July 8, 2023 Dairy Star - Zone 2

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DAIRY ST R25

Coming together to help a fellow farmer

Giving his neighbor a second chance at life

Liner donates kidney to save a friend

By Stacey Smart stacey.s@dairystar.com

VAN DYNE, Wis. – On April 6, Dan Liner gave a piece of himself to someone else. One neighbor saved another when Liner donated his kidney to Troy Stettbacher.

“It was no big deal,” Liner said. “I wanted to do it, and I would do it again.”

The Loehr family – Kurt (from le ), Sarah, Adella and Ainsley – pause for a picture October 2022 at World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wisconsin. The Loehrs were scheduled to host this year’s Fond du Lac County Breakfast on the Farm June 25 un l a re broke out on their farm exactly one week prior on June 18.

Fond du Lac Co. Breakfast on the Farm switches venue due to re

By Stacey Smart stacey.s@dairystar.com

MALONE, Wis. – A heartbreaking situation led to a lastminute change in venues for this year’s Fond du Lac County Breakfast on the Farm.

Kurt and Sarah Loehr of Forest-Ridge Holsteins near Eden were set to host the breakfast June 25 until a re broke out on their farm exactly one week prior on June 18. The re destroyed the family’s barns, leaving the Loehrs with no place to house their cows.

Liner farms with his parents, Tim and Kathy, and his brother, Mike, near Van Dyne where the family milks 250 cows and farms 700 acres. Liner barely skipped a beat at the farm following his procedure. He spent one night in the hospital and went back to work not long after, starting out with lighter chores at rst.

“I feel no different today than I did before the surgery,” Liner said. “Other than the small scars I have, I wouldn’t know any different. I have no restrictions. I’m living my life the same as before. It was a fast recovery, and everything turned out perfect.”

Stettbacher was a week or two away from needing dialysis when he received Liner’s kidney. Stettbacher’s health was deteriorating quickly from polycystic kidney disease – a genetic disorder that can cause serious complications, such as kidney failure. His dad and brothers also had kidney transplants.

“Within hours, the new kidney turned my life around,” Stettbacher said. “I could see better. Before, things were blurry.”

Even Stettbacher’s thinking had been unclear, he said, confusion brought on because of the disease poisoning his body.

Turn to KIDNEY | Page 6

Harms keep en re herd under one roof

By Danielle Nauman danielle.n@dairystar.com

CADOTT, Wis. – Bob and Ryan Harm tried several ways to accommodate their growing herd of dairy cattle before settling on a plan for building the barn that will carry their family farm into the future.

“This is efcient enough that it can be done by one person,” Ryan Harm said. “We typically have three of us doing chores, and it goes pretty fast.”

Bob

Harm said the barn was built with an eye toward the future, allowing him to con-

tinue to operate on his own when his dad decides to retire.

“We had Lely come in and look at our plans and help us make sure it was set up for an easy conversion to robots in the future,” Harm said. “We have it set up so that we will be able to easily add robot rooms while not losing any stalls and keeping our existing parlor for fresh and treated cows.”

The Harms moved into their new 121-stall freestall barn July 28, 2022. Their herd of 130 cows are now milked in a single-13 parlor, and their milk is shipped to Grassland Dairy. Harm said a milking takes about two hours, estimating that each parlor shift takes about 12 minutes.

“All dairy, all the time”™

PHOTO SUBMITTED

STACEY SMART/DAIRY STAR

Troy Ste bacher (le ) and Dan Liner discuss haylage quality June 22 on Liner’s farm near Van Dyne, Wisconsin. Liner donated a kidney to Ste bacher.

New facility provides cow comfort, labor efciency

DANIELLE NAUMAN/DAIRY STAR

(le ) and Ryan Harm stand in their freestall barn and parlor June 20 near Cado , Wisconsin. Before building their facility, the Harms were milking their cows on two farms.

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Two groups are calling on Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to release the dairy checkoff program’s nancial information. Farm Action and the National Dairy Producers Organization said these annual spending reports are mandated by law but have not been released for the years 2020, 2021 and 2022. The two groups cite the current economic hardship facing dairy farmers in its criticism of the National Dairy Promotion and Research Program.

Preparing for the farm bill dairy title Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow and House Agriculture Committee Chair Glenn “GT” Thompson have experience with dairy policy. American Farm Bureau Federation dairy economist Danny Munch said that is positive news going into the farm bill process. The Dairy PRIDE Act is one priority, “making sure that products that are milk and dairy get those terms rather than some of the alternatives,” Munch said. Dairy Margin Coverage adjustments are also being sought. Trade issues are also addressed in the farm bill. Munch said Canada’s supply management program complicates the trade relationship. “There’s really no incentive for them to follow the rules that they signed up for in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, and we don’t expect them to suddenly start following the rules and accepting U.S. dairy products into their country,” Munch said. “We’re continuing to work with the Trade Representative’s Ofce on our challenge within the trade agreement.”

Expanding access to veterinarians in rural areas

Rural communities are faced with a shortage of essential veterinary services. The Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program provides student loan reimbursement to veterinarians who practice for three years in federally

designated shortage areas. A similar program is available for medical doctors, but their loan repayments are exempt from federal withholding taxes. The VMLRP payments are not.

More cows go to slaughter

Year-to-date, nearly 76,000 more dairy cows have entered the beef chain than one year ago. In May, dairy cow slaughter totaled 249,000 head. That is 5,500 more than April and nearly 24,000 head more than May 2022. In a report prepared by Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection livestock and meat specialist Jeff Swenson, the Holstein steer market has been trading steady to higher at $157 to $159. Cows were $2 to $3 higher with the bulk of the cows bringing anywhere from $69 to $101 per hundredweight. Dairy bull calves were mostly steady to lower at $100 to $310 per hundredweight.

Precision technology at work

Technological advances are being seen throughout the dairy industry, including robotic milking systems, genomics and electronic ID tags. Holstein Association USA and Zoetis have had a relationship for nearly 10 years, working on genomics. Zoetis Vice President of Precision Ani-

MN 56378-1246.

General Manager/Editor

mal Health Dr. Jason Osterstock said the use of DNA testing offers insight into an animal’s potential contribution and value to the herd. Sexed semen, embryo transfers and in vitro fertilization are other examples of precision technology in the dairy sector. “I think we’re also going to see our ability to select for feed efciency, our ability to select for cows that produce naturally less methane; those are all going to unlock opportunities for us,” Osterstock said.

$1B-plus for broadband

Wisconsin will receive over $1 billion in federal funds to connect more people to high-speed internet. Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin supported the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment program. “No matter where you live in the state, you deserve access to reliable high-speed broadband, and these resources will help us do that,” Baldwin said. The rst 20% of funds will be awarded in 2024 and the remaining 80% in 2025.

Support for local roads

Gov. Tony Evers has signed the Local Roads Improvement Program. This program provides state support for local governments to deal with deteriorating county highways. There are also targeted investments that support agriculture.

Yara, DMI collaborate

Yara North America and Dairy Management Inc. have launched a new soil health collaboration. This work is meant to complement the Dairy Soil & Water Regeneration project and will explore the use of organic fertilizers derived from manure.

AJCA recognizes Owens

The American Jersey Cattle Association has honored Walter Owens of Frederic, Wisconsin, with its Distinguished Service Award. Owens served on the AJCA board from 2012-19 and now chairs the Junior Activity Committee for the All-American Show and events in Louisville, Kentucky.

Elite Breeder Award goes to Bomaz Farms

Holstein Association USA has honored Bomaz Farms of Hammond, Wisconsin, with its 2023 Elite Breeder Award. Bob and Kay Zwald operate the dairy farm with their son Tom and his wife Ashley and daughter Annette and her husband Steve Schalla The family has had more than 500 bulls in A.I. programs worldwide with the Bomaz prex.

Basse to chair Farm Foundation Board

AgResource Company President Dan Basse is the new chair of the Farm Foundation board. Natural Prairie Dairy owner Chris DeJong was elected vice chair and American Seed Trade Association President and CEO Andrew LaVigne is the treasurer. Six new board members were also elected: former Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns, former Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Jewell Bronaugh, The Nature Conservancy global managing director Micheal Doane, Kinder Farms co-owner James Kinder, S2G Ventures managing director Christina Rohr and Farm Credit Council President/CEO Todd Van Hoose. The Farm Foundation is an accelerator for practical solutions for agriculture.

Armstrong steps away from the microphone

After 48 years as a farm broadcaster, Max Armstrong has retired. Fortyve of those years were with Orion Samuelson at WGN, U.S. Farm Report and This Week in Agribusiness.

Trivia challenge

It takes 12 pounds of whole milk to make 1 gallon of ice cream. That answers our last trivia question. For this week’s trivia, what American ice cream company bills itself as “the ice cream of the future.” We will have the answer in our next edition of Dairy Star.

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

Specializing

Con nued from KIDNEY | Page 1

“A lot of my blood levels were way out of whack,” Stettbacher said. “I was extremely low on red blood cells, and my skin was a bluish-yellow color. I didn’t have a lot of energy. I was sick and just trying to get by.”

It was through a Christmas card that Liner discovered how bad things had gotten for Stettbacher. He needed a kidney as soon as possible.

“I always knew Troy had this disease, but then I realized how serious it was,” Liner said. “I sympathized with him. How do you ask someone for a kidney?”

After reading the letter, Liner told his parents, “I could give him a kidney. I have two. I only need one.”

“It’s like a farmer coming over and asking for tractor parts – I have a lot of those to spare too,” Liner said. “It was a no-brainer. I was in the right situation in my life with no wife or kids to tell me no. Everything just lined up.”

Previously a dairy farmer as well, Stettbacher milked 150 cows up until 2020 where three generations of his family had farmed. Now, he does custom harvesting work, and the Liners are one of his customers. Five weeks after the transplant, Stettbacher was back on his tractor and able to do spring and summer eldwork.

“I feel great,” Stettbacher said. “All my vital numbers have ip opped.”

Liner and Stettbacher live 2 miles apart and have known each other for 20 years.

“We’ve become closer friends recently with everything that’s happened,” Liner said.

Stettbacher was in disbelief when he found out Liner wanted to donate his kidney.

“I thought, why?” Stettbacher said. “I asked him, ‘Are you sure you want to do it?’ Live donor transplants are not as popular as deceased donors. Not a lot of people are willing to get cut open for someone.”

Liner’s whole heart was into the endeavor. He wanted to be the one to save Stettbacher’s life. In early January, Liner got a blood test and found out he had the same blood type as Stettbacher – O positive – even though matching blood types was not a requirement, Liner said. Liner then went through a litany of health tests.

Finding the perfect match for a kidney donor is a lot like playing the lottery. The odds of coming across the right candidate in a timely manner are anything but good. But, Stettbacher was far luckier than most, nding his ideal match within several months of sending out his Christmas card.

“It’s really hard to get a match the rst try,” Stettbacher said. “There are so many things that could be in your family’s history. We didn’t really celebrate until Dan passed all of his tests. We were nervously waiting.”

Stettbacher and his wife, Paula, have two children – Hayden and Shalome. Shalome, who is 22, also got tested as well as other family members.

“Shalome really wanted to donate her kidney to her dad, but I didn’t want her to do it,” Liner said. “She’s too young. She has so much of her life ahead of her. I was the perfect person for it.”

Liner and Stettbacher were tested on eight categories and matched on six, resulting in a better match than Stettbacher’s daughter.

“I knew this is what I’m supposed to be doing, and I wanted it to be me all along,” Liner said. “I wasn’t getting tested just to get tested. I hoped I would be a match and be the one the doctors picked. I ended up being a very good match. The closer to the genetic match, the less chance of rejection.”

The transplant was done at Aurora St. Luke’s in Milwaukee. Originally planned for late June, both men pushed to get the procedure done sooner.

“We wanted to do it off season since our incomes rely on summer,” Liner said. “Doing the procedure in June was not as good for our schedules. Not only that, I could see Troy getting sicker, and I wanted to do it sooner. If you have a sick cow, you call the vet and they come out today.”

Liner was frustrated with waiting but understood the doctors did not want two sick people on their hands.

“The doctors were worried about me, too, and they did a really good job,” Liner said.

Liner’s determination to be a donor sped up the process.

“Dan was so strong about giving,” Stettbacher said. “For some people, it takes longer to think about it. It took ve months from the time I met with the coordinator to the time of the transplant. For many people, waiting for a transplant can take an average of six to eight years while also being on dialysis. It’s a huge problem. In the future, they’re hoping to have technology to grow kidneys from stem cells.”

