August 14, 2021 Dairy Star - 1st Section - Zone 2 by Dairy Star

DairySt r Milk Break

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DAIRY ST R “All dairy, all the time”™

Volume 23, No. 12

August 14, 2021

A calming effect Robots provide enjoyable milking experience at Horsens Homestead By Stacey Smart

stacey.s@dairystar.com

CECIL, Wis. – When the Horsens family decided to expand in 2019, they more than doubled the size of their herd within a month and a half. They began milking with robots, which turned out to be a fitting solution for a farm wanting to expand while keeping labor in check. Maximizing cow comfort was a priority achieved through the use of a self-serve milking system. “The relaxed atmosphere robots create is what made us fall in love with this technology,” Ryan Horsens said. “After cows eat, they flock to the robots. The environment by the robots is friendly, inviting and calm. This is a cow’s fun three times a day rather than a chore.” Horsens Homestead kicked off the Professional Dairy Pro-

ducers Dairy Robotics Tour July 15 – an event which allowed dairy farmers and other industry professionals to visit three farms in Shawano County that recently installed robots. Jeff and Connie Horsens and their son, Ryan, milk 1,200 cows near Cecil and raise all youngstock onsite. Ryan is the fifth generation on the farm that was homesteaded in 1879. Robots were the answer to the Horsenses growing their herd without growing their workforce. “Our biggest stressor as a family was high employee turnover,” Horsens said. “Robots are labor efficient and helped alleviate this problem. We wanted to find more cow people rather than just fill a role. We have 15 full-time employees now and work with a passionate group of people.” In January 2020, the family

STACEY SMART/DAIRY STAR

Ryan Horsens farms with his parents, Jeﬀ and Connie, at Horsens Homestead near Cecil, Wisconsin. The Horsens milk 1,200 cows, over half of which are milked by 12 Lely A5 robots. began milking with twelve Lely A5 robots in their new 18-row freestall barn. More than half of the cows at Horsens Homestead are milked by robots. The Horsenses did not give up parlor milking altogether and continue to milk around 500 head in a

double-8 parallel parlor. Udder confirmation and milk speed are the traits used to determine the cows selected for the robot barn. “For the longest time, we used the best A.I. bulls that money can buy to improve our

genetic base,” Horsens said. “We’re still using the same bulls, but we make sure the right one is paired with the right cow to get the type of udders we want.” Turn to HORSENS | Page 6

Two nights of Mother Nature’s wrath Wisconsin farms suffer storm damage By Danielle Nauman danielle.n@dairystar.com

Mother Nature has taken frustrations out on farmers across the country. After an extremely dry spring and early summer, nature’s fury was unleashed across parts of the Upper Midwest as a series of severe storms wreaked havoc across much of Wisconsin during the last week of July. As evening approached July 27, black clouds brewed in the sky throughout Wisconsin’s coulee region, leading up to an intense lightning storm that took place in the overnight hours. Manke Farms, located near Bangor, is operated by cousins Melissa Manke, Bryant LeJeune and Matthew Manke and is home to 190 milking cows. “There were some pretty close lightning strikes, and I kept hoping that everything was PHOTO SUBMITTED OK,” said Melissa Manke of the storm that A machine shed was destroyed by an EF-1 tornado July 28 on the Uglow family’s Horseshoe Hill Farm near Water- night. town, Wisconsin. A series of storms wreaked havoc across Wisconsin during the last week of July. Turn to STORMS | Page 6

Page 2 • Dairy Star • Saturday, August 14, 2021

DAIRY ST R

Dairy ProfiIII le brought you by your down Class pricetoweighed

North America dealers. by cow numbers

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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

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

Class III price weighed down by cow numbers AgResource Company President Dan Basse believes the Class III milk market is dealing with too much supply. “We are still looking at cow numbers that are way too high at 9.5 million head,” Basse said. “Assuming we have a little contraction in milk yields in the month of July because of the heat across the Plains, I’m still seeing more milk than we need.” Basse expects the butter and cheese markets will lead the market lower through the end of the year. Milk output continues to rise During June Dairy Month, U.S. milk production increased 3.2% from June 2020. Wisconsin milk production totaled 2.7 billion pounds, up 6%. The size of the dairy herd totaled nearly 1.3 million head, up 17,000 from one year earlier. Cattle inventory report released According to the United States Department of Agriculture semi-annual cattle inventory report, the total supply July 1 was 101 million head. That is down 1% from 2020. Beef cow numbers are down 2% from 2020, but dairy cow numbers increased 2%. The number of dairy replacement heifers increased 3% from last year, reaching 4.1 million head.

Ag Insider Dairy quality hay is in short supply Due to the drought, Midwestern hay auctions report limited supplies of dairy quality hay. One auction had no dairy quality hay but saw an influx of 2019 and 2020 round bales that were stored outside. USDA Market News reports good quality large rounds at $160 to $170 per ton. Small square bales are averaging $5.40 per ton. At By Don Wick Rock Valley, Iowa, good qualColumnist ity large rounds sold at $145 to $160 per ton. The hay sale at Corsica, South Dakota, saw good quality large rounds in a range of $165 to $170 per ton. Government support for agriculture to decline USDA’s Economic Research Service is estimating U.S. farmers received nearly $58 billion in federal assistance this past year. From that total, more than 60% came from the various COVID-19 relief programs. USDA is forecasting net farm income to decline 8% this year. That is due, in part, by a 45% reduction in direct government payments.

Record exports When measured as a percentage of U.S. milk solids production, U.S. dairy exports in May was the highest ever at Dairy industry represented at USMCA hearing 18.76%. That squeaks past the previous record of 18.72% in The U.S. dairy industry has had some heartburn with April 2018. May continues a track record of record or near- Canada’s dairy tariff quotas and Mexican regulations record monthly exports this year. Dry whey products, butter and ice cream all performed well in the export market. Turn to AG INSIDER | Page 5

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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. The views and opinions expressed by Dairy Star columnists and writers are not necessarily those of the Dairy Star LLC.

The Dairy Star is published semi-monthly by Dairy Star, LLC, 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave., Sauk Centre, MN 56378-1246. Periodicals Postage Paid at Sauk Centre, MN and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Dairy Star, 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave., Sauk Centre, MN 56378-1246.

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It’s all inside... Columnists Ag Insider Pages 2, 8 First Section

Cecil

Oconto

Langlade County continues long-time calf giveaway for youth

Robots provide enjoyable milking experience at Horsens Homestead

Dairy Profile: Abe and Samantha Good

First Section: Pages 34 - 35

Second Section: Pages 1, 6

Second Section: Pages 3 -5

Virginia Tech coach leads WHA judging workshops

Bayfield

Douglas

First Section: Pages 12 - 13

Iron

Vilas

Flo

Sawyer

ren

Burnett

Page 30 First Section

Price

Oneida

Polk

Taylor

Jensens grow sheep creamery from ground up Second Section: Pages 6 - 7

Pages 8 - 9 Second Section

g uta

Jackson

La Crosse

Juneau Vernon

e inn

Green Lake Fond Du Lac

Columbia Dodge

Sauk

for d aw

Dane

Women in Dairy Rebecca Hilby

Grant Lafayette Green

First Section: Page 37

Rock

First Section: Pages 3 - 5

Racine Walworth Kenosha

Jo Daviess p

so hen

Ste

Carroll

ag neb

Win

Page 30 Second Section

Fritsch launches on-farm creamery with Guernseys

Jefferson Waukesha

Hazel Green

Iowa

McHenry

Country Cooking

Freedom

shi

Richland

go ba Calumet

Waushara

Adams

Monroe

Westby

ie am Brown

Wood

ett e

Come Full Circle

Portage Waupaca

Buffalo

Trempealeau

First Section: Page 36

aun ee

Shawano

Clark

Eau Claire Pepin

Ma r

Pierce

Do or

Oconto

Marathon

Many gather at Midwest Guernsey Show

The “Mielke” Market Weekly

Menominee

Dunn

West Salem

Page 33 First Section

Langlade

Chippewa

St. Croix

Zone 1

Lincoln

Page 31 First Section

Page 32 First Section

Rusk

Barron

Menominee

Forest

Veterinary Wisdom

Delta

Dickinson

Ashland

Ramblings from the Ridge

From the Zweber Farm

First Section: Page 39

Ke w

Page 27 First Section

Auburndale

Antigo

Olsons solve labor issue through robotics

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

Farmer and Columnist

Birnamwood

Whiteside

Zone 2

Weyauwega Star Dairy makes world’s longest string cheese Second Section: Pages 8 - 9

Ogle DeKalb

Weyauwega

Kane

Lee

Rock Island

FROM OUR SIDE OF THE FENCE:

Mercer

Wisconsin farms suffer storm damage First Section: Pages 1, 7

Hen ders

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

Watertown ren

War

What is your favorite part about exhibiting dairy at the fair? First Section: Pages 15 - 16

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Dairy Star • Saturday, August 14, 2021 • Page 5

Con nued from AG INSIDER | Page 5

designed to limit imports. Idaho dairy farmer Allan Huttema addressed the need for enforcement of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement during testimony before the Senate Finance Committee. Huttema said the dairy industry has priorities for any trade agreement. “No. 1 is market access, especially when it comes to Mexico,” Huttema said. “The zero tariff on our imported product there was a great thing to go after. No. 2, there’s a resolution process put in place, which we have and we’ll see how that plays out.” Huttema, who is a member of the executive committee of the National Milk Producers Federation, said the U.S. should go beyond the USMCA and work on new trade agreements worldwide.

Federal support for biodigesters Bills have been introduced in both the Senate and House to encourage investment in biodigesters. The bill makes these systems eligible for a 30% tax credit. These biodigesters can turn manure into electricity and provide a new revenue stream for farmers. South Dakota Sen. John Thune is one of the sponsors for the biogas bill.

Record crowd for Farm Technology Days This year’s Wisconsin Farm Technology Days enjoyed record attendance. During the three days of the show at Huntsinger Farms in the Eau Claire area, more than 52,000 people attended. Organizers said that totaled shattered attendance projections.

Appeals court rules on constitutionality of beef checkoff The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the beef checkoff program. R-CALF USA challenged the constitutionality of the research and promotion program claiming it violated the First Amendment rights of beef producers. The court determined government speech handled by the beef checkoff is getting proper oversight from USDA. This legal battle has been underway for more than six years.

Q2 income up for pizza chain Pizza sales remain strong in a postpandemic world. Domino’s Pizza Inc. is reporting second quarter earnings up 3.5% from one year ago. Compared to two years ago, some stores saw gains of nearly 20%. Domino’s said labor is the biggest hurdle as the company moves forward.

Startup company focused on plantbased cheese alternative San Francisco-based Nobell Foods has raised $75 million in investor dollars to produce a plant-derived cheese alternative. Nobell founder Magi Richani claims her approach recreates the genetic code in soybeans to grow plants that have the same dairy caseins found in milk. The investment funds will be used to scale production and bring her product to market. In a statement, Nobell Foods said its mission is to create “a radically more humane and sustainable food system.” Fonterra spins off large dairies in China Fonterra has sold two joint-venture dairy farms in China to Singapore-based AustAsia Investment Holdings for the U.S. equivalent of $115.5 million. The New Zealand dairy co-op is responsible for 30% of the world’s dairy exports. Jacobs-Young nominated for USDA research under secretary President Biden has nominated Chavonda Jacobs-Young as the nominee for the under secretary for research, education and economics at the USDA. Jacobs-Young is the administrator of the USDA Ag Research Service. She previously served as a senior policy analyst for agriculture during the Obama administration. When confirmed, JacobsYoung will be the first woman and person of color to lead the agency.

