December 7, 2019 Dairy Star - Zone 1

The Great Christmas “GRAND” PRIZE

GIVEAWAY

See pages 24 and 25 of this section for details!

DAIRY ST R

December 7, 2019

“All dairy, all the time”™

Volume 21, No. 20

A stray voltage nightmare Nelsons settle lawsuit with electrical company after years of problems

By Krista Kuzma

krista.k@dairystar.com

SLEEPY EYE, Minn.

– Throughout the last nine years, Jill Nelson has had trouble sleeping because of a reoccurring nightmare of cows dying.

“There were times I would get up in the middle of the night to check the barn because the dream would be so real,” she said.

However, there were many times when Nelson felt like she was living the nightmare, although not as extreme, because the cows on her family’s farm suffered effects from stray voltage.

This summer, Nelson and her husband, Brian, agreed to a settlement out of court

RUTH KLOSSNER/DAIRY STAR

Jill Nelson and her husband, Brian (not pictured), have reached a seƩlement out of court aŌer suing the Brown County Rural Electrical AssociaƟon for stray voltage damage on their 150-cow dairy near Sleepy Eye, Minnesota.

after suing the Brown County Rural Electrical Association for damages to their herd from stray voltage on their 150-cow dairy, Olmar Farms, near Sleepy Eye. The couple suspected they had stray voltage in late 2008 in their previous milking parlor and barns, although a test from the power company showed they did not. Other than installing a blocker, the Nelsons did not invest further time and money to research possible stray voltage as they were in the planning stages for a new facility.

“We just gured the issue would go away once we built our new barn,” Nelson said.

In March of 2010, the Nelsons moved the herd into the new sand bedded, tunnel ventilated and insulated freestall barn. One quarter of the barn is the double-8 milking parlor. This facility had been tested negative for Turn to NELSONS | Page 6

Family is center point at Dockendorf Dairy Stearns County farm humbled to be staple in community

By Jennifer Coyne jenn@dairystar.com

JENNIFER COYNE/DAIRY STAR

The Dockendorfs – (from leŌ) Tyler, Lori and Steve – milk 155 cows in Stearns County near Watkins, Minnesota. The family was named the 2019 Stearns County Farm Family of the Year.

WATKINS, Minn. – Farming has not only given Steve and Lori Dockendorf a means of providing for their family but a way of life they would not trade for the world.

“When we think about dairy farming, it’s not a business but a lifestyle,” Lori said. “It’s taught our kids to be responsible, and care for the environment and cows.”

The Dockendorfs and their son, Tyler, milk 135 cows with two robots and 20 cows in the original tiestall barn on their farm near Watkins.

Steve and Lori’s mentality of farming responsibly for their animals, land and community – and showing their children to do the same – granted them the honor of Stearns County’s Farm Family of the Year. The award was presented at this year’s Farm Fest Aug. 8 in Redwood Falls.

“There are a lot of good farmers out there, so it was such an honor to be chosen,” Lori said. “We don’t consider us to be the best; we’re just trying to be responsible farmers.”

For more than 150 years, the Dockendorf family has strived to be stewards of the land they live on.

Steve’s great grandfather homesteaded the farm site, but Steve grew up at the neighboring farm while his great uncle farmed on the family’s land. Then, when Steve could, he returned to manage the property.

“The Dockendorfs have been on this land for 150 years even Turn to DOCKENDORFS | Page 5

Page 2 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 7, 2019

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 Jeff Weyer (Northern MN, East Central MN) 320-260-8505 (cell) jeff.w@dairystar.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 Ashley Curry (Northeast WI and Upper MI) 920-539-7268 • ashley.c@dairystar.com Deadlines The deadline for news and advertising in the Dairy Star is 5 p.m. Friday the week before publication.

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A glance at what’s inside With the way the dairy industry has been lately, there have been dairy farmers who have taken off-farm jobs or needed to disperse their herd and move into a different career. Although the idea can be scary, three former dairy farmers said their time on the farm gave them many skills that cannot be learned anywhere else.

Chris Smith, from Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, gave his perspective about how he transitioned from dairying to trucking while Todd Pollema shared how he and his wife sold their herd and he started working at the research farm at Central Lakes College in Staples, Minnesota. Mary Lou Graf, of Hokah, Minnesota, also talked about her jobs after farming. Read on pages 12-13 in ďƒžrst section about how they feel dairying gave them the advantage in their job interviews.

One dairy farmer made a big change in dairy farm scenery after selling his dairy and farm in Pittsville, Wisconsin, and moving to New Zealand to be a dairy farm manager. John Urban has been able to use his Wisconsin dairy experience to help him in this new venture, but there has been a learning curve to adjusting to farming in a new country. Read more about how Urban is dairying Down Under on pages 14-15 in second section.

Farm transition can be a big part of dairy farming, and knowing how to navigate the steps to do it are not always clear. To give more perspective about the topic, lawyers answered questions about transitioning a dairy farming in this issue’s “From our side of the fenceâ€? feature. Find their answers on pages 15-16 in ďƒžrst section.

While dairy farming keeps the Schatz family busy, they also squeeze in time to run a custom chopping business along with owning a restaurant in Cresco, Iowa. All three of these family businesses help dictate their daily schedule, and allows them to help each other out in each areas. Read more about the challenges along with the joys of juggling three enterprises on pages 3-4 in third section.

Crossbreeding was the topic of discussion at the recent I-29 Moo University dairy ďƒželd day in Viborg, South Dakota. While the day included dairy farmers talking about their experiences with crossbreeding, researchers from the University of Minnesota shared results from a 10-year crossbreeding study. Read more on pages 4-5 in second section about the results and of the study what farmers had to say about crossbreeding on their farms.

Christmas is almost here and so is our drawing for the Great Christmas Giveaway. Make sure to check out the information about the giveaway on pages 24-25 in ďƒžrst section to see where you can register and what you could win. Your time to register is quickly dwindling so make sure to get your name in for your chance to win!

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Dairy Star • Saturday, December 7, 2019 • Page 3

It’s all inside...

Columnists Ag Insider

Pages 8-9 First Section

Douglas

Gregory

Charles Mix

Page 22 Second Section

Moody

McCook Minnehaha

Hutchinson

Turner

Bon Yankton Homme

Murray

Rock

Nobles

ln

co

Lin

Clay

Lyon

O’Brien

Sioux

I-29 Moo University explores the effects of crossbreeding in dairy herds

Jackson

Osceola

Plymouth

Viborg

Monona

Ida

Sac

s

ta

on

ah

c Po

Kossuth

ry ome

t

on

m Fre

Page

Washington

Worth

Mitchell Howard

Hancock Cerro Gordo

t

old

mb

Hu

Floyd

Greene Guthrie

Bremer

Wright Franklin Butler

Boone

Dallas

Houston

Story

Polk

all

rsh

Ma

aw

as

ick

Ch

Black Hawk

Grundy un Webster Hamilton Hardin

Au

Pottawattamie Cass tg Mon

n Win

MN dairy receives settlement from electrical company after years of problems

Winona

Fillimore

Mower

lho

Ca

Crawford Carroll

Mills

go

eba

Palo Alto

e Buena Vista

Harrison Shelby

Second Section: Pages 4 - 5

Zone 1

n inso Emmet

Dick

Clay

Freeborn

Faribault

Martin

ke

ero

Ch

Woodbury

Kanabec

Cottonwood Watonwan Blue Earth Waseca Steele Dodge Olmsted

Tama

Jasper

Fayette

Clayton

n na

e war Dubuque

a

ch

Bu

Benton

Iowa

First Section: Pages 1, 6 - 7

e

Tripp

on

ns

Ha

Lake

Wabasha

iek

Todd

Miner

Sleepy Eye

Goodhue

Rice

ake

Aurora

Mellette

Sanborn

Nicollet

Brown

sh

Brule

Jerauld

Brookings

ne

Lyman

Kingsbury

Redwood

Dakota

Scott

Sibley

Lyon

am

Buffalo

Beadle

Carver

All

Hamlin

Hand

Hennepin

McLeod

Dela

Jones

Linn

Clinton n Cedar

o ns

h

Jo

Scott

Muscatine

Madison Warren Marion Mahaska Keokuk

Adair

Adams Taylor

Union Rin

g

ld go

Clarke

Lucas

Decatur Wayne

Monroe Wapello p

Ap

e

os ano

Davis

Louisa

n rso Henry Des

fe Jef

Van Buren

Moines

Lee

Zone 2

Caledonia

Genetics key in repro for Houdeks’ herd Second Section: Pages 18, 20 - 22

FROM OUR SIDE OF THE FENCE:

Sleepy Eye

For additional stories from our other zone, log on to www.dairystar.com

Jackson

n

Hyde

Anoka

Wright

Meeker

Renville

Yellow Medicine

Isanti

gto

Bennett

Jones

Hughes

Deuel

Kandiyohi

Chippewa

Lac Qui Parle

Codington

Clark

Sherburne

W in

Shannon Country Cooking

Stanley

Swift

Benton

Stearns

Pope

hin

Fall River

Sully

Stevens

Grant Spink

Douglas

Pine

Mille Lacs

Morrison

First Section: Page 23

ms ey

Faulk

Potter

Todd Grant

Big Stone

Day

Carlton

eu r

Dewey

Edmunds

Aitkin

Crow Wing

Wa s

Jackson

Wilkin

Brown Walworth

Otter Tail

Stender creates career fair to boost interest in ag

sh iek

Custer

Roberts

Marshall

McPherson

Cass

Po we

Pages 10 - 11 Second Section

Pennington

Sargent

Norwood Young America

go

The “Mielke” Meade Market Haakon Weekly

Richland

Lake

Itasca

Becker

Clay

Tra ver se

Campbell

Corson

Dickey

McIntosh

Sioux

no

Mah

Ransom

Emmons

Ziebach

Lawrence

Cass

LaMoure

Logan

Page 33 First Section

Butte

Bames

Cook

isa Ch

Harding

Stutsman

Morton

Page 32 Adams First Section

Tenacity, gratitude, Perkins faith

Kidder

Lincoln

Bowman

Burleigh

men

Pipestone

Slope

Norman

Oliver

n

Making Cents of Hettinger Dairy Grant

Stark

Polk

Trail

Steele

io

Golden Valley

Griggs

St. Louis

Red Lake

Su

Foster

Koochiching

Le

Sheridan

Beltrami

Hubbard

Wells

First Section: Pages 1, 5

Lake of the Woods

Pennington

Grand Forks

Eddy

McLean

Dunn

Billings

Roseau

Marshall

Benson Nelson

Veterinary Wisdom

Page 31Mercer First Section

Walsh

Ramsey

McHenry

Ward

Kittson

Wadena

Pierce

Pembina

Un

McKenzie

Page 30 Mountrail First Section

Cavalier

Towner

Da vi so n

Williams

Rolette

n

Bottineau

First Section: Page 39

bo

Dear Renville County Agent Guy

First Section: Pages 12 - 13

Family is center point at Dockendorf Dairy

Dairy Prole: Kevin and Leo Hemmesch

Dairying sets up farmers for success off the farm

First Section: Page 6

Burke

Lake Henry

du

Page 27 First Section

Watkins

Staples

Ra

McConkey is Women in Dairy: Minnesota’s other Deanna Hartmann mental health specialist First Section: Page 36

On the Road with Princess Kay

Divide

Perham

Clearwater

Detroit Lakes

Tauer creates light display for past 27 years

Second Section: Pages 16 - 17

Cresco

Schatzes manage dairy farm, custom chopping, restaurant

When should families start the process of developing a transition plan?

First Section: Pages 15 - 16

Third Section: Pages 3 - 4

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Page 4 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 7, 2019

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Dairy Star • Saturday, December 7, 2019 • Page 5

ConƟnued from DOCKENDORFS | Page 1 though there is a generation gap,” Lori said. “It’s pretty special and interesting how the farm has been in the family for so long.”

In January 1994, Steve and Lori purchased the dairy and began milking 35 cows in the tiestall barn. Their four children – Jeff, Kayla, Tyler and Brad – were raised amidst farm chores.

For the Dockendorfs, dairying has been a way to connect as a family.

“Working together brought the kids closer to us and closer to each other,” Lori said. “We’re a wonderful family unit on the farm.”

Steve agreed.

“It’s always been enjoyable to work with family,” he said.

As the children grew, Steve and Lori lled the dairy barn. After milking 70 cows in the tiestall barn and switching another 30, the couple decided a robotic milking system would be best to continue their dairying career. On Aug. 15, 2011, they switched to the newer technology.

“Milking was becoming very labor intensive and as the older kids went off to college, we gured we had to do something to keep going,” Lori said.

Even today, farming remains a focal point for the Dockendorfs.

Jeff is an agriculture engineer and lives with his wife, Tabitha, in Savage; Kayla is a traveling physical therapist in Oregon; and Brad is a sophomore at North Dakota State University studying mechanical engineering.

Tyler returned to the farm last spring after earning an animal science degree at NDSU and marrying his wife, Abby.

“Whenever the kids all get together, it’s really fun to hear them reminisce about growing up on the farm,” Lori said. “They tell a lot of stories.”

As Steve and Lori welcomed Tyler home, they adjusted responsibilities to accommodate their son’s desire to farm.

“It really takes a team effort to farm, and our family does that,” Lori said.

Steve agreed.

“We have three generations on the farm every day,” he said. “Tyler and I, and my 85-year-old dad, Earl, who mixes feed every morning.”

Tyler oversees the robots and breeding program on the farm. Steve milks the tiestall herd and manages the farm’s nutrition. Lori takes care of all the youngstock, including calves, heifers and steers.

Among their daily responsibilities, the Dockendorfs also see it as their obligation to educate others.

They routinely welcome community groups to the farm – from young school children to foreign exchange students and folks from the retirement center.

The Dockendorfs also invite people from the regional and international dairy community to tour their farm.

“When we were upgrading our dairy, we looked at a dozen farms and took bits

JENNIFER COYNE/DAIRY STAR

The Dockendorfs – (from leŌ) Steve, Lori and Tyler – discuss the plans for the day Dec. 2 on the dairy farm near Watkins, Minnesota. Tyler recently returned to the farm aŌer graduaƟng college with a degree in animal science. and pieces from each one to build this farm,” Steve said. “We want other dairy farmers to be able to do the same.”

The family has also participated in virtual farm tours at World Dairy Expo and Central Plains Dairy Expo.

One of Steve’s most memorable tours was when Tyler showed his inlaws the dairy. At the end of the tour, the family complemented Tyler on the visual appearance of the farm.

“Tyler looked at me and said, ‘Dad has done a lot of hard work over the years to make this dairy what it is today,’” Steve said. “I just hope at the end of the day we’ve shown our kids that if it’s something worth doing, do it well.

We have to lead by example by taking initiative and having pride in what we do.”

The family also works with area youth, employing them throughout their high school years.

“We’ve always worked with these kids, and we’ve really enjoyed it,” Steve said. “We treat them like our own, and even after they go off to college, they still come back and help if we need it.”

Whether instilling the responsibilities of farm work in their own children or others, Steve and Lori have left a lasting impression in the Stearns County community as farmers and more importantly as simply genuine people.

JENNIFER COYNE/DAIRY STAR

Tyler and Steve Dockendorf review cow data at one of their milking robots Dec. 2 at the farm near Watkins, Minnesota. The duo works together to take care of the milking herd.

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Page 6 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 7, 2019

ConƟnued from NELSONS | Page 1

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stray voltage before moving in, but the Nelsons also had the electrical company install a blocker to insure they would be protected.

“The cows transitioned amazingly well,” Nelson said. “Older cows that were struggling in the old facility came back to life. Two-year-olds were peaking at 120 pounds [of milk per day] or more.”

However, the Nelsons still had issues in the parlor – cows were hesitant to enter the milking area, they frequently kicked and had increasing cases of mastitis – that kept the idea of the stray voltage in the back of their minds.

The issues only increased after the Nelsons experienced a brownout due to an issue at the substation which served their farm in April 2011.

“From that point on, problems that are often associated with stray voltage reared up with a vengeance,” Nelson said.

The behavioral issues in the parlor got worse. The cows were lapping water instead of drinking it. Milk production, which had been around 95 pounds per cow per day, decreased nearly 20 pounds. The herd’s health also deteriorated. Cows were aborting calves, the pregnancy rate dropped, and there was an increase of early embryonic death, despite an aggressive vaccination program and ruling out medical or genetic reasons.

“Anything and everything reproductively you could imagine went wrong,” Nelson said.

Mastitis also became an issue.

“At times, almost 10% of our milk went down the drain because we had so many treated cows,” Nelson said.

Although the barn had a capacity of 150, they could not keep the stalls full.

“We couldn’t keep cows healthy, and we couldn’t keep them alive,” Nelson said.

Nelson described what she saw when a cow would slip and fall.

“Normally if a leg isn’t sticking out a funny way, a cow gets up,” Nelson said. “I would bet 90% of the cows that fell down never got up again. They lost muscle strength from the stray voltage.

