LOOK INSIDE FOR OUR WORLD DAIRY EDITION!
DAIRY ST R
September 12, 2020
“All dairy, all the time”™
Volume 22, No. 14
Time to bring the calves home Muellers build barn to raise youngstock on their own By Jennifer Coyne jenn@dairystar.com
MELROSE, Minn. – In a few short weeks, Jamie and Shannon Mueller will be calving in their rst heifer that was born and raised through weaning in their dairy farm’s calf facility. “I’m really looking forward to that; it’s exciting,” Jamie said. After many years of having calves raised off-site, in 2018 the Muellers built a group-housing facility that accommodates the entire youngstock herd from birth to 6 months at their 170-cow farm in Stearns County near Melrose. The tunnel-ventilated barn, which stands at 112 feet by 36 feet, is equipped with space for seven calves in individual hutches. Those animals are fed by bottle twice a day until they are about 1 week old. Then, they relocate to a group pen of 10 to 15 animals that are fed with an automatic calf feeder.
MARK KLAPHAKE/DAIRY STAR
Shannon and Kaylyn Mueller oversee calf management at their family’s 170cow dairy in Stearns County near Melrose, Minnesota. The Muellers built a calf barn, with automated calf feeders, in 2018 aŌer their calf raiser reƟred.
Another group pen on an automatic calf feeder is available for older calves still on milk. After the calves are weaned, they are moved to one of two pens at the end of the barn, where they remain until 6 months old. At 6 months of age, the youngstock are sent to a heifer grower where they stay until one to two months prior to calving. “Our heifer grower is really happy with how they’re coming to him,” said Kaylyn, the Muellers’ daughter. Kaylyn oversees calf management on the farm with Shannon. She returned to the family business three years ago when more attention to the youngstock was needed. “Our calf grower was retiring, and we had to decide what to do,” Shannon said. “When he rst stopped, we raised our calves in hutches for about a year and that’s when we knew we wanted a calf barn.” Although the Muellers knew they needed a youngstock facility to accommodate the inux of calves, it took the family a long while and several barn tours before nding a design that Turn to MUELLER | Page 7
Blenkes living the American dream
Netherlands natives build thriving U.S. dairy By Stacey Smart
stacey.s@dairystar.com
STACEY SMART/DAIRY STAR
Irena and MaƩhew Blenke milk 180 cows near Watertown, Wisconsin. They moved from the Netherlands to the United States in 2011 and built their dairy.
WATERTOWN, Wis. – When Matthew and Irena Blenke were looking for a new place in the world to farm, they chose the United States. Several things led them to America, including the country’s sound agricultural practices and products, free-market ideology and lower start-up costs. The couple was drawn to Wisconsin specically, seeing the state as the perfect place to make a fresh start. “Wisconsin is the heart of the world’s dairy industry,” Matthew said. “Everything is well developed here, and good service is close by.” The Blenkes moved from Saasveld, Netherlands, to Watertown in December 2011. They left behind the family farm where Matthew grew up – a farm that has been in the Blenke family for close to 500 years. Matthew’s nephew was taking over the farm, prompting the Blenkes to look for a new opportunity. The 160-acre farm in Watertown came with a stanchion barn the Blenkes replaced with a facility in 2012. Working with Fox Cities Builders, they built a four-row freestall barn for milk cows, dry cows and heifers. A second building houses calves and includes close-up and maternity pens, the milking parlor and selfcleaning holding area. “This place is similar to our farm in the Netherlands, only Turn to BLENKE | Page 5
Page 2 • Dairy Star • Saturday, September 12, 2020
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 (ofce) 320-248-3196 (cell) 320-352-0062 (home) Ad Composition Nancy Powell 320-352-6303 nancy.p@dairystar.com Consultant Jerry Jennissen 320-346-2292 Editorial Staff Krista Kuzma - Editor/Wisconsin (507) 259-8159 • krista.k@dairystar.com Andrea Borgerding - Associate Editor (320) 352-6303 • andrea.b@dairystar.com Jennifer Coyne - Assistant Editor (320) 352-6303 • jenn@dairystar.com Danielle Nauman (608) 487-1101 danielle.n@dairystar.com Stacey Smart - Staff Writer (262) 442-6666 • stacey.s@dairystar.com Maria Bichler - Copy Editor 320-352-6303 Advertising Sales Main Ofce: 320-352-6303 Fax: 320-352-5647 Deadline is 5 p.m. of the Friday the week before publication Sales Manager - Joyce Frericks 320-352-6303 • joyce@dairystar.com Bob Leukam (Northern MN, East Central MN) 320-260-1248 (cell) bob.l@star-pub.com Mark Klaphake (Western MN) 320-352-6303 (ofce) 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 Hoeer (Eastern Iowa) 320-250-2884 • amanda.h@dairystar.com Julie Barnes (SE WI and Northern IL) julie.b@dairystar.com Megan Stuessel (Western Wisconsin) 608-387-1202 • megan.s@dairystar.com Ashley Curry (Northeast WI and Upper MI) 920-539-7268 • ashley.c@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 ofces. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Dairy Star, 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave., Sauk Centre, MN 56378-1246.
A glance at the other side
Dairy Star likes to provide local stories, which is why we have two versions of the paper. Below are a few highlights from stories you will not nd in this paper, but you can nd online in zone 2. Find full editions on our website, www.dairystar.com, and click on the e-edition tab under the Dairy Star header. A love for Ayrshire genetics guides Busch’s dairying career Receiving the constructive breeder award from the U.S. Ayrshire Breeders’ Association for the 11th consecutive year, Busch is known for developing top-quality cattle that excel in the areas of type, production, and longevity. Showwinning, sale-topping animals carrying the Grand-View prex can be found all over the world. Specializing in breeding the nest registered Ayrshires, Busch milks 40 cows near Cecil, Wisconsin and had the rst family in the breed to achieve nine generations of Excellent cows. Jones family celebrates 155 years of Wisconsin dairying The Jones family has farmed near Arena, Wis., for 155 years. The family’s fth generation, Cliff and Peggysue Jones took over the farm from Cliff’s parents in 1998 and now their son Cyrus and daughter-in-law Tessa are joining them in the farming operation. Cyrus and Tessa’s seven-month-old daughter Emma is the seventh generation of the family to call their farm home. The Joneses have focused their dairy farm on building their registered Holstein herd and staying protable in today’s volatile dairy economy. Brown continues dairying after barn re Trish and Judson Brown suffered a barn re in January 2019 and ultimately made the difcult decision to send the surviving animals to market because of severe smoke inhalation. Despite the hardship and loss, the couple made the decision to rebuild and revamp their dairy farm to make it work better for their young family. They downsized from 50 to 32 stalls, allowing them to get away from hiring additional labor, while giving Trish more time to care for their two young boys. Schultz continues grandfather’s Mil-R-Mor legacy Following her graduation from college, Lorilee Schultz made the decision to come home to join her grandparent’s Mil-R-Mor dairy farm instead of pursuing an allied industry career as she had originally planned to do. Schultz felt the timing was right and would afford her the opportunity to learn from her grandparents’ expertise in dairy farming. Today she is managing the family’s farm in Orangeville, Illinois, milking 55 cows, of which she owns about half and renting the farmland.
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Dairy Star • Saturday, September 12, 2020 • Page 3
It’s all inside... Columnists Ag Insider
Pages 8-9 First Section
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Vander Waal family continues to grow and expand their dairy operation First Section: Pages 10 - 12
Zone 2
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Greene Guthrie
Kanabec
Floyd
Boone
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Wright Franklin Butler
Dallas
Black Hawk
Tama
Jasper
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Clayton
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Benton
Dela
Jones
Linn
Iowa
Madison Warren Marion Mahaska Keokuk
Adair
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Page
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Mitchell Howard
Grundy un Webster Hamilton Hardin
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Mills
Hancock Cerro Gordo
old
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Au
Hull
Win
Worth
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Ca
Crawford Carroll
Harrison Shelby
Zone 1
Palo Alto
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Osceola
Woodbury
Page 22 Second Section
Houston
Second Section: Pages 6 - 7 on Emmet
Lyon
Plymouth
Country Cooking
Fillimore
Mower
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ln
co
Lin
Freeborn
Faribault
Martin
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Turner
Jackson
sh
Hutchinson
Nobles
Yotter is 2020-2021 Minnesota Mrs. Agriculture USA
Winona
ne
Charles Mix
Rock
Lake City
Wabasha
Cottonwood Watonwan Blue Earth Waseca Steele Dodge Olmsted
am
Douglas
Gregory
McCook Minnehaha
Murray
Goodhue
Rice
All
Tripp
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ns
Ha
Moody
Nicollet
Brown
Clinton
hn
Jo
Taylor
Decorah
Women in dairy: Bonnie Beard
First Section: Page 36
Union old
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Rin
Clarke
Lucas
Decatur Wayne
Monroe Wapello e
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Van Buren
Jackson
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Muscatine
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Miner
Lake
Redwood
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Aurora
Brule Mellette
Sanborn
Brookings
W in
Lyman
Jerauld
Kingsbury
Dakota
Scott
Sibley
Lyon
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Buffalo
Beadle
Wa s
Jackson
Hamlin
Hand
Carver
iek
Jones
Hyde
Hughes
Hennepin
McLeod
Renville
Yellow Medicine
sh
Stanley
Deuel
Anoka
Wright
Meeker
Chippewa
Lac Qui Parle
Codington
Clark
Kandiyohi
Isanti
Washington
Spink
Sherburne
Swift
Grant
Benton
Stearns
Pope
Po
Sully
Stevens
First Section: Page 13
Pine
Mille Lacs
Morrison
Douglas
Moynihan is a friend of agriculture
Carlton
Todd Grant
Big Stone
Day
Faulk
Potter
Otter Tail
Belle Plaine
Aitkin
Crow Wing
we
Edmunds
Ziebach
Pennington
Roberts
Marshall
McPherson
Cass
ms ey
Dewey
Haakon
Richland
Sargent
Brown Walworth
Becker
Clay
Ra
Campbell
Corson
Dickey
McIntosh
M
Ransom
LaMoure
Emmons Sioux
Bennett
Cass
Itasca
eu r
Bames
Cook Lake
Su
Grant
Meade
Pages 8 - 9 Second Section
Stutsman
Logan
Page 32 First Section
The “Mielke” Market Shannon Weekly Fall River
Kidder
Morton
Making Cents of Dairy Perkins
Custer
Burleigh
en
om ahn
Wilkin
Oliver
Adams
Come Full Circle
Norman
Tra ver se
Page 31 First Section
Polk
Trail
Steele
Lincoln
Stark Veterinary Wisdom Hettinger
Griggs
St. Louis
Red Lake
Le
Foster
Mercer
Koochiching
Hubbard
Wells
Sheridan
Beltrami
Pennington
Grand Forks
Eddy
McLean
Lake of the Woods
Marshall
Benson Nelson
Roseau
Pipestone
Dear County Agent Guy
Kittson
Walsh
Ramsey
McHenry
Ward
Pembina
Wadena
Pierce
Page 33 First Section
Lawrence
Cavalier
Towner
Third Section: Pages 8 - 9
go
Butte
Rolette
Kids Corner: The Isaacsons
isa Ch
Harding
Bottineau
n
Bowman
First Section: Pages 1, 7
io
Slope
Second Section: Pages 12, 14- 15
Un
Billings Golden Valley
Page 27 First Section Mountrail
Page 30 Dunn First Section
First Section: Pages 34 - 35, 37
Dassel
Muellers build barn for fundamental growth stages under one roof
A day in the life of the Roelike family
Da vi so n
McKenzie
Melrose
n
On the Road Renville with Princess Burke Kay
Williams
Elrosa
What does it mean to have your likeness carved in butter?
Page 26 First Section
Divide
Alexandria
Clearwater
FSA News & Notes
Louisa
Henry Des
Moines
Lee
Scott
Decorah
19-year-old Jersey is longest living cow at Golden Dreams Jerseys Third Section: Pages 3 - 4
FROM OUR SIDE OF THE FENCE:
Tell us about your corn silage harvest. First Section: Pages 15 - 16
For additional stories from our other zone, log on to www.dairystar.com
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Dairy Star • Saturday, September 12, 2020 • Page 5
ConƟnued from BLENKE | Page 1
• Bunker Wall Restoration • Silo Restoration • Barn and house foundation restoration STACEY SMART/DAIRY STAR
Netherlands naƟves MaƩhew and Irena Blenke built this dairy operaƟon in 2012 in Watertown, Wisconsin. The facility replaces a previous stanchion barn.
better,” Matthew said. “We built a copy of that farm here but with larger dimensions. The barn is spacious, and there’s no crowding of animals. We have an even number of headlocks to stalls to give cows more access to feed.” Before deciding to settle in the United States, the Blenkes looked at farms in Germany, Poland and Canada, but did not like those countries’ quota systems. Cost was another inhibitor. “It’s expensive to build a dairy farm in Canada,” Matthew said. “It would’ve cost us $3 million and 400 cows to start. Canada also has strict immigration rules. It was easier to come here.” The Blenkes bought cows from local farms and started with milking 120 head – the same amount they had in the Netherlands. They have since grown their milking herd to 180. Cows are milked twice a day in a double-10 parlor. One side of the freestall barn is dedicated to milk cows, and the other side is home to dry cows and heifers grouped in pens by age. Heifers move down the line as they grow, starting out in an 18-stall pen, then moving to a 30-stall pen before landing in a 50-stall pen for bred heifers. The barn includes convenience features like gates that meet precisely, enabling one person to safely move animals, and a built-in refrigerator in the maternity pen for quick and easy administering of medications. Wide alleys and large stalls are other elements the Blenkes enjoy.
“I wouldn’t change anything about this barn,” Matthew said. “I would build it exactly the same way again. Everything was perfect down to the last nail.” Bedding with sand was a new concept for the Blenkes. Cows relax in deep sand beds with no concrete underneath the stalls. For the oors, Matthew and Irena chose solid versus slatted – another difference between their current farm and their farm in the Netherlands. “We have 30% of the hoof problems we had in the Netherlands where we used rubber mats and sawdust,” Matthew said. “We have almost no crippled cows, whereas in the Netherlands, we had one a week. Cows are under less stress and trauma, and we also have better milk production. Nothing compares to sand.” The facility was designed with efciency in mind. Matthew and Irena provide all the labor at MattRena Holsteins with the help of one employee who assists with milking. The farm’s rolling herd average is 26,412 pounds of milk with 4.09% butterfat (1,079 pounds) and 3.07% protein (812 pounds). “Our philosophy is to provide nutritious food for the nation, and we are very focused on producing excellent-quality milk,” Irena said. “Our milk is a safe, healthy product that is made in the USA, and we’re proud of
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Page 6 • Dairy Star • Saturday, September 12, 2020
ConƟnued from BLENKE | Page 5
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Close-up dry cows stay in this pen unƟl they are ready to freshen, at which point they are moved to a nearby maternity pen to calve on a straw pack at the Blenkes dairy farm near Watertown, Wisconsin. that. We’re also big on components and strive to produce milk high in butterfat and protein.” Improving families and building deep generations is the backbone of the Blenkes’ breeding strategy. The Blenkes like balanced cows and use only proven bulls, choosing sires that transmit high components. Heifers receive sexed semen. Conventional semen is used on 40% of the lactating herd, while the other 60% are bred to beef. “We select for the best heifers and like to breed for healthy cows with good feet and legs and nice udders,” Matthew said. “We breed for tness traits like longevity, pregnancy rate and cell count. Productive life is key. We want to keep cows around as long as possible. If you can keep a cow one year longer, you can save a lot of money, which also means we don’t need as many replacements.” Irena agreed. “We’re focused on the cow not just the result of her work,” Irena said. “We don’t want to exploit them. It’s all about efciency. We want a strong, long-lived animal.” Sick cows on the farm are rare. Animals transition easily after calving, which Matthew attributes to the dry cow diet. “We feed our dry cows well,” he said. “Our secret is to provide excellentquality dry hay during the last 14 days of the dry period. Tasty hay that’s a little stemmy produces good rumen
activity.” After freshening, cows are moved directly to the milking group where the ration consists of 30% concentrate and 70% roughage – the majority of which is corn silage. “Because we feed a ration lower in concentrates, it’s an easier transition for fresh cows,” Matthew said. The Blenkes experienced a dramatic difference in climates and landscapes when moving from the Netherlands to the United States. “The Netherlands is as at as a pancake, and most of the country is below sea level, so the climate is wet,” Matthew said. “We had to pump water a lot, and our manure pit was built above ground. Here, we have a lagoon.” The hefty price tag on land in the Netherlands and the country’s dense population are things the Blenkes do not miss. “Farmland in the Netherlands is the highest priced in the world at $26,000 per acre,” Matthew said. “There are also more restrictions in the Netherlands.” When relocating to new soil, the Blenkes chose a location where they could prosper. Leaving their homeland to begin anew, Matthew and Irena love the place they have called home for the last eight years and are certain their decision to come to the United States was the right one. “The U.S. is a good place for a dairy business,” Matthew said.
