the animals and items on display were horses, pigs, cows, furniture and foundry products, fruits, vegetables, flowers, paintCome Full Dairy Circle ings and photographs. Cash prizes were awarded. Fairs also provided an outlet to leave daily struggles at home for a few days and get something not available on the farm: entertainment. At the fair, you could let your hair down and see the newest inventions to make life easier, such as washing machines, kerosene lamps, a John Deere plow, windmills and so on. Salesmen were willing to explain. These comments were made by Doug Ohman, an author and photographer who will be presenting a talk at the Nicollet County Fair about life 150 years ago. By Jean Annexstad Our county fair started in 1871. The Minnesota county fairs, which number 95 Columnist today, even though we only have 87 counties, began in the late 1800s. The concept of a county fair organized by an agricultural society was initiated by Elkanah Watson. He organized an event in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, in 1811, which was an exhibit of animals that was a competition with prize money paid for the best exhibits of oxen, cattle, swine and sheep. Watson then worked for many years to help communities organize their own shows and fairs in New England. Soon the concept of agricultural societies moved to other states, including the Midwest. The core elements of those agricultural society events of the 1800s are at the heart of the agricultural fairs today, according to historians. They include competitions for the best agricultural and domestic products of the county or community and are an annual event for the community to come together to celebrate, share and learn. The idea of the fairs is to advance livestock, horticulture and agriculture with emphasis placed on youth development programs such as 4-H and FFA. There are also outreach and activities to advocate about farming practices to fair goers. Fairs back then also had entertainment. By 1880, the Nicollet County Fair boasted new exhibit buildings and a race track at the fairgrounds. Of interest that year were horse races with trotters and runners. Baseball games were played at the fair, and fireworks displays were offered in the early days. A newspaper article announced the 1895 fair program: chariot races, horse races, balloon ascensions and band music. Over the years, the fair’s livestock shows have been a special pull, especially for exhibitors. Both youth and open class shows are of interest to our family. We have several 4-Hers preparing their leased animals at our farm during the busy weeks ahead of the fair. It’s encouraging to see their work and pride in their project animals. Beyond the friendly competitions and the learning experiences for youth, the fair is simply the best time of the year for many families. It is true that fairs bring jobs, revenue and support our local businesses by bringing people into a community. Though there is not a parade through town at the beginning of the fair to draw attendance as there used to be 100 years ago, there is a sense of excitement and togetherness that happens at fair time. You see special friends and neighbors just once a year at the fair. You take time to sit and visit in the barns, at a show, a demolition derby or over a pork chop and an ice cream cone. The pleasures of a community celebration with socializing, competitions, learning and enjoying local food and entertainment have likely not changed in 150 years. “Nicollet County Fair, it promises to be a very great success,” proclaims a newspaper headline from way back when. Let’s hope so for 2021 and beyond. 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 fit 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, July 10, 2021

PRINCESS KAY FINALIST

Dairy farming is part of her identity Thoe advocates for family’s way of life as Princess Kay finalist By Krista Kuzma

krista.k@dairystar.com

HAYFIELD, Minn. – Dairy farming is not just a job to Katrina “Kat” Thoe and her family. “It’s a huge part of my identity and my family’s identity because we grew up on a farm and that was our life,” Thoe said. “When my friends were riding their bikes to the pool, I was riding the fourwheeler with my sisters to the farm.” This dairy identity is what drew Thoe to want to be a dairy princess and eventually earn a spot as one of the 10 Princess Kay of the Milky Way finalists. “I have always advocated for dairy because I drink milk like it’s the only thing you can drink,” she said. “I was already advocating for dairy so I thought I’d advocate as a dairy princess too.” Since 2019, Thoe has represented the dairy farmers of Dodge County, including her parents, Jeff and Susie Thoe, who milk 50 cows near Hayfield. “For me, the reason why I do it is dairy farmers

are so deserving of our representation, and I couldn’t be more honored to do that,” she said. “My parents work harder than anyone I know.” Thoe and her three older sisters worked alongside their parents and grandpa, who still feeds cows and calves along with fieldwork, while growing up. Milking cows and feeding youngstock are now Thoe’s main responsibility when she is home from Winona State University. “At a young age, I learned how to put the milkers on,” the 22-year-old said. “I always enjoyed helping with that. I like to think I have a very calm energy and the cows feel very comfortable around me. They’re like big dogs for me.” She watched and helped as her sisters prepared for speeches and events while serving as county dairy princesses and Princess Kay finalists, each receiving their own butterhead. Now it is Thoe’s turn to be in the role. As a dairy princess, Thoe likes to share about what happens on her family’s dairy. “We care a lot for our cows,” she said. “Cows are not

KRISTA KUZMA/DAIRY STAR

Katrina “Kat” Thoe rides the four-wheeler to bring cows in from the pasture on her family’s dairy near Hayfield, Minnesota.

