Looking for a Deal? Check out our Last Chance Deals on pages 8 & 9 of the Second Section
Deals!
DAIRY ST R
Volume 22, No. 20
“All dairy, all the time”™
December 26, 2020
Forward progress while going in circles New rotary parlor, freestall barn at Bomaz Farms By Danielle Nauman danielle.n@dairystar.com
HAMMOND, Wis. – After several years of determined planning for the Zwald family of Bomaz Farms in Hammond, a goal became a reality when the GEA T8800 40-stall rotary parlor took a turn in May. Bomaz Farms Inc. is operated by Bob and Kay Zwald, along with their children and their spouses, Annette and Steve Schalla and Tom and Ashley Zwald. The farm is home to 1,360 milking cows. Bob serves as the farm manager and takes charge of the farm’s genetics program, while Kay serves as the calf manager. Tom heads up the farm’s crop division, handling all agronomy duties and CAFO planning, and has Turn to ZWALDS | Page 6
PHOTO SUBMITTED
The Zwald family – (front row, from leŌ) Katelyn Schalla and Hannah Zwald; (back row, from leŌ) AnneƩe Schalla holding MaƩhew Schalla, Steve Schalla holding Abby Schalla, Kay and Bob Zwald, Ashley Zwald holding Luke Zwald and Tom Zwald holding Noah Zwald – operates Bomaz Farms Inc., near Hammond, Wisconsin. They recently installed a 40-cow rotary parlor and built a new hybrid, four seasons freestall barn to accommodate their expansion from 900 cows to 1,400 cows.
Conley wins Christmas calf
Winners of Dairy Star giveaway announced By Danielle Nauman danielle.n@dairystar.com
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Paige Conley, 10, of Neosho, Wisconsin, stands with her new calf Crisdhome Solo Angel-ET she won from The Great Christmas Giveaway. The calf was previously owned by Jake and Jade Kruschke (pictured above) of New Richmond, Wisconsin. Paige is the daughter Chris and Brenda Conley who milk 52 cows.
NEOSHO, Wis. – When 10-yearold Paige Conley started getting ready for school Dec. 18, she did not expect the day to be any different than normal. However, instead of hopping on the school bus, her parents rerouted her onto a detour, telling her they were taking a road trip that would have a surprise ending. Paige’s name was drawn Dec. 16 as the winner of a heifer calf in the Dairy Star’s Great Christmas Giveaway after registering at Central Ag Supply Inc., in Juneau, Wisconsin. It resulted in a Christmas gift she will
not likely forget for a long time. Paige is the daughter of Chris and Brenda Conley of Neosho, Wisconsin, and along with her sister Mckayla, 13, the family milks 52 head of Holsteins and Normandies. Paige’s parents said she was excited to learn of her once-in-a-lifetime gift, being drawn as the lucky winner of Crisdhome Solo Angel-ET, a registered Holstein calf born in September, bred by the Kruschke family of New Richmond, Wisconsin. “It is pretty cool. I was so excited when I found out. It was a really long ride to go get her,” Paige said. “Once I saw her, I loved her. She is so friendly – the friendliest one of the group.” Paige owns one Normandie calf in her family’s herd and Angel will be her rst Holstein calf. When the Kruschkes were approached by the Dairy Star about providing the Christmas calf, they were Turn to CHRISTMAS | Page 5
Page 2 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 26, 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 (ofďƒžce) 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 Ofďƒžce: 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 (ofďƒžce) 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 Hoeďƒ&#x;er (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 ďƒžnal 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 ofďƒžces. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Dairy Star, 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave., Sauk Centre, MN 56378-1246.
A glance at the other side
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 ďƒžnd in this paper, but you can ďƒžnd 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. Middendorfs welcome sons home Dairy farmers Joel and Maureen Middendorf have grown their family by three boys this year. The Verndale, Minnesota, couple adopted Breydin, Jey and Nowah out of foster care in July. The family continues to be open to foster children, with hopes of a family of eight one day. Bongards Creameries plant awarded Water quality is a priority for Bongards Creameries. Its commitment has paid off for the cooperative’s plant in Perham, Minnesota. The cheese processing plant received the 2020 Industrial Water Quality Achievement Award presented by the Central States Water Environment Association. Two farms, one family Bill and Deana Malone were awarded Wadena County’s Farm Family of the year for their outstanding management of their farms. Bill runs the 50-cow dairy near Wadena, Minnesota, and Deana manages a 130-cow beef ranch by Nimrod, Minnesota, on top of her job for the county in Wadena. Zone 1 heifer winner Congratulations to Caylee Seedorf, daughter of Paul and Amanda of Perham, Minnesota. She is the winner of a heifer calf in Dairy Star’s annual Great Christmas Giveaway. The September-born Brown Swiss calf will be right at home in Seedorf’s colorful barn including Holsteins, Red and Whites, Brown Swiss, Milking Shorthorn, Jersey, MontbĂŠliarde, Angus and Charolais.
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Dairy Star • Saturday, December 26, 2020 • Page 3
It’s all inside... Columnists
Scholze Family Farms focuses on timed shots, breeding for 38% pregnancy rate
La Crosse
First Section: Page 18
Vernon
Richland
New project devoted to expanding opportunities to graze cattle
Jo Daviess
Second Section: Pages 16 - 17
Walworth go
eba
n Win Ogle
Whiteside
Hen ders
on
Gonzalez builds career as vet, Rock Island A.I. technician, dairy farmer Mercer n
re War
Schwittay family sets up heifer memorial in mother’s memory
First Section: Pages 11 - 12
Racine Kenosha
McHenry
DeKalb
Waupaca
First Section: Pages 20, 22-23
on
Peshtigo
Jefferson Waukesha
Rock
ens
ph Ste
Carroll
Zone 2
Do or
Green Lake Fond Du Lac
Dane
Lafayette Green
Dodgeville
Ke w
go ba Calumet
e nn Wi
Columbia Dodge
Sauk
Iowa
Grant
For additional stories from our other zone, log on to www.dairystar.com
Waushara
aw
First Section: Page 39
Pages 8 - 9 Second Section
O
for
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Dairy Prole: Destinee Vesbach
The “Mielke” Market Weekly
Juneau
ie am Brown
g uta
Adams
Monroe
Viroqua
Page 38 First Section
Oconto
Shawano
Wood
Jackson
te
ton S he bo Milwaukee Ozauk M yg ee an anito wo c
Humbird
Calf Chronicles
Zone 1
hb Buffalo
Menominee
Portage Waupaca
Cr
Page 33 First Section
Pepin
et
ing
Page 32 First Section
in
Langlade
Marathon
Clark
Eau Claire
Menominee
Wa sh
Pierce
ar
e
Just Thinking Out Loud
Dunn
Taylor
Chippewa
Forest
Lincoln
ce
M
on
St. Croix
Oneida
Rusk
Barron
ren
Bo
First Section: Pages 1, 6 - 7
Flo Price
Delta
Dickinson
Vilas
ett e
Polk
Iron
aun ee
n ur
New rotary parlor, freestall barn at Bomaz Farms
Page 31 First Section
Dairy Good Life
First Section: Pages 28 - 29
Sawyer
Trempealeau
Something to Ruminate On
First Section: Pages 34 - 35, 37
Ashland
Wa s
Page 30 First Section
Burnett
Hammond
Finger Family Farm provides extra incentive for working Christmas Day
Bayeld
Douglas
Page 27 First Section
Peshtigo
Brey grabs life by the lens
Second Section: Page 6
Soon to be pain-free
Tales of Christmases past
Greenwood
Discovery Farms virtual conference explores fundamentals
qu
Pages 8-9 First Section
Ma r
Ag Insider
Kane
Greenleaf
Women in Dairy: Cassie Zirbel First Section: Page 36
Lee
FROM OUR SIDE OF THE FENCE:
In a typical year, how would you celebrate Christmas Eve and Christmas Day? First Section: Pages 15-16
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ConƟnued from CHRISTMAS | Page 1
May the magic of Christmas fuel your spirit and inspire your dreams
As one year comes to a close, the infinite potential of a new year approaches. May we all find new dreams to chase, new goals to achieve, with friends new and old to guide us along the way.
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Pat Ruzic, pictured with his family, (from leŌ) Victor, Carol and RaeAnn, was drawn as the winner of the $1,000 cash prize in Dairy Star’s Great Christmas Giveaway. The Ruzics milk 40 cows near Hixton, Wisconsin. happy to help out. “The registered Holstein cow has been a mainstay for us,” Jake Kruschke said. “We are really happy to have the chance to help make Christmas this year one Paige will never forget, and help her get a nice foundation cow family started, with a fancy, great pedigreed calf.” Angel is a Walnutlawn Soloman daughter with the potential to be a sixth generation Excellent cow someday. “This is so exciting. She goes back
“She will be babied, just like the rest. We are so happy she won the calf.” CHRIS CONLEY, DAIRY FARMER
to two of my favorite show cows,” said Paige’s mom Brenda, of Angel’s lineage that includes Milksource Goldwn Africa-ET EX-95 2E and Tri-Day Ashlyn-ET EX-96 2E GMD DOM. Paige is looking forward to showing Angel next summer at the Dodge County Fair. This year would have been her rst year showing as a 4-H member, but she did not have the opportunity because her county fair was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Showing Angel as her rst
4-H project will make the gift that much more special. In addition to the county fair, the Conleys are making plans for Paige to show Angel at the Wisconsin Holstein Association’s District 8 show to be held in Beaver Dam next summer. “She will be babied, just like the rest,” Paige’s dad Chris said of Angel. “We are so happy she won the calf.” Ironically, this year marks the second time Angel has been a bit of a Christmas gift, as she is the result of an embryo transfer ush done on Christmas Eve last December. The grown-ups were not to be left out in the cold when it came to being the beneciaries of good tidings of great joy. Dairy farmer Pat Ruzic was drawn to be the winner of the $1,000 cash prize in the Christmas giveaway. “I’ll be darned,” said Pat with a laugh and a smile. “I guess it pays to sign up.” The news was denitely a bright spot in Ruzic’s day, as he was plagued with vacuum pump issues when he received notication. Ruzic and his wife, Carol, and their children Victor, 17, and RaeAnn, 11, milk 40 head of registered Milking Shorthorns near Hixton, Wisconsin. They farm 350 acres, 200 of which are tillable. “This will denitely come in handy with the repair bills that are piling up today,” Carol said. Pat registered for the drawing at W.H. Lien Inc., in Hixton, Wisconsin.
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Page 6 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 26, 2020
ConƟnued from ZWALDS | Page 1
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DANIELLE NAUMAN/DAIRY STAR
Cows stand on the rotary parlor the Zwalds installed on their 1,400-cow dairy near Hammond, Wisconsin. The Zwald family has been very happy with their transiƟon from a double-10 parlor to the new rotary parlor.
taken on the technical duties of managing the rotary system. Tom’s wife, Ashley, and Annette tag-team the cow and heifer management, while each has young children at home. Annette’s husband, Steve, handles the human resources duties and the farm bookkeeping. “We were pretty well set to be a 650- to 700-cow herd, but as we started pushing the numbers up toward the 900-cow mark, we started to run out of room for everything,” Annette said. “We knew the expansion was happening at the dairy, and we knew we would be keeping all of our heife rcalves to increase our inventory for the expansion.” The Zwalds solved their question by custom heifer growers to take on any additional overow. With the rotary parlor, a challenge was training the cows into the system as they transitioned away from the double-10 parlor. As the cows learned the new routine, the challenges they faced were learning to adapt themselves to the amount of change in their farm operation and learning to manage the new technologies. The Zwalds felt the transition happened smoothly, and the challenges they faced have far been outweighed by the benets. “It was really nice to start the rotary with about three-quarters of what the total capacity was,” Annette said. “It made the learning process for the cows easier, and it kept us from getting way behind on milking with the increased time it took for the cows to load onto the rotary and exit off. We
had the ability to catch up when we got a little behind, and after the rst 48 hours, everyone was going through great.” Annette said their milking protocol allows the cows to load onto the rotary where an automatic pre-dip dips the cows. The parlor features a stimopulse system, which eliminates the need to forestrip. The rotary
“The new setup allows us to have one person out here milking the 1,400 cows. When you watch the cows on the rotary, it just seems to be the way to milk cows.” ANNETTE SCHALLA, DAIRY FARMER
moves the cows to the lead milker who wipes the cows and attaches the units. On the other side of the rotary, cows are automatically post-dipped before exiting. “The new set up allows us to have one person out here milking the 1,400 cows,” Annette said. “When you watch the cows on the rotary, it just seems to be the way to milk cows.” The monitor with the cow information is positioned where the milker Turn to ZWALDS | Page 7
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Dairy Star • Saturday, December 26, 2020 • Page 7
ConƟnued from ZWALDS | Page 6
works and will show alarms if something goes wrong with the milking process. “The screen shows an alarm, but they aren’t usually looking at the screen, so we installed a speaker system so they hear an audible alarm if there is a kick-off or a low expected milk weight,” Annette said. The alarm also sounds 15 minutes after a milking shift begins; reminding the milker to check that everything is working and properly connected in the milk room, heading off any potential problems early in the milking shift. With the new rotary parlor came the addition of two new freestall barns to accommodate the farm’s growth. Cows were moved into the rst barn in August. “We were all really excited to build this barn,” Annette said. “It is a hybrid, or four seasons, barn ... We are hoping this barn, with the fans and the ridge being different, that it will do a better job with regulating the temperatures and not having some of the freezing issues we’ve dealt with in the past.” The Zwalds place a high focus on genetics and genomically test all calves born to identify those with superior genetics. Annette handles the genetic paperwork and the genomic testing of animals. Bob Zwald works with Annette and another son, Nate Zwald who works for ABS Global, to analyze the results of the genomic testing to determine what animals rise to the top of their herd. “All of the information is great, but it can sometimes be a data-mining nightmare,” Annette said about the
DANIELLE NAUMAN/DAIRY STAR
The Zwalds’ cows are housed in two new freestall barns to help accommodate their farm’s expansion.
sheer volume of proof data available to breeders. At Bomaz, more emphasis is placed on net merit than TPI, in combination with components and health traits. The animals carrying the top numbers are brought into the farm’s extensive in vitro fertilization and conventional ushing programs to make best use of their genetic supe-
riority. They have grown their herd with embryonic transfer technology. “We really want to breed what we call the blue-collar working cow, one that is going to thrive in the commercial environment,” Annette said. “We want smaller, more efcient cows with sound feet and legs and good, workable udders.” Annette said she pays attention
to pounds of butterfat and protein in addition to health traits when making breeding decisions. “We don’t want to deal with high cell counts or cows that don’t breed back,” she said. “We do everything we can to give them a good environment, but they need to be able to last in that environment.”
Thanks for a great 2020.
