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DAIRY ST R “All dairy, all the time”™
Volume 21, No. 6
Farmers reassured with coopera�ve ini�a�ve
Base program provides certainty in ever-changing market By Jennifer Coyne jenn@dairystar.com
LAKE CITY, Minn. – More than two years ago, Land O’Lakes Inc. cooperative members received letters informing them of a base program that would soon be implemented across the Upper Midwest. While the initiative was met with mixed emotions, it has served member owners well through the tumultuous dairy markets. “I know what I’m getting … there’s consistency all the time,” Wayne Peters said. “It’s no longer a rollercoaster ride with milk prices, which is reassuring to know what’s been implemented is working.” Peters and his wife, Josie, milk 145 cows near Lake City, Minn. The family has been with Land O’Lakes since Peters’ family rst began milking cows. So far this year, Peters has received an average $3.41 per hundredweight premium on top of Class III prices. While his pay price has been inuenced by quality milk and high components, Peters also credits the base program for his consistent prot margins. “Our prices don’t match what our neighbors or other farmers are getting, and in some cases we’re receiving $2 per cwt. more than what other creameries can offer,” Peters said. The cooperative’s base program has a rich history in other parts of the United States but became an apparent need in the Upper Midwest when demand for dairy products was not keeping up with supply. “We’re a marketplaceback cooperative, and we have Turn to BASE | Page 5
May 11, 2019
“To watch a calf grow and become a cow … as a mother, that’s fulfilling.” – Hope Klaphake
Klaphake embraces role as mother, farmer By Jennifer Coyne & Mark Klaphake Staff Writers
MELROSE, Minn. – Hope Klaphake’s days begin at 5:15 a.m. as she and her husband, Nick, head out to the milking barn with coffee mugs in hand. Klaphake’s days end once the sun has set and her children are tucked in bed. As a mother of three and co-owner of a dairy farm, Klaphake’s days are overowing, yet she cannot imagine her life any other way. “Between doing stuff on the farm and in the house, and nding a balance between taking care of the cows and the children, I love it,” Klaphake said. “I love being here every day.” Klaphake and her husband milk 77 Turn to KLAPHAKE | Page 7 JENNIFER COYNE/DAIRY STAR
The Klaphake family – (front, from le�) Peyton, Reece and Hope holding Mason; (back) Nick – gather around their kitchen table May 6 at their home near Melrose, Minn. Hope enjoys her role on the farm, being both a mother and a farmer.
Plan B: Farmers assess forage options following severe winter kill By Jennifer Coyne jenn@dairystar.com
BRITTANY OLSON/DAIRY STAR
An alfalfa plant is one of few plants that survived in Marv Prestrud’s elds near Prairie Farm, Wis. Many alfalfa plants across Wisconsin suffered severe winter kill.
PRAIRIE FARM, Wis. – Farmers in western Wisconsin made a grim discovery as they evaluated their alfalfa elds this spring. Many are left with nothing as their stands succumbed to winter kill following an unusual winter season. Now, they hurriedly make plans to salvage what is left and ensure quality forages are available in the rations. “We checked the elds as early as we could and knew a lot of the alfalfa was gone,” Marv Prestrud said. “There were a lot of elds we thought would be OK, but then we pulled the roots and they were brown and mushy. The plants won’t live. … We lost all of it.” Prestrud and his son, Chad, will have to interseed new alfalfa on their 150 acres in Dunn County near Prairie Farm, Wis. The dairymen will also have to increase the amount of corn silage used in the ration of the 500-cow herd. In Dunn County alone, reports are showing up to 75% of alfalfa plants are irrefutably damaged, according to the Turn to WINTER KILL | Page 6