Stettbacher is grateful for the fresh start he was given and the fact he was spared from undergoing dialysis.

“Your body can only handle so much dialysis,” he said. “It takes years off your life.”

Stettbacher spent ve days in the hospital after the transplant and continues to have weekly blood tests. He will also need to take rejection drugs for the rest of his life.

“I will always be in jeopardy of rejection, but taking drugs is a small price to pay,” Stettbacher said. “How lucky am I to be here?”

After the procedure, his numbers drastically improved. Stettbacher’s glomerular ltration rate, which is used to measure kidney function on a scale from 1 to 100, went from a score of 13 (which is considered kidney failure) before the surgery to a score of 70 (which is considered normal) following the surgery.

“The doctor told me to go live life,” Stettbacher said. “I went from having so many restrictions in my diet to having no restrictions. Before, I couldn’t have any meat hardly. It was kind of a bland life for a while.”

Humble about his generosity, Liner is happy to have played a role in his friend’s recovery.

“I did it for Troy as well as for his family,” Liner said. “It was a tiny price to pay for a few weeks of discomfort and worth it 1,000% to see Troy like he is now and how he’ll be into the future.”

STACEY SMART/DAIRY STAR

Troy Ste bacher (le ) and Dan Liner get together for a photo April 7 before Liner is discharged from the hospital. Liner donated his kidney to Ste bacher, and within hours, the new kidney turned Ste bacher’s life around.

“It’s been a challenging time for our family, but it could have been worse,” Kurt Loehr said. “We could have lost everything. We got all the animals out in time, but the re was moving so fast. Another 10 minutes and we would’ve lost all our animals and our house. It could have been a very different ending.”

Given the circumstances, the Loehrs decided their farm was not t for hosting the event.

“My parents were devastated,” Loehr said. “They were proud of what they had started and what we built upon. They were really looking forward to this opportunity of hosting breakfast on the farm and were sad it couldn’t happen.”

Loehr and his wife and daughters, Ainsley and Adella, were also disappointed in losing out on this special opportunity.

“As much pride as we took on how the outside of our buildings look, we took as much pride inside and were really looking forward to opening our barns up to the community and showing people how we care for our cattle,” Loehr said. “We have the opportunity to care for cattle from people all across the country.”

During a time of tragedy, another farm quietly stepped up to offer a new home for Fond du Lac County’s 34th annual Breakfast on the Farm. The Diederichs family of 3-D Dairy hosted the breakfast June 25 from 8 a.m. to noon on their farm near Malone.

“The 2023 breakfast was probably the most unique in the history of the county, but it went really well, and a great time was had by all,” said Amy Ries, director of agricultural programs at Envision Greater Fond du Lac AgriBusiness Council. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the Loehrs as they continue to get through this life-changing event.”

About 2,500 meals were served during the event. Two new items at the

Guests eat breakfast June 25 at the Fond du Lac County Breakfast on the Farm held at 3-D Dairy near Malone, Wisconsin. About 2,500 meals were served that day, which included pancakes as well as ice cream from the University of Wisconsin-Pla eville.

breakfast this year were pancakes as well as ice cream from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville in three avors made especially for the day – simply strawberry, Holstein swirl and ForestRidge mint.

“We went through 45 gallons of ice cream and many pounds of cheese,” Ries said. “We are back to pre-(pandemic) numbers and happy with the turnout.”

The location of 3-D Dairy enabled the Envision Greater Fond du Lac AgriBusiness Council to maintain the same parking and shuttle service that would be coming from the east side of Fond du Lac.

“By taking that shuttle, people would still get to the farm if they had already bought a ticket,” Ries said. “It was easier to pick a location that did not involve changing the shuttle.”

Having hosted breakfast on the farm in 2013, 3-D Dairy was not new to the event, which made planning easier.

“They knew the undertaking, and there were no surprises,” Ries said. “They had the capacity and the space to host. If the breakfast had to be switched, this location made it an easy switch. The really amazing detail is that two farms offered to host if Forest-Ridge was not able to. We picked the one that offered rst.”

Sixteen volunteers sit on the Fond du Lac Breakfast on the Farm committee, and about one-third of the committee members are dairy farmers. The committee smoothly overrode the logistical challenges of switching venues in one week’s time.

“In this tough situation, it’s still about the cause of celebrating agri-

culture in Wisconsin, in Fond du Lac County, and we knew the impact of not having the breakfast,” Ries said. “It was a huge relief when the Diederichses offered to host. This whole situation has really shown the strength and resiliency of agriculture. There is always that sense of community. Your neighbor has your back, and this too shall pass.”

Ries said during the breakfast, many people asked if they could donate to the Loehrs, and Envision Greater Fond du Lac Agri-Business Council had that option available, as a recovery fund had been set up for the family.

Loehr said he and his family plan to rebuild in some aspect.

“Our kids are so passionate about the Holstein cow, and we don’t want to take that opportunity away from them,” he said. “We did a lot of chores together as a family, and it was no longer work; it was fun. We don’t want to miss out on that.”

Whatever they do may be at a smaller capacity, Loehr said, but giving their children the opportunity to show cattle and be raised in the industry is important to the couple.

“Many of our decisions to rebuild will be based on our family’s values and how we want to raise our kids,” Loehr said.

Loehr and his family are grateful for all the friends, neighbors and volunteer reghters who came on Father’s Day to help put out the re and assist with moving cattle and serving food to the volunteers.

“There were 16 re departments – dads who gave up their time to be there – and we’re thankful for all the support we’ve had,” Loehr said. “It’s been a pretty uplifting time from a tragedy standpoint how the community has come together and supported us. It lets you know there are still good people in the world.”

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STACEY SMART/DAIRY STAR

“We patterned it after a parlor we had looked at north of here,” Harm said. “We like it, and it works well for us, and it will work well with a future retro for robots. It’s nice to be able to watch the cows in the holding pen from the parlor.”

The barn’s dry cow, maternity and special needs areas are all located near the parlor.

The Harms breed all their cows to Angus and purchase their replacement animals.

“The one thing I wish we had done a little different was make our maternity area a little bit bigger,” Harm said. “There is enough room when there are just two cows, but if we have to have a third cow in there, you’d like to see them have a bit more room.”

The barn has three rows of free stalls, which are equipped with waterbeds and bedded with a mix of shavings and hydrated lime.

“The cows really seem to like the waterbeds,” Harm said. “It didn’t take long to be able to see how much more comfortable they were in here than before. People come in the barn and the cows don’t pay any attention to them; they don’t get up.”

The feed bunk area abuts the third row, and the cows are fed a total mixed ration with an overhead conveyor.

“The feed bunk is about 40 inches wide, so we don’t really have to push feed or have a feed pusher,” Harm said. “It’s always within reach, and there is never much to push up.”

At milking time, gates are closed to create the holding area, and the cows move around the barn, heading through a footbath at the far end. Gates are lowered from the ceiling to keep the rst group of cows milked separate from the last group. As cows leave the parlor, they move into the feed bunk section.

The new facility is scraped with an automatic barn scraper that the

Harms have set to run continuously.

“At rst I thought I’d only have it run like 12 times a day, but just having it run continuously keeps the barn so much cleaner,” Harm said. “It works great, because the barn isn’t set up so that cows are out of the pens enough to scrape with a (skid loader).”

The Harms broke ground on the project in late April and were relieved to have everything complete and ready for their anticipated July movein date.

Before moving into their new facility, the Harms milked in two barns.

“Chores took forever with the two barns,” Harm said. “We were never nished before 10 a.m. Now, we’re always done by about 8 a.m., unless one guy is doing it alone, and then it’s about an extra hour.”

Besides labor efciency, cow comfort was a driving factor in the Harms’ decision to build the new facility.

“We wanted to make things more efcient for us, and we really focused on cow comfort,” Harm said. “You can see the difference in the cows; they are so comfortable, so happy and relaxed.”

DANIELLE NAUMAN/DAIRY STAR Bob and Ryan Harm installed a single-13 parlor in their new barn in Cado , Wisconsin. The design allows for the parlor to have plenty of airow.

Harm said the barn has been easy to regulate as far as temperature, noting that the coldest it got in the winter was 44 degrees, and the tunnel ventilation has kept it comfortable in the hottest summer weather.

There is great airow through

Panel Fans:

Panel Fans

here,” Harm said. “The cow comfort, labor savings and efciency has been amazing. I wouldn’t ever go back to a stall barn after being in this barn for a year. It is so nice having everything here, under one roof.”

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The 40-inch feed bunk is fed with an overhead conveyor at Harm Farms near Cado , Wisconsin. The width of the bunk eliminates the need for pushing feed.

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Used Equipment

HAY & FORAGE

‘20 Anderson Hybrid X, Custom Operator Pkg

Tubeline TL5500 Inline Wrapper

Hesston 565A Round Baler

Hesston 3986 14 Wheel Rake

‘20 MF 3983 Hicap Rake, 12 wheel

Claas 10’ - 10 Rotor Rake

Miller Pro 7914 Merger, 14’

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Tonutti 12 wheel Dominator rake

H&S 12 wheel rake

MF TD1620, 2 rotor tedder

‘17 JD 835 9’ MoCo, center pivot

JD 946, hyd. swing, rubber rolls

‘14 CIH DC112 Disc Mowland

Gehl 2450, 15’ hydro swing

disc mower

‘21 Rhino 3150-15’ Batwing Mower

Haybuster 2650 Bale Grinder

‘14 NDE 2906 Twin Screw TMR

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JD 146 Loader w/bucket

TRACTORS

‘21 MF 2850, CAH, hydro, loader, ONLY 139 HOURS!

MF GC2400, 60” deck, 500 hrs.

‘21 MF GC1723, ldr., mower, 180 hrs.

MF GC1705, w/60” deck ‘18 MF 1705, 60” deck, 200 hrs.

‘18 MF 1705, 60” deck, 300 hrs.

‘16 MF GC1705, 60” deck, 500 hrs.

‘07 NH TC34D, loader, 60” deck, 700 hrs.

‘88 MF 3650 WFWD, CAH, 5,100 hrs.

PLANT/TILLAGE

‘97 Kinze 2600, 31R15”

Sunflower 4211-9, disc chisel w/ buster bar

DMI 530B Disc Ripper

JD 712 9 shank disc chisel

CIH MRX690, 5 shank disc ripper disc

JD 980 Field Cult., 44’ w/harrow

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Loftness 20’ Stalk Shredder, NICE!! ‘08 Agco 3000 Corn Head, 8R30, poly

Gehl 100 Feed Mill

‘21 Bobcat S76, CAH, SJC, 3,400 hrs.

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SKID LOADERS

‘18 Bobcat 3400 SideXSide, C/H, 6,700 miles

‘19

BOTTINEAU, N.D. – Visitors at Mount Rushmore National Memorial can indulge in a cold dairy treat that was made using a recipe that was written by Thomas Jefferson. The vanilla ice cream, which has been enjoyed by people from all around the world, is produced in Bottineau, a little prairie town located about 10 miles south of the Canadian border in north central North Dakota.

Pride Dairy was founded as Bottineau Co-op Creamery in 1930. Local farmers brought their milk to the creamery where it was bottled or made into butter. The co-op began to make ice cream in 1940. Due to the dwindling number of dairy producers in the state, the creamery stopped bottling milk in 1980 and shifted its focus to ice cream and butter.

The creamery was struggling to survive when it was purchased by Jeff Beyer in 2012. Beyer had worked at the creamery since he was 16.

Kriss and Tonya Allard bought Pride Dairy from Beyer in 2019.

“Tonya and I had operated a food distribution business called Sunrise Delivery since 2011,” Kriss Allard said. “A big part of our business was the home delivery of milk, so we were familiar with the retail side of the dairy business.”

The Allards decided to take the plunge into dairy processing despite the fact that much of the equipment at Pride Dairy was outdated and worn out.

“We could see that the creamery had a lot of potential,” Allard said. “They had great products and great people.”

Although butter is still a large part of the business, Allard said ice cream is their future.

“Our local customers told us not to change a thing, so we haven’t,” Allard said. “Our ice cream still contains 14% butterfat, just as it did when Bottineau Co-op Creamery started making it many years ago.”

cream makers. Xanterra challenged the makers to craft a vanilla ice cream made using the recipe that was written by Founding Father Thomas Jefferson in 1780. Jefferson had served the ice cream, which specically called for Madagascar vanilla bean pods, to visiting diplomats and dignitaries.

