LOOK INSIDE FOR OUR DCHA CONFERENCE PREVIEW EDITION!
DAIRY ST R “All dairy, all the time”™
Volume 20, No. 3
How to weather the economic storm
March 24, 2018
Growing to capture efciency, technology
Zwieg strives to reach high Kohl shares tips production goals
for success
By Jennifer Coyne jenn@dairystar.com
Editor’s note: This is the second of two articles on Dr. David Kohl’s presentation, “Positioning for success in cyclical economics,” hosted by Ridgewater College Farm Business Management Programs Feb. 21 Willmar, Minn. WILLMAR, Minn. – Every generation of dairy farmers have experienced some form of volatile markets; it is the natural result of being a part of an industry molded by cyclical environments. How farmers prepare and weather the volatility is the differentiating factor between protability and loss. “Moving forward, we’re going to have to manage volatility in the extremes, which means management is really going to show its face in the next ve to 10 years,” said Dr. David Kohl, Professor of Emeritus at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va. The cyclical environment of the dairy industry can be best described by seasons – summer, fall, winter and spring – which most recently began in 2006. From 2006 until 2012, demand for dairy products was strong, the value of the dollar and interest rates were low, as well as a growing interest in technology and ethanol. “That [period] was an aberration and it’s only ever happened in three other times [in history],” Kohl said. “Baby boomer farmers who made it through the ‘80s made more money in those ve years than they did the previous 40. That was summer, and everyone Turn to KOHLS | Page 5
By Danielle Nauman danielle.n@dairystar.com
IXONIA, Wis. – From Day 1 of dairying with his family, Kyle Zwieg has been working to improve the family’s farm. Since returning in 2012 Zwieg has helped the farm grow – adding facilities for an expanded herd and improving the rolling herd average over 8,000 pounds of milk through the breeding and feeding programs Zwieg helped establish. Today, Kyle Zwieg is the sixth generation of his family to operate the Zwieg’s Maple Acres along with his wife, Turn to ZWIEGS | Page
DANIELLE NAUMAN/DAIRY STAR
Kyle and Rachel Zwieg operate Zwieg’s Maple Acres Dairy with Kyle’s parents, Joe and Lisa Zwieg. They milk 80 cows in Dodge County near Ixonia, Wis.
A move to pursue their dairying dream
Guisewhites leave East Coast to settle in Minnesota By Krista Kuzma
krista.k@dairystar.com
KRISTA KUZMA/DAIRY STAR
Nicole and Norman Guisewhite, accompanied by their daughter, Alexis, check over their herd on a recent aŌernoon. AŌer moving from the East Coast four years ago, the family bought a herd of cows and started renƟng a facility near Mayer, Minn.
MAYER, Minn. – There’s no doubt in Norman and Nicole Guisewhite’s mind of what they are meant do to. Their mission is to dairy farm. But pursuing their career of choice meant taking a leap of faith and moving to a new state – from Pennsylvania to Minnesota – where they did not know anyone. Nearly one year ago, Norman and Nicole Guisewhite, along with their children, Hanna, 7, and Alexis, 4, bought a 100-cow herd and started their dairying dream on a rented farm near Mayer, Minn. The journey to get to this point, however, hasn’t been the straightest path. The couple started farming right out of high school in 2004 with Norman’s family milking 400 cows in Virginia. When that didn’t work, they moved to Pennsylvania in 2008 to try dairying on their own until they sold the cows in 2011. Turn to GUISEWHITES | Page 6
Page 2 • Dairy Star • Saturday, March 24, 2018
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 (ofce) 320-248-3196 (cell) 320-352-0062 (home) Ad Composition Nancy Powell 320-352-6303 nancy.p@dairystar.com Amanda Thooft 320-352-6303 amanda.t@dairystar.com Consultant Jerry Jennissen 320-346-2292 Editorial Staff Andrea Borgerding - Associate Editor (320) 352-6303 • andrea.b@dairystar.com Krista Kuzma - Assistant Editor (507) 259-8159 • krista.k@dairystar.com Jennifer Coyne - Assistant Editor (320) 352-6303 • jenn@dairystar.com Ron Johnson (608) 874-4243 ron.j@dairystar.com Ruth Klossner (507) 240-0048 cowlady@centurylink.net Brittany Olson (320) 352-6303 brittany.o@dairystar.com Danielle Nauman (715) 245-6848 danielle.n@dairystar.com Maria Bichler - Copy Editor 320-352-6303 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 (Northern MN, East Central MN) 320-260-8505 (cell) jeff.w@dairystar.com Mark Klaphake (Western MN) 320-352-6303 (ofce) 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 Lori Menke (Eastern Iowa, Southern WI) 563-608-6477 • lori.m@dairystar.com Megan Stuessel (Western Wisconsin) 608-387-1202 megan.s@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 $35.00, 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 and additional mailing ofces. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Dairy Star, 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave., Sauk Centre, MN 56378-1246.
North America dealers. From the editorial team
Dairy Prole brought to you by your
Help us keep our paper free Free. Who doesn’t love something that’s free, especially when it’s a benecial resource? We hope you nd the content – both editorial and advertisements – of Dairy Star valuable. The Dairy Star staff takes pride in the fact that we can provide the paper to dairy farmers in our coverage area free of charge, thanks to our wonderful advertisers. Without them it wouldn’t be possible. However, there is one more step in keeping the paper free. That’s where you come in. Inserted in the Feb. 24 issue, you should have received a letter with a subscription form along with your paper. Every few years, we have to verify with the post ofce the number of subscriptions that are requested by our readers. This determines our postage and helps us keep expenses at a reasonable rate. So, although the paper is free, we still need you to ll out a subscription form. It is also important to our advertisers that we keep our list of dairy farmers current. If you have already sent the letter back to us, thank you! If you haven’t, don’t fret. There is still time to get it in and keep you on our subscription list. There are a few ways you can send in your information. The rst is to nd the subscription form from the Feb. 24 issue, ll it out and mail it back to us. The second is to email Nancy at nancy.p@dairystar. com. In the email, include your name, phone number and address along with a request to either continue receiving the paper or to discontinue receiving it. Please state whether or not you are a dairy farmer. If you have lost your subscription letter or you prefer not to email, give us a call at 320-352-6303. Ask for Nancy and she will take care of you. If at any time you have suggestions or comments about the paper, we want to hear them. Email or call Mark at mark.k@dairystar.com or 320-248-3196. Your stories are the ones that help keep the paper successful, for which we are very grateful. As always, we will continue to strive for the paper to be a valuable resource, a free publication and in tune with our slogan, “All dairy, all the time.” – The Dairy Star Editorial Team
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Dairy Star • Saturday, March 24, 2018 • Page 3
It’s all inside... Columnists Ag Insider
Pages 8-9 First Section
The Transition Pen Page 27 First Section
Rice Lake
Dairy Proe: Jeff Wille First Section: Page 36
Benoit
Bloomer
Second Section: Pages 8-9
First Section: Pages 28-29
Mayers win Wisconsin Holstein Association Distinguished Breeder
Lulich, Ketring face challenges posed by location
Seneca
Marsheld
First Section: Pages 34-35
Third Section: Pages 2-3
Missed opportunity Page 25 First Section
Changing seasons leave calves vulnerable to pneumonia
Dairy Good Life Page 33 First Section
The “Mielke” Market Weekly
Pages 10 -11 Second Section
Sawyer
Price
Madison
Mental, emotional stress part of modern farming
Rusk
Barron
Second Section: Page 34
Taylor St. Croix
Fairchild
Dunham brings dairy goats into crop, diversied livestock operation
Pierce
Dunn
Pepin Buffalo
Second Section: Pages 14-15
Crawford
Dairy’s Star Youth: Johanna Kunert Third Section Page 13
Chippewa
Marathon
Ixonia
Clark
Eau Claire Trempealeau
Page 32 First Section
n Polk
Page 31 First Section
Just Thinking Out Loud
Ashland Burnett
Something to Ruminate On
First Section: Page 36
Iron
ur
First Section: Page 26
Women in Dairy: Tammy Voegeli
Bayeld
Douglas
Barron
hb
Page 30 First Section
Arlington
W as
Ramblings from the Ridge
Zwieg strives to reach high production goals
Wood
First Section: Pages 1, 10
Jackson Adams
La Crosse Monroe
Juneau Vernon
Darlington
Schillings use teamwork to reach 46 percent repro rate First Section: Pages 18, 20
ford
Richland
Sauk
Craw
Iowa
Fond Du Lac Columbia
Dane
Lafayette
Green
Dodge
J
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Grant
Zone 2
Happier, healthier calves raised at Mara-Wood Dairy
Emotions, frustration run high at farm discussion
Rock
FROM OUR SIDE OF THE FENCE:
Why is it important to recognize National Ag Day on March 20? Pages 15 -16
Dodgeville
Canadian dairymen explain milk quota system
Second Section: Pages 33, 35
For additional stories from our other zone, log on to www.dairystar.com
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Page 4 • Dairy Star • Saturday, March 24, 2018
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ConĆ&#x;nued from KOHLS | Page 1 wanted to be involved.â€? The industry recently went through the fall season, from 2013 to 2017. Commodity prices were directly related to surplus, suppressed margins, cash ďƒ&#x;ow and proďƒžts. “We had people burn through working capital, but the ones that didn’t reďƒžnance for liquidity restructured debt,â€? Kohl said. “In the long run, equity doesn’t pay the bills, and that’s the dilemma we’re starting to see.â€? With the turn of the calendar year, the agriculture economy has entered the winter season. Kohl expects the winter season to last through 2021. “Just like we saw in the 1980s, you’ll see a widening gap of performance,â€? Kohl said. “I knew this was coming because the bottom 30 percent was making money from 2006 to 2012. When that happens, they bring inefďƒžciencies in and now we’re in a cost re-adjustment part of the cycle.â€? This time period will selectively place farmers into two categories – the greenliners and redliners. When spring season arrives in 2022 until 2025, the top 40 percent of dairy businesses will grow, while the remainder will either remain stagnant or collapse. “Spring season will come in the next decade in bits and pieces,â€? Kohl said. “It’s going to be consumer driven, data driven and people driven, and it’s not going to be one-size-ďƒžts-all.â€? As the industry works through the next cyclical season, there are indicators of success and failure, as well as ways to adjust accordingly. FINBIN summaries from 19 states have categorized farms into three distinct areas based on ďƒžnancial statements – greenliners, tweeners and redliners. Historically, the distribution of farms within those categories is 40 percent, 30 percent and 30 percent, respectively, according to Kohl. Greenliners are in control of the situation, whether they are making a little money or losing a little money. Tweeners ďƒ&#x;oat in the middle with hopes of an industry-wide catastrophe, such as weather, to raise commodity prices. Redliners are often very passive managers and may not realize the stress the farm is under. “A lot of management fallacies that were covered up when we had $8 corn, beans in the teens and $20 milk are now being exposed,â€? Kohl said. “We’ve got
a fork in the road and some are taking the high road, while some are falling off.â€? While the characteristics of either group are vast – from production, marketing and ďƒžnancial management – it is possible to move from a redliner to a greenliner with mindful changes to the dairy operation. “You are in control if you want to be a greenliner or a redliner,â€? Kohl said. “When you put production, marketing and ďƒžnances together and are efďƒžcient with resources, are you 5 percent better than the others? That’s the key.â€? Oftentimes, redliners are caught with overpaying for marginal resources, lacking ďƒžnancial and marketing skills, and are emotionally driven when transferring farm assets. “Some businesses have an undisciplined pursuit of more, high family living and lack the hear, understand and take action (HUT) principal,â€? Kohl said. To develop into or maintain greenliner status, Kohl suggests being guided by 12 practices. First, become goal oriented and redeďƒžne success for the farm. “One of the fundamental basics for business success is goal setting,â€? Kohl said. “Successful teams are focused. Are you willing to go back to the basics and make goals?â€? Dairy farmers must also prioritize time management, uphold strong records, adhere to modest family living, develop a proďƒžt plan, manage working capital, manage debt and growth, drive towards ďƒžnancial efďƒžciency, develop talent in management, establish a business plan, focus on family, and follow the GWC (get it, want it, have the capacity for it) mentality. Upon implementing a GWC mentality, farmers may have the opportunity to bridge into a proactive management style. In following these practices, as well as seeking guidance from farm business management instructors or similar institutions, success is an option for dairy farmers. “Take your resources and your talents and align them with the marketplace,â€? Kohl said. “It takes a lot of discipline and strategy, but it just takes a little bit of difference to get there.â€?
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ConƟnued from GUISEWHITES | Page 1
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Nicole (leŌ) and Alexis Guisewhite stand in the double-6 parallel parlor on the farm the family rents from Lyle and Wanda Honebrink near Mayer, Minn. “The natural gas companies moved in and we couldn’t compete with them,” Norman said. When they started their dairy in Bradford County, in the northeast portion of the state, the county had nearly 500 dairies. By the time they exited the business, there were 120 dairies left. “It’s not that they (the gas companies) take land, they went to the older farmers who didn’t have any kids to take over … and offered them a good price. So why would they keep milking cows?” Norman said. That made it hard for the Guisewhites to nd land to rent to support their dairy, which ultimately led to their exit. After Norman worked as a herdsman on a dairy for awhile, they decided they would make another move to make their dairying dream work. “I had an uncle – one I dairied with in Virginia – who was a herdsman in Albert Lea, Minn. He was always talking about how nice people were and how good the farmland was. He wished he had never left,” Norman said. In the fall of 2013, the Guisewhite family made the move to Minnesota. Although their intentions were to dairy on their own, the Guisewhites wanted to make sure they liked the state before planting roots, so Norman took a job as a herdsman. “Within the rst month we knew we were going to stay, it was just a matter of setting things up,” Norman said. With encouragement from people they had met along the way – their vet, Tanya Olson, and nutritionist, Mike Faust – the Guisewhites found their start through Lyle and Wanda Honebrink in Mayer. Originally, the Honebrinks were looking for help on their dairy. The couple was getting close to retirement age and none of their children wanted to take over the farm. “We came in, gave them an offer and gave Lyle the option to work with us for a little while – selling us feed and helping us get started,” Norman said. Although the Honebrinks admitted it was a difcult decision, they agreed to sell their herd and rent the facilities to the Guisewhites, who took ownership of the cows on April 1, 2017.
The Guisewhites are thankful for the situation. “Everything is absolutely amazing – the farm and the people. It’s a wonderful place,” Norman said. They milk in a double-6 parallel parlor and house the herd in a freestall barn with mats bedded with sawdust shavings. There is also enough barn space for all the young animals. “When the Honebrinks built the facility, they built it right,” Norman said. The Guisewhites feel their situation has made them more successful and ultimately more protable. “Starting a business no matter what is tough and it’s been a challenging year, but being it’s our rst year and being able to pull through and pay everything [despite low milk prices] makes us feel pretty good,” Norman said. A lot of credit is given to the Honebrinks. “Lyle and Wanda already had it started for us. We basically take care of what they had,” Norman said. “If we would have started in different circumstances, we wouldn’t be this successful.” But the Guisewhites have learned a few lessons in their rst year dairying in the Midwest. With the challenge of the low milk price, the Guisewhites have paid attention to their expenses and scrutinized their management decisions without sacricing cow comfort. “This year I learned it’s not about how much milk you can make, it’s about how efcient you can make it,” Norman said. Being able to produce a quality product has also helped them be successful, they said. They have a 27,000-pound rolling herd average with 4.3 percent butterfat and a somatic cell count under 100,000. “It’s not about quantity, it’s about quality,” Nicole said. Nicole is happy to nally be back into dairying. As the main milker, Nicole likes being able to be around cows again. She also likes being able to have the family together. Their daughters are almost always with them in the barn. Turn to GUISEWHITES | Page 7
Dairy Star • Saturday, March 24, 2018 • Page 7
ConƟnued from GUISEWHITES | Page 6 “We all do it together. It’s a little difcult sometimes, but it’s a work in progress,” Nicole said. After nearly four years of being in Minnesota, the Guisewhites have discovered differences between the Midwest and East Coast. “You ght milk prices no matter where you’re at, but here you have feed. There’s feed everywhere. It’s harder to grow out there,” Norman said. In their experience in Pennsylvania and Virginia, a person could not dairy farm if he or she did not have owned or rented land. “You can’t just go to your neighbor to buy feed,” Norman said. While tiestall barns are more prevalent back in their home state, the Guisewhites said it’s more of a mix of tiestall and freestall barns here. They were happy to nd a parlor and freestall barn right away. A big part of Minnesota they enjoy is the positive attitude towards dairy farmers. “People are more compassionate to work with people just starting up in the industry here,” Norman said. For example, the Guisewhites said they had a hard time convincing a banker to loan them money to start a dairy in Pennsylvania, whereas here they had no problem. They also describe the dairy companies in the Midwest as easier to work with. “They’re not as friendly on the East Coast,” Nicole said. “It’s so much more laid back here.” Plus, the Guisewhites said regulations and permitting on the East Coast is difcult. “Our pit here isn’t that far from a housing development. If I was in Pennsylvania and agitated that pit on a
KRISTA KUZMA/DAIRY STAR
Lyle and Wanda Honebrink (leŌ) sold their herd and started leasing their dairy faciliƟes to Nicole and Norman Guisewhite (center), who are pictured with their daughter, Alexis. Norman’s cousin, Travis Marsh, (right) recently moved to Minnesota to join the Guisewhites in their dairying venture. spring day, people would call me in and I would be in jail. Not here,” he said. “People are more accepting of dairy.” Although the Guisewhites have had to adjust to dairying in colder temperatures, they are happy to have their roots planted and are already planning for the future. This month, Norman’s cousin, Travis Marsh, moved to Minnesota to start dairying with the Guisewhites.
