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DAIRY ST R
Volume 19, No. 7
rbST use in the hot seat again
Processors in Midwest pushed to ban tool By Jennifer Coyne jenn@dairystar.com
As of Jan. 1, 2018, most Midwest milk processors will not accept milk from dairy animals that have been treated with the synthetic growth hormone recombinant bovine somatotropin (rbST). Most announced this change in early May, notifying farms that rbST use must be discontinued by Dec. 1, 2017 in order to comply with the January deadline. “Because this is a condition of membership, it is a requirement for all of our members,” said AMPI Director of Public Affairs Sarah Schmidt. Customers have made it clear to processors that they will not accept uid milk for cheesemaking or other dairy product processing that has been treated with rbST. “We’ve been very active with our customers, highlighting the safety of milk with rbST,” Schmidt said. “Ultimately, it came down to customers working with their consumers; it’s denitely driven by public opinion.” Clint Fall, President of First District Association, agreed.
“The Midwest is the cheese basket of the United States, and if customers want rbSTfree cheese, it was only a matter of time before we had to do something.”
SARAH SCHMIDT, AMPI DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS
“The current oversupply of milk should not be blamed for this,” he said. “This was entirely consumer driven and our priority of maintaining current customers.” While First District Association has not previously recorded the exact number of patrons using rbST, Fall estimated less than 20 percent of the 916 members use the growth hormone. It is unknown just how many dairy farms will be impacted by this decision, but it is sending a strong message to the entire industry – a message that has many uneasy. “Farmers and co-ops are between a rock and a hard place – we have to choose between continuing to use an FDA-approved product or maintaining our customers,” said Chris Galen, National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF). “We’re working towards a more sustainable food supply, but with trends like this, you can argue we’re moving in the other direction.” This is not the rst time rbST has been under scrutiny. Turn to RBST | Page 5
“All dairy, all the time”™
May 27, 2017
“The walls began to wobble, and when the ceiling started to do the wave, we knew it was game over.” - Seth Picknell
From destruction they rise
BRITTANY OLSON/DAIRY STAR
The Picknells – (from leŌ) Seth, Cory, Janelle, Kaden, Seth’s ancee, Bailey Hanson, and Jonah – are cleaning up their farm and rebuilding their barn aŌer an F3 tornado struck without warning. The tornado, which touched down mulƟple Ɵmes over the course of 60 miles, had wind speeds between 113 and 157 miles per hour.
Picknells survive F3 tornado during chore time By Brittany Olson
brittany.o@dairystar.com
PRAIRIE FARM, Wis. – Milking time was about to begin in 10 minutes, and the last feed cart was being lled when Kaden Picknell noticed the wind beginning to pick up. “We were lling the last cart with haylage, and everything happened right then and there,” Kaden said. “It was probably over and done in ve minutes, but it felt like a really long time.” Kaden, who lives on a 60-cow dairy farm with his parents, Cory and Janelle, and his brothers, Seth and Jonah, near Prairie Farm, Wis., survived a tornado when it struck their farm without warning on the evening of May 16. Jonah was still outside doing chores. When the skies turned dark and the wind began to thrash, he hurried to the barn. “The barn was the closest shelter we had,” Jonah said. Cory, too, knew something was deeply wrong. “The clouds were green, but there was no rotation,” Cory said. “The wind was roaring, and the power went out. When we saw trees down the road beginning to break, we knew what was happening.” Father and sons took shelter near a wall in the barn with the cows still outside, hanging on for their lives.
“I was screaming, and I remember hearing my brother trying to calm me down,” Jonah said. “I remember hearing the tin ripping off the roof.” The minutes crept along like hours while the vortex took with it the barn roof, demolishing two of their three silos and causing severe damage to their shed, garage and house. “The walls began to wobble, and when the ceiling started to do the wave, we knew it was game over,” Seth said. The sound of the storm was unlike anything they’d heard before. “I don’t really even remember what it sounded like other than that it was really loud,” Kaden said. The family didn’t have time to take shelter in their house. “Sometimes we have the radio on in the barn, and when we turn it off sometimes we forget to turn it back on,” Cory said. “But how many times have we had tornado warnings and kept on doing chores because everything looked ne where we were? I don’t know if we would have had enough time anyway.” Miraculously, everyone and the cows survived the tornado, which was determined to be an F3 by the National Weather Service with wind speeds from 113 to 157 miles per hour. Turn to PICKNELLS | Page 6
Page 2 • Dairy Star • Saturday, May 27, 2017
DAIRY ST R www.dairystar.com
ISSN 020355 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave. Sauk Centre, MN 56378 Phone: (320) 352-6303 Fax: (320) 352-5647 Published by Dairy Star LLC
General Manager/Editor Mark Klaphake - mark.k@dairystar.com 320-352-6303 (ofďƒžce) 320-248-3196 (cell) 320-352-0062 (home) Ad Composition Nancy Powell 320-352-6303 nancy.p@dairystar.com Amanda Thooft 320-352-6303 amanda.t@dairystar.com Consultant Jerry Jennissen 320-346-2292 Editorial Staff Andrea Borgerding - Managing Editor (320) 352-6303 • andrea.b@dairystar.com Krista Kuzma - Assistant Editor (507) 259-8159 • krista.k@dairystar.com Ron Johnson (608) 874-4243 ron.j@dairystar.com Ruth Klossner (507) 240-0048 cowlady@centurylink.net Jennifer Coyne (320) 352-6303 jenn@dairystar.com Cassie Olson (715) 245-6848 cassie.o@dairystar.com Brittany Olson (320) 352-6303 brittany.o@dairystar.com
Advertising Sales Main Ofďƒžce: 320-352-6303 Fax: 320-352-5647 Deadline is 5 p.m. of the Friday the week before publication
Sales Manager - Jeff Weyer (Northern MN, East Central MN) 320-260-8505 (cell) jeff.w@dairystar.com Mark Klaphake (Western MN) 320-352-6303 (ofďƒžce) 320-248-3196 (cell) Laura Seljan (National Advertising, SE MN) 507-250-2217 fax: 507-634-4413 laura.s@dairystar.com Jerry Nelson (SW MN, NW Iowa, South Dakota) 605-690-6260 jerry.n@dairystar.com Mike Schafer (Central, South Central MN) 320-894-7825 mike.s@dairystar.com Lori Menke (Eastern Iowa, Southern WI) 563-608-6477 • lori.m@dairystar.com Megan Stuessel (Western Wisconsin) 608-387-1202 • megan.s@dairystar.com
Deadlines The deadline for news and advertising in the Dairy Star is 5 p.m. Friday the week before publication. Subscriptions One year subscription $35.00, outside the U.S. $110.00. Send check along with mailing address to Dairy Star, 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave., Sauk Centre, MN 56378. Advertising Our ad takers have no authority to bind this newspaper and only publication of an advertisement shall constitute ďƒžnal acceptance of the advertiser's order. Letters Letters and articles of opinion are welcomed. Letters must be signed and include address and phone number. We reserve the right to edit lengthy letters. The views and opinions expressed by Dairy Star columnists and writers are not necessarily those of the Dairy Star LLC.
The Dairy Star is published semi-monthly by Dairy Star, LLC, 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave., Sauk Centre, MN 56378-1246. Periodicals Postage Paid at Sauk Centre, MN and additional mailing ofďƒžces. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Dairy Star, 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave., Sauk Centre, MN 56378-1246.
North America dealers. A glance at what’s inside
Dairy Proďƒžle brought to you by your
Jeff, Melissa and Ted Domeyer, and their families, are dedicated to the dairy industry in Dubuque County, Iowa – from contributing to the local economy with their 190-cow dairy to participating in promotional events and continually increasing milk production. These acts are few of many reasons the family at Double D Dairy in Holy Cross, Iowa, were recognized as the Outstanding Dairy Farm Family by the Dubuque County Dairy Promotion Association. Read about their success on pages 10-11 in ďƒžrst section. By Mark Klaphake With May being ďƒžlled with graduations, we scouted Editor out people who had gone to college before taking a leap into their career as dairy farmers and joining the ownership of a dairy. We talked to both the younger and older generation on how they worked together to make this change possible in this issue’s “Our side of the fenceâ€? feature. Read about their experiences on page 16 in ďƒžrst section. While some children grow up on a dairy farm with dreams of milking cows, Dustin Ebersviller wanted to own a zoo. After 17 years of growing his hobby, with African hoofstock and several species of deer, Ebersviller opened his exhibit to the public near his family’s dairy farm in Vergas, Minn. On pages 3-5 in second section, read about Ebersviller’s new venture and how many of his responsibilities on the dairy farm prepared him for owning a zoo. It’s been a wet spring for most dairy farmers across the Midwest, but Tim and Ross Blotz made the most of it on May 23 on their dairy farm near Dodgeville, Wis.; from morning chores to mending and building fences, the Blotz family had plenty to accomplish. Read about their busy day in our “Day in the lifeâ€? feature found on pages 16, 18-19 in second section. For the Tetzner family, summer means tourist season and more trafďƒžc to their on-farm creamery. Located one mile from the shores of Lake Superior, Tetzner’s Dairy has been processing milk from their 60 Holstein cows since 1976. In their store, they sell ice cream, ice cream sandwiches and milk. They also repackage cheese from local stores and sell local meat products. Read about how they manage their dairy and on-farm creamery on pages 4-5 in second section.
Favorite quotes from this issue:
“If college taught me one thing, it validated that farming is what I want to do from now on.� – Lindsay
Byrne (Pages 22-23, Second Section)
“Over the past 10, 20 years we’ve been so focused and driven to do the best we can with our land, water and animals that we’ve forgotten how to open our barn doors and let others in to see what we are doing and why we are doing it.� – Amber Horn-Leiterman (Page 12, First Section)
By the Numbers
Rock Dell Cooperative 126: Years Creamery has served dairy farmers near Byron, Minn. (Pages 8-9, Third Section)
per gallon of milk $8.50: Price sold in Cambodia (Pages 14-15, Second Section)
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Dairy Star • Saturday, May 27, 2017 • Page 3
It’s all inside...
Pages 14 - 15 Dairying Around the World Pages 20 - 21
Van Veldhuizen operation is the pilot farm for an automated milking system
How has the addition of a younger generation beneted the dairy? Page 15
Stoddard
Washburn
Prairie Farm
Third Section: Page 14
Third Section: Pages 4 - 5
First Section: Pages 1, 6 - 7
Dairy breakfast a bright spot on cold, rainy day Eau Claire
Children Museum of Eau Claire hosts June Dairy Tom Weigel and Becca Month Hilbyactivities
Tetzners operate on-farm creamery
Second Section
Iron Ashland
Platteville, Wis.
Polk
Price Blue Mounds
Kids Corner: The Sutter Family Third Section: Pages 12 - 13
Taylor St. Croix
Chippewa
Dunn
Pierce
Matt, Paul and Carl Lippert
Mid-American Hay Auction Results Pages 26 - 27 Crop and weather reports Pages 30 - 31 Dairy Recipes
Clark
Eau Claire
Pepin
Pittsville, Wis.
Third Section: Pages 6 - 7
Second Section: Pages 6 -7
Rusk
Barron
Stubrud to host 36th annual Jackson County dairy breakfast
Taylor
n John Shea and TJ Roth
Sawyer
Alma Center
Coulee Graziers host May pasture walk at Kling farm
ur hb
Burnett
Buffalo
Page 25
Shullsburg, Wisc.
Dairy Prole: Amber and Joe McComish Page 39
Blanchardville
Repro Leaders: Truttmanns
First Section: Pages 18, 20
Jackson
La Crosse Monroe Vernon
Hancock
Worth
Mitchell
Cerro Gordo
Floyd
Howard
C
aw
as
k hic
Bremer
Zone 2
Black Hawk
Bu
For additional stories from our other zone, log on to www.dairystar.com
Brooklyn
ford
Craw
Dane
Iowa
Byrne returns to family dairy Second Section: Pages 22 - 23
Grant
Fayette
Clayton
n
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na
a ch
Richland
Allamakee
Winnebago
Winneshiek
THIRD SECTION Pages 2 - 3 Schwabs run a small gift shop business, robotic dairy farm Pages 8 - 9 Suess juggles dairy and tackles four off-farm jobs Page 11 Dairy’s Star Youth: Kate Rechtzigel Page 24 Dairy breakfast a bright spot on cold, rainy day Page 15 Schefers host school tour, educate about dairy Page 10 Some Udder Stuff Page 16 Dairy Calendar Pages 17 - 23 Classieds
Picknells survive F3 tornado during chore time
Bayeld
Douglas
Pages 14 - 15 Platteville, Wis.
Trempealeau
SECOND SECTION Pages 3 - 5 Ebersviller creates zoo alongside dairy Pages 8 - 9 Famly Ties Pages 10 - 11 The “Mielke” Market Weekly Page 12 Dairy Markets Page 13 Area Hay Auction results
FROM OUR SIDE OF THE FENCE:
W as
FIRST SECTION Pages 1, 5 rbST use in the hot seat again Pages 5, 9 Ag Insider Pages 12 Industry promoting Undeniably Dairy Page 16 Schuhs preparing for Pepin County dairy breakfast June 10 Page 22 The work of dairy checkoff Page 23 Celebrate June Dairy Month with breakfast on the farm Page 25 Rural Roots Page 26 FSA News & Notes Page 27 The Transition Pen Page 28 A tour for college graduates Page 29 Brantner returns home to farm with grandpa, uncle Page 30 Ramblings from the Ridge Page 31 Pasture play Page 33 Dairy Good Life Page 36 Women in Jeans: Heather Cook
w ela
D
Linn
Lafayette Dubuque
Jones
Jackson
Green Holy Cross
Domeyers named Outstanding Dairy Farm Family First Section: Pages 10 - 11
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Page 4 • Dairy Star • Saturday, May 27, 2017
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Dairy Star • Saturday, May 27, 2017 • Page 5
A closer look
Industry news addressed with help from your neighbors
by Jennifer Coyne
ConƟnued from RBST | Page 1
The naturally occurring growth hormone was rst researched in the 1930s, when dairy producers in Europe were looking for ways to increase milk production, according to a statement from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Nearly ve decades later, in the 1980s, researchers discovered a way to engineer a synthetic drug that simulated the effects of the natural growth hormone and produce it in mass quantities at a feasible cost for dairy producers across the world. In 1993, the FDA approved the product. “There’s more than 20 years of history with rbST use,” Galen said. “But from its inception, it’s been a source of controversy.”
something,” Schmidt said. Fall agreed. “Consumer demand, including customers that purchase milk, was enough reasoning for us to discontinue accepting rbST-treated milk,” he said. “It appears that most of the domestic industry has or is going rbST free, making it difcult, if not impossible, to do business.” However, dairy is not the only industry facing a demand for clean labels – with fewer and simpler ingredients – as seen in both the swine and poultry industries regarding antibiotic use. “A simple label is really appealing to people who don’t know,” Galen said. “If a word or term doesn’t sound familiar to them, it’s easier to say, ‘no.’” “The current Customers recognize this lack of knowledge and understanding, and oversupply of milk are catering to their consumers. For example, in 2016, Dannon should not be blamed pledged that all yogurt products would be made with no genetifor this. This was cally modied ingredients, including entirely consumer grains for animal feed. “It’s clearly a trend, and [rbST] is driven and our priority being swept up in the wave of companies on what they can say of maintaining current is not infocusing a product,” Galen said. To combat this growing movement, customers.” it is important for all in the industry to CLINT FALL, FIRST DISTRICT ASSOCIATION have a unied voice about the goodness of dairy and the management practices available for farmers. With the FDA’s approval of rbST “We need to stay united as an incame strong opposition from consumers. In 2000, several countries banned dustry and in our communications of the use of rbST including Canada, a positive dairy story,” Schmidt said. Japan, New Zealand, Australia, and “We care for our cows and the products countries within the European Union. we’re producing to share with families “[Those countries] set the stage to just like ours.” Amidst the positive messages beimpact our industry,” Schmidt said. A short time later, uid milk proces- ing told, a fear of the future’s unknown sors in the United States began bottling lingers as another management practice slips away. their product with rbST-free labels. “Safe science and technology are “At one time, customers thought not using rbST would bolster the overall critical for all industries,” Fall said. consumption of dairy in that bottled “How will this impact future innomilk category, but that hasn’t been vations to improve food safety and the case,” Galen said. “Using absence production, disease control and more? claims hasn’t helped anyone sell more We believe this is a step backwards for agriculture, and frankly, very frustratmilk.” That pressure trickled through the ing.” Galen agreed. industry, affecting yogurt and butter, “Once these tools are gone, we can’t and has now arrived at cheese procesbring them back,” he said. “There’s no sors. “The Midwest is the cheese basket sense in crying over spilled milk, but of the United States, and if customers how do we prevent another glass from want rbST-free cheese, it was only a tipping?” matter of time before we had to do
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Page 6 • Dairy Star • Saturday, May 27, 2017
Con�nued from PICKNELLS | Page 1
BRITTANY OLSON/DAIRY STAR
Two of three silos were demolished by an F3 tornado when it struck Cory and Janelle Picknell’s dairy farm on May 16 near Prairie Farm, Wis.
