11/10/12-Zone 2-1st Section

Page 2 • Dairy Star • Saturday, November 10, 2012

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/Sales Mark Klaphake 320-352-6303 (ofce) 320-248-3196 (cell) 320-352-0062 (home) mark.k@dairystar.com Ad Composition Janell Westerman 320-352-6303 janell.w@dairystar.com Nancy Middendorf 320-352-6303 nancy.m@dairystar.com Consultant Jerry Jennissen 320-346-2292 President Dave Simpkins 320-352-6577 davesimpkins@saukherald.com Staff Writers Krista Sheehan - Assistant Editor SE MN/NE IA 507-259-8159 • krista.s@dairystar.com Ron Johnson 320-429-1233 ron.j@dairystar.com Ruth Klossner 507-240-0048 cowlady@centurylink.net

Online Editor/Online Sales Andrea Borgerding 320-352-6303 (ofce) 320-429-1084 (cell) andrea.b@dairystar.com 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 - Jeff Weyer (National Advertising, Northern MN, East Central MN) 320-260-8505 (cell) jeff.w@dairystar.com Mark Klaphake (West and South Central MN) 320-352-6303 (ofce) 320-248-3196 (cell) Laura Seljan (SE MN, Central WI) 507-250-2217 (cell) fax: 507-634-4413 laura.s@dairystar.com Jerry Nelson (SW MN, NW Iowa, South Dakota) 605-690-6260 (cell) jerry.n@dairystar.com Lori Young (Central MN) 612-597-2998 • lori.y@dairystar.com Lori Menke (Eastern Iowa, Southern WI) 563-608-6477 • lori.m@dairystar.com Deadlines The deadline for news and advertising in the Dairy Star is 5 p.m. Friday the week before publication.

Subscriptions One year subscription $28.00, 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. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Dairy Star, 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave., Sauk Centre, MN 56378-1246.

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Tom Forseth, Arena, Wis., Iowa County 60 cows How did you get started farming? I got married, started farming and had a kid – all in 1976. I was the second generation to farm. I went to a farm short course. It was just something I liked doing. That was a long time ago, and I still enjoy it.

Please describe your farm. It’s Locust Valley Organic Dairy. We have 600-plus acres. My son, Matt, and I do about 95 percent of the work.

For a father-son operation, we get along pretty good – most of the time.

At the end of the day, we still like each other.

Why did you want to farm? I went to college, and after living in a city a number of years, I really like the peace and quiet out in the country. It’s a good place to raise kids, too.

What’s your favorite farm job? One reason I’m still farming is I got to the point in my life where I think I like cows more than most people. My son does most of the milking, but I like the cows. I like interacting with the cows. They’re smarter than most people. They don’t talk much, and the nasty ones you get to sell into Big Mac attacks.

What are some of your goals? If not for the drought, we probably would have built a 100-cow loang barn this year. The longer I wait to build this stuff, the fancier it gets and the more stuff I think I have to have in it to make it work. I would like my farm to be successful for my son. I have three other sons and daughters and I would like them to be successful. They also have very close ties to the farm and they come out to spend time on it. I have no desire to live to be 100 years old. I would like to die when I’m still working – when I can still do something.

What are your plans for the next ve years? We want to modernize our milking facilities and phase out of the old stanchion barn. We want to do a lot better job of what we’re doing. We just bought 85 acres, so we’ve got to pay some debt down.

What are some of the other activities you enjoy? I sing and play in a community theater. Some of my buddies and I go out and drink some beer to support the grain farmers. It’s been one of my lifelong goals to canoe the Kickapoo River without spilling beer. I like to travel. My daughter and I went to Germany.

Are you doing anything that’s a little different? We grow some camelina because we want to grow some of our own oil.

We’re going to keep experimenting with that and maybe try canola and sunowers.

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Bellevue, IA

St. Joseph Equipment Eyota, MN

Arnold’s of Mankato Mankato, MN

Woller Equipment Swanville, MN

J P Scherrman Farley, IA

Arnold’s of Glencoe Glencoe, MN

Fluegge’s Ag Mora, MN

Titan Machinery Thief River Falls, MN

Van’s Implement Hull, IA

Titan Machinery Graceville, MN

A & P Service Wells, MN

Kunau Implement Preston, IA

Niebur Tractor & Equipment Hastings, MN

Greenberg Implement Nowthen, MN

Dee Implement of Waukon Waukon, IA Lindell Sales & Service Cannon Falls, MN

Dave’s Repair Hills, MN Arnold’s of Kimball Kimball, MN

Northland Farm Systems Owatonna, MN Titan Machinery Pipestone, MN Dairyland Supply Sauk Centre, MN

Northland Dairy Supply Eagle Bend, MN

Isaacson Sales & Service Lafayette, MN

Arnold’s Equipment Sauk Rapids, MN

Beck Implement Elgin, MN

St. Joseph Equipment Lewiston, MN

Arnold’s of St. Martin St. Martin, MN

Arnold’s of Willmar Willmar, MN Titan Machinery Winger, MN Jaycox Implement Worthington, MN Pfeifer Implement Sioux Falls, SD

Page 14 • Dairy Star • Saturday, November 10, 2012

Storms Welding & Manufacturing Inc. - The tie-stall barn

g n i l e d o m e R s t s i l a i c e p S

AFTER

BEFORE

Cologne, MN Corbin Rhodes

BEFORE

AFTER

West Salem, WI

“I knew I wanted to keep milking in a tie-stall barn. But, I knew if we put in new stalls I wanted to make the stalls wider,” said Rhodes, who milks 49 cows near West Salem, WI. Storms replaced the original 40 stalls with 38 stalls, 19 on each side, increasing the width from 48” to 52”. They also installed Kraiburg mats.