With the addition of another family member, the Guisewhites are looking for a farm to purchase and expand their herd by about 50 cows. Long term, the Guisewhites would like to milk around 500 cows because that’s where they think the industry is going. “I think in the next ve years if you’re not able to reap the benets of ordering semi loads of commodities
(for feed), then you won’t make it. That’s where you’ll save your money,” Norman said. “Am I for that? No, but that’s the reality.” For now, they are enjoying their cows, their new home state and the endless possibilities for their future. “We didn’t want to quit milking cows so we headed here,” Norman said. “We like it here. It’s been a good experience so far.”
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Page 8 • Dairy Star • Saturday, March 24, 2018
Seeking wins for agricultural trade This is a signicant time for global trade. Eleven emissions under the Superfund law, also known as nations, not including the United States, have signed CERCLA. A similar bill was introduced in the Senthe Trans Pacic Partnership. President Donald ate last month. Timing is critical for this legislation, Trump has imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum since implementation of the reporting mandate takes effect in May. The National Milk Producimports, prompting threats of a trade Ag Insider ers Federation released a statement with war. In addition, the North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations may its full support for this bill. be approaching a conclusion. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said the Special orders of business Trump Administration wants fairness in The National Farmers Union has apall trade policy, including dairy. “Canada, proved nine special orders of business. our neighbor to the north, keeps our dairy The policy positions include the estabproducts out of there. They have what is lishment of an incentives-based supply called a supply management system, but management program for the dairy industhey don’t manage the supply and they’re try. NFU delegates also called on Condumping milk solids on markets that degress to reject any proposal to eliminate press our dairy industry here in the UnitSection 199a, which provides incentives By Don Wick ed States.” to farmers and farmer-owned cooperatives. Columnist April timeline for Senate farm bill action Supply/demand forecast Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat USDA’s Supply/Demand Report forecast U.S. Roberts hopes to mark up the new farm bill in April. milk production at 219 billion pounds for 2018. That’s Speaking at a child nutrition event in Washington, up 300 million pounds from the last forecast. The allD.C., Roberts said he wants to act on the bill this milk price is expected to average $15.75 to $16.35 per month, but oor time will be taken up by immigration hundredweight, changing slightly from last month’s and the appropriations bill. The majority and minority prediction. Cheese and butter prices for the year are staffs are already working on the farm bill language. revised higher, while nonfat dry milk and dry whey prices declined. A tough time to write a farm bill Compared to 2014, there is a different nancial CCFN rejects EU restrictions environment for the writing of the new farm bill. “The The Consortium for Common Food Names is urgeconomy continues to drag in rural America, said Na- ing the Ofce of the U.S. Trade Representative to retional Farmers Union Senior Vice President of Policy ject any efforts by the European Union to restrict the and Communications Rob Larew. “Predictions say use of generic food names, like parmesan or provothat will continue for a while.” lone. The EU is actively negotiating new trade agreements with restrictions on names based on geography. Protecting dairy farmers from manure emissions The CCFN made its case to USTR in its annual rereporting rule view of intellectual property rights. A bill has been introduced in the House that would exempt livestock operations from reporting manure
Wisconsin cheesemakers win world contests At the World Cheese Championship competition, a French company was the overall winner, but Wisconsin was well represented in the contest. Maple Leaf Cheesemakers of Monroe won the cheddar, aged oneto-two years contest. Springside Cheese Corporation of Oconto Falls topped the traditional waxed cheddar contest. In the natural rinded cheddar category, Door Artisan Cheese Company of Egg Harbor was the winner. Arena Cheese of Arena was best in class with its Longhorn Colby. AMPI of Jim Falls was a winner in the curd division with its Colby Jack. In the aged provolone category, Foremost Farms of Clayton topped the contest. For smoked provolone, Agropur of Luxemburg won. Bel Gioioso Cheese of Green Bay won for the parmesan category. Saxon Creamery of Cleveland won for fresh asiago. Agropur of Weyauwega is the winner for feta cheese. Klondike Cheese of Monroe wins for brick cheese. The winning Havarti cheese came from Edelweiss Creamery of Monticello. Arla Foods of Kaukauna won the avored Havarti category with a dill-avored cheese. Cesar’s Cheese of Random Lake won for its string cheese. Bel Gioioso Cheese Green Bay wins gorgonzola. Saxon Cheese of Cleveland topped the mild gouda cheese category and the smoked gouda category. Marieke Gouda of Thorp won the avored gouda category with an onion garlic avored cheese. Lacalis of Belmont is the champion in the brie category. A hatch pepper cheese from Saputo Cheese USA, Milwaukee, won the pepper avored cheese competition. Emmi Roth USA of Monroe won another pepper cheese division with its Chipotle Havarti Loaf. Chula Vista Cheese of Brownton won the melting style Latin American cheese division. Specialty Cheese Company in Reeseville won for its paneer cheese. Bel Gioioso of Green Bay won in the soft cheese class with its mascarpone. For the semi-hard cheeses, Alpine Cheese of South Wayne won with its Butterkase. Crave Brothers Farmstead Turn to AG INSIDER | Page 9
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ConƟnued from AG INSIDER | Page 8 Cheese of Waterloo won in the avored soft cheese division. Sartori Company in Antigo won in the avored cheese category with a sweet condiment, using espresso. Saputo Cheese USA was best in class for the avored hard cheese with a rosemary avor. A smoked fontina from Maple Leaf Cheese in Monroe won in a semi-hard category. Klondike Cheese of Monroe won the lowfat category. Pine River Pre-Pack in Pine River tops the cold pack cheese food and cheese spread categories. AMPI in Portage won for pasteurized process cheese. Bel Gioioso Cheese in Green Bay won for its natural snack cheese. Carr Valley Cheese in La Valle won in the prepared cheese food division. NFU elects new VP Scandinavia, Wis., dairy farmer Patty Edelburg was elected vice president of National Farmers Union. “I want to be known as a young, female leader stepping into a sea of not necessarily young, female leaders on the board. There’s not a lot of diversity on our board, and I’d like to be that change.” Edelburg is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. She farms with her husband, Gary, with a 120-cow dairy herd.
Alltech leader passes Alltech founder and president Dr. Pearse Lyons has died. Lyons, 73, began the company in 1980 and now has over 5,000 employees worldwide. The animal nutrition company uses yeastbased technology. Farmer appointed to board of regents Cris Peterson of Grantsburg has been appointed to the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents. Peterson is part of the family dairy operation and is a well-known children’s book author. In 2004, Peterson was named the World Dairy Expo Farm Woman of the Year. Trivia challenge Cheddar is the most consumed cheese in the world. That answers our last trivia question. For this week, what country leads the world in per-capital cheese consumption? 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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ConĆ&#x;nued from ZWIEG | Page 1
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Rachel. They farm in partnership with his parents, Joe and Lisa. While the farm started with 80 acres when it was homesteaded in 1856, it has grown to include nearly 400 acres in Dodge County. Zwieg has hopes that his children, Theodore, 2, and 1-year-old twins Logan and Landon, will have the opportunity to extend the family legacy to the seventh generation. Zwieg’s Maple Acres is home to 80 cows, housed in sand-bedded freestalls and milked in the farm’s original stanchion barn. The family farms a total of 950 acres, both owned and rented. “I wasn’t sure I wanted to dairy farm,â€? Zwieg said. “I went to the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Farm and Industry Short Course and studied soil science and agronomy, with the idea of doing cash grain. The second year I studied dairy science. Then I worked at Koepke Farms nearby. I say I earned the second half of my bachelor’s degree there.â€? Working at the Koepke’s dairy farm, Zwieg decided dairy farming was the right career choice for him. He set out to do it for himself as an owner. When he came home to join his parents in the dairy operation, they were milking 40 cows in the stanchion barn and the farm consisted of about 150 acres. That was in 2012, a year of extreme drought in southeastern Wisconsin. The Zwiegs transitioned from their current herd size and housing set-up to an 80-cow herd housed in one of two freestall barns. “Because of the drought, we made the transition as low-budget as possible,â€? Zwieg said. “We converted a machine shed into a two-row freestall with inside feeding. We built another two-row freestall barn where the cows are fed outside at a j-bunk.â€? Prior to the transition, the herd had a lactation average of 22,000 pounds of milk on twice a day milking. With lots of work and attention to detail, today the herd average is 30,700 pounds of milk, 1,155 pounds of fat and 979 pounds of protein on twice a day milking. Zwieg feels his breeding and feeding programs are the two cornerstones to his herd’s production success. He focuses his efforts on improving his crops and dairy herd. “We have a great nutritionist, Nick Uglow from VitaPlus, and a great vet, Dr. Nick Mayer from the Mayville Animal Clinic,â€? Zwieg said, crediting their advice as an important piece in the success of his herd. When selecting sires, Zwieg puts the greatest focus on net merit and cheese merit, as well as considering health traits. His goal is to breed moderately-sized cows that are functionally sound. “There’s been a divergence in the breeding philosophy,â€? Zwieg said. “My dad selected sires more based on TPI, and was a little more interested in showring type than I am. I want to breed proďƒžtable cows that can last.â€? Zwieg uses primarily genomic young sires in his matings, and believes that is the best way to get the net merit numbers high enough to make the improvements he wants. The Zwiegs raise their own replacement animals and sell dairy replacements to local customers, which provides another source of income for the farm. Zwieg has started breeding the bottom 15 percent of the herd to Angus and is using sexed semen on the top 15 percent. Zwieg said he and his father are strict about the harvesting of the forages they use in the TMR fed to their cows, using a 28-day cutting cycle for their lowlignin alfalfa. They grow conventional hybrid corn for silage, as opposed to using BMR silage corn. The Zwiegs have taken part in several feed trials and will
DANIELLE NAUMAN/DAIRY STAR
The Zwiegs’ cows are fed in an outdoor j-bunk. In 2012, the Zwiegs built a two-row freestall barn, in addiĆ&#x;on to the converted machine shed, to house cows. be working with Syngenta to trial an EnogenÂŽ hybrid corn. While Zwieg does the simple ration work himself, Uglow comes to the farm to take forage samples every two weeks and consults on the overall rations. “Nick says we’re setting a new ceiling for twice a day production,â€? Zwieg said. “He plays a huge role in the increases in our herd average.â€? Zwieg credits Dr. Mayer as being extremely progressive, particularly in making improvements to the herd’s reproductive performance. Last year, the herd pregnancy rate was at 31 percent. He breeds on natural heats when he can up until 90 days in milk, and then uses ovsynch or lut-to-breed after 90 days. Zwieg said Dr. Mayer brought a university study to his attention about how an ovsynch and lut-to-breed program can beneďƒžt signiďƒžcantly from a double-lut done before breeding. “In the higher production cows, their lungs will ďƒžlter out the lut before it can impact their reproductive tract,â€? Zwieg said, noting that he’s seen a 12 percent increase in heat quality and conception when giving a morning and evening lut shot prior to breeding. “There has been a stark difference in the intensity of their heat since starting the double-lut,â€? Zwieg said. “Lut-to-breed used to be our poorest pregnancy rate, but now it’s equaled out.â€? In determining the future of his farm, Zwieg cited two paths he feels he can choose from. “We could go with a more massive expansion, building a parlor, or we could make a more modest expansion using robots,â€? Zwieg said. “The ultimate goal is to be able to milk three times a day.â€? While Zwieg acknowledges that robots are costlier, they may allow him to stay small by today’s industry standards, expanding to 120 cows milked with two robots. The Zwiegs are in the early stages of planning and creating the groundwork for the expansion with hopes to have the new barn and robots in operation by the end of 2020. “Robots are a solution for labor issues,â€? Zwieg said. “I want to stay dairying, and robots seem to be the way to do that for us.â€? Zwieg isn’t concerned about the size of his dairy farm determining its ability to be successful in the future. “I believe there is room for every size of farm. I don’t have plans for endless expansion for myself,â€? Zwieg said. “I just want to grow enough to be able to capture the beneďƒžts of efďƒžciency and technology.â€?