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Dairy Star • Saturday, September 12, 2020 • Page 7
ConƟnued from MUELLER | Page 1 would work best for their farm. They spoke with farmers who had implemented both individual hutches and group housing, weighing the costs and benets of each setup. “We talked about the troubles with both,” Shannon said. “We decided calf feeders were better for us because of the time efciency.” Kaylyn agreed. “There’s more exibility with the automatic feeders,” she said. “If we get behind in milking or another task on the farm, the calves are still getting fed even if we’re not here.” While the barn has one milk room that includes the two automatic feeders, there is room for an additional four feeders. The Muellers began construction on their facility during the fall of 2018, with the rst few calves introduced to the feeders in December 2018. “I think we had three on the feeder when we rst started,” Kaylyn said. “We had so many older ones in hutches that were already weaned.” By spring 2018, the Muellers had their calf barn full of youngstock. “We’ve really been pleased with how they’re growing,” Kaylyn said. “They look healthy, and they are healthy.” Since Kaylyn’s return home, she has taken on the responsibility of calf care, not only daily feeding but also record keeping and vaccinating.
MARK KLAPHAKE/DAIRY STAR
Calves socialize in the Muellers’ calf barn at the dairy near Melrose, Minnesota. The barn includes four pens – two with automated calf feeders and two for weaned calves up to 6 months old. The new facility has made her job easier. She feeds the calves in individual hutches until they readily recognize the bottle. Kaylyn then transitions the animals to the group pens, pushing them to the automatic feeder usually only once before they understand the new way of getting milk.
The feeders are designed to feed milk replacer up to four times in 24 hours. Each group pen has head gates with three of the pens capable of locking for Kaylyn to easily vaccinate and evaluate the animals. “Kaylyn is really detailed in our calf records,” Shannon
said. “With good records, we feel we know the history of the calf and how that could affect her future production. That helps us make decisions on future culling.” The barn’s design also makes moving calves seamless, and cleaning the pens can be a one-person job with
gates secluding the animals and opening up the pens for the skidloader to maneuver through. Two 48-inch fans on the north end of the barn and a single tube running through the barn helps regulate the temperature. In the wintertime, the youngest calves wear calf jackets, although the temperature has not dipped below 10 degrees Fahrenheit. While the Muellers went through a steep learning curve of having to care for their youngstock, and in a new facility nonetheless, they adapted by taking in educational seminars on calf care and being patient through the transition of designing and building a functional structure. “I’ve been here 27 years and so many things have changed. I never would’ve thought back then that someday we’d be using automatic feeders to care for our calves,” Shannon said. “It was a lot at the time, but everything’s fallen into place.” In the future, the Muellers would like to have the housing capacity to raise all of their animals on site. They have seen the results of the rstcalf heifers that were raised in hutches on their farm during the year of transition and are eager to see more results of closer herd management. “We spent a lot of time looking at our options,” Shannon said. “In the end, we feel we’ve made the right decision.”
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No riders will be attached to stopgap spending bill Page 8 • Dairy Star • Saturday, September 12, 2020
United States Secretary of the Treasury Steven understand how the virus is spread and how to prevent Mnuchin and Speaker of the United States House it. of Representatives Nancy Pelosi have a tentative agreement to avoid a government shutdown. A Food box program gets additional funding continuing resolution is needed to fund the government The United States Department of Agriculture after Sept. 30. Mnuchin and Pelosi agreed Farmers to Families Food Box Program Ag Insider to a clean stopgap spending bill, which has distributed more than 75 million food means a new coronavirus assistance boxes. This program began in May to package will need to be addressed help feed families and support farmers. separately. “The delivery of 75 million food boxes has helped an incredible number of Milk production edges higher Americans,� said United States Secretary Milk production in the 24 major of Agriculture Sonny Perdue. The food states totaled 17.8 billion pounds in July. box program has also been credited for That was up 1.5% from one year ago. boosting dairy prices. President Trump Minnesota milk output also increased has added an additional $1 billion to 1.5%. That increase came despite a 5,000 the food box program as the economy head decline in the cow herd. South continues to reopen. Dakota had the biggest increase, up By Don Wick 11.5%. Over the past year, South Dakota Reducing the size of the dairy herd Columnist dairies added 13,000 cows. Wisconsin Year-to-date, 1.9 million dairy cows milk production rose 0.5%. have been culled. The report from USDA said that is down 98,200 head, or 4.8%, from the same Records broken during pandemic period last year. The latest Dairy Market Report from the National Milk Producers Federation and Dairy Management Ranking the largest dairy companies Inc. highlights the roller coaster ride in milk Rabobank has published its annual report on the prices. When coronavirus began, U.S. milk prices world’s top 20 dairy companies. Nestle, which is experienced the largest one-month downturn. June based in Switzerland, retained its No. 1 spot on the had the biggest-ever one-month increase. The July list with sales of $22.1 billion. The highest-ranking all-milk price will be one of the highest recorded U.S. company on the list is Dairy Farmers of America prices since 2014. Prices are expected to decline for at $20.1 billion. DFA is the only U.S. company on the the balance of the year with the second wave of the list, moving up from sixth largest one year ago to No. pandemic. 3 in the 2020 rankings. The jump is credited to the acquisition of Dean Foods. Supply chain adjusts to COVID-19 The food supply chain has adapted effectively Chinese dairy export forecast to the coronavirus pandemic. Clay Detlefsen, chief The Chinese economy is strengthening, but that counsel, National Milk Producers Federation, made does not mean dairy exports will see a big bump. that point in a NMPF podcast. “We’ve got our Rabobank said the food service business is soft in challenges ahead for sure,� Detlefsen said. “There’s China and domestic dairy supplies are rising. China no reason to celebrate, but there’s no reason to be traditionally buys dairy products from the United pessimistic either. We will get through this.� Detlefsen States, the European Union, Australia and New said food companies have redesigned workplaces Zealand. to keep employees safe. Work needs to be done to
Disaster on East China Sea A typhoon brought down a ship carrying 5,800 dairy cows and 43 crew members. This export vessel was traveling from New Zealand to China. Live animal exports from New Zealand and Australia are fairly common, but the New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries temporarily suspended cattle export applications due to this maritime disaster. DFA announces plan to reduce emissions Dairy Farmers of America plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030 from a base year of 2018. Using a science-based approach, the dairy coop is supporting nutritional adjustments to reduce emissions. The use of manure digesters, solar panels and wind power is also part of DFA’s strategy. Rural America 2020 announces steering committee The Democrats have launched a new campaign to educate and activate rural voters. Six states have formed a grassroots steering committee. In Minnesota, former Agriculture Commissioner Dave Frederickson is the chair. Committee members include former state Farm Service Agency director Grant Herďƒžndahl, former USDA rural development state director Colleen Landkamer, former Assistant Agriculture Commissioner Susan Stokes, former Agriculture Commissioner Jim Nichols and Milan farmer Kent Kanten. Trivia challenge Cheez Whiz was the Kraft Foods cheese sauce product that was introduced in 1953. That answers our last trivia question. There is a yogurt product for children in Canada that is known as Yoplait Tubes. It is Frubes in England. For this week, what is the name of this product in the United States? We will 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 ďƒžve grandchildren, Aiden, Piper, Adrienne, Aurora and Sterling.
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Dairy Star • Saturday, September 12, 2020 • Page 9
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Make time for it
On Dec. 2, Minnesota Milk will host its 2020 annual meeting virtually at noon. For me, it will be the end of 12 years serving on this great board. In my learnings of over a decade, I’ve seen that we are so very fortunate to have Minnesota Milk. In several states, there are no dairy-focused organizations or dairy associations with very limited function. In some major dairy states, there are multiple dairy organizations which keeps more voices at the table but is also a duplication of resources. With just over 2,000 dairy farms in Minnesota, one unied organization seems just right. Don’t get me wrong, we understand that sometimes Minnesota dairy farmers disagree with our decisions or even believe we are working against their interests. As the board of directors, we work hard to think in every decision – what will be best for Minnesota dairy farms? You’ve likely read about our impact on Dairy Margin Coverage, the state’s DAIRI program and the Dairy Revenue Protection programs not to mention our inuence on the CARES Act payment this spring. Those are fun things to talk about. But, the work we do in our committee and board rooms is how we play defense. Taxes, fees and bad ideas that would hurt dairy farmers come up all the time. We could lambast legislators or regulators for each one of these, but we’ve always taken the approach on making a relationship for the long haul. Assume your apparent enemy today might be your friend tomorrow. I say all this to let you know you should run for the Minnesota Milk board. Like everyone reading this, I did not have time to serve on the Minnesota Milk board but made time to serve. It is a chance to help every dairy farm in the state and get together with great people in the industry about once every other month. You will learn a great deal to help improve yourself and your business. Make time for it. I am glad I did. Marianne Peterson J.M. Peterson Farms Inc. Pine City, Minnesota
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treatment for his cancer, but his condition continued to deteriorate. We milked our rst cows in the middle of October, and he passed away Nov. 18. Dad gave us a start, but we boys had to gure things out. Abe was still living here at the time, and I was just out of high school.” The Vander Waal family began with a herd of 400 cows. They have added facilities in phases and By Jerry Nelson gradually expanded their herd to its current size. The jerry.n@dairystar.com 700 acres they farm are planted to silage corn. “My brother John and I bought out Abe in 2003,” HULL, Iowa – It is the nature of most business- Vander Waal said. “A couple of years ago, John es to grow and evolve. This is especially true of the decided to go out on his own, so he and his family 1,200-cow dairy farm operated by James Vander Waal built a new robotic milking facility on an acreage and his family near Hull. south of Sioux Center. My brother Hank and I are “My father, Aart, moved around quite a bit before currently 50/ 50 owners of this dairy farm.” he settled here on this farm,” Vander Waal said. After 22 years of continuous operation, the Vander Waal is one of 14 children born to Aart venerable rotary parlor is still going strong. and Elizabeth Vander Waal. “We just replaced the parlor’s carriage wheels for “Dad milked cows on this farm until 1985 when the rst time this past summer,” Vander Waal said. he decided to get out of the dairy business,” Vander “We have upgraded the pulsator and takeoff system Waal said. “Some of my brothers and I wanted to three times over the years. The new system that we dairy farm, so in 1998 Dad decided to help us build a put in two years ago uses Wi-Fi instead of wires. new dairy facility.” This eliminates a lot of physical connections, plus it At the core of this new facility was a 40-cow enables us to check on milking parlor performance rotary parlor. with a smartphone.” “Rotary parlors were still somewhat rare back It takes three employees to operate the milking then,” Vander Waal said. “Westfalia-Surge ew my parlor plus one employee to push cows. The twice-abrother Abe to Australia so that he could see a rotary day milkings take six hours. parlor in operation.” “We had been milking three times until a little The Vander Waal family began construction on over a year ago, but milk prices were low, and I got their new dairy facility in early 1998. Sadly, Aart tired of the rat race,” Vander Waal said. “Our milk would succumb to cancer before the year was out. production is now on the upswing, so we are thinking “Dad helped us plan things and got the ball about going back to three times milkings.” rolling,” Vander Waal said. “He was receiving Reusable cloth towels are used to dry the cows’ udders. Vander Waal is considering adding a Future Cow teat prep system as a way to make his parlor more efcient. “The Future Cow would eliminate the cloth towels and all the time that it takes to wash and dry them,” Vander Waal said. “It would also make it easier for our employees to be more consistent with udder prep procedures. I think that this parlor will continue to serve us for the foreseeable future. You can keep an old facility going for a long time before you can justify the cost of buildJERRY NELSON/DAIRY STAR ing a new one.” The Vander Waal family is puƫng the nishing touches on this new 32- by-364foot calf barn. This new barn will enable the Vander Waals to begin raising their Turn to VANDER WAALS newborn heifer calves themselves. | Page 11
Dairy Star • Saturday, September 12, 2020 • Page 11
ConƟnued from VANDER WAALS | Page 10
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The 40-cow rotary milking parlor at the Vander Waal dairy farm has been in conƟnual use since 1998. It takes six hours for four employees to milk 1,200 cows. The Vander Waals bed their cows with recycled manure solids. They are considering switching to sand bedding as a way to give their cows better traction and bring down their herd’s SCC. The Vander Waal family is working on expanding and improving their operation in areas outside the milking barn. “We currently send our newborn
heifer calves to a calf grower,” Vander Waal said. “We get them back after they are weaned, at about 6 weeks of age. My wife and I have a lot of help coming up, so we decided to start raising the baby calves ourselves.” Vander Waal and his wife, Deanna, have seven children: Elaina, 13, Aart,
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A new 21-by-30-foot pasteurizer room is currently under construcĆ&#x;on on the Vander Waal dairy farm. The Vander Waal family will soon begin raising their own calves with pasteurized milk from their bulk tank. 12, Ross, 11, Kayleen, 9, Lydia, 7, Arlan, 5, and Thomas, 3. The Vander Waals have started construction on a 21-by-30-foot room that will house a pasteurizer. The pasteurizer room, which will feature a pair of drive-thru doors, is adjacent to the milk room. “We have a certain amount of waste milk that we are now throwing away, so pasteurizing it and feeding it to our calves will enable us to make better use of it,â€? Vander Waal said. “We will draw milk from the bulk tank to supply most of the milk for our calves. My understanding is that baby calves perform best when they are fed whole milk.â€? The Vander Waals are also putting the ďƒžnishing touches on a new 32-by364 calf barn. This new calf facility will have room for 130 individual calf pens.
“We looked at a lot of calf barns before we settled on this design,� Vander Waal said. “In the end, we decided to build something similar to the baby calf facility that’s being used on Maassen Dairy, located near Maurice, Iowa.� Serviceable age heifers on the Vander Waal farm are bred twice with sexed Holstein semen. If a heifer does not settle after two services, she is switched to Angus semen. The Vander Waals’ top cows are bred with sexed semen, while the rest of the milk herd is bred with Angus semen. All bull calves and crossbred calves are sold at birth. “If this new calf barn works out, we hope to build another one just like it for our crossbred calves and start feeding them out,� Vander Waal said. “We just want to give our kids the same type of opportunities that Dad gave us.�
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Moynihan is a friend of agriculture
Dairy farmer, rural stress help advocate earns annual award By Krista Kuzma
krista.k@dairystar.com
BELLE PLAINE, Minn. – Meg Moynihan has described the work she does advocating for help with rural stress in her role as senior advisor at the Minnesota Department of Agriculture as both difcult and easy. “It’s hard work because these are hard topics and these are sometimes life changing topics, but it’s easy to do this work because we have the type of (agricultural) community we do in Minnesota,” Moynihan said. “I’m out there waving the ag for this, but everybody else is too. So, it’s been easy to nd partners and collaborators and do things together. Many hands make light work.” The work Moynihan has done has not gone unnoticed. Moynihan was recently given the Friend of Agriculture award by the Minnesota Association of Extension Ag Professionals. “I’m so profoundly honored to get the award this year,” Moynihan said. The award honors individuals or groups who go above and beyond to serve agriculture and farmers in Minnesota. “Meg’s work has had a lasting impact across topic areas; however, there is no denying the driving force she has been to opening up the conversation about farmer mental health in Minnesota,” said Emily Krekelberg, MAEAP past president and University of Minnesota farm safety and health
Extension educator. “Her willingness to share her own story makes what she does unique, meaningful and helpful.” Since 2016, Moynihan has been helping farmers and others in agriculture learn how to recognize stress on the farm, and know where to go to nd resources and support. “I just happened to get engaged in this as the wave was beginMeg Moynihan ning to crest,” she said. “I was at the right place at the right time.” Moynihan has been able to use her own experience as a farmer to connect with others. She and her husband, Kevin Stuedemann, milk 60 cows and direct market meat on their certied organic farm near Belle Plaine. However, she also likes to shine the spotlight on other farmers who are willing to speak out about their own struggles. This includes dairy farmer Debbie Mills from Lake City and soybean producer Theresia Gillie, from Hallock. “Helping voices like those be heard by other people is some of the best work I’ve done,” Moynihan said. “It’s not what I’ve done, but it’s meeting other people who are examples of bravery, courage, resilience and fortitude, and helping other people see those stories because that’s what I think people relate to.” Moynihan also nds resources, and provides learning and training opportunities about rural stress for people who work with farmers – anyone from veterinarians and state agency employees to clergy members.
