Volume 27, No. 5
“All dairy, all the time”™
From ames to restoration in 19 days
PHOTO COURTESY OF
milk 16 cows.
By
ROGERS, Minn. — Baby animals are known for being cute and cuddly.
The Scherber family is capitalizing on that, along with their location close to the Twin Cities metro, to start a business, Curious Cows and Company. Here, guests can come to their farm and have a cuddle session with calves.
“We offer cuddling sessions and farm tours,” Quinci (Scherber) Schmidt said. “That is a way for everyone to see how a small family farm
Schmuckers’ cows return to rebuilt barn three weeks after re
By Amy Kyllo amy.k@star-pub.com
ST. CHARLES, Minn. —
On March 31, Jacob and Barbara Schmucker’s herd returned to a rebuilt barn less than three weeks after a re destroyed the original barn.
“I still hear that (re) in my sleep, crackling, popping,” Jacob Schmucker said.
The Schmuckers milk by hand 16 organic cows, with a capacity for 22, alongside their seven children near St. Charles. They farm 127 owned and rented acres, raising corn, soybeans, oats, hay and pasture. In addition to their milking herd, they have a poultry barn with a capacity of 10,000 laying hens. The Schmuckers also own 40 horses and colts, for their own use and to train and sell as well.
The Schmuckers, who are members of the Amish community, had a barn raising eight days after the re,
with 122 men from four communities working to rebuild.
“It gives you a mood lift to have all these people come,” Schmucker said. “It makes you feel really small because everybody comes and works for you, but at the same time, it makes you feel good that you’re part of something like that. It’s part of our culture.”
The re started Wednesday, March 12, around 8:25 a.m. after milking. It started in the diesel engine room next to the milkhouse, which powered the bulk tank cooling mechanism.
Schmucker was in the milk house when he discovered the re and tried to put it out through the window from the milk house to the engine room.
“I just jerked open the bulk tank and started dipping milk out through that window,” Schmucker said. “(The re) went down, but then I heard it burning upstairs, and it was already in the hay mow.”
Schmucker and his family moved the 50 head of cows, youngstock, horses and foals out of the barn in about ve minutes with the help of their blue-heeler dogs barking and chasing the animals. Schmucker said the dogs
Cuddly, curious cows
operates. People are very curious (about) what goes on in the barns.”
Schmidt farms full time with her dad, John, and they milk 120 cows with two Lely A5 robotic milking units near Rogers. Schmidt and her brother, Caleb Scherber, got the idea from Caleb bringing his kids out to the farm and watching them playing with the baby calves.
“One of the reasons we started Curious Cows is that we have a lot of urban development in our area, and
ST. CHARLES PRESS/LEWISTON JOURNAL Flames billow from the haymow of Jacob and Barbara Schmucker’s barn March 12 on their farm near St. Charles, Minnesota. The barn re started around 8:25 a.m. The Schmuckers
TIFFANY KLAPHAKE/DAIRY STAR
Caleb Scherber (le ) and Quinci Schmidt stand April 14 at their farm near Rogers, Minnesota. The brother-sister duo launched a calf-cuddling business at their family’s farm last year.
DAIRY ST R
ISSN Print: 2834-619X • Online: 2834-6203 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave. Sauk Centre, MN 56378 Phone: 320-352-6303 Fax: 320-352-5647 www.dairystar.com
Published by Star Publications LLC
General Manager/Editor
Mark Klaphake - mark.k@dairystar.com
320-352-6303 (ofce) 320-248-3196 (cell) 320-352-0062 (home) Ad Composition - 320-352-6303
Production Manager - Nancy Powell nancy.p@dairystar.com
Assistant Production Manager
Annika Gunderson • annika@star-pub.com
Karen Knoblach • karen.k@star-pub.com
Editorial Staff
Stacey Smart - Assistant Editor 262-442-6666 • stacey.s@dairystar.com
Danielle Nauman - Staff Writer 608-487-1101 • danielle.n@dairystar.com
Dan Wacker - Staff Writer 608-487-3858 • dan.w@dairystar.com
Tiffany Klaphake - Staff Writer 320-352-6303 • tiffany.k@dairystar.com
Amy Kyllo - Staff Writer amy.k@star-pub.com
Sarah Middendorf - Staff Writer sarah.m@star-pub.com
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@saukherald.com
National Sales Manager - Laura Seljan (National Advertising, SE MN) 507-250-2217 • fax: 507-634-4413
laura.s@dairystar.com
Assistant Sales Manager - Kati Schafer (Northeast WI and Upper MI) 920-979-5284 • kati.s@dairystar.com
Adam McClary (SW MN, NW Iowa, SD, Nebraska) 605-864-7917 • adam.m@dairystar.com
Mike Schafer (Central, South Central MN) 320-894-7825 • mike.s@dairystar.com
Hannah Ullom (Western Wisconsin) 715-933-4045 • hannah.u@dairystar.com
Keya Sleister (Eastern IA, Southwest WI, IL) 563-608-5988 • keya.s@dairystar.com
Julia Merten (Southeast MN and Northeast IA) 507-438-7739 • julia.m@star-pub.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)
Deadlines
The deadline for news and advertising in the Dairy Star is 5 p.m. Friday the week before publication.
Subscriptions
One year subscription $42.00, outside the U.S. $200.00. 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
acceptance of the advertiser's order.
and
so we have a lot of new faces in the area,” Scherber said. “We are a family farm that has been here for a while, but most people do not know who we are. They may see the tractors driving by and the barns, but not necessarily see us, the farmers. So, I thought this would be a good way to open up our doors to the community to share who we are.”
The brother-sister duo launched their business last summer and from September 2024 to January 2025 they have had at least one group come in every week. Calf cuddling sessions can be booked for 1-8 people per session.
Scherber maintains a full-time job in town, but comes out to the farm as often as he can.
“People see a lot of stuff on social media, but this is a way for people to have an on-farm experience,” Scherber said. “A lot of people are craving that. Especially in the fall when the apple orchards and pumpkin patches are open.”
The two also liked the idea of the calf cuddling business as a way to diversify their farm with little up-front cost.
“This was a great way to start,” Schmidt said. “The farmer and cow relationship is really important to me and I wanted to share that with our
Calves lounge in the calf cuddling pen April 14 at the Scherber family farm near Rogers, Minnesota. Calf cuddling sessions can be booked for 1-8 people per session.
community. I am with the cows every day and I love their personalities. We answer any questions (guests) may have about dairy and give them an experience.”
When the siblings rst thought
Letters
of
about starting their business, they heard about a farm in New York that offered calf cuddling sessions as a way to encourage people to visit their farm
Turn to SCHERBERS | Page 5
TIFFANY KLAPHAKE/DAIRY STAR
Optimal hoofcare for dairy
and on-site creamery. Scherber and Schmidt reached out to the owners to get pointers on starting this type of business.
“The farm in New York became our mentor,” Scherber said. “We had never had any other businesses with the farm, so everything was new to us.”
The calves that are used in the cuddle sessions are 3-4 months old because they are weaned and are not constantly looking for milk.
“People come here to snuggle,” Schmidt said. “They want it to be relaxing. We have music playing in the background and they are looking to have the calves lay their head in the customer’s lap.”
Schmidt makes sure the calves are fed prior to a cuddle session so they are calm and relaxed.
“We found what personality styles work best for a calm cuddling experience,” Schmidt said. “Just like with humans, the calves have different personalities, some are calmer and some are more mischievous. It’s our job as farmers to know which calves are ready for it.”
The siblings said there was a bit of a learning curve when they rst started.
“The calves are always
calm around me because I am always here,” Schmidt said. “It was hard at rst because when the guest would come, the calves would run around like crazy.”
After a few adjustments to the methods they learned from the New York farm, the Scherbers found a good sys-
tem. In addition to the cuddling session, guests can go on a tour of the farm. Besides the milking robots, the Scherber family farm has robotic calf feeders, manure scrapers, a feed pusher and a feed mixer that feeds the animals multiple times a day.
“It is interesting with the farm tours, it reaches out to a different group than we expected,” Scherber said. “It’s not just schools and kids, it’s adults and techy people. Many of them can’t believe how the robots work and how much technology we have.”
The brother-sister duo
said the majority of guests who sign up for the cuddle sessions and farm tours are couples looking for a unique date night.
“It always melts my heart when I see the calves being cuddled,” Schmidt said. “It is so heartwarming to know that people can get that experience with our cows. I never realized that so many people’s favorite animal is a cow.”
The feedback from guests has been positive and the Scherbers are already looking forward to expanding their website to add an online store.
“Most people tell us they want to come back,” Scherber said. “Most people don’t know what to expect, but quite often when they leave, they can’t wait to tell their friends.”
In the near future, Scherber and Schmidt are looking to add an on-farm store and in the long term they would like to add on-farm processing to make and sell ice cream from their farm.
“Our mom has been making natural lotions and jams and we already offer garlic and eggs, which are super popular,” Scherber said. “This has been a fun thing to get us started in the valueadded business.”
KLAPHAKE/DAIRY STAR
Quinci Schmidt pets a calf April 14 at her family’s farm near Rogers, Minnesota. Schmidt is the fourth genera on on her family’s farm.
were vital as the smoke got to the point where they could
“We had just enough time to get everything out,” Schmucker said. “By that time, it was high time to be out of there.”
The re went wild in the hay mow, helped along by a southeast wind.
“You’re thinking, ‘No, this can’t be happening to us,’ but it is,” Schmucker said. “It’s your worst nightmare come true.”
