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Serving rural Benton County, Morrison, Mille Lacs & Kanabec Counties.
BENTON AG Plus
Sauk Rapids Herald
THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 2017
An unexpected career
Kipka honored for 30 years of DHIA milk testing
BY ANDREA BORGERDING STAFF WRITER
FOLEY – In 1986, Ron Kipka had been working short stints for several dairy farmers when his wife spotted an employment ad in the paper for a DHIA Àeld technician. “I thought it was something to try,” Kipka said. “I didn’t think it would be something I would do for very long.” Kipka, 61, was recently recognized at the Benton County DHIA banquet for his 30 years of service to Dairy Herd Improvement Association (DHIA) as a Àeld technician. Kipka has serviced dairy producers in the Benton, Mille Lacs and Morrison County areas since he was hired in 1986. “It’s one heck of a pat on the back for something you really didn’t think you would be doing
PHOTO BY JENNIFER COYNE
Ron Kipka was honored at the Benton County DHIA banquet March 25 for 30 years of service to the Dairy Herd Improvement Association as a Àeld technician.
that long,” Kipka said. “The applause I received when the award was presented to me was quite nice.” Kipka, along with wife, Kathy, operate a small beef farm with 15 cows and 48 acres near
Foley. Kipka found the DHIA Àeld technician position Àt well with his farming schedule and a second side-business he is partnered in. A DHIA Àeld technician visits dairy farms to record milk weights and takes a milk sample from
each cow for component analysis. Components tested for include fat, protein, somatic cell counts and/ or milk urea nitrogen testing. The milk samples can also be tested for pregnancy conÀrmation, as well as Johnes’ disease and Leukosis. The
technician also records all changes in status information (fresh, driedoff, died or sold) and reproductive information for each cow. Because the Àeld technician needs to be present during milking times to collect milk samples, Kipka said he often has early morning wake up calls. Eleven out of 22 mornings Kipka rises at 4 a.m. “It doesn’t bother me – I’ve gotten used to it,” Kipka said. “The worse part about the job is being able to sleep well on those mornings when you have to be up the earliest. I wake up often through the night wondering if the alarm will go off.” Kipka said he even gets up early Sunday mornings. He said that is often when dairy farmers have more help to make the testing go smoothly. A typical day for Kipka includes calling the farmer a day in advance to set up a testing time. He arrives at the farm early enough to set up his equipment. Kipka has meters for as many milking units the farmer may use, to take milk samples while each cow is being milked. Kipka brings a laptop computer to prepare information for the farmer’s record keeping or Kipka: page 2B
Ag property taxes among topics at MFU meeting Smith, Wertish address concerns of constituents BY ANNA SALDANA STAFF WRITER
LITTLE FALLS – Farmers, county commissioners and agricultural advocates gathered March 31 to discuss their concerns, which included everything from the buffer laws to local food infrastructure growth and the need for broadband. The Minnesota Farmer’s Union (MFU) is hosting 15 meetings throughout the state, some of which include special guests. Lieutenant Governor Tina Smith joined in the Little Falls conversation and responded to each concern. Gary Wertish, MFU president, also responded to concerns. The Àrst issue presented in the open forum was the need for growth in the local food PHOTO BY ANNA SALDANA
Gary Wertish, president of the Minnesota Farmer’s Union, addresses concerns at the March 31 MFU meeting in Little Falls.
infrastructure, something Smith felt needs to be addressed. “I am a huge supporter of local food hubs – the farm to school relationships and connecting the rural communities to small towns,” Smith said. “This doesn’t Àt into one particular legislature category, so we have to make sure it doesn’t get lost.” Another big topic of discussion was the buffer laws. Smith mentioned 90 percent of farmers are already in compliance with the new laws. “The governor and I are grateful to MFU for their help with the buffer laws,” Smith said. “We are trying to get Ànancial support to counties, soil and water districts and even landowners. We know so many farmers are in compliance and no one cares more about the soil than the farmers growing on it. We know how important it is to all of you. You don’t necessarily need legislators from the Twin Cities telling you what to do.” Ed Popp, Benton County commissioner, mentioned that Benton County is most likely opting-out of buffer law enforcement because of the uncertainty of the funding involved. “We don’t think that $10 million spread out over the
state is going to come close to what we need,” Popp said. “Our constituents would like us to enforce it because they don’t want the DNR to come out onto their property and telling them what to do.” Popp also presented a question regarding agricultural property taxes and the need for a tax credit. “We need relief from the tax burdens in Benton County. The county board works to lower their levy, but then the school districts come along and pass levies,” Popp said. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not bashing education, but I see the problem of continuing to tax our agricultural land like we have been. I’ve heard stories from all over the state too. I think there’s a great need for tax relief in rural Minnesota.” Smith stated there is support of the agriculture property tax credit in the governor’s tax bill, as well as the house and senate bill. “It is an area where there is bipartisan support,” Smith said. “In a world where property taxes on farm land have gone up 115 percent over the last 10 years, that is a serious issue, particularly at a time when commodity MN Farmers Union: page 3B