We would lift them and oat them, but they didn’t have the strength and would just give up.”

Prior to 2008, Nelson said they had a low death rate – maybe one or two a year.

“There were times we were putting down four cows a week,” Nelson said.

Their vet bill showed it, with typical cost of $4,000 each month.

“We were doing everything in our power to save these cows,” Nelson said.

This included contacting experts to help solve the problems. There were dairy equipment dealers to check the parlor units, nutritionists to check the rations, veterinarians to look over the reproductive side, along with other dairy industry specialists. Although the Nelsons made changes to the already well- managed dairy, none of them xed the issues.

“Our consultants were as frustrated as we were,” Nelson said. “We spent nine years with a parade of people with Ph.D.s, veterinarians, electricians and other really smart people coming to our farm to try to help. They could only address the symptoms and not the underlying problem. As time went on, we were more condent that this was stray voltage, but continued to be told by our power company that we didn’t have it,” Nelson said.

Then a friend pointed the Nelsons in the direction of a Wisconsin master electrician who specializes in stray voltage. This specialist spent three days testing at a much higher sensitivity than the electrical company. Because of this, the specialist concluded the Nelsons did have stray voltage. Using Ohm’s law, the power company had based its testing on cows being resistant to electrical voltage at 500 Ohms which follows the information in the Minnesota Stray Voltage Guide. However, the specialist disputes this guide and the electrical company’s ndings and said cows, including ones on the Nelsons’ farm, can feel electrical voltage at 200 Ohms, Nelson said.

The specialist said the only way to x the problem was to bring threephase electricity to farm and use an isolated transformer. He also suggested installing an electrical monitor with a light that ashes whenever there are any electrical currents in the ground.

“We were frustrated, out of money, and we weren’t sure how we were going to pay for this x,” Nelson said.

The power company installed the three-phase electricity in early February 2017; however, in April the Nelsons and the electrical consultant discovered the company had installed a non-isolated transformer rather than an isolated one. During the two weeks it took to x the problem, Nelson said the cows were subjected to even higher stray voltage.

“The effect on the cows was just awful,” Nelson said.

After the problem was xed May 1, 2017, they saw immediate improvement in the cows, although it took about two months for the cows to readjust Turn to NELSONS | Page 7

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Dairy Star • Saturday, December 7, 2019 • Page 7

ConƟnued from NELSONS | Page 6 behaviorally.

Over the next four months the cows increased 22 pounds of milk per cow per day.

“Milk production increased during the summer, which generally doesn’t happen, and at a time when we had to wean the cows off rBST,” Nelson said.

“That conrmed stray voltage had been our problem.”

Two years later, the Nelsons are still putting their farm back together.

“We will never be recovered until we have a whole new herd of cows because the cows physiologically were changed, and the longer they were exposed, the more their bodies took a beating,” Nelson said. “Stray voltage does a lot of damage to the cardiovascular, muscular and nervous systems, and especially the immune system. And, you can’t see those things.

The older cows are the most likely to show the long-term effects this has taken on their bodies, and we know we have to do everything we can to help them through stressful periods. Who knows how many cows are walking in the barn with irreversible damage.”

They are starting to milk 2-yearolds that had never been subjected to stray voltage.

“These [2-year-olds] are peaking with 120 pounds at 30 days in milk or less on two times a day milking,” Nelson said. “It’s crazy how good they’re doing. So, I’m really excited about the future.”

About half of the herd is 2-year-olds.

The Nelsons used to pride themselves in their cows’ longevity, often having cows live to be 13 or longer. The oldest cow now is 7 with a handful of 4- and 5-year-olds.

“It’s really sad,” Nelson said.

RUTH KLOSSNER/DAIRY STAR

Cows drink water out of fountain at Olmar Farm near Sleepy Eye, Minnesota.

The Nelsons saw their cows lapping water when they drank in the freestall barn, which is a common sign for stray voltage.

“There are just no old cows. Those are the fun ones to have around. Those are the ones you’ve made a connection with and the ones that get you to the barn in the morning. Many mornings I did not want to go, and the only thing that kept me going was my faith and the fact that Brian kept going, too.”

While the stray voltage affected the cows, it also impacted Nelson’s health.

“When I’m milking – milking 8 hours a day – I rested my pelvis against the metal plate which is connected to

the equipotential plane which was full of electricity,” Nelson said.

Because of this, Nelson said she has had signicant pain and muscle loss.

“I know what those older cows were feeling because I felt it, too,” she said.

The family is also hurt emotionally.

“It tore us apart,” Nelson said. “Our kids (Isaac and Josh) endured a lot because we were always stressed and upset. At a time when we should have been enjoying the last years of our kids’

youth, we were often unable to be there for them. We couldn’t shield them from this. But I am condent that God will use these trials for his good in some way.”

Financially, it also was stressful for the Nelsons.

“Knowing the position we were in and the position this put our lender and vendors in was hard. We are thankful for the people we worked with,” Nelson said. “These folks believed in us. We never could have kept going without their support.”

“We had big marketing goals before all this,” said Nelson, whose herd is all registered Holsteins. “It was a big income stream for us. But during the period of stray voltage we were unable to sell any cows for dairy because we didn’t have cows to spare.”

Although they do not have a clear future for their farm, one thing is clear for Nelson. She wants to advocate for better stray voltage testing and teaching farmers about it.

“I want people to know this is real,” she said. “You can feel really alone when you’re going through this because there are so many people who think you’re just a bad farmer.”

Nelson hopes people do not have to feel that way.

“If a farmer thinks they have stray voltage, they need to educate themselves, contact multiple resources and not rely solely on the utility,” she said. “A farmer knows their cows best, and they need to believe in themselves and not settle for anything less than a solution.”

Nelson wants to spare other dairy farmers the nightmare her family has lived the past decade.

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A turnaround year for the dairy industry Page 8 â&#x20AC;˘ Dairy Star â&#x20AC;˘ Saturday, December 7, 2019

USDA is reporting net farm income Ag labor, WOTUS, trade and grey will total $92.5 billion this year. wolf all priorities for MFBF members Minnesota Farm Bureau Direct government payments and crop insurance beneď&#x192;&#x17E;ts represent more than Federationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s discussion on proposed national policy resolutions 30 percent of that total.

Ag Insider focused on agricultural Most commodities will labor, Waters of the United see increased earnings this States and endangered year. One of the biggest species. Minnesota Farm increases is with the dairy Bureau President Kevin industry with average Paap said the grey net income projected to wolf is always an issue. be up 47% from 2018. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll continue to be The improvement in at the table to discuss.â&#x20AC;? milk prices was cited as a Those resolutions will be consideration. submitted to American Farm Bureau Federation Delegates set policy for consideration. Trade priorities at MFBF

By Don Wick was not a resolution meeting Columnist discussed at the meeting, For Minnesota but Paap said progress Farm Bureau Federation delegates, the tax status of buffers and is still very important for farmers. water quality regulations continue to â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got good, solid Farm Bureau be top of mind. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Every time we have policy on trade already. We are hearing to work with agencies or regulatory from members that the U.S. Mexico things, we end up with complications,â&#x20AC;? Canada Agreement needs to be ratiď&#x192;&#x17E;ed. said Bennett Osmonson, a delegate Why would anyone want to do a trade from Gully, Minnesota. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Opening up agreement with us until we can get our the door and trying to reform things two closest allies on board?â&#x20AC;? that are impacting agriculture is an important part of our organization.â&#x20AC;? Duvall celebrates MFBF centennial In addition to regulations, delegates with members American Farm Bureau Federation took positions on possible gas taxes, managing the grey wolf and the health President Zippy Duvall joined and well-being of farmers. Minnesota Minnesota Farm Bureau members to Farm Bureau Vice-President Dan celebrate the organizationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s centennial.

Glessing chaired the resolutions Speaking with members, Duvall talked committee and said â&#x20AC;&#x153;itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s good to see the about keeping faith in the tough times updated language for rural and mental and also updated on trade discussions. health.â&#x20AC;? Following state resolutions, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement MFBF delegates focused on national is on the front burner and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s policy priorities like Waters of the something that must be done. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been United States, agricultural labor and encouraging farmers to call Congress each day. The votes are there to get it.â&#x20AC;? endangered species.

Duvall also explained what itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s like to work with the president on agricultural

issues. â&#x20AC;&#x153;President Trump called me when I was elected AFBF president. In that call, we talked about labor, trade and the farm bill. He hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t forgotten that conversation. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m appreciative for the opportunity to work with him.â&#x20AC;?

MFU members set policy priorities for year ahead The Minnesota Farmers Union has passed special orders calling for repairing agricultural markets, supporting public buy-in options for health care and bonding investments that strengthen the ag economy. Swift County delegate Harmon Wilts said trade remains important for Minnesota farmers. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The tariffs, free trade and ethanol are big opportunities, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just a matter of getting there.â&#x20AC;? Addressing members, National Farmers Union Senior Vice President of Public Policy Rob Larew said Congress is getting close to ratifying the U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement. Despite the unknowns, Larew said there is still lots of hope noted in farm country. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Family farmers are always looking for solutions and better days ahead. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m encouraged with the conversations happening in Minnesota.â&#x20AC;?

Farm assets are one driver in a tough economy Farmers are starting to meet with their bankers as the end of the year approaches. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Currently, the farm economy remains soft,â&#x20AC;? said American Farm Bureau Federation economist Veronica Nigh. Just this year alone farm bankruptcies were up 24% compared to the same time frame in 2018. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I get asked a lot â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Are we back in the 1980s?â&#x20AC;&#x2122; For comparison, during the 1980s farm crisis there were 4,800 farms closing per year. Last year we

lost 480 due to bankruptcies.â&#x20AC;? Nigh adds one underlying driver is farm assets. The total value of land, buildings and equipment is signiď&#x192;&#x17E;cantly higher compared to the 1980s.

NMPF seeks support on labor bill Farm labor legislation has been approved by the House Judiciary Committee and is on its way to the ď&#x192;&#x;oor. The National Milk Producers Federation said this bill would reform the guest-worker visa program to allow year-round agriculture to participate.

That is described as a crucial need for the dairy industry. NMPF is asking dairy farmers to contact lawmakers and ask for support of the bill.

Online cheese sales surge Online cheese sales are seeing massive growth. The 2019 sales are expected to top $440 million. That represents a 54% annual growth in online sales over the past four years.

According to Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin, cheese is a trending food preference. The Christmas holiday is a peak season for cheese sales.

MFBF recognizes ag leaders for distinguished service The Minnesota Farm Bureau Federation honored three individuals for their distinguished service to agriculture.

The recipients were University of Minnesota President Emeritus Dr. Eric Kaler, Minnesota Department of Education Program Specialist Joel Larsen and former Minnesota Wheat CEO Dave Torgerson. This award is one of the most prestigious awards given by MFBF. Turn to AG INSIDER | Page 9

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ConƟnued from AG INSIDER | Page 8 MFU honors Poppe and Anderson Minnesota Farmers Union honored State Representatives Paul Anderson and Jeanne Poppe with the Service to Agriculture award for their work in the Minnesota legislative session. Former Minnesota Agriculture Commissioner Dave Frederickson received the Lifetime Achievement Award during the MFU annual meeting.

Land O’Lakes hires Daniels Michael Daniels is the new director of federal government and industry relations for Land O’Lakes. Most recently, Daniels held a similar position with NTCA-The Rural Broadband Association.

Trivia challenge In the United States, butter must include 80% butterfat. That answers our last trivia question. For this week, how much butterfat is required in European butter? We’ll 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.

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We thank our customers, and congratulate our field and lab staff for achieving this milestone. IDEXX, the company that developed the Milk Pregnancy test provided a $500 gift card to the owner of “578”, the 400,000th cow.

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Page 10 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 7, 2019

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STACEY SMART/DAIRY STAR

The Bauers – (from leŌ) Frank, Danae and Greg – stand in their freestall barn at Sandy-Valley Farms near Scandinavia, Wisconsin. The Bauers focus on breeding for elite Holstein geneƟcs and have bred two No. 1 daughter proven bulls, a No. 1 CTPI cow and a No. 1 genomic female.

Bauers focus on high genomics, outstanding production, type

By Stacey Smart

stacey.s@dairystar.com

SCANDINAVIA, Wis. – Breeding Holsteins of high genetic caliber is the trademark of Sandy-Valley Farms. This central Wisconsin dairy has developed a trifecta of No. 1 index animals including two No. 1 daughter proven (TPI) bulls, a No. 1 CTPI cow and a No. 1 genomic (GTPI) female. The Bauer family of Scandinavia specializes in breeding animals of high genetic value and has sent more than 1,200 bulls to stud.

Sandy-Valley Farms was established in 1963 and is owned by brothers David, Patrick and Frank Bauer.

These third-generation dairy farmers bought the farm from their father, Frank Sr., in the early 1990s. The trio of brothers is joined by yet another brother, Greg, who manages the farm’s breeding and marketing programs.

“We’re passionate about more than numbers,” Greg said. “Cows also have to look the part and thrive in a free stall environment.”

The Bauers have bred two No. 1 daughter proven bulls: Sandy-Valley Bolton and Sandy-Valley Saloon. Bolton sold over 1 million units of semen, and, in August 2006, he became America’s rst bull to achieve a TPI over 2,000. A third No. 1 proven bull that comes from Sandy-Valley breeding is EDG Rubicon whose dam the Bauers sold as a virgin female.

Notable young sires from Sandy-Valley currently being marketed include such bulls as Batman, Pharaoh, Challenger, Creamer, Fullmarks and Eisaku.

“All of these bulls have Excellent dams,” Greg said. “We like the dam of a widely used bull to look the part.”

Frank’s children, Danae and Ethan, also work on the farm full time. Danae is in charge of calves

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Sandy-Valley BL Paradise EX-93 is the dam of Pharaoh and granddam of Batman – two notable young sires currently being marketed.

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Sandy-Valley Farms specializes in breeding animals of high geneƟc value and has sent more than 1,200 bulls to stud. and works with Greg on the breeding and marketing programs. Ethan feeds cows and runs equipment. His wife, Courtland, also helps in between caring for their 1-year-old son, Brantley. The family provides the bulk of the labor along with help from a hired hand, Dave Bergen. The Bauers milk 400 cows twice a day and farm 1,800 acres of corn, alfalfa, soybean and oat.

Sandy-Valley has bred many Excellent, Gold Medal Dam and Dam of Merit cows.

Producing quality milk is also high on this farm’s list of priorities. Somatic cell count hovers between 30,000-50,000 on a rolling herd average of 28,000 pounds of milk, 4.1% butterfat and 3.3% protein.

Cows average 90 pounds of milk per day.

One of the farm’s most special cows is SandyValley Eternity – a former No. 1 CTPI cow and third place cow in the 2019 Global Cow of the Year contest.

Turn to BAUERS | Page 11

PHOTO SUBMITTED

Sandy-Valley Eternity EX-91 is a former No. 1 CTPI cow and dam of several popular young sires, including Eisaku, Emerald, Fullmarks and Embellish.

Dairy Star â&#x20AC;˘ Saturday, December 7, 2019 â&#x20AC;˘ Page 11

ConĆ&#x;nued from BAUERS | Page 10

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STACEY SMART/DAIRY STAR

Sandy-Valley Eternity, a former No. 1 CTPI cow, stands in the freestall barn at Sandy-Valley Farms Nov. 22 near Scandanavia, Wisconsin. She scored EX-91 with a 92-point udder and Excellent feet and legs.

Scored EX-91 with a 92-point udder and Excellent feet and legs, she is the dam of several popular young sires, including Eisaku, Emerald, Fullmarks and Embellish. Wide and strong, with great mobility and picture-perfect udder attachments, Eternity epitomizes the type of cow the Bauers strive to breed.

The farm began its venture into high-end Holsteins in 1987 when they purchased a yearling from Pennsylvania for $27,000. Unfortunately, her time with the Bauers was short-lived as she died promptly after her ď&#x192;&#x17E;rst calving. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was very disheartening,â&#x20AC;? Greg said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;However, her death did not dispel our desire to work with genetically elite animals. When you get excited about the challenge of creating something that can beneď&#x192;&#x17E;t your farm, and the breed in general, those feelings donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t evaporate quickly.â&#x20AC;?

Over the next 15 years, the Bauers aggressively pursued top genetics, buying into many high-end families â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a total of 30 bloodlines. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The superior ones lasted,â&#x20AC;? Greg said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Others died out. We havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t bought many cattle in the past 10 years.

Instead, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been working with and developing our own animals and cow families.â&#x20AC;?

The Sapphire, Cosmopolitan and Rudy Missy families have thrived at Sandy-Valley. The Sapphires run deep at the farm with eight generations of homebred dams. Eternity and Saloon are members of this family which Greg said is Sandy-Valleyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best for production and type. The Cosmopolitan family, or Cosmos as they are also called, goes back four generations at Sandy-Valley and the Rudy Missy, ď&#x192;&#x17E;ve generations. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Cosmo family has worked well here,â&#x20AC;? Greg said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They are strong, hardy cows with good conď&#x192;&#x17E;rmation and high fat test. The Rudy Missy family consistently turns out uniformly nice animals with good health traits.â&#x20AC;?