The re department arrived and kept water on all three siloes and was able to save them, including the silo built into the middle of the barn. A nearby grain bin was half full of oats, and the Schmuckers discovered oats burning inside a week after the re. They discarded three gravity boxes of grain to end the re.
Schmucker and his family moved to the farm and started dairy farming less than a year ago, in May 2024. After moving in, they also built a chicken facility and doubled their ock. Previously, they had crop farmed and raised 5,000 laying hens.
“That was pretty tough to move here, buy the farm and then lose a barn right away, but now we’re going to have a nice barn,” Schmucker said. “It’ll work out.”
The barn had housed the farm’s water supply. A water tank in the hay mow served as a water tower-style system to supply water to the dairy and horse barn and the chicken barn. Within two hours of the re, a neighbor had a tanker truck of water at the farm for the chickens.
The Schmuckers let the barn burn
for two days. On Friday, March 14, Schmucker said people were in his yard wanting to get the rubble cleaned up and to have a construction crew get the new barn’s blocks laid by Saturday night.
“I had thought we would maybe wait a week or so … but people came and went to work and said, ‘Let’s go.’” Schmucker said.
They used the old barn’s footings and by Saturday evening, March 16, all 1,800 blocks were laid.
The next week they hosted a barn raising. The barn was already built up to the hay mow oor when they started, Turn to SCHMUCKERS
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Amish men work on rebuilding Jacob and Barbara Schmucker’s barn March 20 on their farm near St. Charles, Minnesota. One hundred and twenty-two Amish men came for the barn raising that day.
AMY KYLLO/DAIRY STAR
Cows stand in their stalls April 8 at Jacob and Barbara Schmucker’s barn near St. Charles, Minnesota. The Schmuckers operate an organic dairy farm.
AMY KYLLO/DAIRY STAR
Sunlight illuminates the barn April 8 at Jacob and Barbara Schmucker’s farm near St. Charles, Minnesota. The Schmuckers’ barn burned down March 12, and by March 31, they had a new barn built and the cows back on the farm.
and by the end of the day, most of the roof was on, 50% of the steel side wall was in place and some cement had been poured.
Schmucker said he has helped at similar Amish community events before, but never one with this many people.
“That was something to see,” Schmucker said. “There were three guys managing people. That’s all they did.”
Besides rebuilding, the Schmuckers were assisted in other ways by their Amish community and their non-Amish neighbors. Schmucker said many people dropped off supplies for the barn, like 5-gallon buckets, wheelbarrows and pitchforks. They received enough food to feed the barn raising crew and their families and for the Schmuckers to eat for three weeks without hardly having to cook.
On March 31, the cows were back in the new barn. The cows had been housed at two neighbors’ farms and the Schmuckers had helped with chores.
The rebuilt barn is similar to the old one. The Schmuckers reversed the side of the barn the cows are on, making the cow side closest to the milk house instead of the horse side. The Schmuckers also plan to rebuild the engine room for cooling, separate and away from the barn, to reduce re hazard.
“Hopefully it never happens again, but if it does, it would at least give us a little time,” Schmucker said. “If we would have had 15 minutes, we would have got (this re).”
The Schmuckers are thankful for the community support.
“Without that there’s no way we could get to this point in this short of time; absolutely impossible,” Schmucker said. “It’s a good thing.”
‘04 JD 1590
No Till Drill, 20 Ft, Grass Seed, Scale, 2 Pt Hitch - $52,500
‘21 JD 324G
3185 Hrs,2 Spd,ISO H-Pattern Switch Standard Flow,Self Level,A/C,Pwr Quick Attach,Cold Start Pkg. - $39,900
‘01 JD 1750
Tru-V Opener,Dry Fertilizer,Row Cleaner w Tapered Wheels $17,900
Hwy 68 Waupun, WI 53963 | 920-324-3537 M - F: 7:30am - 7:00pm Sat.: 7:30am - 3:00pm Sun.: 11am-1pm (Parts only)
New FFA chapter chartered
Members, adviser work on dairy farms
By Sherry Newell Staff writer
MONTICELLO, Minn.
In an increasingly urban Minnesota school district, an FFA chapter has been reborn. With it, three local dairy farms have become beneciaries through chapter ofcers who are part-time employees.
During the Minnesota FFA Convention, April 2829 in the Twin Cities, Monticello FFA will receive its charter. John Payne, chapter president, Lea Hanson, vice president, and Elliot Sala, secretary, are among those attending and competing in Career Development Events.
The newly formed chapter has no members from dairy farms, but Payne, Hanson and Sala will all have cows to milk before and after the trip. Payne works for Krause Holsteins near Buffalo, Sala works for New-Vue Ayrshires near Maple Lake, and Hanson works both for New-Vue and also Abel Dairy near Monticello.
Their teacher and FFA adviser, Jacob Wilts, also spends some of his morn-
ings before school working at Green Waves Dairy near St. Michael.
Monticello’s FFA disappeared in the 1980s, but efforts by students like Payne and Hanson led the district to allocate a half-time teacher and several agriculture, food and natural resource classes, and charter a new FFA chapter. Plans are in place for a full-time teaching and advising position next fall.
Wilts, who graduated from Monticello High School during the time FFA did not exist there, moved from the Buffalo school district to ll the adviser position. He credits seniors like Payne, Hanson and Sala with bringing back FFA to Monticello.
“This whole senior class (of FFA members) had been asking why we couldn’t have FFA,” Wilts said. “They made the case that if the school wanted something to prepare students for real life, FFA was it.”
She now milks 65 cows in a tiestall barn at Abel Dairy, and 30 cows in a double-6 parlor at New-Vue Ayrshires.
“It’s hard work, but it’s
Soon after the FFA was established, Lea Hanson overheard a conversation about dairy farms looking for help milking cows. Her longtime interest was horses, but she was anxious to leave a hospital job to be closer to animals, and dairy t the bill.
worth it,” Hanson said. “I like learning. Just today we saw what the inside of a milker looks like when it had to be xed.”
Hanson recruited fellow FFA member Sala for dairy farm work.
“I really, really needed to nd a job,” Sala said. “This is probably the favorite job I’ve had.”
SHERRY NEWELL/DAIRY STAR
Elliot Sala (from le ), Jacob Wilts and Lea Hanson visit April 16 in the feed alley at New-Vue Ayrshires near Maple Lake, Minnesota. Hanson and Sala are FFA members who have been working at the dairy, using the experience for their on-the-job training supervised by Wilts.
SHERRY NEWELL/DAIRY STAR
John Payne smiles April 16 in front of the agriculture, food and natural resources room at Mon�cello High School in Mon�cello, Minnesota.
Payne was instrumental in ge�ng an FFA chapter started at the school and works part �me at Krause Dairy near Buffalo.
Sala’s current employer had reduced his hours, which gave getting the job on the dairy urgency.
Sala lives in town and shows sheep in 4-H. He said the hardest part of milking cows is the occasional kick.
“It’s hard to know which cows are which; they all look the same,” he said. “One time I had to call Lea at 6:30 a.m. to ask a question.”
For Payne, working part time at Krause Dairy was an extension of his previous experience with beef cattle and something different than his four years working at the Pizza Factory in Big Lake.
“I’d never really worked in dairy,” he said. “I really like being able to see new farm operations.”
At the dairy, Payne milks and takes care of calves, mainly on weekends.
Wilts, who supervises the school’s on-the-job training program for the other half of his teaching appointment, knows how to evaluate the dairy jobs of his students.
Wilts’ work at Green Waves Dairy was full time after he graduated from South Dakota State University during the corona-
SHERRY NEWELL/DAIRY STAR
Mon�cello FFA member Lea Hanson preps a cow April 2 at NewVue Ayrshires near Maple Lake, Minnesota. Hanson has worked at New-Vue Ayrshires and at Abel Dairy for on-the-job training credit at school.
virus pandemic, when jobs were hard to nd. He had worked at the dairy as a student, and Mark Berning at Green Waves offered him more hours while he waited for teaching jobs to open.
All three of the student dairy farm workers are headed off to college soon — Hanson to Montana for equine studies, Sala to South Dakota State University for animal science and Payne to Lake Superior College for aviation — potentially creating openings on the dairies where they now work.
Their fellow FFA members may be a source of replacements.
“I’m already recruiting,” Hanson said. “I can get someone trained in.”
New plants, new problems: expansion pressures market
California milk production has slipped, but other states are seeing expansion. “Those states that run from I-29 through the Texas Panhandle, we’re continuing to see some ongoing growth there as new plants come online,” said Ever.Ag principal Mike North In North’s view, this national trend will impact the dairy markets. “As we talk about cheese production, the number of new facilities that are coming online right now is such that by the end of the year we’re going to have 360 million pounds of cheese that do not have a home,” he said. Domestic or foreign demand will need to grow signicantly to get ahead of that supply curve. The demand outlook is complicated by the current tariff strategy.
Supply, demand report released
Ag Insider
According to the April U.S. Department of Agriculture’s World Agricultural Supply and Demand Report, the forecast for 2025 milk production was increased to nearly 227 billion pounds. That’s due to a slightly higher milk output on a per-cow basis and a larger milk herd. The forecast for exports was raised due to higher butter shipments. Imports are expected to decline in response to the new tariffs. Class III milk prices are lower, with lower price expectations for cheese and whey.
es from the trade war with China. In an interview with the Red River Farm Network, Klobuchar said she’ll advocate for that assistance, but that doesn’t solve the problem. “The last time I checked, our farmers wanted trade, not aid and this idea that we’re just going to throw a bunch of money at it when we could allow them to be expanding markets,” said Klobuchar. “To me, the longterm solution is expanding markets.”
