July 10, 2021 Dairy Star - 1st section - Zone 2 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

Biden touts infrastructure plan in Coulee region

Zook offers ways President touches on agriculture needs By Danielle Nauman to increase ondanielle.n@dairystar.com farm efficiency 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

July 10, 2021

LA CROSSE, Wis. – President Joe Biden visited the coulee region to speak about his infrastructure framework plan June 29 at the La Crosse Municipal Transit Utility in La Crosse. While the trip was planned to address agriculture and the rural economy, the focus was changed to promote the infrastructure plan which has gained bipartisan support in Congress. “This is a generational investment to modernize our infrastructure,” said Biden in his address. “It will position America to compete with the rest of the world in the 21st century.” Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation president Kevin Krentz, a Berlin dairy farmer, was in the audience to hear Biden speak.

“I am pleased that I could represent Wisconsin Farm Bureau at President Biden’s visit,” said Krentz in a WFBF press release. “We appreciate the attention to several rural issues from the president.” One of the biggest infrastructure challenges faced by rural Americans and farmers is a lack of access to broadband internet access, which Biden addressed in his speech. “No farmer here in Wisconsin should lose business because they don’t have a reliable connection to the internet to know when to buy, when to sell and to know what’s going on,” Biden said. “In 1936, the federal government brought electricity to nearly every home and farm in America. It spread the opportunity; it changed the lives and fortunes of thousands. It set the stage for a massive sustained economic boom that would follow World War II. High-speed internet is the equivalent of that today. It isn’t a luxury; it is now a necessity like water and electricity. This deal would provide it for everyone Turn to BIDEN | Page 6

A path for moving forward Brenner shares philosophy at Hunter Haven Farms By Danielle Nauman danielle.n@dairystar.com

PEARL CITY, Ill. – The Illinois Milk Producers Association hosted a virtual Dairy Tech Tour of Hunter Haven Farms near Pearl City which was hosted by Scott Brenner July 1. Hunter Haven Farms is a 925-cow dairy located in northwestern Illinois. The farm was established in 1976 by the Block family. The herd of registered Holsteins has expanded over the past 45 PHOTO COURTESY OF ILLINOIS MILK PRODUCERS ASSOCIATION years to the current size and is operated by Scott Brenner. The The cows are housed in one of two tunnel-ven lated freestall barns at Hunter Haven Farms in Block family set the farm up Pearl City, Illinois. as a corporation in 1997, and each area of the farm is its own running a 4% fat average and a LLC, which has allowed for protein average of 3.18%. All of the forages fed are an easier transition from the grown on nearly 2,000 acres. Block family to Brenner. “We are focusing on the Half of the acres are devoted dairy aspect of the operation to corn production each year, right now,” Brenner said. “The with about 825 being used for way it is set up allows us to cash corn silage and the remaining rent the land and equipment. used for grain. Approximately Once the dairy is paid for, then 400 acres of alfalfa are grown for haylage. The farm harvests we can move on to the rest.” The cows are milked three four crops each year to produce times a day in a double-12 the tonnage needed. Brenner parlor with each milking taking also raises soybeans as part PHOTO COURTESY OF ILLINOIS MILK PRODUCERS ASSOCIATION seven hours to complete. The of his dairy ration. Wheat is Sco Brenner leads a virtual Dairy Tech Tour of his farm for the herd is averaging 97 pounds Illinois Milk Producers Associa on. Brenner operates Hunter of milk per cow per day while Turn to HUNTER HAVEN | Page 6 Haven Farms, where he milks 925 cows, near Pearl City, Illinois.

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

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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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.

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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

Pulaski

Ketter’s neighbor a special helper on farm

Rain no match for Brunch on the Farm goers

Second Section: Pages 30 - 31

First Section: Pages 35 - 36

Second Section: Pages 24, 26 - 27

Viroqua

Peterson presented AJCA young breeder award

Bayfield

Douglas

First Section: Page 34

Iron

Flo

Sawyer

ren

Price

Forest Polk

Barron

Lincoln Taylor

Warren

Women in Dairy: Danielle Kuehne

Page 33 First Section

Portage Waupaca

ie am Brown

Wood

g uta

Jackson

La Crosse

Juneau Vernon

First Section: Page 37

e nn Wi

Green Lake Fond Du Lac

Columbia Dodge

Sauk

The “Mielke” Market Weekly

Wa sh

for d

Richland

go ba Calumet

Waushara

Adams

Monroe

ett e

Page 32 First Section

Trempealeau

Buffalo

Come Full Circle

Shawano

Clark

Eau Claire Pepin

From the Zweber Farm

Oconto

Marathon

ton S he bo Milwaukee Ozauk M yg ee an anito wo c

Pierce

Gilbertsons named WHA young breeders

Menominee

Dunn

ing

Hollandale

Dane

Iowa

Pages 8 - 9 Second Section

Langlade

Chippewa

St. Croix

First Section: Pages 10, 12 - 13

Jefferson Waukesha

Grant Lafayette Green

Country Cooking

Rock

Racine Walworth Kenosha

Page 34 Second Section

Delavan

Maple-Leigh Futures home to elite show cattle, donors

Carroll

Win

McHenry

Ogle

Pearl City

Zone 2

ag neb

so hen

First Section: Pages 28 - 29

Jo Daviess Ste

Zone 1

Menominee

Rusk

Page 30 First Section

Page 31 First Section

Oneida

Do or

Wa s

Burnett

Ramblings from the Ridge

Veterinary Wisdom

Vilas

ur hb

Page 27 First Section

Delta

Dickinson

Ashland

Farmer and Columnist

Page 26 First Section

Malone

A day in the life of the Menn family

Ma r

On the Mark

Norwalk

aun ee

Pages 8-9 First Section

Ke w

Ag Insider

DeKalb

Brenner shares philosophy at Hunter Haven Farms

Whiteside

Kane

Lee

First Section: Pages 1, 6-7

Rock Island

Mercer

Hen ders

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

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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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raised to provide straw in the ration, and the grain is sold as a cash crop. The farm has a methane digester to create bedding for the farm as well as heat for the water for both the digester and the dairy. “If you follow the manure as it comes out of the cow, we scrape to the flume in the center of each barn,” Brenner said. “From there, it is flushed to a collection pit and then transferred to the digester. Manure is scraped and beds are prepped three times a day each time the cows leave to go to the parlor.” Brenner said the dry matter bedding works well if it is dry enough. “The drier you can get it, the better

it works,” he said. “With our system, I can get it consistently to 42% and that works well. If we get down to 35%, then we have problems. The damp wet times of the year are the biggest challenges.” Brenner compared managing the digester system to managing a cow. “If you feed it like a cow, it will give you a consistent product,” Brenner said. … “If you treat it like a cow, it’s a very simple system. If you treat it like a piece of equipment, you are going to be frustrated.” The digester produces more bedding than is required for the herd, Turn to HUNTER HAVEN | Page 7

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while bringing down the cost of internet for everyone across the board.” Krentz echoed the importance of improving broadband access throughout Wisconsin, noting that 25% of U.S. farms do not have the necessary internet access to help move their businesses forward. “Not only do farmers grow food and fuel, they also generate and share information, connect with customers and make data-driven business decisions,” Krentz said. “Broadband is crucial for our farms and rural communities to actively compete in a business setting while also staying connected with the rest of the world, and I am pleased President Biden specifically mentioned that. He understands that we can no longer be left behind.” The bill also focuses on improving the nation’s transportation system, including roads and bridges, which the agricultural industry relies on. “1 in 5 miles of highway and roads in America are in poor condition; 50% of our bridges are over 50 years old,” Biden said. “More than 1,000 bridges here in Wisconsin are rated as structurally deficient by engineers. … More than 600 bridges in Wisconsin have weight limits that prevent trucks from crossing. That means long detours for farmers heading to market. It is more than just an inconvenience; it is about safety as well.” While Krentz said the WFBF appreciates the support for improving transportation infrastructure, there are concerns about how Biden plans to pay for improvements. “As agriculture evolves, so must the road and bridge infrastructure that support it,” Krentz said. “We support the bipartisan approach of addressing traditional infrastructure but do have concerns about paying for it with changes to the tax code. This could disproportionately hit agriculture and lead to greater consolidation within the industry. We hope to have further conversations on these matters.”

