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A year unlike any other Plourd talks volatile dairy markets, trends going forward By Krista Kuzma
krista.k@dairystar.com
During the Minnesota Milk Producers Association virtual meeting Dec. 2, Phil Plourd presented “Sudden Storm,” an overview of dairy within the past year and predictions for the markets going forward. “In the massive understatement department, it’s a year unlike any other,” said Plourd, president of Blimling and Associates Inc. While many dairy farmers rang in 2020 with optimism for climbing milk prices, they were instead met with a year of the most volatility recorded, Plourd said. “Just looking at the cheese market, cheddar blocks went from $2 before the pandemic to $1 to $3 back to $1.50 back to $3 and then back to $1.60,” he said. “The volatility we’ve seen in the cheese market is clearly way out in the stratosphere versus anything we’ve ever seen before.” The cheddar market topped at 42% price volatility, the highest it has been since 2008 when volatility was at 27%, Plourd said. Price swings in the milk market are attributed to the disruption of the typical American daily life due to the coronavirus pandemic. For the past 20 years, Americans have been trending more toward eating out rather than buying their food at the grocery store. In 2019, food services dollar sales even reached above grocery sales. Before the pandemic, restaurants accounted for about 50% of the U.S. cheese sales and 45% of the U.S. butter use. “The rule we always talk about is never underestimate the laziness of the American consumer,” Plourd said. In March, when shut downs were implemented in many areas of the country, food service and restaurant spending plummeted 38% while grocery store spending skyrocketed 31%. In April, the gap Turn to MARKETS | Page 5
December 12, 2020
“All dairy, all the time”™
Volume 22, No. 20
Emphasizing the dairy side of beef Brooks Farms makes mark with unique product offering By Stacey Smart
stacey.s@dairystar.com
WAUPACA, Wis. – Zoey Nelson and Sydney Brooks fullled a dream when they launched Brooks Farms Beef on Sept 1. Specializing in singlesource sustainable beef, the sisters sell their homegrown products direct to the consumer at their on-farm storefront. Milking 600 cows and farming 1,600 acres near Waupaca, the Brooks family is harvesting beef from a nontraditional source – a mature dairy cow. Once a cow reaches the end of her productive life at Brooks Farms, she can become a candidate for the beef side of the business. “Using older animals adds character and avor to the meat,” Brooks said. “It’s a myth that an older cow has tougher meat – the tenderness is there.”
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Zoey Nelson (leŌ) and Sydney Brooks hold products they sell from their newly-launched business, Brooks Farms Beef. The sisters sell beef from their 600-cow dairy herd direct to consumers at their on-farm storefront near Waupaca, Wisconsin.
Coming from a cow that is typically between 4 and 6 years old, Nelson and Brooks describe the meat as avorful and aged to perfection. “They’re not your typical 2-year-old animal coming off the feed lot,” Nelson said. “Dairy cows are amazing creatures, using their muscles every day to make milk and pack avor into the beef. A cow that produces 90,000 pounds of milk in her lifetime can produce 9,000 pounds of cheese and become 600 pounds of beef.” Their selection process for beef production is precise. It must be a cow with a clean health record – one that never received any injectable antibiotics. Easy-breeding animals with no history of a displaced abomasum, mastitis or surgery are eligible – cows that Nelson calls “smooth sailors” oftentimes being eliminated from the herd for not breeding back or dropping below a certain production rate. This type of beef is a new Turn to BROOKS | Page 6
MARK KLAPHAKE/DAIRY STAR
Heifers stand behind a frosty fence Dec. 7 at Names Dairy near BaƩle Lake, Minnesota. The 90-cow dairy is owned by Brian and David Names and their mom, Joyce.
Page 2 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 12, 2020
DAIRY ST R www.dairystar.com
ISSN 020355 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave. Sauk Centre, MN 56378 Phone: (320) 352-6303 Fax: (320) 352-5647 Published by Dairy Star LLC General Manager/Editor Mark Klaphake - mark.k@dairystar.com 320-352-6303 (ofce) 320-248-3196 (cell) 320-352-0062 (home) Ad Composition Nancy Powell 320-352-6303 nancy.p@dairystar.com Consultant Jerry Jennissen 320-346-2292 Editorial Staff Krista Kuzma - Editor/Wisconsin (507) 259-8159 • krista.k@dairystar.com Andrea Borgerding - Associate Editor (320) 352-6303 • andrea.b@dairystar.com Jennifer Coyne - Assistant Editor (320) 352-6303 • jenn@dairystar.com Danielle Nauman (608) 487-1101 danielle.n@dairystar.com Stacey Smart - Staff Writer (262) 442-6666 • stacey.s@dairystar.com Maria Bichler - Copy Editor 320-352-6303 Advertising Sales Main Ofce: 320-352-6303 Fax: 320-352-5647 Deadline is 5 p.m. of the Friday the week before publication Sales Manager - Joyce Frericks 320-352-6303 • joyce@dairystar.com Bob Leukam (Northern MN, East Central MN) 320-260-1248 (cell) bob.l@star-pub.com Mark Klaphake (Western MN) 320-352-6303 (ofce) 320-248-3196 (cell) Laura Seljan (National Advertising, SE MN) 507-250-2217 fax: 507-634-4413 laura.s@dairystar.com Jerry Nelson (SW MN, NW Iowa, South Dakota) 605-690-6260 jerry.n@dairystar.com Mike Schafer (Central, South Central MN) 320-894-7825 mike.s@dairystar.com Amanda Hoeer (Eastern Iowa) 320-250-2884 • amanda.h@dairystar.com Julie Barnes (SE WI and Northern IL) julie.b@dairystar.com Megan Stuessel (Western Wisconsin) 608-387-1202 • megan.s@dairystar.com Kati Kindschuh (Northeast WI and Upper MI) 920-979-5284 • kati.k@dairystar.com Deadlines The deadline for news and advertising in the Dairy Star is 5 p.m. Friday the week before publication. Subscriptions One year subscription $35.00, outside the U.S. $110.00. Send check along with mailing address to Dairy Star, 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave., Sauk Centre, MN 56378. Advertising Our ad takers have no authority to bind this newspaper and only publication of an advertisement shall constitute nal acceptance of the advertiser's order. Letters Letters and articles of opinion are welcomed. Letters must be signed and include address and phone number. We reserve the right to edit lengthy letters. The views and opinions expressed by Dairy Star columnists and writers are not necessarily those of the Dairy Star LLC.
The Dairy Star is published semi-monthly by Dairy Star, LLC, 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave., Sauk Centre, MN 56378-1246. Periodicals Postage Paid at Sauk Centre, MN and additional mailing ofces. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Dairy Star, 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave., Sauk Centre, MN 56378-1246.
A glance at the other side
The Great Christmas Giveaway It’s that time of year. Dairy Star is once again hosting The Great Christmas Giveaway for dairy farmers and their children in our coverage area. While adults have the opportunity to win one of two $1,000 cash prizes, children ages 17 and under could win a heifer calf. In our Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan circulation area, registrants could Crisdhome Solo Angel-ET, a nearly 2-month-old Holstein heifer calf from the Kruschke family in New Richmond, Wisconsin. Make sure to enter your name to be eligible. Check out pages 22-25 for more information! Dairy Star likes to provide local stories, which is why we have two versions of the paper. Below are a few highlights from stories you will not nd in this paper, but you can nd online in zone 1. Find full editions on our website, www.dairystar.com, and click on the e-edition tab under the Dairy Star header. Duncansons emphasize dedication The Duncanson family was named Winona County’s Farm Family of the Year. Comprised of Lynda and Dan, and Pat and Heidi along with their children, and Michael and Rachel and their daughter, the Duncansons milk 110 cows near Winona, Minnesota. Farming has always been important to the Duncansons, Dan and Lynda being the fth generation in the family to farm in the area. Tom Anderson recognized for farm management An honor he had not considered attached to his name; Tom Anderson was surprised to hear he was named this year’s Bruce Cottington Friend of Dairy Award from MN Milk. Touched by the nomination alone, Anderson was appreciative of the respect and recognition for his hard work. Spadgenskes named MN Milk’s Producer of the Year Mike, Mark and Kristine Spadgenske were awarded Minnesota Milk’s annual Producer of the Year award at the virtually-held annual expo Dec. 2. The family was humbled by the honor and shared a bit about how their operation works. Established in 1994, twin brothers Mike and Mark started from scratch with 60 cows and have built the dairy to its current size of 350 cows and 1,400 acres.
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Dairy Star • Saturday, December 12, 2020 • Page 3
It’s all inside... Columnists
First Section: Pages 22, 23
First Section: Page 36
n
Making Cents of Dairy
Pierce
hb Dunn
Pepin
Page 32 First Section
Vernon
The “Mielke” Market Weekly
d
Muscoda
Armbrusters embrace family, cows that last
Pages 8 - 9 Second Section
First Section: Pages 10 - 12
Country Cooking
Ou
Richland
e nn Wi
Green Lake Fond Du Lac
Grant
Dane
Lafayette Green
Jo Daviess
Mills committed to cows, goats
Carroll
Jefferson Waukesha
Rock
on
ens
h tep
S
Walworth go
eba
n Win Ogle
Whiteside
Racine Kenosha
McHenry
DeKalb
Zone 2
Oshkosh
Second Section: Pages 3-4
Columbia Dodge
Sauk
Iowa
Page 26 Second Section
Zone 1
go ba Calumet
Waushara
ett e Juneau
e mi Brown
a tag
Adams
Monroe
te
Shawano
Wood
Jackson
et
Oconto
Portage Waupaca
La Crosse
First Section: Pages 37 - 38
Menominee
for
Page 33 First Section
Wisconsin dairy farmers score bounty in woods
Clark
Eau Claire
in
Langlade
Marathon
aw
Come Full Circle
Chippewa
Buffalo
Seneca
Taylor
ar
Ke w
St. Croix
Lincoln
Forest
Menominee
ton S he bo Milwaukee Ozauk M yg ee an anito wo c
Page 31 First Section
M
ce
ing
Third Section: Pages 6 - 7
Rusk
Barron
ren
Oneida
Wa sh
Polk
Price
Delta
Dickinson
Vilas
ne
ur
Johnsons start milking again after ve years
Iron
Flo
Sawyer
Cr
Veterinary Wisdom
Burnett
Roberts
Trempealeau
Page 30 First Section
Ashland
Wa s
Tales of Christmases past
First Section: Pages 1, 6-7
Bayeld
Douglas
Page 27 First Section
Brooks Farms makes mark with unique product offering
Bo o
Where is it from?
Waupaca
Women in Dairy: Becky Ruesch
Do or
Abbotsford
Lava leaps to the top of the Guernsey CPI list
aun ee
Cashton
qu
Pages 8-9 First Section
Ma r
Ag Insider
Kane
Brownsville
Weiglein farm part of family for 150 years Third Section: Pages 3 - 5
Lee
Plain
Mercer
FROM OUR SIDE OF THE FENCE: n
re War
What role does genetics have in reaching the goals of your farm? First Section: Pages 15-16
Hen
For additional stories from our other zone, log on to www.dairystar.com
First Section: Pages 34 - 35
Rock Island
ders on
Wittmanns embrace tradition of decorating farm
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Dairy Star • Saturday, December 12, 2020 • Page 5
ConƟnued from MARKETS | Page 1 between those two stretched even further to 55% and 19%, respectively; however, since then, people have been slowly shifting back toward their pre-pandemic spending habits with grocery stores up 8% and restaurant sales down 7%. “What this tells you is Americans have made the transition for guring out how to get food delivered to them or someway access someone else’s cooking in a way that was unimaginable during the beginning of the pandemic,” Plourd said. While there are challenges and shortcomings facing restaurants, they have shifted to offer carryout, takeout, curbside pickup and online ordering as ways to increase sales. Ghost kitchens, a pop-up type of restaurant with limited offerings and delivery only, is also now a new phenomenon coming into the food service industry. “As we look at a world where we’re looking at more pickup, carry out and delivery, we’re looking at a world where questions about portability become very important,” Plourd said. “We’ve always talked about perishability with dairy, but I think portability is a huge question.” The food landscape going forward is changing, Plourd said. “Dining is still going to be popular once we get passed the vaccine, but what we’ve done in the pandemic era is accelerate trends that were already underway, which was sitting on the Lazy Boy, pushing some buttons and the food arrives,” he said. “We’ve just done three to ve years worth of growth in 5 to 10 months.” Likewise, grocery stores are also seeing exponential changes with online grocery sales, which accounted for $1.2 billion in August 2019 and increased to $7 billion by June. “How well do our dairy products make the trip from the grocery store to the home?” Plourd said. “The infrastructure is building up and retailers have invested a lot of dollars to make the click and collect grocery experience pretty good.” This will be hard for specialty cheese sales, which relies on in-store demonstrations to drive sales. “It might make specialty products harder to debut,” Plourd said. People working from home has and will continue to skew the past trends. Going forward, telecommuting will be a permanent situation for an increasing amount of people. “Fewer people are getting in the car and driving to work and are not stopping at Dunkin, McDonalds or Starbucks along the way,” Plourd said. No longer working in the bigger cities means fewer people making lunch and dinner plans. Plus, no longer coming into
a physical ofce means Americans are searching for more land and space. “We are seeing a suburban and rural real estate boom,” Plourd said. Students in kindergarten through 12th grade are also learning from home, with nearly 60% of them starting the school year virtually. School milk makes up about 8% of uid milk sales, which are not being made up at home, Plourd said. “If schools are only at 50% capacity, that’s 43 million pounds of milk per week we’re losing,” he said. “That’s an issue.” What has helped dairy sales are the United States Department of Agriculture food boxes brought forth by the Trump administration. Having the cheapest cheese in the world has also helped the current export market, Plourd said. “That offers some promise for keeping the market a little cleaned up in the months ahead,” he said. With the Dairy Margin Coverage and the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, dairy farm prot margins are looking to be good this year, Plourd said. “The farm nancial picture is looking a little squeezier for 2021,” Plourd said. Government food boxes will no longer buy excess product and CFAP money will not exist, either. Futures have grain prices going higher and milk prices dropping. Milk production is projected to be up 1.4%, Plourd said, but that will drop below 1% for the second half of next year because of deteriorating farm nances. A dairy farm’s location and local processor might differentiate which ones make more money. “If you’re shipping milk to a cheese plant that is not pooling and paying on cheese yield, you’re seeing high payouts, and you see that in local areas,” Plourd said. “But, a farm shipping in the Mideast to a plant that doesn’t have class III sales see a different reality. That’s why it’s hard to generalize about milk production.” Plourd said the Dairy Revenue Protection program and DMC both do a good job of protecting dairy operations of varying sizes, with about 25% of U.S. milk in 2020 being covered by DRP. “We do have good insulation against downward prices,” Plourd said. While many farmers thought 2020 would bring a dairy market that would be protable, that has only been the case because of the government support of nearly $50 billion, Plourd said. “It suggests the markets have been soso, but the majority of farmers still see good times ahead,” Plourd said. “There are a lot of convenient tools to manage price risk. Use them. I think it’s no time to go to sleep, and I think the government is less likely to come to the rescue in 2021.”
