February 24, 2024 Dairy Star - 1st section - Zone 1

“All

Community pays respects through tractor gathering

By Stacey Smart stacey.s@dairystar.com

ALLENTON, Wis. — On Feb. 4, more than 350 people gathered at Farmers’ Implement in Allenton to remember and honor a special young man, Curtis Nehm. They came on tractors from ve counties to pay tribute to one of their own and support his family during a time of sorrow.

“The farming community is super supportive, and a lot of people came,” said Nehm’s sister, Cheryl Asmus. “It was awesome. It was what we needed.”

Nehm died in a farm accident Jan. 27 at the age of 27.

On the day of Nehm’s visitation and funeral, approximately 150 tractors, a combine, a chopper, a grain truck and several service trucks lined the road in front of the implement where Nehm had worked since he was 15. They

Powering sports nutrition with dairy Coming together for Nehm

Pederson, Johnson collaborate to get chocolate milk cooler for Fillmore Central High School

By Amy Kyllo amy.k@star-pub.com

HARMONY, Minn. — Music wafts through the halls of Fillmore Central High School, growing ever louder as one approaches the weight room. Inside, a dozen or so students work on strength conditioning using a squat rack, bench press and other equipment.

Bringing dairy back

Fernholzes named 2023 Douglas County Farm Family of the Year

By Emily Breth emily.b@star-pub.com

KENSINGTON, Minn. — Pete Fernholz and his wife, Nicole, play a leadership role in more than 10 community organizations. At the same time, they milk 500 registered Jerseys and farm 1,200 tillable acres of corn, soybeans, alfalfa and wheat at Little Brook Dairy Inc. near Kensington.

The Fernholz family was named the 2023 Douglas County Farm Family of the Year.

“That’s how you make a community, helping with other organizations besides just farming and not expanding your vision,” Pete Fernholz said. “It’s an honor to be named farm family because of all the people who were named before me. I have great respect for them, and they have done a great job in the community.”

AMY KYLLO/DAIRY STAR

Margaret Johnson (from le ), Sawyer Johnson, Claira Johnson and Andrew Pederson hold milk in front of the chocolate milk cooler Jan. 31 at Fillmore Central High School in Harmony, Minnesota. Pederson and Johnson collaborated to get the cooler and its signage, which were primarily paid with grants from Undeniably Dairy.

SUBMITTED

Pete (from le ), Nicole, Garyvn, Tatum and Riley Fernholz stand together at Garvyn’s gradua on in 2023. The Fernholz family was named the 2023 Douglas County Farm Family of the Year.

PHOTO SUBMITTED

Tractors line the streets Feb. 4 in front of Farmers’ Implement in Allenton, Wisconsin. Farmers from ve coun es paid tribute to Cur s Nehm on the day of his visita on and funeral, riding in on approximately 150 tractors.

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Coach Andrew Pederson moves among them, giving advice, spotting and helping them keep on task.

If they want a recovery drink, students can walk over to the milk cooler and grab a low-fat chocolate milk for free.

The chocolate milk cooler, which was installed in 2022, is a project funded by Undeniably Dairy grants. Pederson and dairy farmer Margaret Johnson, of Trailside Holsteins LLC, and her husband, Michael, and their children, Sawyer, Levi, Claira, Jacob and Royal, collaborated on the project.

Inspiration for the project started after Pederson attended a clinic for strength coaches. There, he said one of the presenters “raved” about the benets of chocolate milk.

“I just knew I wanted to nd a way to get our kids chocolate milk,” Pederson said.

Pederson said he researched chocolate milk and its benets for student athletes. He said that chocolate milk has the fats, protein and carbohydrates athletes need.

“Research has shown that student athletes ... that are drinking chocolate milk as a recovery method actually gain more strength compared to sports drinks,” Pederson said.

Johnson said the main importance

Kotek

low stand in the weight room Jan. 31 at Fillmore Central High School in Harmony, Minnesota. Pederson said chocolate milk has the fats, protein and carbohydrates that athletes need.

of the project is that it is creating future milk drinkers. She said this project gives kids accessible, high-quality milk that makes them feel good.

“Not only are they drinking it now, which is great, ... but in the future, it’s going to become part of their routine,” Johnson said. “They’re developing really great nutrition habits because milk is just the full package for people.”

Pederson and Johnson, who attend church together, discussed the idea of chocolate milk and came up

with the idea of a milk cooler using an Undeniably Dairy grant.

Pederson said the administration was on board immediately. From there, Johnson applied for the grant, and Pederson worked to nd a place for it at the school.

“Having that as a recovery method, and these kids are able to feel healthy,” Pederson said. “It was an easy sell to the coaching staff and to administration.”

Turn to FILLMORE CENTRAL | Page 5

Waukon, IA

Helmuth

AMY KYLLO/DAIRY STAR

Jacob

(from le ), Joey Ristau, Connor Hovey, Jackson Hildebrandt, coach Andrew Pederson, Davis Penhollow, Cody Sering, Ella Dahly and Lydia Penhol-

Con nued from FILLMORE CENTRAL | Page 2

The milk cooler had to be lugged by hand to the basement weight room because there was no elevator.

“Once we got it down there, it wasn’t moving,” Pederson said.

The main challenge to installation was that they needed to wire a new outlet for the cooler.

Johnson said applying for the Undeniably Dairy grant was a simple process.

“I always encourage dairy farmers to do it,” Johnson said. “It’s a way to give back to their community in a way that isn’t going to cost them anything nancially, potentially.”

They decided to add self-feeding shelving inside which was an additional cost. Johnson’s farm covered this expense. These shelves hold more product and keep the cooler organized and appearing to be fully stocked.

“I wanted it to look like a vending machine or if they took it out of a shelf at the grocery store, Kwik Trip or wherever,” Johnson said. “I wanted it to look good.”

As part of a different Undeniably Dairy grant, Johnson also procured funds for custom signage on the cooler. The signage reads, “Falcon Strong Powered By Milk.”

The sign is in teal and black — two of the school’s colors — and also features the school’s falcon head logo. The bottom edge of the sign features a tide of white milk rolling up into a wave on the right side which includes the Undeniably Dairy logo.

“Wherever the cooler may end up someday, ... they know ultimately it came from dairy farmers,” Johnson said. “It looks cool too.”

The cooler is lled with chocolate milk using money from donations and sports fees. The Preston Fire Depart-

ment donated enough chocolate milk to cover the strength and conditioning program for the past two summers. Pederson said they keep the cooler stocked each year until available money runs out.

At Fillmore Central High School, Pederson is the head strength and conditioning coach, an assistant football coach and the health and physical education teacher.

In his role, Pederson shares nutrition information with his students. He said social media has been important for this. He posts on Instagram and X as well as a group texting app.

“On top of just milk, we just preach animal products,” Pederson said.

Pederson said another way he shares about nutrition is through an elective class called sport science. This class has a unit on sports nutrition, including a lab day devoted to smoothies.

Johnson said the chocolate milk project is a great way to advertise milk.

“They’re having a respected, role model adult encourage it,” Johnson said. “Coaches ... have huge potential. ... In Fillmore Central’s case, they’re very respected and great role models for the kids.”

Johnson said that it is great that coaches are emphasizing nutrition. She said this is a change from when Michael attended Fillmore Central High School. Then, they worked out with weights but did not learn about nutrition.

“It’s so cool that they’re joining them together,” Johnson said. “They’re both very important to meet your goals, and it’s pretty cool that dairy can be a part of that.”

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came in all kinds of brands and colors — from Case IH, John Deere, New Holland, and International to Ford, Massey Ferguson, Oliver, Challenger and Versatile.

“It really meant a lot to our family to see that many people who cared about Curtis,” said Nehm’s brother, Scott. “People looked up to him and appreciated what he did for everybody. He wasn’t just someone they went to from 8 to 5. He answered the phone late at night and on weekends. He was not just an employee at the dealership; he was more than that to a lot of people.”

Nehm could be found behind the parts counter at Farmers’ Implement. His knowledge of machinery parts and people-pleasing mentality made him a sought-after guru for any farmer needing to x something.

“Curtis was the kind of person who would do anything for anyone,” Asmus said. “He went above and beyond to help people nd parts and x stuff. That’s just how he was. People drove a distance to get parts from him because they knew he would get it right.”

Nehm, the son of Bill and Susan Nehm, grew up dairy farming. His family milked 70 cows on their farm near Slinger until 2022. Nehm’s favorite type of tractor was a Case IH, the red tractors he grew up with.

In addition to working full time at Farmers’ Implement, Nehm and his brother owned S&C Ag Services, a custom eldwork business. When the dairy cows left, the brothers remodeled the barn and began buying wet calves and raising steers as well, with about 60 calves on milk. The pair also opened a Dairyland Seed dealership and were planning to start selling seed this spring.

“We spent all day, every day together when he wasn’t at work,” Scott said. “We worked side by side every night, weekend and vacation day. Curtis never forgot anybody — what they needed or were looking for — whether in our business or the parts business. He made it a point to go the extra mile and people knew that.”

Scott Schrefer, agricultural sales representative at Farmers’ Implement, helped organize the event for Nehm, born from an idea of Nehm’s customer and friend, Matthew Beck.

“The amount of support from coworkers, friends, family, customers, the local re department and even past employees of the implement was amazing,” Schrefer said. “Curtis helped

everyone no matter what you were looking for, and he always did it with a smile. Even if customers were having a bad day, he would do his best to make it better.”

Jake Gehring, dairy farmer and longtime friend to Nehm, drove three John Deere tractors to Allenton that day with help from his wife, brother and hired hand. Gehring and his family milk 190 cows near Hartford.

“This was a nice event for the whole community to be a part of,” Gehring said. “It was tough but good to get together and start to heal. His family realized that day how big of an inuence Curtis had on the community and what big shoes he left to ll. He was denitely my go-to guy for parts, as he was for many people.”

Gehring said the event brought a lot of emotions.

“It was a good sendoff and a good way to pay our respects,” he said. “There’s not many of us left in the ag community, and we lost one of the good ones.”

Farmers’ Implement served lunch, and farmers ate together while celebrating Nehm’s life.

“It was a lot of planning and work on the implement’s part,” Asmus said. “We’re very lucky for all the support, and we couldn’t thank anyone enough.”

Farmers’ Implement is also setting up an Honours Inc. scholarship in Nehm’s name at Slinger High School.

“His employer has been fantastic,” Asmus said.

Asmus said her brother’s pleasant personality and witty commentary was what he was known for.

“He was always smiling and laughing,” she said. “He had the kind of laugh you don’t forget.”

Asmus wants people to remember her brother’s helpfulness and positive attitude toward life.

“He was always happy and wanted to better himself,” she said. “He always tried to do new things and wasn’t scared to take a chance. It’s awful now, but you just have to try and keep going. He wouldn’t want us sitting around.”

Asmus said 1,200 people went through the visitation line prior to her brother’s funeral. Nehm will be missed by many in the community as his absence is felt by everyone he impacted.

“I don’t think we even realized how many people Curtis knew or helped,” Asmus said. “For only being 27, he touched a lot of lives.”

PHOTO SUBMITTED

The Nehm family — Henry Asmus (front); Cur s Nehm (back, from le ), Sco Nehm, Marcus Asmus holding Leah, Cheryl Asmus, and Sue and Bill Nehm — gather for a photo October 2023 near Slinger, Wisconsin. Cur s died in a farm accident Jan. 27 at the age of 27.

The Fernholzes are active in a number of ways.

They showed cattle in 4-H as children, and now, they lease their own cattle to families who have kids who want to show.

Fernholz is on the Douglas County Agricultural Association board, is a representative for the Minnesota Dairy Herd Improvement Association board and an active member of the Lake Mary Township board.

Nicole works an off-thefarm job and is involved in her family’s church, the Alexandria Technical & Community College advisory board and the college’s foundation hall board, Alexandria Public School’s Champion Academy, the West Central Initiative board, the Lakes Area Professional Women and Andria Theatre.

They both have served as leaders in the University of Minnesota Extension’s Emerging Leadership Program. Along with their activities, the family gives back, donating beef to the local food shelf.

On the farm, Fernholz, and his brother, Mark, and Mark’s nephew, Caden, and eight employees manage the eldwork and milk in a double-10 parallel parlor twice a day. The brothers hired their employees when the Fernholzes’ children, Tatum, Riley and Gavryn, got jobs off the farm or went to college.

“When we rst bought the farm, we were sitting at about 200 milking,” Fernholz said. “Then, we added 60 shortly after and the other 240 about six years ago.”

Their milk is shipped through First District Associa-

The double-10 parallel parlor sits freshly washed a er the morning milking Feb. 13 at Li le Brook Dairy Inc. near Kensington, Minnesota. When the Fernholz brothers bought the farm, the parlor was set up for a double-10 but had a double-6 installed.

tion and is processed into butter and cheese through the Bongards, Fieldgate Cheese and Dinner Bell Creamery brands.

The herd is currently producing a 5.8% butterfat and 4.2% protein.

“Our butterfat is through the roof right now,” Fernholz said. “However, I’m most proud that we are having good luck with our calves. We have about 10 born every week.”

The work has not come without its challenges.

The biggest obstacle the family has faced is one many farmers do — the volatility of prices. Fernholz gave credit to Nicole for the farm being able to continue to cash ow everything more easily.

“Without her dedication and hard work, we probably wouldn’t be farming,” Fernholz said. “She has always been

driven. I could make a million dollars, and she’d still go work. She’s a people person.”