She has also been part of the team to develop and implement the Minnesota Farm & Rural Helpline and website www.minnesotafarmstress.com. While the hotline has a steady but small number of calls, Moynihan said the website has seen a large increase in trafc. In the rst six months of 2020, more people visited the website than all of 2019. “That tells me two things – either we’re doing a better job telling people it’s there and/or more people are saying I need to look around to see if there are some resources for this, or information or connections I could make,” Moynihan said. It is also why the department has now added text messaging and email for people to gather information or nd support. “It could be mental health support, stress support, counseling, nancial information or whatever,” Moynihan said. “It looks different depending on who you are and what your situation is. People need different things.” While farming in a normal year brings on enough stress, being in agriculture during a pandemic has brought about many additional challenges. “It comes in layers,” Moynihan said. “If you were in a nancial hardship or had relationship stresses, the pandemic is on top of that. It really magnies some of the stress on some of the operations and families more than others.” Regardless of the circumstances, farming is challenging, Moynihan said. “The nature of agriculture is it is a stressful business,” she said. “Some of those stresses are rewarding and challenging. It’s when they become overwhelming that it becomes a
EĂǀŝŐĂƟŶŐ ĐŚĂůůĞŶŐĞƐ͘ ^ƵƉƉŽƌƟŶŐ ĞĂĐŚ ŽƚŚĞƌ͘ ͘͘͘ŝƚ͛Ɛ ǁŚĂƚ ŵĞƌŝĐĂŶ ĚĂŝƌLJ ƉƌŽĚƵĐĞƌƐ ĚŽ ĞǀĞƌLJĚĂLJ͘ ƚ D͕ ĞǀĞƌLJƚŚŝŶŐ ǁĞ ĚŽ ƐƚĂƌƚƐ ǁŝƚŚ ƚŚĞ ŚĂƌĚ ǁŽƌŬ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ŵĞƌŝĐĂŶ ĚĂŝƌLJ ĨĂƌŵĞƌƐ ĂŶĚ ƉƌŽĚƵĐĞƌƐ͘ D ŶŝŵĂů EƵƚƌŝƟŽŶ ŝƐ ŚŽŶŽƌĞĚ ƚŽ ǁŽƌŬ ĂůŽŶŐƐŝĚĞ ďLJ ƉƌŽǀŝĚŝŶŐ ŶƵƚƌŝƟŽŶ͕ ĐŽŶƐƵůƟŶŐ ĂŶĚ ŶĞĞĚĞĚ ƌĞƐŽƵƌĐĞƐ ƚŽ ƐƵƉƉŽƌƚ ŽƵƌ ƉĂƌƚŶĞƌƐ ǁŚŽ ĂƌĞ ĂŶ ŝŶƐƉŝƌĂƟŽŶ ŝŶ ƚŚĞŝƌ ƌĞƐŝůŝĞŶĐLJ ĂŶĚ ĐŽŵŵŝƚŵĞŶƚ ƚŽ ƐƵƉƉŽƌƟŶŐ ŽƵƌ ŶĂƟŽŶ͛Ɛ ĨŽŽĚ ĐŚĂŝŶ͘
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If you or someone you know is in a stressful situation and needs help, please reach out to the Minnesota Farm & Rural Helpline. Phone: 833-600-2670 Text: FARMSTRESS to 898211 Email: farmstress@state.mn.us Website: www. minnesotafarmstress.com problem.” That is why Moynihan feels the programs she has worked on for the past four years are so important. “We have to support each other in agriculture in perpetuity,” Moynihan said. “I think we always need to keep in mind that we all need to keep doing this work, and we all need to be mutually supporting the people in the agricultural community together. The adverse situation a farmer experiences has a ripple effect on main street – the grocers, the bankers, the feed delivery people, the eldmen. We’re all touched by this.” And Moynihan is happy to help those who need it. “It makes me feel honored I am in a place, state, agricultural community and working for an organization that is so supportive and aware for the need for this kind of work,” Moynihan said. “Being in a position to offer support to people – it’s not a matter of xing other people’s problems, but it’s a matter of nding something they can lean on while they gure out how to x their own problems. That’s a really powerful feeling.”
Page 14 • Dairy Star • Saturday, September 12, 2020
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Tell us about your corn silage harvest.
Dan Solum Spring Grove, Minnesota Houston County 130 cows Tell us about your corn silage harvest for this year. I planted 260 acres of Pioneer and Dairyland varieties. I chop 140 acres and prefer it to be at 67% moisture. How did/does your corn look at or near harvest time and what were/are the ďƒželd conditions? My corn has a good yield, but it has been very dry. Today (Aug. 31) is the ďƒžrst measurable rain fall since July 18. On some of my shallow soil ďƒželds, the corn plant started to shut down so I had to hurry and chop. When do you plan to start chopping or when did you start chopping? What are your predictions for this year’s yield, both quantity and quality? I plant 90-,100- and 108-day corn so I have a big window to get the silage up, preferably at half milk line. It takes me about three weeks to get my corn chopped. I have chopped 40% of my crop so far and plan to be done by Sept. 12. Tell us about your corn silage harvest process. I put all my silage in bags and chop with an old Gehl pull-type chopper. My brother, nephews and some friends haul loads for me. I have to wait until I have enough help to plan chopping. What is a management practice you changed in the past that has improved your corn silage? I haven’t change much for 25 years; however, the last couple years I added the Dairyland variety. Also, I don’t like handling insecticides so having a triple stack variety helps with that. What is your favorite aspect of chopping corn silage? I like that it is less stressful than chopping hay. It takes more time to chop hay, and I need more help because there is more equipment to manage. With corn silage, we can make a lot of feed quickly. Tell us about your farm. I am partners with my dad, Paul Solum. I manage the farm, and he sells semen for International Protein Sires and also sells all the registered bulls we raise. We have a registered Holstein herd. We farm 600 acres. Along with our corn, we have 200 acres of hay and 50 acres of oat with the rest being pasture and woodland.
Scott Krueger Arlington, Minnesota Sibley County 100 cows Tell us about your corn silage harvest for this year. I planted 70 acres of Mycogen 97day BMR. I like to chop at 65% moisture. I like to plant the same variety so there is no variability. We do not plan to feed any of this year’s crop for about six months. How did/does your corn look at or near harvest time, and what were/are the ďƒželd conditions? The corn looks very good. We had a great spring and timely rains throughout the growing season. When do you plan to start chopping or when did you start chopping? What are your predictions for this year’s yield, both quantity and quality? We chopped a small bag Sept. 5. The moisture was still too high, so we planned to wait about another week to chop again. The cool weather and the rain we are getting could make for an even longer wait. This year’s yields look to be signiďƒžcantly better than last year. Looking at the size of the ears, the starch percentage should be higher as well. Tell us about your corn silage harvest process. We harvest our own silage, and it is stored in bags. I usually chop, my dad runs the bagger and one person hauls wagons from the ďƒželd to the bag pad. We have a New Holland chopper with a Horning cross cut processor. Prosile inoculant is applied to all silage through the chopper while chopping. What is a management practice you changed in the past that has improved your corn silage? We have fungicide applied to all silage corn at full tassel by plane. What is your favorite aspect of chopping corn silage? My favorite aspect of chopping corn silage is chopping that ďƒžrst load and the smell of fresh corn silage. Tell us about your farm. Our family all works closely together to keep the farm running smoothly. Our family consists of myself, my wife, Stephanie, daughters Madison, 20, a third-year dairy science/ pre-vet major at the University of Wisconsin River Falls; and Montana, 17, senior; and our sons, Mausten, 12, seventh grade; and Murdock, 9, third grade. We milk 100 cows in a tiestall barn. We raise our own replacements with selective breeding practices through genomic testing and ďƒžnish our crossbred steers.
Greg Smieja Royalton, Minnesota Morrison County 40 cows Tell us about your corn silage harvest for this year. I plant Wolf River Valley Seeds 3995 FLRR for corn silage purposes. I have about 25 acres designated for corn silage which is about 25% of my total corn acreage. I prefer to have the bagged silage at 68% moisture and 63%-65% for the stave silos. How did/does your corn look at or near harvest time and what were/are the ďƒželd conditions? The crops look beautiful with high tonnage and excellent grain ďƒžll. When do you plan to start chopping or when did you start chopping? What are your predictions for this year’s yield, both quantity and quality? We plan to chop Sept. 8-10. This year’s crop looks very good. Two years ago, I had the Farm Service Agency come out for their veriďƒžcation on tonnage. They had measured 35 plus tons per acre. This year’s crop looks similar. Tell us about your corn silage harvest process. I have some wonderful neighbors and friends who help when my wife is at work. I ďƒžll one bag and two stave silos. What is a management practice you changed in the past that has improved your corn silage? About four years ago, I planted Wolf River Valley Seeds 3995 FLRR for corn silage purposes. It is a semi-ďƒ&#x;oury variety with a white cob that shatters easily. This characteristic is important to me as my chopper does not have a processor. Very few cob discs remain when fed to cattle. What is your favorite aspect of chopping corn silage? Seeing the result of a good growing season is one of my favorite reasons for silage harvest. It gives me insight as to what the acres for combining will yield. Tell us about your farm. We are a thirdgeneration small dairy farm. I farm here with my wife, Mary, and we farm 160 acres. We also rent some acreage.
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Ed Warmkagathje St. Charles, Minnesota Olmsted County 200 cows Tell us about your corn silage harvest for this year. We use Enogen 109-day corn and fungicide. The last week of August the moisture was at about 74%. We like to harvest it at about 68% moisture and chop about one-fourth of my 400 acres of corn. How did/does your corn look at or near harvest time and what were/are the eld conditions? The corn is looking excellent and is still green as of today (Sept. 3). Throughout the growing season, this area has had timely rain – not a lot but enough to make it through. Last Friday (Aug. 28), we had about 2 inches of rain, which is the most we have gotten at one time in a while. The elds are rm, and I do not see any problem with going ahead with harvest. When do you plan to start chopping or when did you start chopping? What are your predictions for this year’s yield, both quantity and quality? We plan to start chopping Sept. 8. The yield will be down compared to last year, which came in at 27 tones per acre; however, if we can chop the corn when we want to and it’s ready, it should be better quality than last year. Last fall, we had a week of rain when we wanted to chop so we had to wait. By the time we were able to get in the elds, the moisture was down to 60%. Tell us about your corn silage harvest process. We have three neighbors come in to custom chop it for us. They provide most of the equipment and people, but we supply drivers for some of the tractors along with our two packing tractors. We store the corn silage in a pile on the ground and use a preservative on it. We cover it with two layers of plastic and tires. What is a management practice you changed in the past that has improved your corn silage? We switched to Enogen corn three years ago. It is more digestible. It is Roundup Ready and has a purple marker. We use it for corn silage, earlage and high moisture corn. The cows seem to be healthier since switching to this corn. What is your favorite aspect of chopping corn silage? I like hauling wagons and see how the harvest yields. I also like to see how each of the elds did. I don’t like there to be weeds. I like to see a clean eld. Tell us about your farm. My wife, Mary, and I farm together with our eight kids: Simon, 19, Ethan, 17, Gavin, 15, Lydia, 13, Nolan, 11, Roman, 8, Anika, 6, and Malia, 2. We have three employees, two of whom have been with us for eight years. They are excellent and have started to be a part of decision making on some aspects of the dairy. We have a total of 800 acres and raise all our Holstein steers. We also milk our herd three times a day.
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Derek Van Santen Blue Mound Dairy Luverne, Minnesota Rock County 1,100 cows Tell us about your corn silage harvest for this year. About half of our corn acres are dedicated to silage. We planted our 1,050 acres of silage corn to a Pioneer BMR hybrid. This is the rst time we have used a BMR hybrid, so it will be exciting to see how it turns out. We aim for a moisture level of 68%. How did/does your corn look at or near harvest time and what were/are the eld conditions? The elds varied a lot. There were some areas that were too wet and other areas that suffered from drought stress. We have also seen some wind damage. For the most part, though, the crop looked good. The elds are nice and dry, which helped make silage harvest go smoothly. The growing season started out with too much moisture but then the spigot shut off and it seemed like all of the rains went around us. When do you plan to start chopping or when did you start chopping? What are your predictions for this year’s yield, both quantity and quality? We started chopping corn Aug. 26 and nished Sept. 4. It looks like the yields were fairly good at about the mid-20 tons per acre. The quality also looked decent. Tell us about your corn silage harvest process. We have our own chopper and trucks, and do all the silage harvesting ourselves with the help of temporary employees. Our silage is piled and packed on a concrete slab near the dairy barn. We have used the Nutretain forage inoculant made by Britam Nutritional Concepts for several years and have had very good luck with it. What is a management practice you changed in the past that has improved your corn silage? A couple years ago we started spraying fungicide on our silage acres to help reduce disease levels in our corn plants. We feel this also helps reduce mold formation in the silage pile. For the past 10 years or so, we have made shredlage using the shredder rolls that are manufactured by Scherer. We were one of the rst customers to have the shredder rolls installed in our silage chopper. What is your favorite aspect of chopping corn silage? It’s a rush with everybody on the move all day long. I push silage with a four-wheeldrive dozer tractor and it’s fun to watch the pile grow. It’s crazy to think all that silage went through a 3 millimeter gap between the silage chopper’s shredder rolls. Tell us about your farm. This is a family farm. My parents, Rick and Carrie, and my three brothers, Brad, Austin and Jake, all work here. We each have our jobs, but we are all also involved in every aspect of the dairy farm. During the spring planting and fall silage harvest seasons, everybody pitches in wherever they are needed. We are always trying to improve our operation, make it more efcient and keep it growing.
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Fred and Jeremy Arceneau Elrosa, Minnesota Stearns County 44 cows Tell us about your corn silage harvest for this year. We use Dairyland, Channel and DeKalb corn varieties. We planted 170 acres of corn and usually 20 acres of that is for corn silage. We like our moisture at around 60%-63%. How did/does your corn look at or near harvest time and what were/are the eld conditions? In our area, all our crops look really good. The hay was good, the soybeans look good, and the corn looks good. We were a little dry in June, but we almost got too much rain in July. Otherwise, almost a perfect growing season. The elds are a little wet but not terrible. We’ll be able to go where we want. When do you plan to start chopping or when did you start chopping? What are your predictions for this year’s yield, both quantity and quality? This week with a little luck. We are planning Sept. 10-11. I have heard most people say the corn is running 65%-70% moisture for the guys putting it in the bunker. It’s all going to be over 200 bushels an acre, and the silage is running 20- to 30ton an acre. On a good year, we will run 22- to 24ton an acre. Tell us about your corn silage harvest process. We all take turns driving chopper or boxes. I have four sons, Joshua, Brent, Cole and Jeremy, and they all come and help. We have an International Harvester two-row pull-type chopper, and we haul with two boxes. The 20-by-70 silo is usually full in two days. If everything goes good, we are done in a day and a half. When it’s getting blown in the silo, we do add a liquid inoculant to help it ferment. What is a management practice you changed in the past that has improved your corn silage? The cows are milking good, so we haven’t changed anything in the last 15 years. What is your favorite aspect of chopping corn silage? It’s always a good feeling to have the silo full because it’s enough feed to feed the cows for a year. My most memorable harvest season was in 1988 when we chopped 100 acres. It didn’t ll that 20-by-70 silo. We had a drought that year. Tell us about your farm. I farm here with my wife, Jan, and son, Jeremy. Jeremy works for us. We set up a trust, and he will take over in three years. We milk 44 cows and raise our heifers, and the bull calves are all raised for steers. We farm 230 acres that we own, and we rent 130 acres. We plant corn, alfalfa, oat and soybean. We underseed our oat with alfalfa. I have been milking here for 33 years. I took over from my mother in 1987. Dad was only 57 when he had a massive heart attack and he passed in 1987. I had been working for him for four years before that. We also do a 50 sowfarrow-to-nish operation. All three of us take turns milking depending on who is busy. Jeremy does most of it right now.