Several ice cream makers submitted their samples. In the end, Xanterra gave the nod to Pride Dairy, and their vanilla ice cream began to be offered at the Memorial Team Ice Cream Station at Mount Rushmore. Thomas Jefferson Vintage Vanilla Ice Cream quickly became one of the most popular treats sold at the memorial.

“Mount Rushmore goes through about 8,000 gallons of our vanilla ice cream during an average tourist season,” Allard said. “One of the biggest challenges was recreating the ice cream without using the raw eggs that were called for in President Jefferson’s original recipe.”

Vanilla is by no means the only avor of ice cream being produced at Pride Dairy. They offer 18 avors on a permanent basis along with a handful of seasonal avors. Pride Dairy also sells ice cream toppings, cheese and butter.

The lineup of dairy treats offered by Pride Dairy continues to grow.

“We sell ice cream in wafe cones at our ice cream shop,” Allard said. “One of our workers got the idea of making an ice cream sandwich based on our wafe cones. We will be launching our ice cream sandwiches soon.”

Like with every business, Pride Dairy has also endured its share of setbacks.

“A storm in April of 2022 severely damaged our roof,” Allard said. “As a result, our production was cut for the next seven months. But, I view every problem as an opportunity. We used that opportunity to rebuild our plant and improve its automation.”

Pride Dairy products are currently available only in North Dakota and at Mount Rushmore. That is about to change.

“We are working on a distribution agreement with Prairie Farms Dairy,” Allard said. “We hope to begin distributing our products to a much wider area here in the Midwest. Our TJ Vanilla ice cream will soon be available in many more retail outlets.”

Pride Dairy has added new equipment and will soon be ramping up its ice cream production.

‘00 Bobcat 331E, cab, 2,000 hrs.

‘18 Bobcat E50, long arm, 700 hrs.

‘16 Bobcat E26, long arm, CAH, 800 hrs.

‘18 Bobcat E42, long arm, thumb, 600 hrs.

Pride Dairy sources its milk from Prairie Farms Dairy.

Some years back, Xanterra Travel Collection, the company that manages tourist operations at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, put out a call to ice

“We are currently making about 8,500 gallons of ice cream per month,” Allard said. “We hope to double that over the next two months.”

Some of the old equipment that was used by Bot-

PHOTO SUBMITTED

Kriss and Tonya Allard stand inside Pride Dairy, a creamery they bought in 2019 located in Bo�neau, North Dakota. The Allards’ version of ice cream created using a recipe fashioned by Thomas Jefferson was selected to be served at Mount Rushmore.

soon be available at several other na�onal parks as well.

tineau Co-op Creamery continues to perform its duties at Pride Dairy.

“Our Juneberry ice cream is still being made by the Cherry Burrell V2D ice cream churn, which was manufactured in the 1950s,” Allard said.

A big boost in production is not the only news regarding Pride Dairy’s ice cream.

“Xanterra will soon be offering Thomas Jefferson Vintage Vanilla Ice Cream at Glacier National Park, Yellowstone National Park and Grand Canyon National Park,” Allard said.

intake

“They have also started selling it at The Oasis at Death Valley, a luxury resort that’s located northwest of Las Vegas.”

People are encouraged to visit North Dakota’s only remaining small town creamery. At Pride Dairy’s ice cream shop, visitors can enjoy an ice cream sundae and purchase any of a number of their products to take home.

“Everyone is excited when they walk into our ice cream shop,” Allard said. “They leave feeling perhaps a little bit guilty but also very satised.”

DHIA believers for over 50 years!

What are some of the DHIA tests you use?

We utilize the Johnes test, standard plate count, somatic cell count, and mastitis culture tests.

Which is your favorite and why? I like the somatic cell count test to see if there are certain cows that have a chronic high

How does testing with DHIA bene t your dairy operation? DHIA bene ts the dairy by being an independent source helping us make decisions regarding herd health and productivity.

Tell us about your farm. I farm here with my brother, Perry, and my sisters, Brenda and Becky. We are a second generation family farm. We raise our youngstock, nish out our dairy steers, and farm about 900 acres.

Sauk Centre, MN Buffalo, MN 763.682.1091

PHOTO SUBMITTED

Visitors eat Pride Dairy ice cream at Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The ice cream is made from a recipe used by Thomas Jefferson and will

“Boy it s hot out. I have a hard time keeping my dry matter

Westby Cooperative Creamery changes leadership

Kondrup retires after 19 years as manager

By Abby Wiedmeyer abby.w@dairystar.com

WESTBY, Wis. – Pete Kondrup has been elbowdeep in the dairy industry since he was a young high school kid working in his father’s cheese plant. After channeling that dedication to dairy as Westby Cooperative Creamery’s manager for the last 19 years, he has now handed off the responsibilities to JD Greenwalt.

Kondrup said he is proud of the work he did in his time at the creamery.

“It’s always great to work with a lot of people and see them grow (while) also giving the farmers in our area a market and being able to give people a fair price for their milk, either organic or conventional,” Kondrup said.

When Kondrup joined the operation in 2004, the

creamery was strictly a conventional dairy plant. As the organic market started to appeal to producers, however, Westby patrons were converting and forced to choose a different milk processing plant that would accept organic milk.

Kondrup convinced the board to begin producing organic products to allow their patrons to stay loyal.

“It opened up a whole new marketing world for us to say the least,” Kondrup said. “It was a tough decision for the board because it was seven conventional farmers, and not all of them were into the whole organic thinking.”

Kondrup said it was one of the biggest changes to take place in the rst couple years under his management. It is a change that has stood the test of time, since today more than half of the creamery’s patrons are or-

ganic producers. The availability of organic products also appealed to wholesale customers, which had been lacking at Kondrup’s onboarding.

Although Westby Cooperative Creamery was reaching out to new customers and encouraging them to commit to long-term contracts, many customers were ex-

cited to carry both conventional and organic products. When Kondrup joined the team, there were over

ABBY WIEDMEYER/DAIRY STAR

Pete Kondrup (right) gathers with Loren Oldenburg (clockwise, from bo�om le�), Diane Brueggen, Dave Brueggen and Brad Pfaff at the farewell picnic May 26 in honor of Kondrup’s 19-year career as general manager of Westby Coopera�ve Creamery in Westby, Wisconsin. Kondrup re�red in June, and JD Greenwalt has since taken on the role.

100 farmers depending on the creamery to provide them with a secure market. He said he enjoyed the challenges that came with that as well as working with the people internally at the creamery.

“I’ve had a lot of success with growing people within the creamery, so I’m proud of that,” Kondrup said. “It kind of gave me a challenge to do something good for a large group of people.”

operative has seen over the last two decades.

Greenwalt is especially looking forward to working with the board members, who are also member-owners.

Pete Kondrup

Westby’s new manager, Greenwalt, comes from rural Iowa and is personally familiar with how integral the agricultural industry is to strengthening people and communities.

“Being part of a community is one of the primary reasons I wanted to join the Westby team,” Greenwalt said. “To be able to partner with our board members who are the direct owners of our business, our decisions do become part of our families.”

Greenwalt brings over 30 years of experience in manufacturing, sales and customer relations. Greenwalt said he is condent that combining that experience with Westby’s award-winning products and loyal customer base will continue the trajectory of success that the co-

“Each of our contributions are critical to ensure the health of our entire coop,” Greenwalt said. “This helps me realize how personal this business is to all of our farmer-owners and employees.”

While Greenwalt realizes the dairy industry can be difcult to navigate due to its volatility, he said the future is bright for those with a stable market, such as Westby Cooperative Creamery. He said he is excited to be a part of the solution to making agriculture a strong part of the economy.

“I have seen too many families and neighbors struggle through the realities of agriculture,” Greenwalt said. “I honestly want to help enable family farms to still be a viable lifelong career choice.”

Kondrup agreed.

“A lot of farms have disappeared,” Kondrup said. “Westby continues to be successful and allow the farmers who are staying in to hopefully make some money.”

“The

CowScout system is helping us catch cows in heat earlier, even those showing more subtle signs we normally wouldn’t have seen. It’s helping us diagnose health issues earlier too, like mastitis, DAs, Ketosis, & even foot issues. Even the obvious health challenges are being caught a day or two earlier than we would have found before. We’re seeing great results with CowScout. It’s doing all the things Leedstone said it would!”

JD Greenwalt

from our side our side OF THE FENCE THE

What are the most productive methods you use to reduce heat stress?

Kristin Quist (pictured with husband Jacob)

Jo Daviess County

450 cows

Describe the facilities you utilize for your milking herd and youngstock. We have a 4-row freestall barn with sand bedding for milking cows. Dry cows are housed in sand-bedded free stalls and have access to pasture when weather is permitting. Calves are housed individually for 5-7 days. Then they go on an automatic calf feeder until weaned. Calves are raised in group pens on the farm for six months then go to a heifer raiser until two months before calving.

What are the most productive methods you use to reduce heat stress incidences in your milking herd? We have fans over all free stalls for milking and dry cows. Additionally, there are sprinklers over the milk cows in the freestall barn. Fans and sprinklers are in the holding pen as well.

What do you do to treat a cow for heat stress? For heat stressed cows, we will IV with uids and cool with fans and water as needed.

In your dairy career, what has been the best management practice you have incorporated to help animals with heat stress? We added fans over the feed aisles in the freestall barn and more fans in holding pen a few years ago, and that was a big improvement for cow cooling. We turned our fan settings down to turn on at 65 degrees. The sprinklers turn on automatically at 70 degrees, and from there they are set on a timer.

Tell us about your most challenging summer conditions and how that affected your herd. Our most challenging time in heat is our pre-fresh cows right now. They have to eat outside with an uncovered bunk. We are working on xing that this year to have a covered bunk and more cooling to provide a better environment for them to keep consistent feed intakes.

Tell us about your farm and family. My parents started farming here 50 years ago with 30 cows. Today my wife, Natalie, and I along with our ve kids own and operate the farm. We milk three times a day in a double-10 parallel parlor. We have six full-time employees. We still have three of our original employees who started with us 16 years ago. We ship our milk to Rolling Hills Milk Cooperative. Three years ago, we started hosting events on our farm to help educate consumers. We now host tours, farm camp for kids, night on the farm for adults along with a few other special events.

Morning Star Dairy La Crosse, Wisconsin La Crosse County

470 cows

Describe the facilities you utilize for your milking herd and youngstock. Our cows and youngstock are housed in sand-bedded free stalls. The cows are in two barns, and the heifers are in one. Calves are kept in huts. Our heifer barn does not have fans, but it does have curtains and is wide open to allow air ow. The cow barns have lots of fans and very good air movement. I have sprinklers along the feed bunks in the cow barns, but I have stopped using them in the last few years. I have found that it added humidity to the already humid air. We used to drop in milk and our somatic cell count would go up in summer, but since quitting the fans, things have remained steadier. Our cows remain around 100 pounds per day all throughout summer.

What are the most productive methods you use to reduce heat stress incidences in your milking herd? We do not overcrowd. We are pretty religious on only stocking 10% above capacity since there is usually someone in heat and walking around anyway. It seems to be a nice number for us.

What do you do to treat a cow for heat stress? I guess I really haven’t had any for quite a while. If we did, we would put them in the special pens by themselves and make sure they did not have to compete with other cows. They would have their own water and feed. But, we have very few incidents of heat stress.

In your dairy career, what has been the best management practice you have incorporated to help animals with heat stress? Lots of fans to encourage air movement. It can be warm air, but if it’s moving, it helps the cattle. Another thing is insulated roofs. We had one barn with insulated roofs and one without, and the insulated barn was a lot cooler, so we have since insulated the second barn. This helps them stay warmer in winter as well.

Tell us about your most challenging summer conditions and how that affected your herd. Back when I rst started, none of my freestall barns had curtains –it was solid steel walls. We had major heat stress then. There were no fans or curtains or insulated roofs. In 40 years, we’ve changed a lot, and all of our barns have been rebuilt.

Tell us about your farm and family. I’ve been here for about 40 years. My youngest son, Cameron, farms with me. Three and a half years ago, we built a new parlor. My milk goes to a cooperative called First District Association out of Minnesota, and our milk goes to Kwik Trip. It’s basically a load a day. I’m only 8-10 miles from Kwik Trip in La Crosse, Wisconsin, so it works out.