KRISTA KUZMA/DAIRY STAR

Katrina “Kat” Thoe poses with a favorite cow, Wilma, on the 50-cow dairy owned by her parents, Jeﬀ and Suzie Thoe, near Hayfield, Minnesota. Thoe is a Princess Kay of the Milky Way finalist. a number to us. They have high qualities of life, and they eat better than me sometimes.” More importantly, Thoe thinks more people need to hear about the sustainability aspect of dairy farms. “I’m super proud to be part of a community that is constantly working to lower the amount of water we use, lower the amount of land we use and create even more milk,” she said. “It’s been working so far for our family. We’re six generations in, so we’ve been able to stay pretty sustainable, and I know dairy farmers everywhere are so dedicated to being environmentally friendly and that’s something we can be very proud of.” Sustainable practices the Thoes use include crop rotation, cover crops and using manure as a natural fertilizer, which she said retains water 20% better than other fertilizers. “I think what dairy farmers are doing to remain sustainable

and to not only provide a good quality of life for our cows but a high-quality product is amazing,” Thoe said. “They deserve all the princesses to represent them.” On the product side of dairy, Thoe said her favorite one is chocolate milk. “It keeps me full, and I know I’m getting a good equal carb-to-protein combination that’s recommended to athletes when refueling,” Thoe said. “I may not be doing an athlete workout, but between milking and picking rock, I need to refuel to get my energy back up.” As a track and field throwing athlete at Winona State University, Thoe refuels with chocolate milk and encourages her teammates to do the same. Even outside of her athletic circle, Thoe has enjoyed sharing about dairy. “I love to talk about how milk has 13 essential nutrients and not only is it good for your

bones and your muscles, but it’s also really good for your nervous system,” Thoe said. This fall, Thoe will finish her final semester of college to earn a Bachelor of Science in nursing. Before then, Thoe will compete for Princess Kay of the Milky Way and have her likeness carved in a 90-pound block of butter during the Minnesota State Fair. Thoe said she is excited and ready if the crown is placed on her head at coronation the evening before the fair begins. “I feel like I’m someone for the job,” Thoe said. “Not only do I have two years of experience as a dairy princess and years of experience with my sisters, but I am experienced when it comes to speeches and talking. I’m a nursing student so I know how to have one-onone conversations with people and make connections pretty fast. The Princess Kay shoes are ones I’m ready to fill.”

Dairy Star • Saturday, July 10, 2021 • Page 35

PRINCESS KAY FINALIST

No dairy upbringing needed Dose advocates for industry as finalist despite not growing up in it By Krista Kuzma

krista.k@dairystar.com

PLAINVIEW, Minn. – Even though Emeliya “Mia” Dose did not grow up on a dairy farm, she has immersed herself into the dairy community. The 18-year-old is representing Wabasha County as one of the 10 Princess Kay of the Milky Way finalists. Dose is the daughter of Paul Dose and Miranda Young, and the stepdaughter of Stephanie Hein and Rob Young. While growing up in a rural setting, Dose had neighbors who raised dairy calves. “I went over there one summer and helped them,” she said. When the neighbors had Dose and her family nurse one of the calves back to health on their farmsite, Dose took the serious nature of caring for a dairy animal to heart. “That made me want to start feeding calves as a job,” she said. Her stepdad, who owns a milk trucking business, asked farmers on his routes if they had any jobs open. The Lehnertz family in Plainview needed an evening milker for their 330-cow herd. As a freshman, Dose began milking two nights a week, which turned into her current schedule of four nights each

KRISTA KUZMA/DAIRY STAR

Emeliya “Mia” Dose is represen ng Wabasha County as one of the 10 Princess Kay of the Milky Way finalists. The 18-year-old is the daughter of Paul Dose and Miranda Young, and the stepdaughter of Stephanie Hein and Rob Young, and is from Plainview, Minnesota.

week. “It wasn’t what I wanted feeding calves, but I’ve fallen in love with it,” Dose said. “I love milking and spending time with the cows.” When she is not milking for the Lehnertzes, she helps other dairy farmers in the area with relief milking for a night or two. As Dose grew to love dairy, her mom and dairy farm friends pushed her to join the Wabasha County dairy ambassador program when she was 17. This dairy advocating program is for youth who are younger than the eligible age to be a princess. “I didn’t really want to be a princess at first,” she said. “I didn’t feel I would fit in with the girls because I didn’t grow up on a dairy farm.” Plus, Dose felt like an outsider since she is lactose intolerant. “I didn’t see how I could be a leader as a dairy princess,” she said. But people kept encouraging her to try it. “My friends gave the (American Dairy Association) board my number so I was contacted by them and got roped into it,” she said. “It was kind of a hard year to get to do things with COVID-19, but as soon as I had a meeting and we did some events, I felt so comfortable and was so excited to run for princess this year.” Dose felt her confidence grow after being named Wabasha County Dairy Princess. Turn to DOSE | Page 36