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According to Biden, the plan will also be the largest investment in clean energy transmission in American history. “Power outages cost the U.S. economy $70 billion annual, nationally,” Biden said. “We need to make investments to make a more resilient grid. The majority of the nation’s grid is aging; 70% of the transmission and distribution lines are well into the second half of their lifespan.” According to Biden, the plan will address the deficiencies in the nation’s power grid. “This deal will modernize the power grid, making it more energy efficient, resistant to extreme weather, and resilient against bad actors who try to hack and attack the grid,” Biden said. “It will strengthen and revitalize our natural infrastructure like our coastlines and levies, while preparing our physical infrastructure for wildfires, floods and other extreme weather.” Biden touched on environmental efforts that would include improving water and air quality, an area where Krentz feels Wisconsin farmers are taking the lead. “Farmers have similar wants when it comes to clean water and sustainable efforts,” Krentz said. “Farmers have been working for years to improve their sustainability efforts, and we hope that farmers can be involved in conversations on conservation and preserving our natural resources. We, too, want to leave our land, water and air better for the next generations.” Biden said the infrastructure plan is an investment in the future. “This bipartisan breakthrough is a great deal for the American people,” he said. “Not just folks in cities, not just for red states or blue states, but for everybody. The jobs created will be largely those for blue collar workers, the majority of who will not have to have a college degree to have those jobs; a lot of those folks are being left behind now.”

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

Con nued from HUNTER HAVEN | Page 6

and Brenner said they sell about 17 tons of material each week to a neighboring dairy. The cows are housed in two freestall barns. Fresh bedding is added to the stalls four to five times a week. Tunnel ventilation was added to the original freestall barn, which houses 450 cows, about 10 years ago. “We really found some positive things from that,” Brenner said. “We have a more controlled environment. We gained some cooling capacity in the summer but also having a much nicer environment for the cows in the winter. I think we see as much benefit in the winter with our tunnel barn as we do in the summertime.” Brenner is working to complete the tunnel ventilation process in a second barn because of the benefits he has seen in the original barn. “Our goal is to have 7 to 9

mph wind speeds throughout the barn,” Brenner said. “We want to shift away from soaking the cows in the barns for cooling. We are getting concerned about water usage and the effectiveness of the water we use.” Cows will continue to be soaked in the holding area, but once in the barn, Brenner hopes to keep them comfortable with wind speed over the bunks and stalls. “We want wind over the bunk where they are eating and over the stalls where they are laying,” Brenner said. “It is not real critical to have wind in the drive-thru feed aisle or over the manure alley. You don’t want the cows standing in the manure alley. You either want them eating or laying down.” The fans set in the peaks run 24 hours per day. The lower fans, as well as the series of basket and panel fans

PHOTO COURTESY OF ILLINOIS MILK PRODUCERS ASSOCIATION

Cows rest in free stalls. Animal comfort is a priority for Sco Brenner at his dairy in Illinois.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ILLINOIS MILK PRODUCERS ASSOCIATION

The manure digester at Hunter Haven Farms supplies the farm with manure solids for bedding and provides enough methane to heat all of the hot water needed to run the dairy and facilitate the opera on of the digester. throughout the barns, are run on thermostats. Younger cows are housed in the original freestall barn, while older cows are housed in the new barn with larger 50inch stalls. Brenner keeps his firstlactation cows grouped together to alleviate social pecking order problems between younger and older cows. The only time first lactation and mature cows are housed together is for about three weeks in the fresh pen, which Brenner keeps stocked at 80% to alleviate competition. Keeping close tabs on his heifer inventory has been an

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important cost-control measure for Brenner. Heifers are bred twice with sexed semen and then serviced to beef. About 25% of the milking cows are bred with sexed semen, and the remainder are bred with beef to increase the value of both the heifer and bull calves. All heifers are sent to a grower in Kansas, and Brenner began sending newborn calves to a calf raiser. Brenner said removing himself from the day-to-day duties of raising the heifers makes it easier to set parameters for what animals join the milking herd and which ones are culled. In Brenner’s mind, being

successful in today’s dairy industry requires a constant evaluation of a farm’s position and what is working or not working. “Know where you are; know where you need to be,” he said. “If you can lock in your costs, do it. That’s the smart thing to do whether you’re milking 50 cows or 5,000 cows. Some things you can’t do anything about, but maybe you have to tear things apart and start over. Just because you’ve done something the same way for 25 years doesn’t make it right.”

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

Broadband touted at Biden’s Wisconsin appearance President Joe Biden was scheduled to visit a dairy Canada’s misuse of dairy tariff rate quotas was one farm northwest of Madison, Wisconsin, June 29 with of many trade issues discussed during the hearing. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. However, the plan “I’m optimistic that because of the USMCA, we changed just before the trip, and Biden instead traveled can work through this in a way that affirms rigorous to LaCrosse, Wisconsin, to promote the infrastructure enforcement and in a way that moves all countries bill. In addition to roads and bridges, the forward,” Brady said. Meanwhile, U.S. Ag Insider president highlighted the investment in Trade Representative Katherine Tai was broadband. “No farmer here in Wisconsin in Mexico City this past week to meet should lose business because they don’t with her counterparts from Mexico and have reliable connection to internet; Canada to mark the first anniversary of know when to buy, know when to sell and the trade agreement. Trade negotiations know what’s going on,” Biden said. Biden that began in May also resumed. compared the current move to broadband to the expansion of rural electrification in Made in the USA 1936. The Federal Trade Commission is taking steps to improve its ability to Kind, Gallagher introduce dairy enforce the “Made in the USA” standard. reform package Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Wisconsin Congressmen Ron Kind praised the move, saying the United By Don Wick and Mike Gallagher have introduced States Department of Agriculture would Columnist legislation to create a dairy pricing and take “a top to bottom” review of the policy commission. This panel would be “Product of the USA” label. Accurate, tasked with identifying challenges and opportunities transparent labeling is the goal. The current label does for new dairy export markets, supply chain logistics not guarantee source certification or is tied to any food and federal milk marketing order reform. “Our family safety standard. farmers are the heart of our rural communities, and we need to work to ensure the future of Wisconsin Class III milk price updated dairy remains bright,” Kind said. Under the federal milk order pricing system, the price of Class III milk in June was $17.21 per WTO ag talks enter a critical phase hundredweight. That’s down $1.75 from May. Leading up to the World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference in November, a report has May milk production goes up been issued on the key challenges for an agricultural Nationwide, milk production increased 4.6% trade deal. Market access, export subsidies and food in May. South Dakota had the biggest increase, up security are among the seven topics up for negotiation. 14.6%. That was helped by a year-over-year increase The chair for the agricultural negotiations, Gloria in the state’s dairy herd by 19,000 head. Minnesota Abraham Peralta of Costa Rica, said time is short milk production rose 6%. Minnesota dairy farmers until this ministerial happens and trust must be also responded to higher milk prices, increasing dairy restored between all trading partners. cow numbers by 19,000 head. Optimism over dairy dispute House Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Kevin Brady is optimistic the dairy dispute with Canada can be resolved. At a hearing June 30,

Butter, cheese output rises According to the USDA, U.S. butter production totaled 185 million pounds during the month of May. That’s 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.

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 Turn to AG INSIDER | Page 9

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Con nued from AG INSIDER | Page 8 in the Yakima Valley. The court ruling said these permits do not adequately protect surface waters and groundwater. Another acquisition for Saputo Saputo is buying Wensleydale Dairy Products in northern England for $39 million. This creamery has two facilities and makes a variety of specialty and regional cheeses. Montreal-based Saputo has made two other major acquisitions in recent weeks; Bute Island Foods in Scotland and Wisconsin Specialty Protein in Reedsburg, Wisconsin. 2022 host site selected for Alice finals The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection has selected Dane County as the host for the 2022 Alice in Dairyland finals. The event will take place May

19-21, 2022, in Madison. This will be the 75th year for the competition. 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.

CORRECTION:

Joe Mallow was misidentified in the June 26 issue of Dairy Star where he responded in the Dairying through the Decades feature. Dairy Star regrets the error.

“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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Erik and Brenda Gilbertson and their children – (from le ) Janelle, Naydeen, Braxton, Elise and Makenna – are honored as the Wisconsin Holstein Associa on’s 2020 Dis nguished Young Breeder alongside WHA Princess Zoe Ertel (le ) and WHA Princess A endant Emily Stumpf.