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Biden picks Vilsack for USDA post Page 8 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 26, 2020
The next agriculture secretary is the former ag- than Tom Vilsack,” said Mulhern. House Agriculture riculture secretary. President-elect Joe Biden has Committee Chairman Collin Peterson said Vilsack picked Tom Vilsack to lead the United States Depart- understands the issues facing farmers today, and he ment of Agriculture. During the announcement, Biden hopes “my Senate colleagues conrm him quickly so said Vilsack “wasn’t anxious to come back, but I was he can address the important work at hand at USDA.” persistent.” Biden said Vilsack’s rst job Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative PresiAg Insider is to help the country recover from two dent Brody Stapel described Vilsack as crises, the coronavirus pandemic and the a strong advocate for dairy farmers and current economic challenges. Vilsack, 70, processors. “Edge stands to work with is the only member of the cabinet to serve Mr. Vilsack and his future team to tackle all eight years of the Obama administraexisting and arising challenges facing tion. The last person to serve eight years dairy farmers,” Stapel said. as agriculture secretary was Minnesota’s Orville Freeman in the Kennedy and Criticism Johnson administrations. The advocacy group, Family Farm Action, is not pleased with PresidentBack story elect Biden’s decision to bring Tom As a familiar face, Tom Vilsack is Vilsack back to USDA. In a statement, expected to easily win conrmation as Family Farm Action described Vilsack as By Don Wick agriculture secretary. Vilsack began his a “big food lobbyist” who worked to gloColumnist life in a Pittsburgh orphanage and was balize the food system “for the benet of elected mayor of Mount Pleasant, Iowa, a handful of monopoly corporations.” in 1987. After time in the state legislature, Vilsack was elected governor in 1999. In November of 2006, Supply, demand report released the former Iowa governor announced his intention to Due to an increase in cow numbers, USDA run for the presidency but withdrew from the race in moved its 2020 milk production forecast higher in February 2007. President Obama selected Vilsack the December supply/demand report. At 222.7 billion to lead USDA in late 2008, and he stayed on the job pounds, milk output is up 200 million pounds from for eight years. In February of 2017, Vilsack took the November. With weaker prices for cheese and butter, helm of the U.S. Dairy Export Council. Dairy exports the price outlook for Class III milk was also lowered. increased during his tenure, but Vilsack faced criticism when reports surfaced that his annual salary was USDA boosts net farm income in revised forecast close to $1 million. Most agriculture groups have The USDA’s Economic Research Service increased praised Biden’s choice, but the progressive wing of its net farm income forecast by 43% to $119.6 billion. the Democratic Party is critical. With an ination adjustment, this puts net farm income at the highest level in seven years. The majority Dairy industry praises Vilsack of the farm income increase comes from ad-hoc govNational Milk Producers Federation President ernment payments totaling $46.5 billion, an increase and CEO Jim Mulhern said the dairy industry will of $24 billion from last year. Higher government paymiss having Tom Vilsack as a colleague and friend ments offset a $9.7 billion decline in cash receipts for as he leaves the U.S. Dairy Export Council for the livestock producers. Crop cash receipts are forecast USDA job. Mulhern said agriculture faces challenges to increase $6.5 billion higher than last year at more from a difcult economy to climate change and trade. than $200 billion. “No one is better suited to tackle these challenges
Dairy prices on a roller coaster ride National Milk Producers Federation Vice President of Economic Policy and Market Research Peter Vitaliano said the Dairy Margin Coverage program was a surprise this past year. “Going into this year, it looked like there were not going to be payments and that turned out not to be the case,” Vitaliano said. Chris Galen, who is the senior vice president of membership services and strategic initiatives for NMPF, said farmers participating in the ve-year version of the Dairy Margin Coverage program are facing an important deadline. “You still have to contact the FSA ofce by the end of this week to ll out the paperwork for the next year and pay the administrative fees,” Galen said. Class III milk prices are expected to grind lower going into 2021 and feed costs will remain high. Harden to move up to the CEO post at USDEC Krysta Harden will become the CEO for the U.S. Dairy Export Council when Tom Vilsack moves back to USDA. Harden is now the USDEC chief operating ofcer. Previously, Harden was a senior vice president for Corteva Agriscience. Harden also spent seven years at USDA, including three years as Vilsack’s deputy secretary. Ballweg to lead Senate agriculture committee Senator-elect Joan Ballweg of Markesan will chair the Senate Agriculture and Tourism Committee. Before being elected to the Senate, Ballweg was a long-time member of the Assembly. “I’m happy to be called upon to chair the Committee of Agriculture and Tourism,” said Ballweg. “I’m eager to work on these issues.” New leadership for WFBF Kevin Krentz of Berlin is the new president of the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation. Krentz has a 600-cow dairy farm and also serves as president of the Wisconsin Livestock Identication Consortum. Krentz succeeds Joe Bragger of Independence, who Turn to AG INSIDER | Page 9
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Dairy Star • Saturday, December 26, 2020 • Page 9
ConƟnued from AG INSIDER | Page 8 served one year as WFBF president. WFBF honors young farmers Natasha Paris has been selected for the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Young Farmer and Agriculturalist Excellence in Agriculture Award. Paris is an agriculture teacher at Ripon and is part of her family’s pasture-based livestock farm. Julie Sweney of Dodge County won the YFA Discussion Meet. Sweney is the marketing and communications director for FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative. Tracy’s retirement looms Tim Tracy is retiring as chief credit ofcer for Compeer Financial at the end of the month. Tracy has been part of the Farm Credit system for over 40 years. Chief Risk Ofcer Bill Moore will take over leadership of the credit department. Starbucks supports Net Zero Initiative The Innovation Center for U.S.
Dairy has announced Starbucks plans to support the Net Zero Initiative, a partnership within the U.S. dairy industry to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions, optimize water usage and improve water quality on farms. A Starbucks ofcial said this effort helps U.S. dairy farmers, consumers and the planet. Trivia challenge The Christmas cocktail made from eggnog, brandy or spiced rum is a Tom and Jerry. That answers our last trivia question. For this week, when is Inauguration Day? 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 really enjoy knowing everything about each cow.” What are some of the DHIA tests you use?
We pregnancy test with DHIA each time we sample. We’ve found the results to be pretty accurate. What do you like about the PCDart program? I really enjoy knowing everything about each cow, not just what recently happened but maybe something 3 lactations ago or even 3 generations ago. There are cow families that don’t stand out milk pounds wise but health, repro and components over time are outstanding. The kind of cows you don’t notice most days because they are average low maintenance cows. I love to be able to Ànd those families and keep them around.
Tell us about your farm. I farm with my wife Emily and parents Jon and Lisa Zweber. Our farm is a diverse operation selling grassfed organic milk through Organic Valley Coop and direct marketing pork, beef, chickens and eggs to customers locally and in the wider metro area.
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Page 10 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 26, 2020
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Farming while recovering from COVID-19
Hintzen has yet to retain sense of taste weeks after contracting virus
By Andrea Borgerding & Danna Sabolik Staff Writers
CARLOS, Minn. – Leonard and Jodi Hintzen hope no one has to experience COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. The couple milks 38 cows near Carlos and tested positive for ANDREA BORGERDING/DAIRY STAR the virus in October. They Leonard and Jodi HIntzen are pictured Dec. 15 at their home near Carlos, are happy to be on the Minnesota. The Hintzens had COVID-19 in October. Leonard has yet to regain other side of the illness. his sense of taste. They milk 38 cows. “We always felt it was something we needed to be careful with,” Jodi said. down,” he said. “I did that a lot the rst week.” “We know it’s real and people can get it, and knowing He had a virtual follow-up appointment with his it’s very widespread now it’s pretty hard to avoid.” doctor Nov. 5. On Oct. 21, Leonard began to feel pain between “I was put on Vitamin C supplements,” Leonard his shoulder blades and had a bad headache. said. “I was told that if I was working outside and got “I took it easy the next day and didn’t do too much tired to sit down and rest because they don’t know if because I was feeling pretty weak,” Leonard said. symptoms can come back or make me weak and catch When Jodi came home, Leonard was about to start a cold.” evening chores. Leonard said now he can get milking done twice a “She asked if I felt all right or had a fever,” Leon- day with a little work during the day and be ne, but if ard said. “She said my face was all red.” he works too hard, he needs to rest. Leonard took his temperature and it read 101 de“Last Friday, we cleaned the calf barn and unloadgrees. He decided to do chores that evening but would ed corn,” Leonard said. “I spent the whole day workgo to the doctor in the morning if he still had a fever ing, but then Saturday and Sunday I didn’t feel well at and was feeling ill. all. I was worn down.” “I had a treated cow that I milked rst and was Since Steve lives with their mother, she was in waiting in the milkhouse for the sanitize cycle to get close contact and had to be tested as well. They both done on the pipeline,” he said. “I started to sweat pro- tested positive and Anita, who is 84 years old, experifusely and got lightheaded and then I passed out.” enced nausea and one day of a fever. Steve tested posiLeonard came to as his brother, Steve, who helps tive but only had a cough so was able to handle chores on the farm, was shaking him and asking if he was al- most days while Leonard was feeling the worst. Neiright. ther of them lost their sense of taste or smell. Steve nished up milking, and Jodi brought Leon“Mom said that anything she ate tasted terrible,” ard to the ER at Alomere Hospital in Alexandria. She Leonard said. “But she didn’t lose her taste.” could not join him inside. Leonard was sent to a speRecovery is taking longer than Leonard would cial COVID-19 designated room where the healthcare like, but he has been able to manage the workload so workers who attended to him were equipped with per- far. sonal protective equipment. “If I don’t overdo it, I don’t feel bad,” he said. “About two hours later, they said I had COVJodi tested positive as well, and although she never ID-19,” Leonard said. “My blood oxygen level was ne but since I passed out, they wanted to get an X-ray of my lungs.” Everything checked out OK, and Leonard was sent home and directed to quarantine for 14 days. They had to notify any close contacts to do the same and be tested. Leonard was told to take Ibuprofen and Tylenol as needed, and if his symptoms worsened, to come back. Just before they had left the house earlier that LEONARD HINTZEN, DAIRY FARMER evening, Leonard grabbed a cookie and could taste it; however, when they got home late from the hospital, had a fever, she was very tired and experienced body Leonard could not taste the sandwich Jodi made him. aches the rst few days. “I still can’t taste,” Leonard said. “Sugar and salt “You just feel like you could sit on the couch all have a different feeling in my mouth. I can’t really day,” Jodi said. smell anything either.” Jodi works as a Douglas County Extension EducaWhile he endured COVID-19, Leonard experi- tor, 4-H Youth Development currently from home. enced a variety of symptoms. The couple is still wondering where they contract“The rst seven days I was really tired,” he said. ed the virus. “My fever never came back, but I felt like I wanted to “He got a call from the department of health and sleep all the time. I would sleep but wake up after an tried to trace it back two or three days,” Jodi said. hour. I had diarrhea for seven days.” Leonard said they abided to the health departLeonard typically is wary of cold and u season be- ment’s guidelines. cause he has chronic bronchitis. “Wherever we went, we wore a mask and would “I never really got any coughing or u symptoms use hand sanitizer,” he said. “They tell you not to touch though,” he said. “It probably helped that I had u and your face, but that’s a hard thing to do.” pneumonia shots earlier in the fall.” In spite of their best efforts, the Hintzens contractJodi worried about him as well. ed the coronavirus. “There were times when you did a little bit of work “I just think it’s everywhere and you kind of roll and your heart would race,” she said. the dice when you go out in public,” Jodi said. “I feel Leonard’s pulse oximeter would show his standing like we’ve been very lucky. We got care packages from pulse rate was 120 beats per minute and his oxygen our kids and used grocery pickup service. It was manlevel was low. ageable.” “I would sit down and wait for my heart to slow
“I spent the whole day working, but then Saturday and Sunday I didn’t feel well at all.”
Dairy Star • Saturday, December 26, 2020 • Page 11
Schwittay family sets up heifer memorial in mother’s memory Registered Ayrshire calf to be awarded annually to youth
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By Stacey Smart
stacey.s@dairystar.com
PESHTIGO, Wis. – The Schwittay family of Peshtigo has started a special tradition in honor of an important woman in their lives. They created the Annual Ardis Schwittay Ayrshire Heifer Memorial in memory of their mom who passed away Jan. 18, 2019, at the age of 73. By providing the opportunity for a youth to bring home a registered Ayrshire heifer calf, the Schwittays hope to keep the memory of their mother alive while supporting the dreams of a young person in the dairy industry. “Mom was extremely passionate about her calves and teaching others responsibility, compassion and independence,” said Monica Schwittay, Ardis’ daughter-in-law, who is married to her son, Jeremy. “Donating a calf seemed like the perfect idea since calves were her thing.” Ardis Schwittay was the matriarch of Schwittay Farms LLC, which is run by Jeremy and Monica Schwittay and Jeremy’s brother, Jason. She was the calf feeder, parts runner, lawn crew, babysitter,
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The SchwiƩay family of PeshƟgo, Wisconsin set up an Ayrshire heifer memorial in honor of their mother, Ardis SchwiƩay, who passed away on Jan. 18, 2019 at the age of 73. Every year, the SchwiƩays will award a registered Ayrshire heifer calf to a youth. cook and overall support system, but most importantly, she held the title of Mom and Grandma. Therefore, the family decided to designate a heifer calf memorial to be awarded annually in honor of her and the morals and values she imparted on each of her family members. “We felt like we needed to do something in her honor,” Schwittay said. “We want everyone to know what a great person Mom was. She had a big heart.” Turn to SCHWITTAY | Page 12
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Page 12 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 26, 2020
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
ConƟnued from SCHWITTAY | Page 11
I do miss the cows
Every year, the Schwittay family will award an Ayrshire calf to an individual based on their application and essay response. In the essay portion, applicants will be asked to explain why they would like to receive a registered Ayrshire heifer and their plans for the animal throughout the next several years. Ardis lost her husband to brain cancer when he was 54 years old. That same year, the family also lost the tiestall barn to a re. Ardis helped maintain the dairy and ensured her sons would be able to transition into ownership someday. Jason was 24 and Jeremy was 21 when they took over the farm. “Mom was the glue that held it all together,” Schwittay said. “She was very active on the farm, and there were so many little things she did on a regular basis. She was the go-to person.” One of Ardis’ many jobs included feeding calves morning and night. Calves remain at the farm for seven days before transferring to the Schwittays’ custom calf and heifer facility – Heifer Solutions. Ardis was the calves’ main caregiver during their rst week of life. Her grandsons helped, which was her way of teaching responsibility to these young boys. The Schwittays see a calf as an avenue for teaching important life lessons and a solid work ethic. “We wanted to remember Mom in some way, shape or form, while nding a way to help others and instill the values she instilled in us,” Schwittay said. “We want to utilize a calf as a way to instill those morals and values into a youth, who can build life experiences through the responsibility of owning and caring for a calf.” Giving of her time was second nature to Ardis, who volunteered often at her church – St. John’s Lutheran – as well as the Ladies Aid Association. She also did a lot with the Farm Bureau. “She was the rst person to help someone out but never looked for praise or recognition,” Schwittay said. “She would do anything for anybody without expecting anything in return. She was like a saint.” The Schwittays milk over 300 cows, and their herd is comprised of 60% Holstein, 35% Ayrshire and 5% Jersey. Schwittay brought Ayrshires to the farm when she married Jeremy. “Mom thought they were the most stubborn, troublesome calves, but she grew to love them,” Schwittay said. “She thought they were cute and felt the different colors added something to the farm. Just like
I left the dairy industry four years ago, Oct. 1, 2016. I was in the industry for 25 years, and I wish I had never left. I opened my own small business, and we have been ravaged by COVID-19. I am on the brink of going out of business. Although milking took a toll on my body, it never got bad, and I felt great. My dairy career was good for the most part. I was milking north of 40 cows a day and was one of the few middle-of-the-road sized barns. It’s not about the big stage. It is about doing something you know is essential and will always be in demand, doing your own thing. I have had friends like Bob from Grand Forks quit because of injuries, but I think that was overplayed. I had some fun moments I will never forget. Seeing cows do the impossible was the best part. Seeing a cow milk north of 175 pounds in one day and seeing a cow get pregnant at 135 pounds a day will be remembered forever. I will never trash agriculture; it is one of the best things you can do. We need to roll back reforms, but I like the direction we are headed. Farming at the end of the day is hard but so rewarding. I will be going back to the cows in 2021. I miss them. Joe G. St. Wendel, Minnesota
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Dairy Star Newspaper welcomes letters to the editor. Every letter for publication must be 500 words or less, contain the author’s signature, address and telephone number. We reserve the right to edit for clarity and brevity. Letters can be mailed to Dairy Star, Letter to Editor, 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave., Sauk Centre, MN 56378 or e-mail: mark.k@ dairystar.com.
