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DAIRY ST R
Volume 21, No. 20
“All dairy, all the time”™
December 21, 2019
Late harvest a time of challenge, stress
Farmers work well into December to get crops off
“This year’s harvest has been challenging and stressful,” Bacon said. “It’s by far the worst year we’ve ever had in my lifetime for growing crops and putting up feed.” By Stacey Smart Snow came early this year, stacey.s@dairystar.com destroying Bacon’s plans for a timely harvest. He saw over COLUMBUS, Wis. – 15 inches of snow this fall with Farmers with crops still in the the rst of it coming down on elds will not be wishing for a Halloween. To make matters white Christmas this year. As worse, a couple inchdairy farmers in many es of rain also fell on parts of the state work his already wet elds. feverishly to get crops “Nothing off the elds, the last dries up,” Bacon said. thing they want is “It was so wet, then snow after an already the snow would melt, wet fall. and everything turned As of Dec. 9, Ed to mud. As soon as it Bacon, of Columbus, starts to dry, we get still had 400 acres of Ed Bacon more snow and rain.” corn and 200 acres of Bacon norsoybean to harvest. mally starts harvestBacon and his wife, ing corn during the rst part of Julie, milk 150 cows and farm October but did not begin until 800 acres along with around the end of October this year. 1,000 acres they harvest for Turn to HARVEST | Page 6 neighboring farmers.
STACEY SMART/DAIRY STAR
Ed Bacon combines corn the a�ernoon of Dec. 11 in Columbus, Wisconsin. As of Dec. 9, he s�ll had 400 acres to harvest.
Meet the winners of Dairy Star’s Christmas giveaway
Athens boy wins calf, Waupun farmer collects cash By Stacey Smart
stacey.s@dairystar.com
ATHENS, Wis. – Nathan Osborn has not stopped smiling since nding out he was the lucky winner of Dairy Star’s Great Christmas Grand Prize Giveaway 2019. The 12-year-old from Athens heard the good news Dec. 12 when he arrived home from school. His parents, Jeff and Sarah, gave him a paper with the calf’s picture on it and told him this was his new calf. “He started clapping and had the STACEY SMART/DAIRY STAR biggest smile on his face,” Sarah said. Nathan Osborn hugs his new Jersey calf, Jazzy Dox Dot 8330, the grand prize of Four days later when the Osborns Dairy Star’s Great Christmas Grand Prize Giveaway. Osborn is the son of Jeff and went to pick up Nathan’s prize, the boy Sarah, who milk 90 cows on their farm near Athens, Wisconsin. was still all smiles. “I’m really happy I won a calf,”
Nathan said. “It feels good.” Nathan is the second oldest of six children, and every child was entered into the drawing at Cloverdale Equipment in Curtiss. His siblings, Katelynn, 14, Ryan, 10, Emily, 8, Carissa, 6, and Jacob, 4, are happy for their brother and excited to see a new animal on the farm, Jeff said. A Christmas present like no other, Jazzy Dox Dot 8330 was born Sept. 8 and comes from Jazzy Jerseys, owned by Dave Endres, in Lodi. Red and White Holsteins are the dominating force at Honey Dew Farms where the Osborns milk 90 registered cows in a tiestall barn and farm 350 rented acres. Nathan is responsible for cleaning mangers, helping feed cows, scraping barns and helping his mom mix feed. Dot will not be the rst Jersey on Turn to GIVEAWAY | Page 5