September 9, 2023 Dairy Star - 2nd section

Grilled cheese for every taste bud

Watkins’ A Shred Above food truck sells hearty, gourmet sandwiches

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

CHARLES CITY, Iowa — At A Shred Above food truck, sandwiches with avor palettes as far apart as PB&J and a Reuben still nd common ground in one key ingredient: cheese.

“I love cheese,” owner Kim Watkins said. “Any kind of cheese, I love to put it in anything.”

A Shred Above is a new gourmet grilled cheese sandwich food truck operating in northeast Iowa. Watkins wanted a niche within the food truck business and found it with hearty sandwiches.

“I’ve always been a food junkie, wanting to cook all the time, but just didn’t have a big enough family to cook for,” Watkins said.

Watkins, who works full time for Zoetis, started planning A Shred Above in 2021 and opened for the rst time in July 2022.

“Anybody who’s considering doing a food truck, just take the leap and do it,” she said.

When Watkins is operating the food truck, the day starts with prep work two hours before the truck opens.

Watkins said she gets excited each day the food truck is open. As opening time approaches, fans carry the smells of food, and outside a queue begins to form.

“You look out and there’s like 10 people in line because they’re ordering from you,” Watkins said. “It’s a satis-

faction because you know people are choosing to come to you. ... They’re coming there for a really good meal, and that’s what I want to give them.”

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PHOTO SUBMITTED

Nancy Johlas (from le�), Tami Miller and Dora Hayen pause for a photo by A Shred Above food truck based out of Charles City, Iowa. A Shred Above offers gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches including chicken bacon ranch sandwich, Reuben sandwiches, ham and Swiss, the Cuban and classic grilled cheese.

Watkins started developing her sandwiches through trial and error with friends and family.

“I can’t tell you how many days we took of just saying, ‘Hey, come on over. We’re grilling tonight. Let’s try these seven cheeses and see what kind of sandwich we can make out of them,’” she said.

Watkins uses approximately ve different cheeses in her sandwiches: mozzarella, sharp cheddar, Gouda, Brie and Muenster. She said one of the challenges of creating grilled cheese sandwiches is guring out the melting points of different cheeses and how to work them into a sandwich so that the cooking of the sandwich and melting of the cheese align well.

The main sandwiches in Watkins’ classic yet creative menu include the aforementioned chicken bacon ranch and Reuben sandwiches, ham and Swiss, the Cuban and a classic grilled cheese.

“I have a very concrete menu right now, but I don’t want to be stale,” Watkins said. “We’re constantly trying new things. We will continue to keep trying new things just because I love sampling.”

Watkins also has tried various sandwiches that have been seasonal, which include a pizza sandwich featuring pepperoni and mozzarella on garlic toast; a mac and cheese sandwich with mac and cheese, bacon and barbecue sauce; and the Hawaiian featuring ham with pureed pineapple mixed with honey mustard. Some of her sweeter sandwiches include apple with Gouda, Brie with g spread on raisin or cinnamon bread, and a s’mores sandwich featuring white bread, granola, Brie and chocolate chips. Some of her kidfocused sandwiches have included a grilled peanut butter and banana sandwich and a grilled cheese, peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

“I want (customers) to be very satised,” Watkins said. “(I) want them to be like, ‘Wow, I can’t get that sand-

wich anywhere else.’”

She also has started offering pancake tacos which feature cream cheese, cheese cake, fruit and whipped cream. Another choice is a candy bar pancake taco.

Her truck has become successful to the point Watkins has to turn away potential outings. Currently, the truck is out and about two to four days a week in a 30-60 mile radius of its homebase in Charles City. Once a month on Sundays, A Shred Above goes to the central park in town alongside 10 other trucks for food truck day. Watkins operates the truck with her parents, three good friends, employees and occasionally her grandson. Currently, Watkins has attended all but one of her food truck’s outings, but starting next year, she said she is going to attend less of the food truck’s events.

A Shred Above appears in small towns and weddings and has even been present at Watkins’ grandson’s elementary graduation.

“We cooked for his whole class, and that was really rewarding for me,” she said.

Watkins sources her cheeses for her sandwiches through meat lockers and Fairway Foods. She buys large blocks and shreds most of the cheese the day before an outing. A few of her sandwiches use sliced cheeses, but most use shredded.

Watkins’ grandfather was a dairy farmer, and Watkins said she misses milking the dairy cows. As a business owner, she wants to support the dairy community.

“I’ve always been a dairy lover,” she said. “I just love supporting everybody. We’re a small business. We want people to support us, so we want to support them too.”

Eventually, Watkins said she is interested in partnering with a local dairy farm to promote their farm and their cheese.

PHOTO SUBMITTED

Melted cheese pulls out of a pepperoni pizza sandwich made by A Shred Above food truck based out of Charles City, Iowa. Kim Watkins uses approximately ve different cheeses in her sandwiches: mozzarella, sharp cheddar, Gouda, Brie and Muenster.

“We’re constantly trying new things. We will continue to keep trying new things just because I love sampling.”

KIM WATKINS

The “Mielke” Market Weekly By Lee Mielke

Class III milk price trending upward

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the August federal order Class III milk price at $17.19 per hundredweight, up $3.42 from July but $2.91 below August 2022 and the highest Class III since April. The eight-month average stands at $16.98, down from $22.54 at this time a year ago and $16.78 in 2021.

Late Friday morning’s Class III futures prices portended a September price at $18.61; October, $18.96; November, $18.62; December, $18.47; January 2024, $18.55; February, $18.49; and March at $18.48 per cwt.

The August Class IV price is $18.91, up 65 cents from July but $5.90 below a year ago and the highest Class IV since January. Its eight-month average is at $18.59, down from $24.83 a year ago and compares to $15.12 in 2021.

A drop in corn and alfalfa hay prices helped end seven months of decline in the so-called milk feed ratio. The USDA’s Ag Prices report shows the July ratio at 1.38, up from 1.36 in June but compares to 1.77 July 2022.

The index is based on the current milk price in relationship to feed prices for a ration consisting of 51% corn, 8% soybeans and 41% alfalfa hay. One pound of milk would only purchase 1.38 pounds of dairy feed of that blend.

The all-milk price average was down for the ninth consecutive month, slipping to $17.40 per hundredweight, down 50 cents from June and $8.10 below July 2022.

California’s average at $18 per cwt was down 70 cents from June and $7.30 below a year ago. Wisconsin’s, at $15.50, was also down 70 cents from June and $8.90 below a year ago.

The national corn price averaged $6.22 per bushel, down 27 cents from June and $1.03 per bushel below July 2022.

Soybeans averaged $14.70 per bushel, up 20 cents from June but 80 cents per bushel below a year ago.

Alfalfa dropped to $244 per ton, down $19 per ton from June and $34 per ton below a year ago.

Looking at the cow side of the ledger, the July cull price for beef and dairy combined climbed to an average $111 per cwt, up $4 from June, $20.40 above July 2022.

The income over feed calculation also increased as feed costs moved down enough to offset the lower all-milk price, according to dairy economist Bill Brooks, of Stoneheart Consulting in Dearborn, Missouri, and the ratio was below the ve-year average for the 14th month running.

“Milk production margins were higher for the rst time since November 2022,” Brooks said. “Income over feed costs in July were below the $8 per cwt level needed for steady to higher milk production for the sixth month in a row. Input prices were lower, but all three commodities were in the top ve for July all time. Feed costs were the second highest ever for the month of July and the 26th highest of all time. The all-milk price stayed out of the top 100 at the 133rd highest recorded.”