“The way they come in and they had everything they needed and got right to work was impressive,” Rhodes said. “There were no wasted steps. They knew what they were doing and went about doing it.”

In 2006 Jerry and Chris Buetow’s barn needed remodeling. After 40 years, their old comfort stalls were wearing out in their 65-cow tiestall barn.

They were hoping to take out the posts behind Jerry and Chris Buetow the cows to allow for easier access backing out.

“No other stall company would have done the beams without the posts,” Jerry Buetow said. “Only Storms would have put the beams in.”

It’s been 2-1/2 years since installation and the Buetows have no complaints about their renovated barn. “The stepped on teats are less.

The cows have an easier time backing out,” Buetow said. “We’re very happy with it.”

Dairy Equipment By

BEFORE

Sibley, IA

AFTER

Leroy Eggink

Leroy Eggink was tired of fixing and repairing the 34 stalls in his 40-year-old barn. “Things were wearing out and I was spending time and money fixing.”

After doing some studying, Eggink choose to have Storms Welding & Mfg. of Cologne, MN, install their custom-built loop stalls in late December 2011. “When you first look in, it looks like a brand new barn inside,” Eggink said. “That’s why you do it. To make people notice. If you have a poor facility and things aren’t kept up, it doesn’t portray a good image. People notice that.”

Specializing In: • Hot Dipped Galvanized Gating • Fiber Glass Gates • Crowd Gates • Parlor Stalls • Free Stalls • Parlor Floors• Parlor Remodels

Charlie Storms • 952-466-3343 Fax: 952-466-2268 • 513 W. Lake St., Cologne, MN • www.stormsweldingmfg.com

Page 16 • Dairy Star • Saturday, November 10, 2012

From Our Side Of The Fence

Ken Scherping Freeport, Minn.

Stearns County 90 cows A) We plant 260 acres of our own land and rent 200. We planted 70 acres of soybeans, 45 acres of oats, 70 acres of Mycogen BMR corn and 30 acres of Jung HDS corn. The rest is alfalfa and mixed hay.

B) The soybeans averaged 56 bushels an acre this year, compared to 35 bushels last year. The early frost hurt the beans last year. The oats did 70 bushels this year and test weight was better this year. Corn averaged the same as last year – about 170 bushels.

C) The elds worked up fairly good but than we got a hard rain that put a crust on the soil so we had to rotary hoe. Then it got hot and dry.

D) We made silage corn, shelled corn and roasted soybeans. The alfalfa was put up as haylage and we combined the oats. All of our crops are used for our livestock.

E) Considering the dry conditions, we had a very good crop year.

F) We live on a 260-acre dairy farm south of Freeport. We milk 90 Holstein cows and raise all our own replacement heifers. We grow corn, soybeans, oats and alfalfa. My wife, Mary Beth, and I have three sons. Two of them have full-time jobs off the farm, but help us almost everyday. Our youngest, who is a sophomore in high school, helps us on the farm.

Our neighbor also helps us with morning clean-up and chores.

Joe Collins with ancée Ashley Hyovalti Aitkin, Minn.

Aitkin County 39 cows A) We planted 25 acres of corn this year and raise 280 acres of hay and alfalfa.

B) We got a little less yield this year compared to last year.

C) Spring started out wet. We got our corn planted later than normal due to wet eld conditions and we got about 12 inches of rain after we planted corn.

The oats and alfalfa were planted in the middle of May before it got wet. It dried out starting in July and we haven’t seen much rain since then. The summer months stayed consistently hot.

D) All the rst crop hay was put up into round bales. I did chop some second crop hay for the rst time this year and bagged it. The oats and alfalfa were baled into round bales and the corn was chopped and bagged.

E) It went from one extreme to the other. It started out wet and then got dry and hot.

F) I started milking cows November 9, 2009. I cleaned up the dairy barn at my parents’ place and started farming.

I often have help from my parents and brothers. I plan on building the herd to 50 cows or more. We are planning to get married next September.

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A) How many acres do you plant and what type of crops did you plant this year?

B) How was the harvest in each crop? How does that compare to other years?

C) What were the weather and eld conditions like?

D) What did you do with your crops?

E) What will you remember most from the 2012 harvest?

F) Tell us about your farm.

Lynn and Rachel Miller Dodge Center, Minn.

Dodge County 100 cows

Duane Tietjen Bellevue, Iowa Jackson County 61 cows

A) We had 270 acres of crops – 60 acres of alfalfa, 70 acres of soybeans and the rest corn. Forty acres of the corn were used for silage. Some of this land is rented and some is owned.

A) This year we planted 125 acres of corn, 140 acres of hay and 30 acres of oats.

B) The harvest was really good this year. The corn on our rented land a little farther from the farm averaged 182 bushels per acre. On the home farm we averaged 226 bushels per acre. Silage averaged about 25 tons per acre. We got ve cuttings of alfalfa this year. That was the rst time that has happened.

We averaged 52 bushels per acre of soybeans. This was the best yield for soybeans we’ve ever had. It was a very good year overall.

C) We had a very early spring. Overall, it was very dry, but we had timely rains and it seemed to come right when we needed it.

D) We sold about two-thirds of the corn. The rest of it we stored. We put the high moisture corn in a concrete, stave silo and the corn silage went into a 20-by-70-foot silo. All our alfalfa was chopped and put into two 10- by 250foot ag bags along with one 18- by 70foot silo. All the soybeans were sold.

E) We will remember that although it was very dry, we still had a good year with record yields. On a personal note, our son got married on Sept. 8 and we had beautiful weather for the day.

F) We have been farming here for 30 years. Ten years ago, we converted our stall barn to a double-6 step up parlor and built a freestall barn. We have six children: Yalonda, Carlin, Sherri, Wendon, Rochelle and Brian.