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Dairy Star • Saturday, March 24, 2018 • Page 11
LETTERS TO EDITOR
Forage-based diets on dairy farms produce nutritionally-enhanced milk I read a short epistle regarding the research conducted by the University of Minnesota and other academic collaborators with interest. I was impressed with the enthusiastic pronouncement that “Daily consumption of grass-milk dairy products could potentially improve U.S. health trends.” Pretty heady stuff, indeed. OK, then skepticism kicked in and a couple of quick Google searches provided some rough data. The average American consumes about 16 grams of polyunsaturated fatty acids in their diet each day. If, as the report noted, the ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 fatty acids is a currently unhealthy 15 to 1, then the average intake is 15 grams of omega 6 and 1 gram of omega 3. The average American only drinks about 60 ml of uid milk per day, but let’s hope for a more dairy enthused intake of 250 ml of milk per day, presumably full fat milk (skim is not going to help here). If grass milk has 0.05 g of omega 3 per 100 ml of milk, then the consumption of 250 ml of milk will get an extra 0.125 grams of omega 3 in their diet, a 13 percent increase in their omega 3 intake. Ignoring any omega 6 in the same milk, the person now consumes 16.125 grams of these polyunsaturated fatty acids and the omega 6 to omega 3 ration is improved from 15 to 14.3. Exactly what convinces the authors that this change will improve U.S. health trends? Enthusiasm for one’s research ndings is commendable, as long as the enthusiasm is for the actual results. I am sure that grass milk marketers will seek to amplify the research ndings and the proclamations out of self-interest, but for the scientists themselves to extrapolate their ndings to implications far beyond any reasonable or supportable boundaries serves no one. John Fetrow VMD, MBA, DSc (hon) Emeritus Professor of Dairy Production Medicine University of Minnesota Sources: 1. http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/average-fat-intake-sad-11370.html 2. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/06/20/the-mysterious-case-ofamericas-plummeting-milk-consumption/?utm_term=.2c5c40ec3155
CORRECTION:
In the March 10 issue of Dairy Star, Taylor Kargas was misquoted in the “A taste of Minnesota” article. Kargas is the rst in his family to participate in the Peanut Butter and Milk Festival. Dairy Star regrets the error. •
The rule of law
In my opinion, National Milk Producers Federation is corrupt. They advocate the need for immigrant workers (illegal immigrants) so that Americans can have cost effective food (cheap food). That’s opposite of their mission statement, which says they encourage policy aimed at improving the economic well-being of the dairy farmer. NMPF was sued for price xing last year over the dairy herd buyout program it created and implemented. It’s hard to believe co-ops are still paying membership dues to NMPF and lawmakers are still listening to them. NMPF is a lobbyist organization lobbying in Washington D.C. It wouldn’t surprise me if NMPF gets sued again for misleading the consumer with the FARM (Farmers Assuring Responsible Management) program they created and implemented. Consumers want cattle treated humanely, so NMPF implemented a tail docking ban. I believe 99.9 percent of people don’t know what tail docking is. Tail docking is the only rule of FARM. I believe consumers do want cattle treated humanely. Consumers pay twice as much for organic milk because one of the rules of organic is dairy farmers have to pasture their cows so many days out of the year. A lot of grocery stores have organic milk (even thrifty Walmart consumers are willing to pay more). A large percentage of cows in the United States are on concrete 365 days a year. They never step hoof on pasture. Shouldn’t a rule of FARM be pasturing? The FARM logo shows two cows on pasture. I cannot tell if cows have their tails or not. I sure can tell that there in a nice green pasture though, which is very misleading don’t you think? The dairy industry is in a sad state of affairs because of NMPF. I live in Minnesota’s Seventh District where Collin Peterson is the representative. He has been in ofce over a quarter century and has said and done absolutely nothing about illegal immigration. I think that’s disgusting, especially because he is currently a ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee and was chairman for many years. I have a question to ask Collin: Does he believe in the rule of law? I will contact his ofce in Washington D.C. and ask for him to read my letter and respond. I believe in the rule of law. Without the rule of law, you cannot have a civilized society. People ee a country where there is no rule of law. As more and more people break the law in the United States, it’s becoming a place not so nice to live in (the rule of law is what makes a country great). One hundred and fty years ago, there was the exploitation of foreign workers on cotton plantations. Then, Abraham Lincoln abolished slavery. The 13th amendment is a good law. Today, on some dairy farms, there is the exploitation of foreign workers (I call these farms dairy plantations). These dairy farmers are breaking immigration laws. I believe immigration laws are good laws. Immigration laws keep employers in this country from treating foreigners unfairly and beneting from their work. People who are breaking immigration laws should take a look in the mirror. They are the ones wrecking this country. There’s only one reason why they break immigration laws. It is called greed. Joe Schindler, Red Lake Falls, Minn., dairy farmer
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Page 12 • Dairy Star • Saturday, March 24, 2018
Uncertain times call for certain agreements
Producers need to understand milk contract language By Danielle Nauman danielle.n@dairystar.com
MADISON, Wis. – Dairy producers attending the Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin’s (PDPW) recent Business Conference March 15 at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wis., heard attorney Troy Schneider, of the Chilton, Wis., law rm Twohig, Rietbrock, Schneider and Halbach, speak about the importance of paying attention to the ne print in the contracts they have with their milk processors. “Farmers sell their milk to a milk or cheese plant using a contract,” Schneider said. “Most of those contracts are written, but some are verbal.” Schneider said that in the past, these contracts have typically been vague and have not posed a great deal of obligation on either party. “It’s surprising how little milk contracts actually say, and they are usually only made for a year at a time. In the past, both parties have typically liked having the exibility of getting out of the relationship,” Schneider said.
“This works OK if both have the ability to nd someone else to work with. However, we all know that in today’s market that is not quite the case. The milk contact has become more and more important.” Schneider said that by denition a contract is a voluntary arrangement between two or more parties that is enforceable by law as a binding legal agreement. An agreement between a producer and a milk plant for the purchase and sale of a farm’s milk is a contract. Milk supply contracts are considered to be openquantity contracts, meaning that specic quantities of milk to be sold or purchased are not specied within the contract. There are two kinds of open-quantity contracts: a requirement contract and an output contract. “In a requirement contract, a buyer agrees to purchase all of its requirements for a particular good from a seller. The exact quantity of goods sold uctuates according to
DANIELLE NAUMAN/DAIRY STAR
Troy Schneider, an aƩorney from Chilton, Wis., spoke to aƩendees at PDPW’s Business Conference about contract law and negoƟaƟng a milk contract March 15 at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wis.
the buyer’s needs,” Schneider said. “However, in an output contract, the buyer agrees to purchase all of a seller’s output of a particular good. The exact quantity of goods sold uctuates according to the seller’s production.” Contract law is based on the statues, as well as incidences of case law, using previously decided court cases as a mechanism to determine the meaning of
the statutes, including the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), which was developed in 1952 as a uniform law among the states, pertaining to commerce and the sale of goods. The UCC was adopted by the state of Wisconsin in 1963. According to Schneider, a milk contract between a farm and a purchaser for the sale of all the farm’s milk is governed by the UCC, in particular
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Article 2, which affects contract law in regards to the sale of goods and was adopted by Wisconsin as Chapter 402 of the Wisconsin Statutes. Historically, these types of contracts could be invalidated by courts because they lacked mutuality of obligation or had indeniteness as to the quantity. However, courts
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Dairy Star • Saturday, March 24, 2018 • Page 13
ConĆ&#x;nued from CONTRACTS | Page 12
performance if factors beyond its control make such performance impossible,â€? Schneider said. “That could be things such as a change in the availability of raw materials, governmental actions that prohibit performance, or an act of God such as a storm, drought or ďƒžre.â€? Schneider said that frustration of purpose means that a party is excused from performance if the intent of the contract has been defeated by external circumstances, and a written force majeure clause should be included in a contract to address what happens in those situations. “In a milk supply contract, the farmer should be worried about impossibility issues,â€? Schneider said. “The contract should identify the risks allocate liability, and provide for the effect “A dairy farm needs to seek to and of a speciďƒžc occurrence on the contract.â€? A milk-supply contract is typically an openenter into contracts that quantity contract and is more likely to be an assure a constant demand for its output contract. “Typically, a farmer agrees to sell his or milk.â€? her entire production to the buyer, or milk plant, who in turn agrees to purchase the entire TROY SCHNEIDER, output,â€? Schneider said. “However, the milk TWOHIG, RIETBROCK, SCHNEIDER AND HALBACH LAW FIRM plant will typically seek to draft provisions that allow it to become the quantity-determining party, allowing it to adjust its intake of milk from that agreement, or you will be in violation of according to ďƒ&#x;uctuations in the markets.â€? the contract.â€? Schneider urges producers to watch for The statute continues to be deďƒžned that a lawful language which gives the plant escape clauses agreement by either the seller or the buyer, for the from the contract, but acknowledged that now is exclusive dealing in the kinds of goods concerned, a difďƒžcult time for producers to try to renegotiate imposes an obligation by the seller to make the best their contracts for greater detail and more concrete effort to supply the goods and the buyer to make the language. best effort to promote the sale. “A dairy farm needs to seek to enter into “That is the exclusive dealings part,â€? Schneider contracts that assure a constant demand for its said. “It’s perfectly legal to say that you can only milk,â€? Schneider said. “They need to make sure sell to a particular company, or can only buy from their contracts delineate speciďƒžc standards, such as particular companies.â€? somatic cell counts, as well as an estimate of the According to Schneider, under both common amount of milk to be sold. Potential issues of nonlaw and the UCC, contracts can be broken performance or breach of contract by a party should due to non-performance for reasons including be addressed, as well as listing how those issues impossibility and frustration of purpose. will be dealt with or cured.â€? “Impossibility means a party is excused from
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typically continue to enforce the contracts made in good faith. Schneider said that Wisconsin Statutes was further deďƒžned in Section 402.306 in regards to the quantities of the output of the seller or the requirements of the buyer. The statute says that no quantity unreasonably disproportionate to any states estimate, or in the absence of a stated estimate to any normal or otherwise comparable prior output or requirements may be tendered or demanded. “Basically, that means that it’s really important for producers to have an estimate of production written into their contracts,â€? Schneider said. “Legally, there cannot be a great deal of deviation
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From Our Side Of The Fence What message would you like to get across to people about ag? Brenda (Damrow) Gudex Juneau, Wis. Dodge County 20 cows Why is it important to recognize National Ag Day on March 20? We all need to understand the value of agriculture in our daily lives. I am thankful to be in a position where I can educate on the importance of agriculture every day. National Ag Day gives an opportunity to come together in a large collective manner to do ag education on a broad spectrum. What message would you like to get across to people about agriculture? It’s all about the connection to agriculture for each and every one of us. The producer-consumer connection is often lost, especially when only 2 percent of the population is on the production side. Education on the food, ber and fuel connection of agriculture from producer to consumer is a great message to share. What can farmers do to help raise awareness of agriculture’s impact on everyday lives? In order to increase awareness, the agri-business community should support programs that are able to raise awareness each and every day. I am fortunate to have the opportunity to work with the Fond du Lac Area Agri-Business Council and its Agricultural Ambassador Program. This program provides agricultural education in classrooms. Each program focuses on the producer-consumer connection. How would you plan an event to celebrate National Ag Day? I will be celebrating National Ag Day with students in the Oakeld Elementary School in Oakeld, Wis. as part of our Agricultural Ambassador Program. This just so happens to be the school that my daughters attend, so it will be even better to celebrate with them and have my youngest share her farm with her classmates. If you could work with a famous person to share your agriculture message, who would it be? Willie Nelson, who has helped raise more than $50 million through Farm Aid in order to help those farmers struggling in the agricultural economy or to help educate those in government who make decisions that affect producers. Perhaps former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman or current Wisconsin Secretary of Agriculture Sheila Harsdorf. Someone with the media presence like Orion Samuelson that could reach a wide range of people to spread the producer-consumer connection. Tell us about your farm. My parents and I have a small herd of registered Milking Shorthorns. Due to recent health issues, cows are milked at a neighboring farm, while heifers and dry cows are raised on the home farm. We exhibit at local, state and national shows throughout Wisconsin.
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Sarah Schmitz Ontario, Wis. Monroe County 35 cows Why is it important to recognize National Ag Day on March 20? As the consumer continues to become further removed from the origins of where their food is produced, it is crucial that agriculturists continue to work together and recognize the importance of agriculture. Celebrating National Ag Day allows us to unite and spread the common message about the importance of all agricultural industries. What message would you like to get across to people about agriculture? The message that I like to share with people is the passion that truly drives the agriculture industry. Many consumers do not realize the current state of the dairy industry; therefore, I feel it is important that we continue to share the message that we are farmers because we love being farmers, not because there is a lot of money to be made. What can farmers do to help raise awareness of agriculture’s impact on everyday lives? The main thing farmers can do is to preach a proactive message. By sharing positive messages, we allow the public to see that we are open to sharing our stories. While it can be intimidating to share on social media, I encourage everyone to share at least one ag-related fact on National Ag Day. How would you plan an event to celebrate National Ag Day? Right now, I feel that any event planned to celebrate National Ag Day would involve a plethora of ag products. As a dairy farmer, I would provide ample cheese, milk and ice cream. In my opinion, those should be staples in anyone’s diet. If you could work with a famous person to share your agriculture message, who would it be and why? This one is easy. Betty White. Because who doesn’t love Betty White? Tell us about your farm. My husband, Aaron, and myself farm alongside my parents. We recently came back to the farm and are still adjusting. I work off the farm as a sales manager for a dairy nutrition company. Aaron and I are hoping for a rebound in milk price to allow for a few renovations to the existing barn; especially, since we both have an eye for high-type dairy cattle, preferably red and white Holsteins with a handful of Jerseys mixed in.
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Ann Kieler Platteville, Wis. Grant County 1,200 cows Why is it important to recognize National Ag Day on March 20? National Ag Day is an important day to give credit to the world of agriculture for all that it provides to people each and every day of their lives. Agriculture provides people with the abundant food supply that we all enjoy. But, it also provides so much more. Just a few of the items are shampoo, toothpaste, towels, cosmetics, fuel, hardwoods for oors, pencils, paper, crayons and clothing. The list goes on. But it isn’t only the farmer or rancher whose livelihood comes from agriculture. It is also the people who work in all the businesses that make those products. It’s the bankers, machinery manufacturers, local cooperatives and the stores that sell the products. What message would you like to get across to people about agriculture? I would like people to know that agriculture should be as important to them as it is to us, and we strive to always provide the best product we know how as economically as we can while still protecting our environment and animals. What can farmers do to help raise awareness of agriculture’s impact on everyday lives? Just keep talking about the ways all forms of agriculture impact people’s lives. How would you plan an event to celebrate National Ag Day? I would use social media to put out information about the day and why people should care. If you could work with a famous person to share your agriculture message, who would it be? Mike Rowe. He has participated in many areas of agriculture. I believe he recognizes the importance of what we do. Tell us about your farm. Our farm is a multigenerational farm, consisting of several families. We are a dairy farm along with beef and crops. We have several employees and think of them like family. We appreciate the efforts of those before us and look to the future to continue doing what we love most.
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ConĆ&#x;nued from OUR SIDE | Page 15
Leslie Frisle Prairie Farm, Wis. Barron County 65 cows
Cory and Katy Brown Belleville, Wis. Dane County 500 cows
Charlie and Carrie Sachs with their children, Jay, CJ and AnnaMarie Eyota, Minn. Olmsted County 75 cows
Why is it important to recognize National Ag Day on March 20? I think it keeps people aware of farming and agriculture, and all of the hard work and good that comes out of it.
Why is it important to recognize National Ag Day on March 20? Agriculture is the backbone of our country. It is important to recognize those who contribute to feeding our nation.
Why is it important to recognize National Ag Day on March 20? It is important to help educate consumers about agriculture and what we, as farmers, do to provide a safe, wholesome and nutritious product.
What message would you like to get across to people about agriculture? Farming is a very important and honorable profession. We take care of our communities, animals and anything else we come across.
What message would you like to get across to people about agriculture? Producing food is not only our job, but also our passion. We do our absolute best to provide high quality food to feed families just like yours.
What can farmers do to help raise awareness of agriculture’s impact on everyday lives? Interact with consumers one-on-one when you are in public. Find ways to tell your story. You don’t have to go into the dirty details of everything. Most consumers want to know that farmers are regular people How would you plan an event to too. celebrate National Ag Day? I am an would you plan an event to celadvisor for our county junior Holsteins, How ebrate National Ag Day? We would so I would work with them or our local bring farmers, food processors and FFA chapter to have an event with free consumers together. Without all three, ice cream cones on National Ag Day, agriculture would not be able to thrive, like Dairy Queen did on the ďƒžrst day of so we think it is important to invite all spring. of them to celebrate together. What can farmers do to help raise awareness of agriculture’s impact on everyday lives? Keep talking. Farmers need to work more hand in hand with agricultural advocates, and get the message to those who will share it.
If you could work with a famous person to share your agriculture message, who would it be and why? Jon Bon Jovi. He seems down to earth, and he’d get it.
If you could work with a famous person to share your agriculture message, who would it be? Neil deGrasse Tyson. He understands how science and agriculture are tied together and is a great science communicator to the Tell us about your farm. My husband, general public. He also has a soothing Dean, and I operate Frisle-Vue voice. Holsteins with our three daughters, Allissa, Justyne and Gina, and Dean’s Tell us about your farm. We farm parents, Gary and Pat. We also run with both of Cory’s parents and grandaround 350 acres, and show cattle at the parents at Sunburst Dairy. We milk 500 Holsteins and Jerseys. We also grow local, state and national level. corn, soybeans, alfalfa and various cover crops on 900 acres of land southwest of Madison. We are also active in our community as a way to promote agriculture and get to know our non-farming neighbors.
What message would you like to get across to people about agriculture? Farmers provide care for our animals and our land to help sustain them for future generations. We are passionate about what we do, and we want consumers to know they are enjoying products that are safe. We also want them to be able to experience what we do through events that connect urban and rural areas. What can farmers do to help raise awareness of agriculture’s impact on everyday lives? Agvocate; put your story out there and participate in events. Examples include breakfasts on the farm, ag in the classroom, and telling your story to the public at fairs and through social media. How would you plan an event to celebrate National Ag Day? We would invite school-age kids who are removed from agriculture to an event to teach them how agriculture is important and how it impacts their life. For example, we could talk to them about making a pizza in regards to all the ingredients that go into it and where all the ingredients come from. If you could work with a famous person to share your agriculture message, who would it be? Carrie: Michelle Obama. I would show her how dairy products are good, healthy choices for our kids, and provide complete nutrition for growth and development. Her inďƒ&#x;uence on the school lunch program could be enhanced to provide school children great meal choices that include dairy products. This, in turn, will promote good food choices to include dairy in the children’s diet as they grow older. CJ: Mike Rowe, because he likes to help people and is good at talking to people by learning new things and then sharing them with his viewers. AnnaMarie: Lindsey Vonn. Not only has she worked hard to win medals at the Olympics, but has also overcome an injury that would have ended other athlete’s careers. She is also the most successful women’s skier in history, as well as doing a Got Milk campaign. Tell us about your farm. Our 320-acre farm, Towerview Dairy, is in Eyota, Minn., which is about 15 minutes from Rochester. In 2002, we moved to our current location from Farmington, Minn. Our labor is managed by family members. We milk registered Brown Swiss and registered Holsteins, both black and white and red and white. Our cows are in a freestall barn and fed a TMR. We milk two times a day in a double-6 parlor that was built in 1960. We grow our feed for our cows. We raise our heifers. Our calves are fed pasteurized milk twice a day.