the Ayrshire is unique, Mom was unique in her own right too.” Growing up with Holsteins, Schwittay branched into Ayrshires when she received her rst calf through the Ayrshire Breeders Association’s Shayr-A-Heifer program. That was the start of her love for the breed, and she continued buying Ayrshires from the farm that donated her Shayr-A-Heifer calf. “Our family is extremely passionate about the Ayrshire breed, and we want to nd someone who is interested in learning more about Ayrshires,” Schwittay said. “We’re looking for a youth who cares about animals, is compassionate and lled with integrity and respect – a person who will not let adversity get the best of them.” The memorial is open to youth ages 8 to 18 located anywhere in the United States. “We’ve had people from New York, Maine, Florida and Texas ask for applications,” Schwittay said. “We have truckers willing to haul this calf anywhere.” For the winning applicant, the Schwittays are looking for a motivated individual with a positive attitude. “We are rm believers in giving back and allowing youth to have more opportunities,” Schwittay said. “We have not had an easy road in life but giving back to youth is near and dear to our hearts.” Keeping their mom close in spirit, the Schwittay family sees the memorial as a meaningful token that will help her legacy live on for years to come. “This is a gift we’re giving to somebody with Ardis Schwittay’s name attached, and we want to make sure the right person receives the gift,” Schwittay said. “We want the winner to understand what a special gift this is. Wherever the calf is placed, we want to make sure she’ll be well taken care of.” Applications for the Ardis Schwittay Ayrshire Heifer Memorial are due March 30, 2021 and can be emailed to schwittayfarms@yahoo.com or mailed to Schwittay Farms LLC, W5314 Town Hall Rd., Peshtigo, WI 54157. Questions and application requests can be directed to Monica Schwittay at 920.980.5722 or schwittayfarms@ yahoo.com. Applications can also be requested through Schwittay Farm’s Facebook page. “This memorial is the right thing to do,” Schwittay said. “This is our way of giving back, and we’re doing it in honor of such a wonderful person. We hope we’re making Mom proud.”
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Dairy Star • Saturday, December 26, 2020 • Page 15
How do you prepare for the Christmas season?
Polly, Jacob, 15, Aiden, 9, and Matt Timmer Ellsworth, Minnesota Nobles County 135 cows How do you prepare for the Christmas season? Polly does most of the shopping although this year she has done much of it online. Polly’s mother drives to our farm from Wisconsin at Thanksgiving and spends a few days with us. She helps our kids decorate the Christmas tree and the house. Polly’s mom also makes gingerbread houses with the boys. In a typical year, how would you celebrate Christmas Eve and Christmas Day? We would celebrate Christmas Eve with Matt’s family on our farm. There are about 30 of us at that gathering. We open gifts after we have ďƒžnished chores and have enjoyed a big dinner together. Matt’s mom plays piano, so she will play Christmas tunes and we will sing Christmas carols. On Christmas Day, we drive to River Falls, Wisconsin, and spend two or three days with Polly’s family. What do you love most about the Christmas season? The whole Christmas feeling, spending time with our family, and watching our kids give and receive gifts. When we go to Wisconsin, our boys get to see their cousins. It’s nice to get a break from the farm and spend time with family. What is the best gift you have ever received? Matt’s DeWalt hammer drill. He enjoys it and has found it has a lot of uses around the farm. What is one of your favorite gifts you have given to someone special? The boys and Matt have created a miniature dairy farm on a piece of plywood. Their farm has been equipped with toys that are 1/64 scale. No matter how many tractors and cows and equipment there are on their miniature farm, it seems like the boys are always happy to add something new. What type of gifts do you like to give employees or people you work with? We like to give them things like homemade holiday breads and cookies, pork chops and cheese. Tell us about your family and your farm. We took over this farm from Matt’s parents, Arnie and Doris, in 2016. Our herd is registered Holsteins, and Matt is on the board of directors of the Minnesota Holstein Association. Over the past few years, we have been working on adding more Red Holstein genetics. We board a few head of cattle for other people. One of our young cows was named the champion 2-year-old
Celsey Weiss Durand, Wisconsin Pepin County 950 cows How do you prepare for the Christmas season? I am a Christmas season lover. It sneaks up on me though. I try to make a list of gift ideas all year in my notes app on my phone. I try to buy half of my presents locally and/or in store. For dĂŠcor, I take all of the fall decor down and then bring out all of the Christmas decor. It’s a bigger mess before it gets better. I have many hand-me-down dĂŠcor pieces from my grandma that I love to make sure get out. Christmas baking is a bit of a tradition for me and my family. We don’t make dozens and dozens of batches of cookies, but we get together with my aunt, cousins and grandma to whip up fun goodies. Some include puppy chow, grasshopper drinks, slush, popcorn balls and turtles. It’s always a hoot! In a typical year, how would you celebrate Christmas Eve and Christmas Day? On our farm, we have an alternating schedule for Thanksgiving and Christmas. This means my husband works Thanksgiving and has off for Christmas. We celebrate with his family at a later date and allows for us to have Christmas with my family. We go to church and then celebrate with extended family. What do you love most about the Christmas season? I love everything about Christmas. Most people are doing things this time of year that they normally don’t. Such as seeing old friends, getting together with family, decorating, attending church and giving to those in need. What is the best gift you have ever received? A pajamagram. Yes, you need to look up what it is. It wasn’t the best gift, but it was the most memorable. My husband gave it to me on our ďƒžrst year of marriage. He truly thought it was the best gift ever. What woman wants a one-piece, ďƒ&#x;uffy, pink suit? What is one of your favorite gifts you have given to someone special? I love shopping for something local for a couple of my best friends. What type of gifts do you like to give employees or people you work with? It is a team effort to think of gifts for everyone. They range from customized sweatshirts, leather patch hats, Yeti mugs, cheese boxes, maple liquor and gift cards. This year we are doing custom face masks. Tell us about your family and your farm. My husband, Noah, and I have one son, Ryker. We farm with Noah’s parents, Don and Colette, and with his brother, Nathan, and his wife, Stacy. I also work off the farm for a local seed company. In 2017, we put in a 50-cow carrousel parlor with a teat spray robot. at the 2020 Minnesota Junior Holstein State Show. We are looking forward to April when we are going to have an online tag sale. We are going to put 20 of our best cattle in the sale catalogue and see how it goes.
Kirsten and Chris Hedtke, pictured with daughters Grace, Maddie and Hallie Mayer, Minnesota Carver County 70 cows How do you prepare for the Christmas season? One of our favorite traditions is cutting down a Christmas tree and putting up decorations the weekend after Thanksgiving. Each year we also make ring sausage with Kirsten’s family. This tradition has been passed down from her grandpa, and as our girls have gotten older, they have also enjoyed participating. We also bake (and eat) lots of yummy cookies with our families. Lastly, our girls look forward to a visit with Santa and opening their Advent boxes each morning that include a little treat, fun activity or an act of service to do in anticipation of Jesus’ birth. In a typical year, how would you celebrate Christmas Eve and Christmas Day? Christmas Eve is usually spent with Kirsten’s side of the family and ends with Christmas Eve Mass. Before bed, the girls set out milk and cookies for Santa and some hay and carrots for his reindeer. Christmas morning, we are woken up bright and early to big smiles and excited giggles as the girls look forward to opening presents. We eat a big breakfast together before celebrating with Chris’ side of the family later in the day. What do you love most about the Christmas season? Watching the awe and wonder of the spirit of Christmas through our girls’ eyes. We also love the peacefulness of Christmas Eve in anticipation of the greatest gift that was ever given, the birth of our Savior. What is the best gift you have ever received? Chris: Kirsten had a picture of our barn with my favorite cow, Star, painted. Star was shown at the county and state fair for several years. Kirsten: A few years ago, Chris used an old window from one of the buildings at the farm to make a picture frame that included pictures of each of our girls as newborns. What is one of your favorite gifts you have given to someone special? The painting and picture frame are our favorite gifts that we have given to each other too. What type of gifts do you like to give employees or people you work with? Our milk truck driver usually gets a plate of cookies and a case of beer. We like to give our employees and landlords a gift as well. Tell us about your family and your farm. We have three daughters, Maddie, 6, Hallie, 4, and Grace, 2, and are expecting our fourth child in March. We farm in partnership with Chris’ parents, Joni and Curtis. Together we milk 70 cows and farm 300 acres.
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Page 16 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 26, 2020
ConƟnued from OUR SIDE | Page 15
Josh and Nicole Speich and their children Riley, 23, Gracin, 11, and Chesney, 9 Hobby-Hill Holsteins Orfordville, Wisconsin Rock County 20 cows How do you prepare for the Christmas season? Our family loves everything about Christmas. Our farm is lled with bright Christmas lights and blow-ups before Thanksgiving until New Years. Gracin has a passion for decorating, and his talent brings a lot of slow-moving vehicles by our farm. It is a family tradition to go as a big family to a local tree farm to cut down a tree right after Thanksgiving. Making Christmas cookies is always a fun weekend of cooking and spending time together. Our family’s favorite Christmas cookies are cut-outs, red velvet crinkles, peanut butter blossoms, Ritz peanut butter covered with chocolate, thumbprints and molasses. In a typical year, how would you celebrate Christmas Eve and Christmas Day? Christmas Eve and Christmas Day is always a fun, busy time of multiple family gatherings of socializing, laughing, eating prime rib and ham, opening presents, playing kid games and watching Christmas movies. Our favorite family Christmas movies are “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” the “Home Alone” movies and “Elf.” What do you love most about the Christmas season? Josh: Spending time with family. Nicole: Watching Christmas Hallmark movies. Riley: All the festivities, food and family time. Gracin: Seeing all the Christmas lights. Chesney: Opening all the presents. What is the best gift you have ever received? The best Christmas gift we receive each year is our good health and spending the holidays with the kids, family and friends. An extra gift is when Riley stays overnight on Christmas Eve and wakes up Christmas morning with Gracin and Chesney. What is one of your favorite gifts you have given to someone special? A favorite gift we like to give every year is something that people can use or eat. What type of gifts do you like to give employees or people you work with? We like to give our breeder, ABS representative, milk hauler and nutritionist our homemade cookies and cheese basket from Decatur Dairy. Tell us about your family and your farm. HobbyHill Holsteins was founded 15 years ago by Josh and Nicole, when Riley joined 4-H and took a passion for showing dairy cattle. As our herd continued to grow, we built a new dairy barn and bought 40 acres to support the feed needs. We were lucky enough to buy land that bordered our house. We crop our land with corn and alfalfa. Currently, we are milking 20 cows with a herd size of 50 registered Holsteins. We try to keep our milking herd to 20 head of high-quality cows, as Josh and Nicole both have full-time jobs off the farm. Josh is a machinist at a local manufacturing company, and Nicole is the controller at a local bank. With help from the kids, we make the farming schedule work. The Hobby-Hill breeding program focuses on good feet and legs, high type and great udders. Our successful breeding program has brought great honors in the showring at local, state and national shows for the kids, with the Holstein USA classiers and in milk production. Our quality milk goes to Decatur Dairy in Brodhead where it is turned into cheese. We like to call Hobby-Hill Holsteins an adventure from a 4-H project gone wild.
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Laurie Meyer Reedsburg, Wisconsin Sauk County 400 cows How do you prepare for the Christmas season? Christmas preparation starts around Dec. 1. This year, our youngest was ready to put the tree up by the middle of November. I held him off for a week or two, then he took decorating into his own hands by taking Dad to the basement to carry the tree up. Up went the tree that day! I gured we could use a bit of early Christmas spirit and the feeling of joy. The ornaments came a few days later. This activity requires all three kids together, so timing to complete the tree can be a bit tricky sometimes. Decorating and putting up lights outside was a treat this year. How often do you get 50- to 60-degree weather to cut pine boughs and string up lights in? The extended warm weather brought a new holiday tradition in the making, cutting pine boughs. We took advantage of a sunny afternoon and went into our woods to hunt for pine trees that had a little to share. We soon learned that the majority of our woodland does not contain any pine trees at all. We did manage to gather a Ranger-load full to decorate the front porch with and had a good time stomping through the woods. In a typical year, how would you celebrate Christmas Eve and Christmas Day? Christmas Eve is lled with last-minute preparations for the children’s service at our church. I am the Sunday school superintendent and a teacher at our church. The kids and I ll our kitchen table with brown paper lunch sacks and create an assembly line to ll all of the nut and candy bags for the kids of our church. By 6 p.m., we are dressed in our Christmas best and heading to church to get all of Sunday school kids into their costumes. Sadly, I don’t think it will feel like Christmas Eve this year without this routine of the last 18 years. Change is inevitable; it’s how you respond to it that can make a big difference. I am embracing this change and thanking God for the blessing of time to spend with family on Christmas Eve night while sitting back and listening to the church service instead of being there. Christmas morning brings chores, church and opening gifts from under our tree once everyone is back in the house and cleaned up. After we open our gifts, it is time to head across the road to Grandma’s house for Christmas dinner. We basically stand up, step over the wrapping paper, get our food and gifts and head to Grandma’s house. (It about kills me to leave the wrapping paper mess, but I am learning to just go with it.) What do you love most about the Christmas season? What I love the most about the Christmas season is being able to watch the wonder of it unfold through the eyes of our kids. What is the best gift you have ever received? I cannot pin point one material thing that I would consider my best gift ever. I receive my best gift every day of the year in the form of my family. There is no bigger blessing than that. What is one of your favorite gifts you have given to someone special? My favorite type of gift to give is a handmade one. I inherited a crafty gene from my mom, so I love to create. I love the quote by St. Mother Teresa, “It’s not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.” Some of this year’s handmade gifts include hot chocolate bombs and personalized socks and signs made with my Cricut. What type of gifts do you like to give employees or people you work with? When it comes to giving gifts on the farm, our handmade Christmas candy seems to be a big hit. As I am making candy, I start lling up containers of goodies for the milkman and our employees. Sweatshirts, coats and stocking hats with our farm name on them, along with gift cards are go-to employee gifts for us. Tell us about your family and your farm. My husband Jon and I have three kids: Ashley, 22, Jonny, 12, and Jeffery, 9. Our dairy farm, Joe Meyer & Sons, has been in the family since 1918. Our children are the fth generation on our farm. Together with our daughter and my husband’s family, we milk 400 cows.