Deer Park, Wisconsin Polk County 1,350 cows

Describe the facilities you utilize for your milking herd and youngstock. We have conventional freestall barns with natural ventilation. Those cows are milked in double-9 parlor. We have positive-pressure ventilation in the robot facility and group-housed calf facilities.

What are the most productive methods you use to reduce heat stress incidences in your milking herd? Feedline sprinklers and fans are the most productive methods we have in reducing heat stress. We have been transitioning all of our panel fans to VES fans.

What do you do to treat a cow for heat stress? We will cool her down, soaking her to the hide, treat her with uids and what seems t based on signs she is showing.

In your dairy career, what has been the best management practice you have incorporated to help animals with heat stress? By far, investing in mechanical ventilation in our most recent facility, but we wouldn’t be without our sprinklers either.

Tell us about your most challenging summer conditions and how that affected your herd. This summer has been one of the most challenging so far with the early heat, high humidity and smoke from the Canadian wildres. Thanks to our investment for heat abatement in the past, and our most recent investment in smaXtec, we have been able to catch cows suffering from heat stress earlier than we’ve ever been able to.

Tell us about your farm and family. I farm with my husband, Jacob, and parents, Kevin and Roxie Solum, as well as our 20 non-family employees. We ship our milk to Burnett Dairy. Two-thirds of our herd are milked in our parlor and one-third in our robot facility.

Matt Berning (pictured with wife Natalie)

Berning Acres Menominee, Illinois

John Schaller (pictured with son Cameron)

Scott Muehlenhardt

Belle Plaine, Minnesota

Carver County

450 cows

Describe the facilities you utilize for your milking herd and youngstock. Our dairy barn is a curtainside freestall barn with a double-10 milking parlor. We have a bedding pack barn for our freshening cows. Our calf barn is a group penned setup with automatic calf feeders. Weaned calves are on a bedding pack until they are 7-8 months old and then in the freestall barn until they are brought into the close-up barn.

What are the most productive methods you use to reduce heat stress incidences in your milking herd? Sprinklers, fans and y control. The holding area has been crucial to keep the cows as cool as possible so we have sprinklers on a timer along with fans blowing over them to help the cooling effect through evaporation. Once they leave the parlor and return to the freestall barn, there are also bunk-line sprinklers on a temperature-controlled timer and fans to help cooling. Fly control is huge to keep cows from bunching together while in the freestall barn. A few years back, we installed an automatic y sprayer system which was a game changer. Once you have it programmed, it automatically sprays the cows. Very rarely do we have bunching, and we no longer have to spray the barn itself for ies.

Erin Rasmussen

Herdsperson at Spotted Cow Acres Owen, Wisconsin Clark County

420 cows

Describe the facilities you utilize for your milking herd and youngstock. The main barn is a freestall barn. Our six robotic milking pens are setup as direct ow. We have six classic DeLaval robots and two DeLaval V300 robots that were just installed June 28. Our dry cows, pre-fresh and fresh pen are free stalls; that pen is also in the main barn. The main barn stalls are all lled with sand. We have multiple fans in every group. Three large fans blow on the cows in the stalls and feed lane in every group. We also have fans with misters on them in the holding pens. The misters are turned on when the barn temperature reaches 75 degrees. On the south end of the barn, we have a curtain that is open all day and night, depending on the weather, to help with ventilation and keep the barn cool. There are 12 large fans sucking air out of the barn as well to help with ventilation. Every cow in our main barn gets a CowManager ear tag. These tags have changed the way we monitor our cows and have helped improve our herd. They have helped increase reproduction and allow us to monitor cows by watching the rumination. We used to have heifers in three barns located on the property, but now all the heifers are in one place. This barn has curtains on the north and south side that are open when the weather is nice. It also has an abundance of fans. The heifer barn is a freestall barn with mats in the stalls. Our calf barn has an automatic calf feeding system. We thoroughly clean the system once a day. There are four pens in the calf barn that are bedding packs. Two pens are for older calves that are getting weaned off milk, and the other two pens are for younger calves. The bedding pack is cleaned once weekly unless it needs to be cleaned more often. The calf barn has curtains that are open when the weather is nice, and there are fans above the feeders. There are also tunnel ventilation fans in the barn.

What are the most productive methods you use to reduce heat stress incidences in your milking herd? We use sand-bedded free stalls to help keep the cows cool and a cross-ventilated barn to help to help pull in cool air. We do not overcrowd groups. We have misters attached to fans above the holding pens to keep cows cool in holding pens, and we provide fresh, cool feed to reduce the feed heating too fast. Due to having robots, the cows are not in one area all at once, so they are spread out, which also helps them stay cool. We also clean out water tanks twice a week to provide the cows with fresh water during the warm months.

ROUND HAY BALERS

What do you do to treat a cow for heat stress? Honestly, we have very few heat stress incidences since installing the fans and sprinklers. On rare occasions we do have one, we will douse her down with cool water and get her in front of a fan along with offering her some water with electrolytes.

In your dairy career, what has been the best management practice you have incorporated to help animals with heat stress? I don't think there is one specic thing but rather a bunch of things that helps them cope with the heat. You need sprinklers, fans, abundant clean water, fresh high-quality feed and most of all comfortable stalls for them to lie down.

Tell us about your most challenging summer conditions and how that affected your herd. Probably the biggest challenge is trying to keep the tank average consistent through the hot spells of the summer. Even with all the heat-abatement tools, we still see some drop in pounds of milk especially when the heat index rises into the upper 90s.

Tell us about your farm and family. I farm with my parents, Lee and Mary Muehlenhardt, my sister and brother-in-law, Shari and Nate Gerdes, and their two kids, Kailyn and Hunter. My wife Beth is a full-time fourth grade teacher who also helps with odds and ends at the farm, and my two sons, Miles and Oliver, love to help on the farm too. My niece and nephew along with my sons are the sixth generation. We raise our dairy heifers and about 90% of our steer and beef crosses. We raise corn, soybeans and alfalfa on owned and rented ground. Our milk is shipped to Agropur in Le Sueur, Minnesota. We milk three times a day with the help of ve employees. We have a double-10 herringbone parlor with automatic takeoffs, and we use a RFID system which reads the ear tags of the cows and gives us milk weights on the cows three times a day.

What do you do to treat a cow for heat stress? We honestly do not have very many cows that suffer heat stress. Preventive care is always the best method. We do not vaccinate or move cows on hot days to prevent more stress. If we do have a cow with heat stress symptoms, we IV her with hypertonic saline solution. After that, we provide the cow with hay and access to fresh feed and water. This cow is monitored closely and tracked on the ear tag system.

In your dairy career, what has been the best management practice you have incorporated to help animals with heat stress? A best management practice that we have incorporated to help animals with heat stress is using the ear tag system to monitor activity and rumination better. We get an alert that a cow isn’t doing well before she is down, so we are able to treat her better. We saw improvement in the cows when we added misters to the fans in the barn. The cows enjoy the cool mist. The cows seem to move to the holding pen more often to get to the mister. This also means that the cows are going to the feed lane more often and consuming the correct number of vitamins and minerals. We have a highly ventilated barn due to having so many fans, so the barn stays cool in the summer.

Tell us about your most challenging summer conditions and how that affected your herd? We face the most challenges during the warmer months like July and August. Once it gets hot and stays hot, like most farms, we will drop in milk production. The most important thing to remember is to always try to keep the cows as comfortable as possible and moving through the robots and eating properly.

Tell us about your farm and family. Spotted Cow Acres was established in 2015. This is a fourth-generation family farm. We milk roughly 400 Holstein cows and raise our replacement heifers, and we ship our milk to Lynn Dairy. We sell extra colostrum, and the rest of the fresh cow milk is pasteurized and transferred to the calf barn where it is fed through automatic calf feeders. I have worked at Spotted Cow Acres for ve years. I started out at the farm doing chores part time and worked my way up to becoming the fulltime herdsman. Jared Eloranta is the owner of Spotted Cow Acres, and his father Wayne helps with just about everything on the farm. Wayne takes care of the heifer barn, calves, calf barn, maintenance on all the equipment and the main barn. Joan, Jared’s mother, does all the running for parts and bookwork for the farm. Mike, Jared’s brother, helps on the weekends by feeding cows or helping with eldwork. If eldwork ends up being on a weekday, Mike will come in the evenings and help also. We also have two part-time high school students who milk fresh cows and do daily farm chores. During eldwork time, we also have a couple individuals who help haul chopper wagons.

Wet or dry hay. Part-time, full-time or custom operations. Vermeer has the round baler you need to put up dense, high-quality bales you can be proud of.

6140

Describe your farm and facilities. We have sand-bedded free stalls and one pen with water beds. We milk three times a day in a double-12 parallel parlor.

What forages do you harvest? Haylage, corn silage, high-moisture corn and winter rye.

How many acres of crops do you raise? We raise 1,250 acres.

What quality and quantity do you harvest of each crop? We have 500 acres of hay and 700 acres of corn. We get our corn silage rst from the corn acres and whatever corn is left goes for high-moisture corn. We aim for 160180 relative feed value on alfalfa at 55% to 63% moisture for haylage. We look to harvest about 28 tons per acre on corn silage at 64% to 69% moisture.

Describe the rations for your livestock. All of our animals are on a total mixed ration. Heifers: grass hay, corn silage, mineral mix and haylage. Fresh cows: corn silage, haylage, soybean meal and dry corn. Dry cows: corn silage, dry hay and winter rye. Our rations are balanced by Chad Kieffer of Ag Partners.

Describe your harvesting techniques for alfalfa and corn silage. For alfalfa, we cut it, merge it and chop it with a Krone chopper. We harvest all of our own feed. Our cutting interval is 24 to 28 days on alfalfa.

What techniques do you use to store, manage and feed your forages? We have drive-over piles. We used to make a lot of bags, and then we converted to drive-over piles. We were making a lot more feed, and piles took less space.

Throughout your career, have you changed the forages you plant, and how has that decision helped your operation? We haven’t changed how we harvest our crops too much over my career. We started planting rye a few Turn to FORAGE | Page 20

years ago. Planting rye means we can get manure down in the summer, and we have feed for heifers and dry cows.

AMY KYLLO/DAIRY STAR

Benne (from le ), Jason, Rowan and Bronson Shea gather June 26 in a freestall barn at Shea Dairy Inc. near Viola, Minnesota. The Sheas feed high-quality forages to accomplish good milk components.

“We tried other products, and we found out: Udder Comfort™ is the one that really works. It’s the best for fresh cows, and for any type of swelling, any cow with elevated SCC or a hard quarter, mastitis, even an injured quarter,” says Brad Palmer of Pigeon Cove Farms, Warfordsburg, Pennsylvania.

“We got back on the Udder Comfort last year for its effectiveness and ease of use. Spraying fresh udders with Udder Comfort after each milking for 5 days after calving really helps our milk quality,” he adds.

Three generations are involved in the operation: Brad and Linette and their son Logan and daughter Hailey and Brad’s parents Lonnie and Debra.

They milk 440 Holstein and Jersey cows, averaging 94 pounds with SCC 140,000.

“We like using Udder Comfort in the parlor. It delivers better coverage and better results,” adds Hailey. She does herd health and breeding while Logan is mostly involved in crops and feeding. Hailey also shows Ayrshires, a breed she loves that her mom grew up with.

Describe a challenge you overcame in reaching your forage quality goals. Harvesting crops in a timely manner and facing delays due to rain.

How do quality forages play a part in the production goals for your herd?

It plays a big part. We adjust our nutrition plan if needed to obtain our production goals. If we start having issues, we recheck our samples and do a walk through on our cows to see if anything has changed. We don’t focus on our

milk as much as we used to. We focus on our components. The cows produce in the 4% to 5% range for protein and 4.2% to 4.5% for butterfat.

What are management or harvesting techniques you have changed that have made a notable difference in forage quality? We make sure our hay is cut when it is optimal for best quality feed. We make sure our corn silage is processed properly.

