September 11, 2021 - 1st section - Zone 2 by Dairy Star

LOOK INSIDE FOR OUR WORLD DAIRY EXPO PREVIEW EDITION!

DAIRY ST R

September 11, 2021

“All dairy, all the time”™

Volume 23, No. 14

Reaching for the stars

STACEY SMART/DAIRY STAR

The Ebert family – (from leŌ) Randy, Renee, Whitney and Jordan – operate Ebert Enterprises where they milk 4,200 cows and farm almost 9,000 acres near Algoma, Wisconsin.

Completing the circle of life

Ebert Enterprises opens farm-to-fork restaurant By Stacey Smart

stacey.s@dairystar.com DANIELLE NAUMAN/DAIRY STAR

Randy Winch (center) is named the 2021 Wisconsin Star Farmer at the Wisconsin FFA ConvenƟon July 5-8 in Madison, Wisconsin. Winch and his family dairy farm near Fennimore, Wisconsin.

Winch named Wisconsin Star Farmer By Danielle Nauman danielle.n@dairystar.com

FENNIMORE, Wis. – Agriculture and the dairy industry have made up the fabric of Randy Winch’s life. Winch grew up on his family’s dairy farm and has set his sights on creating is his own future in the industry. The 18-yearold son of Peter and Christina Winch was named the Wisconsin Star Farmer at the Wisconsin FFA Convention held earlier this summer in Madison. “It was just indescribable when they announced my name,” Winch said. “It was so surprising and something I had worked so hard toward. All of the 10 nalists were on stage, and they started with 10th place. And, as each name that was read off and I was still standing, it was such an emotional high.” Winch was raised on his family’s Pine Grove Dairy near Fennimore with his brothers Wesley, 16, and Matthew, 14. They milk 240 cows with four robots. Winch is beginning his freshman year at South Dakota State University in Brookings, South Dakota, where he is majoring in agricultural engineering. The application process for Wisconsin FFA’s top award is a long one, starting with an in-depth written application. Turn to WINCH | Page 7

ALGOMA, Wis. – Serving farm-fresh meals to the Algoma community and beyond, Homestead Kitchen and Tap opened June 17 and is the newest endeavor of the Ebert family. Burgers made with the farm’s beef are a top seller at the Eberts’ farm-tofork restaurant located a couple miles down the road from their dairy. “For years, we’ve been talking about taking product to the consumer,” Randy Ebert said. “But we never had a goal of owning a restaurant. It’s more about completing the circle of life.” Ebert Enterprises is run by Randy and Renee Ebert and their children, Jordan and Whitney. The Eberts milk 4,200 cows three times a day in an 80-stall rotary parlor and farm close to 9,000 acres – one-third of which are double cropped. Homesteaded in 1868, Randy and Renee are the sixth generation to run the Ebert farm, and Jordan and Whitney are the seventh. Watching over the family from above is the Ebert’s daughter, Britney, who passed away in 2016 at the age of 19. Britney was the twin of Whitney and was born with hydrocephalus – an illness that delayed her learning.

Britney’s memory lives on as she remains a special part of the Ebert family. Angel wings can be found within the logos of the restaurant and Ebert Enterprises, serving as a tribute to the Eberts’ beloved daughter and sister. “Even though Britney is gone now, she shaped our family, and we miss her every day,” Randy said. “We feel super blessed to have raised our children on the farm.” Diversication is in the Eberts’ blood, and the last year and a half was lled with a trifecta of business decisions that put the family on a rapid course of living the circle of life mentality they proudly stand behind. First, the Eberts bought Salmon’s Meat Products in Luxemburg – a meat, sausage and venison shop known for its natural casing and smoked meats. Next, they built a facility for harvesting animals on the farm. And third, they opened a restaurant. “We’re blessed with a heck of a group of employees that allow us to do all of this,” Randy said. Proud to serve a local, fresh product to their neighbors, the Eberts enjoy sharing their farm for customers to serve at their table. “The restaurant allows us to have a close, personal relationship with the customer,” Jordan said. “That’s something you don’t get at the wholesale level.” The round, red and white building housing Homestead

Kitchen and Tap mimics a barn and matches the design of the Eberts’ parlor. The eye-catching establishment exudes rustic ambiance at every turn and carries the farm theme throughout as a windmill fan spins above the bar, and country décor lls the space. Pictures of cows and crops taken on the Eberts’ farm adorn the walls. A display of agricultural antiques, such as a butter churner and milk cans, tie into the homestead theme. The stamp of agriculture can be found everywhere in the form of barn doors, water tanks used as owerpots, silver Fleet Farm buckets acting as menu holders, ear tags to signify table numbers and a beer tap in the shape of a milk can. Television screens situated throughout play a video about Ebert Enterprises to help patrons learn more about the connection between restaurant and farm. The restaurant’s 99-person capacity makes it roomy enough to serve a large crowd yet small enough to feel cozy. Outside, a corn crib serves as one of the outdoor waiting areas and includes chairs set up around a re pit. People can also play games like giant Connect Four and bean bag toss while waiting for a table. “Our menu is fairly simple,” Jordan said. “We start with beef and go from there. At some point, we would like to add steaks, but we’re trying to walk before we run.” The Homestead Burger – a

Turn to EBERT | Page 6

Page 2 • Dairy Star • Saturday, September 11, 2021

DAIRY ST R www.dairystar.com

ISSN 020355 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave. Sauk Centre, MN 56378 Phone: (320) 352-6303 Fax: (320) 352-5647 Published by Dairy Star LLC General Manager/Editor Mark Klaphake - mark.k@dairystar.com 320-352-6303 (ofce) 320-248-3196 (cell) 320-352-0062 (home) Ad Composition Nancy Powell 320-352-6303 nancy.p@dairystar.com Consultant Jerry Jennissen 320-346-2292 Editorial Staff Krista Kuzma - Editor/Wisconsin (507) 259-8159 • krista.k@dairystar.com Jennifer Coyne - Assistant Editor (320) 352-6303 • jenn@dairystar.com Danielle Nauman (608) 487-1101 danielle.n@dairystar.com Stacey Smart - Staff Writer (262) 442-6666 • stacey.s@dairystar.com Maria Bichler - Copy Editor 320-352-6303 Advertising Sales Main Ofce: 320-352-6303 Fax: 320-352-5647 Deadline is 5 p.m. of the Friday the week before publication Sales Manager - Joyce Frericks 320-352-6303 • joyce@dairystar.com Bob Leukam (Northern MN, East Central MN) 320-260-1248 (cell) bob.l@star-pub.com Mark Klaphake (Western MN) 320-352-6303 (ofce) 320-248-3196 (cell) Laura Seljan (National Advertising, SE MN) 507-250-2217 fax: 507-634-4413 laura.s@dairystar.com Jerry Nelson (SW MN, NW Iowa, South Dakota) 605-690-6260 jerry.n@dairystar.com Mike Schafer (Central, South Central MN) 320-894-7825 mike.s@dairystar.com Amanda Hoeer (Eastern Iowa) 320-250-2884 • amanda.h@dairystar.com Megan Stuessel (Western Wisconsin) 608-387-1202 • megan.s@dairystar.com Kati Kindschuh (Northeast WI and Upper MI) 920-979-5284 • kati.k@dairystar.com

North America dealers. USDA launches new dairy donation program

Dairy Prole brought to you by your The $400 million dairy donation program will be funded through COVID-19 relief money. In this new program, eligible dairy organizations can partner with nonprot organizations that distribute food to individuals and families in need. “This new program is based on the Milk Donation Program but can be used for a full-range of dairy products not just uid milk,” said Jewel Bronaugh, deputy secretary, United States Department of Agriculture. “It also reimburses dairy processors for a signicantly larger portion of the cost of the donated products. Interested partnerships must apply by submitting a dairy donation plan.” The U.S. dairy industry is awaiting another announcement on updates to the Dairy Margin Coverage program. Bronaugh said the upcoming DMC changes, to be announced in September, will be permanent and will provide an estimated $800 million in additional baseline for the dairy safety net in the upcoming farm bill. Wisconsin cheese production rising In July, Wisconsin cheese plants produced more than 292 million pounds of cheese. That is 3.5% more than one year ago and a fraction of a percentage higher than June. American cheese production in Wisconsin increased more than 6%. Cheddar cheese production was up nearly 7%, Italian cheese output was up 4.4% and Wisconsin Mozzarella production was up 2.3%. Ag groups promote vaccinations More than 30 state and national farm groups are working together to support vaccination efforts in rural communities. In an open letter to members, these groups said, “Farmers make science-based decisions every day to

protect their farms and communities and should make the same decisions to protect their health.” The groups signing off on this letter include the American Farm Bureau Federation, National Milk Producers Federation, Bongards Creameries, Foremost Farms USA, Darigold and the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture.

A drought x does not hapBy Don Wick pen overnight Columnist The drought conditions in the Northern Plains are likely to carry over into 2022. USDA Midwest Climate Hub Director Dennis Todey said the moisture from recent rains are a step in the right direction, but there will be places that don’t get as much soil recovery. “We’re not going to x this overnight,” Todey said. “We need several rains over a period of time to improve these conditions.” Despite the short-term relief that’s happening in the Northern Plains, Todey said it will take a few different events over time to x the problem. In the short term, this could mean more limited surface water for livestock. “We need several rain events in the fall, and for those who need surface water, we may not be able to help them until winter until we get a big snow.” Turn to AG INSIDER | Page 5

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Deadlines The deadline for news and advertising in the Dairy Star is 5 p.m. Friday the week before publication. Subscriptions One year subscription $35.00, outside the U.S. $110.00. Send check along with mailing address to Dairy Star, 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave., Sauk Centre, MN 56378. Advertising Our ad takers have no authority to bind this newspaper and only publication of an advertisement shall constitute nal acceptance of the advertiser's order. Letters Letters and articles of opinion are welcomed. Letters must be signed and include address and phone number. We reserve the right to edit lengthy letters. The views and opinions expressed by Dairy Star columnists and writers are not necessarily those of the Dairy Star LLC.

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

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Dairy Star • Saturday, September 11, 2021 • Page 3

It’s all inside... Columnists Abbotsford

Women in Dairy: Monica Dukelow

Deforest

First Section: Page 36

Iron

Ashland

Veterinary Wisdom

Polk

Sawyer

Barron

Rusk

Flo

ren

Price

Taylor

Menominee

Jackson

g uta

O Waushara

Adams

Monroe La Crosse

Juneau

Vernon

Richland

o ag Calumet

b ne

Green Lake Fond Du Lac

Columbia Dodge

Sauk

for aw Cr Grant

Lafayette Green

First Section: Pages 1, 7

Jefferson Waukesha

Racine

Rock

Walworth

Kenosha

son

Ste

Carroll

ago

neb

Win

Manitowoc County Fair a family affair

McHenry

Ogle DeKalb

Whiteside

Zone 2

Kane

Lee

Belgium

A day in the life of the Gassers

Rock Island

Third Section: Pages 10 - 11

rson

Kids Corner: The Muellers

Second Section: Pages 16, 18

Mercer

Hen de

Garden Prairie

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

Manitowic

First Section: Pages 9, 11

Jo Daviess

on e

Winch named Wisconsin Star Farmer

Dane

Iowa

Fennimore

ng ton S he O bo Milwaukee zauk M yg ee an anito wo c

Second Section: Pages 14, 15

ie am Brown

Wood

shi

Advice for young dairy farmers

Portage Waupaca

tte

Madison

Page 30 Second Section

Shawano

Buffalo

Second Section: Pages 6 - 7

Oconto

Clark

Eau Claire Trempealeau

Fire does not stop Almost Forever Dairy

Country Cooking

Menominee

Marathon

Pepin

Thorp

Langlade

Chippewa

Dunn

Pierce

Pages 10 - 11 Second Section

Zone 1

Forest

St. Croix

From the Zweber Farm

The “Mielke” Market Weekly

Lincoln

Page 31 First Section

Page 32 First Section

Oneida

Burnett

First Section: Pages 23, 25

Page 30 First Section

Delta

Dickinson

Vilas

Ramblings from the Ridge

Beukema named National Guernsey Queen

First Section: Pages 1, 6 - 7

Bayfield

Douglas

New Richmond

First Section: Pages 37, 39

Wa sh b

Page 27 First Section

Ebert Enterprises opens farm-to-fork restaurant

un ee

Farmer and Columnist

Algoma

Dairy Profile: Jim Koch

Pages 2, 8 First Section

Ag Insider

ren

War

FROM OUR SIDE OF THE FENCE:

Where were you and what were you doing when you heard about what happened Sept. 11, 2001? First Section: Pages 15 - 16

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Dairy Star • Saturday, September 11, 2021 • Page 5

ConƟnued from AG INSIDER | Page 2

Supply chain issues impact farm equipment sector According to the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, sales are strong for large four-wheel drive tractors and combines. The one soft spot in the market has been the under-40 horsepower tractors. AEM Vice President of Ag Services Curt Blades said supply chain issues have the supply with U.S. tractor inventories down 37% and combine inventories down nearly 13% from one year ago. “Whether buying tractors, combines, trucks or pinball machines, there is pressure in the supply chain right now,” Blades said. “We continue to work hard with our manufacturers, and the manufacturers are working closely with their suppliers and dealers to make sure there are parts available.” Record ag exports anticipated USDA is forecasting a record $177.5 billion in U.S. agricultural exports for the 2022 scal year. That would be up $4 billion from the latest estimate for 2021.

New guidance available for Packers and Stockyards Act The USDA issued new guidance on how to enforce the Packers and Stockyards Act. The enforcement policy now highlights how problematic provisions of the 2020 undue preferences rule will not apply to cases protecting producers from retaliation and racial discrimination. This policy now highlights the USDA’s position that a violation of the Packers and Stockyards Act doesn’t require a show of harm to competition. National Farmers Union President Rob Larew welcomed the new guidance. Larew said it is also encouraging to see the USDA reiterate its intention to issue three new proposed rules that could strengthen the Packers and Stockyards Act. Trump administration leader to speak at DBA conference Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will headline the Dairy Business Association Dairy Strong Conference in January. Pompeo served in the Trump administration and spoke in the Wisconsin Senate a year ago. VandenBosch to exit UW CALS University of Wisconsin College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Dean Kate VandenBosch will be stepping down at the end of the academic year. VandenBosch has served as dean for the past 11 years. Previously, Vanden-

Bosch was the head of the plant biology department at the University of Minnesota. UW awards to be presented this fall The University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences is presenting honorary recognition awards to Mitch Breunig and Al Gunderson. Elton Aberle will receive the distinguished service award, and the distinguished alumni award will go to Max Rothschild and Claire Haschka Sink. Breunig hosts numerous dairy research trials on his farm. Gunderson, who is with Vita Plus, helped raise funds for the animal biologics and meat science facilities. Aberle served as the dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences from 1998 to 2005. Rothschild is a well-recognized researcher and author. Sink was part of the extension program at Penn State before moving to the private sector. Alumni group to posthumously honor ‘Badger Bob’ The Wisconsin Agricultural and Life Sciences Alumni Association will present the late Bob Kaczmarek with its Daluge Red Jacket Award. Kaczmarek served on the alumni board for nine years including two years as its president. The award is named for longtime WALSAA executive director Rick Daluge.

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Dairy groups support students GENYOUTH has received a $100,000 donation to its End Student Hunger fund from Land O’Lakes, Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin and Midwest Dairy. Fifty rural schools in Wisconsin and Minnesota will receive $2,000 grants to provide school meals in highneed communities. Trivia challenge “Instrumental to the Industry” is the theme for the 2021 World Dairy Expo. That answers our last trivia question. For this week’s trivia, approximately how many companies will exhibit in this year’s World Dairy Expo Trade Show? We will have the answer in the next edition of Dairy Star. Don Wick is owner/broadcaster for the Red River Farm Network, based in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Wick has been recognized as the National Farm Broadcaster of the Year and served as president of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting. Don and his wife, Kolleen, have two adult sons, Tony and Sam, and ve grandchildren, Aiden, Piper, Adrienne, Aurora and Sterling.