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B) The corn was really bad this year; our insurance adjuster estimated about 30 bushels an acre which compares to about 170 bushels an acre last year. The hay was about half of what it usually is, and we baled the oats.

C) It started out great, we got our planting done early and I was even thinking we might end up with a fth cutting of hay. Then we went day after day without rain. It was at least 30 days without any rain at one point and it just never came when we really needed it. When storms came through the area, they always went to the south or to the north and left us high and dry. Guys ve or six miles away had 200 bushels an acre on their corn, but we were too dry.

D) We ended up chopping about threequarters of the corn. We didn’t have much for haylage and we wanted to make up for that and it took twice as much to get what we would usually need for silage. We did chop as much of the hay as we could because we gured we could buy dry hay if we needed to. We baled up the straw for my sons’ horses.

E) It was the type of year you’d like to forget, and hope that next year isn’t as dry. I’ll remember this year for the lack of crops.

F) We have 500 acres, of which about half is tillable. I farm with my wife, Ruth, and our sons, Troy and Terry. We have two grandkids, Faith and Ricky.

We plant corn, hay and oats. We have all Holsteins, and milk in a stanchion barn.

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Dairy Star • Saturday, November 10, 2012 • Page 17

Set Your Sights on the BEST and the HEAVIEST TMR Mixer...Look to PENTA Penta 1120 H.D. Twin Screw • 3/4” thick auger flighting • 5-year planetary warranty • Stainless steel conveyor • Super wide 20” flotation tires • 3/4” Floor (double 3/4” at planetary) • Wall thickness 3/8” • DIGI STAR 4 point weighing • Extra Heavy duty plate frame For customers who demand a machine that will endure the rigors • 2 speed gear box of long hours and extreme use • 16 hardened cutting knives

If you want the best mixer and you are on a budget but still want the best value mixer for your money then take a look at the Penta SD series.

Penta 5020 S.D.

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• 3/4” thick auger flighting • 5-year planetary warranty • Stainless steel conveyor • Super wide 20” flotation tires • 3/4” floor (double 3/4” at planetary) • 3/8” wall thickness • DIGI STAR 4 point weighing • Heavy duty plate frame • 8 hardened cutting knives

• Plate frame • Planetary drive • 9 hardened • 12.5L x 15 tires 20 ply cutting knives • Heavy 1/2” floor • 1/4” wall thickness • DIGI STAR 3 point weighing, with model EZ 2000 indicator

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Dairy Star • Saturday, November 10, 2012 • Page 19

“Convenient and worthwhile to use in our robotic milking system...

... better than anything else.”

— Norbert Hasheider

ELM FARMS, INC. — THE HASHEIDER FAMILY Pictured are Norbert & Betty Hasheider OKAWVILLE, ILLINOIS — Milking 135 cows Production: 23,000 lbs (robot) — SCC: 100-150,000

“We’ve used Udder Comfort™ 3 to 4 years, and now it is a big part of the quality milk routine in our robotic milking system. Udder Comfort gets swelling out of udders better than anything else we’ve tried. That’s why we prefer it,” says Norbert Hasheider.

He and daughter Michelle take care of the 135-cow Holstein dairy herd at Elm Farms Inc., Okawville, Illinois.

“The robot system automatically detects which quarters are high,” he explains how the system monitors conductivity of the milk. “I run those cows through the headgates to apply Udder Comfort on those quarters. I follow that through twice a day for 3 to 4 days and check to see that the readings are coming down.

“Our somatic cell counts have come down from 250,000 to 169,000 to 113,000,” Norbert reports. “We also use Udder Comfort to relieve udder swelling in our fresh cows. It’s a quality product that is convenient and worth-while to use in our robotic system.”

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Keep the milk in the system 1.888.773.7153 1.613.652.9086 uddercomfort.com Call to locate a distributor near you.

For external application to the udder only after milking, as an essential component of udder management. Always wash and dry teats thoroughly before milking.

Page 24 • Dairy Star • Saturday, November 10, 2012

Page 26 • Dairy Star • Saturday, November 10, 2012

TRACTORS

Allis Chalmers C, Woods 5’ mower McCormick MTX 135 tractor, 4X4, bar axle, fenders JD 2750, w/245 loader, joystick, 84” bkt, forks, 2WD

COMBINES & HEADS

Gleaner A76 combine, ‘09, 390 eng. hrs., 215 sep hrs Gleaner R75 combine, 2005, duals, turret, 1331 sep, 1187 E Gleaner R75 combine, ‘03, duals, 1438 sep, 1976 E Gleaner 8000 flex head, 30’ Gleaner 320 flex, R mts., hyd. drive reel, old style Gleaner Hugger 438 corn head Cressoni 8 row 30” chopping corn head, JD mounts Harvestec 4308C cutter corn head, 8 row 30”, JD mount Harvestec 4312C 12 row 30” cutter corn head EZ Trail head hauler, 31’

SKID STEERS

Mustang 2060, 4200 hrs, T-bar, new engine

TILLAGE/FIELD CULTIVATORS

Bush Hog 1445 disc, 21’ JD 726 soil finisher, 24’9” bar spike harrow JD 2700 mulch ripper, 7-shank soil managment system Allis Chalmers 1500 Min-Til, 7-shank chisel plow Wilrich 657 DCR, 11-shank, 5 Deep Till, 6 chisel Knoble 4 row 36” row crop cultivator Korvair 42’ drag flex spike tooth

HAY & FORAGE, STALK CHOPPERS

Agco 3312 discbine, center pivot, 12’ Agco 7433 baler, 3x3, roller chute, hayboss app., 2009 JD 854 silage special, net wrap Frontier 16 wheel bi-fold rake (H&S) H&S 14 wheel hi-cap rake H&S CR 12 wheel rake H&S 12 wheel bi-fold rake Hesston 7500 forage harvester w/hay & corn head Hesston 1085 9’ haybine Hesston 1150, 12’ haybine New Idea 5212 discbine

USED EQUIPMENT

New Idea 406 side rake w/dolly wheel NH 144 hay invertor Round bale wagon, 8 bale Case IH 600 blower International 56 blower Art’s Way 180C 15’ stalk chopper, 2011

L

There were no payments earned for September MILC.