Glessing urges action on farm bill
electric power. An OMB spokesperson said no nal decisions have been made.
Minnesota farm groups seek to intervene in water litigation
North America dealers.
By Don Wick Columnist
Minnesota Farm Bureau President Dan Glessing is calling for swift passage of a modernized farm bill, arguing that outdated safety net programs leave farmers vulnerable to economic stress. “If we would have passed the farm bill with updated numbers to reect the inationary or the input pricing increases that we’ve seen in farming, would we have needed that economic assistance?” he said. “I would tend to think not.” Glessing also raised concerns over trade instability, citing worries related to U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement renegotiations and tariff uncertainty. “A good fair trade deal is kind of the goal of it, but it’s going to cost us because we put a lot of inputs into our farms and ranches.”
County government ofce closures proposed
The Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, Minnesota Trout Unlimited and the Minnesota Well Owners Organization are suing the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. They claim these state agencies have not done enough to protect ground and surface water in the Karst and Central Sands regions. A coalition of nine mainstream farm groups is seeking to intervene in this lawsuit to support MPCA and the agriculture department. The groups in the farm coalition represent the dairy, corn, soybean, wheat, pork, beef, turkey and sugarbeet trade associations and Farm Bureau.
Rollins, Thompson tour Pennsylvania dairy farm Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and House Agriculture Committee Chair Glenn “GT” Thompson toured a Pennsylvania dairy farm Tuesday. Rollins told reporters the administration’s tariff policy is “disruptive,” but she believes it will be a short-term adjustment. Rollins said she hopes it won’t be necessary, but President Trump is ready to provide nancial assistance to farmers if they are hurt by the trade situation.
Senators press U.S. trade ofce on impact of tariffs on farmers
Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar and 18 of her colleagues have sent a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, seeking information on the administration’s tariff agenda. The lawmakers want to determine if an analysis was done to consider the tariffs’ impact on agriculture. “Are you looking at just what the president wants to do that day, or are you actually looking at how this affects farmers?” Klobuchar said. In the rst Trump administration, farmers received market transition payments to offset the loss-
A government executive is reporting that the Trump administration is planning signicant cuts at the USDA, including ofce closures at the county level. The publication got access to documents from the Ofce of Management and Budget for the 2026 scal year. In the document, OMB orders USDA to develop plans to consolidate county-based Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service and Rural Development ofces. Budget savings would also be made by reductions in research funding, the elimination of the McGovern-Dole and Food for Peace grant programs and many rural infrastructure programs for waste treatment, drinking water and
three main reports that I use are the lactation report, herd summary and heifer calf listing. Those give me most of the information that I’m looking for.
Which is your favorite and why? The rst one I go to is the somatic cell count report, both herd and individual. It helps me cull problem cows.
How do you use them within your dairy? We use the production and SCC reports for culling decisions and use the fat, protein, and MUN reports to evaluate feed ration changes.
How does testing with DHIA bene t your dairy operation? It gives me paperwork to track all the cattle and reports on which cows to breed. It’s just great information to track everything for your herd. You have a lifetime of information on them, where they came from, when they born, their sire and dam, and so much more.
Tell us about your farm. My wife Becky and I and our children milk 40 cows. We also farm 220 acres of corn, wheat and alfalfa. My dad comes out and helps as needed too.
Driving
dairy demand
The Midwest Dairy annual report highlights how the dairy checkoff built trust with consumers, increased dairy sales, invested in research and developed dairy leaders. The report cites Midwest Dairy’s partnership with three major pizza chains this past year: Marco’s Pizza, Pizza Ranch and Godfathers. The cheese promotions drove an additional 3.4 million pounds of milk sales.
‘19 N-H 50 Boomer, Cab, 4x4, Hydro, 2600 Hrs .$19,500
‘05 N-H TC-33DA, 4x4, Loader, Mower, Hydro, 1996 Hours .......................................................$13,500
‘06 N-H TZ-25DA, Cab, 4x4, 1377 Hours .............$5,950
‘17 Case IH 125 Maxxum, MFD, 1750 Hours .....$79,500
‘59 I-H 460 ............................................................$4,000
‘44 Farmall M ........................................................$1,950
‘50 Farmall Cub, white demostrator ......................$3,500
‘68 Oliver 1750, Loader, Cab ................................$8,900
USED SKIDSTEERS
‘20 E50 Excavator, 5 Hours ................................$72,000
‘22 E35i Excavtor, Cab with A/C, 80 Hours ........$48,500
‘15 418 Mini Exc, 906 Hours ...............................$13,900
‘19 MT-85, 1468 Hours .......................................$16,900
‘04 MT-52, 1238 Hours .......................................$17,900
‘20 T-870, Glass Cab with A/C, 2 Speed, 1475 Hrs ...........................................................$69,500
‘19 T-770, Glass Cab with A/C, 2 Spd, 870 Hrs..$65,000
‘14 T-590, Glass Cab with A/C, 3950 Hrs ...........$32,900
(3) S-76, Glass Cab with A/C, 2 Speed, 680 Hrs and up ................................Starting at $42,500
‘15 S-770, Glass Cab with A/C, 2 Speed, 1775 Hrs ...........................................................$46,900
‘21 S-740, Glass Cab with A/C, 2 Speed, Hi Flow, 6600 Hrs ...........................................................$28,900
(2) 2012 S-650, Glass Cab with A/C, 2 Speed, 2500 Hrs & Up .................................Starting at $28,900
‘14 S-530, Glass Cab & Heater, 2 Speed, 5360 Hrs ...........................................................$19,700 ‘02 S-250, Glass Cab with A/C, 6900 Hours .......$17,500 (3) S-185, Glass Cab with A/C, 2000 Hrs and up ..............................Starting at $18,500 ‘92 7753, Glass Cab and Heater, 3600 Hrs ........$10,500 USED TILLAGE W-R
Glen Christen
40 cows • Sauk Centre, Minnesota Testing with DHIA since 1977
The
Bongards announces patronage, divi-
payments
At its annual membership meeting, Bongards Creameries reported 2024 earnings of $75 million on sales of $931 million. Patronage earnings of $62.6 million resulted in a 20% cash payment to members of $.676/ hundredweight. Also paid to members were dividends from a New Market Tax Credit of $.125/hundredweight. It was also announced that Bongards will revolve 2014 equity in the amount of $4.5 million and members will receive those checks before Aug. 1, 2025. Bongards’ members also heard updates on the performance of plant operations, investments in plant equipment, sales and future opportunities for their co-op.
Dairy export excellence recognized
The U.S. Dairy Export Council has announced the winners of its Excellence in Exports Awards. Actus Nutrition, which was formerly known as Milk Specialties Global, was recognized for introducing U.S. caseins and caseinates to the global market. David Ahlem of Hilmar Cheese Company was honored for developing innovations in dairy exports.
Star nalists named
The nalists for the Minnesota FFA star awards have been announced.
•
Marin Knott of Tracy Area FFA are nalists for the star in agri-science. The star in agribusiness nalists are Adreanna Kaas of Milaca, Ole Rogness of Litcheld, Jilian Schoenfeld of Russell-Tyler-Ruthon and Eden Messerli of Gibbon Fairfax Winthrop. The students in the running for the star in production placement are Sarah Arends of Ada-Borum-West, Derik Johnson of Willmar, Samantha Henning of Jackson County Central and William Bastian of Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop. The Minnesota FFA Convention will be April 27-28 in the Twin Cities.
Trivia challenge
The loose ap of skin on the underside of the dairy cow’s neck is known as a dewlap. That answers our last trivia question. For this week’s trivia, what is the brand behind the iconic blue siloes that dot the countryside? We’ll have the answer in our next edition of the Dairy Star.
Don Wick is owner/broadcaster for the Red River Farm Network of 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 sons, Tony and Sam, and ve grandchildren, Aiden, Piper, Adrienne, Aurora and Sterling.
Chris Schafer of Grand Rapids and
Creating change from tillage to manure
Czech family named Morrison County’s Outstanding Conservationist
By Rae Lanzrath raeanna.l@star-pub.com
LITTLE FALLS,
Minn.
Conservation efforts vary across agricultural operations, but for the Czech family of rural Little Falls, land stewardship is an avenue to healthier crops and a stronger dairy herd.
The Czech family is the recipient of the Outstanding Conservationist award from the Morrison Soil & Water Conservation District. They were recognized as their county’s award winner by the Minnesota Association of Soil & Water Conservation Districts during its annual convention.
Dave and Betty Czech own and operate Czech Dairy with the help of their four children — Joe, Josh, Scott and Taylor. They milk 240 cows in a double-12 parlor and grow around 480 acres of corn and alfalfa on the fth-
“It was honestly very surprising,” Dave said. “We feel like there’s always room for growth, more we could be doing.”
The award is bestowed upon members of the community who work with their local SWCD and go above and beyond in their conservation efforts. Several SWCDs in the state recognize conservationists in their respective jurisdictions. The Czechs were one of the few dairy producers throughout Minnesota nominated for the award. Conservation efforts on the operation range from reducing tillage to manure storage. The
13 generation farm.
RAE LANZRATH/DAIRY STAR
Josh (from le ), Joe, Dave and Sco Czech gather at Czech Dairy Feb. 5 near Li le Falls, Minnesota. The family has implemented conserva on prac ces on their dairy such as a covered manure stacking slab, ver cal llage, cover crops and the reduc on of herbicides and pes cides.
Czech family has spent several years researching ways to reduce their footprint, and have made several changes to their farm.