Sandy-Valley Cokisncream comes from the Cosmo family and scored EX91 with a 93-point udder as a secondcalf cow and is the dam of Challenger and Creamer. Sandy-Valley BL Paradise is a member of the Rudy Missy family.

This EX-93 cow with a 93-point udder is the dam of Pharaoh and granddam of Batman. Known as Sandy-Valleyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s components queen, Paradise produced 33,430 pounds of milk with a 5.7% butterfat test for 1,908 pounds and 3.9% protein for 1,306 pounds in her

second lactation.

The Bauers prefer functional correctness over show-type fancy; therefore, it is unlikely you will ď&#x192;&#x17E;nd these breeders in the show ring. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We like cattle that the commercial breeder can respect and the type enthusiast can admire,â&#x20AC;? Greg said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Strong, correct, functional cows with good feet and legs, and great udders are what we love. All of our cows are housed together. We do not have separate housing for certain cows, so show animals donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t work for our farm.

They do not do well in our free stall situation.â&#x20AC;?

Sandy-Valley transitioned from a tiestall barn to a freestall facility in 2002. In recent years, they added a recipient heifer barn as well as an onfarm in vitro fertilization facility. The farmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s newest addition is a heating room for newborn calves.

The farmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s main focus is producing high-level bulls to sell to AI stud and developing high-level females to work with. The Bauers send about 60 bulls to stud each year. They do not sell many females, however, as they prefer to work with and develop those animals at Sandy-Valley. Embryos are sold internationally but are of secondary importance. â&#x20AC;&#x153;An outstanding goal we still have is to breed the No. 1 genomic (GTPI) male some day,â&#x20AC;? Greg said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The highest we have had so far is No. 3 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a son of Eternity named Supercharge.â&#x20AC;?

The farm has also bred the ď&#x192;&#x17E;rst animal to obtain a GTPI over 3,000 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Sandy-Valley Modesty Highlight â&#x20AC;&#x201C; who achieved this record in 2013.

Greg said they have to work the youngest animals in order to stay current and competitive in selling genetics. Therefore, the majority of the farmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s IVF work is conducted on virgin heifers.

The Bauers transfer embryos into both virgin females and their milking herd. Sexed semen and their own young sires are used on their highestlevel cows. When doing IVF, they use conventional semen with the goal of producing top-end males and females.

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Page 12 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 7, 2019

Dairying sets up farmers for success off the farm

Skillsets make for desirable job candidates

By Jennifer Coyne jenn@dairystar.com

STAPLES, Minn. – Finding a job off the farm is daunting, especially if milking cows and working the land have been a farmer’s mainstays.

Yet, when another source of income is necessary, farmers have a resume unlike any other in the pool of candidates for a job.

“The bottom line is dairy farmers are the desirable candidate for hiring because of their work ethic,” said AgCentric Director Todd Pollema Olander.

Former dairy farmer Keith “Their work ethic goes beyond 9-5, and that’s a key piece.”

Two years ago, Todd Pollema and his wife, Jean, were considering a herd dispersal at their farm near Browerville. But, the dairy farmers wanted to secure jobs before the cows

left.

“We kicked around selling the cows, but my wife and I were always apprehensive,” Pollema said. “I have no college education. What job could I get?”

The couple’s farm business management instructor told Pollema about the open position. Within 30 days of interviewing, Pollema sold his cows and became an employee of the Central Lakes College and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture in Staples.

In his job, Pollema works as a farm technician at the college’s research farm and also manages the Manure Analysis Prociency Program, a laboratory prociency program for manure testing in the United States and Canada. The program, overseen

by MDA, has 70 labs enrolled.

“I was scared to work outside the farm. … It was the only thing I knew for 20-plus years,” Pollema said. “But what I’ve realized is dairying teaches you a lot that you can’t learn in the classroom, and in the workforce, [dairy farmers] are an asset. There are a lot of people that can’t do all that we know how to do.”

Brad Schloesser agreed.

“Dairy farmers know and have experience in agriculture, and 98% of the population does not have this experience,” he said. “It is special and not easily created or replicated.”

Schloesser is the executive di-

rector at the Southern Minnesota Agriculture Center of Excellence in Mankato. He is also the dean of agriculture at South Central College.

In Schloesser’s experience, he encourages dairy farmers to look at their social and professional networks and connect with individuals who have needs for talent and experience.

“Be intentional … zone in on what you nd motivating and satisfying,” Schloesser said. “Reach out to people you developed a relationship with over time and be open to discussing potential futures.”

For Chris Smith, of Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, landing his job as an overthe-road trucker was the result of reconnecting with the right individual.

After Smith and his wife, Lori, sold their dairy cows in June 2016, he came across an opportunity to deliver milk to schools in the Oconomowoc area. That job led Smith to get his commercial drivers license, where he now travels from Wisconsin to Colorado putting on nearly 3,500 miles a week.

“Every job I’ve ever had, I told them I grew up on a farm and the job was mine,” Smith said. “Some people think just because you don’t have a college degree you can’t do more, but, work ethic and experience goes a long ways.”

When Smith dairy farmed, he was always looking for cost-saving

measures and did much of his own maintenance and repairs. He carries that same philosophy with him on the road.

“They trusted me with this job and trust me to take care of their equipment as my own,” he said.

Having been a truck driver for three years, Smith is hoping to one day transform his career and become

“Every job I’ve ever had, I told them I grew up on a farm and the job was mine.”

CHRIS SMITH, FORMER DAIRY FARMER

the owner and operator of a truck. He is still humbled in knowing that getting to this point was not easy.

“I was scared to death to start something knew,” Smith said. “But, I have a family, and as a husband and father, I have people who rely on me.”

Mary Lou Graf felt the same way when she began looking for a job off the farm.

“There was so much apprehension about nding a new job,” she said. “It came down to a matter of survival more than anything. I had to do something.”

Turn to OFF FARM | Page 13

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Dairy Star â&#x20AC;˘ Saturday, December 7, 2019 â&#x20AC;˘ Page 13

ConĆ&#x;nued from OFF FARM | Page 12

Graf, of Hokah, sold her familyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s milking herd in December 2018, 11 years after her late husband, Darrell, was killed in a farming accident. She is working as a classroom aid for the area schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s kindergarten class and will be working at a law ď&#x192;&#x17E;rm through tax season. Graf also has worked at a seasonal landscaping business and will return there this upcoming season.

The dairy farmerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s array of jobs came from an unlikely encounter. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I was working part time for the

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Recognize you have solid experience that can be valuable to other occupations, pathways and possibilities.â&#x20AC;?

BRAD SCHLOESSER, SOUTHERN MN AGRICULTURE CENTER OF EXCELLENCE

city of Brownsville as the city clerk when Allison Wagner (from Workforce Development) came in to the ofď&#x192;&#x17E;ce,â&#x20AC;? Graf said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I asked if she could

go through my resume and give me pointers. I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think I was qualiď&#x192;&#x17E;ed, but she looked at my resume and knew I was overqualiď&#x192;&#x17E;ed.â&#x20AC;?

Schloesser has worked with many farmers who do not realize how their work as dairy farmers can prepare them for jobs off the farm. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Recognize you have solid experience that can be valuable to other occupations, pathways and possibilities,â&#x20AC;? he said.

Grafâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work in the landscape business keeps her active much like her dairy farming career did â&#x20AC;&#x201C; overseeing paperwork and using the same bookkeeping software.

Likewise, at the law ď&#x192;&#x17E;rm she assists with ď&#x192;&#x17E;ling of agriculture work.

In working with her local workforce development organization, Graf found jobs that ď&#x192;&#x17E;t her skillset.

She encourages others to do the same. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They helped me with my selfesteem, practice for interviews and looked at my interests to see what I was really interested in,â&#x20AC;? Graf said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be afraid to ask for help.â&#x20AC;?

Work ethic, experience and knowledge go a long way. Whether in the barn or in the workforce, the need for dairy farmers is ever present.

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Page 14 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 7, 2019

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Dairy Star â&#x20AC;˘ Saturday, December 7, 2019 â&#x20AC;˘ Page 15

Lawyers: When should families develop a transition plan?

Jason Wagner Ward & Oehler, LTD Rochester and St. Charles, Minnesota Tell us about your ď&#x192;&#x17E;rmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s experience with farm transitions. Our law ď&#x192;&#x17E;rm was established in 1973.

We have the unique experience of having worked with multiple generations of families through their transition.

Some of the farm families we work with are now on their fourth generation of working with our ď&#x192;&#x17E;rm. There are also farm partnerships that were established by the ď&#x192;&#x17E;rm in the 1970s that are still in use today.

When should families start the process of developing a transition plan? Practically, the right time to start a transition plan is when there is commitment from the retiring farmers and the successor to a long-term and successful transition. A well thought out estate plan is often the starting point for a farm transition. Families do not always know who the farm successors will be, if any. In many cases, they have an idea of which children are likely to make a career of farming, but they are not ready to start a formal plan. Through the estate plan, families can build in ď&#x192;&#x;exibility and incentives to allow a transition after death if the parents die prematurely. From there, families should start giving more responsibility and management duties to the farm successor once they have an idea of who that person is. This lets them test the waters before adopting a formal plan. If that goes well, the transition plan can start being developed.

How should families prepare for their ď&#x192;&#x17E;rst meeting? Should family members prepare for an individual meeting with you? It is best to start with good information and records. This means an updated balance sheet with accurate values and debt is crucial. Family members should also be prepared to answer questions about their goals with the farm, their commitment to the transition process and a realistic idea of what they need from the farm ď&#x192;&#x17E;nancially. Often times, retiring farmers are going to need to rely on farm rental income. It is a good idea for the retiring farmers to meet with the attorney by themselves for the ď&#x192;&#x17E;rst meeting so they can share any concerns they have about the successor with the attorney privately.

How many times do you visit with a family going through a farm transition?

Some families may like to meet individually several times over the course of a year or two before they are ready to bring the successor into the discussion. This may be because they are wanting to analyze options for the transition or working on how to balance the transition plan with inheritance for non-farming children.

Other families contact me when they are ready to implement the transition plan, so we move fairly quickly from an individual meeting to a family meeting. We review asset information, tax implications, estate planning objectives, and short-term and long-term goals. The plan is usually a 5- to 10-year plan at minimum, so once it is implemented, we usually meet annually. The annual meeting is an opportunity to update values, review the operating agreement and transfer additional ownership interests as needed.

What suggestions would you make for families who have children not a part of the farm? I recommend communication. Unfortunately, sometimes nonfarming children do not see the many long hours and last-minute emergencies the farming children take on to keep the farm running. They also may not realize the farming children had no or low pay for much of the labor provided to the farm.

Instead, it might not be until Mom and Dad are both gone or the transition is complete that they see the farm (and its value) is now in the hands of the successor.

By sharing some of these considerations with the non-farming children, hopefully they will have a better understanding of the decisions the parents have made.

Families should also realize they can build in rental options, purchase options and other devices to allow the non-farming children to receive an economic beneď&#x192;&#x17E;t from the farm while still transitioning it to the farming children.

What are two common pieces of farm transition often overlooked? First, it would be not having an estate plan that supplements the transition plan. Something could happen to the parents or the children before the transition is completed.

These contingencies should be discussed and planned from the outset. Second, it would be continued attention. A farm transition plan only works if it is maintained until completion. Many farm transition plans rely on regular gifts or sales of assets to complete the transition. If this is only done sporadically, the entire plan can be

Scott Miller Miller Legal Strategic Planning Centers, P.A. Tyler, Minnesota Tell us about your ď&#x192;&#x17E;rmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s experience with farm transitions. We practice exclusively in the areas of estate planning with 95% of our clients owning a farm business.

We have approximately 1,100 farm families that we have done the planning for and meet with them regularly, most annually, to keep their plans up to date for their current circumstances, the laws and the changing of their farm business.

When should families start the process of developing a transition plan? The family has to be ready both mentally and emotionally to make this step. If they have a child or children entering the farm business, it is best to get them integrated earlier than later from an ownership and responsibility stand point. Most of our clients are beginning the transition when their children have been in the business full time for 3-5 years and the parents are usually in their 50s to 60s.

How should families prepare for their ď&#x192;&#x17E;rst meeting? Should family members prepare for an individual meeting with you? They need to think about their hopes, dreams, goals and aspirations. They need to think big picture because they generally donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have the experience to identify all the small issues that need solving. They need to think about the timeframe for the transition, what are their speciď&#x192;&#x17E;c exit planning goals, what retirement income they will need, general cash ď&#x192;&#x;ow of the farm business, and how and what would make things equitable for the non-farming heirs. Equitable does not necessarily mean equal.

How many times do you visit with a family going through a farm transition? To design a plan for farm transition, it will involve 3-4 meetings of about two hours each, plus them preparing for each meeting such as sending them items to consider prior to the meeting to direct them to certain issues that need to be solved. Once the plan is complete, we generally meet with our farm business clients annually to keep up all of their farm business legal matters and to keep their plan up to date.

What suggestions would you make for families who have children not a part of the farm? The main issue will be how to treat those heirs equitably while still making sure the farm business can succeed during both good and bad farm economies as we know the next generation will experience both ends.

What are two common pieces of farm transition often overlooked? The No. 1 issue we see with most plans is there is no plan dealing with the conď&#x192;&#x;icts that could and do exist between the farming heirs and the non-farming heirs.

The clients assume their children will always get along and that the inď&#x192;&#x;uences of spouses of children have no impact. There is no planning for bad facts such as a child getting divorced, an untimely death of a child after the death of the parents, and a bankruptcy or creditor issue of one child affecting the other children if assets are owned together. We preach to our clients to plan for bad facts and your plan to still work, and pray for good facts.

What is the importance of working with an attorney or outside third party for a farm transition? The experience and focus of the attorney or outside third party. I use the medical model in that you want to work with a specialist or someone that spends at least 70% of their time working in estate planning and farm transition. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s that professionalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s experience seeing many ď&#x192;&#x17E;les that will help that client make a successful plan that is individually designed for their goals and facts. And, for that attorney to have some form of annual maintenance or follow up to make sure the plan will continue to work once it is designed. disrupted.

What is the importance of working with an attorney or outside third party for a farm transition? There are many aspects to consider with a farm transition plan. Income may be shifting, deductions may no longer be available, control over decisions may lessen, among many other possibilities. It is important to be able to anticipate and plan for these changes. Families will also want to protect the farm in the event the transition plan does not pan out, so a good operating agreement becomes a necessary part of the plan. An attorney can help with identifying the issues and preparing the legal documents to ensure a smooth transition.

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Page 16 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 7, 2019

ConƟnued from OUR SIDE | Page 15 Matthew Berger and Kaitlin Pals Gislason & Hunter LLP New Ulm, Minnesota Years of experience: More than 10 years Tell us about your rm’s experience with farm transitions. Our rm represents a wide variety of farmers and farm-related businesses, from small crop and livestock operations to large, integrated livestock farms. Regardless of the size or complexity of the farming business, all farmers need to plan for the future of the business. Our rm has worked with countless farmers to help facilitate the best transition of the farm based on each person’s unique circumstances and desires.

When should families start the process of developing a transition plan? Immediately. While most people don’t like thinking about deaths or injuries that may happen and require a transition of the farm, all farmers should have a plan in place to make sure their family and their farm will be taken care if the need arises. These transition plans will undoubtedly change as time passes and circumstances change. It is also very helpful to the next generation – both on- and off-farm adult children – to get a clear understanding of their parents’ goals and expectations.

How should families prepare for their rst meeting?

Should family members prepare for an individual meeting with you? The three most important things we need to know when starting a farm transition are who are the people involved, what assets we are dealing with, and what are the family’s main goals and concerns. The family should not feel they need to walk into the meeting knowing what kind of legal structure they want. Our job as attorneys is to take in that raw material of people, assets, hopes and fears, and translate it into a legal framework.

How many times do you visit with a family going through a farm transition?

Our rm approaches farm transition planning as an ongoing relationship with clients. We may spend a lot of time creating a plan and getting the initial phase implemented, then check in periodically to address any changes until the senior generation is ready to retire or take another big step in the transition process. When the transition plan involves a child coming back to farm, as well as non-farming children, we generally start with an individual meeting and increase the number of participants as the process moves forward. The rst meeting would typically be with the senior generation couple or individual. There has to be an opportunity for those who have built the operation to be candid with the attorney, which may mean sharing information or opinions they might not feel comfortable saying in front of their children. The next step is usually to bring in the farm successor with the senior generation, because no plan is going to work unless the farm successor buys in and believes it can succeed. Then, we would typically meet with the family as a whole to explain the plan and make the senior generation’s wishes and decisions clear.