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Con nued from STORMS | Page 1

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Unfortunately, when they went to care for the heifers housed at a neighboring farm the next morning, they learned otherwise. During the storm, 17 heifers, from 9 to 14 months of age, were killed when the cottonwood tree they were lying under took a direct lightning strike. Nine other heifers housed in the same pasture were left unscathed by the lightning. “They were just about ready to go in with the bull,” Manke said of the lost heifers. “Losing those heifers represents a great loss of part of our future, with the genetics and the breeding. They are our replacements, and now they are gone.” Manke said the heifers were the

dows and a patio door, and suddenly a window exploded. We got over to the far side of the basement, and I remember just sitting there wondering what was happening upstairs and outside.” Fortunately for the family, the house sustained minor siding and soffit damage. In addition to broken windows, the patio door was torn from its track. “One of the most amazing things is that we never lost power through the whole thing,” Uglow said. Uglow said he learned later from National Weather Service reports that when the tornado first touched down it was an EF-0 and had grown to an EF-1 by the time it reached their farm with wind speeds over 80 mph. The tornado’s path was 3.14 miles We are so thankful for long and had a maximum width of 100 yards. When the sun came up, the the friends and neighbors Uglows surveyed the damage. that came out Thursday “There was a lot of random debris scattered everywhere, and Friday and helped start tin and wood all over,” Uglow “We are so thankful for getting things cleaned up said. the friends and neighbors that came out Thursday and Friday NICK UGLOW, DAIRY FARMER and helped start getting things cleaned up.” first group to represent changes the The greatest structural damage Mankes have made in managing their occurred to a machine shed that was heifers. destroyed. The Uglows were able to “We have really been concen- remove six loads of small square straw trating on improving heifer growth,” bales as well as some round bales and Manke said. “This was a great group large square bales of hay. of heifers.” Two chopper boxes were also deThe Mankes had two other light- stroyed, and there was minor damage ning strikes on their farm that resulted to a discbine, manure spreader and in animal loss in the past, but this was tractor. The auger that carries feed the largest death loss to date. from the silo to the bunk feeder was The next day, heightened severe blown off its carriage. Calf hutches storm forecasts were posted through- were strewn around the farm, and out Wisconsin, and warnings for se- a fair amount of corn was knocked vere thunderstorms and tornadoes down. were frequent throughout the evening “Our corn had been looking really hours of July 28. good,” Uglow said. Nick and Buffy Uglow milk 45 The Uglows’ milking herd weathcows with Nick’s parents, Norm and ered the storm without incident, but Joyce, at their Horseshoe Hill Farm they lost a 1-month-old calf that died near Watertown. when a branch driven by the winds “It was one of the scariest things I pierced its neck. have ever experienced,” Nick Uglow “She was a pretty nice calf,” said of the tornado that touched down Uglow said. “Her mother had placed and barreled through his family’s ninth as a spring yearling at World farm. Dairy Expo.” The Uglows awoke to thunder and Uglow said their insurance agent lightning around midnight and began paid them a visit the day after the keeping tabs on the storm through storm, and they are working to obtain weather apps. A tornado warning for a final damage and loss tally from the their area was issued, and the family storm. headed to their basement. Farmers across the state are in “We were just sitting in the middle similar situations as they assess the of the basement, and it started raining damage from this summer storm. really hard,” Uglow said. “Our basement has one exposed side with win-

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Con nued from HORSENS | Page 1 The Horsenses also strive for longevity. “We want 40% of our herd to be third lactation or greater,” Horsens said. “Old cows are good cows.” The Horsenses are seeing equal milk production in both barns, averaging 100 to 110 pounds of energy corrected milk per cow per day. Fat is slightly higher in the parlor, while the robots are producing a few more fluid pounds. Cows visit the robots an average of 2.9 times per day and receive about 10 pounds of pellets in the robot on a daily basis. When building their new barn, fresh air and good lighting were priorities for the Horsenses, and nothing was spared in regards to cow comfort. “The barn was built with a big focus on ventilation,” Horsens said. “We want all cows to breathe.” The cross-ventilated barn features dozens of variable speed fans located on the north side, providing powerful airflow across the entire building. The barn has no baffles, which Horsens said sacrifice air speed. The barn is also brighter as a result, and translucent side panels let in extra light. The energy-efficient design enables the dairy to keep the outside rows of lights turned off during the day due to an abundance of natural light. “This cuts back on power and helps lower our electrical costs,” Horsens said. Cows lie in deep sand beds in spacious stalls designed with

STACEY SMART/DAIRY STAR

The Horsens set up the robots in an L forma on and use the I-flow concept, allowing for a straight in and out when entering and exi ng the robot. a brisket slope. The breezy barn keeps cows cool but was not enough to convince the Horsenses to abandon the use of sprinklers. “Evaporative cooling is so important on hot summer days that we weren’t going to get rid of it,” Horsens said. “The wind in here does not cause sprinkler drift because we use the biggest size droplet nozzle we can, and nozzles are situated low.” The barn includes sort pens for dryoffs, hoof trims, failed milkings and training fresh heifers. Heifers remain in sort pens for 3.5 days in groups of four and are milked four times daily to acclimate to the robots. By the third day, 85% of heifers are fully trained. All cows freshen at the parlor before moving to the robotic barn. Cows are housed 120 per pen, and each pen contains two robots with 114 stalls and headlocks. Heifer pens have a lighter population at 55 per robot. “We’re setting her up for a

lifetime and want her to have a good experience with robots, so we give heifers more permissions to milk,” Horsens said. “We fetch cows as needed and are a little more aggressive on fetching than some farms. It depends on her days in milk, but we aim for the least disturbance possible to maximize cow comfort.” Robots are positioned in an L formation and use the I-flow concept, allowing for a straight in and out when entering and exiting the robot. This eliminates the need for cows to curve around the machine – another feature illustrating the family’s focus on cow comfort. Both robots in each pen are either left-handed or right-handed to prevent cows from developing a preference. “Lely is the robot we thought would be best for our cows, and its reliability surpassed what we expected,” Horsens said. “You don’t get down time back with robots –

you can’t just milk cows faster. We’re so impressed with this brand, and the features we especially like include the fact there’s no indexing, the feed bowl comes away, and we can customize feeding for individual cows.” Before building their new facility, the Horsenses spent two years researching robots in the U.S., Chile, Denmark and

Canada. “We wanted to see bigger, higher-producing farms with robots,” said Horsens, who recommends farmers tour both with and without a dealer to get the best perspective. A year and a half in, the robotic barn is living up to the family’s expectations. Cows are loving life at Horsens Homestead where technology changed when incorporating robotics, but the farm’s management basics stayed the same. “What you do in a conventional facility is the same as a robot facility when it comes to cow comfort, consistency, quality forage and good people,” Horsens said. “There’s no replacement for these things, and none of that changes with robots. The basics make you successful not the robots. And we still provide individual cow care even though we’re a little bigger now.”

STACEY SMART/DAIRY STAR

The Horsens began milking in this 18-row robo c barn January 2020. Robots were the answer to Horsens Homestead growing its herd without growing its workforce.

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Page 8 • Dairy Star • Saturday, August 14, 2021

An up-and-coming farm currency

Mergen aims for sustainability with carbon credits program By Jennifer Coyne jenn@dairystar.com

ALBANY, Minn. – As a fifth-generation farmer, Ben Mergen is always looking for ways that will keep his farm viable for the generations after him. In Mergen’s latest venture, he is looking toward a new method of farming – one that will not only provide his family with another stream of income but protect the soil at the same time. “I look at my farm and ask myself what I have to do to be here in the future, because I plan on being here for a long time,” Mergen said. “With normally razor thin margins of traditional commodities, I’m hoping to reach the finish line a different way.” Mergen and his family – wife, Alicia, and daughters, Olivia, 8, Ella, 7, and Annie, 4 – milk 50 cows and raise 25 cow-calf pairs on their farm in Stearns County near Albany. They also operate a chicken barn and farm about 450 acres of corn, soybean and alfalfa. The dairyman is one of the first farmers in central Minnesota to enroll in a carbon credit pilot program with the nonprofit Ecosystem Services Market-

place Consortium. When Mergen enrolled, a soil sample was collected on the 50-acre soybean field that was a part of the program. In the next five years, Mergen will monitor and report on his farming practices of that field and then another soil sample will be taken at the end of the program. Confirming the amount of carbon sequestered from those soils and water quality improvements should position Mergen to sell carbon credits on a national market. “It’s happening up in Canada and down in Texas, and now we have the chance to do it here,” Mergen said. “This is an opportunity to capture profits and farm more efficiently. From a sustainability standpoint, everything should be better in the end.” ESMC and The Nature Conservancy developed the pilot program, which will officially begin in 2022, to help farmers improve soil health, reduce runoff and sequester carbon. The program is also an opportunity for the organizations to modify testing protocols for verifying credits. In total, Stearns County has about 500 acres enrolled, according to the Stearns County

Soil and Water Conservation District. By the start of the program, the goal is to monitor 50,000 acres within the Sauk River watershed. “Based on what we might find out from the data, this could make farming less strenuous,” Mergen said. “And, there should be an environmental benefit, too, with less trips across the fields, capturing more nutrients with our cover crops.” A Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources press release stated that the data from the pilot program can be used for third-party valuation of carbon reduction and water quality improvements, or it can generate credits that can be sold. “Once the market is launched, you’ll be able to sell your carbon credit, you’ll be able to sell a water quality credit, and potentially even inside that water quality credit, you’ll be able to sell your nitrogen credit, your phosphorus credit and your total suspended solids credit,” said Leif Fixen, of The Nature Conservancy, in the press release. Mergen returned to his family’s farm in 2011. At the time, the Mergens were working the fields in a conventional manner. Almost by happenstance, the family began incorporating notill and cover cropping practices. “There was one field of beans that is on lighter, sandier soils,” Mergen said. “I tried no tilling beans into it because I thought we could save mon-

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Ben Mergen and his daughters – (from le ) Olivia and Ella – milk 50 cows on their dairy farm near Albany, Minnesota. The Mergens recently enrolled in a carbon credit pilot program. Not pictured are Ben’s wife, Alicia, and daughter, Annie. ey not picking rocks. Then I messed up with herbicide and it didn’t work out how it was supposed to.” The yields were only five bushels an acre less than his conventional fields, so Mergen thought that was a respectable

result to try the practice again. In 2017, Mergen started using cover crops, and in 2020 began transitioning most of his soybean fields to no till. Last fall, 90 acres were in cover

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Dairy Star • Saturday, August 14, 2021 • Page 9

Con nued from MERGEN | Page 8

With such success of cover cropping and notill practices, Mergen is planning to strip till his corn this fall. “Last year, those fields were all managed conventionally,” Mergen said. “This will be our first year strip tilling, and I’m looking forward to it.” These conservation practices have lent Mergen and his family the opportunity to become Water Quality Certified through the Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program. Mergen applied JENNIFER COYNE/DAIRY STAR for the certification a Ben Mergen describes his strip- ller July 30 at his dairy couple years ago but was in Stearns County near Albany, Minnesota. Strip lling denied because of the is one of several sustainable prac ces Mergen is imple- farm’s heavy fall tillage men ng on his farm. work at the time. Mergen anticipates the crops; this fall, 300 acres are planned to be in cover crops. The first few years benefits of these practices and the carbon of planting cover crops, Mergen chose credits pilot program to be long lasting something that would winter kill, making for his farm. More so, he hopes it creates it less risky to deal with in the spring. In awareness of the practices farmers are the fall of 2020, he planted a few fields taking on to be good stewards of the land. “Yes, this is all helping us both fiwith cover crops that would over winter nancially and in creating healthier, more and then was able to plant green in them productive soils, but it is also creating this spring. “We don’t have quite the washouts awareness,” Mergen said. “People can we used to and the plants look just as see farmers are doing a good job and begood,” Mergen said. “One day, I hope to ing responsible. I wish I would’ve started graze the cover crops and feed the cattle a earlier.” little bit. I’m looking forward to that.”

“It allows us to preg check animals without sending the animals through the chute.” What do you like about the DHIA Pregnancy Tests? It allows us to preg check animals without sending the animals through the chute. The amount of time that the vet has to be here is reduced, as well as employee time. The SCR monitors also help us to later conÀrm the DHIA test. How long have you been using the DHIA pregnancy test? About 2 years. Why did you choose to use it? To save time and money. What are some other tests you use through DHIA? SCC, butterfat, protein, MUN. Why is testing with DHIA valuable to your dairy? It allows us to know where we stand with other herds and helps us with culling decisions. Tell us about your farm. We are a father, son operation in northwest Minnesota. We raise about 500 acres of corn, 250 acres of alfalfa, and 80 acres of soybeans. We milk in a double 7 herringbone parlor, twice a day. Our freestall barn consists of group pens with mattresses and sawdust/straw bedding, and some animals are on sand. All of Roger and Marc (pictured) Walter our youngstock are raised on site. Walter Brothers Dairy Plummer, MN • 425 cows