Gilbertsons named WHA young breeders By Danielle Nauman danielle.n@dairystar.com

HOLLANDALE, Wis. – Erik Gilbertson’s goal is simple: Breed cows he will enjoy seeing every morning when he walks into the barn. That goal earned him and his wife, Brenda, the Wisconsin Holstein Association 2020 Distinguished Young Breeder award. With the absence of a Wisconsin Holstein Convention in February, where the award is traditionally presented, the Gilbertsons were recognized during the Midwest National Spring Show May 1 in Jefferson. The recognition took on a special light for the Gilbertsons. While they were being honored, they had

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two cows competing in the senior 2-year-old class. When the dust settled, Ms Gildale So Starstruck-ET VG-86 placed on top of the class, while her herdmate, Our Favorite She Vintage-ET VG-88, placed seventh. The Gilbertsons milk 52 cows on their farm located near Hollandale. Gilbertson is the fourth generation of his family to farm, and the couple’s children – Makenna, 10, Elise, 8, Naydeen, 5, Janelle, 2, and Braxton, 3 months, – are the fifth. The young couple purchased an interest in the Gilbertson family farm in 2008 and continued to increase their investment until they had purchased both the home farm and Gilbertson’s grandfather’s farm. Gilbertson’s father, Mark, continues to work on the farm. “I’m very thankful for all the help my dad gives me on the farm,” Gilbertson said. “And my mom helps out so much with the kids; that helps us out a lot.”

Turn to GILBERTSONS | Page 12

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Ms Gildale So Starstruck-ET is pictured standing on top of the senior 2-year-old class at the Midwest Spring Na onal Show May 1 in Jeﬀerson, Wisconsin. This cow is one Erik Gilbertson’s favorite cows. 8

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Con nued from GILBERTSONS | Page 10

Breeding a quality herd of registered Holsteins is something Gilbertson puts thought and effort into with the focus of his program being high-type cows that remain youthful for several lactations. That is evident by the 18 Excellent, 24 Very Good and 7 Good Plus cows that reside in the barn, with a herd BAA of 111.1%. “I want to breed something that everyone else might want,” Gilbertson said. “I like to go to the shows and sales and see the daughters of bulls people are using and what the market is looking for.” Walking the fine line of deciding what sires to use can be tricky, Gilbertson said. “I typically don’t like using young sires, but I also don’t want to fall behind on the popular in-demand genetics,” Gilbertson said. Following the shows and sales and talking to other breeders helps Gilbertson determine when a young sire might merit consideration. Current bulls being used in the Gildale breeding program include Walnutlawn Sidekick, Duckett Crush Tatoo and Croteau Lesperron Unix. Gilbertson has also continued to use bulls such as Scientific B Defiant, Mr Chassity Gold Chip, Val-Bisson Doorman and Walnutlawn Soloman. When considering matings, Gilbertson looks at each cow on an individual level, determining strengths and weaknesses to make corrective matings and continue toward the ultimate goal of breeding the next great one. “I would love to breed a cow that could stand in the top three at World Dairy Expo,” Gilbertson said of his desire to win, place or show at Expo.

PHOTO COURTESY OF DAIRY AGENDA TODAY

Nick Sarbacker, of Watertown, Wisconsin, presents Ms Gildale So Starstruck-ET at the Midwest Spring Holstein Show May 1 in Jeﬀerson, Wisconsin. While the Gilbertson family was being honored as the 2020 WHA Dis nguished Young Breeder, Starstruck was busy winning the senior 2-year-old class. “Longevity is important to me,” Gilbertson said. “I really like cows that can last a long time. Ironically, our herd is as young right now as it has been in a long time, but we have been calving in some really nice young cows the last couple of years. I think they will be the kind that can last for a long time.” With several cow families in the herd, Gilbertson is hard-pressed to find

one that trumps the others as a favorite, but he can pick one cow that holds a special spot. That cow is Starstruck, the 2-year-old class winner at the spring show in Jefferson. “Starstuck’s mother was always a favorite cow of mine,” he said. “We lost her last summer right before the state show during a really hot spell. I took that really hard, but the way Starstruck

calved in, I see a lot of her mother in her, and I can only hope she will transmit as well.” Starstruck is a Walnutlawn Soloman daughter from an EX-94 Atwood daughter. The Gilbertsons place a great deal of focus on cow comfort. They have Turn to GILBERTSONS | Page 13

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Con nued from GILBERTSON | Page 12 installed mattresses and aisle mats and fans, and have changed the neck rails of their stalls and added more box stalls into the barn. Getting cows on pasture to graze and exercise is another important part of the Gilbertsons’ management plan. The Gilbertsons’ appreciation for the registered Holstein industry does not end at the barn door. The family is active in both the Wisconsin and the Iowa County Holstein associations and are involved in the planning committee for the annual District 3 Show. “It has been good to have shows and sales again,” Gilbertson said of the comradery and friendships gleaned

from association activities. “Being able to see and talk to other breeders gives us something to keep going. It helps combat all the negativity we face day in and day out.” While Gilbertson expressed pride at being selected as the distinguished young breeder, he maintains that what he is most proud of is the family he and Brenda are raising on the family farm. “Brenda does everything that I am not able to get to,” Gilbertson said. “And our kids are growing up to learn the importance of responsibility and a good work ethic. My family is by far my greatest achievement.”

DATCP producer-led grant program increases conservation practices on Wisconsin farms

Data collected by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection shows that conservation practices among producer-led groups in the program grew by 82% from 2019 to 2020. Conservation practices include low disturbance manure application, split nitrogen applications, no-till and cover crops. These practices help reduce soil erosion and phosphorus loss from farm fields, ensuring that more nutrients go into farmers’ crops, rather than into local soil and water sources. The data suggests that DATCP’s Producer-Led Watershed Protection Grant Program is an effective way to increase the use of conservation practices across farmland. Recent program numbers show that conservation practices implemented through the work of state-funded groups grew from 439,237 acres in 2019 to 798,221 acres in 2020. The information is a result of DATCP’s Conservation Tracking effort to better understand the potential outcomes the program has on land and water resources in the state. “This tracking allows us to quantify the water quality benefits associated with the practices implemented by producer-led groups, and it helps us share their work and impact with their local communities as well as other groups across the state,” said RACHEL RUSHMANN, PRODUCER LED PROGRAM MANGER Rachel Rushmann, ProducerLed Program Manager. Additionally, DATCP’s analysis shows that 211 farmers in the program planted a total of 62,587 acres using no-till technology — a 19% increase from 2019. This resulted in an estimated reduction of 84,860 tons of soil erosion and prevented the loss of an estimated 54,072 pounds of phosphorus. Cover crop implementation followed a similar trend, with 83,843 acres planted across 423 farms (a 19% increase from 2019). These improvements are expected to reduce soil erosion by an estimated 75,364 tons and prevent an estimated 41,492 pounds of phosphorus from leaving farm fields. In addition to documenting the implementation of these practices, the Conservation Tracking project will model sediment and phosphorus reductions from different conservation systems. DATCP will also begin incorporating additional metrics associated with the expanding ecosystem service program opportunities, such as soil carbon and greenhouse gas emissions. In the 2021-2023 biennial state budget, Governor Tony Evers recommended increasing available funding for the Producer-Led program to $1 million each year on a continuing basis to help meet ongoing conservation needs across the state. On June 10, the legislature’s Joint Finance Committee agreed to provide the funding for the next two fiscal years. For more information about the program, visit https:// datcp.wi.gov/Pages/Programs_Services/ProducerLedProjects.aspx.

“This tracking allows us to quantify the water quality benefits associated with the practices implemented by producer-led groups.”

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Dairy Star • Saturday, July 10, 2021 • Page 15

From Our Side Of The Fence Why is having a farm dog important to you? Sam and Brittany Olson Dallas, Wisconsin Barron County 40 cows

Rachel O’Leary Janesville, Wisconsin Rock County 140 cows

Amy Karpinski W a u p a c a , Wisconsin Waupaca County 210 cows

What is the name, age and breed of your dog? Fraulein is a 3-year-old German shepherdhusky mix. We also have a 9-year-old collie mix named Duffy. Duffy is a fabulous companion, and Fraulein is more of a working girl.

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

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? Farm dogs serve as a great doorbell and another set of eyes on the farm. If they can herd and work cattle, that’s all the better. What is one unique trait about your dog? Fraulein’s agility; she can hop right up to the top of a round bale in a single leap, and we once clocked her running 21 mph. Unfortunately, she doesn’t fetch. What type of training did you do with your dog and how long did it take? We got Fraulein as an older puppy (6 months old) and had basic commands like sit and shake nailed down pretty quickly. However, we’re constantly working with her on moving cattle; with cattle dogs, you’re not training them so much on herding as you are training them to back off. Her enthusiasm gets in the way at times, but she’s always happy to help and generally makes bringing cows in and putting them out go much faster. When she gets it right, we make sure to give her a lot of praise and pets. The instinct and drive are there; she just needs instruction, and we’re learning right along with her. What is you or your family’s favorite activity to do with your dog? Moving cattle when she knows where we want them to go. For her, the work is the reward. What is the most memorable experience with your dog? One summer morning last year, she was walking along the rock wall in our barnyard and hopped onto the side of the stock tank. She slipped and fell in the water. The look she had on her face told us her feet didn’t touch the bottom like she thought they would, and we laughed until we cried. Another summer morning, we were moving fence for the cows in one of our pastures and she chased a 10-point buck out of the woods. Tell us about your favorite dog you have ever had. In Sam’s lifetime, there have been five dogs on the farm. Fraulein is the best cow dog, while Licorice was the best doorbell. She only barked when someone drove in. Tell us about your farm. We are the fifth generation on Sam’s family’s farm and transitioning into ownership. Our registered Holsteins and Jerseys are managed with intensive rotational grazing.