AMY KYLLO/DAIRY STAR

A large silage pile is ready for feeding June 26 at Shea Dairy Inc. near Viola, Minnesota. The Sheas focus on quality feed to obtain produc on goals.

hrs., #558869.............. $349,000

JD S660 2014, PRWD, Duals, 1732 hrs., 1317 Sep. hrs., #532082............ $189,500

JD S680 2014, PRWD, Duals, 2349 hrs., 1668 Sep. hrs., #531966............ $195,000

JD S780 2020, PRWD, Duals, 1030 hrs., 749 Sep. hrs., #188309.............. $409,000

JD 9870 STS 2009, PRWD, Duals, 3579 hrs., 2579 Sep. hrs., #563914 ...... $94,500

JD S780 2018, 2WD, Duals, 1215 hrs., 826 Sep. hrs., #555412 ................ $319,000

JD S690 2012, PRWD, Duals, 2312 hrs., 1645 Sep. hrs., #551148............ $149,000

JD 9770 STS 2011, PRWD, Duals, 3576 hrs., 2560 Sep. hrs., #555084 .... $116,900

JD S790 2020, PRWD, Tracks, 804 hrs., 584 Sep. hrs., #554727 ............... $509,000

JD S780 2022, PRWD, Floaters, 238 hrs., 170 Sep. hrs., #554623 ............ $569,000

JD S770 2022, PRWD, Floaters, 36 hrs., 20 Sep. hrs., #563704 ............... $546,000

JD S790 2018, PRWD, Duals, 1643 hrs., 1218 Sep. hrs., #549845............ $309,000

JD S790 2018, PRWD, Duals, 1852 hrs., 1407 Sep. hrs., #549847............ $295,000

JD S790 2018, PRWD, Duals, 1459 hrs., 1055 Sep. hrs., #549846............ $329,000

JD S790 2022, PRWD, Duals, 25 hrs., 20 Sep. hrs., #560618 ................... $639,500

JD S790 2022, PRWD, Singles, 25 hrs., 20 Sep. hrs., #560619 ................. $639,500

JD 9870 STS 2010, PRWD, Duals, 3394 hrs., 2260 Sep. hrs., #554931 .... $118,900

JD S690 2016, PRWD, Duals, 2544 hrs., 1820 Sep. hrs., #547267............ $219,900

JD S780 2018, PRWD, Duals, 1622 hrs., 1131 Sep. hrs., #276170............ $305,000

JD S770 2021, 2WD, Duals, 718 hrs., 585 Sep. hrs., #560264 .................. $425,900

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............ $549,900

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JD S780 2020, PRWD, Duals, 964 hrs., 740 Sep. hrs., #564897................ $419,500

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Reacquainted with cows

Goedes return to dairying

By Abby Wiedmeyer abby.w@dairystar.com

GENOA, Wis. – The Goedes are experts when it comes to chickens, sheep and hogs. Now they are relearning the dairy industry while building up their herd.

The Goede family welcomed attendees of the National Jersey Convention June 22 for a tour of their farm near Genoa.

Joel and Jenny Goede both grew up milking cows, but they did not reenter the dairy scene as adults until 2019.

Joel’s home farm was a dairy farm for 85 years before an accidental re burned the barn down in 1999. Joel was a teenager at the time and uncomfortable with committing to rebuilding the dairy at such a young age. So, his dad, Lorn, found a job off the farm and the family moved on from dairy farming.

When Joel took a job with a neighboring dairy farm, however, he discovered a passion for Jersey cows that took hold of him and would not let go.

“My love for Jersey cows grew,” Joel said. “It wasn’t long before I knew I wanted to milk Jerseys one day.”

Twenty years later, Joel nally returned to dairy farming with his wife Jenny and their four children by his side. Today, the family milks 110 Jersey and Holstein cows.

The road back to cows took a detour when the family built two laying hen barns, one in 2004 and the other in 2005, raised a ock of 80 sheep that still thrives and created one farrow-to-nish hog operation that they ran for 10 years before letting it go to start the dairy farm.

Having worked with Organic Valley to market eggs and hogs, the Goedes knew they wanted to keep their land certied organic and stay in the niche market with dairy as well. Their milk is now shipped to Organic Valley. They started out with 60 cows and have grown within the quota system that Organic Valley has in place.

Cows are housed in a sand-bedded freestall barn and milked in a double-8 parallel parlor. The cows utilize the farm’s 95 acres of pasture to obtain 40% of their diet by grazing from May through December, if weather allows.

Joel said the pasture provides a lot of hay to the cows.

“In a decent year with a decent rainfall, we can’t keep up,” Joel said. “But, obviously we’re not afraid to feed at the bunk a little bit to get them to produce.”

Cows have access to a total mixed ration in the freestall

barn year-round. In the grazing months, hay is taken out of the TMR to compensate for the time spent grazing. In all seasons, the cows end up with a diet that relies heavily on hay. This allows their corn to be saved for the chickens.

“We are still running about 15,000 laying hens right now, and they’re a big user of corn,” Joel said. “So, we don’t want to use all of our corn for the dairy.”

ABBY WIEDMEYER/DAIRY STAR

The Goede family – Clara (front); (middle, from le ) Georgia, Ruby and Jenny; (back, from le ) Marlene, Teresa, Lorn and Joel – take a break June 22 at their farm near Genoa, Wisconsin. The family milks 110 Jersey cows. Not pictured is the family’s fourth child, Gus Goede.

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Heifers are kept at Jenny’s parents’ home farm from 6 months old until two weeks before calving. Jenny’s dad takes care of them and gets them bred, which Joel said they are thankful for.

Joel’s father and step-mother are equal partners in the limited liability company. Lorn is the main equipment repair man and also works beside Joel. Lorn’s wife, Teresa, contributes in numerous ways as well.

“We’re so blessed to have her help every day,” Joel said. “She’s picking eggs, mowing lawn, gardening, and she still has lunch every day at 12:15 for anyone, whoever is out here.”

Jenny said one of the biggest challenges on their dairy has been relearning the dairy industry that she and Joel were out of touch with for two decades.

“We both grew up milking, but for 20-30 years, we hadn’t kept up on cow treatments, and we knew nothing about organic cow treatments,” Jenny said. “We had to start from scratch, really.”

Their veterinarian, Anne Marie Elwing, has been involved in educating the family about protocols, vaccination schedules and herd health practices. Jenny said she and Joel can both IV cows and blood test for

ketosis as well as maintain an effective post-calving protocol. Jenny said that Elwing is also conscious of their Dairy Herd Improvement Association records and stays on top of trends within their herd to help the couple make decisions in breeding and culling.

“She’s been great because she’ll come out when she needs to, but she’s also really great about teaching,” Jenny said.

The Goedes have leaned on technology to help manage their herd, using activity collars to detect heats. The herd is somewhat seasonally bred, so the collars have been helpful this spring in nding the cows that do not show heat, Jenny said. The collars have also aided in determining when a cow is off feed.

They have also just started to dabble in genomic testing. With Elwing’s help and direction from Zoetis, they have started by testing the 40 weaned heifers they have. They are hoping to gauge where the herd is at right now, healthwise. Once they have a benchmark of health, they plan to utilize data from the genomic tests to make better culling decisions and maintain a healthier herd overall.

“I’m interested in seeing ones that are known for mastitis or ketosis because we are a little limited on what we can do,” Jenny said. Even though they had to go back to the starting line when reentering the dairy industry, Jenny is condent that, with the organic milk price and solid milk market in place, their farm will be sustainable.

“The core of Organic Valley’s program is milk, so we’re excited to be a part of that,” Jenny said. “They’ve

always been about supporting family farms, and by us diversifying from eggs into milk, they’re helping us keep the next generation on the farm.”

Joel agreed.

“Organic Valley literally started in this valley a long time ago, and it’s been a great co-op to work for,” Joel said. “We’ve been pretty involved, and while everybody has their ups and downs, we’re proud supporters.”

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ABBY WIEDMEYER/DAIRY STAR

The double-8 parallel parlor was installed in 2019 when the family began milking cows at Joel and Jenny Goede’s farm near Genoa, Wisconsin. The cows wear ac vity collars that help the family monitor heat detec on.

A career of educating dairy youth

Halbach to retire from UW-Madison in September

By Danielle Nauman danielle.n@dairystar.com

MADISON, Wis. – Looking back on his 25-year career with the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Ted Halbach sees a great deal of memories and experiences, all of which he said are a privilege to have been a part of.

“I have enjoyed, without a doubt, all of the roles I have held during my time at UW,” Halbach said. “I cannot speak more positively about my experiences.”

Halbach rst came to UWMadison in 1998, taking on a role that was comprised of outreach as the Extension’s dairy youth specialist and instruction. Halbach took over teaching and dairy-judging coaching duties formerly held by Dr. David P. Dickson.

Later during his tenure, Halbach spent time as the director of the Farm and Industry Short Course program before returning to the dairy science department as a faculty instructor, teaching dairy management courses with a partial Extension appointment.

Halbach will ofcially retire from his role Sept. 1.

“I have been in the class-

room from day one; that is a role I have always enjoyed,” Halbach said. “I had the opportunity to interact with so many talented students and to watch them learn and grow as individuals, in addition to continuing to learn along the way myself.”

Taking on those roles was a career change for Halbach, who had previously operated a 500-cow commercial dairy in Arizona with his father. After his father passed away, Halbach sold the cows rather than committing to the large-scale expansion he knew would be required to continue the dairy. After that decision, Halbach said he was open to a new opportunity.

That opportunity came in the form of a letter from UW-Madison’s Department of Dairy Science, offering him the chance to apply for the position he ultimately lled.

“My wife Sandy is originally from Beloit, … and we wanted (our kids) to grow up with Midwest values like we did,” Halbach said. “To be honest, at rst I wondered if I could live in Wisconsin’s weather, but we decided to take the chance and try it. I will tell you, that rst December, it snowed so much that there were moments I wondered if I had made the

right choice.” Those few moments of weather-driven trepidation, Halbach said, were the only times he questioned the decision to come north.

For much of his career, Halbach has been closely tied to the long-standing tradition of youth dairy judging in Wisconsin – an

activity that he said is near and dear to his own heart.

“Dairy judging is such a great tool to drive the enthusiasm of our youth toward education and careers in the dairy industry,” Halbach said. “There is such camaraderie and the competitive aspect – a chance for a kid to be on a team without hav-

ing to play a sport.”

Halbach champions the youth dairy judging program because of the value it brings to the member.

“The skill set that dairy judging teaches is just amazing, and I’m not sure there is another activity like it,” Halbach said. “First, there is problem solving – you have this road map of the (Purebred Dairy Cattle Association) Dairy Cow Unied Scorecard, and you need to use that to solve the problem, which is the class of four cows in front of you.”

There are other problemsolving aspects as well.

“Then, you have to make a decision in a set amount of time, and not everyone is good at that,” Halbach said. “There is the oral reasons component that makes the member stand up and defend their placings to someone in an organized and logical manner. Youth will be graduating into a world that values the ability to communicate one’s ideas, and this is practical training to do just that.”

One thing that Halbach said has always impressed him about the dairy-judging culture in Wisconsin is the commitment made at the grassroots level.

“It really takes a village to have a dairy-judging program like we have in Wisconsin,” Halbach said. “There is such an infrastructure of coaches at the

DANIELLE NAUMAN/DAIRY STAR

Ted Halbach confers with fellow contest official Linda Behling during the Area Animal Science Day Dairy Judging Contest June 9 in Marsheld, Wisconsin. 4-H youth at the contest placed eight classes of dairy ca�le.

county level, willing to work with the kids and build that foundation, laying the groundwork for the skills they will develop. Then you have the kids who become so passionate about what they are doing.”

That grassroots commitment at all levels has paid off.

During Halbach’s time at UW-Madison, 10 Wisconsin 4-H teams hailing from eight counties have claimed the national championship while seven youth have claimed the top individual honors in the contest.

“I am so proud of the number of teams we’ve had win the national 4-H contest over the past 25 years, and it isn’t just the same counties being successful; they have been from all over the state,” Halbach said. “Many of them have had the chance to judge in Europe as a result, and what a great experience for those kids.”

Halbach’s involvement in Wisconsin’s storied tradition of dairy judging was not only felt at the youth level. He coached UW-Madison’s team from 1998 through 2010, claiming national titles in 2002, 2005 and 2010. During that time, two individuals took top contest honors as well.

While he relishes the success he has witnessed in the program, Halbach said he does not leave the position without concerns for the future of not only the youth dairy judging program but also for the dairy industry.

“In 2008, there were 13,962 dairy farms in Wisconsin and 4,414 youth en-

rolled in the 4-H dairy project; by 2022, those numbers declined to 6,533 dairy farms and 3,037 youth,” Halbach said.