What suggestions would you make for families who have children not a part of the farm? Open communication is critical. Families need to sit down together and talk about the transition plans for the farm. Parents who are currently farming need to be open and honest with all of their children about their goals and desires for the farm and how they plan to achieve those goals. Because farm transitions often involve the transfer of high-value assets, transition planning often requires creative strategies for transferring farming assets to those who will continue to farm while also treating other, non-farming children fairly (although not always equally).

What are two common pieces of farm transition often overlooked? The basic “everything to my children in equal shares” estate plan can cause unintended consequences. Under Minnesota law, no one is required to co-own real estate with someone else. This means if all parcels are left to children as co-owners, a child who wants to sell can usually force a sale of everything, even if all the other siblings want to keep the land in the family. There are techniques to give each child an equal share without also giving each child the power to break up the farm, but they require thoughtful succession planning while the senior generation is living. Also, it is common for succession plans to overlook property tax consequences of transitioning ownership of the operation or the physical assets to the next generation. In particular, we want to make sure a transition plan does not inadvertently convert real estate from homestead to non-homestead property. Agricultural homestead classication has a signicant impact on the property tax bill and can also have a big impact on Minnesota estate tax; the special $2 million deduction for qualied agricultural property is only available for property classied as agricultural homestead the year before the decedent’s death.

What is the importance of working with an attorney or outside third party for a farm transition? Working with an attorney will help identify and consider all available options and facilitate a discussion so that the right solution can be found for each individual based on his or her unique circumstances and desires.

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Amy E. Ebeling Ruder Ware, L.L.S.C. Wausau, Wisconsin 10-plus years of experience Tell us about your rm’s experience with farm transitions. We pride ourselves on our unique collaborative approach to succession planning that contemplates both the ongoing success of the business and the health of family relationships. We also believe it is important to involve other advisors, including bankers/lenders, accountants and other trusted advisors. Many of our clients take comfort in knowing they have a trusted legal advisor who knows their operations and can help them navigate other legal issues.

When should families start the process of developing a transition plan? Well thought-out transition plans take time, so the earlier a family can start planning, the better the end result. Not everyone lives to be as old as they envision. Too many people delay putting a plan together which results in confusion and hardships.

How should families prepare for their rst meeting? Should family members prepare for an individual meeting with you? The only requirement is to be ready to speak openly and honestly about you, your family and your farm operation.

Sweating the details is our job, and we do not want any roadblocks preventing you from having the rst meeting. First meetings should also be reserved for the current owners. After the rst meeting, we are happy to meet other members of your family, host and facilitate family meetings, and even visit the family farm at a convenient time. It is helpful to bring with you any entity or organization documents if the farm is owned by a limited liability company, a corporation or another legal organization.

It would also be helpful to bring the recently led tax returns, any recent nancial statements, information on current bank loans or other long-term debt.

How many times do you visit with a family going through a farm transition?

The number of meetings and the length of time it takes to put together a transition plan depends on each situation. Generally, the more complicated the family and/or farm operation, the more meetings and more time is required. Some families require multiple individual meetings as well as family meetings to discuss communication issues, nancial concerns and other issues before a plan can be put together.

What suggestions would you make for families who have children not a part of the farm? Farming is a family business, and doing what is best for both the farm and the family requires difcult decisions to be made, and sometimes those decisions, while fair, do not result in equal value going to on-farm children and off-farm children. If farm assets are distributed equally to on-farm children and off-farm children, the consequences can be disastrous for everyone. Thoughtful consideration should be given to the transfer of farm assets and non-farm assets well in advance of such transfers. Key operational farm assets should be left to on-farm children, and non-farm assets should be left to off-farm children. A combination of trusts and entities may be used to own farm or other recreational land that allows on-farm children to control the management of the land but allow off-farm children to benet nancially from the land.

What are two common pieces of farm transition often overlooked? The two most over looked items in creating a farm succession plan are cash ow and family relationships. Usually, owners need ongoing nancial support from the farm after they transition their ownership to the next generation. The next generation may have other ideas for the cash generated by the farm. Careful consideration needs to be given to the current cash ow and the nancial needs of the family members supported by the farm as well as the nancial needs of the farm. Owners or parents often have one idea about the transition of the family farm to their children, and the children have other ideas. This causes challenges that need to be discussed and overcome so the farm has the best chance of surviving the transition.

What is the importance of working with an attorney or outside third party for a farm transition? .You know your farming operations, and we know how to gure out your transition goals and accomplish those goals in the most efcient manner. Attorneys and other trusted advisors can help analyze your current situation, gure out your ultimate transition goals, and guide you through the pros and cons of various methods to accomplishing your goals.

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Dairy Star • Saturday, December 7, 2019 • Page 17

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Top Performers

Genetics key in repro for Houdeks’ herd Wake up Holsteins Wayne, Kris, Aaron and Andy Houdek Caledonia, Minnesota Houston County 480 cows What is your current herd average, butterfat and protein? Our rolling herd average is 29,424 pounds of milk with 1,133 pounds (4.46%) of butterfat and 891 pounds (3.35%) of protein.

Our somatic cell count stays around 60,000-80,000.

How many times a day do you milk? If you do not milk 3X a day, have you tried it in the past? We have been milking three times a day for about four years. Milking times are at 4 a.m., noon and 8 p.m.

Do you contract your milk?

Has it been successful for you? No, we do not contract our milk. We tried it a few times, and it was a win-lose situation. It did not work for us.

KRISTA KUZMA/DAIRY STAR

The Houdeks – Wayne, Kris and Andy – milk 480 cows on their dairy, Wake-Up Holsteins, near Caledonia, Minnesota. The herd’s rolling herd average is 29,424 pounds of milk with 1,133 pounds of buƩerfat and 891 pounds of protein.

KRISTA KUZMA/DAIRY STAR

Cows on the Houdek family’s dairy have orange CowManager tags in their ears. The Houdeks use the program to help nd cows in heat and those that have low acƟvity and may be sick.

Describe your housing and milking facility. Cows are milked in a double-12 parallel parlor. About one month ago, we put a new front on it with a vertical lift. It will help cows exit easier and not get caught on the individual posts that used to be in the ground.

Cows are housed in two sand

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bedded freestall barns. The parlor and rst freestall barn were built starting in 1998, and we started using them in April 1999. Before that, we had been milking 129 cows in 29 stanchions.

What is your herd health program? Our veterinarian

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comes every other week to pregnancy check by ultrasound. Every time is alternated between cows and heifers. We use a presynch/ ovsynch program. Wayne and Andy breed all the cows.

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Dairy Star • Saturday, December 7, 2019 • Page 19

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HARD EARNED ACRES Bob and Barb Keefer SHIPPENSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA 700 cows, RHA 28,900M SCC 100 to 135,000 “We try to do a lot of things right and always look to get better. After starting fresh cows on Udder Comfort™ 2 years ago, I was impressed with how our SCC and production improved. So I’m sold on this product even before the pre-fresh trial,” says Bob Keefer, milking 700 cows at Hard Earned Acres, Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, with RHA 28,900M and SCC 100 to 135,000.

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Page 20 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 7, 2019

ConƟnued from HOUDEKS | Page 18

see who can get more cows pregnant.

We use Cow Manager for heat detection. We can check it right from our phones. It also catches sick cows.

For vaccinating, we use Virashield, ScourBoss and Salmonella Newport Bacterial Extract at dry off. For close up cows, we give ScourBoss, Salmonella Newport Bacterial Extract and a multimineral.

What does your dry cow and transition program consist of? The dry cows and close up cows receive the same ration. It includes straw, corn silage and a generic mineral balance.

We built our dry cow freestall barn three years ago. That was a good investment for us, since before that

we did not have consistent housing for all the dry cows. It has headlocks, sandbedded free stalls and good ventilation. Since building it, we have not had any milk fever and the cows seem to be healthier. At dry off, every cow is dry treated with Quartermaster and sealed with Orbeseal. The close up cows are moved to a pen next to the parlor and the calving pen which is bedded with straw. After they calve, they are moved to the special needs pen which is a bedded cornstalk pack.

They stay there a few days to make sure they have cleaned and are well enough to be put in with the rest of the milking herd. The free stalls for the dry cows and heifers are bedded with river sand which is more coarse,

KRISTA KUZMA/DAIRY STAR

This 2-year-old is one of the highest producing young cows on the Houdeks’ dairy.

so it is less expensive. The lactating herd has free stalls bedded with bluff sand which is more ne.

KRISTA KUZMA/DAIRY STAR

A double-12 parallel parlor is used to milk the 480-cow herd at Wake-Up Holsteins near Caledonia, Minnesota.

What is the composition of your ration? What has been one of your most recent changes that has been successful for you? Forage is split evenly between haylage and corn silage. The ration also includes high moisture shelled ground corn, cottonseed, and a mineral mix that includes corn gluten, soybean meal and amino acids. Two months ago, we raised the amino acids to get more protein from the cows. We saw it

jump right away from 3.3% to 3.4% We are getting a premium from our cooperative for protein, so we feel it is worth it.

Through the years you have been farming, what change has created the biggest jump in your herd average? The rst one was when we started using a total mixed ration in the mid 1990s. Our herd average jumped about 3,000 to 4,000 pounds. Another jump came when we started milking three times a day. When we switched, Turn to HOUDEKS | Page 22

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ARARTICULATED 4WD TRACTORS 11 JD 9570R, ‘18, PS, Duals; PTO, 246 hrs, #147190 ...... $389,500 15 JD 9560R, ‘14, PS, Duals, 4495 hrs., #158665 ........... $179,500 15 JD 9560R, ‘14, PS, Duals, 5142 hrs., #158666 ........... $165,000 16 JD 9560R, ‘14, PS, Duals, 2831 hrs., #159510........... $217,400 14 JD 9620R, ‘15, Triples, HydraCushion Axle, 2344 hrs., #161422 . $283,900 15 JD 9620R, ‘16, PS, Duals, 2604 hrs., #161527........... $279,900 14 Ford Versatile 9680, ‘95, Syncro, Duals, 6873 hrs., #161602 ... $49,400 15 JD 9530, ‘07, PS, Duals, 4340 hrs., #161774 ............. $152,400 1 JD 9630, ‘11, PS, Duals, 4220 hrs., #162597 ............. $141,900 16 JD 9620R, ‘17, PS, Duals, 1409 hrs., #163225........... $319,500 17 JD 9530, ‘09, PS, Duals, 3073 hrs., #163522 ............. $149,500 5 JD 9400, ‘99, Partial PS, Duals, 6460 hrs., #163523 .....$69,500 5 JD 9570R, ‘17, Duals, 705 hrs., #163754 .................. $319,900 1 JD 9560R, ‘12, Duals, 3000 hrs., #163796 ................ $197,500 CHISEL PLOWS 14 CIH Flex Till 600, ‘11, 61’, 5-Section Folding, #160261$46,400 8 JD 2410, ‘10, 28’, 3-Section Folding, #161403 .............$34,900 17 Krause 4814, 17’ Rigid, #161625 ................................$10,900 7 White 445, ‘95, 14’ Rigid, #163317 ...............................$9,500 5 Wil-Rich 657 DCR, ‘13, 28’, 3-Section Folding, #163557 $32,900 16 Sunflower 4233-23, ‘10, 23’, 3-Section Folding, #163583$28,500 COMBINES 4 JD S660, ‘16, 2WD, Dls, 657 hrs., 478 sep hrs., #143510 $199,500 4 JD S670, ‘15, PRWD, Dls, 1410 hrs., 1014 sep hrs., #143718 $234,900 2 JD S670, ‘12, PRWD, Dls, 2319 hrs., 1834 sep hrs., #143860 $149,500 11 JD S670, ‘14, PRWD, Dls, 1759 hrs., 1218 sep hrs., #144313 $164,900 17 JD S680, ‘13, PRWD, Dls, 1426 hrs., 1013 sep hrs., #144322 $169,500 15 JD S680, ‘15, PRWD, Dls, 1954 hrs, 1153 sep hrs., #144328 .194900 3 JD S690, ‘14, PRWD, Dls, 1913 hrs., 1317 sep hrs., #145222 $189,500 7 JD S670, ‘13, 2WD, Dls, 1462 hrs., 998 sep hrs., #145812 . $18,500 16 JD S670, ‘17, 2WD, Dls, 257 hrs., 186 sep hrs., #146346 .$349,500 11 JD S670, ’17, 2WD, Dls, 979 hrs., 496 sep hrs, #146349 .$269,500 5 JD S680, ‘14, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, 2004 hrs., 1248 sep hrs., #147716 ....................................................$209,500 8 JD S670, ‘16, 2WD, Dls, 633 hrs., 422 sep hrs., #148148 $279,500 17 JD 9660 STS, ‘04, 2WD, Duals, 3731 hrs., 2670 sep hrs., #150873............................................................................ $49,500 17 JD 9660 STS, ‘05, Corn/Bean, 2WD, Duals, 3538 hrs., 2331 sep hrs., #151601 ...................................................... $49,500 11 JD S680, ‘12, Corn/Bean, 2WD, Duals, Yield Monitor, 2371 hrs., 1529 sep hrs., #152167 ....................................................$149,500 14 JD S690, ‘14, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, 2101 hrs., 1446 sep hrs., #153332 ....................................................$194,000 6 JD S670, ‘14, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, 1903 hrs., 1260 sep hrs., #153514 ............................................. $192,900 16 JD S780, ‘18, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, 406 hrs., 295 sep hrs., #154461 ............................................... $425,000 16 JD S780, ‘18, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, Spreader, Yield Monitor, 547 hrs., 327 sep hrs., #154560 .......... $419,500 1 JD S680, ‘12, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, Spreader, Yield Monitor, 2262 hrs., 1739 sep hrs., #154637 ...... $184,000

AL

17 JD S660, ‘12, 1342 hrs., 1025 sep hrs., #155239 ....... $178,000 15 JD S660, ‘14, Corn/Bean, 2WD, Singles, Spreader, Yield Monitor, #155345 ............................................ $189,500 14 JD S770, ‘18, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Singles, Chopper, 335 hrs., 199 sep hrs., #155380 ................................. $389,500 8 JD S670, ‘14, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, Spreader, 1665 hrs., 1265 sep hrs., #155388 ............................. $210,000 5 JD S660, ‘14, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, Chopper, 769 hrs., #155826...................................................... $230,500 14 JD 9750 STS, ‘00, 7685 hrs., 5021 sep hrs., #155851 ...$39,500 17 JD S770, ‘18, Corn/Bean, 2WD, Duals, Chopper, 243 hrs., #156063...................................................... $329,500 15 JD S680, ‘14, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, Chopper, 1745 hrs., 1361 sep hrs., #156460 ............................. $205,500 7 JD 9400, 1989 hrs., Corn/Bean, 2WD, Singles, Chopper, 6793 hrs., 4198 sep hrs., #156978 .................$18,995 7 JD 6620, ‘81, 4500 hrs., 4500 sep hrs., #156979............$8,500 17 JD S660, ‘15, Corn/Bean, 2WD, Duals, Chopper, 788 hrs., 545 sep hrs., #157075 ................................. $229,500 1 JD S780, ‘18, PRWD, Dls, 324 hrs., #157910 ............. $425,000 16 JD S780, ‘18, PRWD, Dls, 546 hrs., 283 sep hrs., #157911 $420,000 10 Pickett Twin Master, ‘14, Chopper, #159226...........$148,500 16 JD S680, ‘14, PRWD, Duals, Spreader, 2431 hrs., 1781 sep hrs., #159509 ............................................. $187,400 7 JD S780, ‘18, Corn/Bean; PRWD; Duals; Chopper, 600 hrs., 268 sep hrs., #159539 ............................................... $421,900 4 JD 9870 STS, ‘08, PRWD, Duals, 3262 hrs., #160885 $101,900 7 JD 9650 STS, ‘02, PRWD, Duals, 5002 hrs., 3459 sep hrs., #161213 ................................................$44,900 16 JD 9870 STS, ‘10, Corn/Bean, 2WD, Duals, Chopper, 3242 hrs., 2400 sep hrs., #161419 ................................$99,500 14 JD S690, ‘14, PRWD, 2106 hrs., 1480 sep hrs., #161532 $217,400 16 JD S680, ‘14, PRWD, Dls, 12 hrs., 671 sep hrs., #161645 $259,500 16 JD S670, ‘13, PRWD, Dls, 1584 hrs., 1190 sep hrs., #161854 .................................................................... $180,400 10 JD S680, ‘14, PRWD, Dls, 1640 hrs., 1251 sep hrs., #161855 .................................................................... $209,500 7 JD S680, ‘13, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, Chopper, 2818 hrs., 1871 sep hrs., #161858 ............................. $169,500 7 JD S680, ‘13, PRWD, Dls, 2112 hrs., 1391 sep hrs., #162070 .................................................................... $196,400 4 JD 9770 STS, ‘09, Corn/Bean, 2WD, Duals, Spreader, 1878 hrs., #162933.......................................................$95,000 6 JD 9670 STS, ‘08, Corn/Bean, 2WD, Duals, 2668 hrs., 1748 sep hrs., #163474 ................................................$81,400 5 JD 9610, ‘99, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, Chopper, 4965 hrs., 3424 sep hrs., #163535 ................................$29,900 1 JD 9660 STS, ‘04, Corn/Bean, 2WD, Duals, 2309 hrs., 1562 sep hrs., #163577 ................................................$74,000 6 JD 9610, ‘98, Corn/Bean, 2WD, Singles, Chopper, 4619 hrs., #163581.......................................................$17,900 11 JD 9600, ‘96, 2WD, Duals, Chopper, #163655 ..............$19,400 1 JD 9500, ‘92, 2WD, 4246 hrs., 2850 sep hrs., #163670 $19,500