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.

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 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.

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.

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 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. 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.

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.

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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.

Turn to OUR SIDE | Page 16

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

Con nued from OUR SIDE | Page 15 Mindy Sieja We y e r h a e u s e r , Wisconsin Rusk County 105 cows

Ben Anderson Spring Valley, Wisconsin Pierce County 30 cows

Ashley Dreier N o r w a l k , Wisconsin Monroe County 74 cows

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? Timber is a 2-year-old red heeler.

Why is having a farm dog important to you? He is a good companion and great help.

Why is having a farm dog important to you? I think having a dog in general is important. A dog is important on a farm for companionship. Timber is my best friend. Not only does he keep me company throughout the day, but he is also my therapist. I have a lot of thoughts going through my head and it’s good to just talk. Timber is always ready to listen even if he doesn’t know what you are saying.

What is the name, age and breed of your dog? My dog’s name is Buddy, and he is 7 years old and is a border collie-Australian shepherd mix. We also have two shelties on the farm, Wazz and Buster.

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.

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What is one unique trait about your dog? Timber hasn’t figured out how to chase cows yet but he does head them off. I use that to my advantage. When I put the cows in the barn from pasture, Timber helps me in the barn with problem cows. I tell him to get them while I go behind them and then the cow will turn into the correct stall. What type of training did you do with your dog and how long did it take? We just did on-farm training. I had an older dog that barked to be let in or out of the house. That’s where Timber learned to bark to get a door opened. Timber is a natural cow dog so it wasn’t hard to get him to work cattle. He isn’t the best at it but he is getting better. I use the same phrases when working with Timber and the cows. He knows “go get them” and “get her.” Timber knows what I mean and what I expect when I say these two phrases. What is you or your family’s favorite activity to do with your dog? Timber really enjoys playing fetch and going for rides. We throw Timber’s toys all day. He will nudge his toy against our feet no matter how busy we are. Timber also loves rides. All we have to say is, “Want to go for a ride?” and he will jump in or beg to be picked up if he can’t jump in the vehicle. We like taking him in our convertible Geo Tracker because he gets all the wind around him and you can tell he is so happy. What is the most memorable experience with your dog? When Timber was a puppy, I took him fencing. He waddled through the grass and came across a fresh mound of dirt. It was funny watching him discover what dirt was. He dug and growled and bounced trying to figure it out. I took a video of this and once in a while I will rewatch it and it always seems to put a smile on my face. Tell us about your favorite dog you have ever had. Charlie was my favorite dog. He was our only dog until we got Timber. My three sisters and I grew up with Charlie. He was with us for 17 years. We had a lot of great times with him and we all miss him a lot. Timber misses him too. They shared the porch, and to this day, Timber still stays on his half of the porch and won’t go over to what used to be Charlie’s side of the porch. Tell us about your farm. I am a fourth-generation farmer. I put cows back in while going to school back in December. I milk 30 Holstein cows and help with the crops. I am planning on adding some Jerseys. We run close to 430 acres of cropland. We plant alfalfa, corn, soybeans and small grains. We practice no-till planting and try to raise great crops.

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Why is having a farm dog important to you? I grew up with farm dogs and have been around them my entire life. It’s important to have one around to help herd cattle, offer company when alone and to alert of a critter (like a raccoon or opossum) that’s not supposed to be in the barn. Buddy is mostly my partner in crime. He follows me everywhere. We do all the chores together, and occasionally, he helps me finish them, like spreading sand in the free stalls. He loves to dig. What is one unique trait about your dog? Buddy’s unique trait would have to be that he loves riding in vehicles. From trucks to the four-wheeler, he doesn’t miss a chance to go for a ride. What type of training did you do with your dog and how long did it take? We didn’t really do any specific training. When I brought him home, I used training treats to teach him the basic commands. It didn’t take long for him to catch on. Once he got older, I tried to teach him to herd the cows. You’d think with his pedigree he would be good at herding cattle. That’s not the case. He tries so hard to herd our heifers into the shed, but nine times out of 10, he gets scared and runs away when one approaches him. Or, he runs the heifers in the opposite direction of where they are supposed to go. What is you or your family’s favorite activity to do with your dog? Our favorite activity is riding in the side-by-side together. It doesn’t matter who heads toward it, he will beat them there. And once he is on, he doesn’t get off. He also loves to play fetch.

What is the most memorable experience with your dog? This has to be the first day I brought him home. I finished my internship with the Wisconsin Holstein Association and decided to reward myself with a puppy. It was the perfect day to bring him home because my entire family was at a dairy show at the local fair, so no one knew what I was doing. Once I brought him home and after I introduced him to our other dogs, I decided he needed to learn what a barn was and what cows are because I spend a majority of my time there. Well, he didn’t exactly follow me as I walked through the barn, so instead I put him in our barn office while I scraped the feed up in mangers. I was about done when I heard yelping and whining noises coming from the office. When I opened the door, I found Buddy huddled in the corner, and a mother cat was all hunched up keeping him there so he couldn’t move. Little did I know, the cat had kittens nearby, and she was not a fan of Buddy. He hasn’t liked cats since that day. Tell us about your favorite dog you have ever had. My favorite dog before Buddy was probably a sheltie named Skippy. He was such a loyal, friendly dog, and he loved everyone and everything, especially chasing birds. Tell us about your farm. I work with my parents, Randy and Becky Dreier, and younger brother, Jaden, on the farm. We do all the work ourselves and milk 74 registered Holsteins twice a day in a tiestall barn. Chores are a split responsibility. My parents and I take turns milking the cows. My dad mixes feed and feeds the cows, does the fieldwork and fixes a majority of what breaks down. I am mostly in charge of younger stock, and Jaden helps with the calves and fieldwork. We farm about 165 acres of land, and we grow alfalfa, corn and occasionally peas and oats for feed.

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

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

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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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Dairy Star • Saturday, July 10, 2021 • Page 19

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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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Dairy Star • Saturday, July 10, 2021 • Page 21

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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

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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

It is OK to not be OK Ditzenberger creates TUGS to build mental health awareness, prevent suicide By Stacey Smart

stacey.s@dairystar.com

MONROE, Wis. – In 1991, Jeff Ditzenberger hit rock bottom and thought the only solution was to end his life. The decision was not spontaneous. Ditzenberger spent six weeks planning his suicide. He planned to die in an abandoned, burning house that he intentionally set on fire. But when the building went up in flames, Ditzenberger changed his mind. “I had an out-of-body experience and thought, ‘What am I doing?’” Ditzenberger said. “So, I ran next door and called 911.” Ditzenberger kept the fact he was trying to kill himself a secret and was charged with felony arson. He spent nine months in jail and received a $10,000 fine and five years probation for his actions. Many years passed before Ditzenberger admitted what really happened that night. “I was less embarrassed of being a volunteer firefighter charged with arson than I was of admitting I had problems,” Ditzenberger said. Knowing dark days all too

well, Ditzenberger decided he wanted to help others dealing with mental health problems. In 2015, he formed a nonprofit organization called TUGS – which stands for Talking, Understanding, Growing, Supporting. The group’s mission is to build awareness about mental health and suicide prevention through community outreach. A former dairy farmer and farm equipment salesman, Ditzenberger works with farmers as well as men and women from every walk of life. “Our tagline is, ‘It’s OK to not be OK,’” Ditzenberger said. “People need to know it’s OK to have a bad day. It’s OK to have mental health problems.” Ditzenberger is devoting his life to helping people who are experiencing mental health issues, particularly those who are suicidal. “I feel like I understand people’s pain,” he said. “I remember how bad I once felt, and I don’t want anyone else to feel like that.” The idea for TUGS came from Ditzenberger’s time in the Navy spent on a large ship at sea. When the ship wanted

STACEY SMART/DAIRY STAR

Former dairy farmer Jeﬀ Ditzenberger is the founder of the nonprofit, TUGS – Talking, Understanding, Growing, Supporting. The nonprofit was established in 2015 to build awareness for mental health and suicide preven on. to come into port, it had to call a tugboat. Ditzenberger said he could hear the toot-toot of the tugboat and see the little puffs of smoke but could not see the boat itself because of its small size. “A tugboat provides a sense of calm as it pulls you safely into port or rescues you from treacherous waters,” Ditzenberger said. “Why can’t life be like this? Even big ships

need a little help sometimes. Find an unbiased person to be your tugboat.” A support group with worldwide reach, TUGS is promoted by word of mouth and social media. “We post a lot of stuff on Facebook and provide a vast array of referral information and resources,” Ditzenberger said. “We’re like tugboats floating around waiting for

people to call us. My goal is to see more TUGS organizations form throughout the country.” Erasing the stigma about mental health and the stereotype that men cannot share their feelings are two key areas TUGS focuses on. “The stigma surrounding mental health needs to stop,” Ditzenberger said. “I think we should be able to talk about mental health as freely as we talk about the common cold or COVID-19.” Ditzenberger is a certified mental health coach, Question Persuade Refer specialist, public speaker, comedian and ordained minister who touches as many lives as he can. He gives talks all over the country for audiences of all kinds. Ditzenberger also works for a crop farmer and is active in his community, coaching softball and sitting on several boards, including Habitat for Humanity. “As a society, we teach toxic masculinity, which is ridiculous,” Ditzenberger said. “Men are told to put on this tough exterior and be there for our families. It’s so ingrained in men to not talk about our feelings because we are told it makes us vulnerable and weak. But we’re human beings too.

