PREVIEW BUSINESSES THAT WILL BE AT WISCONSIN FARM TECHNOLOGY DAYS PAGES 15-22 OF THE SECOND SECTION!
DAIRY ST R “All dairy, all the time”™
Volume 23, No. 10
Saving energy to save money
July 10, 2021
First District goes live with new processing plants
Zook offers ways Expansion to accommodate 7.5 million pounds of milk per day to increasing onraw milk each day and process By Jennifer Coyne Association. jenn@dairystar.com 40-pound blocks of cheese At the end of June, the cofarm efficiency operative went live with its last in addition to its established By Danielle Nauman danielle.n@dairystar.com
Saving energy means saving money which is something most dairy farmers can get behind. Joel Zook, of Winneshiek Energy District, shared ways to save energy on the farm during the June 23 webinar, “Saving Energy on Your Farm,” as part of the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach 2021 Dairy Team Webinar Series. “Saving energy and saving dollars means money that you won’t have to spend, that won’t leave our communities,” Zook said. There are several ways farmers can save energy, but Zook said one of the easiest ways is to address lighting on the farm. “Lighting is huge,” Zook said. “It is one of the very most cost-effective things that any farm can change. LEDs are going to use roughly half the amount of energy as older fluorescent lights. It is often times the first thing I recommend when walking through farms.” According to Zook, funding for cost-sharing grants for updating on-farm lighting is abundant and can be stacked with incentives or rebates that might be offered by a utility company. “I have run some numbers for people, that looking at costshares and rebates, projects are getting completely paid for,” Zook said. “And this is a way to save sometimes thousands of dollars on your electric bill. It is a pretty painless thing that doesn’t need to change your operation.” Zook estimated that based on an 18-hour day, each fixture changed to an LED can save over $7,000 per year, allowing for a quick payback on light fixture replacement even Turn to ENERGY | Page 5
LITCHFIELD, Minn. – A long-awaited expansion is complete for First District
of three new plants at the Litchfield location allowing it to receive 7.5 million pounds of
500-pound barrels. “We haven’t looked back since it came on board;
JENNIFER COYNE/DAIRY STAR
Jared Terning, First District Associa on cheese plant manager, describes the automated barrel fill line June 30 at the plant in Litchfield, Minnesota. The plant is a part of the coopera ve’s expansion to accommodate 7.5 million pounds of milk per day.
it’s been good,” said Bob Huffman, CEO of First District Association. “Seeing the board and our members put together this vision and strategy for growth is really exciting, especially as we’re in our 100year anniversary.” The project entailed three plants, including an eight-bay receiving and intake area, a lactose drying facility and a state-of-the-art cheese plant. The fully-automated plants allow milk to be processed in its entirety – from the cooperative’s traditional cheesemaking and whey and lactose powder line. “This plant has a way to take the milk and make cheese, and also has found ways to get the full value out of all the protein,” Huffman said. “Here, 100% of every drop of milk has a place to go. We reuse all of the water that is taken off the milk to be used to wash equipment and for our boiler steam.” While there are several benefits to expanding processTurn to FDA | Page 6
Round two of alfalfa
KRISTA KUZMA/DAIRY STAR
John Schiller cuts hay the morning of June 30 on his family’s dairy near Owatonna, Minnesota. Schiller farms together with his wife, Lynn, and their son and daughter-in-law, Dan and Leah, who have two kids, Grayson, 11, and Syndel, 9. The Schillers have 140 acres of hay and were star ng second crop harvest.