Dairy producer protability for 2022 in the form of milk income over feed costs was $11.91 per cwt, Brooks said. The protability was $4.12 above 2021 and $2.50 higher than the 2017-21 average. In 2022, the increase in milk income over feed costs was a result of the milk price increasing more than feed prices. Income over feed was above the level needed to maintain or grow milk output.

For 2023, milk income over feed costs (using Aug. 31 CME settling futures prices for Class III milk, corn and soybeans plus the Stoneheart forecast for alfalfa hay) are expected to be $8.26 per cwt, a gain of 44 cents versus last month’s estimate. 2023 income over feed would be below the level needed to maintain or grow milk output and was down $3.65

from 2022’s level, Brooks said.

Looking at 2024, milk income over feed costs are expected to be $11.47 per cwt, a gain of $3.21 versus the 2023 estimate. Income over feed is 61 cents per cwt higher than last month and would be above the level needed to maintain or grow milk production, according to Brooks.

Meanwhile, StoneX Global Dairy Market Outlook reports, “Price forecasts have shifted lower on weak demand again. The supply outlook continues to tighten with the U.S., New Zealand and Argentina milk production all lower than expected for July and lower milk price-margin outlooks keeping production growth weak for 2024.

“But demand remains weaker than production and hopes for a fourth quarter rebound in demand have faded. Imports by Southeast Asia have remained much weaker than expected despite decent GDP growth.

“Chinese imports, which were improving February through June, attended out in July, and early indications are September will be down. Milk production in China is reportedly slowing, and farm gate milk prices have attended out over the past four weeks. But the macroeconomic data from China continues to deteriorate, and they still seem to have plenty of domestically produced powder available.”

Speaking of China, the Aug. 29 Daily Dairy Report said milk output there overall is growing.

“Following two decades of public investments in China’s dairy industry, milk production has tripled, and this year China will become the world’s thirdlargest producer of cow’s milk,” the DDR stated, citing a Robo Bank analysis.

China will still have a 20%-30% dairy decit, according to the report, and remain the largest dairy importer in the world due to its large population and increasing per capita consumption. The import gap could widen by 2032, the DDR stated.

Speaking in the Sept. 4 Dairy Radio Now broadcast, StoneX broker Dave Kurzawski said he agreed, though China is currently dealing with “some economic headwinds.” One is the fact that China’s population may have peaked, he said. It has also urbanized “a boom for consumption as you tend to make more money living in an urbanized center as opposed to a rural setting.”

Kurzawski said the rate of China’s urbanization was about 3.5%, but that will slow as more people have made the move. Boom times will return, he predicted, but the growth rate in demand will be in the neighborhood of 2.5% over the next 10 years. If they are producing 1.5% more milk per year and consuming 2.5% more dairy products, “there’s going to be a shortfall, and the world is going to have to step up and feed China,” he said.

How soon the turn-around will happen is hard to predict, he said. The last three GDT events saw China’s participation pick up a little, but it was subdued by the GDT’s index decline, as Southeast Asia’s demand has fallen. Demand is still weak, Kurzawski said.

“It tends to come back when you least expect it, and as we go into 2024, we will start to hear some better demand out of China,” Kurzawski said.

Tuesday’s GDT Pulse saw 2.2 million pounds of Fonterra whole milk powder sold, down fractionally from the Aug. 22 Pulse, at $2,450 per metric ton, unchanged from the last Pulse and the lowest Pulse price ever.

HighGround Dairy said, “A bearish market outlook persists as plentiful global stocks and minimal demand stymies price growth ahead of the Southern Hemisphere spring ush period.

“Fonterra has made a volume adjustment ahead of next week’s GDT, shifting 6,500 metric ton from the 12-month whole milk powder forecast onto the Pulse platform, and for the rst time, adding skim milk powder to the Pulse platform. The skim milk powder 12-month forecast has been reduced by 23,510 metric ton, with Fonterra offering 1,000 metric ton of skim milk powder per Pulse auction.”

Cooperatives Working Together member cooperatives accepted 17 offers of export assistance this week that helped capture sales for 1.2 million pounds of American-type cheese, 2,000 pounds of anhydrous milkfat, 49,000 pounds of whole milk powder and 150,000 pounds of cream cheese. The product is going to customers in Asia, Antarctica and South America through January 2024.

Checking the elds, following the hottest week of summer across the Midwest last week, Hurricane Idalia hit Florida and the southeast this week.

The USDA’s latest Crop Progress report showed 88% of corn in the dough stage, as of the week ending Aug. 27, up from 78% the previous week, 4% ahead of a year ago and 2% ahead of the ve-year average. 51% was dented, up from 35% from the previous week, and 7% ahead of a year ago. 56% was rated good to excellent, down 2% from the previous week but 2% ahead of a year ago.

The report shows 91% of the soybeans were setting pods, up from 86% the previous week and 1% ahead of a year ago and ve-year the average. 58% were rated good to excellent, down 1% from the previous week but 1% ahead of a year ago.

The week ending Aug. 19 saw 59,800 dairy cows go to slaughter, down 2,100 head from the previous week but 700, or 1.2%, more than a year ago. Year-todate, 2,034,400 have been culled, up 109,400 head, or 5.7%, from a year ago.

Cheese prices entered September a little stronger as traders anticipated the long Labor Day weekend and the July dairy products report on Tuesday. The cheddar blocks climbed to $1.9925 per pound Tuesday but closed Friday at $1.95, up a half-cent on the week and 18.50 cents above a year ago.

The barrels nished at $1.87 per pound, 7 cents higher, 1.25 cents above a year ago and 8 cents below the blocks.

Sales at the market of last resort totaled three loads of block for the week and 15 for the month of August, down from 61 in July. Barrel sales totaled two for the week and 21 for the month, down from 169 in July.

StoneX points out that, while July milk production was down 0.5% from last year, “higher protein and fat content in the milk and less uid milk consumption means solids available to processing were likely up about 0.9% from last year, but that is a slowdown from plus 1.7% in June. Less growth in solids available for processors will likely mean a slowdown in the growth for cheese, butter and powder.”

We will nd out in the Sept. 5 dairy products re-

port.

Milk offers to Midwest cheesemakers remained somewhat mum this week despite the upcoming holiday weekend.

Dairy Market News said the previous week’s high temperatures and elevated humidity in the Upper Midwest kept milk restrained and spot prices above Class III. Milk output is slowing seasonally in the Midwest, and cow comfort is being impacted. Cheese demand is strong for central processors, but there’s growing concern that order fulllment, particularly of mozzarella and pizza cheese, may come up short in upcoming weeks, with schools reopening, football season kicking off and tightening milk supplies.

Strong to steady retail and food service cheese demand is reported in the West. Export demand is moderate, with less hesitation from Latin American purchasers. Some believe less active export demand is sending more barrel cheese to the CME. Cheese production is steady despite tighter milk and cream volumes throughout the West. Processing capacity is in good balance with milk supply, DMN said, and some say inventory levels are contributing to the bullish prices.

Butter slipped to $2.62 per pound Tuesday, lowest since Aug. 3, but it closed Friday at $2.66, a penny lower on the week and 44 cents below a year ago.

There were 44 sales on the week and 249 loads for August, up from 150 in July.