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Ryan and Johna Brock Gillett, Wisconsin Oconto County 200 cows How do you prepare for the Christmas season? We go the day after Thanksgiving and pick out a tree from our woods to cut down and take the top for our Christmas tree. My wife and daughters decorate it with all the decorations we have saved over the years that the kids made. If the weather is nice, we will put a few lights on the house and a manger scene in the front yard. My favorite time is when my wife, Johna, makes a 30-gallon bag batch of our family recipe caramel corn. We share it with all our neighbors, but I like to save a few bags for myself because I only get it once a year. Every year, we make up bags with things such as cheese, butter, candies and sausage and deliver them to all of our neighbors on our block. It is a nice way to show them we appreciate them being good neighbors, and we get to visit with each one as we make our rounds. In a typical year, how would you celebrate Christmas Eve and Christmas Day? We set aside Christmas Eve to spend with our immediate family, open gifts, have a nice lunch and play games together. On Christmas Day, we go to my parents’ house where my brother and sister and their families all join us in celebrating the birth of Jesus. We will most likely have a ham dinner with all the xings, and then go downstairs to sing songs, read the Christmas story from the Bible and open presents. What do you love most about the Christmas season? I love taking the time to remember the real reason for the season, how Jesus was born and all the miracles around His birth. I love to help the kids get ready for the Christmas program at church and see their smiling faces as they perform for the people. I love spending time with my family as they return home around the Christmas season, and I enjoy connecting with people by sending and receiving Christmas cards, some whom we only hear from once a year. And oh, did I mention I love my wife’s caramel corn? What is the best gift you have ever received? When I was 13, my parents bought me an Apple computer. It was new technology, and I had friends who could copy games. I could play on it and also use it for school. What is one of your favorite gifts you have given to someone special? One year, we bought our son a gaspowered remote-control airplane. It was fun to watch him open it and see how excited he was to y it all over the farm. What type of gifts do you like to give employees or people you work with? We give our employees gift cards, and we have in the past taken them out to eat. Johna’s caramel corn makes its way peoples’ hands such as the milk truck driver, nutritionist, cattle haulers and so on. Usually by now our kids have sold cheese, sausage, fruit, and Kringles for their FFA chapters, so we use this time to stock up on those items to share with others and also benet the FFA chapter. It’s a win-win situation for all. Tell us about your family and your farm. I am a fourth-generation farmer on R. Brock Farms, where we milk 200 head, raise our youngstock and grow our feed for the cows. We employ two full-time employees and three part-time at the moment. We pride ourselves in running a sustainable operation that does not burn anyone out. We try to be exible yet rm in our day-to- day operation jobs. My father, Russel, comes daily to help check fences and run errands and help with any odd jobs. Johna and I have owned the farm since 2000. Our son, Raymond, lives in Green Bay with his wife, Priscilla, and works for the metro system driving city bus. He comes back to the farm as much as he can to help. Our daughter, Hailey, 23, lives in Wyoming on a ranch with a friend and works at a restaurant. Our second daughter, Hanna, 21, lives in North Carolina at Seymour Johnson Air Force base where her and her husband, Michael, are stationed – they are both active duty. Our daughter, Holly, 17, lives on the farm with us and is a junior at Gillett High School. She helps feed and milk cows.
Dairy Star • Saturday, December 26, 2020 • Page 17
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Page 18 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 26, 2020
Repro Leaders
Scholze Family Farms focuses on timed shots, breeding for 38% pregnancy rate Scholze Family Farms LLC Humbird, Wisconsin Clark County 550 cows What was your average pregnancy rate last year? 38%. What is your voluntary waiting period for cows? For heifers? Our VWP for heifers is 13 months and for cows is 80 days. What is your rst service conception rate? 54%. What is your reproduction program? Do you use a synchronization program? Our heifers are walk and chalk; our cows are in a double ovsynch program. How do you observe for heat? Walk and chalk. How do you conrm pregnant or open cows? Ultrasound by veterinarian. What is your breeding philosophy? How do you select bulls? What traits do you focus on? Does fertility play a role in bull selection? We are looking for a durable cow. She needs to have
good feet and legs, and udders primarily. We only use bulls recommended by our genetics company. Our philosophy is that we would worse-trait match and may actually lose genetic ground if we are using our personal calls and feelings. How are cows and heifers bred? Do you have a different philosophy for breeding both? Cows and heifers are bred with A.I. We use sexed semen on our heifers, sexed semen on rst lactation cows and beef semen for mature cows. We want to see as much genetic gain as we can so we are looking to utilize our best young genetic potential. What do you do to settle hard breeders? We remove them from the herd. How many times do you try to breed a cow before you sell her? Three. Is there anything you have done or changed that brought about a signicant improvement in your reproductive program? We have been careful about dialing in the timing between the last shot and breeding. We also do annual refresher training on A.I. technique. Tell us about your farm. My brother
DANIELLE NAUMAN/DAIRY STAR
Theo Scholze oversees the dairy herd at Scholze Family Farms in Humbird, Wisconsin. Theo and his brother, Will, operate the farm which is home to 550 cows. and I manage the farm together. Will does the crops and maintenance and I (Theo) manage the dairy. We milk about 550 cows. Our heifers are raised off site by a grower. We farm about 1,800 acres
of corn, soybean, alfalfa and wheat. We also have about 200 beef cows and run a direct-to-consumer mail order beef shop from the farm.
Dairy Star • Saturday, December 26, 2020 • Page 19
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Tidings of Comfort and Joy 2020 has been a challenging year for all. We have missed seeing our customers, colleagues, friends at most shows and events. We thank you for all you do providing nature’s perfect food, for sharing your stories and goals.
May the True Gift of the Season Light the Path in the New Year.
Cow comfort is our passion. Your dairy’s success is our priority. We are here for you. We look forward to seeing you at events in 2021, how ever the opportunities present themselves. Meanwhile, be well and stay in touch. Sign up for our Comfort Matters E-News, with useful industry updates and cow comfort resources. See the signup link at uddercomfort.com. - Best to all, The Comfort Team
1.888.773.7153 • uddercomfort.com @uddercomfort
Merry Christmas!
Page 20 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 26, 2020
Gonzalez builds career as vet, A.I. technician, dairy farmer By Stacey Smart
stacey.s@dairystar.com
WAUPACA, Wis. – When Segundo Gonzalez came to the United States in 1993, he did not know a word of English. After earning his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree in Ecuador, Gonzalez landed at the University of Minnesota to obtain his master’s degree in animal science. “It was really tough
From Ecuador to America not knowing the language,” Gonzalez said. “I arrived in May, and classes started in September. It was hard at the beginning, but I knew it was a challenge I could overcome.” Gonzalez grew up on a small farm in Ecuador and developed an interest in learning how dairymen farm in the U.S. While completing his schooling, he became a research assistant in a lab at the university and later worked at Jon-De Farm in Baldwin for eight years. Gonzalez worked his way up to a manager position and hired his brothers – Marco, Lauro and Jaime – to join him at Jon-De. “That was where we learned the ropes of dairy
STACEY SMART/DAIRY STAR
Segundo Gonzalez is a veterinarian who moved from Ecuador to the United States in 1993. He worked for Alta GeneƟcs for 13 years as an A.I. technician and trainer and has been farming with his siblings since 2011 on a farm they purchased near Waupaca, Wisconsin.
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Vicente Gonzalez, a veterinarian from Ecuador, monitors a cow’s temperature as part of the farm’s fresh cow program. He spends 6 to 8 months of the year working with his children at Gonzalez Dairy.
farming,” Gonzalez said. The veterinarian was then recruited by Alta Genetics in 2007 to build a technician group on the northeast side of Wisconsin. His brothers were also hired as technicians. “We all learned how to breed cows,” Gonzalez said. “We started from zero and are now up to 13 A.I. technicians in this area.” In his role at Alta Genetics as the primary trainer of A.I.
technicians, Gonzalez traveled three times a day. Gonzalez extensively in the U.S. and spent 13 years with Alta overseas. He worked Monday Genetics and recently left the through Friday helping business but still provides commercial herds with A.I. training at his farm for new and reproductive programs, technicians. while his weekends were spent “We bought the farm under at Gonzalez Dairy – the farm a land contract, and it will be he and his siblings purchased paid off next July,” Gonzalez in August 2011. Gonzalez and said. his brothers, along with his The Gonzalez family milks sister, Silvia, started milking 250 cows and grew from within 150 cows twice a day. By December, they were milking Turn to GONZALEZ | Page 22
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Dairy Star • Saturday, December 26, 2020 • Page 21
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FIELD CULTIVATORS JD 980, 1995, 41 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #175950 ..................$9,500 Case IH 4300, 45.5 ft, 3-Section Folding, C-Shank, #176927 ...........$10,400 JD 980, 1997, 25 ft, 3-Section Folding, C-Shank, #176647 ................$10,900 JD 980, 1998, 40 ft, 3-Section Folding, C-Shank, #171557 ................$11,900 JD 980, 1996, 44 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #169542 ................$13,900 JD 2210, 2007, 26 ft, 3-Section Folding, C-Shank, #175749..............$26,400 Sunflower 5035, 2016, 24 ft, 3-Section Folding, C-Shank, #177191 .$28,900 JD 2210, 2005, 54 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #167743..............$30,900 JD 2210, 2005, 36 ft, 3-Section Folding, C-Shank, #177127..............$32,500 Wil-Rich QX-2, 2008, 47 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #173990 ..$32,900 Case IH Tigermate II, 2006, 50.5 ft, C-Shank, #171913.................$32,900 JD 2210, 2012, 32 ft, 3-Section Folding, C-Shank, #173629..............$35,900 Case IH Tigermate 2, 2010, 46 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #176675 ..................................................................................$37,400 JD 2210LL, 2014, 45.5 ft, 3-Section Folding, C-Shank, #173708 ......$39,000 JD 2210, 2012, 50.5 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #173641 ..........$42,900 JD 2210, 2011, 50.5 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #175598 .........$43,900 JD 2210, 2009, 55.5 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #175257 ..........$45,000 Case IH 200, 2014, 60 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #176029 ......$47,500 JD 2210, 2011, 60 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #168037..............$49,400 JD 2210, 2012, 60.5 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #176030 ..........$49,500 JD 2210, 2017, 55.5 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #176942 ..........$64,900 JD 2210, 2017, 60.5 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #176941 ..........$67,400 JD 2230, 2018, 50.5 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #176637 ..........$94,900 JD 2230FH, 2019, 44 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #177180 ........$97,900 PLANTERS JD 7200, 1988, 12R30”, Wing Fold, #176943 ........................................$9,500 JD 1750, 1997, 6R30” ,1.6 Bushel Hopper, #176829...........................$13,900 JD 1750, 8R30”, 1.6 Bushel Hopper, #171351 .....................................$15,900 JD 1750, 2000, 6R30”, 3.0 Bushel Hopper, #176783 ...........................$16,900 JD 1780, 2007, 15R15”, 3.0 Bushel Hopper, #169548.........................$24,500 JD 1770, 2002, 16R30”, Flex Fold, 3.0 Bushel Hopper, #174750........$25,500 JD 1770NT, 2009, 16R30”, Flex Fold, #169073 ...................................$62,900 JD 1790, 2010, 31R15”, Flex Fold, #171218 ........................................$79,500 JD 1770NT, 2014, 16R30”, Flex Fold, #176683 ...................................$89,500 JD 1770NT CCS, 2012, 24R30”, Wing Fold, #167881 ......................$108,500
8 4 2 2 14 8 14 5 16 3 17 15 8 14 8 15 16 14 16 17 16 16 8 16 8 16 10 4
JD DB66, 2005, 36R22”, Flex Fold, #166985.....................................$109,500 JD 1775NT, 2018, 16R30”, Flex Fold, #150736 ................................$149,500 JD 1775NT, 2019, 1630”, Flex Fold, #174754..................................$149,500 JD 1775NT, 2019, 16R30”, Flex Fold, #174753 ................................$149,500 JD DB66, 2013, 36R22”, Flex Fold, #177157.....................................$185,000 JD 1775NT, 2015, 24R30”, Flex Fold, #170394 ...............................$189,500 JD DB66, 2012, 36R22”, Flex Fold, #166296....................................$189,500 JD DB44, 2020, 24R22”, Flex Fold, #175323....................................$300,500 JD DB66, 2017, 36R22”, Wing Fold, #175194..................................$349,500 JD 7300, 1992, 12R30”Wing Fold, 1.6 Bushel Hopper, #175563 .......$11,900 JD 1710, 1997, 12R30”, Wing Fold, 3.0 Bushel Hopper, #176726 ......$14,900 JD 1710, 24R22”, Wing Fold, 3.0 Bushel Hopper, #168140.................$19,900 JD 1720 CCS, 2012, 16R30” , Wing Fold, #176499 ............................$65,900 SELF-PROPELLED SPRAYERS JD 4830, 2008, 100’, Narrow tires, 5859 hrs., #174231......................$66,900 RoGator RG1100, 2014, 100’, Guidance Display, 3425 hrs., #175947 ..................................................................................................$99,500 JD 4830, 2013, 100’, Guidance Display, 2134 hrs., #177084 ...........$131,900 JD 4830, 2012, Narrow Tires, 2040 hrs., #171464 ............................$139,000 JD 4830, 2013, Narrow Tires, Guidance Display, 2270 hrs., #175791 ...............................................................................................$148,900 JD 4940, 2013, 132’, Guidance Display, 1716 hrs., #170040 ...........$169,500 JD R4030, 2014, 120’, Narrow Tires, Guidance Display, 1037 hrs., #173856 ..............................................................................................$215,000 JD R4038, 2018, 132’, Guidance Display, 981 hrs., #157822...........$339,500 JD R4038, 2018, 120’, Guidance Display, 228 hrs., #168631...........$345,000 JD R4038, 2020, 120’, Guidance Display, 176 hrs., #174932 ..........$354,900 JD R4038, 2019, 132’, 514 hrs., #175772.........................................$355,000 Hagie STS12, 2020, 120’ boom, Guidance Display, 548 hrs., #174422 ...............................................................................................$375,000 JD R4038, 2019, 132’ boom, Narrow Tires, Guidance Display, 548 hrs., #168957 ................................................................................$379,500 SKID STEER LOADERS Bobcat 863, 2000, ROPS, Foot Controls, Aux Hydraulics, 72” Bucket, 3718 hrs., #176471 ..............................................................$11,900 JD 320E, 2016, Cab w/AC, Foot Ctrls, 2 Speed, Aux Hydraulics, 72” Bucket, Reversing Fan, 5180 hrs., #176157 .....................................$21,900