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Seth, who had just graduated from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls that weekend, said this was not the welcome home he wanted. “I’m still in shock. I don’t even know what to say,” Seth said. The tornado, which touched down multiple times and traveled over 60 miles from eastern Polk County to Rusk County before lifting into the sky for good, left signicant destruction in its wake on several dairy farms in its sights. “The silver lining to all of this is that, while the barn came down around us, we were unharmed,” Seth wrote in a Facebook post that went viral after the storm. “Others in the area were not so lucky.”
Unfortunately, the storm claimed one life and left 25 more injured when it ripped through a trailer park between Chetek and Cameron, Wis. on the eastern side of Barron County. Minutes after the tornado passed through, neighbors began to show up in droves to help the Picknell family rise from the rubble. The cows were taken to Janelle’s parents, Julian and Janet Nelson, and neighbor Kevin Roske, who milks about 70 cows, took in all the Picknells’ calves from newborns on milk to six months old. “There were about 100 to 200 people here that rst night, and 300 people a few nights later. We were Turn to PICKNELLS | Page 7
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Cory Picknell and his sons, Seth, Jonah and Kaden, were about to begin milking on the evening of May 16 when a tornado li�ed the roof off of their �estall barn. The Picknells milk 60 cows near Prairie Farm, Wis.
Dairy Star • Saturday, May 27, 2017 • Page 7
ConƟnued from PICKNELLS | Page 6
almost rubbing elbows,” Seth said. Kaden agreed the outpouring of love and support from the community has been overwhelming. “I was surprised at how many people showed up. It’s just crazy,” Kaden said. The decision to rebuild the barn took a matter of a few hours for Cory, while Janelle was still skeptical. “We already rebuilt the barn once when we bought this farm,” Janelle said. “I don’t think I can do it again.” For Cory, dairy farming is all he’s ever wanted. “It’s what I wanted to do, and I try to stay positive,” Cory said. Especially considering the lack of warning, and surviving a storm strong enough to lift the barn roof off its walls, the Picknell family is thankful to have a strong support network, let alone their lives. “Seeing a farm my dad built from nothing to what it is today, and to have it all taken away in a matter of minutes, is heartbreaking. We’re here and the cows are here, and that’s what’s important,” Seth said. “We can rebuild, but you can’t get people back.”
“We’re here and the cows are here, and that’s what’s important. We can rebuild, but you can’t get people back.”
BRITTANY OLSON/DAIRY STAR
The Picknell family is thankful to be alive aŌer surviving a tornado on May 16. No animals were harmed by the twister.
SETH PICKNELL, DAIRY FARMER
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Politics at play in omnibus negotiations Page 8 • Dairy Star • Saturday, May 27, 2017
Congress has passed a $1.1 trillion omni- nal days of the work on the 2017 budget bill. bus spending bill and it was signed by President Trump. This bill funds the government USDA leader plans Canadian trip Ag Insider until the end of September. There was Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perhope the omnibus bill would include due will visit Canada in June. The Cahelp for dairy and cotton farmers. That nadian dairy pricing policy, which has fell apart late in the process. House caused heartburn for U.S. dairy farmAgriculture Committee Chairman Miers, will be addressed. chael Conaway blames Senate Democrats for political gamesmanship. “It’s Senate ag leaders seek action on Caa classic example of what the Senate nadian dairy policy does, in particular (Senate Agriculture Senate Agriculture Committee Committee Ranking Member) Debbie Chair Pat Roberts and Ranking MemStabenow and (Vermont Senator) Pat ber Debbie Stabenow have sent a letter Leahy. They are reckless in the way to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perthey treated cotton and dairy producers. due and Trade Representative Robert By Don Wick I think they intended it to fail, and it Lighthizer about dairy trade. In the Columnist did.” This dust-up over dairy and cotton letter, the lawmakers outline the recent policy may linger into the debate over changes to Canada’s dairy pricing polithe next farm bill. House Agriculture Committee cies. “It is imperative that we hold them accountRanking Member Collin Peterson joined Conaway able for policies that function as trade barriers to in pointing the nger at the Senate. Peterson said U.S. products,” said Roberts and Stabenow in the Senate negotiators sought additional baseline fund- joint letter. ing for agriculture without budget offsets. As the process wore on, congressional leadership aban- Dairy terminology addressed at national conferdoned the entire concept. ence At the National Conference on Interstate Milk Budget drama included dairy and cotton policy Shipments, state regulators voted unanimously for During Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue’s a resolution that seeks clarication of FDA policy rst appearance before the House Agriculture Com- on dairy product terminology. FDA has rules on mittee, cotton and dairy policy got attention. Most the books that has standardized names for milk and agriculture groups agree that those two commodi- milk products. The dairy industry wants the FDA to ties need to see changes in the next farm program. enforce those standards and not allow plant-based Committee Chairman Mike Conaway used his time products to be labeled soymilk or almond milk. during the hearing to again voice frustration over Beth Briczinski, vice president of dairy foods the recent budget negotiations. Conaway criticized and nutrition for the National Milk Producers FedSenate Agriculture Committee Ranking Member eration said, “The FDA needs to stop picking and Debbie Stabenow and Vermont Senator Patrick choosing which regulations it wants to enforce.” Leahy for stabbing cotton farmers in the back by trying to add a dairy assistance program during the S/D report updates dairy numbers According to USDA’s supply/demand report,
U.S. milk production is expected to total 216.9 billion pounds this year. That’s down slightly from the April forecast. The outlook for Class III milk prices was left unchanged. With stronger milk prices and moderate feed prices, 2018 milk production is expected to reach 222 billion pounds. For 2018, Class III milk prices are projected to be in a range of $16.40-to-$17.40 per hundredweight. USDA is forecasting higher cheese and non-fat dry milk prices and lower butter and whey prices next year. April milk production rises Milk production in the 23 major dairy producing states totaled 17.2 billion pounds in April. That’s up 2 percent from April 2016. In Wisconsin, production rose 0.6 percent. Minnesota milk production increased 2 percent. In South Dakota milk, output increased 3.8 percent. Land O’Lakes begins year with an earnings uptick Land O’Lakes is reporting rst quarter net earnings of $110 million, up from $104 million in the same period last year. The dairy foods business performed well, due to improved margins for butter and cheese. Sales were also described as strong for the Land O’Lakes animal feed and crop inputs business. Undeniably Dairy The Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy has launched a new campaign to build consumer condence in dairy products. The campaign is called ‘Undeniably Dairy’ and will educate consumers about dairy foods and dairy farming. National Dairy Board Chair Amber Horn-Leiterman is excited about this multi-year project. “Now we have the means to open that barn door and really share what is undeniably dairy and it gives us a way to reconnect with those consumers and reassure them that we can be trusted.” Turn to AG INSIDER | Page 9
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Dairy Star • Saturday, May 27, 2017 • Page 9
ConƟnued from AG INSIDER | Page 8
Buy local, buy Wisconsin The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection has announced eight local food projects as recipients of its Buy Local, Buy Wisconsin grants. Projects include a collaboration of cheesemakers and a dairy farm that will design and build an affordable cheese aging facility for new and small cheese businesses. Another project was organized by wineries and creameries developing a wine and cheese tourism effort in southwestern Wisconsin. CHS names new president/CEO CHS Inc. has named a new president and CEO. Jay Debertin succeeds Carl Casale, who led the cooperative for the past seven years. Debertin has been with CHS since 1984. Previously, Debertin was the executive vice president and chief operating ofcer for the CHS energy operations and processing food business.
WI FFA Foundation hires new exec John Hromyak is the new executive director for the Wisconsin FFA Foundation. Most recently, Hromyak was the fund director for Edgewood College in Madison. Hromyak is also a lifetime FFA Alumni member. Trivia challenge Congress approved the mandatory beef checkoff program in 1985. That answers our last trivia question. For this week’s trivia, what percentage of U.S. dairy farms are operated by multiple generations? We’ll have the answer in the next edition of Dairy Star. Don Wick is owner/broadcaster for the Red River Farm Network, based in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Wick has been recognized as the National Farm Broadcaster of the Year and served as president of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting. Don and his wife, Kolleen, have two adult sons, Tony and Sam, and ve grandchildren, Aiden, Piper, Adrienne, Aurora and Sterling.
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Page 10 • Dairy Star • Saturday, May 27, 2017
Domeyers named BULK BINS! Outstanding Dairy Farm Family We Have
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The Domeyers – (from le�) Melissa, Jeff, Evan, Cooper, Cole, Brayden and Ted – are this year’s Outstanding Dairy Farm Family, as recogized by the Dubuque County Dairy Promo�on Associa�on. The Domeyers milk 190 cows near Holy Cross, Iowa.
Double D Dairy honored for promotion efforts, milk production By Ron Johnson
ron.j@dairystar.com
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HOLY CROSS, Iowa – When it comes to dairy farming and promotion, the folks at Double D Dairy know their stuff. Owners Jeff, Melissa and Ted Domeyer, and their children were recently honored as the Outstanding Dairy Farm Family by the Dubuque County Dairy Promotion Association. The annual award goes to a family farm that’s committed to protably producing quality milk, according to the association. Other criteria include having a positive attitude, family involvement in the dairy industry and a vision for the future. The Domeyers qualify on all counts. Three generations are involved in the 190-cow, 500-acre farm near Holy Cross, Iowa. Jeff and his wife, Melissa, have three boys: Cole, 14, Evan, 11, and Cooper, 3. Jeff’s brother, Ted, has a son, too – 10-year-old Brayden. What’s more, Jeff and Ted’s parents, John and Shirley, live a few miles from the farm. John, 82, enjoys staying active by feeding a group of heifers for the farm, Ted said. Jim Domeyer, Jeff and Ted’s older brother, helps out on weekends. One way the dairy contributes to the local economy is by employing half a dozen people. Most are high school students working part time, with Justin “Tubby” Ludovissy the lone full-time employee. When it comes to producing quality milk, Domeyers have received awards from their cooperative, Prairie Farms, for the past 12 years, said Ted, who is a director of the cooperative. The Domeyer herd – mostly grade Holsteins, along with a few registered animals for the children to show – on the most recent test had a 25,000-pound average on twice-a-day milking, according to the family. The butterfat test was at 3.9 percent and the protein test was 3.4 percent. When asked about keys to achieving a 25,000-pound herd average, Jeff and Ted mentioned feeding a total mixed ration, storing feed in plastic bags, producing quality forages, using the expertise of a nutritionist, cow comfort and good employees all aid in their success. “You can have everything right in the barn and still not get good milk production if you don’t have people helping you,” Ted said. Getting heifer calves off to a strong start is also
important, the Domeyers said. Calves spend a week in individual pens, to make sure they’re eating well. Then, they are moved into a converted hog nishing building that has four group pens. As calves grow, they move to another pen, until it’s time to leave that barn. The calf building uses an automatic feeder that’s been in place for six years. Calves have access to milk replacer at four feeding stations. Calves are weighed when they enter the building and when they exit. Ted said the farm has achieved an average of 1.91 pounds of daily gain on its calves over the past three years. The death loss, he added, is minimal – just one or two a year. Those gains mean heifers are bred when they’re 13.5 to 14.5 months old. Ted said they calve when they are 22.5 to 24 months old.
“You can have everything right in the barn and still not get good milk production if you don’t have people helping you.” TED DOMEYER, DAIRY FARMER
The calf barn is bedded with straw and uses tunnel ventilation. It’s cleaned using a skid loader. At one time, that building contained 35 individual pens. “It took a lot of hand labor to clean and scrub all the pens. It was pretty labor intensive,” Ted said. The Domeyers reserve articial insemination for their registered cattle. Otherwise, getting cows bred is the responsibility of a bull. Double D Dairy has a main service sire, plus a backup in case the rst bull gets injured. “The bull is on call 24/7 and he likes his job,” Ted said about using an on-farm bull. On the promotion side of things, the Domeyers are longtime members of the county dairy association. Jeff said every dairy farm in the county is a member Turn to DOMEYERS | Page 11
Dairy Star • Saturday, May 27, 2017 • Page 11
ConƟnued from DOMEYERS | Page 10
RON JOHNSON/DAIRY STAR
The Domeyer family’s 190 cows are carrying a 25,000-pound herd average. Ted Domeyer aƩributes some of that success to raising healthy heifers that grow fast, like this calf that is 2 days old. by paying its yearly $5 fee. That money helps pay for other promotion activities that help fund the next year’s activities. “It used to be that every farm up and down the road had milk cows,” Jeff said. “But there is still a fair number in Dubuque County.” Even with fewer dairy farms, the mission of promoting the industry is still important, Jeff said. To that end, the promotion group raises money by renting out soft-serve ice cream machines. They’re popular at events like graduation parties. Domeyer family members are among the dairy farmers who pitch in each year stafng a dairy booth and selling ice cream at the Dubuque County Fair. For other events, the promotion group has a portable “dairy barn.” The building sees use at parades and other community gatherings. A couple years ago, Evan and Brayden were selected to serve as dairy royalty. The boys had the title of Prince Farming. They handed out candy and ice cream at parades and promoted dairying and dairy products at area schools. Melissa, the secretary of the dairy promotion association, said the group has ne-tuned its approach to participating in parades. In years past, the dairy royalty tossed cartons of milk to youngsters. Now, cheese sticks are the dairy treat to toss. “Giving out milk got to be too much work. They didn’t want you throwing the cartons because if the kids missed them, the cartons exploded,” Jeff said, with a smile. “So then we had to start walking around and handing the milk out.” At one time Double D Dairy paid for milk and ice cream to give away, Jeff said. Now the promotion group buys the dairy products. Many county food businesses are dairy promotion association members, and they donate money to the group, Melissa said. So each year, the association recognizes a restaurant, based on
such criteria as whether it serves milk, cheese and real butter. The Domeyers are involved in their community in other ways, too. For example, Melissa is an emergency medical technician (EMT) and reghter with the Holy Cross Volunteer Fire Department. She said she’s planned to become a nurse, but the birth of Cole changed those plans. Melissa is one of the few reghters in the department who does not have a structured work life. That means she can often lend aid when others can’t get away from their jobs. Over the past ve years Melissa has assisted at car crashes and res, and when people have had strokes and heart attacks. “I think the hardest part of being on a small department is you know everybody,” she said. One criterion for receiving the dairy promotion award is having a vision for the future. Double D Dairy’s future might include robotic milkers to replace the 20-year-old, double-10, retrotted milking parlor. The farm already uses a robotic feed pusher. “I’d love to (buy three or four robots),” Ted said. “That’s kind of our ultimate goal.” The Domeyers already know which brand of robot they prefer, and they have a barn layout in mind. “It’s just a matter of nding the barn’s location and just doing it,” Ted said. “But I don’t know if it’s this year or next year.” Like other farmers, the brothers would like to be freed from their milking schedule. Both of them coach their children’s baseball teams, so robotic milkers would make it easier to t coaching into their busy days. “Ball games are all at that ideal milking time,” Jeff said. “And we’ve ducked out of a lot of wedding parties before the food was served to go home and do chores.” It is this dedication that helped them achieve their outstanding award.
