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DAIRY ST R
Volume 22, No. 15
September 26, 2020
“All dairy, all the time”™
Koehl Farm celebrates centennial
Dairy builds parlor after milking in stanchion barn for 100 years By Stacey Smart
stacey.s@dairystar.com
DARIEN, Wis. – A century’s worth of a fond family tradition has cycled through multiple generations at Koehl Farm. Celebrating its centennial this year, the farm was purchased by the Koehl family in 1920. Today, Koehl Farm near Darien is run by brothers, Mike and George “Butch” Koehl, and Mike’s son, Shane, who is the fourth generation on the dairy. Moving forward while keeping one foot in the past, the Koehls update and improve their farm while preserving its heritage. While many things have changed on this century farm, some things never change – like the size of the milking herd, which consistently stays
STACEY SMART/DAIRY STAR
The Koehls – (from leŌ) Mike, Shane and George – own and operate Koehl Farm near Darien, Wisconsin. The Koehls milk 53 cows and farm over 300 acres.
around 50 head. Currently milking 53 cows twice a day, the Koehls put in a milking parlor this summer after 100 years of milking in a stanchion barn. “The parlor saves us close to three hours of labor per day,” said Shane, who has been on the farm full time for six years after spending 14 years as a teacher. The DeLaval double-6 parlor is a used model the Koehls eyed up 15 years ago when looking at freestall barns. They installed the parlor in their existing 50-stanchion barn built in 1953. The Koehls transformed the barn to accommodate a parlor setup, removing one side of stalls to make a return alley and creating a holding area out of the middle aisle. The plan is to remove the remaining stalls in the future and put in calf pens, leaving a couple stalls intact for treating cows. “Except for pouring the Turn to KOEHLS | Page 5
Minor fall creates major problems Farm accident becomes larger-than-expected ordeal for Hamm By Stacey Smart
stacey.s@dairystar.com
STACEY SMART/DAIRY STAR
Don Hamm and his daughter, Heather, stand in the maternity area which was rebuilt in 2015 following a re on their farm. The Hamms milk 300 cows and farm 400 acres near Fredonia, Wisconsin.
FREDONIA, Wis. – Don Hamm has faced his share of hardships in life, yet he feels extremely blessed. Because of Hamm’s many hardships, including the fatal farm accident of a family member, barn res, hip replacements and cornea transplants, farm safety is of the upmost importance for him and his family on their 300-cow dairy Sandy Loam Farm in Fredonia. One of Hamm’s latest trials occurred last summer when he took a 3-foot fall off a hay chopper – an incident that nearly cost Hamm his leg. On a beautiful evening in early June, Hamm was chopping hay when he noticed the cord was not attached to the chopper deector. He stopped and turned off the equipment, waiting to make sure everything was done moving before trying to x it. He then turned the spout sideways to step on the chopper so he could hook the cord back up.
“I tripped crawling up there,” Hamm said. “I only fell a few feet and then slipped over the top of the guard. It felt like it happened in slow motion. As I glanced to my left, I wanted to avoid hitting my head on the wagon hitch so I instinctively rolled a little to the right so I would hit the tire instead.” Hamm got up and dusted himself off, but he was sore and had trouble breathing. “I wasn’t feeling very good, and when I looked myself over, I saw some blood on my sock,” Hamm said. “Then I noticed the back of my leg looked pretty bad.” Hamm caught his calf on a little piece of metal on the tandem of the chopper and tore open his leg. He called his wife and daughter, and they drove him to the emergency room. His breathing was heavy, but there was not much blood or pain in his calf. He received a CAT scan, X-rays and an MRI, which revealed he had torn the rotator cuff on his right shoulder and had two busted ribs but no internal bleeding. The cut in his leg was three layers deep, 4 inches wide and required 30 stitches. “They bandaged me up and sent me home,” Hamm said. “I behaved myself
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