While being busy between work and their community, the couple nds and enjoys quality time with their family, even if it is going on the lake or taking a small vacation.

“In the past, it was harder because of all the different animals, but as we continued to grow (the dairy), we were able

to nd good help,” Fernholz said. “We still don’t get a lot of time away, but it helped.”

Through the years, the couple has been committed to spending time with their kids. The time on the farm and going to shows are things the kids will remember, Fernholz said.

“Stay involved in the community,” Fernholz said. “Make sure you take time to spend with your family even for the small things.”

Family and farming have always been important to Fernholz.

When Fernholz was younger, his father milked 52 registered Jerseys that were sold a week prior to his graduation from high school.

“After high school, I did a brief time in college then came back and started with hogs,” Fernholz said. “We started with 100 at the old farm.”

Soon, a new hog barn was built, and Fernholz was raising 700 sows from farrow to nish. Fernholz also raised elk for about 15 years.

Though the family’s farm site was purchased with plans for a beef feed lot, they continued the operation as a dairy farm. Fernholz said they were inspired to continue the Jersey lineage because their father had Jerseys. Before Fernholz and Nicole were named a farm family of the year, the award was also bestowed on Mark’s family in 2011 for their work with the dairy herd.

“One thing that sets us apart is the amount of Jerseys we have,” Fernholz said.

SARA EISINGER/DAIRY STAR

UMN dairy club visits California farms

Annual trip expands skills, knowledge

By Jan Lefebvre jan.l@star-pub.com

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Nineteen University of Minnesota seniors broadened their experiences in the dairy industry Jan. 6-15 when they took part in this year’s annual Gopher Dairy Club trip to California. The event included visits to nine dairy farms as well as other agricultural sites.

Drs. Isaac Salfer and Isaac Haagen are the co-advisors of the Gopher Dairy Club and served as chaperones for the student-organized trip.

“The trip is really a co-curricular activity to provide educational experiences and leadership opportunities for the students outside of the experiences they would get in the classroom,” Salfer said. “A main reason why it exists is to expose students to the broader dairy industry outside of the Midwest.”

Kate Meyer, majoring in agricultural communication and marketing with a minor in agronomy, and Isaac Rott, majoring in animal science, are seniors in the dairy club who organized this year’s trip.

“As a planner, my goal was to expose the members to dairy and agriculture in California and show them around the cities to see as many attractions as possible,” Meyer said. “As an attendee, I was interested in learning about dairy farming in California, specically cow comfort, how they utilize byproducts in

The students took part in the club’s annual trip

their rations and what regulations they have.”

Rott said he was surprised by what California dairy farmers feed their cows.

“The highlight of the trip for me was visiting a 10,000-cow dairy that fed a variety of interesting food byproducts including pomegranates, bakery byproducts, citrus pulp and nacho cheese,” Rott said. “My biggest takeaway from the trip was that dairy farming throughout the country looks very different from the

6-15.

Midwest, but the passion for the dairy industry remains strong throughout the country.”

The choice of California as the yearly destination for the trip is purposeful, Salfer said.

“California, for many years, has been the No. 1 dairy-cow and milk-producing state in the U.S., and there are many differences in how farms are managed there,” Salfer said. “In particular, students were exposed to western-style

dairies with cows housed on dry lots and saw much more variety in feed ingredients being used due to lower availability of corn silage and soybean meal. The club also has some highly active students who didn’t grow up on dairy farms, so for them, the trip was valuable just for gaining experience seeing a variety of types of farms.”

PHOTO SUBMITTED

Nineteen seniors from the University of Minnesota Gopher Dairy Club — Kate Meyer (front, from le ), Ka e Biese, Madelyn Wehe, Elizabeth Manseld, Nicole Koziolek, Michael Moline, Karli Knopf, Kelsey Biel, Leah Transburg, Madeline Penoza and Abby Foss; (back, from le ) Isaac Ro , Nick Flom, Dane Haubenschild, Ma hew Gunst, Luke Borst, Timothy Magdall, Jacob Drummer and Aiden Musser — gather at McEvoy Ranch, an organic olive farm, Jan. 7 in Petaluma, California.

Jan.

That experience includes visiting some of the country’s largest dairies and observing unique challenges that dairy farmers and others in the agricultural industry face across their state.

“Overall production costs are much higher in California because of the $16.50 minimum wage, stricter overtime laws, more expensive input costs and regulations on water usage,” Salfer said. “Nearly all farmers we spoke to discussed the importance of managing water supply and recycling water because of California droughts in 2021 and 2022, which resulted in tight control over how much water from their aquifers can be used.”

Seeing what is happening in California’s agriculture industry can be benecial to farmers in other parts of the country or even globally, Salfer said.

“In some ways, including politically and environmentally, California can predict changes in the dairy industry that could happen in other parts of the country — for better or for worse,” Salfer said. “Some of the ways they have dealt with their state’s labor and environmental laws can be informative to students looking to enter the dairy industry who may experience these issues in the future. Furthermore, by visiting the largest and most diverse agricultural state in the U.S., the trip helped students develop a broader sense of the agricultural industry.”

Besides visiting nine dairy farms and a calf ranch, students also toured an almond processing plant, cheese plant, winery and olive oil farm.

“Seeing the production of commodities that are not grown in the Midwest was cool for the students,” Salfer said.

Students also bookended their farm visits with overnight stays in San Francisco at the beginning of the trip and Los Angeles at the end.

“The primary objective was learning about dairy farming and other forms of agriculture, but the trip is also structured to provide students with other experiences and opportunities for social development within San Francisco and Los Angeles,” Salfer said. “In San Francisco, students visited Fisherman’s Warf and Alcatraz prison, and in Los Angeles, they visited Universal Studios, went to an off-Broadway musical and toured Hollywood.”

During farm visits, students took time to hone their dairy skills.

“We did a lot of work practicing consulting-type skills on the farms,” Salfer said. “Being able to go to a farm that students had never seen before and being able to assess good management practices versus bad management practices also provided value.”

According to the UMN’s website, the Gopher Dairy Club is the largest student-run organization on the Twin Cities campus. The California trip is offered each year to seniors who have shown dedication to the club’s efforts.

“It’s a reward for the students who stay active in the club throughout their time at the university, including participation in our fundraiser and helping with youth contests and camps,” Salfer said.

In a typical year, around 75-80 students are in the club. The club’s biggest fundraiser is a malt stand outside the dairy barn on campus that is run by members during the Minnesota State Fair.

“The club’s activities include running various on-campus events such as the invitational FFA judging contest in fall, state FFA contest in spring, the Gopher Dairy Camp (in summer) for youth and other similar events,” Salfer said. “We also give students opportunities to develop skills in nancial management, agricultural marketing and promotions, and development of knowledge about the dairy industry. The club also puts on its own annual career networking event for livestock-focused students across the university called the Food Animal Networking Evening.”

The California trip is usually chaperoned by dairy club alumni, but as new advisors, Salfer and Haagen chaperoned the recent trip.

“I was a member of the dairy club when I was a student here at the University of Minnesota, and Isaac Haagen was very involved in the Penn State Dairy Science Club during his undergraduate studies,” Salfer said. “We both have a passion for dairy youth, and we chaperoned the trip this year because, as new advisors, we wanted to understand the trip experience for students.”

Some of the fun experiences that the trip afforded were accidental, such as what they saw while driving through San Francisco, Salfer said.

“The students got to see a self-driving car — which was exciting for me too because it is not something I had ever (witnessed) before,” Salfer said. “That was pretty crazy to see.”

Mostly, however, the trip expanded the students’ knowledge of agriculture. Meyer said she appreciated the chance to learn from others in the industry.

“We had a lot of time to sit down with some of the farmers and discuss their experience farming in California, and this was a great learning opportunity,” Meyer said. “Another highlight for me was seeing the reactions of our members who don’t have dairy backgrounds and getting to teach them some of the basics of the industry.”

PHOTO SUBMITTED

University of Minnesota Gopher Dairy Club students walk through the long line of calf hutches Jan. 11 at Maddox Dairy in Riverdale, California. The dairy was one of many agricultural sites visited by the students to gain broader experiences outside of the Midwest.

Trade enforcement is a priority

At the 100th annual Agricultural Outlook Forum, U.S. Trade Ambassador Katherine Tai briey touched on trade breakthroughs but spent more time on the enforcement of existing trade deals. The Mexican ban on biotech corn imports was at the top of that list. Tai also spoke about the market access concern for U.S. dairy products in Canada. “As trade representative and as a longtime trade negotiator and trade litigator, Canada dairy is personal for me,” Tai said. Tai went on to list the ongoing market access issues for U.S. dairy products in Canada dating back to the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Ag Insider

this Congress. However, we’d love for farmers to start reaching out to their elected ofcials now and making sure that they know that this needs to be top of mind so that when the new Congress is sworn in, we can hit the ground running and start working on legislation right away.” Agricultural groups are seeking H-2A reform and the ability to have a stable workforce.

Dwindling dairy heifer supplies

• 866-514-0982

More than 500,000 farms lost since 1981 Farm policy went through a noteworthy change in the 1970s. Rather than managing supply, the focus was put on maximizing productivity and exporting that production around the world. At the Agricultural Outlook Forum, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack shared a story about former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Bob Bergland of Minnesota. When leaving the position in 1981, this Minnesotan voiced concerns about the societal impact of the sole focus on productivity. “He said we may lose farms, and when those farms are lost, we lose the farm families, and when those farm families are lost, we lose young people going to rural schools, and perhaps, that will have an impact on rural communities,” Vilsack said. Bergland’s prediction was realized with the U.S. losing over a half-million farmers since 1981. “You could take every farmer today in South Dakota and North Dakota, add them to every farmer in Minnesota and Wisconsin, every farmer in Illinois and Iowa, every farmer in Nebraska and Oklahoma, every farmer in Missouri and Colorado, and you’d have 536,000 farms,” Vilsack said. Vilsack said the Biden administration is focused on more new and better markets to give the farmer a bigger share of the food dollar.

By Don Wick Columnist

Despite downturn, farmers remain in good nancial position

Net farm income hit a high in 2022. It dropped off 26% this past year. Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Senior Vice President Nathan Kauffman said prots will also be thinner this year. “Despite this expected decline in farm income, I would argue many producers are still in a very, very strong nancial position,” Kauffman said. “Much of this has to do with storing up working capital in these past couple of years when incomes were very strong. We interact a lot with bankers and lenders, and in our conversations last year, we would have banks tell us they would have no borrowers on a ‘watch’ list; that’s not common to have no borrowers on a ‘watch’ list as it relates to potential risk.” If farm income declines again in 2025 with a similar decline in working capital, Kauffman said agriculture will be in a situation very similar to the period between 2016-19. “We know those were not strong years in ag,” Kauffman said.

Expanding trade

U.S. agriculture depends on market access and the development of new markets. “There are a number of different key markets that we should be focusing on,” said Matt Wohlman, vice president of government and industry relations, Land O’Lakes Inc. “Especially, as we look at the geopolitical shift that is going on, how do we build our relationship with markets that provide opportunities for our ag products but are also aligned with our security agreements around the world as well.”

Immigration standoff

A bipartisan immigration bill failed earlier this month. American Business Immigration Coalition director of legislative affairs Jim O’Neill sees this as a critical issue for agriculture. A resolution to this issue is not expected anytime soon. “We’re two months into an election year, and that tends to be a time when people are very wary of taking up issues that they see are controversial, so I don’t think that there’s many opportunities in this Congress, especially with such tight margins with both chambers being controlled by different parties,” O’Neill said. “I don’t see a pathway in

The number of dairy replacement heifers is at a 20-year low. According to a new report from the CoBank Knowledge Exchange, this situation could limit any meaningful growth in U.S. milk production. Due to tight numbers, dairy replacement prices are at an eight-year high. Despite that, heifer values have not kept pace with high production costs.

Supply, demand report released

According to the February USDA supply-demand report, 2024 milk production is expected to total 228.2 billion pounds, a decrease of 0.1 billion from the previous report. The prices for cheese, butter, nonfat dry milk and whey are all forecast to increase with strong domestic demand.

Dairy exports decline from record highs

USDA has released its 2023 agricultural export data. U.S. dairy export values declined $1.5 billion while volume dropped 7%. International Dairy Foods Association President and CEO Michael Dykes said this downturn underscores “a clear need for U.S. trade ofcials to focus on creating new, preferential market opportunities for American producers and food exporters while holding trade partners accountable to rules and agreements.”

Dairy consumption rises

In December 2023, domestic cheese consumption increased year-over-year. Consumption of American cheese rose 6.9 million pounds, and the other-thanAmerican cheese consumption increased 15.2 million pounds. USDA reports butter consumption was up 43.6 million pounds from December 2022. Usage of dry whey was up 82,000 pounds while nonfat dry milk and skim milk powder together declined 14.9 million pounds.

MLBA Hall of Fame inductees named

The Minnesota Livestock Breeders’ Association has announced the four latest inductees to the Minnesota Livestock Hall of Fame. Norb and Judy Sonnek, of Foreston, Minnesota, are being honored for the contributions made to the Holstein dairy business. Retired state veterinarian Dr. Bill Hartmann led the Minnesota Board of Animal Health from 2001-16 and will be recognized at the ceremony. The nal Hall of Fame honoree is Doris Mold, who has served as the superintendent of the milking parlor at the Minnesota State Fair since 1986 and helped create the Minnesota State Fair Moo Booth. The induction ceremony will be March 14 in Roseville, Minnesota.

