June 22, 2019 Dairy Star - Zone 1 by Dairy Star

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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 identied 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

Page 2 • Dairy Star • Saturday, June 22, 2019

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 (ofce) 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 - Associate Editor (320) 352-6303 • andrea.b@dairystar.com Krista Kuzma - Assistant Editor (507) 259-8159 • krista.k@dairystar.com Jennifer Coyne - Assistant Editor (320) 352-6303 • jenn@dairystar.com Ruth Klossner (507) 240-0048 cowlady@centurylink.net Danielle Nauman (608) 487-1101 danielle.n@dairystar.com Danna Sabolik - Staff Writer (320) 352-6303 • danna.s@dairystar.com Maria Bichler - Copy Editor 320-352-6303 Advertising Sales Main Ofce: 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 (ofce) 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 Amanda Hoeer (Eastern Iowa) 320-250-2884 • amanda.h@dairystar.com Amos Denman (Southern WI) 563-608-6477 • amos.d@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 nal 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 ofces. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Dairy Star, 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave., Sauk Centre, MN 56378-1246.

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In the dairy industry, it is the season of on-farm events of all kinds – breakfasts on the farm, public tours and open houses featuring innovative technology. Dairy farmers Mike and Joan Gilles like sharing their love for the land on their 110-cow dairy in Winona County near Ridgeway, Minn. Two years ago, the couple established their rst campsite for people to rent and enjoy over 7 miles of hiking trails and wooded acres on their property. Read about the Gilleses’ camping options on page 8 in third section. Minnesota Milk Producers Association hosted their annual Summer Escape farm tour, where they visited dairies across west central Minnesota June 13. The group’s rst stop was at Shaina Kirckof’s dairy near Belgrade, Minn. Turn to page 3 in second section to read about how Kirckof’s facility improvements have kept her competitive in the dairy market. Also in second section on page 4, you will nd a story on the Adringa family, of Clear Lake, S.D. In March, the family began Helplines using 24 robots to milk their 1,800-cow herd. They talk about why milking robots was the right choice for their farm and also the challenges of completing such a large project. The public is – Minnesota Farm & Rural Helpline, 833-600-2670 x1 invited to an open house at the dairy Saturday, June 29. The Gierok family are veterans when it comes to hosting – Rural Mental Health Counselor large events. For the second time, they took on the Tremplealeau (MN), 320-266-2390 County Dairy Breakfast June 8 at their dairy farm, High Hillside – Iowa Concern Hotline, 800-447-1985 Acres in Independence, Wis. Read how the day went for the – Avera Farmer’s Stress Hotline (SD), Gierok family in the “Day in the life” feature found on pages 16 800-691-4336 – Farm Center Helpline (WI), 800and 18 in second section. While dairy farmers have been busy sharing their dairy sto- 273-8255 ries, we caught up with processors to help share theirs. In the – National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, “Our side of the fence” feature, representatives of dairy proces- 800-273-8255 sors answered questions about their business and how they are – Farm Aid Hotline, 800-327-6243 continually working to provide the best market for their patrons. Read those responses on pages 15-16 in rst section.

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Dairy Star • Saturday, June 22, 2019 • Page 3

It’s all inside... Columnists Ag Insider

Pages 8-9 First Section

Kids Corner: The Maus Family

Beltrami

Swift

or n

Kingsbury

n nso

Moody

McCook Minnehaha

Scott

Sibley

Lyon

Murray

Rock

Nobles

Redwood Brown

Nicollet

Third Section: Pages 2-3

Dakota

Rice

Goodhue Wabasha

Cottonwood Watonwan Blue Earth Waseca Steele Dodge Olmsted Jackson

Martin

Faribault

Freeborn

Winona

Fillimore

Mower

Houston

Decorah

Hutchinson

Turner

Bon Yankton Homme

Lincoln Clay

Union

Lyon

Osceola Dickinson Emmet

Sioux

O’Brien

Clay

Palo Alto

Lester

For additional stories from our other zone, log on to www.dairystar.com

Winnebago

Worth

Hancock

Cerro Gordo

Floyd

Howard

ic Ch

Bremer

Plymouth

Zone 1

Kossuth

Mitchell

Metzgers’ 17-yearold Jersey is still lling the tank

Black Hawk

Fayette

Second Section: Pages 14 - 15

Clayton

c Bu

Decorah woman has a long history with dairy chores, baking

Allamakee

Charles Mix

Lake

Hennepin Carver

Waukon

Danhof receives distinguished breeder honor

Winneshiek

Douglas

Brookings

Renville

Yellow Medicine

Wright

McLeod

Third Section: Pages 8 - 9

vis

Sa nb

Miner

Deuel

Meeker

Anoka

Hamlin

Kandiyohi

Chippewa

Lac Qui Parle

Codington

Clark

Sherburne

Isanti

Grant

Benton

Stearns

Pope

Gilles family welcomes campers, hikers to wooded acres

Big Sto Stone

Mille Lacs

Morrison

Douglas

Stevens

Ridgeway

Pine

isa

Pages 10 - 11 Second Section

Carlton

Crow Wing

Roberts

Day

Grant

Third Section: Page 4

Aitkin

sey

Wilkin

Marshall

Cass

Todd

Tra ve

Second Section: Pages 4 - 5

The “Mielke” Market Weekly

Otter Tail

rse

The Andringa family has 24 robotic milkers on 1,800 cow dairy

Arlington

Triplet heifers born on Krueger farm

Washington

Becker

Clay

Clear Lake

nom

Mah

Kanabec

Norman

Itasca

Ra m

Polk

First Section: Pages 1, 5-6

Young America

First Section: Pages 1, 7

Hubbard

Carlsons build state’s rst automated rotary parlor

Bekius keeps open mind when making decisions

Stender works to eliminate stray voltage on farm

Koochiching St. Louis

Red Lake

Page 32 First Section

Page 33 First Section

First Section: Page 10

Pennington

Pennock

Just Thinking Out Loud

Dairy Good Life

First Section: Pages 23, 25

Wadena

Page 31 First Section

First Section: Pages 34 - 35

Clearwater

Something to Ruminate On

Milaca

Trettel Dairy: 100 years of work

Lake of the Woods

Marshall

Page 30 First Section

Royalton

Dear County Agent Guy

Albany

Altendahl completes 26 acres with help from contest

Third Section: Pages 6 - 7 Kittson Roseau

Second Section: Page 3

Lincoln

Page 26 First Section

Osakis

New tiestall barn allows Kirckof to remain competitive

Pipestone

FSA News & Notes

Belgrade

are

law

Linn

Dubuque

Jones

Jackson

Second Section: Page 8

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Page 4 • Dairy Star • Saturday, June 22, 2019

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Dairy Star • Saturday, June 22, 2019 • Page 5

ConƟnued from CARLSON | Page 1

Thank You! JENNIFER COYNE/DAIRY STAR

Cows are milked three Ɵmes a day in individual roboƟc milking stalls on the 60-stall rotary parlor at Carlson Dairy LLP June 13 near Pennock, Minn. Each stall operates on its own. Kellie Carlson, and parents, Curtney and Louise Carlson. The family hosted the nal stop on the Minnesota Milk Producer Association Summer Escape tour June 13. Cows are housed in a 10-row, crossventilated freestall barn and bedded with sand. The majority of the herd is milked in the rotary parlor three times a day – at 8 a.m., 4 p.m. and midnight. Of the 14 groups milked, two groups are fresh cows, and those animals are milked four times in 24 hours. The rotary parlor was built to the north of where the farm’s double-18 parlor stood; 18 stalls in the original parlor are still used for non-conforming and recently fresh cows. “We have a group of about 50 that don’t go in the rotary,” Carl said. “Some are claustrophobic or might have foot abscesses that make it difcult to get on and off the parlor, but most of them are just old cows.” In the rst-of-its-kind milking system, the automated parlor contains 60 individual robotic milking stalls. Cows step into the stalls and the unit attaches to the teats for a prep procedure followed by milking and then post dip; all occurring within the ination liner. The system uses a camera, creating a 3D image, to nd the teat and attach. It is setup to try attaching three times

before kicking over to manual mode where an employee is notied and must attach the unit. “Because of that imaging, we don’t have to cull cows with poor udder conformations if they’re protable,” Carl said. One revolution of the parlor takes eight minutes, meaning 300 cows can be milked in one hour with the entire herd milked in six hours. “We’ve found the faster it spins the better the cows load because the cows entering don’t have to wait in line for the cow ahead of her to enter the rotary,” Carl said. “They can walk at a steady pace.” The parlor has some downtime three times a day – two times of which are designated for a wash cycle. “There aren’t many xes we can’t do while it’s spinning,” Carl said. “If one of the units breaks, we can take out the service components and work on it without shutting down the parlor.” Every morning, Carl reviews data received from the parlor and individual robots. He then attends to robots as needed. The Carlsons all receive data about the parlor and milking herd on their phones. The parlor also includes two monitors, which simulate the parlor Turn to CARLSON | Page 6

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Page 6 • Dairy Star • Saturday, June 22, 2019

ConƟnued from CARLSON | Page 5

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JENNIFER COYNE/DAIRY STAR

The lactaƟng herd is housed in a 10-row, cross-venƟlated freestall barn on the farm near Pennock, Minn. functions with color coordination. “I don’t need to be going back and forth around the rotary checking on the cows in the parlor, I can do it all on my own from here,” said Carl, showing his phone and the monitors. From the monitors, Carl can then look at individual cows and stalls to see how many times the unit tried attaching, the milk yield, and pre- and post-dip supplies remaining, among other information. The automated system will serve the Carlsons well once the system is full optimized. It is currently helping them maintain a somatic cell count of 140,000. After a year in operation, the Carlsons all agreed one of the most challenging aspects of the new parlor was proper training for employees. “It takes a different person to learn how to work with all the technology,” Chad said. Kindra agreed. “People want to jump in and do it themselves, but instead we have to let the robot do the work,” she said. Along with the parlor, the Carlsons also built a calf barn with automated feeders in addition to an eight-row, 1,000-animal unit heifer facility. In the cross-ventilated calf barn, calves are grouped in pens of 24 calves with the two youngest groups only having 12 calves in the pen. The Carlsons have not noticed much difference in milk intake with the automated feeders, but have noticed a better social transition from calves to heifers and cows. “The capital investment is great, but at the end of the day, we feel we’re getting better calves because of it,” Chad said. Once calves reach 5 months of age,

they are moved to the heifer facility until 22-23 months old. There, they are bedded with separated solids and wear activity monitors to track heats. “At 5 months old, the heifers start making an S shape through the barn and through the 10 groups. We move them out 30 days before calving,” Chad said. “For managing 1,000 heifers this way, there’s nothing to it.” The facility mimics the barn the Carlsons built in 2012, with the addition of recessed bunks which help them feed to zero refusals while maintaining foot health. “We wanted to keep management in line with what we were doing so everything is identical as it was before,” Chad said. The timing of such upgrades was coincidental. Chad and Carl toured two similar parlor facilities in Canada prior to the 2017 storm. “They came back and were mulling over if the investment and timing of it was all worth it,” Kindra said. “When the storm came, it ended up being good timing to revamp our facilities.” The storm removed the roofs on the freestall barns and milking parlor, and caused other damage to the milk cow facilities. The special needs barn was attened, as was the 3-month-old heifer barn. With the state-of-the-art facilities, the Carlsons are pleased with how they were able to recover from devastation and invest in their dairy’s future. “We’re still learning and there are still challenges, but with new technology we’ve come a long way,” Kindra said. “We’re optimizing the system for production and what’s best for the cows.”

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Young calves are housed in group pens and fed with automaƟc calf feeders at Carlson Dairy LLP in Pennock, Minn. The Carlsons have noƟced a beƩer social transiƟon from calves to heifers with the group housing.

Dairy Star • Saturday, June 22, 2019 • Page 7

ConƟnued from STENDER | Page 1 becoming greater than ever. Stender also had trouble with reproduction in his heifer stock. Stender worked with Xcel Energy to evaluate electrical connections in 2012. The company monitored energy output with recorders for one week. “It was amazing what we saw,” Stender said. “Those recorders showed us exactly when we were having issues on the farm and to some degree, where.” In 2015, Stender worked with the company again to install a neutral wire on the farm as a solar garden was being installed nearby. The neutral wire installation helped minimize any electrical potential on the farm from an outside source. “Things turned around and were going really well,” Stender said. “I still check the neutral on my multimeter about once a month. I haven’t found anything.” But problems still arose on the farm. Last June, production fell and the herd’s somatic cell count rose. Likewise, reproduction was suffering. The cows were also consuming 55 pounds of dry matter a day in a ration formulated to produce 80 pounds of milk. However, they were not reaching their production potential, said Stender. Any multimeter tests were reading zero, being the farm buildings were on an equipotential plane. “I was questioning myself. Was I missing something?” Stender said. “We were having cows go backwards with no explanation for it.” The dairyman then worked with his nutritionist and the company’s feed manager to evaluate the farm with witching wires. Inside the barn, the wires indicated the cow trainers were the culprits.

JENNIFER COYNE/DAIRY STAR

Tim Stender shows the heavy insulated wire he uses on the cow trainers at his dairy near Young America, Minn. The insulated wire is rated for 40,000 volts. When the cows urinated and touched the trainers, they created an electrical current that found ground in the barn cleaner. “The cows were getting zapped by using the gutter,” Stender said. “We immediately shut our trainers off and the cows started using the gutter better.” Stender replaced the ground wire

for the trainers with a heavy insulated wire rated for 40,000 volts. The modication improved cow behavior and comfort, but did not solve milk production and reproduction issues. At wits’ end, Stender attended an educational seminar about stray voltage in December 2018. There, he listened

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as his neighbor explained his troubles with electrical potential. “It was like I was listening to my brother during morning milking. Everything – the cows not responding to treatments – it was all things my brother and I talked about,” Stender said. “It was creepy, but that was exactly what was going on with our farm.” After the meeting, Stender invited his neighbor’s nutritionist to the farm for review. He arrived with insulated copper witching wires. “We had a problem,” Stender said. “As soon as he got out of his truck, [the wires] started swinging. We walked into the barn and the wires were swinging, but the meter was zero.” Using magnets and the wires, the nutritionist determined the source of stray voltage was coming from the utility and calf feeding room – specically the freezer used to store colostrum. “We unplugged the freezer and the whole barn was silent,” said Stender about the appliance he purchased in June 2018. Since disconnecting the freezer, the cows decreased their dry matter intake to 51 pounds and increased milk production by 7 pounds. Stender has noticed the health of other farm animals improve, and he and his brother are also seeing the positive effects. “All in all, that was a huge eye opener for us even though I think we’re still chasing ghosts,” Stender said. While stray voltage remains an issue on the dairy, it has become more sporadic occurrences with electrical potential showing up in a faulty radio or barn fan. The entire experience has pushed Stender to be a more meticulous dairy farmer for the betterment of his herd and his personal health.