“It’s a long process,” Dave said. “It denitely doesn’t happen overnight.”
The family’s efforts ofcially began in 2018 with the purchase of their rst vertical tillage disc.
“We had been doing research for a few years, but that was the rst step,” Scott said.
Prior to purchasing the disk, the family observed poor soil conditions and knew it was time to make a change.
“The ground always seemed loose, with little structure to it,” Joe said. “We heard guys who did minimal tillage saying that would make it less muddy.”
Dave said they listened to podcasts and learned more about minimal and no-till practices as well as how the practices were affecting overall soil conditions.
“You start with one thing,” Joe said. “It just kind of dominoes into more and more things you can be doing.”
Originally, the family had an outdoor manure storage area. After switching to minimal tillage, they decided to install buffer strips to help avoid runoff. Since then, the
farm has changed its solid manure storage into a covered stacking slab. By doing this, there is no runoff from rainfall or snow melt.
“It’s easier to manage, and we’re only hauling it once in the fall,” Dave said.
In the elds, the family has started planting cover crops to reduce wind erosion and made efforts to reduce spraying of herbicides and pesticides.
They plan to continue reducing tillage and spray-
ing and are working toward growing conventional corn.
While most of the conservation efforts are taking place outside of the barn, the end goal is to provide better conditions for the animals inside.
“The better feed we grow, the better our animals are eating, the better they produce for us,” Joe said. “It just makes sense.”
The animals are the driving force behind the Czechs’ conservation efforts, he said.
Dave said they plan to
(Le�) Manure is loaded into the spreader at the Czech family farm near Li�le Falls, Minnesota. The farm has changed its solid manure storage into a covered manure stacking slab which prevents runoff from rainfall or snow melt.
continue learning about how they can practice conservation and become better stewards of the land.
“In the long run, it’s better for the farm,” he said.
(Below) A ver�cal disc is pulled behind a tractor at the Czech farm near Li�le Falls, Minnesota. The Czechs milk 240 cows and farm 480 acres.
from our side our side OF THE
Mike Peterson Willow River, Minnesota Pine County 300 cows
When did you or when will you get started with spring eldwork? We started on the sand ground April 16. We put in barley. As of today (April 21), we have 80 acres of barley in and the spring manure hauled out. The rest of the elds are too wet and cold to do anything with.
What crops do you raise, and how many acres of each do you have? This year, we plan to plant 250 acres of barley, 525 acres of corn and 100 acres of soybeans. We have 300 acres of straight alfalfa and 300 acres of clover/grass established.
What kind of equipment maintenance and preparations do you do before spring eldwork starts? We try to service everything. We oil and grease everything and check the tie rods, check all the uids, blow out radiators, air lters, etc. We also go through all the eld equipment.
What is the latest and earliest date you have started in the eld? The earliest we put in corn up here is the rst of May, and the latest we got started was May 18, but one year, we didn’t get done until June 3. The earliest we planted small grain was April 9, and we once planted small grain on July 5.
Who is all involved during spring eld work? We have family who get it done. My brother, Matt, helps, as do my son, Will, my dad, Stan, and two nephews, Garrett and Levi. Matt, Stan and Will do tillage, and I do most of the planting. Levi and Garrett ll in by running seed and picking rocks.
What’s the most recent change you’ve made in seeding or eld management practices? This year, we are going to seed the barley straight and harvest the barley. Then, I plan to no-till in an alfalfa, clover and timothy mix. For some elds I have on a 1-year lease, I plan to harvest the barley as grain and plant a second barley crop and harvest it as forage. This year, we plan to put some cover crops on some of the corn we chop.
Tell us about a unique spring eld work memory you have. One year on May Day, I was plowing and had to pick up a fawn in the furrow and move it to the end of the eld. We have had that before when I was cutting hay. I was watching for little circles, and I moved a fawn to the edge of the eld as well.
Tell us about your farm. Matt and I own the farm. His sons, Nolan and Brock, help after school and on the weekends. Will helps full time on the farm. We have our cows in a freestall barn with sand bedding. We milk three times a day in a double-8 parallel parlor. We have hired help for the milkings.
Paul Halderson (middle, pictured with his sons, Ted and Joel)
Galesville, Wisconsin
Trempeleau County
1,250 cows
When did you or when will you get started with spring eldwork? We’ve been pumping manure for two weeks now and started putting down anhydrous ammonia this week. We’re hoping to get seed in the ground later this month. The hay looks good this year, so we won’t add new seeding. We plan on planting corn between the 25th and the end of the month.
What crops do you raise, and how many acres of each do you have? We raise 2000 acres of corn and a couple hundred acres of soybeans and 500 acres of hay.
What kind of equipment maintenance and preparations do you do before spring eldwork starts? My sons, who work on the farm, do all our maintenance as it is needed. When we get into the eld, our goal is not to have any breakdowns, so we do a lot of preventative maintenance. My son says that, if you don’t take time for maintenance, maintenance will make time for you.
What is the latest and earliest date you have started in the eld? The latest we had gotten in was the May 10. That was a really wet spring, and it rained quite a bit. Even last year was a late start, given how much it rained. The earliest I’ve been in the eld was at the end of March, planting oats. That was a few years back.
Who is all involved during spring eld work? My two sons, Joel and Ted, do all of the planting of our crops. I usually do the alfalfa planting. We have the help of some retired people who help us on the farm during planting season.
What’s the most recent change you’ve made in seeding or eld management practices? We went to 20-inch rows on our corn two years ago. There’s been a trend for narrow rows for corn silage. We had higher yields when we experimented on green corn, and since making the switch, we’ve had higher yields overall.
Tell us about a unique spring eld work memory you have. Two years ago, we bought a 24-row, 20-inch planter. When I started, I was using a 4-row, 38-inch planter, and comparing those two is incredible. The difference from where we were when I started to where we are now is tremendous.
Dan Roerick Upsala, Minnesota Morrison County 100 cows
When did you or when will you get started with spring eldwork? We did some tillage today (April 15), then plan to haul manure for a few days.
What crops do you raise, and how many acres of each do you have? We grow corn, alfalfa and oats as a cover crop. We will have 120 acres of corn, 80 acres of alfalfa and 25 acres of oats under-seeded with alfalfa.
What kind of equipment maintenance and preparations do you do before spring eldwork starts? We replace eld cultivator shovels as needed and grease tractors, planters and all sup-port equipment.
What is the latest and earliest date you have started in the eld? I recall a few years back that I helped a neighbor seed oats on March 28 and have planted corn as late as June 5.
Who is all involved during spring eld work? My son, Jacob, and I do all the spring tillage. My wife, Sarah, usually drives the rock-picking tractor when we pick rocks with the skid loaders. I do all the planting.
What’s the most recent change you’ve made in seeding or eld management practices? We have started rolling our elds before planting. It seems to help with germination and also makes planting much easier. We also have fewer rocks in our corn straw bales in the fall.
Tell us about a unique spring eld work memory you have. About 10 years ago, a neighbor of ours had a leg injury and couldn't drive a tractor, so a bunch of us got together and cleaned out his manure pit and seeded his grain for him. It is amazing how quickly things went with four spreaders and three grain drills.
Tell us about your farm. I farm with my wife, Sarah, and three children: Jacob, who will be graduating from Ridgewater this spring and joining us on the dairy, and Eli and Aubree. We raise all our replacements and do all our own harvesting and manure hauling.
Tell us about your farm. My two sons, Joel and Ted, and I are the primary partners. My two grandsons, Brycen and Brody, are also starting to get involved on the farm with us. Joel’s brother-in-law, Ben Henderson, runs his own 30-cow dairy and works for us nearly full time. My youngest son’s father-in-law is retired, and he helps us quite a bit; some retired truck drivers also haul the feed and milk for us. We have 14 full-time employees who we couldn’t run our farm without. We operate a 1,300-cow dairy, currently milking in a 28-stall internal rotary. This summer, we’ll be moving to a 40-cow external rotary that we’re pretty excited about.
Shane Schumacher
Houston, Minnesota
Houston County 70 cows
When did you or when will you get started with spring eldwork? As of Easter, we haven’t made it in the eld yet other than hauling manure. We’ve been close to going, but it seems to rain about a day before it’s t. As soon as it gets dry enough, we’ll start. Unfortunately, the week following Easter doesn’t look very promising.
What crops do you raise, and how many acres of each do you have? This year, we will have approximately 140 acres of corn, 60 acres of soybeans, 65 acres of oats, 25 acres new seeding and about 130 acres of alfalfa. All of this could change as we see what the winter kill situation looks like with the alfalfa.
What kind of equipment maintenance and preparations do you do before spring eldwork starts? We are primarily no-till, so most of the maintenance is focused on the planter and sprayer. This year, the planter was due for new openers. The sprayer has been test run and calibrated for burn down. The tillage equipment will get a once-over with the grease gun and have its tires checked.
What is the latest and earliest date you have started in the eld? I think it was in 2017 or 2018 when planting didn’t start until Memorial Day. Then, I’m not sure what year it was, in the ‘90s sometime, I can remember Dad seeding oats on the 30th of March. That is the earliest I can remember us being in the eld.
Who is involved during spring eld work? My dad typically does the seeding while I plant corn and beans. I run the sprayer, and we both do a little tillage, de-
Bill Post Chandler, Minnesota Murray County
145 Holstein dairy cows, 80 Red Angus beef cows
When did you or when will you get started with spring eldwork? We planted oats/alfalfa March 12 and started picking rocks and preparing elds April 11. We nished planting corn April 17. Will start beans hopefully the 22nd after I nish planting the neighbor’s corn.