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Emeliya “Mia” Dose dips a cow during milking at the Lehnertz family’s 330-cow dairy where Dose is employed near Plainview, Minnesota. “When coronation came around and I was selected as our county’s dairy princess that sparked it even more,” she said. “I thought, ‘You know what? I’m not that different.’” The same happened when she was announced a finalist. “It sparked so much more motivation in how I can be a leader in something and inspire other girls,” she said. In her roles, Dose likes to share about how connected the industry is. “Dairy farms are a community unlike any other community I have ever known,” she said. “Your whole community is affected by dairy farms in your area. Just in Plainview alone, we have creameries, tractors. Everything is there. It all ties into the dairy communities and how much support they need from them and how much support we need from them.” Not having a farm background gives Dose a different perspective while promoting dairy. “I have had to learn and teach myself about dairy,” she said. “By learning it and having (my bosses) explain it to me, I can relay it back to the public in a little better manner.” Being lactose intolerant actually helps Dose promote dairy. “I can’t drink it and I’m not supposed to eat it, but I still support it,” Dose said. “It’s my life, it’s how my

family makes a living, and it’s taught me so much.” Dose drinks lactose-free milk and milk that has been ultra filtered. She likes A2 milk, although she said it is harder to find. She is also able to enjoy Greek yogurt, along with hard cheeses and most soft serve ice creams. She also occasionally eats small amounts of sour cream and other types of cheese. “But I have learned my limits,” she said. If she were to become Princess Kay, Dose would want to branch out to different audiences beyond elementary students and farm group members. She would like to see more events at colleges because students are starting to live on their own and having to do their own grocery shopping. “When I go into the grocery store and I see this milk has this many calories and another has this many calories, which one am I going to choose?” she said. “Go into colleges and say ‘Yes, this (alternative) milk might have less calories but regular milk has so much more protein, better sugars and vitamins for you than almond milk might.’” This fall, Dose will be buying her own groceries as she heads off to college at Northeast Iowa Community College to study finance. After that, she hopes to return to her hometown and work with the dairy community in some way.

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Women In Dairy Hilliary Morarend Guttenberg, Iowa Clayton County 50 cows Family: My mom, Laura; a brother, Tim, and his wife, Ashley, and son, Easton. Tim and my uncle, Troy, have been helping me a lot since my dad was diagnosed with cancer. Tell us about your farm. I am a fifth-generation farmer on the family farm. My grandpa started the dairy around 1940 when he bought a couple Brown Swiss cows from Cattle Congress. He also had chickens and pigs. He grew hay and corn. My dad took over the farm in 1986. He continued the dairy and pigs along with growing hay and corn. Dad stopped raising pigs in 1997 and started finishing out our steer calves. I began farming after graduating from Northeast Iowa Community College in 2014. I was a herdsperson for Dad. In 2017, I began farming on halves with Dad and am adjusting to solo farming after Dad recently passed away from cancer. My herd consists of 50 purebred Brown Swiss cows. I raise my replacement heifers. I also have a small beef herd of 20 cows. I still finish out my steer calves but will be stepping away from selling finished steers at the end of this year. As for crops, I raise corn, alfalfa and grass hay. What is the busiest time of day for you? I stay pretty busy throughout the day, but mornings are the busiest for me because I feed my steers and replacement heifers, deep clean my milking equipment and get things set up for the day. When you get a spare moment, what do you do? In my spare time, I like to go walking or running, and do gardening. Tell us about your most memorable experience working on the farm. My most memorable experience on the farm was when my pet cow, Cola, had her first calf. It was in the middle of winter and all of her teats got frostbite. My dad was recovering from a four-wheeler accident, so my brother and uncle were relief milking. I was helping as much as I could when I wasn’t in school. It took about six weeks, but we got all her teats healed, and she is in her ninth lactation. What have you enjoyed most about dairy farming or your tie to the dairy industry? I like most everything about dairy farming. I like the lifestyle and the ethics dairy farming teaches you. My favorite part is taking care of the livestock, especially herd health. I graduated as a vet technician, so I do as

much of the herd health as I can. While I don’t like having a sick cow or calf, I do like taking care of them and nursing them back to health. How do you stay connected with others in the industry? I stay connected with others in the dairy industry through various groups on Facebook. I also read papers and magazines. Who is someone in the industry who has inspired you? My dad has inspired me. He was my teacher and taught me a lot over the years. I learned how important farming is and how rewarding of a lifestyle it is. He always had my back and encouraged me to not give up. My dad was always willing to help me. If you could give a tour of your farm to a prominent woman in today’s society, who would it be? I would rather let children tour my farm, especially children who have never been to a farm. I would rather let kids come to the farm because I believe too many kids and some adults don’t know where their food comes from and don’t know the truth about what farmers do. What is the best vacation you have ever taken? I have not taken a vacation. My vacation is getting a night off here and there to go to concerts or county fairs. So far, my favorite concerts have been Jason Aldean and Tim McGraw. What are some words you like to live by? Life is 10% what happens and 90% how you react to it. What works for one doesn’t always work for another.