MFBF names public policy specialist

Loren Dauer is the new public policy specialist for the Minnesota Farm Bureau Federation. Most recently, Dauer was a district outreach representative for Minnesota Congressman Brad Finstad. Previously, Dauer was a legislative assistant in the ofce of Sen. Gary Dahms

Trivia challenge

The pedal bone is the largest bone in a cow’s hoof. That answers our last trivia question. For this week’s trivia, how many slices of pizza does the average American eat every year? We will have the answer in our next edition of Dairy Star.

Don Wick is owner/broadcaster for the Red River Farm Network of Grand Forks, North Dakota. Wick has been recognized as the National Farm Broadcaster of the Year and served as president of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting. Don and his wife, Kolleen, have two sons, Tony and Sam, and ve grandchildren, Aiden, Piper, Adrienne, Aurora and Sterling.

Her favorite place to be

Lake Mills, Wisconsin. Nielsen began buying Brown Swiss six years ago and now owns 12 head.

Nielsen fullls dream to farm while managing two herds

By Stacey Smart stacey.s@dairystar.com

LAKE MILLS, Wis. — Every morning, Madalyn Nielsen walks

down the stairs of her second-story apartment in her grandma’s red brick house to start the workday with her dog, Reed, at her side. The 22-yearold has a lot of responsibility on the farm, but she could not imagine doing anything else.

“I’ve known I wanted to be a farmer ever since I was 3 years old and saw a cow give birth,” Nielsen said.

Turn to NIELSEN | Page 12

“Accurate results, it’s safer and less stressful on the cow.”

What

do you like about the DHIA Pregnancy Tests?

We like the milk pregnancy test because it has accurate results, it’s safer and less stressful on the cow, it’s safer for us, and we have less vet bills.

How long have you been using the DHIA pregnancy test? Since it came out, maybe around 2013. We switched 100 percent to it and haven’t looked back.

Why did you choose to use it? We chose to use it because we didn’t like separating cows every month for pregnancy checks.

What are some other tests you use through DHIA? We do the normal monthly testing, and manure sampling yearly.

Why is testing with DHIA valuable to your dairy?

The value we get out of it is seeing the performance on a cow level, making culling decisions based on SCC, fat, protein etc. Also, the record keeping of cow and heifer events has helped better our management.

Charlie Dicke

Dicke Century Farm • Goodhue, MN • 200 cows

Tell us about your farm. I farm with my dad, Lyle, and mom, Shannon, on about 800 acres. We like trying new rotations of crops and utilize no-till practices. I have a sister in Buffalo, New York and a brother in Idaho dairy farming. We milk in a double-9 parallel parlor, with sandbedded free stalls. We raise our own replacements, utilize Cowmanager on all animals, and sell our milk to First District Association.

DHIA:

STACEY SMART/DAIRY STAR Madalyn Nielsen poses with a favorite Brown Swiss cow Jan. 11 in the estall barn on her family’s farm near

Nielsen farms with her dad, Christopher, and her grandma, Mary Ann. The Nielsens milk 145 cows and farm 530 acres near Lake Mills. Nielsen milks mornings and nights, feeds calves, does herd records, gives vaccinations, treats sick animals and more.

Nielsen manages two herds, splitting her duties between the two — farm A and farm B — named after the county road on which each is located.

Nielsen and Mary Ann live on farm A, the home farm, where she milks 65 cows with six units. She typically gets help from her dad or a part-time high school student. Five miles away at farm B, a hired hand milks 80 cows.

At farm A, cows are milked and housed in a 65-stall tiestall barn with access to pasture, where they spend nights in nice weather. At farm B, cows are housed in sand-bedded free stalls and milked in a 52-stall stanchion barn.

Keeping somatic cell count low is a focus for the Nielsens, who won a milk quality award from Dairy Farmers of America last year and have had a SCC as low as 32,000.

“We make sure cows are clean and that we keep everything clean to produce quality milk,” Nielsen said. “We also

The Nielsen family — Mary Ann (from le ), Madalyn and Christopher — pauses for a photo Jan. 11 on their farm near Lake Mills, Wisconsin. The Nielsens milk 145 cows in two herds and farm 530 acres.

test milk from fresh or treated cows before we ship it.”

Mary Ann and her late husband, Robert, purchased farm B in 1963. They rented farm A before buying it in 1976. They relocated to farm A but continued to milk cows at both places. Mary Ann owns both farms as well as half the cattle, while Nielsen’s dad owns the other half of the herd.

“Dad and I would like this farm to be ours eventually,” Nielsen said.

Nielsen owns 12 registered Brown Swiss which are housed at farm A. The Holstein, Red and White and Jersey herd owned by her dad and grandma is split between the farms.

“I love the Swiss,” said Nielsen, who bought her rst animal about six years ago. “Swiss have a stubborn and sassy personality — kind of like me. They are a challenge, but I like a challenge. The calves are hard to raise, but the cows are hardy and rarely

get sick.”

Nielsen started working on her grandma’s farm when she was 13 by caring for calves and, later, milking cows. When her aunt Nancy passed away, Nielsen took over naming the calves and managing their records.

Nielsen is responsible for the health of all cows and calves. She is present at every herd check and works with the farm’s nutritionist and veterinarian to make improvements.

“I work with our vet, Dr. Jen Brase of Cattle Creek Veterinary Clinic, a lot,” Nielsen said. “I ask her stuff all the time, and she’s helped me gain a lot of knowledge.”

Calf care is a priority for Nielsen, whose intuition keeps her on top of health issues.

“I just know if they’re not feeling good,” she said. “I don’t want to lose any calves, and I’m a critic with calf care from the moment a calf is born.”

All calves are raised at farm A in outdoor hutches. Nielsen has about 20 calves on milk. She cares for all newborns, including those born at farm B, ensuring they are promptly fed colostrum and receive preventative treatments.

Nielsen also cleans barns, beds calf hutches, does daily herd health checks and helps with eldwork.

Nielsen attended the University of Wisconsin Farm and Industry Short Course and was a member of the last class to graduate from the Madison campus in 2022. Nielsen said her heart is at home with the cows, and during her rst semester, she made the 45-minute drive back and forth each day, milking cows before and after classes.

Turn to NIELSEN | Page 13

STACEY SMART/DAIRY STAR

Madalyn Nielsen looks over her binder of records Jan. 11 during a daily heifer health check near Lake Mills, Wisconsin. Nielsen manages two herds and keeps paper records for every animal.

“I just had to be here,” Nielsen said. “I don’t want to be away from the farm. When I’m not here, I feel like I’m missing something or that I could be doing something better.”

Nielsen has certicates in dairy farm management, management of soils and crops, and foundation of farm and agribusiness management. She is also certied to breed cattle.

“I want to start breeding our cows, but I need a little more training,” she said. “I put what I learned toward our farm and continue to learn more each day.”

Promoting wellness and identifying the rst signs of ketosis, milk fever or pneumonia are skills Nielsen learned in the short course that have proven of value in managing the herd.

“I brought a lot of that back and do all the treating of calves and heifers,” Nielsen said. “My dad helps with bigger heifers and cows.”

Nielsen makes culling and purchasing decisions, while her grandma and uncle make nancial decisions.

“I always want to do more things on the farm and would like to start getting into the nancial aspects too,” Nielsen said.

Nielsen is accustomed to being a leader. She served as president of her high school FFA chapter and received the American FFA Degree. She was a member of the track team and mentored younger students as well.

Nielsen’s short-term goal is to switch to an electronic program for storing all animal records. She would also like to build a dedicated dry cow and maternity pen at farm A with a goal to move all cows to this location. Two farms create twice the challenges, and Nielsen is hoping to consolidate the herds.

“It’s challenging to have two farms,” she said. “We have two of everything. It’s a lot of money and maintenance. I have to be in both places, and sometimes I’m just running around all day. It would be nice to have everything in one spot.”

She has also considered adding a freestall barn and milking parlor at farm A.

“I love the tiestall barn, but it might be easier on my knees,” Nielsen said. “I would retrot the parlor into the barn. I would also like to get a few really nice cows and sell embryos to earn a little more income beyond milking.”

Currently, other revenue streams for the farm are cash crops and steers.

Nielsen is hands-on, tackling all chores as she fullls her lifelong dream of being a dairy farmer.

“Even though it’s a hard business, farming is something I would love to do forever,” Nielsen said. “I love cows so much and have great connections with my animals. I wouldn’t want to do anything else.”

STACEY SMART/DAIRY STAR

from our side our side OF THE FENCE THE

How

Matt Schleske

Fergus Falls, Minnesota

Otter Tail County

did your involvement in FFA benefit you in your dairy career?

100 cows

What high school did you attend, and what years were you in FFA? I went to Fergus Falls High School. I was in FFA from 2005-09.

Why did you join

FFA? I always wanted to be in FFA. I enjoy agriculture, and that was the direction I wanted to go. I did have some friends in FFA, but I wanted to join before that.

What are your fond memories of being in FFA?

Going to the competitions. Crookston is where I competed in general livestock and took third as an individual one year. As a team, we made it to state one year for dairy judging. I also enjoyed all the agriculture classes with it.

Tell us about your involvement with your chapter. I was on the dairy judging team for two years and general livestock for two years. I was the ofcer atlarge my sophomore year, sentinel my junior year and student adviser my senior year. We sold fruit for a fundraiser and did a kindergarten farm day. We would head to a farm and bring a bunch of animals. We had all the kindergarteners from the district and surrounding districts come, and then, we would teach them farm safety, have a petting zoo and give hay rides. I also received a local scholarship from a family who gives $500 to one FFA member a year.

How did your involvement in FFA benet you in your dairy career? Dairy judging denitely helped. I know more things to look for in cows, such as teat placement and the structure of a good cow. I also met a lot of people in the agriculture industry. My old adviser used to raise Holstein heifers, and he is a great person to ask about calves. I wouldn’t have that connection without FFA.

What encouragement do you have for youth considering joining FFA? I would say go for it. You have nothing to lose, but everything to gain. Not all of FFA pertains to agriculture. You are able to go out and try new events. There are a lot of other opportunities to learn. It’s a good experience.

Tell us about your farm. I farm with my neighbor, Shawn Nelson. We have been in a partnership for about ve years now. We milk about 100 cows in a double-6 herringbone parlor, and the cows are housed in a freestall barn. Our cows are mostly Holstein with a few Jersey crosses. We ship our milk to the Perham Cooperative Creamery and don’t have any big changes planned for the dairy other than to keep going.

Natalie Barka Litcheld, Minnesota Meeker County 300 cows

What high school did you attend, and what years were you in FFA? I attended Litcheld High School and was in FFA from 2014-19.

Why did you join FFA? I joined FFA to continue family, community and agricultural traditions. Many of my family members were in FFA, and I was excited to follow in their footsteps.

What are your fond memories of being in FFA? Early morning parliamentary procedure practices come to mind rst. They were challenging, but I enjoyed growing close to my team and working toward a common goal. I also enjoyed being on the chapter and regional ofcer teams and traveling to different workshops and conferences. I was proud to always see family members and friends remaining active in FFA, as alumni and in the industry throughout my FFA career.

Tell us about your involvement with your chapter. My favorite contests were milk quality and products and parliamentary procedure. I enjoyed building my Supervised Agricultural Experience project for dairy production placement, which was focused on cow and calf health management. I had the honor of receiving the Minnesota Star in Production Placement award in 2018 with my work on my family’s dairy farm. I also held multiple ofces at the chapter and regional levels throughout my high school career.

How did your involvement in FFA benet you in your dairy career? FFA helped me develop leadership skills and lifelong relationships and further strengthened my passion for the agriculture community. The leadership experiences and network I built helped me become more involved in other areas in agriculture, such as the University of Minnesota, Midwest Dairy and Farm Bureau. Participating in the milk quality and products contest helped me nd my passion for creating safe and quality dairy foods and ingredients. I am fortunate to be able to fulll my passions by working at First District Association along with farming with my family.

What encouragement do you have for youth considering joining FFA? I would encourage youth to step out of their comfort zones and not be afraid to fail. FFA has a wide range of opportunities that can lead you to surprising places.

Tell us about your farm. My parents, Josh and Lynn, grandparents, Dan and Dianne, sister, Liz, and I are all part of the farm. We farm corn, alfalfa and rye and nish our dairy steers along with our dairy cows. We sell our milk to First District Association, where I also work as a quality assurance manager focused on whey products.

Karli Luehmann

Rollingstone, Minnesota

Winona County

120 cows

What high school did you attend, and what years were you in FFA? I attended Lewiston-Altura high school and was active in FFA from 2008-14.

Why did you join

FFA? I joined FFA to become more involved and to have the opportunity to participate in a variety of events. I was a very shy seventh grader when I joined, and I knew FFA would help me come out of my shell and develop leadership skills that could benet me later in life.

What are your fond memories of being in FFA?

My favorite memories were traveling to state and national conventions throughout the years. It was a time to bond with other FFA members from different chapters and to appreciate having the opportunity to travel.

Tell us about your involvement with your chapter. I was on the dairy judging team all throughout the years. We competed locally and at the state level. I held various ofcer positions such as historian and president. I kept busy year-round, helping with fundraising, petting zoos and working on my Supervised Agricultural Experience. My senior year I was awarded the Star in Production Placement award at the Minnesota State FFA Convention. Lastly, I was able to apply for my American FFA Degree at the end of my FFA involvement.

How did your involvement in FFA benet you in your dairy career? My FFA experience helped me to develop skills in dairy cattle evaluation and herd management.