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3 JD 9870 STS, ‘09, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, Chopper, 2360 hrs., 1580 sep hrs., #163675 ............................. $109,500 15 JD S680, ‘12, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, 2486 hrs., 1881 sep hrs., #163765 ............................................. $159,400 4 JD S760, ‘18, Corn/Bean, 2WD, Duals, 572 hrs., 500 sep hrs., #163861 ............................................... $289,500 7 JD 9760 STS, ‘05, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, Chopper, 3753 hrs., 2497 sep hrs., #164199 ..............................$67,900 1 JD S680, ‘13, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, Yield Monitor, 1150 hrs., 815 sep hrs., #164375 ............................... $209,000 5 JD 7720 Titan II, 1988 hrs., Corn/Bean, 2WD, Singles, Chopper, #164617 ..........................................................$9,500 DISKS 16 Wishek 862NT, ‘12, 30 ft, #144471 ............................$49,500 14 EZEE-ON 8700, ‘10, 42 ft, #145714 .............................$21,900 4 JD 2623, ‘13, 33 ft, #149511........................................$39,500 5 JD 2625, ‘13, 42 ft, 11” spacing, #151841 ....................$38,500 9 Sunflower 1434, ‘02, 35 ft, 9” spacing, #157886 ........$22,000 11 Sunflower 1830, ‘12, 30 ft,, 11” spacing, #161784 .....$29,400 14 JD 862NT, ‘09, 16 ft, Rigid, #162924............................$21,900 3 Wishek 862-NT, ‘09, 33 ft, 3-Section Folding, #163465 .$30,000 15 JD DH1176, ‘15, 6 ft, Rigid, 11” spacing, #164612.........$1,100 RIPPERS 11 JD 2730, ‘15, #143523 ................................................$79,500 4 JD 2730, ‘16, #143847.................................................$59,500 15 Case IH 875, ‘14, #150892..........................................$51,900 17 JD 2700, ‘07, #151561.................................................$17,900 1 JD 2730, ‘15, #152025 ................................................$87,205 10 KRAUSE 4850-18, ‘07, #152120 .................................$16,900 8 KUHN 4850, ‘15, #154000 ..........................................$34,900 3 TEBBEN DT7M24, ‘16, #155258 ................................$10,995 8 JD 2720, ‘14, #155362.................................................$37,900 14 CASE IH 870, ‘13, #160533 .........................................$46,400 5 CASE IH 870, ‘12, #160721 .........................................$43,900 8 JD 2720, ‘13, #161404.................................................$34,900 1 JD 2720, ‘13, #162185 ................................................$29,900 5 JD 2700, ‘12, #162338.................................................$20,900 11 CASE IH 9300, ‘03, #162470 .......................................$18,900 7 CASE IH 870, ‘12, #163215 .........................................$40,400 1 KRAUSE 4850-15, #163794 ......................................$15,900 TRACK TRACTORS 5 JD 9510RT, ‘14, 36-inch tracks, 1735 hrs., #142684 .... 229500 2 JD 9520RX, ‘16, 36-inch tracks, 1348 hrs., #143518.....359500 16 JD 9570RX, ‘17, 36-inch tracks, 596 hrs., #150666.......439500 3 JD 9560RT, ‘14, 36-inch tracks, 2191 hrs., #153954 .....229500 17 JD 9520T, ‘02, 6337 hrs., #155678..................................89500 16 Case IH Steiger 620 Quadtrac, ‘17, 36-inch tracks, PTO, 425 hrs., #161650 ..................................................409500 15 JD 9570RT, ‘17, 36-inch tracks, 1777 hrs., #162060 .....329900 7 Case IH STX450Q, ‘02, 36” tracks, 5918 hrs., #162188 .$95,900 14 JD 9630T, ‘10, 760mm/30” tracks, 3730 hrs., #163509$153900 4 JD 9520RX, ‘18, 36-inch tracks, 916 hrs., #163838.......374900 4 JD 8320RT, ‘18, 450mm/18” tracks, 869 hrs., #163845 $269,500 16 JD 9570RX, ‘18, 36-inch tracks, 397 hrs., #164362... $485,000

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JD S680, 2015 1774 hrs., 1133 sep $ hrs., # 144328

189,500

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JD S690, 2014, 1744 hrs., 1303 sep hrs., #145222

JD S670, 2013, 1584 hrs., 1190 Sep Hrs., #161854

180,400

49,500

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JD 9660 STS, 2005, 3538 hrs., 2331 sep hrs., #151601

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JD S670, 2012, $ 2295 hrs., 1834 sep hrs., #143860

149,500

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JD S680, 2013, 1426 hrs., 1013 se $ hrs., #144322

169,500

JD S660, 2016, $ 643 hrs., 473 sep hrs., #143510

199,500

Page 22 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 7, 2019

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production increased 7-10 pounds of milk per cow per day. Genomics has helped our production jump, although we probably cannot measure that directly.

What role does genetics play in your production level, and what is your breeding program? It is very important. Using genomics has made an amazing difference in our production. It helps us reach production goals at a faster rate. Without genomics, our genomics would have plateaued.

About 85% of the herd is bred based on genomics and 10% is bred based on type. The rest – hard breeders or older cows that will soon be culled – are bred to beef. We mainly look at net merit, butterfat and protein, and health traits, especially productive life and daughter pregnancy rate. Even in tough times, it pays to use the good bulls.

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What type of improvements would you like to make that would increase your rolling herd average even higher? Tunnel ventilation in the barn. To get to the next level, we always have to focus on feed quality, both tonnage and quality. We have our own chopper so we do not have to wait for someone else to chop for us. That helps us try to get the best quality we can.

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We have the philosophy that we have to always be moving ahead in some way. We cannot be afraid to try something new. Cow Manager and our automatic calf feeder we installed eight years ago have both been good investments. The calf feeder helps grow our calves well.

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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 Waunakee, WI 608-849-5043

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Tell us about your farm. We (Wayne and Kris) started milking cows on another farm in April 1992, the same year we were married. We started with 47 cows. In 1999, we moved to our current site after we bought 68 acres, and built our parlor and freestall barn. We now milk 480 cows and own over 1,100 acres. Two of our sons, Andy and Aaron, have returned to the farm. Andy returned in the spring of 2016, and Aaron returned in the spring of 2017.

Our son, Eric, will be nishing graduate school and taking a job with a genetics company in December.

He helps us with our genetic mating. Another son, Jacob, also works off the farm.

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Dairy Star • Saturday, December 7, 2019 • Page 23

Stender creates career fair to boost interest in ag Dec. 13 event to highlight industry jobs

By Jennifer Coyne jenn@dairystar.com

NORWOOD YOUNG AMERICA, Minn. – Working in agriculture comes in many forms – as a farmer, agronomist, geneticists, news broadcaster and more.

As a dairy farmer, Tim Stender wants young people to realize their potential in the industry with his career fair set to take place Friday, Dec. 13, at Central High School in Norwood Young America.

“I want kids to go home to their parents and tell them there are careers out there,” Stender said. “Even if they don’t go get a college degree, there are real careers out there that use math, science, social skills and more.”

Stender milks 130 cows in Carver County near Norwood Young America.

The farmer is also a participant in the Holstein Foundation’s Young Dairy Leader Institute Class 11.

As part of YDLI, Stender had to create an event that promoted the dairy industry in a unique way.

For more than a decade, Stender and his family have worked with high school students on their farm. Pairing an interest for dairy and educating youth seemed like the right t for a YDLI project.

“I am so passionate about the kids

who work for us,” Stender said. “I see myself as a mentor to these kids as they learn values and work ethic, and then leave our farm as good people. I knew I wanted my project to reect that.”

The career fair will begin at 8 a.m. that Friday and last for two hours. The district’s 368 high and middle school students will attend with an open invitation for other area agriculture instructors to bring their students, as well.

Stender has worked with the school’s agriculture instructor, Jim Mesik, to coordinate the event. Together, Stender and Mesik will bring nearly 50 business professionals to the school to

“When I rst told the school about my idea, they approached it with open arms.”

TIM STENDER, DAIRY FARMER

share career opportunities in agriculture.

“When I rst told the school about my idea, they approached it with open arms,” Stender said. “They gave me days and times that would work and were ready to set something up and see how it works.”

While Stender’s initial plan was to bring awareness to the jobs available in the dairy industry, he quickly decided

the career fair would encompass agriculture as a whole.

“I really have lofty goals, and overall, I hope this impacts someone … to help them nd perspective,” Stender said.

The dairy farmer’s goals stem from his childhood. Stender was surrounded by adult mentors who helped guide him Tim Stender towards his current Dairy producer lifestyle.

However, he grew up in a time when farming was discouraged.

“People would say, ‘The worst thing you could do is let your child farm,’” Stender said. “That was always in the back of my mind, even as I went off to college. I knew I wanted to farm, but I also knew the importance of other trades.”

Then, when the YDLI program took Stender on a four-day trip to Phoenix, Arizona, he formed a connection that solidied his desire to help youth see the potential in the agriculture industry.

Stender met Tyler Ribeiro, of Tulare, California, who is an advisor to the YDLI program and a Class 9 participant. Ribeiro created a career fair for his project.

“Tyler saw the need in his community,” Stender said. “And, he was see-

ing the same things I’m seeing here.”

The idea was further reafrmed when Stender attended his college program’s 25th year anniversary.

“The program was developed in the mid ‘80s when the urban economy was booming and rural America was struggling,” Stender said. “There are still so many [people] going to fouryear schools with no direction. We need to talk to them about other options.”

Now, in the position to help a younger generation, Stender is eager to be a role model and showcase the possibilities in agriculture.

Amidst the troubles of fall harvest, Stender contacted businesses he works with on the farm to participate in the career fair.

“This is really a grassroots effort,” he said. “I’ve reached out to agronomists, genetics companies, machinery shops, dealerships and vets, plumbers and electricians. I’d love for this to be as dairy focused as possible, but I’m open to all trades because they all contribute to the industry.”

With an array of professionals on site to share their careers with students, Stender is hopeful his YDLI project will not only educate students about the agriculture industry but more importantly show them the vast opportunities the industry presents.

To present at the career fair, contact Stender (952-607-6297 or tstender30@ yahoo.com) or check out the event’s Facebook page: Agriculture Career Fair.

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Page 24 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 7, 2019

+

DAIRY ST R

The Great Christmas “GRAND” PRIZE

GIVEAWAY 2019

Grand Prize Drawing Will Be Held Thursday, December 12, 2019 THE WINNERS WILL BE POSTED ON WWW.DAIRYSTAR.COM, MILK BREAK NEWSLETTER AND ON FACEBOOK.

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“Grand” Prize Heifer Calf:

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Dam: Graber Listowel Sophia-P Sire: Sunset Canyon Maid-Rite-ET Granddam: Graber Eclipses Sadie-P Grand Priz Calf come e from Grab s Jerseys In er c.

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J and Cal Graber, pictured with Graber Jay M Maid-rite Stella heifer calf that will be given a away in the Great Christmas Giveaway drawing.

REGISTER FREE AT ANY OF THE PARTICIPATING BUSINESSES FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN!

Dairy Star • Saturday, December 7, 2019 • Page 25

IOWA

REGISTER AT THESE PARTICIPATING BUSINESSES:

ALLAMAKEE COUNTY • Bodensteiner Implement Waukon • 563-568-3463 • Equity Livestock Waukon • 563-568-4501 • Innovative Ag Services Waukon • 563-568-3455 • Waukon Veterinary Services Waukon • 563-568-2487 BREMER COUNTY • ViaÀeld Sumner • 563-578-3214 BUCHANAN COUNTY • Bodensteiner Implement Rowley • 319-938-2222 • ViaÀeld Winthrop • 319-935-3336 CHICKASAW COUNTY • Ag-Land Equipment New Hampton • 641-394-4226 • Bodensteiner Implement New Hampton • 641-394-3061 CLAYTON COUNTY • Bodensteiner Implement Elkader • 563-245-2470 • Innovative Ag Services Elkader • 563-245-1230 Monona • 563-539-3501 DELAWARE COUNTY • Edgewood Feed Mill Edgewood • 563-928-6405 • Manchester Livestock Auction Manchester • 563-927-2540 DUBUQUE COUNTY • Bodensteiner Implement Dyersville • 563-875-2724 • Brunkan Equipment Worthington • 563-855-2434 • Cascade Livestock Auction Cascade • 563-852-3533 • Eastern Iowa Dairy Systems Inc. Epworth • 563-876-3087 • Helle Farm Equipment Dyersville • 563-875-7154 • Innovative Ag Services Cascade • 563-852-7245 Farley • 563-744-3337 • New Vienna Ag Automation New Vienna • 563-921-2896 • Skip Breitbach Feeds Balltown • 563-552-2393 • Scherrmann’s Implement Dyersville • 563 875-2426 • Ungs Shopping Center (IAS) Luxemburg • 563-853-2455 FAYETTE COUNTY • Bodensteiner Implement Clermont • 563-423-5206 Oelwein • 319-283-4371 • ViaÀeld Arlington • 563-633-3415 Elgin • 563-426-5566 Maynard • 563-637-2285 FLOYD COUNTY • Livestock Systems Charles City• 641-220-5257 HOWARD COUNTY • Bodensteiner Implement Cresco • 563-547-2152 • Farmers Win Coop Cresco West • 563-547-5660 JACKSON COUNTY • Innovative Ag Services Andrew • 563-672-3228 JONES COUNTY • Bodensteiner Implement Monticello • 319-465-3515 O’BRIEN COUNTY • Associated Milk Producers Inc. Sanborn • 712-729-3255 SIOUX COUNTY • Rock Valley Hay Auction Co. Rock Valley • 712-476-5541 • Sioux Dairy Equipment, Inc. Rock Valley • 1-800-962-4346 WINNESHIEK COUNTY • Bodensteiner Implement Decorah • 563-382-2961 • Brynsaas Sales & Service Decorah • 563-382-4484

• Farmers Win Coop Burr Oak • 563-735-5427 Ridgeway • 563-737-2244 • Franzen Sales & Service Fort Atkinson • 563-534-2724 • Langs Dairy Equipment Decorah • 563-382-8722

MINNESOTA

BECKER COUNTY • Adkins Equipment Inc. Detroit Lakes • 218-847-3131 BENTON COUNTY • Arnold’s of St. Cloud Sauk Rapids • 320-251-2585 • First National Bank of MilacaGilman OfÀce • 320-387-2233 • Gilman Co-op Creamery Gilman • 320-387-2770 BROWN COUNTY • Associated Milk Producers Inc. New Ulm • 507-233-4600 • New Ulm Regional Vet Clinic New Ulm • 507-233-2520 CARVER COUNTY • Bongards’ Bongards • 952-466-5521 • Lano Equipment of Norwood Norwood/Young America 952-467-2181 • Storms Welding Cologne • 952-466-3343 DAKOTA COUNTY • Werner Implement Vermillion • 651-437-4435 DOUGLAS COUNTY • Nelson Creamery Nelson • 320-762-0115 • Osakis Creamery Assn.

