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Volume 21, No. 9
June 22, 2019
Carlsons build state’s rst automated rotary parlor
JENNIFER COYNE/DAIRY STAR
Tim Stender milks 130 cows near Young America, Minn. Stender has spent the last several years addressing stray voltage on his farm.
A ghost chase
Stenders work to eliminate stray voltage on farm By Jennifer Coyne jenn@dairystar.com
YOUNG AMERICA, Minn. – Tim Stender is on a ghost chase. For the past several years, he has identied culprits of stray voltage that have been consequential to his herd’s health and performance. Unfortunately, Stender knows his quest is not near its end. “The big thing with stray voltage is it’s chasing ghosts,” Stender said. “You can’t see stray voltage, and you don’t realize what a problem it can be until it’s gone.” Stender and his brother, Daniel, milk 130 cows in Carver County near Young America, Minn. Every week, Stender walks through his tiestall barn and across the farm site with copper-insulated witching wires. A quick scan of the property with wires, and checking the primary and secondary grounds with a multimeter, picks up any electrical potential. The dairyman has noticed stray voltage issues may come from an electrical outlet and fan, or cell phone charger. “It’s a constant issue,” Stender said. “You have to pay attention to what the cows are saying. They’re telling you something is wrong.” Stray voltage is a problem the Stenders have been battling for more than a decade. Soon after the brothers purchased the dairy site from their parents in 2004, they began noticing unexplainable issues within their herd. “Everything seemed to start out well, but as time progressed we started to see a number of issues,” Stender said. “Stray voltage was something people talked about and was always a concern for us, but it didn’t add up.” The herd’s production took a gradual decline, but milk quality remained unchanged and feed intake was Turn to STENDER | Page 7
JENNIFER COYNE/DAIRY STAR
A group of cows are milked on the 60-stall roboƟc rotary parlor June 13 at Carlson Dairy LLP near Pennock, Minn. The Carlson family began using the automated milking system in June 2018.
Facility a part of farm remake following summer storm By Jennifer Coyne jenn@dairystar.com
PENNOCK, Minn. – The storm that swept through Kandiyohi County June 11, 2017, shook the Carlson family; but such destruction provided opportunity for Carlson Dairy LLP. For one year, the family has operated the state’s rst automated rotary milking parlor – the GEA DairyProQ – on their 1,650-cow dairy near Pennock, Minn. “When we got into reconstruction mode, we saw the silver lining,” Kindra Carlson said. “We were already looking at changing our milking parlor and now we could change it how we wanted.” Kindra and her husband, Chad, farm in JENNIFER COYNE/DAIRY STAR partnership with Chad’s Carl Carlson (leŌ) explains the computer system of the automated rotary milk- brother and wife, Carl and Turn to CARLSON ing parlor to Minnesota Milk tour aƩendees June 13 at his farm near Pennock, Minn. Carlson can monitor each stall of the parlor using the computer system. | Page 5