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ASHLEA SNELL PHOTOGRAPHY
Zoey Nelson (leŌ) and Sydney Brooks stand in the Brooks Farms’ visitor center which now serves as the storefront for Brooks Farms Beef. concept for the area. “We wanted to differentiate ourselves and knew we had to be creative if we wanted to start this venture,” Brooks said. Brooks Farms Beef sells a variety of cuts, including ribeye steak, New York strip steak, sirloin steak, tenderloin let , brisket, rump and sirloin tip roasts and whole beef burger packs in one-third pound and one-quarter pound options. All the beef is boneless, and the meat is processed at Niemuth’s Steak and Chop Shop in Waupaca. “Our briskets have been really popular and sell out within a day,” Brooks said. This sister duo said their ground beef is of the utmost quality and of a higher caliber than what is often found in a grocery store. “The ground beef is whole-cow, single-source made from select beef and roasts – not just trimmings,” Brooks said. “This adds to the avor and makes it signicantly leaner with a 90-to-10 leanto-fat ratio. You don’t have to drain or
strain the meat, making it a good choice for recipes and one-pot meals.” Brooks Farms Beef is not offering quarter, half or whole-cow bundles at this time but is considering adding that option in the future. In its rst season, the store was open Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 3 p.m. as well as by appointment. In the winter, beef sales will be by appointment only. In addition, the beef is sold at Nelson’s Shell convenience store in Waupaca. Brooks Farms Beef is also currently offering holiday gift boxes as another way to promote the business while spreading some holiday cheer. Nelson and Brooks are the sixth generation on the 165-year-old Brooks Farms where they farm with their father, Ron. Nelson came back to the farm full time in 2015 after serving as Wisconsin’s 67th Alice in Dairyland. She is Ron’s partner and responsible for anything with a heartbeat – managing both cows and people – while her dad Turn to BROOKS | Page 7
PHOTO COURTESY FOREST CONSTRUCTION
The Brooks family built a new facility in 2017 to accommodate the return of the sixth generaƟon, expanding from 230 to 600 cows milking.
Dairy Star • Saturday, December 12, 2020 • Page 7
Con�nued from BROOKS | Page 6 designed for today’s Holstein. It was a fresh start for a growing farm with a new generation on board. “Cow comfort was not up to par nor was employee comfort,” Nelson said. “We needed a brand-new blueprint to get to where we wanted to be. Now, cows are living in paradise.” The return of the younger generation spurred an expansion that took Brooks Farms from milking 230 cows to 600. Cows are milked twice a day in a double-16 Germania parlor. Brooks Farms is still growing, with the goal of reaching 650 to 700 cows milking. The Brooks family also built a visitor center with hopes of doing direct marketing. “We built this farm for the future,” Nelson said. “We didn’t know what the visitor center would shape out to be – perhaps it would be focused on education or agritourism. Now, we’re ASHLEA SNELL PHOTOGRAPHY starting to ll Brooks Farms Beef offers a variety of cuts, inthe space with cluding ribeye steak, New York strip steak, sirloin steak, tenderloin let, brisket, rump and beef.” sirloin �p roast, pre-made burger packs and The timing for starting Brooks ground beef. handles the agronomy side, tending to anything with an engine. Brooks works on the farm part time as an assistant herdsperson in addition to her full-time position at Filament Marketing. “Sydney’s marketing communications knowledge is crucial to our beef business,” Nelson said. The Brooks family built a new facility in 2017, taking cow comfort to new levels as they upgraded from a 1970s freestall barn to a modern building
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The Brooks family built this new freestall barn in 2017. They milk 600 cows and farm 1,600 acres near Waupaca, Wisconsin Farms Beef was perfect this year with a pandemic hanging overhead that pushed consumers toward locally sourced food. “There was consumer demand to buy local and support local, making it the right moment to bring our vision to life,” Brooks said. “We knew we had a great product to offer at a good price. People want to know where the meat came from and how it was raised – that’s important.” The cows eat homegrown forages which Nelson said shows in the avor of the beef. “It’s not just about the end product,” Nelson said. “It’s about the how behind the cow and how she was raised. We know exactly what each cow ate during her lifetime, how many steps she took and more.
Traceability is very important to consumers, and we have all that data here.” These animals are coming full circle in a system that extracts value from a cow through the end of life as she produces milk and ultimately beef. “It’s a sustainable food system that utilizes the whole animal,” Nelson said. “When these ladies are done producing milk at the dairy, they continue to be a valuable part of this farm. From cows to crops, sustainability is the thread that runs through our business.” Next year, Brooks Farms will expand product offering to include small-batch specialty cheese made with milk from their cows. The aged white cheddar cheese will be made
into one-year and two-year batches. “Our cheese company put in a base last spring, and we were going to be forced to dispose our milk,” Nelson said. “We couldn’t fathom dumping milk in the pit or down the drain. So we teamed up with a local creamery and allocated the milk to making our own cheese.” Nelson and Brooks look forward to building their valueadd business – a business that respects the lifecycle of a dairy cow by using her resources completely. “We took a leap of faith this year starting Brooks Farms Beef while also spring-boarding into our cheese development dream,” Brooks said. “And so far, it’s off to a great start.”
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Peterson: Mixed emotions about election Page 8 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 12, 2020
House Agriculture Committee Chair Collin Senate agriculture committees. Arkansas Sen. John Peterson is the architect of the current dairy title in the Boozman is expected to take over as chair during the farm bill. Peterson had an extensive conversation with next session of Congress. his successor, Georgia Congressman David Scott, about farm policy. “He assured me that he will be a big friend Dairy prices on a roller coaster ride of dairy and sugar so we’ll take him at his National Milk Producers Federation Ag Insider word,” Peterson said. When asked if he Vice President of Economic Policy and would accept the agriculture secretary job Market Research Peter Vitaliano said if President-elect Biden called, Peterson the Dairy Margin Coverage program was said he would have to consider it. However, a surprise this past year. “Going into this Peterson downplayed the possibility. “I’ve year, it looked like there were not going to been in the saddle here for 45 years working be payments and that turned out not to be in the state legislature and Congress,” he the case,” Vitaliano said. Chris Galen, who said. “When I was deer hunting with my is the senior vice president of membership kids after the election, they said I was like services and strategic initiatives for NMPF, a whole new person, and they had not seen said farmers participating in the ve-year me in that good of spirits and that relaxed in version of the Dairy Margin Coverage years.” program are facing an important deadline. “You still have to contact the FSA ofce by By Don Wick Scott named House Agriculture the end of this week to ll out the paperwork Columnist Committee Chair for the next year and pay the administrative Georgia Congressman David Scott fees,” Galen said. Class III milk prices are will be the rst African American to chair the House expected to grind lower going into 2021 and feed costs Agriculture Committee. Scott said his priorities will will remain high. range from trade to crop insurance and from nutrition programs to broadband. Scott has been in Congress for Changes made in DMC decision tool 18 years and has served on the agriculture committee Risk management is a must for dairy farmers. Mark the entire time. Scott said he will use the opportunity Stephenson, who is with the University of Wisconsin to represent values of the entire caucus. “The fault lines Dairy Center for Protability, said the coronavirus dividing our rural and urban communities are running pandemic is “the very denition of risk.” In the fourth deep and climate change is now threatening our nation’s quarter of 2019, dairy markets were apparently in a time food supply,” Scott said. “As chairman, I’ll lead the ght of price recovery “and by the time we got into February, to rise up and meet these challenges.” March and April, dairy markets and virtually every other aspect of our economy just hit the wall,” Stephenson said. Roberts gives up the gavel The Center for Dairy Protability has made changes in Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts has chaired his nal Senate its Dairy Margin Coverage decision tool. That tool was Agriculture Committee hearing. Before the testimony on using the futures and options markets to try to forecast agricultural research, Roberts was able to reect on his the margins. “A lot of people did make decisions based time as chairman. “Six years ago, I made it a priority that on the fact that it didn’t look like we were expecting this committee would provide a platform for American any payouts at the end of December 2019 for the year farmers, ranchers, small businesses, rural communities, 2020,” Stephenson said. “Turns out, we’ve made a lot of school children and the hungry,” said Roberts. “Over 80 payouts. And that’s really what risk is, so we changed the hearings and meetings later, I believe our committee has tool a lot. We’re still using futures and options contracts, done exactly that.” Roberts, who did not seek reelection, but this time we’re only calculating what we expect the is the only person to have chaired both the House and cost of feed to be, and from that we can give people an
idea about the level of milk price that they’re actually covering.”
Trade commitments Will China make the $36.5 billion in purchases by Dec. 31? According to Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Ted McKinney, that is one question that is asked a lot. “To be honest, they can make it, but time is waning,” McKinney said. “I’m not going to complain too loudly because purchases going on now are rolling into next year. That gives us a head start on phase one commitments for next year.” Speaking during the closing general session of the virtual Ag Retailers Convention, McKinney said India is another country that deserves attention when it comes to agricultural exports. NMPF awarded USDA grant The National Milk Producers Federation has been awarded a grant of $488,603 to develop a biosecurity program through the National Dairy FARM Program. The goal is to improve awareness and understanding of on-farm biosecurity standards and implement Secure Milk Supply plans through education, evaluation and verication. They will also conduct an exercise that will support implementation of the SMS plan at the farm level during a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak. Regenerative Nation A new initiative has been launched by the National Alfalfa and Forage Alliance. Regenerative Nation is designed to support alfalfa farmers and the benets the crop brings to the dairy industry. Alfalfa is the third most valuable eld crop in the U.S., but acreage is declining. “We’re excited to partner with others in the alfalfa industry to share the incredible advantages of alfalfa, and the results from our new and much-needed research with a larger audience,” said Beth Nelson, president, NAFA. “The Regeneration Nation initiative gives us a platform to communicate these benets and results to dairy and forage growers across the country.”
Turn to AG INSIDER | Page 9
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Dairy Star • Saturday, December 12, 2020 • Page 9
ConƟnued from AG INSIDER | Page 8
Farmers caught up in Dean Foods’ bankruptcy liquidation plan Approximately 500 dairy farmers that previously sold milk to Dean Foods have received legal notices, seeking payback for the milk delivered between mid-August and mid-November 2019. This demand is part of the Dean Foods’ bankruptcy liquidation plan. Organizations, including the American Farm Bureau Federation, are preparing to ask for a withdrawal of the claims against the dairy farmers. Dairy processor grants available The Wisconsin Department of Agricultura Trade and Consumer Protection is offering another round of dairy processor grants. As much as $50,000 is available for each dairy processor, and the processor must provide a match of at least 20% of the grant amount. The application deadline is Jan. 15, 2021. Farm Technology Days in Eau Claire County in 2021 Wisconsin Farm Technology Days will take place at Huntsinger Farms July 20-22, 2021. The farm show was originally scheduled to be held in Eau Claire County this past July, but the change was made
due to COVID-19 protocols. Huntsinger Farms is the largest grower and processor of horseradish in the U.S. Cates recognized by WFBF The Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation has presented Dick Cates Jr. with its distinguished service award. Cates helped create the Wisconsin School for Beginning Dairy and Livestock Farmers, which is part of the University of Wisconsin-Madison farm short course. Cates also served on the Wisconsin DATCP board of directors. Trivia challenge The Christmas beverage, milk punch, is better known as eggnog. That answers our last trivia question. For this week, what is the traditional holiday cocktail made from eggnog, brandy or spiced rum, and served hot? We will have the answer in the next edition of Dairy Star. Don Wick is owner/broadcaster for the Red River Farm Network, based in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Wick has been recognized as the National Farm Broadcaster of the Year and served as president of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting. Don and his wife, Kolleen, have two adult sons, Tony and Sam, and ve grandchildren, Aiden, Piper, Adrienne, Aurora, and Sterling.
“I would recommend it (PD Dart) to any dairy no matter your herd size.” What are some of the DHIA tests you use?
We currently are using preg test to conÀrm our pregnancies. We have also used the Johne’s test for a while and Leukosis test once.
What do you like about the PCDart program? We went with PC
Dart because it seemed simple and the cost was attractive. I can make just about any report I want to help us monitor production, repro etc. The tracker system they have is excellent for monitoring our repro as far as looking at conception rates sorted by sire, lactation, technicians or day of week she was serviced. Type of breeding as far as double Ovsync, CIDR or standing heats can be set up or recorded. The cow pages and reports are really easy to read. They have good programs set up for making protocols for timed AI, vaccinating, or anything you want. It’s just a simple program that’s very user friendly and I would recommend it to any dairy no matter your herd size or how much you want to get out of it.
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Page 10 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 12, 2020
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Steve (le�) and Eric Armbruster handle the herd manager du�es at Red Brae Dairy where they milk 320 cows, including 180 registered Brown Swiss, near Muscoda, Wisconsin. 717.354.5040 | New Holland, PA
Armbrusters embrace family, cows that last By Danielle Nauman danielle.n@dairystar.com
MUSCODA, Wis. – Creating cows that last is the foundation that built Red Brae Dairy, and the philosophy continues to be the fuel that drives the future. Longevity is one of the traits the Armbruster family loves about breeding registered Brown Swiss. Red Brae Dairy is operated by Edgar and Phyllis Armbruster and their sons, Steve, David and Eric. Edgar and Phyllis’ daughters, Jill, Lea Ann and Beth, and their families continue to be involved with the farm as well. Steve and Eric manage the dairy herd, while David heads up the cropping of about 700 acres. The Armbrusters milk about 320 cows, 180 of which are Brown Swiss and the remainder are Holsteins, in a double-10 herringbone parlor built in
CANOLA MEAL CORN GLUTEN FEED CORN DISTILLERS GRAINS CORN STARCH LINSEED MEAL FLAX SEED OAT HULLS RICE HULLS SOYBEAN MEAL SOY BEST SOYBEAN HULLS SOY FLOUR SOY PLUS
2010. The Brown Swiss herd averages just over 21,000 pounds of milk, 950 pounds of fat and 750 pounds of protein. The farm is home to 30 Excellent cows and ve cows that have been nominated all-American. The history of the Red Brae herd and prex predates the Armbruster’s family involvement with the herd. The family rst became connected with the Red Brae prex in 1965 when Edgar’s brother, Jim Armbruster, went to work as herd manager for Lyle Spencer at the farm in Eagle, procuring top-quality Brown Swiss cows for the farm. When Spencer passed away in 1969, Jim, Edgar and their brother, Andrew, purchased the cattle from the estate. The farm continued as such until 1974 when Jim joined the Halbach family at Marana Dairy in Arizona, taking about 200 head of Red Brae Brown Swiss to the venture. His brothers remained on the farm in Eagle, working with about 50 older cows. The Armbruster family farmed in Eagle until 1993 when they moved Turn to ARMBRUSTER | Page 11
AMINO PLUS SOY ISOLATE WHEAT MIDDS WHEAT GERM MEAL BEET PULP CASEINATES CHEESE SCRAPS SAW DUST FOOD BY-PRODUCTS LACTOSE NONFAT DRY MILK SUGAR/DEXTROSE WHEY PROTEIN POWDER
DANIELLE NAUMAN/DAIRY STAR
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The Armbrusters built a parlor and freestall barn in 2010 to be�er care for their herd through increased cow comfort and efficiency.
Dairy Star • Saturday, December 12, 2020 • Page 11
ConƟnued from ARMBRUSTER | Page 10
to their current location in Muscoda. A complete, balanced cow is the ideal animal to the Armbrusters. “Cows need to be three-dimensional; they all have to have width, height and length,” Steve said. “Good cows can come in all different sizes, but there is nothing wrong with a big Swiss cow.” They hold to the ideal that cows need to milk and be protable while having sound functional type, includ-
“Cows need to be three-dimensional; they all have to have width, height and length. Good cows can come in all different sizes, but there is nothing wrong with a big Swiss cow.”