Midwest butter churning has picked up in recent weeks with some reports that churning has been steady throughout the summer, depending on location. Cream is more available due to the spin-off of stronger bottling for school re-openings. Spot cream multiples were in the Class IV “comfort zone” of low to mid-1.20s, DMN said, and Labor Day plant downtime was also adding to the cream supply.

Cream is tight in the West, but plant shutdowns for the holiday may loosen some of that. The limited spot loads were commanding higher multiples. A few plants have scheduled maintenance for their churns ahead of the anticipated heavier running times as fall arrives.

Grade A nonfat dry milk sunk to $1.0725 per pound Thursday, lowest CME price since Nov. 9, 2020, but it closed Friday at 1.0750, down 3 cents on the week and 44.50 cents below a year ago. Sales amounted to 14 for the week and 71 for the month, up from 41 in July.

Dry whey hit 30.50 cents per pound Thursday, highest since May 9, and stayed there Friday, up 2.50 cents on the week but 16 cents below a year ago. The week saw eight sales and 58 for the month of August, down from 152 in July.

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A business birthed by accident

Tautges uses goat milk for soap, nds needed income

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

GREENFIELD, Minn.

What started seven years ago as two goats in the midst of the Twin Cities suburb of Minnetonka has grown into 10,000 bars of goat milk soap sold each year across the nation.

Karen Tautges is the owner of Rapha Farms in Greeneld.

Eight years ago, Tautges’ then 12-year-old daughter Sarah started asking for goats. Sarah is a survivor of childhood brain cancer who sustained a permanent brain injury.

“A lot of the time that I spent raising her was spent trying to do what I could to bring her joy,” Tautges said.

They ended up liking the goats so much that ve years ago they moved to the countryside of Greeneld so that they could expand their herd. There, at a 4.5-acre farm that used to have horses, Tautges established a home for her goats.

Tautges’ soap business was forged out of necessity in July 2018. She was at the beginning

of a divorce and going through a loss of income, including almost a year without any child support.

“I (asked) God, ‘I need a different income source, and I need it to be reliable,’” Tautges said. “I was kind of going psycho there.”

A week later, her goat milk’s avor turned so completely goat-like that her milk customers would not drink it. Not knowing what to do, a Google search told her to make her milk into soap. Her rst batch, made from ingredients at the grocery store and an internet recipe, was poured into a cardboard box lined with wax paper and given to family and friends.

“Everyone was like, ‘Karen, this is so good; you need to sell this,’” Tautges said.

In 2019, her soap business became established, and then, the coronavirus pandemic of 2020 gave her an unexpected boost. Tautges was making and selling hand sanitizer from

PHOTO SUBMITTTED

Karen Tautges plays with a goat at Rapha Farms in Greeneld, Minnesota. Tautges started her goat herd with two goats in the Twin Ci es suburb of Minnetonka.

120-proof Everclear mixed with essential oils and sweet almond oil. With every order of hand sanitizer she shipped, she also sent a sample of her goat milk soap.

Her efforts yielded results beyond her expectations. Today, her goat milk soap is sold all over the nation. Tautges even ships soap to Alaska and Hawaii.

Currently, Tautges owns 13 goats: two wethers, four bucks and seven does. She houses them in the horse barn on her property and milks them in the old tack room. Tautges owns a milking machine, which she purchased when she had issues with her arms with tendonitis from milking, but she usually milks her goats by hand because it is quicker.

The goats are fed alfalfa hay while in milk and grass hay when not. During the summer, the goats graze on pasture. Tautges sources her hay from a neighbor who is a bovine dairy farmer. For bedding, Tautges uses the hay wasted by the goats.

Tautges aims to kid her does in late February or early March. She then milks the goats for two to three months to get enough milk for her soap for the year and then dries them off around the end of May.

The milk to make soap with is stored in three freezers. Tautges makes her soap and other products in the basement level of her home in an area completely reserved for the business.

Tautges sells her soaps in stores, online and through farmers markets in St. Paul, Minneapolis, Plymouth, Maple Grove, Chanhassen, Hopkins and at the Cargill headquarters. Tautges has a group of employees to help run booths at farmers markets. Each employee tracks sales through an app on their phone, and with this data, Tautges keeps them stocked.

A business practice that has been important to her, Tautges said, has been a strict adherence to only putting out quality products, even at the beginning when she was a mom desperate for money.

“I don’t sell something when there’s something wrong with it,” Tautges said. “It’s pretty easy to make a batch of something that has something wrong with it.”

Tautges has received positive verbal feedback from customers. She has heard of chronic bumps clearing up, rashes that have lasted for months going away, her shampoo working as well as an $80 medicated psoriasis shampoo and a customer being able to use her soap instead of medications for eczema.

“I’m just really passionate about trying to help people with skin issues because I know how awful that is,” Tautges said.

Besides her farmers market booth operators, Tautges also employs several high school students part time, and a good friend watches the farm and sends out orders when Tautges is out of town.

Originally, a factor in starting the soap business was to provide Sarah a career which accommodated her brain injury. Sarah worked for Tautges until a year ago when she moved on from the business and recently married.

Since Sarah will not be taking over the business, the 56-year-old business owner is looking for someone to eventually pass the business onto.

“I’m hoping to nd somebody, even a family (member), somebody who needs a little bit of help who has the potential to be able to sell my product that could partner with me,” Tautges said. “Ideally, if there was somebody trying to get out of abuse, that’s kind of our focus. We like to try to help lift up young people.”

MARKET REPORT FOR MONDAY, AUGUST 28TH

PHOTO SUBMITTTED

A collec on of goat milk soap is displayed at Rapha Farms in Greeneld, Minnesota. Karen Tautges makes thousands of bars of goat milk soap each year.

Grain Markets

September 6, 2023

Other Oats Soybeans Corn

HELPING GOOD MANAGERS MAKE BETTER TRADING

For someone who likes to ride motorcycles this may seem like an odd comment but who shut off the rain? Although it has been a hot and dry year, yields were set to finish much better than most anticipated. It would have been nice to finish yields off with a rain in late August or early September. Dairy producers that are out in the field chopping are generally being pleasantly surprised. Best I have heard is 27 ton/acre silage in SE Minnesota. That region always seems to be blessed. There must be a lot of Lutherans in that area. I was always told growing up that Catholics prayed for rain and the Lutherans received it. As fall harvest yield results come in, the trade will have a better handle on supply availability for the coming year. Corn stocks will likely improve to levels that will leave a comfortable carryout position near two billion bushels. Soybean supply will see a much tighter situation which will leave exports to do the work to balance ending stocks. South America’s increasing crop production will be what keeps a lid on world prices.

U.S. dairy prices have been finding support from slowing milk production. This is leaving less fluid milk for processors and dairy product manufacturers. Heat

is definitely one of the main reasons as most producers being affected are seeing significant per cow production declines. Markets will try to work out whether this is a seasonal issue or a cyclical supply bottom that will stabilize prices at a higher level. Early 2024 dairy futures contracts are acting like they believe supply is tightening cyclically.

CME Group spot block prices are approaching $2.00 per pound again after seeing a sell off into the $1.90’s. Barrel cheddar has traded in a $1.75 to $1.86 range over the past month. NZ cheddar is trading in a similar price range with EU at a slight discount. All regions are concerned about export business holding up with growing economic concerns coming out of China and the impact this could have across SE Asia and the rest of the world.