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Page 18 • Dairy Star • Saturday, March 24, 2018
Repro Leaders
Schillings use teamwork to reach 46 percent repro rate Schilling Farms, LLC Darlington, Wis. Lafayette County 650 cows What was your average pregnancy rate last year? Our herd’s pregnancy rate last year was 46 percent. What is your voluntary waiting period for cows? For heifers? It’s 90 days for both cows and heifers. What is your rst-service conception rate? Our rst-service conception rate is 67 percent. What is your reproduction program? Do you use a synchronization program? We use Ovsynch 48 with a double prostaglandin shot on the rst service. How do you observe for heat? We paint tails. Our Genex technician, Tim Heiring, walks through the herd and watches for heats. How do you conrm pregnant or open cows? Cows are pregnancy checked 30 days after the last heat. Any open cow with a corpus luteum is given Ovsynch again. A cow without a corpus luteum is given GnRH and is checked the next week for the presence of a corpus luteum. A cow is given Ovsynch if the corpus luteum is developed. We check the cows again at 60 days and also determine the calf’s sex. RON JOHNSON/DAIRY STAR
Turn to SCHILLINGS | Page 20
The Schillings – (from leŌ) Brian, Bill and Andy – milk 650 cows near Darlington, Wis. Schilling Farms LLC achieved a 46 percent pregnancy rate last year.
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Dairy Star • Saturday, March 24, 2018 • Page 19
“I didn’t even think we had stray voltage!” Roger Lange milks 100 head on his family dairy at Crofton, Nebraska. Until recently he was often forced to sell his fresh heifers because they wouldn t let down their milk. “We called Stray Voltage Consulting, and Jerry found the problem within half an hour.” Roger said. “I was very impressed with Jerry. He’s a former REA guy, so he understands both the farmer and the electric company. Being able to work with both sides is a key component to his success.” “I haven’t had a single problem with our fresh heifers since Jerry corrected our stray voltage problem. I would highly recommend Stray Voltage Consulting to anyone who thinks they might have stray voltage!”
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MODAK DAIRY, The Moes Family, GOODWIN, SD 2100 cows, 96 lbs/cow/day SCC dropped from 280,000 to 178,000 Greg Moes and his wife Julie and son Jacob are pictured by the MoDak Dairy wall that includes photos of employees and previous generations and memorably their son Scott, killed in a car accident a year ago, whose passion for the dairy helped steer its expansion and modernization. Jacob says he was led from construction work back to the 5th generation dairy by his brother’s encouragement and ideas and is glad to have had the chance to work with Scott, as brothers and co-herd managers, before his passing. Ron Visser (above) has served as co-herd manager.
“Our fresh cows are doing better since we started using Udder Comfort™. We calve 200 a month and saw right away the impact on reducing edema. Our goal is 10 applications on every fresh udder. We spray fresh udders 2x/day 5 to 7 days, and use color bands and CMT 2 days a week before removing the bands,” says Ron Visser at MoDak Dairy, Goodwin, South Dakota where 2100 cows are milked on the Moes family’s 5th generation Century Farm.
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Keep the milk in the system
“We believe in investing in our cows, and they pay us back with performance,” says Jacob Moes. “The Udder Comfort concept makes sense and investment is minimal, so why not do it? The company helped us in March with their spray gun.
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“Udder Comfort is a real plus for milk quality, the missing piece to all we do for cow comfort. Less than a year ago, SCC was 280,000. We couldn’t budge it. Now it is dropping like a rock to 178,000 and we’re down to 4 hospital cows.”
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 20 • Dairy Star • Saturday, March 24, 2018
ConƟnued from SCHILLINGS | Page 18 What is your breeding philosophy? How do you select bulls? What traits do you focus on? Does fertility play a role in bull selection? We use bulls that genomically test in the top 10 percent for the breed. We have genomically tested all our animals at birth since 2009, and we use those results to choose sires. Cows in the bottom 10 percent are bred with beef semen, and those in the top 10 percent get sexed semen. We like to focus on bull health traits. We don’t like to use bulls that have a negative daughter pregnancy rate (DPR).
How are cows and heifers bred? Do you have a different philosophy for breeding both? Heifers are bred the same as cows. What do you do to settle hard breeders? Cows over 180 days in milk are put on the do not breed list and are sold when their production falls below 80 pounds of milk a day. How many times do you try to breed a cow before you sell her? We’ll try to breed a cow three times.
RON JOHNSON/DAIRY STAR
Brian Schilling paints the tail head of a cow to signal that she is conrmed pregnant.
RON JOHNSON/DAIRY STAR
Calves are among the results of Schilling Farms’ reproducƟve program. The Schillings have received several awards from the Dairy CaƩle ReproducƟon Council, including a plaƟnum honor in 2017.
Is there anything you have done or changed that brought about a signicant improvement in your reproductive program? We have built a great team that consists of our employees, veterinarian, nutritionist and breeding company. We’ve
also improved cow comfort by widening and lengthening the stalls. Tell us about your farm. Our farm is owned by Bill Schilling and his sons, Brian and Andy. It’s a fourth-generation family farm. We own 1,100 acres and
rent 600. Our crops are alfalfa, corn and soybeans, along with cover crops. On three-timesa-day milking, the herd has a 32,000-pound rolling herd average, with a 3.9 butterfat test and a 3.14 protein test. Our somatic cell count runs about 50,000.
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Dairy Star • Saturday, March 24, 2018 • Page 21
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FIELD CULTIVATORS 6 CIH 200, 2011, 60 ft., #129150 ......................... $55,000 1 JD 980, 1998, 44 ft., #143425 .......................... $14,900 17 JD 980, 1996, 38 ft, 3-Section Folding, C-Shank, #144447............................................................ $15,500 15 JD 980, 2001, 45 ft, 3-Section Folding, C-Shank, #144448............................................................ $15,900 16 JD 980, 1995, 5-Section Folding, #145326 ....... $14,000 3 JD 985, 1998, 49 ft., #143979 .......................... $22,000 14 JD 985, 60 ft., #145566 .................................... $17,500 6 JD 2200, 2003, 46 ft., #142441 ........................ $26,000 7 JD 2210, 2013, 56 ft., #140858 ........................ $59,500 5 JD 2210, 2013, 33 ft., #143827 ........................ $29,000 9 JD 2210, 2013, 26 ft., #143846 ........................ $28,900 7 JD 2210, 2013, 27 ft., #143876 ........................ $28,500 15 JD 2210, 2011, 60 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #144451 ........................................................... $45,500 17 JD 2210, 2012, 46 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #144452............................................................ $59,500 16 JD 2210, 2012, 48 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #144453............................................................ $61,000 17 JD 2210, 2013, 51 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #144454............................................................ $57,500 16 JD 2210, 2012, 48 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #144455............................................................ $61,000 15 JD 2210, 2014, 55 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #144456............................................................ $58,000 16 JD 2210, 2008, 31 ft., #144457 ........................ $24,500 14 JD 2210, 2005, 60 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #144458............................................................ $29,500 17 JD 2210, 2008, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank #144459............................................................ $44,500 14 JD 2210, 2010, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank #144461............................................................ $53,900 15 JD 2210, 2014, 56 ft, 5-Section Folding, C-Shank, #145264............................................................ $56,000 16 JD 2210, 2014, 50 ft., #145295 ........................ $57,780 17 JD 2210, 2007, C-Shank, #145356 ................... $25,500 5 JD 2210LL, 2017, #145567 .............................. $39,000 16 Wil-Rich QUAD 5, 1997, 50 ft., #144479 ......... $14,900 5 Wil-Rich Quad X, 2005, 55 ft., #138553 .......... $20,900 7 Case Tiger Mate II, 50 ft., #143937 ................ $21,450 8 CIH Tigermate 200, 2010, 50 ft., #140723 ..... $45,000 3 DMI Tigermate II, 2002, 50 ft., #145252 ........ $23,500 PLANTERS: DRAWN 9 JD 1750, 2013, 8R30, #131524 ........................ $33,000 4 JD 1750, 2014, 6R30, #141859 ........................ $32,000 7 JD 1760, 1997, 12R30, #137790 ...................... $28,050 3 JD 1760, 1996, 12R30, #140452 ...................... $27,500 15 JD 1760, 2004, 12R30, #144405...................... $27,500 17 JD 1760, 1997, 12R30, #144407...................... $23,500 17 JD 1760, 1998, 12R30, #144408...................... $29,500 5 JD 1760, 1998, 12R30, #145568 ...................... $19,900 4 JD 1765, 2015, 12R30, #138495 ...................... $79,900 8 JD 1765, 2015, 12R30, #140333...................... $72,900 4 JD 1770, 2011, 12R30, #132629 ...................... $59,000 7 JD 1790, 2013, 31 rows, #140721 .................. $104,900 8 White 8200, 2013, 12R30, #137538................ $37,000 15 JD 1770NT, 2014, 16R30, #144409 .................. $85,000 16 JD 1770NT, 2008, 24R30, #144417 .................. $62,000 9 JD 1770NT CCS, 2013, 16R30, #142692 ......... $103,000
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JD 1775NT, 2015, 24R30, #144419 ................ $209,500 Wil-Rich 24-22, 2009, 24R22, #139224.......... $53,900 JD 24R22, 2004, 24R22, #145337 ................... $39,000 JD DB44, 2017, 24R22, #141612 ................... $255,000 JD DB44, 2017, 24R22, #144422.................... $207,500 JD DB66, 2016, 36R22, #140442.................... $239,500 JD DB66, 2005, 36R22, #141473.................... $125,000 SKID STEER LOADERS JD 240, 2000, 78” Bucket, 1383 hrs., #138075.. $14,900 JD 270, 2000, Cab Enclosure, 72” Bucket, 580 hrs., #145321............................................................ $22,900 JD 325, 2008, Foot Controls, Air Ride Seat, 78” Bucket, 3177 hrs., #138043 ........................................... $19,900 JD 260-II, 2003, ROPS, Hand Controls, 78” Bucket, 1355 hrs., #144042 ........................................... $20,900 Caterpillar 272D, 2015, Cab, AC, 2 Speed, 72” Bucket, 1475 hrs., #145200 ........................................... $34,500 JD 318D, 2013, Cab, AC, Foot Controls, Air Ride Seat, 72” Bucket, 925 hrs., #135024 ........................... $29,500 JD 318D, 2012, Cab, AC, Foot Controls, Air Ride Seat, Less Bucket, 2346 hrs., #143720 ....................... $23,500 JD 318E, 2016, Cab, AC, Foot Controls, 72” Bucket, 20 hrs., #125466 ............................. $34,900 JD 318E, 2014, Cab, AC, Foot Controls, Air Ride Seat, 66” Bucket, 762 hrs., #135937 ........................... $33,500 JD 318E, 2015, Cab, AC, Foot Controls, Air Ride Seat, 72” Bucket, 2811 hrs., #140525 ......................... $25,900 JD 318E, 2015, Cab w/ AC, Foot Controls, Air Ride Seat, 72” Bucket, 335 hrs., #142491 ........................... $34,000 JD 320D, 2013, Cab, AC, Foot Controls, Air Ride Seat, 76” Bucket, 1023 hrs., #133492 ......................... $26,900 JD 320E, 2015, Cab, AC, Foot Controls, Air Ride Seat, 72” Bucket, 1734 hrs., #134169 ......................... $30,900 JD 320E, 2014, Cab, AC, Foot Controls, Air Ride Seat, 1101 hrs., #135139 ........................................... $34,900 JD 320E, 2014, Cab, AC, Foot Controls, Air Ride Seat, 72” Bucket, 475 hrs., #135901 .......................... $35,900 JD 320E, 2015, Cab, AC, EH Controls, Air Ride Seat, 72” Bucket, 645 hrs., #138375 ........................... $37,600 JD 320E, 2016, Cab, AC, Foot Controls, Air Ride Seat, 72” Bucket, 79 hrs., #140280 ............................. $39,900 JD 320E, 2014, Cab, AC, Foot Controls, Air Ride Seat, 76” Bucket, 470 hrs., #142118 ........................... $35,900 JD 320E, 2015, Cab, AC, EH Controls, Air Ride Seat, 76” Bucket, 260 hrs., #143386 ........................... $42,900 JD 320E, 2016, Cab, AC, Hand Controls, 72” Bucket, 2489 hrs., #143842 ........................................... $27,500 JD 324E, 2016, Cab, AC, Foot Controls, Air Ride Seat, 76” Bucket, 104 hrs., #137786 ........................... $45,000 JD 326D, 2012, Cab, AC, EH Controls, Joystick, 78” Bucket, 210 hrs., #135673 ............................................. $40,500 JD 326E, 2015, Cab w/ AC, EH Controls, Air Ride Seat, 84” Bucket, 387 hrs., #118578 ........................... $36,900 JD 326E, 2016, Cab w/ AC, EH Controls, Air Ride Seat, 84” Bucket, 65 hrs., #126370 ............................. $45,900 JD 326E, 2015, Cab, AC, Foot Controls, Air Ride Seat, Self-Leveling, 72” Bucket, 537 hrs., #134033..... $39,500 JD 326E, 2016, Cab, AC, Foot Controls, Air Ride Seat, 84” Bucket, 1105 hrs., #141601 ......................... $38,900 JD 326E, 2016, Cab, AC, EH Controls, Air Ride Seat, 72” Bucket, 150 hrs., #142477 ........................... $46,000 JD 328D, 2010, Cab w/ AC, EH Controls, Air Ride Seat, 410 hrs., #141011 ............................................ $38,900
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4 JD 330G, 2016, Cab, AC, Air Ride Seat, Ride Control, 84” Bucket, 600 hrs., #140027 ........................... $53,000 10 JD 332D, 2012, Cab, AC, EH Controls, Air Ride Seat, 84” Bucket, 812 hrs., #127231 ........................... $36,900 16 JD 332E, 2014, Cab, AC, EH Controls, Air Ride Seat, 84” Bucket, 1408 hrs., #132664 ......................... $38,900 11 JD 332E, 2015, Cab, AC, Foot Controls, EH Controls, Air Ride Seat, 84” Bucket, 168 hrs., #135560 ..... $49,500 7 JD 332E, 2016, Cab, AC, Foot Controls, EH Controls, 84” Bucket, 390 hrs., #139118 ........................... $54,500 10 NH L218, 2013, Cab w/ AC, Foot Controls, Air Ride Seat, 76” Bucket, 1767 hrs., #145300 ......................... $23,900 7 Bobcat S185, 2003, Cab, AC, Foot Controls, 72” Bucket, 1550 hrs., #141064 ........................................... $18,900 10 Bobcat S510, 2014, Cab Enclosure, Foot Controls, Air Ride Seat, 2 Speed, 1578 hrs., #145271 ....... $25,900 11 Bobcat S650, 2013, Cab, AC, Foot Controls, 2 Speed, 859 hrs., #140188 ............................................. $37,500 7 Bobcat S70, 2015, Cab Enclosure, Foot Controls, 218 hrs., #145275............................................................ $21,995 3 Gehl SL4835SXT, 2003, ROPS, 72” Bucket, 1685 hrs., #143757............................................................ $14,850 UTILITY TRACTORS 2 CIH 95, 2010, 972 hrs., #143823 ...................... $37,900 10 JD 5400, 1995, 3700 hrs., #143991 .................. $18,500 10 JD 6200, 1997, 9911 hrs., #141979 .................. $28,600 4 CIH 115C, 2014, 425 hrs., #142395 .................. $63,800 4 JD 5045E, 2015, 150 hrs., #143514 .................. $21,900 4 JD 5075M, 2015, 175 hrs., #143519................. $37,500 12 JD 5095M, 2010, 1735 hrs., #144023............... $54,900 17 JD 5100E, 2016, 1309 hrs., #144491 ................ $47,500 11 JD 5100M, 2017, 219 hrs., #134586................. $69,500 4 JD 5100M, 2017, Cab, 117 hrs., #134588 ......... $71,900 4 JD 5115M, 2017, 110 hrs., #134578................. $74,900 4 JD 5115M, 2017, 23 hrs., #134580................... $74,900 4 JD 5115M, 2017, 412 hrs., #134584................. $79,500 10 JD 6105E, 2016, 285 hrs., #124882 .................. $65,900 11 JD 6105M, 2013, 300 hrs., #145329................. $75,000 2 JD 6105R, 2013, 454 hrs., #135169 ................. $91,500 15 JD 6105R, 2013, 1000 hrs., #144492 ............... $72,500 12 JD 6110M, 2017, 99 hrs., #132912................... $95,900 15 JD 6110M, 2016, 76 hrs., #144493................... $81,900 10 JD 6110R, 2017, 198 hrs., #132073 ................. $99,500 6 JD 6110R, 2016, 193 hrs., #133619 ............... $112,000 4 JD 6110R, 2017, 140 hrs., #142813 ............... $116,000 14 JD 6110R, 2017, 100 hrs., #144496 ............... $129,064 15 JD 6110R, 2017, 123 hrs., #144498 ............... $104,900 14 JD 6110R, 2017, 100 hrs., #144499 ............... $142,391 15 JD 6120R, 2017, 100 hrs., #144501 ............... $109,500 15 JD 6120R, 2016, 322 hrs., #144502 ............... $102,900 8 JD 6125M, 2014, 1006 hrs., #143939............... $79,000 4 JD 6125R, 2013, 600 hrs., #134131 ............... $103,000 10 JD 6125R, 2013, 1500 hrs., #143649 ............... $92,500 14 JD 6125R, 2013, 6500 hrs., #145274 ............... $58,500 4 JD 6130R, 2016, 170 hrs., #138428 ............... $110,000 14 JD 6130R, 2016, 150 hrs., #144506 ............... $119,500 4 JD 6135E, 2017, 92 hrs., #134655 .................... $84,900 6 JD 6430 Premium, 2007, 3725 hrs., #143744 $68,000 10 CIH Maxxum 140, 2014, 914 hrs., #140549 .... $78,500