What crops do you raise, and how many acres of each do you have? 30 acres oats, 120 acres alfalfa, 90 acres rye, 215 acres corn and 150 acres soybeans.
What kind of equipment maintenance and preparations do you do before spring eldwork starts? Equipment is gone over and greased, adjustments made and worn parts replaced when they fall out of spec. Tractors are pulled into the dairy barn and serviced in the feed alley, where we have polycarbonate on the south wall and the feed alley warms up very nicely when the weather outside isn’t. We don’t have a shop.
What is the latest and earliest date you have started in the eld? The latest was 2019, when it was so wet. We actually put up our haylage before we nished planting. The earliest we ever got in the eld was March 10.
pending on who’s further ahead. Mom is our “logistical support technician.” She’s on call to help shuttle equipment, get parts or seed and keep meals coming to the eld or barn.
What’s the most recent change you’ve made in seeding or eld management practices? Over the last 10 years, we’ve moved almost completely to no-till and cover crop primarily to mitigate erosion and keep the rocks down. More recently, as some acres have been added, we have included some small grains, either winter wheat or oats, in the rotation of corn and beans on ground that doesn’t have alfalfa grown on it. It’s allowed for some diversity on the marketing end of things and offered an opportunity to experiment with some full-season cover crops.
Tell us about a unique spring eld work memory you have. When I was maybe 13 or 14, we still plowed the sod ground going into corn. Dad sent me out and reminded me to be careful of the ledge rock by the woods. I may or may not have been in a gear higher than what I was told to be in and caught the rock, which killed the tractor, threw me into the steering wheel and broke the front bottom off the shank of the plow. The landside was gone and the bolts pulled out of the plowshare. For the rest of my life, I’ll never forget where that rock is buried and never did nd the landside, but the one Grandpa lost the time before was there when I dug my parts out of the ground.
Tell us about your farm. I’m the third generation on this farm. My Grandpa George started here in 1948. Over the years, he and Grandma LaVonne always milked cows and had chickens, sheep and hogs throughout their career. In the late ‘80s, it was just hogs and dairy. As the hogs were phased out, a beef herd was starting. In 1991, my parents, Paul and Jen, took over, and Grandpa and Grandma moved into a support role on the farm. In 2013, I had the opportunity to come back to farm full time and became a partner with my parents in 2017. We currently have the dairy herd and the beef herd, along with corn, soybeans, wheat, alfalfa and occasionally oats.
Who is involved during spring eld work? Now that the boys are part of the operation (our son-in-law, Jacob, and our son, Jake), they do most of the tillage. I still do all or most of the planting. Even our 4 and 5-year-old grandkids help Nana Merri pick rocks.
What’s the most recent change you’ve made in seeding or eld management practices? Rye. We added rye to our crop rotation about ve years ago, harvesting it for feed. This year, we are harvesting about a third of it for silage, grazing a third and planting beans directly into a third. We have tried corn and sorghum after harvesting the rye but have found that planting beans has worked the best for us so far. We are not sure, but we may try going back to sorghum. Jury is still out if there is enough tonnage to justify the extra trips across the eld. This is the rst year we have put rye on all of our chopped ground.
Tell us about a unique spring eld work memory you have. Not sure what the year was; my dad was in his late 70s. I went into his house March 17 and said, “We are going to plant the oats and alfalfa today, Dad, but we aren’t going to tell anyone that we are planting the alfalfa,” thinking it may be too early for the alfalfa to take root. He said we will either look really smart or really foolish. It worked then and has every year we have been able to plant early since.
Tell us about your farm. My grandfather moved to this farm in 1929. My dad and uncle took over in 1967. They dissolved that partnership in 1987. My wife and I took over the farming operation in 1996. We created an LLC with our children and their spouses in 2021. We all live within a quarter mile of the dairy. We milk 120 cows with robots and calve an 80-cow beef herd. We are blessed with more pasture land than tillable acres. We have been blessed with six grandchildren in the last ve years. Everyone helps on the farm.
Great Plains 3P606NT Drill main box, small seed box, 7.5” spacing, no-till coutlers
Great Plains 1006NT Drill Main box, native box, small seed box, 7.5” spacing, no-till coulters Great Plains 850 TM Turbo Max
How many times a day do you milk, and what is your current herd average, butterfat and protein? We milk twice a day. Our March 2025 rolling herd average was 30,318 pounds of milk, 1,287 pounds of butterfat and 978 pounds of protein, with tests of 4.2% butterfat and 3.2% protein.
Describe your housing and milking facility. We have a tunnel-ventilated freestall barn and a double-8 herringbone parlor that was built in 2010. Everything was designed for the utmost in cow comfort and ease of handling cows alone. The stalls are head-to-head, with an 18-foot span and 52-inch width. We use sand bedding and have a high-quality air curtain that keeps the barn from freezing in the winter. The ceiling is insulated to help maintain a more constant temperature and help reduce variations in feed intake during the hottest and coldest days. We also have sprinklers. Our gates and headlocks were designed to enable one person to move cows from pen to pen if needed.
Who is part of your farm team, and what are their roles? We have a great team that works well together. My husband, Brian, is the feeder and crop guy. He also keeps everything in working order. I manage the dairy side of things.
TOP PERFORMERS
Eye, Minnesota. Olmar Farms milks 130 cows in a double-8 herringbone parlor.
We have two trainees from Japan who stay with us for a year. They not only learn the tasks of doing chores, but also learn treatment protocols and other skills they will need to take a leadership role in their jobs back in Japan. We also have 2-3 other part-time employees
to help with chores. Most often, they are high school students or people looking to pick up a little extra work.
What is your herd health program? We installed CowManager about four years ago. At that time, we went to herd health
checks every three weeks. We vaccinate newborns with CalfGuard and Nasalgen 3-PMH. Older calves and pre-breeding heifers get Bovi-Shield Gold FP 5 L5 and Ultrabac 7. We give ScourGuard 4KC and Ultrabac 7 to dry cows and booster Bovi-shield to milking cows pre-
breeding. The entire herd gets EndoVac three times per year.
What does your dry cow and transition program consist of? We have a one-group dry period that is balanced more for the pre-fresh group. Our dry period is 45 days. Cows conrmed with twins or that have had high somatic cell count are given a 60-day dry period. The ration is wheat straw and corn silage balanced for dietary cation-anion difference. We try to do just-in-time movement to the calving pen since we only have two smaller than optimal pens for calving. Post calving, they go into a pack pen in the milking barn until they clean and have at least two milkings. Then they go into the fresh pen. Fresh heifers and multi-lactation cows are mixed together. Our fresh heifers are well-grown and we have no issues with mixing them. The pre-fresh heifers are housed in our old freestall barn and get the same ration as the dry cows.
What is the composition of your ration, and how has that changed in recent years? We have a small fresh group, a high group and a late lactation group. The high group ration is 50% forage and the other groups are
Brian and Jill Nelson of Olmar Farms, Sleepy Eye, Minnesota | Brown County
130 cows
RUTH KLOSSNER/DAIRY STAR
Jill Nelson sits on a feed bunk April 18 at Olmar Farms near Sleepy
“We have been using Udder Comfort™ at least 10 years. I always have it in the parlor, and our milkers put it on any suspect cow with any hardness, flakes, or mastitis,” says 5th generation dairyman Mike Draxler, herd manager at the 700-cow Lofty Acres Dairy, Glennwood City, Wisconsin, where he farms with his brother Chuck, father Joe, and a lot of good employees. Mike’s wife Rebecca handles calf care, and their 4 children are also involved.
“Getting Udder Comfort on right away as soon as we see a problem, we find a huge percentage of those cows never get to the hospital or treatment pen. I like the Udder Comfort blue because the color identifies the cow, which means she gets extra attention and follow up. We tried other brands, but this one just works better than anything else out there,” Mike explains.
“It’s worth the cost because it works the best. Fewer animals in the treated pen is the biggest thing, and our 65,000 SCC shows this. Udder Comfort and attention to detail absolutely contribute to our milk quality,” he adds.
high forage. We feed brown midrib and, more recently, Enogen corn silage. Last year, we started feeding cover crops and will continue to explore that as a costsaving and soil preservation strategy. We have a few pounds of dry hay, corn silage and haylage diet. We balance for amino acids and volatile fatty acids, which have been instrumental in increasing components very quickly. We let the cows tell us what is working and what is not. I’m a big believer in Quality Liquid Feed, which keeps the cows from sorting, among other benets. We also feed OmniGen and Rumensin. In the past we had a rst lactation group, a high group and a small low group. This strategy was OK, but we struggled getting heifers started well. We also ended up with more heavy late lactation cows and felt our feed costs were higher than we wanted. Now we have a small prefresh group and a larger high group and low group.
Tell us about the forages you plant and detail your harvest strategies. In a perfect world, we harvest all of our alfalfa as haylage at 67% moisture and maturity to hit 22% protein and 160170 relative forage quality. But we don’t work in a perfect world. We do our best to maximize quality with a top-performing inoculant from Chr. Hansen. A good inoculant pays for itself in quality feed, reduced shrink and better stability in the feed bunk. For corn silage, we continue to try different strategies to maximize starch content and ber digestibility. Most recently, we have been alternating rows of BMR and either Enogen or a high-starch variety of corn. We like Enogen for using as the rst bag in the fall. The starch is more available with a shorter fermentation versus other types of corn silage. We use bags for nearly all of our forages and do use 1-2 silos as
our pad space is limited. Piles are convenient, but for a farm our size, we feel it has more potential for quality issues.
