Seniors! CELEBRATING OUR
See pages 12 & 13 of the Second Section for our High School Senior Feature!
DAIRY ST R
June 27, 2020
“All dairy, all the time”™
Volume 22, No. 9
Nunes chosen as 73rd Alice in Dairyland
Downsizing in favor of efciency
Chippewa Falls woman with dairy background takes on new role July 6 By Danielle Nauman danielle.n@dairystar.com
DELAVAN, Wis. – Growing up on her family’s dairy farm, Julia Nunes has always been mindful of teaching the public about the impact the dairy industry, and all of agriculture, has on Wisconsin. Now she is taking center stage working to promote all that is wonderful about Wisconsin’s agricultural industry. Nunes, of Chippewa Falls, was named the 73rd Alice in Dairyland in Walworth County June 20. Nunes will take over for the current Alice in Dairyland Abigail Martin, assuming her ofcial duties as a communications professional for the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection July 6. Nunes attended the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities where she earned a degree in animal science, agricultural communications and marketing, along with a minor in horticulture. She was an active member of the Gopher Club and participated in the Dairy Challenge program. She also served as the Fairest of the Fair for the Northern Wisconsin State Fair in 2017. She has interned at Redhead Creamery and accepted a position with Kinni Hemp Company in River Falls after college graduation. Nunes grew up on her family’s farm, Scientic Holsteins, near Chippewa Falls. Throughout her youth, she was involved Turn to ALICE | Page 5
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Julia Nunes is selected as the 73rd Alice in Dairyland June 20 in Delevan, Wisconsin. Nunes grew up on her family’s dairy farm, ScienƟc Holsteins, in Chippewa County near Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin.
STACEY SMART/DAIRY STAR
The Olson brothers – (from leŌ) Eric and Rich – are the Ōh generaƟon to operate Olson Family Farm in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. The Olsons milk 60 cows with a robot and farm 1,200 acres.
Olsons cut herd in half, switch to robotic milking By Stacey Smart
stacey.s@dairystar.com
STURGEON BAY, Wis. – When considering how to make their farm more attractive to future generations, the Olsons decided fewer cows was the answer. Embarking on a journey that would make farming easier and provide a more balanced lifestyle, brothers Rich and Eric Olson and Eric’s wife, Julaine, downsized their registered Holstein herd from 100 cows to 60 and put in a robot at the end of 2013. “We had to nd an easier way to do the work,” Rich said. “The robot was my idea. I had to talk Eric and Julaine into it.” Rich and Eric are the fth generation on the Olson Family Farm, a Sturgeon Bay dairy that was started in 1872 by the Olsons’ Norwegian immigrant ancestors. Rich returned to the farm in 1990 after graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a bachelor’s degree in dairy science. He and Eric, who attended the
UW-Madison Farm and Industry Short Course, formed an LLC in 1994. They were milking 100 cows twice a day in a 100-stall tiestall barn. When the physical exertion of milking began taking its toll, the family knew a change was necessary.
“Our rst thought was to put in two robots and increase to 120 cows,” Rich said. “But then feed storage, manure storage and calf housing were going to be a problem and would’ve required modicaTurn to OLSON | Page 6
STACEY SMART/DAIRY STAR
Rich Olson points out average daily producƟon per cow, which hovers between 94-96 pounds a day on his family’s dairy near Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.