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Page 18 • Dairy Star • Saturday, September 12, 2020
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Breeding, quality forages, consistent routines propels production at Horsens Homestead Farms LLC Jeff, Connie and Ryan Horsens Horsens Homestead Farms LLC Cecil, Wisconsin Shawano County 1,300 cows What is your current herd average, butterfat and protein? 33,041 pounds of milk, 3.9% butterfat and 3.15% protein. How many times a day do you milk? If you do not milk 3X a day, have you tried it in the past? If you do milk 3X, how long have you done it? We have milked three times per day since 1996. Do you contract your milk? Has it been successful for you? We use Dairy Revenue Protection on 90% of our milk. It has been successful for us because it gives us a sense of security that all of our costs are covered with extra money to spare. Describe your housing and milking facility. We have two types of barns. We have two natural-ventilation barns that are sand-bedded. The dry cows are housed here as well as part of our milking herd. The cows in this barn are milked in a double-8 parallel parlor. We also have an 18-row cross-ventilated barn that is sand-bedded. The cows in this barn are milked by 12 Lely robots
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The Horsens family – (from le�) Ryan, Connie and Jeff – stand in their new 18-row freestall barn where they began milking with robots in January. The Horsens currently milk 1,170 cows on their dairy near Cecil, Wisconsin. More than half of the herd is milked with 12 robots while the rest is milked in a double-8 parallel parlor. Cows average 33,041 pounds of milk, 3.9% bu�erfat and 3.15% protein. set up in an L formation. What is your herd health program? Our herd health program consists of weekly pregnancy checks with
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“Gets 2-year-olds ready to reach their potential.” — Keith Beer
BEER CATTLE CO, BERNE, INDIANA, Max and Karen and sons Keith (right) and Craig Beer 2020 Indiana Master Farmers Calving 200 to 250 two-year-olds monthly, milking only fresh heifers, SCC 150,000 “Getting udders softer, faster for more milk is why we use Udder Comfort™ for our 2-year-olds over the past 5 years. The proof is in our comparisons. We see softer, more pliable udders with better flow and a 3- to 4-pound production increase by 14 days in milk, along with a lower collaborative SCC. This gets 2-yr-olds ready to reach their potential,” says Keith Beer. He and Craig and parents Max and Karen raise and sell fresh heifers, calving 200-250 heifers monthly at Beer Cattle Co., Berne, Ind. They were announced as 2020 Master Farmers in June. “We continue to find ways to supply dairies with quality heifers that make milk. Udder Comfort is part of that, and the tools make it easy to do groups. “We like the Udder Comfort Backpack Sprayer for pre-fresh heifer groups in the barn and the Spray Gun for post-fresh in the parlor. For us, a combination is ideal. “We apply Udder Comfort 1x/day for 2 days before and 2x/day for 3 to 5 days after calving. Our guys are proud to use it. One pass delivers the spray to the bottom of the udder and up a few inches, the critical area to overcome edema around teats and suspensory ligament, getting udders ready to accept volumes of milk. We find 5 gallons covers 200 heifers for all 12 to 14 applications.” https://wp.me/pb1wH7-aS
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Page 20 • Dairy Star • Saturday, September 12, 2020
ConƟnued from HORSENS | Page 18
barn with sand beds. They are fed a low energy straw-based ration. For calving, we use the just-in-time calving method. We have two maternity pens where they calve. We have a post-fresh cow pen where cows stay for 9-12 days before being placed in with the regular herd. What is the composition of your ration? What has been one of your most recent changes that has been successful for you? Our ration consists of BMR corn silage, low legume haylage, soybean meal, minerals, canola, cotton seed, fat, whey and steamed ake corn. Our most recent change is adding whey which has been an economical source of energy. Through the years you have been farming, what change has created the
biggest jump in your herd average? Good cow comfort and a low cull rate allows us to milk a more mature herd which has helped our herd average in the past. Milking three times a day has also been benecial. We’ve also seen an increase by using BMR corn silage that has been run through a kernel processing unit and low legume alfalfa. Striving to put up high-quality forages and using elite genetics throughout the years have also boosted our herd average. What role does genetics play in your production level, and what is your breeding program? Our breeding program consists of a rst service double ovsynch program with no cherry Turn to HORSENS | Page 22
STACEY SMART/DAIRY STAR
To obtain maximum comfort, cows at Horsens Homestead Farms rest on sand beds.
DAIRY SCIENCE PROGRAM UW-Platteville’s School of Agriculture offers...
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STACEY SMART/DAIRY STAR
Milking a more mature herd like this group of cows has helped increase the herd average at Horsens Homestead Farms near Cecil, Wisconsin.
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Dairy Star • Saturday, September 12, 2020 • Page 21
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2015 JD S660, 807 hrs., 545 $ sepp hhrs, se rs, s,, # 1157075 5 07 57 0755
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2018 JD S760, 586 hrs., 500 $ sep hrs., #163861
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209,500
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Over 1000 items with pictures updated daily • Go to www.mmcjd.com 6 16 15 4 9 5 11 3 1 14 5 7 14 17 8 1 14 3 17 5 3 7 10 16 15 14 15 17 7 8 14 16 14 15 16 16 3 5 10 15 8
CORN AND ROW CROP HEADERS JD 693, 1997, 6R30”, #173064 ....................................................................$12,700 JD 612C, 2009, 12R30”, #144257 ..............................................................$19,500 JD 608C, 2009, 8R30”, #171974.................................................................$22,400 JD 612C StalkMaster, 2009, 12R20”, #171993 .....................................$29,900 Geringhoff RD1200/FB, 2009, 12R30”, StalkMaster, #172222.............$30,500 JD 612C StalkMaster, 2010,12R22”, #162069 .......................................$32,900 JD 608C StalkMaster, 2011, 8R30”, #173016 ........................................$33,900 JD 608C StalkMaster, 2011, 8R30”, #169171 .......................................$37,500 JD 608C StalkMaster, 2011, 8R30”, #165470 ........................................$38,900 JD 612C StalkMaster, 2008, 12R22”, #169953 ......................................$39,900 JD 612C StalkMaster, 2009, 12R30”, #162072 ......................................$41,900 Geringhoff RD1222, 2011, 12R22”, #169974 ........................................$44,900 JD 606C, 2012, 6R30”, #172726 .................................................................$44,900 JD 608C, 2012, 8R3” ,StalkMaster, #165929 ..............................................$49,900 JD 608C, 2013, 8R30”, StalkMaster, #166864.............................................$51,900 JD 612C, 2013, 12R30”30, StalkMaster, #151998 .....................................$52,800 JD 608C, 2013, 8R30”30; StalkMaster, #167925 .......................................$53,900 JD 608C, 2014, 8R30”30; StalkMaster, #153953 .......................................$54,900 JD 608C, 2014, 8R30”, StalkMaster, #165095 ............................................$55,000 JD 608C, 2015, 8R30”, StalkMaster, #172077 ............................................$56,900 JD 612C, 2012, 12R22”, StalkMaster, #170726 ..........................................$58,000 JD 612C, 2013, 12R22”, StalkMaster, #171982 ..........................................$58,900 JD 706C, 2018, 6R30”, StalkMaster, #165801.............................................$65,500 JD 608C, 2016, 8R30”, StalkMaster, #166466 ............................................$68,400 JD 612C, 2014, 12R30”, StalkMaster, #151308 ..........................................$69,500 JD 612C, 2013, 12R22”, StalkMaster, #166362 ..........................................$69,900 JD 608C, 2017, 8R30”, StalkMaster, #171979.............................................$70,400 JD 708C, 2018, 8R30”30, StalkMaster, #165086 .......................................$83,900 JD 612C, 2014, 12R22”, StalkMaster, #153843 ..........................................$87,500 JD 708C, 2019, 8R30”30, StalkMaster, #172882 .......................................$87,900 JD 612C, 2016, 12R22”, StalkMaster, #172216 ..........................................$88,000 JD 618C, 2013, 18R22”, StalkMaster, #161699 ..........................................$94,500 JD 618C, 2014, 8R22”, StalkMaster, #162383 ............................................$98,900 JD 712C, 2019, 12R30”, StalkMaster, #165087 .......................................$125,900 JD 718C, 2019, 18R22”, StalkMaster, #170949 .......................................$166,400 JD 718C, 2019, 18R22”, StalkMaster, #170951 ......................................$166,400 COMBINES JD 9500, 1995, Corn/Bean, 2WD, Duals, Chopper, Yield Monitor, 5392 hrs., 3503 sep hrs., #171987 ................................................................$23,900 JD 9400, 1989, 2WD, Singles, 4595 hrs., 2986 sep hrs., #171530 ............$23,900 JD 9500, 1989, Corn/Bean, 2WD, 3241 hrs., 2086 sep hrs., #172986 ......$29,900 JD 9650 STS, 2002, Corn/Bean, 2WD, Duals, 3743 hrs., 2615 sep hrs., #171973 .................................................................................$33,400 JD 9750 STS, 2002, Corn/Bean, 2WD, Dual , 3800 hrs., 2575 sep hrs.,
#171897 ........................................................................................................... $50,400 3 JD 9650 STS, 2001, Corn/Bean, 2WD, Duals, 3210 hrs., 2053 sep hrs., #171989 .................................................................................$52,000 16 JD 9860 STS, 2007, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, 3763 hrs., 2268 sep hrs., #172083 .................................................................................$69,500 5 JD 9770 STS, 2011, Corn/Bean, 2WD, Duals, 3640 hrs., 2848 sep hrs., #165662 ................................................................................$74,900 4 JD 9770 STS, 2009, Corn/Bean, 2WD, Duals, 2604 hrs., 1878 sep hrs., #162933 .................................................................................$79,900 14 JD 9770 STS, 2009, Corn/Bean, 2WD, 2250 hrs., 1700 sep hrs., #171960 .................................................................................$85,400 4 JD 9870 STS, 2008, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, 3295 hrs., #160885 ......$101,900 11 JD S670, 2012, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, 3567 hrs., 2 557 sep hrs., #172954 ................................................................................$114,900 14 JD S670, 2013, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 2250 hrs., 1481 sep hrs., #172751 .$139,500 3 JD S680, 2012, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, 2375 hrs., 1739 sep hrs., #154637 ..............................................................................$149,500 10 JD S680, 2012, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, 2256 hrs., 1587 sep hrs., #171381 ......................................................................................................$159,400 15 JD S680, 2012, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 2612 hrs., 1958 sep hrs., #163765 $159,400 7 JD S680, 2014, Corn/Bean, 2WD, 2036 hrs., 1658 sep hrs., #172017 ...$159,500 5 JD S680, 2013, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, 2854 hrs., 1904 sep hrs., #161858 ..............................................................................$159,500 14 JD S690, 2012, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 2159 hrs., 1700 sep hrs., #171382 .$164,400 6 JD S680, 2015, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, 2155 hrs., #169577 ..............$169,500 3 JD S690, 2014, PRWD, Duals, 1946 hrs., 1317 sep hrs., #145222..........$169,500 3 JD S690, 2012, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1802 hrs., 1395 sep hrs., #171923 .$179,000 9 JD S670, 2014, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1906 hrs., 1260 sep hrs., #153514 .$179,500 16 JD S680, 2014, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 2436 hrs., 1781 sep hrs., #159,509 . $179500 16 JD S670, 2013, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1584 hrs., 1190 sep hrs., #161854 .$179,500 16 JD S680, 2014, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1672 hrs., 1157 sep hrs., #170663 .$179,500 14 JD S690, 2014, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 2148 hrs., 1563 sep hrs., #153332 .$179,500 7 JD S680, 2013, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 2120 hrs., 1391 sep hrs., #162070 .$184,900 9 JD S660, 2013, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1488 hrs., 945 sep hrs., #172434 ...$185,000 14 JD S680, 2013, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 2042 hrs., 1638 sep hrs., #166363 .$185,900 10 JD S660, 2014, Corn/Bean, 2WD, 1062 hrs., 702 sep hrs., #155345 .....$189,500 14 JD S690, 2014, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 2225 hrs., 1638 sep hrs., #161532 .$189,500 8 JD S670, 2014, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1675 hrs., 1265 sep hrs., #155388 .$199,500 3 JD S690, 2013, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1631 hrs., 1161 sep hrs., #167773 .$199,900 17 JD S660, 2015, Corn/Bean, 2WD, Duals, 807 hrs., 545 sep hrs., #157075 ................................................................................$209,500 5 JD S660, 2014, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1079 hrs., 810 sep hrs., #155826 ...$209,500 3 JD S680, 2015, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1771 hrs., 1233 sep hrs., #167207 .$250,900 4 JD S760, 2018, Corn/Bean, 2WD, 586 hrs., 500 sep hrs., #163861.......$289,500 3 JD S680, 2016, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1366 hrs., 929 sep hrs., #172496 ...$295,000
Visit one of our 17 locations in Central Minnesota! (1) = GLENCOE 4561 Hwy. 212
(4) = ST. CLOUD 1035 35th Ave. NE
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1710 N. Franklin
(3) = STEWART
(6) = SAUK CENTRE
78412 Co. Rd. 20
1140 Centre St.
(7) = ALEXANDRIA (9) = PRINCETON 320-763-4220 5005 Co. Rd. 82 SE
3708 Baptist Church Rd.
(8) = PAYNESVILLE
16069 Hwy. 27 E.
725 Lake Ave. S.
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CALL TODAY! (320)365-1653 (12) = AITKIN 1120 2nd St. NW
(10) = LITTLE FALLS (13) = BAXTER (11) = WADENA 62505 US Hwy. 10
JD S680, 2017, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 1086 hrs., 800 sep hrs., #173249 ...$299,000 JD S680, 2017, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 931 hrs., 701 sep hrs., #168849 .....$349,900 JD S780, 2018, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 547 hrs., 383 sep hrs., #171851 .....$394,900 JD S780, 2018, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 725 hrs., 550 sep hrs., #171563 .....$399,000 JD S780, 2018, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 745 hrs., 524 sep hrs., #171380 .....$399,400 JD S780, 2018, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 582 hrs., 324 sep hrs., #157910 .....$399,500 JD S780, 2018, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 459 hrs., 324 sep hrs., #154461 .....$399,500 JD S780, 2019, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, 699 hrs., 533 sep hrs., #171103 ......................................................................................................$404,400 JD S780, 2019, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, 468 hrs., 307 sep hrs., #169507 ......................................................................................................$429,500 JD S780, 2019, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, 439 hrs., 300 sep hrs., #169508 ......................................................................................................$429,500 JD S780, 2019, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, 417 hrs., 294 sep hrs., #169509 ......................................................................................................$429,500 JD S780, 2019, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, 350 hrs., 234 sep hrs., #171003 ......................................................................................................$429,500 JD S780, 2019, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, 542 hrs., 388 sep hrs., #171379 ......................................................................................................$435,900 JD S790, 2019, Corn/Bean, PRWD, Duals, 651 hrs., 405 sep hrs., #171378 ......................................................................................................$441,400 JD S780, 2019, Corn/Bean, PRWD, 268 hrs., 199 sep hrs., #169550 .....$443,400 COMBINE PLATFORMS JD 930F, 2002, 30’ platform, #173015.......................................................$11,400 JD 635F, 2008, 35’ platform, #162473........................................................$12,400 JD 620F, 2009, 20’ platform Feet, #162055 ...............................................$14,900 JD 635F, 2008, 35’ platform, #162546.......................................................$14,900 JD 635F, 2009, 35’ platform, #168276........................................................$16,900 JD 635F, 2010, 35’platform, #157461 ........................................................$17,900 JD 630F, 2012, 30’ , #163426 ......................................................................$18,900 JD 635F, 2009, 35’ platform, #161084.......................................................$18,900 JD 635F, 2011, 35’ platform, #152874.......................................................$21,900 JD 630F, 2014, 30’ platform, #154411........................................................$24,900 JD 630F, 2015, 30’ platform, #161556........................................................$27,900 JD 640FD, 2013, 40’ platform #162071 .....................................................$49,500 JD 640FD, 2014, 40’ platform, Flex/Draper, #171928................................$58,400 JD 640FD, 2016, 40’ platform, #172504 ....................................................$62,000 JD 640FD, 2013, 40’ platform, #167744 ....................................................$63,500 JD 645FD, 2017, 45’ platform, Flex/Draper, #162936................................$79,500 JD 645FD, 2017, 45’ platform, Flex/Draper, #154190................................$79,500 JD 640FD, 2018, 40’ platform, Flex/Draper, #172556................................$81,400 JD 740FD, 2019, 40’ platform, Flex/Draper, #165091................................$92,900 JD 745FD, 2019, 45’ platform, Flex/Draper, #172441................................$94,000 JD 745FD, 2019, 45’ platfom, Flex/Draper, #172443 .................................$94,000 JD 745FD, 2019, 45’ platform, Flex/Draper, #169235................................$94,500
7045 Foley Rd.
(14) = ELBOW LAKE
(16) = BENSON
(15) = MORRIS
(17) = MADISON
110 2nd St. NE
23604 State Hwy. 9
380 Atlantic Ave. 516 1st St. E
SEE OUR COMPLETE INVENTORY WITH PICTURES AND DESCRIPTIONS AT: www.mmcjd.com
Page 22 • Dairy Star • Saturday, September 12, 2020
ConƟnued from HORSENS | Page 20
Start planning for tomorrow, today. 0
% FINANCING FOR UP
72 MONTHS*
TO
3 MONTH DEFERRAL ON CONTRACTS UP TO 60 MONTHS*
STACEY SMART/DAIRY STAR
Consistency with daily rouƟnes and protocols is a key management strategy in helping the Horsens attain a high herd average. picking. When it comes to genetics, we are focused on functional type and high milk bulls. What type of improvements would you like to make that would increase your rolling herd average even higher? With our recent expansion in January of this year, our herd consists of 68% rst-lactation heifers. We are looking forward to them calving in for their second, third and beyond lactations to increase our rolling herd average. We would also like to tunnel ventilate our natural ventilation barns to reduce summer crowding.