What encouragement do you have for youth considering joining FFA? Be as involved as you can. FFA is not just for farm kids. There is something for everyone. Not only does your involvement look great on resumes, but also, it will teach you lifelong skills that will not go unnoticed.

Tell us about your farm. Since 2021, my husband and I are the fourth-generation dairy farmers on my family’s farm. We milk 120 cows twice daily in a double-6 herringbone parlor. We raise our youngstock on-site and grow our own crops. Our milk is sold to Plainview Milk Products Cooperative and shipped to Kwik Trip in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

Katherine Boelen

Brooklyn, Iowa

Poweshiek County

1,700 cows

What high school did you attend, and what years were you in FFA? I attended Kasson-Mantorville High School and was in the K-M FFA Chapter from 2009-13.

Why did you join FFA? I joined FFA because a friend persuaded me to join along with her. Initially, I didn't believe I had much to contribute or gain since I lacked a background in agriculture.

What are your fond memories of being in FFA? My time in FFA holds countless cherished memories. I treasure the deep friendships formed during those years, and we often reminisce about our FFA experiences together. Among the highlights was our unforgettable trip to the National FFA Convention & Expo in Indianapolis, a standout favorite for our group. Tell us about your involvement with your chapter. During my time with the chapter, I held positions as reporter, vice president and president, while also receiving numerous awards at the chapter level. Additionally, I participated in the dairy foods Career Development Event. Our chapter seized volunteering opportunities, including picking garden-fresh donations for the food shelf, participating in

Annie Achen Vannurden Buckman, Minnesota Morrison County

1,200 cows

What high school did you attend, and what years were you in FFA? I attended the school in Sauk Centre, Minnesota, from 2007-10 and Benton Central High school in Benton County, Indiana, from 2010-13. I participated in FFA from my freshman through senior years.

Why did you join FFA? I joined FFA because it was a family affair for me. I don’t think I had a choice. My mother, Cindy, and her siblings were members, and my older ve siblings were present and previous members. My sister, Emily, was a state ofcer at the time I started. It was expected of me, but I truly enjoyed every minute of it.

What are your fond memories of being in FFA? The fondest memories revolved around when the responsibilities were left in the members’ hands. I was a part of a chapter that relied on the students to make things happen. We worked as a team with the other members, normally without too much oversight, on auctions, food drives, dairy judging practices, ling prociencies and attending conventions, etc. This responsibility was when I felt most accomplished and motivated. FFA does a great job of empowering teenagers and pushing them to see what they are capable of.

Relay for Life, assisting with parking at Breakfast on the Farm, and engaging in activities like Food Check-Out Day and Farm Safety Day, among others.

How did your involvement in FFA benet you in your dairy career? My involvement in FFA has been transformative, guiding me from a non-agricultural background to a fullling life in dairy farming. Growing up in town, agriculture seemed distant. However, fate intervened when I accompanied a friend to their dairy farm job, where I unexpectedly developed a profound passion for dairy cows. FFA became my gateway to the dairy industry, offering me invaluable opportunities for growth and development. Despite my initial lack of farming experience, FFA provided me with the knowledge and skills necessary to thrive.

What encouragement do you have for youth considering joining FFA? Overall, joining FFA can open doors to endless opportunities, help you discover your passions and empower you to make a difference in the world of agriculture and beyond. So, if you're considering joining, go for it. You won't regret the experiences and connections you'll gain along the way.

Tell us about your farm. In Brooklyn, Iowa, my husband, Joris, and his brother, Tuen, help run Bear Creek Dairy, a thriving operation their parents, Jan and Dorine Boelen, established after immigrating from the Netherlands in 2009. With 1,700 cows, our farm utilizes a double-24 parallel parlor with rapid exit for milking. The milk is sent to Prairie Farms Dairy Inc. for processing in Luana and Dubuque. Our cows reside in freestall barns, which we're upgrading to incorporate tunnel ventilation for improved comfort and productivity. While my main role is as a stay-at-home mom, I'm passionate about bringing dairy education and promotion to our community, on and off the farm, enriching the understanding and appreciation of dairy farming.

Tell us about your involvement with your chapter. While in Indiana, I received my State FFA Degree and American FFA Degree. I held the ofce of chapter president and regional treasurer my senior year of high school. I participated in dairy foods, dairy handling and dairy judging and was awarded as a national nalist for dairy prociency. I attended leadership camps, Minnesota and Indiana state conventions, and multiple national conventions. Volunteering revolved around community events, clean ups, petting zoos, and educating youth and the public about agriculture.

How did your involvement in FFA benet you in your dairy career? FFA gave me the opportunity to work with adults before becoming an adult. FFA and 4-H kids are bounds ahead of students once they get into adulthood because of that interaction. This has beneted me in my dairy career because I know how to hold people accountable and the importance of being held accountable myself. FFA has taught me how to be organized and set timelines for myself. When I am not qualied for a certain task, I know how to ask for help or guidance.

What encouragement do you have for youth considering joining FFA? FFA is for everyone, not just teens who grew up in agriculture. FFA has so much to offer in agriculture and plenty of areas outside of that realm. Students can be as involved as they can or want to be. You will get something positive from your time dedicated to this organization.

Tell us about your farm. I am a managing partner of Silverstreak Dairies LLC. We have dairy farms in Minnesota, South Dakota and Kansas. We are members of Dairy Farmers of America Inc. and Land O’Lakes Inc. I wouldn’t be anywhere or anything without the team that surrounds me. Our organization prides itself on PACE: people, animals, community and environment. We enjoy feeding our herd so that you can feed yours.

Gary Kregel

Guttenberg, Iowa

Clayton County

380 cows

What high school did you attend, and what years were you in FFA? I attended Guttenberg High School and was in FFA from 197075.

Why did you join FFA? Having been in 4-H and attending a rural school where every farm kid joined FFA, it was automatic to join. We also had an excellent instructor.

What are your fond memories of being in FFA? The contests, both livestock judging and leadership contests. In addition, there were many people I met beyond the local chapter level. This included two trips to Washington, D.C., multiple trips to the state FFA convention and attending the national FFA convention a number of times.

Tell us about your involvement with your chapter. I was a chapter ofcer, a district ofcer and eventually Iowa’s State FFA Secretary. I also received the State FFA Degree and the American FFA Degree, along with many judging contest awards. In addition, all three of our children received their degrees.

How did your involvement in FFA benet you in your dairy career? FFA’s inuence led me to Iowa State University and to joining the Alpha Gamma Rho agricultural fraternity, a relationship that keeps giving for a lifetime. There, and at the farm today, the leadership contests in high school paid huge dividends. The communication and parliamentary procedure skills I learned in FFA are used to this day in my many off-farm organizations and activities. Whether it has been school board, co-op board, Northeast Iowa Dairy & Agriculture Foundation, county conservation board or local political activities, I would use those skills when I became the chairman.

What encouragement do you have for youth considering joining FFA? FFA can teach you the life skills to speak and interact with others. Ditch the devices and talk. You will learn how to do a job interview or a radio interview to sell yourself or your business. FFA will give you the skills to be a leader rather than a follower. Today’s FFA is not just for agriculture; there is opportunity there for everyone.

Tell us about your farm. The farm is a family (sixth-generation) operation that has been in the family 150 years this year. Those involved are my wife, Darlene (met through 4-H and FFA), who manages the calves; our daughter, Maureen, who manages the cows; and our son, Travis, who works with crops and machinery as well as trucking. Travis also manages our custom cover crop business. Our daughter, Megan, is also involved in dairy in a neighboring county, having married a dairy farmer. She also has a popular social media presence. Our milk is shipped to Prairie Farms Dairy Inc. We just nished our 10th year with six Lely robotic milking units in a tunnel-ventilated barn. The farm also runs a cash grain business and has been using no-till and cover crops for 20-plus years.

Ytsje Andringa

Clear Lake, South Dakota

Deuel County 1,800 cows

What high school did you attend, and what years were you in FFA? I attended Great Plains Lutheran High School in Clear Lake, South Dakota. I was in FFA during my sophomore, junior and senior years.

Why did you join FFA? I like competition and think that agriculture is important. Being in FFA improved my speaking skills and enabled me to network with others. I also wanted to be involved in agricultural issues that are outside of dairy farming. I was able to start conversations with others that were specically about dairy. The speaking skills that I learned in FFA helped me when I served as South Dakota Dairy Princess.

What are your fond memories of being in FFA? Our chapter went to the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis in 2018. I made lots of new friends at the convention, and it broadened my view of FFA. In 2019, our dairy judging team placed second in the state dairy judging contest. We were just one point away from going to the nationals.

Tell us about your involvement with your chapter. I participated in ag sales and was on the dairy judging team. I served as treasurer for our chapter during my senior year. Our chapter did a color run to raise money for the family of Evie Kanke, a young lady from Florence, South Dakota, who died of leukemia at age 17.

How did your involvement in FFA benet you in your dairy career? I don’t hide anymore and now have the courage to speak. I network with everyone I meet. Networking is important because you never know when you will need help or you can help others. I am still in contact with connections I made in FFA. I am always promoting the dairy industry. The connection between farmers and consumers has been lost. If I can change the minds of just ve consumers, maybe they will change the minds of ve more and so on.

What encouragement do you have for youth considering joining FFA? Get your foot in the door. You never know about a thing until you try. The connections and the network that you make in FFA will continue to have an impact on you for the rest of your life.

Tell us about your farm. I dairy farm with my parents, Sieste and Aafke. I have ve siblings who are still young enough to be in school and have three young children of my own. We milk most of our herd in our 24 robotic milking units but continue to milk 400-500 head in our parlor. We have 14 employees. We raise our replacement animals and grow our forages.

“When

“Only Udder Comfort™ will do! We love it for swelling and for fresh cows. We never want to use anything else because this works so well. We use Udder Comfort on all fresh cows 2x/day for a week after calving. We start our heifers 1x/day for a week before calving. We also use it before, during and after showing. When something works, we stick with it!” says Kevin Stoltzfus of Warwick Manor Guernseys. Their milk is bottled and made into ice cream at Yoder’s Country Market in New Holland, Pa.

Kevin and Dina and children Kolby, Karli and Kaila are all involved in the dairy. They earned 2023 Premier Exhibitor at the National Guernsey Show in Louisville, where their Sybil was first-place milking yearling, also first at Harrisburg. Of their 50 milkers, 12 made the 2022 Top-100 Component Queen Cows of the Breed. Their ‘Queens of the Breed’ averaged 25,110M 5.9F 3.3P, with an 89-pt average score, and 5 were nominated All-American in milking form.

How many times a day do you milk, and what is your current herd average, butterfat and protein? We milk three times a day. Our rolling herd average is 33,431 pounds, which equates to 101 pounds per cow. Our energy-corrected milk is 116, and our combined fat and protein is 7.9 pounds of solids.

Describe your housing and milking facility. Our cows are housed in sand-bedded, 4-row free stalls which are naturally ventilated. Our main barn was built in 2006. The parlor is a double-10 DeLaval herringbone parlor.

Who is part of your farm team, and what are their roles? My parents, Troy and Sandy Madland, and my sister, Theresa Holloway. My dad focuses on the cropping and machinery, and my mom does all the inventories and ordering of feed and supplies, bookkeeping and payroll. Theresa is our calf and youngstock manager and milks the hospital cows daily. I am the main herdsman on the farm and have taken over most of the daily operations management. Benito Gomez is our assistant herdsman. We have a dedicated group of employees who have been with us many years and are invaluable.

PERFORMERS

2015.

What is your herd health program? We have bi-weekly herd health with Ashley Kruse, DVM. We check cows that are fresh 28-41 days. We check for pregnancy at 30 days and recheck pregnancy at 44 days to catch any early embryonic deaths. We also do a late pregnancy conrmation check at 180 days. Our cows are vaccinated after their fresh check with Bovi-Shield and J-VAC. Cows going dry are vaccinated

with Bovilis Guardian.

What does your dry cow and transition program consist of? Our cows are dried up between 45 and 60 days before calving, depending on production level. Since we can detect twins with ultrasound, those cows are given a 60-day dry period. We use Quartermaster for dry treatment and Lockout teat sealant. Our dry cows are housed in a 3-row freestall

tion. At 14 days before calving, dry cows go into a bedded pack on the same ration. We use just-in-time calving, and cows are moved to an individual pen when labor has started. After calving and cleaning up her calf, a fresh cow goes into our hospital pen for a few days until her milk tests are clear of antibiotics.

barn with sand bedding and 52inch stalls. They have access to pasture in good weather. We have one dry cow ration mix which is corn silage, sorghum sudangrass and grassy hay with a mineral mix. This mix is dietary cation-anion difference balanced. We shoot for a 33-pounds of dry matter intake for this group, and that intake is pretty high for a dry group. We want them to have an easy transition to our post-fresh ra-

What is the composition of your ration, and how has that changed in recent years? We feed a 50% forage ration. The forages consist of twothirds corn silage and one-third haylage. We use high-moisture corn silage and purchase cottonseed and corn gluten to stretch inventory of haylage. We also feed whey permeate and protein and lactating mineral mixes. Our ration has stayed pretty consistent the last few years. We do have some light soils, so drought is always a worry. When things were looking pretty dry this past summer, we started sourcing alfalfa baleage to have on hand. Our nutritionist comes every other week, and we talk through any changes or challenges we may be having.

ABBY WIEDMEYER/DAIRY STAR

The Madland family — Garre Madland (from le ), Troy Madland, Sandy Madland and Theresa Holloway holding Sylvie Holloway — stand in their parlor Feb. 13 on their farm near Lyndon Staon, Wisconsin. Troy and Sandy bought the farm in 1994, and the double-10 herringbone parlor was built in

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Joe’s

Mlsna

Redeker

The

Advanced

St.