STEVE ARMBRUSTER, DAIRY FARMER
ing great udders. When selecting sires to use in the herd, Steve said they use bulls out of good cows that match their goals. “We use a lot of different bulls,” Steve said. “With so many cows, we like to spread things around a bit. I gure if you have 10 daughters of a good bull, you should have eight good
ones.” Bulls that are sires of current herd favorites include Bosephus, Norwin, Carter and Cadence. In the heifer and calf pens, Steve has noticed the Richard and Noble daughters. Current service sires in use include VB Biver Phantom, Gubelman Kingsley, Cozy Nook Carl Trek, along with several bulls from Swiss Genetics. Cow families are the cornerstone of the Armbrusters’ breeding program. Four cow families gure prominently into the success the herd has had. The Fanny family descends from one of the original cows following Jim’s move to Arizona. The other three primary families are descendants of show heifers that Jim purchased for his nieces and nephews when they were junior members. Red Brae Fanny, a past World Dairy Expo Reserve Grand Champion, is among the earliest herd favorites. Although there are no longer any cows in the herd descended from her maternally, her presence remains through descendants of her son, Red Brae Faro. “Faro really put us back in the show business,” Steve said. Jills Faro Twinkle was the 1987 World Dairy Expo Grand Champion, and three more Faro daughters stood second in their classes at Expo and a fth daughter received an allAmerican nomination. The Red Brae showstring claimed the 1988 Premier Breeder banner at World Dairy Expo, anchored by two Faro daughters and
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Page 12 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 12, 2020
Con�nued from ARMBRUSTER | Page 11
two more Faro granddaughters. A daughter of Twinkle, Jills Improver Trinket topped the 1988 National Sale and went on to be named the grand champion at the Royal Winter Agricultural Fair in 1988 and 1993, and took reserve honors in 1990 for Rowntree Farms of Ontario. A daughter of Fanny, Red Brae Fanita sold in the National Sale to Voegeli Farms and Pinehurst Farms, and was the junior champion at the 1979 World Dairy Expo. Red Brae
“It has been great to continue the tradition, working with the next generation of the family.” STEVE ARMBRUSTER, DAIRY FARMER
Fanita was later named the all-time all-American senior yearling. Another inuential cow family was that of Meadow Valley Joanna. Her daughter by Faro was the dam of DAA Jade Jaqi, a three-time allAmerican for the Armbrusters. Many of what Steve considers to be the best cows in the herd descend from yet another cow family, descendants of SPA Faro Noel. Her offspring anchored the showstring that captured ve all-Wisconsin and four reserve all-Wisconsin awards on the way to earning the Armbrusters both the premier breeder and exhibitor banners
ΈPHOTO COURTESY OF THE WISCONSIN BROWN SWISS BREEDERS ASSOCIATIONΉ
The Red Brae Brown Swiss captured both the Premier Breeder and Exhibitor banners for the Armbruster family at the 2020 Midwest Regional Wisconsin Championship Brown Swiss Show earlier this year. Pictured from le� are Jeff, Lea Ann and Elise Bleck, Calli and Wya� Storm, Jill Armbruster, Brady Bleck and Steve Armbruster.
at this summer’s Midwest Regional Wisconsin Championship Brown Swiss Show. Showing has always been a family affair for the Armbrusters, dating back to Jim’s purchase of show heifers for his nieces and nephews. Jim’s presence is remembered after his death earlier this year, as the banners
won this year ank his photograph above the farmhouse kitchen table. Today, Lea Ann’s children, Elise and Brady, and Beth’s children, Calli and Wyatt, participate in carrying on that tradition, exhibiting many Red Brae heifers to high honors at local, state and national shows. “Jim is responsible for getting
us involved in showing,” Steve said. “It has been great to continue the tradition, working with the next generation of the family. I take so much pride in everything the kids have accomplished with their hard work and successes, like Wyatt’s win in the Youth Dairy Classic Fitting Contest this fall.”
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What are the top traits you look for in breeding your dairy herd?
Walter Owens Frederic, Wisconsin Polk County 750 cows What are the top traits you look for breeding your dairy herd and how has this changed since you started farming? We try to look at all traits. Production needs to have good components. The health traits are important to us, especially daughter pregnancy rate and productive life. We like moderate-sized cows with good udders and sound feet and legs. We use generation-count 5 bulls and higher with a breed base representation of 100. We also stay away from bulls with any known haplotype. In addition, we also watch the inbreeding in our herd. It has changed largely because of genomics. You get more information and much more quickly. What role does genetics have in reaching the goals of your farm? Genetics plays an important role because we strive for productive, efďƒžcient, longlived cows that are good, sound, well-balanced cows. Genetics also helps in marketing our extra breeding stock. What percentage of your herd is bred to sexed, conventional and beef semen? We use 95% conventional semen, 5% sexed and no beef semen. Our reproduction strategy has changed very little. What is the greatest lesson you have learned? Everyone has to match their breeding program to their breeding philosophy. Everyone’s breeding program will differ based on what your personal goals are. One size deďƒžnitely does not ďƒžt all. In your dairy career, what has been your favorite bull that you have used in your herd and what impact has he had? There have been many bulls that impacted our herd. I don’t have one favorite bull we’ve used, but one of my favorites overall is O.F. Barber Rocket. He is a bull that we bred. He improved production, udder, feet and legs in our herd. He was used extensively across the U.S. and around the world. Tell us about your farm. We have about 750 registered Jersey cows and farm about 1,800 acres of corn and alfalfa. We do everything in house except hauling liquid manure and combining corn. We have a family corporation. I farm with my wife, Joyce, and our children: Brandon and his wife, Dawn; Jeff and his wife, Briana; and Michelle and her husband, Derek; my brother, Wilfred and his wife, Linda and their sons, Steven and Doug; my brother, Roger and his wife, Kim; and their daughter, Julia; and their son, Christopher and his wife, Maria.
Mark Breunig A-OK Farms LLC Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin Sheboygan County 505 cows What are the top traits you look for in breeding your dairy herd and how has this changed since you started farming? We have not changed the traits we breed for. We always want sound animals with good feet and legs, and good udders. How we get these cows is very different today. Now, we select which animals will make our genetics for the future. We genomic tested for about ďƒžve years and culled out low animals, which really jumped the genetic level of our herd. In the past, we used good bulls, but it was more by chance that one cow was superior to her herd mates. What role does genetics have in reaching the goals of your farm? Genetics are very important as they are advancing rapidly. Genetics is the next most important thing after management. As genetics improve, we will and are ďƒžnding traits that will make cows last longer in the herd. As cows become older, it will mean that lifetime proďƒžt should increase. What percentage of your herd is bred to sexed, conventional and beef semen? All heifers get two breedings of sexed semen then one breeding of conventional semen. If not pregnant, they are culled. A select few ďƒžrst-lactation cows are bred with sexed semen. The rest of the herd is bred to beef semen. This breeding program makes keeping semen inventory very simple. What is the greatest lesson you have learned through your breeding program? We don’t need to produce very many heifer calves to maintain our herd. In your dairy career, what has been your favorite bull that you have used in your herd and what impact has he had? I’m not a genetics person so I don’t have a favorite bull. We only brought 50 cows from our original herd into our expansion – the rest were purchased. I like to look at a solid cow with an udder that can make milk and legs that can support her. New bulls of today turn over so quickly with the rapid pace of genetic increase, making it hard to have a favorite. Tell us about your farm. I’m a ďƒžfth-generation family farmer. Our farm expanded in 1995 to our present size of 505 cows with 440 milking. I work 800 acres to provide the forage part of the cows’ diet, and in good crop years can get some of the protein and corn grain needs from our acres. Current rolling herd average is 29,435 pounds of milk, 1,105 pounds of fat and 892 pounds of protein. Conception rate in heifers is 72% on sexed semen and 77% on conventional semen. Voluntary waiting period for ďƒžrst-lactation cows is 100 days and 80 days for second and later lactation cows. We’re running a 30% 21-day pregnancy rate in the milking herd.
Greg Sabolik Bred & Butter Dairy Kensington, Minnesota Douglas County 500 cows What are the top traits you look for breeding your dairy herd and how has this changed since you started farming? We have continually focused on Net Merit through all the years. We have experimented with putting more importance on some traits versus others but usually fall back to Net Merit. Recently, we have put a higher emphasis on components. What role does genetics have in reaching the goals of your farm? We have focused on genomic testing and using the highest genomic bulls to create the correct amount of the highest quality replacements. I feel we are on the tip of the iceberg with what we are learning about dairy cattle, and I am excited with what the next 10 years will bring in terms of technology. What percentage of your herd is bred to sexed, conventional and beef semen? We use enough sexed semen in our highest genomic females to provide about a 35%-37% yearly heifer rate. Beyond that, we breed the rest of our females to Angus semen or implant Angus embryos. We started implanting Angus embryos about six months ago to try to drive more value from our beef animals. Throughout the years, we have gone from wanting as many heifers as possible with conventional semen to not wanting anymore than absolutely necessary. What is the greatest lesson you have learned through your breeding program? The greatest lesson I have learned is to utilize any and all technology available and become an early adopter if possible. We have been told to use the ovsynch program and breed cows that don’t show a heat, and they still become pregnant. With the use of activity monitors, visual heat detection has become a thing of the past. The strides we have made in reproduction are largely due to technology, and the results are nothing short of phenomenal. In your dairy career, what has been your favorite bull that you have used in your herd and what impact has he had? I can’t quite recall his name, but my favorite bull always settled on the ďƒžrst service and produced a heifer calf that was born with no stress to the mother and during daylight hours. When his daughters became adults, you saw them three times outside the parlor, once at calving, once at breeding and once at dry off. They produced ďƒ&#x;awlessly for eight lactations, and yet when it was time to get on the trailer and go for a ride, they did it with grace as I was always sad to see them leave. That was my favorite bull. Tell us about your farm. Bred & Butter Dairy LLC is owned by the Sabolik family and is entering its third generation. We have grown from 36 cows purchased in 1968 to 500 at present. We strive to be the best stewards of the land, caretakers of our animals and foster a culture that brings out the best in all our family and employees.
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Page 16 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 12, 2020
ConƟnued from OUR SIDE | Page 15
Barb and Randy Muenzenberger Coon Valley, Wisconsin La Crosse County 50 cows What are the top traits you look for breeding your dairy herd and how has this changed since you started farming? Udder quality, height and width, teat size, dairy strength and feet and legs. We really haven’t changed anything. We continue to strive for the same things. What role does genetics have in reaching the goals of your farm? Genetics have helped us to keep building our herd with quality udders and having longevity with great feet and legs. What percentage of your herd is bred to sexed, conventional and beef semen? We only use conventional semen. What is the greatest lesson you have learned through your breeding program? We have learned to keep using bulls that t our breeding program and match our goals. In your dairy career, what has been your favorite bull that you have used in your herd and what impact has he had? Our favorite bull has been Ventures ESP Babaray. He has been the sire to our foundation animals in our herd. Tell us about your farm. We are a familyowned dairy farm located in Bohemian Valley in La Crosse County. We have registered Brown Swiss and a few registered Holsteins. We own 340 acres on which we raise alfalfa, corn and oats on 100 tillable acres. We have ve children: Charlotte (Jake) Berner, Shannon (Andrew) Steinmetz, Cassie (Steve) Styer, Robin (Kaylee) Muenzenberger and Brooke Muenzenberger. We have three grandchildren: Annabelle, Deidra and Korben.
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Daniel and Bridgette Janski Janski Farms LLC South Haven, Minnesota Stearns County 220 cows What are the top traits you look for breeding your dairy herd and how has this changed since you started farming? We strive for hybrid vigor where we try to capture the best traits from three breeds: Holstein, Jersey and Montbéliarde. Our Holsteins are bred to the best Jersey genetics and our Jerseys to the best Montbéliarde genetics, then back to the best Holstein genetics. My primary focuses are udders and temperament when working with crossbred animals. With hybrid vigor dairy cattle, the next generation in our herd has better capabilities to combat problems we have struggled with in the past which were feet, reproduction and longevity. When I started managing our dairy, the traits we were pursuing were quality udders and increased production. We used as many as 30 sires at a time when we were a straight Holstein herd to prevent inbreeding in our cows. Today we use eight. The chance of inbreeding in a three-way cross herd is zero. What role does genetics have in reaching the goals of your farm? When I decided to crossbreed, genetics became a strong point for our herd. The appearance, consistency and functionality of our milking herd relies on genetics. Holsteins are best known for production and udders, while Jerseys are best known for productive life with reproductive efciency while producing milk solids. The Montbéliarde breed has great body condition with great feet and legs while also having productive life and reproductive efciency. When getting genetic traits from these three breeds, it seems we can create not just a cow but a cow that excels in a productive environment while creating less health events. What percentage of your herd is bred to sexed, conventional and beef semen? We breed 40% sexed, 12% conventional and 48% beef. With crossbreeding, I want to use the best genetics for replacement heifers. Sexed semen gives me peace of mind knowing I have heifers coming from the most genetically advanced cattle. Beef gives me the opportunity to breed the cows that I desire less to give me replacements in my herd or are more desirable to create beef calves with. What is the greatest lesson you have learned through your breeding program? Being open minded to change and having a purpose or understanding as to why we do what we do. In your dairy career, what has been your favorite bull that you have used in your herd and what impact has he had? 249SR02488 Pell Pers from Viking Red was the turning point for my dairy career which is where I learned of the pro-cross program. This transitioned me to the select cross program. Pell Pers was a trial for me on our problem breeding cows which has left a positive impact on our herd and shaped many of our single conception cows. Tell us about your farm. Janski Farms LLC is operated by my parents, Richard and Marlys Janski, my wife, Bridgette Janski, brother Tom Janski, cousin Tyler Janski, and the help of three full-time employees and family, friends and neighbors. We milk 220 cows with Lely robots. We raise our heifers and steers, and feed them with an automatic feeder. We raise 700 steers and have introduced 20 head of beef cows that will be a cow-calf enterprise. The farm produces a wide variety of cash crops including alfalfa, corn, soybean, rye, oat, green canning peas and industrial hemp.
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Tim Keller (right) pictured with his wife, Sandy, and brother, Mark Mount Horeb, Wisconsin Dane County 350 cows What are the top traits you look for in breeding your dairy herd and how has this changed since you started farming? I started making breeding decisions 48 years ago when I was 10 years old when I bought my rst cow, Suzie. I’ve always believed in good feet and legs, udders and components. If a cow doesn’t have a good udder, she’s not going to last. Same with feet and legs. We’re in cheese country, so you have to have components too. We like medium to large cows that know how to put the groceries in and turn it into product on the other end. I like pretty cows that know how to work, and I believe in family lines and longevity. I use bulls with good production and solid type. What role does genetics have in reaching the goals of your farm? My genetics class teacher said, “Just use good bulls.” That always stuck with me. You don’t want to be cheap about it. If you want to get the best stuff, it usually costs something. My goal as a breeder is to breed for the next generation and keep improving. We had the top cow in the state for combined production and type a few years ago – Kellercrest Shottle Loni. She made a lot of embryos, and we’ve sold $250,000 worth of animals out of her. She’s the dream cow you always hope to have some day. We’ve also put more than 100 bulls in stud. What percentage of your herd is bred to sexed, conventional and beef semen? The amount of sexed semen we use goes in streaks and depends on which bulls come out. On average, we breed 25% of our animals to sexed and the majority to conventional. We do use a little bit of beef semen as well, but probably not enough. However, we have a market for extra heifers. Our lower-end genetics are higher-end for other people. We use sexed semen on our better genetic animals. I wasn’t a fan of sexed semen at rst. I was afraid too many heifers would be the result, but there is an argument to use sexed on the best and beef on the rest. What is the greatest lesson you have learned through your breeding program? Be consistent. Don’t veer off of things. I’ve heard stories and seen people veering, and then they wonder why cows don’t get better or why they don’t see results. You can’t jump from a high net merit bull one year to an all-show bull the next. Also, you can’t keep using minus type bulls and expect cows to last. There are variables in breeding. Whether you want big, medium or little cows, building the cow you want can be done. Genetics are there to do whatever you want, you just have to be consistent. Consistency led to our success. In your dairy career, what has been your favorite bull that you have used in your herd and what impact has he had? Carlin-M Ivanhoe Bell. He made big milk cows. You had to use him on a strong cow, so you have to know what your breeding philosophy is. We had a lot of strength in this herd, but we needed more production, and Bell did that. My rst 200,000 lifetime milk cow was a Bell daughter. Picston Shottle is the next main bull. We had a few good Shottle daughters, including a 92-pointer and 93-pointer and one good show cow which he wasn’t known for. One thing we could do was take a non-show bull and compete with the show guys sometimes. We stood fourth at the state show with a 93-point Shottle. Tell us about your farm. Kellercrest Registered Holsteins, Inc. is managed by me and my wife, Sandy, and my brother, Mark. My son, Andrew, also helps out in addition to his job at a cheese plant. We milk 350 cows and run 650 acres. Our herd average is 31,300 pounds of milk, 4.2% fat, 1,311 pounds of fat, 3.2% protein, and 1,004 pounds of protein. We have had 17 cows with 300,000 lifetime milk production. We have received the Progressive Breeder award 19 times and the Progressive Genetic Herd award 21 times, and our BAA is 107. We have also developed 60 Gold Medal Dams, 25 Dams of Merit, and 15 National Elite Performer cows. We are very active in land conservation practices and our watershed program and were one of the rst farms to do contour farming back in the early 1960s. In 2017, we won the U.S. Dairy sustainability award.
