LOOK INSIDE FOR OUR WORLD DAIRY EXPO PREVIEW EDITION!
DAIRY ST R
Prepare for a safe harvest
September 14, 2019
“All dairy, all the time”™
Volume 21, No. 14
A balance between tradition, progression
McKinney uses Know hazards of corn silage season robot to milk By Jennifer Coyne jenn@dairystar.com
MADISON, Wis. – Daylight is becoming less while the workdays get longer for dairy farmers preparing to begin one their busiest time of the year. Fall harvest brings excitement as a year’s worth of dedication is reaped in the crop. It is also a time of caution as many farm accidents occur during harvest. “We become so familiar with what we’re doing, we forget about the safety measures that might be right in front of us,” said Cheryl Skjolaas, agriculture safety and health specialist at the University of Wisconsin’s Center for Agriculture Safety and Health in Madison, Wis. To prepare for a safe harvest season, Skjolaas rst suggests farmers develop a plan with their work crew. “Create a daily checklist of what needs to get done,” Skjolaas said. “Just like a pilot has a list of points to check before they can y the plane, we also need a list.” Communication needs to be stressed within the plan, especially if a person is working alone. “Lone workers may get injured and no one would ever realize they’re caught in equipment or trapped somewhere,” Skjolaas said. “Have a communication plan and check in on people who are working on the farm.” Farmers should also make sure those helping with harvest are familiar with the equipment they will be operating and surrounded by. Many farmers hire individuals, particularly youth, who do not have the experience needed to properly operate certain machinery and need more supervision, Skjolaas said. Turn to SAFETY | Page 6
grazing herd
By Jennifer Coyne jenn@dairystar.com
WINTHROP, Minn. – When Darren McKinney considers the idea of dairy farming, he is insistent his cows are on pasture. So, when he was faced with the decision to upgrade his milking facilities or exit the dairy industry, McKinney found a progressive solution tailored to the farm’s traditional management style. “If we weren’t going to be able to dairy farm without pasturing our cattle, we didn’t want to dairy,” McKinney said. “And honestly, as it’s worked out, if this robot wasn’t here, there’s a good chance the cows Turn to MCKINNEY | Page 6
JENNIFER COYNE/DAIRY STAR
Darren McKinney aƩaches the milking unit to a cow using the manual seƫng on his double-box AMS Galaxy Astrea 20.20 robot at his 130-cow dairy farm near Winthrop, Minn. McKinney uses the manual seƫng of the robot for fresh heifers and cows.
Champions drink milk
Caledonia football coach promotes dairy as beverage of choice By Krista Kuzma
krista.k@dairystar.com
KRISTA KUZMA/DAIRY STAR
Coach Carl Fruechte (center) holds cartons of chocolate milk with players on the football team at Caledonia High School in Caledonia, Minn. The athletes are – (from leŌ) Jed Kasten, Blake Morrow, Logan Banse, Isaiah Reinhart, AusƟn Heaney, Jack Strub and Luke Twite.
CALEDONIA, Minn. – When it comes to a refueling drink, what do the nine-time state football champion Caledonia Warriors choose? Chocolate milk. For the last ve years, head coach Carl Fruechte has offered chocolate milk to his football players after practice and games. The football team’s booster club and the school’s food service staff help keep a stocked refrigerator in the coach’s room at the high school in Caledonia, Minn. “The science shows it’s just as good or equal to giving them a protein shake,” Fruechte said. “That protein will replenish and rebuild the muscles and makes recovery better.” As head coach since 1997 and a part of the coaching staff since 1988, Fruechte Turn to CALEDONIA | Page 5