SCAN ME
www.delaval.com
Contact one of the following dealers to learn more: IOWA Kramer Bros. Monticello, IA 319-465-5931 Prairie Land Ag Supply Inc. Rock Valley, IA 712-476-9290 United-Suckow Dairy Supply West Union, IA 563-422-5355 Postville, IA 563-864-7417 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 Mondovi Dairy Systems Inc. Mondovi, WI 715-926-5777
MINNESOTA & SOUTH DAKOTA D&D Ag Supply Pennock, MN 320-599-4466 East Central Dairy Supply Mora, MN 320-679-1029
Professional Dairy Services Arlington, WI 608-635-0267
Farm Systems Melrose, MN 320-256-3276 Watertown, SD 605-886-7401 Sioux Falls, SD 800-284-0015
Redeker Dairy Equipment Brandon, WI 920-346-5579
S&S Dairy System LLC St. Charles, MN 507-932-4288
The Scharine Group Inc. Whitewater, WI 800 472-2880 Mt Horeb, WI 800-872-3470
Professional Dairy Systems Wadena, MN 218-632-5416
West Salem, WI 608-769-2113
*0% interest for up to 72 months, DeLaval equipment only and restrictions may apply, on approved credit and minimum deal amount of $25,000 is required to qualify. Lease option may include a residual to be paid in order to obtain full ownership at the end of the term. Subject to special conditions’ that may cease at any time. is a registered trademark of Tetra Laval Holdings & Finance S.A. and “DeLaval” is a registered trade/servicemark of DeLaval Holding AB © 2020 DeLaval Inc. DeLaval, 11100 North Congress Avenue, Kansas City, Missouri 64153-1296. www.delaval.com
List three management strategies that have helped you attain your production and component level. Breeding cows back in a timely manner. Putting up quality forages. Consistency with daily routines and protocols. Also, our employees are vital to our success. They are a great group of people who love working with animals. We have been blessed with such a wonderful team of people. Tell us about your farm. Our farm was homesteaded in 1879 by James and Sophie Horsens who had arrived from Denmark. The following Horsens have owned/ operated the farm: George and Alma, Marshall and Edith, and Jeff and Connie who with our son, Ryan, operate it today. Ryan is the fth generation to own/ operate the farm. In 1996, we went from a stanchion barn milking 60 cows to a double-8 parallel parlor with a sand-bedded natural ventilation freestall barn milking 150 cows. By 2012, an additional sand-bedded natural ventilation freestall barn had been added with the herd growing to 500 cows. In the spring of 2019, after two years of researching and touring both within the United States and several other countries, we decided to expand our herd again by building an 18-row cross-ventilated barn to accommodate Ryan’s return to the farm. We decided this type of barn was best for achieving our goals. We also decided on 12 Lely A-5 robots to milk our cows. We placed those in an L formation, which we believe will help us reach our goal of 6,500 pounds of milk per robot per day. We have been in the new setup since January and could not be happier with our decision. Cows never missed a beat and are currently milking 3 pounds more per cow in the robot than in the parlor.
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Dairy Star • Saturday, September 12, 2020 • Page 23
MEETS HIGH YIELD. Standard Pioneer® brand corn silage products are built with both silage and starch yield in mind to handle whatever the growing season brings. Ask your local Pioneer sales representative about using Pioneer brand inoculants to maximize performance. Pioneer.com/silage
Pioneer® brand products are provided subject to the terms and conditions of purchase which are part of the labeling and purchase documents. TM ® SM Trademarks and service marks of Dow AgroSciences, DuPont or Pioneer, and their affiliated companies or their respective owners. © 2020 Corteva. PION0FORG052
Warn Wa arniing: ng: g: Pol Po aris ar off-road ari oad ve oa oad veh hicle i sc ic ca an be hazardo haz azza ardo r ous to rd to operat atte a and arre n no ot in intend tend te nd ded for on n-ro r ad d use se. e Driv D ver e must be be at leas st 16 years s s old o wit i h a va va al d d ali drriiver iver’s ’s licen cense c se to op o erat ra a e. Passe se eng nger gers, if if permit rmitted, mit itted, te mus m t be at leas e st 12 yea y ars s old. old d. A d Alll rid rride ders d rs shoul ou d al always w w r he wea elmet met m me ets, s, eye prote ectio ction, n, and d prot rrote ote tectiv cti e c clothi othing. ng. Always s use e seat ea belt be elts an and d ca cab bn nets o orr d doors (as equi equipped pped). pped ). N Never ever err eng engage a in age i stu tun ttunt u dr dri d riiv ving ing ng, and an nd d avo avoi a voi o d ex e cess cessive i spe ive spee s sp peeds s and d shar ha arp tur a tu urns. n Rid Ridi id d ng and a da alcoh lcoh lco co coh ohol/d dru rugs gs g sd don do on’tt mix. i A Alll rid rride ri id rs should s take a saf affety y tra trai rra ning i co ourse. Call 80 o 8 0-34 0 2-37 2-3 764 64 fo orr addi ddit itiona ion l iinformatio form orm rmati a n. Check eck ck loc o all laws befo oc before re ridin ridin di g on tra r ils. ls. ©20 ©2020 2 Polar o ris ola s Inc. nc c.
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Dairy Star • Saturday, September 12, 2020 • Page 25
Molitor clinches top spot of dairy showcase Annual 4-H event asks youth to reect on project involvement By Jennifer Coyne jenn@dairystar.com
In its 12th year, the Minnesota 4-H Dairy Showcase urged youth to reect on their time in the dairy project as part of this year’s virtual event. For Maggie Molitor, an opportunity to reect on her involvement in the youth organization and project area not only highlighted her past accolades and character-building moments, it also paved the way for a humble new accomplishment. “We were asked to reect on our years in 4-H and the dairy project and how that’s impacted us,” Molitor said. “I started showing cows when I was 4 years old, and have always taken it to the next level to learn more.” Molitor was named this year’s top recipient of the Minnesota 4-H Dairy Showcase, which hosted a virtual recognition ceremony Aug. 28. She received $3,000 from showcase donor Dairy Products Inc. “Those who have participated in the showcase are some of the most outstanding people I’ve ever met. I see how they’ve put their heart and soul into the dairy project,” Molitor said. “It’s cool to see the saying, ‘4-H to make the best better,’ really happening, and now I’m a part of that.” The Stearns County 4-H member grew up on her family’s organic dairy farm near St. Cloud, Minnesota. Unlike years past, where participants would submit an application and then the nal points would be tabulated
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Maggie Molitor parƟcipates at the 4-H dairy show at a previous Minnesota State Fair in St. Paul, Minnesota. Molitor was recognized as this year’s top recipient in the virtual Minnesota 4-H Dairy Showcase Aug. 28. based on performance during the state 4-H dairy show for the top 25 participants to be named, this year’s participants had to submit an application and two videos, and the top participants were unknown until the recognition ceremony. The contest was also only available to 4-H members in grades 12 and 13. “This year, you had no idea if you would even be in the showcase,” Molitor said. “That was kind of stressful.” Molitor’s videos had to follow criteria as an educational platform for consumers as well as a project video for another 4-H member. She chose her educational video to focus on a dairy cow’s diet and how Molitor’s family makes their total mixed ration. The application was more challenging for Molitor, she said. “Points were given based on other 4-H events and accomplishments,” Molitor said. “I’ve done a lot (in my
4-H career), but have never focused my energy on one part of the dairy project. We showed in 4-H for fun and not the awards.” The 18-year-old chose to talk about her record-keeping system where she diligently kept track of the cost of her dairy project which she received grand champion for and her recent recognition as a Princess Kay nalist. “At rst I wasn’t sure what I wanted to highlight,” Molitor said. “But I then decided to talk about what I was most proud of for myself and what I wanted other people to know. Even if they are not the ashiest accomplishments, I was being true to myself.” When the dairy showcase aired on social media, Molitor tuned in with her closest friends in the dairy industry to see how she compared to other Minnesota youth. “As they kept going down the list and reaching the top placings, I assumed I wasn’t going to make it anymore and thought that there is always next year,” Molitor said. “But when my name was announced as the top placing, I was completely speechless. It’s crazy I placed, let alone the rst one.” Molitor’s dairy career began at a young age and has blossomed over the years, rst showing her family’s grade Holsteins and then leasing registered animals from a friend to learn more about showring competition and dairy genetics. “I’ve sought out friends in the dairy project who I look to as mentors,” Molitor said. “I’m so grateful they’ve worked with me as I’ve learned more about the industry beyond my family farm’s cows. It’s made me want to do better and strive for these goals (like the showcase).” Through these connections, Molitor
has seen all the opportunities the 4-H dairy project can offer. And now having won the coveted title of the Minnesota 4-H Dairy Showcase, Molitor further encourages other youth to seek out similar opportunities no matter how far out of reach they may seem. “Meet new people and ask about what they’re doing. That’s how you learn,” Molitor said. “You can’t be afraid to take a leap and try new things.”
2020 Minnesota 4-H Dairy Showcase recipients
1. Maggie Molitor, Stearns County 2. Morgan Wingert, Fillmore County 3. Madelyn Wehe, Goodhue County 4. Brenna Connelly, Olmsted County 5. Isaac Rott, Olmsted County 6. Zoey Schentzel, Dakota County 7. Kelsey Erf, Washington County 8. Ella Bauer, Dodge County 9. McKenzie Swanson, McLeod County 10. Kelsey Kuball, Rice County 11. Owen Schefer, Goodhue County 12. Jay Dicke, Goodhue County 13. Kelsey Biel, Fillmore County 14. Kiley Lickfelt, McLeod County 15. Katherine Maus, Stearns County 16. Emma Friauf, McLeod County 17. Kyle Kruckeberg, Steele County 18. Kendra Waldenberger, Houston County 19. Anna Euerle, Meeker County 20. Arica Kath, Steele County 21. Alaina Johnson, Houston County 22. Sydney Kurth, Winona County 23. Abby Foss, Isanti County 24. Amber Post, Murray County 25. Jessica Ohmann, Stearns County
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The United States Department of Agriculture announced an annual survey of farmers, ranchers and private forestland owners. The survey will help USDA understand what it is doing well and where improvements are needed, FSA News & Notes speciďƒžcally at the Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service and Risk Management Agency. A selection of 28,000 producers will receive the survey over the next few weeks, but all farmers are encouraged to take the survey at farmers.gov/ By Ryan Brunn survey. Stearns Co. Exec. Dir. This survey is part of the President’s Management Agenda. It requires High Impact Service Provider agencies across the federal government, including FSA and NRCS, to conduct annual surveys to measure and respond to areas needing improvement. The survey consists of 20 questions and takes approximately 10 minutes to complete. Responses are conďƒždential, and individual responses will be aggregated. The survey will be open for at least six weeks and will be closed once USDA receives a 30% response rate. Learn more and take the survey at www. farmers.gov/survey. Farm Service Agency is an Equal Opportunity Lender. Complaints about discrimination should be sent to: Secretary of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. 20250. Visit the Farm Service Agency Web site at: www.fsa.usda.gov/ for necessary application forms and updates on USDA programs.
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A dream come true Honored, excited, humbled – a few words to describe how I feel to be selected as the 67th Princess Kay of the Milky Way. The thought of becoming Princess Kay has always been a dream of mine. As a young girl, I always wanted to be a princess. Little did I On the Road with know, I would get to Princess Kay fulll my dream and so much more. The opportunity to be in this role is humbling, and I cannot wait to begin my year. I am forever thankful for the people who have supported me on this journey. Without this support, I would not be in the role today. I am also grateful for By Brenna Connelly 67th Princess Kay of the the dairy community Milky Way that has made this opportunity possible. The Minnesota dairy farmers I represent are kind, driven, passionate and innovative. As Princess Kay of the Milky Way, I hope to share my story and the story of dairy farmers, so people feel better connected to us. I am ready to share my love and passion for the values, people and foods I represent. My goal for this year is to create a better understanding between farmers and consumers. In this role, I get to share with others the dedication and perseverance of dairy farmers. We know not everything is easy, and challenging times do arise. However, as dairy farmers, we are persistent and know we are truly doing what we love. As a dairy community, we are always looking for ways to improve our farming practices and become more sustainable. Providing our cows with exceptional care and nutrition is a value at the top of everyone’s list. I want to share our stories with others so they can see this dedication and passion. I am here to tell the story of the people who rise before the sun to begin the day and work hours past sunset to get the job done. All of the hours are worth it when you are able to bring a new, strong, healthy calf into the world or celebrate the end of a great harvest season. All of this is because of the love and passion farmers have for their way of life, and that is what I truly want to highlight this year. Although this year may look different in many ways, I am so excited to travel our great state and meet people. We may not have the ability to do events that were possible in years past, but this year brings forth a unique opportunity. In this changing time, more and more people are relying on technology to receive information and connect with others. My goal is to connect with people through online platforms to share my dairy story while showing them the real greatness of the dairy foods we know and love. If I was able to travel to every farm in the state of Minnesota and meet the hard-working people who make the dairy community possible, I would. Instead, I plan to take to social media and highlight
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farms across the state to show people the diversity am dedicated to sharing my love for dairy. Thank you of our farms, large and small. Additionally, I want again for this opportunity to represent the community to take the time to connect with students of all ages. that has already given me so much. From reading stories to young children over Zoom Princess Kay of the Milky Way Brenna Connelly meetings to presenting to high school students about serves as the Minnesota dairy community’s goodwill the importance of refueling our bodies, I am excited ambassador. Throughout the year, Princess Kay to connect with and meet others whenever possible. helps people understand the dedication of dairy My favorite part about farmers to wholesome and delicious dairy foods is how nutritious food, and the way much real enjoyment they This year is going to be a time milk is produced. Princess can bring. As Princess Kay of laughter, memory making Kay does many school of the Milky Way, I hope presentations, represents to help consumers see how and good conversations. dairy farmers at the Fuel they can incorporate dairy Up To Play 60 events that into their everyday lives. are held in conjunction I am here to show active students that cheese sticks with the Minnesota Vikings, and is very active during and yogurt make great, affordable snacks they can June Dairy Month sharing the importance of dairy take with them on the go. I can also help the people farming and dairy foods. Connelly grew up in Byron, who love to be in the kitchen discover that dairy is Minnesota working on her cousin’s dairy farm. She the key ingredient in their fresh-baked cookies and is a sophomore at the University of Minnesotahomemade dishes. This year is going to be a time of laughter, memory Twin Cities, studying agricultural education and making and good conversations. The opportunity to animal science. When she is not showing cattle or live out my dream is something I will cherish forever. participating in dairy judging, she loves to read and In every place I visit and every conversation I have, I travel.