Page 12 • Dairy Star • Saturday, May 27, 2017
Industry promoting Undeniably Dairy Dairy Management Inc. will launch new campaign June 1 By Krista Kuzma
krista.k@dairystar.com
Starting June 1, Kathy Skiba will be using her social media pages even more than she does now to promote her farm and the dairy industry. Although she will be doing it because of National June Dairy Month, she also wants to be part of Undeniably Dairy, the newest dairy community campaign that Dairy Management Inc. will launch June 1. “I think it’s going to be an exciting program for dairy farmers,” said Skiba, who milks 160 cows with her family on their dairy near North Branch, Minn. “It’s whole focus is to reintroduce people to dairy so we’re taking a whole new step back and saying we need to do this because consumers are one or two generations removed from understanding the dairy farm and where their food comes from.” During a media brieng on May 15, Barb O’Brien, president of Dairy Management Inc., and the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, said this campaign doesn’t focus on just the dairy farmers, but rather incorporates all people involved in the dairy community – from cooperative leaders and manufacturers to retailers and industry representatives. “Farmers want to know that the rest
of the chain has their back,” O’Brien said. “It’s an industry wide, two-way campaign. Our ability to launch this effort comes because of the hard work of dairy farmers and the total dairy community.” Beth Engelmann, chief marketing and communications ofcer at Dairy Management, Inc., said it is an avenue the dairy community has not taken in the past. “Our objective is to really loudly and proudly, and in a consistent manner, engage with consumers in a way that we build trust and relevance over time,” Engelmann said about the multiyear, multi-media initiative. “It is not a generic campaign.” Speaking as a unied industry is important because consumers are receiving conicted information, Engelmann said. “People are beginning to ask – how much is too much from an environmental standpoint? how much is too much from a nutrition standpoint. Who better to answer these questions than the dairy industry and the leadership coming together in a unied way with a singular category idea,” she said. But the campaign will be managed in a uid manner. “We’re building something that is very nimble. We can evolve this in the moment. This is not an advertising campaign. This is truly a paid, owned, earned engagement campaign that we want to bring to life with the industry over the next three years, at a minimum,” Engelmann said. “We are really moving from responsiveness to
proactiveness …” The four pillars of the campaign focus on dairy products being responsibly produced, locally driven, nutrient-rich and a real enjoyment. The launch of the campaign on June 1 will include a nation-wide milk toast on social media. Locally, Midwest Dairy will be live on Facebook at 6 a.m. from the Krause family’s milking parlor in Buffalo, Minn. The campaign will also include partnerships with The Cooking Channel and Food Network along with relationships with 11 other food inuencers. On TV, there will be 15-, 30- and 60-second advertisement spots promoting Undeniably Dairy, and a pizza chain will feature the campaign logo on its pizza boxes. Ad banners will provide digital engagement along with video pieces and the website, Undeniablydairy.com, will provide dairy information. There will also be a number of on-farm events
across the country. “A lot will be going on in June. From there we will sustain. It’s important to know this is not a one-and-done campaign,” Engelmann said. Amber Horn-Leiterman, a Wisconsin dairy farmer and chair of the National Dairy Promotion and Research Board, is excited for the campaign. “Over the past 10, 20 years we’ve been so focused and driven to do the best we can with our land, water and animals that we’ve forgotten how to open our barn doors and let others in to see what we are doing and why we are doing it,” she said. Opening farms to consumers and sharing dairy stories will help farmers gain the trust of consumers, HornLeiterman said. “[The campaign] gives us a way to reconnect with the consumers and reassure them we can be trusted, and they can feel good about how their food is produced and the dairy farmers who produce it,” she said. Horn-Leiterman wants that to be the case no matter which farm milk is produced. “From my perspective, each of the 50 states has a dairy farmer and we all dairy differently. Sometimes that makes it harder to see what we have in common and what we can achieve if we’re all together and pulling in one direction. No matter how we manage our farms, it comes down to the quality product, we as dairy farmers are nally putting a name to it – that is undeniably dairy,” she said.
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Dairy Star • Saturday, May 27, 2017 • Page 13
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Page 14 • Dairy Star • Saturday, May 27, 2017
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Dairy Star • Saturday, May 27, 2017 • Page 15
How has the addition of a younger generation benefited the dairy?
Tom Weigel and Becca Hilby Platteville, Wis. Grant County 360 cows UW-Platteville – animal science, dairy emphasis, 2011 Describe your farm and the roles you both play. We farm 800 acres of corn, barley and alfalfa, and milk 360 cows from four different herds. Tom is the fourth generation on the farm, and his sons, Tyler and Jake, are the fth generation. Each of us has our own herd, as does Becca, within the 360 cows on the farm. Becca was hired on the farm when she was still in school. She began feeding calves, milking and doing general farm chores and never left. The main herd is owned by Tom and his wife. Why did you decide to dairy farm? Becca: It started when I was in 4-H at 8 years old. A local farmer in my hometown of Sussex, Wis., offered his cows to anyone who wanted to show. I never stopped after that. I did dairy judging, dairy bowl, went to school for it, started here and have stayed ever since. What prior work experience did you have before joining the dairy operation? Becca: I worked for a farm in Sussex and another dairy until I was a sophomore in college. I came to Weigel Dairy during my sophomore year. What kind of information did you learn while in school or working elsewhere that you were able to bring to the dairy? Becca: When we started raising calves onsite, I helped to develop and ne tune the protocols. Also, attending events, such as World Dairy Expo, helps us to suck in information which has beneted us. What changes did you make on your dairy to bring in another person to the operation? Tom: I started bringing different people to the dairy in 2000. My nephew was losing his barn and needed a place to go. We talked it over, and he brought his cows here until he could nd a farm. Once he moved away, I helped another young farmer in the area establish a herd while my sons worked into it. In 2010, he left and my sons got into it. Once Becca got here, she wanted a few cows, so she brought in Brown Swiss. I gure it is a way for people to get more involved on the farm, so it is not just a job. She does a great job of managing the herd and calves. How has the addition of a younger generation beneted the dairy? It is the way it has to be these days. If farmers do not get younger generations involved on the farm, it eventually results in a farm sale and quitting the business. It is essential to keep this industry alive. If young people aren’t involved, family farms will no longer exist. What compromises have you each had to make in order to make this work? We compromise every day; that’s just the way farming is. The good thing is that we get along well. Communication is the best thing to keep generations working together. We both love and want the same things on the farm: good producing cows. We don’t often disagree, but when we do, we go with whatever the best decision is for the dairy. Experience is what helps a farm succeed; we learn from our failures and successes. Real life challenges are the part they don’t teach you in school but keep the farm going.
John Shea and TJ Roth Banner Ridge Farms Platteville, Wis. Grant County 280 cows UW-Platteville – animal science dairy emphasis, 2011 Describe your farm and the roles you both play. John: My wife, LuAnn, and I started the farm in 1974 with 30 cows and some Chester White pigs. We have grown to 280 milking cows, plus dry cows, heifers and calves. We farm 700 crop acres and have 50 acres of pasture. We are blessed to have the best people to work with and as partners. We have 15 full- and part-time employees. We do most of our own mechanic work, metal fabrication and repair, and building construction, along with all the work of running the dairy. My main role is overseeing the nances, loans, Farm Service Agency involvement, insurance, legal matters, and ordering fertilizer, seed and chemicals. My role keeps getting less and less as we turn over more to TJ, our son, Steve, and daughter, Jill. TJ: Our crops include corn, alfalfa, wheat and soybeans. We use rye and oats as cover crops. My duties include the health care and management of all cattle over 6 months old, plus cropping and forage management, feeding and day-to-day operations. Why did you decide to dairy farm? TJ: I was not raised on a dairy farm, but was baby-sat at my grandparents’ farm. My grandpa is who taught me of my love of cattle and for the land. I have six uncles who’ve milked cows, so I guess you could say dairy is in my blood. My favorite thing about dairying is trying to constantly do better. Whether it’s feed, yields or cow comfort, getting the end results makes all the long, hard hours well worth it. What work experience did you have before joining the dairy operation? TJ: I’ve worked for a fabrication shop, a custom farming crew, a landscaping crew, a few grain farms and multiple other dairy farms. What kind of information did you learn while in school or working elsewhere that you were able to bring to the dairy? TJ: Never quit learning. The only constant is change, and the better one can deal with adversity, the better the outcome will be. Surround yourself with a team you can trust and utilize that team to its full potential. What changes did you make on your dairy to bring in another person to the operation? John: In 2006, we built the rst freestall barn and went from 80 milking to 160. In 2012, we built another barn bringing us up to 270 milking. In 2014, we added heifer housing, and in 2015, we added a new milking parlor. Now, we are adding room for 200 more cows. We now have monthly business meetings, weekly employee meetings, and try to follow Jolene Brown’s business rst family model for running our farm business. How has the addition of a younger generation beneted the dairy? They have added more energy and enthusiasm to the business. It has beneted the dairy in that the work load is split up, and we can do a better job with the cows, crops and repairs. One person doesn’t have to be responsible for everything. What compromises have you each had to make in order to make this work? TJ: I always wanted to dairy, and working with John and Luann was a better way than trying to start on my own. I had to adapt to the mental mindset of a partnership versus sole ownership. Sometimes what I think is best is not what everyone else may think is best, and this can also be a good thing because it gives me another perspective. John: We treat our partners as partners. This is not a sole proprietorship. We’ve also given them enough equity in the business so they can hit the ground running and grow the farm business.
Paul, Matt and Carl Lippert Pittsville, Wis. Wood County 490 cows Paul: UW-River Falls – dairy science, 2012, Carl: UW-River Falls – dairy science, 2013; UWStevens Point – computer science, 2015 Describe your farm and the roles you both play. Paul is the herdsman and human resources manager, and Matt does all the nancials, as well as keeping relationships with landlords that we rent from. He works off the farm with the University of Wisconsin-Extension, and does most of the higher-level farm management. Carl works with crops, feeding and policy. Why did you decide to dairy farm? Paul, Carl: We like the independent aspect of farming, and that’s very important to us. Having the farm already established while having room for improvement allowed us to come in, make our marks and have more control over our destiny while fullling our dreams of being entrepreneurs. What prior work experience did you have before joining the dairy operation? Paul had internships with Accelerated Genetics and Genes Diffusion in France, giving him experience with genetics, as well as a three-week work study with a larger dairy. Carl’s experience consists of an internship with Valley Ag Software learning about the state of dairy software. He also did a study abroad in Europe, visiting many farms and studying their feeding technology. We’ve spent a lot of time before college and during the summers on our home farm and local farms, doing odds and ends, like clipping cows. What kind of information did you learn while in school or working elsewhere that you were able to bring to the dairy? Carl learned how diverse and complex the industry is, while being able to monitor trends and apply those fundamentals to our own farm while making tough decisions. Paul agrees, and college gave him a solid foundation to build upon when coming home to farm, such as understanding protocols and learning how to speak that language before applying it in real life. What changes did you make on your dairy to bring in another person to the operation? Matt: The business structure we had was very helpful in bringing Paul and Carl into the operation, and Matt had to give up some shares in the farm in order to let the boys have some ownership and responsibility. How has the addition of a younger generation beneted the dairy? We were short on management. Matt is a manager, but with a full time off farm job he only had so much time to devote to the dairy. Attention to detail was something unique the boys brought to the table. The boys’ involvement in programs at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, such as Dairy Challenge, allowed them to bring ideas to the table we might not have seen otherwise, and allowed us to step up our game. What compromises have you each had to make in order to make this work? Having different job descriptions has enabled Paul and Carl to interact better with each other, while trusting in what the other is doing. We both let each other do our own thing, and it lets us get along.
Page 16 • Dairy Star • Saturday, May 27, 2017
Promoting their way of life
Schuhs preparing for Pepin County dairy breakfast June 10 By Brittany Olson
brittany.o@dairystar.com
ROCK FALLS, Wis. – During a typical year, Larry Schuh would have done some whitewashing before moving on to spring planting. This year is a little different for one major reason. “We’d normally have the barn washed and whitewashed by now, and the lawn mowed,” Schuh said with a chuckle. “Not this year. We want things to look extra nice.” Schuh, who milks 65 cows near Rock Falls, Wis., with his wife, Christina, is delaying his round barn’s annual facelift so it sparkles at its brightest when the farm hosts the Pepin County Town and Country dairy breakfast on June 10. Yes, the cows are milked in an octagon-shaped round barn with an addition. Schuh’s mother, Beatrice, and father, Richard, bought the farm in 1947 one year after getting married. The barn, built by the farm’s previous owners, was there when the family arrived. “We milked about 12 cows in the octagon with a poured silo in the center,” said Beatrice, who still resides on the farm at 89 years old. The farm grew and evolved over the years as technology and equipment continued to advance. Beatrice recalled one harrowing aspect of modernization at the Schuh farm. “To put in a barn cleaner, we had to take out the silo,” Beatrice said. “I had to go check on Richard as he knocked the silo down one chunk at a time. It was scary sometimes.” After installing the barn
cleaner in the octagon, as the Schuhs call it, one center aisle was built with stalls on either side as opposed to having the cows oriented in the same fashion as the barn they were housed in. An addition was built later to bring the herd to its current size, so now the two respective aisles form an L shape. As if knocking down a silo stave by stave wasn’t scary enough, the Schuh farm received widespread media attention after a large ying object crashed on their farm in 1974. “Larry was in the elds after school that afternoon chopping feed for the cows when he saw it coming,” Beatrice said. The large object, which had been hovering over the Rock Falls area for a day or so, was actually a research balloon commandeered by the University of Bristol in England and launched in Sioux Falls, S.D. Researchers were hoping to use the balloon to measure cosmic ray intensities. Before it crashed, the balloon measured 36 stories high. The equipment inside the balloon ended up landing in the Chippewa River near the I-94 bridge in Eau Claire, Wis. “It was at an altitude of 130,000 feet,” Beatrice said. “Someone came the next day and paid us $60 to bury it.” Larry, who was 15 at the time, now shrugs it off. Beatrice still has several newspaper clippings from the event. “I guess I don’t think it was a big deal,” he said, laughing. Since Larry came home to the farm right out of high school and bought it in the early 1980s,
BRITTANY OLSON/DAIRY STAR
Beatrice and Larry Schuh dairy farm near Rock Falls, Wis. The Schuhs milk 65 cows, and are hosting this year’s Pepin County Town and Country Dairy Breakfast on June 10. the farm has slowly continued to grow and diversify. He now owns 720 acres and rents another 150. “Our cow numbers have stayed the same,” Larry said. “We’ve gotten bigger with acreage and diversication, such as raising steers and growing vegetables for a canning company.” Having a reliable labor force has enabled Schuh to broaden his farming portfolio and take some time off here and there. His employee, Galen Brantner, has been on their farm for over 20 years, in addition to a college student and a high schooler. As for the cows, Larry doesn’t push for production. “We don’t purchase much, either,” Larry said. “We put up good feed and take what we can get.” Larry, at 57 years old, is also a newlywed and new stepfather. He met Christina, a native of the Philippines, online while she
BRITTANY OLSON/DAIRY STAR
One of the hallmarks on the Schuh family farm near Rock Falls, Wis., is their octagon-shaped round barn.
was living in England, and the couple married in December of 2016 with Christina’s daughters, Elizabeth and Isabelle, joining the family. In an interesting sequence of events, Christina would end up having family in the neighborhood when she moved to the area. “Christina’s cousin, Ning, married our neighboring farmer, Bob Meixner,” Beatrice said. When the Pepin County Dairy Promotions Committee came knocking on the Schuhs’ door to host this year’s dairy breakfast, they took the oppor-
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BRITTANY OLSON/DAIRY STAR
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tunity and ran with it. “The committee thought we were a good t in terms of parking areas and shed space,” Larry said. “They wanted a smaller farm that people grew up with and could identify with, also.” Between an operational round barn, diverse enterprises, and plenty of stories to tell from the decades that have passed, Larry Schuh and his family will have the chance of a lifetime to share their farm’s history at the Pepin County Town and Country Dairy Breakfast. “You’ve got to promote yourself,” Larry said.