ROW CROP, DRILLS & SPRAYERS

Kinze 8 row Hardi New Navigator 1100, 60’ boom, foam, rinse, triplet nozzle Hardi Navigator 550, 45’ boom,triplet nozzle, foam marker, rinse Hardi Navigator 800, 60’ boom, tandem axle, foam marker Hardi TR 500, 45’ boom, Tandem axle

GRAIN CARTS & WAGONS

EZ-Trail gravity box, 220 w/10 ton gear Brent 472 grain cart MN 250 gravity bow w/extension, 300 bu., H&S 412 gear

MANURE SPREADERS

JD 780 Hydra Push spreader, 16.5X16.1 tires Agco New Idea 3739 spreader, hyd. drive apron NH 195 spreader, 16.5X16.1 tires, top beater NH 195 spreader, 16.5X16.1 tires, top beater Gehl 1329 spreader Chandler litter spreader, 20’ dual motor

GRAIN EQUIPMENT

Hutch 8X57 pto Hutch 8X51 EMD Westfield WR6X61 EMD, 3 phase motor Westfield 6X51 w/motor Westfield 6X31 EMD, auger w/3 hp motor Westfield MK13X71 GLP Westfield MK10X71 GLP Grain Handler 6350 grain vac, 6” system

MISCELLANEOUS

Atrs Way 5165 feed mill, 165 bu. folding ext., scale Chev Kodiak truck w/23’ rollback bed, ‘90, good rubber Westendorf TA26 ldr. & bucket, JD 4020 mounts JD MX7 rotary cutter, front & rear chains JD 42” pallet forks, used

PO Box 8 103 3rd & Broadway Goodhue, MN 55027 Phone: (651) 923-4441 ODERMEIER’S Fax: (651) 923-4070 • Implement • Grain Equipment • Buildings

FARMHAND

MILC Program has ended for 2012

Glencoe Gleaner

County committee elections Watch your mailbox for your ofcial county ofce committee election ballot.

Ballots will be mailed to all eligible voters on Nov. 5, 2012. If, for some reason, you don’t receive a ballot, feel free to notify the county FSA ofce. Completed and signed ballots must be returned to the county ofce by close of business on Dec. 3, 2012.

2011 SURE signup announced Signup for the SURE Program for 2011 crop losses began October 22, 2012 and will end June 7, 2013. SURE is available to eligible producers on: • farms in counties with Secretarial disaster declarations, including contiguous counties, that have incurred at least a 10 percent crop production or quality loss, or both, for at least one crop of economic signicance, except grazed crops • farms on which the actual production on the farm is less than 50 percent of the farm’s normal production. Producers are encouraged to contact their local FSA Ofce for additional signup details.

IRS 1099 changes Calendar year 2012 has brought changes to the way FSA reports farm program payments to the producer and to the IRS. In past years, IRS Forms 1099-G would be issued to show all program payments received from the Farm Service Agency, regardless of the amount.

Starting with calendar year 2012, producers whose total reportable payments from FSA are less than $600 will not receive IRS Form 1099-G. Also, producers

FSA News & Notes

By Phyllis Framstad Stearns Co. Exec. Dir. who receive payments from more than one county will only receive one Form 1099-G if the total of all payments from all counties is $600 or more. The same changes will apply to producers and vendors who normally receive IRS Form 1099-MISC from FSA. Upcoming deadlines for 2012 • Nov. 5, 2012 - Ballots are to be mailed for County Committee Election.

• Nov. 30, 2012 – Emergency Grazing on CRP ends.

• December 3, 2012 – Ballots must be postmarked or delivery to the FSA ofce.

• More information about CRP, MILC, other FSA programs and where to nd your local USDA service Center can be found at www.fsa.usda.gov.

Farm Service Agency is an Equal Opportunity Lender. Complaints about discrimination should be sent to: Secretary of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. 20250. Visit the Farm Service Agency Web site at: www. fsa.usda.gov/ for necessary application forms and updates on USDA programs.

For the answer scan this QR code with your smart phone or visit: www.JAYLOR.com/answer Don’t have a QR reader? Then search ‘QR Reader’ in your app store or download one free at SKUyou.com

I got out of bed for this?

Joey, as a young child, had a shirt that said, “I got out of bed for this?”

Consequently, that shirt was then passed on to Getting Kerry’d Away Russell the following year.

Monday, I was wishing I had that shirt. I would have had to wear that grey T-shirt as a tight-tting tube top and change the question mark to an exclamation point, but it would have served its purpose.

Most days here on the farm are rather uneventful. We go about our daily

By Kerry Hoffman chores without nary a conColumnist cern or problem. Sometimes we even get a bit bored. Yes, it’s true, that does happen.

Then there are days that are so crazy we want to quit dairy farming forever. Those times are few and far between.

Other days we have so much extra work, but we don’t let it put a damper on a person’s mood – as long as it doesn’t interfere with other plans.

Such was the case Monday morning; we had a clear schedule and a ton of extra work. Between two cows having three calves; our every-other-week herd check with the vet and vaccinations for more than half the herd, we were busy.

The reason for the extra work was, as they say on television, “Zach was on assignment.”

Steve and I have had to pick up Zach’s work load for the past week. Russell did come out to do the feeding when he didn’t have to go lift weights for football.