Osakis • 1-800-584-9236 • Pro Ag Farmers Co-op GarÀeld • 320-834-2271 FILLMORE COUNTY • Farmers Win Coop Rushford • 507-864-2161 GOODHUE COUNTY • Ag Partners - Grain Site Bellchester • 651-923-4453 Wanamingo • 507-824-2231 Wanamingo-Agronomy Location 507-824-2215 • Ag Partners Farm Store Cannon Falls • 507-263-4651 Goodhue • 800-732-1439 Pine Island • 507-356-8313 • GB Feed and Supply Bellechester • 651-923-4425 • Midwest Livestock Systems Pine Island • 507-356-8349 HOUSTON COUNTY • Farmers Win Coop Caledonia • 507-725-3306 Houston • 507-896-3147 Spring Grove • 507-498-5321 KANABEC COUNTY • East Central Dairy Supply Mora • 320-679-1029 • Fluegge’s Ag Mora • 320-679-2981 KANDIYOHI COUNTY • D&D Ag Supply & Construction Pennock • 320-599-4466 • Farm-Rite Equipment Willmar • 320-235-3672 LE SUEUR COUNTY • Ag Partners - Agronomy Le Center • 507-357-6868 • Ag Partners - Agronomy Le Sueur • 507-665-6277 • Ag Partners - OfÀce Le Sueur • 507-665-6270 MCLEOD COUNTY • Arnold’s of Glencoe Glencoe • 320-864-5531 • Leedstone Glencoe • 320-256-5575 • Mueller Sales & Service Dairy Equipment Glencoe • 888-205-0974 MEEKER COUNTY • Farm-Rite Equipment Dassel • 1-888-679-4857

MILLE LACS COUNTY • Foreston Co-op Creamery/ ADM Alliance Nutrition Foreston • 320-294-5711 • First National Bank of Milaca Milaca • 320-983-1333 MORRISON COUNTY • Litke’s Veterinary Service Pierz • 320-468-6666 • Modern Farm Equipment Pierz • 320-468-2161 • Pierz Co-op Pierz • 320-468-6655 • Sunrise Ag Cooperative Buckman • 320-468-6433 Lastrup • 320-468-2543 Little Rock • 320-584-5147 Pierz • 320-468-2168 OTTER TAIL COUNTY • Bongards’ Perham • 218-346-4680 • Farmers Elevator of Fergus Falls & Henning 218-736-3301 • PCCA-Country Store Perham • 218-346-7075 • Perham Stockyards Perham • 218-346-3415 • Pro Ag Farmers Co-op in Henning 218-583-2947 • Pro Ag Farmers Co-op in Urbank 218-267-2401 PIPESTONE COUNTY • Gorter’s Clay & Dairy Equipment Pipestone • 507-825-3271 RICE COUNTY • Ag Partners - Agronomy Morristown • 507-685-2700 SCOTT COUNTY • Ag Partners - Farm Store Belle Plaine • 952-873-4224 • Ag Partners - Coop Tire & Auto Belle Plaine • 952-873-3001 STEARNS COUNTY • A&C Farm Service Paynesville • 320-243-3736 • Ag Venture Feed & Seed, Inc. Watkins • 320-764-9910, 800-779-8910 • Albany Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram Albany • 320-845-2801 • Arnold’s of Kimball Kimball • 320-398-3800 • Arnold’s of St. Martin St. Martin • 320-548-3285 • Arnzen Construction/St. Rosa Lumber Freeport, In St. Rosa 320-836-2284 or 1-888-276-1751 • Associated Milk Producers Inc. Paynesville • 320-243-3794 • Centre Dairy Equipment & Supply Inc. Sauk Centre • 320-352-5763 or 1-800-342-2697 • Dairy Star Sauk Centre • 320-352-6303 • Dairyland Supply Sauk Centre 320-352-3987 or 1-800-338-6455 • DHIA Sauk Centre • 320-352-2028 or 1-800-369-2697 • Ecker Feed Service, LLC New Munich • 320-837-5249 • Elrosa Grain & Feed Elrosa • 320-697-5515 • Farm Systems Melrose • 1-800-636-5581 • 1-800-247-0012 • Farm-Rite Equipment St. Cloud • 320 240 2085 • Feed Co. Paynesville • 320-243-3938 • Freeport State Bank Freeport •1-800-252-9856 • 320-836-2126 Greenwald • 320-987-2265 New Munich • 320-837-5297 Melrose • 320-256-7208 • Hartung Sales & Service, Inc. Freeport • 320-836-2697 • Lake Henry Implement Lake Henry • 320-243-7411 • Leedstone Melrose • 1-877-608-3877 • Melrose Implement Inc. Melrose • 320-256-4253 • Modern Farm Equipment Sauk Centre • 320-352-6543 • Nutrien Ag Solutions 320-352-6564

STEELE COUNTY • Ag Partners - Agronomy Owatonna • 507-413-8000 • Northland Farm Systems Owatonna • 800-385-3911 TODD COUNTY • Olson’s Custom Farm Service Staples • 800-477-7059 • Pro-Ag Farmers Co-op Feed Store Browerville • 320-594-2711 • Pro-Ag Farmers Co-op in Clarissa Clarissa • 218-756-2112 • Pro-Ag Farmers Co-op in Eagle Bend Eagle Bend • 218-738-2552 WABASHA COUNTY • Ag Partners Farm Store Lake City • 651-345-3328 Plainview • 507-534-2531 • Beck Implement Elgin • 507-876-2122 • Leedstone Plainview • 507-534-3161 • Wingert Sales & Service Plainview • 507-534-2285 WADENA COUNTY • Aldrich Tractor Inc. Aldrich • 218-445-5430 • Dairyland Equipment of Menahga Menahga • 218-564-4958 • Olson’s Custom Farm Service Verndale • 218-445-5500 Sebeka • 218-837-5749 WINONA COUNTY • Benson Farm Service Lewiston • 507-523-2188 • Elba Coop Elba • 507-796-6571 • S&S Dairy Systems St. Charles • 507-932-4288 WRIGHT COUNTY • Hobert Sales Inc. Cokato • 320-286-6284, 1-800-820-6455 • The Country Store/Munson Lakes Nutrition Howard Lake • 320-543-3517, 800-663-9177 YELLOW MEDICINE COUNTY • Farmward Cooperative Wood Lake • 507-485-3153

SOUTH DAKOTA BROOKINGS COUNTY • W.W. Tire Brookings • 605-696-7400 CODINGTON COUNTY • Midwest Ag Supply Watertown • 605-882-2497 HUTCHINSON COUNTY • Associated Milk Producers Inc. Freeman • 605-925-4234 MINNEHAHA COUNTY • Central Valley Dairy Supply Brandon • 605-467-0812 • Midwest Livestock Systems Sioux Falls • 800-705-1447 ROBERTS COUNTY • Valley Dairy Supply Corona • 605-432-5224

WISCONSIN

GRANT COUNTY • Argall Dairy Systems, West Platteville • 608-348-3385 • Fuller’s Milker Center, Inc. Lancaster • 608-723-4634 • Innovative Ag Services Cuba City • 608-744-2287 • J. Gile Dairy Cuba City • 608-744-2661 • Scott Implement Platteville • 608-348-6565 PEPIN COUNTY • Anibas Silo & Repair Arkansaw • 715-285-5317 PIERCE COUNTY • Ag Partners Grange Hall • 715-647-5002 • Western Wisconsin Farm Store Ellsworth • 715-273-5066 TREMPEALEAU COUNTY • Associated Milk Producers Inc. Blair • 608-989-2535 VERNON COUNTY • Koon Kreek Feeds Coon Valley • 608-452-3838

To view a complete list of participating businesses, log on to www.dairystar.com

*Enter as often as you like. One entry per store visit, please. Winners must be 18 years or older and a Grade A or B dairy farmer for heifer, or 17 years or younger and a son or daughter of a Grade A or B dairy farmer for heifer calf. Winners must also live in the Dairy Star circulation area to be eligible and are responsible for transport of animal.

Page 26 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 7, 2019

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MINNESOTA Burkholder Seeds - Claremont, MN Dwight 507-279-0292 • Justin 507-456-0006 Cleeson Mill - Altura, MN • 507-458-5907 Dale Ommodt, CCA - Crop & Livestock Nutrition Atwater, MN • 320-212-3190 Dennis Seeds - John Dennis Park Rapids, MN • 218-252-3753

Gerard Becker Long Prairie, MN 320-290-9261 Hy View Feeds 507-493-5564 Mabel, MN Jack Stamschror Kellogg, MN 507-259-0269 Luxemburg Feed Service Luxemburg, MN 320-252-1513 Mark Titera Bagley, MN 218-694-2413 Masters Seeds Dan Mast 44454 120th Ave. SE Bertha, MN 56540 Mike Schimming Princeton, MN 763-370-3715 Schueler Farms Sherman Schueler Willmar, MN 320-894-4808 Winscher Seeds Mike Winscher 320-282-6748 Shawn Winscher Royalton, MN 320-420-4516 SOUTH DAKOTA Benjamin Arlt Big Stone City, SD 651-331-8865

Natures Best Chad Tesch Canton, SD 605-759-5622 Dan (Boone) Uphoff Sioux Falls, SD 605-321-1862 IOWA Clearview Ag Mervin Beachy St. Ansgar, IA 641-381-0054 D J Cattle Company Daryn Yoder Leon, IA 641-344-6002 Natures Best, LLC Roger TeSlaa Inwood, IA 712-753-4651

Brendon Blank Ixonia, WI 920-285-4640 Daniel Olson Lena, WI 920-676-2516 Rock Creek Ag Irvin Garman Loyal, WI 715-316-1072 Narrows Valley Supply Levi Troyer E4561 Stoney Ridge Rd., Loganville, WI Dean Wrightsman 608-495-4134 Summit Seed LLC Jim Webb Plymouth, WI 920-377-1152

Herman Mast 3192 180th Ave. Redding, IA 50860 Timberline Sales & Service Joe Graber Kalona, IA 319-656-3527 Valley View Ag Russ Funke Dyersville, IA 563-590-6939

Eberly Ag Thorp, WI Matthew Witmer 715-773-1093 Daryl Danner 715-773-2719 Andrew Miller E10094 Andy Miller Rd. Westby, WI 54667 Hefty Resources Edwin Leid Athens, WI 715-316-1888 Beachy Seed Supply Joe Beachy Bonduel, WI 715-758-8116

WISCONSIN Hillside Acres, LLC Silke Ford Hillsboro, WI 608-489-4720

This is the nal reminder that enrollment for 2020 DMC ends on Friday, Dec. 13, 2019. All producers that locked-in for ve years are still required to sign the contract and pay the $100 administration fee prior to this deadline. Producers that did not lock-in have until this date to decide if they want to participate and at what coverage levels.

Please contact your local FSA News & Notes FSA ofce to take care of this task.

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Final enrollment for DMC is Dec. 13

Jerian Holsteins Mike Jackson Barron, WI 715-418-0876 Jacob W. Miller S2285 Role Lane Chaseburg, WI 54621 Steven Beachy Denmark, WI 920-615-6337 Thomas Kearns Gays Mills, WI 608-734-3416 Mark Smith Glenwood City, WI 320-232-5244 Howard Miller 24252 H M Lane Hillsboro, WI 54634 Garden Valley Genetics Juston Daniels Hixton, WI 715-299-9199 Will Boeder Luxemburg, WI 920-371-0381 Gerald Hochstetler W4260 Grand River Rd. Markesan, WI 53946 Prairie Ag Supply Robert Kistler Menomonie, WI 715-235-2425 David Stutsman N370 W CR ) Mondovi, WI 54755 Mike Plucinski Monroe, WI 608-558-2711

Greg Schieldt New Glarus, WI 608-712-5981 Rosedale Seeds Mark Rueth Oxford, WI 920-988-3070 Al Schellinger Mayville, WI 920-382-1176 Grass Ridge Farm, LLC Paul Lippert Pittsville, WI 715-459-4735 S L Sales Eli Stoltzfus 19900 Sunny Lane Platteville, WI 53818 Aaron Barclay Seymour, WI 920-606-1460 Scenic Valley Coop Daryl Magolski Seymour, WI 920-370-5206 Golden Grains Edwin F. Knoll Sparta, WI 608-269-5150 Eli Borntreger 28885 Co. Hwy. A Tomah, WI 54660 Goehl Farms Hay & Forage Michael Goehl Whitewater, WI 262-325-1363

The Farm Loan teams across the state are already working on operating loans for spring 2020 so it is important that potential

By Ryan Brunn borrowers submit their Stearns Co. Exec. Dir. requests early so they can be timely processed.

The farm loan team can help determine which loan programs are best for applicants.

FSA offers a wide range of low-interest loans that can meet the nancial needs of any farm operation for just about any purpose. The traditional farm operating and farm ownership loans can help large and small farm operations take advantage of early purchasing discounts for spring inputs as well expenses throughout the year.

Microloans are a simplied loan program that will provide up to $50,000 for both Farm Ownership and Operating Microloans to eligible applicants.

These loans, targeted for smaller operations and non-traditional operations, can be used for operating expenses, starting a new agricultural enterprise, purchasing equipment, and other needs associated with a farming operation. FSA loan staff can provide more details on farm operating and microloans and provide loan applications. Loans to beginning farmers and members of underserved groups are a priority.

Other types of loans available include: Marketing Assistance Loans allow producers to use eligible commodities as loan collateral and obtain a 9-month loan while the crop is in storage.

These loans provide cash ow to the producer and allow them to market the crop when prices may be more advantageous.

Farm Storage Facility Loans can be used to build permanent structures used to store eligible commodities, or for storage and handling trucks, or portable or permanent handling equipment. A variety of structures are eligible under this loan, including bunker silos, grain bins, hay storage structures and refrigerated structures for vegetables and fruit. A producer may borrow up to $500,000 per loan.

Please call your local County ofce if you have questions about any of the loans available through FSA. 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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of our neighbors this Christmas, and every day, whether they are next door or hundreds of miles away.

We can also give the gift of looking beyond ourselves at our holiday gatherings. This is a time where we can choose to share the good things that have been happening on our farms and in our lives.

It is a moment to choose to look beyond negativity and bickering. The work you do as an unofcial agriculture advocate within your own sphere of inuence has a lasting impact. Ultimately, it helps to bring us together within our families and our communities. It causes us to be stronger together.

Finally, it causes the greatest gift exchange ever: each of us looking beyond ourselves towards the needs of those people right beside us.

I wish you a Merry Christmas and happy

tel y ™ p le

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ly,

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holidays.

Princess Kay of the Milky Way, Amy Kyllo, serves as the Minnesota dairy community’s goodwill ambassador. Throughout the year, Princess Kay helps people understand the dedication of dairy farmers to wholesome and nutritious food, and the way milk is produced.

Princess Kay does many school presentations, represents dairy farmers at the Fuel Up To Play 60 events that are held in conjunction with the Minnesota Vikings, and is very active during June Dairy Month sharing the importance of dairy farming and dairy foods. Amy grew up in Byron, MN living and working on her family’s dairy farm.

She is a senior at the Association Free Lutheran Bible School. She enjoys music, loves to read and is an avid Minnesota Twins baseball fan.

G e nt

I remember receiving some really amazing Christmas gifts as a child. One especially stands out. It was a beautiful wooden jewelry box with delicate painted owers on the front. It was a gift from my grandparents, and it wasn’t just a child’s jewelry box. In fact, it was so lovely that On the Road with I remember walking Princess Kay up to my room just to look at it. I still have it today and hope to have it my entire life.

It will always be a treasured possession.

It was probably one of the very best gifts I had received from them.

As we approach Christmas, I want to

By Amy Kyllo encourage you that the 66th Princess Kay of the very best gift you can Milky Way give this year is to look beyond yourself and your needs. This was something I talked about during my speech at the Minnesota Farm Bureau Banquet this past month. I shared my heart for agriculture advocacy. As a dairy advocate, I want to build community. As we look at our community, often we think about what we need and about how the community needs to change to meet our needs.

I think this is the wrong perspective. As we look to the needs of others and the community as a whole, it is then that paradoxically our needs are met. As Princess Kay, I get to share how as dairy farmers we are meeting the needs of our communities. I am getting the opportunity to share your story, but it is only through your hard work that I get this opportunity.

As we enter the holidays, I know it can be a stressful time for everyone. We can get overwhelmed by our responsibilities as dairy farmers and that can seem to get in the way of all

Dairy Star • Saturday, December 7, 2019 • Page 27

ic k ly

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O work Our k iis a gift if to each h off our neighbors this Christmas, and every day, whether they are next door or hundreds of miles away. the festivities. We can wish that our vocation didn’t require us to be out there doing chores every day, seven days a week. But, this is a moment where you and I can think beyond ourselves and see the work we are putting in is a gift to the people around us. Without dairy farmers there wouldn’t be cheese on the cracker platter, milk in the fridge, butter in the Christmas cookies, whipped cream on the pies, and cheesecake on the dessert table, the list goes on. Our work is a gift to each Consistent, even milk-out from quarter to quarter, milking after milking.

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Page 28 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 7, 2019 Joe Armstrong armst225@umn.edu 612.624.3610 Luciano Caixeta lcaixeta@umn.edu 612-625-3130 Hugh Chester-Jones chest001@umn.edu 507-835-3622 Gerard Cramer gcramer@umn.edu 612-625-8184 Marcia Endres miendres@umn.edu 612-624-5391 Sandra Godden godde002@umn.edu 612-625-8177 Joleen Hadrich jhadrich@umn.edu 612-626-5620 Les Hansen hanse009@umn.edu 612-624-2277 Brad Heins hein0106@umn.edu 320-589-1711 Nathan Hulinsky huli0013@umn.edu 320-203-6104 Kevin Janni kjanni@umn.edu 612-625-3108 Karen Johnson ande9495@umn.edu 320-484-4334 Claire LaCanne lacanne@umn.edu 507-332-6109 Brenda Miller nels4220@umn.edu 320-732-4435 Kota Minegishi kota@umn.edu 612-624-7455 Erin Royster royster@umn.edu Jim Salfer salfe001@umn.edu 320-203-6093 Mike Schutz mschutz@umn.edu 612-624-1205 M. Scott Wells mswells@umn.edu 612-625-3747 Emily Wilmes krek0033@umn.edu 320-255-6169

www.extension.umn.edu/dairy

Bedding considerations Did the weather create a challenge in making quality straw or corn stocks bales this fall? Has the price of other bedding sources recently skyrocketed? If so, it may be time to research bedding options for your farm. Typically, a dairy cow will spend anywhere from 10-14 hours per day lying down. With that in mind, we must create the best environment possible for her overall health and well-being through our bedding selection. Proper bedding is essential to keep cows clean and dry. When managed correctly, cows have reduced injuries – hock lesions in particular – and fewer cases of lameness.