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Dairy Star • Saturday, May 27, 2017 • Page 17
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Page 18 • Dairy Star • Saturday, May 27, 2017
Repro Leaders
Truttmann Dairy, LLC uses activity monitors to catch heats, watch herd health
Dan Truttmann Truttmann Dairy, LLC Blanchardville, Wis. Green County 420 cows
What was your average pregnancy rate last year? 32 percent What is your voluntary waiting period for cows? 85 days. Ten to 11 months for heifers. What is your ďƒžrst-service conception rate? 52 percent What is your reproduction program? Do you use a synchronization program? We rely heavily on our activity monitors to do the work, and use minimal hormones. We only do a cleanup prostaglandin shot on cows that have had a retained placenta, and we don’t get many of those. CIDRs and synch programs are used on cystic cows and problem breeders, but our goal is to reduce the number of those over time by continuing to breed for better fertility and culling problem breeders. Cows that are 20 days past the start of the voluntary waiting period (105 DIM) get two lutalyse shots 24 hours apart and are bred off of their activity. Our Genex breeder, Lindsey Geddes, does a
RON JOHNSON/DAIRY STAR
Dan (right) and Dwight TruĆŠmann’s 420-cow herd maintains a pregnancy rate of 32 percent on their dairy, TruĆŠmann Farm, in Green County near Blanchardville, Wis. Dan is the ďƒžĹŒh generaĆ&#x;on on the family farm, which was established in 1899.
Turn to TRUTTMANN | Page 20
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Dairy Star • Saturday, May 27, 2017 • Page 19
“...setting our fresh cows up for...quality.” — Ben Post
CORNER POST FARM, Ben Post CHANDLER, MINNESOTA 50 cows 22,000M 90-150,000 SCC “We have been using Udder Comfort™ for almost 10 years for fresh cows and hard quarters. We like how well it works to soften and remove swelling, and no milk withhold,” say Ben and Wyatt Post of Corner Post Farm, Chandler, Minnesota. The Post family was Minnesota farm family of the year for Murray County in 2012. “We have tried other products that did not give us the results we see with Udder Comfort. It performs better than anything else,” Ben explains.
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Page 20 • Dairy Star • Saturday, May 27, 2017
ConƟnued from TRUTTMANN | Page 18 fantastic job getting the cows bred and is a stickler for details. She knows the cows well, and works calmly and quietly around the herd.
When tail chalking, we were breeding too soon, especially when using sexed semen. Also, focusing on cow health through disease prevention and good nutrition is our key to reproductive success. A good breeding program starts in late lactation by making sure the cow is in proper body condition and is walking well; thanks to good feet and leg structure and a good hoof trimming and foot bath protocol. A balanced dry-cow diet and pre-fresh diet ensures successful calving with few retained placentas, and the cows are able to get into a positive energy balance. Our good conception rate allows us to have a longer voluntary waiting period, giving cows more weeks to get ready for breeding.
How do you observe for heat? We have been using SCR rumination and activity monitors on collars for two years and rely solely on the system for heat detection. We were tail chalking, but are seeing better pregnancy rates since buying the SCR system. Lindsey gets an e-mail list every morning of cows to be bred and the ideal time to breed. She does her best to tailor her schedule to get here near the optimum time. She also uses the SCR app on her phone for updates as needed throughout the day.
Dwight and Dan TruƩmann usegroup pens with straw bedding for their calf raising program. An automaƟc system reduces labor and ensures calves are fed frequently. sire selection. Genex creates the mating for my herd, using bulls I choose based on pedigree and a type evaluation of the cows.
semen. Most cows are bred with sexed semen on the rst and second service, except in times of extreme heat.
How are cows and heifers bred? Do you have a different philosophy for breeding both? Heifers are custom raised from 5 months of age until they are pregnant, but the philosophy is the same: Keep them healthy so they show good heats and have high conception rates with minimal intervention needed. Heifers are bred exclusively with sexed
What do you do to settle hard breeders? We’ll use CIDRs on problem breeders and breed to beef for better conception. And, to make sure we don’t get daughters from problem breeders back in the herd. How many times do you try to breed a cow before you sell her? For rst-lactation cows, I
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Is there anything you have done or changed that brought about a signicant improvement in your reproductive program? The SCR activity monitoring has made a signicant impact on our reproduction success by helping us have accurate timing of insemination.
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Bongards’ Store
try ve times if they are good producers with low cell counts. Most others we’ll stop at four services or 200 DIM. But, thankfully, we don’t get too many of those.
Tell us about your farm. My family has farmed here since 1899, and I am the fth generation to own and operate the dairy, which includes 400 acres owned and 400 rented. We have grown from 60 cows in the early 1990s to our current size, and have transitioned from Holsteins to crossbreds. We have been breeding to all Jerseys since 2012 and are happy with our decision to focus on developing a quality herd of high-genetic merit cows. My wife, Shelly, and I will have all three of our kids at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the fall, but we have a good crew to keep things running without them, including my brother, Doug, and father, Dwight.
www.albanychrysler.com
What is your breeding philosophy? How do you select bulls? What traits do you focus on? Does fertility play a role in bull selection? We use genomic tested sires in the top 10 percent for cheese merit, while being careful to avoid bulls with high SCS, negative DPR or a low Jersey Udder Index (JPI). I feel the cheese merit index and the JPI match the traits which are important for long-term protability. The indexes simplify
RON JOHNSON/DAIRY STAR
www.albanychrysler.com
How do you conrm pregnant or open cows? We pregnancy check every two weeks, using ultrasound on cows over 29 days and again at 80 to 90 days. Heifers are checked monthly, also with ultrasound.
Dairy Star • Saturday, May 27, 2017 • Page 21
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Over 1200 items with pictures updated daily • Go to www.mmcjd.com COMPACT EXCAVATORS 5 JD 35D, 2008, 975 hrs., #138103 .................... $27,900 1 JD 35G, 2015, 460 hrs., #135570.......................... $32,000 4 JD 50D, 2008, 1525 hrs., #135625.......................... $36,000 13 JD 60G, 2016, 82 hrs., #134364.......................... $71,900 11 JD 60G, 2015, 641 hrs., #130535.......................... $62,500 4 JD 60G, 2013, 1200 hrs., #138204.......................... $53,900 COMPACT TRACK LOADERS 13 JD 317G, 2016, 147 hrs., #133454.......................... $47,900 10 JD 323D, 2011, 1050 hrs. #134454.......................... $37,900 6 JD 323E, 2015, 147 hrs., #134295.......................... $56,300 8 JD 323E, 2016, 160 hrs., #137785.......................... $54,900 7 JD 323E, 2015, 334 hrs., #129368 ........................ $49,500 5 JD 329E, 2014, 240 hrs., #131459.......................... $61,900 8 JD 329E, 2014, 419 hrs., #128337.......................... $54,500 10 JD 333D, 2012, 690 hrs., #130565.......................... $51,900 13 JD 333E, 2016, 205 hrs., #134366.......................... $69,900 13 JD 333E, 2016, 230 hrs., #134365 ........................ $69,900 13 JD 333E, 2015, 180 hrs., #134320.......................... $68,900 13 JD 333E, 2015, 268 hrs., #129971.......................... $66,900 6 JD 333E, 2015, 207 hrs., #130057.......................... $66,500 7 JD 333E, 2014, 747 hrs., #133945.......................... $63,900 2 JD 333E, 2014, 870 hrs., #135021.......................... $59,900 8 JD CT322, 2006, 3290 hrs., #131411.......................... $22,900 13 JD CT322, 2008, 2650 hrs., #138093.......................... $19,900 LARGE SQUARE BALERS 4 JD L330, 2016, 1030 Bale Count, #125100........................$122,900 10 JD L330, 2015, 902 Bale Count, #119685 ......................$119,900
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6 JD 459 SILAGE SPECIAL, 2015, 2200 Bale Count, #137412.......................... $33,500 4 JD 459 SILAGE SPECIAL, 2013, #134718 ........................ $32,500 5 JD 468 SILAGE SPECIAL, 2012, 2215 Bale Count, #132115.......................... $31,900 6 JD 569 SILAGE SPECIAL, 2015, 750 Bale Count, #134962.......................... $44,500 10 JD 582 SILAGE SPECIAL, 2006 11436 Bale Count, #132056.......................... $18,500 10 NH BR7090, 2012, 7110 Bale Count, #133944.......................... $22,900 1 CIH RB564, 2008, 3080 Bale Count, #129522.......................... $23,000 SKID STEER LOADERS 12 JD 240, 2000, 1340 hrs., #138075.......................... $14,999 1 JD 315, 2014, 66 hrs., #113452.......................... $28,900 1 JD 315, 2014, 72 hrs., #113451.......................... $28,900 10 JD 320, 2007, 1577 hrs., #138120.......................... $19,800 13 JD 325, 2008, #138043.......................... $19,900 9 JD 318D, 2011, 389 hrs., #134073.......................... $30,900 9 JD 318D, 2013, 890 hrs., #135024.......................... $29,500 9 JD 318D, 2013, 945 hrs., #135025.......................... $29,500 8 JD 318E, 2015, 46 hrs., #134905.......................... $36,900 8 JD 318E, 2015, 478 hrs., #136780.......................... $33,500 8 JD 318E, 2015, 2200 hrs., #135979.......................... $26,500 8 JD 320D, 2013, 1020 hrs., #133492.......................... $32,900 8 JD 320E, 2015, 115 hrs., #130568.......................... $39,900 2 JD 320E, 2015, 178 hrs., #115882.......................... $38,465 4 JD 320E, 2014, 475 hrs., #135901.......................... $35,900 4 JD 320E, 2014, 601 hrs., #134794.......................... $34,900
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$
10 JD 320E, 2014, 1026 hrs., #135139.......................... $34,900 6 JD 320E, 2015, 1591 hrs., #134169.......................... $30,900 5 JD 320E, 2014, 1813 hrs., #125994.......................... $28,900 10 JD 320E, 2015, 2290 hrs., #135972.......................... $26,900 8 JD 324E, 2016, 60 hrs., #137786.......................... $45,000 6 JD 324E, 2016, 295 hrs., #138222..........................$41,000 7 JD 326D, 2012, 210 hrs., #135673.......................... $40,500 7 JD 326D, 2012, 250 hrs., #135015.......................... $38,500 4 JD 326E, 2016, 108 hrs., #138239.......................... $46,000 9 JD 326E, 2016, 65 hrs., #126370.......................... $45,900 12 JD 326E, 2015, 136 hrs., #118578.......................... $44,900 6 JD 326E, 2014, 210 hrs., #131457.......................... $42,900 4 JD 326E, 2014, 860 hrs., #127652.......................... $37,500 2 JD 326E, 2014, 1951 hrs., #126744.......................... $29,900 11 JD 328E, 2014, 531 hrs., #127230.......................... $46,900 4 JD 332D, 2012, 612 hrs., #127231.......................... $46,000 11 JD 332E, 2015, 122 hrs., #135560.......................... $55,000 8 JD 332E, 2014, 1345 hrs., #132664.......................... $42,900 11 Bobcat S130, 2008, 252 hrs., #136868.......................... $27,300 7 Bobcat S185, 2008, 5666 hrs., #134431.......................... $18,900 WINDROWERS 2 JD 4995, 2009, 1450 hrs., #132150.......................... $82,500 5 JD W235, 2014, 584 hrs., #134973........................$145,000 6 JD W235, 2014, 865 hrs., #133186........................$139,000 8 JD W260, 2015, 417 hrs., #132464........................$162,000
JD 6140D, 2013, $ 140 hp., 378 hrs., #131138
62,500
Page 22 • Dairy Star • Saturday, May 27, 2017
OPENINGS AVAILABLE!
Feine-Est Heifer Farm has openings for 500 head of dairy replacement heifers from wet calves to springers.
‘12 Meyer MS 350 Spreader, Excellent Condition - $9,500
We are a family-run operation with 19 years of heifer raising experience in Rushford, MN. We believe that a strong herd starts with strong nutrition and attention to care. We keep meticulous records, well-ventilated barns and practice humanely. Excellent references available.
‘10 Kuhn Knight 8118 Slinger Spreader, going thru shop, new
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WISCONSIN Advanced Dairy/Bob’s Dairy Supply Spring Valley, WI 715-772-3201 Ederer Dairy Supply Plain, WI 608-546-3713 Joe’s Refrigeration Inc. Withee, WI 715-229-2321 Mlsna Dairy Supply Inc. Cashton, WI 608-654-5106 Professional Dairy Services Waunakee, WI 608-849-5043
Mondovi Dairy Systems Inc. Mondovi, WI 715-926-5777 West Salem, WI 608-769-2113 The Scharine Group Inc. Whitewater, WI 800 472-2880 Mt Horeb, WI 800-872-3470 MINNESOTA & SOUTH DAKOTA D&D Ag Supply Pennock, MN 320-599-4466
East Central Dairy Supply Mora, MN 320-679-1029 Genex Farm Systems Melrose, MN 320-256-3276 Watertown, MN 605-886-7401 Sioux Falls, SD 800-284-0015 S&S Dairy System LLC St. Charles, MN 507-932-4288 Professional Dairy Systems Wadena, MN 218-632-5416
is a registered trademark of Tetra Laval Holdings & Finance S.A. and “DeLaval” is a registered trade/servicemark of DeLaval Holding AB © 2017 DeLaval Inc. DeLaval, 11100 North Congress Avenue, Kansas City, Missouri 64153-1296. www.delaval.com
The work of dairy checkoff
I’ve had a couple of experiences the last few weeks which reminded me of the important mission of your dairy checkoff. One experience was a trip to Washington, D.C., to sit in on a meeting of most of the commodity checkoff groups operating across the United States, representing products from soybeans to watermelons, and quite a few in between. The conversation reminded me of the huge responsibility we have to both farmers and consumers. One part of our discussion was focused on how a checkoff is sometimes misunderstood. Lawmakers often mistake the checkoff for an effort funded by By Lucas Lentsch taxpayers, rather than the farm- Midwest Dairy ers who produce the commod- Association CEO ity. We each have a charge to help legislators understand that farmers are the ones investing in the checkoff’s work to promote dairy products, educate consumers on nutrition and food safety, and research new dairy uses. By law, Midwest Dairy and other checkoff groups cannot lobby or take a position on policy, but we can help legislators understand the work of our checkoff organization. I encourage you to reach out to your elected federal lawmakers and explain how you’ve invested in the dairy checkoff. Another experience addresses our ongoing commitment to consumers on your behalf. We’re preparing a new strategic plan to guide us for the next few years – using input gathered from our dairy farmer board, project partners, our staff and stakeholders. In fact, Dairy Star was among those interviewed. The feedback clearly revealed that as Midwest Dairy, we are expected to build a bridge between consumers and dairy farm families. It’s easy to imagine farmers on one side of a table and consumers on the other. Those of us on the farmer side speak to each other easily, and we’re pretty good at talking at the other side (the consumer). But I wonder, could we do better if we walked around to the other side of the table and sat down with the consumer for a while?
C Consumers h have said id ffarmers are trustworthy. Trust gives farmers a unique opportunity to lead the food conversation... Consumers have said farmers are trustworthy. Trust gives farmers a unique opportunity to lead the food conversation, not just follow the work of brands that capitalize on the latest hot product trend. And the best way to lead a conversation just might be to reinvent ourselves; not necessarily bending to the whims of the consumer, but truly thinking about how we can give consumers dairy in whatever form they prefer. When the dairy checkoff began in 1984, there were certain expectations for the promotion, education and product research work which would ensue. But our industry and our consumers have changed. The money you invest in the dairy checkoff in 2017 will be spent differently than in 1984. There was a time when we may have thought we could educate our way into increased dairy consumption. That’s no longer the case. The consumer wants to know how choosing dairy benets their life. We need to meet the consumer where they are. The food conversation happening in our country and around the world is full of noise. As we look to the future, we’re thinking about where we haven’t yet been, and making sure we continue to speak the truth about dairy in a way that gives everyone the freedom to come home to dairy. Together, we can each do our part to join the conversation; not by shouting but by listening, then leading.
