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DAIRY ST R “All dairy, all the time”™
Volume 21, No. 2
Snow storm makes mess for hauling
March 9, 2019
Blizzard causes widespread destruction
Truckers deal with treacherous roads, Dairy producers dealing with producers dump collapsed roofs, milk fallen buildings from By Krista Kuzma late February storm krista.k@dairystar.com The blizzard the region experienced Feb. 23-25 is not one that will soon be forgotten. “It’s the kind of storm you’ll talk about forever,” said Cindy Morgan, public engagement coordinator for the Minnesota Department of Transportation and social media meteorologist. “This one might be like the 1991 blizzard. I would put it on that magnitude. When you get to the point where you can’t travel through the storm even days after dealing with it, this is quite rare.” The storm, which moved from South Dakota across southern Minnesota and northern Iowa, and into west central Wisconsin, dumped over 10 inches of wet, heavy snow in the area. The precipitation plus wind speeds reaching over 50 miles per hour caused for whiteout conditions and closed down most roads in the storm’s path. Morgan called the road conditions treacherous and impassable. “The snowplows were out as long as possible, but in the middle of this, because those drifts were getting so high, at times they were getting stuck or they would miss the road and slide off,” Morgan said. MnDOT drivers were reporting drifts over the hood of their snowplows, Morgan said. “Eventually it shifted from a response effort to a passable system for emergency vehicles,” Morgan said. Because of the impassable road conditions, many milk truck drivers had difculty on the road or were unable to make stops Feb. 24. Tim Neitzel owns Neitzel Trucking, which has 15 trucks that picks up milk in Buffalo, Trempealeau, Jackson, La Crosse, Turn to MILK | Page 5
By Krista Kuzma
krista.k@dairystar.com
CHATFIELD, Minn. – The Hoffman family knew a blizzard would cause extra work on their dairy, but they never imagined the storm would force them to exit the business. “I was mixing feed when my dad called me and said another section of the barn [roof] had come down,” Corey Hoffman said. “I went over there and walked in to look at it. It wasn’t even two minutes and I said, ‘Dad, the cows have to go. We don’t have a choice.’” Two sections of the Hoffman family’s freestall barn Turn to BLIZZARD | Page 10
KRISTA KUZMA/DAIRY STAR
Bridget and Corey Hoffman stand near a por�on of their freestall barn’s roof that collapsed from the weight of snow on Feb. 24. Two sec�ons of the family’s barn roof collapsed from a blizzard, forcing them to sell their 420-cow herd on their farm, North Creek Dairy, near Cha�ield, Minn.
High components help see Brandenburgs through tough times Mixed Holstein, Jersey herd earns higher milk price By Stacey Smart Contributing Writer
STACEY SMART/DAIRY STAR
Olivia Brandenburg and her father, Jim, maintain a 4.5 percent bu�erfat and 3.5 percent protein test on their 50-cow farm near Fort Atkinson, Wis. Not pictured are Jim’s wife, Peggy, and sons, Sawyer and Emerson.
FORT ATKINSON, Wis. – Like most dairy farmers across the country, Jim Brandenburg is riding out one of the industry’s longest downturns. And, although weathering the storm has been anything but easy, Brandenburg has found a way to lighten the blow of four years of bad milk prices with his herd’s components – a 4.5 percent butterfat and 3.5 protein test. “With milk prices the way they are, you need components to carry you,” Brandenburg said. “If you don’t have components, you’re behind the eight ball. But, you need good milk volume, too, in order to make this work.” Turn to BRANDENBURGS | Page 6