Anyway, we had started milking the cows when Russell stuck his head into the parlor and informed us that a cow had calved out on the pasture and that he thought she had twins.

Twins! I love twins! They are so tiny and adorable.

When it came time to bring the second group of cows into the barn for milking, I quickly volunteered to go fetch them.

G i out off b Getting bed d makes k iit all ll worth it, especially when our baby calves thrive.

“Don’t spend too much time with the new twins,” Steve shouted as I left the barn.

Gosh, he knows me so well.

One of the calves, the girl, was thriving. She was up walking around and making all sorts of noise. Her mother had licked her uffy-clean and showed her all kinds of love.

The bull calf was a different story. He couldn’t lift his head much less get up to walk around or drink from the mother.

I just knew I had to go the extra mile to make sure he thrived.

Using the skid loader, I brought the little bugger up to the milk house and washed him with warm soapy water.

Once I had the calf all clean, I laid him on a clean towel and scrubbed the bejeebers out of him with a clean, dry beach towel. I was trying to get him as uffy-clean as his twin sister.

We BUY, SELL, TRADE

used dairy equipment and milk tanks

“Hmm,” I thought. “I have to nd something dry and warm to cover him with to help maintain the heat of his body.”

I scanned the milk house and found Joey’s jacket hanging by the bulk tank. It was perfect. It’s a thick winter Carhartt coat and Joey will be none the wiser, because he is at college. I covered the calf and went to the house to have a warm breakfast of oatmeal. (I love oatmeal!)

Now I have to wash Joey’s coat before he returns.

Apparently, the calf couldn’t wait to relieve himself.

By this time it was close to 10:30 a.m. Normally, I am nished with my work by 8 a.m.

As I sat at the kitchen island stirring the walnuts into my creamy oatmeal, I couldn’t help but think, “I got out of bed for this!”

Dairy Star • Saturday, November 10, 2012 • Page 27

By that evening, the bull calf was all dry and trying to stand on his own four feet. He is so uffy clean and sweet.

That’s a good thing. Since then we have added three more calves to our repertoire and feeding them takes a bit of time.

Getting out of bed makes it all worth it, especially when our baby calves thrive.

For questions, or comments, e-mail me at kahoffman@newulmtel.net Kerry and her husband, Steve, along with their teenage sons, Joey and Russell, operate a 100-cow dairy farm south of New Ulm, Minn. In her spare time, she likes to read, read and read some more. They have three dogs, one gecko, one guinea pig and one house cat that is insane. The 11 barn cats are normal – except for Mitch. There’s something wrong with that cat.

We have a soft spot for cows.

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Page 28 • Dairy Star • Saturday, November 10, 2012

Hugh Chester-Jones (507) 835-3622 chest001@umn.edu Michael Donnelly (507) 332-6109 donne099@umn.edu Marcia Endres (612) 624-5391 miendres@umn.edu Brad Heins (320) 589-1711 hein0106@umn.edu Jose Hernandez (612) 625-4731 jahernan@umn.edu Kevin Janni (612) 625-3108 kjanni@umn.edu Laura Kieser (952) 466-5306 torb0022@umn.edu Noah Litherland (612) 624-6789 lithe003@umn.edu Jim Paulson (320) 234-0438 jcp@umn.edu Randy Pepin (320) 732-4435 pepin019@umn.edu Jeff Reneau (612) 624-9791 renea001@umn.edu Craig Roerick (320) 255-6169 roer0040@umn.edu Jim Salfer (320) 203-6093 salfe001@umn.edu Chuck Schwartau (507) 536-6301 cschwart@umn.edu Julie Sievert (507) 237-4100 schu0944@umn.edu

T-5 uorescent lighting and lighting economics Dairy producers have more lighting choices to consider when selecting new or replacement lights. Lights include the xture, lamp, electronics and housing. Lighting economics becomes more complicated when comparing different lighting options (ex. light emitting diode (LED) vs. uorescent vs. metal halide) because of different useful life estimates, initial costs and electrical energy use for producing similar lighting levels.

Proper lighting is important for optimum cow performance and providing a safe and pleasant work environment for workers.

Fluorescent, metal halide, high pressure sodium and LED lights are being used by dairy producers in milking centers, animal housing

By Kevin Janni and freestall barns.

Professor and Cows and heifers are commonly Extension Engineer recommended to have 20 foot-candles of light and 16 hours of light per day for optimal growth and milk production. Workers need sufcient light for observing cows, performing cow care tasks and assessing cow cleanliness before milking.

lighting per day; more in the winter and less in the summer.

Barn size and lumen output per light impacts the number of lights needed, which impacts the initial capital and installation costs and electrical operating costs. Some lighting companies offer lighting design services to lay out efcient and effective lighting systems.

Light characteristics that impact annual capital and operating costs include light output (lumens per luminaire), electrical power (kilowatt used per hour), xture life, useful lamp life, initial cost, and labor costs to change lamps. For example, LED lights cost much more but have longer useful lamp life. Electrical rates ($ per kilowatt hour) are also important. The average rate for Minnesota is $0.11 per kWh. An economic analysis was done to estimate annual capital and operating costs of different lighting systems for a 200-foot by 110foot freestall barn. Four lighting systems were compared: LED, uorescent, metal halide and incandescent. The analysis assumed that all systems provided at least 20 foot-candles over the entire barn, and electrical rates and xture and lamp replacement costs had an annual two percent ination rate.

Results in Figure 1 show that 20 LED lights, with an expected useful life of 60,000 (60 k) hours, had the lowest annual capital and operating cost compared to systems with 24 uorescent or 20 metal halide lights. Reducing annual light operating hours from 5,840 needed in cross-ventilated barns to 2,190 hours reduced annual costs by 47 to 56 percent depending on the lighting system. For comparison purposes, incandescent lights, which are not recommended, had annual capital and operating costs over $19,530 for 5,840 hours of light per year and $7,580 for 2,190 hours of light per year.