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Tax change could be detrimental to Wisconsin farms During the 2020 presidential campaign, President Joe Biden suggested ending the stepped-up basis as a way to pay for his infrastructure plan. As a dairy farmer and someone who represents thousands of farmers as the president of Wisconsin Farm Bureau, this concerns me. I have been watching and listening closely ever since. In April, we got a sneak peek at President Biden’s proposal with the introduction of the Sensible Taxation and Equity Promotion (STEP) Act by Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) and Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD). Now, the president is proposing to include the tax change in his Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework. The proposal has the potential of generating billions of dollars in federal revenue by restricting the use of the decades-old ‘stepped-up basis’ that reduces liability on inherited property. Currently, farmland and other property is assessed at current value when it is inherited – the ’step up’ – rather than taxed on the increase in value since it was acquired. Stepped-up basis reduces the tax burden if the property is sold soon after it is inherited and reduces the chance of estate tax liability. Texas A&M Agriculture and Food Policy Center (AFPC) staff completed a study on the possible repeal of stepped-up basis. The AFPC maintains a database of 94 farms in 30 different states that allows AFPC to analyze policy changes on farms across the country. Under the current tax law, only two of 94 representative farms would be impacted by an event triggering a generational transfer. By contrast, under the STEP Act, 92 of the 94 farms would be impacted, with additional tax liabilities incurred averaging $726,104 per farm. This incredible tax burden would make continuing on the family farm extremely costly. The next generation could be forced to sell the farm piece-by-piece to pay for taxes. This would only speed up the consolidation that the agriculture industry has seen for the last two decades. The White House has said it would not increase taxes on heirs who want to keep the family farm running but those assurances must be written into the legislation. Wisconsin Farm Bureau is working with our allies in Congress to make sure the positive revisions make the final piece of legislation, but positive changes may not be enough. A group of rural House Democrats has made their opposition known to legislative leaders and Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) has pledged to vote against eliminating the stepped-up basis. It is these bipartisan allies who are going to be needed if we hope to save the stepped-up basis, but we need to grow this coalition. It is vitally important that our federal representatives know Wisconsin agriculture needs the stepped-up basis. In recent years, all sectors of Wisconsin agriculture have seen difficult economic conditions. The repeal of the stepped-up basis by imposing capital gains taxes at death would force many family-owned farms and ranches to liquidate assets to cover the tax burden and would be the final blow to many family farms. Please contact your congressional representatives and senators asking them to keep the stepped-up basis in place. You can find your representatives at congress.gov by entering your zip code. Please take the time to contact them today before it is too late. – By Kevin Krentz, Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation President and dairy farmer

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BRANDON, Minn. – Jeff Boesl stole Julie’s heart 35 years ago, and now he has her kidney. The couple’s strength and devotion to each other was reaffirmed when Julie became an organ donor for her husband Jan. 19. “I tell her, ‘Thank you,’ every day,” Jeff said. “I’m unbelievably thankful for this small miracle, and I show my appreciation every day.” Jeff suffers from an inherited disorder known as polycystic kidney disease, where clusters of cysts develop on his kidneys, ultimately resulting in organ failure. Yet, with the successful transfer, the 54-year-old is back to completing farm chores as if he was in his 30s. “This is a game changer,” Jeff said. “I’m a completely different guy now. I felt absolutely better immediately after surgery.” The Boesls milk 400 cows with Jeff’s family in Douglas County near Brandon. They also crop farm and have a herd of beef cattle. In Jeff’s family, polycystic kidney disease is quite common; his grandfather, mother and six of seven siblings were affected by the illness. Jeff’s first inkling of being a carrier was when he enrolled in the local fire department and was flagged for high blood pressure during the physical assessment. “At first we thought it might be related,” Julie said. “We had it in the back of our minds of what could be causing his high blood pressure.” Jeff’s health worsened eight years ago, so he began doctoring with a specialist to monitor his situation. At the time, he was visiting with his doctor every six months, and with vitamins and a strict diet, Jeff was able to prolong the use of his kidneys. “In the last five years, I could see it getting worse, but honestly I thought it was just me aging,” Jeff said. However, in 2019, Jeff’s kidneys were functioning at 10%. He was consulting with his doctor every two months and developing a plan. He was in need of a transplant or needed to be put on dialysis. “I could see it in him,” Julie said. “He had no energy, no appetite and his immune system was weak. A cold would take a normal person two days to recover from. For Jeff, it was two weeks.” Jeff agreed. “It got to the point that I had to force myself to eat just so I had the strength to keep working,” he said. Soon after, the Boesls made a plan to get Jeff on the organ donor list, and Julie underwent testing to see if she could be a possible match. Both Julie and the Boesls’ son were the perfect fit for Jeff’s transplant needs. “That was hard to accept,” Jeff said. “My uncle once told me that there are givers and takers in this world, and you want to be known as a giver.” At the very least, Jeff could go on dialysis and not risk the surgery on his family members. “I knew it would be OK,” said Julie, who has undergone two other surgeries near that incision site. “My doctor said I have numbers like a triathlete. My body can take care of me with one kidney.”

MARK KLAPHAKE/DAIRY STAR

Jeﬀ and Julie Boesl are recovered from kidney transplant surgeries earlier this year. Julie donated one of her kidneys to Jeﬀ. The Boesls dairy farm near Brandon, Minnesota. The Boesls quickly moved forward with their plan and adjusted farm chores accordingly. They moved breeding around so there would be minimal calving while the couple was recovering, lessening the burden of chores on family and friends who were going to help. “It was like going on vacation,” Julie said. “That was the benefit of working with a living donor. We could plan.” On the day of the surgery, the couple – while having to follow hospital procedures of operating and recovering in separate rooms – did prepare for the operation together. The Boesls were also the first patients at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis to use Zoom to connect to each other following the surgery. “The staff was very accommodating of our wishes to be together,” Jeff said. “The first thing I asked about after surgery was how Julie was doing. Then, I could see her over the video stream.” The couple spent four days in the Twin Cities before being released to recover at home. Six months following surgery, both Boesls show little signs of being

an organ donor and recipient. Jeff continues to have checkups with his doctor, and he is on anti-rejection medication to protect the new-to-him kidney. In the future, Jeff will need to have surgery to remove the infected kidneys which are no longer functioning in his body. Nothing compares to what Julie’s selflessness means to Jeff. “Because of her, I’m able to do what I love again: working. I love my job,” Jeff said. “And, there’s nothing better now than when Julie makes an awesome supper, and I look at it and want to eat it. I can enjoy eating again.” Even the Boesls’ children have commented on Jeff’s better health, having the ability to play with their 13 grandchildren. “Before, I would go into the play room and the kids would play around me as I napped,” Jeff said. “Now, I can be right there doing stuff with them.” In sickness and in health, the Boesls promised themselves to each other – and that promise could not be upheld any better than through the actions of Julie this past year. “He’s back,” she said. “We’re a team again.”

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Julie and Jeﬀ Boesl place their named leaves on a mural at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis. The tree represents organ donors and recipients.

Dairy Star • Saturday, August 14, 2021 • Page 11

Strong winds destroy new barn

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Daniel Olson’s new barn lies on the ground a er falling vic m to high winds during a storm July 27 near Lena, Wisconsin.

Olson thankful no cows hurt in building collapse By Stacey Smart

stacey.s@dairystar.com

LENA, Wis. – Just two weeks after Daniel Olson moved his herd of registered show cows into their new barn, a storm bolstered by heavy winds charged through and knocked the building down. Collapsing under the pressure of 85 mph winds, the dairy barn laid in ruin while cows continued chewing their cud. “We milk at a number of locations, but our expensive cows are housed here,” said Olson, a seventh-generation dairyman who farms near Lena. “Thankfully, no cows were injured badly. We have a few cows with some cuts and bumps, but it’s nothing that a few days of aspirin didn’t take care of.” A storm ripped through the area not long after midnight July 27. Olson, who lives about a mile from the farm, was afraid some hutches might have blown away so he drove to check on things around 12:30 a.m. It was raining, but

“We’re feeling very fortunate and blessed the cows are OK.” DANIEL OLSON, DAIRY FARMER

the brunt of the storm was over. To his surprise, the damage was worse than he anticipated. “We just built this barn,” Olson said. “It was brand new. It still needed some curtains and side walls, so maybe that made it vulnerable.” The devastating winds tore off the roof, ripping the metal brackets out of the concrete, before dropping the roof back down 20 feet away. “The storm seemed to bother us way more than it bothered the cows,” Olson said. “After everything that happened, they were just standing there chewing their cud. We’re feeling very fortunate and blessed the cows are OK. The more I look at it, it’s just miraculous they didn’t get hurt. They must’ve moved toward the center of the building to get away from the wind because they usually congregate where the roof was laying. It could’ve been much worse.”

The farm also sustained lightning damage to milking equipment. “A number of circuit boards were fried, and we have lights that don’t work,” Olson said. “There are also trees down on fences. Several weird things happened that night. There were wagons flipped over and windows bowed. It got pretty violent there, and the wind was really strong It feels like there must’ve been a lot of updraft, but I don’t think any tornado ever set down.” The bedding pack barn measured 56 feet by 84 feet, and Olson is planning to rebuild in the same spot. After making repairs to some of the damaged concrete, the plan is to put up a new barn similar to the first. “I think we can reuse the trusses, but the steel is twisted to the point I don’t believe any of it is going to be good,” Olson said. “I think some of the posts are salvageable as well. Once we disassemble the barn, we’ll be able to see what we can reuse. Most of it is going to be a loss.” In the interim, Olson is housing cows in an older freestall barn located on the property which cows were transferred to after a quick renovation. The herd of 30 Holsteins and Jerseys continues to be milked in the farm’s parlor. “We walked them 200 feet and they were back in a barn again,” Olson said. “It’s working. That barn is a good shortterm fix. The cows are milking well. They haven’t seemed to miss a beat. It’s just a little more work for us.” Olson lost power at the farm for about 12 hours but went without power at one of his other farms for nearly two days. Other than a few hutches that blew over, those farms encountered no damage. However, other farms in the area also suffered damage from the storm, Olson said. Parts of buildings were beat up, and a number of barns lost steel. In some cases, shed doors wrapped up onto the roof or were bent around the edge of the shed. One house lost its roof. “I’m just really thankful and happy the animals weren’t hurt – not only from a monetary perspective but also from an emotional one,” Olson said. “The cows are worth more than the barn was, but I’m way more attached to the cows than the building. You can always put up a new barn, but animals are a lot harder to replace. We felt pretty fortunate to come out of the storm with just a building going down.”

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Page 12 • Dairy Star • Saturday, August 14, 2021

A better look at dairy animals Virginia Tech coach leads WHA judging workshops By Danielle Nauman danielle.n@dairystar.com

AUBURNDALE, Wis. – One of the many rites of passage among dairy youth is learning the finer points of dairy cattle evaluation. The Wisconsin Holstein Association hosted two judging workshops with Dr. Katharine Knowlton, long-time dairy judging enthusiast and judging team coach at Virginia Tech. “We try to put on educational workshops for our junior members each year,” said Laura Wackershauser, Wisconsin Holstein Association executive director. “This year it was suggested to try putting on a dairy judging workshop rath-

er than the traditional fitting and showing workshops.” The two workshops took place July 24 at Budjon Farms in Lomira and July 25 at TreeHayven Holsteins in Auburndale. Approximately 20 youth grabbed their pencils and clipboards to join Knowlton at each location. Dairy judging has been a lifelong passion for Knowlton and is one she enjoys sharing with students, not only for the cows but for the life skills learned through the process. “I love it; oh my gosh, I love it,” Knowlton said of dairy judging and coaching. “There is so much more to dairy judging than evaluating cows. The professional skills

DANIELLE NAUMAN/DAIRY STAR

Virginia Tech dairy judging coach Dr. Katharine Knowlton explains the correct posi on of the thurls to youth at a Wisconsin Holstein Associa on dairy judging workshop July 25 at Tree-Hayven Holsteins in Auburndale, Wisconsin.

DANIELLE NAUMAN/DAIRY STAR

Dr. Katharine Knowlton (right) leads a discussion on comparing two heifers with junior members at the Wisconsin Holstein Associa on dairy judging workshop July 25 at Tree-Hayven Holsteins in Auburndale, Wisconsin.

these kids learn by participating in judging will stay with them forever.” Knowlton has been involved with coaching dairy judging for over 30 years and began working with the Virginia Tech dairy judging teams in 1997, including working with four national championship teams in 2013, 2009, 2008 and 2006. Rather than missing the dairy judging season in 2020 completely due to the coronavirus pandemic, Knowlton created dairy judging

101 on social media where she held virtual sessions to help youth perfect their skills. Now, Knowlton has been taking her dairy judging 101 on the road to lead workshops around the country. “A lot of times, if I am judging a show somewhere, it will work out to hold a judging clinic or workshop in the same area,” Knowlton said. Knowlton worked with the youth on judging heifers, one of the more difficult aspects of dairy

judging for many, encouraging the youth to begin by evaluating each animal in the class individually and look at their parts. She explained things in as ordinary language as possible to increase understanding. “You sort the heifers using the big picture,” Knowlton said. “Tops, rumps, legs; is she clean enough and dairy enough for her age? Is she big enough for the class?”

