Sign up for our New Newsletter
Dairy St r Milk Break
Email andrea.b@dairystar.com to sign up.
DAIRY ST R “All dairy, all the time”™
Volume 19, No. 24
February 10, 2018
“Every year, we set a goal, and this is where we wanted to be at this time – we reached it.” – Bill Kurth
Kurths purchase neighboring farm, expand herd
Working smarter
By Jennifer Coyne jenn@dairystar.com
COSMOS, Minn. – Dairy farming is different for the Kurths these days, and in a good way. After spending the better half of their 10-year career milking cows in a tiestall barn, the couple now uses a parlor. “When we started farming, we made goals for the farm. The entire purpose of this purchase is to work smarter, not harder,” Bill Kurth said. Bill and his wife, Leah, purchased a farm site located a few miles south of their home near Cosmos, Minn. on Sept. 29, 2017. The site includes a 180-stall freestall barn and a double-8 herringbone parlor, built in 2000.
JENNIFER COYNE/DAIRY STAR
Bill and Leah Kurth recently purchased a farm site located near their home in Cosmos, Minn. The site includes a freestall barn and parlor for their herd of 105 milking cows.
A short ve weeks later, the Kurths relocated their 105cow milking herd to the farm site. With the purchase of newer facilities, the Kurths then transformed their 26-stall tiestall barn into a calf barn for youngstock, pre- and postweaned. “This is a better change for our herd and us. It’s been a win-win … but it’s different,” Bill said. As Leah milks the herd twice daily, Bill scrapes the pens and brings cows into the holding area. In two hours’ time, the couple is completed with milking, and they have time to complete other on-farm responsibilities and spend time with their children – Larkun, 11, Livia, 7, and Briecyn, 4. Larkun also helps Leah milk in the evenings when he returns from school. Turn to KURTHS | Page 5
Football, farmers and a fun time
LOL Farm Bowl highlights opportunities in agriculture By Jennifer Coyne jenn@dairystar.com
MINNEAPOLIS – Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Stefon Diggs walked away from this year’s football season with a trophy, although it may not have been the one he had in mind. Diggs and California dairyman J.J. Nunes were deemed the 2018 Land O’Lakes Farm Bowl champions, after competing in a series of events that tested their athletic ability and knowledge of farming, at 3M Arena at Mariucci at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis Feb. 1. The duo, coined Team Brooders, received the coveted Farm Bowl Trophy and bragging rights for the year. “That was a lot harder than I thought and a good off-season workout for me. I couldn’t have done it without [Nunes],” Diggs
said. The event coincided with the 52nd Super Bowl game, and was designed to educate the public on the importance of farming in a community, as well as inspire youth to consider a career in modern agriculture. Six teams paired up against each other in a friendly competition to complete various tasks that loosely resembled responsibilities often found on today’s farms. The teams included the Huskers of Wisconsin dairy farmer Amber Horn-Leiterman and former NFL wide receiver Greg Jennings; the Mustangs of Maryland dairy farmer Katie Dotterer-Pyle and former NFL running back Jerome Bettis; the Stallions of California dairy farmer Dave Ribeiro and former NFL center
JEFF WEYER/DAIRY STAR
Dairy farmer Craig Roerick (leŌ), of Swanville, Minn., and NFL linebacker Luke Kuechly reach for the buzzer to end their Land O’Lakes Farm Bowl challenge. The Farm Bowl took place Feb. 1 at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.
and current farmer Jason Brown; the Holsteins of Minnesota grain farmer Darin Johnson and NFL tight end Kyle Rudolph; the Brooders of Nunes and Diggs; and the Shredders of Minnesota dairy farmer Craig Roerick and NFL linebacker Luke Kuechly. “With this event, it’s all about the camaraderie and relationships we’re able to build,” said Ribeiro of pairing farmers and football players. “Jason and I were just in the back talking about kids, farming and faith – and that’s great. It builds teams.” Ribeiro milks 1,500 cows with his two sons near Tulare, Calif. As the teams made it through the series of timed events – changing a tractor tire, prepping a milk pipeline, navigating a drone over a corn eld, and loading straw bales on to a wagon and proceeding to back it up and park – the crowd roared in support. The audience included Turn to FARM BOWL | Page 6