Turn to DITZENBERGER | 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

MINNESOTA

GLACIAL PLAINS COOP Kerkhoven, MN • 320-264-3831

SUNRISE AG CO-OP Buckman, MN • 320-468-6433

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 DITZENBERGER | Page 23 At TUGS, we help men open up about their feelings.” Ditzenberger grew up on a 50-cow dairy. When he was 17, he enlisted in serving during the Gulf War. Ditzenberger has post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder and anxiety, and has also dealt with alcohol addiction. “I have PTSD very bad brought on my numerous things in my life,” Ditzenberger said. “But I made a choice a while ago to not let my mental health be a crutch. Rather, I decided to make my mental health a learning tool for everyone, including myself. Do I still have bad days? Of course. There are times I have bad weeks.” Ditzenberger has had mental health problems for years and has endured side effects from medical treatments. “The side effects for mental health drugs are usually worse than the problem they are treating,” Ditzenberger said. “If you take these drugs, take time to learn the side effects, and make sure you monitor your moods. If your mood isn’t good, tell your provider.” Ditzenberger has no room for negative comments that foster a cycle of mental suppression. Before his suicide attempt, he reached out to friends but received responses like, ‘Suck it up buttercup,’ ‘Tomorrow is a better day,’ or ‘Let’s go get a drink.’ “Toxic positivity is no good either,” Ditzenberger said. “Why can’t we validate someone’s bad day? If I see someone struggling, I’ll say, ‘It’s OK to be upset.’ That’s more powerful than hearing, ‘Somebody’s got it worse than you, suck it up.’ We don’t have to tell everybody to have a good day. People need to process things before they get

PHOTO SUBMITTED

Jeﬀ Ditzenberger speaks at the Angels Among Us Suicide Awareness Fundraiser and 5K in Monroe, Wisconsin. Ditzenberger, who a empted suicide in 1991, gives talks all over the country about mental health. to that point. Having a good day is not as easy as flipping a light switch.” Ditzenberger said to be aware of the warning signs for suicide. “If I give you my prized possessions, or say things like, ‘I wish I would just go to sleep and never wake up,’ pay attention because those are cries for help,” Ditzenberger said. When a person drops hints about suicide, Ditzenberger said it is important to reassure them their life is

worth living and let them know there are people who are happy they are alive. Ask them if they want to talk to a professional or perhaps a member of the clergy. “People who are at the point I was at in 1991 just want somebody to listen,” Ditzenberger said. “If anybody would’ve asked me if I was suicidal, I would’ve told them the truth. Suicidal people are very honest. But the problem is, nobody wants to ask that question.

We need to have conversations about mental health and suicide. These conversations are tough, but the conversation at a visitation is worse. Suicide is the No. 1 preventable death. We’re not going to save everyone, but we have to try.” Ditzenberger said farmers can get vouchers through the Wisconsin Farm Center to see a licensed therapist. The center also provides a 24/7 Farmer Wellness Hotline by calling 1-888-9012558. People seeking lifesaving help should call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or text “HOPELINE” to 741741. The Got Your Back app is designed to help teenagers. “Dairy farmers will strip down to a T-shirt in minus 40-degree weather to save a momma cow and a calf,” Ditzenberger said. “Sometimes, we have to reach out to someone who will do the same for us. From cattle to crops, farmers have so much to take care of and are under a lot of stress. They’re worried about all kinds of stuff, but we don’t have to handle everything internally.” Ditzenberger stressed the importance of being kind, reaching out to people and trying to understand what someone is going through. “If someone is having a rough day, they need to know it’s OK,” Ditzenberger said. “Sometimes, you just need someone to listen and not give any advice. Sitting down for a minute with a person who is having a bad day can make all the difference. If you validate someone’s feelings, you’ve planted the seed of hope, and seeds of hope keep people alive.”

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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

She is OK now

My mother’s birthday is July 4. She would have been 83 this year. She was diagnosed with small cell lung cancer three years ago. As she went through her chemotherapy treatments, an experimental medication was offered to her. She had no complications with the treatments and was put on palliative care. I have three sisters. My youngest sister, Terri, offered to help with Mom’s care and with Mom’s apartment building. It is an old building with 12 By Tina Hinchley units, which became too Farmer & Columnist much for Mom. Terri and her husband did repairs in between tenants. For this, she was paid for her labor and time by my mother. As time went on, Mom’s cancer advanced, and she was put on oxygen. She was also moved to hospice care. The doctors told us she might only live three months. Terri was always near, and every morning, Terri showed up to see how Mom was doing and help make breakfast. Later in the evening, Terri came back to eat with Mom. In between the morning and night, Terri worked on the apartment or her own business and was always there if Mom needed anything. I visited when there was time in my schedule, but often it was months between visits and not at all during the pandemic. I wish I had driven the hour and a half more regularly. Three months turned into three years. Terri’s life was put on hold. Terri was Mom’s taxi. Terri was her partner. Terri did all of Mom’s yard work along with the apartment building. Terri even took care of Mom when my son got married in Washington. On and on, Terri was there for Mom. Through all of this, my other sisters visited. One was Mom’s power of attorney for her healthcare and the other for her finances. They questioned Mom about what Terri was doing and how much she was being paid. Terri was being paid for fixing up the apartments in Mom’s building. She bought supplies with Mom’s credit card. She used Mom’s car, which Mom later gave to her because she was not able to drive. My sisters began criticizing Mom, and at times, gave Mom a hard time about what she did or didn’t do for them. They got Mom all worked up and made her cry. All of this tore us apart. Mom was resentful when they visited, and Terri felt as if she had to justify her time spent with Mom. Through all of this, Terri did not receive any pay for helping take care of Mom, and eventually, Terri had an emotional breakdown. She was angry for not being paid for all of the time she spent with Mom. She felt our sisters were not grateful. Terri was fed up and said, “My sisters need to step up and see how it is to take care of Mom.” When Terri called me crying, I said, “I am stepping up.” I started going to Mom’s every Tuesday with plans on doing weekend evenings too. Mom needed someone to fill her prescriptions; her nurse could do that instead of Terri. She needed someone to clean her house; she hired a cleaning lady. She needed someone to do her yard work; she hired someone to mow. As my sisters looked through Mom’s check book, they didn’t realize all of the things Terri did. If not Terri, someone is needed and would have to be paid. They were worried the money would be spent on Terri instead of a home for Mom with full-time caregivers. They didn’t trust Terri, but I did. One week, Mom requested that I become her power of attorney for her health and finances. She felt better after I left and wanted me to be in control of her estate. I called her attorney and made an appointment. Our appointment was on a Thursday. When we arrived, the lawyer and his assistant came to the car. They met with her while she was sitting in the front seat. I left them while they talked, and they told us they would have the paperwork ready in about half an hour.

Mom wanted to go for lunch at the Dog and Suds Drive-In. It had new owners, and Mom ate half of a fish sandwich, fries and a soda. She was feeling great. We went back to the office and picked up the paperwork. Mom was tired. Being outside on a hot day took a lot out of her. I got her situated, and when I left, I gave her a hug and told her I loved her. She said, “Everything is going to be OK. I have nothing to worry about.” I called Mom on Friday, and Terri answered. She told me Mom was really tired but was resting. I called on Saturday. Terri answered, and Mom was watching TV. Sunday morning came. As I finished chores, Terri called to tell me Mom was failing. I dropped everything. When I got to Mom’s, she

was resting in her recliner. I could see she was dying. I held her hand. She opened her eyes and then closed them. She was not in pain. Terri and I checked in on her every once in a while. I noticed she was breathing very slowly, and I held her hand once more. She slowly stopped breathing. It was a peaceful way for her to pass. Terri and I hugged and cried.I had a lot to think about and appreciate while I waited for the nurse and the staff from the funeral home. I am thankful I was able to be there at that moment for Terri and myself. Mom is OK now and has nothing to worry about. Tina Hinchley, and her husband, Duane, daughter Anna, milk 240 registered Holsteins with robots. They also farm 2300 acres of crops near Cambridge, Wisconsin. The Hinchley’s have been hosting farm tour for over 25 years.