STEEL DEALS
ARTICULATED 4WD TRACTORS 15 JD 9560R, 2013, 3184 hrs., #145194 ......$165,000 DISKS 11 JD 2623, 2014, #126286 ...........................$33,500 10 JD 2623, 2013, #126300 ...........................$26,000 11 Summers 9K4727, 2015, #129015..........$65,000 1 Krause 8200, 2013, #131061...................$26,000 FIELD CULTIVATOR 9 JD 2210, 2005, #120515 ...........................$29,500 5 Case IH 200, 2012, #135767 ....................$41,900 $41,900 2 JD 985, .............................$10,500 8 1993, #138938 #138938.............................$10,500 $ 00 MULCH FINISHER 14 JD 2210, 2005, #144458 ...........................$29,500 11 JD 2310, 2008, #124769 ...........................$32,500 4 JD 726, 1995, #135555 .............................$16,000 NUTRIENT APPLICATION 14 Fast 8224, 2013, #144437 .......................$39,500 PLANTERS: DRAWN 4 JD 1770, 17700, 2011, 201 0 1, #132629 ...........................$59,000 8 White White 8200, 2013, #137538 #13753 5 8 ....................$37,000 9 White Whit i e 8186, 8 2005, 200 #139731 #1397331 ................. ....................$26,000 . ...$266,00 0 0 11 White Whi h te 8524, 8524, 2013, 20013, #140624 #1406 #1 40624 24 ....... ....................$67,000 ...... .......... ...... . .....$67 $67,00 ,0000 17 JDD 177 1770NT 1770NT, 0NT,, 200 2008, 8, #14 #14441 #144416 44166 .... ......................$56,000 ...... ................... ...... $56 $56,00 ,00 0 0 TRACTORS ROW CR CROP OP TRA TRACTO CTORS RS 11 JD 614 6145R, #120191 ........$105,000 1 5R, R, 2015, 201 0 5, 426 26 hrs., hrss., #1 hr #1201 0191........$10 105,0 5 000 5,0 5 JDD 8320R, ......$178,000 8320 320R, R, 2014, 201 24311 hrs., hrs , #127 hrs. ##127013 127013 013 ......$17 $1 8,0 8,000 0 7 JD #136799 ........$219,500 JD 8345R, 834 R,, 2015, 8345 2015, 918 hrs., hrs., #1 #1367 36799 99 ..... ..... ...$21 $219,5 9,500 00 15 8245R, ......$169,500 1 JDD 824 2445R, 5R 2014, 2014, 4 1169 1169 hrs., hrs hrs. rs., ##144534 144 44534 44 534....... 534 ..$16 $169,5 99,550 500 00 16 Case Case IH IH MAGNUM MAGN MAGN G UM 340, 34 , 2013, 340 2013, 2546 2546 4 hrs., hrs , #145086 #11450 45086 86 ..................................................$135,000 .............. .. ........ . .... ...... ...... . ... . ... .. ................ . ........ . $13 135,0 5,0000 SELF-PROPELLED SELF-P SEL F-PROP F-P RO ELL ROP ELLED ED FOR FORAGE AGE G HARVESTER HAR A VES VESTER TER HEADS: HEADS HE ADS:: ROTARY ROTARY ROTA RY 6 JD JD 676, 676 76, 1995, 1995 #108982 #10898 #10 89 2 ...............................$17,900 ......... . ... ...... ...... .. ... ...... ............$17 $17,90 ,9000 6 JD JD 710, 710, 2007, 2007, #115310 #11531 #11 53100 ...............................$33,000 .... ........... ...... .. ... . ........... ...... . . $33 $33,00 0000 SELF-PROPELLED SELF-P SEL F-PROP ROPELL ELLED ED FORAGE FORAGE HARVESTERS HARVE HA RVESTE STERS RS 6 JD JD 7400, 7400,, 2004, 7400 2004, 4278 4278 hrs., hrs.,, 2918 hrs. 2918 cutter cutte cu tterr head head #122051 #1220 #1 22051 ....................................................$99,000 ....................................................$99 $99,00 0000 4 JD 5730, 1986, 4980 hrs., 4980 cutter head #124367 ....................................................$25,000 6 JD 6810, 1997, 4100 hrs., #142671 ..........$25,000 SELF-PROPELLED SPRAYERS 8 JD 4730, 2008, 1058 hrs., #128705 ........$139,500 TRACK TRACTORS 16 JD 8345RT, 2014, 1786 hrs., #144550 ....$195,000 ... $270,000 16 JD 9560RT, 2014, 1005 hrs., #144560 ...$270,000 UTILITY TRACTORS 4 JD 6120R, 2016, 280 hrs., #124875 ........... $89,900 4 JD 6105M, 2014, 470 hrs., #132099 .........$58,500 JD 5115M, 5115M, 5115 M, 2017, 2017, 127 hrs., hrs., #1 #1345 34546 46 ....... ...... ..... $63 $63,00 ,0000 4 JD #134546 .........$63,000
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JD 1770NT, 2008, $ 24R30, #144416
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CIH 200, 60.5’, $ 2012, #135767
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JD 2210, 45.5’ 2005, #120515
29,500
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Page 22 • Dairy Star • Saturday, March 24, 2018
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TOMAH, Wis. – You can never have too much of a good thing, particularly when it comes to producing quality milk. The Bailey family of Cherry Valley Dairy would have to agree with this, having been awarded a Platinum National Dairy Quality Award for the second consecutive year by the National Mastitis Council (NMC). Cherry Valley Dairy, located in Monroe County near Tomah, Wis., is home to three generations of the Bailey family. Mike and Jean Bailey work with their sons, Brock and Brent, to operate the 900-acre farm with a 220-cow milking herd, which is primarily Holstein, with a few Jerseys. Mike and Jean care for calves and help in other areas of the farm. Brock oversees the dairy herd, while Brent takes care of the crops, feeding and scraping. Brock’s wife, Nelda, an agricultural education teacher in the Tomah School District, is also involved on the farm, along with the couple’s children, Josie, 12, Teagan, 6, Blair, 5, Malynn, almost 2, and Broden, 4 months. Being honored for producing high-quality milk is not a new accomplishment for the Baileys. Over the last ve years, the Baileys have been nationally recognized with platinum and gold awards. In 2017, they received a Prairie Farms Gold Premium Award and have earned milk quality awards for 14 years with Swiss Valley Farms. The Baileys were nominated for the NMC award by Prairie Farms eld representative, Bob Zielsdorf. Selection in the rst phase was based on somatic cell, bacteria and plate counts. It took into account the farm’s cull rate, and the reasons for cows leaving the herd. In the second level of selection, the Baileys detailed their milking protocols, including answering questions about tools employed in mastitis detection, whether they culture their milk tank, and how they might use those results, as well as describing their housing in detail. “We try to pay attention to details and stay consistent,” Brock said. “We work really hard to make sure we keep our cows comfortable. That’s an important key.” After being selected for the Platinum Award for two consecutive years, farms are ineligible to compete again for two years. The Baileys credit their employees with playing a large role in their success. They have two employees who milk in the morning and help with general farm work, as well as four part-time student milkers who help take care of the evening milkings. “Consistent help goes a long way,” Brent said. Brock concurred, noting that all their employees have been with them for over two years. The cows at Cherry Valley Dairy are milked in the farm’s tiestall barn, while living in a sand-bedded freestall barn. The freestalls are cleaned at each milking, removing any wet sand and manure. New sand is added to the freestalls on a weekly basis. The barn aisles are also scraped twice daily. Cows are kept in two groups, based on stage of lactation and reproductive status. They are all fed the same TMR ration, which is half haylage and half corn silage, with high moisture corn and protein and mineral mixes added. Milking protocol plays an important role in reaching the herd’s low somatic cell count, which is currently at 90,000. “It’s actually the highest it’s been in quite a while, right now,” Brock said. “It’s been under 50,000 before.” Forestripping is a priority for the Baileys, as it allows them to detect signs of clinical mastitis. “When we nd signs of clinical mastitis forestripping, we use a quarter-milker on the affected quarter,” Brock said. “We don’t treat every case. We nd that most will clear up in a couple of days without treating. … We follow up on with a culture and treat based on those results.” Turn to CHERRY VALLEY | Page 23
ConƟnued from CHERRY VALLEY | Page 22 When they need to treat for mastitis, Spectramast is their preferred choice of treatment. The Baileys don’t experience much trouble with cases of sub-clinical mastitis, but will use a CMT paddle to follow up on DHI results that might indicate a cow with an affected quarter. Following forestripping, they use 1 percent iodine pre-dip with 10 percent emollient, and wipe each quarter to ensure removal of any dirt or debris prior to attaching the milking unit. “Doing a good job with udder prep at milking time is essential,” Brock said. “The udder has to be clean before the unit is attached.” They complete their milking procedure using a 1 percent barrier post-dip with 10 percent glycerin as an emollient. When drying off cows, the Baileys dry-treat with Tomorrow and use Orbeseal. Once treated, they are moved to a different freestall barn, where they stay for about six weeks before being moved to the close-up group about two weeks prior to calving. Regular maintenance of their milking equipment and pipeline plays an important role in continuing to produce high-quality milk at Cherry Valley Dairy. “We’d love to put in a parlor to help speed up our milking time and efciency,” Brock said. “But I don’t see the current milk prices allowing for that kind of infrastructure upgrade.” The Baileys also credit the closed status of their herd, raising all of their own replacements on the farm. This gives the Baileys peace of mind that no new organisms or strains of mastitis are coming onto the farm through new animals. “We’ve never bought an animal since Mom and Dad got started.
Dairy Star • Saturday, March 24, 2018 • Page 23
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Brent (leŌ) and Brock Bailey operate Cherry Valley Dairy with their parents, Mike and Jean; and Brock’s wife, Nelda. Their 220-cow herd has been honored with three NMC PlaƟnum Milk Quality Awards and two Gold Awards in the past ve years. They’ve all been raised on the farm teaching consumers about producing The Baileys do not have future forever. It’s a very closed herd,” Brock high-quality milk. For nearly 20 years, plans of expanding; only plans of said. “The only exception would be the they have hosted fourth graders from continuing to make their farm as one Jersey cow Nelda brought with her the Tomah School District at their farm. efcient as possible while producing when we got married.” High school agricultural students help the highest quality milk possible. The Baileys use A.I. and focus on the Baileys give the grade-schoolers Maintaining low somatic cell count and selecting for udder traits that allow for the most hands-on farm-learning keeping the number of cases of mastitis best milking practices. experience possible. low is benecial. “We like bulls that sire daughters “We have groups of ve or six kids, “We aren’t spending money on with proper teat placement,” Brock each with a chaperone that go with the antibiotics and other remedies to treat said. “Good teat placement allows the students to learn about the farm,” Brent mastitis, or having to keep milk out milker to be easily aligned. We like said. “The adult chaperones learn just of the tank,” Brock said. “It makes udders that stay put and don’t break as much as the kids. It’s a good way more sense to focus on preventing the away.” to share the story of what goes into problem instead of having to x the The Baileys take great pride in producing dairy products.” problem.”
Page 24 • Dairy Star • Saturday, March 24, 2018
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Dairy Star • Saturday, March 24, 2018 • Page 25
It has been awhile since we have gotten off the farm and done something of interest to all of us. A few weeks ago, I went with my husband, Duane, and our daughter, Anna, on an outing to Indiana. It was an educational trip sponsored by Purina to visit Fair Oaks, a popular farm that promotes the dairy industry along with The Pork Education Center and Wineld’s new crop exhibit. According to the schedule, we would be eating lunch in the conference center, touring the exhibits and traveling to see the cows being milked in a carousel parlor, followed by returning to the conference center for dinner and listening to several speakers and concluding the day by heading to the hotel. The next day was equally exciting because we would be touring Herrema’s farm which milks with a carousel and robots. We would nish our trip by heading to Racine, Wis., to tour the Case IH tractor plant. By Tina Hinchley We were all pumped up, looking forward to a great Farmer & Columnist couple of days away from our cows to see other cows and different milking systems. Along with all of that, we were traveling with other dairy farmers. We had to get up earlier than normal to get milking and chores done so we could leave the farm. When we pulled into the park-n-ride area, we were greeted by dairy farmers. Everyone was smiling and chit-chatting. Just getting off the farm is a big deal for dairy farmers, but when we can go together, it always seems extra special. I enjoy meeting other farmers and hearing about their families and farms. There were new faces and many that I have known for years. We had a few hours to drive to Indiana, and most of us were quiet as we were sitting back pleased that someone else was driving. Some were sleeping, listening to music on their phones, or just staring out the window. It wasn’t long before the donuts, apples and snacks started to be passed around. This interaction got all of us talking with each other and made any hunger disappear. This was going to be my second visit to Fair Oaks, but Anna has been here many times with Cambridge FFA. Since we host farm tours, I appreciated the information and fun environment. In the dairy education center, there is a cow with a southern accent that talks pleasantly about herself, a cow with a milking machine and many hands-on activities with facts to read. The highlight of this building is a birthing area, so people can watch a calf being born. We were told families will stay all day watching calves being born. The other buildings are brightly decorated and lled with fun things to do. All areas are brimming with loads of positive messages saying good things about agriculture. This is what this adventure at Fair Oaks is about: Teaching others about agriculture.
