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DAIRY ST R “All dairy, all the time”™
Volume 18, No. 14
Kasellas implement creative milking schedule By Jennifer Coyne jenn@dairystar.com
ROYALTON, Minn. – Since Peter and Heidi Kasella rst began dairy farming in 2007, they have continually thought outside the box for ways to improve their family business. Most recently, the Kasellas have incorporated a unique, but efcient milking schedule into their 350cow dairy near Royalton, Minn., that has maximized time management and production potential, along with vastly improving herd health. Fresh cows, 0 to 45 days in milk (DIM), are milked six times each day; cows 45 to 150 DIM are milked four times each day; and the remainder of the herd is on a 3X schedule. “There are a million things to do on the farm to be successful,” Heidi said. “For us, this is what has worked.” The milking herd is separated into six pens on the farm – Pen 3 is the fresh cows and milked six times each day; Pens 5 and 6 are cows 45 to 150 DIM, milked four times each day; and Pens 1, 2 and 4 are milked three times each day. At 3:30 a.m., the Kasellas begin milking with Pen 3, then 5, 6, 1, 2, 3 again, 4, and then 5 and 6 again. By noon, the second shift of milking begins with Pen 3, then 1, 2, 5, 6, 3 again, and nishes with 4. For a short time, the parlor is shut down until 8 p.m. for the nal milking shift. At that time, Pens 3, 5, 6, 1, 2, 3 again, and nally 4, have completed their last milking for the day. “There’s no lag time and everyone is efcient,” Heidi said. “We know what we’re doing and the cows know what they’re doing.” The increased frequency in milkings came about two winters ago after the Kasellas expanded their operation and made improvements to on-farm facilities. In 2010, the Kasellas expanded their herd from 150 to 350 crossbred cattle and milked the entire herd Turn to KASELLAS | Page 6
Watching where he steps
September 10, 2016
Stelling encourages farm safety after enduring accident 22 years ago By Krista Kuzma
krista.k@dairystar.com
MILLVILLE, Minn. – It’s something Jake Stelling had done hundreds of times before: He was up in the silo xing a break and used the auger shield on the silo unloader as a step. But Jan. 8, 1994, didn’t go like the hundreds of other times in the past. “I stepped on the cover – the shield over the augers – and it just gave way. My leg went through and it pulled me in all the way up to the top of my thigh. That’s where it pinched enough to stop most everything. Although the motor was still humming,” Stelling said. Although the accident changed Stelling physically with his need for a prosthetic leg and gave him a new perspective on life, it didn’t stop his desire to farm. Now, the 43-year-old farms together with his cousin, Brent, on their 300-cow dairy near Millville, Minn. “I feel I’m more of a positive person than a negative one. That’s how I had to be with recovery to get through it,” Stelling said. The morning of the accident started out with regular chores. “It was grueling cold – at least 25 below,” said Stelling, who was 21 years old at the time. Because of the temperature, silage in the stave silo froze, stopping the unloader. “I went up to free it while my grandpa was down below to run things. I got it free, and stayed up there Turn to STELLING | Page 5
KRISTA KUZMA/DAIRY STAR
Jake Stelling shows the prostheƟc leg he’s had since a farm accident he endured on Jan. 8, 1994, forcing doctors to amputate his leg below the knee. Stelling farms together with his cousin, Brent, milking 300 cows near Millville, Minn.
Milk solids a key component to prot Butterfat, protein, whey hot commodities for buyers By Brittany Olson
brittany.o@dairystar.com
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Peter and Heidi Kasella milk their fresh cows six Ɵme each day in a swing-12 parlor. The Kasellas milk 350 cows near Royalton, Minn.
TAYLORS FALLS, Minn. – “What is milk?” That was the question posed by Dr. Normand StPierre at a dairy management seminar on Aug. 24 in Taylors Falls, Minn. St-Pierre, the director of research and technical services at Perdue AgriBusiness, spoke about the composition of milk. “In 100 pounds of milk, there are 3.8 pounds of butterfat, 3.0 pounds of protein, 5.7 pounds of other solids and the rest – 87.5 pounds – is water,” St-Pierre said. “Buyers are not paying you the same for each pound of those milk solids.” St-Pierre went on to explain the factors that deter-
mine component prices. “The USDA does not determine component prices, the federal government does not determine component prices and neither does your cooperative,” StPierre said. “What does determine your component pay prices are wholesale prices and unregulated sales of butter, cheese blocks and barrels, dry whey, and nonfat dry milk.” Given component prices per hundredweight (cwt) as of July 2016, butterfat sold for $2.44 per pound, while protein rang up at $2.84 per pound and other milk solids raked in $0.10 per pound. “Those are the gross revenues per pound, but how much does it cost you to produce each pound?” StPierre said. For example, St-Pierre explained that it takes 26.6 pounds of dry matter intake to make 5.36 pounds of fat and 2.5 pounds of other milk solids. Meanwhile, 10.71 pounds of net energy for lactation creates 4.25 Turn to MILK SOLIDS | Page 9