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Con nued from JUDGING | Page 13 Knowlton advised the juniors to ask themselves those questions to decide if each animal is a yes or no to each of those questions. She explained the ideals, how the heifers might deviate from those and the severity each should be considered with. “They don’t have to be perfect for you to say yes,” Knowlton said. Knowlton explained that a heifer needs to have a hard topline, but that the topline does not need to be perfectly straight. “I just don’t want a really wavy topline or one that sways to be able to say yes to her,” Knowlton said. “If a heifer has a basically level rump, I can say yes to her.” When evaluating legs, Knowlton used easy language to caution the youth about the three types of legs they should try to avoid: the Frankensteins, the ducks and the German shepherds. A Frankenstein is a heifer Knowlton described as being extremely straight legged with little flex to the hock when she walks. A duck is one that does not track straight from behind. Knowlton said a German shepherd heifer is one whose thurls are too far back and spends most of the time standing with her legs out behind her pin bones. Knowlton told the juniors to consider if the animal is clean enough and dairy enough for her age. She said older yearling heifers

should be allowed to carry a bit more flesh in preparation for calving and joining the milking herd. “The next question to ask is, ‘Is she big enough for the class?’ They need to be in a range with the others,” Knowlton said. “If I am judging a winter calf class, and there is a heifer that looks like she should be in the spring calf class, that is a problem; she is a peanut. I have a rule I call the peanut rule: Peanuts start on the bottom and have to fight their way up. There has to be something very wrong with a heifer to beat her with the peanut. If the peanut has a straighter topline, that is not enough. Don’t fall in love with the peanut.” Knowlton said her goal was to help youth develop a system to evaluate animals, allowing them to be more comfortable with what they are doing which should lead to confidence in their thoughts and decisions. “I love teaching judging skills, especially to kids this age,” she said. “The parents might get them started, and then … expectations start to get higher, and they don’t feel like they know what they are doing. Nobody likes doing something when you feel like that. This type of workshop isn’t necessarily teaching them to win a contest, but it can give them a little confidence to go on and continue to learn and ask questions.” Heavy Duty Poly Hay feeder

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From Our Side Of The Fence

4H’ers: What is your favorite part about exhibiting at the fair? Ainsley Noble Lancaster, Wisconsin Grant County 17 years old 9 years in 4-H

Rachel Pankratz Auburndale, Wisconsin Wood County 15 years old 10 years in 4-H

Tell us about your family’s farm. I reside on my family’s dairy, beef and crop farm, located in the rolling hills of Grant County, Wisconsin, where we milk 400 registered Holstein cows, run a herd of 100 beef cows and farm around 1,300 acres of land. I am the sixth generation on Nobland Farms. My parents, Troy and Jaime Noble, farm alongside my grandparents, Dennis and Rita Noble, and my two siblings, Drew and Macie. On the farm, my main responsibilities include feeding calves, taking care of our show heifer barn with my sister, Macie, and miscellaneous jobs as needed. Our farm takes great pride in teaching the next generations about agriculture as well as maintaining a clean, presentable farm.

Tell us about your family’s farm. I live on a small family-owned dairy farm in Auburndale. My parents are Peggy and Bruce Pankratz, and my siblings are Libby, Emily and James Pankratz. We are milking 60 cows in a tiestall barn.

Tell us about your dairy 4-H projects. This year I have four dairy heifers that I have been exhibiting: Kamps-Rx AppleB Alondra-ET, a Holstein winter calf; Nobland Ammo Everest, a Holstein fall calf; Stone-Front Nuance Caroline, a Jersey winter yearling; and Nobland Addison Dixie-Red, a Red and White Holstein winter yearling.

Tell us about your dairy 4-H projects. I am showing two dairy heifers at the Wisconsin State Fair, a Guernsey spring yearling and a Milking Shorthorn summer yearling that I purchased last year. I am also showing five dairy heifers and a steer at the Central Wisconsin State Fair: a Guernsey spring calf, Holstein fall calf, Jersey fall calf, a Milking Shorthorn summer yearling and a Guernsey spring yearling.

What is your favorite part about exhibiting dairy at the fair? My favorite part about exhibiting dairy at the fair is the atmosphere and the friends I have made along the way. I have come to know my closest friends through shows, especially at the county fair. Additionally, the atmosphere of being around other kids who absolutely love agriculture and exhibiting their dairy animals is something that makes me extremely happy.

What is your favorite part about exhibiting dairy at the fair? My favorite part about showing at the fair is being able to show people the animals that I care for. I also enjoy being able to teach people about how I care for them over the summer when they are not being shown at a fair and also making new friends at all the shows. Describe a highlight of your 4-H dairy career so far. My family had the supreme champion heifer at the Wood-Clark County dairy show last year. I got junior reserve champion Guernsey at the Northern Wisconsin State Fair this year with a heifer I purchased last year. What was your summer routine for preparing your animals? Over the summer, while I am not at a show, I wash my animals and practice showmanship with them. What is one skill you have gained because of the dairy project, and how will that help you in the future? One thing I have learned because of my dairy projects is how to properly care for them. Every day I still learn more about what to feed them to make them look their best for show day. What is your favorite way to pass the time at the fair on non-show days? My favorite way to pass time at the fair on non-show days is walking around and looking at all the other dairy heifers and cows and what everyone does differently to make their heifers look their best for show day.

Describe a highlight of your 4-H dairy career so far. Although there are many accomplishments I am extremely proud of throughout my 4-H career, my favorite one occurred at my county fair three years ago. When I was 11 years old, I lost my aunt to brain cancer. My aunt, Dena, and I were very close, and we loved sharing stories about showing cattle. My grandpa is the dairy superintendent at our county fair and three years ago, without my knowledge, started the Dena Noble Deibert Award. I was the first recipient. I will never forget the speech my grandpa gave that day, showing me that it’s not always about the results of the show but the people who got you there.

What was your summer routine for preparing your animals? In December 2020, we completed our show heifer barn, so our show heifer chores have changed drastically this year compared to past years. Every morning, my sister and I wake up at 6:30 and head out to the show heifer barn, where we push up hay, feed protein pellets and microbials, and pitch out manure piles from their pens. In the afternoon, we wash all the heifers that are going to a show coming up to promote hair growth.

What is one skill you have gained because of the dairy project, and how will that help you in the future? The most important skill I have learned through the dairy project is the importance of work ethic. If it wasn’t for growing up on a farm, working with my show heifers every day and learning how to properly meet their everyday needs, I wouldn’t have the work ethic I do today. This skill is so important and will take me far in life by showing me that if you are willing to work hard for what you want, it will come easier. In fact, one of my favorite quotes is, “Never hope for more than you work for.” If you are willing to work for it, it’ll come.

What is your favorite way to pass the time at the fair on non-show days? My favorite way to pass time on non-show days at the fair is to hang out with friends or play cards with them. I also enjoy helping my grandpa with any of his superintendent needs and walking around the barn to meet new youth in our county.

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Page 16 • Dairy Star • Saturday, August 14, 2021

Con nued from OUR SIDE | Page 15

Madison and Alivia Wiese Greenleaf, WisconsinBrown County Madison: 14 years old, 7 years in 4-H Alivia: 11 years old, 6 years in 4-H Tell us about your family’s farm. Our parents are Dan and Angela Wiese. Our family’s farm was established in 1982 by our great-grandfather, William Wiese. The farm is run by our two uncles, Dave and Mark Wiese, our dad and his cousins, John and Ross Wiese. We have a 6,000-cow herd, with 5,200 cows milking. We milk in a double-30 parlor and a double-32 parlor. We run 6,400 acres and buy feed. We apply manure to another 3,500 acres from contract growers. Tell us about your dairy 4-H projects. Together, we own one 3-year-old cow, Bella. She will freshen with her second calf mid-September. Alivia’s other 4-H project is Josie, a 6-month-old Jersey Holstein heifer calf. Madison’s other 4-H projects include a 14-month-old Charolais Maine-Anjou Shorthorn cross steer, Bubba, and a Red and White Holstein summer yearling, Becca. What is your favorite part about exhibiting dairy at the fair? Alivia: Staying in the camper and being with my friends. Making new friends and new memories with those I exhibit with is something I look forward to every year. Madison: I love being with my friends and showing against one another. It’s our own friendly competition that we have, something you don’t get to experience at other shows. This year, we are showing with 4-H friends who have never shown before, and we are excited to share this experience with them. Describe a highlight of your 4-H dairy career so far. Alivia: Taking reserve grand champion with my Jersey spring calf. Madison: Winning junior dairy showmanship at our county fair while being the youngest in the class. What was your summer routine for preparing your animals? We wake up early in the morning and head to the farm. We start by haltering all the calves. We tie them up to our wash rack and brush them out. We then walk each of them for about 30-45 minutes each. Once each of the calves is walked, we wash them. For Madison’s steer, we have to blow him out with a big blower until he is dry. This helps create hair growth. We then put the calves back into their pen and give them fresh hay to eat and straw to lay on. As we get closer to fair time, we work with the calf in a show halter and work with her so she presents herself to the best of her ability in the showring. What is one skill you have gained because of the dairy project, and how will that help you in the future? Hard work and persistence. Our favorite part of our summers is working all summer and then seeing our hard work pay off in the ring. It is the most rewarding feeling that we have ever felt. Even when things get tough and the calves aren’t cooperating with us the way that we would want them to, we just keep going. What is your favorite way to pass the time at the fair on non-show days? Alivia: I love to eat fair food. My favorites are snow cones and funnel cakes. Madison: I love spending time with friends and making memories. Some of my favorite memories with my friends are at the fair between shows.

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Lauren Breunig Sauk City, WisconsinDane County 17 years old 11 years in 4-H Tell us about your family’s farm. My parents, Mitch and Jacquie Breunig, are the owners of our dairy farm, Mystic Valley Dairy. We milk 400 registered Holsteins and have around 1,000 acres of crops. My siblings, Allie, 22, and Brayden, 11, as well as myself have all had crucial roles on our farm including entering computer data or managing our show string. Tell us about your dairy 4-H projects. My siblings and I exhibit our dairy animals at the local, state and national level. This year, my projects include two Holstein winter calves, a Red and White winter calf, a Red and White fall yearling in milk and a Holstein junior 3-year-old. What is your favorite part about exhibiting dairy at the fair? One of my favorite parts of exhibiting dairy cattle is talking to fairgoers about agriculture. Even growing up in a small community, most of my friends are two to three generations removed from agriculture so I have grown accustomed to educating people about the dairy industry. At fairs, I love being asked questions about the operation of my farm as well as topics concerning the industry. I believe that any bridge between consumers and producers, even just a two-minute conversation at a county fair, can have a positive impact on the dairy industry because of all the misinformation and propaganda around production agriculture. Describe a highlight of your 4-H dairy career so far. The biggest highlight of my 4-H dairy career happened this year at the 2021 Wisconsin State Fair where I won supreme junior champion of the junior show with my Red and White Holstein winter calf, Kamps-RX APB Aleah-Red-ET, the highest award a junior exhibitor can receive. It was the first time I even won a class at the Wisconsin State Fair where I have exhibited for four years and my first champion nod. Definitely a fair to remember. What was your summer routine for preparing your animals? I usually know which animals I will be showing by March or April, which is when I begin prepping my animals for summer shows. I start by tying them up to get them used to the halter, and then in May, I start to walk and wash them every day to get them ready for shows. When a show is close, my dad and I clip all our animals’ hair and blow up their topline hair. What is one skill you have gained because of the dairy project, and how will that help you in the future? I would say my biggest takeaways from the dairy project are public speaking and leadership. It has put me in positions to talk and explain things to people with different backgrounds which has made me a confident speaker. I also have taken on many leadership roles like 4-H president and managing all the people who show animals from our farm. These skills will help me in the future in the workplace because of all the leadership skills I have learned at such a young age. What is your favorite way to pass the time at the fair on non-show days? On non-show days, I spend time playing cards and hanging out with my friends who I only get to see at shows because we are all so busy during the summer. I also like to enjoy my fair share of fair food when I have time to venture into the midway. Lila Sloan Davis, Illinois Stephenson County 17 years old 8 years in 4-H Tell us about your family’s farm. I call Clearfield Farm home. The farm is run by my grandpa, Jerry Smith. My mom is Angela Litow, and I have a 5-year-old brother, Macklen, who is a pretty good chore helper most of the time. Last November, we had a milking herd and bred heifer dispersal. I am extremely fortunate to have been able to keep my show animals at home. I am milking five cows and have one cow housed at a family friend’s farm. Tell us about your dairy 4-H projects. This year, I exhibited three cows and four heifers in 4-H. I had a Jersey junior 2-year old, and a Holstein spring calf, winter calf, fall calf, spring yearling, senior 2-year old, and senior 3-year old. My fall calf was supreme champion. What is your favorite part about exhibiting dairy at the fair? My favorite part about showing at the fair is being able to talk to fairgoers coming through the barns. I always ask if little kids want to pet a cow and if they have any questions. For most, this is the closest they have ever been to a cow. While it is a small action, it is a great opportunity to help advocate for dairy, and the smiles on some of the kids’ faces makes it all. Describe a highlight of your 4-H dairy career so far. My favorite 4-H memory was with one of my favorite cows, Alley. While my grandpa wasn’t her biggest fan, I was adamant that I was going to take her to the fair as a 3-year-old. She ended up being reserve grand champion and I was just about the happiest person in the world. What was your summer routine for preparing your animals? I like to tie my heifers up a few weeks before my first show which is usually our district Holstein show. I take heifers out to water while I re-bed and put hay and grain in their stall in the morning and at night. At night, I take them for a walk behind a tractor and rack for exercise and practice show leading them after. I also wash them almost every day. What is one skill you have gained because of the dairy project, and how will that help you in the future? I think the No. 1 things I have gained from my dairy projects are responsibility and commitment. Even before I reached show age, I was out helping my mom with show chores and asking her to ask me questions about my calf. I will be able to carry this tenacity into other things I pursue throughout life. What is your favorite way to pass the time at the fair on non-show days? As I mentioned before, I love to bring kids and even adults to meet the cows. I also enjoy catching small naps with the heifers when possible, even though I tend to wake up at least once to someone taking my picture.

