Page 2 • Dairy Star • Saturday, February 23, 2013
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/Sales Mark Klaphake 320-352-6303 (ofce) 320-248-3196 (cell) 320-352-0062 (home) mark.k@dairystar.com Ad Composition Janell Westerman 320-352-6303 janell.w@dairystar.com Nancy Middendorf 320-352-6303 nancy.m@dairystar.com Consultant Jerry Jennissen 320-346-2292 President Dave Simpkins 320-352-6577 davesimpkins@saukherald.com Staff Writers Krista Sheehan - Assistant Editor SE MN/NE IA 507-259-8159 • krista.s@dairystar.com Melissa Mussman (320) 429-1084 • missy@dairystar.com Ron Johnson 608-874-4243 ron.j@dairystar.com Ruth Klossner 507-240-0048 cowlady@centurylink.net
Online Editor/Online Sales Andrea Borgerding 320-352-6303 (ofce) 320-429-1084 (cell) andrea.b@dairystar.com Advertising Sales Main Ofce: 320-352-6303 Fax: 320-352-5647 Deadline is 5 p.m. of the Friday the week before publication Sales Manager - Jeff Weyer (National Advertising, Northern MN, East Central MN) 320-260-8505 (cell) jeff.w@dairystar.com Mark Klaphake (West and South Central MN) 320-352-6303 (ofce) 320-248-3196 (cell) Laura Seljan (SE MN, Central WI) 507-250-2217 (cell) fax: 507-634-4413 laura.s@dairystar.com Jerry Nelson (SW MN, NW Iowa, South Dakota) 605-690-6260 (cell) jerry.n@dairystar.com Lori Young (Central MN) 612-597-2998 • lori.y@dairystar.com Lori Menke (Eastern Iowa, Southern WI) 563-608-6477 • lori.m@dairystar.com Deadlines The deadline for news and advertising in the Dairy Star is 5 p.m. Friday the week before publication. Subscriptions One year subscription $28.00, outside the U.S. $110.00. Send check along with mailing address to Dairy Star, 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave., Sauk Centre, MN 56378. Advertising Our ad takers have no authority to bind this newspaper and only publication of an advertisement shall constitute nal acceptance of the advertiser's order. Letters Letters and articles of opinion are welcomed. Letters must be signed and include address and phone number. We reserve the right to edit lengthy letters. The views and opinions expressed by Dairy Star columnists and writers are not necessarily those of the Dairy Star LLC. The Dairy Star is published semi-monthly by Dairy Star, LLC, 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave., Sauk Centre, MN 56378-1246. Periodicals Postage Paid at Sauk Centre, MN. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Dairy Star, 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave., Sauk Centre, MN 56378-1246.
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Bryan and Kathy Thoner Ellsworth, Wis. (Pierce County); 44 cows How did you get into farming? This is my (Bryan) home farm. I have been farming here for 37 years. I am the fourth generation in my family to farm here. My dad sold our herd in 1975, and then I went to the University of WisconsinRiver Falls and received a degree in agriculture education. During the last two years of college, I bought a herd of cows and started dairying. I graduated in 1978, which was also the year Kathy and I were married. We’ve been here dairy farming since. Kathy works off the farm as a secretary at the middle school. We have three daughters and one son between the ages of 25 and 32 Why did you get into dairy farming? I liked the cows, and when Dad sold the herd, I missed them. I decided to give dairy farming a shot, and here we are. What’s your next step? On March 8, we are selling our herd. Our facility is worn out and none of our children would like to milk cows. As we get older, the work is getting harder to do, and it’s harder to take time off to visit our children and their families. We will still be on the farm and will raise crops on our 200 acres of land along with dairy steers. Our son will be involved in this aspect, too. What’s been your biggest accomplishment? When I rst started farming, my two goals were to raise a family on the farm and be out of debt when I retired from dairy farming. I was able to achieve both of those. Also, our herd has never been the top herd for production, but we’ve topped the county for somatic cell count. What has been your favorite part about dairy farming? I really like the genetics of the Holsteins. Our herd has always been registered. What is your favorite tool? I like the cordless drill. I also really like the skid loader. What is your favorite meal using a dairy product? Mashed potato casserole is really good and cheese curds. (See page 30 of Second Section for Kathy’s recipe for Mashed Potato Casserole) What are you looking forward to in the next step of your life? We would like to travel. We’re looking forward to going to Washington, D.C., and Mount Rushmore, among many other places. We’re also looking forward to seeing our grandkids more often and being able to travel to see family when we want to. What advice do you have for other dairy farmers just getting started? Watch your debt level. Input costs are getting so high now that it’s tough to have a high debt load.