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Page 28 • Dairy Star • Saturday, July 10, 2021

A love for the great ones Maple-Leigh Futures home to elite show cattle, donors By Stacey Smart

stacey.s@dairystar.com

DELAVAN, Wis. – With both feet into show cattle and genomics, Tanner Schmaling found his niche when starting Maple-Leigh Futures in 2017. A certified in vitro fertilization facility providing donor housing and cattle boarding, Maple-Leigh Futures is the home of top show cattle and highgenomic females from all over North America. The farm was a stop during the 100th annual National Milking Shorthorn Meeting and Convention June 16-19 in Fort Atkinson. Milking Shorthorn breeders toured the barn that houses bovines from all breeds, except for Ayrshire and Guernsey currently. Before starting Maple-Leigh Futures, Schmaling was on the road fitting animals full time. “I had the opportunity to farm with my dad on our 120-cow commercial dairy, so I came back home,” Schmaling said. “I started Maple-Leigh as a way for us to diversify the operation. I wanted to still be able to work with show cattle, and I also wanted to get in

STACEY SMART/DAIRY STAR

The team – (front, from le ) Tanner Schmaling, John Schmaling and herdsman, Korey Oechsle; (back, from le ) Dan Vivian of SVS Repro, Dan Gander of SVS Repro, herdsman Taylor Hae and Dr. Dagmara Schroeder of Stateline Veterinary Service, (front row, from le ) – operates Maple-Leigh Futures near Delavan, Wisconsin. Tanner Schmaling founded the dairy business in 2017. on the genomics market, which is where the industry is headed.” Appearances are important at this full-service show facility, which

STACEY SMART/DAIRY STAR

Show ca le enjoy spacious box stalls at Maple-Leigh Futures, which houses grand champions, interna onal show winners and all-Americans near Delavan, Wisconsin.

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provides personalized care and 24hour attention to a select herd of cattle. Animals are kept in tip-top shape and treated to the finest in accommodations in a state-of-the-art barn featuring spacious box stalls and pens and eight tie stalls where cows stand on deep bed packs and lounge upon waterbed mattresses. Wood-framed signs bearing a cow’s name, lineage and show winnings adorn the pens and stalls. The barn also includes an IVF room with a connected lab for Maple-Leigh’s embryo team, as well as a conference room/entertainment area, office and bathroom with laundry and shower. A pipeline runs above the tie stalls and box stalls, and milk is sent to a pasteurizer in the milkhouse before being used to feed calves at Schmaling Farm. Schmaling’s parents, John and Jill, have a registered Holstein herd and run about 500 acres of land as well as custom crop another 500 acres for a neighboring farm. Schmaling operates the farm business with help from herdsmen, Korey Oechsle and Taylor Haeft. Dagmara

Schroeder, a veterinarian with IVF experience from Stateline Veterinary Service in Darien, provides Maple-Leigh’s dayto-day veterinary care. Maple-Leigh is affiliated with Boviteq and SVS Repro, and Dan Gander of SVS Repro does most of the farm’s IVF work. “We focus on results,” Schmaling said. “Whether it’s achieving a certain number of embryos or winning a show, we’re very goal-oriented.” Schmaling and his crew compile data on each animal, including average daily gains, monthly weights, body condition scores, oocyte quality and production, and treatment protocols. Diets are closely monitored to optimize donor performance. Keeping everything clean and wellmaintained is part of the daily routine at Maple-Leigh which houses 45 donors and a couple dozen show cattle, some of which are owned in partnership by the Schmaling family. Maple-Leigh Futures houses grand Turn to MAPLE-LEIGH | Page 29

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

Con nued from MAPLE-LEIGH | Page 28

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A endees of the 100th Annual Na onal Milking Shorthorn Mee ng and Conven on view the ca le at Maple-Leigh Futures June 17 near Delavan, Wisconsin. In addi on to box stalls and pens, the barn includes eight e stalls where cows stand on deep bedded packs and waterbed ma resses.

champions, international show winners and all-Americans. Their tenants grace the rings of the Midwest Spring Show, Wisconsin state championship show, World Dairy Expo and the Royal Winter Fair. Providing year-round care to show cattle, Schmaling and his team manage each animal’s show schedule during her career and provide pre-show prep, transportation and onsite care at the show. A donor cow’s stay is usually more temporary. “We have a steady influx of donors coming and going,” Schmaling said. Maple-Leigh also works with oneday donors that are not housed at the facility. “We usually get a couple haul-ins every week that just come in for the day for collection,” Schmaling said. “Many of the cows in our show program are also IVF donors. It is very seasonal for making show-aged calves as well as timing IVF around the show season. We

also work with a couple bull studs on the donor side of things.” Maple-Leigh specializes in IVF but also does conventional flushing. Oocyte collections are done every two weeks on Mondays and Wednesdays. Oocytes are then sent to the Boviteq lab in Madison for fertilization. Younger donors average over seven embryos per collection following fertilization. “Maple-Leigh has a couple donors right now producing in the range of 70 to 80 oocytes,” Schmaling said. “One donor here once had 180 oocytes, setting a Boviteq facility record for a dairy donor.” Schmaling’s show barn is seeing success due to the efforts of the team at who operate with precision. Their hard work and dedication into a special endeavor of type and genomics is producing results for the farm’s clients. “We pay a lot of attention to detail because it’s the small things that really make a difference,” Schmaling said.

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

The heat is on

The mercury has been climbing the past few was published in 1985. It had a few different owners days. This means it is great haying weather and before finding its way onto my shelf, and someone miserable baking weather. The absolute last thing with lovely handwriting was kind enough to write I want to do is stand over a hot a few notes in the margins. I stove while the sweat drips off smile as I recognize some of names of those who were my nose. Yet, the people need Th The absolute b l llast thing hi I the to be fed, and I need to keep kind enough to share recipes. I always assume a woman would the food moving out the door want to do is stand over never put in a recipe that wasn’t to their waiting taste buds. I a hot stove while the have been trying to make more a crowd pleaser, so the recipes cookies, per the boys’ request, sweat drips off my nose. within the binding of this book and have even found a few that should all be pretty fantastic. are of the no-bake variety that I have found a new biscuit recipe that holds the BBQ inside perfectly for the have passed the test. I combed my cookbooks and started delving chopping crew. I made date drops a few weeks ago into “Family Farm Favorites” by the Wisconsin on a whim, and the crew was thrilled. Guernsey Breeders. This book of culinary delights Working men (and growing boys) cannot live

on cookies alone, and I have had to turn the oven on a few times to get haying meals ready. BBQ pockets, calzones, cheese bread with steak topping and pancake sausage muffins, a winner every time it is made. Though bacon-egg-cheese sandwiches aren’t popular with the kids, there are a few of us adults who love the cold meal on a hot day. Ramblings from the Ridge Hope some of these recipes tickle your taste buds. Try to stay cool.

Date drops 1/2 cup butter 1 cup white sugar 1 cup dates, chopped 2 tablespoons water 1 teaspoon vanilla 3 cups corn flakes 1/2 cup chopped nuts, By Jacqui Davison optional Columnist Boil butter, sugar, dates, and water for eight minutes. Add vanilla. Add date mixture to corn flakes and nuts. Mix well. Drop from spoon onto cookie sheet. Cool.

Bacon-egg-cheese sandwiches 8 to 10 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and chopped 4 to 8 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese Chives, chopped 1/3-1/2 cup sour cream 1/3-1/2 cup mayonnaise Salt, to taste Pepper, to taste Mix all together. Tastes best after sitting for a day or so. As you can see, the amounts are flexible. I add a bit more of this, a bit less of that. Make as you wish.

Pancake and sausage muffins Favorite pancake recipe Browned sausage Syrup Mix your pancake batter as usual, grease muffin cups. Fill each muffin cup two-thirds full with batter. Sprinkle sausage on top of batter, not so much that they overflow. Drizzle maple syrup over cups lightly. Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Jacqui and her family milk 800 cows and run 1,200 acres of crops in the northeastern corner of Vernon County, Wisconsin. Her children, Ira (14), Dane (12), Henry (7) and Cora (4), help her on the farm while her husband, Keith, works on a grain farm. If she’s not in the barn, she’s probably in the kitchen, trailing after little ones, or sharing her passion of reading with someone. Her life is best described as organized chaos – and if it wasn’t, she’d be bored.