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
1710 N. Franklin
(3) = STEWART
(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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10 NH L220, 2011, Cab w/AC, Foot Ctrls, Air Ride Seat, 2 Spd, Self-Leveling, Aux Hydraulics, Flotation Tires, 72” Bkt, 2233 hrs., #175312 .................$26,500 2 Gehl R220, 2016, Cab w/o AC, EH Ctrls, 2 Spd, Flotation Tires, 2727 hrs., #174423 .................................................................................$29,500 8 JD 320G, 2018, Cab w/AC, Foot Ctrls, Air Ride Seat, 2 Spd, Self-Leveling, Aux Hydraulics, 72” Bkt, 2473 hrs., #174943 .................$29,900 2 JD 324E, 2017, Cab w/AC, Hand Ctrls, Air Ride Seat, 2 Spd, Aux Hydraulics, Reversing Fan, 2455 hrs., #177092 ..............................$34,500 10 JD 320G, 2018, Cab w/AC, EH Ctrls, Air Ride Seat, Joystick, 2 Spd, Self-Leveling, Aux Hyd., 72” Bkt, Reversing Fan, 1190 hrs., #175365 ...$39,500 4 JD 324G, 2019, Cab w/AC, Foot Ctrls, 2 Spd, Self-Leveling, Less Bucket, 501 hrs., #174448...............................................................$43,900 4 JD 324G, 2018, Cab w/AC, Cab Enclosure, A/C, EH Controls, 2 Spd, 78” Bkt, 385 hrs., #162065......................................................................$45,900 3 JD 324G, 2019, Cab w/AC, Cab Enclosure, EH Controls, Joystick, Ride Control, 2 Spd, 78” Bucket, 477 hrs., #172715 ...............................$46,000 8 JD 324G, 2019, Cab w/AC, Cab Enclosure, EH Controls, Air Ride Seat, 2 Spd, 78” Bkt, 377 hrs., #172714 ..........................................................$46,500 11 JD 330G, 2018, Cab w/AC, EH Ctrls, Air Ride Seat, Joystick, Ride Control, 2 Spd, 84” Bkt, 575 hrs., #159949.....................................$48,900 4 JD 330G, 2019, Cab w/AC, EH Ctrls, Joystick, 2 Spd, 84” Bucket, 674 hrs., #171330 ...................................................................................$53,400 UTILITY TRACTORS 11 JD 2640, 1976, Standard, Power Reverser, 2WD, 540 pto, #177148 ..$12,900 14 MF 2615, 2013, Syncro, MFWD, 540 pto, 1355 hrs., #175073 ...........$20,400 2 JD 5045E, 2019, Syncro, MFWD, 540 pto, 75 hrs., #177181...............$23,900 2 JD 5075M, 2019, MFWD, 540/1000 pto, 100 hrs., #177178 .............$42,900 4 JD 5090E, 2019, Cab, MFWD, 540 pto, 291 hrs., #155536 .................$52,900 13 JD 5085E, 2014, Syncro, MFWD, 540 pto, 190 hrs., #177129 ............$54,400 10 JD 5100E, 2019, Cab, MFWD, 540 pto, 156 hrs., #153241 .................$56,900 15 JD 6120E, 2019, Cab, MFWD, Loader, 200 hrs., #160857 ...................$74,900 10 JD 6135E, 2019, Cab, MFWD, 540 pto, 200 hrs., #153289 .................$78,900 12 JD 6135E, 2020, Cab, MFWD, 540 pto, Loader, 200 hrs., #165528.....$82,900 8 JD 6110M, 2019, Cab, MFWD, 540/1000, 226 hrs., #153314 ............$89,500 3 JD 6110M, 2018, Cab, MFWD, 540/1000 pto, 450 hrs., #149248......$89,500 6 JD 6110R, 2017, Cab, MFWD, 540/1000 pto, Loader Ready, 259 hrs., #145477 ...................................................................................$98,900
CALL TODAY! (320)365-1653 (12) = AITKIN 1120 2nd St. NW
(10) = LITTLE FALLS (13) = BAXTER 16069 Hwy. 27 E.
(11) = WADENA 62505 US Hwy. 10
7045 Foley Rd.
(14) = ELBOW LAKE
(16) = BENSON
(15) = MORRIS
(17) = MADISON
110 2nd St. NE
23604 State Hwy. 9
380 Atlantic Ave. 516 1st St. E
SEE OUR COMPLETE INVENTORY WITH PICTURES AND DESCRIPTIONS AT: www.mmcjd.com
Page 22 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 26, 2020
ConĆ&#x;nued from GONZALEZ | Page 20
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PHOTO SUBMITTED
Maria Gonzalez feeds calves at Gonzalez Dairy near Waupaca, Wisconsin. The Gonzalez family plans to expand in the near future by purchasing another farm with an addiĆ&#x;onal 550 cows.
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Contact one of the following dealers to learn more: IOWA 2YHTLY )YV[OLYZ 0RQWLFHOOR ,$ 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 Professional Dairy Services Arlington, WI 608-635-0267 Redeker Dairy Equipment Brandon, WI 920-346-5579 The Scharine Group Inc. Whitewater, WI 800 472-2880 Mt Horeb, WI 800-872-3470
MINNESOTA & SOUTH DAKOTA D&D Ag Supply Pennock, MN 320-599-4466 East Central Dairy Supply Mora, MN 320-679-1029 Farm Systems Melrose, MN 320-256-3276 Watertown, SD 605-886-7401 Sioux Falls, SD 800-284-0015 Professional Dairy Systems Wadena, MN 218-632-5416
through their A.I. program, using a combination of sexed and conventional semen. “We’ve never purchased a cow since we started,â€? Gonzalez said. In 2014, they started using sexed semen on all heifers and their best genetic animals. In 2017, the family began using Angus semen on certain cows because they had more replacements than they needed. The family has also done some embryo transfer work but plans to concentrate on sexed and beef semen going forward. The farm sits on 25 acres of land near Waupaca, therefore, the Gonzalezes purchase all of their feed. “Our focus is on the cows,â€? Gonzalez said. “We leave ďƒželd work and manure hauling to a custom company. We don’t have the land to spread our manure so we had to ask to borrow our neighbors’ land. We were strangers to the area and ďƒžrst had to build relationships with our neighbors.â€? Marco is the main feeder at Gonzalez Dairy, and Silvia does the bookkeeping. Gonzalez’s wife, Maria, is in charge of calves. Jaime continues to work for Alta as well as at Gonzalez Dairy. Lauro now works at another farm – Miller’s Dairy – with his wife, Enith. Jaime purchased a farm near Weyauwega two years ago and along with his wife, Mariana, is now taking care of all the heifers for Gonzalez Dairy. Previously, heifers were sent to a custom raiser near Oshkosh. Drawing on his veterinary background, Gonzalez brings unique insight to the dairy, and he and his siblings handle nearly all veterinary work on the farm. Pregnancy checks, hoof trimming, fresh cow care, breeding and more are done by family members. Gonzalez’s father, Vicente, is also a veterinarian and spends six to eight months every year in the U.S. working alongside his children at Gonzalez Dairy. He is seeing his ďƒžrst winter this year while helping milk, feed calves and take care of fresh cows. The family-operated farm is a place where everyone works together to get the job done. Brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews and cousins all chip in, and at times, three generations of Gonzalez family members are working side by side. Turn to GONZALEZ | Page 23
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Dairy Star • Saturday, December 26, 2020 • Page 23
ConƟnued from GONZALEZ | Page 22 “I like to see the sun shining bright in the morning while working with the animals and knowing we’re producing a safe food for people who don’t have the opportunity to live in the countryside and produce their own food,” Gonzalez said. Focused on prevention, the Gonzalezes keep a close eye on cow health when walking pens and treat sick cows early. “We want to prevent issues,” Gonzalez said. “We also focus on fresh-cow care. We have set protocols we follow and closely monitor body temperature and check for ketosis the rst 10 days after freshening.” The Gonzalez family also keeps a spotlight on milk quality. Milkers must follow strict milking protocols that include monitoring cow health and singeing udders to promote cleanliness and prevent mastitis. Cows average 85 pounds of milk per day, and the somatic cell count is 105,000. “We’re trying to expand our dairy and are in the process of buying another farm with 550 cows,” Gonzalez said. “Soon, we will be milking 800.” The expansion will allow the Gonzalez family to farm in updated facilities and devote each location to specic specialties. For example, the current farm will be the home of pregnant cows, while all fresh cows will reside at the new operation, which has headlocks – a feature not found where they farm now. “Currently, I do pregnancy checks in the return alley from the parlor,” Gonzalez said. “It’s dangerous. I can do it with only 250 cows, but with more, we’ll need the headlocks. It’s a challenge doing herd health with no headlocks.” Once cows are conrmed pregnant,
PHOTO SUBMITTED
The Gonzalez family milks 250 cows on their farm near Waupaca, Wisconsin. The family-operated dairy is run by (front row from leŌ) – Segundo, David, Samia, Jose, Ernesto, Emily, Rumi and Jaime (holding Sayri); (back row from leŌ) – Luis, Maria, Enith, CrisƟan, Lauro (holding Leslie), Silvia, Manuel (holding Aleyda) and Mariana. Not pictured is Marco and his family. the plan is to bring them back to the original farm at 150 days in calf. Cows are dried at 220 days pregnant and will be sent back to the new farm to calve. Other than doing some maintenance on stalls at their current farm and replacing old curtains, the family’s focus will shift to the new farm. Gonzalez and his wife have three children – Luis, 26, Samia, 13, and David, 11. Their oldest son is married to an American woman, and the couple celebrated their wedding in Ecuador. Keeping a rm grasp on their Ecuadorian roots is important to
Gonzalez and his family who make a trip to Ecuador every two years to visit relatives. “We want our kids to learn where we come from,” Gonzalez said. “Our roots are important – we don’t want to lose that. We’re bilingual and only speak Spanish at home. We also teach our kids how to read and write in Spanish.” During his 27 years in America, Gonzalez has developed a diverse resume that includes the work of veterinarian, A.I. technician/trainer and dairy farmer. More than 3,000
miles from home in a climate vastly different from Ecuador’s humid, tropical environment, Gonzalez found opportunities in the U.S. to build a business in the dairy industry. Preparing to triple in size, Gonzalez and his family are experiencing signicant growth. “We started from nothing here, and now we have the farm almost paid off and are starting another farm – that’s a big accomplishment,” Gonzalez said. “It wasn’t easy. We all had to learn English as well as the American culture. But we like cows, and we like farming, and we were willing to put in the work to make it happen.”
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Page 24 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 26, 2020
HO,HO,OH! , H what a year... 2020 Mark Klaphake 28 Years
Jeff Weyer 22 Years
Joyce Frericks 21 Years
Missy Treager 9 Years
Natasha Barber 5 Years
Pat Turner 38 Years
Janell Westerman 30 Years
Carol Moorman 27 Years
Irene Henry 19 Years
Laura Seljan 19 Years
Andrea Borgerding 18 Years
Jerry Nelson 17 Years
Robin Brunette 16 Years
Diane Leukam 16 Years
Mike Imdieke 14 Years
Krista Kuzma 12 Years
Nancy Powell 12 Years
Logan Thomas 10 Years
Mike Kosik 10 Years
Herman Lensing 10 Years
Rachel Borgerding 9 Years
Amanda Thooft 9 Years
Tim Vos 9 Years
Kayla Hunstiger 8 Years
+ SHOPPER Country Acres STAR
Dairy Star • Saturday, December 26, 2020 • Page 25
Emily Hoium 7 Years
Jennifer Coyne 6 Years
Lorie Swedenburg 5 Years
Mike Schafer 5 Years
Gretchen Jennissen 5 Years
Megan Stuessel 5 Years
Danielle Nauman 3 Years
Maria Bichler 3 Years
Eugene Blommel 3 Years
Kate Asfeld 3 Years
Amanda Hoefler 2 Years
Maddy Peterson 2 Years
Ben Sonnek 2 Years
Warren Stone 2 Years
Jaime Ostendorf 1 Year
Evan Michealson 1 Year
Stacey Smart 1 Year
Julie Barnes 1 Year
Bob Leukam 1 Year
Dana Sobalik 1 Year
Sarah Boyum 1 Year
Jakob Kounkel 10 Months
Cheyenne Carlson 3 Months
Ellarry Prentice 3 Months
Proud to work with local talent each day
Merry Christmas 㻒㻌㻴㻭㻼㻼㼅㻌㻺㻱㼃㻌㼅㻱㻭㻾
Kati Kindschuh 1 Month
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Page 26 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 26, 2020
Disaster assistance available for livestock losses By Steve Frericks
County Executive Director Douglas County FSA Office
The Livestock Indemnity Program provides assistance for livestock deaths in excess of normal mortality caused by adverse weather, disease and attacks by animals reintroduced into the wild by the federal government or protected by federal law. For disease losses, Farm Service Agency county committees can accept veterinarian certications that livestock deaths were directly related to adverse weather and unpreventable through good animal husbandry and management. For 2020 livestock losses, you must file a notice within 30 calendar days of when the loss is first apparent. You then must provide the following supporting documentation to your local FSA office no later than 60 calendar days after the end of the calendar year in which the eligible loss condition occurred. – Proof of death documentation. – Copy of grower’s contracts. – Proof of normal mortality documentation. USDA has established normal mortality rates for each type and weight range of eligible livestock, i.e. adult beef cow = 1.5% and non-adult beef cattle (less than 250 pounds) = 3%. These established percentages reect losses that are considered expected or typical under normal conditions. In addition to ling a notice of loss, you must also submit an application for payment by March 1, 2021. Keeping livestock inventory records Livestock inventory records are necessary in the event of a natural disaster, so remember to keep them updated. When disasters strike, the FSA can help if you have suffered excessive livestock death losses and grazing or feed losses due to eligible natural disasters. To participate in livestock disaster assistance programs, you will be required to provide veriable documentation of death losses resulting from an eligible adverse weather event and must submit a notice of loss to your local FSA ofce within 30 calendar days of when the loss of livestock is apparent. For grazing or feed losses, you must submit a notice of loss to your local FSA ofce within 30 calendar days of when the loss is apparent and should maintain documentation and receipts. You should record all pertinent information regarding livestock inventory records including: – Documentation of the number, kind, type and weight range of livestock. – Beginning inventory supported by birth recordings or purchase receipts. For more information on documentation requirements, visit www.fsa.usda.gov.