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Page 6 • Dairy Star • Saturday, September 11, 2021

ConƟnued from EBERTS | Page 1

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The Eberts operate Homestead Kitchen and Tap, a farm-to-fork restaurant, located down the road from their dairy farm. They opened the business in June. half-pound prime rib patty – and the steak sandwich made from shaved ribeye are two of the top sellers. Pizza is also a favorite along with the nacho platter. Also featured on the menu is the Brity Burger. Named after Britney, the special burger is another way the Eberts are keeping her memory alive. “An open-faced burger was Brit’s favorite,” Renee said. “She wanted to see the burger, so she would throw the bun aside.” A Friday sh fry, salads and more can be found on the menu which contains gluten-free options as well. Beef is from the Eberts, and other proteins come from Salmon’s. Cheese comes from Agropur where the Eberts ship their milk. “From beers and wines to cheese curds, we have a lot of local vendors on the menu,” Renee said. “If it’s a product we can’t tie back to our farm, we try to keep it local. Our head cook is big on homemade dishes and makes her own sauces. She puts her own touches on everything, and our menu has expanded because of her.” The Eberts raise 2,500 beef cattle from

post-wean to nish down the road from the dairy operation. All beef cattle are Angus or Simmental cross. The Eberts’ beef is also sold at Salmon’s retail store and to grocery stores, gas stations and restaurants in northeast Wisconsin. “We’ve been breeding beef for over 10 years, and in 2013, we decided to raise our own beef,” Jordan said. “We like to control our own costs, and it was also a way to add value back in. We make more beef calves now than dairy calves.” Randy agreed. “One of our strengths is that we’re structured to cashow in the toughest times,” he said. “By supplying our own beef, we remove the variability when prices uctuate. Our costs remain constant.” The harvesting of animals is now under the Eberts’ control after opening a butcher shop this past spring. The private facility is used to harvest Ebert animals only – the family does not offer custom harvesting. Cattle do not have to travel far

Turn to EBERT | Page 7

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Dairy Star • Saturday, September 11, 2021 • Page 7

Con�nued from WINCH | Page 1

Con�nued from EBERTS | Page 6 on their nal trip as the facility is located down the road from the beef operation. A member of the Eberts’ herd staff is responsible for animal selections, hauling and putting the animals down in a humane manner. “We spend our whole life taking care of animals, and we want to make sure that when their time here is done, they pass humanely,” Randy said. “We follow Temple Grandin’s model for animal handling and built a smaller version of her sweeping cattle corral design for most efcient cattle ow.” Jordan said they ensure the animal is handled to the best of their ability in its nal moments. “If we’re able to do this part ourselves, we can make sure it’s done right,” he said. “This translates to food safety as well.” The Eberts are proud of the fact the beef they serve at their restaurant never leaves the county at any point. “We’re not just talking the talk of farm to fork but are also walking the walk in that we truly control the product from crop to plate,” Jordan said. “But we don’t shove the farm-to-fork concept down people’s throats. If someone wants to know the details, we’ll tell them. But if you just want to come and have a burger, that’s awesome too.” The farm-to-table experience at Homestead Kitchen and Tap has been receivedwith open arms. “So far, we’ve been blessed with good trafc,” Renee said.

“It is a big application, similar to the prociency applications, but it gets much more specic in terms of your operation and the nancial aspects of your project,” Winch said. “Once I was named one of the top 10 nalists based off the application, I had a Zoom interview in June.” In addition to being named the Wisconsin Star Farmer, Winch was also the winner of the state dairy entrepreneurship prociency and received a gold rating in the prociency at the national level. Winch’s supervised agricultural experience centers on 20 registered Milking Shorthorns he is developing with his brothers. Since beginning his own herd when he was in fourth grade, Winch has begun to taste a bit of success as a young Milking Shorthorn breeder. He classied his herd for the rst time, netting him his very rst bred and owned Excellent cow as well as several other cows scored VG-85 and higher. Winch exhibited the champion yearling Milking Shorthorn heifer W-Pine Grove Lucky Aphrodite P, a second-generation bred and owned animal, at the Wisconsin Junior State Fair last month. “This year I tried some new things with our show heifers; things that I have learned watching and talking with other breeders,” Winch said. “Those changes really made our program better, and the results followed.” Although Winch attends

PHOTO SUBMITTED

Carisa Cleven, 2020 Wisconsin State FFA Oﬃcer, shakes the hand of Randy Winch while presen�ng him with the Dairy Entrepreneurship Prociency award at the state conven�on in July. college nearly 400 miles away and other agricultural organizafrom home, he plans to remain as tions helped him narrow down involved as he can with his fami- his choice to SDSU. ly’s farm and his herd, relying on “I rst became aware of his brothers to continue the daily SDSU at the Wisconsin FFA work with their show heifers. Convention a couple of years He also competed in the ago, so they have always been dairy cattle evaluation career in the back of my mind,” Winch development event throughout said. his FFA career and has placed After speaking with repreamong the top 10 individuals at sentatives at agricultural events, the state contest. Winch did a virtual campus tour “Being involved in dairy during the coronavirus pandemic cattle evaluation has really before visiting the campus last helped me as a breeder,” Winch fall. said. “It has helped me learn to “When I visited, I fell in love evaluate my own animals and with the campus, and they have a animals I purchase. It has also great faculty,” Winch said. “Peohelped me to determine how to ple in the ag engineering eld make the best corrective matings have had nothing but praise for possible on my herd.” SDSU’s program. Those conAs Winch decided on a tacts and experiences all helped career tract in agricultural en- me make my decision.” gineering, he began looking at Since beginning classes last schools. His involvement in FFA month, Winch has also attended

meetings for the collegiate Farm Bureau and the dairy club. He is also working part time as an insemination technician for Genex in the area. Winch was an active member of the Fennimore FFA Chapter, serving as the chapter president during his junior and senior years as well as holding the ofce of vice president his sophomore year. “I was involved in pretty much everything our chapter did,” Winch said. “I am the type of person that likes to lead by example. I wasn’t comfortable asking another member to do something I wasn’t willing to do or take part in myself.” As he developed the leadership philosophy, Winch took part in community service activities and leadership conferences. He also participated in the prepared speaking and employment skills contests. Winch won the employment skills contest and is in the process of competing at the national level, completing a cover letter, resume and job application; and preparing for a virtual interview. “FFA has given me so many experiences that have allowed me to build a solid resume,” Winch said. “When I have applied for various positions or awards, I have gotten compliments on how full my resume is, and I completely attribute that to all of the opportunities for leadership and service I have had as a FFA member.”

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Page 8 • Dairy Star • Saturday, September 11, 2021

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Our plan to promote production by smaller dairy farms Bringing rural Minnesota and the cities together

At National Farmers, our dairy policy program can be summarized in a single statement: We want to see a dairy economy in which more of the milk produced in the United States comes from smaller farms. This policy goal makes sense from the standpoint of building rural economies, from the standpoint of protecting our environment and from the standpoint of food security. To meet our goal of increasing the market share of milk from smaller farms, larger farms must produce less, and smaller farms must produce more. Instead, we see the opposite. The share of milk production by larger farms grows rapidly as that from smaller farms declines dramatically. Why is this happening? Three conditions, acting together, are causing widespread loss of smaller dairy farms. – Growth among very large farms causes surplus production that threatens both the prices and the market access smaller farms need to stay in business. – Very large farms have a cost of production advantage compared to smaller dairy farms. – Consumer demand for milk is, in the short run, fairly constant. When larger farms make more milk, smaller farms go out of business to make room in the market for the new milk. The vicious cycle of larger farms producing more milk, prices falling below production costs for smaller farmers and smaller farmers going out of business to make market space for the new milk produced by larger farms must be interrupted. This can be done by adjusting milk prices based on farm size in a way that levels the production cost playing eld. One way to administer our program would be through a national Federal Milk Marketing Order. As with our current system of regional orders, prices paid by buyers for milk would be set by prevailing rules. What would change is that, before revenues were distributed to producers, prices for all farms would be adjusted based on farm size. Such a system would build on our proven FMMO system and would not require additional on-going public subsidies to producers. We are intentionally presenting our program proposal in a general way. Final implementation will, of course, require specics that we prefer to hold for later discussion. For now, we invite comments on how we are proposing to build a dairy economy in which more of the milk produced in the United States comes from smaller farms. Contact National Farmers for more information about the plan to promote production by smaller dairy farms by calling 833-598-2947 or emailing pgarner@ nfo.org. – Perry Garner, National Farmers

I am happy to be traveling around the state again, but I am noticing a concerning recurring theme. Consistently, I am hearing conversations that reveal a growing hostility and disdain for the cities and the people living there. Widening the considerable divide between rural Minnesota and the cities benets no one, and adopting a negative or hostile attitude will only increase the threat to the agricultural lifestyle. Am I advocating that we roll over and allow outlandish regulations or ill-informed rulemaking to run rampant? Of course not, but I am concerned that both the people in rural Minnesota and people in the cities have lost sight of the fact that they are mutually dependent. There are fewer farmers every year as land and operations consolidate. Agricultural Minnesota may have less of a voice moving forward as fewer people in rural communities are directly involved. My take: The importance of becoming an advocate and a champion of the agricultural lifestyle has never been greater as each individual becomes a more signicant proportion of the total. Rather than looking for a confrontation, we should be leading the way with education. Do the majority of people living in the cities understand agriculture? No, but how are they supposed to learn? Who better to teach them than the people caring for animals and the land every day? We need to take the high road as we move forward. There are certainly people looking to hurt the agricultural community; that is not just a paranoid delusion. However, I urge you to realize that those angry and irrational people do not represent the entirety of the residents in cities. There are many people who have connections to farmland. We are lucky to have that lingering connection, and we should do everything we can to strengthen our ties and welcome people into the community that feeds them. I grew up in the cities, but I met welcoming people that brought me in, taught me the value of the agricultural world, and to this day, leave the light on and the door open. I hope you choose to remain open, inclusive, welcoming and strive to place positive education ahead of a negative vibe. Share your story, listen and stay positive. You will be surprised how many people are interested and will genuinely listen. – Joe Armstrong, DVM, University of Minnesota

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Dairy Star Newspaper welcomes letters to the editor. Every letter for publication must be 400 words or less, contain the author’s signature, address and telephone number. We reserve the right to edit for clarity and brevity. Letters can be mailed to Dairy Star, Letter to Editor, 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave., Sauk Centre, MN 56378 or e-mail: mark.k@dairystar.com.

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Dairy Star • Saturday, September 11, 2021 • Page 9

Manitowoc County Fair a family affair Generations help each other succeed in show ring By Stacey Smart

stacey.s@dairystar.com

MANITOWOC, Wis. – Whether part of a large or small show string, families came together helping nieces, nephews, children and cousins Aug. 25-29 at the Manitowoc County Fair. A community of showpeople carrying on family traditions gathered in a place where 4-H clubs help other 4-H clubs, allowing everyone to enjoy the fair and the thrill of showing. Held in Manitowoc, the fair welcomed about 100 exhibitors to the grounds with nearly 250 head of cattle to compete in the dairy show, which includes junior, open and futurity classes. Every breed was represented. “We haven’t had any Guernseys in a long time, but this year we had two,” said Lee Glaeser, the fair’s dairy superintendent for the past 33 years. “We have a really good dairy show, and the judges always comment on that. We have nice facilities and good quality animals here. Our Jersey and Red and White classes are often better than what you nd at

other fairs.” Approximately 75 junior exhibitors and 25 senior exhibitors participated in the dairy show, which also included an any other breed class for Linebacks, Holstein/Jersey crosses, etc. “Junior numbers were down quite a bit this year due to not having a fair last year,” Glaeser said. “Missing a year really hurt, but my guess is it will gradually come back. There’s a strong dairy background here, and we receive a lot of support from 4-H clubs and FFA. We promote the fair an awful lot and hope to gain momentum in coming years.” Blue Royal Dairy brought a string of 25 animals, including 20 heifers and ve cows. Many were being shown by Staudinger’s nieces and nephews, such as Madisyn Staudinger, as well as some of their classmates and friends. Madisyn also showed swine at the fair and had the grand champion hog Aug. 25. Blue Royal Dairy is owned and operated by the Staudinger family, who milk 2,000 cows near Reedsville. “We always bring a big string to the county fair,” Bri-

STACEY SMART/DAIRY STAR

Sisters – (from leŌ) Brynn Raduechel, holding nephew Mason, Ivy Voeltz, holding daughter Coryn, and Skye Lensmire, holding son, Miles – aƩend the Manitowoc County Fair to support Rockland Sunshine 4-H club. Their family has been a longƟme member of the club. an Staudinger said. “And I’m glad we can pass on the tradition of showing to kids outside the industry also.” Staudinger loves working with family at the fair and also gives kids with no farm connection an opportunity to show. He was there on show day helping prepare animals for the ring. “Everybody’s happy the

fair is back to normal this year,” Staudinger said. “The kids are super excited to be here. The fair is educational for the public, so it was unfortunate we didn’t have that opportunity to talk with people last year.” In 2020, the dairy show went on despite the absence of a fair and was the only 4-H project that held a show. It was called the Dairy Roundup – a

one-day event drawing a respectable number of exhibitors. “We didn’t separate juniors and the open class,” Glaeser said. “We combined them but recognized the juniors. We also held a futurity. Our dairy extension agent had retired Turn to MANITOWOC | Page 11

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Page 10 • Dairy Star • Saturday, September 11, 2021 WEDDINGS, ENGAGEMENTS, FAMILIES, AND MORE! Only an hour drive from Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay or Sheboygan!

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ALBANY, Minn. – Tickled pink. That is how Jason and Lynn Gerads feel about their new baby girl, Camille Rose, born July 7 at their 72-cow dairy farm in Stearns County near Albany. Jason delivered his own daughter with the help of a team of rst responders, including a Stearns County dispatcher and Freeport remen, and Lynn’s sister, Amy Boecker. Lynn had an inkling she would give birth July 7, one day past her due date, when around 5 a.m. she felt her rst contraction. She decided to go out to the tiestall barn to get ready for morning milking. “I swept up the mangers and fed ground feed and put the milkers on the cart,” Lynn said. “I was actually relieved when I felt the rst contraction because it’s just Jason and I who do chores. Throughout the pregnancy, our biggest concern was who would milk for us if I had the baby during chores?” In tune with her body and knowing how long her labor and delivery was with their rst born, Lynn thought she had until late morning before she would need to get to the hospital. Jason started milking, and Lynn called her sister who was on call to watch the couple’s 2-year-old daughter, Samantha. “Sam was a 16-hour labor, so when I called (Boecker), I told her she just had to come to the house sometime later that day,” Lynn said. “I actually thought she’d have time to go back to sleep or do other things. I was going to let Jason keep doing chores and keep him updated.” By 6:30 a.m., after a quick shower to clean up from the barn, Lynn’s contractions were stronger and the expecting mother made a quick change of plans. “I called my sister and asked her to come pick up Sam and bring me to the hospital,” Lynn said. “I thought I would keep Jason updated as my labor progressed and he could come to the hospital as I got closer to the delivery. That way, he could get done with milking and some chores.” Before Lynn’s sister arrived, she decided to take a shower, but suddenly her contractions came back to back and she was in a lot of pain. The bathroom window was open, and Jason heard Lynn screaming, so he ran to her. Boecker arrived, and they called 911. The dispatcher walked the family through the child birth as they waited for rst responders to arrive. After a quick 7 minutes on the call, shortly after 7 a.m., rst responders were at the home assisting with the remainder of the delivery. “One responder said he heard the milk pump on, so he went to the barn to make sure there weren’t any milkers underneath the cows,” Lynn said. “It was really a full-service deal.” Jason stepped back and watched the scene unfold as the rst responders cut the umbilical cord. They could not nd anything to cut the cord with, so they took a boot string from one of the responder’s shoes to tie the cord off. The newborn baby let out a cry and pinked up as one of the responders rubbed her tiny chest before placing her on Lynn’s stomach. Eight-pound baby Camille was born around 7:15 a.m.,

JENNIFER COYNE/DAIRY STAR

Lynn Gerads holds her daughters – (from leŌ) Samantha and Camille – at the family’s dairy farm Aug. 3 near Albany, Minnesota. Gerads gave birth to Camille at home July 7. both rst responders said they did not think about looking at their watches until an emergency medical technician asked what time she was born. Once mom and baby were in the ambulance and on their way to the hospital, Jason returned to the barn. “He hightailed it back to the barn to nish up chores,” Lynn said. The next day, at noon, Lynn was back home with Camille. “Things are going well,” Lynn said. “The second baby is easier because you know what is going on. She’s sleeping through the night. She’s very calm and easy going.” Lynn and Jason have been married 10 years and farm together on the site where Jason grew up. As the couple grows their family and raises their children on the farm, it is all they could ever want. “We’ve really enjoyed our time with Camille. It’s always exciting to have another baby around,” Lynn said. “I really enjoy having the girls home with me. I have friends who work in town and they talk about weekends and get vacation days, and sometimes I wonder what that would be like. But then the kids would have to be at daycare and it’s just so nice they can spend the days here with us.” Grandparents are also nearby. They help out a lot with the farm work and kids, and visit often. “Having them help is fun, and Sam especially likes it,” Lynn said. The couple’s oldest will be 3 in November, and they are looking forward to their daughters making memories as sisters on the farm. For Camille, her grand entrance at the dairy will be a memory retold for a lifetime. “My doctor has already said we should have another baby so I can experience a normal birth,” Lynn said. “A 16hour delivery and one being born in a bath tub is too much excitement. We need something in the middle.”