Page 28 • Dairy Star • Saturday, September 12, 2020 Joe Armstrong armst225@umn.edu 612.624.3610 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 Emily Krekelberg krek0033@umn.edu 507-280-2863 Claire LaCanne lacanne@umn.edu 507-332-6109 Brenda Miller nels4220@umn.edu 320-732-4435 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
www.extension.umn.edu/dairy
Selective dry cow therapy By Joe Armstrong
DVM, University of Minnesota
and categorized separately. A positive culture makes the quarter eligible for antibiotics and internal teat sealant, while a negative culture is eligible for internal teat sealant alone. The Minnesota Easy® 4Cast® plate is designed for quarter culture use and is available through the UMN Laboratory for Udder Health. Sampling all quarters of the udder and combining those into one sample is also an option for culture guided SDCT. This method reduces dry cow therapy antibiotic use but less so than for the quarter sampling culture approach or the algorithm guided methods. It is crucial to work with the herd veterinarian to develop and monitor the program. An ideal monitoring program includes continual evaluation of milk quality and the SDCT program. – Regular bulk tank cultures to screen for contagious pathogens and SCC testing. – Routine culture of clinical and chronic mastitis cases. – Monitoring cows for mastitis during the dry period, particularly just after dry off. – Monitoring clinical mastitis rate and SCC in early lactation. – Veterinary involvement and evaluation of records. – For herds using the culture approach, monitor the cleanliness of samples, since a high contamination rate will result in unnecessary use of antibiotics, reducing the net-return of the program. Algorithm guided and culture guided SDCT programs both show a similar reduction in dry cow therapy antibiotic use. There is no difference in effectiveness between algorithm guided and culture guided SDCT in terms of signicant cow health or production outcomes according to a multi-herd, multi-state study led my UMN researchers (Rowe et al., 2020). While both approaches had a positive average net return, there is potentially a greater cost-savings associated with an algorithm guided SDCT program if adequate DHIA records are already available. A proper intramammary infusion technique is essential, and all quarters not treated with antibiotics should receive an internal teat sealant. Failure to follow aseptic technique can result in the introduction of harmful pathogens to the udder. Well trained, vested employees are crucial. Starting in October, Minnesota DHIA can provide a selective dry cow therapy report to eligible herds. The report is the result of a collaboration between Minnesota DHIA and University of Minnesota SDCT researchers. The DHI-370 Flex Report will include cows to dry off in the next 45 days and will highlight potential candidates for internal teat sealant alone. For more information, contact Minnesota DHIA at www.mndhia.org/contact-information. html.
Intramammary infusion with long-acting antibiotics at dry off (dry cow therapy) is a long-standing practice in the dairy industry and for good reason. Dry cow therapy is associated with curing existing infections at dry off; decreased risk of new infections during the dry period; reduced risk of clinical mastitis in early lactation; and decreased somatic cell count in early lactation. The practice of blanket dry cow therapy, treating every cow at dry off, has signicantly contributed to reduced prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus agalactiae. Selective dry cow therapy, as opposed to BDCT, employs a specic strategy to avoid treating every cow with antibiotics at dry off. BDCT accounts for approximately one-third of the total antibiotic use on a conventional dairy. SDCT can provide a more targeted approach and a more judicious use of antibiotics without compromising future cow health or performance. SDCT programs identify two categories of cows: Cows eligible for treatment with antibiotics and internal teat sealant and cows eligible for treatment with internal teat sealant alone. Increasing public concern about antibiotic use in agriculture has led the dairy industry to explore ways to use antibiotics in a more judicious manner. SDCT has been shown to reduce dry cow antibiotic use by 55%. Decreased use of antibiotics also means that producers have the opportunity to save money with a SDCT program. A cost-saving calculator is available at www. dairyknow.umn.edu/research/udder-health/selective-dry-cow-therapy-costcalculator/. SDCT is not the correct choice for every farm. Specic herd criteria help identify when an SDCT program is most appropriate to implement and include: – An annual bulk tank SCC less than 250,000 cells/ml. – Contagious mastitis pathogens are under control (low numbers of Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus agalactiae). – Use of teat sealant in all quarters of all cows at dry off. – Correct technique for intramammary infusions at dry off. – Well-trained personnel to make correct screening and treatment decisions. – The ability to monitor the program to verify it is working. There are two approaches to classify cows in a SDCT program – an algorithm guided method and a culture guided method. Herds that routinely test with DHIA or have access to similar data can use an algorithm guided method to categorize cows. Those herds without access to reliable SCC and clinical mastitis records may need to use a culture guided method. Table 1: Guided SDCT program Specic criteria have been developed to identify the two groups of cows in an algorithm Cows eligible for treatment with antibiotics and internal teat sealant in all four quarters guided SDCT program (Table 1). In culture guided SDCT, aseptic milk samples (meet any or all criteria) are collected two days before dry-off and cultured SCC greater than 200,000 at any test during to identify subclinical mastitis that would require the current lactation treatment with dry cow antibiotics. Inexpensive rapid culture may be conducted on the farm for farms with a milk culture lab already in place or Any clinical mastitis cases in the last 14 may be conducted in the local veterinary clinic. days of lactation There are two culture guided methods for SDCT. University of Minnesota studies show Two or more clinical mastitis cases during that each quarter of the udder can be cultured the current lactation
Cows eligible for treatment with internal teat sealant alone in all four quarters (meet all criteria) SCC less than 200,000 for all tests during the current lactation No clinical mastitis in the last 14 days of lactation Less than two clinical mastitis cases during the current lactation
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Dairy calf research highlights from annual ADSA meeting In one of my articles last year, I described the FARM Program Animal Care Version 4.0 corrective actions, both Mandatory Corrective Action Plan (MCAP; standard to be met within nine months) and Continuous Improvement Plan (CIP; standard to be met within three years). Some of these standards related specically to calves: – Pre-weaned calf practices of disbudding prior to 8 weeks of age and feed and water access by day 3 of age (MCAP). – Pre-weaned calf protocols for moving calves, colostrum management, provision of feed and water and disbudding (MCAP). – Pain management practice and protocol for disbudding; pain mitigation is expected to be used when disbudding By Marcia Endres calves with any method, including caustic paste (CIP). U of M Extension At this year’s American Dairy Science Association meeting, the animal behavior and welfare session included various abstracts related to these FARM standards mentioned above or other calf welfare topics. Here are some highlights. Calf management practices in Wisconsin A survey of 188 dairy producers in Wisconsin conducted by the University of Guelph and University of Wisconsin-Madison indicated that only 33% of the farms are in compliance with both the calf management FARM standards of disbudding prior to 8 weeks of age and using pain mitigation. Respondents could select more than one method of disbudding or dehorning. Survey results indicated that 67% of the farms use caustic paste for disbudding, with application most commonly occurring on the day of birth (51% of respondents) or between 1 day to 1 week of age (41%). Hot iron disbudding was used by 60% of the farms and surgical amputation methods by 21% of the farms (93% after 8 weeks of age). The survey showed that 35% of the farms use anti-inammatory drugs (Meloxicam or Banamine), 21% use local anesthetics and 5% use a sedative; 15% use a combination of pain mitigation options. Results of this study demonstrate a proportion of surveyed farmers continue to perform disbudding without pain mitigation. However, 62% of the respondents indicated they have changed their calf management practices in the last 10 years. Most (86%) rely on their veterinarian for advice on new practices or technologies. It is suggested that farmers work with their herd veterinarian to develop protocols for pain mitigation to help them meet the FARM standard. Sedation reduced pain behavior but also affected drinking speed in calves It has been shown that the use of local anesthesia and analgesia can reduce pain and inammation in calves following disbudding. However, the use of sedation as best practice for disbudding has not been investigated very much. Researchers at the University of Guelph evaluated the effects of xylazine sedation given with a local anesthetic and analgesic in calves following hot iron disbudding. Calves were housed in groups and fed with an automated feeder which recorded feeding behavior parameters, such as milk consumption and drinking speed. Researchers also tested pressure sensitivity using a pressure force algometer and recorded calf struggle behavior. Sedated calves had reduced average drinking speed up to 48 hours following disbudding compared with non-sedated calves (40 to 80 mL/ minute reduction), but there was no difference between groups in total amount of milk consumed daily. Sedated calves had reduced pressure sensitivity at four hours after disbudding but were similar to non-sedated calves by 24 hours after disbudding. Non-sedated calves struggled more than twice compared with sedated calves during the disbudding procedure. This study suggests that xylazine sedation, in conjunction with a local anesthetic and analgesic, can reduce pain in calves disbudded with a hot iron but also seems to inuence drinking behavior for at least 48 hours following sedation. Pair housed dairy calves consumed more starter during weaning There have been some recent studies investigating pair housing of calves using outdoor hutches with a shared fence. In this study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, researchers compared the performance of pair versus individual hutch housing before and during weaning. Calves had free access to starter and were fed 4 liters of pasteurized milk two times per day and were weaned in a stepdown fashion; fed 2 liters of milk two times per day for seven days, 2 liters once per day for four days, and were completely weaned by 52 days of age. It was found that paired calves tended to have higher starter dry matter intake which was due to differences during the weaning period. During the pre- and post-weaning periods, dry matter intake did not differ between treatments. Average daily gain was also similar between the two treatments. The study suggests that calves reared in pairs can transition better to solid feeds during weaning. Use of a shelter in group-housed calves is affected by disbudding A study by the University of Florida looked at changes in calf social behavior as an indicator of individual experiences of pain. Group-housed calves were provided with two three-sided, open top shelters constructed from corrugated plastic. Researchers investigated how shelter use was affected by disbudding using video recordings. Half of the calves in the group were disbudded. All calves entered a shelter at least once during the observation period, but there was considerable individual variability in use duration (minimum 1.4 minutes per day; maximum 13.6 hours per day) and visit frequency (minimum one, maximum 25 visits per day). Disbudding did not affect the number of shelter visits per day, but visits tended to be longer for disbudded calves. Researchers suggested that use of a shelter is affected by disbudding, possibly due to a need for social isolation when experiencing pain.
Dairy Star • Saturday, September 12, 2020 • Page 29
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A grand experience Page 30 • Dairy Star • Saturday, September 12, 2020
Our two sons sure had it good when they were growing up. For example, their mother chauffeured them to school every day in climate-controlled comfort. Compare that to when I was a kid and had to walk approximately 100 miles to school through waist-deep snow. And it was uphill both ways. When they were school-aged, our sons each owned enough electronic doodads to stock a Best Buy store. Their rooms looked like miniature versions of the Consumer Electronics Show. Things have certainly changed since I was a youngster. This is something that I was not about to let the next generation forget. I constantly impressed upon our sons just exactly how easy they had it compared to my childhood. “You kids have it so good,� I would bluster. “Back in my day, nobody had a Nintendo. And believe me, it wasn’t easy to play video games on an Etch-A-
Sketch. Somebody might shake the Etch-A-Sketch while you’re eating supper and poof. There goes a week’s worth of hand-cranked Mario Brothers.â€? Whenever I said something like that, the boys would roll their eyes in disbelief. I guess they were remembering all those things I had told them regarding Santa and the Easter Bunny. It might have ended there had my wife, our two sons and I not taken a drive one Sunday afternoon and happened across The Grand Opera House. The Grand is an elegant, fully restored, 19th Century quartzite ediďƒžce located in the heart of Dell Rapids, South Dakota. We were given a tour of the renovated theater which is, well, grand. I especially liked the handpainted sign which reads: “Please use no tobacco in this Hall.â€? The original owners must have learned the hard way about the stubborn stains that can occur
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when patrons are allowed to chew tobacco during an exceptionally exciting play. But the best part was in the lobby where sat the holiest of holies: an anatomically correct, fully functional soda fountain. I was instantly 10 Dear County Agent Guy years old once again. I am carefully scrutinizing the price list above the soda fountain at Tupper’s Pharmacy, unable to decide between using my weekly allowance to buy a soda and a candy bar or blow the entire dime on a comic book. I eventually order a cherry Coke, using By Jerry Nelson the change to purchase Columnist a pack of gum. I wigwag on the barstool as I watch Mrs. Tupper mix the Coke syrup with charged water. She strikes me as a dour woman. Perhaps it is because of all those pesky kids who ignore the sign by the comic books that says, “Nice to look at, nice to hold, but once you start to read, it’s sold!â€? Or maybe it is due to the stress of running this particular type of business. After all, she and her husband know exactly who in our small town suffers from the heartbreak of psoriasis and who buys Preparation H in the large economy size. They know which high school athlete has had the itch and which minister’s wife comes in regularly to ďƒžll a prescription to treat her nervous condition. The temptation to blab must have been enormous. It was probably quite a burden, especially when you lived in a gossipy little farming community such as ours. But none of that concerns me as I contentedly chew my gum and peruse the latest Superman comic book under Mrs. Tupper’s hawk-like gaze. I snapped out of my reverie. “Climb up onto those barstools,â€? I told our boys. “You’re about to experience a blast from my past.â€? We ordered ice cream sodas and watched, fascinated, as the fountain guy scooped and stirred. The boys were amazed. The only fountain ice cream treats they had consumed up to that point were the kind that a machine burps into a cardboard cup. The idea of using metal spoons and glass glasses blew their minds. I told them that this was how things were done back when I was a little nipper. The ice cream sodas – which came with maraschino cherries ďƒ&#x;oating atop a cloud of real whipped cream – were enjoyed immensely. I opted for simplicity of a plain old chocolate ice cream cone, and my wife ordered a butterscotch sundae. The expression on her face when she took the ďƒžrst spoonful was similar to someone who had just heard her numbers called out during a Powerball drawing. Her eyes even rolled back in her head for a moment. As we strolled out of La Fontaine de L’Opera, our sons had gained a new perspective about my childhood. “Wow, Dad,â€? they chirped. “You really had it good back when you were a kid.â€? Jerry is a recovering dairy farmer from Volga, South Dakota. 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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The high udder health cycle The concept of the high fertility cycle has been proposed by Middleton, Fricke and others. The idea is that timely pregnancies in one lactation may lead to less body condition loss, fewer health issues, greater fertility and reduced Veterinary Wisdom pregnancy loss in the next lactation. To some degree, the same concept applies to udder health. Maintaining excellent udder health in one lactation makes it easier to maintain excellent udder health in the next. While the concept of a high udder health cycle has not been proposed in By Jim Bennett the veterinary literature, there are similarities Columnist between it and the high fertility cycle that are worth exploring. One of the main drivers for continued poor udder health is recurrence of clinical mastitis. A high proportion of cows experiencing a clinical mastitis event in a lactation will experience additional cases during the same lactation. Many of these cows will also experience more clinical mastitis in subsequent lactations. There are several reasons why mastitis may recur. One, some organisms are more likely to cause recurrent clinical mastitis. High recurrence rates have been observed for both E. coli and Strep uberis infections, for example. Staph aureus is notorious for causing recurrent clinical mastitis; however, this is because of persistency of infection rather than actual new infections. Indeed, there is some question whether cows that experience clinical mastitis, and subsequently actually clear the infection, are really more likely to suffer another clinical case, or that recurrence occurs more commonly because of persistent infections. In either case though, it is fair to say that once a cow has experienced a case of clinical
mastitis, she is more likely to suffer from additional cases in her current or subsequent lactations, meaning she is not in the high udder health cycle. Another driver for poor udder health is chronic, subclinical infections. Most mastitis infections on most dairies are subclinical. Just because a cow never shows clinical mastitis does not mean that she has good udder health. It is common to nd cows on most farms with persistent, high somatic cell counts, and many of these cows may never have shown clinical signs of mastitis. These cows are not in the HUHC. Chronically infected cows can serve as reservoirs of organisms to infect others. This most commonly occurs with contagious pathogens such as Strep ag, Staph aureus, Mycoplasma and Prototheca, but can happen with almost any pathogen if the reservoir is of sufcient magnitude. Thus, chronically infected cows can keep other, previously clean cows, out of the HUHC. Finally, mastitis leads to increased culling. Increased culling leads to a narrowing of choices on whom to cull, and may eventually lead to producers keeping cows that they would rather cull because of increased involuntary culls. On many farms, some of these potential culls that are kept too long may be chronic mastitis cows, whom are not in the HUHC. Cows that experience the HUHC often never get clinical mastitis. They have persistently low SCCs. This makes them signicantly less likely to get mastitis again or to be culled. By staying in the herd, they contribute to overall herd udder health positively. As the proportion of cows with persistently low SCCs increases in a herd, the clinical mastitis rate goes down, the percentage of cows with chronic infections goes down and culling due to mastitis goes down. Over time, it becomes easier to maintain low SCCs and clinical mastitis rates. The HUHC also makes it easier for us humans to manage herds. Fewer cases of mastitis makes milking easier and faster. Fewer cases means a smaller hospital pen and fewer treated cows to deal with on a daily basis. Fewer cases mean fewer treatments to administer, lower drug costs
Dairy Star • Saturday, September 12, 2020 • Page 31
and reduced death rates. In HUHC herds, life on the dairy is better for cows and for people. This points out an important concept: While the high fertility cycle is described as referring to a single cow, in reality having many cows in the high fertility cycle makes reproductive management easier for other cows too. The result is a herd with a high fertility cycle. The same is true for HUHC herds. Some of this is due to direct effects and some to indirect effects. In any system, maintaining great results may require less overall effort, and certainly less disruption, than constantly trying to x problems and improve results. One might think of it as the effort required to keeps cows locked in their pens versus getting them back in and locked in their pens, especially if they are running down the middle of that county highway in front of your farm. Keeping your cows and your herd in the HUHC makes future success easier; this is the most powerful concept of the HUHC. How do you get your herd into the HUHC? Understand the importance of new infection risk/ rate. Simply put, it means knowing how many clean cows are getting infected each month and knowing how to stop that process. Remember, a cow cannot become chronic if she never got infected in the rst place. Also understand the impact of chronically infected cows in your herd and how to eventually reduce that population. All the tools you need to get your herd into the HUHC are available. Rely on your veterinarian for recommendations, information and to help you steer the course. Yes, the HUHC is a real thing, and just like with the high fertility cycle, once your herd is in it, future success is easier to achieve. More and more herds are achieving the HUHC today. Is it time for your herd to be one of them? Bennett is one of four dairy veterinarians at Northern Valley Dairy Production Medicine Center in Plainview, Minnesota. He also consults on dairy farms in other states. He and his wife, Pam, have four children. Jim can be reached at bennettnvac@gmail. com with comments or questions.