There was not a crowd, and we were free to check out the other buildings before we headed off to the cow spotted bus to see the farm and cows. There was a guide who told us about the manure digester as we drove by. She spoke about the freestall barn and mentioned the cows are eating healthy food, laying in wonderful beds, and we could even see the cows walk to the carousel parlor to be milked. We were delivered by the bus to the milking facility where we climbed up steps to view the milking from above the cows. It was interesting to listen to the dairy farmers and the nutritionists. “She is a rst lactation cow.” “That one looks a little rough.” “She is a big cow.” They look at their cows with critical eyes. That is how we keep our cows healthy, noticing the ones that are having problems so they can get the care they need to stay productive. I ventured to ask the same quesIIt was unfortunate f that h tion that I had asked years back this tour guide missed an when I looked out at the cows in the The gal was standing in opportunity to share that carousel. the corner by the exit, and I asked, these animals are beef and “What happens to these cows when they are no longer productive?” She many other products. hesitated and said, “They get marketed.” I played dumb, and said, “To who?” She replied, “McDonald’s.” Her tone implied a negative message as if that is a bad place for our dairy beef to go. Where would the dairy industry be without McDonald’s and other food companies buying our animals when we have decided that they need to leave our herd? This is a subject I discuss with nearly every group we host on our farm. It was unfortunate that this tour guide missed an opportunity to share that these animals are beef and many other products. This is lean ground beef, ground chuck, leather boots, belts, jackets, pharmaceuticals, anti-aging creams and the list goes on. Every cow that is marketed must be antibiotic-free, too. Dairy producers understand the importance of traceability and that our animals represent our farms. Any animal that is medicated, sick or not mobile doesn’t go to market. With all the antibiotic-free labeling, this is a subject consumers need to be reassured about. All food at the grocery store is antibiotic-free. This tour guide did at least know they were marketed. The rst time I visited Fair Oaks and asked the same question, the guide gave reference that when the cows leave the farm they go where all the animals go. Does that mean they go to heaven? Tina Hinchley, her husband, Duane, and their daughters, Anna and Catherine, milk 135 registered Holsteins and farm 2,500 acres of crops near Cambridge, Wis. They have been hosting farm tours for over 20 years.
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Page 26 • Dairy Star • Saturday, March 24, 2018
MPP-Dairy update from FSA Although there have been many articles and updates regarding the upcoming changes to the MPP-Dairy program, the Farm Service Agency has not yet begun its sign-up period. We are awaiting ofcial procedure and software developments before any paperwork will be processed for FSA News & Notes 2018 changes. We will be publicizing and advertising the sign-up period when they are established. We appreciate your patience during this time. However, dairy operations that have never previously participated By Ryan Brunn in MPP-Dairy, but have Stearns Co. Exec. Dir. interest to do so in the future, are encouraged to visit their county ofce to establish their production history at this time. Production history will be established for a dairy operation based on the highest annual milk production marketed during the calendar years of 2011, 2012 or 2013. Dairy operations that start marketing milk after Feb. 7, 2013 will either have their production established on their full months marketed milk production extrapolated to a yearly amount or their estimated actual marketed milk production based on the actual herd size of the dairy operation relative to the national rolling herd average. Verication of the production records used to establish the production history for the dairy operation will be required. Again, this is only required for those dairy operations that have never participated in MPPDairy in the past and do not have a production history established. County ofces are in the process of cleaning up MPP-Dairy reports. If you have participated in MPP-Dairy in the past and are receiving paperwork for a succession of production history, transfer of production history due to a reconstitution, or other paperwork required in the county, please act promptly with your ofce to ensure your les are accurate and ready to go when the 2018 sign-up period is announced. 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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Dairy Star • Saturday, March 24, 2018 • Page 27
Managing during the defensive cycle The Transition Pen
By John Rosenhammer & Laura Scholtz Father/Daughter Farming Duo One of my responsibilities on the farm is keeping track of our nances. I go through bills each week, print off checks and record the transactions in our Quickbooks account. Taking on the nances gives me a better understanding of all that is taking place on the farm. It’s no secret that opening our milk checks makes me cringe, as the current price is well below what we need to break even. Like many other farmers, I’m nding it hard to remain hopeful that prices will rebound in time for us to continue to make payments on time. Dr. David Kohl spoke at an ag symposium I attended in January. As I listened to him speak, I was amazed by his vast insight of agriculture. He described the current cycle as defensive, detailing a widening gap in economic performance, and the top 40 percent of producers will grow their business. I sat there thinking, “Wow, we can barely keep up with our bills the way it is, and we’re supposed to grow if we want to stay above the average?” Next, Dr. Kohl said, “It is your choice to take your business to the next level or deal with lawyers and Uncle Sam.” I’ll take the rst option now to decide how we will grow and construct a strategy. How do I take our business to the next level? Dr. Kohl advised The 5 Percent Rule. Find three ways to be 5 percent better. He listed decreasing rent, decreasing inputs, modest living expenses, a sound nancial system and a system approach as options of which to choose three. Next, he listed ve characteristics of top producers: know cost of living; accrual nances; trend analysis; benchmark themselves; and safe, secure nancial information. I feel as though I’ve gone through all of these areas time after time, but he made it clear I need to review them if I want to stay ahead. Decreasing inputs, benchmarking, knowing our costs and analyzing trends are areas I focus on. In recent weeks, I’ve spoken with three calf experts, who analyzed my current protocols and helped me develop new ones. I’m now increasing the amount of balancer added to our pasteurized waste milk, as well as increasing the amount of milk fed to get a higher and more efcient gain, which will lead to being ready to breed at a younger age and decreasing my calving age from 24 months to 22-23 months. Besides this, I’ve used farm business management to determine our breakeven numbers. Knowing the exact dollar amount I need to receive for a springing heifer has changed my management decisions. Because we haven’t met our breakeven price when selling springers, we have
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been calving in more heifers and instead culling more mature cows. This works well as the cull cow prices have increased, and I’ve eliminated annoying cows, such as those with chronic mastitis or low-end producers. I understand our milk price will likely stay below our breakeven for awhile, but the futures for our corn and soybeans has a better outlook. We have been contracting to lock in acceptable prices. I spend a great deal of time reading articles about consumer trends and attending seminars to learn about and prepare myself for the future. I’m grateful I quit docking tails well before our creamery required it. I certainly miss having rBST as a tool, but I realize we need to give the consumers what they want, and I’m learning to manage without it. I’ve started using dehorning paste and giving pain medication to calves when using the paste, as I am aware that is a hot issue with consum-
ers, and I need to keep up with their demands. While I don’t know how long this downturn will last, I do know we were given warning that prices would decline. Besides this, my inbox is lled with yers for seminars, workshops and conferences to attend, all headlining industry experts focusing on how to help dairy farmers increase our efciency and improve our nancial positions. As a dairy farmer, we cannot control the milk price, but we can control our inputs. It is our responsibility to take time to educate ourselves on the futures markets and prepare accordingly. “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail,” Benjamin Franklin. Laura Scholtz farms with her father, John Rosenhammer, and uncle, Greg, on Roseview Dairy near Sleepy Eye, Minn. They milk 200 Holsteins and run 580 acres of cropland.
Page 28 • Dairy Star • Saturday, March 24, 2018
Old school breeding sets them apart
Mayers win Wisconsin Holstein Association Distinguished Breeder By Brittany Olson
brittany.o@dairystar.com
BLOOMER, Wis. – In a time when many dairy farmers rely on genomics and index breeding in the registered Holstein business, Don and Liz Mayer are largely sticking to what they consider an old school breeding philosophy.
“We select for good feet and legs, good udders, and just all around type,” Liz said. “We are breeding with some genomic young sires when ushing for embryos to sell, but we’re old school and we like good old cows with
BRITTANY OLSON/DAIRY STAR
Don Mayer admires his cow Mayerlane Catamount who is part of his 55-cow herd near Bloomer, Wis. Catamount is currently scored Excellent-94.
BRITTANY OLSON/DAIRY STAR
Don and Liz Mayer are this year’s recipients of the Wisconsin Holstein AssociaƟon’s DisƟnguished Breeder award. The Mayers milk 55 cows near Bloomer, Wis.
longevity and production.” Don said while they are using more young sires in their breeding program, they still look for strong maternal lines. “We aren’t using a bull out of a heifer out of a heifer,” Don said. The Mayers, who milk 55 cows at Mayerlane Holsteins near Bloomer, Wis., with a rolling herd average of 26,000 pounds per year with a 4.0 percent fat and 3.2 percent protein, were selected as this year’s Distinguished Breeders by the Wisconsin Holstein Association during the organization’s annual convention in Wisconsin Dells, Wis. “Don and Liz Mayer
are just good people doing what they love and doing it well,” said Mara Budde, communications associate for the Wisconsin Holstein Association. The Mayers purchased their farm in 1990 with 20 cows, three young children and a long list of dreams to achieve. After marrying in 1980, they had worked for several other farms and partnered on some of the biggest names in the Holstein breed at the time before going out on their own. “We were working on one farm until the son of the owner decided he wanted to come home and farm, so we decided to strike out on our own,” Liz said. “Gene
Buchner was our ush vet at the time and still is today, and we were partners on a cow, Cooksvalley Bell Curly VG-88, with his relatives Roy and Jeff Buchner. Gene convinced us to come up here because he knew of a farm for sale.” The farm that they would soon call home was alluring mainly because of its close proximity to major thoroughfares like I-94 and US 53 for merchandising cattle, and not being too far away from other Holstein breeders, such as Indianhead and Willows Edge. Don and Liz packed up their cows and their young children, Erica, Turn to MAYERS | Page 29
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Dairy Star • Saturday, March 24, 2018 • Page 29
ConƟnued from MAYERS | Page 28
Dustin and Sam, and moved north to Chippewa County in the spring of 1990. “I moved up early, just a couple of weeks before the school year ended so the kids could begin getting to know people and making friends,” Liz said. “We remodeled the house and barn, also.” As they say, the rest is history. Many inuential cows in the Holstein breed called the red tiestall barn at Mayerlane home over the years, serving as foundation cows not only for the Mayers, but for those who purchased daughters and subsequent progeny, as well. The results of their breeding program have resulted in over 200 Excellent daughters with over 80 of them carrying multiple E’s, and embryos being exported all over the world.
“Add to that another 150 Excellent cows that they’ve housed and managed for foreign clients,” said Tom Morris of the Cattle Connection. Golden-Oaks Mark Prudence EX95 GMD DOM, Whittier-Farms Lead Mae EX-95 GMD DOM, Pinehurst Royal Rosa EX-91, the Holstein breed’s rst 12th generation Excellent cow, and Mil-R-Mor Valiant Velma EX-91 GMD DOM were the among the many great Holstein cows that spent their lives under the watchful care and development provided by the Mayers. “Sometimes, you’ve just got to sit back and remember all the great cows over the years,” Don said. The Mayers’ focus on combining deep Holstein maternal lines with the best proven sires in the breed has culminated in many great animals
WMMB Director nomination period closes March 31
Milk producers who are eligible and interested in running for a Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board (WMMB) director seat have until March 31 to submit a nomination form to the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP). To qualify, a nominee must be an active dairy producer who: 1) lives in a district up for election, and 2) sells milk into commercial channels. Eight Districts Up for Election District 2: Florence, Forest, Langlade, Marinette, Oconto and Vilas Counties District 5: St. Croix, Dunn Counties District 8: Marathon County District 11: Outagamie and Winnebago Counties District 14: Jackson, LaCrosse and Trempealeau Counties District 17: Calumet and Manitowoc Counties District 20: Richland and Sauk Counties District 23: Iowa and Lafayette Counties WMMB directors guide the organization’s nances, formulate and set its policies and long-range business plan and maintain its mission: WMMB exists to be a tireless advocate, marketer and promoter for Wisconsin Dairy Farmers and to drive demand for Wisconsin’s dairy products. Through these initiatives, a WMMB director has the opportunity to represent Wisconsin dairy producers and products, as well as become involved in activities that inform and educate consumers about the dairy industry and its economic impact. Potential candidates must submit a completed nomination form and have the “Afdavit of Eligibility” (on the nomination form) notarized. In addition, nominees must acquire at least ve signatures from active dairy producers who reside in the same election district. After DATCP certies the nominations, the department will announce the candidates and hold a mail-in ballot election May 2-25, with results announced the end of May. Elected directors will then serve a three-year term July 1, 2018, through June 30, 2021. Election information and the nomination form are available at www. wmmb.com/elections, or for a paper copy, contact Debbie Gegare at (608) 224-5116.
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carrying the Mayerlane prex, particularly Mayerlane Catamount, affectionately known as Cat. Catamount is an Atwood daughter of Lylehaven Damion Lynx EX-94 and her second dam is Starbuck Lil EX94. “Cat went VG-89 on her rst classication as a 2-year-old, which is the maximum score for a 2-yearold. She went 92 her rst time being scored in her second lactation, which
there’s no one left,” Don said. After being informed that they had to travel down to the state Holstein convention to give Don’s uncle an award, they listened to the distinguished breeder introduction speech given by Morris – and began putting some of the dots together. “As he went on, we began realizing he was talking about us,” Don said. Their hunch proved correct, and
“Sometimes, you’ve just got to sit back and remember all the great cows over the years.” DON MAYER, DAIRY FARMER
is also maximum score for a 3-yearold, and then the lactation after that she went 94,” Don said. Of course, no great success story is complete without trials and tribulations. The Mayers purchase all their feed, and the drought of 2012 led to skyrocketing corn prices that put their farm in a vice. “$7 corn in 2012 was rough, and as a result of high corn prices, hay and everything else went through the roof, too,” Don said. After surviving 2012’s painful feed costs, and all of the ups and downs with the milk markets through the years, Don and Liz took note of the shrinking dairy industry, felt particularly hard in the registered Holstein world. With all of those factors in mind, the husband-and-wife duo decided to ll out the application for this year’s distinguished breeder award. “We decided to try for it before
an equally speechless and humbled husband and wife came forward to receive the award after decades of hard work and dedication to breeding, as they put it, good old cows. “I’m still in shock,” Don said. “It was a real neat deal.” During his acceptance speech, he was quick to share the credit with his spouse, as well as Erica and Sam helping on the farm every single day. “Everything you see is Don and Liz. We’ve been married 38 years, and she’s there every day running the farm while I’m doing other things,” Don said, chuckling. The Mayers have a few words of wisdom for Holstein breeders both young and old looking to achieve their own big dreams with their herds of dairy cattle. “Be able to look at cows for what they are with your own eyes. Learn how to use technology, and lastly, learn to speak Spanish,” Don said.