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The Gerads family – Jason, holding Samantha, and Lynn, holding Camille – milk 72 cows on their dairy in Stearns County near Albany, Minnesota.

Dairy Star • Saturday, September 11, 2021 • Page 11

ConƟnued from MANITOWOC | Page 9

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Taya Voeltz heads to the show ring for the Ōh and sixth grade showmanship class at the Manitowoc County Fair. Voeltz was the only member showing from the Rockland Sunshine 4-H club. just before the show, so it was kind of a scramble to get it all together. We’ve been experiencing growing pains without a dairy agent, so we even had to scramble this year a bit.” Fourteen kids are part of the Cato Future Farmers 4-H club that the Staudingers belong to, and the club exhibited the most animals of any club at the fair this year. On the opposite end of the spectrum was the Rockland Sunshine 4-H club represented by one member and one animal – 12-year-old Taya Voeltz and her Guer sey fall calf. But even though she was ying solo, Taya was not alone. “The kids put in months of preparation prior to arriving, and everyone comes together and helps out when they get here,” said Taya’s mom, Ivy. “I love that about the fair. Both groups around us are willing to help so Taya can go explore around the fair. They take turns helping each other. This is our fair family.” Ivy and her sisters, Brynn and Skye, were there to offer help and support to Taya – the fourth generation in the Kasten family to show at the Manitowoc County Fair – as they reminisced about their showing heydays. The Kasten sisters remember a time when the Rockland Sunshine 4-H club lled both sides of a section of the barn with 30 animals. Coming from a family of six children – three girls and three boys – Ivy said all six showed but four had a passion for it and continued on as they grew. “The fair is a true family event,” Ivy said. “There were a lot of kids in our family and in our club who showed

at our county fair, and we’re hoping to get back to that eventually. We have a lot of young ones coming up in the family and are looking to make it big again.” Although the club has shrunk, its spirit has not. Taya won the herdsmanship award in 2019 – an accolade given to the 4-H club with the neatest exhibit. She was the sole member showing from her club that year as well. And, she won the award again in 2021. Ivy’s parents, Bart and Jody Kasten, sold their herd last year; therefore, Taya showed an animal from the herd of Dominic Pritzl. First-time showmen – those participating in the Kiddie showmanship class for K4 through second graders – received a leather halter sponsored by the Randy Geiger family in Randy’s memory. “Randy was a big proponent of kiddie showmanship,” Glaeser said. “He helped get it going.” The supreme showman of this year’s Manitowoc County Fair was Garret Ulness. It was also a big show for his sister, Clarissa Ulness, who took home supreme junior champion and best bred and owned honors with her 2-year-old Holstein, Ragnar King Doc Angel. For the last 37 years, the Carl Hagenow family has sponsored the bred and owned award in memory of Carl’s wife. Although Carl is ghting cancer, he was able to be at the fair to hand out the award in the class of 13 participants. The supreme champion of the open show was Milkinaire Doorman Allstar – a 5-year-old Holstein. The futurity winner was Siemers Avch Haylina-ET.

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Page 12 • Dairy Star • Saturday, September 11, 2021

Grab-and-go dairy

Benton County ADA donates cooler to high school By Jennifer Coyne jenn@dairystar.com

FOLEY, Minn. – With the new school year underway, students at Foley High School were welcomed back with a new feature to their lunch program. High school students have the option to incorporate more dairy into their diets because of a donation from the Benton County American Dairy Association’s dairy farmers. “We’re excited about the fact that we’re going to reach so many kids and families, and let them know about dairy,” said Pat Boyle, treasurer for Benton County ADA. “We’re going to get them to drink more milk, and hopefully, they’ll develop lifelong habits that are passed on for generations. This could be a win-win for everybody.” In working with the school’s child nutrition director, the group of dairy farmer representatives provided an outlet for the school to have more dairy products available for students. “We are a big farm-toschool district, and milk is considered a part of that with it go-

ing from the farm to these milk cartons in 48 hours,” Cheryl Pick said. “When (Boyle) reached out asking if we could use a cooler, that gave us the chance to offer kids cheese sticks, yogurt, even salads with cheese on them.” Pick is the child nutrition director at Foley Public Schools. She has been with the department for 21 years. The cooler is located in the cafeteria and displayed in a way that students can pick and choose which foods they want to incorporate into their meals. Food options will include tried-and-true dairy products, such as milk cartons, cheese sticks and yogurt cups, as well as fruit parfaits, and sandwiches and salad with cheese included. “We’re offering grab-andgo meals that kids can use,” Pick said. “We feel our program is very nutritious because of the farm-to-school program. This will add to that by giving healthier options and meatless food options. We’re seeing more kids want that.” Pick has worked with the ADA previously, providing dairy foods to students in an

JAKOB KOUNKEL/DAIRY STAR

McKenna Funk grabs a string cheese from the dairy cooler that was donated by the Benton County American Dairy AssociaƟon Sept. 1 during the school district’s open house in Foley, Minnesota. The donaƟon will allow a variety of dairy products to be on hand for school lunches. after-school format as well as accepting a donation for the school’s graduation party. For this donation, Boyle came up with the idea after

speaking with her grandkids who are students in the Foley School District. “They told me they always want more milk than the one

carton they get with lunch; the same as the elementary kids,” Turn to BENTON COUNTY | Page 13

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Dairy Star • Saturday, September 11, 2021 • Page 13

Con�nued from BENTON COUNTY | Page 12

JAKOB KOUNKEL/DAIRY STAR

Foley school staﬀ and Benton County ADA members – (front, from le�) superintendent Paul Neubauer, cook manager Lori Landowski, dairy ambassador Heidi Montag, dairy princess Emily Schreindl and high school principal Shayne Kusler; (back, from le�) school board member Becky Howard, school board member Stephanie Rudnitski, Benton County ADA member Pat Boyle, Benton County ADA member Lawrence Thell, school board member Ken Anderson, school board member Sharon Kipka and Foley child nutri�on director Cheryl Pick – stand near the dairy cooler that the county dairy associa�on donated Sept. 1 in the school cafeteria in Foley, Minnesota. Boyle said. “In the past, we’ve donated money for the school to purchase milk, but that has always been a shortterm x. What could we do to help out more?” Boyle looked to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture which was running a grant campaign for organizations to purchase coolers for area schools. “Maybe, we could help these kids at school if we gave them a cooler,” Boyle said. “There’d be more room for the school to store milk.” Boyle approached Pick about the proposed donation, which was readily accepted as a way to improve the school’s nutrition program. The two worked with an established vendor to purchase a cooler to accommodate the school’s needs. “When I talked to (Boyle) about getting these grant dollars, she asked what I wanted,” Pick said. “I wanted it to be easy for the kids to use. I wanted it to be displayed in a good way.” Boyle agreed. “Our conversation led to this idea of putting dairy products in the cooler. Students could purchase them to go along with their lunches,” she said. “We went ahead and applied for the grant, and were able to get a cooler like (Pick) wanted for the amount of money we had to spend.” With more than two decades of experience in the school’s nutrition program, Pick understands the importance of her team’s input and community in-

volvement in developing programming to provide the best for students. The school district is known for its collaborative work with the community. “Part of our goals with the district is to make it better for the kids,” Pick said. “If I have to do it myself without collaborating with the ADA or MDA and my staff, I feel my program wouldn’t be what it is today.” As high school students begin their new school year, the latest communityled effort should allow students to embrace more dairy options in the lunch line. “The kids are always excited for something new, and they’ll give us feedback with what we need,” Pick said. “Students are starting a new school year with new class schedules, and now they’ll come to lunch and that will be different too. I think what we offer them will be very well received.” Boyle and her fellow board members are also hopeful this is a way to bring awareness to the health benets of choosing dairy foods as part of a balanced diet. “If this takes off, we can really get young people hooked on dairy and have them for life,” Boyle said. “Our dairy farmers do a tremendous job supplying us with good food. If we can reach more people, create more demand, hopefully that will help.”

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From Our Side Of The Fence Mike Steffes (pictured with wife Mariah) Johnsburg, Wisconsin Fond du Lac County 100 cows

How have you or how do you continue to commemorate the events that occurred on 9/11? Nothing special, but you really never do forget.

Where were you and what were you doing when you heard about what happened Sept. 11, 2001? I was eating lunch in my eighth grade classroom. What was your reaction? Just silence and disbelief.

If you could say something to the family members of the victims on this 20th anniversary, what would you tell them? I would say that even though I did not know them, they will always be remembered.

How do you think 9/11 changed the course of our country? Initially it did when it came to allowing people to come and go freely, but it seems we have fallen back to the type of relaxed attitude we had before.

Tell us about your farm. My wife, Mariah, and I milk 100 cows between two sites and raise our own youngstock. We run around 400 acres, which consist of alfalfa, corn, soybeans and wheat.

Doug Wallerman, pictured with his kids, Charlie and Maddie Norwalk, Wisconsin Monroe County 400 cows

How have you or how do you continue to commemorate the events that occurred on 9/11? I don’t know that we do anything in particular to mark the day other than remembering the day like it was just yesterday. And, talking to my kids about it and watching videos of the day with them so they can understand why it is such a memorable day for those of us who lived through it.

Where were you and what were you doing when you heard about what happened Sept. 11, 2001? I was just nishing letting the cows out of the barn before heading into the house for breakfast. What was your reaction? Like almost everyone else, I was probably in shock and remember wanting to do nothing else other than sit and watch the events unfold on television. Being the history buff that I am, I knew this would be an important day in the history of our country.

If you could say something to the family members of the victims on this 20th anniversary, what would you tell them? I would tell them that most of us have not forgotten what happened that day, and that their loved ones did not die in vain, but for a bigger cause. If only for a few weeks or months, they helped bring this country back How do you think 9/11 changed the together, and a lot of us feel that way. We course of our country? It denitely made will never forget. us all aware of how invincible we are, especially all of us who have been born since the Tell us about your farm. I farm together last major conict our country had been in. with my wife, Amanda, and our two kids, That is why so many of us are so hurt and Charlie and Maddie, on a 400-cow regisconfused about how and why we pulled out tered Holstein farm. We run 950 acres on of Afghanistan recently. It seems as though which we grow 575 acres of corn, 250 acres our political leaders want to forget about of hay and double crop rye, triticale and sorwhy we have been over there for the last ghum. In 2022, our farm will become a Cen20 years. I for one am worried that without tury Farm, and I am the fourth generation on keeping the Taliban at bay, something like the farm. 9/11 could easily happen again.

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Where were you and what were you doing on 9/11? Ryan Weigel Platteville, Wisconsin Grant County We dispersed our 120-cow milking herd in July 2020. Where were you and what were you doing when you heard about what happened Sept. 11, 2001? I was ying to Dallas, Texas, from Madison, Wisconsin, for work. I had own quite a bit at that point in my life and noticed that we had landed quite quickly. No circling or getting in line like most landings at larger airports, but nothing was said to us passengers. We de-planed like normal, but it was eerily quiet as we all made our way into the airport. For a Tuesday morning, I had thought the bars at DFW were strangely full, so I stopped to see what was going on. It was there that I learned the horrendous things that were happening. At that point, only one tower had been hit, but together with strangers, we stood in that bar and watched the second. What was your reaction? Pure disbelief. How could something like this happen in the United States? I felt sick to my stomach, sad, angry and just about every other emotion you could think of that day. I was in Dallas for work and did spend the week there staying on task to the best of my ability, but I am sure I watched way more TV that week than normal. How do you think 9/11 changed the course of our country? Certainly, it made many who maybe thought we as a nation were invincible realize we were not. This unfortunate event pulled Americans closer and united us all as a nation. I never want something like this to happen again, but it would sure be nice to see more respect shown for each other and for our nation today. I remember clearly on my drive home from Texas (airports remained closed for many days) seeing the American ag hung everywhere and people being proud of our resilience, love for each other and for our country. How have you or how do you continue to commemorate the events that occurred on 9/11? I teach post-secondary education, and I share my memories of that dreadful day (and days after) with my students, most of whom were not even born when it occurred. I also went to the 9/11 memorial with my family a few years back. If you have not been, I highly recommend it. It is well done and pays a wonderful tribute to those who lost their lives as well as those who helped with the rescue mission on that horrible day. The atmosphere is certainly somber, but how could it not be? If you could say something to the family members of the victims on this 20th anniversary, what would you tell them? Most importantly, I would give them my sympathy. I do not know anyone who lost their life that day, but it’s safe to say that together as a nation, we all grieve with them and will always remember that impactful day. Tell us about your farm. Currently, we custom raise about 100 dry cows and bred heifers for a neighboring farm, raise about 50 head of steers and work with 20 show heifers.

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Page 16 • Dairy Star • Saturday, September 11, 2021

ConƟnued from OUR SIDE | Page 15 Dale Grahl Eden, Wisconsin Fond du Lac County 350 cows

Jenni Skiba North Branch, Minnesota Isanti County 50 cows

Where were you and what were you doing when you heard about what happened Sept. 11, 2001? I was in the house, and I called for my wife and told her we have to turn the TV on. We sat and listened to it, and we actually witnessed the second plane going into the south tower. What was your reaction? I was stunned. It was hard to believe what was happening. When the rst plane hit, people thought it was accidental, but when the second one hit, we knew it was probably a terrorist attack. It was a scary feeling and certainly took away the feeling of security. The U.S. shut down all commercial aviation. I was called up to y the day after 9/11 to help deliver medical supplies for Homeland Security. I had a twinengine Piper Comanche airplane and had experience with emergency medical ights as I ew for Angel Flight America as a volunteer on emergency medical missions. I was also a member of the International Flying Farmers. I was out combining corn when I got the call. It was quite a thing after knowing what happened that I was chosen, and they wanted me in the air the next morning. I was all packed and planned to go, but it was called off at the last minute because there were few survivors. When the towers came down, people either got out or they didn’t; therefore, there were not a lot of injured people needing our help. How do you think 9/11 changed the course of our country? It took away our freedom a lot, which was something we noticed in the Flying Farmers. It changed the rules of aviation. After 9/11, they started putting up fences. It took away our feeling of security because we didn’t feel like anything like that could happen. We ew with more security, but our purpose remained the same. It was a better world before 9/11. Our government was taken by surprise that day; they were not expecting it. It was a changing time for all of us, and the world will never be the same. How have you or how do you continue to commemorate the events that occurred on 9/11? I was always patriotic, and that is why I did the angel ights. Doing medical missions for Angel Flight America was wonderful. I even ew a number of ights carrying injured military personnel. We ew people who needed help and were devastated not only medically but nancially. I feel 9/11 maybe drove me to want to help people even more. If you could say something to the family members of the victims on this 20th anniversary, what would you tell them? I don’t know what I would say, but I do have some warm feelings for them. With ying for Angel Flight America, my purpose always was to help other people, and we did not take any compensation for what we did. In the end, the main things we’ll be judged on is how we treated other people around us. Money will be useless. It was an honor to be called up at 9/11 when everybody else was grounded. It was a good feeling. Tell us about your farm. I’m the third generation at Dinnerbell Farms where I grew up. My dad had a registered herd and chose the Dinnerbell name because he needed a prex, and we had a big dinner bell on a pole in front of our house. Our farm is made up of multiple farms put together over the years. My son and his wife are mainly running the dairy now. I do quite a bit of eld work, and we cash crop about 1,300 acres. We also feed out our beef cattle. We have a modern parlor and freestall facility, and have done very well here.

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Where were you and what were you doing when you heard about what happened Sept. 11, 2001? I was a part of the Association of Women in Agriculture at the University of WisconsinRiver Falls. The UW-River Falls rodeo club always has a rodeo on a weekend in mid-September. At that time, AWA always did a breakfast the morning of the rodeo as a fundraiser. I was picking up a donation of butter at Ellsworth Cooperative when I heard the news of the 9/11 attack on the radio.

How have you or how do you continue to commemorate the events that occurred on 9/11? On what we now call Patriot Day, I always think of the families that lost loved ones on 9/11. They are always in my thoughts and prayers but especially that day. As a substitute teacher and mom, I make sure the students who came after this fateful day will never forget this part of the history of the United States and how it changed things for everyone.

