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DAIRY ST R
December 21, 2019
“All dairy, all the time”™
Volume 21, No. 20
A season Hendricksons become rst Minnesota of giving farm to make, sell A2 milk Group of current, Business venture to former dairy secure dairy market producers provide By Jennifer Coyne Christmas gifts for jenn@dairystar.com families in need MENAHGA, Minn. – A2 By Krista Kuzma
krista.k@dairystar.com
CALEDONIA, Minn. – Christmas is the season of giving. This is true for a group of women, who have been dubbed the Cow Club, from Houston County who have been getting together for 15 years to buy presents for a family in need every Christmas. The group of eight current and former dairy producers includes Karyl Diersen, Donna Banse, Luan Hammell, Linda Kruse, Sheila Schroeder and Shari Ingvalson all from Caledonia; Mary Lou Graf from Hokah; and Kris Lee from Houston. “What I like about this is if I did this on my own, I would not be able to have as big of an impact on the family like we collectively can have on that family,” Diersen said. For the rst 12 years, the women were given an anonymous family to shop for through Houston County social services. The organization provided a list of needs and wants for each person in the family. “It was very specic with each kid,” Kruse said. “We knew what we were looking for.” In 2017, the women decided to help a family whose oldest son was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 7. “We all knew this family,” Kruse said. “They really needed someone to help them out nancially. She (the mom) didn’t have the time to go shopping, either.” Similar to years past, the women asked the family for a list of needs and wants for each person. “I think we really outdid ourselves that year,” Banse said. “It took two pickup loads to get all the stuff to them.” The women liked being able to choose the recipient family, Turn to GIVING | Page 6
milk is a craze in New Zealand and along the coasts of the United States. And after one farm family’s intuition and drive, the milk is also now processed and marketed in Minnesota. Joel and Amanda Hendrickson began processing A2 whole milk Dec. 17 on their 135-cow dairy in Otter Tail County near Menahga. The Hendricksons and their 10 children – Zach, 14, Maddie, 12, Julia, 11, Lucy, 9, Lily and Maria, 8, Lane, 6, Nora, 4, Finn, 2, and Emma, 1 – are the faces behind Ten Finns Creamery. “This was a huge leap, but it’s something we believe in,” Joel said. “This gives people who couldn’t drink milk before the chance to do so. I’m really optimistic about where this is going to take our farm and the industry as a whole.” Most regular milk has two
JENNIFER COYNE/DAIRY STAR
Joel Hendrickson holds a half-gallon carton, which will be lled with his family’s A2 milk. Hendrickson and his family recently started an on-farm creamery at their 135-cow dairy near Menahga, Minnesota. forms of beta casein protein – A1 and A2 – with A1 being hard for some people to digest. With genetic testing and breeding strategies, farmers can nat-
urally select for the A2 protein and produce a milk product that can be consumed without trouble. Five years ago, Joel read
about the newly discovered protein and companies marketing A2 milk. He and his family Turn to HENDRICKSON | Page 10
A reason to celebrate
Meyer, Schulte winners of Christmas giveaway By Jennifer Coyne jenn@dairystar.com
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Troy and Erin Meyer and their son, Adam, 5, are the recipients of Dairy Star’s Great Christmas Grand Prize Giveaway’s heifer calf prize. The Meyers dairy farm near Maynard, Iowa.
MAYNARD, Iowa – After a long year of dairy farming, two individuals are celebrating the year’s end. Adam Meyer and Patty Schulte were named the winners of Dairy Star’s Great Christmas Grand Prize Giveaway. Meyer, 5, received the children’s prize of a heifer calf as Schulte took home $1,000. A calf to call his own Meyer has a liking for the animals on his family’s farm, but up until now none have been his own. The 5-year-old son of Troy and Erin Meyer is looking forward to bringing home the Jersey heifer calf – Graber Maid-rite Stella, of Graber Jerseys Inc. – to the family’s 80-cow registered Holstein farm near Maynard. The Meyers dairy farm in partnership with Troy’s parents, Don and Dee. “When Mom told me I won, I was excited,” said Adam, who Turn to GIVEAWAY | Page 5