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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

Making her mark Peterson named AJCA young breeder By Danielle Nauman danielle.n@dairystar.com

VIROQUA, Wis. – Growing up on her parents’ registered Jersey farm in Vernon County, Alana Peterson knew she always wanted the little brown cows to be part of her life. Work to make that dream a reality commenced in 2010, when following her graduation from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, Peterson returned to the family farm to join her parents, Dean and Pat. She purchased the farm from her parents in 2016. Today she is milking 45 cows. “The plan was always that I would finish college, work somewhere for a while and then come home,” Peterson said. “But by the time I finished school, my dad was having trouble doing it all himself, because the farm was so labor intensive. It was either time to cut back or sell the cows, or for me to come back to the farm.” Peterson was rewarded for her efforts as a recipient of the American Jersey

Cattle Association Young Jersey Breeder award at the association’s annual meeting in Bettendorf, Iowa. Peterson said receiving the award provided positive feedback for the work she is doing to develop her herd. As she took over managing her family’s herd, Peterson has developed her own breeding philosophy and criteria. “When I first came back, I put a lot of focus on udders and not so much on frame,” Peterson said. “I was ending up with a lot of little cows with really nice udders. Now I am trying to bring back some size while maintaining conformation and longevity.” To add that frame back into the herd, she has used sons of a home-bred cow, PJF Suspect Briella EX-94, sired by Tower-Vue Prime Tequila, Select-Scott Minister and GilBar Unique Sparkler. “It is working; my cows are getting bigger and still have the good udders,” Peterson said. Most of the Peterson’s herd traces back to four cow families. Peterson has made management changes to increase the value of her herd. She started classifying and put the herd on official test to help build pedigrees.

PHOTO COURTESY OF JERSEY JOURNAL

Alana Peterson (le ) is recognized with the American Jersey Ca le Associa on’s Young Breeder Award by na onal director Donna Phillips at the associa on’s annual mee ng in Be endorf, Iowa.

DANIELLE NAUMAN/DAIRY STAR

Alana Peterson milks 45 cows on her dairy farm near Viroqua, Wisconsin. She joined her family’s dairy opera on in 2010, purchasing the farm from her parents in 2016. “Building strong pedigrees with classification scores and production records will help in the future if I decide I want to try and sell animals,” Peterson said. “I like good conformation, and I am proud that I have only had two 2-year-olds score lower than 80 points, and the entire herd averages 87.8 points.” In addition to those programs, Peterson has genotyped to determine A2A2 and polled status of certain cows. The changes Peterson has made have created tangible results she is beginning to see. “I look at different sales advertised online and I don’t see anything that I like better than what I have,” Peterson said. “To me, that means that I am breeding the kind of animals I want.” When Peterson returned to the farm, the cows were milked in a stanchion barn that required manual labor to care for the cows. Peterson said cow comfort was difficult to achieve in the old facility. Plans began for building a much-needed new facility. The new barn, complete in May 2013, consists of a 12-stall flat parlor and a 50-by-100 bedded-pack loafing barn. “We built a pack-barn for cow comfort,” Peterson said. “It would get really discouraging to walk in the barn and find your best cow stuck in her tiestall.” The new setup has worked

well for Peterson, and she feels her cows have benefited from the facility. In the summer, the cows are pastured and given supplemental grain. In the winter, they are also fed corn silage and dry hay. “My cows are healthy, and I see very few feet problems,” Peterson said. While she has been making progress in breeding the herd of cows she wants to milk,

acreage can support growing feed for. “It is really nice to not need to purchase feed,” Peterson said. The small herd size allows Peterson to be involved in other pursuits. She enjoys working on the coaching staff for several high school sports and likes participating in organized sporting events herself. She also is involved

“When I classified the first time, most of the cows were older cows out of homebred bulls. They scored well and looked good as a group.” ALANA PETERSON, DAIRY FARMER

Peterson said the past 10 years have not always been a walk in the park. “Financial challenges are the greatest ones I have faced,” Peterson said. “These have not been the kindest years in terms of milk prices.” Despite the challenges, Peterson continues to make plans for the future and was awarded a Natural Resources Conservation Service grant to build an access road to the barn, alleviating drainage issues in the yard. During the next five years, she also plans to tear down the old barn, which has outlived its useful life. Peterson feels 45 to 50 cows is her magic number, one she can handle and the farm’s

in the Parish 4 Jersey Breeders and the Wisconsin Jersey Breeders Association, which she is the president of. In addition, she volunteers with the Vernon County Dairy Youth Committee. With her family’s long history of breeding registered Jersey cows, Peterson takes pride in the gains she has made while putting her own touch on the Peterson Jersey herd. “When I classified the first time, most of the cows were older cows out of homebred bulls,” Peterson said. “They scored well and looked good as a group. I take a lot of pride in that.”

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

Rain no match for brunch on the farm goers Polka music, Santa, cows draw large crowd for Shawano County By Stacey Smart

stacey.s@dairystar.com

PULASKI, Wis. – Even though the morning of June 27 was a wet and dreary one, the weather did not stop people from flocking to Back 40 Acres for Shawano County’s Brunch on the Farm. Polka music filled the air for attendees who braved rain, mud and clouds to enjoy a festive time that began at 8:30 and concluded at 12:30 p.m. More than 3,000 people came despite the 5 inches of rain that fell on the area from the Thursday prior through the day

of the event. “We’ve been praying for rain, and then we finally got it,” said Connie Nischke, who runs Back 40 Acres with her family. “The hay field was like mudfest, but even though 25 acres were ruined, we have 750 acres that now look terrific thanks to the rain.” Nischke and her husband, Wayne, farm with their daughter, Kayla, and her husband, David Coehoorn, and their daughter, Ashley, and her husband, Ricky Mikle. The Nischkes milk 120 cows with two DeLaval robots installed in 2017 and PHOTO SUBMITTED

More than 3,000 people enjoy brunch on the farm June 27 at Back 40 Acres in Shawano County near Pulaski, Wisconsin.

PHOTO SUBMITTED

The Nischke family – (front row from le ) Ashley Mikle holding Brooklyn, Connie Nischke, and Kayla Coehoorn holding Wesley; (back row from le ) Ricky Mikle, Wayne Nischke holding Bryson Mikle and David Coehoorn holding Audrey – milk 120 cows and crop 850 acres near Pulaski, Wisconsin. The Nischkes hosted Shawano County Brunch on the Farm June 27.

crop 850 acres near Pulaski. The brunch featured a meal of scrambled eggs, hash browns, sausages, cheeses and cheese curds, yogurt, cinnamon bread and ice cream with strawberries and maple syrup. The cows and the food tied for most popular attractions of the day. “I forgot that one of the main attractions of the brunch is the cows, and people seemed so happy to be able to see them up close,” Nischke said. “I guess I take that for granted. Plus, the cows were up on milk the next day, so I guess they must have

liked all the attention.” The event kicked off with Dairy Dash, a 5K run that over 50 people took part in. The Nischkes’ dog, Turbo, also ran the race. “These people are diehards,” Nischke said. “They run rain or shine.” A polka Mass featured the music of The Maroszek Brothers band and Chad Przybylski. Polka music continued after Mass as the musicians took turns playing sets. One of Farm Bureau’s committee heads told Nischke

her favorite moment of the day was seeing a woman singing along to “In Heaven There Is No Beer” while dancing and singing in the rain. “The polka music was really uplifting,” Nischke said. “It set the mood.” Attendees could take a photo with Santa Claus and a Jersey calf, which Nischke said was a big hit. Baby goats, cats, ducks, a pony and other animals enjoyed attention from visitors in the petting zoo. Barrel Turn to BREAKFAST | Page

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Page 36 • Dairy Star • Saturday, July 10, 2021

Con nued from BREAKFAST | Page 35

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Brunch on the farm a endees interact with cows during tours of the robo c barn near Pulaski, Wisconsin. train rides and a machinery display featuring both antique and modern equipment were also part of the fun. The Spudmobile came to promote Wisconsin potatoes, and a person walking around in a cow costume added extra pep to the day. Tents filled with games and educational activities for kids were busy as people sought refuge from the rain. “Kids had an awesome time playing the games,” Nischke said. “The people running the tents were really happy they had a lot of visitors. In nice weather, they don’t get as many people.” Fire department and ambulance personnel were on hand to talk to people in the community, and Alice in Dairyland also made an appearance. “Our ag ambassadors were a big help,” Nischke said. “These young people came a few nights before and helped wash windows, painted and swept. Since we couldn’t do farm tours on a wagon because it was so wet, the ambassadors did the tours in the barn instead and

answered questions. It worked out well. And I’m sure the ambassador kids who helped push or pull cars out of the mud will have stuff to talk about for years.” Nischke expressed heartfelt gratitude for those who attended Brunch on the Farm. “Throughout the rain and drizzle, everyone still had smiles on their faces,” she said. “People came out and made the most of it. Had the sun been shining, I think we would’ve had record attendance. But it was nice to see so many people show up even though the weather was bad. Their support and great attitude meant a lot.” The weather may not have been perfect for this year’s Shawano County Brunch on the Farm, but it did not dampen the enthusiasm of those who showed up to celebrate the dairy industry. “I’ve heard nothing but rave reviews and comments,” Nischke said. “It went really well.”

