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DAIRY ST R “All dairy, all the time”™
Volume 19, No. 5
April 22, 2017
“I haven’t even opened it yet and I don’t think I’m going to.” - Terrance Pfaff
Time is running out
Dairy producers dropped by processor scrambling to nd home for milk by May 1 By Krista Kuzma
krista.k@dairystar.com
LA CRESCENT, Minn. – As the third generation on his family’s dairy near La Crescent, Minn., Richard Johnson is proud to have his sons transitioning in as the fourth generation to care for the cows and manage the land; however, if the Johnsons don’t nd a processor to take their milk by May 1, their family dairy history could come to a halt. Their dairy is one of many in Wisconsin and Minnesota that has been dropped by its processor, Grassland Dairy Products, Inc. Maureen Lee, marketing and communication director for the Wisconsin-based processor, said she could not give out the number of producers dropped and where they are located. “We want to keep that quiet because we think it would negatively impact their ability to nd a new processor,” Lee said. Lucas Sjostrom, executive director for the Minnesota Milk Producers Association, is working to help the dropped producers in Minnesota. Based on testing cooperatives, Sjostrom said 19 farms from
Turn to FINDING A HOME | Page 5
Beginning farmer tracks monthly costs to guarantee prot
KRISTA KUZMA/DAIRY STAR
Terrance Pfaff holds the unopened le�er he received from his processor, Grassland Dairy Products, Inc., that was sent to him and a number of patrons in Wisconsin and Minnesota, informing them the processor would no longer accept their milk on May 1. Pfaff milks 445 cows on his dairy near Preston, Minn.
Zilka: The numbers man
By Jennifer Coyne jenn@dairystar.com
PIERZ, Minn. – With the cows fed and the milking units running, Alex Zilka is most likely found looking on his phone – not perusing the Internet, but punching in numbers and estimating gures. Zilka began dairy farming in October 2014, and has worked tirelessly to remain in the black in order to withstand the tumultuous dairy market. “When I rst started, I had two months when milk was $22, and then it plummeted,” Zilka said. “Knowing my cash ow tells me what I’ll make for the month, so when I go to pay bills or make investments, I don’t short myself.” The beginning farmer milks 62 cows under a contract for deed from retired farmer
MARK KLAPHAKE/DAIRY STAR
Alex Zilka milks 62 cows on a contract for deed from re�red dairy farmers Chuck and Pat Tax, of Pierz, Minn. By closely managing his expenses, Zilka has been able to withstand the poor milk market.
Chuck Tax of Pierz, Minn. Zilka rents the facilities and purchases feed from Tax, but is acquiring equipment to run his own 100 acres for feed. “Chuck and his wife, Pat, and Steve Kaul helped me get started with the cows and springing heifers,” Zilka said. “I cannot thank them enough for having given me the opportunity to dairy farm.” As an adolescent and after graduating college, Zilka worked on various dairy farms and gathered a sense of what worked well on each operation and what did not. The commonality was tracking expenses and understanding the nancial possibilities of the farm. “When I started, I was dead broke. That rst year was ungodly stressful and terrible,” Zilka said. “If a belt needed repairs, I hardly had enough money for gas to get into town to x it.” Despite the grim outlook the dairy industry had when Zilka entered the venture, he was determined to ride out the Turn to ZILKA | Page 6