Dairy Star • Saturday, December 12, 2020 • Page 17
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This chart shows the effect of alphajoule when applied at green-up to each crop during the 2020 growing season to an aggressively managed field in Northeast, WI. Note the expanding yield advantage of the alphajoule treated acres versus the check strip as the season progressed.
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The photos were taken after fourth crop. Pits were dug side-by-side for the untreated check and treated acres. The ten best plants from each dig were positioned for the photos. The alphajoule treated acres had a 12.1% yield and a 15.6% milk per acre seasonal advantage over the untreated check strip.
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Page 18 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 12, 2020
Top Performers
Meyer Dairy strives for cow comfort, high quality forages Meyer Dairy LLC Sauk Centre, Minnesota Stearns County 300 cows What is your current herd average, butterfat and protein? 29,160 pounds of milk, 1,190 pounds of butterfat and 892 pounds of protein. How many times a day do you milk? If you don’t milk 3X a day, have you tried it in the past? We milk two times a day. We were three times a day up until a month ago.
Do you contract your milk? Has it been successful for you? No, we do not contract milk. We utilize Dairy Revenue Protection and Dairy Margin Coverage for our risk management tools. Describe your housing and milking facility. We milk in a double-8 parallel parlor. The cows are housed in freestall barns, where they are bedded with either sawdust or separated manure solids depending on which barn they are in.
ANDREA BORGERDING/DAIRY STAR
The Meyers – (from leŌ) Tyler, Tara, Maddie and Nick – milk 300 cows near Sauk Centre, Minnesota. They currently have a herd average over 29,000 pounds of milk.
ANDREA BORGERDING/DAIRY STAR
Cows rest in stalls bedded with separated manure solids. They also use sawdust for bedding in one of their barns.
What is your herd health program? The vet comes every two weeks and ultrasounds. Cows are checked at 28-42 days since last heat, rechecked again at 60-74 days and re-
checked again at 144-158 days. What does your dry cow and transition program consist of? Cows are dried off at 50 days before due date and are
put on a special dry cow ration. At 21 days, they are moved to a bed pack pen and a prefresh ration. After calving, cows are put in a post-fresh pen on a post-fresh ration. Turn to MEYERS | Page 20
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Page 20 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 12, 2020
ConƟnued from MEYERS | Page 18 What is the composition of your ration? What has been one of your most recent changes that has been successful for you? BMR corn silage, haylage, dry corn, soybean meal, corn gluten feed and protein/mineral mix. We feed a very high corn silage diet. We previously made high moisture corn and stored in bags. We now only put up dry corn and run all dry corn for rations through our on-farm grinder mixer. We have seen a bump in components when moving away from high moisture corn. Through the years you have been farming, what change has created the biggest jump
in your herd average? Comfortable, happy cows that are eating high-quality forages. We pay special attention to pile face management and ensuring the feeds in the ration are top quality. Modications to the freestalls barns, such as raising neck rails and adding on to one barn for additional lunge space, also have improved cow comfort. What role does genetics play in your production level, and what is your breeding program? We work closely with Daryl Zenzen, ABS Global representative. He chooses bulls based on high components and health traits. We use sexed semen on the top 40% of ANDREA BORGERDING/DAIRY STAR
The Meyers have made several modicaƟons to their freestall barns including a raised neck rail and addiƟonal lunge space for cow comfort. animals in the herd. The lower 60% of the herd is bred to beef semen. What type of improvements would you like to make that would increase your rolling herd average even higher? Continue to make strides in cow comfort and high-quality forages for optimal production.
ANDREA BORGERDING/DAIRY STAR
The Meyers pay special aƩenƟon to pile face management on their dairy in Stearns County, Minnesota.
List three management strategies that has kept you profitable. We work closely with our nutritionist, breeder and other consultants on our team to brainstorm ideas, best management practices and then ul-
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timately implement those ideas that will work on our farm. We are constantly discussing ideas and have to be willing to adapt as managers. What would you say are the three most important factors for you that helped you attain your current herd average? Transition cow health has always been an area of focus. We have tweaked rations, tried the post-fresh cows in different areas of the farm and rearranged milking order and pen locations to nd the sweet spot for our post-fresh cows. Making cow comfort a top priority
is a continuous improvement area. We have one barn with mattresses bedded with sawdust and a second freestall barn bedded with separated manure solids. We have been working with Zinpro for a trial/study to keep bacteria counts lower in the separated manure solids stalls. Tell us about your farm. We are second-generation dairy farmers at this farm. Nick took over the farm from his parents. We have two kids and raise all of our youngstock on site. We raise all our own forages and corn while other parts of the ration are purchased.
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ON ALL PLANTERS & SELF-PROPELLED SPRAYERS
JD DB44, 2020, 24 row 22” $ #175 7 32 3233 #175323
300,500
Case IH FLX4530 2013, 3460 hrs., $ #173392
70,400
JD DB66, 2012, 36 row 22” CCS $ #166296
189,500
RoGator RG1100 2014, 3425 hrs., $ #175947
99,500
JD 1775NT, 2015, 24 row 30” CCS, $ #170394
JD 1790, 2010, 31 row 15” CCS, $ #171218
JD 4940 2013, 1716 hrs., $ #170040
JD 4830 2013, 2270 hrs., $ #175791
189,500
169,500
79,500
148,900
Over 1000 items with pictures updated daily • Go to www.mmcjd.com DISKS 4 JD 2623, 2013, 33 ft, #149511 ...............................................$34,900 10 Frontier DH1166, Rigid, Spacing: 9”, #175775 .......................$1,400 10 JD 2620, 2016, 26 ft, 3-Section Folding, Spacing: 9”, #175512 ..................................................................................$34,500 10 Kuhn Krause 8300, 2012, 32 ft, 3-Section Folding, #173581 ..................................................................................$29,999 10 JD 637, 2002, 29 ft, 3-Section Folding, Spacing: 9”, #172913 ..................................................................................$33,500 7 JD 637, 2011, 45 ft, 5-Section Folding, Spacing: 9”, #166177 ..................................................................................$34,900 15 Sunflower 1550-50, 49 ft, 5-Section Folding, #172168 .......$38,400 11 JD 2623, 2013, 20 ft, 3-Section Folding, Spacing: 9”, #168622 ..................................................................................$26,900 14 JD 2680H, 2019, 42 ft, 3-Section Folding, #176202 .............$99,500 14 Summers 40’ Supercoulter, 2012, 3-Section Folding, #175643 ..................................................................................$39,900 3 Wishek 862-NT, 2009, 33 ft, 3-Section Folding, #163465 ....$21,900 FIELD CULTIVATORS 4 JD 980, 1996, 44 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #169542 ..$13,900 4 JD 2210, 2005, 54 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #167743 $30,900 2 JD 980, 1997, 25 ft, 3-Section Folding, C-Shank, #176647 ..$10,900 2 JD 2210, 2012, 32 ft, 3-Section Folding, C-Shank, #173629 $35,900 2 JD 2210LL, 2014, 45.5 ft, 3-Section Folding, C-Shank, #173708 ..................................................................................$39,000 2 JD 2230, 2018, 50.5 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #176637 ..................................................................................$94,900 17 JD 980, 1995, 41 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #175950 ....$9,500 17 JD 2210, 2012, 50.5 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #173641 ..................................................................................$42,900 17 Case IH Tigermate 2, 2010, 46 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #176675 .................................................................$37,400 17 JD 2210, 2011, 60 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #168037$49,400 7 Wil-Rich 3400, 1985, 36 ft, 3-Section Folding, C-Shank, #176004 ....................................................................................$3,995 6 JD 960, 1990, 32 ft, 3-Section Folding, C-Shank, #174317 ....$4,400 1 Wil-Rich QX-2, 2008, 47 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #173990 ..................................................................................$32,900
15 JD 2210, 2011, 50.5 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #175598 ..................................................................................$43,900 15 JD 2210, 2008, 65 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #166479$37,900 15 JD 2210, 2007, 65 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #166478$29,500 15 JD 980, 1998, 40 ft, 3-Section Folding, C-Shank, #171557 ..$11,900 5 Wil-Rich Quad X, 2006, 50 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #176205 ..................................................................................$19,900 5 Case IH Tigermate 2, 2002, 45 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #176404 ..................................................................$24,900 5 JD 2210, 2009, 55.5 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #175257 ..................................................................................$45,000 5 Case IH Tigermate II, 2006, 50.5 ft, C-Shank, #171913.......$32,900 11 Case IH 200, 2012, 60.5 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #169795 ..................................................................................$34,900 14 JD 2210, 2014, 60.5 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #174638 ..................................................................................$59,900 14 JD 960, 1989, 42 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #165959 ....$6,900 14 Case IH 200, 2014, 60 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #176029 ..................................................................................$47,500 14 JD 2210, 2012, 60.5 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #176030 ..................................................................................$49,500 14 JD 2200, 2002, 50.5 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #161487 ..................................................................................$21,900 3 JD 2210, 2007, 26 ft, 3-Section Folding, C-Shank, #175749 $26,400 PLANTERS 4 JD 1775NT, 2018, 16R30” , Flex Fold, #150736 .................. $149,500 2 JD 1770NT, 2014, 16R30” , Flex Fold, #176683 .....................$89,500 2 JD 1775NT, 2019, 16R30” , Flex Fold, #174754 .................. $149,500 2 JD 1775NT, 2019, 16R30”, Flex Fold, #174753 ................... $149,500 17 JD 1760, 2002, 12R30” , Rigid, #176731................................$26,900 17 JD 1790, 2010, 31R15” , Flex Fold, #171218..........................$79,500 7 JD DB66, 2018, 36R22”, Flex Fold, #161533 ....................... $289,500 7 JD 1780, 2007, 15R15”, #169548 ...........................................$24,500 7 JD 1770NT, 2009, 16R30”, #169073 ......................................$62,900 6 White 6106, 1992, 6;R30” , Rigid, #174852 ............................$8,400 9 JD 1770, 2002, 16R30” , Flex Fold, #174750..........................$25,500 16 JD DB66, 2017, 36R22”, Wing Fold, #175194 ..................... $349,500 16 JD 1775NT, 2017, 24R30”, Wing Fold, #160204 ................. $229,500
Visit one of our 17 locations in Central Minnesota! (1) = GLENCOE 4561 Hwy. 212
(4) = ST. CLOUD 1035 35th Ave. NE
(2) = HOWARD LAKE (5) = GLENWOOD 5845 Keats Ave. SW
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(6) = SAUK CENTRE
78412 Co. Rd. 20
1140 Centre St.
(7) = ALEXANDRIA (9) = PRINCETON 320-763-4220 5005 Co. Rd. 82 SE
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JD DB44, 2020, 24R22”, Flex Fold, #175323 ....................... $300,500 JD 1750, 8R30”, Rigid, #171351 .............................................$15,900 JD 7200, 1990, 12R30”, Wing Fold, #176381 .........................$10,400 JD 1775NT, 2015, 24R30”, Flex Fold, #170394 ................... $189,500 JD DB66, 2005, 36R22”, Flex Fold, #166985 ....................... $109,500 JD DB66, 2012, 36R22”, Flex Fold, #166296 ....................... $189,500 JD DB66, 2018, 36R22”, #171214....................................... $339,500 JD 1770NT CCS, 2012, 24R30”, Wing Fold, #167881 .......... $118,500 JD 1710, 1997, 12R30”, Wing Fold, #176726 .........................$14,900 JD 1710, 24R22”, Wing Fold, #168140 ...................................$19,900 JD 1720 CCS, 2012, 16R30”, Wing Fold, #176499 ..................$65,900 JD 7300, 1992, 12R30”, Wing Fold, #175563.........................$11,900 SELF-PROPELLED SPRAYERS 17 JD R4030, 2014, 120’ boom, Narrow tires, 1037 hrs., #173856 ............................................................................... $215,000 1 JD 4830, 2009, 120’ boom, Narrow tires, 1081 hrs., #176742 ............................................................................... $149,500 15 JD 4830, 2013, 100’ boom, Boom Leveling, 1230 hrs., #176478 ............................................................................... $151,900 16 JD R4038, 2018,120’ boom, 227 hrs., #168631.................. $345,000 16 JD R4038, 2018, 132’ boom, 981 hrs., #157822................. $339,500 16 JD R4038, 2019, 132’ boom, 514 hrs., #175772................. $355,000 16 JD 4830, 2012, 2040 hrs., #171464 .................................... $139,000 16 JD R4038, 2018, 120’ boom, 492 hrs., #157823................. $329,500 16 JD 4940, 2013, 132’ boom, 1716 hrs., #170040 ................. $169,500 16 JD R4038, 2019, 132’ boom, Narrow tires, 548 hrs., #168957 ............ $379,500 11 JD R4038, 2018, 120’ boom, 200 hrs., #150473................. $349,500 8 JD R4038, 2018, 120’ boom, 1402 hrs., #174421 .............. $274,900 8 RoGator RG1100, 2014, 100’ boom, 3425 hrs., #175947 .....$99,500 8 Hagie STS12, 2020, 120’ boom, 544 hrs., #174422 ........... $375,000 8 JD R4038, 2020, 120’ boom, 176 hrs., #174932................. $354,900 8 RoGator RG1100, 2012, 90’ boom, 4375 hrs., #176730 .......$72,900 14 JD 4830, 2013, 2270 hrs., #175791 .................................... $148,900 14 JD 4830, 2008, 100’ boom, Narrow tires, 5859 hrs., #174231 ..................................................................................$66,900 3 Ag-Chem 1064, 2003, 90’ boom, Narrow tires, 3647 hrs., #176766 ..................................................................................$3,7500 5 11 8 8 8 14 14 3 17 15 8 3
CALL TODAY! (320)365-1653 (12) = AITKIN 1120 2nd St. NW
(10) = LITTLE FALLS (13) = BAXTER (11) = WADENA 62505 US Hwy. 10
7045 Foley Rd.
(14) = ELBOW LAKE
(16) = BENSON
(15) = MORRIS
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110 2nd St. NE
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SEE OUR COMPLETE INVENTORY WITH PICTURES AND DESCRIPTIONS AT: www.mmcjd.com
Page 22 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 12, 2020
Happy Holidays
Lava leaps to the top of the Guernsey CPI list
This year we have many blessings to be thankful for, but we are especially grateful for your continued cooperation and support. The work you do inspires us to do better each year. We wish you and your loved ones a safe and happy holiday season!
DANIELLE NAUMAN/DAIRY STAR
Kurt (leŌ) and Scot Peterson operate Coulee Crest Farms where they milk 240 cows, including 80 Guernseys, near Cashton, Wisconsin. They recently had their sixth cow from one cow family land in the top spot on the American Guernsey AssociaƟon’s Top 200 CPI Cows list.