Celebrate June Dairy Month with breakfast on the farm
Dairy Star • Saturday, May 27, 2017 • Page 23
C L E A N R O TA R Y R A K I N G A C T I O N
Green County Breakfast on the Farm, May 27 The Green County Breakfast on the Farm will be 6-10 a.m. at Rollin’ Green Dairy Farm Inc., The McNeely Family, W425 Elmer Rd., Brooklyn, Wis. Menu includes scrambled eggs, sausage, Green County Award Winning cheese, homemade coffee cakes, strawberry sundaes, milk, coffee and orange juice. Meet the McNeely Family, their dairy cows and the Green County Dairy Queens and Fairest of the Fair. Enjoy delicious breakfast, the arts and crafts fair, antique tractor display and educational stations. The Fabulous Farm Babe, Pam Jahnke, will host the stage program, including live music by the Soggy Prairie Boys. There is parking adjacent to the farm. Free bus shuttles are available all morning from the Albany Lion’s Club, New Glarus High School and Monroe Walmart. Cost is $6 for adults, $4 for children ages 6-10, children 5 and under are free. For more information, visit www.greencountyagchest.com. Crawford County Dairy Breakfast, June 3 The Crawford County Dairy Breakfast will be 6-10 a.m. at Steger Farms – Terry Steger, Tim, Char, Jessica and Emily Steger, 60724 Irish Ridge Road, Prairie du Chien, Wis. Parking is available at the farm. Shuttle service is also available. Southwest Bus Services will be running buses from Blackhawk Junction every 15 minutes, starting at 5:45 a.m. Last bus leaves Blackhawk Junction at 9 a.m. and leaves the farm at 10:30 a.m. Menu includes all-you-can-eat breakfast of pancakes, sausage, sliced cheese, cheese curds, applesauce, pudding, coffee and milk, and Culver’s custard cones and shakes. Bring the entire family enjoy the dairy operation and lots of door prizes. Cost is $2 for adults, children 6-12 are $1, 5 and under are free. For more information, contact Mary Jo Johnsrude, (608)-3910134. 37th Annual Vernon County Dairy Breakfast, June 3 The 37th Annual Vernon County Dairy Breakfast will be 7-11 a.m. at Hamburg Hills Farm, E2556 Hamburg Ridge Rd., Stoddard, Wis. Enjoy a full breakfast of scrambled eggs, sausage, pancakes, cheese, yogurt, coffee, milk and more. There will be wagon farm tours, kids’ activities and petting zoo, attend the dairy princess coronation, go through the display of antique tractors, “Be the Match” registration displays and live radio broadcast. Cost is $6 for adults, children under 10 are $2. Free shuttle service from Southern Bluffs Elementary School starting at 7 a.m., Coon Valley Elementary School starting at 7 a.m. and Hideaway Restaurant, lower Chaseburg, starting at 7:20 a.m. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/VernonCountyDairyBreakfast/ 37th Annual Monroe County June Dairy Breakfast, June 3 The 37th Annual Monroe County June Dairy Breakfast will be 7-11 a.m. at Mlsna East Town Dairy, at the intersection of Knapp Valley Rd and County Hwy D, Cashton, Wis. Parking is available at 30962 County Highway D, Cashton, Wis. Parking will be available for shuttle buses at the Cashton Elementary School parking lot as well as the Cashton Village Park. These parking lots are accessible right off Hwy 33 as you come into Cashton from the west. Menu is ham and cheese omelets, pancakes, toast, coffecake, cheese, milk and coffee. There will be educational displays, children’s activities, modern dairy farm tours, antique tractor displays, horse drawn wagon rides and petting zoo. Cost is $5 for adults, $3 for children 6-10, children 5 and under are free. For more information visit www.facebook.com/monroecountydairybreakfast/
A NEW WORLD DEMANDS PROROTOR™ ROTARY HAY RAKES.
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N E W W AY S T O D R Y H AY
T H E P R O F E S S I O N A L W AY
Jackson County on the Farm Breakfast, June 3 The Jackson County On the Farm Breakfast will be 6-11 a.m. at Stardome Farm, N10235 Old Stage Rd, Alma Center, Wis. Parking is available at the farm. Menu includes pancakes, sausage, milk, cranberry juice, cheese and applesauce. There will be a dairy product giveaway, ice cream, live radio broadcast, information and product booths, antique and farm machinery, horse drawn rides, master gardeners to answer questions, kids games, cheese making, petting zoo and music by Living Stones. Cost is $6 for adults, $3 for children. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/jacksoncountydairypromotion. Iowa County Dairy Breakfast, June 3 The Iowa County Dairy Breakfast will be 6:30-10:30 a.m. at Go For Broke Dairy Farm, 3544 County Road B, Dodgeville, Wis. Parking is available at the farm. Menu includes pancakes, omelets made with ham and cheese, sausage, applesauce, cheese, yogurt, milk, coffee and Culver’s frozen custard sundaes for dessert. There will be a petting zoo, face painting, balloon artists, moo-cow train, live music and door prizes. Cost is $6 for adults, children 4-10 are $3, 4 years and under are free. For more information, visit www. facebook.com/iowacountydairypromotion/ Abbotsford Dairy Breakfast, June 4 The Abbotsford Dairy Breakfast will be 7 a.m. - 1 p.m. at Lonely Mile Holsteins Farm/Jeff and Jill Pinter Family, N15136 Romadka Ave., Curtiss, Wis. Parking is available at the farm. Cost is $5 for adults and $3 for children 6-12, 5 and under are free. Breakfast in the Valley, June 9 The Breakfast in the Valley will be 5-10 a.m. at Eau Claire County Expo Center, 5530 Fairview Dr., Eau Claire, Wis. Menu includes scrambled eggs with ham, cheese, mushrooms and onions, mufns, cheese, cheese curds, bananas, milk, orange juice, coffee, corn akes with Culver’s custard and strawberries. In addition to breakfast, there will be ag product displays, business displays, farm animals, door prize drawings, a milk drinking contest with local celebrities, antique tractors, the Friend of Agriculture Award, Conservation Farmer Award and a visit from the newly-crowned Alice in Dairyland and Fairest of the Fair. Kaeding Dairy, LLC from Augusta will be at the breakfast showcasing information about their farm. The rst 2,700 people will receive a commemorative Breakfast in the Valley coffee mug compliments of Eau Claire Energy Cooperative. Cost is $7 for adults, $2 for ages 3-12, free for age 2 and under. For more information, visit www.eauclairechamber.org/breakfast-in-the-valley.html Dane County Breakfast on the Farm, June 10 The Dane County Breakfast on the Farm will be 7-11:30 a.m. at Blue Star Dairy, 5191 Vosen Road, Middleton, Wis. Parking will be available in a eld on the farm. Tractors with wagons will provide rides within the elds. Handicap parking will be available across the street from the farm yard. Drivers with golf cart-like trams will assist guests across the road to the farm yard. Menu includes cheesy scrambled eggs, pancakes, sausage, yogurt, custard, milk and coffee. Hear emcee Pam Jahnke, farm broadcaster, as she interviews the hosts. Enjoy live music from The Soggy Prairie Boys. Bump paws with Bucky Badger. Meet Maynard from Mallard’s Baseball. Explore the Expo Area featuring dairy information and food samples. Learn about dairy at education stations: calves, milking area, feed, and freestall barn. Take a horse-drawn wagon ride sponsored by Treinen Farm. Get your Cow Spots painted and play games in the kids activity area. View the large machinery display. Cost is $8 for adults, $4 for kids. For more information, visit www.danecountydairy. com/breakfast-on-the-farm/.
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The next issue of the Dairy Star is published June 10th. Advertising and news deadline is Friday, June 2nd.
Page 24 • Dairy Star • Saturday, May 27, 2017
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Visit Bobcat.com/Offers or stop by today for details. *Offer ends 6/30/2017. Available at participating and eligible dealers only. Offer may vary by product type, series, model and select units in dealer inventory. Offers available on new equipment in US and Canada only. Some restrictions apply. Length of contract may vary. Prior purchases not eligible. See dealer for details. Financing provided on approval of credit by authorized Bobcat finance providers to well-qualified buyers. Administrative fees may apply. Offer not available to government accounts, national accounts and municipal/utility bid customers. Non-commercial customers may not be eligible for low rate financing. Bobcat Company reserves the right to extend or discontinue any of these programs at any time without prior notice. Bobcat®, the Bobcat logo and the colors of the Bobcat machine are registered trademarks of Bobcat Company in the United States and various other countries.
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My optimism, once again, springs eternal It’s been a little more than a month, and miracle of miracles, the Wisconsin Weeping Willow tree I placed into the fertile earth is still alive. I consider that a miracle because I have poor luck with trees. Case in point: One of the two sweet cherry trees I introduced in my young orchard last year is with us no more. Oh, it’s there in body, but not in soul. The young tree is a mere Rural Roots lifeless stick with promising – but dead – buds on its small branches. There are no leaves, no blossoms. I blame the tree’s demise on the dreaded winterkill. This particular variety is supposed to be able to withstand temperatures as low as 20 degrees below zero. I suspect the good folks at the nursery neglected to inform the cherry tree. On the other hand, its orchardmate, a different cultivar (I have always hated that word), seems to be faring quite well a few yards up the hill and enduring the same frigid air and the same winter winds. The redbud tree from six years ago has lost its By Ron Johnson colorful blooms and is growing bit by bit, year by year. Likewise, for the 15-foot-tall red maple I put in Staff Writer near Fred the Shed three springs ago. Our lilac bush is still blooming. It’s the rst time for the 5-year-old plant. It has survived several unintentional mowings and nally displays purple owers. Along our uphill driveway, I am pleased to report my ve sugar maples that I planted in April of 2016 seem to be doing well. Unlike last year, I have not found any damage from deer. All ve have a new crop of fresh green leaves and sway in the spring breeze. They’re on their way to becoming giants that will one day shade my driveway. Such is the optimism of spring. I know full well it will be a long time until the sugar maples are huge. But, it’s such eternal optimism that helps keep us going. I’ve discovered my horse, Optimism, far outpaces Practicality. That happened just the other day, when I drove Red Ranger to Prairie du Chien to buy tomato and pepper plants. The truck hauled home 34 tomato plants and 16 pepper plants. I’ll probably end up with more peppers. Jessica is out to corner the market on homemade salsa. For tomatoes, I have either one or a few varieties of Big Beef, Big Boy, Better Boy, Carolina Gold, Celebrity, Chocolate Cherry, Italian Plum, Juliet and Sweet Million. One heirloom tomato, Brandywine, managed to jump into the plastic tray. I like the taste, history and names of the old variety and many more. One I still need to nd is Cherokee Purple, appealing to me because of my Native American heritage. Besides being half Swedish, I am part English, part French Canadian and part American Indian. I don’t know the tribe, so nding out will be a wintertime project. I don’t think I ever met my grandmother. If I did, I was far too young to remember. But, I do have a photograph of her. Back to springtime happenings and my garden. This has become a late, wet planting season. My records show my small part of the planet has received 3.9 inches of rain in May. Really not that much, but the rain has come every few days. There’s been little time in between showers for the ground to dry. Last year, I planted four rows of sweet corn on May 16. This year, as of May 22, not one solitary kernel of sweet corn has gone into the ground. Last year on May 22, I set out my tomato plants. Exactly a year later, they’re shivering in 55-degree air in the back of Red Ranger under his aluminum cap. Last year, I was able to do much of my garden tilling May 7. This year, so far only 40 feet has been tilled for the Yukon Gold potatoes. A recent stretch of May days has not only been damp, but cold. The internet weather report tells me that my daytime highs have been 18 degrees below normal. Our 58-degree days should be 76. Thankfully, the several days of cold, wet, crummy weather have not held back Spring, as if much could. Back are the colorful birds: Baltimore orioles, orchard orioles, ruby-throated hummingbirds, rose-breasted grosbeaks, indigo buntings, bluebirds and yellow warblers. Birds who do not boast bright feathered nery have returned, too. My ears caught the lonesome song of a whip-poor will the evening of May 4 as I cooked outdoors over a wood re. Earlier that day, the cheery notes of the house wrens’ songs lled the air near the blue birdhouse and the mulberry tree. The graceful, quick barn swallows came gliding and darting back to their spring and summer home the same day and busily set to building their mud nest on a rafter of the lean-to. A meadowlark serenaded me from its perch on the fence May 7. A week later, a kingbird followed suit. It’s not only the birds. A black shape oated through the night air on May 2; the rst bat of the spring. My rst morel appeared on May 3. The day of May 11 was noteworthy for more morels, plus wild asparagus. My own asparagus plantings are fruitful after giving them ve years to solidly sink their roots into the Crawford County ground. All these returns give me hope and optimism. But, as I look out the sliding glass door of my home ofce, what do my wondering eyes behold? Why, it’s raining. Again.
Dairy Star • Saturday, May 27, 2017 • Page 25
2017 NATIONAL RED & WHITE SALE JUNE 9TH, 2017 • 6 P.M.
DODGE COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS • KASSON, MN
80 HEAD SELL
THESE ALL SELL!!!
Milksource Redburst Alma-Red VG-88 3-00 2X 324 28380 3.7 2052 3.0 855 Selling just fresh and looks great and is a 4 year old for this year. Alma has been a very successful in the show ring. From a deep maternal line back to EX-97 Alicia.
Md-Maple-Lawn Honor-Red-ET VG-88
2-11 2X 315 24810 4.1 1018 3.4 849 Honor is a 4 year for this year and sells just fresh and is ready for your inspection. She was 1st Jr. to Maryland State Fair B&W Show 2015.
SL-Acres Timeforaction-Red
Timeforaction is recently fresh and looks great! Sired by Action she has a deep maternal line with eight generations of VG and EX dams.
A-L-H Gnsource 32128-Red-ET
This Addiction P sells and is bred to Answer-P and due in the fall. From a full pedigree, she is backed by eight EX dams with the grand dam being Apple herself.
SALE FORCE: Scott Courtney ............563-380-1318 Kevin Jorgensen ..........920-210-3992 Scott Culbertson .........507-923-1881 Nick Raggi ...................443-762-8338 Brandon Ferry .............608-335-8861
Overland-AJ GrafÀti-Red VG-85
Sired by Apple Jack and this is a Sr. 2 for this year. She was Nom All-American Fall Yearling in 2016. Her dam is a EX-93 Barbwire and then two more EX dams behind that.
Strans-Jen-D Tangle-Red-ET
This Armani sells just fresh as a Jr. 2 for this year. Her dam is Jen-D Devil TiffanyRed EX-95 herself. Also selling is Tiffany’s March ’17 Diamondback daughter.
Rollingriver Honolulu-Red
This beautiful heifer sells and is a summer yearling for 2017, a very special offering here! Her dam is VG-87 and the grand dam is VG-88.
A-L-H Genosource 32111-ET
This heifer is a full sister to heifer at right. She sells due to Lucky-PP in the fall. Both of these heifers also have embryo lots on the sale.
SALE SPONSOR:
Minnesota Red and White Association
Tracy Schaefer ....... 320-360-5188 Matt Timmer ......... 507-360-8199 John Schmitz ......... 320-420-2432
SCOTT & AMY COURTNEY
secourtney@hotmail.com 2564 Pole Line Rd • Ridgeway, IA 52165 563-387-0035 • 563-380-1318 cell • 563-387-0046 fax
Broadcasting Live
Page 26 • Dairy Star • Saturday, May 27, 2017
712-722-3626
I hope you were able to nd a window to get most, if not all, of your crops planted this spring. Some heavy rains, wind and severe weather made it a struggle in some parts of the state. As a reminder, current policy requires that producers annually le an accurate and timely acreage report for all crops and land uses to maintain eligibility in FSA FSA News & Notes and RMA programs. FSA uses the data to determine payment eligibility and to calculate losses for various disaster programs. Scheduling an appointment ensures your maps are ready and will save you time in the ofce. As you wrap up your planting activities, I encourage you to call your FSA ofce to schedule an appointment to complete your acreage report. We are off to a good start with producers coming in to certify and hope it continues through spraying and haying. Acreage reporting is required by July 15. Call By Ryan Brunn today to avoid the last-minute rush. Stearns Co. Exec. Dir. Prevented planting, failed acreage Prevented planting refers to acreage that cannot be planted because of ood, drought, or other natural disaster and must be reported to your FSA ofce within 15 calendar days after the end of the nal planting date for the crop.