“That is a decrease of 53% in the number of dairy herds and a 31% decline in the number of youth enrolled in the 4-H dairy project. The trend in youth dairy project numbers is concerning, but I don’t think we are at a point where we can’t maintain the project’s critical ma ss.”

Halbach said the dairy industry needs to build enthusiasm and support for high-impact programs targeting youth, propelling them toward both education and careers in the dairy industry to help secure its future in the state.

“I am a strong advocate for youth to pursue a four-year degree,” Halbach said. “Our youth benet both careerwise and on a personal level from obtaining an undergraduate education. We are also fortunate in Wisconsin to have the educational opportunities we do, and with UW-Madison, we have a agship university right in our backyard that possesses a world-class dairy education and research program.”

As for the future, Halbach said he plans to stay involved with the industry for which he has a lifelong passion.

“The 25 years I have spent with (UW-Madison) have been terric, and sometimes I have to pinch myself to believe it,” Halbach said. “I’d say I’ll be semi-retired, maybe with a little different commitment level, but you can bank on me still being around as a volunteer.”

DANIELLE NAUMAN/DAIRY STAR

Ted Halbach moves a heifer during the Area Animal Science Day Dairy Judging Contest June 9 in Marsheld, Wisconsin. Halbach will re re from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Sept. 1.

Tell us about your family and farm. I farm with my husband, Brian, and our children – Brianna, Gavin, Theron, Ethan and Gabriel. We rst started milking in 2014 and currently are still a part of the dairy industry. Our farm is home to 93 goats, and we milk 60. All of our nannies are named after ower names. It was something fun Brianna and I did from the very start. Anyone who comes to our farm is surprised that we know them all by name. Our milk is picked up every three or four days by Saputo where the milk is then turned into cheese.

What is a typical day like for you on the dairy? Brianna and I milk at 5:30 in the morning while Gavin feeds hay and handles any skid loader work that is needed. We milk at the same time at night. Theron helps with night milking and handles kitty feeding. Brian is behind the scenes xing anything that gets broken or any machinery issues. Milking start to nish usually takes about an hour.

What decision have you made in the last year that has beneted your farm? There have been lots of decisions with having our dairy, whether it is feed choices to best hay options or the choice to cull out weak links, which usually ends up being a favorite goat. We would keep every single one of them, but we have learned that we have to make hard decisions to be successful. It’s important we make these choices to benet our farm nancially. The fact that we don’t raise our own hay or any crops makes us mindful of expenses. If we were to pick a decision that beneted our farm the most this year, it would be at kidding season when we pulled all the kids from their mothers due to the safety. We also decided to put kids on nipple pails directly instead of bottle feeding. This cut down on our feeding time. In case we had any that didn’t take to the pail right away, they did receive more milk with a bottle until they gured out feeding on the pail. All kids are

given colostrum for three days, and then they are fed goat milk.

Tell us about your most memorable experience working on the farm. When we realized that the farm was teaching the kids life lessons and problem-solving skills. We make a great team. For example, this year during kidding season, one of our favorite goats decided to try to labor two kids at the exact same time. We walked in, saw the situation and knew we needed to act fast. Gavin and Brianna went to outsource help from a neighbor, and Angela stayed back with Fern, the nanny. Angela knew that the time was of the essence and something just made her react fast. She repositioned the kids, and by the time Gavin and Brianna got back, Fern had two healthy kids lying next to her. Everything went well, and Fern was already head butting another goat. We were able to look at each other and thank God that everything was good.

What have you enjoyed most about dairy farming or your tie to the dairy industry? When things go right, it has a positive impact, and it makes you enjoy farming even though there are days that we feel defeated because of exhaustion or something not going to plan. But in the end, it all pays off.

What is your biggest accomplishment in your dairy career? Our biggest accomplishment is culling goats with high somatic cells or goats that don’t give much milk. We can proudly say our numbers have improved from the beginning, from good washing of equipment, gloves and dipping. Fresh bedding is essential for success.

What are things you do to promote your farm or the dairy industry? Our son, Gavin, did a presentation on goat milking at his school, and Saputo provided us with cheese to share. Gavin also explained our protocols during National FFA Week.

What advice would you give another woman in the dairy industry? If we were to give advice to another woman, we would include that things happen for a reason.

What is a challenge in the dairy industry you have faced and how did you overcome it? Not all animals stay on the farm forever. You need to make the best choices to better the business, which is denitely something we struggled with in the beginning. It always ends up being a favorite that throws you a curveball.

When you get a spare moment, what do you do? We like to go shing on the river. We have many gardens, chickens, ducks and rabbits, and our newest addition is an incubating system to raise our own chicks. When we are really feeling ahead of things, Brianna and I enjoy shopping with each other.

PHOTO SUBMITTED

Angela Anderson and her daughter Brianna milk goats July 2 on their farm near Cashton, Wisconsin. The pair spends every morning in the parlor together.

Crossbred beef-on-dairy calves need our attention too

A few months ago, I attended the Carver County Dairy and Beef Expo. As a new Minnesotan, it was my rst time in attendance. I would highly recommend attending in the future if you get the chance. The sessions were informative, and it was a great opportunity to network and socialize.

One of the sessions that caught my attention was presented by Tara Felix. Felix is a beef Extension specialist and associate professor at Penn State and at the forefront of crossbred beef-on-dairy research.

She presented preliminary results evaluating the impact of passive transfer on body weight at 9 months of age in crossbred calves in Pennsylvania. Calves had serum total protein measured within a few days after birth and were recorded as having either success of transfer of passive immunity (> 5.5 g/dL) or failure of transfer of passive immunity (< 5.5 g/dL). Calves with successful transfer weighed 73 pounds more than calves without successful transfer of passive immunity.

munity had on crossbred calves’ health until 1 month of age. They found calves experiencing failure of transfer of passive immunity (serum protein < 5.2 g/ dL) had greater odds of overall disease (respiratory disease and scours) than calves with successful transfer of passive immunity. This effect was regardless of sex or sire breed.

By Isaac Haagen University of Minnesota

These early studies highlight the importance of early life management of crossbred calves on dairies. However, like most topics regarding crossbred animals, research is still in its infancy and reects the still relatively new era of using beef-on-dairy animals. Beef semen sales continue to rise as shown in Figure 1, with most of the growth occurring between 2017 and 2021. In 2022, beef semen sales surpassed 9 million units for the rst time. These sales increases are attributed to beef semen being used to create crossbred animals from dairy farms.

This took me on a search for other research regarding passive transfer in this animal type, and I will highlight one more article evaluating the impacts of passive transfer on crossbred calves. In the second study, researchers from the University of California looked at the impact failure of transfer of passive im-

As we continue to use more beef semen on dairy farms, it is imperative we set these animals up to be successful until they are harvested. Crossbred calves deserve the same care and attention we provide our dairy calves. Transfer of passive immunity which is achieved through an excellent colostrum management program appears to be one of the steps to ensure crossbred calves are healthy and productive until harvest.

SOURCE: WWW.NAAB CSS.ORG/SEMEN SALES

Domes c beef semen sales from 2012 to 2022. In 2012, beef semen sales were 1,669,561 units compared to 9,008,608 units of beef semen sales in 2022.

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

Joleen Hadrich jhadrich@umn.edu

612-626-5620

Les Hansen hanse009@umn.edu

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Brad Heins hein0106@umn.edu

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Nathan Hulinsky huli0013@umn.edu

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Karen Johnson ande9495@umn.edu

320-484-4334

Emily Krekelberg krek0033@umn.edu

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Claire LaCanne lacanne@umn.edu

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Brenda Miller nels4220@umn.edu

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Isaac Salfer ijsalfer@umn.edu

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Jim Salfer salfe001@umn.edu

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Mike Schutz mschutz@umn.edu

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Melissa Wilson mlw@umn.edu

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Isaac Haagen hagge041@umn.edu

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Figure 1

Family keeps farm legacy alive

Erlandsons work together on small dairy

By Abby Wiedmeyer abby.w@dairystar.com

ELLSWORTH, Wis. –When chores are done at night, Mark and Mary Erlandson sit in their lawn chairs and survey their farm. The scene consists of Guernsey cows on pasture, chickens roosting for the night and crops swaying in the breeze.

“I like farming because our relaxation is to sit here at night,” Mary said. “People don’t understand the peacefulness of just being home.”

Mark and Mary milk 26 Guernsey cows near Ellsworth with the help of their grown children, Josh and Karine. Another son, Jerad, lives nearby as well.

Having raised their children on the farm, Mark and Mary found themselves at a crossroads in 2004 when all three kids were in college and unable to help with farm work.

Mark found it difcult to manage the chores with balancing his job off the farm, and Mary was managing an in-home day care business. They made the decision to liquidate the herd

to better manage the workload.

Josh was a senior in college at the time and made it clear he wanted to continue the dairy operation after college. Mark and Mary told Josh they would calve the heifers in and resume milking if he was able to help with chores after graduating. Josh was able to get a job as a teacher in Ellsworth, just 8 miles from the farm.

“Luckily enough, the creamery would still take our milk, so we started out with six cows and then 10, and now we’re back,” Mark said. “I don’t know if (the creamery) would even do that anymore.”

Today, Josh lives in a house they built on the corner of the farm property and does almost all of the morning milking. Karine handles most of the afternoon milking. Every morning, Mark gets the cows in from the pasture and the milkhouse set up by about 5 a.m. Josh comes to milk while Mark feeds the cows, cleans the barn and feeds calves and heifers. They both manage to get all the chores done and leave for work before 7:30 in the morning.

Karine’s young daughter

attends Mary’s day care on the farm and enjoys extra time with her grandma while Karine does the afternoon milking.

The siblings switch off morning milkings every other weekend, and another part-time employee milks twice a week.

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The farm consists of 160 acres of cropland. The Erlandsons have found a sweet spot of owning equipment and hiring out custom work to get the crops planted and harvested each year. Mark owns a corn planter in shares with a friend, and all the corn is no-till planted. Soybeans are custom planted, and the neighbors custom harvest all the crops.

“We basically have a baler and a manure spreader,” Mark said. “I also still have an old M International, and I still use it.”

Cows are on pasture with rotational grazing throughout the summer. In the winter, they are fed hay and shell corn.

Mark and Mary continue their simple methods of farming as a way to honor their history and provide a unique experience for their grandchildren. Their history goes back to when Mark was just 13 years old in 1975.

At the time, Mark was helping his grandmother and uncle on their farm when he convinced them to let him take springing heifers home. By the end of eighth grade, Mark was shipping canned milk from his herd of seven cows that he housed in his dad’s old hog barn.

HIGH COMFORT MAT

ABBY WIEDMEYER/DAIRY STAR

Mark and Mary Erlandson take a break May 31 at their farm near Ellsworth, Wisconsin. The Erlandsons milk 26 Guernsey cows with the help of their grown children, Josh and Karine.

“They would stop and pick up 150 pounds of milk that I sold in cans,” Mark said. “I was getting $150 to $300 milk checks every two weeks. That’s not bad for 1978.”

Mark led his rst income tax return in 1976 when he was 14 years old.

Using Surge bucket milkers, Mark did all the milking himself, and by the time he was in high school, he was up to 13 cows. He was 16 when he decided he needed a bulk tank and purchased one at an auction that he attended by himself. He also grew his herd by attending auctions and buying the cheapest cows he could nd with which to get started.

After high school, Mark and Mary married in 1981. Mark continued milking cows while Mary started her in-home day care, which she continues to

operate 41 years later. Mark began working for the neighbor, John (Bud) Solvenson. Eventually, they purchased Solvenson’s farm and cows in 1993 and continued their dairy life next door to Mark’s parents’ farm.

With their three children growing up alongside the day care kids, farm life was a happy and chaotic time for Mark and Mary’s family. When the day care children went home for the day, the Erlandson kids would help Mark in the barn.

With a plethora of history and memories behind them, Mark and Mary credit the continued legacy of the farm to their kids.

“Without them, we couldn’t do it anymore,” Mark said.

PHOTO SUBMITTED

Guernsey cows graze at Mark and Mary Erlandson’s farm near Ellsworth, Wisconsin. The herd consists of 26 cows, which are rota onally grazed all summer.

Tell us about your family. My wife, Nancy, and I, along with my son, Mike, and my dad, Don, and his wife, Cheryl, are involved in the farm.

How many years have you been dairy farming? I have been dairy farming for 40 years, starting when I was 15 as an FFA project with 18 cows.