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Buy that new pickup Page 32 • Dairy Star • Saturday, September 12, 2020
This morning, I made my every-other-day how to drive a semi. Maybe I taught too many of run with my 1998 GMC shop truck to the local them recently because now the clutch slips so bad implement store to ll the 120-gallon DEF tote that I need a quarter-mile clear of trafc before I so the fuel guzzling chopper could keep running. dare cross an intersection. The truck also has a death As I drove, I thought how wobble at certain speeds stupid I was to drive a because it needs new ball Have you ever noticed i d $100 pickup to service H joints in the front end. And close to a million dollar the different company the worst problem it has is forage harvester. What is pickups that show up on the driver’s door will not our problem as farmers open from the inside or the that we have to wear that your yard? outside, so I have to crawl idiotic badge of honor that over the stick shift to get in says we cannot drive new, or out of the passenger side safe vehicles? door. There is not much wrong with my GMC oneHave you ever noticed the different company ton shop truck. It has a ve-speed manual shift that pickups that show up on your yard? Most salesmen, comes in handy when I am teaching my grandsons co-op elevator representatives and implement
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dealer pickups are fairly new and yet reasonably basic half-ton four-wheel drive vehicles with a gas engine. I am sure many are purchased with a eet plan for under $30,000. They probably have some warranty and extended service plan so there Making Cents of Dairy are no expensive surprises. Those pickups can reliably get their respective drivers many miles every day so they can do their job. Every dairy farm of any size at all should have a newer pickup so anyone can jump into it and immediately be By Dave Vander Kooi able to drive a 300-mile round trip for that part Columnist you need right now. Every time my daughter-in-law’s father, Tom Albrecht, comes to my farm to visit he teases me that I have too many pickups. All I have is the 1998 GMC shop truck, a 2000 F-350 with a 7.3 diesel that is permanently attached to a skidloader trailer, a 2002 F-350 diesel permanently attached to the cattle trailer, a 2011 F-150 Lariat for my going-to-church pickup and a 2019 F-150 XL rubber oored work truck that is my ultra-reliable daily driver. These do not include the ve other pickups driven by Joe, Corey and Bryan. Maybe now is a good time to upgrade the transportation eet on the dairy farm. Despite the record low mailbox milk price received in April and May, we have since also seen record high milk prices. There has also been some Coronavirus Food Assistance Program income received that has helped the bottom line. Going into winter and tax time, we are also looking at tax deductions that make long term sense. Using section 179 to upgrade equipment and save taxes has always been one of our strategies that works. We denitely have decided to order a new cow trailer to replace our smaller, 15-year-old one. This will also require a larger 1.5-ton pickup or atbed type truck to pull it. I think we will get a truck with a 12-foot aluminum atbed on it that we can also use to haul heavy seed totes, etc. The skidloader trailer we have is too small for our larger skidloader and our excavator, so we need to address that also. We will keep the old trailer because it’s such a handy tilt style that works great for lawn mowers. If we get a new truck to pull the new cow trailer, that leaves nothing left in the budget to replace the GMC shop truck. Maybe Corey can nd the time this winter to x it up a little so it’s easy to drive again. I was thinking of making the old 2002 F-350 into a shop truck, but with an extra atbed trailer, we will need that permanently hooked up to that because nobody likes hooking and unhooking trailers. And besides, whenever trailers get hooked or unhooked, that is when mistakes and bad things happen. Now even I am a little confused as to how many pickups we will have next year, but it appears we might be adding one more to the eet. Vander Kooi operates a 1,800-cow, 4,500 acre farm with his son, Joe, and daughter-in-law, Rita, near Worthington, Minnesota. Send him feedback at davevkooi@icloud.com. Follow him on Instagram, @ davevanderkooi.
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On a warm or sometimes crisp, golden September day, I would rush off the bus from elementary school, change and head outside because it was silagemaking time on our small dairy. The air was fragrant with the best smell of fall as our neighbor chopped our elds of corn and my dad operated the blower to ll our small stave silo that would feed our cows for the rest of the year. A small outside open silo was also lled with green chop for use while the silage in the larger silo fermented. My job was to stomp on top of it to pack Come Full Dairy Circle it down. It was always an exciting time. The fermentation of forage for dairy cows has been going on in this country since the late 1800s when a farmer in Maryland followed the example of Goffart, a French farmer who wrote about preserving corn fodder, emphasizing lling the silo rapidly and keeping it air-tight during storage. “The word silo comes from the Greek word ‘siros’ which means a hole or pit in the ground for storing corn. It is known that the Greeks and Egyptians were familiar with ensiling as a technique for storing fodder as far back as 1000 to 1500 BC. In parts of Northern Europe, grass was being ensiled By Jean Annexstad in the early 18th Century, but it was not until the Columnist latter part of the 19th Century that it became more widespread,” according to an Israeli website, Food Technology Information Center. I guess if our family has always taken silage-making for granted as a normal fall activity, we can be forgiven. It has been around awhile. On the Annexstad farm, how we ensile and feed our cows has evolved through the years and our farm’s facility changes. We have switched from harvesting into forage wagons, blowing silage into upright silos and feed delivery using silo unloaders and mechanized feed bunks to bagged silage, and now to today’s bunker silos with concrete pads and walls, plastic coverings and a tire shooter to place tires for covering the bunkers. Silage is added to the TMR mixer with a loader tractor and delivered via the drive-by mixer into a feed alley of a freestall barn. Our children’s childhood memories of silage making days involve riding in the chopper while their dad or uncle, Mike, chopped, riding briey in the packing tractor that drove over the silage pile in the bunker, and the ultimate job of helping to cover of the bunker with OTB lm, silage plastic and tires. “I remember that the bunker silo seemed a lot bigger when I was younger, and it was much harder to lift the tires to cover it with,” Matthias told me. Leif remembered riding in the chopper and one time getting a small lawn mower tire stuck on his head when he and Matthias were goong around on top of the bunker. Emily recalls that the most fun was working with all of the people who would help us chop, pack, truck and cover the bunker silo. In the collection of helpers over the years, there were employees’ curious friends and families, our veterinarian and his family, our feed nutritionist, the kids’ friends, our relatives and many others we could tell stories about. Thankfully, our kids have almost always helped to round out the dedicated crew to do the critical, important and very timely job of covering our bunker silos with plastic and tires. It is often a job to get done now: because it is a hot windy day, or because it is getting dark and buggy, or because a storm is coming. There is a process and it takes time, muscle power and a lot of helpful hands to pull over plastic and place the tires. We all enjoy the sense of accomplishment when the job is done. When silage making is happening, I sometimes think about how to explain the process to others. One teacher several years ago, after reading one of our kid’s how-to paper about covering the bunker silo, had a lot of questions at the parentteacher conference. When school kids come to the farm, we conduct a hands-on lesson of mixing up a ration with small amounts of each ingredient to show them that our cows eat a cow salad or cow casserole. Other dairy farms do a great job of posting pictures of their silage making process online and some have used #cowchow to showcase their experiences in an educational way for their followers. It is fun to see how dairy friends are coming along with their harvest and view their victorious crews standing in front of or on top of their masterpiece after the bunker is covered or the bags are nished. Maybe this part of the silage-making rite will be reminisced about 50 years down the road. Jean dairy farms with her husband, Rolf, and brother-in-law, Mike, and children Emily, Matthias and Leif. They farm near St. Peter, Minnesota, in Norseland, where she is still trying to t in with the Norwegians and Swedes. They milk 200 cows and farm 650 acres. She can be reached at jeanannexstad@ gmail.com.
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Dairy Star • Saturday, September 12, 2020 • Page 33
Page 34 • Dairy Star • Saturday, September 12, 2020
PRINCESS KAY & FINALISTS:
What does it mean to have your likeness carved in butter? Brenna Connelly Representing Olmsted County What does it mean to have your likeness carved in butter? As a young girl, I loved going to the Minnesota State Fair to visit the Dairy Building. I would stand outside the glass of the butter booth and watch nalists have their likenesses carved in butter. I always wondered what it would be like to be in their position, and they were girls who I looked up to. The opportunity to have my own likeness carved in butter is truly a dream come true. I am honored and excited
to have had the opportunity this year. Who attended your butterhead carving day, and how did they pass the time? On the day of my butterhead carving, my parents along with a few close family members and friends came to the butter booth. They all came at different times throughout the day to visit. They enjoyed watching the sculpting as the day progressed and participating in Facebook Live. What was the most unique question you received during your Facebook Live segment of carving? How did you address this question? The most unique question I received during my Facebook Live segment was, “Will your sculpture be wearing a mask?” I think this question is very unique to this year because we are going through this process in a different way than years past. To address this question, I explained how I would step outside of the butter booth and sit on a step ladder. This allowed for Gerry (Kulzer) to see the bottom half of my face in a safe manner. How do you plan to use your butter scraps, and what do you want to do with your butterhead? With my butter scraps and butterhead, I plan to share it with my family and friends who have supported me on my journey. We will also use part of it to hold a gathering at our house to celebrate with our closest friends and family when it is safe to do so. The remainder of the butter will be donated to our food shelf for members of our community. What will you remember most about being a Princess Kay nalist this summer? I will remember how we were able to create a special experience despite our circumstances. The opportunity to be a Princess Kay nalist has always been a dream of mine. This summer was a memorable opportunity to connect with the nalists and create lasting memories. Although our nalist experience looked different than in previous years, it is something I will remember and cherish forever. Emma Friauf Representing McLeod County What does it mean to have your likeness carved in butter? It was such an honor to have my likeness sculpted in butter; in my freezer, I have a block of butter that was sculpted to look exactly like me. Not everyone is able to say that. As the day went on, as Gerry (Kulzer) transformed the block of butter to look exactly like me, it was astonishing. I’m the rst butterhead in my family. Who attended your butterhead carving day, and how did they pass the time? My dad, Wayne, sat with me all day along with my county coordinator. He was so excited to watch the block turn into me. Throughout the day, my mom, Teri, little brother, boyfriend, godmother and my grandma were all able to make it. It was fun being able to watch them visit and show their love and support for me. I am so grateful they were all able to make it. What was the most unique question you received during your Facebook Live segment of carving? How did you address this question? I received a bunch of awesome questions that I was able to answer, and I was able to tell a bunch of fun stories. It was nice being able to have that connection with consumers even if it was not face-to-face interaction. How do you plan to use your butter scraps, and what do you want to do with your butterhead? So far, my grandmother is the only one to dig into the scraps. I plan to hold a sweet corn feed for my close family and friends. I have made sure to tell them to bring an extra container to take some home. This upcoming spring, I plan to display my sculpture at our county princess banquet, and the following summer or fall is when I will hold my sweet corn feed. What will you remember most about being a Princess Kay nalist this summer? I will forever remember the interesting circumstances that came with being a nalist this summer, wearing masks, social distancing, etc. Those restrictions did not put a damper on how much fun we would have or our experiences. They made them that much better and something that will always be in my memory. The other nalists also became girls who I can turn to whenever I need something or just to talk. The whole experience was one to remember.
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Emily Benrud Representing Goodhue County What does it mean to have your likeness carved in butter? I was very honored to have my likeness carved in butter and to be able to represent Minnesota’s dairy farmers as a Princess Kay nalist. Being able to now have my own butterhead reminds me of all of the support and encouragement I have received from numerous members of the dairy community throughout my life. Without all of those people, I never would have been able to experience such a rich Minnesota tradition. Who attended your butterhead carving day, and how did they pass the time? My immediate family, ancé and grandparents attended my butterhead carving. To pass the time, they played a lot of games like cribbage and jokers. What was the most unique question you received during your Facebook Live segment of carving? How did you address this question? The most unique question I received during my Facebook Live was to explain how dairy judging contests work. It can be a tricky topic to explain to someone who has no experience with cow shows. To address this question, I simplied my answer to explain how the contest sort of works like a bodybuilding contest where the cows are judged based on their conrmation. How do you plan to use your butter scraps, and what do you want to do with your butterhead? With my butter scraps, I plan to share them with friends and family. As for my butterhead, I plan to donate it to the Goodhue Lion’s Chicken Barbeque so that the Goodhue community members can enjoy it on their corn and potatoes. What will you remember most about being a Princess Kay nalist this summer? I will remember all of the wonderful connections I was able to make. While this past summer was not a typical summer, I will forever cherish all of the experiences with the nine nalists. It was also cool to be able to have my family so involved on my butter sculpting day.