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Walz signs ag ď&#x192;&#x17E;nance bill Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has signed the trade assistance plan, farmers will receive payments omnibus agriculture ď&#x192;&#x17E;nance bill. This legislation based on a county rate and their eligible planted acres includes money for the proposed Soy Innovation in 2019. The formula for the county rates has not been Campus at Crookston. There is assistance for dairy announced, but will be based on the trade impact for the farmers who sign up for ď&#x192;&#x17E;ve years in the federal Dairy crops grown in the county. Margin Coverage program. The Minnesota Ag Insider MFP payments to be front-loaded Department of Agriculture has more dollars House lawmakers want more to promote trade and protect farmers information on the second round of from the threat of Palmer amaranth and Market Facilitation Program payments. African Swine Fever. In response to recent They asked speciď&#x192;&#x17E;c questions of chief bankruptcies, ď&#x192;&#x17E;nancial reporting rules for ag negotiator Gregg Doud and USDA grain elevators were also adjusted. Undersecretary Ted McKinney during a House Agriculture Subcommittee hearing. Sign-up opens for Dairy Margin Missouri Representative Vicki Hartzler Coverage asked McKinney about trade aid and tough Enrollment for the new Dairy Margin planting conditions. McKinney responded. Coverage program is underway. Minnesota â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think the ď&#x192;&#x17E;rst tranche of MFP payments Farm Service Agency Executive Director will be heavier, because of the immediate Joe Martin said the DMC program By Don Wick need. Beyond that, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m disallowed by law functions like revenue insurance. Similar to Columnist to get into the speciď&#x192;&#x17E;cs.â&#x20AC;? McKinney also crop insurance, it offers a price protection told Hartzler he was not sure when farmers between the all-milk price and feed costs. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Farmers need to make two decisions to enroll. First, would know the county rates for MFP. what their coverage level will be and then, they need to select the amount of milk production they want to Johnson and Craig seek emergency haying on PP cover.â&#x20AC;? Farmers will also need to decide whether to acres South Dakota representative Dusty Johnson and sign up for one year or ď&#x192;&#x17E;ve years. Martin said there are built-in beneď&#x192;&#x17E;ts for signing up for ď&#x192;&#x17E;ve years. The State Minnesota representative Angie Craig have introduced of Minnesota will also provide assistance if farmers legislation to provide emergency ď&#x192;&#x;exibility to deal with participate for ď&#x192;&#x17E;ve years. DMC sign-up is open through feed shortages during years with high levels of prevented planting. This bill would waive the November 1 USDA Sept. 20. deadline to graze or hay those PP acres. MFP details expected soon The details of the new Market Facilitation Program Alfalfa winterkill hurting the crop A multi-state coalition has submitted a request to will be released within a matter of days. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I believe people deserve an answer sooner rather than later,â&#x20AC;? Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, asking for the said Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue. Perdue ability to plant and harvest forages on prevented plant emphasized the goals of the MFP payments differ from acres. The request came from the Farm Bureau groups prevented plant coverage. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Market Facilitation in Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana and Ohio due to feed Program is designed for tariff disruptions and we and forage shortages. Severe alfalfa winter kill and have a safety net in insurance over prevented plant.â&#x20AC;? record rainfall this spring inď&#x192;&#x;uenced the feed situation. The USDA legal team has determined crops must be The groups said they are not seeking a permanent planted to be eligible for MFP payments. With the new change, but a one-time emergency request.

H-2A amendment passes An amendment to the Homeland Security Appropriations bill includes year-round farm employees in the H-2A farm worker visa program. National Milk Producers Federation President/CEO Jim Mulhern said most dairy farmers have been unable to use H-2A visas because they can only be used for seasonal or temporary employees. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The current H-2A program simply isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t an option for a commodity that harvests its product multiple times a day, every day.â&#x20AC;? Promoting dairy During a time of low milk prices, the dairy checkoff program plays a vital role in helping dairy farmers. According to Midwest Dairy Association CEO Lucas Lentsch, the promotional pieces are focused on building dairy demand and increasing trust among consumers. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When there are conď&#x192;&#x;icting messages in the marketplace, the best thing we can be doing is holding the high ground of where we come from as a food industry.â&#x20AC;? Lentsch adds that establishing consumer conď&#x192;&#x17E;dence is a battle. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s why during National Dairy Month, farmers and industry stakeholders are sharing the facts about dairy. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hard to unring the bell of the reality of where weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been. But, with product innovation and market access there are strong days ahead.â&#x20AC;? USDA advisory committees named The USDAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new agricultural advisory committee features some familiar names. That list includes National Farmers Union senior vice president Rob Larew and National Milk Producers Federation President/CEO Jim Mulhern. The USDA Foreign Agricultural Service advisory committee for animals and animal products include South Dakota State Veterinarian Dustin Oedekoven. Minnesota Farmers Union President Gary Wertish is a member of the advisory committee for grains, feed and oilseeds. Turn to AG INSIDER | Page 9

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ConƟnued from AG INSIDER | Page 8 EPA exempts animal agriculture The EPA has nalized a new rule that exempts farmers from reporting air emissions from animal waste. The National Milk Producers Federation praised the decision, but said it expects the latest rule to be challenged in the courts. Dairy education center named for Fetrow The University of Minnesota and Davis Family Dairies have renamed the dairy education center west of St. Peter. The John Fetrow Dairy Education Center is named after a retired professor at the University of Minnesota who was instrumental in the unique dairy facility. Fetrow has also led numerous research efforts on dairy health. MDA names assistant commissioner Patrice Bailey has been appointed as Assistant Commissioner of Agriculture at the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. Bailey will oversee several departments, including outreach, ag marketing and development, dairy and meat inspection and food safety. Previously, Bailey served as the Outreach Director for the Council for Minnesotans

of African Heritage. First District Association names new CEO/president Bob Huffman is the new CEO/ president for First District Association. Most recently, Huffman was the vice president of manufacturing operations at Dairy Farmers of America. Clint Fall retired from the CEO/president role in mid-June after 21 years on the job. Trivia challenge June Dairy Month began in 1937. At that time, it was known as National Milk Month. That answers our last trivia question. What day of the week is the most popular for the purchase of ice cream? 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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Ken Bekius milks 75 cows on his family’s farm near Milaca, Minn. Bekius has withstood the depressed dairy economy by adapƟng various management pracƟces to his farm.

Editor’s note: In this series, “Dairying in tough times,” Dairy Star is catching up with dairy farmers who began milking cows in the last ve years. These farmers are sharing how they have been able to weather the market conditions and why they see promise in today’s changing industry. MILACA, Minn. – In the almost three years Ken Bekius has milked cows at his family’s farm site, he cannot think of one management technique that has remained the same. “I don’t feel one certain thing has stayed the same since I started,” Bekius said. “If I hear of a new idea, I try it, and if I don’t like it, I do something different.” An open-mind mentality has beneted Bekius as he continues his 75-cow dairy near Milaca, Minn. Within six months of his October 2016 start up date, Bekius reevaluated his reproduction. A local veterinarian recommended Bekius follow an ovsynch protocol. “I used to wait until the cows were 60-70 days in milk, and then if I didn’t catch a natural heat, I would synch them,” Bekius said. “But with not enough help on the dairy, the cows don’t always go outside every day and catching heats is hard.” When Bekius started dairying, he purchased a 42cow registered herd. In selecting bulls for high components, and structurally sound udder and feet and legs, Bekius has improved the quality of his herd. “Growing up, I always heard my dad say, ‘If you can keep good feet and legs under them, you can make them milk,’” Bekius said. Bekius admitted while functionality is important, he also looks at type. “One of the best things I’ve done to cut costs is stop attending dairy dispersals, otherwise I was nding ways to buy nice cattle,” he said. “I’ve always liked big, fancy cows, but big cows are not the most protable.” Instead, Bekius developed his herd from within, calving in 46 heifers over the course of the rst two winters. With a rapidly growing herd, Bekius has also taken a proactive approach to herd health. Calves are vaccinated against crypto and rotovirus within 12 hours of birth. “No one gets more or less care than the animal next to her,” Bekius said. “I don’t like getting a sick calf or cow, because if I have to cull her I feel like I failed.” To improve cow comfort and longevity, Bekius worked with an agriculture vendor to install new cow mattresses in the tiestall barn in 2017. The vendor nanced the project and created a payment plan Bekius could afford based on his milk check, and one he could pay off within a year.

“That was a project I was really dreading because of the cost, but my brother pushed me to get 10 mats replaced at a time,” Bekius said. “I’ve seen a bump in production, and the cows and me feel better standing on them. I should’ve done this when I rst started milking.” While Bekius has changed a lot in his farming practices, some tried and true practices have served the 24-year-old well. Bekius continues crop farming with his father, Curt, and three brothers, Shawn, Brad and Doug. Between the family members, they share equipment and labor, farming about 800 acres in Mille Lacs County. “We follow the great American barter system, and it’s worked really well for us,” Bekius said. Last year was the rst time the family experimented with double cropping, planting triticale and peas. This year, they strictly planted triticale and will be planting forage sorghum by the end of the month. Bekius’ mother, Jackie, also feeds the calves and his brothers relief milk. “I’ve never had any hired labor, so that means I’m sometimes burning the midnight oil,” Bekius said. “The key to all of this is the help I get from family.” The dairyman also gives credit to people in the industry who he works with and looks to for advice for managing through depressed milk prices, admitting it has not been an easy journey. “2018 was really tough,” Bekius said. “Last winter, things were really bad and I was second guessing everything. One farmer said what got him through the ‘80s was he had other farmers to lean on.” Aside from active and retired farmers, Bekius maintains a sound relationship with his farm business management instructor and banker. Together, they have worked to see Bekius’ dairy stays aoat. By seeing the business on paper, Bekius has managed his nances better and conscientiously makes smart business choices. At the beginning of this year, Bekius created a cash ow statement reective of his 2018 average milk price of $15.75. While the markets are more favorable, planning for less will further Bekius’ vision as a young dairy farmer. He looks online for hay for sale and has taken on custom planting. Last fall, Bekius also worked part time for a cattle exporter. “The secret to success is farming with your heart, but you have to farm with your checkbook rst,” he said. All of these decisions have carried Bekius through the economic slump and positioned him for a longer career in the industry – a goal he has as the third generation of dairy farmers. “There’s light at the end of the tunnel,” Bekius said. “Those of us who are still farming are the ultimate underdog story.”

Dairy Star • Saturday, June 22, 2019 • Page 11

Get funds for making farm plans Dairy grants available through the department of ag By Krista Kuzma

krista.k@dairystar.com

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota Department of Agriculture realizes the importance of planning for a farm’s future. To help with this process, the department has nearly $600,000 in funds available to dairy farmers through the Dairy Business Planning grant and the Dairy Protability Team. While neither of these opportunities is new to the budget, David Weinand said dairy farmers have not been using the funds as steadily this year. “I’ve done very little advertising [in the past] primarily because word of mouth usually exhausts my entire funding by March or April,” said Weinand, who works in ag marketing and development for the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. “Then, we start a new waiting list for the new scal year which starts in July. That hasn’t happened this year. I still have funds available.” Dairy Business Planning grants can be used for areas such as farm expansions, generational transitions, environmental upgrades or debt restructuring among other farm projects, Weinand said. “They’re utilized by dairy farmers to help encourage them to do business planning, modernization activities and put pen to paper to create a business plan before making any major changes to their operation,” Weinand said. The grant will cover 50%, up to $5,000, of hiring a consultant to help the farm create a business plan. “As long as a dairy is planning to continue, these [business plans] are a way to make the best of a situation and determine what’s the best course of action,” Weinand said. Weinand knows there are dairy farmers in the state who are making plans but do not know about the funds available. “I will talk to farmers who have done things on

“Despite the downturn in the economy, the dairy protability teams are still going strong, and dairy business planning grants are still available.”

said they are also starting to tackle other area such as employees, farm transitioning and how to deal with stress. “The dairy protability teams can still work with farms,” Weinand said. “It’s a great opportunity for the dairy farms just to take a breath and look at how things could be better so when the market turns around they can pull the trigger and be off to the races.” The farm that signs up to have a Dairy Protability Team contributes $200 to participate but will receive $500 in services, Weinand said. “On average the teams were able to generate in the neighborhood of $13.9 million for the farms they’re working with,” Weinand said. “If you look at the amount of money the team gets from the department of agriculture, that’s a 29:1 return on that investment as well as if we count the contribution from the team members. … The industry alone has

contributed in-kind contributions in the neighborhood of $1.6 million.” These gures plus individual comments Weinand has heard from farmers makes him believe this is an important program for farmers to use. “It’s one thing to disagree between generations. It’s another that if you can’t sit across the table from them at Thanksgiving or Christmas, something needs to change,” Weinand said. The protability teams can help with those issues and many more. “Despite the downturn in the economy, the Dairy Protability Teams are still going strong, and Dairy Business Planning grants are still available,” Weinand said. “I would encourage anyone who’s even making a small change on their farm to either apply for a business planning grant or have a Dairy Protability Team on their farm.”

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their farm and they will say, ‘Oh, I wish I would have known about this grant,’” Weinand said. While there are still available funds before the end of the scal year June 30, Weinand said the funds will still be accessible after that date, too. “They can still apply for the grant right up until the end of the month, or they can get their application in and they’ll be the rst one out of the gate for next [scal] year starting July 1,” he said. Unused funds will go back to the general fund, Weinand said. He is also working on a proposal to redirect any unused funds for dairy related work and research. To apply for a Dairy Business Planning grant, dairy farmers can call Weinand at 651-201-6646 or email him at david.weinand@state.mn.us. Funds are also available for dairy farmers to work with a Dairy Protability Team through the Minnesota Dairy Initiatives. This program, which has been around since the late 1990s, gathers people who work with a farm to help them improve areas to be more efcient. The team typically includes a farm business management instructor, extension educator, nutritionist, a representative from the processor, other farms, the farm’s lender and A.I. organizations. Weinand said there might have been a dip in the program’s usage because dairy farmers are not working on as many projects at the moment due to the current dairy economy. While big on-farm projects have been a focal point for many of the teams in the past, Weinand

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Page 12 • Dairy Star • Saturday, June 22, 2019

Minnesota dairy farms honored for superior cow care

Herds with lowest somatic cell count are recognized

Minnesota Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen released the annual list of top Minnesota dairy herds with low somatic cell counts (SCC). Somatic cell count is a key indicator of milk quality – a lower SCC count is better for cheese production and a longer shelf life for bottled milk. In honor of June Dairy Month, 115 dairy farms are being recognized for superior herd management skills by achieving an average SCC of under 100,000. “Minnesota’s dairy industry has been struggling with low milk prices for a number of years so it’s important to recognize these farmers who have worked hard to manage their herds,” said Commissioner Petersen. “Achieving low somatic cell count doesn’t happen overnight, and I’m pleased to award these 115 farms for their high level of excellence.” Although somatic cells occur naturally and are not a food safety concern, dairy farmers monitor them because they can be used as a measure of the health of their cows. Processors also pay a premium for milk with low counts. A farmer whose herd has a very low count can receive a signicantly higher price per hundredweight compared to a farmer whose herd average is high. For more than 15 years, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) and University of Minnesota dairy experts have worked with the state’s dairy farmers to lower somatic cell counts. When the initiative began in 2003, the 100 herds honored that year included those with SCC averages as high as 144,000, compared to the current goal of obtaining a SCC under 100,000. Minnesota Dairy Herds with Low Somatic Cell Counts (SCC) (from lowest to highest as of June 2019) ProducerName County Plant Roger R. and Laura Primus Todd Osakis Creamery Association Gregory Dairy, LLC Stearns First District Association Anthony and Matt Berktold Wabasha Ellsworth Creamery James Hesse Carver Bongards Creamery Bruce and Jill Boettcher Carver Bongards Creamery Riverview, LLP - West Dublin Swift First District Association Peter Mark Hendrickson Todd Nelson Creamery Association Mitchell Mehrwerth Benton Gilman Cooperative Creamery Chad Felten Mower AMPI Barkeim Farms, LLC Winona Foremost Farms Roger and Mary Swart Kandiyohi First District Association James Hanson Otter Tail Pro-Ag Farmers’ Cooperative Craig Duden Goodhue Plainview Milk Products Cooperative Hoefs’ Dairy, LLC Le Sueur Agropur - Le Sueur Cheese

Del and Cindy Euerle Meeker Leisen Farms, INC Wabasha Reuben and Janice Stommes Stearns Hendel Farms Houston Autumn Breeze Dairy Brown Keith Middendorf Todd Mark Klehr Scott Denn-Mar Farm, LLC Benton Marshall and Melanie Korn Kandiyohi Kevin Braulick Brown Joe and Kim Engelmeyer Stearns Randy H. and Kathleen J. Bauer Rice Dean and Elizabeth Johnson Cottonwood Kieand Holsteins, LLC Winona Joe Wuethrich McLeod Edward Kauffman Todd Jeff Middendorf Stearns Paul and Bonnie Middendorf Todd Greg Mahoney Goodhue Suzanne Jacobs Otter Tail Nosbush Dairy Renville Brandon and Jill Marshik Benton Burfeind Dairy Farm, LLC Goodhue Ronald Wallerich Wabasha Bill Miller Wabasha Jerrey Dick Wabasha Robert and Ann Cremers Stearns Jon and Wendy Meyer Wabasha Ted Keller Goodhue Edward Warmka-Gathje Winona Joel Grimm Carver Michael Hoernemann McLeod Rolling Ridge Acres, INC Winona Travis and Angela Scherping Stearns Mark and Brenda Leukam Stearns Kevin Virchow Freeborn Tim Bruder Todd Timothy Albrecht McLeod