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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Soon to be pain-free My husband, Duane, had been hunched over, hobbling around all summer. He was having pain that was triggered by driving the skidloader. Climbing in and out was challenging, but the part that really caused problems was the machine doesn’t have any shocks to absorb the ride. Cleaning out pens, hauling big bales and driving over rough ground messed with his back and hip. Afterward, he would be ďƒ&#x;inching as he walked to the house to get off of his feet and recline in his chair. He spent hours, after taking pain relievers, to try to get relief from the searing pain that shot up By Tina Hinchley from his hip to his back. Farmer & Columnist As farmers, we all seem to wait until we cannot stand the pain any longer before we seek out medical attention. What started off as pain in his hip was later diagnosed as arthritis. Just as his father had arthritis, he was saddened to hear that arthritis was in his hip and back. He could see on the X-ray the white spots where it was surrounding his spine and in his hip socket. Pain would be with Duane for the rest of his life. The doctor recommended a shot of cortisone. It helped for a while. His daily routine was carried out again for a few months. As the long days of corn harvest rolled in, he continued pushing himself to the limit. Duane’s hip began to act up again. He was not comfortable standing, sitting, laying and could not sleep. He was taking over-the-counter pain pills to sleep and more to make it to lunch and again to get through feeding the cows. Climbing in and out of the loader tractor and into the tractor with the mixer, then back again, over and over. Now it seemed everything was triggering his suffering. Duane went back to get another cortisone shot, but the X-ray showed that his hip was grinding bone on bone, and it needed to be replaced or resurfaced. The surgery was scheduled for late November. It was pushed back so all of the corn would be in the bins and harvest would be complete. As the date got nearer, all the machinery got pressure washed and parked in the sheds. I rode with Duane while he was mixing feed to get his routine down so I could cover for him while he took time off to heal. Then his surgery got canceled because of COVID-19. COVID-19 was the hospital’s priority. We didn’t know if the hospital was full of patients suffering from the pandemic, or if staff was infected, or what the reasoning was. We just knew it was going to be delayed, pushed back to Dec. 15 at 7 a.m. Duane would be dealing with this pain a little longer than he had hoped for. He continued to mix feed and retreat to the house after being tortured by the discomfort. The date came up quickly. We were so busy making sure everything was set for his eight weeks of recovery. Duane made sure all of the tractors were full of fuel, the bag and bulk mineral was all ordered, QLF was full, all so I would be ďƒžne mixing feed for a while. The early morning of Dec. 15, Duane got up at 4 to mix a double load of feed for all of the cows, dry cows and heifers, so I could stay at the hospital with him all day. We were greeted by a hospital employee to take our temperature at the door and were quickly escorted to a room to get Duane registered. Then we were off to a room for him to get out of his clothes and into a hospital gown. Within minutes, the doctor spoke a little bit about the surgery, and shortly after the anes-
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thesiologist came in and asked questions regarding if were to come back the next day at noon to watch the there were past reactions. A nurse put in an IV, and off therapist assisting Duane with his exercises, get his he went to get his hip resurfaced. I received two text prescriptions schedule and take him home for the rest messages during surgery letting me know all was go- of his recovery. The dates for therapy, appointments ing well, and he was rolled and phone numbers to call into his private room by a were highlighted. We were As ffarmers, we all ll seem to couple of nurses at a little A told to call if we have any after 1 in the afternoon. Still questions or concerns. All a little out of it, he was ram- wait until we cannot stand of the important informabling on, talking nonsense the pain any longer before we tion is tucked in a folder and was going in and out of for quick and easy access. sleep. By 3 p.m., the doctor seek out medical attention. Duane will just need time to visited again, and the anesheal and recover to ďƒžnally thesiologist came by too. be pain-free. Nurses and therapists kept a close eye on him, anticiTina Hinchley, her husband, Duane, and their pating when he was going to be getting up for a walk. daughters, Anna and Catherine, milk 240 registered I was amazed at how quickly they all got him up Holsteins with robots. They also farm 2,300 acres of and going. Duane did a lap with his walker around crops near Cambridge, Wisconsin. They have been the nurse’s station at 7 p.m. and again at 9. My orders hosting farm tours for over 20 years.
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Safety Doesn’t Happen by Accident
Beef Options for Dairies to Diversify, Maximize proďŹ ts
MN Milk Resolutions and Policy Opportunities in 2021
A Holistic Approach to Dairy Conservation
Kevin Wulf
Andrew Swanson
Lucas Sjostrom & Daryn McBeth
Nathan Hylla
Engaging Employees: We can do it!
Dairy Category Analysis
Financial Knowledge your Banker Wants You to Know
Why The Nature Conservancy Loves Farmers
Jorge Delgado
Megan Sheets
Gary Sipiorski
Leif Fixen
Making the Most out of your Farm Advisory Team
Oddball Organisms
Dairy 2021 Outlook
Deep Dive on Dairy Data from Discovery Farms
Leah Bischof
Matt Boyle
Marin Bozic
Tim Radatz
Bend But Don’t Break: Exploring Resiliency
Udder Dissection
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Mario Solis Flores
Michael Swanson
Amos Smith
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Dairy Star • Saturday, December 26, 2020 • Page 27
A Healthy Farm Needs A Healthy Farmer
Can Lower Milk Yield lead to Higher ProďŹ t per Cow?
The 2021 Landscape in Washington, DC
The Value of Collaboration for Sustainable Agriculture
Emily Krekelberg
Joleen Hadrich
Paul Bleiberg
Ryan Whisnant
Mental Resiliency
Changing the Game with Dairy Analytics
Farm Bureau Priorities for Dairy Industry Reform
Net Zero Initiative
Dennis Hoiberg
Jeffrey Bewley
John Newton
Jim Wallace & Karen Scanlon
Sleep: The Fuel of Your Resilience
Is My Dairy Business Competitive? Actions that Drive ProďŹ t
Building a Vaccine Protocol
Got Manure? Cover it Up and Take Credit
Joe Armstrong
Melissa Wilson
February 18/19
February 25/26
Dennis Hoiberg
Matt Lange & Jon Zander
Page 28 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 26, 2020
A visit from Santa Finger Family Farm provides extra incentive for working Christmas Day By Stacey Smart
stacey.s@dairystar.com
PESHTIGO, Wis. – For their employees who have to work on Christmas Day, Phil and Laura Finger like to make Dec. 25 extra special. All employees receive Christmas gifts, but those coming in that day to milk and feed cows nd additional presents from Santa Claus himself who leaves gifts underneath the barn tree on Christmas Eve. A tradition that began 10 years ago, Christmas workers at Finger Fam-
ily Farm love nding a Teddy Bear and candy or other stocking stuffers, like ear buds, with their name on it. “A lot of our employees aren’t always close to home, and some are estranged from their families,” Laura said. “Santa is such a fun part of the season, and this is a way to make Christmas feel like home for them.” The Fingers and their children – Alana, 19, PJ, 11, Alisa, 10, and Alivia, 7 – get chores done on Christmas with help from six of their 22 employees. The Fingers milk 500 cows and farm 2,000 acres near Peshtigo. They raise their youngstock and also have an egg route, making home deliveries of eggs produced by their layer hens. Phil is the fth generation on his family’s farm that he and Laura run together. “We’re both out there
farming every day, and all four of our children are involved as well,” Laura said. Alana attends Fox Valley Technical College and is doing an internship on a dairy farm in the Oshkosh area. Cows are milked three times a day at Finger Family Farm, which has a rolling herd average of 31,306 pounds of milk, 4.3% butterfat and 3.3% protein with a 70,000 somatic cell count. The Fingers were this year’s winner of the Wisconsin Outstanding Young Farmer award and are semi-nalists in the National Outstanding Young Farmers award program. “It was never our dream to win an award for farming,” Laura said. “This award isn’t strictly based on production numbers or nances, but also on the amount of growth
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Presents for employees are found under the tree Christmas Day at the Finger Family Farm near PeshƟgo, Wisconsin. Phil and Laura Finger started the tradiƟon 10 years ago.
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Kyle Rivet (leŌ) and Phil Finger hold up a special door prize won by Rivet at the Fingers’ 2019 employee Christmas party. The Fingers milk 500 cows and farm 2,000 acres near PeshƟgo, Wisconsin. the candidates have displayed over their farming career. For example, we aren’t the highest producing herd nor are we the most nancially solvent farm around but considering that we came from a farm that was in trouble and grew to where we are made the judges take notice.” The Fingers like to make every day at Finger Family Farm fun and positive for their employees, especially during Christmas. In addition to individual gifts, employees also receive door prizes given out during the Fingers’ annual Christmas party. “We’ve been hosting this party forever, and it’s always been a really big hit,” Laura said. “We always make a meal and provide Christmas goodies. We also play darts and bag toss, and we make sure every
employee walks away with a great door prize. We give out everything from gift cards to laundry detergent.” Last year, Phil was featured on the cover of the Genex magazine, and the Fingers rafed off an autographed copy which ended up being one of the most sought-after prizes. Candy, socks, hats, gloves, sweatshirts, jackets and more are among the selection of door prizes. “Everybody comes to the party,” Laura said. “We used to have it at a restaurant or pizza place but having it on the farm seems to work the best. Everyone appears the most comfortable here.” This year’s Christmas party has been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, the Fingers are giving a gift bag to everyone they Turn to FINGERS | Page 29
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Employees of Finger Family Farm enjoy a Christmas party held at the farm in 2019. The party included a homemade meal, games and door prizes. employ lled with Finger Family Farm T-shirts, sweatshirts, Christmas candy and gift cards. A Christmas tree, lighted garland and a decorated farm sign help make the dairy festive for the holidays. Employees love the visit from Santa, which is often revealed on social media as the highlight of their day. Creating a work environment that people enjoy coming to and treating employees like family is a year-round endeavor for the Fingers. Employee barbecues, baseball games and a homerun derby as well as McDonald’s treats on weekends are regular activities on
the farm, which employs a lot of high school students. Phil has also been known to make chocolate chip cookies and pancakes for the team. “If employees meet certain goals and avoid making mistakes, Phil will make breakfast for everyone,” Laura said. Sharing the magic of the holidays with those who work for them is something the Fingers love doing. Being remembered on Christmas as part of the farm’s surprise visit from Santa has proven to be a thoughtful gesture employees never forget.
End-of-year tax considerations As 2020 approaches an end, cash basis farmers may need to seek trusted advice for year-end considerations. Various nancial factors contributed to a year that saw many challenges including a world-wide pandemic. Farmers have several tools available to assist with managing their tax liability, however some of these tools need to be taken advantage of prior to December 31, 2020. What did 2020 bring that created a need for additional tax planning? Net farm income (a broad measure of prots) in the United States is forecasted to increase 22.7 percent ($19.0 billion) to $102.7 billion in 2020, according to USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) (https://www.ers.usda. gov/topics/farm-economy/farm-sectorincome-finances/farm-sector-incomeforecast/). If adjusted for ination, net farm income in 2020 would be 25.4 percent below its peak in 2013 ($137.6 billion), but still 13.8 percent above 2000-2019 average ($90.2 billion). The projected increase in net farm income is despite forecasted declines of cash receipts (income) for all commodities of 3.3 percent ($12.3 billion) to $358.3 billion in 2020. Direct government farm payments – which include Federal farm program payments paid directly to farmers – are expected to be the signicant difference in 2020 and are forecasted to increase $14.7 billion (65.7 percent) to $37.2 billion. These unexpected payments may have assisted farmers in weathering 2020 a little better than anticipated. Proper
management of this income bunching is important to maximize its benet when tax planning. Many of the government program payments must be included in a farmer’s gross income in the year that it was received. These payments were issued as a result of a market disruption or price loss and will be taxed as ordinary income. In addition, this income will be subject to self-employment tax for farmers. Farmers may receive crop insurance payments in 2020 as a result of crop damage, drought, freeze, or other crop losses (destruction of crops). In most cases, a farmer must report crop insurance proceeds in the year received. Under some circumstances, the crop payment may be deferred to the following year’s income if a farmer typically sells the crop the year following its harvest. Avoiding income spikes and dips prevents overall income from being taxed at unnecessarily high tax rates. Consult with a trusted tax professional to discuss if one of these options may work best for your farm business: prepay farm inputs, income averaging, retirement account contributions, gift commodities to charity, timing purchase or sale of assets, managing deprecation of assets. Farmers can also reference end of year considerations and tax planning information on UW-Madison Division of Extension’s Farm Management website at https://farms.extension.wisc. edu/.
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“My Favorite Thingsâ€? Page 30 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 26, 2020
‘My Favorite Things’ is a song written by the incredible duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein for “The Sound of Music�. I’m sure there are many covers of this tune, on countless Christmas albums, though Julie Andrews did a spectacular job for the movie. It is Kenny Rogers’ voice that started singing to me a few weeks ago, as I was thinking about all the wonderful things I have in my life. That spark, of course, led to writing this parody. I hope you all have a Christmas where you can shine a bright light (or two) on all of the ‘favorite things’ in your lives. Breakfast with Grandpa on crisp Sunday mornings Friends that drop by without giving a warning Full-feathered chickens with black speckled wings These are a few of my favorite things
Freshly baked bread smothered with freezer jelly Wood stoves and whole cloves and laughs from your belly Full jars that seal with the loudest of pings These are a few of my favorite things Kids in warm snowpants with rosy red faces Snowballs that ďƒ&#x;y from the darndest of places Well-worn tea kettle that when hot it sings These are a few of my favorite things When the cow kicks When the wind stings When I’m feeling mad I simply remember my favorite things And then I don’t feel so bad
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Busy bird feeders and thick homemade noodles Cursive handwriting and little kid doodles Peony petals where dewdrops can cling These are a few of my favorite things Fresh laundered blankets with Gramma quilt patches Pen gates that shut without jiggling latches Finding a bird’s nest made up with old strings These are a few of my favorite things
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When the cow kicks When the wind stings When I’m feeling mad I simply remember my favorite things And then I don’t feel so bad 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.