The blessing this past week in the dairy markets has to be whey. Although whey prices still have a lot to overcome, it was nice seeing 3-6 cents price improvement in the deferred months. Keep in mind that for every 10cent improvement in whey, Class III futures are affected by 58 cents/cwt. This has had a nice influence on 2024 Class III prices.

Milk, Feed & Grain Market Support

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*Futures and options trading involve significant risk of loss and may not be suitable for everyone. Therefore, carefully consider whether such trading is suitable for you in light of your financial condition. Past performance is not indicative of future results. DVi is an equal opportunity employer.

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Area Hay Auction Results

Fort Atkinson Hay

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Aug. 30, 71 loads

Rock Valley Hay Auction Co.

Rock Valley, Iowa • 712-476-5541

Aug. 31, 91 loads

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IOWA DAVE’S FEED STORE Luxemburg, IA • 563-853-2415

DOON ELEVATOR CO Doon, IA • 712-726-3215

WISCONSIN

ADELL COOPERATIVE Adell, WI • 920-324-3593

CHIPPEWA VALLEY DAIRY SUPPLY Stanley, WI • 715-644-2350

D&D FARM SUPPLY Arcadia, WI • 608-323-7001

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FARMERS ELEVATOR COMPANY

Waupun, WI • 920-324-3593

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GLACIAL PLAINS CO-OP

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GLACIAL PLAINS CO-OP Sunburg, MN • 320-366-3456

HOLDINGFORD MILL Holdingford, MN • 320-746-2281

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LUXEMBURG FEED SERVICES, INC St. Cloud, MN • 320-252-1513

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OAK PARK CREAMERY Oak Park, MN • 320-968-7864

PRAIRIE FARM SUPPLY Belle Plaine, MN • 952-873-4234

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

UNITED FARMERS CO-OP LeSueur, MN

There is no place like home

Dutch emigree builds dairy life in Kansas

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

CEDAR POINT, Kan. — Chase County spans 778 square miles in Kansas and is home to large numbers of grazing beef cattle, but it only has one dairy farm.

Vos Dairy and its on-site processing facility, Flint Rock Creamery, are located in the county near Cedar Point.

Ria Vos runs both operations solo.

“Cedar Point is like one of those ghost towns,” Vos said. “They have a post ofce and a bank that is open one morning in the week — and nothing else.”

The whole of Chase County has just under 2,600 residents.

“We have one hardware store in the county,” Vos said. “We don’t even have a grocery store. Dollar General is our only option.”

Vos milks 40 Holsteins in a double-5 parabone parlor that she adapted from a herringbone setup. The equipment is nearly half a century old.

“If it could talk, it could tell quite a few stories,” Vos said.

The site is around 4,600 miles away from Vos’ home country of the Netherlands. However, Vos did not grow up there either.

“All my family is in the Netherlands, but I grew up on a dairy farm in South Africa,” Vos said. “My dad was the herd manager there for a 250-cow dairy.”

When Vos was a teenager, her family moved back to the Netherlands.

“Kansas is two and a half times bigger than the Netherlands, but there are 17 million people (in the Netherlands),” Vos said. “I saw all those people so close together, and I told my mom, ‘As soon as I’m able, I’m leaving.’”

When she was nishing her last year of college, Vos saw ads for herd management positions — one in New Zealand and one in Kansas.

“My dad said I’d have more opportunity in America than in New Zealand,” Vos said. She applied and was hired by Chuck Magathan, owner of Silver Creek Dairy. He had been having trouble nding employees in Kansas.

In 2000, Vos started work on Magathan’s roughly 650acre farm. Magathan allowed

Ria Vos gives a cow extra a en on in July at Vos Dairy near Cedar Point, Kansas. Vos singlehandedly milks 40 cows in a double-5 parabone parlor and sells raw milk, yogurt, co age cheese and Gouda out of her on-site creamery.

her to begin buying her own cows. In 2008, Magathan was ready to sell the dairy part of his farm, so Vos bought cows from him and struck a deal. She could run her own dairy

business there in exchange for helping with Magathan’s crop operations and maintenance. A main benet was that she could remain in Kansas.

“I fell in love with Kan-

sas,” Vos said. “It reminds me a lot of South Africa. I like the space. I’m in the Flint Hills of Kansas, so it’s beautiful.”

Turn to VOS | Page 13

PHOTO SUBMITTED

The Flint Hills area in east central Kansas has the densest coverage of intact tallgrass prairie in North America. Because the soil is rocky there, early settlers had trouble plowing it and turned to cattle ranching instead. The area now holds the last expanse of intact tallgrass prairie in the U.S.

That grassland creates a feeding paradise for beef cattle, which are brought in by many farmers to graze there from spring to summer.

“Chase County gets hundreds of thousands of beef cattle in the spring from all over the country to graze,” Vos said. “Then in the fall, they pull them back out.”

Vos’ animals graze all year. Her heifers and calves eat the prairie grass with no need for supplementing. Her milk cows also graze but are supplemented with whey year-round that she purchases from a plant in Wichita. She also supplements with hay in winter and as needed. Vos avoids supplementing with grain unless there is a long winter cold snap, a rare thing in Kansas. A few years ago, grain almost destroyed her herd.

“I used to milk close to 100 until I got a toxin in the corn silage which killed half my cows,” Vos said.

Then in June 2022, her milk hauler suddenly pulled the plug, giving her only two-week’s notice. There was no longer anyone who was willing to travel the distance to the farm to pick up milk. Vos had to think fast.

That is when Flint Rock Creamery was born. Vos added a creamery space onto the parlor from which she now processes and sells raw milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, cream cheese and Gouda. Her herd is at 40 right now because she cannot use more milk and that is with reducing milking to once a day. With her helping with crop farming and maintenance on Silver Creek Farm while running the creamery and dairy by herself, her cows have had to adjust to a variable milking schedule.

“I run the combine, I can run the planter, I help x things in the shop, wherever I need to be,” Vos said. “My cows have learned that I’ll get to them when I get to them.”

There is a good market in her area for grass-fed milk and dairy products,

Vos said, and she has developed a customer base. Many of her customers are in groups, or co-ops. Members of each group take turns driving to the farm, up to two hours away in some cases, to pick up their group’s orders. That way, Vos has fewer interruptions to her farm work. The person picking up for a group lets her know when they are getting near to the farm, and Vos meets the person at the dairy.

With such a busy life, Vos decided 10 years ago to make life even more demanding so that she could promote dairy in a nondairy area while helping kids grow condence.

“Even though we are quite rural, there’s very few people in town who have access to livestock, and a lot of people have no clue where milk comes from,” Vos said.

She began halter breaking heifers for kids to show at the Chase County Fair. Kids now come to Vos every year to practice with heifers she has prepared for them. Many of the kids have never been near a heifer before, or any kind of livestock in some cases, and some of the kids come from difcult backgrounds.

“I do it to help them build self-condence,” Vos said. “If you come from a broken family and have been pushed around or are unsure about yourself but you can take that heifer and tell it to stop and go and do what you want, it does something to the kid. They think, ‘If I can handle this animal, I can handle another situation in life also.’”

Vos has halter broken anywhere from ve to 20 heifers each year. When kids come to the farm to be matched with an animal, she has honed her technique for matching them.

“What I have learned is, when I try to place the heifers with the kids, I let the kids walk up to the heifer and let the heifer smell their hand,” Vos said. “When the heifer jerks her head back, forget it, but if the heifer will reach out and keep smelling the kid’s hand, they like each other, and that heifer will not hurt that kid at all.”