If you could say something to the family members of the victims on this 20th anniversary, what would you tell them? I would tell them just how sorry I am that they had to go through such an awful thing, and that their family is thought of What was your reaction? I was shocked as was and prayed for especially on the anniversary of most everyone that day and heart sickened that this sad event in our history. this had happened to our country. Tell us about your farm. I farm with my in-laws, How do you think 9/11 changed the course of Dave and Kathy, my husband, Patrick, and ve our country? It made everyone much more cau- children, Peter, 15, Abigail, 12, Andrew, 9, Mattious, especially when traveling. thew, 6, and Sarah, 4. We raise registered Jerseys. I am also the princess coordinator for ChisagoIsanti-Anoka counties.

Keith Brogan St. Charles, Minnesota Winona County 500 cows Where were you and what were you doing when you heard about what happened Sept. 11, 2001? I was in our tiestall barn running the barn cleaner when I heard on the radio that the second plane had hit. I did not know what was going on at the time, but after I nished morning chores, I went inside and turned on the TV to learn more. What was your reaction? I was in shock. I had visited New York during college and had been right by the towers then. They were so big. It was a shock to see them come down knowing how big they were. How do you think 9/11 changed the course of our country? At the time, it united the country. But for some Muslims in our country, it probably hurt them because they were associated with the terrorists who did this. They just happened to be the same religion as the terrorists who used religion to cover up the horrendous thing they did. Right away, people were also nervous to y. I am the county 4-H dairy judging coach, and that year, our team had won a trip to the contest in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. We ew out Sept. 21 and returned Sept. 25. There were six of us in our group and one other person on the plane. And nobody was at the airports. It was a strange feeling being

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in an empty airport. I also remember gas prices went up after that. When I visited New York in 2005, we could not go into the head of the Statue of Liberty like we could when I was there in college. We also have other security measures at airports, baseball games and events like the state fair. It doesn’t bother me and makes me feel safer. How have you or how do you continue to commemorate the events that occurred on 9/11? I was able to visit the site in 2005 before it became a large memorial. It was a hole in the ground at that point. On that day, I am usually always working so I don’t do much other than remember what happened that day. At some point, I would like to visit the memorial in New York. If you could say something to the family members of the victims on this 20th anniversary, what would you tell them? I would pass along my sympathy for the loss of their family member. Nobody could prevent it at the time. They went to work like any normal day and this terrorist attack happened. I don’t think there is anything else to say other than I’m really sorry for your loss. Tell us about your farm. I farm together with my brother, Scott, and my dad, Gerard. Along with our dairy herd, we have 1,300 acres and feed out our Holstein steers. I have been farming since I graduated from college in 1992.

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Breeding Focus

Monitoring system, double ovsynch take Trailside Holsteins to next level

Jon, Michael and Margaret Johnson Trailside Holsteins Fountain, Minnesota Fillmore County 670 cows

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Describe your facilities and list your breeding management team. All of our barns are naturally ventilated with headlocks and deep-bedded sand. We milk in a double-8 parallel parlor. Michael and one employee do all of the shots and breeding. We work with Jeff Collins of the Har-

What is your reproduction program? Do you use a synchronization program? How do you get animals pregnant? Before implementing a herd monitoring system seven years ago, we used a presync/ ovsync program. For ve years, we used the monitoring system as much as possible

What is your current pregnancy rate? 43% for the cows and 53% for the heifers.

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for the rst insemination. Two years ago, we began a double ovsync synchronization program to tighten up our timing of the rst insemination. Using both programs has been good for our herd and our reproduction program. It has tightened up our rst breeding window to get cows bred more efciently, and it also helps us catch cows sooner that do not get pregnant on the rst insemination. Our current voluntary waiting period is 83 days, but we are planning to move it to 90 at the end of the year. Cows are pregnancy checked at 32 and 67 days post breeding. Very few open cows make it to the pregnancy check as our monitoring system does a good job catching any open cows in heat prior to 32 days.

What guidelines do you follow to reach the goals for your breeding program? A lot of focus is put on the prefresh and the postfresh period. If a cow freshens in well with little trouble, she is more likely

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Margaret and Michael Johnson, along with their kids – (from leŌ) Jacob, Levi, Sawyer, and Claira – milk 670 cows on their dairy, Trailside Holsteins near Fountain, Minnesota. Not pictured are Royal Johnson and Michael’s dad, Jon.

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Brent 782 Grain cart........................... $23,500 Brent 440 box ...................................... $8,900 Demco 365 w/tarp ............................. $10,500 Demco 365 .......................................... $6,500 Many Used Gravity Boxes - Demco, J&M, Brent

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Dairy Star • Saturday, September 11, 2021 • Page 19

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BEER FARMS AND CATTLE CO, BERNE, INDIANA, 2020 Indiana Master Farmers Max (center) and Karen, sons Keith (right) and Craig raise and sell fresh heifers, Calving and transitioning 200 to 250 two-year-olds monthly, SCC 150,000 “We continue to find ways to supply dairies with quality heifers that make milk. Udder Comfort™ is part of that process, and the company’s spray systems make it easy to do prefresh in the barn or post-fresh in the parlor. One pass delivers spray to the bottom of the udder and up a few inches, the critical area to overcome edema around teats and suspensory ligament, getting udders ready to accept volumes of milk,” says Keith Beer. He and Craig and parents Max and Karen raise and sell fresh heifers, calving 200-250 heifers monthly at Beer Cattle Co., Berne, Indiana. “Udder Comfort gets 2-year-olds ready to reach their potential, and our guys are proud to use it. We apply the spray 1x/day for 2 to 3 days before calving and 2x/day for 3 to 5 days after calving. We find 5 gallons covers 200 heifers for all 12 to 14 applications. “We’ve used Udder Comfort 6 years, seeing softer, more pliable udders, better flow, a 3- to 4-pound production increase by 14 DIM, and lower collaborative SCC,” Keith reports. “Getting udders softer, faster, for more milk, is why we continue using this product for our fresh 2-year-olds.” https://wp.me/pb1wH7-aS

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Page 20 • Dairy Star • Saturday, September 11, 2021

ConƟnued from TRAILSIDE| Page 18 What is your conception rate? How does this differ with different types of semen? Overall is 61%, sexed is 54%, beef is 60% and conventional Holstein is 74%.

to conceive at her rst service. We feel a healthy cow is paramount to a good reproduction program as she will respond better to a shot program and also show signs of estrous if she does not conceive on her rst service. Emphasis is also placed on every cow receiving the correct shot at the correct time. We believe compliance to any synchronization program is important.

What is the greatest lesson you have learned through your breeding program? From our very beginning with A.I. in the 1980s, we have always strongly believed spending the extra money to invest in the best available bulls is worth the investment. It is an investment to us, not an expense.

What are the top traits you look for in breeding your dairy herd and how has this changed since you started farming? We used to focus more on production traits and total performance index; however, we have slowly transitioned to more of a focus on net merit and high health index or dairy wellness prot index.

What is the age of your heifers at rst service? 410 days. How does your heifer inventory affect your breeding program? We try to think of it in the opposite way, more proactively, in a way that our breeding program drives our heifer inventory. We are aiming for 78% heifers to cows with 30% of our herd being 2 year olds. We are currently very close to these numbers. Tell us about your farm. We are a family focused farm in southeast Minnesota raising Holsteins, rye, alfalfa, corn and the next generation of farmers.

What are certain traits you try to avoid? High somatic cell score and high stature. Describe the ideal cow for your herd. We are looking for a moderate sized animal that still has good strength and a well attached udder. Health traits are looked at a lot more now as well as we try to breed a healthy animal that will be trouble free and allow us to reduce and eventually eliminate antibiotic use. What role does genetics have in reaching the goals of your farm? Investing in good genetics has always been a priority to our farm. Good genetics

KRISTA KUZMA/DAIRY STAR

Michael Johnson (leŌ) looks over data collected from the acƟvity monitoring system on his phone with employee Roberto at Trailside Holsteins near Fountain, Minnesota. have allowed us to continue to improve our production levels and create a more hands-off, trouble-free herd. We do our best to provide each animal an environment where she can reach her genetic potential. The higher this potential is the better results we will see.

What percentage of your herd is bred to sexed, conventional and beef semen? We breed our top genetic animals to sexed semen based off of genomic tests. That is currently 23% of our cows and 81% of our heifers.

KRISTA KUZMA/DAIRY STAR

Cows rest on sand bedding in the freestall barn at Trailside Holsteins.

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Dairy Star • Saturday, September 11, 2021 • Page 21

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COMBINE PLATFORMS

6 11 10 8 3 14 17 1 7 16 16 1 15 5 14 14 14 15

JD 635F, 2011, 35’, Flexible, #187290 .......................................................... $13,000 JD 635F, 2009, 35’, Flexible, #187030 .......................................................... $13,900 JD 620F, 2009, 20’, Flexible, #162055 .......................................................... $14,900 JD 630F, 2010, 30’, Flexible, #186474 .......................................................... $16,500 JD 635F, 2014, 35’, Flexible, #184935 .......................................................... $18,500 JD 635F, 2009, 35’, Flexible, #183382 .......................................................... $19,900 JD 635F, ’5’, Flexible, #185428 ..................................................................... $22,400 JD 635F, 2012, 35’, Flexible, #187263 .......................................................... $23,900 JD 635F, 2013, 35’, Flexible, #173287 .......................................................... $26,900 JD 645FD, 2017, 45’, Flex/Draper, #162936................................................. $73,900 JD 645FD, 2017, 45’, Flex/Draper, #182969................................................. $74,900 JD 640FD, 2018, 40 Feet, Flex/Draper, #173387 ......................................... $79,500 JD 640FD, 2018, 40’, Flexible, #177866 ....................................................... $83,900 JD 740FD, 2019, 40’, Draper, Flip Over Reel, #187069................................. $89,900 JD 745FD, 2019, 45’, Flex/Draper, Flip Over Reel, #183001 ........................ $93,400 JD 745FD, 2019, 45’, Flex/Draper, Flip Over Reel, #172441 ........................ $94,000 JD 745FD, 2020, 45’, Flex/Draper, Flip Over Reel, #183000 ........................ $96,400 JD 745FD, 2020, 45’, Flex/Draper, Flip Over Reel, #179999 ........................ $97,900

9 11 1 4 5 17

JD 9650 STS, 2001, Corn/Bean, 2WD, 3455 hrs., 2388sep hrs., #186401 . $49,500 JD S670, 2012, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 3625 hrs., 2557 sep hrs., #172954...... $92,900 JD 9870 STS, 2008, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 3105 hrs., 2500 sep hrs., #175945$99,900 JD 9670 STS, 2009, Corn/Bean, 2WD, 2210 hrs., 1263 sep hrs., #185612$110,400 JD S680, 2013, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 2913 hrs., 1904 Sep hrs., #161858 ... $129,500 New Holland CR8090, 2012, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 2405 hrs., 1810 sep hrs., #183218 ....................................................................................................... $136,500 JD S680, 2014, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 2966 hrs., 2063 sep hrs., #182070.... $144,900 JD S680, 2014, Corn/Bean, 2WD, 2361 hrs., 1703 sep hrs., #178114...... $147,900 JD S680, 2012, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 2365 hrs., 1642 sep hrs., #176788.... $149,500 JD S680, 2014, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 2651 hrs., 2023 sep hrs., #186952 ... $155,500 JD S680, 2014, Corn/Bean, 2WD, 2068 hrs., 1658 sep hrs., #172017...... $159,500 JD S680, 2015, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 2209 hrs., #169577.......................... $169,500 JD S680, 2013, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 2734 hrs., 1800 sep hrs., #176089.... $169,900 JD S680, 2013, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1992 hrs., 1300 sep hrs., #174756.... $174,900 JD S690, 2012, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1983 hrs., 1530 sep hrs., #171923 ... $179,000 JD S670, 2016, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 2293 hrs., 1453 sep hrs., #176660.... $199,500

7 17 3 16 7 6 1 14 3 2

COMBINES

3 16 3 3 16 8 5 17 14 14 1 16 16 14 4 14 16

JD S690, 2016, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 2117 hrs., #176735.......................... $219,500 JD S770, 2018, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 2206 hrs., 1587 sep hrs., #181147.... $245,000 JD S690, 2016, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1772 hrs., 1248 sep hrs., #176733.... $250,000 JD S790, 2018, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1535 hrs., 1058 sep hrs., #179097 ... $315,400 JD S780, 2018, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1184 hrs., 800 sep hrs., #175318 ..... $319,500 JD S670, 2017, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 790 hrs., 536 sep hrs, #187073......... $323,000 JD S780, 2018, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1101 hrs., 755 sep hrs., #183533...... $355,000 JD S780, 2018, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1029 hrs., 690 sep hrs., #177549...... $364,400 JD S780, 2019, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 902 hrs., 653sep hrs., #171103......... $385,000 JD S790, 2019, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 969 hrs., 683 sep hrs., #171378........ $389,500 JD S780, 2019, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 495 hrs., 294 sep hrs., #169509........ $409,500 JD S780, 2019, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 484 hrs., 307 sep hrs., #169507........ $409,500 JD S780, 2019, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 366 hrs., 234 sep hrs., #171003........ $419,500 JD S780, 2020, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 525 hrs., 397 sep hrs., #183792........ $425,400 JD S780, 2020, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 569 hrs., 373 sep hrs., #181757........ $429,900 JD S780, 2020, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 747 hrs., 556 sep hrs., #187111........ $435,900 JD S780, 2020, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 373 hrs., 226 sep hrs., #182068........ $509,900

9 2 14 2 8 17 16 9 14 8 10 7 3 14 16 8 10 10 15 15

Geringhoff 830, 1998, 8R30”, StalkMaster, #186402 ................................ $12,400 Geringhoff RD820, 8R20”, StalkMaster, #181342 ..................................... $13,900 Geringhoff RD600, 2004, 6R30”, StalkMaster, #185615........................... $17,900 Harvestec 5308C, 2012, 8R30”, StalkMaster, #173992 ............................. $27,900 JD 608C StalkMaster, 8R30”, StalkMaster, #186589 ................................. $28,400 JD 608C StalkMaster, 2010, 8R30”, StalkMaster, #186312 ...................... $29,900 JD 608C StalkMaster, 2009, 8R30”, StalkMaster, #186922 ...................... $31,900 JD 608C StalkMaster, 2011, 8R30”, StalkMaster #182813 ....................... $33,900 JD 608C StalkMaster, 2008, 8R30”, StalkMaster, #187265 ...................... $34,500 JD 608C StalkMaster, 2011, 8R30”, StalkMaster, #169171 ...................... $37,500 JD 612C StalkMaster, 2009, 12R30”; StalkMaster, #175440................... $38,000 JD 608C StalkMaster, 2011, 8R30”, StalkMaster, #186294 ...................... $41,500 Geringhoff 16R22, 2011, 16R22”, StalkMaster, #176736 ......................... $42,900 JD 612C, 2012, 12R30”, StalkMaster, #186773............................................ $49,900 JD 612C StalkMaster, 2013, 12R30”, StalkMaster, #177920 .................... $54,500 JD 612C, 2013, 12R30”, StalkMaster, #177625............................................ $61,900 JD 706C, 2018, 6R30”, StalkMaster, #165801 .............................................. $65,500 JD 616C, 2012, 16R30, StalkMaster, #179657............................................. $67,400 JD 612C, 2014, 12R30”, StalkMaster, #151308............................................ $69,500 JD 612C, 2017, 12R30”, StalkMaster, #183609............................................ $76,000

CORN AND ROW CROP HEADERS

3 15 14 14 16 16

JD 618C, 2012, 18R22”, StalkMaster, #176931............................................ $79,500 JD 618C, 2012, 18R22”, StalkMaster, #175201............................................ $89,900 JD 618C, 2013, 18R22”, StalkMaster, #186614............................................ $92,400 JD 716C, 2019, 16R30”, StalkMaster, #187112.......................................... $140,000 JD 718C, 2020, 18R22”, StalkMaster, #185545.......................................... $184,500 JD 718C, 2020, 18R22”, StalkMaster, #185459.......................................... $194,500

