Agri-View 12/06/2012
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Thursday, December 6, 2012
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VOL. 38 • NO. 49 • 8 Sections
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2012 Crop Variety Test Results Inserted into this week’s Agri-View you’ll find our annual compendium of the UW Crop Variety Test Results. Utilize this information as you form decisions on next year’s seed varieties and purchases. Photo by Jeffrey Hoffelt
Radle and ‘elves’ make wreaths at Cranberry Creek Dairy when she started making wreaths in the back room of their former C r a n b e r r y C r e e k barn. That first year she Dairy has little in com- turned out 500 some mon with the Nor th wreaths in eight weeks Pole. Nine hundred cows and was “just going lounge on reclaimed nuts” with the stress of sand – no 12 tiny rein- that extra workload at deer in sight. No white- what is already, for most folks, a bustlingly busy trimmed-belted coat time of year (never mind either for the her farm work). senior partner T h o u g h in this Dunn Holiday County LLC, Wreaths who wears today is 10 a hooded times bigger, sweatshirt. As Gloria enlists for Mrs. Claus, her elves to she’s a statuesque, lend a hand – confident dairy proher mom, her ducer. Mondovi mother-in-law, Where this M o n d o v i d a i r y a n d an aunt, her daughter Santa’s not-to-secret Dawn, her daughter-indigs have much in com- law, cousins with small mon this time of year children who make holly is an ultra-festive, bus- balls at their homes, tling atmosphere, with neighbor ladies, and at all sorts of “elves” (dis- least one of their farm guised as family, friends employees who switches and neighbors) busy at to wreath-making after work in a cheery work- some milking shifts. It goes without sayshop. BY JANE FYKSEN CROPS EDITOR
ed in hutches) as well additional feed storage. Next month, he expects they will be maxed out in their existing double12 parallel, milking 780 some Holsteins three times a day. The herd averages upwards of 88 pounds per cow per day, and runs a somatic cell count between 180,000 and 200,000. Jeremy works closely with their full-time herdsman (a veterinarian) and a regular full-time staff of 14 non-family employees. The farm also employs another halfdozen employees seasonally for cropping demands. This expanding dairy operates roughly 2,500 acres (half of the land they own is irrigated) of corn, alfalfa and green beans under contract. At present, all fieldwork (other than chopping haylage and corn silage) is done inhouse, including comb i n i n g a n d m a n u re ,
their own trucking. Dale chuckling. concentrates on crops Gloria was introand calves. This dairy duced to wreath-makutilizes a custom-heifer- ing when she, along raiser for a portion of with her sister-in-law their heifer enterprise. and some other ladies D a l e a n d G l o r i a , in the Rock Falls area, who also works part- carpooled for seasonal time at Countryside Co- work making wreaths for op in Rock Falls, have a nearby business. Her five grandkids. Jeremy two children were small and his wife, Mariana, then, and it allowed her have two sons, Austin, extra Christmas money, 7, and Travis, 6. Jeremy she recalls. When her also has a stepdaugh- mentor retired, Gloria ter, Allison, 11. Dawn, decided to carry on the who lives down the tradition, moving the road apiece from the wreath enterprise home home farm, has one son, to her farm. Her present Keane. She works at an wreath-making workadult crisis center in shop, complete with Chippewa Falls. Gloria adjacent cold-storage also counts a 4-year-old, for finished wreaths) is Luis, as an “unofficial a couple years old. She adopted” grandson. gained a well-lit expandWhile Gloria didn’t ed facility from the grow up on a farm, she ashes of a farm shop fire and Dale were high they suffered. “I used school sweethear ts. to take over the whole “Dale’s sister was my farm shop,” says Gloria, best friend. I’d come enjoying her own desto help do chores,” she ignated space for her pm / explains.February 20, 2013 8:09 Christmas wreath enter“That’s where the prise.