SERVICE AFTER THE SALE
! oon sS End ry, Hur
Failed acreage is dened as a eld or a portion of a eld that fails due to weather conditions such as drought, excessive rain or cold temperatures. Producers who have a eld that will be destroyed and replanted to a different crop should report to FSA before the original crop is destroyed. For instance, if you had a failed corn eld that will be replanted to soybeans, it should be reported so FSA can verify the original crop.
TRUTH IS IN HE
!
.
F
O
ASK
O
Reporting Final Plant FSA Crop Deadline Date Wheat, Corn (grain), Barley, May 31 June 15 Oats Soybeans, Sunowers June 15 June 25 Corn (silage) June 5 June 20
E TH
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Coming together The Transition Pen
By John & Laura Rosenhammer Father/Daughter Farming Duo Last week I became frustrated. The cows were always running out of feed each morning after milking. I had a sick calf. A cow had a stie injury and another had a nasty case of mastitis. Yet another cow had leucosis that wasn’t doing well, and my dad and I weren’t on the same page about selling heifers or what to do next for the cow with a hard quarter. Besides this, I worried about corn in the bin that needed to be sold and hay in the eld waiting to be cut and chopped, only to be put off by the endless rainy days. Plus, we are busy getting ready to host my brother’s graduation party, a farm tour, and I have a long list of wedding things to take care of. With all of this on my shoulders, I could feel my anger swelling. I was ready to lash out at whomever got in my way. I wanted to get it through my dad’s head that I was not interested in selling heifers this week because we were going to have to cull a few cows when we are no longer able to use rbST. I wanted to get it through my uncle’s head that having feed in front of the cows was not optional and to stop waiting for the price change and just sell the grain. But going around barking orders wasn’t going to change anything. Instead, I wrote down on our message board that we were going to have a meeting at 2 p.m., in two days to talk about selling grain, feeding cows and a few other subjects. I spent the rest of the day thinking about how I could address these topics in a way that would make my dad and uncle care about them as much as I did. It’s vital I remain unbiased; not taking sides because my dad and uncle are usually on different sides and I am the mediator. I made a list of resources I needed. I found my lessons on grain marketing, which explain why it decreases risk to have our corn priced by July 1. I printed out copies of our farm business management nancial records for them to review and ask questions about. I included an article on feeding cows and the negative effects of having an empty bunk. I typed up an agenda and printed a copy for all three of us. These were the easy steps. Now came the difcult part, sitting down with my dad and uncle and hoping we could all get along and nd solutions. To give you a better understanding, my dad is calm and not the type of guy who will argue. My uncle is the opposite. I’m in the middle. I can be calm, but I will stand up for myself and express my feelings rather than let things slide. Our differences in personality and thinking are what create friction, but also when used in the right situations, allow us to work together and achieve our goals. Sometimes our meetings have not gone well, and therefore, I am always looking to make improvements. We used to hold our meetings in our ofce, but I’ve learned they go better when we meet in an open area, rather than a cramped room. Having an agenda keeps the meeting on topic. Starting two hours before chores ensures the meet-
ing won’t exceed two hours. Giving at least two days notice allows each of us to gather our thoughts and contemplate each issue. Since I knew I was in an aggravated mood, I made sure I went to the gym before chores that morning, as getting an intense workout releases endorphins that help improve my mood and get my mind off my concerns. At 2 p.m., we all sat around the table in the barn, and after taking a few seconds to review the agenda, my dad and uncle quickly began discussing. We discussed our different options for making silage this year as we don’t think our alfalfa crop will yield well after the rst cutting. Then we discussed the remaining bushels of corn and soybeans in storage. I showed my dad and uncle my notes from class depicting the price averages each month, looked up current market prices and agreed to sell in the next few weeks. We talked about ways to bring in income to pay for our expenses that are due in the fall. Finally, we got to the topic of feeding cows. This is what I had been waiting for. Though we have visited this topic often, it’s clear little changes aren’t enough, and we
need to make a big change. First, I offered different ideas of when to mix the batches of TMR so the cows wouldn’t be waiting. My dad suggested increasing the nal batch of the day by 25 percent, rather than the current 10 percent, so there would be enough feed to push up each morning to last the cows until they get back from the parlor. This is especially important to me since feed needs to be available for the ones who don’t have a stall to lie in. Besides this, I feel running out of feed is having a negative impact. Time will tell if this change will make a positive impact, but I am overjoyed to have convinced my uncle to make a change. While not every discussion ended the way I’d hoped, I left the table feeling we were making progress and anxious to see what happens next. “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success,” said Henry Ford. Laura Rosenhammer farms with her father, John, and uncle, Greg, on Roseview Dairy near Sleepy Eye, Minn. They milk 200 Holsteins and run 580 acres of cropland.
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Dairy Star • Saturday, May 27, 2017 • Page 27
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Page 28 • Dairy Star • Saturday, May 27, 2017
Siemers-Peterman is 70th Alice in Dairyland GREEN BAY, Wis. – Crystal Siemers-Peterman of Cleveland, Wis. has been chosen as Wisconsin’s 70th Alice in Dairyland. As Alice, SiemersPeterman will work as a communications professional for the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP). Her job will be to educate the public about the importance of agriculture in Wisconsin. “As Alice in Dairyland, I will promote positive messages about Wisconsin’s agricultural products to both rural and urban audiences,” said Siemers-Peterman. “I will use my various experiences, education and outgoing personality to deliver consistent messages about Wisconsin’s agriculture industry to diverse audiences.” Siemers-Peterman found her pas-
sion for Wisconsin’s diverse agricultural industry on her family’s registered Holstein dairy farm. She was actively involved in the Manitowoc County Junior Holstein Association, Wisconsin Junior Holstein Association and Manitowoc County 4-H. Through these orCrystal Siemersganizations, she Peterman represented WisAlice in Dairyland consin at national competitions in both dairy quiz bowl and dairy judging. She graduated in May from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities with a major in agricultural and food
business management and a minor in marketing. Previously, she interned at Sassy Cow Creamery, FLM+ Advertising Agency and Land O’Lakes Inc. On campus she was involved in the National Agri-marketing Association, National Grocers Association and Gopher Dairy Club. Siemers-Peterman was selected at the culmination of three days of nal interview events in Brown County. The events included agribusiness tours, speeches, a public question-andanswer session and media interviews. The other candidates were: Abrielle Backhaus, Kewaskum; Jenna Crayton, Oak Creek; Alexis Dunnum, Westby; Kaitlyn Riley, Gays Mills; and Kelly Wilfert, Two Rivers. Siemers-Peterman will start working as Alice on June 5. She succeeds
A tour for college graduates
Our spring tour season has started. Our days are lled with school groups in the morning and early afternoons followed by families or groups of friends. The school tours include milking a cow, talking about feed, manure, calves and other farm animals. Sometimes we spend time looking at and discussing farm machinery. This type of tour usually takes two hours, and the kids often eat their sack lunches in our shed. The family and friend groups tend to arrive early, witnessing the kids climbing on the bus as I encourage them to drink more milk, eat more cheese and ice cream. I always hope I have inspired a few children to change their eating habits and to be proud to know how to milk a cow. When the bus pulls away, the exhaustion of the day sets in. This past week, I gave a tour to nine graduate stuBy Tina Hinchley dents from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. They were sorority sisters, spending the last week together Farmer & Columnist before heading home to search for their professions. The girls were a few journalists, two nance majors, an engineer and a psychology major. This farm trip was something they wanted to do before leaving Wisconsin because they wanted to milk a cow. They were all unaware of what farmers do and that agriculture affects them every day in the food they eat, the clothes they wear and the fuel that goes in their cars. I begin my adult tours by llooking at the aerial photos This ffarm trip Thi i was something hi of our farm from the 1960s, they wanted to do before 1975, 1984, 2004, and the most recent, in 2015. These leaving Wisconsin because pictures show how our farm has grown with new buildtheyy wanted to milk a cow. iings, bunker silos and grain bbins. I nish by showing the pastures. Our pastures were nothing but dirt with a feed bunk. The older photos had some trees where the cows were crowded underneath to get out of the hot sun. It isn’t until we built a freestall barn and housed our cows inside that the pasture greened up. I explain that often the idea of cows on pasture is an imagined idea of cows grazing in a lush, green pasture every day of the year. But the reality is that unless the pasture is rotated and managed, it is hard to keep green.
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69th Alice in Dairyland Ann O’Leary of Evansville. As Alice, Siemers-Peterman will travel about 40,000 miles speaking at events and giving media interviews. She will present lessons in more than 100 Wisconsin classrooms in partnership with the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board. A number of other Wisconsin organizations contribute to make Alice in Dairyland visible and recognizable to the public. For example, SiemersPeterman will wear a custom mink garment to promote Wisconsin’s fur industry, and she’ll drive an E-85 exfuel Ford Explorer 2017 to promote the state’s ethanol industry. While working, she will wear a 14-carat gold and platinum brooch or tiara, both of which feature amethysts and citrines, gems indigenous to Wisconsin.
As I talked to these young ladies about grazing and pastures, I watched their facial expressions. They all were interested in what I was saying and a few wrinkled up their eyebrows in a quizzical way as if they doubted what I said. I asked them how long they thought our cows like to be outside while we clean the barn. Most of them said all day. I had to remind them of what the winter is like in Wisconsin. Winter in the pastures is not where the cows want to be. The cows are smart enough to know where they want to be. Next on the tour, I headed into the freestall barn to show them. I followed up by going into the tiestall barn. They were amazed at all the consideration farmers put into the design of the barns for these milking marvels. Stall size, mattresses, trainers, clean straw, fans for ventilation and even the drinking cups. They all agreed that if they were stuck in a black leather jacket with a body temperature of 101.5 and pregnant, they would rather be in the barns. When it came time to milk our cow, I only needed to whistle to get her to stand. They milked Glee, our cow, many times and took photos, seles and Snapchats. When I mentioned we were going to see calves next, they were as excited as the school kids touring earlier. Before we went into the nursery, I explained that we remove the calf from the birthing pen to help it stay healthy. This was when I noticed one of these young women biting her lip, as if she had something to say but wasn’t quite sure if she should ask. It had to do with the calf bonding with the cow. She had watched a video about farmers ripping the calves away from the mother cows moments after birth. Another woman mentioned the movie “Food Inc.,” and similar social media induced concerns. I confessed that I started to watch the movie once, but was disgusted with the anti-agriculture message that I couldn’t continue watching. Every stop on the farm was a learning experience for our guests. They wanted to know more and as we went into the area by our chickens, lambs, piglets and goat kids, the nodding heads and smiles told me they understood and trusted what I was sharing. They opened up and asked questions. In the end, they confessed that they all shop at Whole Foods or Trader Joes because they have been afraid of the food at the local shopping market. They acknowledged they were misinformed by social media and anti-agriculture movies, and left the farm with a new image of agriculture; a safe image and condence in the farmers who provide food, ber and fuel for everyone. Tina Hinchley, her husband, Duane, and their daughters, Anna and Catherine, milk 120 registered Holsteins and farm 2,500 acres of crops near Cambridge, Wis. They have been hosting farm tours for over 18 years.
Dairy Star • Saturday, May 27, 2017 • Page 29
Hitting the ground running Brantner returns home to farm with grandpa, uncle By Brittany Olson
brittany.o@dairystar.com
EAU GALLE, Wis. – Kenzie Brantner hadn’t planned on coming home to her family’s dairy farm after four years at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, but it was in the back of her mind nonetheless. “I wanted to get a job in the dairy industry,” said Brantner, who graduated this spring. Her plans changed and now Brantner milks 55 cows with her grandpa, Jack Weber, and uncle, Jason Weber, near Eau Galle, Wis. While she knew she could return home to the farm, it wasn’t until she took the advanced dairy management course in college that she realized dairying was what she wanted to do. “I was all for wanting to nd an [off-farm] job, but with Jason being gone most of this summer it convinced me to stay,” Brantner said. “The advanced dairy management class was intimidating; we had to evaluate a farm and put together presentations for the farm. It helped me realize that I can farm, too.” With her management class’s lesson still fresh in her mind, on top of all the experience she’s already gained, Brantner is ready to tackle the challenges she has identied in order to achieve her goals.
BRITTANY OLSON/DAIRY STAR
Kenzie Brantner recently joined her family’s 55-cow dairy aŌer graduaƟng from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. Brantner farms with her uncle, Jason Weber, and grandpa, Jack Weber, near Eau Galle, Wis.
Creek Dairy, a 380-cow dairy not far from her home. “They have an excellent calf program, and I hope to use some of their practices here,” Brantner said. Another objective Brantner has set for herself is to become more procient in crop production and eld work. “We’ve got 350 acres, of which 260 are tillable. The rest is woods because we like to hunt,” Brantner said. “Grandpa and Jason do the eld work while I always milk, so that’s another goal.” Brantner also aims to improve JACK BRANTNER, DAIRY FARMER the herd’s production and milk quality, which currently sits at “Right now, I’m the herdsman, and I’m taking over calves and young- 70 pounds per cow, per day. “This winter was rough when we stock,” Brantner said. “One goal I have is to get calves gaining weight transitioned them from the bunk to after weaning because that’s been a indoor feeding. Right now we feed haylage and corn silage at the bunk on challenge for us.” Her internship, required by her a hill behind our barn, with a mix of college’s dairy science program, in- dry hay, protein and corn to entice the volved calf management at Baier cows when we bring them in for milk-
“She’s got a calming presence. She’s motivating, and just a great granddaughter all around. We need her.”
ing, and for being good girls,” Brantner said. The herd’s somatic cell count is also on her radar. “It gets muddy around the bunk this time of year,” Brantner said. “Even though it goes down in the winter, we’d like to get our cell count consistently under 200,000. It’s my no. 1 goal.” Brantner would also like to start using more articial insemination with the cows. As of right now, an Angus bull runs with virgin heifers to sire small calves that muscle out well. “A.I. is something I’d like to learn more about and use more of,” Brantner said. Brantner is happy to be back on the farm, and her family is glad to have her home, too. Having a close relationship with
her grandfather and uncle, who she frequently hunts with, is making the transition from college life to full time dairy farming easier. “She’s got a calming presence,” Jack said. “She’s motivating, and just a great granddaughter all around. We need her.” All in all, ckle milk markets aren’t deterring Kenzie Brantner from her dream of being the next generation on her family’s farm. In fact, they might be motivating her even more. “I feel OK about milk prices, but if it doesn’t work out I have a fouryear degree in dairy science and a minor in ag business. I’m just glad I have a farm to come back to, otherwise I don’t know if I would be farming,” Brantner said.
