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DAIRY ST R
Volume 23, No. 13
“All dairy, all the time”™
August 28, 2021
Improvements to support a new genera�on Heine family builds freestall barn, makes updates for a growing herd By Stacey Smart
stacey.s@dairystar.com
STACEY SMART/DAIRY STAR
Noah Heine (center) and his parents, Kim and Rick, milk 45 cows and farm around 200 acres near Helenville, Wisconsin. The Heines are making improvements to support the next genera�on. Not pictured is Noah’s brother, Cody.
HELENVILLE, Wis. – Twenty-year-old Noah Heine hopes to be farming full time by age 30. And the improvements his family is making to the farm are designed to make that possible. A decade of projects are in the works to put Noah and his brother, Cody, 24, on the path to taking over the farm. A love for cows, particularly show cattle, drives these seventh-generation farmers who show at every level and are growing the herd while also working full-time jobs off the farm. Their father, Rick, refers to the herds as his sons’ 4-H project, which he and his wife, Kim, wholeheartedly support. Standing behind their boys’ ambitions to be full-time farmers and see the dairy grow and thrive, the Heines work together to fulll the dreams of a future generation. “In order to farm full time, I’m going to need to Turn to HEINE | Page 6
Fair lessons the dairy way Jones, Friske mentor young exhibitors By Danielle Nauman danielle.n@dairystar.com
MAUSTON, Wis. – With less than 2% of the population involved in agriculture, few people have ever been on a farm and have little knowledge of how their food is produced. Giving kids the chance to connect with agriculture by participating in a youth dairy project is one way Jeannie Jones and Brian Friske help make that connection. The two work together to operate Valley Hill Farms near Kendall where they milk 60 cows. They enjoy working with non-farm youth in their community to provide the experience of showing dairy cattle at county fairs. They helped nine youth, ranging in age from 7 to 17, exhibit 14 animals from the farm Aug. 18-22 at the Juneau County Fair in Mauston. “Most of the kids just manage to nd us,” Jones said. “A lot of times they are
Turn to JUNEAU | Page 8
DANIELLE NAUMAN/DAIRY STAR
Valley Hill Farms exhibitors – (front, from le�) Garre� and Turner Calhoun; (middle, from le�) Kaleah Pfaff, Evie and Caed Hubbard, Electra Wilson, Madisol Elizondo, Ethan Hubbard and Marissa Kruckeberg; (back, from le�) Brian Friske and Jeannie Jones – a�end the Juneau County Fair Aug. 18-22 in Mauston, Wisconsin. Friske and Jones take the �me to help non-farm youth experience the dairy industry through a dairy project.