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Breeding Focus

Genetics the foundation of Ryan-Vu Holsteins breeding program Chad Ryan Ryan-Vu Holsteins Fond du Lac, Wisconsin 80 cows Describe your facilities and list your breeding management team. We milk in a 74-stall tiestall barn. I do the matings, my dad does the A.I. work, and everyone is involved in accurate heat detection. What is your current pregnancy rate? Our current pregnancy rate is right about 30%. What is your reproduction program? Do you use a synchronization program? How do you get animals pregnant? We us some ovsynch, and we also ultrasound every four weeks and breed based off that information. We try to breed cows as early as we can. We find we have the best results doing that, sometimes breeding even before they hit peak production. Describe your breeding philosophy. We focus primarily on hightype genetics. We do a lot of marketing of genetics and project calves for shows, so we keep true to breeding

for high type, with great udders and sound feet and legs. Our goal is to breed animals that can be competitive at all levels of shows. I look a lot at cow families when selecting bulls I am going use, and I like to use bulls I see a lot of daughters of at various shows and sales. We also pay attention to daughter pregnancy rate. What guidelines do you follow to reach the goals for your breeding program? We focus on accurate heat detection to get cows bred back in the most timely manner. We also follow a stringent vaccination protocol to keep the cows healthy and performing at their best reproductive efficiency. What are the top traits you look for in breeding your dairy herd, and how has this changed since you started farming? We have always been more focused on type and breeding and developing cow families. Years ago, it was more common to use bulls that are five to 10 years after their peak of popularity. Now to keep up with the genetics and marketing, you are not able to do that. Turn to RYAN-VU | Page 20

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EMILY PANKRATZ, herd manager Holtz Ridge Grass Farm, RUDOLPH, WISCONSIN 150 cows, Certified Organic, SCC 200,000 Emily (left) at our Central Plains Dairy Expo booth with her mother Peggy.

“We started using Udder Comfort™ a couple months ago to get better milk quality results. We keep using it because it takes edema out of udders more quickly than anything else,” says Emily Pankratz, herd manager for the 150-cow dairy at Holtz Ridge Grass Farm, Rudolph, Wisconsin, where she loves caring for the cows from calving through dryoff. Emily stopped by our booth at Central Plains Dairy Expo after buying the donated gallon in the Dairy Forward auction. “Our protocol is to put it on after every milking (post-calving), until the cow or heifer is not high in the CMT anymore. This includes cows that may acquire mastitis or high SCC during lactation. “What I like most about this product is how fast it works on edema. It helps blood flow and gets our heifers off to a quick start,” Emily explains.

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Page 20 • Dairy Star • Saturday, August 14, 2021

Con nued from RYAN-VU | Page 18

What are certain traits you try to avoid? I try to avoid high pins and poor legs; those are deal breakers in my mind. I also watch milking speed data. I try not to go too extreme on stature. I am a big believer in balance, and those extremely tall cows have a hard time developing balance.

How does your heifer inventory affect your breeding program? Being a smaller farm focused on genetics and marketing, our breeding program is not affected by our heifer inventory. We sell a lot of heifers as project calves, but we always have enough to calve in as replacements.

Describe the ideal cow for your herd. The ideal cow in our herd is a balanced, dairy and femine cow. She has a great udder and walks on a good set of feet and legs. She is part of a deep cow family that is marketable. What role does genetics have in reaching the goals of your farm? Genetics is 100% responsible for us reaching our goals, because our goals are set around developing our genetics and breeding the best animals we can breed. What percentage of your herd is bred to sexed, conventional and beef semen? We use very little sexed semen, if any; we use primarily conventional semen. We have about 15% of our herd bred to beef, mostly cows that might have a blemished pedigree that we wouldn’t want to sell a daughter from her, or cows

PHOTO COURTESY OF COWSMOPOLITAN DAIRY MAGAZINE

Chad Ryan leads City-Slickers DB Bon Voyage at the North American Open Dairy Ca le Show last October in Circleville, Ohio. Ryan and his family focus on breeding high type ca le and developing cow families on his dairy near Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

that are maybe at three or more services. We don’t do as much embryo transfer or in vitro fertilization as in the past. We’ll maybe do a certain cow once in a while but on a much smaller scaler. What is your conception rate? How does this differ with different types of semen? Our conception rate

is right around 45% to 50%. Our conception with the beef semen is very high. What is the greatest lesson you have learned through your breeding program? The greatest lesson I have learned is that you will get out of your breeding program what you put into it. Not every bull will work on

every cow. You need to study and determine the best corrective matings for any individual cow.

Tell us about your farm. Ryan-Vu Holsteins is owned by my parents, Mark and Mary Ryan, and operated by them along with myself and my wife, Amy, and our two sons, Dillon, 13, and Cameron, 12. We farm 400 acres outside of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, raising corn, soybeans, alfalfa and some canary grass, all for feed for our herd. We enjoy showing and were the premier breeder of the Wisconsin State Holstein Show in 2016 and 2017. We also sell animals privately and in consignment sales throughout the country. We co-host the Quest For Success sale series with our good friends, Lynn and Sara Harbaugh.

What is the age of your heifers at first service? We like to calve our heifers at about 26 months, so we are breeding them the first time between 16 and 17 months of age.

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Dairy Star • Saturday, August 14, 2021 • Page 21

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10 14 10 1 9 6

JD 6620, 1987, Corn/Bean, 2WD, 3903 hrs., #177388 ............................$15,900 JD 9500, 1991, Corn/Bean, 2WD, Duals, 6500 hrs., 5000 sep hrs., #185458 $22,400 JD 9600, 1996, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 4718 hrs., 3171 sep hrs., #175562 .... $29000 JD 9610, 1998, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, 6160 hrs., #179045 ................$29,900 JD 9610, 1998, Corn/Bean, 2WD, 3535 hrs., 2241 Sep hrs., #185640.....$34,500 JD 9750 STS, 2000, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 4734 hrs., 3102 sep hrs., #185963 ........................................................................................................$36,400 JD 9550, 1999, Corn/Bean, 4982 hrs., 3450 sep hrs., #178638 ...............$43,900 JD S670, 2012, Corn/Bean, 3625 hrs., 2557 sep hrs., #172954 ...............$92,900 JD 9870 STS, 2008, Corn/Bean, 3105 hrs., 2500 sep hrs., #175945 .......$99,900 JD 9670 STS, 2009, Corn/Bean, 2192 hrs., 1263 sep hrs., #185612 .... $110,400 JD S680, 2012, Corn/Bean, 2930 hrs., 2043 sep hrs., #175550 ............ $112,900 JD S680, 2012, Corn/Bean, 2472 hrs., 1739 sep hrs., #154637 ............ $124,900 JD S680, 2013, Corn/Bean, 2907 hrs., 1904 sep hrs., #161858 ............ $129,500

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NH CR8090, 2012, Corn/Bean, 2405 hrs., 1810 sep hrs., #183218...... $136,500 JD S680, 2014, Corn/Bean, 2959 hrs., 2063 sep hrs., #182070 ............ $144,900 JD S680, 2014, Corn/Bean, 2355 hrs., 1703 sep hrs., #178114 ............ $147,900 JD S680, 2012, Corn/Bean, 2365 hrs., 1642 sep hrs., #176788 ............ $149,500 JD S680, 2014, Corn/Bean, 2061 hrs., 1658 sep hrs., #172017 ............ $159,500 JD S690, 2013, Corn/Bean, 2237 hrs., 1588 sep hrs., #177562 ........... $159,500 JD S690, 2012, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 2203 hrs., 1400 sep hrs., #179929 $160,000 JD S680, 2015, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, 2208 hrs., #169577 ............. $169,500 JD S680, 2013, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 2729 hrs.,1800 sep hrs., #176089 . $169,900 JD S680, 2013, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1992 hrs., 1300 sep hrs., #174756 $174,900 JD S690, 2012, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1983 hrs., 1530 Sep hrs., #171923 $179,000 JD S680, 2013, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 2052 hrs., 1638 sep hrs., #166363$185,900 JD S670, 2016, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 2289 hrs., 1453 sep hrs., #176660 $199,500 JD S690, 2013, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1648 hrs., 1161 sep hrs., #167773 $199,900 JD S680, 2015, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1796 hrs., 1233 sep hrs., #167207 $219,500 JD S690, 2016, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 2113 hrs., #176735 ........................ $219,500 JD S770, 2018, Corn/Bean, PRWD,, 2203 hrs., 1587 sep hrs., #181147$245,000 JD S680, 2016, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1608 hrs., 1107 sep hrs., #184606 $249,900 JD S690, 2016, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1767 hrs., 1248 sep hrs., #176733 $250,000 JD S790, 2018, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1535 hrs., 1058 sep hrs., #179097 $315,400 JD S780, 2018, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1157 hrs., 800 sep hrs., #175318 .. $319,500 JD S780, 2018, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1180 hrs., 850 sep hrs., #183439 .. $337,500 JD S780, 2018, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1100 hrs., 755 sep hrs., #183533 .. $355,000 JD S780, 2018, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 687 hrs., 475 sep hrs., #154461 .... $359,000 JD S780, 2018, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1020 hrs., 690 sep hrs., #177549 .. $364,400 JD S790, 2019, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 965 hrs., 683 sep hrs., #171378 .... $389,500 JD S780, 2019, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 726 hrs., 557 sep hrs., #185160 .... $397,000 JD S780, 2019, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 484 hrs., 307 sep hrs., #169507 .... $409,500 JD S780, 2019, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 362 hrs., 234 sep hrs., #171003 .... $419,500 JD S780, 2020, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 521 hrs., 397 sep hrs., #183792 .... $425,400 JD S780, 2020, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 557 hrs., 373 sep hrs., #181757.... $429,900 JD S780, 2020, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 581 hrs., 315 sep hrs., #179653 .... $435,900 JD S780, 2020, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Tracks, 315 hrs., 240 Sep hrs., #182067 .................................................................................................... $509,900 14 JD S790, 2020, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Tracks, 522 hrs., 392 sep hrs., #181663 ..................................................................................................... $514,900

14 JD S790, 2020, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Tracks, 378 hrs., 285 sep hrs., #181664 ..................................................................................................... $524,900 2 11 6 14 17 2 17 9 3 10 7 5 3 3 7 7 16 16 5 8 17 10 10 15 15 15 3 16 15 14 16 16

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Page 22 • Dairy Star • Saturday, August 14, 2021

The excitement of show season On May 22, my two daughters, Eleanor, 5, and Charlotte, 2, and I called my mom and dad while we were eating breakfast for our daily morning FaceTime check in. We always like to see what is happening on the farm for the day before dispersing to daycare, school and work. That morning, they had exciting news for Eleanor.