Sixth top cow to call Coulee Crest home By Danielle Nauman danielle.n@dairystar.com
Hamra Farm at DeLaval HQ, Tumba Sweden
www.delaval.com
IOWA Kramer Bros. Monticello, IA 319-465-5931 Prairie Land Ag Supply Inc. Rock Valley, IA 712-476-9290 <UP[LK +HPY` :`Z[LTZ West Union, IA 563-422-5355 WISCONSIN Advanced Dairy/Bob’s Dairy Supply Spring Valley, WI 715-772-3201 Ederer Dairy Supply Plain, WI 608-546-3713
Joe’s Refrigeration Inc. Withee, WI 715-229-2321 Mlsna Dairy Supply Inc. Cashton, WI 608-654-5106 Mondovi Dairy Systems Inc. Mondovi, WI 715-926-5777
MINNESOTA & SOUTH DAKOTA D&D Ag Supply Pennock, MN 320-599-4466 East Central Dairy Supply Mora, MN 320-679-1029
Professional Dairy Services Arlington, WI 608-635-0267
Farm Systems Melrose, MN 320-256-3276 Watertown, SD 605-886-7401 Sioux Falls, SD 800-284-0015
Redeker Dairy Equipment Brandon, WI 920-346-5579
S&S Dairy System LLC St. Charles, MN 507-932-4288
The Scharine Group Inc. Whitewater, WI 800 472-2880 Mt Horeb, WI 800-872-3470
Professional Dairy Systems Wadena, MN 218-632-5416
West Salem, WI 608-769-2113
is a registered trademark of Tetra Laval Holdings & Finance S.A. and “DeLaval” is a registered trade/servicemark of DeLaval Holding AB © 2020 DeLaval Inc. DeLaval, 11100 North Congress Avenue, Kansas City, Missouri 64153-1296. www.delaval.com
CASHTON, Wis. – Coulee Crest Pilot Lava-ET Very Good-88 landed on the top of the Top 200 Cow performance Index list published by the American Guernsey Association following the December proof run, with a CPI of +122. Previously, Lava held the fourth position on the list with a CPI of +113. Coulee Crest LLC is owned and operated by brothers Scot and Kurt Peterson and their parents, Don and Dorothy. The farm, located in Cashton, is home to 240 cows, which includes about 80 milking Guernseys and 12 milking Ayrshires with the remainder being grade Holsteins used to carry Guernsey and Ayrshire embryos. Their Guernsey rolling herd average is just over 21,000 pounds of milk and 1,000 pounds of butterfat, with an average butterfat test at 5%. Genomic success is nothing new to Lava or her cow family. She is the sixth member of her family to hold that position, and she was on the top 10 list as a heifer as well. She transmits her excellent genetics to her offspring and is the dam of the top six genomic heifers in the breed, with seven total daughters in the top 10. Lava is a Lindrian Grumpy Pilot out of Coulee Crest Laredo Lalita-ET GP-84, who herself is still in the herd and recently completed her fth lacation. Larita is tied for eighth place on the recently released top CPI list, at +99CPI. Lava’s granddam, Flambeau Manor Decision Lori EX-90, is a former top CPI cow as well. Lori was the result of an embryo package purchased by the Petersons. “We had been doing a lot of work with other branches of this cow family, and then Lava came along with high numbers as a heifer and kind of surprised us,” Kurt Peterson said. “We had ushed her mother as a young cow once, but that was it. Since Lava turned out so well, we decided to ush Lalita again.” Turn to PETERSON | Page 23 Esgate Rd., Anamosa Silo 8827 Maquoketa, IA 563-652-5125 Repair, LLC
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Dairy Star • Saturday, December 12, 2020 • Page 23
ConƟnued from PETERSON | Page 22 After Lava’s initial appearance on the list of the breed’s highest genomic heifers, the Petersons began to take an interest in her. “I really liked Lava as a bred heifer,” Peterson said. Complications during her rst pregnancy caused her not to come into milk after losing her calf just before turning 2 years old. “Because of her genetics, we made the decision to (ush her using) IVF once, and then put her in with a bull.” That intervention resulted in two heifer calves, and Lava settled to the bull she was bred to and calved again at 2 years and 11 months, coming into her milk successfully. As she began her own production record, Lava’s performance backed up her genomic predictions. She completed her rst lactation making over 27,590
pounds of milk, 1,558 pounds of butterfat on a 5.6% test and 997 pounds of protein at 3.6%. During her second lactation, Lava has been ushed using IVF ve times to make progeny by Springhill JC Penney, Springhill James Dean, Ripley Farms Networth C Theo and Hi-GuernView Levi Drone. Peterson said ushing Lava using IVF works well for the cow. “She usually makes anywhere from eight to 20 good embryos from each cycle,” Peterson said. “She has made a lot of good No. 1 embryos that we have been able to freeze and have available to sell as embryo packages and to export.” Lava’s embryos have been marketed to breeders in Canada and Australia, as well as to breeders in the United States. Being the dam of seven of the top 10 genomic heifers in the PHOTO COURTESY OF SARAH DAMROW PHOTOGRAPHY
Coulee Crest Pilot Lava-ET topped the recently released Top 200 CPI Cow list from the American Guernsey AssociaƟon at +122CPI.
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Coulee Crest Pilot Lava-ET recently scored VG-88 in her second lactaƟon. The Petersons’ breeding philosophy combines producƟon with type.
breed has made the demand high for embryos and offspring from Lava, and many of her offspring have been purchased by breeders. Her two highest-ranking daughters, sired by Coulee Crest Toby Keith, are +101CPI Coulee Crest FF Lavas Lindsey and +99CPI Coulee Crest FF Lavas Lynn. They are owned by James and Linda van Patter of Beaver Dam. With her high-ranking genetics, there has been a demand for Lava’s sons to be studs for the articial insemination industry as well. She has two high-
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ranking sons, sired by Coulee Crest Toby Keith, headed to stud: Coulee Crest Lavas Hurricane, at +109GPTI; and Coulee Crest Tsunami, +98GPTI. The outstanding results the Peterson family has had in the genetics arena have not happened only by chance but can be attributed to the breeding philosophy they have adhered to. “We try to focus on using bulls with good production proofs, and with good, sound type as well,” Peterson said. “We really just want the complete cow.
We watch udder traits and health traits like DPR (daughter pregnancy rate).” Peterson said genomic tools such as DPR have helped the Guernsey breed progress over the past ve years. He also credits the breed’s tendency to carry the A2A2 gene and breeders’ commitment to fostering that gene as being a critical part of the success. “The breed as a whole is really in great demand lately, I think maybe stronger than any other breed right now,” Peterson said.
THE KINGFISHER ADVANTAGE KingFisher won the Grand Champion of the conventional corn silage division of the Forage Super Bowl, three years in a row. Unprecedented. And five Grand Champions total in 2020, including the Quality Counts Division. Unparalleled. But, while trophies on a shelf are nice, what does it mean for you as a livestock producer? While growing award winning forage is a plus, the KingFisher Advantage is much more than forage: it’s planning, it’s a team, it’s consistency year after
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Page 24 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 12, 2020
+
DAIRY ST R
The Great Christmas “GRAND” PRIZE
GIVEAWAY
Grand Prize Drawing Will Be Held Wednesday, December 16, 2020 THE WINNERS WILL BE POSTED ON WWW.DAIRYSTAR.COM, MILK BREAK NEWSLETTER AND ON FACEBOOK.
ADULT “GRAND” PRIZE:
2) $1,000 CASH GIFTS!
17 & UNDER “GRAND” PRIZE “Grand” Prize Holstein Calf: CRISDHOME SOLO ANGEL-ET
Grand Priz Calf come e sfro Born: September 26, 2020 Crisdholm m e Farms LLC Dam: Milksource Aftershk Aimee-ET EX94-3E New Richm , ond, Sire: Walnutlawn Soloman Wis. E Granddam: Milksource Goldwn Africa-ET EX95-2E
REGISTER FREE FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN!
Register at participating businesses, online at www.dairystar.com or Àll out the form below and mail to: Dairy Star 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave., Sauk Centre, MN 56378 ADULT REGISTRATION
17 & UNDER REGISTRATION
Name:
Name:
Address:
Parents Name(s): Address:
Phone:
# of Cows:
Mail to: Dairy Star • 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave. • Sauk Centre, MN 56378
Phone: # of Cows: Mail to: Dairy Star • 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave. • Sauk Centre, MN 56378
Dairy Star • Saturday, December 12, 2020 • Page 25
REGISTER AT THESE PARTICIPATING BUSINESSES: WISCONSIN
CHIPPEWA COUNTY
• Chippewa Farm Service, LLC Chippewa Falls • 715-382-5400 • Chippewa Valley Dairy Supply Stanley • 715-644-2350
CLARK COUNTY
• Cloverdale Equipment Curtiss • 715-223-3361 • Premier Livestock Withee • 715-229-2500
DANE COUNTY
• Argall Dairy Systems, Inc Belleville • 608-424-6110
DUNN COUNTY
• Leedstone Menononie • 866-467-4717 • Midwest Livestock Systems Menomonie • 715-235-5144
GRANT COUNTY
• Argall Dairy Systems, West Platteville • 608-348-3385 • Fuller’s Milker Center, Inc. Lancaster • 608-723-4634 • Innovative Ag Services Cuba City • 608-744-2287 • Scott Implement Platteville • 608-348-6565 • Sloan Implement Montfort • 608-943-8888
GREEN COUNTY
• Compeer Financial Monroe • 608-328-5934 • Monroe WestfaliaSurge/Koehn, Inc. Monroe • 608-325-2772
JACKSON COUNTY • W.H. Lien, Inc. Hixton • 715-963-4211
LAFAYETTE COUNTY
• Center Hill Veterinary Clinic Darlington • 608-776-4083
MILWAUKEE COUNTY
• Yes JCB Milwaukee • (262) 790-8902
MONROE COUNTY
• Preston Dairy Equipment Sparta • 608-269-3830
PEPIN COUNTY
• Anibas Silo & Repair Arkansaw • 715-285-5317
PIERCE COUNTY
• Ag Partners Grange Hall • 715-647-5002 • Western Wisconsin Farm Store Ellsworth • 715-273-5066
RICHLAND COUNTY
• Advanced Dairy Solutions Richland Center • 608-647-4488
SAUK COUNTY
• Central Ag Supply Baraboo • 608-356-8384 • Central Ag Supply Juneau • 920-386-2611
VERNON COUNTY
• Koon Kreek Feeds Coon Valley • 608-452-3838
WALWORTH COUNTY
• Triebold Outdoor Power Whitewater • 262-473-2464
IOWA
ALLAMAKEE COUNTY
• Bodensteiner Implement Waukon • 563-568-3463 • Innovative Ag Services Waukon • 563-568-3455 • Waukon Veterinary Services Waukon • 563-568-2487
CLAYTON COUNTY
• Bodensteiner Implement Elkader • 563-245-2470 • Innovative Ag Services Elkader • 563-245-1230 Monona • 563-539-2001
DUBUQUE COUNTY
• Bodensteiner Implement Dyersville • 563-875-2724 • Brunkan Equipment Worthington • 563-855-2434 • CJ Beeps Equipment Farley • 563-744-5010 • Helle Farm Equipment Dyersville • 563-875-7154 • Innovative Ag Services Cascade • 563-852-7245 Farley • 563-744-3337 • New Vienna Ag Automation New Vienna • 563-921-2896
• Skip Breitbach Feeds Balltown • 563-552-2393 • Scherrmann’s Implement Dyersville • 563-875-2426 • Ungs Shopping Center (IAS) Luxemburg • 563-853-2455
JACKSON COUNTY • Innovative Ag Services Andrew • 563-672-3228
MINNESOTA DAKOTA COUNTY
• Werner Implement Vermillion • 651-437-4435
HOUSTON COUNTY
• Farmers Win Coop Caledonia • 507-725-3306 Houston • 507-896-3147 Spring Grove • 507-498-5321 • Hammell Equipment Eitzen • 507-495-3326
GOODHUE COUNTY
• Ag Partners - Grain Site Bellchester • 651-923-4453 Wanamingo-Grain Site • 507-824-2231 Wanamingo-Agronomy Location 507-824-2215 • Ag Partners Farm Store Cannon Falls • 507-263-4651 Goodhue • 800-732-1439 Pine Island • 507-356-8313 • GB Feed and Supply Bellchester • 651-923-4425 • Midwest Livestock Systems Zumbrota • 507-732-4673
WABASHA COUNTY
• Ag Partners Farm Store Lake City • 651-345-3328 Plainview • 507-534-2531 • Beck Implement Elgin • 507-876-2122 • Leedstone Plainview • 800-548-2540 • Wingert Sales & Service Plainview • 507-534-2285
WINONA COUNTY
• Benson Farm Service Lewiston • 507-523-2188 • Elba Coop Elba • 507-796-6571 • S&S Dairy Systems St. Charles • 507-932-4288
To view a complete list of participating businesses, log on to www.dairystar.com
*Enter as often as you like. One entry per store visit, please. Winners must be 18 years or older and a Grade A or B dairy farmer for adult prize, or 17 years or younger and a son or daughter of a Grade A or B dairy farmer for heifer calf. Winners must also live in the Dairy Star circulation area to be eligible and are responsible for transport of animal.
Page 26 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 12, 2020
Many Minnesota USDA Service Centers open for business by phone appointment The United States Department of Agriculture is temporarily restricting in-person visits for numerous Service Centers in Minnesota because of elevated rates of FSA News & Notes coronavirus community spread, but USDA employees will continue to assist agricultural producers with programs and services. USDA is using a phased, data-driven approach to determine which Service Centers are open for in-person By Ryan Brunn appointments. Field work, Stearns Co. Exec. Dir. including conservation planning assistance, will continue with appropriate social distancing. “While many of our Service Centers across Minnesota will be physically closed to visitors, we remain open for business,” said Joe Martin, state executive director for the USDA Farm Service Agency in Minnesota. Added Troy Daniel, state conservationist for the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in Minnesota, “Throughout the pandemic, our work with producers has continued and we remain committed to serving our customers.” All USDA Service Centers are open for business, and staff members from FSA and NRCS will continue to work with producers by phone, email, and digital tools like Microsoft Teams, Box, and OneSpan. Producers can learn more about how to leverage these digital offerings by visiting www. farmers.gov/mydocs. Producers wishing to conduct business with the FSA, NRCS or any other agency should call ahead to conrm and schedule appointments. More information can be found at ww.farmers. gov/coronavirus/service-center-status, and contact information for local Service Centers is available at www.farmers.gov/service-center-locator. 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.
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purchased Food Club brand heavy whipping cream, it was from Morningstar Foods, in Murray, Kentucky. The sour cream was from Westby Cooperative Creamery, in Westby, Wisconsin. As the world continues through the spin cycle with the pandemic and consumers needing the comfort of knowing where their food comes from, I am condent we are doing right by telling our stories about how we farm, and that we are families just like them. We care about doing the right things, and that safety and trust are in our daily interest every day when we step out our doors to go to work with the animals that will be making the food for others to enjoy. Tina Hinchley, her husband, Duane, and their daughters, Anna and Catherine, milk 240 registered Holsteins with robots. They also farm 2,300 acres of crops near Cambridge, Wisconsin. They have been hosting farm tours for over 20 years.
tely ®
raise these birds, and seeing photos of the families behind the bird was impressive. The videos and the veterinarian speaking about the health of the birds being a top priority was a message about food safety and animal care. Families, many multi-generational, make these birds the best part of our holiday. The gathering around this meal is not only tradition but a specialty as to how it is cooked. Some will roast, grill or deep fry their turkey into a spectacular vision that just looking at it makes your mouth water. The dairy industry has also been working with transparency for a while. On most dairy products, there is the use by date and next to it numbers which indicate the processing plant where the milk was pasteurized and bottled. In Wisconsin, our plant numbers start with 55. I had looked up the website whereismymilkfrom.com, and I looked up my dairy products that were in my refrigerator. Because I
G e n tl
This year’s Thanksgiving will be one that will be remembered for many things. The rst most noteworthy would be that we spent the feast at home. We didn’t run to my sister’s with several pies and other homemade goodies to share. We enjoyed cooking and baking the complete meal ourselves. The mornings on our farm are usually routine, and the Thanksgiving cooking just added another thing to do. The goal was to be inside to nish up the side dishes and eat at noon. My list was on the counter By Tina Hinchley of what was needed to Farmer & Columnist be prepared. Pies were the only things checked off. The dough for the rolls was in the refrigerator rising overnight and needed to be rolled out and put in the oven before the 22-pound turkey needed to be in at 6:30 a.m. The stufng is usually made with apples, cran-raisins and walnuts. These supplies were gathered and pushed in the corner. I had the dishes for the candied carrots and squash out and ready to be lled. The potatoes were in the sink, waiting to be peeled. Everything was on hold for my return from the barn. We had a couple calves born overnight, and they needed to be moved to the nursery and fed with all of the other calves. After hauling the calves up and putting them in their pens, I took a quick break to get the rolls into the oven to get them baking. It was the next job to get the turkey into the roasting pan, buttered and seasoned while the rolls were nishing in the oven. While I took the turkey out of the plastic
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Where is it from?