The annual energy costs in Figure 1 are a bigger part of the

New uorescent bulbs and lamps Water tight uorescent luminaries are commonly used in dairy facilities because they are energy efcient and have good color rendition index values (70 to 95 percent, with 100 percent being the maximum value). They also have useful lamp lifetimes ranging from 20,000 to 30,000 hours.

New smaller diameter and more energy efcient uorescent bulbs, T-5, (5/8 inch diameter) are available. T-5’s are roughly 10 percent more energy efcient than T-8 bulbs (1 inch diameter). In the 1990’s T-8’s replaced T-12’s (1.5 inch diameter) because the T-8’s produced over 50 percent more light per watt of electrical energy used. The 10 percent increase in T-5 lighting efciency suggests that it may not pay to replace T-8’s if the existing xture works. T-5 bulbs have a smaller diameter and produce more lumens so they can cause glare if they are close to eye level.

Lamp diffusers and proper placement can be used to reduce glare from T-5 bulbs.

Economic considerations Lighting system economics becomes more Figure 1. Annual capital and operating costs and annual electrical costs for complex as the number of barn designs, lighting three lighting systems for a 200-ft by 110-ft freestall barn. options, light performance characteristics and initial and operating costs increase. For example, producers with cross- annual capital and operating costs of the uorescent and metal halide ventilated and tunnel ventilated barns with solid walls must provide systems. The annual electrical costs for incandescent systems were the recommended 16 hours of light per day (5,840 hours per year) $15,400 and $5,780 for 5,840 and 2,190 hours, respectively.

These results indicate that lighting costs are variable for different using lights to meet animal needs. Producers with curtain-sided freestall barns can use photocells and timers to turn off lights when systems. Many assumptions were made. The assumptions impact the natural sunlight provides light. There are roughly 4,450 hours of results so each design needs to be analyzed. Technology changes and natural daylight per year when supplemental lighting can be reduced. changing prices for electricity and lighting equipment will continue For the following analysis, 2,190 hours of supplemental lighting per to change the economics of lighting systems for dairy barns. More on year was provided assuming an average of six hours of supplemental lighting economics will be covered in future articles.

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Page 32 • Dairy Star • Saturday, November 10, 2012

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Old time? New time?

Daylight saving time has ofcially Just Thinking Out Loud come to an end for the year. It will now take me at least a couple of months to adjust and then it starts all over again.

At least in the fall it feels like I’m getting more things done, but I’m also starting earlier – an hour earlier according to the clock. We have discovered over the years we just need to keep the cows to our own time schedule and let the rest of the world keep switching back and forth. We used to switch the cows’ milking time to t the clock,

By Natalie Schmitt now we just milk when we always do Columnist year round, regardless of what time the clock at the end of the barn in pointing to. It is dark when we start and dark with ease. During the ‘50’s and ‘60’s when we end. At least we don’t feel like there was widespread confusion, since we’re wasting time in the barn because each community or state could start and the sun is still shining. end DST as it desired. On one bus route When daylight saving time comes between Moundsville, WV and Steuor goes, the questions start. What time benville, OH, passengers had to change is it? Is that new time or old time? Our their watches seven times on a 35 mile minds are constantly doing mathemati- trip. In 1965, St. Paul decided to begin cal gymnastics as we try to convert the DST early to conform to the rest of the time to the new schedule. I have four nation. Minneapolis felt it should follow clocks in the kitchen alone and none of Minnesota state laws which stipulated them agree. Some are off an hour, oth- a later date. It must have been confusers are off by ve or 10 minutes, others ing for U of MN students to make it to by an hour and extra minutes. Despite classes on time depending upon which our tricks to be on time, we always side of the river their classes were held. seem to be running behind schedule.

President Lyndon Johnson signed Daylight saving time (DST) is one the Uniform Time Act of 1966 to esof those things you can love and hate tablish a uniform start and ending date at the same time. I have nally gured for DST throughout the country. Durout time springs forward in the spring ing the height of the 1973 oil shortand falls back in the fall, but why? We age, Congress extended DST from six can thank Benjamin Franklin and the months to eight months. It is estimated railroad companies for getting us all it resulted in the savings of 10,000 baron the same time schedule. The origi- rels of oil each day. Moving the starting nal daylight saving time idea is credited date from the last Sunday in April to the to Franklin in 1784. He is also credited rst Sunday in April in 1986 resulted in with the phrase, “early to bed, early saving 300,000 barrels of oil each year. to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy The most recent change to DST and wise”. He gured if we moved the came in 2007 when it was extended to clocks ahead in the spring time, people the second Sunday in March to the rst wouldn’t sleep in and waste daylight hours. It wasn’t nec- D Daylight li h SSaving i Ti Time iis one off essarily saving time as it was shifting an hour of daylight those things you can love and from the beginning of the day hate at the same time. to the end. Franklin’s purpose was to make better use of the S d in i November.

N b This Thi shift hif was daylight hours. No one took his id idea se- Sunday pushed through by concern for the saferiously until World War I. Before DST could be implemented, ty of children trick or treating. By endtime had to be standardized across the ing DST after Halloween, there will be country. In the late 1880’s, every town more daylight hours in the evening for had its own time according to the sun youngsters to collect even more candy. or the local clock. Time was generally Political junkies think the shift will also set by the courthouse clock tower with impact voter turn-out with more daya time face pointing in each of the four light in the evening hours. 2021 will be directions for all to see. The chiming the rst year when DST ends after the bells told those who couldn’t see the elections and researchers can test their community clock what time it was. It theory.