Agricultural industry group seeks nominees for safety awards
Do you know a person or organization who is a leader in agricultural safety, either through training, collaboration, promotion, education or research? The Agricultural Safety and Health Council of America (ASHCA) seeks nominations for 10 categories of safety awards to be presented March 22-24, 2021, during the virtual North American Agricultural Safety Summit. Honorees will receive complementary registration to the Summit and one recipient will receive the WCF “Collaboration in Research to Practiceâ€? award and $2,500 cash prize. Nomination deadline is Jan. 6, 2021. Go to www.ashca.org for the nomination form and additional information on the nomination and selection process. “We established these safety awards to highlight effective and efďƒžcient practices that enhance worker safety within agriculture,â€? said Jess McCluer, board chair of ASHCA, and vice president of safety and regulatory affairs at the National Grain and Feed Association. “The awardees represent individuals and organizations having a positive impact on the culture of safety in agriculture.â€? Last year’s honorees were drawn from producer groups, farm worker groups, government, academia and agribusiness.
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Birds, birds, go away Birds are drawn to livestock operations’ continuous supply of available fresh feed. They feed on forage bunkers, piles, and feedbunks, consuming the energydense components of the feedstuffs or ration, which leads to increased Something to Ruminate On feed costs. Birds also increase disease risk by contaminating livestock feed. The most common invasive bird migrating to dairy farms in the winter is the European starling. Adult starlings are about 8.5 inches in length and weigh 3.2 ounces. Like most By Barry Visser other birds, starlings consume about half Nutritionist their bodyweight in grain daily. It is not unusual for ďƒ&#x;ocks numbering in the tens of thousands to migrate to a farm, leading to feed consumption well above 1,000 pounds per day. Starlings consume the high-dollar feed ingredients, such as grains and concentrates. Estimates of bird damage on commercial dairies in Wisconsin, New York and Pennsylvania suggest that starling damage resulted in $64,000 of feed loss annually per farm when the bird population reached 10,000 birds or more per day. The value of feeds consumed by birds is only part of the economic losses incurred on a dairy. Dairy nutritionists formulate rations to optimize animal performance and health. This loss of nutrients consumed by birds can greatly impact the nutrients available to cattle, directly impacting animal performance and a producer’s bottom line. In 2018, Colorado researchers reported an average of 5.5% reduction in dietary net energy levels in commercial TMRs consumed by starlings compared to those with no bird presence. Birds have been implicated in the transmission of pathogens due to their close contact with animals. The most common way pathogens are spread from birds to livestock is the excretion of feces into cattle feed and water sources. Starlings can ďƒ&#x;y with speeds up to 45 mph and travel 20 to 30 miles each day between roosting and feeding sites, thus transporting pathogens between livestock facilities. The presence of high-density bird ďƒ&#x;ocks at livestock facilities creates conditions ideal for the transmission of pathogens between birds and cattle. Pigeons can acquire and recirculate pathogens, including Salmonella, on dairy farms. Starlings may contribute to pathogen transmission by physically moving cattle feces containing Salmonella, E. coli or other pathogens into feed and water troughs, thereby disseminating pathogens throughout livestock facilities. Solutions to control bird populations by lethal methods are becoming more limited. The most common lethal method of controlling starling populations on farm is by using a compound called DRC-1339, which is the only toxin for lethal bird control currently registered by the EPA. However, this method has been under scrutiny due to the slow death of affected birds and the effects it can have on non-target species that may consume it, such as songbirds. Most of the species of birds that are nuisances on farms (sparrows, pigeons and starlings) are not protected under federal law. Thus, shooting and trapping are available methods to help control bird populations. However, both can be time-consuming and have safety concerns. The best defense is to make the farm less inviting and deter birds from coming in the ďƒžrst place. Clean up waste feed from outside and around bunkers so it’s not as easily accessible to birds. Seal any holes or
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gaps birds may use to gain access to buildings where pyrotechnics and others have been used extensively food is plentiful. on farms. However, if not used at the right time of the Strategies that deter perching in rafters or inside year, effectiveness drops dramatically, and they are buildings can be used as well. Install netting in open not long-term solutions. These devices also require a spaces to block access to focus on safety. the rafters. The use of a For now, the best Harassment d devices i are simple mechanical device, H defense against birds is to such as sharp wire or barbs make sure food and water is on rafters, or chemical another way to deter birds not easily accessible to them. agents that make roosting from staying on a farm for an This takes a combination of sites sticky or slippery, are cleaning, maintenance and common practices used to extended period. due diligence to remove deter birds from roosting opportunities for our in barns. However, each of feathered foes to make a these methods can take time and money to maintain home on the farm. When dairy producers successfully over long periods of time. prevent a bird invasion, they have protected the health Harassment devices are another way to deter of their cattle and the dairy’s bottom line. birds from staying on a farm for an extended period. Barry Visser is a nutritionist for Vita Plus. Propane exploders, hawk kites, ultrasonic sounds,
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Wishing you enough Page 32 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 26, 2020
I have celebrated over 50 Christmas mornings ripping into presents and squealing with delight at the “best gift ever.” I remember ear notching pages in the Sear’s catalog to mark my Christmas wishes. With all the excitement of the holidays as a kid, I can only recall a handful of gifts. The year our grandparents went overboard and gave my siblings and me a complete metal kitchen play set. The year I was a teenager and didn’t want anything, my parents wisely gave me a book by Pearl S. Buck. Now I think I am ready to read “The Good Earth.” The best Christmas present I received from my parents wasn’t something they bought in the store. The year I started to question the authenticity of Santa, only to be given the gift of a surprise visit by the good ol’ boy himself at our house. I don’t remember what presents he pulled out of his sack that night, but I do remember it was OK to believe for another year.
What sticks out for me during the holidays is the moments and memories shared with family and friends. I remember hanging ornaments handed down through the generations on a tree as regal as the Rockefeller Christmas tree in New York or as simple as a Charlie Brown tree plucked from a road ditch. Grade school art projects of popsicle stick frames, clothespin reindeer and colorful paper chains graced the branches. I remember sneaking downstairs with my brother to take a peek at what was wrapped under the tree. His pocket knife was sure handy at slicing the scotch tape. The Christmas church programs decked out in our white choir robes and red collars trying to make us look and sound like a choir of angels. The presents are fun, but it is just stuff that can be broken, lost or lose its sparkle over time. But memories of the moments, the feelings, the joy and the love will last a lifetime. My Christmas wish list this year is very
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simple. I want to be around the dining room table with my family laughing, sharing and loving one another. I want to treasure the moments of enough. “I Wish You Enough” is a story/poem Alice forwarded to me which hit a chord with me Just Thinking Out Loud this holiday season. I discovered it was written by Bob Perks. He writes that he overheard a mother and daughter saying their goodbyes in the airport. Standing by the security gate, they hugged and the mother said: “I love and I wish you enough.” The daughter replied, “Mom, our life together has been By Natalie Schmitt more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. Columnist I wish you enough, too, Mom.” They kissed and the daughter walked down the boarding gate. The mother walked over to the window where Bob was sitting. Standing there, he could see she wanted and needed to cry. Trying to give her space, he noticed she welcomed his concern. “Did you ever say goodbye to someone knowing it would be forever? she asked. Yes, he had but why was this a forever goodbye? “I’m old and she lives so far away,” she said. “I have challenges ahead and the reality is the next trip back will be for my funeral.” Bob paused, “I heard you say, ‘I wish you enough.’ What does that mean?” The woman smiled as she remembered the moment. “That’s a wish that has been handed down for generations in my family.” She paused and looked up as if trying to remember the moment in detail and she smiled even more. “When we said, ‘I wish you enough,’ we were wanting the other person to have a life lled with just enough good things to sustain them.” Then turning toward Bob, she shared the blessing from memory. “I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright. I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more. I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive. I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger. I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting. I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess. I wish you enough hellos to get you through the nal good-bye.” She then began to cry and walked away. Parks said it takes a minute to nd a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them and an entire life to forget them. I don’t think he ever forgot the woman he met in the airport saying her nal goodbyes. This story has lingered in my mind since Alice forwarded it to me. I’ve caught myself adding to this special wish list. Here are my wishes for you. I wish you enough dry days to dance in the rain. I wish you enough bull calves to rejoice when a special heifer arrives. I wish you enough cold days to welcome a heat wave of above zero. I wish you enough subtle sunrises to start your day off with hope. I wish you enough breathtaking sunsets to pause and give thanks for the day and all our blessings. We have said our fair share of goodbyes this year to family, neighbors and cows, but we have also welcomed new babies and dairy friends into our extended family. May we create enough moments in 2021 to make it a memorable year. Natalie, Mark and his brother Al, farm together near Rice, Minn. They milk 100 registered Holsteins under the RALMA prex. Their four children are grown up and all involved in agriculture with hopes of someone returning to the farm. For questions or comments, please e-mail Natalie at mnschmitt@jetup.net
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Treats for your feet
Normally, at this time of the year, the only treats I’m thinking about and writing about are treats you can eat. I usually spend weeks thinking about which cookies and candies I should make each year, selecting from tried-and-true favorites and searching for a few new treats to try. Over the years, I’ve shared a number of cookie-baking and candy-making stories through columns and blog posts. This year for Christmas, though, I’m sharing some treats for your feet. I frequently see requests from other dairy farmers for Dairy Good Life footwear recommendations. And for good reason. When you spend all day on your feet, working in a variety of conditions, you need good boots. The research behind these thoughts and recommendations started nearly two years ago. A friend recommended a book by a biomechanist about how people can maintain optimal movement as they age. I don’t think she was implying that I’m old (ouch!), but that I should start thinking about preserving joint function now. I started reading the book, and after the chapter on feet, started thinking a whole lot differently about the 30 different joints in each of my feet. Then I started making some changes to how I By Sadie Frericks treat my feet. It was pretty clear from the self-assessColumnist ment in the book that, mobility-wise, my feet had a lot of room for improvement. I’m sure the damage came from years of doing chores in muck boots and otherwise squeezing my feet into too-tight shoes. Two years later, my feet move a whole lot better and l ffrom feel a whole lot better. Even IIt was pretty clear more so, my knees, hips and the self-assessment in the lower back feel better, because how our feet move affects how book that, mobility-wise, my everything else up the chain feet had a lot of room for moves. p If your feet could use a little improvement. TLC, here’s my list of treats for your feet: – After I ditched my muck boots, I tried several different hiking boots and shoes in the barn. For some chores, they were great; for others, I ended up with wet toes more than I cared. (I don’t like wearing rubber overboots over my shoes; they don’t have enough traction.) I finally found a brand that’s both foot-friendly and barn-worthy: Altra Lone Peak RSM shoes and boots. All Altra shoes/boots are zero-drop (meaning no raised heel), foot-shaped (meaning roomy toe box), and light weight. Altra designed Lone Peaks for trail running and hiking, so they have great support and traction. Both the shoes and boots are available in an RSM version, which are made with high-tech waterproof material. RSM stands for rain, snow, and mud; I can attest that the M can also stand for manure. These shoes and boots keep everything out. I wear the Lone Peak RSM shoes for spring and fall. I wear Lone Peak RSM boots for winter. And I have a pair of the non-waterproof Lone Peak shoes for summer. There’s a great aftermarket for Altra shoes, so I bought all of my Lone Peaks pre-owned through eBay and REI. If I were going to buy one pair brand new, I’d buy the Lone Peak RSM boots. A brand-new pair costs about the same as a pair of high-end rubber chore boots, but they’re way more comfortable. – Whether you’re wearing hiking boots or something else, good wool socks from People Socks will help keep your feet warm in the winter. I’ve been wearing the same set of People Socks for four years now. They are an investment that lasts. People Socks are made in America from merino wool, are about half the price of other merino wool socks, and are designed with toe, arch, and heel support. – As much as I love my hiking boots for barn chores, there are times when I need boots that are a bit taller. I keep a pair of flimsy, rubber rain boots in the barn for those times. I love their flexibility, but they lack cushioning and warmth. Little Hotties Thermal Insoles are the perfect remedy. These insoles are made with wool, felt, and a layer of space-age polymers that reflect heat back into your feet. Put a pair in your boots and it feels like your feet have their own personal heaters. Technology can seem magical at times. – When I started rehabbing my feet, the first step was manually mobilizing the joints. The best way to do this is to roll a small ball around under your entire foot while sitting or standing. I massage my feet this way, usually in the morning to help them wake up. You can use a lacrosse ball or golf ball. My favorite, though, is a nubby plastic dryer ball. The little nubs really activate feet and help release foot joints. I also have a Naboso Neuro Ball on my Christmas list; I’ll let you know if it lives up to its promise of providing feet with extra sensory stimulation. Whether you’re thinking about treats you can eat or treats for your feet this holiday season, I hope you take a little time to put your feet up and enjoy the merriment of Christmas.
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Dairy Star • Saturday, December 26, 2020 • Page 33
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Page 34 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 26, 2020
Capturing the world around her
Brey grabs life by the lens By Danielle Nauman danielle.n@dairystar.com
GREENWOOD, Wis. – A Christmas gift from her husband 15 years ago kick-started Bev Brey’s hobby which turned into a passion. That gift of a Canon 20D camera has allowed her to see the world from a new perspective. “With that camera, I started captur-
ing sports, school and 4-H events of my kids and my friends’ kids,” Brey said. “Who knew it would re such a passion? Sports photography became my rst true love on my journey in photography.” Brey, along with her husband Mark, is a second-generation dairy farmer. The couple has been in the industry for 29 years, milking 80 cows at City Echo Dairy on Main Street in Greenwood. The Breys raised their children – Jesse, Ethan and Briana – on the farm. They crop 600 acres of owned and rented land, growing alfalfa, corn, soybean and small grains. They also operate a
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Bev Brey’s photography journey began 15 years ago as a hobby, with the giŌ of a camera from her husband. Brey farms with her husband, Mark, and their children on their 80-cow dairy near Greenwood, Wisconsin.
PHOTO COURTESY OF BEV BREY
This photograph was taken by Bev Brey of a barn on Rock Creek Road in Clark County, Wisconsin. The photo is an all-Ɵme favorite of Brey’s.
custom combining business and have 14 feeder pigs. “My photos capture my life in rural Wisconsin, my life as a mom, wife, grandma and dairy farmer,” Brey said. “I can capture it all in the form of macro, landscape, long exposure; I love using creative lenses and now through
drone photography, which I have started experimenting with.” Since she rst picked up her camera, Brey has had an afnity for the Canon brand. She shoots with a 5D3 and an R6 mirrorless, which is an asTurn to BREY | Page 35
Dairy Star • Saturday, December 26, 2020 • Page 35
ConƟnued from BREY | Page 34
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PHOTO COURTESY OF BEV BREY
Bev Brey took this photo of her husband combining soybeans for a neighbor using a drone. It was featured in last year’s Culture and Agriculture Show at New Visions Art Gallery in Marsheld, Wisconsin. pect of photography she is starting to explore. Besides her cameras, Brey relies on lenses including a 16-35mm wide lens, a 70-200 telephoto zoom and a macro lens, as well as the Lensbaby creative lenses. In addition to the cameras and lenses, Brey uses a tripod and a cable release. “(The Lensbaby lenses) allow me to choose an area of the focus and the rest of the photo is captured in a creamy bokeh,” Brey said. “It allows me to capture mood, light, motion; all the things I need to tell the story perfectly. Using this type of lens has allowed me to embrace the imperfections. As David Allen Harvey says, ‘Don’t shoot what it looks like, shoot what it feels like.’” While composing photos takes an artistic eye, capturing them exactly the way Brey wants requires some technical savvy, and Brey has invested time
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in learning the ner points of photography. “I am mainly self-taught; I just pick up the camera and shoot,” she said. “I’ve spent many hours reading and interacting on forums. I belong to the Eau Claire Photography Club and have attended several of their training sessions on various subjects.” Brey nds that networking and collaborating with fellow shutterbugs is a good way to share knowledge. She seeks seminars, including a recent three-day online conference sponsored by Lensbaby, and is planning to take part in a Bryan Hansel seminar this coming spring. What draws Brey to photography is the ability to document the things that make up her life.