The 2-year-old cow, Astrid, who Eleanor had named and shown as a novice calf in 2019 had a heifer overnight. Eleanor immediately stopped eating and put down her cereal spoon as her eyes grew wide and a smile flashed to her face. She hopped down from her chair and did a little dance from excitement while letting out a few high

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gleeful squeals. The show season had started for her. From that moment, the show season for us progressed in steps. The first step was naming the newborn. When my parents asked Eleanor what they should call the calf, I thought she might need time to think A Little Bit of Sunshine about this important step. Without missing a beat, Eleanor shouted out, “Rainbow.” This is a perfect name for Eleanor to choose. She loves to draw using a variety of colors, with rainbows being one of her favorite items to illustrate. Now that the calf had a name, the excitement for Eleanor grew. Meeting Rainbow By Krista Kuzma was our second step. Staff Writer Since we do not live on the farm, we have to plan when we visit my parents. I love these visits and the girls do, too, so much so that Charlotte calls out, “My farm!” whenever she sees the silos as we drive up. These visits allow us the chance to see the cows and help Grandma with calf chores. Plus, Eleanor always likes the chance of riding with Papa in the tractor or on the side-by-side. The day we met Rainbow came with particular excitement as Eleanor officially claimed Rainbow as her own. We got all the details from my mom, the main calf feeder, on how Rainbow was doing while we helped put fresh bottles of milk in the holders for the calves’ evening feeding. Of course, we then had to take time to pet Rainbow, allow her to suck our fingers and take a few pictures with her. The next step was actually a step back from the farm. This summer, Eleanor participated on her first organized sports team. T-ball took up a few evenings each week, which led to prioritizing learning the game and participating with her team over helping in the calf barn. She liked learning the basics of playing on the ball diamond and had fun playing on the same team as her cousin, Hattie. When we looked at the game schedule, I noticed her last game was the same night as the open show at the county fair when Eleanor would show Rainbow. Wanting her to make her own decision, I asked Eleanor whether she would rather play in her T-ball game or show Rainbow at the fair. “I want to show Rainbow because that is the only time I will get to show her,” Eleanor said excitedly. My dairy-loving heart swelled at her choosing to show her calf. In July, we got back to the barn to start training Rainbow for the fair. As the youngest calf in the Sheeknoll Farms show string (she was weaned just a few days before fair time), Rainbow did well adjusting to the halter and the showing life. Eleanor also did well adjusting to being on the halter of an animal. The last time Eleanor showed a calf two years ago, I did most of the calf maneuvering with Eleanor holding on to the end. This year, we switched. I held the end of the halter, and Eleanor practiced being at the lead. At first, Eleanor was a little scared since she didn’t know how to make Rainbow stop when she wanted her to. When I showed Eleanor how to gently but firmly pull back on the halter, she tried it for the next circle around the lawn. When she successfully made Rainbow stop on the first try, she quickly turned around to share her smile and excitement of being able to handle her animal. The day of the show, going to the fair to show Rainbow is all the girls could talk about. Eleanor and I went early to prepare for the event. We were greeted by Eleanor’s two cousins, Hattie and Elena, who were also showing in the same class as Eleanor. There were so many giggles, smiles and nonstop talking. Although we had to wait a bit outside the ring, the time finally came for Eleanor to debut her skills. She confidently took the halter and paraded Rainbow around the ring with me hanging on to the end. For one circle, Charlotte even joined us. Eleanor proudly answered all the questions the judges and the dairy princesses asked her. And for her efforts after pulling Rainbow into the final lineup, Eleanor received a ribbon. Again, I could see her excitement expressed through her large grin. Maybe to some, the novice calf class is just a cute array of the youngest calves and kids. While it is, I think it’s important to remember the excitement these kids show and experience is a spark that can keep them coming back to the industry. While my kids don’t live on a farm, having the chance to show a calf gives us more accessibility for them to be involved. Even if later in life they are not in the industry, they at least have that experience and excitement first instilled in them when showing a calf at the county fair.

Dairy Star • Saturday, August 14, 2021 • Page 23

Dairy highlighted at Wisconsin State Fair STACEY SMART/DAIRY STAR

Junior exhibitors take part in the showmanship classes Aug. 5 at the Wisconsin State Fair in West Allis, Wisconsin.

STACEY SMART/DAIRY STAR

Ma hew Winch prepares his fall calf for the showmanship class at the Wisconsin State Fair. Winch is from Fennimore, Wisconsin.

Grace Hensel stands at the halter as her heifer receives final touches before heading to the show ring. Hensel is from Pi sville, Wisconsin.

STACEY SMART/DAIRY STAR

Rebecca Schmidt watches as Jared Greidanus clips the udder of her Ayrshire cow.

Turn to FAIR | Page 25

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Page 24 • Dairy Star • Saturday, August 14, 2021

As a dairyman, are you looking to improve the way your fresh cows transition, take off, peak and breed back? Looking to improve rumen health, rumen function, overall health, digestion, feed efﬁciency, and YOUR BOTTOM LINE??? If so, then…

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Ashland, Ohio • 419-962-1913 APRIL 2013 “I started using RECAL Plus in March of 2012. I had been feeding a probioƟc for starch digesƟon and since I feed a high forage diet, it just didn’t make sense to be feeding a starch digester, I needed a Įber digester. So, I decided to try the RECAL Plus probioƟc. I was monitoring my dry maƩer intakes, milk producƟon, buƩerfat, and protein. The Įrst thing I noƟced was a lot less undigested feed passing through the manure. Then I noƟced that the dry maƩer intakes had decreased by about 6%, but milk producƟon, buƩerfat and protein never dropped, I was impressed. I was also feeding a toxin binder and decided to pull it out of my mix. I had my TMR checked for vomitoxin and the level was 5 ppm, very high. The cows showed no signs that the toxins were aīecƟng them aŌer I pulled the binder out. When I starƟng feeding the RECAL Plus my 21-day preg rate was 15%. Then my preg rate started climbing, even during the heat of the summer. I am holding about a 70# milk average with a 4.1% BF, 3.2% Protein, 80,000 SCC and the cows are only eaƟng 45# of dry maƩer, with an eĸciency of 1.71. And my cows are in great body condiƟon. RECAL Plus has been a great aide in feed eĸciency, cow health, and reproducƟon for me. I highly recommend all dairy farmers to start feeding RECAL Plus. Trust me, I know that there are a lot of products out there. But RECAL Plus does in fact work. And Jamie is willing to prove that to you. Some people say that this won’t work or that’s a waste of money. Well folks, cows don’t lie. Let the cows decide whether it works or not!!”

UPDATE ͳ JULY 2021 “I have been feeding the RECAL Plus now for nine years and I must say that I’m very pleased with the product. A few things that I really noƟced shortly aŌer I started feeding the RECAL Plus nine years ago and have conƟnued to see is how well my fresh cows take oī with almost no issues, peak and breed back. The only vet bill I have is basically for preg checking, vaccinaƟons but very liƩle treatments. Another thing is how much more consistent things are from day to day such as milk producƟon, % BF, % PRO, MUN, SCC, manure, and intakes. I used to see a lot more variability. Something else I have noƟced that I see year aŌer year is that in the summer months my components do not drop like they used to. Currently we milk 70-80 cows near Ashland, Ohio and for the year we average about 80#-82# of milk with 4.3% BF and 3.2% Pro on 2X milking. Since feeding the RECAL Plus I have not fed any toxin binder, yeast, or any other probioƟc and recommend all dairymen to contact Jamie, he won’t steer you wrong and comes from a herdsman background so he comes with a lot of knowledge. Feel free to contact me.”

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Dairy Star • Saturday, August 14, 2021 • Page 25

Con nued from FAIR | Page 23

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Page 26 • Dairy Star • Saturday, August 14, 2021

My time with FBM

Welcome to the first edition of From My Perspective. I am Tom Anderson, a Farm Business Management faculty member at Riverland Community College in Austin, Minnesota. I will be writing one From My Perspective column a month for the next year on related topics that I see affecting the dairy industry. I grew up on a dairy farm in the rolling hills of Preston in southeast Minnesota. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, I taught high school agricultural education/FFA for 18 years and then began my work as a FBM faculty in 1998. Having been a FBM faculty member By Tom Anderson for the past couple of decades Columnist or so, I have seen tremendous changes take place. In fact, when I first started in December 1997, the personal computer was just entering the farm office as a tool that might assist with bookkeeping. Little mention was made at that time of DairyComp or Scout, etc. But now, most farms have numerous laptops, handheld devices and GPS. Some interesting comparative herd facts (according to the University of Minnesota database) include: 1999

2020

73 head

256 head

Average pounds per cow

18,588

25,253

Feed cost per cow and replacement

$1,295

$2,568

Average milk price per hundredweight Gross revenue per cow

$15.43

$19.75

$2,621

$5,954

Total direct, overhead cost

$1,989

$4,947

$3.76

$3.98 (with government payments)

Average herd size

Net return per hundredweight

In addition, the recent focus on components (butterfat and protein) has had a significant impact. Only a few years ago, we never discussed pounds of components produced per cow daily. Then all of a sudden, the goal was 6 pounds per cow per day, and now, I have herds exceeding 7 pounds per cow per day of butterfat and protein, creating a great impact on mailbox price. I have seen a mailbox price range of $4.40 per cwt for the first six months of 2021. My original concept, prior to taking this job, was that I would work with a large variety of farm types. Over the course of 22 years, however, I have gravitated heavily toward the dairy industry. Of the 60-plus farms I have the pleasure of working with, only two or three are not a dairy operation. In fact, I have not had a single month in over 20 years where I wasn’t working with one or more dairy operations to plan some form of expansion or improvement. Though it slowed a bit during the past year, it has been exciting to see interest rebound this summer. Often this growth is the result of family farm transitions taking place. Speaking of farm transitions, have you been, or will you be, involved in the transition of your farm operation? I love working with the dairy families and especially with the next generation. Their energy, excitement and enthusiasm are so encouraging. They are well-educated, passionate and ready to hit the ground running. I am proud to say we have had some great success in southeast Minnesota with farm transition. Sure, there have been some bumps (maybe big bumps) along the way. Not all have worked out, but in general, success has been the result when both sides (senior and younger) have a good working relationship, trust in the other side, meet regularly and, most importantly, a willingness to communicate and share expectations of each other. One of the most important aspects of this process is the transition of leadership and responsibility. That involves a two-way street; the younger generation must be willing to take on responsibility, and the senior generation must have the willingness to let go. We have all made mistakes over the years and that part won’t change. But the growth of the next generation will only occur when we provide accolades to success and positive correction to the mistakes. I will address this important topic more in a future column. If you have questions about family farm transition (or the farm management program in general), I suggest you contact a Farm Business Management faculty person at a Minnesota state college. It is nearly impossible to go alone with this multi-year endeavor, so having a neutral party to assist and guide the process is key to success. Tom Anderson is a Farm Business Management faculty member at Riverland Community College.

Dairy Star • Saturday, August 14, 2021 • Page 27

Dairy breakfast coming soon We are two weeks away from another event at our farm. We are so excited to be hosting the Dane County Dairy Breakfast Aug. 21. We all making last minute lists, contacting and confirming sponsors and planning the layout on the farm. I have been asked in interviews about the breakfast on the farm. How much food does it take to pull off the Dane County Dairy Breakfast? The answer still amazes me. It takes about 1,000 dozen eggs, 12,000 pancakes, 5,000 string cheeses, 100 pounds of shredded cheese, 750 pounds of sausage, 5,000 milk jugs, By Tina Hinchley Farmer & Columnist 150 gallons of coffee and 150 gallons of ice cream. But, the whole event cannot happen without volunteers. For an average event for Dane County, the goal is to get 250 volunteers to help with parking, ticket sales, cooking, serving, table cleaning, ice cream scooping and picking up trash … the list goes on. We ask everyone we do business with to make a donation of money, supplies and volunteer time to help with the breakfast so we have enough feet on the ground to help with and also support the event. Writing articles for the local paper and sending out many emails and Facebook posts have been a family affair that Anna, Catherine and Duane have made to keep the breakfast fresh in the minds of friends, family, neighbors and anyone who would like to visit a farm and enjoy a delicious breakfast. Because it is at our family farm, we are all looking around and taking care of areas of our farm that could use more attention. Because we finally had some rain, the moisture made pulling weeds and spreading wood chips much easier. Putting up banners is so much easier when the soil will actually allow a

the event. Our nutritionist will discuss the importance of quality feed, storage, rations and how that can help the milk production of our cows. Our milk hauler will be here with a tanker truck for all to see up close how big they are. We will also have the company that does our fall manure handling available to share about nutrient management plans and the GPS systems that are used to be environmentally sustainable. Invenergy will have information about the Koshkonong solar energy project that is coming to the Cambride and Deerfield area. All of this and more will be throughout the farm for visitors to see and learn about. The reality of all of this is that this event would not be possible if not for the breakfast committee. These four people have worked on the event together

for years: Katie Varney, Kristen Olson, Laura Herschleb and Mike Maraen. They have a list of annual sponsors that support the venue at all locations every year. Not only do these businesses support the breakfast, this will also be the funds for the scholarship program that gives funds to farm kids after high school to further their education. We would like to invite you to join us at our farm in Cambridge Aug. 21 for the Dane County Dairy Breakfast. I am sure it will be a dairy good day. 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.

She Can’t Wait To Be Around It.