All I know is I now have to wait to was a simple way to tell time for a local community, but a nightmare for the feed young stock until there is enough developing railroad companies. Since daylight to make sure everyone is up very few towns had the same set time, to the bunk to eat, but I’m back in the it was hard to determine arrival and house for my breakfast at a much eardeparture times. In 1883, the railroad lier hour as long as I do chores on old companies standardized time in cities time and check the clock for the day on along their routes, but many outlying new time. As John Wayne says in my communities still relied upon the posi- favorite movie The Cowboys,…”we’re tion of the sun to tell time. burning daylight.” So I better get movIn 1918, The United States estab- ing. lished standardized time zones and Dates and facts from www.webexdaylight saving time to conserve energy hibits.com during WWI. After the war ended, DST Natalie, Mark and his brother, Al, proved to be so unpopular that it was Schmitt farm together near Rice, Minn. repealed in 1919. The largest opposi- They milk 100 registered Holsteins untion was by farmers. They wanted day- der the RALMA prex. Their four chillight left in the morning hours. Making dren are great help around the farm the day last longer just meant you had and are pushing Natalie out of several to work longer. Heaven forbid that you jobs. Therefore she is thankful to have quit working while there is still day- something else to do. For questions or comments please e-mail Natalie at mnlight.

Daylight saving time has continued schmitt@jetup.net. to evolve over the years but not always

Lemonade from lemons

There’s an old saying that goes, The Next Generation “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” As an eternal optimist, this saying resonates with me, because I always believe that something good can come from a bad situation.

When our rst Jersey-cross heifers started calving a couple years ago, we ended up with a little brown Jerseycross bull calf. We named him Hershey and, to me, little was the only way to describe him. Compared to our Holstein and Holstein-cross bull calves,

By Sadie Frericks Hershey was tiny.

Columnist/Writer We were more than a little bummed.

There was no market – and still isn’t – for Jersey bull calves. Since we were sure it wouldn’t be protable to sell cellent care on our farm followed by a Hershey at two to three weeks old, like humane death. I think Trent Loos said we do most of our other bull calves, we it best when he said, “Death with a purtalked about what to do with him. We pose gives meaning to life.” considered keeping him until he was So, when I took the rst package of weaned and then selling him. But after Hershey’s ground beef out of the freeza couple days it was decided that we er, I did so with respectful gratitude. would keep Hershey as a freezer steer.

But when I took the rst package of During one of my eld research steaks out of the freezer, I did so with projects in college, I had heard that Jer- complete apprehension. sey beef was the best tasting beef of all I didn’t know a thing about cookthe breeds. This would be our oppor- ing steaks. So while the steaks thawed, tunity to test that claim. And a chance I pored over the advice in The Joy of to put something a little more tender in Cooking about how to properly cook the freezer than the three cows who had steak. previously occupied our freezer.

I don’t like the taste of grilled meat This would also be a new experi- – probably because we never grilled ence for me. Growing up, the only anything when I was growing up – so beef we ate came from mature cows I decided the broiler would be the best who had experienced mishaps of one way to prepare our new steaks. sort or another. My parents raised one I preheated the broiler and broiler steer when I was really young, but right rack, then rinsed, dried and seasoned after putting him in the freezer, there the steaks. I smiled as the steaks sizzled was a mishap with a cow and then we had to nd room in Gl Glen said id iit was amazing i the freezer for twice as many boxes of beef. Dad gured it that something so good had was one of those Murphy’s come from what we had Laws of Farming deals, so that was the last steer raised on our originally thought was an farm. unlucky situation.

After that, ground beef and slow-cooker roasts were h I laid l id them h h broiler b il rack. k on the the only types of beef in our freezer. when I can’t remember ever having steak. Following the timing directions in Joy, I’m not sure if that’s because my par- I turned the steaks half-way through ents opted not to buy it for price rea- and then checked carefully to make sons or because my mother’s penchant sure they would end up cooked medifor cooking meat until it was very well um-well instead of very well done.

I’m not sure I’ve ever been so done didn’t work so well with steaks. pleased with something I’ve cooked.

As a result, I was never much of a steak lover. But Hershey changed that. The steaks were melt-in-your-mouth We raised Hershey with our heifers. tender and absolutely delicious.

As the kids gobbled up their steak, He didn’t get any special treatment. He ate what the heifers ate – high quality I told them they were incredibly lucky hay and just enough grain mix to supply to have the opportunity to enjoy steak at such a young age. adequate vitamins and minerals.

Glen said it was amazing that someWe took Hershey to the locker the thing so good had come from what we fall after his birthday. The guys who helped Glen unload him said he must had originally thought was an unlucky have been a pet because he was so situation.

We’ve only got a couple packages tame. We didn’t treat him as a pet; we try to raise all of our youngstock to be of Hershey’s beef left in the freezer. But Hershey’s cousin, Steak, will go to the calm.

A couple weeks later, the boxes locker next week.

We’ve raised Steak just as we raised of beef came home to ll the freezer.

Hershey.

The only difference between Growing up, I remember having a hard time knowing that we were going to the two is that, as much as we’d have be eating Julie or Tulip or Dottie for liked Steak to be a heifer calf, we were supper. I don’t know if it’s because of secretly excited to have another Jersey all the time I spent with them during steer for the freezer.

Sadie and her husband, Glen, milk 70 milkings or because I just didn’t like cows near Melrose, Minn. They have two thinking about ending an animal’s life. children – Dan, 5, and Monika, 3. Sadie As I’ve matured, though, I’ve come to also writes a blog for the Dairy Star at believe that one of the greatest gifts we can give our animals is a lifetime of ex- http://dairystar.blogspot.com. She can be reached at gsfrericks@meltel.net.