Dairy Star • Saturday, February 23, 2013 • Page 3
It’s all inside... Mertens named 2012 Ohio family battled Farm Family of the Year Johne’s for years, hopes it’s nally gone Pages 4 - 5 Pages 36- 37
Dubbes build freestall barn, Gopher Dairy Club celebrates students, industry leaders parlor over the course of Pages 2, 6 ve yearsworking on farms
Fire destroys barn, kills 70 calves Pages 1, 5
Third Section
Pages 18, 20
O’Reilly’s low SCC result of simplicity Pages 18 - 19 Second Section
Women in Jeans: Lori Christofferson Page 6 Second Section
Kids Corner: The Puhrmanns Pages 38 - 39
Sprengeler returns to work after being attacked by a cow
Fuchs has delivered ve sets while working on farms
Staples
Pages 10 -11
Pages 7 - 8 Third Section
Schwartzes looking to relocate dairy
Kimball
Pages 1, 8
Minneapolis
Plato
Lambing time nds Treschers tending sheep and cattle
Jordan Hager City
Arlington Belle Red Wing Plaine Pine Island
Contents FIRST SECTION Page 16 From Our Side of the Fence Pages 22 - 23
Mailbox prices up everywhere but for Minnesotapeople, be thankful
Page 25
Last year’s drought drove home importance of crop insurance Boylen Over
Page 26
The winter has been an uphill battle
Page 28
Margin compression – What does it mean for my business?
Page 29
Nitrogen for corn following alfalfa: When and how much?
Page 31
Saying goodbye to Tilly
Page 35
Lehs retiring after more than 16 years with MDA in Iowa
SECOND SECTION Page 8 The “Mielke” Market Weekly Page 9 Dairy Markets
Pages 14 - 15 Second Section
Rochester Cashton Pages 10, 13 News from Princess Kay Page 12 Iowa Hay Auction Results Pages 24 - 25 DHIA 2012 high 200 herd honor roll Page 26 Mid-American Hay Auction Results Page 27 People in the Dairy Industry Page 28 FFA Spotlight Page 30 Dairy Recipes THIRD SECTION Page 9 ISU extension shares latest on fungicides, value of manure Page 10 Wagner challenges audience to dene success, value people, be thankful Page 11 - 13 Diary Calendar Pages 15, 18 Some Udder Stuff Pages 19 - 23 Classieds
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Wittman discusses why families should run their farms as businesses
Columnists Ag Insider Page 6
Pages 12, 15
Nutritionist Page 34
Just Thinking Out Loud Page 32
The Next Generation Page 33
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Getting Kerry’d Away Page 27
Ramblings from the Ridge Page 30
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Page 14 • Dairy Star • Saturday, February 23, 2013
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Dairy Star • Saturday, February 23, 2013 • Page 17
See us at the Central Minnesota Farm Show in St. Cloud, MN • February 26-28 Inset g guillotine gate with Plastic lift-up door oor
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You asked for a way to spread solid manure ner, and while we were at it, could it be a little wider too. We answered.
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Dairy Star • Saturday, February 23, 2013 • Page 19
“... part of our quality management.” — Lee Muehlenhardt
HALQUIST FARMS — Lee & Mary Muehlenhardt BELLE PLAINE, MINNESOTA — Milking 380 cows Production: 75 lbs/cow/day (2x) SCC: 80 - 90,000 “We’ve been using Udder Comfort™ for six years for mastitis cows and fresh animals. We like the blue spray to see how we are applying it,” says Lee Muehlenhardt.
“Now, we have a track record as third best SCC at the creamery, keeping counts consistently below 100,000. That means about 70 cents/ cwt in milk bonuses.
Lee and his wife Mary, son Scott, and daughter and son-in-law Nate and Shari (Gerdis) operate Halquist Farms, Inc., which has been in Mary’s family for four generations. They milk 380 cows, raise the youngstock and grow crops near Belle Plaine, Minnesota. Scott’s wife Beth is a school teacher.
“Udder Comfort is one of the tools that is part of our quality management.”
“Our method is to use Udder Comfort right away as soon as we see something, like swelling or flakes in a quarter. We put it on 4 to 5 days (after each milking) and that generally brings things back. We also do this for our fresh animals after they calve,” Lee explains. “We notice a big difference in how cows respond. We have fewer chronics in the herd and our SCC has steadily improved. “At one time we had counts over 400,000. We really worked through it, and a lot of things have come together to improve it.
Quality Udders Make Quality Milk
Keep the milk in the system 1.888.773.7153 1.613.652.9086 uddercomfort.com Call to locate a distributor near you.