Tell us about your farm and how it has evolved over the years. The farm has been in our family since 1884. I am the sixth generation, and Mike is the seventh generation on the farm. We run it with my dad.

What motivates you to keep dairy farming? I enjoy the cows, and I really actually enjoy dairy farming.

What has been the highlight of your dairying career? I would say the highlight has been that we have been able to continue dairy farming. Also, we have been able to grow our beef cow herd.

What do you love about dairy farming? I love being my own boss, and I enjoy the work and being able to do this.

What piece of equipment or technology do you wish you had incorporated earlier on your dairy? We haven’t really added much of anything recently. We just keep doing what works and keep it simple. We started

using a total mixed ration 30 years ago and a manure pit in the late 1970s. We haven’t really changed much since my grandpa used to run the farm.

What has been the biggest obstacle you have faced in your dairying career and how did you overcome it? Inputs have really become the biggest obstacle, maybe even more so than low milk prices. The cost of everything going up makes it hard to keep things going.

What has been the best decision you have made on your farm? I would say switching creameries a few years ago, when we moved to Grassland Dairy Products.

Who has been an inspiration to you during your dairying career? I would say both my dad and my grandpa. I still work with my dad, and I was blessed to work with my grandpa into my 40s. They taught me so much over the years and are the reason I am a farmer.

Chris and Nancy Beebe | Bruce, Wisconsin | Rusk County | 65 cows

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Just like that, June is gone and over, and, wow, did it go fast. My National Dairy Month was lled with many dairy celebrations that have brought me so much fun and many memories. Check out some of my adventures on the road in June.

I had great opportunities to connect with the youth across Minnesota for dairy month. I traveled to BOLD Schools Summer Program in Oliva to visit about dairy farming, and we also made butter. Otter’s Day Camp invited me to join in on their Fun on the Farm theme. About 230 young campers got the fun opportunity of making butter with me or else ice cream with a fellow dairy farmer, Kathy. It was such a great day talking about dairy farming and dairy foods and even discovering our own skills to make tasty and delicious dairy foods. I also joined 4-H members from around the state via Zoom for their June Delicious Dairy Days. I shared a little bit about being Princess Kay, dairy farming and dairy foods before making a fun dairy recipe.

By

At Gopher Dairy Camp, I spent an evening with wonderful young dairy leaders. Together we enjoyed good conversations, learned about various aspects of dairy with trivia and enjoyed a meal together.

At Farm America’s Taste of the Farm, the Faribault County Dairy Social and Meeker County’s Dinner on the Dairy, there was a lot of great fun, amazing food and conversations. One of my fondest conversations was with a 96-year-old man and his daughter. Together we shared our stories and those special moments on the farm.

Hutchinson Dairy Days and Redhead Creamery’s Curd Fest held a little bit of competition with hand-milking contests. Although I didn’t take home either of the rst-place awards, there was so much enjoyment in the encounters I had at these events. Meeting new people and sharing a little bit about dairy always makes my day.

Sibley, Clay and Goodhue counties hosted breakfasts on the farm. Each were such a hit. Each had a wonderful breakfast and lots of activities for the whole family, including farm tours, hay rides, learning how to milk a cow or naming the new calf. I was able to visit with families about life on the dairy farm and being Princess Kay.

June brought me multiple opportunities on various TV stations. With Midwest Dairy holding voting for this year’s Flavor of the Fair, I was able to announce the top three contenders with the news anchors and viewers of both WCCO and Fox 9. While introducing, tasting and reviewing the avors, we also chatted about my year as Princess Kay and how dedicated our farmers truly are. I also was able to join Twin Cities Live, and, along with the help of Coborn’s, we were able to cook up unique and tasty cheeseburgers, a great summer meal incorporating dairy.

Norman County welcomed me for the Norman County Fair in Ada. I was stationed in the youth education building with Dolly the cow, visiting with all those passing through.

Stopping by Commons on Marice and Brookstone Manor were both fun adventures where I enjoyed visiting with the residents. I was able to share my story on the farm as well as being Princess Kay. It is so rewarding to hear residents’ stories about being on the farm as well, especially over a delicious dairy snack.

The dairy celebrations will continue into July as it is National Ice Cream Month. Ice cream has always been an addition to all of the tiny celebrations in my life. Scoop up your favorite avor of ice cream to celebrate your time in the barn, in the eld or for a refreshing treat to cool down with on a summer day.

Princess Kay of the Milky Way Rachel Rynda serves as the Minnesota dairy community’s goodwill ambassador. Rynda grew up in Montgomery, Minnesota, on her family’s dairy farm. She attends University of WisconsinRiver Falls, studying agriculture business with a minor in dairy science, with plans to assist farmers with their nances. She enjoys participating in sports and singing in church with her dad.

Princess Kay is active doing school visits, representing dairy farmers at the Fuel Up To Play 60 activities in conjunction with the Minnesota Vikings and sharing the importance of dairy farming and dairy foods at appearances across Minnesota.

Rachel Rynda

69th Princess Kay of the Milky Way

On the Road with Princess Kay

Take a day to do something dairy

The sunsets the past week have been beautiful. The haze that was lingering in the air, clouding the sun, created a stunning, uorescent orange. As the days progressed and the smell of the smoke from the res from Canada was more noticeable, it reminded me of camping when you can’t get away from the other campers’ smoke.

in Wisconsin and throughout the world. Because the publication was able to travel to readers far away, Hoard’s Dairyman was very inuential in bringing more dairy farmers to Wisconsin. Along with farmers came cheesemakers, brewers of beer and other items that Wisconsin is now famous for.

shrine. If you make plans ahead of time, you can reserve a tour at the Hoard’s Dairyman Farm.

By Tina Hinchley Farmer & Columnist

Tuesday, I received air quality warnings on my phone. The prediction was that Wednesday was going to be the worst day of the week. Wednesday morning, I got a text message that the group that would be joining us needed to cancel. The group would reschedule for the following week, but now we had an open day, so we needed to do a day trip to do something off the farm.

With the air quality issue, we quickly made plans to head to the Hoard Historical Museum, home of the National Dairy Shrine in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin. We wanted to see all of the dairy information and history as well as learn more about someone local. It has been many years since our last visit. The museum had air conditioning, and it was free, but we put money in the donation box.

I often tell my visitors who are looking for other things to do in the area to head to the museum. It is full of history about dairy farming but also about an amazing and inuential person named William D. Hoard. There is also an area in the museum dedicated to Abe Lincoln, as W. D. Hoard was an admirer, and great displays of the early dairy farming life and also of the Native Americans who lived in the Koshkonong area.

The museum is actually an addition to the home in which Hoard’s wife Agnes and their three children lived. The rooms appear to be just as they had been back in the 1890s. There are many rooms and different oors to visit, so give yourself enough time to see it all. I was told the displays also change, so come back again.

Most dairy farmers know of the name because of the publication, Hoard’s Dairyman. W.D. Hoard was a newspaper publisher, politician and agriculture advocate and also served as a governor of Wisconsin. He has been called the father of modern dairying. His advocacy for scientic agriculture and the expansion of dairy farming changed the economy. He promoted the use of silos and alfalfa for cattle feed, encouraging farmers to shift away from growing wheat. He also pushed for agricultural practices such as testing for bovine tuberculosis, which became a mainstream practice

In the National Dairy Shrine, there are displays that showcase dairy producers, scientists, students, educators and more who share a passion for the dairy heritage.

The story of W. D. Hoard is long, and his accomplishments are many, too many for me to list. I suggest making a trip to the museum and the

The Hoard’s Dairyman Farm and Hoard’s Dairyman Farm Creamery are on the other side of Fort Atkinson. The farm was purchased in 1899 by W.D. Hoard. Today, the farm’s operators milk registered Guernseys and Jerseys and turn the milk into award-winning cheeses.

Tina Hinchley, her husband Duane and daughter Anna milk 240 registered Holsteins with robots. They also farm 2,300 acres of crops near Cambridge, Wisconsin. The Hinchleys have been hosting farm tours for over 25 years.

Editorial disclaimer: The views expressed by our columnists are the opinions and thoughts of the author and do not reect the opinions and views of Dairy Star staff and ownership.

A fair mom

A sweet, brotherly text from Peter last Sunday afternoon prompted the title of my column. He was referring to all the time and energy the Elroy Fair took up over the course of ve days and texted me, “You did a nice job as a rst-time fair mom. Some may call you a fair mom; I’d say exceptional.”

It was truly my rst time being an involved fair mom. The past few years, I was not exactly in a place where I wanted to extend my limited energy toward something else, and Dad had the reins.

This year, when it was time to get the piglets from our dear hoof trimmer/hog raiser, Dad was in Australia, so I sent the boys to fetch their pigs and readied a pen at the farm. Dane laid claim to Bert the rst time he saw him, certain he was a champion porker. Ira and Oliver decided their love for showing pigs was in fact not love but something more akin to loathing. This left Ernie all washed up and walking ready with

no date for the fair. Enter Stella into the piggy picture. One of my favorite things about Stella is her genuine willingness to try anything. She enthusiastically added showing a pig at the fair to her list of accomplishments.

The temperature climbed, the work doubled, and the excitement was near boiling over last week as we prepared Bert, Ernie and ourselves for the fair. I entered my sewing projects and a bouquet of fresh owers. To be quite honest, I was just as excited as an adult as I remember being as a youngster. Cora entered a drawing of a cow in the show ring being watched by a full crowd, and Henry entered a small collection of his favorite Ertl toys.

For the pig show Friday morning, the mercury was already creeping up by 9 a.m. Stella and Ernie did a fabulous job for their rst time walking in the ring. If she had nerves, she didn’t show them. She

made sure to not get between Ernie and the judge. With her long-legged strides, Stella kept up to him when that four-legged sprinter decided to speed up. If you had been there watching the show, you would have thought Ernie knew exactly when his time was up. As the judge placed the pair fth in the class, Ernie turned around and dove under the gate and left the ring. Watching a 244-pound pig scurry under a gate is a sight to behold. Stella found the proper opening and made it out in time to regain control of him.

By Jacqui Davison Columnist

Dane and Bert were in the next class of barrows, as Bert weighed 277 pounds. They did an excellent job in the ring. Bert did not even pause too much to attempt to eat anything bizarre. (He had been known to chomp on a rock or two.) They were a perfect match – Dane being so calm and attentive and Bert walking like he knew this was his time to shine. The judge placed them rst in their class. When they had to come back out against all the other barrows, Bert wowed the judge yet again, and Dane smiled and shook his hand in appreciation and amazement. After the top gilt was named, Bert was cajoled back to the arena, this time competing against his sister. His sister and Landon DeWitt received grand champion placement, while Bert and Dane graciously accepted second place. Having the reserve grand champion market hog was exciting for Dane, and he was so thrilled to see Landon win with his pig.

Bert and Ernie were not done yet. Brynn (Stella’s younger sister) and Cora walked them for the pee-wee showmanship class. They answered questions from the judge and grinned from ear to ear as they were handed their trophies, thus securing at least two more pig showers for the future.

On our trips to and from Elroy in the van, Cora was watching “Charlotte’s Web.” As if being at the Elroy Fair wasn’t enough to put me over the edge with feelings, listening to that sealed the deal. Cora was so perturbed that we didn’t give Bert and Ernie buttermilk baths before their show that I had to promise her we would try that with our next pigs.

The auction on Saturday evening of the fair is something you have to experience to understand. The sheer loveliness of a business buying two champion roaster chickens for over $400 is best felt in real life. Watching Stella bring Ernie in and be on high alert, lest he make a break for it again, and grin for her rst fair auction picture lled my cup of joy. Then when Dane strode in with Bert, my cup ofcially ran over. The crowd cheered and hooted, and Dane smiled in his humble, unassuming way as he was shocked at the price Bert was bringing. There may have been a few of us who got some wayward sawdust in our eyes causing them to tear up.

Between Henry’s, Cora’s and my entries, we got all the colors. Stella is all in for next year. Her grandparents never thought they would see the day one of their grandkids would show a pig but have resigned themselves to thinking this may not be a one-off type of event.

A special thank you to everyone who works nonstop to make the Elroy Fair such a wonderful place to show at and attend. The words the judge wrote on Cora’s entry tag for her drawing hit me in a way that was likely not intended.

“Good job of lling up the whole page!”