PHOTO SUBMITTED

A kid poses for a picture with Santa Claus and a Jersey calf on the rainy morning June 27 during Shawano County’s Brunch on the Farm near Pulaski, Wisconsin.

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Dairy Star • Saturday, July 10, 2021 • Page 37

Women In Dairy Danielle Kuehne Warren, Illinois Jo Daviess County 31 cows Family: This farm would not be able to run if it wasn’t for family. Aunt Cindy runs all the machines. I take care of the cows and barn. My 11-year-old son takes care of all calves and heifers. Tell us about your farm. The Bausman Farm has been running for five generations. It is a small 36-stall tiestall barn, with about 70 head total, with a mixture of Holsteins, Jerseys, Milking Shorthorns and a couple of mixed breeds. We milk twice a day. We feed grain, corn silage and hay. The house on the farm used to be the old cheese factory at the end of the road. It was moved to the property and turned into the family farmhouse. What is the busiest time of day for you? My days are not that busy here. It’s really what seasons are the busiest. That would be hay making time. Those are the days where we are up and outside all day until all chores are done and hay is made. When you get a spare moment, what do you do? I love taking a walk with the cows or spending time down by the creek listening to all the different sounds of nature. Tell us about your most memorable experience working on the farm. My most memorable time on the farm was when my calf, Lucky Charm, was born. She had a very rough start to life. Her mom wanted nothing to do with her and would not clean her. Right from the beginning, I became her mama. She couldn’t lay correctly or walk. I had to hold her up in my lap for bottles and to get her used to standing. I made her a swing that would hold her up and let her feet hit the ground but not take on all her weight. I worked with her for over two months trying to get her to lay correctly and stand. I was not sure if all my hard work was working until one day I had her on my lap drinking her bottle and she stopped drinking, looked over at me and took her first steps on her own. I was over-the-moon happy. She has been my sidekick ever since. She had her first calf and she gave me a little heifer that I named Matilda. What have you enjoyed most about dairy farming or your tie to the dairy industry? I enjoy every day out on the farm. Being with the animals and running the farm has been my dream ever since I was a little girl and I came to the farm for the first time. My aunt, Cindy, was the one who introduced me to dairy farming. Everything I know is because of her. She made my dream come true when she asked me to help run the farm six years ago. I owe all my happiness here on the farm to my aunt. How do you stay connected with others in the industry? I am part of many Facebook groups. They are what I turn to when I come across something I am

not too sure of. I look to them for support. One group that stands out the most to me is Dairy Moms. They are the greatest group of women I know. They help each other in all ways of life. They were my biggest supporter when Lucky Charm was born. Who is someone in the industry who has inspired you? I have had a few family members who had dairy farms throughout the family tree, but the one person I look up to the most is Aunt Cindy. She showed me that anyone can do anything. All you have to do is keep moving forward. Always learn from your mistakes. Most of all, she showed me to never give up or walk away. If you could give a tour of your farm to a prominent woman in today’s society, who would it be and why? I can’t think of just one specific woman, but I think everyone should have a chance to see what all goes on at a farm. What is the best vacation you have ever taken? My best vacation would have to be when Aunt Bonnie and my mom took my sister and me to Universal Studios. We made little stops along the way. It was great because we got to spend time with one another. What made it memorable was my mom is scared of roller coasters and of heights, but she rode everything with us just once even with my hidden plan to make her ride up front. What are some words you like to live by? Never give up. Always look for the good in things. Happy cows equal a happy life.

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

Dairy profile Mike Cottrell De Pere, Wisconsin Outagamie County 35 cows

would I feel more comfortable?

What do you enjoy most about dairy farming? To be able to get up in the morning and do something I enjoy is very rewarding. I’m getting a little older and getting towards the end, but I’d love to be able to go back and do it all over again. I also like watching the cow families. When a cow freshens, it’s fun to be able to point out to my sons who her mom and grandma are.

How did you get into farming? My grandpa passed away in November of 1979, and I helped milk the cows until my grandma could sell them in January of the following year. In April of 1980, my dad started buying cows and I farmed with him until November 1984. Dad got out of farming because of the farm crisis of the ‘80s, and in February 1985, my grandma passed away. The way the will was written, her kids were not able to get money out, so they agreed to let me rent the farm. They told me I could rent for five years and then I had to buy. I have been here since November 1985. I started fixing things and was able to buy the farm after four years on a land contract in 1990. My kids are the fifth generation here, and my dad is 80 and still comes to the farm every day. What are your thoughts and concerns about the dairy industry for the next year? I see so many small family farms being squeezed out not only due to the expenses of farming but also to so many expenses being deducted off our milk check. Between $1,500 – $2,000 is subtracted off my check every month. The high cost of feed is tough too. I buy grain because I don’t have enough land to produce all the feed I need. I try to buy 10 months to a year ahead of time to minimize expenses.

What advice would you give other dairy farmers? The one thing I learned farming with my dad in the early ‘80s is don’t get so much debt ahead of you that you can’t see the end of it. Good prices don’t last forever. If you can pay off some debt, do that. And, don’t get a taste for new machinery.

and alfalfa. We’ve mostly been putting in orchard grasses, timothy and Brohm. This year, we tried fescue. What cost-saving steps have you implemented during the low milk price? We used to buy milk replacer but it got expensive, so we quit buying it. We figured whole milk is better for our calves, and we started feeding that instead.

What is the latest technology you implemented on your farm and the purpose for it? I am not very tech-savvy. Our pipeline is probably the biggest technology we have. When I started here, there was no milking system. We milked with buckets, and then in 1990, I put in a pipeline which saved a lot of time. I grew up doing things hands-on and I like it that way. Grandpa still threshed oats while I was growing up and did it that way until he died. I liked watching him and wouldn’t mind seeing the thresher run again.

How do you retain a good working relationship with your employee(s)? I don’t really have any employees except for family who come and help. We’ve always been the kind of family who can talk to each other. I always try to treat people the way I want to be treated. My sons’ friends always showed up when we needed help baling hay. I still see those friends sometimes, and they always make it a point to say hello to me and ask how I’m doing.

What is a management practice you changed in the past year that has benefited you? I started planting more grasses in my hay. The soils around here are a little heavier and flatter so it can be hard to get alfalfa through the winter. Grasses are palatable and they winter really well. Also, I like dry hay and it’s easier to dry grasses than it is clovers

Tell us about a skill you possess that makes dairy farming easier for you. I think the fact I love animals makes dairy farming easier for me. I wake up in the morning and I’m anxious to get going and check on the animals and feed them. I can look at a pen of calves and think maybe they would be more comfortable if they had more bedding or fresh water. I try to look at it from my point of view – how

What has been the best purchase you’ve ever made on your farm? I don’t know if it was necessarily the best purchase I’ve ever made, but the most fun one was buying a Milking Shorthorn show cow out of Stuart Rowe’s Innisfail herd in California. We had fun showing her. This registered Milking Shorthorn herd had registrations that went back over 100 years. When Rowe brought 50 cows to Madison for a private sale, we bought a bred heifer as well that my son showed for a few years. It was fun being able to buy something from that herd.

What has been your biggest accomplishment while dairy farming? My biggest accomplishment was being able to watch my kids grow up here. I also enjoyed watching them show sheep and giving their friends an opportunity to show sheep as well. So many of their town friends got a chance to get involved in 4-H too, and we took anywhere from 11 to 13 head of sheep to the fair every year.

What are your plans for your dairy in the next year and five years? Our dairy is probably not going to continue much longer. My knees are bad, and I will likely have to quit milking. We have a small herd of Shorthorn beef cattle and will probably be transitioning into that.

How do you or your family like to spend time when you are not doing chores? Our family likes to go to fairs. On Saturdays, we still all go to church and have a Sabbath dinner together every week.

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