17 5 16 13 8 15 5 8 15 11 4 5 6 10 2 4 15 11 6 7 8 14 15 8 16 16 1 10 1 1 1

JD 4455, 1991, Cab, 2WD, Power Shift, Duals, 9199 hrs., #181329 .......... $45,000 Case IH MX200, 1999, Cab, MFWD, PS, Duals, 9360 hrs., #186519 .......... $48,500 JD 8300, 1996, Cab, MFWD, Power Shift, 1000 pto, Duals, #187192 ........ $54,500 JD 6145M, 2020, Cab, MFWD, Partial Power Shift, 167 hrs.,#168299 ..... $124,900 JD 8285R, 2013, Cab, MFWD, IVT, 4800 hrs., #187023 ............................ $139,000 JD 6145M, 2020, Cab, MFWD, PS, Loader, 175 hrs., #183626.................. $143,400 JD 7290R, 2013, Cab, MFWD, Duals, 4660 hrs., #180765 ........................ $149,900 JD 6175R, 2020, Cab, MFWD, Power Shift, 93 hrs., #185002 ................... $169,900 JD 6175R, 2020, Cab, MFWD, IVT, Loader, 951 hrs., #185014 .................. $182,500 JD 7R 210, 2020, Cab, MFWD, IVT, Duals, 830 hrs., #187032................... $191,000 JD 7210R, 2019, Cab, MFWD, Duals, Loader, 632 hrs., #177177.............. $195,000 JD 8260R, 2014, Cab, MFWD, Power Shift, Duals, 360 hrs., #186505...... $199,900 JD 7R 210, 2020, Cab, MFWD, IVT, Duals, 401 hrs., #187031.................... $202000 JD 8360R, 2013, Cab, MFWD, IVT, Duals, 2900 hrs., #185431.................. $202900 JD 8345R, 2015, Cab, MFWD, Duals, 2850 hrs., #183894 ....................... $219,900 JD 8270R, 2020, Cab, MFWD, Power Shift, Duals, 811 hrs., #175591 ...... $239,000 JD 8245R, 2020, Cab, MFWD, Power Shift, Duals, 643 hrs., #183102 ...... $243,900 JD 8245R, 2020, Cab, MFWD, IVT, Duals, 642 hrs., #183745..................... $252500 JD 8R 250, 2020, Cab, MFWD, IVT, Duals, 485 hrs., #186300.................... $269500 JD 8320R, 2019, Cab, MFWD, IVT, Duals, 762 hrs., #171962..................... $279900 JD 8320R, 2020, Cab, MFWD, IVT, Duals, 912 hrs., #179599.................... $279,900 JD 8345R, 2020, Cab, MFWD, IVT, Duals, 518 hrs., #176092.................... $309,900 JD 8R 310, 2020, Cab, MFWD IVT, Duals, 506 hrs., #185944 ................... $319,500 JD 8345R, 2019, Cab, MFWD, IVT, 176 hrs., #185726............................... $341,400 JD 8R 370, 2020, Cab, MFWD, IVT, Duals, 945 hrs., #185281................... $342,500 JD 8R 370, 2020, Cab, MFWD, IVT, Duals, 980 hrs., #185280................... $344,900 JD 8R 340, 2020, Cab, MFW, IVT, Duals, 300 hrs., #186617 ..................... $347,600 JD 8370R, 2019, Cab, MFWD IVT, Duals, 304 hrs., #184017 .................... $349,000 JD 8R 370, 2020, Cab, MFWD, IVT, Duals, 300 hrs., #186626................... $368,500 JD 8R 370, 2020, Cab, MFWD, IVT, Duals, 300 hrs., #186,628.................. $371,800 JD 8R 410, 2020, Cab, MFWD, Duals, 300 hrs., #186634.......................... $388,500

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

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

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(10) = LITTLE FALLS (13) = BAXTER (11) = WADENA 62505 US Hwy. 10

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ROW CROP TRACTORS

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

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

Page 22 • Dairy Star • Saturday, September 11, 2021

Tell the advertisers you saw ! y He their ad in the Dairy Star!

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

MINNESOTA & SOUTH DAKOTA Advanced Dairy of Mora Mora, MN 320-679-1029 Farm Systems Melrose, MN 320-256-3276 Brookings, SD 800-636-5581 S&S Dairy System LLC St. Charles, MN 507-932-4288 Professional Dairy Systems Wadena, MN 218-632-5416

is a registered trademark of Tetra Laval Holdings & Finance S.A. and “DeLaval” is a registered trade/servicemark of DeLaval Holding AB © 2021 DeLaval Inc. DeLaval, 11100 North Congress Avenue, Kansas City, Missouri 64153-1296. Nothing in this document shall constitute a warranty or guaranty of performance. www.delaval.com

Laboring on Labor Day I have always chuckled about the observance of Labor Day. Not that I don’t think it serves a purpose. Having a three-day weekend in early September is terric. For many, it’s a great way On the Mark to nish summer with either a weekend trip or one last extended weekend at the cabin. As a parent of school kids, it’s great for my kids. To have a three-day weekend shortly after school starts or having a four-day week being the rst week of school is a nice way to slowly acclimate kids back into the By Mark Klaphake routine. Editor After talking to an elementary school principle, she said starting the children and teachers with a full ve-day week is exhausting, mentally, for both student and teacher. The gradual increase makes a big difference from her perspective. My smirk comes from what Labor Day meant for me and my 10 siblings growing up on our farm south of Sauk Centre and the signicance of Labor Day to dairy farmers as a whole. Traditionally, for us Klaphake kids, Labor Day meant more labor before our parents lost their entire workforce to school. Often times we would be chopping corn and lling the shorter of our two silos, a 16-by-40. If we weren’t doing that, we were making a silage pile on the west side of the barn. Our parents wanted nothing more than to have a good handle on as much eldwork as possible before we started school. I totally understood their perspective. Adding the time-consuming task like lling the silo while doing all the duties us kids did during the day was immense, so why not get as much done beforehand? So, if the corn was mature enough, silo lling was a Labor Day task. My dad would run the chopper, and one of my brothers hauled the loads. The rest of us would work on the regular daily chores and other tasks on the farm. I vividly remember one Labor Day climbing the bigger silo, a 20-by-60, with a pitchfork and spending much of that morning forking silage around so we could get the silo as full as possible. We would top them off at least once, sometimes more, to get as much feed in as possible. Another Labor Day activity was cleaning calf pens. Once we had them cleaned, we would bed them heavily with small squares of oat straw. Our parents liked fall calving. Starting in late August through mid-October, we had many calves so we wanted the pens prepared. Bringing cows and calves in from the pasture and training the calves to drink added even more to our work load. If we had close-up heifers that we thought would calf in the next week, we would bring them in from the pasture and put them in the barn and get them used to their stall. Doing that with a group, not a pair, made the task much easier. Labor Day was also the time our mom would spend going over our back-to-school list with each of us kids. She wanted to make sure all of the kids had the necessary supplies of No. 2 pencils, notebooks, rulers, etc., ready for our rst day of school. Things haven’t changed much as far as a farmer’s recognition of Labor Day. When I spoke to my brothers and some of the weather watchers we have with Dairy Star, several talked about how they started chopping corn silage on Monday. Others said they treated the day like any regular Monday on the farm. I recently read that Labor Day was established by trade unionists who thought it would be a good idea to have a day to celebrate labor by giving them the day off. Dairy farmers must have been the exception.

Dairy Star • Saturday, September 11, 2021 • Page 23

Taking her message to a national stage Beukema named National Guernsey Queen By Danielle Nauman danielle.n@dairystar.com

NEW RICHMOND, Wis. – Growing up with the Guernsey breed, Haley Beukema has always looked up to the young women who have held the role of National Guernsey Queen. The day for her to claim that very recognition came earlier this summer when she was crowned as the 2021 National Guernsey Queen at the National Guernsey Convention in Seven Springs, Pennsylvania. “The history of the National Guernsey Queen goes back many years, with the women who have held the title in the past still having a huge impact on the breed,” Beukema said. “I chose to run for National Guernsey Queen because I want to be a part of that group, representing the breed on a national level today and impacting it for years to come.” Beukema, 19, did not grow up on a working dairy farm. Instead, Beukema grew her herd to include 10 Guernseys and two Ayrshires. Beukema rais-

es her heifers on her family’s 20-acre hobby farm near New Richmond, while her milking cows are housed on a friend’s dairy farm. A recent graduate of New Richmond High School, Beukema is pursuing a degree in agricultural communications and marketing at the University of Minnesota. “I am looking forward to the future of the breed,” Beukema said. “I am so excited for the passionate young farmers and youth that I meet. I look forward to seeing new ways that Guernsey breeders can market their special products to consumers.” After spending a year as the 2020 Wisconsin Guernsey Princess, Beukema decided to take on the challenge of entering the national contest. “As the Wisconsin Guernsey Princess, I was able to attend some events to represent the breed, but I really had the opportunity to explore new ways to make a positive contribution through various social media channels and to make connections with breeders and

exhibitors,” Beukema said. “That experience, that was different from the norm, helped make me a better qualied national candidate, I believe.” A detailed application served as Beukema’s entrance into the national contest along with a formal interview and a quiz of the Guernsey breed. She then was required to compete in the senior prepared speaking contest, where she gave an eight-minute speech about capitalizing on marketing techniques to form a reliable niche market for Guernsey milk. Throughout the national convention, the applicants were judged throughout the week as they interacted with breeders and convention attendees on farm tours and at other convention events. At the nal youth brunch, each candidate was asked an impromptu question before the naming of the new queen. While serving as the national queen, Beukema will travel to the national Guernsey shows in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Madison and Louisville, Kentucky. Throughout the year, she will also attend events throughout the country all while promoting the Guern-

PHOTO SUBMITTED

Haley Beukema, pictured with her father Paul, is crowned the NaƟonal Guernsey Queen in July at the NaƟonal Guernsey ConvenƟon in Seven Springs, Pennsylvania.

Turn to BEUKEMA | Page 25

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Page 24 • Dairy Star • Saturday, September 11, 2021

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Dairy Star • Saturday, September 11, 2021 • Page 25

ConƟnued from BEUKEMA | Page 23 sey breed. “It means the world to me to be recognized as an outstanding young individual in the Guernsey breed,” Beukema said. “To know the association is putting their trust in me to advocate for the breed and educate consumers of the benets of Guernsey milk and products is very humbling.” The impact that the Guernsey breed, association and

people have had on Beukema’s life thus far has been great, she said. “I have developed a second family lled with breeders that support me throughout all my endeavors,” Beukema said. “I have developed a group of cattle that I could not be more proud of. I continue to learn new things about the breed and meet new people every year.” Throughout her 10-year ca-

PHOTO COURTESY OF DAIRY AGENDA TODAY

Haley Beukema exhibits the intermediate champion at the NaƟonal Guernsey Show in Louisville, Kentucky last November.

DANIELLE NAUMAN/DAIRY STAR

Haley Beukema is named the premier junior exhibitor at the Midwest Guernsey Show July 27 in West Salem, Wisconsin.

reer showing and breeding registered Guernseys, Beukema has been lucky enough to check some things off her bucket list that many might only dream of, including exhibiting the intermediate champion at last year’s National Guernsey Show at the North American International Livestock Exposition in Louisville, Kentucky. This year, Beukema was named the premier junior exhibitor at the Midwest Guernsey Show while exhibiting both the grand and reserve grand champions in the youth

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show. She also exhibited both the grand champion and junior champion, which was also the best bred and owned of the show, at the Wisconsin Junior State Fair. Her week at the state fair was capped off by winning the supreme champion honors in the communications contest. With her interest in exhibiting, Beukema made it her business to learn to do her own tting work. Never resting on the idea that she is good enough at something, she enjoys participating in both tting contests and showmanship contests to

hone her abilities. “I didn’t have the fortune of growing up on a conventional dairy farm, but I did have the fortune to be exposed at a young age to Guernseys,” Beukema said. “I have an extreme amount of pride in the fact that what I have worked for since the age of 9 from scratch has paid off for me in this way. This breed means so much to me, not only for the beautiful fawn and white cattle, but for the people and life-long friendships and partnerships it has led me to.”

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Page 26 • Dairy Star • Saturday, September 11, 2021

Benchmarks on your farm

What is your cost of production? You need to be more efcient. As a dairy producer, are you tired of hearing those phrases? I bet you are, and I fully understand. Some of From My Perspective the frustration comes from not having a clear understanding of COP. The calculation is done so many ways, and often, the information is based on an economic cost of production analysis, which uses a calculated management depreciation. Because our farms are diversied, some depreciation is allocated to multiple liveBy Tom Anderson stock and crop enterprises Columnist which may again add to the confusion and perhaps inaccuracy at least when we compare farm to farm. So, what is the cost of production on your farm, and how does it trend from year to year? Benchmarking farm to farm is typically a good idea, but more importantly, it is imperative that we look at our own operation to nd trends and compare quarter to quarter and year over year. I like to look at what I call cash cost of production. I apply some benchmarks that provides us with a birds-eye view of the overall operation and then drill down on areas that may seem higher than desired. Viewing a cash cost of production will more closely follow your cash ow projection. Looking at both the revenue and expense side is important on a per cow and per hundredweight basis. A spreadsheet that converts all year-to-date income and expense to a per cow and per hundredweight of milk sold is a great start. In addition, we need to add actual feed cost (commercial feed plus raised feed) for all animals – milking and dry cows along with heifers. After all, the cows generate the income to pay the expenses for heifers and dry cows. Generally, using the farm’s actual cost of producing grains and forages rather than using a market price will create a more real cost of producing milk. Finally, I add in the loan payments (principle and interest). Perhaps this is over simplied, and it is likely more complicated than it may appear, but it can be a good start for anyone to get to this point. All of this can be a bit difcult without some guidance and direction. If you’re not already enrolled in a farm management program, you may want to consider it as these folks are able to assist with this discovery. In addition, I often use a few other broad benchmarks. The benchmarks below are for a conventional herd (nonrobotic): – Total debt per hundredweight of milk sold should be less than $20. – Debt per cow should be less than $4,500. – Total debt payments (principle and interest) per hundredweight of milk sold should be less than $2.75 per hundredweight. – Total labor cost, including hired labor (taxes, workers compensation, etc.) and family should be less than $2.75 per hundredweight. – Total debt payments and labor cost together should be less than $5.50. If numbers vary too much from these benchmarks, it can make it difcult to cash ow regardless of what expenses you may attempt to cut. Naturally, there are ranges in each of the above categories, and they are modied (blended) for robotic herds. When I look at herds that are planning expansion opportunities, the above numbers are a great discussion to have and are relatively easy to calculate without having to complete an entire cash ow. With the above calculations, I nd more condence in an annual cash ow projection or a major expansion. It is just too easy to make a cash ow work by making minor adjustments that may have a signicant impact on net returns. Over the past two decades of my experience, I nd that incremental growth in most herds provides the best method to keeping these benchmarks in place. Capital investment in buildings is expensive, and cow numbers or milk production tend not to come as quickly as the debt incurred. Therefore, a more gradual growth in herd numbers and total pounds of milk produced tend to keep the above benchmarks in a better relationship and reduce the chance of larger losses in a down milk price year. If you have questions about the benchmarks or how to calculate them, feel free to connect via phone or email. Tom Anderson is a Farm Business Management faculty member at Riverland Community College.

It all started with a chicken

Dairy Star • Saturday, September 11, 2021 • Page 27

She is an Icelandic breed of chicken that makes her way all around the yard foraging. When she nds something good, she pecks and scratches as part of her chicken dance. We named this chicken Wee Beastie after she escaped from the chicken coop, and it was apparent she was going to thrive and ourish in all types of weather. The cold and snow don’t bother her. In the winter, she ies from the rafters in the loang shed where she roosts at night to eat the grain in the morning with heifers. After that, she spends the By Tina Hinchley day in a sunny spot in the Farmer & Columnist bedding, scratching for wheat seeds in the straw. She has always been a curious chicken, as she scratches in my ower beds for worms and bugs, keeping an eye on the dogs and I. She stops kicking mulch when I open the screen door to let out our two Jack Russell terriers. They are excited to come outside and sit waiting for their morning treat before we head to the barn. This is a daily routine for the dogs, and the chicken learned the dogs got a treat every time they came outside. As spring went to summer, the chicken began venturing closer, wondering what the dogs were getting as a treat. Wee Beastie got brave and came on the porch to investigate, searching if anything was left. It wasn’t long before she started coming up when the dogs were getting their treat. She ies up to the porch rail and stands there until the dogs get their treat, and I toss a little piece to her. She looks to see if I have any more. Wee Beastie waits for the door to squeak open. I really enjoyed watching how fearless she had become. That was the daily routine until she started setting eggs in the straw in the mow. She sat on her nest until all of her 15 eggs hatched. These little uffy chicks came peeping out of the mow after a month following her and scratching, kicking straw and dust just like their mom. After her hatch, Wee Beastie focused on her chicks and stopped coming to get treats.

