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DAIRY ST R “All dairy, all the time”™
Volume 24, No. 2
March 12, 2022
Franck family back to milking after derecho Robots replaced parlor on Iowa dairy By Sherry Newell Contributing writer
NEWHALL, Iowa – The family farm where Ron and Joan Franck watched an Aug. 10, 2020, storm destroy their facilities is home to a milking herd again. After a year of recovering and rebuilding their freestall barn, parlor, heifer barn and silos, the Francks brought their
cows home to their farm near Newhall. They began milking with four robots Sept. 1, 2021. The Francks were among a handful of Iowa dairy farmers who experienced severe damage in a derecho, a widespread and fast-moving straight-line windstorm. The one that hit Iowa, and other Midwest states, recorded winds as high as 130 Turn to FRANCK | Page 6
PHOTO SUBMITTED
The Franck’s cows are housed in a freestall barn that was built using the footprint that remained from the barn destroyed in an Iowa storm in 2020. While the concrete and curbs remained in much of the barn, the Francks chose to install four robots to replace the parlor they previously used to milk 210 cows near Newhall, Iowa.
PHOTO SUBMITTED
The Franck family – (from leŌ) Ashley, Josh, Caleb, Ron and Joan Franck (right) – get ready to milk 190 cows through four robots Sept. 1, 2021 at their farm new Newhall, Iowa. It was just over one year aŌer a derecho storm destroyed their dairy near Newhall, Iowa. Not pictured are Ron and Joan’s daughter, Kelsey, and son, Nathan, both of whom are currently full Ɵme on the farm.
A bright future Farmland prices strengthen as for dairy key indicators raise demand Checkoff program enters into partnership with Mayo Clinic By Kate Rechtzigel kate.r@dairystar.com
ROCHESTER, Minn. − On Feb. 24, the National Research and Promotion Program, known as the Dairy Checkoff Program, announced it has entered into a veyear partnership with Mayo Clinic to explore research and increase consumer outreach efforts to improve public health and increase dairy’s benets. “Partnerships are such an important aspect of the checkoff business plan,” Barbara O’Brien said. “It gives farmers an ability to extend their messaging, extend their investment and ultimately have much greater reach locally, nationally and globally. This new partnership with Mayo Clinic, to me, is a natural evolution strategy in play. Working with an institution of this kind of authority and credibility is game changing for us.” Turn to MAYO CLINIC | Page 8
Dickhut provides tips for navigating market By Jennifer Coyne jenn@dairystar.com
After a period of extreme market swings in all sectors of agriculture mainly caused by the coronavirus pandemic, much of last year’s trends showed a sign of strength in the industry. Farmland was no exception. “The price trend on farmland, especially on good cropland, in 2021 strengthened as the year went along,” Randy Dickhut said. “Underlying factors supporting land values were hitting on all cylinders.” Dickhut is the senior vice president of real estate operations for Farmers National Company, which offers real estate sales and auctions across much of the United States. In 2021, the Federal Reserve and various universities reported cropland values rising 15%-30%. Of the Upper Midwest states, Iowa had the greatest average sale price of high-quality land at $14,500 per
acre, a 29% increase from 2020, according to a survey conducted by Farmers National Company. In Dairy Star’s coverage area, South Dakota’s top quality cropland followed at $10,500 per acre (23% increase); Minnesota at $9,700 per acre (26% increase); and Wisconsin at $7,700 per acre (10% increase). In terms of rental prices, the United States Department of Agriculture reported the average rental price for cropland in Minnesota was estimated at $177 per acre in 2021; $133 per acre in Wisconsin. These prices are all reective of market inuences that strengthened as the year progressed. “In the last part of the year, farm income became better and that was on top of 2020 where there was an extra inux of cash from government support,” Dickhut said. “A better nancial condition prompted many farmers to be more active and that drove prices.” Low interest rates were also supportive of land prices and drove a competitive group of individuals to look at farmland as an investment. Most of the buyers continued to be active farmers who had extra cash in their pockets.
Turn to FARMLAND PRICES | Page 8