What is your average somatic cell count and how does that affect your production? Our SCC ranges from 85,000-140,000. Keeping udders healthy is critical for maximizing production.
What change has created the biggest improvement in your herd average? Fixing our stray voltage problem in 2017
and clearing out the damaged cows in the ve years after has been huge in quickly increasing our herd average. This is an often-overlooked cause for all types of herd problems. One example of the immediate change we saw in our herd was an 18-pound increase in milk production over the summer months with no increase in dry matter intake. The energy that should have gone into milk production was being used by the cow to stay alive when we had stray voltage. Our RHA had dropped to 25,214 pounds of
milk, with 3.8% butterfat and 3.1% protein in 2017 after a 9-year battle with it. It took nearly ve years to almost completely turnover our herd to nally have a healthy herd. As a result, our current herd is quite young. We look forward to having more high-producing old cows once again and seeing where our production can go.
RUTH KLOSSNER/DAIRY STAR
Cows eat total mixed ra on April 18 at Olmar Farms near Sleepy Eye, Minnesota. Olmar Farms uses tunnel ven laon, sprinklers, an air curtain and sand-bedded stalls in their freestall barn to maximize cow comfort.
84” Bucket, #577143 ....................$77,500
JD 333G 2023, 343 hrs., Wide Rubber Tracks, #579849 ..............................$84,900
DRAWN PLANTERS
JD DB60 2015, 39666 Est. Acres, 24 Row, 30” spacing, #566673.............
DB60 2013, 31093 Est. Acres, 24 Row, 30”
DB66 2022, 9060 Est. Acres, 36 Row, 22” spacing, #576258...............
JD DB66 2019, 29422 Est. Acres, 36 Row, 22” spacing, #584389............. $385,500
JD DB88 2012, 60000 Est. Acres, 48 Row, 22” spacing, #589832............. $139,900
ROW CROP TRACTORS
JD 7R 310 2023, 790 hrs., Cab, MFWD w/ Suspension, #583432
JD 8R 410 2024, 110 hrs., Cab, MFWD w/ Suspension, #593977
JD 8R 250 2024, 248 hrs., Cab, MFWD w/ Suspension, #591742
JD 8R 410 2024, 250 hrs., Cab, MFWD w/ Suspension, #593988
JD 8R 370 2024, 720 hrs., Cab, MFWD w/ Suspension, #590773
JD 8R 370 2024, 835 hrs., Cab, MFWD w/ Suspension, #590828 ............
JD 8R 370 2024, 950 hrs., Cab, MFWD w/ Suspension, #591035
JD 8R 310 2023, 159 hrs., Cab, MFWD w/ Suspension, #582309
JD 8R 230 2023, 400 hrs., Cab, MFWD, #579785 ....................................
JD 8R 280 2023, 400 hrs., Cab, MFWD w/ Suspension, #579792 ............
JD 8R 310 2023, 528 hrs., Cab, MFWD w/ Suspension, #592709
JD 8R 370 2023, 620 hrs., Cab, MFWD w/ Suspension, #585436
JD 8R 230 2023, 641 hrs., Cab, MFWD w/ Suspension, #579474 ............
JD 8R 370 2023, 672 hrs., Cab, MFWD w/ Suspension, #577931
JD 8R 410 2023, 1050 hrs., Cab, MFWD w/ Suspension, #587664 ..........
JD 8R 310 2023, 1318 hrs., Cab, MFWD w/ Suspension, #584308
JD 8R 370 2022, 821 hrs., Cab, MFWD w/ Suspension, #585317
8R 280 2022,
Spring Valley, WI 715-772-3201 Bob’s
Dorchester, WI 715-654-5252 Ederer Dairy Supply Plain, WI 608-546-3713 DeLaval Dairy Service Kaukauna, WI 866-335-2825 Joe’s Refrigeration Inc. Withee, WI 715-229-2321 Mlsna Dairy Supply Inc. Cashton, WI 608-654-5106 Professional Dairy Services Arlington, WI 608-635-0268
Redeker Dairy Equipment Brandon, WI 920-346-5579 The Scharine Group Inc. Whitewater, WI 800 472-2880 Mt Horeb, WI 800-872-3470
Dairy Mora, MN 320-679-1029 Pierz, MN 320-468-2494
MINNESOTA & SOUTH DAKOTA Farm Systems Melrose, MN 320-256-3276 Brookings, SD 800-636-5581
St. Charles, MN 507-932-4288 Wadena, MN 218-632-5416
What technology do you use to monitor your herd? We use CowManager and closely observe the herd while we work with them. There is still no replacement for a good eye to nd those off cows. We do not use a shot program for breeding except on hard breeders. Our voluntary waiting period is dependent on the cow. It can range between 60-10 days in milk. It is hard to dry off cows giving over 90 pounds of milk per day.
What is your breeding program, and what role does genetics play in your production level? For over 80 years our breeding goal at Olmar Farms has been to breed every animal to be high type, high production and long living. If you consistently make every bull selection and mating based on those goals, you will attain a consistent herd that meets those goals. We do not chase the current trait of the day. Instead, I focus on selecting bulls that will make the next generation better. I use all of the tools, including genomics. I don’t look for the highest Total Performance Index and Net Merit Dollars. Instead, I look for bulls who will sire daughters that match up to what the paper says. I insist on proven cow families as I have been burned by using the “hottest” bull and ending up with daughters that just don’t meet our standards to be a mother of our next generation. It’s easy to stack high NM$ on top of high NM$ to boost those numbers, especially by using bulls from shorter generation intervals. If a bull mother has been through a base change, her son’s numbers can be a bit lower for us to use because, on paper, she is at a disadvantage. In our experience, carefully chosen bulls from proven cows outperform daughters of much higher bulls born from 1-2 generations of very young, unproven cows. I really like to
see classication scores of Very Good young cows and Excellent old cows in the pedigree. I also look for 2-year-old records over 30,000 pounds with high test in the pedigree. The current bull proof model is known to penalize older genetics even when their daughters prove to be top performers. Most of the bulls we use would fall in the range of 2,800-3,100 TPI.
List three management strategies that have helped you attain your production and component level. There are so many little things that all add up to big things. Forage quality is key to consistent high production. Having an analytical person mix the feed will ensure the cows’ feed is mixed right every time. Cow comfort is important. It may not be feasible to build a new facility, but improved comfort can be attained even in older facilities with some thought. It’s also critical to get the young calves started right. We feed pasteurized whole milk and an accelerated feeding program to get the most growth in the early months of life. We calve at 24 months with well-grown heifers ready to compete in a freestall group with mature cows. We look at herds doing better than us and see what they are doing to meet their goals. Another key thing that has helped us reach our goals is to reach out and ask for help. Sometimes we can get in the way of our own success.
Tell us about your farm and your plans for the dairy in the next year. We are excited to see what this year brings. We will be starting our own creamery where we will make artisan cheese. We hope to have Compass Rose Creamery’s rst cheese ready for debut late summer. We are also looking forward to being the showcase herd at the Minnesota State Fair.
MINNESOTA DAIRY INITIATIVE
RUTH KLOSSNERDAIRY STAR
Jill Nelson moves a calf April 18 at Olmar Farms near Sleepy Eye, Minnesota. Olmar Farms selects bulls for breeding based on high type, high produc on and longevity.
CRISIS IS AT OUR
DOORSTEP
Trial lawyers are using an outlier report from a World Health Organization subagency to attack farmers and a safe weed fighting tool they’ve depended on for over fifty years.
Without crop protection tools like glyphosate, food inflation in the U.S. could double. Think grocery prices are high now?
Act now to support American farmers and keep foreign interests out of America’s farms and food supply. We can’t afford to wait.
BOTTOM LINE DAIRY’S
New technologies can save time, boost productivity
As we work to continuously improve our dairy farms, there is a seemingly endless list of technologies and equipment that promise to boost protability, efciency or production. Identifying the right t for an operation isn’t always easy, especially when it involves a nancial investment, as well as time and resources, to learn new systems and processes.
My uncle and father merged their cow herds in 1999. Beginning in 2008 and focusing on improving animal health and labor efciency, we built new barns and facilities, including a heifer barn, calf barn and manure system. We’ve also adopted several technology systems over the years — herd health and activity tracking, as well as a herd-management and feed-management system. While you can’t literally see the investment in these systems as you can with new facilities or equipment, they require as much consideration and can have the same or even greater impact on animals, team members and the bottom line.
there are several perspectives to consider, including protability, animal health, milk production, pregnancy rate, labor efciency, employee morale and more. A balance must often be struck, but if a technology can deliver tangible improvements in two or more areas, that’s a win.
We’ve invested in an activity and herd-health system because of reproduction challenges we have had. Despite trying several protocols and working with veterinarians and consultants, our herd’s pregnancy rate wasn’t where we wanted it, milk production was suffering and cows spent too many days in milk.
Jake Hoewisch Dairy farmer
We try to be on the “leading edge” and not the “bleeding edge” when adopting new technologies. While the specications for each system are different, several principles guide our decision-making process.
New technologies need to check multiple boxes.
Financial impact is only one spoke on the wheel. Depending on the system,
Adopting new technologies was a huge turning point for us. We could see each cow’s data on our phones and desktops and make decisions based on their activity level and other factors. Identifying cows in heat for more effective breeding had ripple effects, too, including reducing costs for hormones, lessening labor for injections and breeding, improving production and reducing expenses from missed cycles.
We’ve always said, “If only cows could talk,” and with these tools, it feels like they are nally able to talk to us, and we can adjust to better meet their needs.
Make sure everything connects and works together.