H Here we are lless than h two weeks k away and so many people have stepped up to be a part of the local event in our community. y post to be slammed in. We are trying to notice things that just don’t need to be where they are and things that could be moved to a better spot. Organizing and cleaning up feels good when there’s a reason behind the efforts. The tractors will all come out of the sheds and get a good cleaning. And, what doesn’t need to be seen will get moved to a different farm shed. Here we are less than two weeks away and so many people have stepped up to be a part of the local event in our community. We have tractors, steam engines and antique car collectors who will be shining up their treasures to share a view with breakfastgoers. Our milk hauler and his kids will be arriving in the tanker truck to get breakfast. The mobile vaccine clinic will be here to give free vaccinations for COVID-19. Argill, our Lely dealer, will be here to give tours of the robots milking our cows. This new technology is nearly three years old already and has made a huge difference in our lives and also our cows. The robots give us more time to be better managers and more opportunities for the cows to milk themselves and produce more milk, which lets them feel more comfortable and content. Argill will also be giving away a Luna cow brush to a farmer who signs up at

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Page 28 • Dairy Star • Saturday, August 14, 2021 Dana Adams, adam1744@umn.edu 320-204-2968 Joe Armstrong armst225@umn.edu 612.624.3610

www.extension.umn.edu/dairy

Luciano Caixeta lcaixeta@umn.edu 612-625-3130 Gerard Cramer gcramer@umn.edu 612-625-8184 Marcia Endres miendres@umn.edu 612-624-5391 Joleen Hadrich jhadrich@umn.edu 612-626-5620 Les Hansen hanse009@umn.edu 612-624-2277 Brad Heins hein0106@umn.edu 320-589-1711 Nathan Hulinsky huli0013@umn.edu 320-203-6104 Kevin Janni kjanni@umn.edu 612-625-3108 Karen Johnson ande9495@umn.edu 320-484-4334 Emily Krekelberg krek0033@umn.edu 507-280-2863 Claire LaCanne lacanne@umn.edu 507-332-6109 Brenda Miller nels4220@umn.edu 320-732-4435 Erin Royster royster@umn.edu Isaac Salfer ijsalfer@umn.edu 320-296-1357 Jim Salfer salfe001@umn.edu 320-203-6093 Mike Schutz mschutz@umn.edu 612-624-1205 Emma Severns sever575@umn.edu 507-934-7828 Melissa Wison mlw@umn.edu 612-625-4276

Get the most from mastitis lab submissions By Erin Royster, DVM University of Minnesota

Diagnostic testing is a key component of any good mastitis control program. In fact, there are many types of tests that provide valuable information to help dairy producers achieve excellent milk quality. Diagnostic tests like quarter milk culture identify the type of pathogen causing mastitis infections. Screening tests like bulk tank culture monitor the herd for the presence of contagious pathogens and also provide information that can be used to monitor milking time hygiene. Other tests like bedding or towel cultures can identify potential risk factors for mastitis or help monitor management of those areas on the dairy. There are many quality labs that provide mastitis screening and diagnostic testing, including local veterinary clinics and milk processors. The University of Minnesota Laboratory for Udder Health is a fully accredited diagnostic lab with highly trained technicians who specialize in mastitis and milk quality diagnostics. No matter the lab, there are certain steps to make sure a producer is getting the most value out of diagnostic testing. Asking certain questions before submitting samples to the lab can help avoid common mistakes. Select the right test To select the best test for a particular situation, start with a specific question. This will help select a test that best answers the question and will help select the right sample for that test. It is important to consider how the test results will be used. Complete this line of thought: “If the results are …, I will ….” For example, if a mastitis culture is positive for Staph aureus, will a producer try to treat, do not breed and segregate, or cull? If the action is a cow-level action, select a cow-level test. A cow-level test would be a culture of a composite milk sample, where milk from all four quarters of the cow is combined. However, composite samples can be difficult to interpret because it is very common to isolate multiple organisms. Unless one of the organisms is a contagious pathogen, it’s impossible to say whether any of the organisms were truly causing infection or merely contaminants. Composite samples are really only useful for screening for contagious pathogens, when the result of the test would lead to a cow-level action (like culling). In most cases, a quarter milk sample will give the most useful, easy-to-interpret results. In addition, depending on the question, a producer may be able to select a specific screening

test that costs less than a full mastitis culture if they only want to know if certain pathogens are present (like Staph aureus or Mycoplasma). Collect the best sample The key to this step is clean. For any type of microbiological testing, we are attempting to identify bacteria that originated in the sample. But bacteria are everywhere, so it’s easy to accidentally introduce bacteria from elsewhere (like hands, udder skin, collection equipment, etc.) into the sample. When this happens, the results of the test are meaningless. Regardless of the sample type, be aware of possible sources of contamination and use clean or sterile sampling techniques. For example, when collecting a towel for culture, how was the towel grabbed out of the dryer? If hands are dirty, the bacteria from the hands may be cultured. Use clean gloves, or grab the towel with the inside of a clean bag. Another important factor to consider is whether or not the sample is truly representative of what is trying to be assessed. For bedding cultures, we recommend collecting a sample from at least 10 locations (back of 10 stalls, 10 spots in a bedded pack) into a clean bucket, mixing thoroughly and then submitting a smaller sample from the mix. Understand the results It is important to have some idea how test results will be interpreted before samples are submitted to the lab. Know there is some variation in how different labs report test results. When in doubt, call ahead and ask about the testing procedures, how and which results are reported, and if guidelines exist to help interpret the results. In some cases, interpreting results if fairly straightforward, such as a positive Mycoplasma culture. In other cases, there may not be any science-based guidelines for interpreting results, as is the case with bedding and towel cultures. With these tests, it is especially important to understand how test results will be used ahead of time. For bedding culture, can clean or unused bedding be compared to bedding in stalls just before new bedding is added? What management action could be taken to improve things if bacteria counts on bedding or towels are too high? Make use of a herd veterinarian or other knowledgeable dairy advisors who can help design an appropriate testing strategy, select the right test, collect the best sample and interpret test results.

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Dairy Star • Saturday, August 14, 2021 • Page 29

Understanding the revised Net Merit selection index

Genetic evaluations in the U.S. are released three times each year by the Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding. Updated evaluations were released Aug. 10. This genetic evaluation also includes additional traits of cows as well as changes in the relative emphasis placed on traits in the Net Merit index. The elegance By Les Hansen University of MN of a selection index such as Net Merit is that it combines many important traits of dairy cows into a single number to rank A.I. bulls. Historically, many have recommended Net Merit as the most important tool for selecting A.I. bulls to breed heifers and cows. The continual addition of traits to the Net Merit index may be mostly a good thing, but a downside is that as more traits are selected for at one time, then less progress can be expected for each of the traits individually. The relative emphasis placed on traits in revised Net Merit varies somewhat from breed to breed, so the examples I will review are specific to the Holstein breed. The traits and relative emphasis (rounded to whole numbers) contributing to Net Merit beginning in August are: – Fat (pounds): +29% – Protein (pounds): +20% – Productive life (months lactating): +16%

– Body weight composite (pounds): -9% – Cow fertility: +5% – Cow livability (alive at disposal): +4% – Residual feed intake (dry matter consumed): -4% – Udder composite: +3% – Somatic cell score (lower is better): -3% – Calving ability (ease and stillbirth): +3% – Health cost: +1% – Early first calving (days): +1% – Heifer livability: <1% – Heifer fertility: <1% – Feet and leg composite: <1% Production receives 49% of the relative emphasis in Net Merit, and the emphasis is placed on milk solids rather than milk volume. Much discussion about production of cows continues to revolve around milk volume, but pricing of milk in much of the U.S. is based mostly on milk solids. Cows must remain in herds to cover their replacement cost, so the relative emphasis of 16% on productive life seems fitting. However, one of the most common complaints I hear from commercial dairy producers today is that their Holstein cows are too big. It’s well-documented that Holstein cows are continuing to become taller each year despite lip service by some in the industry to the contrary. I’ve been an advocate to move the Holstein breed to be more balanced with a directional movement away from taller and

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sharper toward somewhat smaller and rounder. However, the trend continues toward taller and sharper (thinner) Holstein cows. The relative emphasis placed on body weight composite in Net Merit is a substantial -9%. Because cows aren’t routinely weighed, type traits are used to estimate body weight. Only 14% of the emphasis in body weight composite is on making cows shorter in stature. Also, 28% of the emphasis in body weight composite is on making cows thinner (less body condition), which seems to be taking us in the wrong direction in order to breed more balanced cows. After body weight composite, cow fertility receives the next highest relative emphasis (5%) in revised Net Merit. However, it’s important to keep in mind that cow fertility has a strong positive relationship with productive life (months lactating). All other traits included in revised Net Merit have a relative emphasis of less than a 5%, so their impact on the ranking of A.I. bulls for Net Merit is small. That is especially true of traits with a relative emphasis of 1% or less. The input I receive from dairy producers is they usually want more production (pounds of fat and protein) from their cows. Also, they want cows with longevity to easily overcome replacement costs, and cow fertility heavily influences longevity. Revised Net Merit prioritizes all of these traits. However, what else do I hear from commercial dairy producers about

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Page 30 • Dairy Star • Saturday, August 14, 2021

Sunday adventure This past Saturday, the sky looked ominous by 8 a.m. as we hurriedly fed the calves outside. The clouds opened up and gave us all they had. You had to shout to be heard in the barn, even a few feet away from each other. The deafening sound of a downpour on the tin roof of a huge freestall barn is both calming and terrifying all at once. By Saturday night, the ground was saturated (some places in the area tallied upward of 6 inches), puddles filled any available spot of ground, rivers were running anywhere with a slope, and the rains were not expected to stop. What inevitably happens when the ground is squishy and easily impressionable? You are right. Animals with large hooves get out and make the lawn into Swiss cheese. Worse than that, it wasn’t even our lawn. It was our neighbor’s. Eight of our pregnant

heifers from the pasture down the road decorated their lawn in the early morning hours on Sunday. As soon as he got the message from the neighbor, Peter and his posse chased them back into their proper summer home. The reason for escape was evident in an instant. The gates were laid flat at the pasture entrance. Fence posts have a hard time remaining strong when their base is saturated. Upon chasing the renegades back in, they made another discovery: a fresh heifer. No calf in sight but a nice-looking heifer with a full udder, lacking the heavy belly of pregnancy. They decided they should bring Bernadine home with one of her friends. This is where the real adventure begins. Stacy, her boys and husband, Adam, Peter and Dad managed to get Bernadine and her pal to the road only to have the heifers double back and cut be-

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tween them to return to the pasture fence. Peter then called for reinforcements. Dane, Cora and I headed over, meeting up with Lynzie and the dogs, Oaklee and Julep. Leaving a frustrated Cora in the Ramblings from the Ridge van to entertain Peanut, we headed to the scene of the action. Adam had left Oliver and Finley to guard the neighbor’s lawn and direct Bernadine and her mate across the road when they headed that way. The theory was that two are easier to move than one. This is a general rule for moving By Jacqui Davison cattle long distances and Columnist usually works well. Not this Sunday. Bernadine had utter disregard for a sidekick. We tried multiple times, making it almost halfway across the field before they turned sharp and plowed between our human gate system. Not even a fast-moving pair of dogs could deter them. The greasy hay field was not the best footing for running, mostly just a test of our agility. On the fourth try, we managed to get Bernadine to the road’s edge. We talked softly, moved slowly, then yelled and pushed at her. She refused to cross the road, turning tail and heading back into the field. Lynzie put the dogs away, and we made the muddy trek across the field again. We put the extra heifer back in the pasture as Dane followed Bernadine through the corn field. He finally turned her around when he was beyond yelling distance. Peter was keeping track of them from inside the pasture. He called Lynzie to tell us to be ready, so we cut up through the field, thinking we could find her faster that way. As we followed her previously plowed path, she crossed a few rows in front of us. Then we were off, Bernadine, Lynzie, and I, trying to make it to the end. Bernadine made it to the last bit where the corn rows change direction, and I thought we were going to do the impossible. We were going to cross the road. Not a chance. She whipped around so fast I almost landed myself in the mud. I was yelling and running. It was a run and stop operation. Run a bit, stop and listen. My mom must have drilled the importance of never running in a corn field in my head when I was young. At 41 years, this was my first experience chasing something through a corn field. It was disorienting and beautiful all at once. I kept trying to see the tree that marks the pasture, but there wasn’t a chance through the screen of tassels. The brilliant green leaves make a perfect pattern as you stare down the rows for the frustrating creature you are trying to chase. The fresh raindrops that once clung to the leaves now soaked me to the skin, and I kept hoping she would tire out. Eventually on one of my breaks to listen, I heard Dane from below telling me she came out. By the time Lynzie and I crawled out from between the corn stalks, she had jumped the fence to rejoin the herd. We waved our white flag; we had given up too. No doubt we will try to get her home this week. Knowing her personality, the fact that the cornfield doesn’t intimidate her and her sheer determination not to leave, we may have to be creative. 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, August 14, 2021 • Page 31