As the summer has rolled into September, the turkeys are still greeting me and the dogs every morning off the porch. The two Roman-tufted geese watch off in the distance, not sure if they want to challenge the turkeys for the bread. I throw some their way, but the turkey hen is fast. They don’t have a chance. Wee Beastie is now on her second hatch of 11 chicks. The 15 chicks of her rst hatch are doing their best job at foraging, kicking out all of the mulch under my owers. These teenage chicks have not ventured to the porch, and I will have to gure out soon which ones are pullets or cockerels. As the onset of winter comes and the elds are harvested so too are the animals that have grown up this season. The pullets will replace the hens that worked hard all year laying eggs, and the roosters will end up in a pot for a hearty fall soup. Wee Beastie is

too special though. She will not end up in a pot. I am certain she will return to the porch for treats after all of her chicks leave the nest, y the coop or simply grow up. With so many animal adventures on the farm, I am certain to have a collection of stories to tell my grandkids. I have named a few animal characters and enjoy watching them and listening to their conversations. Every animal has a happy sound. Someday, I will share tales about these animals, and it might just start with a chicken. Tina Hinchley, and her husband, Duane, daughter Anna, milk 240 registered Holsteins with robots. They also farm 2300 acres of crops near Cambridge, Wisconsin. The Hinchley’s have been hosting farm tour for over 25 years.

Wi h so many animal With i l adventures on the farm, I am certain to have a collection of stories to tell my grandkids. However, shortly Wee B Beastie H h l after f W i settled l d iinto the mow nesting, one of our turkey hens started coming from the barnyard. We have seven Narragansett turkeys that hang out in the backyard. They must have been watching all of the snacks being given to this chicken. I nd it so funny to watch the turkeys looking at me. They have their eyes on the side of their heads, and they all turn their head to see me. Obviously, they are keeping an eye on me to see what I am going to do. So, what do I do? I go back in the house and come out with a piece of bread. Tearing it into little pieces and tossing it to the hen, she quickly pecks them up as the other turkeys see that she is getting a snack. They all gather around off of the porch and wait for a piece of bread. I try to make sure everyone gets a piece. I wouldn’t want any of them to be sad. But honestly, the turkey hens are quick.

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Page 28 • Dairy Star • Saturday, September 11, 2021 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 612-624-2277 Brad Heins hein0106@umn.edu 320-589-1711 Nathan Hulinsky huli0013@umn.edu 320-203-6104 Kevin Janni kjanni@umn.edu 612-625-3108 Karen Johnson ande9495@umn.edu 320-484-4334 Emily Krekelberg krek0033@umn.edu 507-280-2863 Claire LaCanne lacanne@umn.edu 507-332-6109 Brenda Miller nels4220@umn.edu 320-732-4435 Erin Royster royster@umn.edu Isaac Salfer ijsalfer@umn.edu 320-296-1357 Jim Salfer salfe001@umn.edu 320-203-6093 Mike Schutz mschutz@umn.edu 612-624-1205 Emma Severns sever575@umn.edu 507-934-7828 Melissa Wison mlw@umn.edu 612-625-4276

www.extension.umn.edu/dairy

Pre-weaning calf health impacts production To care for calves well, the caregiver must do the same thing every day at the same time and revel in the monotony of being exact. When things are going well, it should be somewhat boring. Overall, it helps to know why. Why feed calves well and deal with the frustrations that come with the job? Why does it matter if it is done well? The rst answer is straightforward: The better calves are cared for, the less sick calves and the less dead calves. Sick calves and dead calves are a considerable time, resource, and emotional drain. Limiting morbidity and mortality is better for the dairy By Joe Armstrong and the caregiver, but there is a bigger picU of M ture benet as well.

Long term effects of calf morbidity While calf morbidity and mortality have signicant immediate impacts, studies show that the effect is also long term. Several studies show calves treated for pneumonia or scours are more likely to be culled or leave the herd early. Similar studies showed calves treated for scours are almost three times more likely to calve after 30 months of age. Another study showed heifers that were never treated for respiratory disease were twice as likely to have a calf than treated heifers. These are all important markers of lifetime performance and the success of a dairy operation. But what if morbidity and mortality are under control? What is the motivation to keep up the excellent work besides keeping morbidity and mortality low? Pre-weaning calf average daily gain impacts lifetime performance Several studies have reported pre-weaning average daily gain to impact later performance signicantly. A Cornell study from 2012 showed that for every additional pound of ADG, an additional 1,100 pounds of milk was expected in rst lactation, and an extra 2,280 pounds of milk was expected in the rst three lactations. This effect was linear, meaning the more ADG in the preweaning period, the more productive the animal. A study in 2016 showed an additional 1,430 pounds of milk in rst lactation for every additional pound of ADG pre-weaning. Interestingly, the 2016 study also indicated the effect was true for the total production of fat and protein as well. A University of Minnesota study from 2016 reported similar results with weaning weight and pre-weaning ADG both signicantly correlated to 305-day milk, fat and protein.

How to maximize pre-weaning calf average daily gain So now the question is, what needs to change? In general, limit calf stress as much as possible and promote growth. Anything that takes away energy from growth needs to go, and there is justication to add things that improve growth.

Colostrum management The most impactful thing in a calf’s life that predicts ADG, health and lifetime performance is colostrum management. Feeding the correct amount of quality, clean colostrum in the most important thing you can do for a calf. One gallon of quality, clean colostrum should be fed within the rst four hours of life with 2 quarts of colostrum fed at the second feeding. Quality colostrum correlates to a refractometer reading of 22-23% brix. Calves need calories The second thing to note is calories fed above maintenance is correlated to ADG and calf health. This means feeding calves the correct amount encourages growth and maintains fat stores needed for the immune system. Emphasis on special care in the winter is necessary as the cold temperatures cause maintenance requirements to rise. Push calves hard when feeding milk. The research is there to show the benet. Offer 1 gallon twice per day or 3 quarts three times per day starting on the second day of life. Goal for pre-weaning calf average daily gain The lifetime performance increase from pre-weaning average daily gain is linear, so the higher ADG is pre-weaning, the higher the benets for lifetime performance. The rst step is to measure this value for individual calves and then dene a goal. Doubling birth weight by weaning is a reasonable goal and provides an ADG that improves rst lactation and lifetime performance. Usually, this is around 1.5 pounds per day. Focus on the future The reason we should care about pre-weaning calf performance is that this period signicantly affects the lifetime performance of the calf and the dairy as a whole. What a calf experiences in the rst 60 days of life matters for the lifetime production of that calf. So when you are questioning why you are dealing with calf chores, remind yourself that how well you care for those calves is setting up the success of your dairy in the future.

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Bull safety

Dairy Star • Saturday, September 11, 2021 • Page 29

By Joe Armstrong and Emily Krekelberg University of Minnesota

Handling livestock in a safe manner is crucial on any farm to prevent accidents, injuries and fatalities. Large livestock especially pose a threat to our safety. Bulls are one of the most dangerous animals on the farm. According to the U.S. Department of Labor Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries and the Surveillance of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses databases, 48% of cattle-related fatalities were caused by bulls. Bulls account for only 2% of cattle nationwide. They are large, lled with adrenaline and testosterone, and can inict injury in seconds either intentionally or by accident. Dairy bulls are often considered more aggressive and dangerous than beef bulls, although both should be treated with caution. The best way to avoid the dangers associated with bulls is to not keep bulls on the farm premises. Articial insemination allows for on-time breeding while reducing the risk to people and cows. Leasing bulls represents a potential biosecurity risk but could limit how many days the operation has a bull on the farm. If a bull is kept on the farm, strict safety practices should be followed. Extra precautions should be taken to ensure bulls do not escape, such as checking fences more often or potentially reinforcing pens. Never allow children to work with a bull. If you are moving the bull, do so under calm conditions and always have an escape plan. When visiting someone else’s farm, it doesn’t hurt to ask if they have a bull on-site. Many dangerous situations are created by simply not knowing there is a bull on the farm. If you have a bull on the farm, tell visitors there is a bull on-site and where he is located. It’s important to remember even nice bulls that were bottle fed as calves can become more aggressive with age. Bulls don’t need to have a history of aggression – an attack can happen at any time to anyone with any bull. Have constant vigilance whenever there is a bull around and pay attention to the bull’s body language. They will turn broadside to present their size and power. Watch for signs of aggression such as pawing at the ground. Never turn your back on a bull, even if you think it’s not paying attention to you; bulls can and will attack unprovoked. No one should ever completely trust a bull due to the possibility of an attack, but just as important is situational awareness to prevent accidental injury from working with these massive animals. Bulls, just like all cattle, are prey species, and when scared, bulls can unintentionally hurt humans working with them due to their size and strength. Even with a casual toss of their head, a bull can send a gate hurtling back at the cattle handler. A running bull just brushing the handler can cause serious injury. When multiple bulls are in the same area, especially if they are not familiar with each other, there is the potential for a confrontation between them. Fighting bulls do not care what is in their way. Equipment, fence, fence posts, buildings and people are all at risk of being damaged. Proper low-stress cattle handling can prevent many bull-related human injuries. Calm, clear and unthreatening direction for the bulls will prevent activation of the ght or ight response. Before entering the bull’s pen or pasture, have an escape plan. Calmly and as quietly as possible make sure the bull knows you are there – surprising a bull is a bad idea. Pairing the bull with other cattle when moving them can keep them calmer, especially if the bull is not used to the working facility, the people or being handled. Bull safety should never be an afterthought. If there is a bull on the premises, use the practices outlined above. For more information about animal handling and farm safety, visit www.extension.umn.edu.

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Fire in the Hills Page 30 • Dairy Star • Saturday, September 11, 2021

Nestled in the hills between Hillsboro, Wisconsin, and Richland Center, Wisconsin, you will nd a town rich with Czech history, brick buildings and beautiful lawns. On the Saturday of Labor Day weekend, this lovely place known as Yuba welcomes the past with open arms. The stars of the day arrive on four wheels from decades ranging from the 1930s to the ‘70s. They welcome the attention and occasional drips of drool from many two-footed admirers. They are in their best attire – be that shiny paint, pinstripes or a time-earned coat of rust that seems to t them just so. There are trucks, campers, muscle cars, a lawnmower and a token ame-throwing tractor. There are those that have lived life fast, and those that prefer to be put-putted along down the backroads. The classic gems line the streets and ll the empty lots in the little town. They await the moment they get a sigh from a passerby, as the mere sight of them brings about a fond memory. The backdrop of tall brick buildings looks down upon streets once lled with similar vehicles in their heyday. There is

a feeling one could travel back in time if they sat still long enough. With this many ashy things on the street, it’s no shock their human counterparts follow suit. A pin-up contest brings about colorful dresses, high heels, tulle skirts, hairdos and makeup done with a professional are – all tting of the classic theme of the day. The beauties vying for a chance of being crowned Miss Firecracker range in age from their 20s up to an age where you do not ask a lady her actual age. Which, in truth, makes this pageant all the more wonderful to watch. They are judged, they are cheered on, and they are all supportive of each other within this tight knit of glamorously retro-clad contestants. The men, while they may not be judged on their appearances, are clad in their respective car club button-up shirts with their hair slicked back and styled in pompadours as was the way back in the day. As curious and appreciative adults wander among the vehicles, there are pedal cars of the proper vintage for the

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kids to test. Live music playing all day keeps feet moving to the beat and lips mumbling their way through the words you swear you knew eons ago. The blacktop dance Ramblings from the Ridge oor waits, mostly empty, for nightfall to come. Then, the oor lls with dancers now ready to give into the urges of their feet. The Yuba Fire Department keeps bellies lled, local ladies keep the sweet-tooth wishes granted, and of course, there are the options to keep your throat from getting too parched. By Jacqui Davison Creative homemade trophies are given out from Columnist car club members honoring their favorite metal guest. The only reason cell phones are being pulled out is to take photos; no one is sitting still playing on those necessary evils. It is a calm gathering, but don’t mistake that for meaning quiet. There is a fair amount of engine revving, but people aren’t rushing. They are walking leisurely around, pausing to admire, and they are talking to others and enjoying their break from the race of daily life. As the sun starts to sink below the bluffs surrounding Yuba, the spectator safety snow fence gets put up, and the vehicles that put the re in Fire in the Hills get prepared for their time in the spotlight. Where the street was lined with classic cars in the daylight is now packed with excited humans, awaiting the rst blaze to be thrown into the air. My husband makes his way into the street just in front of the re department in case anything gets out of hand. He starts his modied V-8 Farmall M, and after a moment or two of working the throttle, the crowd is wowed with ames shooting out of the tractor’s exhaust pipes. There are hoots and howls heard from the impressed spectators as he backs off only to have them burn higher into the sky the next time. Then he exits the stage and leaves it to the cars with their ame popping exhaust systems. Louder and hotter than the tractor, the inferno is felt in the crowd and ears are covered while people back up a few paces. The ames die down and a are is shot, signaling the start of the re show in the sky. A rework show put on by the remen with the help of a few of the Roosters Car Club members easily rivals that of any big city. The booms, pops and crackles echo throughout the valley for a solid 20 minutes. Much like the trick birthday candles of our youth, when you think they are done, they come back with an encore, lighting up the sky in every color imaginable. The setting, the clothes, the good people, the marvelous vehicles and the re show all come together like the instruments in a band to create a tune that bids farewell to summer while simultaneously serenading the fall months. There are long-haired men and even longer-haired women, teenagers and senior citizens all whom bond over mutual appreciation. There are old friends reunited and new friends just made. There are smiles shared over these relics. Those relics are the reason we all converge upon Yuba. There are queries answered about one’s pride and joy on four wheels. There are sizable donations given to the Roosters and the re department, and all that is asked for in return is a hat. There are pictures snapped nonstop to capture all the glorious moments of this celebration that raises funds to help many in our area. As they say, “All roads lead to Yuba.” Perhaps you will nd yourself on a road headed this way next year. Jacqui and her family milk 800 cows and run 1,200 acres of crops in the northeastern corner of Vernon County, Wisconsin. Her children, Ira (14), Dane (12), Henry (7) and Cora (4), help her on the farm while her husband, Keith, works on a grain farm. If she’s not in the barn, she’s probably in the kitchen, trailing after little ones, or sharing her passion of reading with someone. Her life is best described as organized chaos – and if it wasn’t, she’d be bored.