Seeing what her cows can do for others is just one more reason Vos continues to dairy farm, even in more challenging years such as this one when weather has made grazing less than optimal. She does rotational grazing on several elds where cover crops are planted. Vos can graze her cows on the cover crops in winter and supplement with hay.

“Right now, we are in an extreme drought, so it’s the rst year since I’ve been grazing that I support my grazing with hay in the summer months because there’s really nothing,” Vos said. “The beans all died; the corn looks horrible — it’s one of the worst years we’ve ever had. Since April, we’ve had 6 inches of rain.”

However, Kansas remains her home of choice and dairy farming her passion.

“I love working with my cows, but no day is the same,” Vos said. “I have a lot of space, a lot of room around me. I like being outside with nature, and I like the variation.”

She said she especially likes having her cows outside year-round. If the odd cold snap arrives in winter, she simply puts down bedding in a low area that is protected, and the cows do ne. It is just another advantage Kansas provides.

“I came to America with nothing, and it is amazing what I’ve been able to build up through the years,” Vos said.

“It’s a challenge sometimes, but when you’ve got the next new calf from a good cow, and she grows up to be even better, it’s always a sense of accomplishment to see that next generation coming along.”

PHOTO SUBMITTED

Jake Leitnaker leads a heifer in July during the Chase County Fair in Cottonwood Falls, Kansas. The heifer is one of ve that were halter trained by Ria Vos, who operates the only dairy farm in the county.

First full day as Princess Kay

Kuball elds myriad of media interviews, is sculpted in butter

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

FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. — It was 4:30 a.m. Aug. 24, and with four hours of sleep, Emma Kuball began her rst full day as the 70th Princess Kay of the Milky Way at the Minnesota State Fair in Falcon Heights.

Unlike some summer mornings when the dairy farmer’s daughter donned rubber boots and chore clothes,

Kuball prepared for a full day of representing dairy farmers with a sparkling crown on her head.

By 5:30 a.m., Kuball, alongside two Princess Kay nalists, Megan Ratka and Montana Krueger, as well as Midwest Dairy staff, departed for the Minnesota State Fairgrounds.

At 6:02 a.m., Kuball did her rst TV interview of the day, a live interview with KARE 11 at the main gates of the fairgrounds where a crowd

6140 Series w/ Loader

gathered to wait for the fair to open at 7 a.m.

“I did really enjoy being at the gates at the beginning of the fair to see all the people who are excited about the state fair,” Kuball said. “It was also my rst time showing up as Princess Kay. ... That’s a moment that I’ll remember forever.”

Kuball’s rst interview was quickly followed by a 6:15 a.m. live interview with KAAL ABC 6 News, a 6:20 a.m. interview with Minnesota News Network and nally a 6:30 a.m. interview with FOX 9 KMSP.

The mood at the gates was quietly cheerful and a bit festive in spite of the fact that it was before 7 a.m. TV camera

operators and news anchors roamed the edges of the lines of people while small circles formed around politicians, such as Gov. Tim Walz, who came to show their support for The Great Minnesota GetTogether.

At 6:52 a.m., Kuball, the nalists and their entourage of staff including several public relations professionals from Bellmont Partners — the PR staff employed by the Princess Kay program — were at the WCCO radio booth inside the fairgrounds for a live radio interview.

After the interview, Kuball had a moment to pause and grab breakfast before heading to FOX 9 KMSP for another

interview.

Arriving early, Kuball and the nalists and PR staff quietly visited in the back. Behind the scene was a plain, gray sky matching the gray wood fence, cement and gray storage unit as the TV staff moved about their morning.

By 7:45 a.m., Kuball and the nalists were on camera being interviewed. They also introduced the anchors to the Dairy Goodness Bar’s Flavor of the Fair, Cheers for Cherries. Though early in the morning, a live audience was already there to watch the show.

Turn to DAY IN THE LIFE

| Page 16

AMY KYLLO/DAIRY STAR

Gerry Kulzer talks with Princess Kay Emma Kuball Aug. 24 in the bu er booth in the dairy building at the Minnesota State Fair in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. Kuball said she dreamed of having her likeness sculpted in bu er.

AMY KYLLO/DAIRY STAR

Princess Kay Emma Kuball does a live TV interview Aug. 24 at the main gates of the Minnesota State Fair in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. A er just four hours of sleep, Kuball was slated to do mul ple interviews.

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“It was cool to meet with all of these professionals and do all these interviews, and they’re all so welcoming and kind,” Kuball said.

After the interview, it was time for another short break.

At 9 a.m., Kuball was bundled up in a winter coat and snow pants, ready to enter the butter booth alongside butter sculptor Gerry Kulzer. Before she entered, she paused for a few pictures for Princess Kay’s social media pages, which are extremely active during the state fair.

“I’ve been dreaming about getting my head carved into butter forever,” Kuball said. “Stepping into the butter booth and having it start to spin was crazy.”

Inside the butter booth, conversation owed. One of the topics Kuball said she and Kulzer talked about was the differences between her face and that of her sister Kelsey, who was a nalist in 2021.

“There’s some slight differences that Gerry notices that a lot of other people don’t because a lot of people can’t tell me and Kelsey apart,” Kuball said.

At 9:45 a.m., Kuball elded a phone interview inside the butter booth with Browneld Ag News.

At 10:15 a.m., it was time to hop out of the butter booth for a break to be interviewed by The Washington Post.

After the interview, it was back into the butter booth until noon when Kuball did a TV interview with “Midwest Access” which airs on KTTC of Rochester. At 12:15 p.m., she paused for lunch, and at 1:15 p.m., she did a radio interview with the Linder Farm Network.

Just before 2 p.m., Princess Kay and the nalists went to join the Minnesota State Fair mascots, Fairborne and Fairchild, on the oat for the daily

PHOTO SUBMITTED

Fairchild (from le ), Montana Krueger, Princess Kay Emma Kuball, Megan Ratka and Fairborne smile together Aug. 24 a er the parade at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. Kuball was part of the 12 daily parades at the fair.

AMY KYLLO/DAIRY STAR

Emma Kuball (from le ) watches FOX 9 KMSP anchors Tom Butler and Alix Kendall try the avor of the fair, Cheers for Cherries, Aug. 24 at the FOX 9 KMSP booth at the Minnesota State Fair in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. Kuball did three interviews with the sta on on her rst day at the fair.

AMY KYLLO/DAIRY STAR

Princess Kay Emma Kuball is interviewed by Natalie Compton of The Washington Post Aug. 24 outside the bu er booth in the dairy building at the Minnesota State Fair in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. Kuball elded 12 interviews for TV, radio and print on the rst day of the fair alone.

parade. The parade started earlier than scheduled, so the princesses had to make a dash to catch up with the oat, which had departed without them.

After the parade, it was time for a short break before Kuball re-entered the butter booth. Ratka and Krueger continued connecting with fairgoers in the dairy building.

“I was just in awe of all the people around the butter booth and all the people stopping me as we were walking (across the fairgrounds) to different interviews,” Kuball said. “It’s so incredible to see how many people really love the Princess Kay program.”

At 3:30 p.m., Kuball did a newspaper interview with the Faribault Daily News. Once butter sculpting wrapped

up for the day, Kuball went to FOX 9 KMSP for a nal interview of the day at 6:15 p.m.

After over 12 hours of representing Minnesota’s dairy farmers, Kuball was ready for supper and rest.

