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DAIRY ST R
December 26, 2020
“All dairy, all the time”™
Volume 22, No. 20
Bringing their boys home
Family grows through foster care, adoption By Danna Sabolik
danna.s@dairystar.com
VERNDALE, Minn. – Life in the Middendorf home is chaotic and loud but full of love. Joel and Maureen Middendorf welcomed three boys, Breydin, 9, Jey, 8, and Nowah, 6, to be their sons July 23. “We’ve always wanted kids,” Maureen said. Joel agreed. “That’s been the plan all along, to eventually be parents,” he said. The Middendorfs milk 130 certied organic cows on their dairy farm near Verndale. The couple married in 2007 and were excited to build a family together but were unable to do so on their own. Maureen has Turner Syndrome, a rare genetic condition, a symptom of which is infertility. Because the couple wanted a large family, they considered in vitro fertilization and also adoption, but due to the detriments of each, they decided neither were right for them. “Joel and I decided to look at foster care,” Maureen said. “We decided it was the best option for us. We can do foster care and adopt the kids right out of the foster system.” Joel agreed. “There’s plenty of kids who need a good home,” he said. In February 2019, Joel and Maureen began the paperwork Turn to MIDDENDORFS | Page 6
DANNA SABOLIK/DAIRY STAR
Maureen and Joel Middendorf along with sons, from leŌ, Jey, 8, Nowah, 6 and Breydin, 9, milk 130 cows on their farm near Verndale, Minnesota. The couple adopted the biological brothers in July, aŌer fostering them for 13 months.
A calf: a perfect gift for Seedorf
The Great Christmas Giveaway winners announced By Krista Kuzma
krista.k@dairystar.com
PERHAM, Minn. – For Caylee Seedorf, one of the best gifts she could receive is one that can be led with a halter and found in a barn rather than one wrapped and found under a tree. The 11-year-old received that kind of gift this year from Dairy Star as the youth winner of The Great Christmas Giveaway. “I’m in shock,” Caylee said after receiving the news. Caylee won the Brown Swiss September-born calf, Port-Haven Silvers Jordana, who came from the Portner family who dairy farm near Sleepy Eye, Minnesota. Jordana’s new home is now
MARK KLAPHAKE/DAIRY STAR
Caylee Seedorf and her dad, Paul, stand with the 11-year-old’s new Brown Swiss calf, Port-Haven Silvers Jordana, she won in Dairy Star’s The Great Christmas Giveaway. The Seedorfs milk 50 cows on their farm near Perham, Minnesota.
Perham, where Caylee’s family – her parents, Paul and Amanda, and brothers, Carter, 17, and Clayton, 14 – milk 50 cows in a parlor with a freestall barn. “This makes Christmas really good because I have another calf to play with and be with on the farm,” Caylee said. Paul agreed this is a good Christmas gift for his daughter. “She’s all about her animals,” he said. “They picked the right winner with Caylee. As soon as she found out, she started moving around calves to make room for her new one.” The summer of 2021 will be Caylee’s fourth year showing dairy animals in 4-H in Otter Tail County. Although her parents own the animals, she claims many as her projects. The rst animal she ever showed is now a Turn to GIVEAWAY | Page 5