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Page 30 • Dairy Star • Saturday, March 24, 2018
Proactive versus reactive
One thing that tends to make Henry super happy is tearing apart toys or anything with screws to see what they look like on the inside. This kid carries his almost 10-pound tool bag with him everywhere just in case he needs it. I try to scout out things throughout the day that he can work on. Believe it or not, toys that have screws these days are in short supply. If I can stay ahead of him and have the next toy ready to work on, I can prevent a potential meltdown. I view his need to tear things apart as a way for him to calm down and have complete control over something. At 4 years old, the things he has entire control over are quite limited. It is far easier to have him tearing apart toys headed for the dumpster than deal with him ghting with Finley because he’s frustrated about other things. It saves me the reaction of a patience-worn-out mother. This proactive mentality works with the cows and
calves as well. This past week, we had adventures in milk fever. Two very mammoth mommas were down with the ‘S’ curve in their neck and cold ears before they’d even calved. Two others were wobbly after they’d calved and received their Bovikalc. The rst girl had an IV of CMPK on a Thursday night, was up and eating Friday, but back down by Friday night. After another IV, this time with CMPK, Vitamin B, and Phos-Aid, she appeared brighter but was still struggling to lift her very voluptuous post-fresh gure. Peter and I decided on using the oat tank. If you haven’t heard me talk about our oat tank before, it’s essentially a giant hot tub for a cow that keeps them upright and helps their muscles heal. It took four strong men and one slightly strong woman (me) to get her into position on the mat and winch her into the tank. The addition of the steaming water helped her pop up and stand nicely. As she slurped up the water
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and devoured bucket after bucket of feed, we knew we’d made the right call. She had crawled around the pen for days and struggled to lift herself, but we helped her make light (pun intended) work of Ramblings from the Ridge it. After 18 hours, they backed her out slowly and Peter proceeded to milk two full stainless steel pails of milk from her. She looked wonderful. Our second patient down prior to calving, received the CMPK, Vitamin B and Phos-Aid elixir on her rst IV. This By Jacqui Davison appears to be the trick. Columnist She didn’t miss a beat. There was no down-asecond-time with her. She was on her feet in ve minutes and up to the calving pen. The next giant cow that went down, Peter, Melanie and I went with the proactive approach of using hydrotherapy instead of the pen pack. In her second IV, she had the new additions to the protocol and they parked the oat tank in front of her, ready for her to wobble in. She did, thankfully, because the supply of muscles was running low that morning. After eight hours upright and emptying her feeder constantly, we let her out and milked her. The other older cows that calved this week were treated to Vitamin B and PhosAid, along with their Bovikalc bolus and oxytocin. A shot now is better than having to IV them stuck sideways in a stall later. Another way I try to be proactive in my area is when a new mastitis cow comes for an extended vacation from the main parlor. If she’s a rst-calf heifer from the post-fresh pen, I treat all four quarters rather than only the infected one. Ideally this will help lower cell count right off the bat. Before we built our tunnelventilated barn, we would pre-treat all heifers. This is putting mastitis treatment in all four quarters. It is a miserable job, heifers hate being touched and many cuss words were uttered. Rather than have the heifer come back on test with a high cell count, this treatment of all four seems to help. We’ve also empowered our night parlor crew with fresh cow care responsibilities. They are a competent, observant team, so this works wonderfully. They now give every cow a Bovikalc after calving and a shot of oxytocin. This helps those cows that may need their calcium sooner than later, and the combination of things helps them have less retained placentas. Just like putting sand down on a slippery surface to prevent a potential fall (for humans or animals), being proactive can be a lifesaver. Sometimes it’s the lessons we learn from dealing with the diagnosis of one animal that we can in turn apply to the next one with similar symptoms. It felt good this week to be ahead of the game on our milk fever cows. Rather than our usual reaction of waiting to see if they would get up on their own after crawling around the pen pack, giving them some hydrotherapy did the trick. The night crew’s ability to give cows that extra boost during the midnight hours helps cows out tremendously. As with most things, every new day is a learning experience. Jacqui and her family milk 800 cows and run 1,200 acres of crops in the northeastern corner of Vernon County, Wis. Her children, Ira (11), Dane (9), Henry (4) and Cora (adventurous crawler), help her on the farm while her husband, Keith, works on a grain farm. If she’s not in the barn, she’s probably in the kitchen, trailing after little ones, or sharing her passion of reading with someone. Her life is best described as organized chaos – and if it wasn’t, she’d be bored.
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Parasites and insects can negatively impact dairy cattle performance and protability. My primary focus for this column is to share feeding strategies for y control, but it is timely to mention two common parasites. Mange and lice are bothersome parasites that are present year-round and build during the cold weather months. They are most Something to Ruminate On often found on cattle necks, backs, hips and tailhead areas. Controlling these parasites enhances productivity primarily by improving cow comfort and the behaviors associated with it. Treat all cattle on the property at the same time if possible, choosing a time when they are not stressed By Barry Visser or in poor condition. If Nutritionist groups must be treated separately, they should be kept apart to ensure no contact between treated and untreated groups. Treatment programs often contain a general endectocide to cover both external parasites, such as mange and lice, and internal parasites. Consult your veterinarian or herd health professional for specic recommendations. Now back to ies. Fly control is critically important to all dairy operations to reduce the spread of disease and improve animal comfort, resulting in decreased stress and greater efciency of growth or production. The largest economic return for y control is effective cleanliness and sanitation. Flies reproduce in undisturbed damp organic matter. Removal and disposal of wasted feed, spilled milk or manure will go a long way in reducing y populations. Residual premise spray is often benecial throughout the summer to kill ies or deter other ies from coming into the dairy. Baiting or trapping ies is benecial in certain locations. Parasitic wasps have also been used effectively to help control the pest y population. The key to any y management strategy is to start early in the season before y populations become a problem. As weather warms, we commonly add larvicides to calf and heifer feeds as well as any adult cows in housing situations that allow manure to accumulate over time. This generally starts in mid-April to early May in most of the Midwest. Larvicides will not get rid of current ies, but can go a long way in preventing future ies. Larvicides can also be sprayed on highrisk y breeding areas, such as manure storage. How do larvicides administered in the feed work? These products pass through the animal, killing the y larvae in the manure. Larvicides commonly used in dairy cattle include Rabon™, ClariFly® and Altosid®. Rabon™ is an organophosphate that has been used for years to control face ies, horn ies, house ies and stable ies. However, some resistance to this type of product can develop over time. ClariFly® contains diubenzuron and is an insect growth regulator, and effectively controls house ies and stable ies common to connement cattle. Female ies lay eggs in fresh manure. Eggs hatch into larvae that will feed and attempt to undergo three developmental stages. ClariFly® breaks the lifecycle by inhibiting the synthesis of the bug’s body wall, resulting in death before the larvae can become adult ies. Altosid® is used to a lesser extent to control horn ies more common in pasture cattle. Your nutritionist can assist with specic product recommendations. Moderate to intense y pressure can be stressful to dairy cattle in many ways and result in decreased prot. Flies are attracted to dairies due to the large amounts of feeding and breeding sites that exist on any operation. Cleanliness in these high-risk areas is a great place to start controlling ies, but this alone is not enough. Complementary y control programs, such as spraying, baiting/trapping and larvicide feeding will go a long way to reducing y populations and positively impacting productivity. Barry Visser is a nutritionist for Vita Plus.
Dairy Star • Saturday, March 24, 2018 • Page 31
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Page 32 • Dairy Star • Saturday, March 24, 2018
Four little words
Want to see the face of fear? Just say these four simple words to someone and watch the struggle race across their face. The mind immediately processes the words into a defensive survival mode of ght or ight. These words are more powerful than “Do you love me?” in a budding relationship. These four little words are asking for a specic action in which people often feel uncomfortable. The uncertainty of the direction these words can lead pushes us to immediately build a defensive wall. What are these powerful words which can cut the legs out from underneath the strongest person? “We need to talk.” Now just to clarify, mind reading is not an acceptable form of communication. Even though we have been married for 30 years, I still cannot read what Mark is thinking. I can guess and be pretty close, but I can also be very wrong when I assume to know what is going on in his mind. Therefore, we need to share our thoughts and feelings in spoken words so no one is
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making any assumptions. Sometimes that can be very difcult. We talk with each other every day but are we really communicating? A wise woman once said there are maintenance conversations and then there are real conversations. Maintenance conversations are the daily discussions about everyday things. She suggests you ask your husband how his day at work went to build a communication connection. Obviously she is not a farm wife working beside her husband every day. It is rather difcult to ask how their day at work went because you were right there. You were handing him the tools he needed to x the busted manure spreader chain. You trudged through snow drifts to nd the hole in the fence where the heifers got out. You helped him deliver a new heifer calf or pull another bull calf. You came in the house together tired and hungry from another day of work. You know how his day went because you went through it together. Our maintenance
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conversations are more along the lines of “Will you stop and pick up parts on your trip to town?” “The technician is here. Who needs to be bred?” “Can you call the feed store and order more concentrate?” I miss our maintenance conversations while Just Thinking Out Loud I have been cooped up in the house. It will be another month before the doctor will let me walk back into the barn. I feel so out of the loop. I wonder how things are going. I see the truck hauling cattle back and forth. I wonder who is getting dried off, who is springing up and who is going to town. I wonder By Natalie Schmitt how the cows are milking and if they’re eating up all Columnist their feed. I need to have a maintenance conversation but to Mark there is nothing to talk about. It is still the same daily routine with very little change. When he comes in the house, he wants to step away from the daily grind of the farm. He doesn’t want to talk about it. He wants to escape. I have to respect his desire to forget but he also needs to recognize my need to know. We need to communicate. Beverly Nye wrote in her book “Everyone’s a Homemaker” about her family’s communication model. She described it as a teapot. “We know that when you place a teapot over heat, the pressure builds and builds. If there is no way for the steam to escape, there will be an explosion; but if there is a whistle provided over the spout, then the steam pressure becomes pleasant singing. Oh, what a listening ear and understanding heart can accomplish.” When they need to release built up pressure, they ask someone to be their whistle. In order to become a good whistle or release valve, we need to be a good listener. We need to ask open ended questions, not ones that can be answered with a yes or no. Then we need to listen, truly listen. We need to give our undivided attention and really care about what is being said. Nothing stops communication colder than a lack of attention. Don’t get impatient and answer your own questions. Wait. Relax. Genuinely care about what is being said. Put everything down and watch their face. I struggle with putting everything aside to just listen. I have to remember it isn’t just listening but is demonstrating love and compassion. My biggest obstacle is nding the right time for these conversations. We are either too busy or too tired. I feel that I can’t bring up a heavy conversation at night because Mark needs a good night’s sleep. I don’t want to trouble his mind. During the day we are working. I have written a list of topics we need to talk over. Some are short term, maintenance conversations. Other topics are long term. As I review my list of questions and topics, I start to focus on what the real question is … if you’re not milking cows, then what would you be doing? He might look at this question differently. If I’m not milking cows, then who am I? He is still my husband and a father. He is honest, trustworthy and ornery. Who he is doesn’t change with what he does but it does lead to a difcult conversation. We need to keep talking about the everyday maintenance conversations and truly deep conversations. As today’s economic pressures mount, we can’t be afraid to hear or to say these four powerful words. Let them become your release valve as you become each other’s tea pot whistle. Natalie, Mark and his brother, Al, Schmitt farm together near Rice, Minn. They milk 100 registered Holsteins under the RALMA prex. Their four children are great help around the farm and are pushing Natalie out of several jobs. Therefore she is thankful to have something else to do. For questions or comments please email Natalie at mnschmitt@jetup.net.
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Dairy Star • Saturday, March 24, 2018 • Page 33
A smaller slice of the pie
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When I was in high school, a typical Friday afternoon often went like this: I’d run my cross country miles. Grab something to eat for supper. Change into my cheerleading uniform. Put my trombone together and play in the pep band. Then hop down to the ďƒželd and cheer for the football team. A wintertime afternoon looked similar, but with different activities: basketball, competitive speech, one-act play, choir, and others. Looking back and writing this, it sounds kind of crazy. In our small school, though, students were allowed (and often encourDairy Good Life aged) to be involved in multiple activities at the same time. Otherwise, there wouldn’t have been enough students involved to keep each activity going. The effect this had on my life is that I never had to choose between activities that I enjoyed. I truly loved every activity I participated in and, somehow, managed to make it all work. For the ďƒžrst 10 years of my career as a dairy farmer, I followed the same philosophy that kept me going in high school: If you love it, it’s worth your time. By Sadie Frericks And like in high school, I was able to ďƒžnd a way Columnist to make it all work. Right now, though, I feel differently. I still love everything I do, but I’m struggling to make it all work. There just doesn’t seem to be enough time to get it all done. If I look at my day as a pie chart, there are lots of slices. For many years, the sleep slice looked more like a sliver than a wedge. A year ago (or so), I made a conscious decision to change that. I’m not as young as I used to be, which means I can’t function on a few hours of sleep the way I did in the past. Without enough sleep, I am not a reasonable human being and my health suffers. If I’m not healthy, the whole pie chart falls apart. As for my dairy farmer slice, well, let’s be honest. The dairy farmer slice could ďƒžll the whole pie chart. I could spend 24 hours a day doing farm work and still not ďƒžnish everything that could be done. I don’t spend 24 hours a day farming, but my dairy farmer slice is quite a bit bigger now than it was a couple months ago. We’re in the middle of our peak calving season and switcha boatload of cows. I still ill llove everything hi I d do, b but ing We’ve come to realize that it doesn’t make sense for I’m struggling to make it all to hire another full-time work. There just doesn’t seem us employee – both because to be enough time to get it all it’s hard to ďƒžnd someone who’s interested in workdone. ing a split shift and because we can’t afford to pay a full-time wage right now. We did recently hire a high school student to help in the afternoons. With his help, we’re slowly getting caught up outside, but we still have way more work to do than we have available hours of labor. My mom slice has also grown. Our kids are getting involved in more and more activities. Monika asked this past weekend if she could show one of her Jersey cows at the county fair now that she’s a full-ďƒ&#x;edged 4-Her. I think we’ll let her. Life is too short to wait. Sometimes the right moment is now. Dan and Monika are also helping more and more with chores, but school and the extra-curricular activities that help them explore their interests still need to be their main focus. At their ages, school and activities still require a fair bit of parental involvement – even if only as the chauffeur. I am also acutely aware that the number of years before my children spread their wings and ďƒ&#x;y away is quickly dwindling. What this all means is that, until I can ďƒžgure out a way to make the whole pie bigger, the slices of my time that I devote to writing, advocacy, and other activities are going to shrink for a while. You won’t see my column in the next issue of the Dairy Star. Starting in April, I’m cutting back to writing one column each month. I still love writing this column. And it’s still worth my time. But, for the time being, I need to reduce the amount of time I give to it. Thank you for understanding. Sadie and her husband, Glen, milk 100 cows near Melrose, Minn. They have three children – Dan, 11, Monika, 8, and Daphne, 5. Sadie also writes a blog at www.dairygoodlife.com. She can be reached at sadiefrericks@gmail.com.
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Page 34 • Dairy Star • Saturday, March 24, 2018
Emotions, frustration run high at farm discussion
Town hall-style meeting allows for open dialogue on issues By Danielle Nauman danielle.n@dairystar.com
SENECA, Wis. – Emotions ran high as dairy farmers gathered March 16 at the town hall in Seneca, Wis., for a town hall meeting hosted by Chris and Tammy Olson of Olson Feed Service. The meeting featured a panel of legislators and staff members, and others involved in various areas of the dairy industry. Prior to the meeting, panelists had the opportunity to visit the farm of Steve Achenbach near Eastman, Wis., or Dean and Donna Hartley near Soldiers Grove, Wis. Those on the panel included Tom Petri, representing Senator Ron Johnson; Ryan Cornett, representing Senator Tammy Baldwin; Brad Pfaff, representing Third District Congressman Ron Kind; Jennifer Shilling, the 32nd District State; Lee Nerison, the 96th District Assemblyman and chair of the Assembly Agriculture Committee; Kevin Walleser, representing Crawford and Vernon counties on the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board (WMMB); Frank Friar, an economic specialist with the Wisconsin Farm Center; and Tom Brandt and Randy Kunsman, both of the Farm Service Agency. Initial discussion centered on pieces of legislation in Washington, D.C.,
including the Dairy Pride Act and the 2018 Farm Bill. “The Dairy Pride Act is still in committee and is gaining support,” Cornett said. According to Petri, the 2018 Farm Bill is in its infancy. “In a month, we will know what the House version of the farm bill is, it’s just on the cusp of being introduced,” Petri said. “What we could discuss today would be speculative, but I know Senator Johnson is anxious to hear what people think should be included in the farm bill.” Pfaff pointed out the lack of funding in the 2014 Farm Bill for the Margin Protection Program (MPP), saying increased funding of MPP will be important in the upcoming discussions. “We need to focus on dairy,” Pfaff said. “Dairy is the heart and soul of western Wisconsin, the primary mover of our economy.” Pat Nolan, a dairy farmer, was critical of MPP. “I see the MPP as going nowhere,” Nolan said. “It’s a band-aid, delaying the smaller farmer going out. I was wondering if Congress has ever thought of coming up with a program similar to Canada’s.” Wisconsin Farmers Union (WFU) President Darin Von Ruden recapped information from a series of meetings held around the state featuring Canadian dairy producers speaking about the quota system in their country. John Nolan farms near Eastman, Wis. with his brother and expressed his frustrations with what he sees as the loss
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Mike Yager, a dairy farmer from Mineral Point, Wis., voices his opinion about the current state of the dairy industry during a meeƟng March 16 in Seneca, Wis. of the small family-operated farm. “I went to short course in Madison in 1988. They said 80 cows was enough to support a family. So why does everyone want to overproduce?” Nolan asked. “Why can’t we cut back on cow numbers and get together for a base price we can be happy with? How do young farmers start farming? What do I say to my two young kids who want to go into farming?” Pfaff thanked Nolan for his passion and his emotion.