First District Association Plainview Milk Products Cooperative First District Association AMPI First District Association First District Association AMPI First District Association First District Association Bongards Creamery Bongards Creamery Agropur - Le Sueur Cheese Agropur - Le Sueur Cheese AMPI Bongards Creamery Nelson Creamery Association First District Association Nelson Creamery Association Plainview Milk Products Cooperative Nelson Creamery Association First District Association Gilman Cooperative Creamery First District Association Ellsworth Creamery Plainview Milk Products Cooperative Plainview Milk Products Cooperative First District Association Ellsworth Creamery Plainview Milk Products Cooperative Plainview Milk Products Cooperative Bongards Creamery First District Association AMPI National Farmers Organization First District Association AMPI Pro-Ag Farmers’ Cooperative First District Association Turn to COW CARE | Page 13

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Dairy Star â&#x20AC;˘ Saturday, June 22, 2019 â&#x20AC;˘ Page 13

ConĆ&#x;nued from COW CARE | Page 12 Shawn and Sarah Winscher Morrison Sunrise Ag Cooperative Paul Mehr Stearns First District Association Kraig Krienke McLeod Bongards Creamery Youngren Dairy Farms, INC Kandiyohi First District Association John Wenninger Sibley First District Association Schreiber Brothers Dairy Winona Plainview Milk Products Cooperative Colleen Berscheit Brown Springď&#x192;&#x17E;eld Creamery Plainview Milk Products Cooperative Bruce Heim Winona Zweber Farms, LLC Scott National Farmers Organization Cory and Jenna Middendorf Stearns First District Association Lester Banse Houston AMPI Shea Dairy, INC Olmsted AMPI Walter and William Selke - Selke Farms/Winona Plainview Milk Products Cooperative Jeff Montag Benton Gilman Cooperative Creamery Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Reilly Organic Dairy, LLC Goodhue National Farmers Organization Duckwitz Farm Partnership Swift AMPI Mark Brosig Winona AMPI Kenneth and Jackie Thurk Pope Osakis Creamery Association Maynard Schumacher Wabasha Plainview Milk Products Cooperative Braun Farms Carver Bongards Creamery Nu-Dimension Dairy Steele Bongards Creamery Daniel C. Miller Todd Nelson Creamery Association Hoffman Farm Olmsted AMPI James A. Olson Family Winona Elba Cooperative Creamery Adam and Sarah Mellgren Wabasha Ellsworth Creamery D and L Johnson Dairy, LLC Winona Plainview Milk Products Cooperative Jerry Altman Otter Tail Nelson Creamery Association Larry and Sharon Wiste Houston Foremost Farms Scott and Denise Gathje Stearns First District Association Mundt Dairy Winona Plainview Milk Products Cooperative Mark Ruegemer Pope First District Association Dollymount Traverse Bongards Creamery Kuechle Dairy, LLC Stearns First District Association Shir-Man Holsteins II Fillmore AMPI Mark Speltz Winona Plainview Milk Products Cooperative Nick Pramann Stearns First District Association Jason Smelter Benton Bongards Creamery Wilwerding Dairy - South Stearns First District Association Michael and Judy Sellner Brown First District Association Holmgren Farm Morrison Bongards Creamery Felling Dairy, LLC Stearns First District Association Schmitt Dairy, INC Benton Sunrise Ag Cooperative Brian Libbesmeier Meeker First District Association Schifď&#x192;&#x;er Dairy, LLC Stearns First District Association Trailside Holsteins, LLC Fillmore Foremost Farms Stelling Farms, INC Wabasha Plainview Milk Products Cooperative Lynn Miller Dodge Plainview Milk Products Cooperative Schoenbauer Dairy, INC Scott AMPI Beth Brekke Goodhue National Farmers Organization Corey and Missy Kremer Stearns First District Association Mark Chamberlain Goodhue Plainview Milk Products Cooperative Clear Crest Farm, LLC Winona Agropur - Le Sueur Cheese Michael Herzing Mille Lacs First District Association Alan and Jessica Klimek Douglas Nelson Creamery Association Francis Rynda Le Sueur Agropur - Le Sueur Cheese Wirtland Holstiens Winona Elba Cooperative Creamery Breezy Willows Farm Olmsted Foremost Farms Nicholas and Annie Stalboeger Stearns Bongards Creamery Moger Farms Winona Plainview Milk Products Cooperative Richard Stocker Scott Bongards Creamery Middle Ranch Dairy (Eric Johnson) / Meeker First District Association Allen Dauer Nicollet First District Association

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Page 14 • Dairy Star • Saturday, June 22, 2019

We Salute you dairy Farmers

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Dairy Star â&#x20AC;˘ Saturday, June 22, 2019 â&#x20AC;˘ Page 15

From Our Side Of The Fence Processors: How are you staying competitive?

Sheryl Meshke and Donn DeVelder Co-presidents and CEOs Associated Milk Producers Inc. New Ulm, Minn. Describe your processing company. AMPIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dairy farmer-owners produce milk on family farms in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota and North Dakota. In 2018, 1,800 members marketed 5.7 billion pounds of milk. Through the cooperative, members know they have a market for their milk. Together, they own 10 manufacturing plants where nearly 10% of the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s American-type cheese and butter is produced. The co-opâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s award-winning cheese, butter and powdered products are marketed to foodservice, retail and food ingredient customers. What are short- and long-term goals your company has to continue serving your patrons? We work to provide a solid return on our dairy farmerownersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; investment. Like a family farm, AMPI invests with a long-term view. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re building customer relationships with our portfolio of great tasting dairy products. We are committed to staying relevant with the consumer and assuring markets for AMPIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dairy farmer-owners. We recognize todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s consumer wants to know more about their food. To help tell AMPIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s story, we are introducing the trademarked term â&#x20AC;&#x153;co-op crafted.â&#x20AC;? This mark and accompanying Dinner Bell Creamery brand will better communicate how we source local products and market on a large scale. We know the dairy farmer who produces the milk, the cheesemaker who makes the cheese and the rural communities they call home. What business decisions have you made to remain competitive in the industry? AMPI completed a multi-year plan that represented the largest overall upgrade in internal processing capacity since the cooperative was formed. The plan achieved smart growth: balancing customer demand with manufacturing capabilities and milk produced on AMPI member farms. New cheesemaking equipment was installed at plants in Sanborn, Iowa, and Paynesville, Minn. The new technology helped increase the value of every hundredweight of milk processed at the plants. What makes your processing plants stand out amongst the rest? Our experienced team of cheese and butter makers is recognized among the industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best at national and international contests, tallying 19 top-three ď&#x192;&#x17E;nishes in 2018 and several already in 2019. The investments in technology further cement AMPI as a long-term player in the business. How have your dairy products changed over the years to meet consumer demands? AMPI products are on-trend with the rise in cheese snacking and butter consumption. AMPI makes award-winning butter, as well as Cheddar, Colby, Monterey Jack, Pasteurized Process American and a variety of pepper-style cheeses. We continue to expand our cheesemaking portfolio by developing innovative ď&#x192;&#x;avors. The new Dinner Bell Creamery brand provides an opportunity to share our farmer-owned, co-op crafted story. How are trade negotiations/tariffs affecting your business? The impact of retaliatory tariffs and slow moving trade negotiations has been profound. Following the announcement of the tariffs last June, the cheese market dropped nearly $0.30 in 30 days. It is estimated Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dairy farmers have lost about $2 billion since the trade war began. The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement preserves important market access to the U.S. dairy industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s No. 1 customer â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Mexico. Sales to Mexico account for about 30% of U.S. cheese exports. What are you optimistic for in the dairy industry over the next year? Demand for cheese and butter is strong. United States per capita consumption is steadily growing 2%-3% each year and shows no signs of slowing. In addition, the new Dairy Margin Coverage program appears ready to provide a muchimproved safety net for dairy farmers. This support is critical as dairy farmers are enduring a lengthy economic drought that has been punctuated with punitive retaliatory trade tariffs.

Daryl Larson President and CEO Bongardsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Creameries Chanhassen, Minn. Describe your processing company. Bongardsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Creameries is a farmer owned co-op founded in 1908. We have approximately 400 member owners. We operate three production plants. Our natural cheese plant in Perham, Minn., processes 4 million pounds of milk per day and produces natural cheese in 40 pound blocks and 500 pound barrels as well as whey powders including deproteinized whey and whey protein isolate. Our two value-added processing plants are in Bongards, Minn., and Humboldt, Tenn., and produce processed cheese slices and loaves, natural slices, and processed and natural shreds. What are short and long-term goals your company has to continue serving your patrons? Our goal is to provide a sustainable, value added market for our dairy farmersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; milk. As we look to the future, we will continue to ď&#x192;&#x17E;nd ways to further add value to that milk to maximize their returns. What business decisions have you made to remain competitive in the industry? In recent years, we have made signiď&#x192;&#x17E;cant capital investments to expand our capacity and modernize our facilities. From 2014-17, we invested in our Perham plant, doubling the capacity while greatly improving efď&#x192;&#x17E;ciency. From 2017-18, we doubled the capacity of our Humboldt facility and built an automated warehouse which will allow us to strategically service customers in the southeast United States. What makes your processing plant stand out amongst the rest? Our organization is vertically integrated. We take the milk from our patronsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; farms, convert that milk into natural cheese and use that natural cheese to manufacture value-added goods in our processing plants. With our two processing plants (Bongards and Humboldt), we are able to provide redundant, dual production capabilities for our customers, ensuring an uninterrupted supply chain. How have your dairy products changed over the years to meet consumer demands? Our primary customer base consists of foodservice, business-to-business accounts, many of which have unique operational needs. As those needs have evolved, we have developed products providing characteristics such as restricted melt, extra melt, reduced fat or sodium, unique ď&#x192;&#x;avors and more. How are trade negotiations/tariffs affecting your business? Tariffs have impacted our ability to export to international customers with whom we have historical, long-standing relationships. We have needed to absorb a portion of the tariff cost, which has reduced the proď&#x192;&#x17E;tability of those goods and hindered our international competitiveness versus other nations. What are you optimistic for in the dairy industry over the next year? We are optimistic that the commodity markets have rebounded and are expected to remain stronger than the last 12 months for both cheese prices and milk prices. We are hopeful politicians will ď&#x192;&#x17E;nd solutions to the trade war, helping to return us to a more traditional, balanced competitive market. Consumer cheese consumption continues to increase which has helped to maintain strong demand and growth. We are optimistic a solution to the swine ď&#x192;&#x;u epidemic in China will be found and allow the hog industry to rebound, increasing demand for U.S. whey products.

Turn to OUR SIDE | Page 16

Trusted People. Trusted Feed. Star Blends has been helping Midwest farm families by providing, high-quality feed, dairy nutrition, and commodity contracting for more than 20 years. Our state of the art mill can accurately blend anything from a custom SUH PL[ WR FRPSOHWH IHHG VSHFLÂżF WR \RXU IDUPÂśV QHHGV 2XU H[SHULHQFHG VWDá&#x201A;&#x2021; DUH UHDG\ WR GHOLYHU WKH KLJKHVW TXDOLW\ IHHG at an economical price, assist in balancing diets, or work with your private nutritionist or dairy consultant. Contact Star Blends at: 800-462-4125 or StarBlends.com

Page 16 • Dairy Star • Saturday, June 22, 2019

ConƟnued from OUR SIDE | Page 15 Sam Metzger Plant manager Agropur Inc. Hull, Iowa Tell us about your processing plant. The Agropur Hull plant is the fth largest plant owned by Agropur. We intake 3 to 4.5 million pounds of milk daily. We have the capability of processing 2.8-3.2 million pounds of milk daily, and all other milk is concentrated via ultraltration and utilized in our cheese making or shipped to other Agropur locations. All our milk usually comes from a 100-mile radius of the plant. We have 25 patrons and source milk from AMPI, LOL and DFA. We have the ability to produce up to 20 types of cheese varying from American styles to hard Italians. We also produce whey protein concentrate, instantized whey protein concentrate and deproteinized whey powder from the plant’s whey stream. What are short and long term goals your company has to continue serving your patrons? Agropur has committed to growth in the I-29 corridor. We have insured our patrons have outlets for milk in Iowa, South Dakota, Minnesota, Idaho and Wisconsin. We have expanded our Lake Norden, S.D., plant to increase milk usage and continued to grow. What business decisions have you made to remain competitive in the industry? We have strived to run maximum capacity through the Agropur Hull plant over the past ve years. With continuing to grow as a company, we put ourselves in the best position by constantly improving efciency. What makes your processing plant stand out amongst the rest? One of the unique strengths of the Agropur Hull plant is the ability to produce such a wide variety of cheese. We have the ability to produce 20 cheese types and can change to suit customer needs. How have your dairy products changed over the years to meet consumer demands? The consumer demand for higher quality and increasingly tighter specications has been the largest changes. We strive to meet our customers’ brand promise, and with that, we have increased the scrutiny on all quality systems to rise to the higher standards. How are trade negotiations/tariffs affecting your business? The current situation with the export markets to Asia has had a negative impact on exporting volumes and prices of our byproducts. The export markets are cyclical in nature, but we do anticipate this to be a longer rebound with trade and demand in the Asia markets. What are you optimistic for in the dairy industry over the next year? Cheese consumption per capita is on the rise. Currently each person consumes roughly 33 pounds of cheese each year. This has more than doubled in the past 30 years. We will need to continue to adapt to the demands to insure we maintain the growth curve we are on.

