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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
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.
Jackson County’s care package Area farmers send wildre relief to Oklahoma By Cassie Olson
cassie.o@dairystar.com
ALMA CENTER, Wis. – With devastation across acres of Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas in the wake of ongoing wildres, an outpouring of support has continued to come from across America’s agriculture industry. After exchanging text messages with a fellow tractor puller, Alma Center, Wis., dairy farmer James Giese decided he wanted to do his part to help those affected. Giese, who milks 120 cows with his father, Emil, helped deliver two loads of hay and fencing supplies donated by farmers across Jackson County to Knowles, Okla. “It all started when a friend in Iowa that I pull tractors against, Alan Mohr, asked if we could go with him over the weekend,” Giese said. “I sent out a mass text message on March 27 to the farmers in the area, and it just grew from there.” Coordinating with Mohr’s efforts, Turn to WILDFIRE RELIEF | Page 6
CASSIE OLSON/DAIRY STAR
James Giese and his father, Emil, are two of the farmers to donate 138 bales of hay and fencing materials to ranchers in Knowles, Okla. The Gieses milk 120 cows on their dairy near Alma Center, Wis.