You need to do this Most of the time, we veterinarians, being scientists, are careful to make recommendations that do not imply certainty. For example, we might say using a particular vaccine is a good idea or that Veterinary Wisdom a particular management practice has been shown to be helpful. We are not trying to be wishy-washy; science just works that way. Certainty is rare in biology. However, sometimes the evidence is so overwhelming that we might say, “You need to do this.” The other day, while By Jim Bennett reading an article about Columnist feeding a second dose of colostrum (Cullens & Abuelo) in Hoard’s Dairyman, I had a you-need-todo-this moment. The article was about a study comparing calves fed one meal of colostrum with calves fed a second meal a few hours later. The study was done on a large dairy in Michigan and included over 4,000 calves. It was published in a peer reviewed journal named Animals in 2021. What caught my eye in the article was that calves receiving a second dose of colostrum 5-6 hours after the initial meal gained 0.24 pounds more per day through weaning and produced 2,165 pounds more milk in their first lactation than calves receiving one 3-liter meal at birth. That is around $400 more gross income in first lactation milk sales for feeding 3 liters of free colostrum. It is also highly likely, based on studies of calf growth rates and later milk production, that this production effect carries over into future lactations. That is a remarkable return on investment. So yes, if you are not feeding an additional dose of colostrum at the next feeding now, you need to do this. There were other benefits too. Calves getting an additional dose were two times less likely to get respiratory disease, three times less likely to get diarrhea and 2.3 times less likely to get any disease before

ing the onset of respiratory disease until after weaning is likely also important. Calves were housed in individual pens in a barn until day No. 7 when most of them were moved to an automatic feeder barn. Some calves remained in individual pens and were fed with buckets. Calves in the auto feeder barn were 2.7 times more likely to be diagnosed with respiratory disease than the individual penned calves. This is interesting because the comparison was between groups of calves that were both housed in a building. This suggests that group housing, or sharing a nipple or waterer, likely is a significant risk factor for pneumonia, not just air quality. In contrast, group fed calves were only 1.3 times more likely to experience diarrhea than individuallyhoused calves. This may seem counterintuitive, but

we have seen similar results on farms in our practice. Auto feeder barns typically result in a much greater prevalence of pneumonia but less so for diarrhea. Our practice has seen great results on farms that feed a second dose of colostrum. Such farms can achieve total serum proteins of over six in nearly all calves tested. That additional dose is clearly important, so if you are not doing it now, you need to do this. 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, August 14, 2021

The county fair Many county fairs have taken place already, and growing up, there’s no motivation to get something 4-H kids are getting excited to bring their animals or done like it needing to be completed and in front of projects they have worked hard on all summer. They the judge the next morning. You certainly can’t wait have been preuntil u the last moment to work with aniparing for the M mals but you can put off fitting them until My wife if and d I are obviously b i l state fair or pretty close to the last minute. Although, I planning their no longer fitting cattle or strongly discourage that kind of procrastiperfect cham- running pigs around dreaming nation. pion project Growing up, the county fair projects for next year. of trips to the state fair, but I put the most time and effort into were, as Our county you might guess, my dairy cattle but also fair is just get- our kids are. It’s so much fun a woodworking project and either chickting started watching them. ens, pigs or sheep. If the fair runs a whole as I write this week, w one better show multiple species column which so s there is an excuse to spend every last is a terrible time to be squeezing in a creative proj- minute of time your parents don’t need a hand with ect like writing an article. I hope others will enjoy chores at the fair with 4-H friends. Some of my best the column, but just like most of my 4-H projects friends in the farming world were made at the coun-

ty and state fairs showing animals. I met my wife, Emily, showing chickens, of all things, so it was a pretty good use of time as a young man. My wife and I are obviously no longer fitting cattle or running pigs around dreaming of trips to the state fair, but our kids are. It’s so much fun watching them. Of course, like any 4-H parents, we are involved because that trailer load of cattle doesn’t get itself to the fair, and someone has to teach From the Zweber Farm the next generation how to clip the perfect topline even if it takes years to master. Watching that process is so very frustrating when you could just grab the clippers yourself and knock it out in a couple minutes. Our oldest child is now 14. By Tim Zweber In a few years, that trailer load of cattle Farmer & Columnist might not get there on its own, but he might be driving it instead of me. That prospect is sad, as I won’t need to be as involved, but at the same time will make me proud to see the kids growing into responsible young adults. One of my favorite parts of the county fair is watching my kids and the kids of all those 4-H’ers I grew up with learning the same life skills we did and making lifelong relationships of their own, even if they don’t know it now. There’s a lot to be learned when Mom and Dad step away and pretend to be busy talking with all the other adults or when they have to go home and do chores. Those skills just aren’t learned in the same way while being home at the farm when there are hundreds or more animals that need tending to and many people responsible for that. At the fair, those few animals the kids picked out as theirs are their responsibility. They get that first taste of knowing they really are the one who cares for those animals. They have to balance the desire to have fun with friends with the responsibility of feeding, watering and keeping their critters clean and happy, because a hungry and dirty cow sure isn’t going to win grand champion. Life really doesn’t change much no matter how many of them you someday are in charge of or how old you get. A happy animal is a profitable animal and one you can take pride in milking or taking to market. Here’s hoping you all had a wonderful time at your county fair if you are a 4-H’er or the parent of one. Maybe we’ll see you at the state fair. I should also mention FFA, although I never showed animals through FFA. It is another fine organization to build skills and relationships. Until next time, keep living the dream and shooting for that grand champion project. 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, August 14, 2021 • Page 33

Small things count up

Sometimes the endless, seemingly inconsequential details of running a dairy operation can be overwhelming. There are so many steps involved in twice or more daily tasks that we do that explaining it to others is tricky. When our family took a recent Saturday away to see my family at my brother and sister-in-law’s lake cabin, I asked a friend to feed calves. I made a detailed list so she would know what to do. It included how to cool the milk in the pasteurizer, how much milk each calf receives, watering instructions, how much calf feed, which calf might not be eating well and what Come Full Dairy Circle bedding, to do about that, which ones get hay, how to clean and sanitize bottles and buckets, and setting the pasteurizer for the next feeding, etc. Calf feeding went well for my substitute. She knows calves and replied to my text about how things went with, “Calves are happy and full.” The work I do on our farm and in our farmhouse can feel like many small tasks that don’t have a lot of value when I have finished each day. And what isn’t done is still there to try and get to in the days ahead. The tasks fill my days, especially in the summer when By Jean Annexstad there’s more to take care of outside. It can be frustrating and a bit disheartening if you let your attitude Columnist defeat you. No doubt people everywhere, no matter the type of work they do, feel the pressure of the long line up of items to accomplish. This is likely why there are so many materials available to help us get more done in more efficient ways. I’m guessing there are people who profit by selling the self-help concept of better organization, time management and the key steps in doing more with less, for example. This type of inspiration can help, although keeping a larger goal at the forefront is also needed. I never look at my horoscope, though for some reason I read it one day when glancing at the comics in the paper on our table. It said, “Virgo: The work feels like a grind because it is. But at least it’s a grind that matters, as it feeds and fortifies you and others. This gets harder before it gets easier, but heavenly forces will come to your aid.” That one certainly hit close to home with the thoughts I had been having lately. I had been discouraged with no time to plan for big picture changes that we might possibly want to pursue for our operation in the years to come. There aren’t enough hours in the day to get all of the cow, calf, heifer, crop and business management chores done, much less try to have a meeting to ponder what we may want to consider to make our dairy farm suitable for future owners to operate. This horoscope tidbit gave me some hope that all of these small endless tasks are not for naught. Every tiny task that goes on in our farming, household and business management day adds up. We can do small things to improve what we have, and it keeps the operation going for now. What we do each day contributes to healthy and delicious food to ultimately sustain others. W We can d do small ll thi things tto The work and the lifestyle also sustains us because it is improve what we have, and it our calling. Honestly, it has keeps the operation going taken me a lifetime to figure that out, and I often forget. I for now. have to do a lot of praying, positive self-talk and deep thinking to remember what the larger picture is when mired in work. It is best to focus on doing the humble, kind, necessary things to make animals and people happy. Just doing small things every day can bring us closer to the larger goals. It’s important to keep that in mind and be content. It is also good to take short mental breaks to appreciate the place where I am. I can notice the cows grazing on the grass outside the calf barn, the line up of young cows with full, beautiful udders, and the recently planted field of sorghum and pearl millet that is pushing up lush and green having had just enough rain. There are tomatoes ripening in the garden and maybe a few pole beans to pick and potatoes to dig in the late summer. Some of my most favorite perennials are blooming now in the patch of flowers between the house and barn. I can admire them when I go past and maybe tug a couple of weeds out as well. Here goes trying not to be overwhelmed with all there is to do and realizing it is OK to accomplish only what is essential. If I do that, maybe I can take a tiny step toward a larger goal each day as well. 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, August 14, 2021

Fostering a passion in the industry

Langlade County continues long-time calf giveaway for youth By Danielle Nauman danielle.n@dairystar.com

ANTIGO, Wis. – For over 35 years, Langlade County dairy leaders have been supporting their 4-H youth in a unique way as they work to foster a love for dairy farming by giving away calves to participants in the county fair’s junior dairy show. The Langlade County Dairy Committee gives away two calves to exhibitors at the fair. The overall showmanship winner gets to have first pick of the two calves, and the second calf is given away through a random drawing of all the calves. Youth can win both the showmanship calf and the random drawing calf, but they can only win in each category once. “We try to find two Holstein June calves, at least one of them registered, that have good genetics and good production records in their background,” said Heather Noskowiak, a Langlade County 4-H leader and parent of a past calf recipient. Once the calves are awarded to the youth, they are in charge of caring for the calf

throughout the fair and then are required to show the calf the next year. “Hopefully, they will be able to breed that cow, show her daughters and maybe show her again as a cow,” Heather said. In 1985, Jolynne Schroepfer won the calf and recalls what a great opportunity it was back then and continues to be. “For a lot of our county 4-H members, it is their first chance they have to show a registered calf,” Schroepfer said. This year, Lexie Nelson, 18, was the winner of the calf awarded to the top overall showman after placing second in the class behind her cousin, who had already won the calf a previous year. Nelson was also a recipient of the random drawing calf three years ago. Ryan Carson, a first-year showman at the fair, was the winner of the drawing calf and received a calf from Blaser Dairy in Gillett. As the showmanship winner, Nelson had her pick of the PHOTO SUBMITTED

Turn to LANGLADE COUNTY First-year showman Ryan Carson poses with the calf he won in a drawing for junior dairy exhibitors at the Langlade County Fair in An go, Wisconsin. | Page 35

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Dairy Star • Saturday, August 14, 2021 • Page 35

Con nued from LANGLADE COUNTY | Page 34

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Lexie Nelson cares for the Red and White Holstein calf that she won for her efforts in the showmanship compe on at this year’s Langlade County Fair. two calves given away. She chose a Red and White Holstein from Synergy Dairy Farm in Pulaski. “I am so glad they had a Red and White calf,” Nelson said. “I think she was a great choice. I am so excited to work with her and show her next summer, especially since next year is my last year to show in 4-H.” Nelson’s dairy showing career has spanned 11 years as she started showing when she was 7 years old in the little britches class. “I love the bond that you create with the animals you show,” Nelson said. “For my family, showing at the fair is a huge family activity, and the time spent with family makes it great. Then there is the friendly competition. The 4-H groups in our county are so close. It has really been a great experience.” Nelson said she enjoys showmanship because the amount of work put into the project plays a large factor in the results come show day. “I try to make sure I get out to the farm at least three times a week to work

with my animals,” Nelson said. “I usually do pretty well in showmanship, and the years I haven’t done as well, it is because I maybe haven’t worked enough with my animals.” Allison Noskowiak, 14, won a registered Holstein calf from Houdek Dairy in 2018. “It was very exciting; it was something new,” Allison said. “She was my first registered animal.” Allison bred that heifer to the Holstein bull Woodcrest King Doc, and her first bred and owned registered Holstein calf was born last June. “When that calf was born it was very exciting,” Allison said. “I got her mom as a baby and then was there when she had her first calf. It was a new experience for me.” She showed that heifer at the county fair this summer and exhibited her at the Wisconsin Junior State Fair. “She is a very nice heifer; she is super tall,” Allison said. “This was my first time showing at the state fair, so I was very excited to have that opportunity.”

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Page 36 • Dairy Star • Saturday, August 14, 2021

Many gather at Midwest Guernsey Show

DANIELLE NAUMAN/DAIRY STAR

Melissa Haag helps her daughter, Kelsey, as she parcipates in the Li le Britches showmanship class at the Midwest Guernsey Show July 27 in West Salem, Wisconsin. The Haags are from Dane, Wisconsin.

DANIELLE NAUMAN/DAIRY STAR

The final three contestants – (from le ) Amy Kamenick, Adhyn Schell and Isabelle Van Doorn – lead into line during the intermediate showmanship division at the Midwest Guernsey show July 27 in West Salem, Wisconsin.

DANIELLE NAUMAN/DAIRY STAR

Lukas Weisensiel smiles as he par cipates in the junior showmanship class at the Midwest Guernsey Show July 27 in West Salem, Wisconsin. Weisensiel is from Deerfield, Wisconsin.

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DANIELLE NAUMAN/DAIRY STAR

Judge Brian Behnke evaluates how Adhyn Schell presents her heifer during the intermediate showmanship contest at the Midwest Guernsey Show July 27 in West Salem, Wisconsin. Schell is from Lewiston, Minnesota.