Dairy Star • Saturday, November 10, 2012 • Page 33

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Page 34 • Dairy Star • Saturday, November 10, 2012

Revisiting appropriate drug uses “Building Consumer Condence” was the title of several recent meetings discussed in an October 13, 2012 Dairy Star article. Meeting topics included meat and milk residues and appropriate drug uses. There was a lot of useful information Veterinary Wisdom presented. These topics are important and timely because all of us will need to work a little harder to keep drugs out of milk and meat in the future.

Why is this? What can we do?

Consumers do not want drugs in their food. The antibiotic testing of milk and meat began as a way to detect betalactam, (penicillin, ampicillin, amoxicillin, cephalosporins)

By Jim Bennett antibiotic residues, because Columnist these antibiotics could potentially cause illness in susceptible individuals. Current and future testing has less to do with direct challenges to human health. Rather, testing is being done to assure consumers that milk and meat are not just safe, but also contain no violative residues of antibiotics and other pharmaceuticals. Increased testing requirements are here to stay.

Furthermore, we are now producing more milk for the world market. Importing partner countries have different requirements that we must now meet. For example, the European Union requires testing for a whole variety of products including steroids, y control products, anticoccidials, antiinammatory drugs and much more.

Thanks to dairy producers’ hard work the number of antibiotic positive milk tankers has been declining since 2008.

This is great news. The bad news is that milk tankers are required to be tested only for beta-lactam antibiotics, which represent a minority of pharmaceuticals and antibiotics used in dairy cattle. This, too, will soon be changing. In the near future, FDA will release results from its surveillance program for 27 or more animal drugs from 1,800 farms. While we do not know any results yet, it is likely that required milk testing will be expanded as a result of this program. In addition, USDA has upped its meat testing program by testing more ani-

mals and by testing them for many more compounds.

Clearly, times are changing and producing residue-free meat and milk is going to require more vigilance. There are things that every dairy producer can do to make this happen, though. For starters, every dairy absolutely needs to have a valid veterinary-client-patient relationship (VCPR) with a veterinarian. Determining just what constitutes a valid VCPR is, within regulations, up to the attending veterinarian, so if you are unsure, ask your veterinarian. While not required, it is a good idea to have a signed VCPR certicate from your veterinarian on the dairy. If do not have a valid VCPR you are strictly prohibited from using any drugs in extra-label fashion, and you are much more likely to have violative residues in milk or meat from your farm. In fact, FDA warning letters to farms with residues show that most commonly, residues occur because drugs are not used according to the label. A valid VCPR allows you to use some additional drugs and to use approved drugs in different ways, but also requires that your veterinarian be responsible for providing you specic labeling that outlines milk and meat withdrawal periods.

Often, dairy producers do not understand the difference between approved, extra-label, and prohibited drug use. In part this is due to history. Prior to passage of the AMDUCA law in 1994, much of drug use by veterinarians and, to some degree, producers was technically illegal. However, FDA recognized that there were not enough approved drugs and applications for food animals, so the agency seldom enforced such drug use. After AMDUCA, extra-label use became legal, but specic requirements had to be met, and some drugs and some uses of drugs were designated as prohibited and thus illegal.

For example, extra-label use of penicillin, such as giving more than about 15cc to an adult Holstein, is allowed with a valid VCPR and appropriate labeling, but use of Baytril in female dairy cattle over 20 months of age, or use of Baytril in female dairy cattle younger than 20 months for any condition except pneumonia (the label indication) is illegal. There are no exceptions, and your veterinarian cannot legally prescribe the drug for such exceptions. Other examples of prohibited use are: unixin (Banamine) given intramuscularly or subcutaneously, sulfadimethoxine (Albon) given IV for toxic mastitis, or oral sulfadimethoxine given IV for anything in a dairy cow, ceftiofur (Naxcel) given IV (a different route than on the label), or tetracycline in heifer feed at above the labeled dose.

Some extra-label uses are legal, but have different testing requirements. For example, if you inject a 15 month old heifer with NuFlor intramuscularly, the labeled meat withhold of 28 days will not cause a residue. However, if your veterinarian determines that it is legal to inject an adult cow with NuFlor, and you do so, you will have a violative residue if the cow goes to market at 28 days post injection. In fact, there may be a residue for almost three months after the injection, because FDA does not tolerate any NuFlor in any tissue at any level in an adult cow, while they do have an established tolerance level for the 15 month old heifer.

In fact, whether a particular drug usage is legal or not is not always clear. This is because your veterinarian must go through the AMDUCA algorithm for extra-label use, and different veterinarians will interpret the rule differently. The rules for drug use in food animals can be confusing, and they can change with little warning. Your veterinarian is the professional who is required to keep abreast of these requirements, so use him or her to help you design drug protocols on your farm.

Furthermore, any extra-label use requires a record, kept on the farm for at least two years that indicates the cow, date, drug, and diagnosis, duration of treatment, and milk and meat withdrawals. You should also record the route of administration and the name or initials of the person administering the product. Additionally, should you have any residue, you will nd that any, even an approved use of an approved drug needs this same minimum record, because investigators will specically ask for your treatment records, and they will look unfavorably on farms with only minimal records.

Dairy producers have done a great job of preventing milk and meat residues. However, times are changing and it is going to be harder to be residue free in the future.

The good news is that there are lots of people and organizations with tools and dedication to help you achieve this goal.

Your veterinarian comes rst, but do not forget the company or co-op that buys your milk, drug company representatives, extension educators, your state agriculture department, and others. Together we can the produce quality, residue free products that markets demand.

Jim Bennett is a dairy veterinarian at Northern Valley Dairy Production Medicine Center in Plainview, Minn. He and his wife, Pam, have four children. Jim can be reached at bennettnvac@embarqmail.com with comments or questions.

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Page 40 • Dairy Star • Saturday, November 10, 2012