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8800, 2018, 1064 Hrs, RWA ............................ $369,000 8800, 2016, 1607 Hrs, RWA ............................ $304,900 8700, 2017, 924 Hrs, RWA .............................. $351,900 8600, 2016, 785 Hrs, RWA .............................. $359,000 8600, 2017, 849 Hrs, RWA .............................. $329,000 8600, 2015, 1197 Hrs, RWA ............................ $262,500 8600, 2015, 1531 Hrs, RWA ............................ $236,400 8500, 2017, 103 Hrs, RWA .............................. $429,000 8500, 2016, 862 Hrs, RWA ............................. $315,000 8100, 2016, 519 Hrs, RWA .............................. $241,900 7980, 2013, 1921 Hrs, RWA ............................ $185,900 7780, 2014, 1270 Hrs, RWA ............................ $212,400 7580, 2014, 1764 Hrs, RWA ............................ $185,900 7350, 2012, 1271 Hrs, RWA ............................ $179,000 6710, 1993, 4050 Hrs, RWA .............................. $49,400 All hours listed are “cutter hours”.

Call today for details on our Easy-Lease financing! Other machines available for lease also. Subject to credit approval. Call for details.

Page 38 • Dairy Star • Saturday, July 10, 2021

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Dairy Star • Saturday, July 10, 2021 • Page 39

Dairy profile Jan and Jim Pfeifer Owatonna, Minnesota Steele County 50 cows

like being able to walk out the door and be at work. I also have enjoyed being able to raise our kids here. And now our grandkids love being here too.

How did you get into farming? Jim: I started dairy farming when I was 14 years old. My family had a herd of dairy cows; however, my dad also had a meat locker, my brother went into the army, and my sister went to college. So that left me to do the chores. I did chores every day before and after school, taking care of our 20-cow herd. I loved the cows. After I graduated from high school in 1977, I rented a place to milk on my own. In 1980, Jan and I bought this farm, and we were married the next year. Jan: I did not grow up on a dairy farm so I married into it.

What advice would you give other dairy farmers? Watch your costs as much as you can. Do not buy a $300,000 tractor when you will be fine with buying one for $100,000.

What has been the best purchase you have ever made on your farm? Early on in our career, when we bought our first skidloader and our TMR mixer were the best purchases. The change in the physicality of our jobs was tremendous. It made the job easier. Last year, we were able to purchase a bigger skidloader because of our baleage.

What are your thoughts and concerns about the dairy industry for the next year? How many dairy farms are going to be left? Fewer dairy farms are going to hurt other businesses. It’s a problem, but we don’t know how to fix it. What is the latest technology you implemented on your farm and the purpose for it? At the beginning of June, we put in a variable speed milk pump. It replaced the original one from 1980. Even though we have not had it that long, we can tell it has made a difference. The compressor hardly runs. It will help reduce the wear and tear on the compressor. What is a management practice you changed in the past year that has benefited you? Last year we started using baleage out of necessity; however, it worked so well we decided to continue it this year. Our entire first crop went into

baleage. We like that we can cut it one day and make the baleage the next. We can also stack it outside. What cost-saving steps have you implemented during the low milk price? We try to maintain and keep production up during those times. There is only so much we can cut out. How do you retain a good working relationship with your employees? We do not have any employees. It is just the two of us. We have had 41 years of working together to figure out how to work together. It helps that we have our own areas to work. For example, Jan does

the milking while Jim does the mixing and feeding. We also have learned we need to work through days whether we feel sick or down, or not. Tell us about a skill you possess that makes dairy farming easier for you. Jim: I have the ability to keep going to get something done. I also have patience, and I know how to fix things. Jan: I am able to go with the flow. We both are, actually. We both know things do not always go as planned. What do you enjoy most about dairy farming? Jim: I like being able to work together and be our own bosses. Jan: I

What has been your biggest accomplishment while dairy farming? Staying in business and being able to keep going. Also raising our family. For us, it was never about making the most money. We have never made a lot of it. But it is our life, and we enjoy it.

What are your plans for your dairy in the next year and five years? Our goal is to keep going and eventually retire in the next few years. I (Jim) am 63 and Jan is 58.

How do you or your family like to spend time when you are not doing chores? We like to ride our motorcycle. We will take off for an afternoon, drive the back roads and enjoy the scenery. Our goal is to take roads we have never been on. Usually there is a stop to get ice cream, too.

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Page 40 • Dairy Star • Saturday, July 10, 2021

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