“I came home from college in 1990, and we milked 65 cows,” Pfaff said. “Now you can’t seek nancing for that. What do we do now going forward?” Pfaff pointed to improvements in feed rations, veterinary care and other technologies that have continued to increase production beyond what is consumed in this country. “We are moving product, creating Turn to TOWN HALL | Page 35
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Sen. Jennifer Shilling and Ryan CorneƩ, represenƟng Sen. Tammy Baldwin, relay their experience of visiƟng the Achenbach family farm prior to the meeƟng on March 16 in Seneca, Wis. new dairy products, lots of innovation and creativity is taking place,” Pfaff said. “But what a dairy farmer is receiving for their milk has dropped 50 percent.” Shilling posed a question to the audience about the Dairy 30x20 initiative to produce 30 billion pounds of milk in the state by the year 2020, a benchmark which has already been met. “Is oversaturation an unintended consequence of that?” Shilling said. “Do we need to revisit this, recognizing the global markets that are at play?” Prior to running for public ofce, Nerison was a dairy farmer for 40 years. “I remember back in the ‘70s when they did the herd buyout. If you were going to go to a quota system, that was the time. It’s going to be hard now,” Nerison said. Beth Kearns, who dairies near Seneca, Wis., suggested trying to increase milk consumption by students in schools. Jody Miller, of Avoca, Wis., asked what the WMMB is doing with the dairy check off dollars to promote the dairy industry and encourage consumption. “I see pop machines at schools, almond milk in the dairy section. What is the milk marketing board doing to help us? We have a really good product,” Miller said. “I feel like everybody is against us. We love our animals. We work hard as a family, but someone is always trying to knock us down.” Mike Yager, a Mineral Point, Wis., dairy farmer questioned the dairy checkoff, as well. “We as dairy farmers spend $35 per cow, per year for promotion. Based on 9.4 million cows in this country, that is over $330 million dollars per year invested in promotion,” Yager said. “The national beef check-off is $80 million per year. I believe we see an abundance of promotion for beef, versus what we see for dairy. We really have to start questioning this.” According to Walleser, milk consumption was up nationally in the past year. “Dairy per-capita consumption was up 2.65 pounds as a whole,” Walleser said. “We’ve got 1 percent chocolate milk back into the schools. We just need to keep promoting our products and working at it.” Dairy farmer and advocate Laura Daniels of Cobb, Wis. expressed her gratitude for the public service provided by those on the panel. “Clearly this is a pretty thankless job right now, and you have my gratitude for taking the time to help us gure this out,” Daniels said. “We are all looking for a silver bullet, a scapegoat and an easy answer. I don’t think any of those exist whatsoever. Our job is to give you ideas that will work for our farms.” Daniels suggested setting a minimum amount of notice a processor has to give a producer prior to ending a contract. She also advocated for programs that provide
farmer retraining for those who chose to exit the business. She also encouraged cooperative members to push their cooperatives to institute their own base programs. Olson used that opportunity to introduce Friar to share the purpose of the Wisconsin Farm Center. “Our No. 1 goal is to keep farmers farming,” Friar said. “If that’s not possible, we help them exit farming in a professional, organized way, helping them maximize their assets. We will do everything we can to help you, and we work with people through good and bad times.” Art Thelen milks 1,500 cows near LaFarge, Wis., and urged producers to take charge of their own destiny. “We didn’t get into this problem last week. We got into this problem over a lot of years,” Thelen said. “ … Another thing, big or small farms have nothing to do with our ability to produce milk. We can’t keep cutting ourselves apart. We have to solve this problem ourselves.” Shilling assured everyone that she had been impacted by the information shared with her during the day. “When you leave and think that the people up front didn’t have any answers for us and wonder what the point of today was, I want you to know that when I was touring the Achenbach’s farm, we talked about broadband, transportation, implements of husbandry and what’s happening on our roadways. We talked about the next generation of farming, the challenges and the fears. We talked about rules and regulations, nutrient management and the importance of data and technology in managing the cows. We talked about immigration and workforce and water quality,” Shilling said. “You may feel like we’ve been here for two hours and nothing got through. But I assure you, I got something out of this meeting and the farm tour.” Nerison summed up the feelings of those present through his own experiences. “I had the same passion for farming. It was hard work, and I wouldn’t change a thing,” Nerison said. “I graduated in 1970, and it was the same thing then. The fathers and mothers said go to college, get off the farm, you can’t make any money. I was one that didn’t listen. I was going to farm and that was what I was going to do. I had the passion. I’ve been there and I totally understand it.” Nerison shared his frustration in producing legislation to positively affect agriculture on the state level. “I chair the Assembly Ag Committee. There are 16 members, ve or six have an ag background and only four were in production agriculture. … When only eight or nine people out of 99 in the entire assembly have an ag background, it’s hard to get things done. I wish I had the silver bullet. ... You have to keep teaching and promoting and educating.”
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On a positive note, during the storm, I was at Sunshine Genetics having IVF work done on Vo-Grin Galaxy Shanigans, and we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of those calves. What have you enjoyed most about dairy farming or your tie to the dairy industry? I most enjoy the people and the networking. The dairy industry has allowed me to meet people from around the world and to travel and see farms in different parts of the country. How do you stay connected with others in the industry? I stay connected with others in the industry largely through social media. I also have a core group of people I make it a priority to touch base with each week. Who is someone in the industry who has inspired you? Why? I have a hard time picking any one person that has inspired me, there are so many. I would say I’m inspired by any woman who is passionate about what she does, and has worked to be a manager or business owner, someone who goes after her dreams. I would also say I’m inspired by people who strive to do what can’t be done. My good friend, Mike Halpin, inspires me, he was injured in an accident and is working so hard at learning to walk again. His strength amazes me. If you could give a tour of your farm to a prominent woman in today’s society, who would it be and why? I would love to give Ellen DeGeneres a tour of our farm. Even though she’s a vegan, I believe she would understand and appreciate what our animals mean to us if she witnessed it rsthand. She would have the ability to share with and educate her audience about what really happens on a dairy farm, and so many people listen to her. What is the best vacation you’ve ever taken? I love my “showcations,” going to cattle shows, whether it is World Dairy Expo or the state shows. I also really enjoyed my rst trip to California. I enjoyed the California State Show and did some sight-seeing with friends. It was tied to cows and was a great way to celebrate my birthday. What are some words you like to live by? I believe it’s important to live for today. The past is the past. I also live by the motto we use on the farm, “Making dreams a reality.”
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Many faces of farming to salute on National Ag Day We passed a pair of milestones this past week. Spring ďƒžnally waltzed in at 11:15 p.m. on March 20. Robins and red-winged blackbirds sing outside my ofďƒžce window. Sandhill cranes, meadowlarks and turkey vultures are back, too. This past Tuesday also brought us National Agriculture Day, a time to salute and celebrate the farmers and ranchers Rural Roots who help keep us fed. It’s also a day to acknowledge and thank everyone else involved in U.S. agriculture. Farmers and ranchers don’t work alone. I won’t try to list the many contributors, but I will mention people like me and my cohorts at Dairy Star. We try to bring our reader’s words that are not only interesting and entertaining, but also inspiring and useful. My own agricultural journey began with my ancestors. My father left the small, family farm in Sweden to begin life anew in the land of opportunity. Farming roots run on my mother’s side, too. She came from a wee, subsistence farm in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. I visited the remains of the place some 30 years ago. By Ron Johnson We saw a hole in the ground that marked the house’s Staff Writer basement. We also saw marks on a nearby boulder, evidence of the matches struck there and used to burn the Thompson family out and get them off that tiny patch of land. My father, after losing most of what he had worked long and hard for during the Great Depression, drove away from the little that was left of his construction company in Chicago and rented a dairy farm in northeast Illinois. Back on his feet, he bought a dairy farm in northwest Indiana. He moved the family to southwest Wisconsin in 1954. When I wasn’t old enough to read, I began thumbing through the pages of The Prairie Farmer, just as I’d seen my dad do. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, I majored in agricultural journalism and earned my bachelor of science degree in agriculture. Since then, I’ve had the privilege of meeting and writing about some of the ďƒžnest people on the face of the earth. My main focus is dairying in southwest Wisconsin and northeast Iowa. But, I’ve also traveled to many states and four Canadian provinces. Much of that journeying came when I worked for a publisher that crafted a magazine for an internationally-known farm machinery manufacturer. Those travels let me see ďƒžrsthand other types of agriculture. Those types of farming included commercially growing onions in New York’s Finger Lakes region. The level land and deep, loose soil along the long, narrow lakes was perfect for the pungent orbs. Moving down the East Coast, I made more than one trip to North Carolina. The Tar Heel State is a big pork producer. It ranks fourth, behind Iowa, Illinois and Minnesota, with a pork industry valued at $1.56 billion. One pork producer invited me to join him for lunch. We drove to a gravel-road place whose parking lot was packed with pickup trucks. The waitress asked if I wanted coleslaw with my barbecued pork sandwich. When the food arrived, I wondered where the slaw might be. My farmer friend suggested that I lift the top of the bun. Sure enough, there was the coleslaw. I’d never before encountered coleslaw served that way. My ďƒžrst view of a cotton ďƒželd came in the Deep South. My farmer host made a detour down a dirt road that cut through a ďƒželd. Back by a row of scruffy trees, we got out. The farmer told me that the simple, one-room building with an open and sagging porch was once slave quarters. Inside, a distinct sense of uneasiness closed in on me. Another assignment took me to the rice ďƒželds of Arkansas. Others took me west and into the Lone Star state. I remember driving down a busy highway at San Antonio, Texas and right past The Alamo. It looked so small and unimportant, with cars and trucks whizzing past. I fell in love with the Texas Panhandle, the Amarillo area in particular. Maybe it was the openness of the land or the western heritage. On my ďƒžrst trip, I mailed a postcard to my former co-workers at my previous job. The colorful card carried the postmark of Hereford, Texas. In Texas, I met my ďƒžrst roadrunner, elf owl and tarantula. I spotted the giant spider rolling across the road behind my rented car as I headed to Brownsville just across the border from Mexico. Near Brownsville, scissor-tailed ďƒ&#x;y catchers ďƒžlled the trees at a wayside rest area. I pulled into a highway check point. The authorities quickly waved me through. My assignment at Brownsville was on a farm that grew kenaf. It’s a crop that grows 10 feet tall, gets chopped, and is used for newsprint and in making car and truck bodies. At Yuma, Ariz., I learned how farmers used their tractors and other equipment to craft precise irrigation ditches in the desert. The temperature that January morning was in the 90’s. In the afternoon, I was on a ďƒ&#x;ight to Saskatoon, SK, Canada – temperature 30 degrees below zero. That was a shocking temperature change of 120 degrees in just a few hours. Another visit to Canada let me learn how peat moss is harvested. Near Winnipeg, MB, I watched as farm tractors towed large vacuum cleaners. The machines sucked up the moss that had been loosened with machinery and blew it into wagons. Trips to California let me see large dairy operations, along with citrus and almond orchards. I also learned how grapes become raisins and tomatoes become catsup. One Golden State oddity was the sight of cornďƒželds with palm trees behind them. No, I wasn’t California dreaming. Up the Paciďƒžc Coast in Oregon, I visited a farm that specialized in growing grass seed. In Washington, I walked the ďƒ&#x;uffy, deep, volcanic ash soil that made the farmers use tractors equipped with rubber tracks to keep from sinking. In Idaho, I learned about a Mormon farmer’s potato business. Down in the High Plains of eastern Colorado, I toured a farm that specializes in dry beans. There was also canola in North Dakota and wheat in Kansas. In the lonely Sand Hills near Valentine, Neb., a family told me the important role their tractors played in feeding the beef cattle each and every winter day. Other faces of agriculture that I’ve seen include cranberries, carrots and Christmas trees; trout, tilapia and tobacco. On the livestock side, besides dairy cows, there have been alpacas, bison, chickens, goats, llamas, sheep, turkeys and draft horses, including the Budweiser Clydesdales. The list could continue. But, hopefully, by now I’ve made my point: There really is a vast breadth of agriculture. And it touches us all whether we realize it or not every single day.
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Page 38 • Dairy Star • Saturday, March 24, 2018
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Jeff Wille Rice Lake, Wis. Barron County 70 cows How did you get into farming? I was raised on this farm, and my wife, Debbie, and I took over for my parents. What are your thoughts and concerns about the dairy industry for the next year? Other than milk prices, I’m concerned about the number of farmers going out of business. There are more and more barns sitting empty, and less of us farmers out there. What is the latest technology you implemented on your farm and the purpose for it? We started having our silage corn custom chopped with a processor a couple of years ago to enhance feed quality, and the cows are responding well. What is a management practice you changed in the past year that has beneted you? We haven’t changed much, but we are continually nding new ways to keep our somatic cell count down and keep our cows healthier. What cost-saving steps have you implemented during the low milk price? Keeping our cell count down and our components up to help with premiums. Our butterfat is typically at or above 4 percent.
the best I can. If something is up, I What are your plans for your can usually spot it right away. dairy in the next year and ve years? My goals are to increase What do you enjoy most about the cows’ longevity and keep dairy farming? I enjoy watching building deeper pedigrees. a calf develop into a cow and watching a cow mature.
How do you or your family like to spend time when you are not doing chores? We show at the county fair and state fair, and I enjoy following sports at the local, college and professional levels.
What advice would you give other dairy farmers? Be yourself. Know what you’re capable of, and talk to people with the same goals as you. What has been the best purchase you’ve ever made on your farm? We added on to our tiestall barn in 2015, made the stalls bigger for improved cow comfort and installed tunnel ventilation with variable speed fans.
How do you retain a good working relationship with your employee(s)? My cows are the bosses and I’m the employee. It’s all family labor here with Debbie feeding calves before she goes to work, my dad helping with milking, and our kids, Katie and Col- What has been your biggest accomplishment while dairy lin, helping when they can. farming? The cows’ classicaTell us about a skill you possess tion scores are getting higher all that makes dairy farming easier the time. I once bred a cow that for you. I know each cow’s per- scored Excellent-93. sonality and how to deal with her
Star Blends is a full service feed manufacturing facility. We provide custom complete feeds, supplements and minerals. We utilize modern technology to produce your needed products on demand with the highest quality feeds at the best cost. We also offer a wide selection of commodities, ingredients and additives. We are focused on dairy, efficiently delivering to farms in Western Wisconsin. Give us a call, we’d be happy to discuss our commodities or custom products and services with you and your nutritionist.
1919 Riley Road Sparta, WI 54656 | 800.462.4125
Page 40 • Dairy Star • Saturday, March 24, 2018
FASTER UNLOADING, IMPROVED MATERIAL BREAKUP
SLC 100 SERIES PROTWINŽ SLINGERŽ SIDE-DISCHARGE SPREADER • Adjustable hammer shroud for faster and more consistent spreading • Twin-auger design eliminates material bridging • Fully enclosed oil bath for low maintenance and long life • Optional scales for precise monitoring and nutrient tracking 3200, 4100 and 5000 gallon capacities • truck & trailer models
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Salesmen: Shawn Martin (608) 778-4554 or Joe Ryan (608) 778-2900
4116 Hwy. 80 S. Platteville, WI
OfďŹ ce: (608) 348-9401 or Toll Free: 1(888) BUY-Patz www.steinhartsfarmservice.com
4116 Hwy. 80 S. Platteville, WI
NEXT-LEVEL, HIGH-DENSITY BALING
VB 3100 SERIES VARIABLE CHAMBER ROUND BALERS Ĺ? ,QWHJUDO 5RWRU 7HFKQRORJ\ SURYLGHV FRQVLVWHQW WURXEOH IUHH FURS Ä RZ • Fast, consistent bale starting in diverse conditions Ĺ? 3URJUHVVLYH 'HQVLW\ 6\VWHP SURGXFHV YHU\ Ä&#x;UP EDOHV ZLWK PRGHUDWH FRUHV • Simple, heavy-duty driveline and chains for reliability
Integral Rotor
Produces 4x5 or 4x6 bales • Cutting and non-cutting models
INVEST IN QUALITY ÂŽ
KuhnNorthAmerica.com
Salesmen: Shawn Martin (608) 778-4554 or Joe Ryan (608) 778-2900
4116 Hwy. 80 S. Platteville, WI
OfďŹ ce: (608) 348-9401 or Toll Free: 1(888) BUY-Patz www.steinhartsfarmservice.com
4116 Hwy. 80 S. Platteville, WI