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Do not be a leaky boat dairy Duct tape works well to patch holes in leaky boats. It is sticky and stays on well. However, duct tape is not the best strategy to keep your boat aoat. Of course, it would be best if there were never any holes to x. This might be impossible if one uses the boat a lot though, Veterinary Wisdom because of Isaac Newton’s second law of thermodynamics. This law says that left alone, everything continually trends toward the state of maximum disorder, or entropy. This means all boats eventually acquire holes. It might be due to rust, or to scratches, or maybe because someone drove By Jim Bennett over the boat with a Columnist skidloader. Newton probably did not own cows; nor did he likely have any employees. If he had, he would have quickly realized that nothing demonstrates the validity of that second law better than a dairy farm. Cows and employees can be hard on stuff. Dairy farmers understand and deal with this every day. So do veterinarians. One part of our job is helping patch the boat. It might not be the most fun part of our job, but we try to do it with a smile. What can be hard, though, is working on farms where the farmer is always ripping the duct tape off the boat. Just when the boat is going down the river of the dairy quickly and easily, he or she pulls off a piece of tape or three. Then we all rush in to x the leak. Of course, when we do this, we pull effort from some other important task, and other holes spring up. We then rush to patch those holes, and the cycle repeats. Soon we reach a steady state of only ever plugging holes and never preventing holes in the rst place. Farms like this operate in a constant state of chaos. Owners and managers

become chaos managers. These farms might accurately be described as leaky boat dairies. One expects that well-meaning employees and indifferent cows will remove tape just because of the second law, but why do some owners do it? One probably needs to be a professional psychologist to answer this question, but 40 years of dairy practice has given me some insights. Mostly, people do this for reasons that have something to do with Steven Covey’s four quadrants of time management. Covey described these in his classic management text, “The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People,” in 1989. Covey’s quadrants were shown as four boxes stacked so there were two columns and two rows. The columns were labeled urgent and not urgent while the rows were labeled important” and not important. The quadrants were urgent and important; not urgent but important; urgent but not important; and not urgent and not important. Covey argued that humans choose which quadrants to operate within. Some of us like to spend our time in urgent and important, which is the place where things need to be done right now, while others may choose to live in not urgent and important, where thinking, planning and prevention are the main activities. Still others prefer to live in urgent but not important, where interruptions, some email and other pressing issues dominate. Finally, and unfortunately, some of us live in not urgent and not important, where busy work, like personal social media and other time wasters exist. So, why do we rip off duct tape from our boats? Some of us like to operate in quadrant one, urgent and important, so we actually move things that are not urgent and important into that quadrant. Removing the tape over a hole makes xing the hole a task that needs to be done right now. It seems that some of us need to rip the tape off before we address a problem that should be in quadrant two, important but not urgent. For example, let’s pretend you had a mastitis problem on your dairy, and through working with

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Dairy Star • Saturday, September 11, 2021 • Page 31

your veterinarian, you determined your employees had an inconsistent milking routine. You created a parlor manager position on your organizational chart, and delegated that responsibility to one of your most trusted milking technicians. Through his hard work, the milking routing became consistent, and eventually the mastitis problem was resolved. Then one day you needed someone to drive a for-

O part off our jjob One b iis h helping l i patch the boat. It might not be the most fun part of our job, but we try to do it with a smile. k and d then h llater to h l with i h some eldld age truck, help work, and then to help in the calf barn. Moving the manager around the farm became a regular practice. A few months later, the mastitis problem returned. Diverting your excellent parlor manager to other tasks is akin to ripping off the duct tape. Now you have an urgent and important problem that demands your attention. Addressing it as an emergency might require ripping off duct tape from somewhere else. The best way to not become a leaky boat dairy is to keep most of one’s activities in the important but not urgent quadrant, so problems can either be prevented or addressed before they become urgent. This can be hard to do thanks to Newton, but even if one cannot always accomplish that, at least try not to move activities into the urgent and important quadrant by ripping off the duct tape. Do not be a leaky boat dairy. 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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Dairy good ambassadors Page 32 • Dairy Star • Saturday, September 11, 2021

The Minnesota State Fair is a great state fair. Don’t miss it. Don’t even be late. I’m not sure who originally penned those lyrics, but they’ve been oating around my head since watching a 4-H Arts In performance while at the state fair an unknown number of years ago. Those lines and the melody came to the front of my mind the other day while sitting in the 4-H building with my wife and daughter waiting to watch this year’s 4-H Arts In performance while it poured rain outside. Arts In is always entertaining because I enjoy watching the kids do something many aren’t brave enough to do with a smile on their face. Usually the show’s plot goes something along the lines of: There’s a problem, and we’ll solve it through teamwork and positivity. I had been hiding from a downpour in the 4-H

building because last week I had the pleasure of spending four days at the Minnesota State Fair with my sons, Jonnie and Erik, and the other dairy kids from Dakota County. Jonnie was fortunate enough to win reserve champion with his Brown Swiss aged cow, Cece, during his rst year eligible for a state fair trip. Erik wasn’t so lucky as his best cow he picked out and trained for the county fair got pinkeye the week before the fair and had to stay home. He was disappointed to not get a trip, but sometimes things just work out in life. This year there was not enough space for all the 4-H members to stay in dorms at the fair, and counties close to the metro area like ours were asked to nd alternative places for the kids to stay during the fair or commute. I decided to check if there were any open rooms at my college fraternity, Alpha Gamma

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Rho. The guys at the house were happy to have us stay with them. The bonus to not staying in 4-H dorms was that Erik could come even though he didn’t get a trip, and everyone was happy to have an extra person around to keep the cattle clean From the Zweber Farm and fed. Despite the state fair not being nearly as well attended this year as it has been in years past, there were lots of people walking through the barns asking questions about farming and whether they could pet the By Tim Zweber cows. It was great watching the 4-H Farmer & Columnist dairy kids doing something just as brave as standing on the Arts In stage. They listened attentively and answered people’s questions the best they could. For some people, a walk through the state fair cattle barn is their only direct interaction with agriculture all year. I’m glad when, instead of staring at people like they just said the dumbest thing ever, even if it wasn’t far off, the kids smile and tell the person about how great their cow is and how much they enjoy working with it. Those people walking through the barns are our customers, and like all good businessmen and women, we know no matter how silly the question, our job is to treat them in a way that when they walk away they enjoyed the interaction and want to keep purchasing our products. If you have kids who go to events like fairs or even just their school, teach them how to be a good dairy ambassador or, to steal the marketing slogan from recent years, a dairy good ambassador. While there’s no band behind us or rehearsed choreography to practice, we can all stand there, put on a big old smile and solve the problem of fewer and fewer people having a connection to dairy products by being their farmer. I hope everyone has gotten some rain that needed it and the corn silage harvest season goes well. Until next time, keep living the dream, and maybe consider putting together a little tune and a dance number to tell people about your farm. It doesn’t matter if it’s cheesy. In fact, it should be. That’s one of our most popular products. Tim Zweber farms with his wife Emily, their three children and his parents Jon and Lisa by Elko, Minnesota.

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Fall is a season I enjoy, and September is the best month of all. Part of the reason why is because early fall brings with it many traditions. Three of the best ones are the cow shows at the Minnesota State Fair, Golden Gopher football and corn silage harvest. Corn silage harvest is right around the corner for us, a tradition of early September. It is always an exciting time of the year to get the cows’ feed chopped, piled and tucked into the silage bunker. I can almost smell it now. The bunker is cleaned up and ready for the newly harvested silage, the corn head is on and greased, and the kernel processor is in place on the chopper. We are ready. Due to dry weather, some dairies are already nished. Others will be heading out to their choppers sooner than later. In our area, Come Full Dairy Circle rain was short, but the yield looks comparable to years past. It takes many people to get silage harvest accomplished, and this year will be no different. Saturday Golden Gopher football games at the University of Minnesota have been a fun part of fall for our farm family over the years. These days, the games are watched or listened to while doing other tasks and sometimes while we struggle to stay awake in front of the TV if they are played at night. In years past, Mike has season tickets to attend home games shared with a friend. He often took our kids and their cousins to games, which could be where By Jean Annexstad their love of Gopher football started. In recent years, Columnist they have attended every home game they could with college friends and cousins from campus with photos in maroon and gold attire to prove their attendance. They miss a few games in September due to dairy judging practices, but no doubt the judges nish soon enough to watch the games wherever the practice session takes them. When Rolf and I attended the University of Minnesota, we went to Saturday games in the Hubert Humphrey Metrodome. The thrill back then was to watch Rickey Foggie and his teammates achieve great things coached by Lou Holtz. It seems like a long time ago now. The games were fun, but the venue was a bit uncomfortable as I recall. Games against the Iowa Hawkeyes were memorable with a lot of loud fans, especially the one when we were enmeshed in an Iowa section. Another tradition was listening to Sid Hartman and Dave Mona on WCCO radio discuss endlessly all of the game nuances every Sunday for many years. Without the tradition of “Sidisms,” our Sundays are missing something now. The tradition of dairy cattle shows in the fall is especially enjoyable. Making it in person to actual shows at the Minnesota State Fair and at the World Dairy Expo is a goal of mine every year. I try to get to at least part of them, because I love to see the cattle looking their best, and friends who show cattle are fun to see and visit with. This year, I was able to help with the 4-H Dairy Cattle Show at the Minnesota State Fair and to be present in the cattle barn for a day. It was fun to see everyone after the lack of the fair in 2020. Everyone I talked with seemed to feel extra joyful to be at the fair and to see friends in person at the shows. A bonus was the state fair cattle barn celebrating its 100th year of existence this yyear. What traditions it holds for ppeople p who have paraded cattle through the center c aisle to the Coliseum, Three off the Th h b best ones are the h worked in the Moo Booth, the milking parlor cow shows at the Minnesota managed (or the milk room in the corner way back when), dumped State Fair, Golden Gopher a few manure carts, held cattle football and corn silage over between shows, slept in the dorms above the barn, and harvest. for f those who come to watch the t shows and be with friends. A new tradition may have started in my household this year during the open class dairy show days of the state fair. It’s tough to nd enough hours to attend the state fair in between chores most days, so I watched the dairy shows on the livestream on the laptop on my kitchen counter. The fun of watching beautiful cows parading around the ring helped with the mundane task of making salsa with garden produce. Upholding the tradition of being there for at least one day was a great way to end the summer and begin the fall. The memories we make are called to mind as we go through the upcoming months of work and weather challenges which are no doubt on the way. I hope you were able to revisit or make some of your own fall traditions with family and friends, and that what is left of your harvest is safe and productive. Jean dairy farms with her husband, Rolf, and brother-in-law, Mike, and children Emily, Matthias and Leif. They farm near St. Peter, Minnesota, in Norseland, where she is still trying to t in with the Norwegians and Swedes. They milk 200 cows and farm 650 acres. She can be reached at jeanannexstad@gmail.com.

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Page 34 • Dairy Star • Saturday, September 11, 2021

Done with his practice

Nigon retires after 40 years as large animal vet By Krista Kuzma

krista.k@dairystar.com

PLAINVIEW, Minn. – Since July, Kevin Nigon has signicantly reduced his countryside driving going from one dairy farm to another throughout southeast Minnesota. The large animal veterinarian from Rochester retired after 40 years. He was a co-

owner of Northern Valley Dairy Production Medicine Center, now known as Northern Valley Livestock Services, in Plainview. “I really enjoy the farmers I worked for,” Nigon said. … “You go to graduation parties and weddings and things like that because you get to know these people pretty closely, and you get to be friends with them.”

PHOTO SUBMITTED

Dr. Kevin Nigon works with an animal during a visit to a farm. Nigon and his colleague, Dr. Jim BenneƩ, started a large animal veterinary pracƟce 40 years ago.

Nigon grew up on a 40cow dairy west of Rochester. While in college at the University of Minnesota, Nigon started out studying horticulture before switching to agronomy. After spending time with a few students studying veterinary medicine, Nigon realized his interest in the veterinary profession. He applied and attended veterinary school, graduating in June 1981. At that time, Olmsted and Wabasha counties had lost two veterinarians – one had passed away and another retired. Nigon and Jim Bennett, fellow veterinary school graduate, decided to ll the void by opening their own practice in July 1981. “Not many people would start their practice right out of vet school,” Nigon said. “It was something of a rarity.” Since then, Nigon has seen a variety of changes on the farms and in the industry. Farm sizes have grown signicantly. The largest dairy herd they worked with the rst year was 120 cows. “That was a pretty goodsized dairy at that time,” Nigon said. “That dairy is still in business today, and they’re milking 1,200 cows.”

PHOTO SUBMITTED

Dr. Kevin Nigon poses with a cow he helped care for at Sheeknoll Farms near Rochester, Minnesota, during his career as a veterinarian. AŌer 40 years in pracƟce, Nigon reƟred this year.

All but two of their clients’ dairy herds were housed in tiestall or stanchion barns rather than freestalls with a parlor. At his retirement, Nigon said the practice only had about four dairies with a tiestall or stan-

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Dr. Kevin Nigon appreciates the support from his wife, Ann, during his 40-year veterinary career. worked with fewer dairies but many more cows than 40 years ago. The practice’s largest dairy client now has 2,500 cows. “That’s a major change,” he said. It changed the way Nigon practiced veterinary medicine. “As dairies get bigger over the years, they all do a lot of their own IVs and treating,” he said. “When we rst started practice, going out to treat a cow with milk fever was a common occurrence. At this stage, it’s rare you have to go out and do that because the dairyman or the staff are doing that themselves.” Instead of the diagnosing of a single animal, Nigon said veterinarians now operate more at a whole-system level. “We started spending more time setting up protocols, training people on physical exams on dairy cows and what to look for, and setting up treatment protocols so a lot of times for sick cows they didn’t need our help,” he said. “We got more into monitoring these protocols, looking at records and trying to help dairy farmers become as productive and protable as possible,

“Dairy farmers are hardworking, and they are fun to work for.” KEVIN NIGON, DVM

and watching those things happen has been a fun thing over the years.” The extensive records dairies have because of on-farm software has allowed Nigon and other veterinarians to work on specic issues such as reproduction, milk quality, somatic cell count and youngstock management. “You nd out more of the whole scope of what the farmers are doing,” Nigon said. “You’re part of it. And you can contribute a lot. That’s been fun to do.” The records allowed Nigon and the practice to collect data from the largest 25 clients in the last 20 years. Led by Bennett, this data collection has showed trends of the incidents of displaced abomasum dropped from 8% to 3%. Somatic cell count has also dropped on the farms across the board. “It’s impressive what dairy farmers have been able to accomplish,” Nigon said. As a veterinarian, Nigon also became part of each farm’s team. “You usually develop more relationships with these farmers and with

the other people they work with – nutritionist, breeders, nancial people,” Nigon said. “We, as a group in the practice, have been involved in multiple teams where there are meetings where you go over everything on the farm, solve issues and make them more protable for the long term.” Nigon and Bennett started with a combined large and small animal practice; however, after several years, the two branched off from the small animal side to focus solely on dairy. “It allowed us to really concentrate on dairy and our continued education on learning as much as we could so we could get better at record analysis and milk quality – the things that aren’t routine vet things,” Nigon said. Along with the exciting parts of being a veterinarian, the role came with challenges. When dairy farmers experienced the highs and lows of the milk price, veterinarians experienced them too. “You get the ups and downs of the dairy industry,” Nigon said. “We went through the dairy buyout in the ‘80s, and we lost clients. Anytime you lose a large number of clients in a short period of time, you worry about your business. But long term, the business has expanded, and we were fairly resilient. This is also a credit to the producers we serve.” In the later years, emergency calls from the larger dairies meant an extreme situation. “I would dread those calls,” Nigon said. “I knew with something like a calving, these guys on 1,000-cow dairies were delivering several calves a day so they were really good at it – helping cows deliver. I knew if they called me, it was a really difcult calving that could end in a C-section or something very difcult.” But helping the dairy farmers and their teams kept Nigon to continue on and love his work. Nigon and Bennett transitioned out of ownership of their practice, allowing their other veterinarians on staff to take the lead. Bennett is continuing to be a part of the practice while Nigon retired. Nigon hopes to spend more time with his family – wife, Ann, and their ve adult children and 12 grandkids. While he is looking forward to time with his family, Nigon will miss the relationships he created over the last 40 years. “For the most part, it was all really enjoyable,” Nigon said. “Dairy farmers are hardworking, and they are fun to work for.”

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Women In Dairy Monica Dukelow Abbotsford, Wisconsin Clark County 450 cows

Family: My husband, Chris, and I have two sons: Aaron is a senior in high school, and Nathan is in seventh grade. Tell us about the farm. Three generations are involved in the daily operations of our family farm, Dukestead Acres. It is a joint venture with my husband and his two brothers. My in-laws are involved as well. We crop 1,700 acres of alfalfa, corn and soybean for our dairy herd. We do our eld work and manure hauling plus some custom manure hauling, chopping and combining. Our dairy herd consists primarily of Holsteins that are milked twice a day in a double-12 parlor. We raise our replacements and keep a portion of our calves to raise for beef. What is the busiest time of day for you? The busiest time of the day for me is between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. I work at a local high school during the day, and when I get home, it is a rush to get supper going, get to the barn to get my chores done, get back in to nish supper, take the dog for a walk, eat together and get ready for the next day. Once you throw cropping and eld work into this, it becomes a real juggling act. When you get a spare moment, what do you do? In my spare time, I like to garden and read. My yard is lled with a variety of perennials, and I have a vegetable garden. During the summer, I also design and do landscape installations. Tell us about your most memorable experience working on the farm. I was not raised on a farm, and in fact, the closest farm to my house was at the Milwaukee County Zoo. When I met my husband, everything was denitely a rst-time experience. I remember one of my rst times helping sort cattle. It was a disaster. I was screaming at the heifers to stop, and they were not listening. Then my husband-to-be was yelling at all of us. The icing on the cake was the group of heifers that managed to make every drop of manure in the barn go airborne and land on me. My pants were so covered I had to hose them off in the milkhouse and leave them there. I ended up losing my voice for nearly a week after that eventful day. What have you enjoyed most about dairy farming or your tie to the dairy industry? One of my favorite things about farming is giving tours and showing the public a segment of our life as a farm family. Some people in the groups have never been on a farm, so it is always exciting to see their reac-

tions. This is a way to promote animal husbandry and advances in agricultural practices through technology. It also gives insight into balancing farming and family. How do you stay connected with others in the industry? I stay connected with others in the dairy industry by attending trade shows or helping a business that we support host an event at our farm. I belong to a few social media groups. I maintain our farm Facebook page which has over 1,500 followers. I post updates on cropping, weather, cows and machinery at our place. I am also the co-advisor for the Colby High School FFA so I have the opportunity for networking with various people and businesses. Who is someone in the industry who has inspired you? One of the rst people we met when we moved to Abbotsford was the Abbotsford High School agricultural teacher, John Slipek. He has been a xture in the district for over 40 years. John is devoted to promoting agriculture. He continues to work tirelessly to keep agriculture and FFA alive in an area that has seen a signicant decrease in the number of students who come from active farm families. He urges students to take a gamble and show an animal at the fair or participate in the FFA tractor driving contest. I envy his tireless energy in the eld of agriculture. If you could give a tour of your farm to a prominent woman in today’s society, who would it be? I would give a tour to Joanna Gaines. Besides having great design style and being ambitious, she seems to appreciate living a rural lifestyle at her farm in Texas. We would have some things in common such as gardening, decorating, growing our own food and an appreciation of animals. Despite her fame, she seems humble and down to earth. What is the best vacation you have ever taken? The best vacation I ever took was to Hawaii. It is a place you cannot fully grasp until you see it in person. The water, the sand, the foliage, the sunrise over the Pacic and Pearl Harbor are some things that a picture cannot do justice. It is well worth the extremely long plane ride to this majestic location. And to top off the trip, we saw a dairy herd on the island.