The rst question to ask about any new system is whether it can work seamlessly with existing nancial and herd
management programs. Even the most advanced software isn’t worth it if it requires double entry or manually updating information.
The data collected should be both valuable and usable.
There is no shortage of information on today’s farms; the value comes in being able to access it and put it to use.
We made the transition to our current feeding software based on a recommendation from our nutritionist. The benets from a time and efciency standpoint were signicant, but even more important was the ability to look back and track feed weights and deliveries.
We can talk about the importance of consistency and feeding exactly to ration specications, but when the ration isn’t followed and the data shows the impact on feed intake and production, that’s a real lightbulb moment. And, because I know our employees have the tools and accountability to feed precisely as outlined, that frees me up from daily feeding chores.
Another example is seeing the effect of moving a cow to the up-close pen 14 days before calving instead of 21 days. When you’re able to compare the production and health data for each animal to her herdmates, it provides a clear picture and enables producers to make herd health and management changes that have a lasting impact.
Don’t limit yourself to the initial use of a technology.
While we typically adopt a technol-
April 29-30
The Dairy Signal ® Online, noon - 1 p.m.
Visit www.pdpw.org to participate in live-streamed event. Audio/video recordings also available free.
May 1, 6-8, 13-15, 20-22, 27-29
The Dairy Signal ® Online, noon - 1 p.m. Visit www.pdpw.org to participate in live-streamed event. Audio/video recordings also available free.
ogy for a specic reason, it often has a lot more to offer. To get the full value of a system, spend time exploring the functions and tap into customer service teams and training to unlock new tools and insights. Don’t settle for what you rst learned when you bought it — be open to the updates and new features that come along.
Jake Hoewisch of Waupaca County, Wisconsin, is the fth generation to own and operate Hoewisch Homestead Dairy LLC, with his wife, Jennifer, parents and uncle. They milk 150 registered Holstein A2/A2 cows, with a focus on milk quality and low somatic cell count. In 2018, they diversied with a meat-to-table beef business, H&S Tasty Acres LLC, owned in partnership with another family, and have a custom manure drag line and baling business.
Genetic progress leads to formula changes
Jorgensen discusses April proof differences
By Danielle Nauman danielle.n@dairystar.com
WAUPUN, Wis. — Driven by data, the dairy industry requires producers to constantly reevaluate information to make the best decisions for continued improvement.
Three times a year, new genetic information is provided by the Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding in the form of proofs. The most recent round of proofs came out April 1, with changes of note being made to the formulas for both Net Merit and Cheese Merit, as well as the 5-year base change.
Kevin Jorgensen, senior Holstein sire analyst for Select Sires Inc., said the 5-year base change is the measure of genetic progress made within each breed over ve years. To readjust genetic levels, Jorgensen said the 2020 cow population becomes the base of zero.
Changes will be applied to pro-
duction and type, as well as health and tness traits.
Jorgensen compared one of the more dramatic adjustments in the Holstein breed — 74 pounds of combined fat and protein — to the adjustment made two base changes ago in December 2014 of 29 pounds.
“It’s really telling how much genetic progress we’ve made, particularly in the production traits,” Jorgensen said. “We’ve made revolutionary changes, especially in (combined fat and protein). When you speak to producers, this astronomical increase in CFP is pretty direct, most people see it in their bulk tank and components on their farm. It’s not entirely genetic — there have been amazing breakthroughs in how we’re feeding cows — but genetic selection has really intensied in the last generation or generation and a half.”
The base changes are applied equally to all bulls in the population, Jorgensen said, using the example of a bull previously at 174 pounds CFP would now be at 100 pounds.
Despite the change in index, the bull will remain in the same percentile. Jorgensen said like every new proof run, additional daughter data will ultimately factor into the bull’s nal ranking.
Jorgensen said changes to the Net Merit and Cheese Merit formulas are based on changes in economic values since the last formula revision. Fat will be factored into the index at 31.8%, with protein applied at 13% and milk at 3.2%. Health and tness traits will continue to comprise 21.2% of the formulation, while calving and fertility will account for 8.7%.
“Net Merit is geared for producers that want a commercially-friendly cow,” Jorgensen said. “There is more emphasis on pounds of fat, relative to protein; more emphasis on reduced body size and on the Feed Saved traits; less on productive life, but more on livability, which makes sense because cull cows are worth more at this stage of the game. There’s probably a little less emphasis on daughter fertility — they reduced a little bit on (Daughter Pregnancy Rate) and increased cow and
heifer conception rates, but not to the degree that DPR was moved down.”
Cheese Merit is calculated similarly, but with a nod to cheese yield; milk is factored in at -2%, focusing on fat and protein, which comprise 48% of the formulation, Jorgensen said.
Jorgensen said the base changes and formula changes are needed to keep pace with the advancing world of dairy cattle genetics, and the speed of those advancements are the reason for some of the dramatic adjustments made.
“The reason we have a base change every ve years is that used to be the span of a generation,” Jorgensen said. “With our accelerated genetic progress, our generation interval in this genomic selection era is about 21 months now. We’re accounting for 2.5 generations in that same period of time. It’s a credit to the genetic progress we’re making.”
Jorgensen said he speculates that the increased percentage in semen sales from genomic bulls over proven bulls has factored into the rapid increases and shrinking generation intervals.
Jorgensen said the volume of young bulls genomically tested is the cornerstone of that progress.
“Our selection pressure is so intense because of the critical mass of testing so many calves,” Jorgensen said. “That selection pressure is so deep that it is very rare anymore that a bull that is a huge minus on fat test would make it to a marketing lineup — he’d have to be so extreme in the other 70-some traits.”
Jorgensen said Select Sires tested 7,684 Holstein bulls in 2024, out of about 25,509 tested industry–wide. From that pool, Jorgensen said 275 bulls — just over 3% — entered the Select Sires lineup.
Jorgensen said he encourages producers to look inside their operation when weighing the various indexes in their own breeding programs.
“It’s really important for a producer to know exactly what they want,” Jorgensen said. “With the reduced number of replacement heifers we have, every heifer counts,
because you don’t have another to take the place of ones you don’t like. We’re at historical lows of female replacements. Our cows are going to have to live longer.”
Jorgensen does not see that trajectory changing.
“No one is going to stop making those little black calves,” Jorgensen said. “They are way too lucrative; they can’t take that revenue stream out of their operation. It’s a huge paradigm shift in our industry. Some people might be rethinking what the right amount of heifers is and making slight adjustments there. We’re seeing a slight increase in sexed semen sales because of that. They are trying to make enough heifers with the fewest uteruses possible, so they can devote more to making those black calves.”
With rapid advancements and constant changes, Jorgensen said he advises producers to use the tools and data provided in the proofs and indexes.
“If we believe in genetics, we believe in the next generation,” Jorgensen said. “It’s not always perfect, but I believe with the genetic progress we are making, this system is far more accurate than the measures we were using in the pre-genomic era.”
DAIRY ST R
Grand Prize Winner will be announced Thursday, May 1 on KASM 1150 AM at 8 a.m.
IN DAIRY women
Tell us about your family and farm. My family includes my husband, Roger, daughter, Clara, son, Calvin, daughter, Emily, her husband, Dylan, and their children, Caroline, and Ole. Our farm is a 100% grass-fed, certied organic dairy. We have 180 acres that are rotationally grazed and an additional 60 acres that are used for raising grass, alfalfa and clover forage. We purchase additional hay every year. The amount we need depends on the growing season. We calve semi-seasonally, half in March/April and half in August/September, and raise all of our own replacements. We have no employees, but our kids are able to help out at times if we need them. The older two have other full-time jobs; Clara helps most evenings with chores.
What is a typical day like for you on the dairy? I start the day with morning milking and calf chores. After that, it depends a lot on the season. From spring through fall I am responsible for daily moving of polywire fences and water tanks for the different groups that graze, as well as moving groups of cattle. We can have up to ve separate groups, so it can take a good chunk of time. The balance of my day consists of any and/or all of: bookwork, housework, running errands, trapping gophers and anything else Roger needs help with. Winter is a lot slower. I help Roger with feeding and bedding. I also have time to catch up on things I’ve put off during the busy time and do some volunteer work. I end my days with evening milking and making supper.
What decision have you made in the last year that has beneted your farm? Our cows are outside all spring, summer and fall. In winter, they have to walk outside approximately 600 feet from the barn to the parlor. We’ve always fought cracked and chapped teats and gured it was something we’d just have to deal with because of our situation. Last fall, we changed pre-dip from a peroxide dip to a high-emollient iodine dip. We were hesitant to do this because it is double the cost. However, it has made a tremendous difference in teat condition. Teats are healthier and much easier to clean. We have also seen a reduction in herd somatic cell count.
Michelle Benrud Goodhue, Minnesota Goodhue County 110 cows
Tell us about your most memorable experience working on the farm. I don’t have one particular memory that stands out, but one of my favorite moments on the farm is riding out to the pasture to get cows as dawn breaks. I also enjoy picnics in the eld on haymaking days, watching the cows graze when turned into a new paddock, and seeing new life come into the world when a cow calves.
What have you enjoyed most about dairy farming or your tie to the dairy industry? I really enjoy the seasonality of the way we farm. Things change with the season, which gives variety to what I do. With our semi-seasonal calving, there are months at a time when we have no calves being born and no calves on milk. Then, the big ood of them comes; it’s really busy, but it’s also fun because it’s new again and I’ve had a little time to recharge while we’ve had a good portion of the herd dry. As spring comes, it’s fun to see 110 cows sprint to get out to their rst grazing, and we look forward to another growing season. When late fall comes, I’m excited to get the cows back to the barn so I can quit rolling and unrolling polywire for a while.