There are many factors to consider when selecting the right bedding source for your facility. The rst and most critical is cow comfort and well-being.

Bedding should be soft and dry for

By Karen Johnson optimal comfort. Most barns are designed to handle a particular type of bedding University of MN and manure, such as compost barns, bed packs and sand bedded freestalls. Farmers must keep in mind what type of bedding their facilities and manure systems can handle. Another factor is storage. How do you plan to store the fresh and dirty bedding? Other considerations include price, availability and ease of use of the bedding source.

– Corn stocks or stover. When harvested dry out of the eld, corn stocks or stover can be a relatively inexpensive bedding source produced on farm. Corn stover has a similar moisture holding capacity to straw. However, once they reach max capacity, the cell walls within the stocks rupture, releasing the moisture back into the environment.

– Sand. Sand is a good inorganic choice for bedding to keep cows clean. It supports little bacteria growth and naturally drains moisture away which helps keep cows dry.

Particle size matters for high quality sand. Particles that are too small result in compaction and poor drainage. All sand sizes provide valuable traction for cattle; however, particles that are too large can lead to hoof issues. Also, sand is noted to be hard on all types of facilities and equipment.

– Sawdust or wood shavings. Overall, dry sawdust or wood shavings provide cows a dry, soft place to lie down.

Due to the drying process, there is little opportunity for bacteria growth until manure/urine is added. Sawdust and

shavings are notably easy to use and can absorb 2.5 times their weight in moisture. Smaller particle size is preferred as it can absorb more and brakes down quicker than larger particle size shavings. However, the smaller the size, the faster pathogens can grow. Higher prices and availability shortages have been reported.

– Green sawdust. In comparison to kiln dried sawdust, green sawdust has a higher moisture content which leads to higher bacteria growth potential before the product is used as bedding. The bacteria growth potential increases rapidly

T k time Take i to research h prices i and d availability of your bedding of choice in your area to determine which option will work best for you. once manure/urine is added. Due to the green cut nature of this product, it also has less moisture holding capacity.

Some farmers frequently utilize lime to help mitigate the bacterial growth. Management with frequent removal of soiled material and addition of clean sawdust is key with this bedding source.

– Straw. Straw creates a soft and comfortable environment for cows. It naturally provides thermal insulation during the coldest months of the year. Generally, straw has a lower pathogen load unless it is allowed to get heavily soiled.

Another advantage to straw is that it can be produced on the farm. Higher prices and availability shortages have been reported.

Variable prices and a tough harvest are making farmers wonder: What is my best option for bedding? Each farm is different based on their facilities and manure handling capabilities. No matter the material that works best for you and your facility, it needs to be dry and kept clean. Grooming stalls or bed packs multiple times a day is essential to keep the cows clean and reduce potential pathogen growth. Take time to research prices and availability of your bedding of choice in your area to determine which option will work best for you.

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Raising calves that will thrive in winter Winter presents extra challenges for raising calves in cold climates.

Newborn calves’ thermal neutral zone is between 60 and 77 degrees Fahrenheit.

The thermal neutral zone is the temperature at which an animal is the most comfortable and extra energy is not required to maintain normal body temperature.

When environmental temperatures are below the thermal neutral zone, the calf uses energy just to maintain its body temperature. Even on a warm winter day of 40 degrees, the maintenance requirement for calves younger than 3 weeks old is 40% higher than temperatures within the thermal neutral zone. At zero degrees, the maintenance requirement is about double. Additional measures must be implemented during the winter to assure calves stay warm, healthy and continue to grow. Below are some items to consider: – Calves must be born in a very clean, dry environment.

Calves are born with only 3-4% body fat. They are also born

By Jim Salfer with a special layer of fat called brown fat. Brown fat’s only University of MN purpose is to release energy as heat. To prevent using all the fat within a few hours of birth, calves must dry off rapidly.

The calving area should also be draft free. Warming boxes or rooms should be considered if calving in outside cold facilities. Four quarts of colostrum should be fed as soon as possible after birth to provide passive immunity and nutrients to the newborn calf.

– In cold weather, calves need more energy just to maintain body temperature.

This is particularly important during the rst three weeks after birth before calves consume more calf starter. Once calves consume starter and begin to ruminate, heat produced by feed digestion helps keep calves warm. Unless calves are already consuming 8 or more quarts of high quality milk replacer or whole milk per day, consider increasing the amount of milk offered up to these levels or higher. Research shows this will not result in scours, and the extra energy will allow calves to better ght off disease and stay warm. Accomplish this by increasing the number of feedings per day from two to three or increase the amount of liquid at each feeding. Do not just increase the amount of milk replacer powder in the same amount of water. This has the potential to cause dehydration, especially if water access is limited.

– Feed milk at 105 degrees. Milk can cool rapidly during extreme cold.

Adjust the initial temperature to achieve a milk feeding temperature of 105 degrees.

– Consider calf blankets. Calves are no different than us. Wearing layers in cold weather helps keep us warm. Canadian research shows when calves were housed at a temperature of zero to negative 22 degrees, blankets provided a 52% increase in whole animal insulation.

– Offer calves warm water daily. This can be a challenge in our winters.

Drinking water stimulates consumption of starter that promotes rumen development. Consider offering warm water after calves are nished with their milk. After 10 minutes, empty water from the pail before it freezes. Another option is to offer warm water other times during the day.

– Provide a lot of clean, dry bedding. Calves’ hair coats provide excellent insulation if they are clean and dry. Kneel in the bedding. If your knee gets wet, the calf will also get damp when lying down. Deep bedding allows a calf to nest down in it and provide a barrier of warm air around itself. Bed calves to a nesting score of three, where the calf is able to nestle deeply into the bedding material, and its legs are not visible.

– Continue to ventilate the calf facility. Most hutches have openings or vents to keep air fresh for the calves. If no air is circulated within the facility, there is an increased disease risk because heat and moisture can create an environment conducive to pathogen growth. Well-designed air tubes keep small amounts of fresh air distributed throughout the calf building without creating a draft.

– Delay weaning during extremely cold weather. Holstein calves can normally be weaned when consuming 1.5 to 2 pounds of starter for three consecutive days. However, since weaning is a stressful period, delay weaning during extremely cold weather.

Dairy Star • Saturday, December 7, 2019 • Page 29

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FIBERGLASS FENCING • GATES • FREESTALLS • FEED RAIL • FEED LOTS New additive in our paint now prevents & protects against the growth of mold & mildew.

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Inspection anxiety Page 30 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 7, 2019

Mrs. Traver, my fourth-grade teacher, glowered named Arden. Whenever Arden stopped by our farm, I down at me as I squirmed in my chair. would mosey down to the milk room and chew the fat “This homework is a mess,” she said as she threw with him about such things as crops and old cars. As a paper emblazoned with a large red “F” onto my Arden left, he might mention a few items that needed desk. attention, and I would promise to get right on them.

Well, of course it was a Arden was a swell guy. mess. What do you expect But then came some One d day when h I was not h home, massive government budget when you forget your as- O signment until the morning a new inspector visited our cuts. A slew of state employit is due and try to complete ees were pink slipped, and it on the bus? But, Mrs. dairy. others had their duties reTraver was not interested in jiggered. The net result was excuses, only punishment. that the same person who You would think that being a dairy farmer might inspects dairies might also check on such things as mean a person would no longer have to endure such restaurants, nursing homes and nuclear power plants. nonsense. But it seems the world is full of people like One day when I was not home, a new inspector Mrs.Traver, some of whom became dairy inspectors. visited our dairy. He left behind a report card that was I used to actually enjoy our dairy inspector’s vis- covered with angry scribbles. its. This was because we were inspected by a nice guy I felt like a fourth grader all over again as I perused

the report. One of the rst notations I read said, “Cats in the milk room.”

Well, of course there were cats. Cats and dairies go together like soup and sandwich, horse and carriage, Celine Dion and overwrought love songs. Dear County Agent Guy Besides, cats were the core component of my Self-directed Biological Rodent Control System.

Without the cats, there would have probably been an angry notation saying, “Chorus line of mice doing the Macarena on top of milk tank.”

And then there was Gimme Five Kitty. One

By Jerry Nelson summer, our perpetuColumnist ally pregnant mother cat gave birth to a litter of kittens. One of the kitties was cream-colored and had astonishingly blue eyes. The kitten seemed extra clever, so in idle moments I trained her to give me ve with her little forepaw. Hence her name.

Our youngest son, who was 14 at the time, took up the cause and trained Gimme Five Kitty to ride on his shoulder like a parrot. He would strut around the milking parlor with the cat perched atop his shoulder and say such things as, “Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of catnip.” How could we evict such a cute little puddy tat?

Another notation read, “Dog in milk room.”

Well, of course there was a dog in the milk room.

Frosty, our Blue Heeler, knew it was her job to help with the milking. Frosty was a highly skilled cattle dog but was not very good at telling time. She would tag along into the milk room no matter what the hour might be.

Frosty also was not much of a guard dog. She would have held the door for a burglar if he patted her head and would have driven his getaway car in exchange for a tummy rub.

Large block letters near the bottom of the inspection sheet proclaimed, “Manure in free stall area.”

Well, of course there was manure in the free stall area. We were experiencing an extended cold snap that would have made the movie “Frozen” look like a Florida vacation. Cow poop froze the instant it hit the ground. The accumulating glacier of manure was hard as a diamond. My skid loader’s bucket could not even scratch it.

That was the nal straw. What was I supposed to do, rent a jackhammer to bust up the dung? I envisioned a use for a jackhammer that had nothing to do with frozen cow poo.

But then I imagined things from the inspector’s point of view. Moments after walking into our milk room, a cat leaped onto his shoulder, began to purr in his ear and tried to give ve to his nose. A Blue Heeler throws herself down at his feet and presents her tummy for a rub. He peeks into the free stall area and naturally thinks, “Whoa. This place is absolutely lthy compared to that surgical suite I just inspected.”

I guess it should not have been surprising to receive such a dismal report card. But, I would have denitely led a complaint had the inspector scribbled, “Cattle in dairy facility.”

Jerry is a recovering dairy farmer from Volga, S.D. He and his wife, Julie, have two grown sons and live on the farm where Jerry’s great-grandfather homesteaded over 110 years ago. Jerry currently works full time for the Dairy Star as a staff writer/ad salesman. Feel free to E-mail him at: jerry.n@ dairystar.com.

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Septicemia in calves

Dairy Star • Saturday, December 7, 2019 • Page 31

in rapid death because of the body’s inability to re- mouth, the respiratory tract, or occasionally, a penFirst, let’s dene some terms.

Septicemia means invasion of the bloodstream spond correctly or quickly to infection. They all, how- etrating wound such as dehorning. The navel has a diby pathogenic organisms. In calves, these are usually ever, have common origins. They all are also com- rect connection to internal organs at birth. If the entry bacteria, though they could be viruses or parasites. monly misdiagnosed or attributed to incorrect causes is the mouth, however, the ingested organisms have Bacteremia is a subset of septicemia where the on farms. For example, sometimes farmers say the to get through the body’s defenses in the gut and asanimal was born with it or born that way. This seems sociated tissues. Fortunately, most of the time, bacteinfection is specically caused by a bacterium.

Sepsis is often used interchangeably with septicemia. reasonable since these calves may only be a few days rial infections in the intestine or lungs will not breach Septic shock is another similar term. in some cases. Older calves may be these defenses and calves do not develop septicemia.

Veterinary Wisdom old diagnosed with pneumonia because they Circulating IgG antibodies absorbed from maternal However the Society of Critical Care often breathe fast and have a fever. In re- colostrum are integral components of the body’s deMedicine denes sepsis as “a life threatening organ dysfunction due to ality, all cases start with bacterial infec- fense, too, and can be critically important in preventdysregulated host response to infection,” tion somewhere in the body, and progress ing the development of sepsis following septicemia. and septic shock as “a subset of sepsis … to a blood infection, and then possibly to Bacteremia needs to be treated immediately with with particularly profound circulatory, sepsis and septic shock. a broad spectrum antibiotic, copious amounts of (IV cellular and metabolic abnormalities that The rst farm was found to have a if possible) uids and aggressive supportive care. substantially increase mortality.” contaminated dip cup that looked like it Supportive care in colder months needs to include Thus sepsis and septic shock are had never been cleaned or washed. The a warm environment or calves may develop severe more severe conditions that develop from cup was thrown away and the problem hypothermia. Bacteremia can rapidly progress to septicemia. disappeared. The second farm, upon fur- sepsis and septic shock. These calves are much harder Why is this important in calves? Here ther investigation, was found to be only to save.

By Jim Bennett are some examples from our practice.

Septicemia is probably much more common in sporadically spraying navels and did not Columnist One farm had multiple cases of practice monitoring of blood total pro- calves than most producers appreciate. Proper prenewborn calves showing very high teins for the purpose of identifying fail- vention includes providing excellent hygiene in calvfevers, rapid breathing, extreme arching of the neck, ure of passive transfer of aning pens, calf housing, calf paddling of the legs and death. Calves were typically tibodies. The third farm did feeding and air. It also inSepticemia i i iis probably b bl much h cludes preventing failure of less than 2 days old. Another farm had several cases an excellent job of monitor- S of newborns found down and depressed with fevers in ing total proteins and sel- more common in calves than passive transfer. Prevention the rst 3 days of life. Calves were treated with a broad dom reported failure of pasis much more effective than spectrum antibiotic, an anti-inammatory and uids. sive transfer but had been most producers appreciate. treatment. Today’s dairy Some responded within hours, others died. A third using a variety of products veterinarians have many farm had 1 to 2 week old calves with swollen joints to dip navels. When they tools to help evaluate your and lameness. Often careful examination revealed switched back to strong iodine as a dip the problem farm’s prevention programs. Contact yours if you that more than one joint was affected. Most survived, subsided. The last farm did not dip navels or measure need help.

Bennett is one of four dairy veterinarians at but some remained lame. They also had calves that blood total proteins. Only a couple of the farms had sluffed the tips of ears, toes or feet. Yet another farm bacteria isolated from tissues submitted to a labora- Northern Valley Dairy Production Medicine Center in had multiple calves that appeared to be born unable tory. E. coli was isolated in both cases. It is not always Plainview, Minn. He also consults on dairy farms in to stand, though careful examination of history could possible to isolate an organism in the live or dead ani- other states. He and his wife, Pam, have four children. not rule out the possibility that calves were standing mal, but it may not really matter since septicemia in Jim can be reached at bennettnvac@gmail.com with in the rst day of life. Most died or were euthanized. calves is usually caused by common environmental comments or questions.

These cases are all examples of septicemia, most organisms. There are some exceptions, however; Sallikely bacteremia. The severe ones are cases of sepsis monella Dublin is the most notable.

The source of the infection may be the navel, the or septic shock. Sepsis and septic shock often result

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Corn stalk bales Page 32 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 7, 2019

Bedding shortages around here became so bad that the attitude was, “Who cares about the corn, just get me the bedding.”

We nally baled about two-thirds of what we needed hours before this last snowfall hit. We had many acres ready to bale about a month ago when we combined high moisture corn, but the custom baler was broken down. We had more acres of corn to combine after that, so we were not too worried. That was a mistake because we have had rain or light snow every 3-4 days since then. In hindsight, I should have found a different baler or bought my own. Not that I really had any spare bodies able to run a baler and do a good job.

I was thinking back on how we bedded heifers years ago before round bales. Once again, I remembered small square baling up the slough bottoms in late summer and that reed canary grass was so rank we

used it for bedding. The good oat straw bales were reserved for the milk cows and the baby calves. The last 10 years, the slough bottoms have been full of water virtually all year around. We also only bedded the few heifers we had back then for only 90-120 days in the dead of winter, because they were on pasture or a dry lot that was actually dry. The last few years, the dirt dry lot has totally been a wet, muddy mess.

Beside square baling reed canary grass for bedding, I also small squared corn stalks once I had a baler that could do it. It was a Massey 124 that ran plastic twine, and it could handle stalks quite well.

We would go behind the combine with a side delivery rake to make a windrow. We made sure to do it on a sunny breezy day. Then we would quickly try to bale all the racks full before the early sunsets of late fall. If I was stacking bales on the rack, I had to wash the dirt out of my eyes so I could recognize my own kids. If

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The cows would get pretty excited the Making Cents of Dairy rst few days we did it, but after a bit they kind of liked chewing on something different.