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CVT trans ....................................................$80,000 MF 7622, CVT trans, 1200 hrs., auto guide...............................................$109,000 MF 6614, CVT trans w/loader.................. $8,500 MF 8650, CVT trans, 1120 hrs. ................$89,000 MF 8650, CVT trans, 3100 hrs ......................................................$84,500 Agco DT220A, CVT trans, 8900 hrs ......................................................$49,500 Vermeer 605SM Cornstalk round baler ................................................$23,500 Vermeer 605SM round baler ................$20,000 Vermeer 605M round baler ...................$15,000 NH 195 spreader, nice.........................Coming In Badger 950 forage box ............................. $2,150 Vermeer VR820 wheel rake ..................... $5,500 Vermeer VR1022 wheel rake................... $6,500 Vermeer VR1224 wheel rake................... $7,500 Vermeer 604 Pro silage baler.................................................$49,500 Vermeer RB2800 rake ..............................$28,000 MF 3986 14 wheel rake ...........................$18,500 MF TD252 2 basket tedder....................... $3,500

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Villard Implement Co. 671 Lincoln Ave. Villard, MN • 320-554-3101• www.villardimplement.com

Darin Copeland Public relations manager for Prairie Farms Dairy Inc. Prairie Farms Dairy Inc. Edwardsville, Ill. Describe your processing company. Prairie Farms Dairy is one of the largest and most successful dairy cooperatives in the Midwest with over 800 farm families, 6,000 employees, 44 manufacturing plants, 100+ distribution facilities and annual sales of over $3 billion. We are a recognized leader in the dairy industry, known for setting the standard for milk avor innovations and producing award-winning milk, cheese and cultured dairy products. Our distribution footprint covers over 30% of the United States; products are available in grocery chains, mass merchandiser stores, club stores, convenience stores, dollar stores, drug stores, schools, food service outlets and warehouse distribution centers. What are short and long term goals your company has to continue serving your patrons? We plan to continue making key investments into plants that are making the products of our future. Our Dubuque, Iowa plant is constructing an $8 million 18,500 square foot addition that will expand production capabilities in 2019. Our Somerset, Ky., milk bottling plant is undergoing a $4 million expansion to increase efciency and add production capacity. Our Battle Creek, Mich., bottling plant underwent a $29 million expansion that allows it to make UHT single serve milks with longer shelf life. And, Prairie Farms’ Ft. Wayne plant added a new cultured products line. What business decisions have you made to remain competitive in the industry? We have to be versatile and innovative. Consumers have wide and ever-changing preferences for dairy, so we are investing in our plants that make new products to meet their needs. What makes your processing plants stand out amongst the rest? Our people and our quality. We are committed to producing the best dairy products in the world, and we couldn’t do that without the right people in our plants. Last year, our plants in Anderson, Quincy and Dubuque made top nishes at the 2018 Quality Chekd Leadership Awards Conference held in Austin, Texas. After the results were tallied, Prairie Farms’ Anderson, Ind., plant received the 2018 Production Excellence Award in the uid milk category and won Fluid Milk Plant of the Year. Prairie Farms’ Anderson Plant also won the Orange Juice Product Excellence Award, and the Quincy Plant was a nalist for the Cultured Plant of the Year Award. A total of 24 Prairie Farms and Hiland Dairy plants won Plant Assessment Excellence Awards for their effective implementation of quality in all areas. Prairie Farms’ Luana plant brought home awards from the World Championship Cheese Contest, American Cheese Society Annual Cheese Contest, National Milk Producers Federation Annual Cheese Contest, Wisconsin State Fair, Iowa State Fair Dairy Products Contest and Illinois State Fair. Our Schullsburg cheese plant was the recipient of awards from the National Milk Producers Federation Annual Cheese Contest and the Wisconsin State Fair. Prairie Farms’ Rochester plant was the recipient of awards from the World Championship Cheese Contest and National Milk Producers Federation Annual Cheese Contest. How have your dairy products changed over the years to meet consumer demands? We continue to listen to our consumers to understand what they want from both a product and packaging stand point. Recent health studies have suggested there are health benets to consuming whole fat dairy products. As a result, we’ve introduced new versions of our products like yogurts that emphasize whole fat to meet increased consumer demand. We also know consumers are interested in dairy products that are both delicious and convenient. We repackaged our single serve milks to offer more avors in a new bottle with grab and go convenience. Research shows consumers are looking for products with simple ingredients. We introduced a new line of premium small batch ice cream made with milk, cream and no articial colors. It also comes in 29 avors to keep our ice cream connoisseurs interested. How are trade negotiations/tariffs affecting your business? Dairy prices continue to be at historical lows. Keeping dairy farmers in business is a top priority for us. We have to nd ways to get our products into consumers’ hands. Getting nal passage of the United States-Mexico-Canada agreement with Mexico nished could help increase dairy demand and in turn raise prices. U.S. domestic uid milk demand is decreasing so we need trade markets to open up in North America and China to increase demand and prices for milk. What are you optimistic for in the dairy industry over the next year? I’m optimistic we’ll see consumers returning to dairy products. We’ve experienced a few years of consumers experimenting with dairy alternatives, but at the end of the day I think they are now seeing the great value and nutritional benets real dairy products have to offer. The sun has not set on dairy – we have to reinvent ourselves to be relevant to today’s consumers.

Dairy St r Milk Break Email andrea.b@dairystar.com

Dairy Star • Saturday, June 22, 2019 • Page 17

You’re invited to an

OPEN HOUSE!

Hinchley Dairy Open House Saturday, June 29th, 2019 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM 2844 State Rd 73 • Cambridge, WI 53523

COME LEARN ABOUT THE LELY WAY TO DAIRY! Our Lely team of certiﬁed professionals are excited to invite you to connect with other dairy producers and learn more about the new advantages oﬀered by the Lely Astronaut A5 robotic milking system. Hinchley Dairy features four new Lely Astronaut A5 automatic milking systems, two Lely Juno automatic feed pushers two Lely Discovery mobile barn cleaners and four Lely Luna cow brushes.

Lely Luna cow brush

WIN* A LELY LUNA! Must be a farmer, present at the time of the drawing and registered online at www.lely.com/learnargall to win a Lely Luna cow brush! The drawing for the Lely Luna will be held at 3:00 P.M.

The Lely Luna Beneﬁts: • Maximum cow comfort • Low energy consumption • Stimulates blood circulation • Clean and healthy skin

If you have any questions, contact Justin Segner 608-214-7661

Contact your local Lely Center today!

Argall Dairy Systems Inc.

LELY CENTER Argall Dairy Systems Inc. 171 Countryside Dr, Belleville, WI 53508 608-424-6110

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Page 18 • Dairy Star • Saturday, June 22, 2019

Repro Leaders

Focus on fertility traits lead to 37% pregnancy rate at Latham Dairy Latham Dairy Boscobel, Wis. Grant County 700 cows What was your average pregnancy rate last year? At the end of 2018, Latham Dairy was averaging a pregnancy rate of 37% for the year. We are averaging 40% for the last 12 months running average. What is your voluntary waiting period for cows? For heifers? The VWP for the milk cow herd is 80 days. We have had to further delay the VWP as we have achieved better reproduction success. We were being forced to dry up cows too early in their lactation. Heifers are not bred until they reach 13 months of age. What is your rst service conception rate? We are achieving 56% conception rate in the cow herd for rst services and two services per conception for the entire cow herd. For the purpose of calving ease, all virgin heifers are bred to sexed semen on their rst insemination. We achieve a 63% conception rate on these rst services. Any repeat services on heifers are using conventional

DANIELLE NAUMAN/DAIRY STAR

Veterinarian Clay Dean (from leŌ), heifer manager Ron Fossum, assistant herdsman Ashley Myers, CentralStar A.I. technician Dave Holzinger and herd manager Mark Winters are a part of the team at Latham Dairy in Boscobel, Wis. The dairy averaged a 37% pregnancy rate in 2018. semen. The average is 1.6 services per conception with our heifers. What is your reproduction program? Do you use a synchronization program? Our reproductive program starts with cow wellness: dry cow nutrition, lactating nutrition, cow comfort, fresh cow

management, heat abatement and foot heath are all critical aspects of cow wellness that affect reproductive performance. Accurate record keeping and accurate data entry are critical to the success of any breeding program. Signicant effort is also made to maintain easy visible identication on all animals. A team of people

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contribute to the total effort. Nutritional consulting and diets are formulated by Vicky Meinholz with Ag Consulting Team. Cows have to be able to transition well from the dry period into lactation. Vicky’s efforts make our jobs easier on the dairy. Weekly hoof trimming is provided by professional trimmer Roland

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Turn to LATHAM | Page 20

We have a great supply of Sitrex rakes!

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How do you observe for heat? All employees are encouraged to watch for natural heats. Tail chalking and breeding services are contracted with CentralStar Breeding Cooperative. Dave Holzinger, the primary A.I. technician, is conscientious and is constantly communicating about individual cows or concerns to staff members of Latham Dairy. Approximately three years ago, we also began using the GEA heat detection

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Nelson from Viroqua, Wis., and cows routinely pass through a footbath to help ensure foot health. Lameness cannot be tolerated if you want a productive cow that is going to breed back timely. Herd manager Mark Winters relies heavily on assistant herdsperson Ashley Myers and herdsperson trainee Jennifer Boak to execute the synchronization programs. Cows are started on a weekly basis on the various protocols and pregnancy detection work is performed bi-weekly. We run a double pre-synch program during the VWP followed by the ovsynch-56 protocol. We also resynch cows prior to pregnancy determination.

CIH Tigermate II, 28’ .............................. $18,000 CIH Tigermate II, 30’ .............................. $21,000 CIH 4800, 28’ & 26’ ................................. $8,500 CIH 4800, 28’ w/IH mulcher..................... $8,500 CIH 3900 disc, 25’ ................................. $15,000 CIH 496, 21’, non cusion ....................... $11,500 CIH 530B ripper w/lead shanks .............. $17,000 CIH 530B w/lead shank .......................... $13,000 CIH 530C ripper ..................................... $23,000 White 445, 9 shank .................................. $6,500 DMI 530B w/lead shank ........................ $15,500 JD 714, 13 shank ................................... $11,500

HAYING & FORAGE EQUIP.

Sitrex QR12 rake .......................................... New Many sizes of rakes available H&S XL 16’ .............................................. $4,500

GRAVITY BOXES

VARIOUS SIZES OF GRAVITY BOXES ON HAND Demco 650 grain cart, ‘12, green & black .$18,500 Demco 450 .............................................. $9,500 4) Demco 365 .......................................... $5,500 2) Demco 365, red & white ...................... $3,800 Unverferth 430 ......................................... $9,500 All sizes of used Demco gravity boxes avail.

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Midsota 5510 & F610 rock trailers........ In Stock Midsota F8216 rock trailer - Call New Midsota Rock Wagons .................On Hand All Sizes of Sitrex Rakes.........................On Hand We have a large selection of snowblowers in stock! WE HAVE A LARGE SUPPLY OF NET WRAP ON HAND

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GREENWALD FARM CENTER Greenwald, MN • 320-987-3177

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Dairy Star • Saturday, June 22, 2019 • Page 19

MILKING SHEEP – WHY IT MATTERS TO YOU See our latest video on our facebook page featuring a large herd of sheep being milked in a parlor. If you wonder why this matters to you and milking your herd of cows the answer is simple. Milking sheep is widely recognized as virtually impossible without “bumping” the udder to get it to milk out. Basically the udders have to be pushed and lifted to get the sheep to milk well. Sheep milked with CoPulsation™ do not require that and can actually be milked with auto-detachers.

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Jessica and her husband Dan operate a 150-cow dairy, Slaymaker Farms, Mansfield, Pa. Jessica works mainly on the cow side. She does relief milking, all herd health, heifer breeding, picking bulls, culling decisions. “Basically a herdsman that knows how to run a skidsteer,” she quips. “Dairy Girl Network has been a godsend. It is a lifeline to women who know what you are going through and deal with day to day. Being involved so heavily in the day to day activities on the farm can make a person feel isolated. However with Facebook, and the DGN page, I can go there while eating lunch, or milking a slow side of cows and interact with women all over the USA. It is amazing.”

-Candice White Candice is the dairy manager and part of the third generation at Dotterer’s Dairy, Mill Hall, Pa., where 1000 cows make 85 lbs/cow/day with SCC averaging 100,000. “I like being part of Dairy Girl Network,” she says, “because as women we can see things differently, communicate differently and think differently. It’s nice to be able to bounce ideas off each other and have the support of one another. Even though we live all around the USA, we have DGN to connect us!”

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(above) Luck-E Advent Asia-ET *RC EX-94 2E Bred by our longtime customer Luck-E Holsteins, Hampshire, Ill. She is now owned by our customer Bert-Mar Farms, Osseo, Wis. Photo credit Beth Herges

Page 20 • Dairy Star • Saturday, June 22, 2019

ConƟnued from LATHAM | Page 18 pedometer. This has also helped with heat detection and insemination rate. Our heifer reproductive success is the result of dedication and diligence by our heifer manager, Ron Fossom. Over 90% of the virgin heifers are bred based on natural heats and sound heat detection. Only a limited amount of prostaglandin (Lutylase) is used on heifers that may not be showing heats well. How do you conrm pregnant or open cows? A close working relationship exists with herd veterinarian Clay Dean, of the Riverdale Veterinary Clinic. He determines a cow’s pregnancy status through the use of ultrasound. Most cows are checked at either 32 or 39 days after insemination. The shorter bred cows are rechecked two weeks later, and all cows are reconrmed pregnant after 100 days. 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 have a breeding philosophy of trying to breed the most functional and trouble free cow as possible. We like moderately sized cows that convert feed efciently and that are trouble free. Use of genomic testing on females and intense scrutiny of the genomic predictions of bulls has contributed greatly to the genetic merits of the herd. Sires are selected rst for improved milk components

economically not feasible. Is there anything you have done or changed that brought about a signicant improvement in your reproductive program? I rmly believe that using the genomic predictors for fertility and selecting bulls that transmit superior fertility traits to their offspring has been key to our reproductive success. Working with staff members to execute 100% compliance to the synchronization protocols is important also. Synch programs work well if you correctly administer the correct hormone to the correct cow in the correct amount on the correct day. DANIELLE NAUMAN/DAIRY STAR

CentralStar A.I. technician Dave Holzinger prepares to breed cows at Latham Dairy on June 17 in Boscobel, Wis. followed by positive fertility traits, and nally by health and wellness traits. Close attention is also paid to sire conception rates, and calving ease for the heifer matings is of primary importance. How are cows and heifers bred? Do you have a different philosophy for breeding both? Replacement heifers should be superior to their dams and other older cows in herd because of improvement in genetic selection. I am willing to invest more in breeding virgin heifers because of this. A straw of semen is a relatively small part of the total cost of raising a replacement heifer. Spending a few more dollars

to utilize superior genetics only makes sense. Only using proven sires with calving ease data traditionally was how heifers were mated. With more time and experience with genomic prediction, a combination of proven and young sires are now being utilized in heifer matings. First lactation cows may be bred back to conventional or sexed semen depending on their performance. Most cows that are second lactation and greater are bred back to beef. It is important not to generate too many herd replacements thus having to force good productive cows out the back door to make room for new heifers. Mature cows out milk young heifers so heifer inventory has to be

managed. What do you do to settle hard breeders? I do not reward infertility. Cows need to work hard and be able to breed back timely. Cystic cows are typically enrolled into a CIDRsynch program, and normally most cows are not inseminated more than four times How many times do you try to breed a cow before you sell her? Most open cows over 200 DIM move to the DNB list. Exceptions are made for high production cows that are still milking over 100 pounds. Cows that become pregnant too late in lactation often end up dry for far too many days, and this is

Tell us about your farm. Latham Dairy is a secondgeneration family run 700cow commercial dairy herd. The farm is owned by John and Lori Latham. John serves as the general farm manager. Lori serves as the book keeper and secretary. They have two sons: Ryan, a recent graduate of University of WisconsinMadison and Jack, a sophomore at UW-Eau Claire. The rolling herd average is approximately 33,000 pounds and the somatic cell count is consistently under 200,000. The dairy employs approximately 20 people and operates approximately 1,200 acres with the goal of making the highest quality forages as they can to support high milk production.