Dairy Star • Saturday, December 12, 2020 • Page 27
k ly a n d C o
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Th d The dairy i iindustry d h has also been working with transparency for a while. wrapper, I noticed an advertisement to nd out where the turkey was raised. I could check out the Turkey Tracker on the back of the tag and meet the farm family that raised the turkey we would be dining on in a few hours. I set the tag aside and was going to check it out later. I ran back outside to nish up chores only to return to the house to see that the table was set, and the side dishes were being prepared. Anna was out with me, and Catherine got in earlier and went right to work on the list. How nice it is to have grown children who know how to cook and will step in and nish up the cooking. We all were in the house when the turkey was due to come out of the oven. Being together as a whole big family will be ne next year. For 2020, this was perfect. I will admit, I liked not having to rush and drive and rush back to do chores. It was nice to text holiday wishes to each other and share photos of our tables overlled with food. We had eaten, packaged up the leftovers and were relaxing on the couch when we all were ready for another piece of pie. Just the ve of us. It was really nice. Later, I went to check out the Turkey Tracker and was very impressed. This is the perfect example of what this agriculture industry is doing to promote trust with the consumers who are purchasing our products. Turkeys, come to nd out, are mostly raised in Minnesota and western Wisconsin. It is a big job to breed, hatch and
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Page 28 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 12, 2020 Joe Armstrong armst225@umn.edu 612.624.3610 Luciano Caixeta lcaixeta@umn.edu 612-625-3130 Hugh Chester-Jones chest001@umn.edu 507-835-3622 Gerard Cramer gcramer@umn.edu 612-625-8184 Marcia Endres miendres@umn.edu 612-624-5391 Sandra Godden godde002@umn.edu 612-625-8177 Joleen Hadrich jhadrich@umn.edu 612-626-5620 Les Hansen hanse009@umn.edu 612-624-2277 Brad Heins hein0106@umn.edu 320-589-1711 Nathan Hulinsky huli0013@umn.edu 320-203-6104 Kevin Janni kjanni@umn.edu 612-625-3108 Karen Johnson ande9495@umn.edu 320-484-4334 Emily Krekelberg krek0033@umn.edu 507-280-2863 Claire LaCanne lacanne@umn.edu 507-332-6109 Brenda Miller nels4220@umn.edu 320-732-4435 Erin Royster royster@umn.edu Jim Salfer salfe001@umn.edu 320-203-6093 Mike Schutz mschutz@umn.edu 612-624-1205 M. Scott Wells mswells@umn.edu 612-625-3747
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Science in real time
We are living in interesting times. All our lives have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic over the past eight months. Some things may never go back to the way they were before the pandemic. An interesting (and scary) phenomenon is the criticism of the scientic and medical community during this pandemic. But what we are witnessing is science in real time. This is partly understandable when it seems like the rules are constantly changing. Masks don’t help – now masks help and are mandatory. Hydroxychloroquine works as a treatment – now it doesn’t work. Changing quarantine recommendations. By Jim Salfer Some people believe that these constantly University of MN changing, often contradictory ideas prove that science doesn’t work. In reality, this is exactly how science does and is supposed to work. Science is at its best when conclusions change as our knowledge improves. Following the research on COVID-19 has been fascinating, and we are all getting a close-up view of science at its best in high speed. It is amazing the amount of information we have discovered about this novel virus in just a few short months. We should be thankful for the medical doctors and scientists around the world that have been working countless hours to identify effective treatments and develop vaccines. Discovering new knowledge through scientic experiments is naturally a slow process. Science is intentionally set up to be questioned, challenged and changed as we discover new information. Scientists utilize the scientic method; a standard, rigorous and step-wise process to understand the world. After an idea or observation, scientists develop a hypothesis to test their idea. When the hypothesis is tested, it is either supported or refuted. If the hypothesis is refuted, an alternative hypothesis is developed and the process continues. Another key aspect of science is that information is expected to be peer reviewed. Peers review the results, methodology and conclusions to determine the validity of the results. This helps other scientists build off the knowledge or repeat the experiments under different conditions. Scientists gather evidence with statistical signicance to prove or disprove a theory. However, science can never prove anything without an absolute doubt. Statistics only result in a certain probability that something works or is true. Scientists are trained to be skeptical, critical and unbiased.
They approach experiments without a preconceived bias of the outcome. They also are trained to not be advocates or judgmental for a certain position. They are trained not to make value judgements about results, but only report what they discover. A real-life dairy example of how science works was the discovery that low energy close-up diets reduced transition cow diseases after calving. This was not without early conicting research results. Initially, one researcher conducted an experiment and fed two groups of close-up cows the same diet. One group of cows could eat at will. As expected, as calving time approached, there was a large decrease in dry matter intake. The other group was also allowed to eat at will, but any feed not consumed at the end of the day was force fed, or stuffed in the rumen, through a rumen cannula. They discovered that the group of cows that were force fed had fewer transition cow problems and less fat build up in their liver. They logically concluded that feeding a higher-energy close-up diet could compensate for the decrease in feed intake around calving time resulting in less disease after calving. Around the same time, another researcher had some limited on-farm data and research that showed feeding cows low energy diets containing straw reduced transition cow diseases. How could it be that these two research studies came up with what appears to be opposite observations and recommendations? As more experiments were conducted, it was discovered that the common denominator of these trials was that preventing the dramatic decrease in intake as calving approaches was the mechanism that minimized transition cow disease. Cows fed low energy close-up diets do not drop as much in intake as cows fed higher energy close-up diets. This simple example shows how scientists worked through the scientic process and eventually came up with diet recommendations to decrease fresh cow diseases. By trying different ideas they developed a solution that was better than one of them alone. We can all think of other agriculture recommendations that have changed over the years. These are the result of scientists developing and testing a hypothesis for a more desirable outcome. Some of the best research ideas come from farmers’ recommendations and observations that are proven or refuted by scientic experiments. Science is not perfect. But, the scientic process is the best way we know to discover new knowledge to improve the world.
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The mystery of hemorrhagic bowel syndrome
I am not a veterinarian. I am an Extension educator and farmer interested in learning more about what causes certain issues that happen on our family farm. Earlier this year, we had a cow freshen that we were excited about. She had overcome the hardest part of starting the lactation by calving on her own and cleaning in a timely manner. She even got off to a great start producing milk. About 15 days into the lactation, she simply stopped eating, had no milk and was kicking at her stomach. Our farmer know-how gured she had a DA so we called the vet. He came out and diagnosed hemorrhagic bowel syndrome. What I thought was interesting is that he made the comment that he wishes it was a DA because that is something that he could treat. This got me thinking about what is HBS and what else could we have done to save this By Karen Johnson cow. U of M Extension HBS is a deadly, acute intestinal disease that has been increasing in frequency in adult dairy cows. Cattle affected with HBS usually die within 12 to 36 hours after the onset of clinical disease. The syndrome is characterized by large blood clots in the intestine that result in the obstruction and severe enlargement of the bowel. Cows can present with dehydration, shock, abdominal distention, depression, decreased milk production, loss of appetite, rapid heart rate and dark clotted blood in the feces. The cause of HBS is unknown. However, Clostridium perfringens type A and Aspergillus fumigatus have been implicated. Cows with HBS have been prescribed pumping water with a nutritional supplement/prebiotics, shock doses of uids, anti-inammatories when appropriate, and occasionally a laxative to prevent clot formation and intestinal blockage. Even with this supportive care, prognosis for clinical animals is extremely guarded as 85% don’t survive. Surgical intervention is not recommended and has an even worse prognosis. Possible risk factors for HBS include second lactation or older cows, farms over 100 cows and early lactation cows. HBS usually increases as rolling herd average increases, has a higher incidence in the western region and tends to occur in the cooler months. Other suggested risk factors include feeding large amounts of fermentable carbohydrate, high amounts of soil in the ration, abrupt ration changes, feeding a TMR and having conrmed tests for Clostridium perfringens type A and Aspergillus fumigatus in the feedstuffs. Risk factors cited are from a survey of Minnesota bovine practitioners (Godden et al., 2001) as well as the NAHMS Dairy 2002 study. There are many unknowns when it comes to HBS. More studies have to be conducted to conclusively determine cause, risk factors and effective treatments. Like many other diseases, HBS is likely pathogen dose dependent with more pathogen exposure leading to more frequent and more severe cases. Clostridium perfringens and Aspergillus fumigatus exposure cannot be avoided entirely, but it can be limited. Any addition of soil to the ration, such as storing feed on the ground where soil can be scooped up with the feedstuff, or using haying practices that result in excessive amounts of ash, will increase the dose given to your cows. Preventive measures are best to avoid HBS. Encourage healthy rumen microbiome through a balanced diet to make clinical cases of HBS less severe and less frequent on any dairy. Talk with your nutritionist and veterinarian about the potential for prebiotic and probiotic additions to your feed that have evidence for efcacy against HBS. Fortunately for dairy farmers, HBS is quite uncommon across dairies. I didn’t know what HBS was until it happened on our farm. Knowledge is power. I hope we never have another case of HBS again; however, I feel better being able to identify the symptoms and do my part to make the cow as comfortable as possible. This article was reviewed by Joe Armstrong, DVM.
Dairy Star • Saturday, December 12, 2020 • Page 29
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Tales of Christmases past Page 30 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 12, 2020
As Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters croon away in the background, I ponder Christmases past. I get a bit caught between Christmases past and Christmas present in my head somedays. I spend far too much time wishing I could ask my mom for all of her secrets to making the entire month of December so magical for us. I especially want to know how she got us to behave; because I swear we jumped when she asked for something, eager as we were to please. At least that is how my memory replays those years; hers may be different. My most fervent question perhaps comes from the thought of future Christmases. What will my children remember most about the Christmases of their youth? Am I doing it right? I brought up the topic of Christmases past at breakfast with Grandpa and the crew. Ione’s face lit up with a grin and her eyes twinkled like lights on a Christmas tree. “Ike, remember when we used to go
Julebukking, (also known as) Christmas Fooling? Oh, did we have a time!� Grandpa gives a hearty chuckle and nods vigorously. Julebukking is an old Norwegian tradition of dressing up in disguises and going door to door singing Christmas carols, sometimes adding new recruits along the route. By the sounds of it, quite a time was had by Bud, Ione, Grandpa, and Gramma Ike. They would knock on doors completely disguised, sing their songs, see if anyone wanted to join them, and maybe get some more warmth for their insides. My all-time favorite Christmas story from Grandpa’s past is when he and Gramma would don their red suits and go visit Bud and Ione’s children. Dressed as that magical couple themselves, they would jingle their way into their house, and then make the children kneel and pray before doling out trinkets. This story has been retold countless times over the breakfast table, and never loses its charm. Bud and
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Ione’s children still remember those visits to this day. Elvera piped up from her spot at the table, saying, “It wasn’t about the gifts back then.â€? A ďƒ&#x;urry of nodding heads agreed with her statement. They would each get a little something and spend the day visiting family members. That special time together meant more than paper Ramblings from the Ridge wrapped gifts. She talked of ‘Santa Claus Saturday’ that used to be held in Cashton, with a free movie, a visit from the man himself, and little bags of candy given out to children. That was a highlight of the season when children were young. By Jacqui Davison As my dad talked of his Christmas memories, Columnist I understood where many of the traditions from my youth originated. Everyone in their family would do chores together on Christmas Eve. The animals received extra bedding, and were all well fed before they would go to the house, where lo and behold, Santa had snuck in while they were working. “We didn’t get much, but we didn’t require much,â€? Dad said. It was one gift for each child, in addition to a tube of toothpaste and a pair of socks, a time-honored gift tradition in the Mlsna family for generations. Christmas Day brought church service, chores, and family time. Looking back, Stacy and I recall many of the same things from Christmases past. We all worked together in the barn to make sure the animals felt the joy of Christmas as well: extra straw was tossed in pens, a few extra handfuls of grain given. I remember the tinsel we would put all over the tree – obnoxious to clean up, but so sparkly. There are a few gifts that stand out in my mind (Cabbage Patch doll, pink snowpants), but above all it was the sights, sounds, smells, and feeling of magic. Mom always went out to push up hay after we had gone to bed on Christmas Eve, that was when the animals had the gift of talking, and she wanted to be sure to hear their chatting. She would ďƒžll the Currier and Ives tins with sweet treats and store them on the porch, the radio was always blaring carols, with Mom humming as she worked in the kitchen. We were watchful of those sneaky elves peeking in the living room windows to check on our behavior and report back to the big guy. The Catholic church of our youth had six huge trees, draped in white lights. To this day, no church dĂŠcor compares to the vision of the one in my memories. The nativity in the corner of church was the backdrop for every Christmas Day family picture for years. As I look back through pictures, that yearly photo is such a lovely constant. The sounds of ‘Let There Be Peace On Earth’, and ‘Joy to the World’ still transport me back to church on Christmas morning. The smells of the old stall barn full of wondrous beasts celebrating Christmas – snug and warm, hay in the mangers, steam wafting up from the cows. I think some of my questions for what Christmas future will hold were answered when I retrieved some of the Currier and Ives tins at the farm to decorate a bit with. Stacy’s Finley eyed them up, and asked, as only a child with such a love of sweets can, “Are you going to make cookies? You put cookies in those last year.â€? I couldn’t help but grin, because you can’t miss the tone of hopefulness in his voice. I do my best to bellow Christmas carols as loud as possible to drive the kids nuts, telling them I can’t bake without the music. Stacy and I have made sure that all the kids take an active part in helping with chores on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We emphasize the magical place the barn is at that this time of year. I am convinced the animals can tell what a special day it is, that somehow deep within their beings they know what happened in a barn so many years ago. I can only keep trying to make memories, and feed the children around me a steady diet of stories (and cookies) from past Christmases as well. Jacqui and her family milk 800 cows and run 1,200 acres of crops in the northeastern corner of Vernon County, Wis. Her children, Ira (12), Dane (10), Henry (5) and Cora (3), help her on the farm while her husband, Keith, works on a grain farm. If she’s not in the barn, she’s probably in the kitchen, trailing after little ones, or sharing her passion of reading with someone. Her life is best described as organized chaos – and if it wasn’t, she’d be bored.
Are cows healthier today?