“At the end of the day, I could denitely feel it,” Kuball said.

By 9:30 p.m., the princess, who describes herself as a night owl, was in bed, ready to get sleep to prepare for the next 11 days at the Minnesota State Fair.

“I’m really looking forward to sharing my story,” Kuball said. “(I want to know) what (consumers) are concerned about with the dairy industry and hopefully be able to ease some of those concerns if they have them.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF BELLMONT PARTNERS

Princess Kay Emma Kuball is interviewed by Kamie Roesler from the TV show “Midwest Access” aired on KTTC Aug. 24 outside the bu er booth in the dairy building at the Minnesota State Fair in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. Kuball spent most of her rst full day as Princess Kay either in the bu er booth or doing media interviews.

Frazee, MN Becker County

ANDREW

INGVALSON

175 cows, 600 acres

We are chopping corn now. We started on Saturday and should finish at my place today (Sept. 6). I work with a couple other farmers, and we work together on chopping. The corn has been better than I thought it would be, considering the drought. It’s either really good or really bad. On the good ground, I am really pleased with what we got, considering how dry it is. We chopped around 3,500 tons this year. There are a lot of people chopping in the area. The soybeans are starting to turn. We won’t be doing any more hay this year.

Rice, MN Benton County

ALAN VANNURDEN

600 cows, 1,400 acres

We started chopping corn today (Sept. 5) with our CLAAS chopper. It’s a 10-row chopper. We haul with four semis and four wagons. We are taking the worst stuff now off the non-irrigated fields. There isn’t much of a cob on some of the plants. The moisture is around 65%. We usually chop 400 acres, but this year, it might be 500700. We have more animals to feed. In the area, some farmers are just starting to chop, and some are almost done. We plan to take third-cutting hay on the new seeding and fourth crop on the older fields.

New England, ND Hettinger County

ARIANN DOE

250 cows, 5,530 acres

It’s been really hot. We are still working on harvesting durum. We combine with two combines and haul with three trucks. We have 2,000 acres left. The barley and oats are done, and the oat straw is baled up. We finished the straw on Labor Day. The barley and durum bushels were above average, and the oats were around average. We are also working on second-crop hay. We might have to small square bale some durum straw for the calves. A lot of guys around here are getting closer to being done with spring wheat, canola, barley and oats. The sunflowers have been untouched so far.

Sleepy Eye, MN Brown County

BENJAMIN SEIFERT

350 cows, 450 acres

Everybody around here is chopping or finishing chopping. We planted our corn later, and it’s a couple weeks away from being ready. We haven’t had any rains the last two weeks, and the corn is drying out fast. The silks are starting to turn brown. We are hoping to take fifth-cutting alfalfa in the next week or so and then gear up for corn. The soybeans are just starting to turn in the area. The alfalfa looks good; the roots must be down pretty deep.

Salem, SD McCook County

DENISE KURTH

40 cows, 250 acres

We chopped our corn silage last week, and the yields were OK. The corn is drying down extremely fast. There are people in my neighborhood who are talking about starting their corn harvest next week. The soybeans are starting to turn and will soon be dropping leaves. The dry weather has caused our pastures to become quite short. We are already starting to feed hay to our beef cattle.

Goodhue, MN

CHARLIE DICKE

200 cows, 850 acres

We cut our fourth and final crop of hay a little early at the end of August for average yield and good quality. Soon we will haul manure on the field that we will tear up. New-seeding alfalfa is looking very good, having caught the August rains. In the area, a few people have begun corn silage, but in the next week, corn-silage harvest will really happen. We are hoping for mid-September. The beans are really turning, and in 10 days, someone in the area will take them.

Orange City, IA Sioux County

LANE HETTINGA

130 cows, 75 acres

The crops are turning rapidly. A week ago, the soybeans were all green, and now they are all yellow. Everyone in our neighborhood is chopping corn silage. Moisture levels range from 58% to 72% with yields at 27-28 tons per acre. Most guys are pleased with the yield, considering the type of summer we’ve had. I went to the Yankton, South Dakota, area over the weekend, and the corn there was brown from top to bottom. It looked like it was ready to combine.

Anamosa, IA Jones County

DOUG FAIRBANKS

380 cows, 600 acres

We finished chopping corn silage at the end of August. The yield was two-thirds of last year’s, so we chopped almost 100 extra acres. This week we are hauling manure and planting cover crops. In the area, everyone has chopped, is chopping or is wishing they were chopping as the corn is drying up and dying. The soybeans are beginning to turn because of a lack of moisture, not because they are ready. Our animals are off pasture because the stream dried up and we would have had to bring both water and feed.

Chilton,

MITCHELL SCHAEFER

MATT REDETZKE

250 cows, 450 acres

We chopped the second cutting of the new rye seeding Sept. 4, and it actually yielded about two wet tons to the acre. It was 60% moisture standing in the field, so we cut, merged and chopped, one right behind the other. We actually had to stop eight or 10 times to stomp out small fires because it was so dry. The custom hay guys said they have only ever had to do that one other time. The stubble looked like you’d combined oats, so it’s safe to say the hayfields are done for this year. We started moisturechecking the corn; it is beginning to look like it is drought-affected. I would guess we will be chopping corn within the next two weeks. The beans are starting to drop leaves, but overall, they look pretty good. They don’t look like they’ve aborted any pods.

Cecil, WI

Shawano County

RON & COLIN WUSSOW

100 cows.

1,400 acres

We got 0.2 inches of rain this morning (Sept. 6). We were right on the edge of it; if you went one or two miles south of us, there was nothing. We are done with the fourth crop, and it actually yielded surprisingly well. It was much better than anticipated. We did a test run on some corn yesterday. We’re working to switch the other two choppers over to corn this week, and we’re just waiting on the dry-downs. We’ll probably get started sometime next week. The outside rows seem to be the worst; once you get in about 20 rows, it looks to have held moisture better. The beans are turning yellow, and the white mold issues are really showing up. The 30-inch fields north and south seem to be the worst affected, along with anything right along woods where there wasn’t as much airflow.

54 cows, 600 acres

We started chopping corn this weekend, and it’s a real challenge right now. Every field is inconsistent, so it’s hard to prioritize where to go. The potential for energy off those acres is way less than normal. I talked with a crop insurance adjuster who said the pods are on the beans but there are no beans in them. People will be making fourth crop still, and it might take them until it snows to get it done.

230 cows, 400 acres

We got fourth-crop hay done, and it turned out pretty good. We cut Aug. 29 and chopped Aug. 31. It was better than third crop because of the rain we had previously. Now we’re done with hay for this year. Corn silage is next, and we’ll probably do that the last week of September because we planted a longervariety corn with a 109-day maturity. A few people in the area are still doing fourth-crop hay, but most are done. There’s no corn silage being done yet.

140 cows, 380 acres

The pastures are pretty much fried. The conventional corn is being chopped rapidly. My corn is probably a week to 10 days away still. Fourth crop is pretty much wrapped up. My beans look good, but I’m sure they could use another rain. We had enough timely rains that the crop will be pretty decent. I’m sure guys are going to want rain for the cover crops soon here. There is quite a bit of cover crops around here.

300 cows, 1,100 acres

We got all of our corn silage done. We started chopping Aug. 31 and finished Sept. 3. We store it in a drive-over pile, which we covered Sept. 4. Our yield was good in bushels, but the tons were down from last year. We got around 200 bushels per acre and around 17-18 tons per acre. That’s about 10 tons per acre less than usual in spots. The corn was shorter with spindlier stalks but had a really good ear on it. A lot of people in the area are working on corn silage.

