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Dairy Star • Saturday, May 14, 2016 • Page 13

ConƟnued from CRP | Page 12 the CRP-Continuous program.”

Surrounding states, such as Iowa and North Dakota, have more acres enrolled in the program, while others, like Wisconsin and South Dakota, have less.

In the early 2000s, Wisconsin saw a record-high enrollment of 800,000 acres but has since settled near 234,000 acres in the various CRP programs, Edelburg said.

“Wisconsin is really in the middle of the pack for enrollment compared to our neighbors,” she said.

For Greden, who at one point participated in the government’s annual set-aside program, CRP provides a future for his family’s farm by loyally adhering to a conservation practice year after year.

“We’re establishing food plots, trees and pastures

“There’s a father who wants to rent extra land to bring his son back home, but he’s competing with the high price the government is paying for CRP.” ǧ SOUTHEASTERN MINN., DAIRY FARMER

that the wildlife enjoy,” Greden said. “Indirectly, my 90-year-old mother enjoys when I bring her freshpicked owers, and sometimes seeing her smile is enough validation for the program.”

The Gredens have also incorporated wildowers and honeybees into their CRP land.

In exchange for placing the acres in CRP, landowners receive an annual rental payment from the government. These payments are used to cover costs associated with maintaining the land, as well as providing cost share assistance to plant, restore and enhance conservation covers. Certain continuous practices also receive incentives for enrollment.

“This can be another source to assist during the ups and downs of the farming economy, while

providing needed conservation benets to a farm operation,” Hanson said.

While the program may indirectly boost local economies, some feel it can have an adverse effect on communities.

A dairy farm from southeastern Minnesota has seen rst-hand the program take away viable cropland, hindering the community’s potential.

“Poor-quality grounds where we can’t grow crops to feed our animals benet from conservation programs, but we don’t want to see at, healthy corn ground put into CRP because of the payment incentives given out by the government,” said the farmer, who wished to remain anonymous.

The CRP Grassland program – which was created by the 2014 Farm Bill allows landowners the exibility to hay and graze contracted acres for production purposes. CRP also has the Transition Incentive Program, which allows current CRP participants to transition their land to a beginning farmer and receive incentives for that activity. As low commodity prices continue to exist nationwide, landowners look for options to enroll environmentally-sensitive lands and marginal lands into the CRP Continuous signup, however, it causes competition for some dairy producers.

“There’s a father who wants to rent extra land to bring his son back home, but he’s competing with the high price the government is paying for CRP,” the dairyman said. “It’s really a hardship for young farmers.”

Even though controversial, CRP and other conservation programs have been proven benecial to the land by providing clean water, reducing runoff and minimizing inputs on land that is high risk to loss by drought and oods, Edelburg said.

As enrollment periods come and go over the years, Greden and his family will continue to sign up for the program in order to benet the land and farm in the long run.

“We continue to maintain our CRP land because we don’t necessarily need it right now for operating the dairy,” Greden said. “We’re going to continue preserving the land for the future. Someday when we need it, it will be there and better than it was before.”

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From Our Side Of The Fence

Page 16 • Dairy Star • Saturday, May 14, 2016

College graduates: What are you doing after graduation?

Dana Overman Ridgewater College Degree: Agribusiness Describe the farm you grew up on. I grew up on a small dairy farm south of Freeport. We milk 50 cows, and run 250 acres of land, growing corn, alfalfa, and oats.

What are your plans after graduation? I am currently working at Melrose Ag Center Division of Belgrade Coop, as the administrator for the Melrose ofce.

Why did you choose that path? I chose agbusiness, because with growing up on a dairy farm, I was taught so many things – from hard work ethic to respect – that I want to give back and help the agriculture industry. One time I was asked, “What is your ideal job?” I wasn’t sure, so I thought about it more. I want to be able to talk to farmers every day and work with computers. With there being so many jobs to do in agriculture, I knew I could nd it; and I have so far, here at Melrose Ag Center.

What is a class you feel will help you in your career? Why? A class that has helped me is processors and record. We learned how to use the same computer program that I am using now.

If you could change one thing in the agricultural eld, what would it be and why? I feel getting people more aware of what farmers do and why, because all farmers want the best for the land and animals.

Where do you see yourself in ve years? Ten years? I do not know exactly. I am always learning and just want to help in agriculture in anyway I can.

Which college experience has best prepared you for your career? The best college experience I have had is being involved in PAS (Post-Secondary Agriculture Student) which is an organization that is a lot like FFA for college students. I learned a lot and becoming an ofcer showed me how to work with people more and helped me become an all around better person.

Cheyenne Schmidt Ridgewater College Willmar, Minn.

Degree: Dairy management Describe the farm you grew up on. I grew up on my family’s 60-cow dairy farm. Even though 60 cows seem like a small operation, there was always plenty to do. Some of my rst tasks were helping my grandma feed the calves, assisting with feeding grain to the cows and riding along with my dad while he was completing eld work. Our cows are housed in a stanchion barn and are let out on pasture every day in between milking shifts. We also run about 200 acres of land, where we raise food for our animals.

What are your plans after graduation? I am employed at Ro-Lo Dairy in Pennock, Minn. I am in charge of milking 115 cows, performing basic medical care, feeding calves, treating animals with mastitis and sorting cows for hoof trimming. After graduation I plan to continue working on Ro-Lo Dairy through the summer before starting a job as an administrative assistant for Riverview LLP. I will be working for Riverview during the week and would like to dairy farm with my family on the weekends.

Why did you choose that path? From a young age I developed a love for animals, especially cows. I could not imagine life without farming. Choosing to work in an ofce for a dairy farm is a new adventure that I am more than excited to experience. Before I commit my life to dairy farming full time, I wanted to branch out and work for an agricultural company rst to make sure dairy farming is the best career choice for me.