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July is National Ice Cream Month. To celebrate, share a photo of you enjoying your favorite flavor of ice cream and tell us why the treat is so delicious! Email submissions to andrea.b@dairystar.com and share on your social media outlets, tagging Dairy Star and using the hashtags #SummerSalutetoDairy #EnjoyIceCream. Each submission will be considered for publication in the July 13 Dairy Star, and entered into a drawing for one of five $20 Dairy Queen gift cards DEADLINE IS JULY 8

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Dairy Star • Saturday, June 22, 2019 • Page 21

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USED COMBINE SPECIALS GET MMC FLEX SPENDING OPTIONS WITH YOUR NEXT COMBINE EARN 10% OF YOUR TRADE DIFFERENCE GOOD TOWARDS: • EXTENDED WARRANTY • PARTS PURCHASES • SERVICE WORK • SPECIAL LEASE OPTIONS • INTEREST SAVINGS • CASH DISCOUNT ARTICULATED 4WD TRACTORS 1 JD 9570R, 2018, PS, duals, guidance-ready, HD Gudgeon, 29 hrs., #147766 .................................................................................... $37,4900 17 JD 9520R, 2015, PS, duals, guidance-ready, HDuty Gudgeon, 1285 hrs., #159511.................................................................... $273,000 16 JD 9460R, 2014, PS, Duals, PTO Guidance-ready, HD Gudgeon, 3113 hrs., #159507.................................................................... $175,900 14 JD 9630, 2009, PS, Triples, Guidance-ready, 3918 hrs., #151999$154,900 11 JD 9570R, ‘18, PS, duals, PTO, Guidance-ready, HD Gudgeon, 220 hrs., #147190...................................................................... $389,500 1 JD 9570R, 2018, PS, duals, Guidance-ready, HD Gudgeon, 3 hrs., #147767.......................................................................... $374,900 16 JD 9560R, 2014, PS, Duals, Guidance-ready, HD Gudgeon, 2514 hrs., #159510.................................................................... $217,400 16 JD 9460R, 2014, PS, Duals, PTO, Guidance-ready, HD Gudgeon, 3543 hrs., #159508.................................................................... $165,000 2 Case IH STX440, 2001, PS, Duals, 5949 hrs., #156666 ............... $89,500 17 JD 9520R, 2015, PS, Duals, PTO, Guidance-ready, HD Gudgeon, ................ 938 hrs., #158096...................................................................... $289,500 7 JD 9470R, 2016, PS, Duals, Guidance-ready, HD Gudgeon, 848 hrs., #158093...................................................................... $259,500 15 JD 9560R, 2014, PS, Duals, Hyd. Pump, Guidance-ready, HD Gudgeon, 4491 hrs., #158665 .............................................. $179,500 6 JD 9570R, 2017, PS, Duals, 889 hrs., #150670.......................... $355,900 17 JD 9370R, 2015, PS, Duals, Guidance-ready, 972 hrs., #154699$219,500 1 JD 9410R, 2014, PS, Duals, 1588 hrs., #146677........................ $219,500 15 JD 9560R, 2014, PS, Duals, Guidance-ready, HD Gudgeon, 5121 hrs., #158666.................................................................... $165,000 COMBINES 16 JD S670, 2014, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, 1333 hrs., 979 Sep Hrs., #151692 ............................................................... $209,500 5 JD S680, 2014, PRWD, Duals, 1839 hrs., 1248 Sep Hrs., #147716 .................................................................................... $209,500 3 JD S660, 2013, Corn/Bean, 2WD, Duals, 1254 hrs., 882 Sep Hrs., #141412 .................................................................................... $179,500 16 JD S680, 2015, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, Chopper, Yield Monitor, Header, 1769 hrs., 1133 Sep Hrs., #144328................................ $239,500 3 JD S680, 2012, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, Yield Monitor, Lateral Tilt Feederhouse, 2300 hrs., 1680 Sep Hrs, #154637........................ $184,000 14 JD S690, 2014, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, 1892 hrs., 1422 Sep Hrs., #153332 ............................................................. $194,000 15 JD S780, 2018, PRWD, Singles, Yield Monitor, Lateral Tilt Feederhouse, Fore/Aft, Active Yield, 326 hrs., 241 Sep Hrs., #157785 .............. $430,000 17 JD S660, 2015, Corn/Bean, 2WD, Duals, Chopper, Yield Monitor, Lateral Tilt Feederhouse, 784 hrs., 545 Sep Hours, #157075 ...... $229,500

224,900

JD S680, 2014, $ 1839 hrs., 1248 Sep Hrs., #147716

15 JD S670, 2017, PRWD, Duals, 970 hrs., 624 Sep Hrs., #146347 . $294,500 14 JD S670, 2014, PRWD, Duals, Chopper, 963 hrs., 435 Sep hrs., #144312 .................................................................................... $239,500 16 JD S780, 2018, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, Spreader, Yield Monitor, Lateral Tilt Feederhouse, 346 hrs., 235 Sep Hrs., #157910 ......... $425,000 14 JD S770, ‘18, 244 hrs., 190 Sep Hrs., #155380 .......................... $389,500 16 JD S780, 2018, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, Spreader, Yield Monitor, Active Yield, Advisor Package, 400 hrs., 327 Sep Hrs., #154560 . $425,250 15 JD S680, 2016, PRWD, Duals, 1167 hrs., 816 Sep Hrs., #148149 $279,500 10 JD 9770 STS, 2009, Corn/Bean, 2WD, Duals, Chopper, Yield Monitor, Lateral Tilt Feederhouse, 2153 hrs., 1649 Sep Hrs., #144243 ..... $117,900 17 JD S690, 2013, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, 1407 hrs., 998 Sep Hrs., #144337 .................................................................................... $223,900 16 JD S780, 2018, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, Active Yield, 337 hrs., 279 Sep Hrs., #154461 ............................................................... $425,000 4 JD 9500, 1991, Corn/Bean, 2WD, Singles, 4719 hrs., 3234 Sep Hrs., #150229 ............................................................... $24,900 17 JD S770, 2018, Corn/Bean, 2WD, Duals, Chopper, Yield Monitor, Lateral Tilt Feederhouse, 296 hrs., 228 Sep Hrs., #156063 ......... $329,500 7 JD S780, 2018, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, Chopper, Yield Monitor, Lateral Tilt Feederhouse, Fore/Aft, Active Yield, 385 hrs., 268 Sep Hrs, #159539 ................................................................ $421,900 5 JD S680, 2013, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, Chopper, Lateral Tilt Feederhouse, 1680 hrs., 1187 Sep Hrs., #154421....................... $224,900 17 JD S680, 2013, PRWD, Dls, 1425 hrs., 1013 Sep Hrs., #144322 . $214,900 14 JD S670, 2012, PRWD, Duals, 1622 hrs., 900 Sep Hrs., #145813 $169,500 15 JD S680, 2016, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, Chopper, Yield Monitor, 1323 hrs., 989 Sep Hrs., #157714 .............................................. $246,750 5 JD S660, 2013, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, 1230 hrs., 811 Sep Hrs., #151693 .................................................................................... $199,500 16 JD S780, 2018, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, Spreader, Yield Monitor, Fore/Aft, Active Yield, 400 hrs., 283 Sep Hrs., #157911 .............. $420,000 2 JD S670, 2012, PRWD, Duals, 2295 hrs., 1834 Sep Hrs., #143860 $149,500 9 JD S670, 2017, PRWD, Duals, 426 hrs., 250 Sep Hours, #142208 $359,500 8 JD S780, 2018, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, Spreader, Active Yield, 336 hrs., 259 Sep Hrs., #153997 ................................................ $439,500 7 JD 9600, 1990, 6778 hrs., 4605 Sep Hrs., #155273 ..................... $29,500 16 JD S680, 2015, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Chopper, Header, 1235 hrs., 859 Sep Hrs., #144326 ............................................................... $259,500 3 JD S690, 2014, PRWD, Duals, 1732 hrs., 1303 Sep Hrs., #145222 $224,900 7 JD S660, 2014, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, Chopper, Yield Monitor, Lateral Tilt Feederhouse, Fore/Aft, Advisor Package, 986 hrs., 769 Sep Hrs., #155826 ............................................................... $230,500 6 JD S660, 2014, PRWD, Duals, 670 hrs., 381 Sep Hrs., #142203 . $239,500 2 JD S660, 2013, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, 986 hrs., 688 Sep Hrs., #154698 .................................................................................... $209,500 15 JD 9660 STS, 2005, 3435 hrs., 2551 Sep Hrs., #155302 .............. $56,750 1 JD 9770 STS, 2011, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, Lateral Tilt Feederhouse, 1283 hrs., 903 Sep Hrs., #143429......................... $165,900 15 JD S670, 2016, 2WD, Duals, 361 hrs., 265 Sep Hrs., #144309 .......294000 15 JD S680, 2014, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, Chopper, Yield Monitor, 1701 hrs., 1341 Sep Hrs., #156460 ............................................ $205,500 7 JD S670, 2013, 2WD, Duals, 1456 hrs., 998 Sep Hrs., #145812 . $189,500 5 JD S680, 2014, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, Chopper, Yield Monitor, Lateral Tilt Feederhouse, Fore/Aft, 1796 hrs., 1212 Sep Hrs., #158103 .. $219,500 6 JD 9600, 1996, Corn/Bean, 2WD, 4989 hrs., 3341 Sep Hrs., #151078 ...................................................................................... $24,000 11 JD S670, 2014, PRWD, Duals, 1755 hrs., 1218 Sep Hrs., #144313 $189,500 7 JD 6620, 1981, 4500 hrs., 4500 Sep Hrs., #156979 .......................$8,500 17 JD S660, 2012, 1342 hrs., 1025 Sep Hrs., #155239 ................... $178,000 11 JD S670, 2017, 2WD, Duals, 770 hrs., 496 Sep Hrs., #146349 ... $299,500 4 Pickett Twin Master (Double Cylinder), 2013, Specialty, 2WD, Singles, Spreader, Header, #159263 ................................. $139,500 4 JD S660, 2016, 2WD, Duals, 635 hrs., 473 Sep Hrs., #143510 ... $249,500 14 JD 9870 STS, 2010, PRWD, Duals, Chopper, 1818 hrs., 1421 Sep Hrs, #150772 .............................................................. $142,000 8 JD 9760 STS, 2007, 2WD, Duals, 2100 hrs., 1452 Sep Hrs, #142194 ...................................................................................... $89,500

209,500

JD S690, 2014, 1733 hrs.,1156 Sep $ Hrs., #144335

16 3 5 15 16 4 16 14 4 16 5 10 3 3 15 14 15 17 8 8 7 15 17 5 3 6 17 8 7 1 5 9 10 5 10 10 7 4 2 7 15 10 15 16 8 4 14 10

219,500

JD S670, 2017, 2WD, Duals, 256 hrs., 186 Sep Hrs, #146346 ...... 349,500 JD 9670 STS, 2009, 1884 hrs., 1405 Sep Hrs., #154636 ............. $149500 JD 9600, 1997, 4608 hrs., 3124 Sep Hrs., #156039 ..................... $30,900 JD S660, 2014, 1047 Hrs., #155345 .......................................... $189,500 JD S690, 2014, PRWD, Duals, 1442 hrs., 982 Sep Hrs., #144333 $234,900 JD S670, 2015, PRWD, Duals, 1302 hrs., 1014 Sep Hrs, #143718$234,900 JD S680, 2014, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, Spreader, 2419 hrs., 1781 Sep Hrs., #159509 ............................................................. $187,400 JD 9750 STS, 2000, 7685 hrs., 5021 Sep Hrs., #155851 .............. $39,500 JD 9570 STS, 2011, Corn/Bean, 2WD, Duals, Chopper, Lateral Tilt Feederhouse, 1333 hrs., 971 Sep Hrs., #154420......................... $139,500 JD S680, 2015, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Chopper, Yield Monitor, 1723 hrs. 1235 Sep Hrs., #144329 ............................................. $224,900 JD S680, 2017, PRWD, Duals, 898 hrs., 580 Sep Hrs., #146345 . $329,500 Pickett Twin Master, 2014, Specialty, Chopper, #159226 ...... $148,500 JD S680, 2013, PRWD, Duals, 1303 hrs., 967 Sep Hrs., #140845 $224,900 JD S680, 2017, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, 727 hrs., 515 Sep Hrs., #153999 .................................................................................... $360,000 JD S690, 2014, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, Chopper, 1733 hrs., 1156 Sep Hrs., #144335 ............................................................. $219,500 JD S680, 2012, PRWD, Singles, 1677 hrs., 1278 Sep Hrs., #145287 $167,900 JD S780, 2018, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Singles, Spreader, Yield Monitor, Lateral Tilt Feederhouse, Fore/Aft, Active Yield, Harvest Mobile, 403 hrs., 304 Sep Hrs., #157784 ................................................................ $425000 JD 9660 STS, 2005, Corn/Bean, 2WD, Duals, Lateral Tilt Feederhouse, 3538 hrs., 2331 Sep Hrs., #151601 .............................................. $64,900 JD S670, 2016, 2WD, Duals, 524 hrs., 372 Sep Hrs., #148148 ... $279,500 JD S670, 2014, 1646 hrs., 1265 Sep Hrs., #155388 ................... $210,000 JD S680, 2012, Corn/Bean, 2WD, Duals, Yield Monitor, 2267 hrs., 1529 Sep Hrs., #152167 ............................................................. $149,500 JD S680, 2016, PRWD, Duals, 986 hrs., 718 Sep Hrs., #148150 . $294,000 JD 9660 STS, 2004, 2WD, Duals, 3731 hrs., 2670 Sep Hrs., #150873 ...................................................................................... $64,900 JD 9770 STS, 2010, 2984 hrs., 2312 Sep Hrs., #156917 ............ $104,900 JD 9870 STS, 2008, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, Yield Monitor, Lateral Tilt Feederhouse, 2662 hrs., 1842 Sep Hrs., #143756 ..... $117,900 JD S670, 2014, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, 1897 hrs., 1260 Sep Hrs., #153514 ............................................................. $192,900 JD S680, 2013, PRWD, Duals, 1497 hrs., 987 Sep Hrs., #144323$209,500 JD 9770 STS, 2008, PRWD, Duals, 2570 hrs., 1508 Sep Hrs., #146342 ................................................................................... $114,900 JD 9400, 1989, 6761 hrs., 4175 Sep Hrs., #156978 .................... $18,995 PULL-TYPE SPRAYERS Fast 9613, 2016, #157612 ......................................................... $29,900 Top Air TA1200, 2008, #155358 ............................................... $16,650 Fast 9518, #158292 .................................................................. $25,900 Redball 580, 2006, #151074 ..................................................... $18,900 Hardi Commander 1200, 2002, #150043 ................................ $14,900 Blum 750, 1979, #158936 ............................................................$4,900 Miller Pro 750, #159603 ..............................................................$6,500 Top Air TA1600, 2012, #159709 ................................................ $52,400 Hardi Navigator 4000, 2010, #158476.................................... $17,900 Hardi Ranger 2000, 2014, #155294 ......................................... $20,500 Summers Ultimate, 2001, #159606 ......................................... $13,400 Wil-Rich Blumha, #148336 .........................................................$5,500 Blum 750, #158936 ........................................................................... Call Redball 570, #159261 ............................................................... $12,900 SELF-PROPELLED SPRAYERS Case IH 4430, 2013, Boom Leveling, Stainless Tank, Narrow Tire, Guidance-ready, 2655 hrs., #154198 ......................................... $209,500 JD R4038, 2018, 120’ Boom, 20 in. Nozzle Spacing, 495 hrs., #150887...................................................................... $339,000 AgChem 1074, 2009, 100’ boom Width, Stainless Tank, 3650 hrs., #158291 .............................................. $56,900 JD R4038, 2017, Hyd. Tread Adjust, Guidance-ready, 508 hrs., #143961...................................................................... $346,500 JD 4920, 2004, 4600 hrs., #157917 ............................................ $69,500

JD S780, 2018, $ 337 hrs., 279 Sep Hrs., #154461

425,000

Page 22 • Dairy Star • Saturday, June 22, 2019

Holy Cow it’s Dairy Month! Proudly supporting our dairy producers!

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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 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 © 2019 DeLaval Inc. DeLaval, 11100 North Congress Avenue, Kansas City, Missouri 64153-1296. All facts and figures are the result of data collected on test farms and pilot farms. Data compared to DeLaval Champion. Results may vary and are not guaranteed. www.delaval.com

Dairy celebrations for June Dairy Month Winona County Family Night on the Farm, June 26 Winona County will host the Family Night on the Farm on June 26 from 4–8 p.m. at Aldinger Family Dairy, Winona, Minn. A parking shuttle will leave from MN State College SE (1250 Homer Road). Shuttle buses will leave every 20 minutes starting at 4 p.m. Hotdogs, pulled pork sandwiches, beans, chips, string cheese, root beer oats, and milk will be served. Adults cost $8, children under 10 $4, and $25 for family (2 adults, up to 4 children). Activities such as farm machinery displays, games, a petting zoo, children’s train wagon, a bounce house, tractor drawn hay wagon rides, and live entertainment will be available. For questions contact, Winona Chamber at 507-452-2272 or info@winonachamber.com. Winona Chamber sponsors this event along with other listings on winonachamber.com. Crow Wing County Culver’s Dairy Day, June 26 Crow Wing Country will host Culver’s Dairy Day at 1 p.m. at Culvers, 15222 Dellwood Drive, Baxter, Minn. Parking is available onsite with a free cost to attend. Activities such as a Cow milking contest and a custard eating contest featuring local celebrities and Princess Kay will be at this location. For questions, contact Rosanne Caughey at caugheydairy@ yahoo.com. Culver’s Dairy Day is sponsored by the Crow Wing County Farm Bureau, Crow Wing County American Dairy Association, Culvers and FFA. Carlton County Breakfast on the Farm, June 29 From 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on June 29, Carlton County Breakfast on the Farm will be held at Laveau Grandview Dairy, 508 Cemetery Rd Wrenshall, Minn. Pancakes, sausage, scrambled eggs, cheese, and milk will be served. As well as many balloons, hats, coloring books, stickers, chapsticks, puzzles, and bookmarks for the kids. In addition to a petting zoo and many other fun activities such as cow milking demonstrations, a bouncy house, hay rides, and informational booths. A $4 donation is suggested. Rice County Day on the Farm, June 29 Join Ray and Bridget Pieper as they host Rice County’s Day on the Farm on June 29 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at their farm by Lonsdale. Go through Lonsdale on Highway 19 and on the North edge of Lonsdale, head West on County Road 2 for a little over 3 miles, and then a quarter mile North on Kent Avenue. You will be able to learn more about life on a dairy farm as well as participate in the many activities that are available at the farm. For a free lunch, they will be serving cheeseburgers, malts, and other dairy products. The Rice County Dairy Princesses will be in attendance, there will be farm tours, Dakota Rice Corn, Soybean Growers, and Rice County Pork Producers will all be there will displays and a lot of prizes to give away. The Rice County ADA has teamed up with the Minnesota Beef Council to provide you with a free lunch.

