Last Chance
See pages 4 and 5 in the second section for end of the year specials!
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DAIRY ST R “All dairy, all the time”™
Volume 18, No. 21
Fixing bottlenecks
Jones shares strategies to achieve 95 pounds of milk By Missy Mussman missy@dairystar.com
ST. CLOUD, Minn. – An average of 95 pounds of milk per cow per day may seem near impossible to achieve, but Dr. Gordie Jones, a DVM who owns Central Sands Dairy near De Pere, Wis., feels otherwise. “There are cows being milked twice daily giving more than 100 pounds of milk in a 50-cow herd,” Jones said. “It can happen.” Jones shared strategies to accomplish that during his presentation, “Achieving Excellence: Simple things you can do to achieve 95 pounds plus” Dec. 1 at the Minnesota Milk Dairy Conference and Expo in St. Cloud, Minn. Although the industry has changed over the last 25 years, Jones said the rules of achieving high milk yields still apply: cow comfort comes rst, dry cow programs stop early fresh cow losses, pregnancy rates mean farmers keep their cows, milk quality is everything, forage is king and better forages are better. “You take care of her, she’ll take better care of you,” Jones said. Regardless of herd size, Jones said producers have to nd where the bottlenecks are happening to obtain 95 pounds of milk. “Sometimes we need someone outside of our farm to look at things because we’ve gone barn blind,” Jones said. “What is abnormal becomes normal for us.” To know what is normal while looking for bottlenecks, there are three things a cow should do – stand to eat and drink, stand to be milked and lie down. Knowing this, farmers should look at the number of times cows are milked and/ Turn to MILK | Page 5
December 24, 2016
A gift in the barn Nus wins grand prize for Great Christmas Heifer Giveaway By Krista Kuzma
krista.k@dairystar.com
ARLINGTON, Iowa – This year, one of the Nus family’s Christmas presents can be found in the barn rather than under the tree. Jody Nus is this year’s grand prize winner of the Dairy Star Great Christmas Heifer Giveaway, taking home Sheeknoll Kingboy 2615, also known as Henny, a year-old heifer from Sheeknoll Farms in Rochester, Minn. Nus and her husband, Nathan, milk 40 cows on their dairy in Fayette County near Arlington, Iowa. “I’ve never gotten a heifer for a Christmas gift so this is a great present,” Nus said.
KRISTA KUZMA/DAIRY STAR
Jody Nus won the Dairy Star’s Great Christmas Heifer Giveaway grand prize, Sheeknoll Kingboy 2615, also known as Henny. Nus and her husband, Nathan, milk 40 cows near Arlington, Iowa.
Turn to NUS | Page 6
Jonathon’s wish come true
Ten-year-old wins Brown Swiss heifer calf By Missy Mussman missy@dairystar.com
FREEPORT, Minn. – For the last couple years, Jonathon Job has wanted a brown cow. “We have all Holsteins on our farm, and I wanted something different,” Jonathon said. This Christmas, that wish nally came true. Jonathon won the Brown Swiss calf, Eachibon Jessa R Jamaica, in the Dairy Star’s Great Christmas Heifer Giveaway. Jonathon is the 10-year-old son of David and Alice Job, who milk 55 cows near Freeport, Minn. “I was so surprised,” Jonathon said. “All I could think was, ‘Did I really get this?’” Jonathon registered three times, once at the Freeport State Bank and twice at Leed-
MISSY MUSSMAN/DAIRY STAR
Jonathon Job pets his new Brown Swiss calf on the evening of Dec. 20. Jonathon was the youth winner for the Dairy Star’s Great Christmas Heifer Giveaway. Job is the son of Alice and Dave, who milk 55 cows near Freeport, Minn.
stone. “I wanted to register more than once, because it gave me a better chance of winning,” Jonathon said. “I’ve tried the last couple of years. It’s fun trying to win it.” On Dec. 16, Jonathon’s persistence paid off as he was drawn as the youth winner in the contest from Freeport State Bank. That same day while Jonathon was at school, David came in the house from chores to hear a message from Dairy Star. “When I called back, they told me Jonathon had won. I thought they were kidding,” David said. “Then it dawned on me that the drawing was that day. I never thought this would happen.” Alice agreed. “We feel very lucky,” she said. Although David and Alice Turn to JOB | Page 7