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Dairy Star • Saturday, September 11, 2021 • Page 37

What is a management practice you changed in the past year that has beneted you? We went to group feeding cows and changed nutritionists to feed groups accordingly. She keeps tabs on our TMR mixing, and she and I monitor components in the milk. Our nutritionist also helps us keep track of feed inventory so we do not run out of any commodities.

Jim Koch DeForest, Wisconsin Dane County 225 cows How did you get into farming? This is the dairy where I was born and raised. After graduating from high school, I worked with my dad and brothers here. I got married in 1987, and in 1989, my wife, Jan, and I took over the farm. We have family members, like my sister and brother-in-law and their family, who have been a tremendous help keeping our operation going,. We work well together. What are your thoughts and concerns about the dairy industry for the next year? We have to do something with production limits. This is not for the sake of telling people what to do, but rather to ensure we are in synch with supply and demand. Whenever we get a price increase, I hear some producers say, ‘Let’s produce more milk to try and capture more money.’ But when you produce more milk, you drive the price back down again. We can try to increase exports and create markets, but overproducing drives the price back down. Climate change is another thing. You hear about it in the news, and I am not sure if it is for real or not, but it still could have an impact on farmers. Also, the feed costs we are coming into this year and next is pretty concerning. The exports China is putting on us now creates quite a problem with having to purchase inputs, like protein, and trying to make a go of it with the low price of milk. What is the latest technology you implemented on your farm and the purpose for it? When we took over, we increased herd size and went from a stall milking operation to putting in a at-barn parlor on one end of the barn with 10 stalls on each side. We also put in a variable speed vacuum pump, a 2,000-gal-

What cost-saving steps have you implemented during the low milk price? We have teamed up with our vet clinic – Lodi Veterinary Care – and our herd vet offered to do team meetings with our nutritionist and breeder to look for ways to make ourselves more efcient. We have ne tuned our heifer replacement requirements by looking at cull percentage, dead-onarrival rates, etc., so we can determine what we need for replacements rather than have too many heifers in the feedlot, which helps us cut down on feed costs. It has been a big help for us, and we appreciate all the input. We use sexed semen on upper-end cattle and heifers, and beef semen on the others. By having these meetings, we tie together everyone involved in the operation, and it makes a difference.

lon capacity cooler and a plate cooler. We milk with 20 units equipped with automatic takeoffs, and it is a very efcient system. We use the rest of the barn as a holding area and group cows so they do not have to stand in the holding area for long. A traditional parlor would change the dynamics so we do not want to go that route. We do not have liquid manure storage, and the investment would be more than we want to take on, especially because we do not have kids to pass the farm on to.

How do you retain a good working relationship with your employees? I talk with them. My biggest statement when I hire is around communication. I like to give a pat on the back and tell them they are doing a good job. Then they know we appreciate their work. Sometimes on the weekends, I will buy employees lunch and talk with them. I tell them do not be afraid to ask questions. I would rather answer a question than x something. If there is a problem, come talk to me. Do not be afraid of my reaction, but know if you do not tell me about it, a bigger problem could occur. We compensate each person accordingly. I have one person who has been here for 26 years and another Turn to DAIRY PROFILE | Page 39

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Page 38 • Dairy Star • Saturday, September 11, 2021

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Dairy Star • Saturday, September 11, 2021 • Page 39

ConƟnued from DAIRY PROFILE | Page 37 who has been with us for 16 years. We have a good relationship. I also work with the area schools youth apprenticeship programs, and that’s been positive. Tell us about a skill you possess that makes dairy farming easier for you. When you are a farmer, you have to be good at everything. I consider myself a jack- of-all-trades. I am a good time manager and can coordinate jobs for people who have the skills for that job. I know what their limits are. For example, I don’t ask someone feeding calves to go out and drive a tractor – that’s not their strength. My people are good at what they were hired to do. What do you enjoy most about dairy farming? It is nice to see the cattle improve with breeding and production. Farm ownership is also gratifying, and being a farmer allows time to spend with family. I like being my own boss. I have never worked for anybody else. I also like equipment, and I have acquired a number of pieces. I do not own new equipment. I also like seeing things grow and watching youngstock come up on through. My wife names all of our cattle. It adds a personal touch, and people give us compliments on our names. Naming cattle is one thing you can control, and we pride ourselves in that. What advice would you give other dairy farmers? Keep the line of communication open with people. Whether it be your vet, banker, family members or employees, you cannot do it alone. You need information. Make sure you have standard operating practices. Cross the T’s and dot the I’s, and keep doing the job you know works. Stress the communication factor. What has been the best purchase you have ever made on your farm? The Jersey cow. We started with Holsteins, and then my wife talked me into buying Jerseys. Now, our herd is 80% Jersey and 20% Hol-

stein. Our facilities are better formatted for Jerseys, they are more feed efcient, produce excellent components, and they have a nice attitude. The attitude and demeanor of our people is better when working with Jerseys. I like the component factor with Jerseys. What has been your biggest accomplishment while dairy farming? By switching to Jerseys, we increased our milk components. During the summertime, we run about 4.4% fat and 3.3% protein, and in winter, we are at about 4.9% fat and 3.5% protein. If you have to pay to ship your milk, you might as well ship components instead of water. When you look at fat-corrected milk, our production is not so bad. The feed efciency of a Jersey is better than a Holstein. What are your plans for your dairy in the next year and ve years? I have had health problems, and I am not recovering as fast as I would like to. I am going to be 66 this year so retirement might not be far off. I like farming but would like to do other

things also. We would like to set ourselves up to see what our interests are and plan for retirement. I do not want to quit working; I want to slow down and reduce the stress factor. We would like to enjoy some of the things we have worked for and see some other things in the state and country. How do you or your family like to spend time when you are not doing chores? We remodeled our farmhouse in the fall of 2004 and spring of 2005. We added a nice big porch, and we sit there after our chores are done and talk about what we accomplished, things that are happening on the farm, our family and upcoming events. We have not taken a vacation in 16 years. The last trip I took was to California for my 50th birthday. We saw the Redwood trees which is something I will never forget. Every day, we get to wake up and see things growing on the farm, which we love. My wife has horses, and we will sit on the porch and watch them and relax. People have cabins up north, but we have our cabin at our house.

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USED SKIDSTEERS

Mustang 2044, H/F Ctrls, D, 1450 Lift Gehl,5635SX, Cap, C & H, 5,300 hrs ............$14,500 T-bar ctrls, D, 2100 Mustang 2041, T-Bar Ctrls, D, lift cap, 8752 hrs S Spd, 3810 hrs .............Call For Price $9,350 ‘16 Mustang 1900R, Dual H Ctrls, D, 2000 Lift Cap, C&H, 2 spd, 2380 hrs ................................$31,500 ‘17 Mustang 2200R, ‘19 Mustang 1900R, H/F Ctrls, D, H/F Ctrls, D, 2450 C&H, 2 Spd, 1584 hrs ............$33,000 Lift Cap, C/H/A, ‘17 Mustang 1650R, H/F Ctrls, D, 1650 2 Spd, 618 hrs Lift Cap, C/H/A, Single Spd, Hydra $37,100 Glide, 4,810 hrs .....................$19,900 ‘18 Mustang 1500R H/F Ctrls, D, ‘16 Gehl RT250, JS Ctrls, D, 450x58x86 C&H, 3205 hrs .......................$26,800 Bridgestone Tracks, Hi-Flow, C/H/A, ‘19 Mustang 1500R, H/FCtrls, D, 1600 2 Spd, 340 hrs .......................$53,500 Lift w/ Weight Kit, C&H, ‘15 Gehl RT210 JS ctrls, D, 2100 lift 2850 hrs ................................$26,800 cap, C/H/A, 2 spd, 1728 hrs ...$39,900 NH L225, pilot/H pattern ctrls, Hi-Flow ‘16 Gehl R190, T-Bar Ctrls, D, 2000 Lift hyd, 2 Spd, 2,360 hrs ........... $27,800 Cap, C & H, 2 spd, 4,500 hrs .$20,500 ‘18 JD 330G, JS, D, 14.75 Severe Duty Gehl RT175, D, 1750 Lift Cap, C/H/A, Tires, 3000 Lift Cap, C/H/A, 2 spd, 2 Spd, 2226 hrs .....................$29,500 1730 hrs ................................$38,550 ‘18 Gehl RT165, H ctrls., 15.5” tracks, Deere 250, H/F Ctrls, D, 1750 Lift Cap, 2000 lift cap., cab, heat, 2 spd., Single Spd, 2,295 hrs ..............$17,900 450 hrs. .................................$42,500 ‘17 JD 330G, JS, D, 3000 lift Cap, (5) Gehl R220, C/H/A, 2 spd, 640 hrs.............$41,000 many options ............ Start at $11,850 TELEHANDLERS ‘16 Gehl R135, T-Bar Ctrls, D, 1450 Lift Cap, C & H, 3,780 hrs ............$17,800 ‘19 Manitou MLT625-75H Elite, Gehl 6640, Case Ctrls, D, 2400 Steer Whl/Hydrostatic, D, 5512 Lift Cap, 5,738 hrs ................$16,500 Max Lift, 19’4” Lift Ht,C/H/A, 2 Spd, Gehl 5640E, T-Bar Ctrls, D, 2200 Lift Reversing Fan, 2200 hrs. .... $62,000 Cap, Hi-Flow, C & H, 2 spd.....$17,800 ‘14 Manitou MT840, Hydro-Static, ‘18 Mustang 2200R, Pilot H Ctrls, D, D, C/H/A, 2738 hrs. ............. $73,800 C/H/A, 2520 hrs .....................$29,500 Mustang 2109, H/F Ctrls, D, 4000 Lift MANURE HANDLING Cap, C&H, 2 Spd, 3,629 hrs ...$24,900 ‘16 Kuhn Knight SLC141, 4100 gal, Mustang 2086, H/F Ctrls, D, 2600 Lift 700 bu, Hyd LH Lid ......... Call for price Cap, Hi-Flow, C&H, 2 Spd, Tire Chains, 989 hrs ...............$32,500 Kuhn Knight 8150, 700 bu., 5000 Gal ................................ $37,500 ‘88 Mustang 2060, H/F Ctrls, D, ‘12 Kuhn Knight 8132, 425 Tires, 1750 Lift Cap, Single Spd, 3200 gal ................................. $24,900 6,500 hrs ......................Call For Price ‘98 Mustang 2050, T-Bar Ctrls, D, Tires Kuhn Knight 8124, 2400 gal, 400 bu, frt and rear splash guard ............ $11,000 w/Rubber Tracks, 1550 Lift Cap, Single Spd, 3633 hrs .............$12,500 ‘11 Kuhn Knight 8118, 1800 Gal, 400 Bu, Splash Guards .......... $16,500 ‘06 Mustang 2044, T-Bar Ctrls, D, 1550 Lift Cap, C & H, Single Spd, 4,330 NH 185, 540 PTO....................... $7,300 ‘09 Meyer 8865, 1 3/4 1000 PTO, hrs - $17,500 28x 26 Tires ........................... $23,900

MANURE HANDLING

‘05 H&S 370, 370 Bu, Top Beater $10,800 H&S 430W, 16.5x16.1 tires, 430 bu $13,500 ‘09 H&S 235, 540 PTO, 235 Bu, Endgate .................................... $7,200 Jamesway Manure 8’ Pump, 6x8, 2 pt. hitch, double agitation ..... $5,500

Kuhn Knight 8132, 3200 Gal, 600 Bu, Lid, hinges on the left - $19,800

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USED TMRS/MIXERS

AUTOMATIC ATE1800B, 36” Roller Mill, 4 Cut Rolls, 54” Blower, 8” Hyd Swing Auger, Rated At 1800 BU/HR .. $8,500 AUTOMATIC ATG1200B, 1200 bu/hr, 24” Rolls, 54” Blower, Hyd U Trough Swing Auger, Ear Corn Cob Crusher ................................... $8,500

‘02 Penta 4100, 410 Cu Ft, 475 Cu Ft w/Ext, Stainless Steel Front Dual Discharge Conveyor, 16” Rubber Ext, View Platform, 2 Spd Dr. - $12,800

HAY & FORAGE Hagedorn Hydra-Spread 275, tandem axle, hyd sequence valve w/Flow ctrl, upper beater, drip pan - $10,900

USED TMRS/MIXERS

‘13 Penta 7520SD, 750 Cu. Ft., 8” Rubber Ext, Frt Sliding Flat Conv., Dual Direction Unload ........... $25,500 NH Roll-Belt 560, 2800 bales- $44,500 ‘16 Penta 6730, 670 Cu Ft, 3/4” Hurricane Augers, 9” Rubber Ext, Knives In Good Cond ............ $33,500 ‘12 Penta 6720HD, 670 Cu Ft, 2’ LH Stainless Steel Flip-Up Conveyor, Rear Lts, 9” rubber ext, 2 Spd drive............................ $23,500 ‘14 Penta 6020SD, 600 Cu Ft, 8” Gehl 1065, 3038 corn head, hay head, Rubber Ext, Frt. Sliding Flat Conveyor, tandem, metal stop - $5,750 Dual Direction Unload ........... $23,800 ‘14 Penta 3020VS, 350 Cu Ft, Has Motor & VFD ......................... $17,900 ‘14 Anderson Hybrid X Inline Wrapper, Wrap Rd or Square Bales, has 14,000 ‘03 Penta 4100, 410 Cu Ft, 9” Rubber Bales, New 13HP Engine In 2020, Top Ext, Frt Stainless Steel Flat Remote Ctrl Starting, Steering And Conveyor, Dual Discharge, EZ2000 Stopping, 4 Stretchers ........... $31,900 Scale, Viewing Plat Form ...... $11,900 Kuhn Knight 5144, 400 Cu Ft, EX 2000 New H&S Line Wrappers . Call for price Digi Star Scale, Frt Flat Conveyor, Twin (3) Gehl BU980, 16 ft forage box, Gehl 12 Ton Tandem Running Gear ....$4,800 ea. Screw, Rubber Tub ext. ......... $12,900

HAY & FORAGE

‘13 Teagle 8500, Processes 5x6 Bales .............................. $13,500 ‘16 Kuhn VB2290, 4x6 bales, net wrap, 9488 bales.............. $34,900 ‘12 Kuhn VB2190, 4x6 Bales, 16000 bales ........................... $26,900 NH 144, ground driven, 5’ PU, 7’ rear belt w/windrow turner option, good belts ......................................... $3,200

‘15 Penta DB50, Forage Box, tandem axle - $58,000

MISCELLANEOUS

Farm King 960, 8’ Snowblower, Hyd. Spout Rotation, 3 pt ...............$2,000 Snow Push, 10’ wide ...............$1,800 Edge HB3 Breaker, skid loader mnts, Hyd breaker, 1pt .....................$4,500 Loftness 962HHH7 Snowblower, 8’ Width, Double Auger, Hyd Chute ..............................$6,500 Vernig Pallet Forks.....................$550 4 in 1 Bucket, 84” ....................$2,300 ‘18 Notch 6TLL, 6’, Hyd Lift, Hyd Tilt...................................$1,595 MDS 6ft Pusher .......................$1,050 ‘18 Grouser Tracks, 18 Pads, Fits JD 320G or Loader with a 44.2” Whl base, All new bushings and pins ..........$2,300 Woodchuck 68ST1, 68” Spreader. $3,100 ‘17 Erskine 2420XL, 85” Hig-Flow Snow Blower, 24” Fan, Univ. Controller $6,600 Bobcat 60” Manure Grapple, manure tines 30”, single grapple ............$1,050 Handlair 560, Self Contained Hydraulics ................................$12,500