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Page 36 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 26, 2020
Women In Dairy Cassie Zirbel Greenleaf, Wisconsin Brown County 130 cows
Family: My husband, Jeff, and I have three children – Josh, 13, Audrey, 11, and Harper, 9. Tell us about your farm. I milk 130 cows and raise all of my youngstock. I sell steers at around 500 pounds and also raise a few to nishing and sell locally. I also raise about 20 pigs in the summer and sell them in the fall as quarters and halves. My farm is a little unique as I buy a complete TMR from my husband’s farm. He farms with his family on a larger scale than me. What is the busiest time of day for you? I would say the busiest time of the day is in the mornings during the school year. Trying to get all of my chores done and get the kids off to school can be a challenge, although as they get older, it gets easier. a work ethic is denitely something I enjoy about dairy farming. The people in the industry, especially my neighbors, are some of the best people you will ever meet. It is neat to see the industry come together when there is a tragedy on a farm. There is never a shortage of help to get them back on their feet.
When you get a spare moment, what do you do? I enjoy watching the Packers, bowling, boating, deer hunting, playing cards with friends and helping my kids with their 4-H projects. Tell us about your most memorable experience working on the farm. I had a cow that was calving, and the calf was coming backward. I struggled to get it out, and when I nally did, it was barely alive. I was desperate to get it to breathe, and all my tricks were not working. So not really knowing what I was doing, I gave it mouth to mouth. Much to my amazement, it actually worked. It denitely was a proud moment for me.
How do you stay connected with others in the industry? Facebook groups are a nice way to stay educated and connected to people in the industry. Reading articles from various magazines is also helpful. Who is someone in the industry who has inspired you? I can’t say just one person has inspired me in the industry. I have had many positive people in my life, including relatives, friends, neighbors and past employers. I have witnessed through all of these people how hard work and dedication pays off.
What have you enjoyed most about dairy farming or your tie to the dairy industry? Having my kids be able to help me on the farm and develop
If you could give a tour of your farm to a prominent woman in today’s society, who would it be? Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. I would like her to see rsthand how important farming is to all the hardworking families and employees who operate these farms. I would hope she would take time to educate herself on the technology of farming and how it has become much more sustainable and efcient, so when she makes comments in Congress she actually knows what she is talking about. What is the best vacation you have ever taken? In March 2017, we took a whole family vacation to Florida and rented a condo on the beach. It was fun to hang out with the kids and just relax for a week.
FARM INFORMATION STATION Joe Gill • Farm Director
SERVING CENTRAL MINNESOTA FOR OVER 50 YEARS
What are some words you like to live by? Live life with integrity. Work hard. Have fun.
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Dairy Star • Saturday, December 26, 2020 • Page 37
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PHOTO COURTESY OF BEV BREY
Bev Brey captured this photo of one of the cows on her family’s farm near Greenwood, Wisconsin. She calls this photograph “Miss Nosey.� “My photos capture my surroundings, my mood, my emotions and my life,� Brey said. “While it might have been my goal at the beginning of this journey, perfection is not my goal now. Instead my goal is to share my soul and my life.� Brey said her favorite subject matter has become her grandchildren, but on occasion, she strays from her typical subjects to capture lifestyle photos for people. She volunteers to take photo-
“(Photography) is how I renew myself, feed my soul and stay grounded. I love what I create.� BEV BREY, PHOTOGRAPHER
graphs of families that stay at the Ronald McDonald House in Marshďƒželd. “Taking photos at the Ronald McDonald House is a project that is near and dear to my heart, as we have had need of those services ourselves,â€? Brey said. “It is a way for me to pay it forward.â€? Brey takes pride in her work and has had two photographs selected for the Culture and Agriculture Exhibit at the New Visions Art Gallery in the
Marshďƒželd Clinic. The exhibit is a juried art show, with submissions being accepted or denied by a panel of judges. This year marks the third year that Brey has had her work accepted for the exhibit. While many people may look to turn their hobbies into a career, Brey wants to keep her photography as a hobby. “I want to keep it as my way to stay curious and to cultivate my creative side,â€? Brey said. “It is how I renew myself, feed my soul and stay grounded. I love what I create. I am very thankful and humbled when people feel what I have captured and reach out to me to purchase prints, Christmas and note cards, or sports collages I have created.â€? Growing her creativity is one of the aspects Brey enjoys about pursuing photography as an art. Types of shots that are on her to-do list include working with long-exposure sky and water shots, shooting the Northern Lights, using a lens ball, working with a technique known as steel wool ďƒžre spinning and continuing to hone her proďƒžciency with using creative lenses. “I literally enjoy everything about photography,â€? Brey said. “The constant learning, the technical aspect, the creative freedom, the outlet it offers and of course, sharing my photos. It is a journey, and I love it.â€?
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Control the controllables Page 38 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 26, 2020
Wouldn’t it be great if you had a calf bedding vary by season. In warmer crystal ball? One that could accurately weather, we want calves to remain cool forecast the weather, predict milk and dry, while in cooler temperatures, prices, conrm when a heifer is in heat we want to help decrease the incidence or reveal which calf is of cold stress. Sand Calf Chronicles going to scour. How much is being used more money would you pay to frequently as a bedding be perfectly clairvoyant? in summer months as it The possibilities are keeps calves cool and endless, but the reality is dry. Whereas straw is we cannot control all the preferable in winter so variables. Fortunately, that calves can nestle into there are simple steps it and reserve body heat. you can take to optimize To check the dampness of calf health. Let’s focus on bedding, try the knee test, what we can control. which involves kneeling – Feed quality on the bedding for about colostrum to your calves a minute. If you stand up By Ellen Cushing as soon as possible. and your knees are wet Columnist Getting colostrum into or cold, then there is not calves within the rst enough dry bedding. You six hours of birth is crucial to calf should also be able to tell by manure health and future performance. Calves buildup or bedding sticking to a calf’s need colostrum antibodies in order knees. to prevent disease. Additionally, – Keep milk or milk replacer temps colostrum provides calves a high- as consistent as possible. The optimal protein, high-energy and vitamin-rich temperature for feeding milk replacer rst meal. The timing of colostrum is is 101-105 degrees. A calf’s body important because with each passing temperature is right around 102 degrees hour, the absorption rate of colostrum and feeding at that temperature means antibodies decreases. Along with she does not have to use energy to warm timing, colostrum quality is also critical. up the milk. This goal gets trickier Many farmers use a refractometer to in cold climates during winter time. determine what level of colostrum they To help ensure the right temperature, will feed to calves and what their cutoff some farmers place bottles in a pail is for rst colostrum feeding versus of warm water and feed a maximum the second. As far as volume, I refer to of four calves at a time. Calves thrive the University of Wisconsin-Madison on consistency, so changes in feeding School of Veterinary Medicine’s Dr. temperatures can cause digestive Sheila McGuirk’s recommendation upsets and even trigger gut issues like to feed at least 3 quarts of colostrum clostridials. In order to decrease the within four hours of birth (4 quarts if likelihood of digestive upsets, it is tubing colostrum). important to keep feed temperatures – Make sure calves have plenty of and schedules as consistent as possible. clean bedding. Recommendations for
SAND RECOVERY
SOLIDS SEPARATION
– Use guaranteed antibodies for scours prevention. Calves are born with an immature immune system, and they do not develop their own antibodies for weeks after they hit the ground. As discussed earlier, colostrum antibodies are vital to preventing diseases, such as E. coli, coronavirus and rotavirus. However, the quality of maternal colostrum is highly variable when it comes to these specic antibodies, leaving a newborn calf with inadequate protection. For years, many farmers have used cow vaccinations hoping to increase antibodies through colostrum to the calf. Unfortunately, implementing a sound vaccine program has many challenges and calves are still dying from scours despite widespread vaccination use. Today, more and more doctors and researchers are using antibodies to combat a wide variety of human diseases. This technology is also available to the livestock industry. During a recent immunology symposium, Dr. Chris Chase, Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences at South Dakota State University, highlighted the use of passive polyclonal antibodies. According to Chase, these antibodies protect against both bacterial and viral scours. He said: With vaccines, there are too many outside factors, making a 100% immunization response rate biologically impossible. But with an antibody product, farmers know exactly what they are getting – a known and proven level of protection against scours. – Practice good sanitation protocols. Sanitation is key when it comes to decreasing bacteria loads, especially on equipment that has a clear
FLUSH WATER SYSTEMS
route to a calf’s gut, including bottles, nipples, buckets, tubers, etc. The rst step is to clean off manure and dirt that you can see. Next, it is important to properly sanitize these items in order to get rid of the organisms you cannot see. In an article in Bovine Veterinarian, Dr. Donald Sockett from the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory recommends these steps: – Rinse equipment with lukewarm water. – Soak with hot water, at least 140 degrees F that contains a chlorinated alkaline detergent with a pH of 11-12. – Vigorously wash calf feeding equipment with a brush for 1-2 minutes. – Rinse with cold water and then rinse again using an acidic solution with a pH of 2-3. – Allow calf feeding equipment to fully dry (do not stack pails; use a drying rack). – Sanitize both the inside and outside of calf feeding equipment two hours or less before use. I encourage you to work with your veterinarian, nutritionist and other consultants to analyze your calf management program. Determine how well you are doing on the steps above and improve as needed. The key is to consistently control the controllables. Do that, and you will not need to rely on special fortune-telling powers. Ellen is the First Defense regional sales and marketing manager for Wisconsin and Minnesota. She’s a problem solver who loves walking calf hutches and diagnosing protocol drift. A great day is a day spent helping dairy and beef farmers keep their baby calves healthy! Ellen can be reached at ecushing@immucell.com.
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Dairy Star • Saturday, December 26, 2020 • Page 39
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Destinee Vesbach, holding Steelie, along with her husband, Phillip, holding Sterling Flat Rock Ranch Viroqua, Wisconsin Vernon County 28 cows How did you get into farming? It was more of a snowball effect of things to get me where I am now. While I always had a love for cows and animals, things really started while I was in college. I was studying at the University of WisconsinPlatteville when I met my husband. I was studying dairy science and agribusiness, and milking for a larger dairy outside of Fennimore, Double D. When I had graduated, I moved to Vernon County, got married and started helping my father-in-law with his herd and random chores around the outside job I had. After my husband and I got married, my father-in-law was switching quite a few cows at the time. We had bought a farm that needed work. With my husband working on the road, we decided it was best for me to stay home with the future children. We ended up xing up our barn, adding on and taking my fatherin-law’s switch cows. We have grown and been in farming since. What are your thoughts and concerns about the dairy industry for the next year? I do not know what to expect. We take things day by day and will probably continue to do things that way. As I hope things get better, part of me does not think markets will be amazing again for a while. I pray the programs we have do not get taken away because they do help farmers. What is the latest technology you implemented on your farm and the purpose for it? We have not added a lot of technology to our farm. But that is what has worked for us, with me being alone for chores most of the time. We have added a pole shed and weaned calf barn this year. We were housing our machinery and
What do you enjoy most about dairy farming? I love my cows. No matter how hard the days can be, they are always there looking for a good scratch or to let you lean on them when needed. What advice would you give other dairy farmers? Don’t think you need to go big or fancy to be successful. You don’t always need the new fancy thing. Salesmen have jobs just like you do. They are out there to sell. You are out there to make sure you are doing best to make milk.
youngstock in different places. It got to be a lot of work to get everyone fed, moved around and things to the home farm when needed. We have only had both the pole shed and calf barn for a couple of months, but it has made a world of a difference when it comes to chores and making the farm go. Things have run a lot smoother. What is a management practice you changed in the past year that has beneted you? I changed our breeding protocols. The last two years, I was struggling to get everyone bred back in a timely manner and sticking in general. I didn’t have enough time to sit out in the pasture with the girls and watch for heat cycles. Patches didn’t work well in the past with our Jerseys. With help from our vet and regular herd checks, we have switched to an automatic CIDR program. So far it has helped tremendously getting everyone bred back in a timely manner. What cost-saving steps have you implemented during the low milk price? We have tried a couple of things; probably the biggest was that we did some feed changes. We found that switching companies and changing feeding programs helped us with staying on top of bills along with saving.
How do you retain a good working relationship with your employees? We are a family farm, so we have no outside employees. Once in a while, we will hire someone to milk for us for a night off. We are in a partnership with my husband’s family. Working with family can be great at times and hard at others. We have found that being straightforward and honest works the best. In the end, both farms have the same goal, to be the best farms we can be. Everyone accomplishes more when a team effort is put forth, whether that’s when it comes to getting things like crops done, herds milked and other livestock well managed. Tell us about a skill you possess that makes dairy farming easier for you. I am a total morning person and consistency is easy for me. I do best with a schedule and so do the cows. Making sure everyone is on the same page and all are fed and milked at the same time every day has always been easy for me. My husband is more the go-with-the-ow type and likes constant change. He tends to stay out of the barn more, and when he’s home, you nd him in elds or outside doing maintenance on the farm. This makes us work well together; we each have our own skills that help the farm.
What has been the best purchase you have ever made on your farm? We are in the process of getting our own loader tractor with a cab. I know that sounds small to a lot of places and crazy that we didn’t have one, but all our tractors have no cabs. And in the winter, hauling manure with a 1-year-old and 2-year-old was getting difcult. What has been your biggest accomplishment while dairy farming? The rst year I started milking, I told myself I was going to be at the top of the list for quality with our creamery. It’s been hard, but every year I have received a quality award from our creamery at our annual meeting. What are your plans for your dairy in the next year and ve years? My goal is to keep milking. The dairy industry is so uncertain. I want to keep my kids growing up the way they are now, farming. While I’d love to grow our facilities so we can keep our youngstock all on one farm, we will most likely need to buy more land. How do you or your family like to spend time when you are not doing chores? We love rodeo. My husband used to ride bulls, and we have quite a few horses. We like to ride as a family. The girls are starting to get into pee-wee rodeo events, and I have a mare I take places to run barrels around farming in the summer.
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Page 40 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 26, 2020
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