ARE YOU GETTING DUPLICATE COPIES OF DAIRY STAR? Let us know at 320-352-6303 or circulation@star-pub.com
DAIRY ST R “All dairy, all the time”™
Volume 23, No. 3
March 27, 2021
A dairy’s complementary enterprise Gatewoods diversify with direct meat sales By Jennifer Coyne jenn@dairystar.com
WILLMAR, Minn. – For four generations, milking cows has been the mainstay of the Gatewood family business. In a three-fold effort to connect consumers to agriculture, provide an additional source of income and capture the returns of raising youngstock, the Gatewoods have looked beyond the tiestall barn and toward another business venture of direct marketing meat. “When we started this, we were just going to give it a try,” Gene Gatewood said. “No one else was doing it, so it was the right time to start. Now, there’s a market and you could be one of 100 farms doing these sales and you still wouldn’t be competing.” Gene and his family – wife, Shelly; son, Jordan; and daughter-in-law, Kristi – operate Grandpa’s Granary on their 66-cow dairy farm in Kandiyohi County near Willmar. At the farm, the Gatewoods raise about 20 Holstein and Turn to GATEWOODS | Page 6
JENNIFER COYNE/DAIRY STAR
The Gatewoods – (from leŌ) Shelly, Gene, KrisƟ and Jordan – milk 66 cows on their farm in Kandiyohi County near Willmar, Minnesota. The family also raises about 20 dairy steers for the direct sale of beef cuts.
COVID-19 vaccines available for essential workers Dairy farmers, processors nd opportunity in pandemic By Jennifer Coyne jenn@dairystar.com
One year into the coronavirus pandemic, the virus remains a hindrance to communities across the globe. Yet, as vaccines become available to essential workers in agriculture, a sense of normalcy is on the horizon. “Receiving the COVID-19 vaccine is important because it will offer our team members and their families protection, and, hopefully, some relief from the stress this virus has caused,” said Annie Vannurden, manager at Silverstreak Dairies LLC. Vannurden has coordinated with local health care providers to administer the vaccine to employees at the farm’s central Minnesota dairies March 27. At the beginning of March, agriculture workers became a part of the group of eligible Minnesotans to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, categorized as frontline essential workers. As of March 21, the state health department reported more than 1.4 million citizens having received at least one vaccine dose and another 850,000 who have completed the vaccine series.
The same is similar in Wisconsin. As of March 23, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services reported nearly 1.5 million Wisconsin residents have received at least one dose of a vaccine; 870,000 have completed the vaccine series. “We have been coordinating with our members and health ofcials to set up on-site vaccination clinics at plants and doing that plant-by-plant assistance for weeks now,” John Umhoefer said. “There are several ways to get people registered through federal and state lists and through pharmacies. We’ve been driving that message to our members.” Umhoefer is the executive director of Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association, which represents 650 companies and cooperatives that make and market dairy products and supply the dairy industry. There are three COVID-19 vaccines approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration, two with a two-dose series and one with a single dose. The two-dose series are considered plug and play technology, according to Lisa Morici of Tulane University’s Department of Microbiology and Immunology. “This type of vaccine induces an immune response to stop the COVID-19 spike protein from getting to our bodies’ cells,” Morici said. “This particular method is designed to combat a pandemic, where
we’re dealing with an emerging virus that we didn’t know how to grow and make a lot of it. This has been in development for 30 years.” Morici presented, “Dispelling misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine: What agriculture producers need to know,” in a webinar hosted by AgriSafe Network March 11. The single-dose vaccine is modied from the human adenovirus to create the spike protein found in COVID-19. “These vaccines are some of the safest that have ever been developed,” Morici said. “They were incredibly scrutinized.” Regardless of which vaccine is administered, health ofcials are urging all to get vaccinated. “It’s estimated about 20% of the United States are immune to COVID-19. We need about 80% of the population to be immune to get to herd immunity,” Morici said. “Ag businesses are familiar with herd immunity as it affects animals and crops. We need enough to block and limit transmission of the virus to protect those who are not immune.” For Stephanie Krueger and her family, contributing to that immunity through the vaccine was a simple decision. Turn to VACCINES | Page 5