USED EQUIPMENT SPECIALS
Tractors
CIH 1200 units on 36R20,” Friesen Frame .......... $25,000 ‘09 CIH 1250, 24R30” Planter ............................. $75,000 ‘13 CIH 1265, 36R22” Planter ........................... $169,000 CIH 4700, 30’ Field Cultivator w/3 Bar Mulcher ..... $5,900 CIH 4700, 36’ Field Cultivator w/3 Bar Mulcher ..... $7,900 ‘07 CIH Tigermate-200, 47’ Field Cultivator ......... $39,500 ‘15 McFarlane Incite 5032, 32’ Vertical Universal Tillage Machine, New Demo Unit ................... $72,500 ‘11 JD Plow 10 Bottom........................................ $34,000 Sunflower 4411, 12’ Disk Chisel .......................... $10,500 Flexicoil 340-36’ chisel plow w/drag.................... $21,000 Krause 4800 - 17’ disk chisel ................................. $7,900 CIH 730B Ecolotiger w/leads................................ $14,000 CIH 730B Ecolotiger ............................................ $15,000 ‘10 Case-IH 870 - 22’ w/o Drag, nice .................. $42,000 ‘13 Case-IH 870-22’ w/ Spike Harrow, Nice ........ $59,000 CIH MRX 690 Ripper (7 Shank) ........................... $17,000 Ezee-On 4600 38’ Disk ........................................ $32,750 ‘13 Summers 2510 DT 38’ Diamond Tillage Disk w/baskets & Caster Hitch ............................... $89,000 ‘13 McFarlane HDL1050-16 Bar Drag, Nice Unit.. $29,900 ‘14 McFarlane Reel Disk 4135, 36’ w/ Baskets, Tillage/Planters Demo Unit ...................................................... $68,500 CIH 1200, 8R30” Planter ..................................... $12,000 WE ALSO RENT SKIDSTEERS, SHREDDERS & RIPPERS ‘06 CIH MX285 w/Front Duals, 3 Pt Hitch & PTO, 5000 hrs......................................................... $86,000 ‘93 CIH 9250, 4WD, 6900 hrs, very nice .............. $55,000 ‘94 CIH 9250, 4WD, 7300 hrs .............................. $45,000 ‘96 CIH 9350, 4600 hrs ........................................ $60,000 CIH STX440 ......................................................Coming in CIH STX440 ......................................................Coming in ‘09 CIH STX485 Quadtrac, 2850 hrs .................. $219,000 ‘11 CIH STX535 Quadtrac, 2924 hrs .................. $229,000 ‘13 CIH Steiger 500 Quadtrac, 1014 hrs ............. $295,000 ‘12 CIH Steiger 550 Quadtrac w/guidance & PTO 3637 hrs....................................................... $249,000 ‘12 CIH Steiger 550 Quadtrac w/ Guidance, 3200 hrs ...................................................... $239,000 ‘12 CIH Steiger 550 Quadtrac, 2824 hrs ............. $259,000 ‘13 CIH Steiger 550 Quadtrac w/ PTO, 1622 hrs $279,000 ‘12 CIH Steiger 550 Quadtrac w/ PTO, 2200 hrs $259,000 ‘12 CIH Steiger 600 Quadtrac w/PTO, 2335 hrs . $285,000 ‘99 Case 75XT Skidsteer, 4351 hrs....................... $18,000 ‘11 Case SV250 Skidsteer, 2731 hrs ................... $27,000
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E-mail: pedersonsag@runestone.net • Web site www.pedersonsag.com BRITTANY OLSON/DAIRY STAR
Kenzie Brantner greets a cow while checking the feed bunk aŌer morning milking. Brantner is the third generaƟon on her family’s dairy farm.
© 2015 2007 CNH America LLC. All rights reserved. Case IH is a registered trademark of CNH America LLC. CNH Capital is a trademark of CNH America LLC. www.caseih.com
We stock parts for older model IH tractors
The waltz
Page 30 • Dairy Star • Saturday, May 27, 2017
“It was there I knew I’d love you forever, as we danced to the waltz of the wind,” Hank Williams. The story goes that they met while at a wedding dance and were married on May 24, 1948. As we look at the year on our calendars, that puts their love pretty close to lasting forever; 69 years. My dear grandparents, Ira and Marion Mlsna, are a living legacy in many ways. I wish I could have known them in their younger years as I do now; to be friends with the spunky little gal that could cook up a storm and work from sunup until sundown. To listen to her to talk about the tall, clever Bohemian guy who asked her out and took her on dates around La Crosse when they weren’t working at the rubber mills. To hear the love already evident in her voice as she giggled about taking pictures of one another at the park, or sneak a peek at a sweetly and beautifully written love note on the back of a picture of the two of them. To be a guest in the crowd of family and well-wishers as they said their I dos and tell them I hope they last decades, knowing those years have a way
of testing even the most well-matched of couples. After starting out in the married world with $27 to their names, they worked at the rubber mills until they were laid-off. They went on to start farming; milking cows, raising chickens and growing tobacco. As their brood of children grew, Grandma came up with ways to keep them out of mischief as she milked cows. She would run the machines and each child had three cows they were assigned to milk by hand. Meanwhile, Grandpa would clean the barn and feed the cows. The eggs from her chickens were her means of buying groceries. Two little boys learned the magnitude of the eggs’ importance after throwing eggs at the coop walls, therefore shorting that week’s stipend. She could whip up a meal out of thin air with little notice, welcoming whomever stopped by the farm at mealtime. A daily summer snack of sandwiches, cookies and homemade lemonade was served at 10 a.m., and 3 p.m., then ice cream after nightly chores were done. Proclaimed the best doughnut maker in Monroe County by many of
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her children and grandchildren, she would serve fresh donuts and the results were simply divine. Lefse rolled to perfection, homemade bread, caramel rolls that bordered on heavenly; she knew her way around the kitchen and did her best to satisfy the tastes of a nine-person household. The bassinet she rolled her babies around in has now helped her greatgrandchildren drift off Ramblings from the Ridge to dreamland. Grandma made time to knit her children sweaters and make their favorite meals. She once scaled a fence while carrying a pail of water that could have qualied her for the Olympics when two little troublemakers started a re in the tobacco shed. Her quilts and afghans By Jacqui Davison have graced the beds of Columnist her children and grandchildren, each stitch made with love and patience. Grandpa spent years running his steam engine over his tobacco beds and even more with a power saw in hand felling trees and clearing fence lines. Loud yelling and the attentive ears of young neighbors saved him from a tree-cutting accident that could have cut his story short. He tended bar at Peck’s on Saturday nights. He headed uptown to play cards on rainy days when farm work was on hold, often with a candy bar seeking child or two in tow. He’d let the kids tie their sleds behind the manure spreader as he made his way to the snow-covered elds. He snuck in the house daily at noon for his 20-minute powernap no matter what work was awaiting him outside. His hard work ethic prompted bellowing for his children to get up early. Grandpa reminded his teenagers that he could tell when they got home by the heat coming off the car hood, and that if you wanted something in life you better work for it. He is one of the best shots with open sights and loves to see the younger generation follow in his footsteps. The hard life of farming decades ago with a young family was offset by ponies, puppies, stops to grab cinnamon rolls after Sunday mass and pop or candy bars after Saturday night’s service. As their crew of seven grew, it became shing trips to Canada, snowmobiling up north, annual opening weekend deer camp, and Christmases crowded around the basement replace with a growing number of grandchildren. It became family parties with camping, singing, dancing, a Sundrop in Grandma’s hand, and smiles on their faces as they see all their love has created. It has grown to rocking babies while grandkids do the cooking and breakfast uptown after church on Sunday. Nowadays, Grandpa runs the kitchen and will feed you if you stop in at mealtime, preferably at breakfast. Grandma’s strong of heart and frail of body, but that doesn’t stop her from snuggling a baby, offering to help with a meal and doing the dishes. Grandpa says their success is due to Grandma never holding a grudge, and Grandma said the words which seem less cliché coming out of her mouth, “We were meant for each other.” Behind the wrinkles from years of life and work in the sun, smiles present 69 years ago still shine and glow with love made only stronger with time. Jacqui and her family milk 700 cows and run 1,200 acres of crops in the northeastern corner of Vernon County, Wis. Her boys, Ira (10), Dane (8), and Henry (3) help her on the farm while her husband, Keith, works on a grain farm. If she’s not in the barn, she’s probably in the kitchen, trailing after little boys, or sharing her passion of reading with someone. Her life is best described as organized chaos-and if it wasn’t, she’d be bored.
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Pasture play
I love the month of May. Everything emerges with life – grass grows green and lush, leaves slowly ease out of the trees, and the scent of tree blossoms ll the light, cool breeze. Life can’t get much better than when you are in the month of May. The pastures come alive this time of year. Cows are let out to romp and play like they are little calves again. Half of what makes pastures so special this time of year is their representation of freedom and outdoor enjoyment after a long, cold winter. I often think back to my cow pasture while growing up. My brothers, sister and I spent many, many hours out there playing games like wagon train and cowboys and Indians. We built tree swings in the giant, 100-year-old black willow trees our great-grandparents planted when they rst settled on the farm. The trees were easy to climb with low, large protruding trunks. Many times we had to scramble up those trees to let the herd of Holsteins pass. There were al- By Andrea Borgerding ways one or two cows that wanted to play rough with Asst. Editor us and came charging up without us noticing. There were ve or six of those large willows all planted in a row. Dad told us they were once part of a large circle of willow trees planted strategically to encircle the farm. To me, they looked like steadfast sentinels – reminding us kids to be respectful of our past and instilling in us hope for our farm’s future. Not long after all us kids moved away from the farm, the trees slowly deteriorated. The last one standing, and biggest one we played on the most, lay split down the middle with all of its wide trunks sprawled to the ground like a giant spider. That tree stayed like that for years until last summer. Last summer, the pasture became a bustle of activity when my younger brother declared the pasture the site for his wedding reception. With the wedding date set for late August, both my brothers and dad worked to clear the fallen trees. Within just a few weeks of the wedding, the pasture was mown short like a manicured lawn. All that was left of our beloved willow trees was a small fallen over trunk from one of the small willow trees that once ourished. The tree looked sad as it was blackened from catching re from a nearby brush pile. My dad requested to keep the tree out of respect for his ancestors in, ironically, the same year as our farm’s 125th anniversary. Somehow, perhaps with the determination that kept it alive all those years, new branches and leaves began to protrude so that by the day of the wedding, the tree no longer looked dead. Two days before the wedding, a large white tent was set up for the reception right on top of where our line of old willow trees once stood. Right behind the tent was our last willow tree – out of sight of the wedding guests. During dinner that evening, I presented a speech, as a representative of my family, to my brother and his new, lovely wife. As it turned out, I stood right on the spot where our beloved giant willow tree once stood. I couldn’t believe it. We came full circle. The place where my brother and I pushed each other on swings until the twine strings broke and we both went crashing to the ground, sending us rolling with laughter – became the same spot where he was beginning his new life. I tried to express this irony into the speech I presented – but alas, the majority of the guests did not understand how momentous it was for me and my brother. Those memories of our pasture play were only for us to cherish for that special moment. With all these wonderful memories I hold on to, I enjoy this month of May. I’m relishing the green grass, the blooming trees, the cows playing in the pasture – it’s a new beginning and an opportunity to take a fresh look at life.
Dairy Star • Saturday, May 27, 2017 • Page 31
Celebrate June Dairy Month
37th Annual
TREMPEALEAU COUNTY DAIRY BREAKFAST Saturday June 10, 2017 Serving - 6am to 11am
$5.oo adults • $3.00 children 6 to 12 years • 5 years & under FREE
HOSTED BY JERECZEK HOMESTEAD DAIRY
The farm is located 1 mile south of Pine Creek church on County Rd G.
- Menu -
Pancakes, Sausage, Cheese, Butter, Apple Juice, Cŏee, and Milk.
- Breakfast events -
• Live music by ‘The Silver Edition’ • On Hand 2016-2017 Dairy Ambassador Miranda Stegerwald and her attendant Aime Stendahl • Complimentary ice cream cones • Batter fried cheese curds by Ellsworth Creamery • Machinery and Antique Tractors on display • 2017 Trempealeau County Dairy Ambassador crowing at 10:30 am • Dodge Fire Department on hand - Farm animal area • Barrel train rides for kids • Corn pile money-¿nd pit • Face painting by WI Farmers Union • Trempealeau County Health Department ŏering health information • On the farm broadcasting (WHTL & WWIS)
• And much, much more!
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Priorities
Page 32 • Dairy Star • Saturday, May 27, 2017
Sometimes I don’t know how we get everything done. Of course, on a farm you never truly get everything done, but at least you can check a few things off your list. While we were in the rush of planting this year, I didn’t think about all the things we needed to get done. I just kept moving forward to the next project and the next ďƒželd. I think I was puzzled by the entire ďƒ&#x;urry because this was the ďƒžrst year I was back in the thick of planting and it felt great. Before we had children old enough to drive tractors, I was the one prepping the ďƒželds ahead of Mark and the planter. Luckily, I got the bigger tractor with the cab while Mark ran his 4-row planter with a small tractor. Sometimes he would have to wear insulated coveralls, a stocking hat and gloves just to stay warm. You really wondered if we should have been out in the ďƒželds, but the
calendar said it was planting season. As the kids grew older, I was pushed out of the tractor and into the barn for chores and milking. Let’s face it, tractor driving is one of the top jobs. If I didn’t give the kids some fun jobs, why would they ever
W needed We d d to b be able bl to shift our daily priorities on a moment’s notice. want to come back when they are older? So, I’ve been out of the planting loop for almost a decade. Now that everyone is gone, boy did it feel good to be back in the saddle again. With me being back in the tractor again, it meant there were some adjustments to make. We
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needed to be able to shift our daily priorities on a moment’s notice. The truck had to always have enough fuel in the tank to make an emergency part run. There had to be enough treats in the freezer to keep us energized and awake as we bounced Just Thinking Out Loud across the ďƒželds. There also had to be enough eggs on hand for breakfast and a late supper of scrambled eggs before bed. Every morning Mark said, “What do you have on for today?â€? Every day I would answer, “Nothing set in stone.â€? I knew it didn’t By Natalie Schmitt pay to have anything Columnist scheduled to do during planting season. I was on-call for whatever needed to be done. It didn’t matter that I had laundry to do or a yard to mow or a garden to plant. These priorities could slip down the list a few pegs for a day or two. It felt like my daily priorities were constantly being reshufďƒ&#x;ed for another hand of 500. Our main priority was getting the crops planted, but Mark did make an exception. He put my garden ahead of his ďƒželds for a half hour. Since the equipment was parked next to my garden and ďƒželd ready, he ďƒžgured he would start off the season with the smallest ďƒželd on the farm. He backed the disk and drag down through the garden until he reached the strawberry patch. With my signal, he dropped the equipment, ďƒžred up the engine and worked up the soil in the garden. After a few more passes, the garden was ready to go, only I wasn’t ready to continue. It would be a couple of weeks before I could pick up where Mark left off. This gave the weeds a chance to sprout and grow. Before I could plant, I needed to knock back the weeds and smooth out the disk ruts. A neighbor gave Mark a tip on how he packed his garden. He took a heavy wooden pallet, tied bale strings together to make a hitch and connected it to a clevis on the back of a four-wheeler. This was the quickest and easiest way I’ve ever prepped the garden. I just drove around the garden dragging the pallet behind me. The pallet leveled off the soil and cleared out the weeds. Mother’s Day week I was able to ďƒžnish planting potatoes, peas and early beans. The weather had been feeling so nice and warm. Then it shifted and we’ve been cold, windy, wet and damp for the past week. At the start of this planting season, we were concerned with how the alfalfa ďƒželds survived the winter. We didn’t plow any ďƒželds down and the recent rains have helped the ďƒželds to ďƒžll out. It looks like we could be taking ďƒžrst crop within the next two weeks depending upon how the weather patterns set up. While we wait for the ďƒželds to dry, we’re working our way down our priority list of things to get done before the next rush. Natalie, Mark and his brother, Al, Schmitt farm together near Rice, Minn. They milk 100 registered Holsteins under the RALMA preďƒžx. Their four children are great help around the farm and are pushing Natalie out of several jobs. Therefore she is thankful to have something else to do. For questions or comments please e-mail Natalie at mnschmitt@jetup.net.