It also gives me the chance to learn additional skills that will benet me in the future.

What is a class you feel will help you in your career? Why? Farm Management was one of my favorite classes while studying at Ridgewater College. Our instructor always had a story to tell that would remind us of what we should and shouldn’t do, both in our personal lives and as a farmer. He taught us how to work with computer programs such as FinPack, which taught us how to analyze farm and personal nances to make sure we make good nancial decisions. As part of my job I am expected to be knowledgeable about farming as well as good at working with computer programs to keep the ofce running efciently. Throughout the Farm Management Course we were taught such a variety of content.

If you could change one thing in the agricultural eld, what would it be and why?

Organic and conventional farms each want to be able to market and sell their milk, but they seem to be in competition with each other. I would like to see all dairy farmers have the mindset that all dairy products are wholesome and safe. Each farm raises their animals differently, but they all provide variety and quality products to consumers. Instead of competing with each other, I would like to see them be more open to working with each other with the big picture in mind. We all are one big team.

Where do you see yourself in ve years? Ten years? In the next ve years I see myself staying active in the dairy community by volunteering my time to assist with the dairy princess program where I live. I also see myself taking a break from the physical farm labor and continuing an ofce job at an agricultural company. In the next 10 years I would like to get married and start taking on ownership of my family’s dairy farm.

Which college experience has best prepared you for your career? Being an Ag Ambassador has been a great learning experience. I’ve had to collaborate with several teammates, working in unison with them to complete numerous tasks. I gave tours of the agriculture department and represented Ridgewater College at college fairs. I’ve gained experience with sending emails, typing letters, coming up with creative ways to recruit new students and making phone calls. No matter what career I choose, all the communication and people skills I have acquired as an Ag Ambassador will make me successful.

Eric Houdek University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Degree: Animal science – dairy production Describe the farm you grew up on. I grew up on my family’s 400-cow registered Holstein farm in Caledonia, Minn., where we run 1,000 acres consisting of corn and alfalfa. Also, a few years ago, we started up our beef herd of 50 registered Red Angus cow/calf pairs.

What are your plans after graduation? This coming fall I will be attending graduate school at the University of Minnesota studying dairy genetics.

Why did you choose that path? I chose to attend graduate school to pursue my passion of dairy cattle genetics, become more knowledgeable of genetics, and eventually apply what I learn in the future at an A.I. company.

What is a class you feel will help you in your career? Why? A class that has really sparked my interest in dairy genetics and will denitely help me in the future is Dr. Les Hansen’s dairy cattle genetics course. This course covered all aspects of dairy genetics, including many current topics in dairy genetics such as genomics, and gave me a good understanding of these topics that I can apply in the future.

If you could change one thing in the agricultural eld, what would it be and why? If I could change one thing about the agriculture eld it would be closing the gap between us, as agriculture producers, and our consumers. Closing the gap between producers and consumers would help the consumers better understand farming practices and why we do what we do on the farms. This would create a better overall relationship between consumers and us, which would greatly benet both sides.

Where do you see yourself in ve years? Ten years? In ve years, I see myself working at an A.I. company with a role in that company’s sire department. Ten years from now, I see myself still working in the A.I. industry, still having a role in a sire department working with sire procurement, and having a family.

Which college experience has best prepared you for your career? Being a member of the University of Minnesota Dairy Judging Team. Being a member of the team enhanced my public speaking skills through presenting oral reasons, and allowed me to visit numerous elite dairy breeders across the Midwest to learn about their operation and network with them.

Nicole Jax South Dakota State University Degree: Dairy manufacturing with a minor in food safety Describe the farm you grew up on. I grew up on a small, 25-cow dairy farm in Waltham, Minn. We got out of milking in late 2007, and began the transition from a dairy to a beef operation soon thereafter. We regularly grow alfalfa, corn, and soybeans, but also occasionally grow oats. Currently, we have 100-head of beef cattle and 25-head of Boer meat goats.

What are your plans after graduation? I signed on with Hydrite Chemical Company in December of 2015.

After I complete my training, I will be an account manager servicing a territory in Minnesota.

Why did you choose that path? I chose Hydrite Chemical Company for many reasons. Hydrite is a company lled with many fun-lled and kind people. This is denitely what set them apart from the other competitive offers that I had received. They were also able to provide exible scheduling at the conclusion of my training, and my compensation package was very competitive. Because of their amazing people, the job itself, and the compensation package, Hydrite was the clear choice for me.

What is a class you feel will help you in your career? Why? AST 443 is a class that prepared me well for this position. Food processing and engineering covered pumps, ow, and many other aspects of a food plant that will be helpful as I enter into my role.

If you could change one thing in the agricultural eld, what would it be and why? I would change the behavior of producers and processors in the dairy community. The great thing about visiting the dairy case in the store is that there are many options for our family and friends to choose from. Whether it’s organic or conventional, we have the option to choose what we want to feed our families.

The biggest problem I see is conventional farmers bashing organic farmers or vice versa, when we should really just be promoting dairy in general. Milk is nature’s perfect milk, no matter the means used to procure it. Let’s work together to promote the dairy community rather than taking sides and confusing our families and friends even more.

Where do you see yourself in ve years? Ten years? I see myself getting married, and having a big family and raising them on a small hobby farm in Minnesota. I also plan to still be happily working for Hydrite Chemical Company.

Which college experience has best prepared you for your career? I cannot narrow it down to just one experience. I have attended a few industry conferences, been active in Dairy Club, and was on the rst place National Collegiate Dairy Judging team. In my opinion, South Dakota State University has the best dairy program in the world. Since attending, I have only fallen more in love with dairy and the amazing people that work in the dairy community.