Our practice publishes an annual benchmarking spreadsheet with data from freestall herds. We have saved spreadsheets going back to 2004. We do not always collect the same data each year, so Veterinary Wisdom we cannot go all the way back to 2004 to look for progress in every area, but the data we have clearly shows our cows are healthier today and more productive. Here are some specic measures: – Percent calves born DOA: This peaked at 10.8% in 2007, but has been trending down By Jim Bennett ever since. In our 2020 Columnist survey, only 4% of calves were born dead, for a drop of 63%. This is remarkable progress, for which the reasons are not totally clear. Producers are likely doing a better job observing calving and managing cows in prefresh and calving pens. Twinning rates have dropped a lot as well, so this might explain some of the reduced DOAs. Genetic selection against animals with higher DOA rates also probably plays a part. – Twinning: In 2004, the average was 7.1%, while in 2020 it was down to 3.7%. What caused this? Again, we do not really know, but there are two likely possibilities. One, more herds in our practice use the double ovsynch breeding protocol today, and we know it can reduce twinning rates. Two, reproductive performance has improved greatly over the same period, and some of this is due to better management of body condition loss. Twins commonly occur in cows that have low progesterone at the time of follicular development, and cows losing weight are likely to have low progesterone.
Dairy Star • Saturday, December 12, 2020 • Page 31
– Displaced abomasum: 7.3% of fresh cows at 48.4 months, and then slowly declined to 44.3 had a DA in 2004. Only 2% did so in 2020. This months in 2018. Only in the last two years have we is a drop of 73%, making displaced abomasum an seen ages start to creep back up reaching 47 months uncommon event on many dairies today. This is in 2020. Percentage of herd in rst lactation was most likely due to better dry cow, prefresh cow and 41% as recently as 2018, but dropped to 36% for fresh cow management. 2020. Many farmers are now raising fewer heifers – Retained placenta: In 2007, the rate of fresh and trying to increase the average age of the herd cows with RP was 9.3%, and in 2020, it was only by lowering the percentage of herd as rst lactation. 3%, for a drop of 68%. Most likely this is due Heifer supplies have shrunk. In 2020, the average to better dry cow and ratio of replacements to prefresh cow management. total cows, lactating and Retained placentas are also Whil dry was 91%. As recently While our d data set i is f far f from becoming unusual on well as 2016 it was 103%. As perfect, it is good enough to managed dairies. these smaller heifer herds – Dead cows: This evaluate trends, and it is clear calve, farmers will be peaked at 7.3% in 2007. forced to cull fewer cows. For 2020, dead cows that cows are healthier today. This will create a number dropped 40% to 4.4%. This of management challenges, is calculated by dividing because while older cows total dead cows by average lactating and dry cow do give more milk, they have greater rates of some herd size. This is great progress and an impressively problems, including mastitis and reproductive low death rate. failure. – Reproduction: Back in 2004, the average – Production: Herds averaged 85 pounds of pregnancy rate was 18%, and the average milk, 91 pounds of energy corrected milk, and 6.06 conception rate was 33.9%. In 2020, the pregnancy pounds of fat and protein per cow in the 2020 data rate was 29%, and the conception rate was 46%. set. Milk production peaked in 2016, at 89 pounds, Almost all the gain in pregnancy rates is due to but energy corrected milk today is just one-half better conception rates, not better service rates. An pound below 2016’s 91.5 pounds. So, at least for overall conception rate of 46% for all breedings, in production of components, producers seem to have herds that averaged 91 pounds of energy corrected caught up to the days of rBST use. milk, seems remarkable. Better conception rates While our data set is far from perfect, it is good are due to better nutrition, better breeding protocols enough to evaluate trends, and it is clear that cows and compliance, better control of body condition, are healthier today, in spite of continued increases better fresh cow health and more. in productivity. This is something for our industry – Culling rates: Culling rates have recently come to be proud of, so give yourself a pat on the back. down from a high of about 40% in 2011 to 37% Great work everyone. in 2020. However, back in 2004 culling was only Bennett is one of four dairy veterinarians at 32%. Most likely culling increased as reproduction Northern Valley Dairy Production Medicine Center and calf survival improved. Farmers created a in Plainview, Minn. He also consults on dairy whole lot more replacements and kept them alive. farms in other states. He and his wife, Pam, have The average age of cows in the herd peaked in 2008 four children. Jim can be reached at bennettnvac@ gmail.com with comments or questions.
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Finish the job
Page 32 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 12, 2020
Finishing some things are easy, like eating boxes. We also try to have a spare repaired washer all the pie and ice cream on your plate. Finishing and dryer on hand as extra backups for long holiday harvest or completing silage chopping is not so weekends when anything can and will go wrong. hard because it’s the all-important No. 1 thing on One day last week Omar replaced a broken wash your to-do list. Payroll for the employees always machine with a new one out of a cardboard box. He left a terrible mess of torn gets done on time because cardboard and cardboard who wants phone calls My ffavorite i memories i off corner pieces all over the from employees asking M utility room. I saw it later for a check? Perhaps this someone who never finished that evening and did a bit article was inspired by a of private eye work to simple thing one of our a job was one of my old discover who had left such employees did not ďƒžnish. neighbors is long gone. We use heavy-duty a mess. The next morning household style washers when Omar was working and dryers to wash our microďƒžber towels at the dairy. again, I calmly took him back to the utility room These machines probably are spinning 20 hours a and explained to him that is not how we do things at day, so they wear out quite quickly. We always have Ocheda Dairy. Then I proceeded to help him clean one new spare washer and one new spare dryer on it up and dispose of the cardboard. I realize he may hand that are still inside the cardboard shipping have been behind on his regular duties, but I also
explained to him that even if he didn’t have time to dispose of the cardboard, at least bundle it up into a nice pile. When I think of jobs I struggle with Making Cents of Dairy ďƒžnishing, my heated shop always comes to mind. Corey and I both try to keep it clean, but we are both guilty of cleaning one area while at the same time messing up a different area with a new project. Then there is also 10 other people By Dave Vander Kooi in and out of there Columnist every day delivering parts, inoculant, oils or just coming to grab a particular tool. One year at Christmas time we actually succeeded in getting it spotlessly clean and kept it that way long enough to have a large family Christmas party in it. Another important job that is never ďƒžnished is staying on top of proper milking procedures in the milking parlor. All the protocols in the world can be posted and preached, but the human elements of easy, laziness and forgetfulness can change the ďƒžnished outcome quite quickly. My favorite memories of someone who never ďƒžnished a job was one of my old neighbors who is long gone. I worked a lot for him when I was a teenager, and he would always say late in the afternoon that we would come back tomorrow and ďƒžnish the job. Tomorrow rarely came in the sense of ďƒžnishing yesterday’s job, and as a result, his silage boxes were always falling off his running gears because they were not properly bolted down. Also the tin on his cattle sheds kept blowing off because when we built the sheds we would only nail the tin down in the corners with the plan to come back tomorrow and nail it down completely. It all worked out good for both of us though because he was the neighbor that sold me the land I needed to build Ocheda Dairy on. When I wrote my ďƒžrst article for Dairy Star 6.5 years ago, I was hoping I could do it for two years. I had zero experience writing anything before Mark and Andrea gave me the go ahead to try it. I appreciate so much their advice and patience they had with some of my writing. I know sometimes my articles were too short for their allotted space, but I would remind them I was a dairy farmer, not a preacher. There was probably an article or two that I wish I had never written, and there was one that got rejected. But, other than that, it was very rewarding. I have appreciated so much all the nice comments from many loyal readers. This is my ďƒžnal article because I have run out of things to write about on a monthly basis. I am involved in the farm and the dairy, and we have 16 grandkids within 6 miles of us. I feel comfortable in the fact that I have ďƒžnished the job of writing and not left any empty chapters. Now, I will work on cleaning the shop. Vander Kooi operates a 1,800-cow, 4,500 acre farm with his son, Joe, and daughter-in-law, Rita, near Worthington, Minn. Send him feedback at davevkooi@ icloud.com. Follow him on Instagram, @davevanderkooi.
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Escaping in a book is a lifetime passion of mine. Since I was a little kid, I have loved to read and have done so whenever I can spare the time. The winter months are perfect for reading. Lately, I’ve used an audio book service to listen to books when I am doing mundane tasks on the farm or in the house. My fellow farm people are likely tired seeing my head adorned with my ear plugs. But it Come Full Dairy Circle of has been a lifesaver for me to be able to learn about interesting things and to have other things to ponder just now. I also love to give people books as gifts. I had some fun the other day ordering a few of my favorite books, hoping the recipients would enjoy reading them. Selecting books for others leads me to review a few books that some of my fellow dairy friends might enjoy. Because I probably haven’t written a book report since the seventh grade, I might not have the sharpest skills. I will give it a shot for three favorite By Jean Annexstad books. They are written by regional authors. They are Columnist relatable for place, beliefs and/or looking at things with a fresh perspective. “This Tender Land” details the summer of 1932 with a mix of interesting characters, places and experiences that shed insight into the Great Depression and what people endured and triumphed over. The book details four friends, orphans who are thrown together in an epic adventure on the Mississippi River. They are escaping from circumstances beyond their control, forced to ee an Indian Training School and journeying into the unknown. They have each other in their encounters with people who are also adrift, such as struggling farmers, traveling faith healers and families displaced during the immense poverty of the era. William Kent Krueger, a local author, does a great job of describing the places his characters wind up, including Mankato and St. Paul, with many insightful details of the people living there. As the book jacket describes, the book is “an enthralling, bighearted epic that shows how the magnicent American landscape connects us all, haunts our dreams and makes us whole.” I loved this book because its engaging characters made me think about this history in a new way. If you wonder if Minnesota Nice is a thing, a very fresh perspective can be gained by reading “If You Lived Here You’d Be Home By Now.” This book helped to remind me why to embrace the rural life that most of us who live on the cold, snowy prairies are accustomed to, but sometimes forget to appreciate. The author, Christopher Ingraham, tells the story of his decision to uproot his life and move with his family to Red Lake County, Minnesota, after he made the community of 1,400 people famous by calling it “the worst place to live in America” in a Washington Post story he wrote. After the residents invited him to visit their community to see why the ranking of bottom of the list of 3,000 counties in America was just plain wrong, Chris and his wife eventually decided to relocate there. They wanted to raise their twin boys away from the East Coast suburbs, avoiding the commute and costly living. Chris’ telling of the story is funny, revealing and clever in descriptions of his interactions with new neighbors and Midwestern norms. His preconceived ideas get turned around in some funny situations. He taps into data and detail, yet nds the charm and sentiments of small town, rural living. The description of fall decorating with a corn shuck is hilarious. I liked the book for its honesty and humor. If you are a fan of the creation story and cow art, the two are combined in a beautiful book by Bonnie Mohr. She is a favorite rural artist of many people and lives in Glencoe, Minnesota. The book “Once There Were No Cows” was published in 2014, but is timeless and makes a treasured gift for a family with small children. I ordered several copies for Christmas giving this year. The art on each page is a beautiful depiction of God’s creation of the world. The nal pages of the engaging book explain how “God wanted an animal that would give more than it would take. … God wanted an animal that would be appreciated and loved intensely because of the profound impact she would have on all mankind.” Each remaining page is the artist’s depiction of the seven dairy breeds. Those of us working with cows every day need the reminders this book provides. Mohr’s descriptions of how “dairy farming is a special and beautiful lifestyle and that it provides a good life lled with rich and meaningful lessons,” is fullling to share with others. I think the dedication written to all dairy farmers is meant to be re-read every so often to remind us to be thankful for “living life as a guardian to God’s most wonderful creature, the cow.” Jean dairy farms with her husband, Rolf, and brother-in-law, Mike, and children Emily, Matthias and Leif. They farm near St. Peter, Minnesota, in Norseland, where she is still trying to t in with the Norwegians and Swedes. They milk 200 cows and farm 650 acres. She can be reached at jeanannexstad@gmail.com.
Dairy Star • Saturday, December 12, 2020 • Page 33
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Ready to bring higher digestibility, more tonnage and more milk to your farm? Visit us at www.alforexseeds.com or call us at 1-800-824-8585 *The increased rate of fiber digestion, extent of digestion and crude protein data was developed from replicated research and on-farm testing. During the 2015 growing season at West Salem, WI and Woodland, CA, the following commercial dormant, semi-dormant and non-dormant alfalfa varieties were compared head-to-head with Alforex varieties with Hi-Gest alfalfa technology for rate of digestion, extent of digestion and percent crude protein: America’s Alfalfa Brand AmeriStand 427TQ; Croplan Brands LegenDairy XHD and Artesia Sunrise; Fertizona Brand Fertilac; S&W Seed Brands SW6330, SW7410 and SW10; and W-L Brands WL 319HQ and WL 354HQ. Also, during the 2015 growing season, 32 on-farm Alforex varieties with Hi-Gest alfalfa technology hay and silage samples were submitted to Rock River Laboratory, Inc., for forage analysis. The results for rate of digestion, extent of digestion and percent crude protein were averaged and compared to the 60-day and four-year running averages for alfalfa in the Rock River database which included approximately 1,700 alfalfa hay and 3,800 silage 60-day test results and 23,000 hay and 62,000 silage tests results in the four-year average. **Crude protein=60-day running averages and uNDF240=four-year running average 1 Combs, D. 2015. Relationship of NDF digestibility to animal performance. Tri-State Dairy Nutrition Conference, 101-112. Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/5350/ f0a2cb916e74edf5f69cdb73f091e1c8280b.pdf.
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Page 34 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 12, 2020
Spreading Christmas cheer
Wittmanns embrace tradition of decorating farm By Danielle Nauman danielle.n@dairystar.com
PLAIN, Wis. – When the December sun sets on Wittmann Farms LLC, the brightly colored holiday lights start shining. Decorating the Sauk County ridge-top farm has been a tradition for Bob and Angela Wittmann and their family for the past 10 years. Wittmann Farms is operated by Bob and Angela, and Bob’s brother, Paul, and his wife, Aimee. Together the
Wittmanns milk about 240 cows. They comprise the third generation of their family to operate the farm. They crop about 1,000 acres, raising all of the feed required for the herd. “I’ve always loved the holidays and decorating ever since I was a little girl,” Angela said. “I loved driving around with my family looking at Christmas lights back
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Bob and Anglea WiƩmann, and their children (from leŌ) Cayden, Payton and Kenley, deck the barns with Christmas lights galore at WiƩmann Farms LLC near Plain, Wisconsin.
then, and now it is one of our kids’ favorite traditions, too, to get hot chocolate and drive around looking at Christmas
DANIELLE NAUMAN/DAIRY STAR
Angela WiƩmann has been spearheading the farm decoraƟng for the past 10 years. Each year she tries to add a few more Christmas lights to the display.
lights.” While Christmas is the most elaborate holiday display, Angela’s love of the holidays and decorat“I’ve always loved the ing extends holidays and decorating throughout the year, and ever since I was a little girl.” she enjoys making the ANGELA WITTMANN, DAIRY FARMER farm festive
for other holidays. As their children have grown, they have started to help Angela with the decorating, especially their oldest daughter, Payton, 14, and 11-year-old twins Cayden and Kenley are becoming more involved as well. In the beginning, Angela Turn to WITTMANNS | Page 35
Dairy Star • Saturday, December 12, 2020 • Page 35
ConƟnued from WITTMANNS | Page 34
DANIELLE NAUMAN/DAIRY STAR
The WiƩmann Christmas lights outline much of their farm near Plain, Wisconsin, in Sauk County. Bob and Angela WiƩmann and Paul and Aimee WiƩmann milk about 240 cows.
admits she was concerned about the cost of electricity for the lights being cost-prohibitive, but she said there is little increase in their electric bill. However, Christmas lights can be expensive, so she looks for and purchases additional strings of lights in second-hand shops and thrift stores, noting there are usually no lights remaining on store shelves when it comes time for the after-Christmas clearance sales. Keeping the cost low helps Wittmann feel good about lighting up their dairy farm. “The neighbors and locals message us and say how much they enjoy driving by and seeing the lights,” Angela said. “People will drive by and stop and take pictures. Knowing I am bringing joy to other peoples’ lives brings me joy, especially this year.”