I will never forget the rst time I hired a guy to come and round bale stalks for me. Round balers were just getting popular. He had just bought his rst baler, and neither of us knew

By Dave Vander Kooi what we were doing. At Columnist that time, I did not farm much ground and what I did farm was not the best ground. We had combined 70 acres of corn on some of the hilliest ground in Nobles County. It was a horribly windy, but sunny cold day when he came. The plan was I would rake about one windrow in front of the baler so the windrows would not have time to blow apart. I was on my little no cab 165 Massey, so I was in coveralls, mittens and a parka which made side and rear visibility a problem for me. He baled and released those bales on those hills in that wind, and I could not see them come rolling at me.

We had a problem. We soon gured out we needed to quarter turn the baler before releasing the bales in certain locations.

The last 10 years or so, we have baled enough corn stalk or bean straw bales to easily supply our needs for our two heifer lots. Soybean straw bales have worked excellent for us when we had those acres close enough to the feedlots. Sometimes I think soybean straw keeps the heifers a little cleaner. We like to bale elds close to the feedlots as it really cuts down on the labor and equipment needed to transport the bulky bales. This year we hardly grew any soybeans because of feed needs and low soybean prices. By having plenty of available bales, we also use them as windbreaks for the feedlots until early spring. In addition to the outside stacked bales, we always kept an old shed full of emergency bales in case we ran short. This past spring and this past fall were so wet that we used up all those emergency bales before this winter even started. The good part of that is we nally cleaned up some bales that were really showing their age and could not be called round bales anymore. They were totally egg shaped and barely held together with loose net wrap.

To get through this winter with our limited supply of bedding will require money and extra effort. We have spoken for 400 bales of Prevent Plant oat straw that needs to be trucked in from 40 miles away. I also bedded the heifers one night last week when I was totally out of bedding with a poor quality hay bale.

It went through my bedding chopper ne, but it was very dusty and too nely chopped for bedding, but it worked. Last night it was snowing heavily, and I bedded the heifer shed after dark with a fresh new bale of corn stalks. It was such a good feeling to watch those heifers run into the shed and immediately start laying down happy and contented.

Vander Kooi operates a 1,800-cow, 4,500 acre farm with his son, Joe, and daughter-in-law, Rita, near Worthington, Minn. Send him feedback at davevkooi@ icloud.com. Follow him on Instagram, @davevanderkooi.

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Tenacity, gratitude, faith

Dairy Star â&#x20AC;˘ Saturday, December 7, 2019 â&#x20AC;˘ Page 33

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How can it be December already? In the nick of time, the guys tucked the last corn stalk bale into the rows with the other 200 bales, cleaned up and parked the equipment in the machine sheds for the season, and wrestled sidewall curtains back into place on the north sides of the heifer and cow barns for the winter winds to come.

Then, thankfully the kids made it home from college and a few days of appreciated extra help. The Thanksgiving holiday was celebrated with family and friends at Lois and Mikeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s house, and much delicious food was eaten and enjoyed. Next came a big Gopher/Badger game (a Come Full Dairy Circle tough one for our familyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Gopher fans). Now, just like that, we are in the Advent season and the shortest days of the year.

I am always happy to see November go. It is not a favorite month, with many gray days, winterizing tasks, too much to do to wrap up harvest and way too many calves to care for in not so nice weather conditions. Forty-three calves on milk taxes our facilities and my cheerful countenance.

This year, the month was complicated by a hip replacement surgery for husband, Rolf. It was simply time for him to have that done, so he did, and

By Jean Annexstad he is recovering nicely. We are taking care of the Columnist milking, manure scraping, cow feeding and countless other farm duties with employees, family and myself stepping up working many more hours outside.

During these weeks of recovery and healing, Rolf gets to catch up on reading, farm paperwork, and do a lot of walking around the house to get his new hip and surrounding muscles back on track.

When I go about the work outside, I sometimes like to listen to podcasts or other radio programming. On one recent day the topic was an interview with Henry Winkler, an actor, also known as The Fonz on a popular TV show of my era and now a character actor on other shows.

While I was listening, we were struggling to move snow from the recent storm, get chores done, feed many calves, bed all of the heifers and dry cows because of the wet sloppy snow, and get people to the big football game at the University of Minnesota stadium.

In the interview Winkler said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;I live by two words, tenacity and gratitude.

Tenacity gets you where you want to go, and gratitude doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t allow you to be angry along the way.â&#x20AC;? His quote was on target for my struggles that day. It more than likely will be a nugget of inspiration for some of the tough winter days to come.

Yes, it does take tenacity to power through a heavy workload on a dairy farm every day. Sometimes where I want to go is simply back into the house to get done for the day.

I feel real gratitude for all of the help along the way from so many people who work with us on our dairy. Our employees have stepped up to put in extra hours to complete the things that need to be done. They sometimes sacriď&#x192;&#x17E;ce their own family time to help us. Though we do not tell them enough, it is appreciated very much. None of us can make a go of it in this tough business alone. It also takes a lot of assistance from those who offer advice, drive the milk or feed delivery trucks, the veterinarian, the friend who brings a pie, a brother-in-law who plows out the mailbox â&#x20AC;Ś just a few of the examples.

I am sometimes reminded of the Laura Ingalls Wilder story of when Laura and her sisters moved the entire wood pile into the log cabin when her ma and pa were away. Laura did not want to run out of wood and freeze in the impending snow storm. Her pa told her admirably that she was as strong as a little French horse. That story has stayed with me since my childhood. As much as I try to emulate Laura, my little French horse skills are usually lacking, and it takes a great deal of help from others along the way to accomplish what needs to be done.

It also takes a strong dose of faith. This is the season of Advent when we are focusing our thoughts on the coming of our Savior. It can be a quiet and reď&#x192;&#x;ective time to contemplate the wonder of Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s love for us in sending his son to earth. It is a time to renew our faith, to remember that we are not alone and to rejoice in our belief that the best is yet to come.

Jean dairy farms with her husband, Rolf, and brother-in-law, Mike, and children Emily, Matthias and Leif. They farm near St. Peter, in Norseland, where she is still trying to ď&#x192;&#x17E;t in with the Norwegians and Swedes. They milk 200 cows and farm 650 acres. She can be reached at jeanannexstad@gmail.com.

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Bre� Roeller, from QualiTru Sampling Systems, presents about a mas��s iden�ca�on system during a seminar Dec. 3 at the Minnesota Milk Dairy Conference and Expo in Welch, Minnesota.

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Julie Paap (le�) and Joyce Sedgeman look at cheese on the scholarship auc�on Dec. 3 during the Minnesota Milk Dairy Conference and Expo in Welch, Minnesota. Sedgeman milks cows with her husband, Tom, near Sauk Centre, Minnesota.

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(Le�) Dairy farmers Andy Lorenz (le�) and Roy Koehler par�cipate in a role playing exercise during a county American Dairy Associa�on leadership workshop Dec. 3 at the Minnesota Milk Dairy Conference and Expo in Welch, Minnesota.

(Right) Ruth Lee and her grandson, Norman Zemke, 1, take a break from seminars Dec. 3 at the Minnesota Milk Dairy Conference and Expo in Welch, Minnesota. Lee and her husband, Jeff, milk 150 cows near Lake City, Minnesota.

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Women In Dairy Deanna Hartmann Perham, Minnesota Ottertail County 300 cows Family: I have been married to Dave for 21 years.

We have two beautiful daughters, Alyssa, 15, and Alexis, 13.

Tell us about your farm. I have been the herdswoman at Sandhill Dairy for almost 17 years. The cows are milked three times a day in a double-10 parallel parlor. They are housed in a freestall barn with waterbeds, sprinkler system, fans and headlocks. There is a separate parlor for milking sick and fresh cows. We raise all the heifer calves. They are housed at four facilities.

What is the busiest time of day for you? Mornings are the busiest for me. I give all the set-up shots for breeding and dry off cows. I A.I. cows, check the transition pen and help with pregnancy checks.

When you get a spare moment, what do you do?

I spend time with family.

Tell us about your most memorable experience working on the farm. I enjoy working with the cows.

What have you enjoyed most about dairy farming or your tie to the dairy industry? I have enjoyed watching how the dairy industry has changed over the years, from genomic testing to embryo implanting.

How do you stay connected with others in the industry? Social media.

Who is someone in the industry who has inspired you? My dad.

Work hard and it will pay off in the end.

FARM INFORMATION STATION Joe Gill • Farm Director

SERVING CENTRAL MINNESOTA FOR OVER 50 YEARS

What is the best vacation you have ever taken? Going to South Dakota to the Black Hills with my family. Walking in the Badlands, Mt. Rushmore and touring the caves.

Catch the Dairy Star’s Mark Klaphake with Joe Gill at 6:45 a.m. the 2nd & 4th Fridays of the month on KASM!

What are some words you like to live by? Enjoy today because tomorrow is not promised.

PO Box 160, Albany, MN • (320) 845-2184 • Fax (320) 845-2187

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Dairy Star â&#x20AC;˘ Saturday, December 7, 2019 â&#x20AC;˘ Page 37

Diehard fans through the decades

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PHOTO SUBMITTED

Derek (from leďż˝), JeďŹ&#x20AC; and Nick Peterson aďż˝end the University of Minnesota football game Nov. 30 at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. The Petersons are avid Gopher fans.

Peterson family makes affair out of Gopher games

By Jennifer Coyne jenn@dairystar.com

PINE CITY, Minn. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The regular season of Minnesota Gopher football came to an end after a brutal loss to the rival Wisconsin Badgers Nov. 30 at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

For the Peterson family, the loss cut deep, but the day was full of celebration. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sports are what binds us together as a family,â&#x20AC;? Derek said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We all have such different interests, but sports are what really brings us together, and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s exciting.â&#x20AC;?

Derek and his siblings â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Nick, Heidi Bellefy and Amanda Johnson â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and father, Jeff, attended the football game together with the eldest Peterson sib-

ling, Jacob, and his girlfriend, Sadie, having their own season tickets across the stadium.

Jeff and his wife, Marianne, have been season ticket holders for many years. But after the Gopherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s win over Penn State, the couple and their children suggested ď&#x192;&#x17E;nding a way to attend the teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ď&#x192;&#x17E;nal home game together.

While Marianne stayed at home on the familyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 350-cow dairy near Pine City, Amanda took her spot at the game. Derek and Nick purchased tickets next to their parentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; seats, and Heidi brought her daughter, Tali, with seats in the row behind. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When the Penn State game was over, Nick and I started looking for tickets just to see what they cost,â&#x20AC;? Derek said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When we found seats next to Mom and Dadâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, we didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t care what they cost.â&#x20AC;?

The Petersons have a long history of supporting the Golden Gophers. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Dad has been a dairy farmer for over 45 years, but being a Gopher

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Turn to PETERSONS | Page 38

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PHOTO SUBMITTED

JeďŹ&#x20AC; and Marianne Petersonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Gopher football season ďż˝ckets are in row 16 near the 40-yard line at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. The Petersons dairy farm near Pine City, Minnesota.

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Page 38 • Dairy Star • Saturday, December 7, 2019

Minnesota receives $9 million in federal funding to implement conservation practices Federal ofcials have awarded $9 million in nancial assistance to Minnesota farmers for implementing conservation practices to earn certication in the Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certication Program (MAWQCP). The money comes from the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s (NRCS) Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP).

The RCPP focuses on public-private partnerships that offer value-added contributions to expand the ability to address on-farm, watershed, and regional natural resource concerns.

“The Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture have a strong history of working collaboratively to support agriculture and our Minnesota farmers,” said Minnesota NRCS State Conservationist Troy Daniell.

“It is truly my pleasure to work with MDA more than ever through the Resource Conservation Partnership Program for the Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certication Program. This is a robust effort that emphasizes public-private partnership to help give our farmers a level of certainty in an ever-changing world. However, it is the farmers making it all happen on the ground every day to supply food and ber to the world in an environmentally sound way which benets us all.”

The Minnesota Ag Water Quality Certication Program is designed to accelerate progress toward water quality goals in our state’s lakes, rivers, and streams while making conservation regulations more predictable and less cost-prohibitive for the state’s farmers. Those enrolled in the program who implement and maintain approved farm management practices are certied by the state, and, in turn, are assured that their operations meet the state’s

water quality goals and standards for a period of 10 years.

“As the name implies, the Regional Conservation Partnership Program is truly about partnerships,” said Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen. “From day one, the Ag Water Quality Certication Program has been a partnership with federal and state agencies and private industry. We are all working together side-by-side with farmers, landowners, and rural communities to improve the health of our environment.”

This ve-year award is the second the state has received for the MAWQCP. In 2015, Minnesota was given a $9 million RCPP award for ve years. In both instances, the entire amount of money is passed through to farmers for on-the-farm conservation measures.

“The technical and nancial assistance in conjunction with the farmers inputs give us a highly productive agricultural system in Minnesota, while at the same time sustaining clean water so critical to our daily lives,” Daniell added. “The Ag Water Quality Certication Program provides the farmer increased certainty, but also gives all of us certainty that we can sustain our resources for generations to come.”

Since it began in 2014, the MAWQCP has certied over 800 farms totaling nearly 550,000 acres. Farmers have installed over 1,700 new conservation practices across Minnesota as part of the program. Those new practices have kept over 37,000 tons of sediment out of Minnesota rivers while saving nearly 103,000 tons of soil and 45,000 pounds of phosphorous on farms each year. The conservation practices have also reduced nitrogen loss up to 49% and cut greenhouse gas emissions by more than 36,000 tons per year. This success lead to the second round of funding from the RCPP.

Con�nued from PETERSONS | Page 37

football fan is one of the few things he’s been longer,” Amanda said. “He attended his rst game in 1971 with his dad.”

Jeff was a football player himself in high school. He listened to former Gopher head football coach Cal Stoll address his team at an athletic banquet.

The interest in sports, particularly football, was passed down to Jeff’s family. Derek can still recall the exact moment he became an avid Gopher fan.

He was 10 years old, and the Gophers were playing No. 2 ranked Penn State.

“Dad and I were listening to the Penn State game on the radio in ‘99,” Derek said. “He was grabbing my hand so hard as we waited to hear the result of the eld goal kick.

When it was good, I lost my mind and was hooked ever PHOTO SUBMITTED since.”

The Petersons – (from le�) Heidi Bellefy, Amanda On the morning of Johnson, Nick, Derek and Jeff – gather before the the Gopher versus Badger start of the Gopher versus Badger football game game, Jeff, Nick and Derek Nov. 30 in Minneapolis. The family looks forward quickly helped with chores to the football season each year. on the farm before driving to the Twin Cities to meet the rest of experience than college football; the their siblings.

The atmosphere of the day was atmosphere is always fun,” she said.

The Petersons are Gopher fans unexplainable.

“I’ve been going to games for 25 through and through, and are already years, and I’ve never been to one where looking forward to more family getthe people were absolutely amped; the togethers in the 2020 season.

“Gopher football brings us together rst quarter was unbelievable,” Derek in much the same way as agriculture said. does,” Amanda said. “It’s a family obAmanda agreed.

“I just think there is no better fan session.”

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Dairy Star • Saturday, December 7, 2019 • Page 39

with Kevin and Leo Hemmesch, Lake Henry, Minnesota

Kevin and Leo Hemmesch Lake Henry, Minnesota Stearns County 63 cows How did you get into farming? Leo: I took over from my dad, Marcus. I started renting in 1972 and bought the farm in 1977. Kevin: I came here right after I graduated from high school in 2004. We are farming in a partnership.

What are your thoughts and concerns about the dairy industry for the next year? We hope the milk price stabilizes.

Hopefully we can get our trade agreements worked out which should help with the price.

What is the latest technology you implemented on your farm and the purpose for it? Our manure pit and manure pump.

We don’t have to daily haul and battle the cold.

What is a management practice you changed in the past year that has beneted you? We really haven’t changed a lot.

What cost-saving steps have you implemented during the low milk price? We know when to bite our tongue. We needed a new baler and that was discussed. We talk about these things when we are doing chores or working together.

Tell us about a skill you possess that makes dairy farming easier for you.

Leo: I am decent at xing things. Kevin: I am pretty good at taking care of the cattle.

What do you enjoy most about dairy farming? We like that we are on our own,

and we can plan our days. We like being our own boss. We also like the exibility of farming and that every day is something different to do.

What advice would you give other dairy farmers? Cleanliness is a big part of our dairy farm. We work hard to keep the animals clean and well bedded.

What has been the best purchase you have ever made on your farm? The skidloader. It makes our life a lot easier. We

use it for many things like loading, scraping manure, feeding out of bags, etc.

What has been your biggest accomplishment while dairy farming? Leo: Raising the kids on the farm and teaching them all responsibility. Kevin: Continuing to produce good quality milk. We go under 100,000 in SCC during the winter.

What are your plans for your dairy in the next year and ve years? Leo:

I would like to continue to cut back on working while continuing to improve on what we have here on the farm. Kevin: I would like to put up a shop.

How do you or your family like to spend time when you are not doing chores?

Leo: Visiting friends and shopping with my wife, Mary Jo. Kevin: I like hanging out with my wife, Jamie, and our children, Ethan, Ellie and April. We like playing UNO.

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