Wadena, MN 218-632-5416

Tell us about the forages you plant and detail your harvest strategies. We grow conventional corn silage and pure alfalfa haylage. We cut hay four times. The rst cutting is not usually until Memorial Day. We do all of our own eldwork, so we have to get corn and soybeans planted before we can start hay. We shoot for 55% moisture on haylage and 65% moisture on corn silage. I run the chopper and have continually made better quality feed with upgrades in equipment and experience. Cover crops are also grown; usually a triticale-rye mix and sorghum sudangrass for youngstock feed and a bit to the dry cows.

What is your average somatic cell count and how does that affect your production? Our SCC averages around 45,000. We have held a very low SCC for quite a few years. We have the lowest SCC in our Dairy Herd Improvement Association and our milk cooperative. Our emphasis on cow comfort helps our cows have strong immune systems and a low disease incidence. A combination of low cell count and strong reproduction numbers keeps our herd at about 160 average days in milk, and that allows us to consistently produce over 100 pounds per cow.

What change has created the biggest improvement in your herd average? We were milking in our double-7 parlor and maxing out our milking

time along with a long walk for the cows back and forth from the freestall barn. We had plateaued in milk output for about three years and knew our facility was our limiting factor. In 2015, we built the DeLaval double-10 milking parlor. The new parlor made a tremendous difference. We had a good milking routine in the old parlor, but the new one was so much more comfortable for the cows and the milking crew. In 2022, we were able to build a transition cow barn. It had been on our wish list for a long time. Prior to that, our cows in transition had to make do in our oldest barns. We knew they deserved better. The new barn is 104- by 172-feet with maternity through post-fresh under one roof. Since being in that barn for a little over a year, we have seen less metabolic issues post calving, resulting in a 10-pound increase in peak milk production.

What technology do you use to monitor your herd? Our herd is on DHIA ofcial test. We also are longtime DairyComp 305 users. We have the FeedWatch system and really like it to dial in our rations for changing pen counts and dry matter on feeds. About four years ago, we started using CowManager to track rumination and activity.

What is your breeding program, and what role does genetics play in your production level? Heifers are bred at 13.5 months on natural heat and some CIDR synch. Cows are enrolled in double ovsynch with a voluntary waiting period of 77 days. We use the resynch program with CowManager to catch repeats. Our herd is registered, and we take advantage of the Holstein association’s classication program. We also have had ABS Global evaluate and mate our cows for

almost 30 years. Genetic focus is on net merit, combined fat and protein, and cow conception rate with balanced linear for moderate-stature cows. We have gained good ground on our milk components through focused breeding. We do our own breeding in house.

List three management strategies that have helped you attain your production and component level. Improving cow comfort. There are always things on the wish list, but we are very happy with our new transition barn. We strive to make the best quality forages. The better quality feed we can make, the less purchased feed we have to buy. Feed is the biggest expense. If we can keep our feed costs down, then we have more room in the budget for our cow comfort wish list. We make the most out of the technology we have. We have not always been the rst to try

a new technology, but we read a lot of articles and follow social media to get tips and tricks on what works and what is worth the investment.

Tell us about your farm and your plans for the dairy in the next year. My parents are rst-generation farmers and purchased our farm in 1994. They started with grade Holsteins and now have a registered herd. We raise all of our youngstock and also keep half of our bull calves to feeder size. Our cropping operation is about 1,900 acres, and we do all our own eldwork. We have one irrigation rig on our main corn silage acres. We also have on-farm grain bins. Our milk is shipped with Scenic Central Milk Producers Cooperative. Our next big project will be more manure storage.

Maternity Pen

Hoof Trim Chute

ABBY WIEDMEYER/DAIRY STAR

Lyndell Dairy is a Juneau County dairy farm owned and operated by the Madland family of Lyndon Sta on, Wisconsin. Troy and Sandy Madland operate the 500-cow dairy with their children, Garre Madland and Theresa Holloway.

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Leedstone,

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Historic Rock Dell Cooperative Creamery continues to contract milk, operate store

By Amy Kyllo amy.k@star-pub.com

ROCK DELL, Minn. — Rock Dell Cooperative Creamery in southeast Minnesota is in business even though it has just a single patron.

Phil Suess and Diane Severson comanage the cooperative in Rock Dell.

“In the state of Minnesota, there aren’t very many small independent creameries left,” Suess said.

Rock Dell Cooperative Creamery, which began in 1889, does not process its own milk anymore but contracts out milk instead.

“We’re still a creamery,” Suess said. “We still buy and sell milk. The small dairies have gone by the wayside one at a time, and there’s just nobody to replace that milk anymore.”

Besides selling milk from one farm, what makes Rock Dell Cooperative Creamery unique is the fact that the building is, in many ways, an untouched museum of its past. The large, two-story brick structure was built in 1919.

“It’s a sturdy building,” Suess said. “It’s not going anywhere. It’s amazing the architecture that went into this thing a hundred and some years ago.”

When the creamery began, it was

One patron strong

dairy history. Suess said nothing was ever thrown away. On shelves, books of records date to 1917. Opening the books, beautiful cursive writing neatly details patron details of cream and butterfat.

Initially, the cooperative bought cream since the plant made butter. When they stopped making butter, customers began shipping milk to the creamery and then to whatever processing plant they were contracted with. Despite no longer making butter, Suess said they had over 300 farms in the 1970s.

The downstairs of the building is partially used for the farm store and ofce. There, an antique cash register rings up purchases for guests.

“We’re ... an out-in-the-middle-ofthe-country, small convenience store,” Suess said.

The store sells Big Gain Inc. livestock feed, water softener salt, rubber over-boots, salt blocks and y spray.

They also have food items like pop, cheese, ice cream and pizza.

A tall, antique scale weighs custom cuts of cheese. The building features a walk-in cooler for cheese stock.

The farm store also sells eggs and honey from local farmers.

“(We are) providing a service for people that want it,” Suess said.

under the name Zumbro Cooperative Creamery. At some point, it was renamed Rock Dell Cooperative Creamery. According to a 2018 Star Herald Community News Corp. article, the original creamery burnt in the early 1900s, hence the reason the current building is about 30 years younger than the cooperative.

The former butter factory is now a store for the cooperative.

Next to the store area downstairs, a small barrel holds a roll of butter paper. It remains even though the creamery stopped making butter in 1965, according to the aforementioned article.

In the unused upstairs, a book of empty Rock Dell Cooperative Creamery share stock lies open on an old safe, still there after at least 24 years.

In another upstairs room, boxes of creamery records are a trove of local

The farm store is open with limited hours on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

Suess, who sold his cows and retired from dairy farming this winter, started helping his dad milk cows at the age of 5. Suess sold his milk to Rock Dell Cooperative Creamery for most of his farming career.

AMY KYLLO/DAIRY STAR

Phil Suess stands in front of the Rock Dell Coopera ve Creamery Jan. 26 in Rock Dell, Minnesota. The coopera ve sells milk for one patron. Turn

Suess started selling milk to Rock Dell Cooperative Creamery in the early 1970s and continued until about 2021.

“Every time you lose a small business, you lose a piece of history,” Suess said.

Over the years, patrons have declined. In 1989, according to the Star Herald Community News Corp article, there were about 100.

For the last ve years, the creamery has been restricted due to quotas, and they cannot take on additional patrons. Suess said he was told by his buyer that if the creamery they are contracting with takes on too much milk, someone would

end up not getting paid.

“All these big corporations today in the milk industry were not started by 10,000-cow farms,” Suess said. “They don’t cater to us anymore. They would rather back into a place, hook a semi and leave than have a milk truck stop at 15 farms to get a load of milk.”

Suess said the loss of patrons has been one of their biggest challenges.

“From 100 patrons ... to one today, financially, there’s no dividing expenses against anybody,” Suess said.

If they continue to sell feed, Suess said they can continue to operate as a cooperative.

“Our plan is to keep it open just as long as we can,” Suess said. “Everybody knows that

there’s a D-day in this thing, but we’re hoping it’s quite a few years down the road. We’re nancially strong.”

AMY KYLLO/DAIRY STAR

Paper is threaded through a cash register Jan. 26 at Rock Dell Coopera ve Creamery in Rock Dell, Minnesota. The register is used at the store that sells feed, other farm supplies and food.

AMY KYLLO/DAIRY STAR

A creamery record book dated 1925 lays open Jan. 26 at Rock Dell Coopera ve Creamery in Rock Dell, Minnesota. The coopera ve started in 1889.

AMY KYLLO/DAIRY STAR

A scale stands in the Rock Dell Coopera ve Creamery store Jan. 26 in Rock Dell, Minnesota. The scale is used to weigh custom-cut cheese orders.

Any farm wife and mom out there can attest to the fact that there never seems to be enough time in the day. Household chores and outside chores quite often take a little bit longer with two toddlers in tow.

I have a 2-year-old and a 3-year-old, and they love helping on the farm and in the house with various tasks my husband and I have to do. While they are much too young to help milk cows, drive tractor and cook meals, they love to watch and be with us as we go about these tasks.

We let them mix milk replacer for the calves and feed the cats and dog in the barn. I let them help stir or pour an ingredient in the bowl while I’m cooking in the house.

By Tiffany Klaphake Staff Writer

As long as it is not cold, our kids would spend hours on end outside. So, in the winter, going outside is limited, and the 20 minutes it takes to get the kids convinced to put their mittens and hats on, only to spend 10 minutes outside before they start complaining it is cold out, is not always worth the effort. The milder temps this winter is helping, but their attention span outside does not always last very long.

It feels great to see them curious about the cows, excited to feed the calves and begging to have a turn at stirring whatever I am making for dinner.

However, their speed and accuracy at completing these tasks is not the same as the adult in the room. Quite often, they mix with big, fast strokes that result in milk replacer or our ending up on the oor. Sometimes, they use careful, thoughtful strokes, taking several minutes to mix a single pail of milk replacer.

Either way, tasks take longer even with multiple people “helping” the process. Sometimes, it means starting over, if the bowl or pail gets knocked over, and having to clean up a mess afterward. Sometimes, they lose interest half way through, because their favorite cat just walked by. Sometimes, the 3-year-old announces she needs to go potty right now, therefore, putting everything else on hold for a few minutes so we can run to the bathroom.

As annoying as it may feel in the moment, I keep encouraging them to help.

Just like when we potty trained our 3-year-old, repetition and encouragement go a long way. Even with older kids, heck even with adults, repetition and encouragement go a long way. I will admit sometimes I put in a movie for the kids if I know I do not have a lot of extra time to spare. If I am in the house as well, this does not always work as they tend to eventually be curious about what I am making in the kitchen. I take the time to do these tasks with them, showing and explaining to them what I am doing. It will be years before they can do it on their own, but one day, hopefully, they will look forward to doing these tasks with as much excitement as they currently do.

I was always working beside my mom in the kitchen and in the barn. That’s how I learned to bake, cook and do farm chores. Milking cows was not always my favorite chore, but I looked forward to it more as I got older because that is where my family was. My mom, dad, brothers and I each had our own individual chores to accomplish each day, but everyone had to help milk cows. Out in the barn is where most of our family decisions were made, news was shared and jokes were told.

We always ate meals together as a family, but quite often, they were rushed and conversations oated around what had gotten done that day and what else needed to be done. Another trick to get us all in the barn was once supper was done, the last person out the door and in the barn was the one who had to do the dishes.

Just like in farming, you reap what you sow. Taking a little extra time early on to do things right will lead to a greater result.

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Getting to the root of soil function

Gunderson presents at Byron Seeds winter seminars

By Emily Breth emily.b@star-pub.com

“It’s one of those things where we probably know more about the ocean oor than we do soil microbes, but they play a really important role in what we try to do as growers and plant managers,” Gunderson said. “I call (microbes) soil livestock.”

Gunderson, M.S., Ph.D. candidate, is the president and co-owner of Regen Ag Lab.

During the rst part of the seminar, Gunderson talked about microbes found in soil and their functions, starting with bacteria.

“There are 100 million bacteria in a teaspoon of soil,” Gunderson said. “The primary role of bacteria is to break down simple carbon compounds.”

Bacteria also work with nitrogen. Some perform nitrogen xation while others do denitrication. While most of the bacteria in soil will not harm crops, there are a few pathogens. The majority ght pathogens and create antibiotics to protect the plant.

“Most of the microbes rely on the plant to provide them food,” Gunderson said. “That is important because they don’t want to kill the plants.”

Lithotrophs are bacterium that can break down rocks, but they need to have a strong connection to plant roots. When geology and biology are combined, soil is created.

A benet of fungi is that they strangle nematodes that hurt plants and consume them.

“The fungus is trying to protect the same thing you are, your crop,” Gunderson said. “The role of fungi is for the breakdown of complex carbon compounds.”

The fungi transport nutrients to the crops because they want them to grow, to collect more energy from the sun and air, and leak some to the fungi. This process is not specic to fungi.

Fungi play an important role in carbon storage and soil structure.

“Fungi grow like a net,” Gunderson

Jan. 19 in Owatonna, Minnesota. Lance Gunderson

Lab, where his team focuses on soil biology and how to improve it.

said. “Fungi don’t like tillage. Because of this, when you till the soil, it’s like driving a bulldozer through your house. Bacteria don’t care; it’s like going to an amusement park for them.”

If fungi can build a good soil structure, the soil’s drought resilience will increase. Roots will only grow in an area where oxygen and moisture are present. Tillage can negatively impact this.