Mackenzie Craig Representing Douglas County What does it mean to have your likeness carved in butter? Having my likeness carved into butter makes me feel honored, blessed and lled with joy. I remember going to the state fair every summer and seeing the girls get their likeness sculpted in 90 pounds of butter, wishing I would get that opportunity one day. Stepping into the butter booth was my childhood dream coming true. I am blessed to use this opportunity as a platform to represent Minnesota dairy farmers and my dairy story. Who attended your butterhead carving day, and how did they pass the time? Two of my close friends, my mother and one of my college professors. We passed time in one of my favorite ways – sharing stories and memories. While I was in the butter booth, I talked to Gerry Kulzer. Gerry and I kept the conversation going for about seven hours, and my throat hurt from talking so much. What was the most unique question you received during your Facebook Live segment of carving? How did you address this question? “What is your favorite chore to do on the farm?” I instantly thought about how difcult but easy it was to address this question. I love doing all my chores on the farm. Each chore has shown me opportunities and has developed my knowledge about dairy and agriculture as a whole. I did state that milking the cows was one of my favorite chores on the farm. I explained how relaxing it is listening to the milk ow through the milkers, and I get to spend time with each individual cow and witness each one of their unique personalities. Developing close bonds with animals is something I simply love doing. How do you plan to use your butter scraps, and what do you want to do with your butterhead? I plan on using my butter scraps to get creative and bake cookies. For my butterhead, I plan on keeping it whole for now. I always wanted the opportunity to have a twin and this is my chance to embrace that. After that time has passed, I plan on cutting it up, bagging it and donating some to my 4-H and FFA chapters. These are two organizations that helped me grow and develop, and I would like to give back. I would also like to keep some for my family. Baking is a rich tradition in my family, and having this amount of butter to bake with will bring our family closer together. What will you remember most about being a Princess Kay nalist this summer? The lifelong relationships that were made. I learned about each of our unique journeys in dairy and agriculture, and how each of us are going to continue to advocate for a community we are so dearly passionate about. We are the nalist group during a global pandemic, and our group made the absolute best out of the whole experience given the circumstances.
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Dairy Star • Saturday, September 12, 2020 • Page 35
ConƟnued from BUTTERHEADS | Page 34 Taylor Jerde Representing Dakota County What does it mean to have your likeness carved in butter? Having my likeness sculpted in butter was an absolute dream come true. I had two aunts who have also had their likeness sculpted, and I am proud to be the next generation. I have always wanted a twin and now I can say I have one. My butterhead is more to me than 90 pounds of butter, it is an accomplishment and an amazing opportunity. I am proud to advocate for the hard-working Minnesota dairy farmer. Who attended your butterhead carving day, and how did they pass the time? My parents, step-mom, two sisters, aunt, cousin, two grandparents and boyfriend all attended. My aunt brought three giant garbage bags of movie theater popcorn, and I supplied the butter. My family enjoys talking, so there was no lack of conversation or laughs. My little sisters kept occupied by running around, playing tag and making crafts. My boyfriend and step-mom stayed busy taking a lot of pictures. What was the most unique question you received during your Facebook Live segment of carving? How did you address this question? I was asked about my favorite memories growing up on the farm and showing dairy cattle. It was one question that came with an easy answer. My favorite memory was feeding calves at a young age and riding around in our giant feed carts, up and down the alleys. I am so grateful I experienced growing up on a farm close to my family. How do you plan to use your butter scraps, and what do you want to do with your butterhead? I have already donated most of my butter scraps to family, friends and my local FFA chapter for their annual farmer appreciation breakfast. I have already grown a close connection to my butterhead, so I plan to put it in my own personal butter booth in my house so I can admire my butterhead with my family. Although, I would also like to host a supper and barn dance for all my supporters who helped me achieve my goal of being a butterhead. What will you remember most about being a Princess Kay nalist this summer? Something I will always take with me is meeting the nine nalists. They were truly amazing to work with, and I cannot wait to keep in touch with all of them as time goes on. I will also always remember the unique year we had; everyone will remember the 10 nalists during the pandemic. We most certainly made the best of what we had.
Katherine Maus Representing Stearns County What does it mean to have your likeness carved in butter? Getting my likeness carved into butter was a true blessing. Sitting in the booth conversing with Gerry (Kulzer) was a day I will never forget as it resulted in me gaining a butter twin of my own. This sculpture may look like me, but it represents my family and the generations before me. I would not have been able to reach this point without anyone I have crossed paths with, and I am forever grateful for each one of them. Who attended your butterhead carving day, and how did they pass the time? My audience included my parents, brother, one of my sisters and my grandparents. Throughout the day they played checkers, sat around a table and played cards or took a nap. The day I was carved was also the rst day of the Minnesota State Fair Food Parade, and my family decided to get a taste of those treats as well. What was the most unique question you received during your Facebook Live segment of carving? How did you address this question? “Who or what inspired you to want to run for Princess Kay?” I love reecting on this question. My answer included my family as my mom was our county coordinator in the past, and my sister was also a Princess Kay nalist. Growing up on my family’s fourth-generation dairy farm, I have realized many connections have been made with community members. I would not have those without the blessing of the farm. I knew it was my responsibility to give back for everything I have been given, and being a Princess Kay nalist was an opportunity I was not going to pass up. How do you plan to use your butter scraps, and what do you want to do with your butterhead? My butter scraps have been shared with family, but I also brought some to college and shared them with friends. With my butter twin, I will be taking pictures with my sister’s likeness in butter and hopefully hosting a community gathering with a variety of foods. In my mind, there is nothing better than sharing a gift with those I love. What will you remember most about being a Princess Kay nalist this summer? One of the biggest takeaways from being a Princess Kay nalist this summer is realizing how many supporters I had behind me. From my family to my 4-H coordinators to the members at the church. It really showed me how many connections I have been able to make growing up on a farm, and as a result I know I will always have supporters with me in every chapter of my life.
Maggie Meyer Representing Meeker County What does it mean to have your likeness carved in butter? It is an honor to have my likeness carved in butter, and really, it is the icing on the cake of this whole experience. I feel like every county princess across the state dreams of it, and I nally got to live it. Gerry (Kulzer) did such an amazing job, and it was such a cool experience to see his work come to life. Who attended your butterhead carving day, and how did they pass the time? My parents, ancé and two close friends who are also members of our county American Dairy Association board. This group of people is not afraid to talk so it denitely did not seem like a long day to them. Watching the butter sculpture come together and listening to my Facebook Live segments was also a great way to pass the time. What was the most unique question you received during your Facebook Live segment of carving? How did you address this question? I was asked, “Why do you think the dairy princess program is important?” The dairy princess program is necessary. Dairy farmers do not always have the time or the resources to engage in public outreach. They have a lot on their plate. Being able to have dairy princesses and other dairy advocates to represent them allows farmers to focus on what they love doing, providing for their families, land, animals and the growing population. How do you plan to use your butter scraps, and what do you want to do with your butterhead? I have started to divide up the scraps, and I have been giving them to family, friends and my supporters who have helped me along the way. As far as my butterhead, I would love to showcase her at a county event if that would be possible in the next year. What will you remember most about being a Princess Kay nalist this summer? Becoming a Princess Kay nalist was a dream come true. It is something I will remember forever. Being able to represent hard-working dairy farmers has always been a passion of mine and being able to represent them on a wider scale was amazing. Plus, through this whole experience, I’ve met nine new people who will be lifelong friends.
Maggie Molitor Representing Stearns County What does it mean to have your likeness carved in butter? Becoming a butterhead has been something that I have always dreamed of. As a little girl, I remember pressing my face against the butter booth glass and staring intently at the mesmerizing and beautiful sculptures. I am beyond grateful and proud that I was given the opportunity represent the dairy community on this platform and have a butter sculpture of my own. Who attended your butterhead carving day, and how did they pass the time? My dad, sisters and cousin, Amanda, joined me on my butter carving day. My family enjoyed the day chatting, joking around and enjoying each other’s company. What was the most unique question you received during your Facebook Live segment of carving? How did you address this question? My favorite question was, “Who is your greatest role model?” I love to share the enormous impact my dad has made on my life. He has taught me so much about dairy farming and agriculture, but most importantly he has encouraged me to stay curious, ask questions and never stop learning. How do you plan to use your butter scraps, and what do you want to do with your butterhead? I am excited to share my butter sculpture with friends and family. I also love to bake, so I cannot wait to see what delicious treats I can make with my butter. What will you remember most about being a Princess Kay nalist this summer? The life-long connections and friendships I have created throughout this experience. It was incredibly fun being able to spend time with like-minded women who share the same passion as me. They all impacted and encouraged me to continue to pursue my goals and become the best advocate I could possibly be. Turn to BUTTERHEADS | Page 37
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Page 36 • Dairy Star • Saturday, September 12, 2020
Women In Dairy Bonnie Beard Decorah, Iowa Winneshiek County 130 cows Family: I have been married to my husband, Daniel, for almost 40 years. Our oldest child, Erin, is married to Torray Wilson and dairy farm with Torray’s family near Paullina, Iowa. They have four children: Audrey, 9, Nora, 7, James, 4, and Lewis, 3. Our son, Tom, is married to Maren. They farm next door to us at Luna Valley Farm, raising sheep, beef and pigs to direct market and to have meat for the pizzas they serve on their farm on Friday and Saturday nights. Our son, Sam, is engaged to Jennifer Schulz. They will be married in September, and they farm with us, being mostly responsible for raising the youngstock and grazing multiple animal groups. Our son, Parker, is engaged to Esther Ninos. They will be married in October, and they also farm with us, being responsible for grazing the dairy cows and bulls. Tell us about your farm. We farm about 1,100 acres of rolling hills in the northeast corner of Iowa. Parts of the land are wooded and very steep, making it most suitable for grazing. We sell our milk through Organic Valley’s grassmilk program, which means our dairy animals are not fed any grain, exclusively grass and hay. We also raise organic corn and small grains to sell. This year, we are experimenting with growing rye, black bean and Japanese millet. What is the busiest time of day for you? Oftentimes our midday meal is the busiest because the people I feed can be in many different places and packing food to take to the eld in a timely manner can be challenging for me. When you get a spare moment what do you do? I love to try new recipes using the food we produce on our farm. This time of year, I spend most of my free time canning tomatoes, freezing vegetables, making applesauce or bicycling with my husband. This year, our garden has potatoes, onions, leeks, tomatoes, eggplants, Brussel sprouts, broccoli, cauliower, peppers, basil and cilantro. We also have apple trees. It has taken me awhile to learn, but I now like to make meals I make up without having to follow a recipe. Tell us about your most memorable experience working on the farm. I feel like we make wonderful memories so often we don’t remember all of them. In our younger years, we would take beef calves to the sales barn in Lanesboro, Minnesota. These were animals owned with Daniel’s siblings so all the families
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would go along. We would load the truck with all our various sized bikes. To celebrate after the sale, we would ride the bike trail that runs behind the sales barn. It was so much fun to have all different aged cousins along with aunts and uncles riding with us on the trail. What have you enjoyed most about dairy farming or your tie to the dairy industry? I love that we have been working together as a family since we started. I nd it fullling to see the children who have worked beside all our lives discovering their passions and developing them, especially because they are passionate about farming. I also love that our chosen way of life allows us to be outside in the fresh air and the beauty of nature, and also keeps our bodies moving and healthy. How do you stay connected with others in the industry? We attend periodic cooperative meetings (that are now by phone or Zoom), eld days, and pasture walks organized by Organic Valley, Practical Farmers of Iowa and Land Stewardship Practice. Who is someone in the industry who has inspired you? Jane Siemon, wife of the rst CEO of Organic Valley. I believe she played a prominent (if unrecognized) part in the development of the cooperative into what it is today. Behind every good man is a good (strong, supportive, loyal and smart) woman. What is the best vacation you have ever taken? We went to Australia and New Zealand in 2004 when our daughter was studying abroad in college. We were just getting into grazing at the time, so we wanted to learn from farmers where grazing is common. We were fortunate to be able to be away for three weeks exploring. It was a very eye-opening experience, and people were so welcoming and generous. What are some words you like to live by? I am introverted so I need reminders of how we ought to live with others. Here are my three phrases I like to live by: Love God rst, others second. Treat others the way you like to be treated. Faith, hope and love; the greatest of these is love.
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Dairy Star • Saturday, September 12, 2020 • Page 37
ConĆ&#x;nued from BUTTERHEADS | Page 35 Val Sauder Representing Dodge County What does it mean to have your likeness carved in butter? I remember being a little girl and watching the Princess Kay coronation and seeing the princesses be sculpted, dreaming of the day that might be me. It was a little surreal to step into the butter booth and realize this was my dream coming true. The journey to this place has been nothing short of wonderful. Being a dairy princess gave me the opportunity to share my passions for our farmers and connect consumers with the story of their food. Besides that, making lifelong friends with the ďƒžnalists was a perk of the whole experience. I can’t explain how grateful and honored I am to be in this place and to have a butter twin of my own. Who attended your butterhead carving day, and how did they pass the time? My parents, Stan and Amy Sauder, my four younger sisters, Amanda, Ellie, Josie, and Dorothy, my grandpa, Dick Sauder, and my uncle, Duane Alberts, all found time to watch my carving. They were troopers and were there almost the entire time. My sisters brought homework and games, and a big speaker to listen to music. For the most part, they were able to enjoy each other’s company. What was the most unique question you received during your Facebook Live segment of carving? How did you address this question? One special one was asked by a friend who knew that my mom, Amy, was a ďƒžnalist in 1986 and had her own likeness carved in butter. They asked what had happened to her sculpture. I shared the sad story that it was not able to be used because someone at the plant where it was stored unknowingly threw it away. We learned our lesson, and my sculpture is safe in our own freezer. How do you plan to use your butter scraps, and what do you want to do with your butterhead? We’ve given out a good amount of scraps to family and friends who have had a part in my journey as a dairy princess, and I imagine the rest will be used by our family as we love to bake around the holiday season. The butter sculpture itself, I’m still unsure about. I would love to have a community event next summer as a way to give back to everyone who helped me get here. What will you remember most about being a Princess Kay ďƒžnalist this summer? The connections I’ve made. It was an extraordinary summer, even with all of the craziness in the world. Getting to know the ďƒžnalists, the staff at Midwest Dairy and making connections with the media all made such an impact on me and are relationships I hope to continue. This summer was certainly different than what past ďƒžnalists have had, but I am so grateful to everyone who did so much to make it a special experience for us.
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Rebeckah Schroeder Representing Houston County What does it mean to have your likeness carved in butter? Having my likeness sculpted in butter means everything to me because I have been working toward it my whole life. It is a reminder that all of my hard work and dedication to the dairy community has paid off. I can’t wait to use the experience and knowledge I gained through the Princess Kay program moving forward. I am proud to represent all Minnesota dairy farmers and their nutrient-
rich products. Who attended your butterhead carving day, and how did they pass the time? My parents, three siblings, boyfriend and aunt came to watch me on my carving day. To pass the time, they napped, played board games, soccer, cornhole and read the newspaper. A couple of them even ran some errands. It was relaxing for me and my family which is different from the normal Minnesota State Fair festivities. What was the most unique question you received during your Facebook Live segment of carving? How did you address this question? What chores demand the greatest concerns for safety on the farm? Everything we do on the farm needs to be safe not only for ourselves but for the safety of our products as well. As farmers, we want to be providing a safe product for everyone to consume which is why we have to follow rules and regulations for different aspects of the farm. For example, when we talk about milking on the farm, we have many protocols and regulations set by the United States Department of Agriculture as well as routine inspections to keep our milk safe. How do you plan to use your butter scraps, and what do you want to do with your butterhead? I plan to give some of my butter scraps to friends and family who have helped me get where I am today. As for my sculpture itself, I am planning to keep it for a while to show everyone as well as keep it in case my younger sister has one too. What will you remember most about being a Princess Kay ďƒžnalist this summer? I will remember the experiences I had with the ďƒžnalists. Although we are different people who come from many parts of the state, we all share the same enthusiasm and passion for the dairy community. It was fun getting to learn from and with them in the Princess Kay journey. This program has given me nine amazing girls who will be my friends well beyond coronation.
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What is a management practice you changed in the past year that has beneted you? We haven’t changed any management practices.
Brandon Higgins (from leŌ), Kerry Higgins, Keith Zastrow and Tom Zastrow milk 170 cows near Bonduel, Wisconsin. your employees? We are strictly a family farm with no additional employees.
What do you enjoy most about dairy farming? Working with the animals.
on your farm? Putting a new parlor in to make the cows milk more efciently.
ve years? We would like to add more cows over the next ve years.
What cost-saving steps have you implemented during the low milk price? We deal with more direct vendors to save on feed costs.
Tell us about a skill you possess that makes dairy farming easier for you. We are able to treat more of our own sick cows instead of having to call the vet.
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What has been your biggest accomplishment while dairy farming? Being able to buy enough land to be selfsufcient.
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How do you or your family like to spend time when you are not doing chores? We have a cabin and two ponds on the farm where we can go shing, hunting, four-wheeling or relax for the day.
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