DAIRY STAR E-EDITION

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Dairy Star • Saturday, June 22, 2019 • Page 23

Trettel Dairy: 100 years of work

Heritage, lifestyle dividends of family’s toil By Danna Sabolik

danna.s@dairystar.com

ROYALTON, Minn. – On the western banks of the Mississippi river near Royalton, Minn. sits a picturesque farm site. The farm has not been there as long as the river, but it has become a landmark. This year, Trettel Dairy is celebrating 100 years of family farming and was recognized as a century farm with a plaque from the Minnesota

Farm Bureau and Minnesota State Fair. Bill Trettel has managed the farm’s day-to-day operations for 26 years. He feeds out his steers to nishing and sold the last of the family’s pigs about 15 years ago. “I feel like I did something right in the dairy industry,” Bill said of his 25 years of quality awards hanging in his shop. Because he only has cattle on the farm, Bill nds it easier

DANNA SABOLIK/DAIRY STAR

Rita and Lawrence TreƩel sit in their home June 13 in Royalton, Minn. The two took over the family farm in 1956 and raised chickens, hogs, dairy cows and 13 children.

DANNA SABOLIK/DAIRY STAR

The TreƩels have the original 1804 land deed for the TreƩel family property. Peter TreƩel purchased the farm in 1919.

to explore a variety of crops in the eld. “I have a variety of soils,” Bill said. “I have sandy places, some good black dirt and some river bottoms.” He grows corn, soybean, alfalfa, clover hay, meadow hay, rye and oats on 272 acres of owned land and he rents another 70 acres.

The farmstead was his childhood home, and he learned about farm life from his parents, Lawrence and Rita Trettel, who raised their family of 13 children on the farm. “It was a hard life, but it was a good life,” Lawrence said. “Sometimes I think back and wonder how I did it all.

We worked hard. It’s just what we did.” Lawrence’s father, Peter, purchased the farm in 1919, for $10,000. Peter and his wife, Julia Krystosek, began farming on 152 acres raising chickens and hogs and milking ve cows. Turn to TRETTELS | Page 25

Page 24 • Dairy Star • Saturday, June 22, 2019

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Dairy Star • Saturday, June 22, 2019 • Page 25

Beginning a farm during the Great Depression was a hard feat and discouraging as neighbors exited the industry. Lawrence said they relied on the help of their neighbors and supported each other through those tough years. He remembers cold winters and dusty summers growing up. “The wind would blow and blow, and snow drifts would touch the power lines, but some places would have none; it was crazy,” Lawrence said. One of his most distinct memories was having gasoline delivered to the farm for $0.13 a gallon. Lawrence purchased the farm from his parents in 1956, one year before he married Rita Zapzalka. Lawrence and Rita grew the farm, raising laying hens, farrowing hogs and milking 12 cows. They began milking by hand and worked together until Rita had their third child and decided she needed to be in the house

“Sometimes I don’t know if this is real life or if I’m dreaming. So much has changed in my life of farming I don’t know where to begin.” LAWRENCE TRETTEL, DAIRY FARMER

more often. “Then, we put in the pipeline and got milking machines,” Rita said. “I still helped with feeding and other chores, but that was the end of my milking.”

DANNA SABOLIK/DAIRY STAR

Rita and Lawrence TreƩel sit with their son Bill (center) on the family farm June 12 in Royalton, Minn. The TreƩels’ farmstead has been recognized as a century farm from the Minnesota Farmers Bureau and Minnesota State Fair.

Lawrence said milking with the machines made it safer for farmers, too. “It was dangerous sitting on a little stool and the worst was a rst-calf heifer that had never been touched before,” he said. “Many times I looked at the belly button of a heifer, I’m lucky I’m still here.” Lawrence is amazed by the changes in agriculture during his lifetime. “Sometimes I don’t know if this is real life or if I’m dreaming,” he said. “So much has changed in my life of farming I don’t know where to begin.” Raising their family was Rita’s pride. “I think all the ribs from one pig would go at one time,” she said. “They had plenty to eat. We had all the meat from our farm and a big garden, and I’d can that. I would also bake bread twice a week and always have something baked for them.” When Lawrence and Rita’s eighth child, Bill, was two years and seven months old he was run over by a tractor. “I don’t remember it, but I remember my dad carrying me to the car,” Bill said. “My dad was backing out of the shed with the B John Deere and the front end swung around and ran over my legs. The doctor said if it had been any higher I probably wouldn’t be here. I guess that’s what triggered me to farm.” Bill took over the farm in 1993 and his parents built a house near Bowlus, Minn., on a creek in 1999. Bill loves the farming lifestyle and hopes to continue as long as he can. “This is what I’ve been doing my whole life, and I enjoy it,” he said. “I never married so the farm is my marriage; you’re committed every day.”

Page 26 â&#x20AC;˘ Dairy Star â&#x20AC;˘ Saturday, June 22, 2019

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Nourishing communities during national dairy month The decades-old tradition of National Dairy Month, while rooted in the objective to increase milk consumption, has grown to include a reď&#x192;&#x;ection on the dairy industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s contributions to communities and a celebration of the many ways dairy farmers help consumers enjoy nutritious dairy foods. This National Dairy Month, the dairy industry raised awareness about the issue of childhood hunger and shed light on the new and longstanding initiatives in place for consumers and dairy farmers to collaboratively provide dairy products to families in need. This June, dairy farmers across the country opened their By Lucas Lentsch farms to consumers and joined CEO, Midwest Dairy forces with local agencies and partners to raise awareness about the one in six food insecure children who do not have daily access to adequate nutrition. Dairy farmers, checkoff and a variety of partners leveraged the opportunity to call partners and consumers to action at a variety of events and collected donations to help nourish their communities. This year, the dairy industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s focus on social responsibility showcased dairy farmersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; more than 100-year commitment to supporting youth wellness and communities. In concert with local efforts of dairy farmers, the dairy checkoff is not only helping families in need, they are also building dairy demand through innovative partnerships with food banks, schools and processors. For the fourth year, Midwest Dairy partnered with The Alliance for a Healthy Omaha to organize a fundraiser for students in Nebraska schools to give back to their community. The program encouraged students to collect donations of loose coins in plastic milk pints to ultimately ď&#x192;&#x17E;ll up a gallon sized milk container in their classrooms. The proceeds were donated to a local food bank to purchase milk. This year, ď&#x192;&#x17E;ve participating Nebraska schools raised more than $11,000 through the program. Another program aimed at creating greater

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the Dairy on the Air podcast on MidwestDairy.com to hear more about the work with Northern Illinois Foodbank and what Midwest Dairy is doing to raise awareness and ensure access to more milk for families in communities. As National Dairy Month activities expand to reach more consumers and put a brighter spotlight on the industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s products, innovative practices and social responsibility, consumers are being asked to visit GiveAGallon.com to learn more about childhood hunger and to donate. In collaboration with MilkPEP and Feeding America, The Give a Gallon campaign aims to help deliver gallons of fresh milk to Feeding America food banks through donations raised on their website. Dairy farmers, partners and checkoff programming has helped bridge the gap from farm to table for underserved populations by delivering fresh milk to children and families in need, and in doing so, created demand for dairy in new places.

Page 28 • Dairy Star • Saturday, June 22, 2019

Luciano Caixeta lcaixeta@umn.edu 612-625-3130 Hugh Chester-Jones chest001@umn.edu 507-835-3622 Gerard Cramer gcramer@umn.edu 612-625-8184 Marcia Endres miendres@umn.edu 612-624-5391 Sandra Godden godde002@umn.edu 612-625-8177 Joleen Hadrich jhadrich@umn.edu 612-626-5620 Les Hansen hanse009@umn.edu 612-624-2277 Brad Heins hein0106@umn.edu 320-589-1711 Nathan Hulinsky huli0013@umn.edu 320-203-6104 Kevin Janni kjanni@umn.edu 612-625-3108 Karen Johnson ande9495@umn.edu 320-484-4334 Claire LaCanne lacanne@umn.edu 507-332-6109 Brenda Miller nels4220@umn.edu 320-732-4435 Kota Minegishi kota@umn.edu 612-624-7455 Erin Royster royster@umn.edu Jim Salfer salfe001@umn.edu 320-203-6093 Mike Schutz mschutz@umn.edu 612-624-1205 M. Scott Wells mswells@umn.edu 612-625-3747 Emily Wilmes krek0033@umn.edu 320-255-6169

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ProCROSS crossbreds had 10.5% higher daily prot than Holstein herdmates Results from a 10-year eld study that compared ProCROSS crossbred cows to their Holstein herdmates in seven high performance Minnesota dairies are now available to share. The researchers were Dr. Amy Hazel, Dr. Brad Heins and myself. Ten years is a long time for a cooperative project between dairy producers and a university, but a lot of time was needed for multiple generation research on dairy cattle genetics. The dairies were well-managed, because the Holstein herdmates of the threeBy Dr. Les Hensen breed ProCROSS crossbreds had University of MN 305-day actual (not M.E.) production (pounds) for rst lactation of 26,021 milk, 963 fat and 790 protein; second lactation of 29,875 milk, 1,084 fat and 914 protein; and third lactation of 31,515 milk, 1,141 fat and 959 protein – indeed high production. For the study, each dairy offered foundation Holstein yearling heifers and young cows which were randomly assigned to either remain pure Holstein over generations or to become the rst generation of the three-breed rotational crossbreeding program. ProCROSS uses the three breeds of Holstein, Montbeliarde and Viking Red. Of the foundation Holsteins assigned to have ProCROSS descendants, one-half were bred to Montbeliarde A.I. bulls and the other half were bred to Viking Red A.I. bulls. Viking Red is the name of the combined breeding program of the previously separate Swedish Red, Finnish Ayrshire and Danish Red breeds. The Montbeliarde breed has 427,000 cows on DHI in France, and that is more than the 337,000 Jersey cows on DHI in the United States. More of the foundation Holsteins offered for the study by the dairies were assigned to the ProCROSS rotational program than to remain Holstein across generations. There were 1,039 Holstein and 1,269 ProCROSS descendants of foundation Holsteins in the dairies in 2011. By 2018, however, there were 1,292 pure Holstein versus 2,139 ProCROSS descendants of foundation Holsteins in the dairies. In other words, the crossbreds left more descendants in the dairies than did their Holstein herdmates.

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The study had a solid number of cows for comparison because well over 1,000 each of crossbreds and Holsteins were compared for rst lactation production. Results for fertility were noteworthy because the two-breed crossbreds (Montbeliarde x Holstein and Viking Red x Holstein) had days open (time from calving to pregnancy) that averaged 12 days less than their Holstein herdmates. The three-breed crossbreds had 16.5 days (2.4 weeks) less Lifetime prot and daily prot for VR×HO and MO×HO two-breed and VR×MO/HO and MO×VR/HO three-breed crossbreds compared to Holstein cows. Holstein Cows (number)

640

Two-breed difference from Holstein VR×HO MO×HO 376

358

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+$1,638* +58%

Daily prot $3.74 Percentage difference from Holstein

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+$.72* +19%

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250

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117

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+$938* +33%

Daily prot $3.95 +$.17* Percentage difference from Holstein +4% * Statistical signicant difference from Holstein.

+$.51* +13%

Lifetime prot $2,823 Percentage difference from Holstein

days open than their Holstein herdmates. For rst service conception rate, the two-breed crossbreds were 7% higher and the three-breed crossbreds were 9% higher than their respective Holstein herdmates. Improved fertility is one of the major advantages from hybrid vigor for all farm animals. Health treatment costs were 20% lower for the combined two-breed and three-breed crossbreds than their Holstein herdmates. Also, the crossbred cows survived about 150 days longer than their Holstein herdmates and calved more frequently during their time in the dairies. The 305-day production of fat and protein solids (pounds) was very similar for the crossbreds and Holsteins. The two-breed crossbreds had 1% higher average daily fat and protein production than their Holstein herdmates, and the three-breed crossbreds had 1% lower average daily fat and protein production than their Holstein herdmates. Income and expense were added for the lifetime of each cow. Income included value of all production, value of all calves and nal cull value. Expense included feed cost, replacement cost, health treatment cost, breeding cost, overhead cost and carcass disposal. At least 20 cows were required per breed type (VRxHO, MOxHO and Holstein for the two-breed comparison, and VRxMO/HO, MOxVR/HO and Holstein for the three-breed comparison) for each dairy in order to be included in the analysis of lifetime prot. The 20-cow requirement assured fair comparisons that were not biased by a small number of abnormal cows within a dairy. The accompanying table shows average lifetime prot (income minus expense); lifetime prot was much higher for all four types of crossbreds compared to their Holstein herdmates. This was expected because the crossbreds had longer average lifetimes in the dairies. However, what matters most for dairy producers is daily prot because dairies have a limited capacity for cows (stalls in most cases). Therefore, daily prot from cows reects prot per stall per day. Daily prot increased from $3.74 for the Holstein herdmates of the two-breed crossbreds to $3.95 for the Holstein herdmates of the three-breed crossbreds, which were later in time. However, all four types of crossbreds had higher daily prot than their Holstein herdmates over similar time frames. The four types of crossbreds had an average advantage over their Holstein herdmates of $0.405 daily profit which was 10.5% higher daily prot every day of their lifetime in the herd. All other species of livestock (pigs, beef cattle, turkeys and chickens) have embraced hybrid vigor from the crossing of breeds or inbred lines for more than 30 years for the commercial production. In recent years, the Jerseys and crossbreds have had similar growth in number of cows in U.S. dairy herds at the expense of Holsteins.