For external application to the udder only after milking, as an essential component of udder management. Always wash and dry teats thoroughly before milking.
Page 24 • Dairy Star • Saturday, February 23, 2013
PARTICIPATING EQUIPMENT DEALERS MINNESOTA A&C Farm Service Ag Power Enterprises (4 locations) Amundson Peterson (4 locations) Beck Implement C&B Operations (6 locations) Crookston Implement Dairyland Supply Evergreen Implement Co. (3 locations) Frontier Ag & Turf Hartung Sales Hyland Motor Co. Kalmes Implement Keith Bode Kesteloot Enterprises Kibble Equipment (4 locations) Larson Implement Larson’s Inc. Mankato Implement (5 locations) Marzolf Implement Midwest Ag Equipment Midwest Machinery (9 locations) Mies Outland Potter Implement Red Horizon Equipment Rudnicki Tractor Ranch Schuneman Equipment (2 locations) SEMA Equipment (8 locations) Story Sales & Service True North Equipment Wingert Sales IOWA Ag Land Implement Brynsaas Sales Burco Farms & Tractor Dee Implement Deitering Bros, Inc. Dague Equipment Franzen Sales & Service Glenwood Farm Equipment Greiner Implement J.B. Merts & Son Inc. JJAM Equipment Northwest Equipment (3 locations) Reiser Implement Ryan Machinery Van-Wall Equipment (5 locations) Vans Implement Waterloo Implement (3 locations) SOUTH DAKOTA Bobcat of Brookings C&B Operations (3 locations) Clark Sales Freeman Implement James River Equipment (2 locations) Lindskov Automotive Mathis Implement Meyerink Farm Service Schuneman Equipment (4 locations) Sioux International WISCONSIN Ballweg Implement Bar-H Implement Big Iron Equipment Bindl Sales Braun Electric Caroline Implement (2 locations) Central Wisconsin Co-op Cherokee Garage Chili Implement Cliff ’s Inc. Cloverdale Equipment Field Silo & Service Foxland Harvestore (2 locations) Frontier Ag & Turf (3 locations) Gruett’s Inc. Hillsboro Equipment JCB/Fairchild Equip. Kuhl Equipment L&L Sales & Service Lulich Implement McFarlanes Phil’s Pumping & Fab. Podevels Farm Service Portland Implement Quinlan’s Equipmen R-Equipment Rew Motors (2 locations) Riesterer & Schnell (12 locations) Ritchies, Inc. Schultz Enterprises Sellent Equipment Sloan Implement (5 locations) Steinhart’s Farm Service Swiderski Equipment (5 locations) Swiderski Power Tractor Central (10 locations) Tri-County Equipment Value Implement (5 locations) Dealers: List your inventory by calling 877-850-USAG (8724)
JOHN DEERE 9100 $76,500
JOHN DEERE 8520T $122,500
JOHN DEERE 6210 $31,675
CASE IH MAGNUM 335 $175,000
VERSATILE 875 $21,000
CASE IH 7120 $35,000
CASE IH MXM155 $59,500
INTERNATIONAL 1586 $12,500
FORD 340B $8,500
NEW HOLLAND T7050 $95,000
FORD 6600 Great cond.
NEW HOLLAND TN75SA Exec. cond
DEERE 310J $45,000
FENDT 930 Exc. Cond.
MASSEY FERGUSON 1235
$4,995
CATERPILLAR TH330B $49,500
JOHN DEERE 9500 $44,900
JOHN DEERE 9870STS $275,800
GEHL 4640T $17,900
JOHN DEERE 530 $4,995
HOULE 52’ $10,000
CHAPARRAL TRAILER $1,500
SUNFLOWER 6630-27 Like new
TEBBEN TR41 $31,500
PARKER 1048 Like new
SUMMERS SUPERCOULTER $59,000
CASE IH 4520 Exec. cond
JOHN DEERE 960 $7,800
TYLER 4300 Great cond.
H&S 310 Like new
RITE-WAY ROCK PICKER Like new
WIL-RICH PT2200 $64,000
NEW HOLLAND 256 $2,490
H&S BW1000 $15,900
PATZ V420LP like new
JOHN DEERE 7200 $28,900
YALE FORKLIFT Good cond.
H&S 7+4 $4,000
JOHN DEERE 678 $76,900
HUSQVARNA HUV4412D $7,500
LONGHORN 20+5 $5,500
JAMESWAY 7400 $81,150
CLAAS 1200 $48,900
NEW HOLLAND T8.390 Like new
GERINGHOFF RB-1800 $89,900
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Page 40 • Dairy Star • Saturday, February 23, 2013
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