WI Calumet County

Stratford, WI Marathon County

ALAN AINGER

Harvard, IL McHenry County

RICH HOUZNER

Elroy, WI Juneau County

TIM VOSBERG

Cuba City, WI Grant County

Breeding beauty queens

Each class-winning heifer carries Schulte prex at Iowa State Fair

By Danielle Nauman danielle.n@dairystar.com

WATKINS, Iowa — What started out as a hobby, an interest in creating beautiful dairy cattle, has grown into something more for the Schulte family of Watkins.

“It’s something we have become passionate about,” said Blake Schulte, coowner of Schulte Bros Dairy Farm.

The Schulte family — brothers Blake, Mitch and Zach along with their dad Mark — began their journey breeding high-end show cattle nearly 20 years ago. Each holds an off-farm job, separate from the cattle: Blake works as a veterinarian, Mitch works with Midwest Dairy, and Zach is a feedlot manager at Amana Farms. Mark is retired.

At last month’s Iowa State Fair, the Schultes accomplished the feat of breeding each of the class-winning heifers.

The Schultes said they are most proud that they had sold ve of those seven heifers to other breeders and exhibitors.

Schulte said even more exciting for his family was to watch the Kruse family of KCCK Genetics in Dyersville sweep the show’s junior championship banners with Schulte-bred heifers, as well as exhibiting Schulte Bros Colton Frankie to the intermediate and grand champion banners.

With the stellar showing of animals they bred, the Schulte family took home the show’s premier breeder banner.

“Watching so many people have success with our genetics is really satisfying,” Schulte said. “That is really what we are out to accomplish.”

Breeding dairy cattle that can achieve show ring success has been a longtime

pursuit for the Schulte family, dating back to Schulte Sunwise Pat, who claimed ve All-American titles and three World Dairy Expo championships for her owner, Meadow View Farm.

While they have worked with Holsteins and Brown Swiss, the Schultes now work primarily with Jerseys. The herd consists of six donor cows, each on an extensive in vitro fertilization program. The Schultes do not ship milk and instead rely on marketing offspring of their donor cows.

“We focus on selecting individuals who will make good donors,” Schulte said. “We want cows that have strong maternal lines and can make the kind of calves we are looking to make. We have really come to admire the Jersey breed for how well they transmit.”

With each passing year, the Schultes

have continued to perfect their craft, selling heifers that go on to do well for their new owners.

“We are the happiest when we can watch others do well with animals we bred,” Schulte said. “We don’t mind getting beat in the show ring, particularly when it is by something we bred and sold

to someone else.”

Show ring success for animals carrying the

Bros prex has become a tradition that has been growing exponentially over the past decade.

PHOTO SUBMITTED

The winning heifers at the Iowa State Fair, all bred by Schulte Bros Dairy Farm, line up Aug. 11 in Des Moines, Iowa. Kaleb Kruse (from le ) held the winning fall yearling and junior champion Schulte Bros Colton Cheerio-ET, Charlie Schulte held the winter yearling Schulte Bros Andreas Fashionista-ET, Blake Schulte held the spring yearling Schulte Bros Do The Griddy-ET, Mitch Schulte held the summer yearling Schulte Bros Kid Rock Fire-ET, Gene Henderson held the fall calf and reserve junior champion Schulte Bros Kid Rock Gangsta-ET, Cooper Schulte held the winter calf Schulte Bros Kid Rock Filly-ET, and Willow Sexton held the spring calf Schulte Bros Joel Charli-ET.

Schulte

Consultant judge Jared Major reaches out to congratulate Cole Kruse as he names Schulte Bros Colton Fame, the winning winter yearling, the junior champion of the All-American Junior Jersey Show Nov. 7, 2020, at the North American Interna onal Livestock Exposi on in Louisville, Kentucky. Show ring success for animals carrying the Schulte Bros prex has become a tradi on that has been growing over the past decade.

“The rst animal we bred that really did well was Schulte Bros Tequila Shot,” Schulte said. “Michael Heath purchased her for the Fraley family in Pennsylvania as a fall calf. She went on to be named the reserve junior champion at World Dairy Expo in 2013.”

From there, Tequila Shot went on to have continued success as a milking female for the partnership of Budjon Farms, Peter Vail and David Jordan of Lomira, Wisconsin, claiming a total of seven All-American nominations throughout her career.

Six years later, Schulte Bros Teq Glory-ET one-upped her older full sister and claimed the junior champion banner at the 2019 World Dairy Expo for owners Budjon Farms and Vail.

While the dam of Tequila Shot and Glory, Mi Wil Deluxe Gorgeous EX-92, has passed on, the Schultes hope she will have a role to play in their future.

“We have two Tequila embryos out of Gorgeous still in the tank,” Schulte said. “I have been waiting for the perfect recipient to put them in.”

The Schultes’ primary criteria used for selecting their donors is based on the maternal line.

“We want to work with donors that come from strong cow families, ones we think we can successfully breed the next generation from,” Schulte said.

The Schultes strive to make about 10 calves for each of the age groups of heifer classes, with the goal being to consign nearly all to sales. They have been working with Vytelle for their IVF program. Collections occur at Schulte’s clinic, and

he places the resulting embryos into recipients himself.

Two of their most prolic donors they are working with are Pleasant Nook Guns Foxy Lady EX-91 and SVHeaths HGun Corolla-ET EX-93. They are also working with Foxy Lady’s 95-point Tequila daughter, Flashy Lady.

“Foxy Lady and Corolla both ush great,” Schulte said. “They each average about 12 eggs per collection. The last time we did Corolla, she made 32 eggs.”

While Foxy Lady and Corolla have become the recent bread and butter of the Schulte Bros program, they have been adding new genetics to their program including a VG-88 2-year-old Guimo Joel sister to the popular bull Mr Kathies Kid Rock; an EX-91 River-Valley Ricki Rockstar granddaughter of WDE champion MBLucky Lady Feliz Navidad; and a VG87 Triple-T-CF Mr Swagger 2-year-old daughter of two-time WDE champion BriLin Valson Spritz.

The Schultes have had great luck using Tower-Vue Prime Tequila and Chilli Action Colton as sires. Other bulls they are using include River Valley Victorious, Avonlea Chips Canadian Club, SV Reviresco Hidalgo and Mr Kathies Kid Rock.

While they try to keep up with the new young sires to meet industry demands, Schulte said they like working with bulls that have daughters on the ground.

“We’re trying to breed the kind that can win the beauty pageants; that is our goal,” Schulte said. “We are happiest when we can watch others have that success with our cattle.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF COWSMOPOLITAN

Fall treats

For some people, the rst sign of fall is when pumpkin spice lattes hit the coffeehouses or when the bakery starts the day with a fresh batch of apple cider doughnuts. I’m not a latte person, but I do like doughnuts. I found this apple cider doughnut Bundt cake recipe online the other day. I thought it was worth a try. Sometimes those recipes online are a little off, so I did have to tweak it a bit. The results are a delicious call to fall treats. You can even make the cake into mufns for meals in the eld.

One of our family’s favorite dinners in the eld comes from back home. It is a perfect meal in one pan. Even the cold leftovers taste great the next day. I generally start browning the meat while I’m peeling the potatoes. Instead of green beans from a can, I grab of quart of beans off my shelves. Don’t forget the garlic salt or powder. It really makes a difference.