“It’s what you do after the tillage that makes all the difference,” Gunderson said.

If no new living roots are planted into the tilled soil, there is a risk of a hard pan or crust developing. It is best to till and plant immediately after to ensure roots will grow again to keep movement within the soil.

Continuously having plants also helps to shade the soil and keep soil temperature down, which is important for the enzymes — functional proteins — in the soil.

“We start to see a decrease (in enzymes) when soil temperature is above 90 degrees,” Gunderson said. “Once we hit above 105 degrees, they just fall off. They unfold and break down and aren’t functional anymore.”

Enzymes are necessary to break down compounds and make nutrients more available to microbes and plants. Getting carbon is the biggest part of soil function. However, carbon cannot only be captured. It needs to be cycled through the air, plant and soil.

“It’s all about energy, and the microbes need energy just like we do,”

Gunderson said. “Almost 50% of all the energy captured by the crop is leaked into the ground. It does this because most plant roots aren’t efcient at getting nutrients out of the soil. The microbes are the gatekeepers for that.”

The less downtime between crops, the better it is for the soil.

“If you can get more photosynthesis happening, you will feed this community (of microbes),” Gunderson said. “The fatter your soil is the more life it has.”

During the second half of the seminar, Gunderson focused on the cost of production.

“There are two ways to make money in any business: You can increase gross revenue or decrease expenses,” Gunderson said. “(Farmers) always had a message to drive more, to push production. However, we produce 2.5 times the amount of food for everyone on the planet.”

Producers do not need to push for bigger yields but rather nd ways to reduce expenses while producing a crop, even if the yield is not as high as in previous years.

“I can’t remember how many times I got a call from farmers saying, ‘Lance, I don’t know what I’m going to do next year,’ and my heartstrings are pulled,” Gunderson said. “(Producers) are told they need to feed the world, but we don’t care if you can feed yourself. Align yourself with companies that align with you.”

Gunderson focused on how producers should prioritize a reduction in their coefcient of performance, whether this is accomplished by planting cover crops, using less fertilizer or eliminating fertilizer some years.

“Don’t buy all the extra stuff that you don’t get anything from,” Gunderson said. “Evaluate your soil to understand where you are getting benet return.”

Using cover crops helps because they put nutrients into play. Through the breakdown of the cover crop, nutrients return to the soil as plant-available nutrients. A true cover crop will never leave the eld and can be utilized for livestock through grazing.

“Grazing it will speed up the cycle, and 95% of nutrients the cow takes in will end up back into the soil,” Gunderson said. “Livestock will be the digester for you.”

Plants and soil need to be fed different nutrients just like cows need a balanced diet. While producers and plants provide the microbes with the compounds, they will get it where it needs to be in the right form.

“(Microbes) are the maa of the soil,” Gunderson said. “They need a balance between energy and protein. If you don’t feed them a balanced ration, they are going to tie up what they are lacking and hold it until the plants, or you, provide it.”

4100 SERIES 4-AUGER MIXERS

Lance Gunderson paired with Byron Seeds to talk about soil function at four seminars Jan. 16-19 in central Minnesota.

PHOTO SUBMITTED

Lance Gunderson talks about soil biology during a Byron Seeds winter seminar

is co-owner of Ragen Ag-

www.extension.umn.edu/dairy

Identifying sick calves

Part of identifying sick calves is looking at them. Observing calves at feeding times is the most important time to look for sick calves, but calf managers should consider going back through to observe in between feedings, when bedding and when giving water. When feeding calves, it should be obvious which calves are not feeling well. If they do not come up right away, they are a little slow getting up, or they are maybe not drinking as fast, those calves should be checked. This can be even more apparent in a group when calves that are not feeling well tend to hang back while everyone else rushes to the feeder.

By Joe Armstrong, DVM University of Minnesota

One of the things we are observing is behavior change. Knowing your calves and seeing them every day allows for noticing subtle changes in behavior. If a calf is usually the rst one to the feeder and then is not there right away, checking that calf should be the priority. Calves are timedriven, just like all cows. Some signs are even more subtle, especially in a group setting. A calf might get up with the group and be there already at the feeder. But, just because it is standing at the feeder does not mean it is eating. It might just stand there with its head next to the nipple.

A calf’s appearance can provide many clues as well. Look at how the calf is standing. Are their legs spread apart and their neck outstretched? Look at their respirations. Are they breathing fast with increased effort? Look at their nose. Do they have a lot of discharge? Look at their ears. Are they droopy? Look at their eyes. Do they look bright or sunken and dull? Look at those areas that we associate with sickness: eyes, ears, nose, breathing, posture and tail position, etc. The more information you can gather about what is happening, the more condent you can be in a diagnosis and treatment.

One tool everybody should have is a thermometer. Temperature dictates where we go with antibiotics. Most treatment protocols should be centered on whether or not the calf has a fever, because if it does not have a fever, it is difcult to justify antibiotic use. When we give antibiotics to an animal that does not need it, we are changing the bacteria that are present. Some of those bacteria are good, and we want them alive.

In an individual pen, I can see the walls of that pen. I can see that the manure in that pen belongs to that calf, but in a group setting, I have a hard time knowing what feces goes with what calf.

Sioux/Pro-Tec Believers

Ron Suchy, who crop farms 700 acres near Urbank, went with a Pro-Tec building for storage in 2023.

“I have seen farmers that had these and they stood up. They had good service, they were local and they did a good job.”

- Ron Suchy

Mike Menze, who milks 75 cows near Otter Tail Minnesota, went to MidCentral when he needed a Sioux bin built in 2023.

“We’ve had three other ones that we really like that we’ve had little problems with. They got the job done.”

- Mike Menze

With group pens, it takes more observation to nd sick calves. Another complicating factor for nding scours calves is that we are advocating to feed more milk, so we are adding liquid to the system. More liquid in usually means more liquid out. Loose feces does not dene scours. Keep that in mind and assess the whole calf by incorporating temperature, behavior change and appearance.

Respiratory rate and effort are great observations to make when evaluating calf health. The tricky part is differentiating between pneumonia and scours, because calves with scours become acidotic. They have too much acid in their bloodstream. In an attempt to correct acidosis, calves need to get rid of carbon dioxide. To breathe out more CO2, the calf breathes faster and sometimes with more effort. Often, this is assumed to be pneumonia, when in fact, the calf has nothing wrong with their lungs. If a calf is breathing fast or with slightly increased effort, do not assume they have pneumonia. Focus on the things that actually treat scours, which are hydration and pain control. Almost every time, scours is one of three things: rotavirus, coronavirus or cryptosporidium — none of which are bacteria. An antibiotic is not going to solve the problem.

Dana Adams adam1744@umn.edu 320-204-2968

Joe Armstrong armst225@umn.edu 612.624.3610

Luciano Caixeta lcaixeta@umn.edu 612-625-3130

Gerard Cramer gcramer@umn.edu 612-625-8184

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

Les Hansen hanse009@umn.edu 612-624-2277

Brad Heins hein0106@umn.edu 320-589-1711

Nathan Hulinsky huli0013@umn.edu 320-203-6104

Karen Johnson ande9495@umn.edu 320-484-4334

Emily Krekelberg krek0033@umn.edu 507-280-2863

A calf with scours that can stand, has a suckle reex and a normal temperature does not need antibiotics.

When eyes start to look sunken into the face, that is a sign of dehydration. Skin tent is another sign of dehydration that is easy to assess. Grab some skin on the animal (usually over the ribs or side of the neck), pull it out and let it go. The skin should fall at like it never happened within a second or two. Gums should be pink, quite wet and not tacky at all. In a dehydrated calf, the mouth can be cold, the gum tissue can be pale pink, white or purple, and the gums can feel tacky. One of the other things that I like to do on every calf is reach down and feel the navel, even out to a month, maybe even older, to see if there is a navel infection. The navel should not be hot, and it should be small.

Evaluating calves for sickness is a combination of the art of observation with measurable change (temperature). Like many things in the cattle industry, it is part art and part science, and you can only improve your skills through hands-on experience. Call or email with questions if you have them and listen to our “The Moos Room” podcast if you enjoyed this information.

Claire LaCanne lacanne@umn.edu 507-332-6109

Brenda Miller nels4220@umn.edu 320-732-4435

Isaac Salfer ijsalfer@umn.edu 320-296-1357

Jim Salfer salfe001@umn.edu 320-203-6093

Mike Schutz mschutz@umn.edu 612-624-1205

Melissa Wilson mlw@umn.edu 612-625-4276

Isaac Haagen hagge041@umn.edu 612-624-7455

Michael Boland boland@umn.edu 612-625-3013

Sabrina Florentino slpore@umn.edu 507-441-1765

Soil microbes, cull cows, agrivoltaics

I grew up on my family’s dairy farm in southern Minnesota. I rst learned to do things differently there. My parents built one of the rst bedded pack compost barns in the country for our Brown Swiss cows. Most recently, we have adopted no-till and cover cropping and even fenced in all our acres to graze those cover crops and increase the diversity in our crop rotations.

After studying dairy science for my undergraduate degree, I realized that my specialized education left large gaps in my understanding of the farm system.

livestock species (e.g., cattle, sheep, goats, poultry and swine) produced in an alternative system (e.g., pasturebased, organic, livestock land-management services and silvopastoral, etc.) or at small scales. My goal is not only to increase the resiliency, productivity and animal wellbeing of Minnesota’s alternative and small livestock farms, but to also provide conventional farmers with alternative options to their status quo.

By Sabrina Portner Florentino University of Minnesota

I had little knowledge about producing forages or how the biology in the soil affected important processes. These realizations and the diversication we have begun on our dairy farm have taught me to approach raising livestock with a whole-system perspective. I intend to utilize this perspective in future programming to address challenges to alternative livestock producers from the soil to the milk in a glass.

Recently, I started my new role with the University of Minnesota Extension as the alternative livestock systems educator. No, I will not be teaching about crickets and ostriches. Rather, I will be developing additional programming for our traditional

V59

In my masters’ research with Dr. Brad Heins on dairy farm resiliency (soil health, crossbreeding and agrivoltaics), I attempted to address the complexities of achieving sustainability with a whole system’s perspective. These topics are all tools or concepts, which may offer a dairy farm increased economic, environmental or social sustainability. Sustainability is largely context dependent, varying by dairy farm type, geography, and natural and human resources available. This uniqueness requires an ever-growing toolbox to achieve protability and conserve our vital natural resources. Possible tools might include natural resource management (soil health), genetic diversity (crossbreeding) or sustainable land use intensication (agrivoltaics). Below is a snapshot of each topic. We can be exible producers by

utilizing grazing as an alternative to harvested feeds. The soil microbiome composition and function are positively impacted when a diverse mix of plant species is maintained. Greater benets to the soil microbiome are observed when grazing livestock in integrated crop and livestock systems compared to annual monocultures without livestock. Additionally, light to moderate grazing intensity may increase soil microbiome diversity and enzyme activity. The implications of these soil health benets are possibly increasing nutrient cycling, which maximizes productivity and minimizes environmental damage.

In another analysis of diversity, we documented the impacts of crossbreeding on cull cow weight and value. For cull cows at the West Central Research and Outreach Center from 2010-21, Holsteins weighed the most at culling followed by ProCROSS (Holstein, Viking Red and Montbeliarde cross), 1964 control Holsteins and Grazecross (Jersey, Viking Red and Normande cross) cows. The Holstein cows had lower cull values compared with the other breed groups in the study. Documenting each source of income on our dairy farms is essential to maintaining protability. Diversity could be a part of the solution for a farm’s economic sustainability.

Another option for increasing diversity is to utilize land for multiple purposes. For example, dairy cattle can be grazed under solar panels or

forages harvested depending on the design of the solar panel system. In our most recent study, the objective was to evaluate forage production and nutritive value of cool and warm season grasses and legumes grown under solar arrays. In total, the forages produced less biomass underneath the solar panels compared to the openair control site. However, the yields under the solar panels and at the control site of cool season grasses and legumes were similar. Likewise, the cool season grasses and legumes had comparable or higher quantities of crude protein underneath the solar panels compared to the control site forages. We are analyzing a second season of data for this study. Likely, high-quality forage can be grown underneath solar panels, diversifying our land use and income options for farmers.

The longevity of farms of all types requires that farmers have options when what they are doing just is not working anymore. Diversity is key. A farmer who can adapt to their changing conditions will pass that farm on to the next generation even if it may look far different from the farm they started with. Similarly, I had to step out of my dairy science comfort zone and into the world of diversied livestock farming, agronomy and soil health in order to garner a wholesystem perspective that will serve our livestock farmers. I would like you to join me on the journey.

