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DAIRY ST R
September 25, 2021
“All dairy, all the time”™
Volume 23, No. 15
Pasture walk highlights choices of young farmer
JENNIFER COYNE/DAIRY STAR
Jack Schouweiler explains his grazing system during a eld day Sept. 9 at his farm in Douglas County near Brandon, Minnesota. Shouweiler milks 70 cows.
SAMANTHA SCHOENBAUER/SDSU THE COLLEGIAN
Ashley Holst stands in the dairy barn at South Dakota State University where she is sophomore studying dairy producƟon and animal science. Holst uses cameras, online records and frequent phone calls to family to keep up with her home 140-cow dairy near Kellogg, Minnesota.
Schouweiler focuses on production, efficiency of land
Farming from ve hours away
By Jennifer Coyne
Holst continues managing home herd while at college
jenn@dairystar.com
BRANDON, Minn. – This year has been anything but normal for farmers across the Upper Midwest. For one young farmer it is all he has ever known, and adapting to the drier conditions is nothing out of the ordinary. “I’m learning, and I learn better trying,” Jack Schouweiler said. “This year has been different but I think it’s going to hold up pretty well.” Schouweiler and his mentor, Ben Wagner, hosted a farmer-led pasture walk for the Sustainable Farming Association and Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship on Sept. 9 at Schouweiler’s farm in Douglas County near Brandon. The 22-year-old farmer milks 70 cows, while he and Wagner together manage the land associated with the organic farm. During the eld day, Schouweiler and Wagner led discussions on pasture management, including intensive grazing strategies and ways to promote soil and plant health. They also talked about the opportunities that were available for the young farmer to establish his dairy herd. “I’m really proud of (Schouweiler) for taking over the operation,” Wagner said. “I started farming organically 20 years ago, and moving forward, (Schouweiler) is going to make things better here.” Schouweiler houses his herd in two groups at farm sites less than one mile from each other. Turn to SCHOUWEILER | Page 7
By Krista Kuzma
krista.k@dairystar.com
KELLOGG, Minn. – While Ashley Holst has enjoyed her experience as a student at South Dakota State University, it has come with adjustments.
“Now that I’m in college, I get homesick,” said the 19-year-old sophomore. She misses her family, but almost equally misses the cows on her family’s 140-cow dairy near Kellogg, Minnesota. To remedy this, Holst keeps up with the farm
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Ashley Holst and her dad, Jary, check over their family’s dairy herd on their farm near Kellogg, Minnesota.
as much as she can by texting and calling with her family, watching the barn cameras from her phone, looking at records online and scheduling cow management meetings on weekends when she is home. “I felt bad I was leaving everyone and leaving my cows. I’ve always been there for them,” Holst said. “I just up and left, and didn’t like how it felt for me, so I decided it needed to change. I had to keep doing what I could do from afar.” Holst takes on the role of herdsperson for the herd, which is owned by her parents, Jary and Celene, along with her brother, Jacob. Other family members – Jacob’s wife, Brittany; her brother, Isaac, and his wife, Courtney, along with their two young children; her older sisters, Abie and Natalie; and her younger sister, Beth – all contribute to the dairy in some way. They also have a 150-pair cow-calf beef herd. “The big thing for me is I can’t milk anymore and it drives me craTurn to HOLST | Page 6