I’ve decided this is a great motto for a way to live life. We only get one page. We should do a good job of lling it up as bright and beautiful as we choose to. Dane and Stella both wholeheartedly said that even if they wouldn’t have placed at all, it would have been well worth the work. Lastly, to all the exceptional fair moms out there, you are amazing.

Jacqui and her family milk 800 cows and farm 1,200 acres of crops in the northeastern corner of Vernon County, Wisconsin. Her children, Ira, Dane, Henry and Cora, help her on the farm while her husband, Keith, works on a grain farm. If she’s not in the barn, she’s probably in the kitchen, trailing after little ones or sharing her passion of reading with someone. Her life is best described as organized chaos, and if it wasn’t, she’d be bored.

Ramblings from the Ridge

Calf respiratory disease, housing systems

When I entered practice in 1981, local dairy farms were just nishing the transition from housing wet calves in barns to hutches. We still had a few farms that raised calves in pens and a couple that had those small, mechanically ventilated barns with calf crates inside, but it was not long until everyone got away from group housing.

Veterinary Wisdom

About 20 or 25 years later, automatic calf feeding systems were introduced to our area. Four of our clients installed them around the same time. Veterinarians were shocked at the prevalence of bovine respiratory disease in the rst 60 days of life in those barns. It was often close to 100%. I did a non-scientic study that looked at the impact on milk production, using 305-day mature equivalent milk production, for these four farms. There was a remarkably consistent drop of about 1,400 pounds of milk for lactation one once all the group had been raised in the new barns when compared to previous times when calves were raised in hutches. All four farms discontinued use of the barns not long after.

pressure tubes as described by the Dairyland Institute. We saw much lower mortality rates in these barns, but BRD rates were still very high, often 50% to 80%. In subsequent years, some producers tried several ways to mechanically ventilate automatic feeder barns. Around the same time, we began to see group housing systems using lockups and bottle holders that typically had nine calves per pen. During the last 10-15 years, lung ultrasound was described as a diagnostic tool in wet dairy calves, and its use to diagnose respiratory disease in calves became common a few years later. Lung ultrasound is a more sensitive diagnostic tool for BRD than physical exams, so one would expect greater rates of disease using ultrasound.

By Jim Bennett Columnist

Fast forward another 10-15 years, and we began to see automatic feeder systems come back into the area. This time, producers were only putting about 25 calves in a pen, compared to 30-35 in the past, barns were naturally ventilated and well designed, and all had positive

Throughout this whole period, the only constant has been that the prevalence of respiratory disease in group-housed calves is much greater than calves housed in hutches. Surprisingly, there is still little published data on the relative risk of disease by housing system. There have been some scientic publications that try to quantitate the cost of respiratory disease in wet calves, though. For example, according to Dunn (2018), the presence of one 3 centimeter, consolidated lung lesion any time before weaning results, on average, in 1,155 pounds less milk in the rst lactation. Ollivet (2023) speculates that much of the negative effect on production is due to reduced growth rates before 60 days of life, but we do not know that for sure. Other studies have shown calves with lung consolidation were slower to get pregnant (Teixeira, 2017), were less likely to survive to rst lactation (Adams, 2016) and grew more slowly (Cramer, 2019). There are also many studies showing negative effects of clinical pneumonia in young calves.

There are a few things we do know. For one, adequate mechanical ventila-

tion of wet calf barns is difcult in cold climates. For example, according to the Dairyland Initiative website, “Natural ventilation is the preferred method of ventilation. … Mechanically ventilated facilities are not recommended for calves in climates similar to Wisconsin’s.” Visit the website for reasons, but, in short, at a minimal ventilation rate of four exchanges per hour, the inlets are so small that it is almost impossible to get good air ow and air quality throughout the barn. We also know, from the Dairyland Initiative website, that naturally ventilated barns do not achieve enough thermal buoyancy to properly exchange air because small calves do not generate enough heat. This is the main reason positive pressure tubes were developed for these facilities.

We also know that smaller groups are better. Several studies have shown increased disease incidence, mortality, nasal or respiratory scores (Godden, 2021) for groups of seven, eight or nine calves or less, when compared to larger groups. The differences in risk range from 40% to 100% higher in the larger groups. We do not know if nine calves housed in a lock-up and bottle-feeder style barn have different rates of BRD than nine calves housed in an automatic-feeder barn, however. We also do not have much published data using lung ultrasound scores for different sized groups and feeding systems in calf barns.

After all these years, it is remarkable that we do not know more because lung consolidation is so common in group housing and because it is so expensive. The total cost to the U.S. dairy industry per year must be enormous. It is also remarkable how much risk dairy producers are willing to take on when building group housing facilities because the cost of high rates of respiratory disease could easily be more than the cost of the build-

ing in just a few years. However, building group-housing buildings may be understandable, considering the difculty nding adequate labor to manage calves in individual housing. It is also remarkable that nearly every popular press article about group housing of wet calves says nothing about increased rates of consolidation or clinical respiratory disease.

Without much data, what we know about group calf housing and BRD is as follows: 1. Natural ventilation is by far the best, but in winter, calves will need clean coats and lots of deep, dry and clean bedding. Positive pressure tubes are a must. 2. Trying to keep these barns warm is a losing battle, usually resulting in remarkably high rates of consolidation and clinical respiratory disease. 3. Nine or fewer calves in a pen is best. 4. The shared nipple in auto-feeder barns may be another signicant risk factor. 5. With sensitive diagnostic tools, expect the prevalence of lung consolidation in wellmanaged automatic-feeder barns to be more than 50% on an annual basis.

So, if you are planning to build a barn with group housing, be diligent and prepared. Determine your current rates of respiratory disease and/or lung consolidation and then project rates in the new facility. Is the cost of increased respiratory disease worth the gain? You may decide that it is, but if that is the case, make sure the design is right and the best it can be with current knowledge.

Bennett is one of four dairy veterinarians at Northern Valley Dairy Production Medicine Center in Plainview, Minnesota. He also consults on dairy farms in other states. He and his wife, Pam, have four children. Jim can be reached at bennettnvac@gmail.com with comments or questions.

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Haying with barbecues

The Fourth of July is a fun holiday around our place. Our farm is at one of the highest elevations in our county, so watching rework shows – both professional and amateur – just requires some camp chairs in a pasture. Smoking steaks and a cooler of beer after milking makes for a great evening celebrating our country’s independence. For an even more impressive show, climbing the 80-foot Harvestore gets you above the trees. One year when I was a kid, I counted six towns’ rework shows visible at the same time.

We live around 1 mile from Elko Speedway. On some race nights, when the wind is in the right direction, I can hear every word of the national anthem and who won the heats. Every Fourth of July weekend since I can remember, the racetrack

has had a special night of racing followed by a rework show. It was one of the highlights of my summer, probably because my aunt and cousin from Colorado also tended to visit that weekend and brought reworks with them we could launch in the driveway while the adults constantly told us to be careful. Fireworks being illegal in the state at that time made it all the more fun.

Usually we are halfway through hay by the Fourth of July. We get all our family members hanging out over the holiday weekend to help unload small square bales. This year, we haven’t even started cutting hay as the continuing drought set the hay back, and I’m waiting for there to be a bit more out there to cut. Last weekend, we received close to .75 inches of rain, which was

Don’t just hope for the best. Plan for it.

just enough to nudge the hay into growing a bit. We make small squares to feed calves. They are easier for us to handle and portion to the calves than round or big square bales. I guess this year we will have to throw all those bales ourselves.

From the Zweber Farm

By Tim Zweber Farmer & Columnist

We haven’t started cutting hay yet, but a Jersey-cross cow we dried off the other day named Fiona felt she should lead a group of young heifers out under a fence and into one of the hayelds. I now know that there is more hay than I expected after chasing them through the eld. The hills are pretty awful, but the low spots are surprisingly tall and thick. I better keep looking for a hay merger though. There are places where even raking two rows together wouldn’t be enough to feed the chopper without it just pulling the material in and not cutting it. We used to have our hay custom chopped until maybe ve years ago, and I still haven’t purchased a merger.

We were thinking we’d plant sorghum sudangrass or millet this summer, but based on the fact that late-planted soybeans around here just nally came up this week after almost a month in the ground, I’m glad we didn’t plow up the hayeld we were planning to plow. I doubt the seed would have germinated very evenly. Because most of the grass in the pastures is either dormant or growing extraordinarily slow, we fenced in that 36 acres and have been grazing it. I already have to feed a large square bale and a half a day to the cows to supplement the poor pastures. Here’s hoping we get some rain and they come around, or we’re going to have to sell off a lot more cows. Cull prices are at an all-time high right now, so we’ve shipped 10 cows in the last couple weeks and will probably sell some more off for dairy.

I’m off to get the dry cow and heifer group reunited and put them in a pasture with more robust fences. Then, I need to start getting hay equipment ready for next week. Until next time, keep living the dream and make sure you’re careful lighting those reworks. You don’t want to have to explain how you lost a nger recreationally.

Tim Zweber farms with his wife, Emily, their three children and his parents, Jon and Lisa, near Elko, Minnesota.

Don’t Fiddle Around With Your Advertising Dollars!

Pursuing purpose, perseverance

Summer in Minnesota. We long for it. Dream about it. Count down the weeks and days until it begins during the many months of snow and cold.

We now nd ourselves in prime season, at the height of our Minnesota summer. It is a time of busyness on our dairies and in our farm businesses, in our homes and with our families.

At NexGen Dairy, we’ve been especially busy this summer. Between accompanying youth to several Minnesota dairy youth shows, working in our market garden, constructing a new heifer barn, completing the daily tasks on the

By

dairy and eldwork, we are nding the days speeding by. This season has also been especially tough with the lack of rain, summer heat and a depressed milk market. Lately, we, along with many of our peers, have discovered ourselves often running on empty at the end of a long day. In these times when we feel tired, challenged and stressed, it’s important to take stock of the small daily blessings on our dairies or the small sense of pride felt in the completion of a small task. These small, often simple things can give us a quick reminder of why we decided to become dairy farmers or work for a dairy business.

This past week, our entire team was busy chopping hay, and Megan was left to pregnancy check heifers with Adeline, Ellen’s oldest child, who is 7 years old and home for the summer. Adeline took on the task of reading the vet check list and directing Megan to the heifers that needed a pregnancy diagnosis or an ultrasound examination. She then recorded the results and any other information for each heifer on the list. Slowing down and working patiently with a 7-year-old was a small blessing. It’s easy to focus on getting things done quickly, but these moments are what we need. How many aunties are present with their nieces and get to know them as they grow up? How many interesting questions are asked by 7-year-olds about what we’re doing and

why? Throughout those moments and questions, we nd ourselves reminding ourselves why we do what we do.

Ann Voskamp, a Christian author, states it well: “The whole of life – even the hard – is made up of the minute parts, and if I miss the innitesimals, I miss the whole. These are new language lessons, and I live them out. There is a way to live the big idea of giving thanks in all things. It is this: to give thanks for this one small thing. The moments will add up.”

Our lives are an accumulation of days and small moments spent on the dairy. When we are challenged, looking for small blessings can make all the difference. A few examples of small daily blessings we cherish at NexGen are a hot cup of coffee and conversation in the barn in the morning with our father, a healthy heifer born from a good cow, a greeting from an energetic employee starting work for the day, getting up early in the coolness of the summer morning to hear the quietness or the birds waking up as the sun is rising or just watching the cows eat fresh feed that has been delivered.

A similar idea can be applied to small, simple everyday tasks. When feeling overwhelmed, focusing on the small things, on small wins, can give us something to work toward. Yes, big management decisions are important. However, when things feel too large to handle or are out of our control, focusing on small wins is extremely helpful. Admiral William H. McRaven emphasized this point further in his book, “Make Your Bed.” He notes that completing a small task at the beginning of the day – a small win – “will give you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another. By the end of the day, that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed. It will also reinforce the fact that little things in life matter.”

These little wins throughout our summer and our lives build to the pinnacle of a successful season and a life lled with purpose and time well spent. And so, we pause here in our article, amid summer, and move forward into the remaining season, focusing each day on the little things – maybe slowing down for a few minutes, reecting on the blessings we are afforded and/ or perhaps a small success of the day with our farm, with our family or in our lives.

Megan Schrupp and Ellen Stenger are sisters and co-owners of both NexGen Dairy and NexGen Market in Eden Valley, Minnesota. They can be reached at Nexgendairy@gmail.com.

Megan Schrupp & Ellen Stenger Columnists

The NexGen: Adventures of two dairy daughters

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