Dairy Star • Saturday, June 22, 2019 • Page 29

Research update: Alfalfa cutting management Balancing alfalfa trade-offs between yield, quality and persistence reminds me of the good, fast and cheap paradigm where only two can be selected (Figure 1; Dev. 2018). Cheap and fast typically corresponds to lower quality work whereas fast and good tends to be expensive. From my experience, good and cheap are seldom in alignment. Substituting good, fast and cheap with alfalfa the characteristics yield, quality and persistence (Figure 1), it is easy to see how alfalfa management priorities also t the project management paradigm with a few caveats. In the management paradigm, we are assured any two priorities are selectable; however, in alfalfa, there may be a way to pick all three pairs. Before we explore the pick-three option, let us discuss the pick two options. Alfalfa yield and persistence is a logical pairing since delaying harvest does increase forage yields By M. Scott Wells while potentially lessening the year-to-year stress thus increasing persistence. Yield and quality, another pick two pairing, are University of MN related, where both must be fully optimized (Figure 2). Historically, the last pairing, quality and persistence, are contradictory much like the good and cheap. For example, if a farmer needs high-quality alfalfa and plans to reseed the alfalfa after four production years, the alfalfa stand needs to deliver high-quality alfalfa each year for the four year duration consistently. The dilemma is when the farmer increases the cutting frequency to harvest less mature plants to reduce lignin which improves quality, the alfalfa stands are less able to build up root reserves and are at a higher risk of reduced persistence (Brink and Marten, 1989). The pick three option is not apparent, but recent advances in alfalfa breeding suggest emerging opportunities to attenuate these trade-offs and allow for simultaneous improvements to quality, yield and persistence (i.e., the pick three). Modern alfalfa cultivars regrowth potential (i.e., fall dormancy rating) has been primarily decoupled from winter hardiness, which may allow for both higher yields and persistence. Also, new alfalfa traits have directly improved alfalfa forage quality through the lignin reduction which may accumulate greater yield while limiting reductions in relative feed value (Lamb et al., 2012; Grev et al., 2017). Can modern alfalfa cultivars along with intensive management provide farmers with a pick three solution? To address the question, a recent study evaluated eight modern cultivars with a range of fall dormancies (only two shown for brevity) for forage yield, Figure 1. Project management dilemma quality and persistence across four, ve of picking two priorities (left) and alfal- and six annual harvest corresponding to fa trade-off priorities (right). Adapted 21, 28 and 45-day cutting intervals in from the Developer Society (April 5, Minnesota. The experiment began in spring 2018). of 2014 at the Minnesota Research and Outreach centers located at Becker, Minn., and St. Paul, Minn. The project continued until spring 2017 at both locations. Alfalfa cultivars with fall dormancy (FD) ratings 2.1 (FD2.1) and 5.0 (FD5.0) were established into prepared seedbeds at 13 pound live seed ac-1. Raptor and Poast were applied for broadleaf and grass control respectively, and Arctic 3.2 EC was applied when potato leafhoppers exceeded thresholds. In the spring of each year, plant densities were measured in two locations within Figure 2. Trade-offs between alfalfa each plot using a frequency grid. yield and quality as impacted by alfalfa Alfalfa total season-long yields maturity stage. Adapted from the Al- were impacted by cultivar and harvest falfa Management Guide. intervals. On average, the FD5.0 cultivar produced 9% more biomass dry matter than the FD2.1, and increasing harvest intervals increased alfalfa dry matter yield (Figure 3). The 21-day harvest interval (5.0 ± 0.82 tons ac-1) produced less alfalfa dry matter than both the 28 and 45-day treatment (6.3 and 6.2 ± 0.82 tons ac-1) respectively. Both the cultivar and harvest interval impact on alfalfa dry matter yield production are not surprising. The FD5.0 has a fall dormancy rating ve, which may have contributed to greater regrowth potential when compared to the FD2.1. Unlike forage dry matter yield, alfalfa relative forage quality (RFQ) was not impacted by alfalfa cultivar with the average RFQ of 167.3 ± 7.6 Figure 3. Total season alfalfa forage for FD5.0 and FD2.1. Although cultiyield as inuenced by alfalfa fall dor- vars did not differ, RFQ was inversely proportional to harvest intervals. For mancy rating and harvest intervals. each day increase in harvest interval, there was a -2.9 point decrease in RFQ. Although increasing the harvest intervals (e.g., 21 to 45-day harvest intervals) did improve alfalfa dry matter yield (Figure 3), the delay in harvest negatively impacted RFQ with nearly a 40% reduction in RFQ between the 21 and the 45-day harvest intervals. The decrease in RFQ associated with harvesting older plants was no surprise nor was the impact of higher quality alfalfa on milk production (Figure 4). Both alfalfa cultivar and harvest interval impacted milk production where the FD2.1 cultivar produced slightly more (approx. 1.6%) milk per ton of alfalfa than the

FD5.0 cultivar (Figure 3). The forage quality reductions as a consequence of delaying harvest or increasing the interval between harvest did impact milk production at every level with nearly a 17% reduction in milk production between the 21 and 45-day harvest intervals (Figure 3). Cutting alfalfa more frequently may reduce yield but does improve forage quality which can directly result in more milk production. But, what about the pick three option? The pick three option was persistence, yield and quality. Fortunately, neither alfalfa fall dormancy rating or alfalfa harvest interval inuenced the alfalfa persistence in the third production year. There was a visible trend of increasing persistence with an a widening of the harvest intervals; however, the variation across the treatments was relatively high preventing detection of differences. Based on this snapshot, Figure 4. Milk production (pounds of picking all three is possible in alfalfa milk per ton of alfalfa) as determined production. There are several resources to by alfalfa fall dormancy rating and help decide if there is sufcient highharvest intervals. quality alfalfa to met production goals. Visit https://www.extension.umn.edu/ for more information. Additional Contributors: James Eckberg, Jake Jungers and Craig Sheaffer.

Page 30 • Dairy Star • Saturday, June 22, 2019

Automotive family vacations During the summertime, as we travel the highways and byways of our great nation, we can witness indisputable evidence that Americans are gluttons for punishment. This evidence can be seen in cars loaded with families who are on vacation. All of those traveling parents have one thing in common: Each is wondering whose bright idea it was to let the kids bring along those annoyingly noisy video games. It was not long ago when the parents were leading normal and productive lives. These former pillars of their communities are now the sort of people who entertain secret fantasies about leaving their boisterous offspring at the next gas station. Why are these folks willingly hurtling down the highway at 75 mph with a vehicle full of screaming kids, hoping to arrive somewhere, anywhere before they succumb to the temptation to call the nearest adoption agency? I believe the cause can be traced to

our country’s peripatetic roots. America has always been a nation of nomads. How many times was history changed by the innocuous question, “Hey, honey, what say you pack a picnic basket and load the kids into the old Conestoga? We’ll just drive and see where the wagon ruts take us.” The next thing they knew, (can you imagine months of kids whining “Are we there yet?”) those hardy souls were discovering such astounding natural wonders as Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon and Disneyland. The Industrial Revolution brought tremendous changes to the American lifestyle. Nothing did more to reshape our lives than that newfangled contraption called the automobile. Endless ribbons of concrete and asphalt were placed over the wagon ruts to accommodate the socalled horseless carriages. As a result, cars were able

to zip along at incredible speeds, sometimes even exceeding that of a team of horses. Some found these speeds appalling, arguing if God had intended for cars to go that fast, He would have given them windshields. In 1909, an inventor named Phineas Smeldon Dear County Agent Guy unwittingly came to the aid of the anti-speed movement when he patented the pothole. The pothole proved to be a commercial bust, but anti-speed activists quickly embraced it as their go-to weapon. To this very day, anti-speed guerillas will sneak out under the cover of By Jerry Nelson darkness and randomly scatter potholes on our Columnist roadways in their neverending effort to slow trafc. Smeldon made a vast fortune with his next invention. It was a new automotive accessory he called shock absorbers. The automobile ushered in a new era of mobile family vacationing. Large families were common at that time, which meant large amounts of shoving, pinching and “He’s looking at me,” were happening inside of cars. From a parent’s point of view, it was the polar opposite of a relaxing vacation. A heroic effort to change this was carried out by a farmer/inventor named Floyd Wimbly. Like many parents, Floyd had been frustrated by the constant bickering which inevitably erupted amongst his kids during long automotive journeys. The nonstop squabbling frazzled the very nerves he had hoped to soothe. Floyd got an idea one day as he passed an old abandoned chicken coop. After some judicious haggling, Floyd was able to obtain the coop for free by promising its owner he would make the eyesore disappear. Floyd loaded the rickety coop onto a hay wagon and chained it down. He did his best to make the interior of the coop habitable by installing carpeting and placing a mattress atop of the roosts. He even converted its built-in chicken feeder into a self-serve M&M dispenser. Floyd herded his considerable brood of children into the coop. During family vacations, he was thus able to motor merrily down the highway and be totally isolated from the raucous sibling rivalry taking place back on the atbed. Like many ahead-of-their-times ideas, Floyd’s wondrous invention was destined for an unhappy ending. Floyd was tooling along one summer day with his kid coop in tow when he hit an uncommonly large pothole. Startled, he jumped on the brakes. The coop shot forward and became solidly wedged in the bed of his pickup. Nobody was hurt. As Floyd stood at the roadside and muttered imprecations about the hopelessness of the mess, a guy from Iowa stopped and offered Floyd $50 for his rig. Floyd was only too happy to have the heap taken off his hands. The Iowan drove the pickup/ coop back to his home in Winnebago County and the rest, as they say, is history. Floyd returned to his farm sadder but wiser and wishing he had left his kids at home and had taken his chickens on vacation instead. Jerry is a recovering dairy farmer from Volga, S.D. He and his wife, Julie, have two grown sons and live on the farm where Jerry’s great-grandfather homesteaded over 110 years ago. Jerry currently works full time for the Dairy Star as a staff writer/ad salesman. Feel free to E-mail him at: jerry.n@ dairystar.com.

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Extensive alfalfa winterkill pushed many dairy producers to explore alternative forage crops the past couple months. Spring planting delays due to excessive moisture have further fueled these conversations. Numerous acres across the Midwest will likely be enrolled into prevented plant programs. Final details of these programs are pending, but they have historically been less benecial to Something to Ruminate On livestock producers. Another group of producers seeking alternative forage crops (not necessarily unique to this year) is made up of those looking to maximize yield potential of less-nutrientdense forage options, typically for heifer or dry cow feed. Regardless of your reason for By Barry Visser choosing alternative Nutritionist forage crops, many of the agronomic and nutritional considerations are similar. The decision of which alternative forage crop to plant begins with addressing the forage needs of your operation. If a dairy is short on forages for milk cows, corn silage and alfalfa are still the best choices for harvesting the maximum tonnage of digestible nutrients and available protein per acre. Most farms with winter damaged alfalfa have already established emergency cropping acres for this spring. For acres still not planted, corn for silage may still be your best choice through the month of June. The most common use of alternative forages is to harvest these moderate- to lower-energy feeds for non-lactating cows. Some alternative crops have a higher propensity for nutrient uptake that may be challenging to certain groups of livestock. An example is potassium levels in oatlage harvested and fed to dry cows. Forages can be classied as warm season annual forages, cool season annual forages, and perennial legumes and grasses. Deciding which alternative forage to plant depends on factors such as time of year, soil temperatures, moisture potential and harvest goals. In a spring like 2019, seed availability of a desired crop is also a consideration. Spring planting options generally favor cereal grains, such as oat, wheat, rye, triticale or barley. It is common to see the addition of pea with oat or triticale to boost crude protein 3% to 5%. Small grains should be harvested at boot stage for best quality. Often, we move into head development to maximize tonnage for heifers. The challenge with small grain forage harvest is that it matures quickly when dairies are often pressed for time and weather is unpredictable. Forage sorghum, sudangrass and sorghum-sudangrass are common warm season alternative crops planted to maximize tonnage and generally fed to non-lactating animals. Harvest strategies are either a single cut in the fall to maximize tonnage or multiple cuttings (generally two) for improved quality. Brown mid-rib (BMR) varieties will result in great ber digestibility and higher quality. Other summer annual options include millet and teff grass. For many readers, the idea of double-cropping to maximize forage yields per acre is nothing new, especially those in the southern regions. The most common strategies include winter rye or winter triticale planted on corn silage acres. These winter crops are typically harvested in late May to early June, allowing another option for manure application. Sorghum sudangrass frequently follows on these acres using the harvest schedule mentioned above. Oat can also work well in the fall; early August is generally the ideal time to plant across most of the Midwest. Fall oat maintains high quality with shorter day lengths, resulting in highly digestible carbohydrates, lower lignin and modest ber levels. Alternative forage crops and double-cropping strategies can be key components in providing feed for your herd, but they require strategic seasonal timing. Work with your agronomist and nutritionist to develop the best management practices for your dairy. Barry Visser is a nutritionist for Vita Plus.

Dairy Star • Saturday, June 22, 2019 • Page 31

Page 32 • Dairy Star • Saturday, June 22, 2019

Minnesota goodbyes In Minnesota, our goodbyes tend to linger like notice the signs that the end of her days is fast apa perpetual conversation; while at other times, the proaching as she struggles to lunge forward with goodbye can abruptly come to a close. Imagine re- enough momentum to hoist her hind end up in a moving a bandage. You can take your time and re- smooth and graceful motion. Then, in a different move it step by step, or you can let it rip to get it moment, she appears to have found new strength over with in one swift moand vigor. When does the ment. goodbye nally come? Minnesota, our goodbyes db Some cows take for- IIn Mi Did you know a ever to say goodbye. We tend to linger like a Minnesota goodbye is a know they need to head real thing? Real enough out the barn door, but we perpetual conversation. to be found in a Google keep postponing their send search. I have always nooff until we absolutely ticed how the goodbye need the stall or their production has nally slipped conversation can last longer than the original visit. enough to justify culling her. It can be hard to say We say we need to get going, and yet we start a goodbye when you have watched this cow grow topic of discussion delaying our departure. It seems older along with you every day. Then you start to these goodbyes take on a life and language all of its

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own. Here is what I have noticed about a Minnesota goodbye. Step 1: Start early with a warning shot. “Look at the time. We really need to start heading out soon.” This is kind of like the 30 minute warning Just Thinking Out Loud buzzer round. Step 2: Repeat your statement. “We really need to leave. It’s time to go.” Keep the conversation going. Step 3: Hug everyone goodbye around you and say goodbye. Step 4: Walk to the door while continuing By Natalie Schmitt the conversation. Columnist Step 5: Start to put on your shoes while you chat some more. “Which reminds me, did you hear?” Step 6: Rapid re conversation. This is where you suddenly recall new information to share with the group and questions will be asked which will delay your departure. This is all done while you are putting on your coat. Step 7: Hand is on the door knob. This signals the nal send off and well wishes. “See you soon. Drive safe.” A nal round of hugs. For the past 10 weeks, we have had the chance to say goodbye to Mark’s dad, Ralph. It was a continuously owing conversation as we all came to grips with the meaning of this nal goodbye. Just after his 93rd birthday, Ralph ended up in the hospital, and it was determined there was nothing medically left they could do to treat his cancer. He moved into a hospice home, and we started this long procedure. He had his hand on the door knob several times ready to go but not quite yet. There was still a story to tell, a memory to share, advice to give and parting words of wisdom to leave. Everyone made the extra effort to make lasting memories with Ralph. I always teased him about being the healthiest person in hospice. He did not have any pain. He pushed himself to walk to the dining room for every meal. He kept up with the latest news and current events. He was showing us all how to live when you know you are dying. He was making memories for us to carry. At the rate he was going, I had it all arranged of how to get him to the church for Michael’s wedding next weekend. But sadly, the conversation came to a close. His hand was on the door knob, and he said his nal goodbye. I think our long Minnesota goodbyes are an attempt to stop time and linger in the moment to say all the things we need to say, to leave a lasting mark, to relish the hugs and connections we have made with others. But, goodbyes are not forever. They are another way of saying … until we meet again. We could use our Minnesota goodbyes in a new state advertising campaign. Minnesota: Come for the kindness. Stay because it takes too long to say goodbye. You betcha. Natalie, Mark and his brother Al, farm together near Rice, Minn. They milk 100 registered Holsteins under the RALMA prex. Their four children are grown up and all involved in agriculture with hopes of someone returning to the farm. For questions or comments, please e-mail Natalie at mnschmitt@jetup.net

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Dairy Star • Saturday, June 22, 2019 • Page 33