30” Corn Head, single point.....Coming In

‘09 Gleaner 3000 /Challenger CH630 6R30” Corn Head, Single Point ......................................................................$16,000

Gleaner 8200-25 ex head ...............................................$12,000

‘10 Gleaner 8200-30 Flex head, w/Crary Air Reel,

serial #AHW08230 ......................................................... $26,000

‘09 Gleaner 8200-35 Flex Head w/Orbit Reel .................$15,000

‘04 Gleaner 8000-30 Flex Head ........................................ $6,000

‘14 Harvestec 6308C 8-row 30” cutter corn head, Gleaner mounts .............................................................. $39,000

‘14 Harvestec 6308C 8-row 30” cutter corn head, Gleaner mounts ......................................................... Coming In

‘08 Harvestec 4312C 12 row 30” Cutter Corn Head, Gleaner Mounts .............................................................. $18,500

‘00 Geringhoff RD630 Corn Head,Consigned, Gleaner Mounts .............................................................. $14,000

‘06

Vermeer 504 Pro round baler w/cutter, 11,500 bales..... $24,000

H&S Hi-Cap. 12-Wheel Rake w/Tine Savers .............Coming In

HDX 14 Wheel Rake .................................................. $9,500

Miller Pro 1150 Rotary Rake Consigned............................ $5,900

TILLAGE/FIELD CULTIVATORS

Wil-Rich 3400 Field Cultivator, 4-bar WR Coil Tine, 28’6” .... $7,500

DMI Ecolo-Tiger 530B, 2-Row Concave Coulters,

Closing Disc ....................................................................... $7,900

Salford 870 Disc 25’...........................................................$27,000

White 273 25’ Disc, 9” Spacing Front & Rear 20 3/4” Blades, Rock Flex ...................................................... $6,500 ROW CROP,

Hardi

How did you get into farming? I have been farming all my life. It’s in my blood. I moved back to the home farm in 2018 and am in the process of buying the farm.

What are the most signicant ways your farm has changed since you started farming? I used to have a tumble mixer, and then, I switched to a total mixed ration. The cows now get the same ration every day. Since I made the switch, my components went up. It was a win-win situation. Last year, I bought an automatic bale loader that picks up bales by itself. I can pick up bales with one person. I bale, Dad picks up, and my brother, Paul, who has his own dairy farm, wraps. It’s so efcient. I don’t need two people to pick up bales.

What was a challenge you faced in your dairy farming career, and how did you overcome it? The volatile prices of milk compared to my inputs, like fuel and fertilizer. I try hard to maximize my inputs based on what I get on my milk price.

What is the best decision you have made on your farm? Buying the vertical spreader. It really does such a good job having a uniform spread on the eld. I bought it three years ago, and I don’t have the windrows.

What are three things on the farm that you cannot live without? The skid loader, spreader, pasteurizer and

DAIRY PROFILE

Stearns County. Turn

TMR. I use the skid loader for scraping heifer fronts, loading the TMR and bedding. You can take my phone but not my skid loader. I really like the pasteurizer because it allows me to take the high somatic cell count cow out of the line and feed that milk

to the calves. I have had it since 2014.

What are your thoughts and concerns about the dairy industry for the next year? I really hope the milk price comes up. I think that it will. Otherwise, you ride the reigns and

hold tight. I was raised that if you don’t have the money, you don’t buy it.

Jake Mehr of Farming, Minnesota | Stearns County | 55 cows

Jake Mehr stands near a heifer and dry cow barn on his dairy farm near Farming, Minnesota. Mehr milks 55 cows in

What strategies do you use to withstand the volatile milk prices? I save and prepare for low milk prices. If you overspend, you are in trouble. When I buy, I try to have it all down. If I can’t, I don’t buy it.

How do you maintain family relationships while also working together? My dad, Vern, helps in the morning by cleaning the manger, washing the pipeline, helping bring in a new cow or heifer, or helping feed. He helps at night as well. I appreciate him coming around and try to say thank you.

What do you nd most rewarding about dairy farming? I am my own boss. If I want to get someplace during the day, I can. I can organize my schedule to the way I need it. I am not tied to anyone else’s schedule. The exibility is nice.

Tell us something special about your farm. I get to work with family on the farm. My brother farms 1 mile down the road, and my parents live across the road. I also have sisters in Rice, Minnesota and Albany, Minnesota, and the nieces and nephews are out to the farm at least once a week. Also, I’ve received a SCC award every year. I have always believed that if I am milking cows, I should have good-quality milk. I also receive better premiums. I get 70 cents for a SCC under 100,000, and that really adds up.

What are your plans for your dairy in the next year and ve years?

Keep farming. If the prices come back, I would like to upgrade some buildings, especially the dry cow facility.

How do you or your family like to spend time when you are not doing chores? I like to hang out with friends and play cards or other games.

We also play the card game 500 as a family. I also like to drive my side-by-side on Sundays and look at the crops and take in nature, like going down to the river. I like to take in the little things in life.

MARK KLAPHAKE/DAIRY STAR

Jake Mehr stands by a pastuerizer Feb. 15 on his dairy farm near Farming, Minnesota. Mehr has been using a pastuerizer for 10 years.

MARK KLAPHAKE/DAIRY STAR

An automa�c bale loader is parked near Jake Mehr’s dairy farm Feb. 15 near Farming, Minnesota. Mehr bought the bale loader last year to help get bales off the eld faster.

the

really like using the Merlin2G. It’s quiet and cows really adapt to it quickly.” – Jose A.

is. Most cows adapt to it pretty well and it does a good

your dairy

By Steve Frericks Stearns County FSA executive director

What do you think about this weather? I can safely say that I have been told every “Old Farmer’s Almanac” projection or seasoned farmer prediction known to man during recent producer visits in the ofce. Many are very concerned about the impact this spring due to this unseasonable weather. As producers, you can only control what you can control. All you can do is be as prepared as possible. Part of this is implementing a risk management plan. Do you have your crop insurance plan in place? Are you signed up for all the U.S. Department of Agriculture programs available? Are your nances in order for the upcoming spring season? If you answered no to any of the above, the time is now.

We have nothing new to share about the Dairy Margin Coverage sign-up. We will advertise this just as soon as we are provided information and timelines.

March 15 is the nal date to enroll into the Agriculture Risk Coverage or Price Loss Coverage programs for the 2024 crop year. You can make your election and enrollment now, and if you decide to change it, you have until the deadline to revise your application. We invite you to reach out to a USDA ofce at your earliest convenience to get your farm signed up for the program.

Sign-up for the Continuous Conservation Reserve Program started Jan. 12. This year’s sign-up is a bit different than usual, so if you are interested in re-enrolling acreage that expires Sept. 30 or have new land you would like to enroll, contact an ofce as soon as possible to review your options and work with a team to get an offer submitted. This year’s sign-up will be processed in batches to ensure nationwide we do not go above the cap on CRP acreage allowed by the farm bill.

The Farm Service Agency is cleaning up our producer record database and needs your help. Report any changes of address, zip code, phone number, email address or an incorrect name or business name on le to a USDA ofce. You should also report changes in your farm operation, like the addition of a farm by lease or purchase. You should also report any changes to your operation in which you reorganize to form a trust, limited liability company or other legal entity. The FSA and Natural Resources Conservation Service program participants are required to promptly report changes in their farming operation to the county committee in writing and to update their farm operating plan on form CCC-902. To update your records, contact a USDA service center.

The FSA offers a nine-month commodity loan, which is a great tool to receive cash up front to help nance an operation. If you have 2023 grain in the bin, marketing assistance loans provide producers interim nancing at harvest time to meet cash ow needs without having to sell their commodities when market prices are typically at harvest-time lows. Allowing producers to store production at harvest facilitates more orderly marketing of commodities throughout the year.

Jerry Hurrle, farm loan manager

It is time again for the annual tax season and farm record reviews. Hopefully your farm records and tax preparation will go well for you with no major surprises. It is also time to look ahead and develop a proposed cash ow and plan for 2024. The current commodity prices are much less than the previous few years, and expenses have not decreased much. Prot margins will be challenging. Do you know your cost of production? Do you have a marketing plan? With good records, cash ow planning is easier to develop. Be prepared with accurate records and information when you meet with your lender. The FSA continues to have numerous loan options available. The options include operating loans, real estate loans and micro loans, to name a few. If you need nancial assistance, contact a USDA ofce to review our programs and options.

Farm Service Agency is an equal opportunity lender. Complaints about discrimination should be sent to: Secretary of Agriculture, Washington, D.C., 20250. Visit www.fsa.usda.gov for application forms and updates on USDA programs

I will forever be a dairy advocate

As I think about my rst few months working in the dairy checkoff 40 years ago, I cannot help but smile. I started as a program director at Midwest Dairy, working with schools and health care professionals in June 1984. Since then, I have had the pleasure of holding numerous leadership positions before accepting the CEO role in 2019. Before Midwest Dairy, I also worked with the Midland Dairy Association and Dairy Council Inc., both former checkoff organizations that are now part of the Midwest Dairy organization.

By Molly Pelzer Midwest Dairy CEO

I laugh about my rst few days in checkoff, because I specically recall how intimidating it felt to learn all the acronyms within the dairy industry, from DMI to other states and regions like the ADA to Midwest Dairy-specic programs like the MDFRC. For those of you who know, there was a lot to learn. After a good month, though, I found myself learning and solving these acronym puzzles, and it started to feel like I was understanding the nuances of my new job. I know we have many more acronyms today than when I started, and I am pleased we now have a cheat sheet as a tool for new staff joining the organization. That is something that has always been important to me when it comes to my staff and their feeling of belonging.

My heart swells when I think about my time within the industry because I have created many lifelong friendships that I cherish dearly. As I reminisce about the beginning of my career, a particular college professor stands out to me. She had just received her master’s degree in nutrition and was teaching at a college, working with future health professionals, when we were connected. She knew there was a lot of opportunity to enhance her students’ understanding of nutrition in dairy foods and wanted to lean on checkoff for guidance. At that time, the National Dairy Council had released a resource for health professionals on osteoporosis, including a summary of scientic-based information. These resources were gold for my friend, who was grateful for my help. I connected with this partner during my rst week working for checkoff, and it showed me the benets of collaborating with national experts and having staff on the ground build relationships nationwide. Since that connection, my friendship with the college professor continued to grow, and we stayed in touch even after she relocated to the Kansas City area. If she ever has a dairy question, my phone will ring.

I tell this story because as I say my nal goodbye and reect on the years of friendships I have made, I hope my phone never stops ringing. I am a committed dairy advocate for life and hope to stay connected to the many friends, staff and amazing farmers I have gotten to know. All of these relationships are, and will always be, important to me.

I would love to continue encouraging all dairy farmers, young and old alike, to engage with their checkoff at Midwest Dairy. Consumers constantly tell us they are curious about where their food comes from, and I truly believe talking to dairy farmers is the ideal way for them to best build trust in the decisions dairy farmers make every day

while on the farm. Research shows that as consumers build condence in dairy, they purchase more dairy products. Checkoff is a group effort, one we all have a hand in.

In my 40 years, I have learned how important consumer events are, but Midwest Dairy’s board members are also vital to the strategic decisions of the checkoff organization. These board members help staff identify opportunities for partnerships and provide input on strategies to build consumer trust and sales. It is never too late if you want to get involved in these leadership positions. Checkoff needs its farmers to be involved. Keeping the work of checkoff relevant to dairy farmers is vital for the future success of the dairy promotion and research

work done by Midwest Dairy, and I know the next CEO will value this too.

I have had 40 fullling years working for the Midwest dairy farmers, and I want to say thank you. Checkoff strategies have evolved and fostered new ideas that make a difference for dairy farm families. Working for dairy farmers in each of my roles has been a privilege, and I will continue to be a dairy advocate in my retirement. Knowing how hard farmers work to produce milk that feeds and nourishes the world is a daily inspiration, and I owe my career to the farm families in our 10-state region. Thank you for what you do and for allowing me to work with you to build trust and demand for dairy.

SMOKE SIGNAL

14HO16834 SUNDOWN FROST BITE x Einstein 1,2611,4913051

14HO16827 SCAR

7HO16825 ANDRI

14HO16755 SOCKS

GEORGE MILLER x MOONSHINER 1,2561,2363069

7HO16644 RIMBOT RIX x Sheldon 1,2511,4113116

250HO16691 TRANSFER

BEETHOVEN x GAMEDAY 1,2461,1113151

7HO16808 OLWEN

FROST BITE x LIONEL 1,2441,3923052

7HO16820 FIONN

FROST BITE x Einstein 1,2431,3563093

7HO16688 STATON

Overdo x Manhattan 1,2401,1073214

14HO16788 ICEFYRE

FROST BITE x Acura 1,2371,3443111

7HO16835 LOGIC

FROST BITE x TAOS 1,2261,2993136

7HO16282 MIMIC

Rayshen x JARED 1,2201,3803040

14HO16810 YOOKI

FROST BITE x LIONEL 1,2081,3663061

14HO16681 VICARIOUSLY

Overdo x MAXIMUS 1,2051,3313132

7HO16689 STADER

Overdo x Acura 1,2011,2583213

7HO16806 CARTER

FROST BITE x MOONSHINER 1,1911,2933119

7HO16570 REAPER

7HO16793

14HO16630

7HO16977

7HO16575

14HO16391

7HO16599

Learning from the best

Everything I needed to know I learned from Norwegian bachelor farmers.

Our neighbor, Martin, would be a good example. Dad shared machinery with Martin, so I learned a lot from Martin while I was growing up.

Farmers did a lot more physical labor back then. Federal law mandated that farmers be provided with both mid-morning and mid-afternoon lunches.

Whenever we were working at our farm, Mom saw to it that this law was followed by serving us banquet-sized lunches that included piles of proteinpacked sandwiches and high-calorie sweet rolls. These treats were washed down with boiling coffee that was strong enough to strip the rust off an old plowshare.

If we were performing eldwork, we would gobble our lunches while standing on the headland. No provisions were made for such niceties as washing our hands.

Martin took pride in his mechanical know-how, so he was our main xer-upper guy. His hands were always extremely grimy.

Prior to picking up his sandwich, Martin would take a perfunctory stab at cleaning his hands by wiping them on his overalls. But he seldom (if ever) washed his overalls, which meant they were every bit as grubby as his hands.