We just nished chopping and baling fourth-crop hay this week. It seems early, but it looks like we’ll start chopping corn silage as soon as we can switch heads on the chopper. When the corn is ready to chop, the grapes are ready to harvest. The concords are right at peak while the bluebells are a few days behind. I’ll probably just make juice to drink or to use for jelly. I’m going to try using my apple press to squeeze the juice from the grapes. It has to be better than using my hands to squeeze every last drop from a jelly bag or stomping them with my feet. If you nd seedless grapes on sale in the store, try making your own raisins. It is so easy.

Our Zestar apples have been a bright spot in our morning chore routine lately. The guys will grab a couple every morning when we start to switch cows for the nal milking shift. The heat has really pushed the apples along. I’m curious to see how juicy they are when we start making apple cider later this fall. Fingers crossed there will be enough to put up for hot apple cider drinks this winter and more apple cider cake.

Apple cider doughnut Bundt cake

1 box yellow cake mix

1 cup apple cider (or apple juice with a pinch of ginger, nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon each and 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar)

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup applesauce

3 large eggs

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons cinnamon

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter, melted Dipping glaze: Mix together

1 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup apple cider

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat cake mix, cider/juice, applesauce and eggs together. Add cinnamon, brown sugar and vanilla to batter. Pour into a well greased and oured Bundt pan. Bake 45 minutes. Cool 20 minutes on wire rack before removing from pan. Once cooled, brush whole cake with melted butter. Wait 1 minute. While waiting, mix together nal cinnamon and sugar. Rub into cake. Serve as is or with dipping glaze.

For mini-mufns, ll mufn tins 3/4 full. Bake for 14 minutes and cool for 15 minutes. Brush tops with melted butter. Wait 1 minute. Dip mufn into bowl of cinnamon/sugar mixture.

Beef potato bake from the Phyllis Harrell Stronghurst Cookbook

3-4 medium raw potatoes, thinly sliced

1 can green beans, save juice

1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

1 pound ground beef

1 small onion, chopped

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1/2 cup liquid from green beans

1 cup grated cheese

In a greased casserole dish, cover the bottom with sliced potatoes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Top with drained green beans and sprinkle beans with garlic salt. Brown meat and onion, adding a small amount of salt and pepper. Top beans with meat/onion mixture. Blend soup and reserved bean liquid. Pour over meat. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, uncovered. Remove and top with cheese and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes. One of our family’s favorites.

Homemade raisins

1 pound seedless grapes, any color

2 tablespoons white vinegar

Water

Ice cubes

Preheat oven to 190 degrees. Remove grapes from stems. Combine vinegar with water and ice cubes to ll a large bowl. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add grapes. Boil for 30 seconds. Drain well. Place grapes in ice bath for 2 minutes. Drain well. Place grapes in a single layer on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Allow grapes to dry for 12-18 hours or until wrinkled and pliable. Stir a couple of times. Store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks or freeze for later use.

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

Inside Every Seed is the Potential for an Incredible Harvest

Food columnist, Natalie Schmitt

Let us help you sow the seeds of your farm’s success. Our vast farming experience combined with our years of ag lending experience make us an invaluable addition to your farm business.

Turtle bars

From the kitchen of Amber Pung of Freeport, Minnesota

1 1/4 cups quick oats

1 1/4 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup butter, melted

1 bag milk chocolate chips

3/4 package Kraft caramels

6 tablespoons heavy cream

Mix first six ingredients together. Press 3/4 of mixture into 9-by-13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. While hot, sprinkle with chocolate chips. Melt Kraft caramels and heavy cream together; pour over chocolate chips. Sprinkle with remaining crumb mixture. Bake for additional 15-20 minutes.

Chicken tetrazzini

From the kitchen of Amber Pung of Freeport, Minnesota

1 pound linguini pasta, cooked

1/2 cup soft butter

4 chicken breasts, cooked and cut up

2 cans cream of chicken soup

2 cups sour cream

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

In a large bowl, combine butter, chicken, soup, sour cream, salt and pepper. Add cooked pasta and mix well. Pour mixture into greased 9-by-13 pan. Sprinkle cheeses on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes.

Baked cheesy hashbrowns

From

of

32-ounce bag frozen shredded hashbrowns

1/2 cup melted butter

1 can cream of chicken

12 ounces grated American cheese

8 ounces sour cream

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 small onion, chopped

2 cups crushed corn flakes

1/2 cup melted butter

Put hashbrowns into ungreased 9-by-13 pan. Mix the other ingredients together and spread over the hashbrowns. Top with corn flakes and melted butter. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

DAIRY CATTLE AUCTION

Wednesday, September 13, 2023 at 11:00 am

COMPLETE HERD DISPERSAL #1

55 Holstein Dairy Cows. Herd includes some Red & White Holsteins and many Red factored cows. Tie stall milked, outside daily, cows are not pushed, avg. 75# 3.55BF 2.86P 155 scc, NO TMR, 65% are 2 & 3 year olds, over 40 years of AI through Select Sires, regular herd health, full vaccination program. Cows are given Tomorrow at dry off. Excellent udders! Very nice quality dairy herd! Coming from Jeff & Beth Sigg, Mineral Point

COMPLETE HERD DISPERSAL #2

175 Holstein Dairy Cows. Milked in parlor, sand bedded freestalls. Cows will sell on test, 27,675# avg. 85# 3.8BF 3.2P scc200. Lots of cows milking 90-140# Cows in all stages of lactation. Herd includes approx. 50 springing dry cows. 90% of herd is bred Angus. Full vaccination program. Coming from Kurt & Cindy Schulz, Augusta SPRINGING HEIFERS

15 Holstein Springing Heifers, including several; Red & Whites,, sired by registered bulls, bred to registered Holstein bull, full vaccination program. Good quality heifers.

DAIRY CATTLE AUCTION

Wednesday, September 20, 2023 at 11:00 am

COMPLETE RETIREMENT HERD DISPERSAL #1

50 Holstein Dairy Cows, tie stall milked, outside daily. 70# 4.0F 3.0P 160SCC, not pushed. AI breeding for 60 years, currently with Select Sires. Favorite sires include Meridian, Emerald, Rocket re and Oliver. Full vaccination program. After 60 years, the owners are retiring from dairy farming. Coming from Eric & Karen Franson, Strum, WI

FALL ROUND UP SHEEP AND GOAT AUCTION

Thursday, September 28th at 10:00 am!

Accepting Sheep and Goats 5-8:30pm Wednesday evening. Have all sheep and goats in by 9:00am Thursday morning!

SPECIAL MONTHLY DAIRY HEIFER AUCTION

Tuesday September 26, 2023 at 11:00am

Expecting 300-400 head! Call with your consignments!

Wednesday we sold 210 head of dairy cattle, with three complete herd dispersals. Run included lots of colored breed cattle! One herd of Organic Crossbreds. Top Fresh Cows $2,100-3,000. Most of the top cows were organic! Many other cows from $1,550 -2,075. We had many extreme fancy Holstein Springing Heifers bringing from $2,000-2,900, with one group averaging over $2,500. Friday we sold a 430 cow excellent quality herd. Prices will be in next week’s ad, as this was right at ad deadline!! Full updated market report on our website! Thank you so much for all the tremendous support, business and friendships!!

ROERS WHITEWASHING