The barn dance

When most people hear the phrase ‘barn dance’, they think of old timers gliding around haymow oors. These dance oors are like no other, with their wooden planks polished smooth by the friction of thousands of bales of hay and straw. I think, fondly, of the dance oor at Larson’s Barn, where we would dance with Grandpa. One hand clasped in his and the other resting on his worn-out shoulder, the one that creaked and clicked from years of hard work in both the mill and on his dairy farm. Dairy Good Life Through those early dance oor lessons with Grandpa and my parents, we learned the polka, waltz, schottische, jitterbug, and more. I still love to dance, but there are fewer opportunities now. Community dances just aren’t as popular in this part of Minnesota as they were up north and most wedding dances these days only play hip-hop or country songs. I’ll happily dance to modern music, but freestyle bopping doesn’t compare to the natural choreography of a polka or waltz. Lately, I’ve been thinking about a different kind of barn dance. Every time we milk our cows, we do a sort of By Sadie Frericks dance. One or two (or more) people move around the Columnist barn, stepping in between cows and back out onto the aisle. If you watch the steps dairy farmers take while milking their cows, they would look much like the pattern of steps dancers take while waltzing around a ballroom. Like dancing with a partner, we move in sequence with each other. And every farm or pair of milkers has its own dance. On some farms, milkers take sides of the barn or move only certain milking units. On other farms, one milker preps and one milker attaches. When Glen and I milk together, our dance is much less rigid. We prep and attach whichever cow is next, working ahead to allow adequate prep time. There are no assigned sides or units or jobs, so the steps of our dance take us all around the barn. And just like dance partners who have been dancing together forever, there’s no need for verbal directions. We just know where each other is moving next. I noticed while teaching a new employee to milk that teaching someone how to milk cows is a lot like teaching someone to dance. Until they gure out the steps and the rhythm of which unit will be ready to move and which cow needs to be prepped next, there’s a need for a lot of direction. Just like a new dancer needing to know which foot moves where next and how to time the movements. Not everyone milks cows in a stall barn, though. Parlor milkers have a much different dance. When we milked in a parlor, our movement looked more like the electric slide or a country line dance. ... teaching hi someone h how to dairy farmers with milk cows is a lot like teaching robotsAnd have no dance at all. There are several other someone to dance. similarities between milking and dancing: There’s music involved. At least here, the radio is always on in the barn. And even in the back of the barn where we can’t hear the radio, the swishing of the pulsators keeps a steady beat. Sometimes there’s conversation between partners; sometimes there’s not. Some milkers – and some dancers – simply lose themselves in the movement, allowing their thoughts to drift. And, often, one generation teaches the next how to milk or dance. This summer is Dan’s rst season as an ofcial milker. Dan has known how to milk a cow for years, but now he’s learning the ow and sequence of moving units around the barn. I’ve enjoyed teaching him and watching him develop the observation skills required for efcient cow milking in a stall barn. Soon he’ll be gliding around the barn like a pro. Now I just need to nd a nice dance oor, so I can teach him how to polka and waltz. Sadie and her husband, Glen, milk 100 cows near Melrose, Minn. They have three children – Dan, 11, Monika, 8, and Daphne, 5. Sadie also writes a blog at www. dairygoodlife.com. She can be reached at sadiefrericks@gmail.com

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Page 34 • Dairy Star • Saturday, June 22, 2019

Weather nally allows for rock picking Altendahl completes 26 acres with help from contest By Jennifer Coyne jenn@dairystar.com

ALBANY, Minn. – The prolonged spring weather made it difcult for Josh Altendahl to clear rocks in his alfalfa eld, but the task was nally complete June 13. Altendahl and his family, along with 15 members of Central Minnesota Credit Union and Dairy Star, picked an alfalfa eld on the dairy farmer’s 75-cow dairy near

“We did one eld and that was enough. I was happy with that.” JOSH ALTENDAHL, DAIRY FARMER

Albany, Minn. “When the vehicles pulled into the yard, it was an awesome feeling knowing we were going to make this happen,” Altendahl said. “We

RACHEL FRERICKS/DAIRY STAR

Members of the Minnesota Central Credit Union, Dairy Star and Josh Altendahl’s family (front, from le�) – Mike Schaefer, Katrina Michelson, Cody Olmscheid, Rich Remer, Corey Sand, Kevin Uphoﬀ and Troy Casper; (back, from le�) Nerisha Hartsworm, Mark Klaphake, Andrea Borgerding, DJ Hemmesch, Carley Hemmesch, Mathias Altendahl, Josh Altendahl and Liam Altendahl – gather a�er picking rock June 13 at Altendahl’s dairy farm near Albany, Minn. Not pictured is Rachel Frericks.

were going to get to work, no doubt about that.” Altendahl was the winner of the 19th Annual Rock Pickers for a Day contest. He was chosen from a pool of nalists May 6 on KASM 1150-AM radio.

The group began at noon and covered a 26-acre eld. Before rock picking began, Altendahl planned to plant the eld with a mixture of oat, pea and alfalfa. When the eld was half picked, Altendahl began planting.

By early afternoon, the crew completed the eld. Altendahl then nished the eld by blowing the seed and then ran the rock roller over the soil. “We did one eld and that was enough. I was happy with

that,” Altendahl said. “I was hoping to get it done earlier, but with how the spring went I needed to focus on planting my corn and beans rst.” Turn to ALTENDAHL | Page 35

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Dairy Star • Saturday, June 22, 2019 • Page 35

ConƟnued from ALTENDAHL | Page 34

Thank you Dairy Farmers!

RACHEL FRERICKS/DAIRY STAR

Cody Olmscheid throws rocks into the back of the wagon June 13 at Josh Altendahl’s dairy farm near Albany, Minn.

In appreciation for the labor, Altendahl’s wife, Kate, prepared a dinner meal for those who helped pick rock. Everyone spent the late afternoon socializing at the farm. It was a quick afternoon to nish rock picking, but one Altendahl and

During Dairy Month, we’d like to thank the men and women of our dairy industry for their hard work and commitment to quality and sustainability. We appreciate all that you bring to the table!

his family will always remember. “My boys were really happy to be there and help,” Altendahl said. “They were helping at [my stepbrother’s] that morning and were looking forward to doing it again with this group.”

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Katrina Michelson tosses rocks into a wagon while picking rock in an alfalfa eld June 13 near Albany, Minn. More than a dozen people worked alongside Michelson to complete the eld.

LOOKING TO ADVERTISE? In Northern/East Central Minnesota Call: Jeff Weyer

OfÀce 320-352-6303 Cell: 320-260-8505 jeff.w@dairystar.com

In Central, South Central Minnesota Call: Mike Schafer

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In Southeast Minnesota Call: Laura Seljan

507-250-2217 laura.s@dairystar.com

In Southwest Minnesota, Northwest Iowa, South Dakota Call: Jerry Nelson

605-690-6260 jerry.n@dairystar.com

RACHEL FRERICKS/DAIRY STAR

Carley Hemmesch (leŌ) and Nerisha Hartsworm dig for a rock in an alfalfa eld June 13 at Josh Altendahl’s dairy farm near Albany, Minn. Hemmesch is Altendahl’s niece and Hartsworm works for the Central Minnesota Credit Union.

In Eastern Iowa Call: Amanda HoeÁer

320-250-2884 amanda.h@dairystar.com

DAIRY ST R

Page 36 • Dairy Star • Saturday, June 22, 2019

Women In Dairy Nancy Middendorf Sauk Centre, Minn. Stearns County 60 cows Family: My husband, Randy, and I have been married for 21 years. We have ve daughters and two sons – Kendra, 20; Molly, 19; Samantha, 18; Matthew, 15; Luke, 13; Macey, 6; and Cassie, 2. We both grew up on dairy farms. Tell us about your farm. We are a third generation dairy farm. We’ve been certied organic since last August. We started rotationally grazing last fall. What’s the busiest time of day for you? It all depends on the day and time of year. When we’re freshening in the fall and spring, feeding calves is a busy chore. Now, we’re not so busy with chores but the day-to-day stuff like running kids to their activities, doing farm work and keeping up with the lawn. When you get a spare moment what do you do? We like to go visit family or simply stay home and watch a movie together. Or, we like having a bonre with s’mores. Tell us about your most memorable experience working on the farm. The excitement in the kids every time a cow calves. What have you enjoyed about dairy farming or your tie to the dairy industry? Being able to work side by side with my husband, as well as being able to be home with the kids. I also like being able to talk and laugh with the family during chores. It makes the time y by.

How do you stay connected with others in the industry? We work together a lot with my husband’s brothers and their families. We also attend some meetings and conferences. Who is someone in the industry who has inspired you? Why? My parents, because they taught me to take each farming day one step at a time and day by day. If you could give a tour of your farm to a prominent woman in today’s society, who would it be and why? I’d like to invite a lawmaker out to our farm. Over the years there are fewer small family farms and I think it’s important we bring these people back to our home roots and where it all began. They could see the small, rural towns and see how it’s all changed.

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What is the best vacation you’ve every taken? Explain. The trips out to Cody, Wyo. We have traveled out west twice, now, along with my husband’s brother and his wife and family. There is so much to see and it’s simply beautiful.

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Dairy Star â&#x20AC;˘ Saturday, June 22, 2019 â&#x20AC;˘ Page 37

Milking cows, making brews

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DANNA SABOLIK/DAIRY STAR

Ashley Ladwig sells coďŹ&#x20AC;ee out of a renovated vintage camper June 13 in Baďż˝le Lake, Minn. Ladwig began her coďŹ&#x20AC;ee company, CoďŹ&#x20AC;ee33, last summer.

Ladwig embraces entrepreneurial spirit with coffee shop By Danna Sabolik

danna.s@dairystar.com

BATTLE LAKE, Minn. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Ashley Ladwig has always been a coinsurer in the kitchen. Her creative passion for food and drinks have lent to an entrepreneurial opportunity. Ladwig, 18, is the owner and head barista at Coffee33 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a trailer coffee shop in Battle Lake, Minn. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I was 17 when I started, and I had no idea what I was doing,â&#x20AC;? Ladwig said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I just thought I might as well give it a shot. It was a lot of responsibility and hard work just to get going and now itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a lot of dedication.â&#x20AC;? Ladwig is the daughter of Tom and Stephanie Ladwig who milk 100 cows near Vining, Minn. At the coffee shop, Ladwig offers a variety of drinks and a few options for food 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through

Saturday every week. Her shop is located in a renovated 1969 vintage camper that usually sits outside of Geraldine and Opalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s boutique in Battle Lake, Minn., but Ladwig does have the means to travel with her business. The young entrepreneur started her coffee shop after looking for a job off the farm during the summer of 2017. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I went into Henning, [Minn.,] and asked the coffee shop owner for a job,â&#x20AC;? Ladwig said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;She was encouraging, but then I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t hear anything for a couple weeks.â&#x20AC;? When she did hear something, she was surprised to hear the store closing and looking for a place to sell the equipment. As a coffee lover and ambitious spirit, Ladwig came up with a solution. The then 17-year-old decided she would skip the permanency of a storefront and be mobile. She planned to turn a vintage camper into a coffee shop that she found on an online auction. Her father helped her gut the interior of the camper and install the necessary coffee-making equipment Ladwig acquired from the shop in town. Ladwigâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

Turn to LADWIG | Page 38

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Page 38 • Dairy Star • Saturday, June 22, 2019

Con�nued from LADWIG | Page 37 mother painted signs for the exterior of the mobile shop. Ladwig opened her trailer June 1, 2018, parked in front of Geraldine and Opals, south of Highway 210. “I was so nervous the night before I didn’t even sleep,” Ladwig said. “I was anticipating a soft open, but there were lines all day long and everyone was so understanding and supportive. It was amazing.” From brain child to reality, the community has been with Ladwig every step of the way. “I closed for the winter while I nished my senior year of high school,” Ladwig said. “People were asking me in May when I’d be open again. I just needed to graduate, and now I’m

open.” The creative name, Coffee33, is a nod to her late friend, Jacob Quam, who died in a car accident in 2017. “I wanted to do something to honor him, and when I got the business idea I thought of Jacob and his basketball number was 33, so I named the shop Coffee33,” Ladwig said. Ladwig is busy throughout the summer with customers who visit as they travel to the lake area. She also has customers who are loyal, including three men who visit every day during the summer. “Two are shermen here for the summer, but one is a local guy, and they do not miss a day,” Ladwig said. “My custom-

DANNA SABOLIK/DAIRY STAR

Coﬀee33 is a mobile coﬀee shop housed in a renovated 1969 camper near Ba�le Lake, Minn. Ashley Ladwig, 18, started the shop June 2018.

DANNA SABOLIK/DAIRY STAR

Ashley Ladwig cra�s a la�e in her vintage camper-coﬀee shop, Coﬀee33, June 13 near Ba�le Lake, Minn.

ers will come here and just talk for hours. They’re so supportive and happy I’m here. They want to see me succeed. I know without them I wouldn’t be here.” Ladwig is grateful for the support she has received from people near and far, and gives back to her community when she can. Last August, she pulled her trailer to the annual Watermelon Days festival in Vining, Minn. “That was a lot of fun, but it was also scary to think about how my machines were doing and if they would make it,” she said of the travel. “I am mobile,

but it’s hard to move around a lot. Especially if I don’t know how I’ll get electricity or water.” Ladwig hopes to operate Coffee33 out of a brick and mortar shop in the future. “Eventually, I’d like to move into a building but still keep my camper,” she said. “It’s so tiny in there, and there are certain things that make it challenging, but I really love my camper. For now, it’s great.” On top of running a business, Ladwig is an East Ottertail County Dairy Princess where she is involved in dairy promo-

tions. “I use a lot of dairy products in my business, and I always try to be an advocate for dairy,” she said. “I love to do that because I’m supporting dairy farmers and my business.” Ladwig looks back on the past year with pride for the hard work she invested in a dream. Next fall, Ladwig will attend Alexandria Technical and Community College in Alexandria, Minn., to study business and marketing to further her entrepreneurial goals.

Dairy prole Jacob Holst Kellogg, Minn. Wabasha County 120 cows How did you get into farming? I was born into it, and I stayed with it. After graduating high school in 2011, I went to Northeast Iowa Community College and returned to my family’s dairy in the fall of 2012. I dairy farm with my parents, Jary and Celene. I own about 30 cows in the herd. I also crop farm with my brother, Isaac, and help him with his custom hauling business when I have time. I also have a beef herd of 25 cows along with 60 steers. My girlfriend, Brittany Nelson, also has about 20 sheep. What are your thoughts and concerns about the dairy industry for the next year? The milk price is concerning. Hopefully the futures turn around. We don’t have any plans to sell out, but it’s tough. The prices have to come around sometime. What is the latest technology you implemented on your farm and the purpose for it? We started using the SCOUT program about two years ago. It helps keep better track of the cows. We like it for our ovsynch lists and it’s nice to be able to look up a cow. We are not big enough for Dairy Comp, but it’s better than paper and pencil. What is a management practice you changed in the past year that has beneted you? We added wheat straw to our ration. It has helped when the cows freshen. The herd hasn’t had as many DAs and ketosis. And, there haven’t been as many ups and downs in milk. What cost-saving steps have you implemented during the low milk price? We changed teat dip. That helped us reduce our somatic cell count which gives us a better premium. Now our SCC runs under 200,000.

Dairy Star • Saturday, June 22, 2019 • Page 39

with Jacob Holst of Kellogg, Minn.

How do you retain a good working relationship with your employees? We don’t have any employees. Family members run the dairy. In order for everything to run smoothly, everyone needs to communicate about what they will be getting done each day. Everyone pitches in. Tell us about a skill you possess that makes dairy farming easier for you. I am versatile. I can be milking, driving semi or in the eld all in the same day. My whole family can do any job on the farm. We are diversied. What do you enjoy most about dairy farming? I like being around the cows and working at home. I like that I’m my own boss, and my dad and I get to make the decisions for our herd. What advice would you give other dairy farmers? Stick with it. Things are going to turn around. What has been the best purchase you have ever made on your farm? SCOUT has been benecial. So has the bale chopper we bought three years ago. It helps us save on bedding because it does a nicer job with bedding than shaking the straw with a skidloader. It also chops the hay and makes it go through the mixer better. What has been your biggest accomplishment while dairy farming? Getting a good start on my own herd. It has allowed me to crop farm on the side and have steers.

What are your plans for your dairy in the next year and ve years? We don’t have any big plans, but within the next year we would like to build a commodity shed. We also need to create a better place for our silage piles. It would be nice to get them on gravel. Right now they’re on dirt. How do you or your family like to spend time when you are not doing chores? I like to spend time with my girlfriend. We like to get away when we can. The past two years, we have taken trips to Duluth. This year, we would like to check out Nebraska. I also like to go for drives after chores at night. I take my own truck and cruise the gravel looking at the crops.

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Page 40 â&#x20AC;˘ Dairy Star â&#x20AC;˘ Saturday, June 22, 2019

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