There was a way to deal with this situation. A guy simply had to grab his sandwich by one corner, then eat everything except that corner. A farm dog was usually hanging around nearby, eagerly watching for discarded sandwich corners.

This must have struck Martin as wasteful. I watched numerous times as Martin bolted down his entire sandwich, grungy corner and all. His lesson was twofold: waste not, want not; and it probably won’t kill you if you accidentally eat a little grime.

My great-uncle Stanley was another Norwegian

bachelor farmer who had a big inuence on my life. Stanley was the kind of guy who never seemed to get dirty. His striped bib overalls were always spotless, as was his farmstead and his late-model pickup truck.

One spring day when I was a teenager I was summoned to Stanley’s farm. Upon arriving, I was tasked with raking ear corn from Stanley’s corncrib and into a sheller. Stanley’s job, it seemed, was to superintend. He stood upwind of the dust and watched as I muscled ear corn into the corn sheller’s insatiable maw.

A neighbor stopped by and chatted with Stanley. I could hear better back then, so I was able to eavesdrop on their conversation.

Stanley was asked which of his 12 siblings was the oldest. “I am,” Stanley replied.

“Oh?” said the neighbor. “I thought you were about the youngest.”

“That might be so,” Stanley deadpanned, “but I’ve lived so much faster than the rest of them.”

Stanley taught me two important lessons: Don’t go breaking your back if you can get someone younger and dumber to do the work for you, and a amboyant b can be much more entertaining than the truth.

George Pander was a self-educated Norwegian bachelor farmer mechanic who lived in our neighborhood. George was an excellent repairman, but more importantly, he worked for cheap. Because of this and because our farm machinery was old and rickety, I saw a lot of George.

When I was in high school, we had a windrower that was so ancient it was hours away from being ofcially declared a museum piece. One day, in the thick of oat harvest, its engine refused to start. George was duly summoned. I watched and dgeted impatiently as George tinkered with the fuel system, working at his usual leisurely pace. Things weren’t moving fast enough, especially George.

“Is there anything I can do?” I asked testily. I wanted to get back to cutting oats right now.

“Take off the gas cap,” suggested George.

This I did with much alacrity.

“Put your mouth on the opening,” said George. I quickly and unquestioningly complied.

“Now blow,” he commanded.

I blew into the gas tank as hard as I could. Gasoline fumes burped back out through my nose; my eyes watered, and I suddenly developed a thunderous headache. I ended my kiss with the gas tank and was about to ask what we should try next when I noticed that George was shaking.

It slowly dawned that he was shaking in a manner that’s commonly associated with stiing a laugh. I’d been thoroughly had.

And so, a self-educated Norwegian bachelor farmer handed me a couple of very important lessons. For one, testy teenagers probably deserve to get taken down a notch or two.

For another, it’s awfully funny to watch a guy kiss a gas tank, especially if you’re the one who tricked him into it.

Jerry Nelson is a recovering dairy farmer from Volga, South Dakota. He and his wife, Julie, have two sons and live on the farm where Jerry’s great-grandfather homesteaded over 110 years ago. Jerry works for Dairy Star as a staff writer and ad salesman. Feel free to email him at jerry.n@dairystar.com.

By Jerry Nelson Columnist

Dear County Agent Guy

Feed push-ups can increase protability

With today’s dairy economics, capturing every pound of marginal milk is essential to protability. Marginal milk can be dened as the few pounds of increased production that can be gained by adjusting management practices while seeing little or no increase in expenditure.

Something to Ruminate On

Pushing up feed is one of the simplest and least-expensive strategies dairy operators can implement. It is also one of the major management factors that explain the difference in milk production among dairy herds. Research conducted by Dr. Alex Bach’s team in the early 2000s found that herds where feed was routinely pushed up produced on average 8 pounds more milk than herds where feed was not pushed up.

lation between the number of meals consumed throughout the day and fatcorrected milk yield. Longer feeding times and slower feeding rates result in a stable rumen environment and decreased risk for subacute ruminal acidosis. Frequent feed push-ups also reduce the risk of slugfeeding, which can lead to digestive challenges.

ally, at night. Scheduling feed pushups during the overnight hours is an obvious challenge on dairies where labor is not available around the clock. In these cases, make feed pushup the last task of the day and one of the very rst tasks the next morning. Automatic feed pushers have been game-changers for many dairies experiencing this labor void overnight.

low us to see cows reaching for feed and challenges with feed distribution across the bunk. Cameras can also be a quick check that push-up schedules are followed at all hours of the day.

By Barry Visser Nutritionist

The No. 1 benet of increasing feed push-up frequency is increased dry matter intake. The more cows eat, the more milk they produce, and cows cannot eat what they cannot reach. Push-ups stir the feed and bring fresh feed under the cows’ noses. This allows more submissive cows to have similar ration consistency and improved DMI.

More frequent feed push-ups, and the subsequent increase in meals consumed, also improve rumen health and milk components. Research conducted by Dr. Trevor DeVries, University of Guelph, showed a corre-

In addition, more frequent feed pushups make feed available when cows come back from the parlor, which can increase their standing time and allow teat canals to close, reducing the risk for mastitis. Cows that do not have to reach aggressively for feed have less pressure on the front claws of their feet and necks, which can cause long-term challenges to performance and longevity. The same can be said with feed push-ups in heifer lots, especially if competition at the bunk is tight.

Perhaps one of the most overlooked and biggest opportunities on many farms is to push up feed within the rst 1-2 hours following fresh feed delivery. Cows are most competitive at the bunk when fresh feed is delivered. They consume a large meal and move around a sizeable portion of the feed during this time. Thus, a push-up relatively soon after feed delivery is advantageous.

Create a set schedule for feed push-ups throughout the day and, ide-

One of the simpler technologies we can use in observing bunk behavior and feed push-ups is a time-lapse camera, which allows us to observe cows at a distance. The cameras al-

Increasing the frequency of feed push-ups can pay dividends on many farms. Work with your feed and management team to develop a workable schedule to allow for quality feed to be in front of cows at all times. Your cows will reward you with improved health and productivity.

Barry Visser is a nutritionist for Vita Plus.

JD

JD

Family names

Naming calves around our farm is considered a family sport. A mass email goes out to all of the kids and adopted family members for their most creative suggestions for the next generation of Ralma cows. Many options are obvious while others are from left-eld, but regardless, the selection of the perfect name can be a daunting task requiring many brains.

With all of the effort and thought which goes into naming a calf, you would think an engraved name tag or necklace would be in order. Nope. Once a calf is named, it is quickly forgotten, and she is referred to by her ear tag number. For those of us that are cow blind, numbers are the only way to tell which animal you need to pull in from the lot. For some reason, the calves and heifers just don’t respond when you call them by name. Come to think of it, our dog Bailey doesn’t always come when called either. We have very independent girls around this farm.

Just Thinking Out Loud

When Mark and I were on our black ice run to Iowa a couple of weeks ago, Austin had his own heartthumping moments on the farm. It appeared that Always had a big heifer calf just before evening milking. Austin carried the full-sized calf to the nursery barn and chased Always across the yard to the milking barn. As he was putting on the last milking unit, he noticed the cow strain. He thought it was odd but kept on milking the cow. Once the milking bucket was securely catching all the colostrum for the new calf, he stood up and spotted a potential problem. There was another set of feet sticking out from the back end of the cow.

By Natalie Schmitt Columnist

When a heifer calves, her number is soon replaced by her given name as she stands in her stall with a barn card marking the spot. This can be a tricky time, because I have discovered I like a name too much. When the second or third Diamond or Star freshened, I realized my brain does not have the capacity to keep track of over 200 names. Therefore, I created a couple of perpetual lists, one for names in use and another list for potential names when inspiration hits.

We have used naming calves as a gateway for non-farm kids to meet a dairy calf. Before YouTube, TikTok and cell phone videos, I would lug my video camera to my shoulder and start shooting video while narrating the background story of the calves who needed names. I would send these VHS tapes in the mail to my sister in Illinois who would have her junior high literature students create names using action verbs, adjectives or literary themes to help name our calves. I don’t know who had more fun: the kids creating the names or us trying to follow their logic.

Over the years, we have come up with crazy family line names. Of course, anything with a mineral or gemstone goes back to Michael’s cow Crystal. We have been known to have “F” family or “T” family lines as well. Today, it seems that many of the registered dairymen have been watching the big horse races as some names now are a combination of several words, which leads me to our latest naming adventure.

All Austin could do was wait until she was done milking and quickly take her back to the calving barn where she pushed out another heifer calf. We had no clue she was carrying twins as she went full term with them. These were her third and fourth heifer calves in three lactations. Her oldest daughter, Anyway, calved a few weeks earlier with a heifer calf of her own. Now, the challenge was one to come up with creative names.

To catch you all up, Always is from Almost who comes from Almond who goes back to the nut family from Chestnut. Chestnut is from C-F Finley Choice whose dam is Christmas Fudge (C-F) and then nally our foundation cow Juror Faith. As you can see, we sometimes try to stay in a letter family line, but once that becomes too complicated, we break off using a different option.

Anyway had a heifer calf we named Anyhow whose future daughter might be called Anywho — the name option is on my list. Last year, Always had a daughter named Alike. Unbeknownst to Mark, he used the same sire on Always again, so the twins are full sisters to Alike. What cute and clever names could we come up with? It was our milker, Anna, who had the winning idea: Also and Again.

Probably one of my favorite family name lines starts with Mayday who had May I then Maybee. Maybee has had two daughters: Whynot, who had Because, and I Don’t Know (IDK). These names sound like the setup to an Abbott and Costello skit. You never know where inspiration will come for the perfect calf name.

As their four children pursue dairy careers off the family farm, Natalie and Mark Schmitt started an adventure of milking registered Holsteins just because they like good cows on their farm north of Rice, Minnesota.

Paper along with digital

Schedules and lists. That’s what parents and dairy farmers are made of. The top questions in our house are: What do we have going on today? What’s on your list for today? Who’s on the schedule?

Dairy Good Life

By Sadie Frericks Columnist

Most weeks, managing the schedules and lists to make sure everyone is where they need to be and everything gets done in a timely manner feels like a job that should have its own title. I think Chief Scheduling Ofcer sounds nice.

For us, the tools of the CSO trade are both old-school and new-age. We use both paper and digital versions for our calendar and list applications.

In the house, we have a special written calendar, — more on that in minute — and I use the Google Calendar app. When I rst got a smart phone and started using Google Calendar, I quickly learned that both the paper calendar in the kitchen and the digital calendar on my phone need to be synched frequently. It never turned out well when I wrote an appointment or event on the paper calendar but forgot to put in my calendar app, or vice versa. We’re years into this system now, and Glen frequently asks, “Is the kitchen calendar up to date?”

Our kitchen calendar is a God’s creation calendar made by Youth Group Promotions in Willmar, Minnesota. I received one of their calendars as a door prize at a baby shower when Dan was a toddler and have ordered one every year since. They’re perfect calendars for a highly scheduled family because they’re made of heavy-duty cardstock instead of imsy paper. The picture parts of the calendar are glossy photos of beautiful landscapes, but each monthly calendar grid is printed on the papery side of the cardstock. This makes writing on the calendar with a mechanical pencil both practical and tactically satisfying. I never mark the calendar with ink — I think for symbolic reasons — because nothing in a life that includes both kids and cows is that permanent.

We keep a New Holland calendar in the barn. I pick one up from our implement dealer every December. We use it more as a journal than a schedule.

Freshenings, dry offs, and other events are marked on the calendar. Every event is documented digitally in DairyComp, as well, but we like keeping a paper record; perhaps, because we always kept a similar herd calendar when I was kid and digital-only records feel too vulnerable. It’s surprising how often we dig out an old calendar to look something up, usually when we’re trying to remember who a cow’s great-granddam is, because DairyComp doesn’t keep records of cows who have left the herd.

We added another calendar category to our system: employee calendars. It took a bit of trial and error to nd an efcient method for scheduling our employees’ shifts. Most of our employees are students or have another job, so their shifts move around a bit from week to week to accommodate their schedules. I draft the schedule on a paper calendar that I print from a template. We keep this copy in the house for at-a-glance referencing. It also doubles a place to document actual shifts worked.

I share the schedule with our team through an app called Sling. For all of us, Sling has been a game-changer. Employees can easily access their shift schedules, and I’m not printing or texting schedules (two of the methods we tried before Sling). If employees need to switch shifts, it’s easy to make the change in the app.

We use the time tracking feature in Sling, as well, which makes the app even more helpful. Employees clock in and clock out on their phones. Each pay period, Sling tabulates their hours, so all I need to do is export them to our payroll program. It’s faster than the paper timesheets and spreadsheet I used prior.

Sling also has messaging and announcement features that I use to let employees know when schedules are published or there’s an open shift available due to illness, etc.

I also have both paper and digital versions of my to-do lists. Glen’s list is a nitrile version. He writes his todo’s on his milking glove. Paper works better for me for most lists. The act of writing something down makes it much easier for me to remember when my list isn’t in front of me. I usually use sticky notes, because I love crossing items off the list and then tossing the notes when everything is done. I use digital apps for lists like the grocery store and for Leedstone and Fleet Supply.

Speaking of lists, I’m going to go cross “Dairy Star column” off and move onto my next task. Until next time, I hope both your schedules and to-do lists are manageable.

Sadie Frericks and her husband, Glen, milk 100 cows near Melrose, Minnesota. They have three children: Dan, Monika, and Daphne. Sadie also writes a blog at www.dairygoodlife.com. She can be reached at sadiefrericks@ gmail.com.