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Dairy Star • Saturday, May 27, 2017 • Page 33
Mix and Match: The magic heifers A great thing about dairy farming in the heart of Stearns County is that when your heifers magically escape from their pasture, there are lots of dairy farmers (current and retired) to help you catch them. We brought our heifers out to pasture a couple weeks ago. Two of the 10-acre pastures we rent are adjacent to each other – as in, they share a fence. We split a group of heifers and delivered half of the group to one pasture and half to the other. A week later, one of the landlords called and said the heifers in his pasture weren’t grazing at all. The heifers were just hanging out by the shared fence, looking at the heifers in the Dairy Good Life other pasture. This is our third summer grazing heifers in these pastures and the rst time we’ve had a group not take to grazing right away, but we gured they’d adjust and eventually start grazing. We gured wrong. On Saturday morning, our landlord called with the news no dairy farmer ever wants to hear: “Your heifers got out last night.” I stayed back to nish chores while Glen went to help round up the heifers. I tried not to let my imagination run wild with thoughts of 20-some heifers running rampant through the countryside. By Sadie Frericks The story Glen came back with wasn’t nearly as bad as I’d imagined, but strange nonetheless. Columnist Of all the heifers in the two pastures, only two were out. Those two heifers are Mix and Match. Mix and Match are twins. Mix had been in one of the pastures. Match had been in the other. The fences around both pastures were completely intact. There was no sign of where Mix and Match managed to Houdini themselves out of the pastures. Keep iin mind, these pastures are loccated right next to Interstate I also l ffound d myself lf iincredibly dibl 94, so the fences are Alcatraz grateful for the selfless nature quality. After Mix and Match magiof dairy farmers. cally escaped, under the cover oof darkness, they took off. T They were rst spotted on the other side of the section – a mile away – which required them to enter the city of Freeport, cross a busy highway, check out the baseball diamonds and visit the community center. The person who spotted them in the community center parking lot had the good sense to call the dairy farmers who live closest to town. Those dairy farmers knew Mix and Match weren’t theirs, but they walked them down the road to another farm. The retired dairy farmer who lived there had an open pen in his barn, so the dairy farmers opened the gate and Mix and Match walked right in. That’s where Glen found them on Saturday morning. He backed the trailer to the pen. Mix and Match calmly hopped in. Glen drove the heifers back to the pastures. This time, though, he put Mix and Match together in the same pasture. And since he had the trailer hooked up, Glen brought Sunny and Sommer – two of our dry cows – to the pastures to serve as babysitters for the heifers. Sunny went with one group; Sommer went with the other. On Sunday morning, our landlord called to say that all of the heifers were grazing contently. We’ll never know for sure if the heifers are content now because their babysitter showed them that grass is for eating or because Mix and Match are together again. Either way, we’re hoping they stay content and the rest of the grazing season is uneventful. As I reected on this outing, I found myself wondering about the bonds between cattle. We know groups of cows and heifers establish relationships and hierarchies. Do twins share a closer bond? I also found myself incredibly grateful for the seless nature of dairy farmers. It didn’t matter that Mix and Match weren’t theirs, the dairy farmers in Freeport took time from their busy schedules to usher Mix and Match to a safe location and then track down who they belonged to. Mix and Match are not spooky heifers, by any means, but I shudder to think about what might have happened if town folks with little to no knowledge of dairy cattle had tried to corral them. The situation could have been a lot worse. So, to the dairy farmers who helped Mix and Match and farmers everywhere who are always willing to lend a hand on a moment’s notice: Thank you. Sadie and her husband, Glen, milk 75 cows near Melrose, Minn. They have three children – Dan, 10, Monika, 7, and Daphne, 4. Sadie also writes a blog at www.dairygoodlife.com. She can be reached at sadiefrericks@gmail.com.
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The effects of heat stress are well document- If feed stability is an issue, consider adding dry ed and costly to a dairy farm as they impact a propionic acid to the TMR on the hot, humid variety of performance parameters, days. including milk yield, growth and Something to Ruminate On From a nutrition standpoint, no reproduction. Temperature humidsilver bullet perfectly combats heat ity index (THI) is a metric that stress. Benets can be seen by incombines temperature and relacreasing certain minerals, such as tive humidity. It is commonly used potassium, sodium and magneto evaluate risk of heat stress and sium; all contribute to an increase high-producing cows can become in dietary cation-anion difference heat-stressed at a THI of only 68. (DCAD) levels in lactating dairy If you haven’t already done so, cows. Research-proven additives start thinking about heat abatement to consider during periods of heat strategies for your dairy cows. stress include additional buffers of Providing access to clean, fresh salt, yeast, bypass fat, niacin, RuBy Barry Visser water is critical during summer mensin® and Aspergillus oryzae. Nutritionist months. Lactating dairy cows reFinally, it is imperative you rst quire between 25 and 35 gallons provide a well-managed abatement per day. Water intakes may double during peri- program with fans and sprinklers that allows the ods of heat stress. Provide 3 to 4 inches of lin- cows to feel comfortable enough that they want ear water space per cow along with a minimum to go to the feedbunk to eat. Don’t forget the dry of two water locations per group. Check water cows. Researchers at the University of Florida ow rates during times of high demand and recently concluded that minimizing heat stress clean waterers regularly. Availability of clean in dry cows is a valuable management tool to water to cows leaving the parlor is benecial for improve performance in the next lactation. Reincreasing water intake during heat stress. This sults from three consecutive years concluded can be accomplished with temporary, low-cost that cows heat-stressed during the dry period water options. will produce, on average, 13 pounds less milk Certain dietary strategies can be benecial than cows that are cooled during the dry period. during heat stress, but the biggest impact will In addition, these studies showed lower immune come from focusing on forage quality along status and lower calf birthweights from cows with forage and feed bunk management. Mini- exposed to heat stress during the dry period. mize the amount of time feed is defaced from Reducing heat stress requires careful conbunkers or piles. Provide a majority of the ra- sideration of nutritional and management praction during cooler periods of the day to pro- tices. Provide a well-managed cooling system mote greater dry matter intake. Intensity of feed in your dairy barn rst and then look at what push-up and frequency of feeding can encour- feeding strategies and nutritional additives may age more frequent meals and reduce the slug give you the most economic benet. feeding that naturally occurs during heat stress.
Dairy Star • Saturday, May 27, 2017 • Page 35
Servais family preparing for Vernon County Dairy Breakfast
MINNESOTA HOLSTEIN ASSOCIATION
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June 3 event at Hamburg Hills Farm expected to draw 2,500 By Ron Johnson
ron.j@dairystar.com
STODDARD, Wis. – Hamburg Hills Farm will be a busy place June 3. That’s when 2,500 hungry people are expected to attend the 37th annual Vernon County June Dairy Breakfast. But the 1,300-acre, 365-cow operation of Tim and Lisa Servais is busy every day. Along with the three Servais children – Zachary, 19, a freshman majoring in dairy science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison; Sabrina, 17, and a junior in high school; and Jackson, 14, in eighth grade – there are 17 full-time and part-time employees. It’s an organic farm that rents about half its land and owns the rest, Tim said. The crops include corn and alfalfa with oats and barley as cover crops. With a new freestall barn nished in 2015 and the new milking center completed last fall, Tim and Lisa decided it was a good time for them to host the breakfast. Tim’s father is a member of the county dairy promotion committee, so for the past few years, the family has considered hosting the breakfast. “We’re a little bit nervous, but excited, too,” Tim said. Before the breakfast date arrives, along with nishing corn planting and making rst-crop hay, the Servaises want to wrap up landscaping in the wake of the construction projects. They moved into the new dairy center’s ofces last October. “It’s (the new barn and dairy center) been in the plans a long time,” Tim said. “Our old parlor was worn out.” That facility was a double-10 swing parlor retrotted into an older, two-story barn. The new milking area is a new double-10 basement parlor. The basement under the parlor holds much of the equipment and controls, keeping them clean and dry. And with the pulsators down there, the milking
area upstairs is quieter. One unusual feature of the upstairs portion is a balcony, complete with chairs. The balcony, made of a concrete slab over the outside entrance to the basement, affords a scenic view of hay elds and hills. The milking center has ofces, an employee break room, restrooms and a utility room. In the 116- by 362-foot freestall barn are 48-inch-wide stalls deeply bedded with straw. Other features aimed at keeping the Holstein cows comfortable include a high ceiling for air ow, controlled lighting and curtain sidewalls that can be closed on days when the barn is switched to tunnel ventilation. Thanks to the farm’s breezy ridgetop location, the fans were not used until late July last year. The insulated ceiling contributes to the barn’s cool interior. The building has been so comfortable that the sprinklers and misters have not been hooked up, Tim said. The barn’s four automatic brushes have proven popular with the cows. Feeding is faster and easier in the fourpen barn, thanks to a total mixed ration that’s delivered down the center of the barn. Since the milking parlor and barn are both part of the same complex, neither cows nor people need to go into the weather as much as they once did. At the old facility, the cows had to walk outdoors and up a hill to get to the milking parlor. “The comfort of the new barn is just amazing,” Tim said. Since moving the cows, the herd average has risen from approximately 16,000 pounds per cow to 18,400 pounds. The fat test is 3.8 percent and the protein test is 3.0. Each of the twice-daily milkings takes about ve hours, when cleanup is included. But now, one less person is needed. Tim and Lisa credit their employees with helping make the farm function smoothly. “We’ve been really lucky with Turn to SERVAISES | Page 37
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The Servais family – (front, from leŌ) Jim and Gloria; (back, from leŌ) Tim, Sabrina, Zachary, Lisa and Jackson – is hosƟng The Vernon County Dairy Breakfast June 3 at Hamburg Hills Farm in Stoddard, Wis.
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Page 36 • Dairy Star • Saturday, May 27, 2017
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Dairy Star • Saturday, May 27, 2017 • Page 37
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Tim Servais milks 365 cows on his family’s organic farm, Hamburg Hills Farm. Approximately 2,500 people are expected to visit the farm for the Vernon County Dairy Breakfast June 3. our labor force. We’ve been able to nd good help and keep them quite a while,” Lisa said. Herdswoman Rachel Schroeder has worked for Tim and Lisa 18 years. Main milker Victor Viveros has been there 12 years. Another veteran employee is parlor manager Riley Ingalls. To give Tim more time for the farm’s overall management and to work on the crops aspect, Chet Kirschbaum was hired this past April as the operations manager. He will assist with the crops and maintain the machinery. Lisa has an off-farm job that puts her biology degree to use. She works at a milk, food and water testing business near Coon Valley, Wis. Lisa and Tim met when he was a milk hauler.
sition to organic production 10 years ago, selling their milk to Organic Valley. Tim is a member of the cooperative’s dairy executive and work improvement committees. “The stable milk price was attractive. The up-and-down swings are so hard to deal with,” Tim said about the switch to organic production. The price the Servaises receive for their organic milk is down a bit, and is in the high $20s, Tim said. The lower price is due to the amount of milk that’s available, he said. Lisa said she expects the breakfast to draw heavily from nearby La Crosse, plus the Mississippi River communities of Stoddard and Genoa. Tim and Lisa were both educated in La Crosse, so many area people know them. The Servaises are no strangers to hosting farm visitors. Lisa said schools bring students on eld trips, their cooperative sometimes holds employee meetings there, and representatives of the grocery chain Whole Foods Market were there in April. “We feel that hosting the breakfast is important,” Lisa LISA SERVAIS, DAIRY FARMER said. “For this area, we’re a larger farm. We want to be a “I didn’t know if I wanted to do the good, strong neighbor in the commuseven-day-a-week (dairying) thing, so nity.” I went and drove a milk truck, which Asked what they would like visiis seven days a week,” Tim said. tors to understand about their farm In 1991, Tim decided he wanted and farming, Tim said, “We’re close to farm full time. His father and he to La Crosse, but most people there formed a partnership, built a freestall don’t know much about dairying or barn and milking parlor, and expanded where milk really comes from. They the herd to 120 cows. They named the go to the store for a gallon of milk, and business Hamburg Hills Farm for its that’s all they know.” location in Hamburg Township. Added Lisa, “I would like people Three years later, Lisa and Tim to understand that our cows are impormarried. They purchased the farm tant to us. Dairying is hard work, but from Tim’s parents, Jim and Gloria, in it’s doable, and you can be protable.” 2004. The farm had 200 cows then and ve employees. The Servaises nished their tran-
“We feel that hosting the breakfast is important [...] We want to be a good, strong neighbor in the community.”
Vernon County Dairy Breakfast Serving for the dairy breakfast runs from 7 to 11 a.m. The cost for adults is $6, with a $2 charge for children under 10. On the menu are scrambled eggs, sausage, pancakes, cheese, yogurt, coffee and milk. Activities will include farm tours, a petting zoo, a display of antique tractors, and the coronation of the Vernon County Dairy Princess. A video will show milking taking place. Breakfast guests are welcome to tour the parlor after milking. The Servais farm is at E2556 Hamburg Ridge Rd., Stoddard, Wis.
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Amber, Joe, Hunter, 4, and Killian, 2, McComish Shullsburg, Wis. Lafayette County 220 cows How did you get into farming? We co-own the farm with Joe’s father and mother, Tim and Kim McComish. We both grew up on dairy farms, but Amber worked here as a herdswoman, which is how we met. What are your thoughts and concerns about the dairy industry for the next year? We are most concerned about consumer education and farm transparency. We also hope the industry is able to bridge the gap between processors and farmers to nd common ground. What is the latest technology you implemented on your farm and the purpose for it? Genomic testing; we started using it to help us diversify because we are not planning to expand. We hope that genomic testing will help our farm excel even further. What is a management practice you changed in the past year that has beneted you? We had a barn re four years ago, so over time we have built the dairy back from the ground up, calves to cows. Tim does all of the eld work, and we have improved our practices in the ground to produce better feed, which results in better cows.
How do you retain a good working relationship with your employees? We try to pay a decent wage. We treat everyone who works for us as if they are family because, really, that’s what they are. People who work
for us usually work here for a very long time; there isn’t much turnover. When they need our help with something, we make sure we do what we can to provide it for them. Tell us about a skill you possess that makes dairy farming easier for you. For Joe, it is his mechanical brain. He can watch someone do something one time and be able to do it himself. For Amber, the ability to multitask and having a well-versed knowledge with the cows. She has a real eye for cow health and does well managing the herd. What do you enjoy most about dairy farming? There is always something different to do every day with the different seasons. For Amber, it is being with the cows as they are her passion. For Joe, it is xing equipment across the farm which is his passion. What advice would you give other dairy farmers? The job itself is changing a lot; you need to be wellrounded as a farmer in order to succeed. Keep an open mind to other farmers for suggestions. Learn from others who have navigated the ups and downs. What has been the best purchase you’ve ever made on your farm? We purchased ve new fans last year
which helped us to prevent milk from uctuating with the heat of summer. What has been your biggest accomplishment while dairy farming? Succeeding after the re. Before the re, our herd was producing 90 pounds per day. Once they got back to the farm after going elsewhere because of the re, they were only producing 80 pounds per day. Now, that average is up to 95 pounds, and our herd is showing its true potential. Getting back on our feet in the last few years has helped us to look forward rather than be frustrated about what happened. What are your plans for your dairy in the next year and ve years? Next year, we hope to gain prot and efciency. We would like to put in robots. We have excellent labor right now, but we might not have them 5-10 years down the road, so it is something we continue to consider. How do you or your family like to spend time when you are not doing chores? Both of our parents have cabins so spending summer days on the lake is what we like to do best. Otherwise, we are beer and cheese connoisseurs, so we are always trying new cheeses and brews that pop up around the area.
Star Blends is a full service feed manufacturing facility. We provide custom complete feeds, supplements and minerals. We utilize modern technology to produce your needed products on demand with the highest quality feeds at the best cost. We also offer a wide selection of commodities, ingredients and additives. We are focused on dairy, efficiently delivering to farms in Western Wisconsin. Give us a call, we’d be happy to discuss our commodities or custom products and services with you and your nutritionist.
1919 Riley Road Sparta, WI 54656 | 800.462.4125
Page 40 • Dairy Star • Saturday, May 27, 2017
LARGEST SELECTION OF NEW AND USED TMR MIXERS!!
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Salesmen: Tony Steinhart (608) 778-3491 or Joe Ryan (608) 778-2900
4116 Hwy. 80 S. Platteville, WI
Office: (608) 348-9401 or Toll Free: 1(888) BUY-PATZ www.steinhartsfarmservice.com
4116 Hwy. 80 S. Platteville, WI