“People will drive by and stop and take pictures. Knowing I am bringing joy to other peoples’ lives brings me joy, especially this year.” ANGELA WITTMANN, DAIRY FARMER
The family was surprised last year when a friend dropped off an old trophy that he had attached a Christmas lightbulb to the top of with a plate that read “Best Christmas Lights of Bear Valley.” Over the years, the scope of the Wittmann’s Christmas decorating has grown. “I rst started with the arch of the old stanchion barn,” Angela said. “Then the next year, I did the side, and then the fence out front. I add a little more each year.” Angela said she likes using multicolored lights and keeps her display similar from year to year with the exception of the additions. This year’s addition was a bit of a challenge but one she said she was excited to take on. “Someone had given me some red rope lights, so I started trying to
decide what to do with them,” Angela said. “I looked at the ladder of one of the silos and decided to make it a candy cane.” While she turned the silo into a giant candy cane by climbing the ladder and stringing the lights, Angela enlists Bob’s help to decorate in high places, having him operate their sky lift while she hangs the lights. One of the greatest challenges the Wittmanns have encountered is extension cords: having enough and running them all around the farm. “If I needed an extension cord this time of year, I wouldn’t be able to nd an unused one anywhere on the farm,” Bob said. That power supply shortage has led him to thinking about plans he would like to implement in the display. “Someday, I would like to bury some power into the ower beds and other places around the farm so that we wouldn’t need to run extension cords everywhere,” Rob said. With their years of experience, the Wittmanns have honed the storage and maintenance of the lights to a science. They use old hangers to wrap the lights on, making them easy to put up and take down. The Wittmanns said lights must be completely dry before packing them in totes or the connections of the bulbs will rust. Bob often joins Angela in thinking of ways to grow and improve the lights that adorn their farm. He has made Christmas trees from rebar that have been strung with lights and displayed in the yard. Adding some animated Christmas trees is on his wish list, but after some research, he has found them to be cost-prohibitive to the average dairy farmer. Angela has her own desires for the growth of their holiday display. As a member of the county dairy promotion group, she would like to host a Milk and Cookies with Santa event on the farm as a way to help consumers connect to how their food is produced and to what a working dairy farm is like. “This year, in particular, has been so hard, and if there is something I can do to make someone else’s day a little brighter, then it’s worth it,” Angela said.
Page 36 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 12, 2020
Women In Dairy Becky Ruesch Abbotsford, Wisconsin Marathon County 160 cows Family: My husband, Dave, and I have been married for 19 years. We have three children. Our son Logan, 20, is a sophomore at the University of Wisconsin-Stout majoring in construction management; our daughter Mya, 18, is a senior; and Calley, 14, is a freshman. Tell us about your farm. We milk 160 cows and crop about 650 acres of soybeans, corn and hay. We started in a partnership with my in-laws when we got married then bought the farm in 2013. We built a double-6 parallel parlor in 2005 and expanded to a double-9 in 2017 along with a 156-cow tunnel-ventilated freestall barn. We milk twice a day. My husband takes care of the feeding and most of the milking along with the rest of the day-to-day farm operations. I take care of the calves, which are housed in hutches and ll in milking on busy days. Our kids come to the barn before school to help with morning chores and also help on weekends. We also have a part-time girl who works weekday mornings and afternoons. What is the busiest time of day for you? Evenings. I work full time at the local school as an administrative assistant, so getting done with work, getting home and transitioning to chores in a timely manner is a challenge. Also, our kids are three-sport athletes, so we are without their help on weekdays. Supper most nights is spur of the moment. When you get a spare moment, what do you do? Watch kids play sports, bonres in the backyard and driving UTVs around the area. Tell us about your most memorable experience working on the farm. Early in our marriage, Dave needed me to go into the bottom of the silo to help him when he needed an extra hand. I started to climb inside but started shaking. Needless to say, I didn’t make it any farther, and he was less than happy with me as he had to climb back down, do what he needed and then climb back up.
He likes to tease me about it yet. What have you enjoyed most about dairy farming or your tie to the dairy industry? I like raising a family on the farm. The kids learn responsibility, work ethic and have fun as a family. We also belong to the local FFA alumni chapter so it’s nice to catch up with local farmers at meetings. How do you stay connected with others in the industry? I enjoy reading articles in dairy magazines and newspapers and also through the Dairy Moms group on Facebook. Who is someone in the industry who has inspired you? My parents. I grew up on a dairy farm and have watched them work together, side-byside, to get all the work done. They have shown us that you can work hard but still have fun and enjoy life. They have always been supportive and encouraging of my brothers (who farm together nearby) and my husband and I. If you could give a tour of your farm to a prominent woman in today’s society, who would it be? Oprah Winfrey, because she is well-known, and she could use her platform to educate so many people. I would share with her that we treat our animals humanely, care about the environment and work hard to produce safe food for America.
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What is the best vacation you have ever taken? We took the kids to Disney in Florida in 2014 and enjoyed the week away from the farm as a family.
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Dairy Star • Saturday, December 12, 2020 • Page 37
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PHOTO SUBMITTED
Jason Kearns harvested this 200-plus pound, 15-point buck he called Double Frame on opening day of Wisconsin’s gun-deer season. He milks 135 cows near Seneca, Wisconsin.
Wisconsin dairy farmers score bounty in woods By Danielle Nauman danielle.n@dairystar.com
Each fall, Wisconsin deer hunting enthusiasts descend upon the woods in search of a great whitetail buck. Four Wisconsin dairy farmers won the deer hunting lottery during Wisconsin’s gun deer hunt, capturing bucks that are worthy of a spot on the wall. Jason Kearns milks 135 cows with his family near Seneca, Wisconsin, in Crawford County and has been deer hunting since the age of 12. For several years, Kearns’ neighbors have been telling him about a deer dubbed Double Frame, because the buck has a second frame underneath the main antler frame. “I’ve only been watching him this year, but my neighbors have been
watching him for two or three years now,â€? Kearns said. “He ďƒžnally came into my area this summer; I have about 20 or 30 trail cam photos of him.â€? Double Frame had a close call with Kearns’ uncle during bow season in early November. That set up Kearns’ encounter with the deer on opening day. “I saw 33 deer on opening day, and about 3 p.m. I was sitting in my favorite stand, watching a four-point buck and a doe, when Double Frame came out of the valley, right to me, about 30 yards away,â€? Kearns said. “I took a shot, and he ran about 40 yards before he dropped.â€? Double Frame lived up to Kearns’ expectations, with 15 points and a 17inch spread. Kearns said that although he did not weight the deer, he estimates he weighed well over 200 pounds and that he scored 160. “It was really exciting to have a deer from your hit list come right up Turn to DEER | Page 38
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PHOTO SUBMITTED
Caleb Olson, 16, shot this 11-point, 20-inch spread buck during gun-deer season on his family’s Oconto County farm near Lena, Wisconsin. He has almost 100 trail cam photos of the deer he calls Magnum.
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Page 38 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 12, 2020
ConƟnued from DEER | Page 37
to you and to make the shot,” Kearns said. “My neighbors and my uncles were all happy that I got him. He is one everyone has been after.” Across the state in northeastern Wisconsin, 16-year-old Caleb Olson, of Lena, harvested a buck he has been watching since last year that he calls Magnum. Caleb, along with his parents, Dan and Hannah, and the rest of the family, milk about 300 cows on two farms in Oconto County. “I have probably almost 100 trail cam photos of him,” Olson said. “From the trail cam photos, I actually thought he might have been a little bigger than he actually was.” Magnum was an 11-point buck with a 20-inch spread and rough scored 160. On the hoof, Olson estimates he
weighed in at about 200 pounds and was 170 pounds dressed. “I was kind of getting disgusted with the hunting that day; I hadn’t seen any deer,” Olson said. “I was texting someone else, asking if they were seeing any deer, and I was going to turn my heater on when I saw him about 100 yards away running. I yelled at him, and he stopped. I took my shot, and he dropped right there.” Olson said he was dumbfounded when he realized the deer was Magnum. “It was crazy,” Olson said. “No one believed me when I called them and told them I had shot him.” About 70 miles east in Marathon County, near Birnamwood, Wisconsin, the mother-daughter duo of Marcy and Danica Tomson put the smack-down on
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Marcy Tomson shot a 200-plus pound, main-frame 12-point buck on her family’s Marathon County farm near Birnamwood, Wisconsin. The deer’s shed antlers from last year were found less than 100 yards from where she shot the deer.
their own pair of bucks. Marcy farms with her husband, Danny, their children, Eric, Dustin, Danica and Daniel, and her father-in-law, David. They milk 200 cows. Hunting is a family affair for the Tomsons, and the whole family pitches in to do chores early during hunting season so everyone can get into the woods. Danica, 13, scored her 209-pound, 10-point buck while hunting with her dad during the youth hunt earlier this fall. “I used my grandma Tomson’s gun to shoot my deer,” Danica said. “We were very close, and she died this summer. I feel like she was with me, helping me get my deer.” PHOTO SUBMITTED Opening morning of the regular Danica Tomson, 13, of Birnamwood, Wisconsin, harvested this 209-pound, gun-deer season, Marcy took to the 10-point buck while hunƟng with her dad during the youth hunt earlier this fall. woods with the same gun and felt that The hunt was special to Danica, as she used her grandmother’s gun. her mother-in-law was with her in the
woods that day as well. “I rst saw my buck chasing a fawn into a swamp,” Marcy said. “I had to wait and hope the fawn would bring him back out into the eld, which he did. It was my rst time ever shooting a moving deer, and I made a perfect shot at 150 yards and dropped him on the spot.” The deer Marcy shot is one her family has also been watching for the last year, and his shed antlers from last year were found less than 100 yards from where she shot him. Another 200plus pound deer, he was a main-frame 12 pointer with two broken off points and a 20.5-inch spread, with bases over 6 inches in diameter. “I hunted some when I was younger, but I really got into it after I met my husband,” Marcy said. “I love the peacefulness of being out in the stand and then just watching everything come alive when the deer come out.”
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sponsored by What advice would you give other dairy farmers? Buy the best genetics available because it costs the same to raise an animal no matter how good they are. Focus on animals that can yield high returns.
Joe Engel, Luck-E Holsteins Hampshire, Illinois Kane County 180 cows
How did you get into farming? My parents started Luck-E Holsteins in 1968. I started working on the farm at a very young age. After graduating from the University of WisconsinMadison Farm and Industry Short Course in 2000, I bought in as a partner in our family farm. Over time, my percentage grew, and in 2015, my wife, Margaret, and I bought out my parents and continue to be partners with my brother, Matt. What are your thoughts and concerns about the dairy industry for the next year? There is uncertainty in the year to come, such as how will trade and domestic programs affect markets? However, I remain optimistic for the year to come and take comfort in the fact that we have been able to take advantage of marketing tools to put a oor I am happy with on much of our 2021 milk. What is the latest technology you implemented on your farm and the purpose for it? We added cameras in our maternity pens so we can continually monitor cows – whether from the eld or from our bed. This allows us to ensure the maternity area is taken care of without disturbing other areas of the business or our sleep. The cameras are also great for employee training and compliance to make certain animals are being handled the way they should be. What is a management practice you changed in the past year that has beneted you? We are investing more
What has been the best purchase you have ever made on your farm? Genomic testing. We can now make genetic progress faster than ever before. The results in our herd have been a game changer. The return on investment is huge. What has been your biggest accomplishment while dairy farming? Developing cow families that are respected worldwide and individuals that have topped many type and udder composite lists. into our top genetics and using beef on bottom, creating more income from both ends.
COVID-19 has created. As always, good communication and training goes a long way.
What cost-saving steps have you implemented during the low milk price? While I’m always looking for ways to be more efcient, I think it’s very important to not cheat on inputs that will cost me money down the road, especially genetics. I learned that during low prices early in my career. Don’t cheat your future or your future will cheat you.
Tell us about a skill you possess that makes dairy farming easier for you. I’m ready and adaptive. It’s important to always have a plan, and possibly even more important, to be able to quickly adjust plans as necessary. As every dairy producer knows, a day, a season or even a whole year can change very fast. It’s important to be able to adapt to those changes quickly and strategically.
How do you retain a good working relationship with your employees? We have made a strong effort to provide a comfortable and secure work environment which we feel is more important than ever with all the stress and uncertainty that
What do you enjoy most about dairy farming? I love genetics. I absolutely love the challenge of trying to breed every generation to be better than the one before. I love watching those animals grow and helping them reach their full potential.
What are your plans for your dairy in the next year and ve years? While we plan to stay the same size, we plan to be more aggressive with our genetic program than ever before and continue to look for ways to be more efcient. I have said my whole career, if you are farming just like you did ve years ago, you might not be farming for long. The industry changes fast. How do you or your family like to spend time when you are not doing chores? We enjoy anything that we can do together. Even on the busiest days, a family meal is a great thing. We love to take a vacation every year where we can rent a house for a week and hang out without the daily stresses of work. And, of course, we love to show cows together, although that is work too.
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8GTUCVKNG FGUKIP VQ Ć‚V [QWT HCTO GEA has taken rotary parlor innovation to a new level with the heavy-duty DairyRotor T8000 series. The new low-proďŹ le cabinet design — engineered for fast, smooth cow ow on and o the platform — can be paired with two dierent undercarriage options. Let our team help turn your rotary parlor vision into reality with the DairyRotor T8000.
Your Local GEA Milking Equipment Dealers: Advanced Dairy Solutions Leedstone, Inc. Monroe WestfaliaSurge #FXCPEGF &CKT[ 5QNWVKQPU (WNNGToU /KNMGT %GPVGT +PE Richland Center, WI Melrose, MN Monroe, WI • 608-325-2772 Lancaster, WI • 800-887-4634 Richland Center, WI 608-647-4488 • 800-772-4770 320-256-3303 • 800-996-3303 608-647-4488 • 800-772-4770 Glencoe, MN Sioux Dairy Equipment, Inc. .GGFUVQPG +PE Rock Valley, IA Centre Dairy Equipment 320-864-5575 • 877-864-5575 %GPVTCN #I 5WRRN[ +PE Melrose, MN and Supply Inc. Plainview, MN • 800-548-5240 712-476-5608 • 800-962-4346 Sauk Centre, 715.231.8090 SD Service 800-944-1217 Baraboo, WIMN • 608-356-8384 Menomonie, WI • 320-256-3303 •Colton, 800-996-3303 320-352-5762 • 800-342-2697 Edgerton, MN Chemical Sales Juneau, WI • 920-386-2611 Midwest Livestock Glencoe, MN 507-920-8626 Systems, LLC 320-864-5575 • 877-864-5575 Fuller’s Milker Center, Inc. Zumbrota, MN • 800-233-8937 %GPVTG &CKT[ 'SWKROGPV CPF 5WRRN[ +PE Lancaster, WI • 800-887-4634 Menomonie, WI • 715-235-5144 Central Ag Supply Inc. Sauk Centre, MN /KFYGUV .KXGUVQEM 5[UVGOU +PE Sioux Falls, MN • 800-705-1447 Juneau, WI • 920-386-2611 Beatrice, NE • 800-742-5748 WI • 608-356-8384 Menomonie, WI Baraboo, • 715-235-5144 320-352-5762 • 800-342-2697 Owen, WI • 715-229-4740 (KV\IGTCNF +PE Pine Island, MN • 800-233-8937 Elkader, IA • 563-245-2560 Sioux Falls, MN • 800-705-1447 Beatrice, NE • 800-742-5748
Eastern Iowa Dairy Systems /QPTQG 9GUVHCNKC5WTIG Epworth, IA • (563) 876-3087 Monroe, WI • 608-325-2772 J Gile Dairy Equipment
5KQWZ &CKT[ 'SWKROGPV +PE Cuba City, WI • (608) 744-2661 Rock Valley, IA Preston Dairy Equipment 712-476-5608 • 800-962-4346 Sparta, WI • (608) 269-3830 Colton, SD Service Stanley800-944-1217 Schmitz, Inc. Edgerton, Chilton, WI MN • 920-849-4209 Chemical Sales 507-920-8626 Tri-County Dairy Supply Janesville, WI • (608) 757-2697