What is your biggest accomplishment in your dairy career? My/our biggest accomplishment has been being nancially successful enough to have me be at home, working on the farm full time. I was working at IBM in Rochester when we started dairy farming. At that time, we set a 5-year goal to not need off-farm income. We met that goal; I came home to the farm full time 20 years ago this April.
What are things you do to promote your farm or the dairy industry? I am involved with the Goodhue County 4-H dairy project and have helped at the Goodhue County Breakfast on the Farm. Our farm has hosted several eld days and pasture walks throughout the years — some geared toward other farmers and some for consumers.
What advice would you give another woman in the dairy industry? Take time every day to thank God for what you have. It’s an easy thing for me to do when the day is sunny, the grass is green
and things are going well. It’s a lot harder when there’s a cow down in the mud, the bill for the tractor repair comes, the desperately needed rains miss us or Roger and I just had an argument about something (yeah, it happens). For me, in the bad times, the prayers of thankfulness are even more important. When I take time to start looking at what I have been blessed with, the weight of the worry becomes lighter.
What is a challenge in the dairy industry you have faced and how did you overcome it? The biggest challenge we’ve had was our farm transition. We
rented for many years with a plan in place to purchase. When the time came to purchase, the plan got changed. It all worked out in the end, but not without a lot of stress and uncertainty.
When you get a spare moment, what do you do? In my free time and evenings, I like to cook, bake, quilt, play board games, do puzzles, play piano and read. In summer, I enjoy being a 4-H indoor project judge at area county fairs. I also spend some time each month doing bookwork as the Belvidere Township clerk.
Making the most of farm data
Today’s dairy farms are busier than ever, and technology has made it easier to collect large amounts of data on cow health, production, reproduction and more. But, while data collection is widespread, many farms are not making the most of the information they already have. The power of data lies not just in collecting it but in using it to make smart decisions.
problem.
To measure the impact of changes: If you change your feeding program, bedding material or vaccination protocol, how do you know if it helped? The only way to evaluate success is to track before and after.
One way to think about this is through the example of Lego bricks. Imagine you have a pile of Legos. You can sort them by color, stack them neatly and make the pile look nice — but, until you use those bricks to build something, you haven’t unlocked their true value. Farm data is no different. Organizing it is a good rst step, but the real value comes when you use it to tell a story, one that helps you understand your herd and improve your farm.
Why collect farm data?
To support management and team decisions: Data can back up what you already believe or help convince others that a change is needed.
By Luciano Caixeta University of Minnesota
There are three main reasons to collect and use data on your farm:
To detect problems early: Regular data collection helps you spot changes in cow health or production before they turn into big issues. For example, a small drop in feed intake or milk yield could be an early sign of a larger health
At its core, data helps you monitor whether your cows — and your farm — are performing the way you expect them to.
Start with a plan
Before collecting more data, ask yourself:
— Why am I collecting this?
— What questions do I want to answer?
— How will I collect the data, and is it realistic to do so consistently?
Choosing data that ts your goals and that you can realistically collect on your farm is the rst step to success.
Setting goals that drive progress
Once you have reliable data, it’s important to use it to set clear, achievable goals. One tool that works well is the SMART goals framework. SMART
SUPER SPECIALS
stands for specic, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound.
A specic goal clearly denes what you want to achieve, something like “reduce fresh cow metritis cases” rather than just “improve cow health.”
A measurable goal includes numbers you can track, such as “lower metritis cases by 20%.” A goal is achievable when it’s within reach for your farm, given your current resources and challenges. It also needs to be realistic, meaning it makes sense for your particular herd and circumstances rather than aiming for something that only works on a completely different type of operation. Finally, time-bound means setting a deadline, such as achieving the goal within six months or a year. This structure keeps your goals focused and provides a way to track whether you’re making progress.
It’s easy to get discouraged by goals that are too big or too vague. By starting with smaller, well-dened goals, you can build condence and make steady improvements that add up over time.
Benchmarking the right way
It’s natural to want to compare your farm to others, but benchmarking only works when used the right way. Comparing to other farms without context can lead to frustration. Every farm has different facilities, genetics and labor structures. That’s why internal benchmarking, or tracking your own progress over time, is often more helpful.
Still, knowing industry averages can be useful. Some performance levels are considered “alarm rates,” thresholds that suggest a major problem may be developing. On the ip side, learning what’s possible on high-performing
farms in your area can help you set long-term goals. The key is using outside information as a reference point — not as the only standard — and focusing your main efforts on what’s realistic and meaningful for your own operation. A table showing examples of alarm levels and achievable rates for the most common diseases of dairy cows is provided below.
Go beyond the transition period
You’ve probably heard a lot about the importance of monitoring cows during the transition period, and that’s true; it’s a critical time. However, good monitoring shouldn’t stop there. Collecting data throughout all stages of lactation, as well as during the dry period, gives you a more complete picture of cow performance.
Take-home messages
— Don’t collect data just to have it. Know why you’re collecting it, make sure it’s feasible, and use it to guide decisions.
— Use data to monitor trends, evaluate changes and catch problems early. This leads to healthier cows and fewer surprises.
— Set SMART goals and focus on internal progress. Avoid being discouraged by differences with other farms. Use outside benchmarks for reference only.
— Monitor cows across all life stages. Transition cows are critical, but full-lactation monitoring provides the best results.
— Data-driven decisions lead to better outcomes, more efcient processes, healthier cows and stronger, more sustainable businesses.
Dana Adams adam1744@umn.edu 320-204-2968
Luciano Caixeta lcaixeta@umn.edu 612-625-3130
Gerard Cramer gcramer@umn.edu 612-625-8184
Marcia Endres miendres@umn.edu 612-624-5391
Brad Heins hein0106@umn.edu 320-589-1711
Nathan Hulinsky huli0013@umn.edu 320-203-6104
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
Isaac Salfer ijsalfer@umn.edu 320-296-1357
Jim Salfer salfe001@umn.edu 320-203-6093
Mike Schutz mschutz@umn.edu 612-624-1205
Melissa Wilson mlw@umn.edu 612-625-4276
Isaac Haagen hagge041@umn.edu 612-624-7455
Michael Boland boland@umn.edu 612-625-3013
Sabrina Florentino slp
Tailgate picnics
Planting season has arrived for much of the region. This means mealtimes will look different than normal for many farmers. Nutrient-dense meals and snacks are vital to fuel the body to withstand long durations in the tractor. Improperly nourished bodies can quickly become a safety hazard.
Keeping a eld crew hydrated and well-nourished is an important responsibility. Every farm seems to have a person designated as their food/meal manager, sometimes affectionately known as the “lunch lady.” Don’t make this person mad, or else you might lose out on some fabulous baked goods. Some farms have a designated mealtime where the food manager comes out to the eld, and all the operators gather and eat together. In other cases, they will bring individually packaged meals to each operator.
parked can work wonders too.
A supplies container is vital to take on every trip out to the eld. This could be a laundry basket, fabric tote with handles, plastic tote or cardboard box. Use whatever is handy and reusable. This container will hold essentials: a paper towel roll, napkins, wet wipes, extra utensils, snacks, rst aid supplies, water bottles and anything else an operator might need.
By
Before the season begins, start making a shopping list for food and supplies. Buy in bulk whenever possible to help save both time and money. Depending upon how the meals will be served in the eld, some sort of plate, container or bag will be needed to hold the food. Styrofoam clam-style containers are easy to use, convenient and help to keep food warm or cold. Reuseable containers work great but sometimes never make it back to the house from the tractor. Nap-kins, paper towels, plastic utensils, wet wipes, aluminum foil, Ziploc bags, paper bags and bottled water are all necessities to stock up on for the season.
Other good items to stock up on are high-protein snacks such as cheese sticks, yogurt cups/drinks, protein bars, nuts or trail mix, hard-boiled eggs and beef snack sticks or jerky. These protein-packed snacks help keep the body fueled for longer durations versus simple carbohydrates such as chocolate, candy or cookies and such. Those are OK in small quantities or for a sweet treat; however, because they are digested quickly and send immediate bursts of glucose into the bloodstream, they will often result in an energy “crash.” This can lead to feeling tired or sleepy and could put machinery operators at risk for accidents due to not being alert. A 15-minute nap in the tractor seat while
Field meals don’t have to be intense and can be easily adjusted for variety. For a cold meal, try a ham and cheese sandwich (or any kind of sandwich), an apple, potato chips or a salad, cheese sticks and a couple of cookies. Add a container of trail mix to snack on and some chocolate milk to nish it off. All of those items can be swapped out to switch it up slightly. For example, include grapes instead of an apple, a different side salad or snickerdoodle cookies instead of chocolate chip cookies. If warm meals are an option, there are portable crock pots, such as the Presto Nomad, that have lockable lids so they do not leak as well as built-in utensil holders to get those meals out to the eld. Another warm meal option is a grilled cheeseburger or pork sandwich, wrapped in aluminum foil to keep warm, served with a pasta salad and warm apple crisp. It is hearty, nutritious and not too difcult or time-consuming to prepare. In addition, casseroles can be made ahead of time and put in the freezer until needed. Portioning those out before freezing can make them handy for grab-and-go meals.
Many fun memories have been made at tailgate picnics during eldwork season. I’ve been on both the giving and receiving end of many wonderful eld meals. Kids have fun preparing and delivering meals, too. Some of the fun is just agging the tractor drivers down and then hitching a ride for a round or two.
Tailgate picnics are more than just a meal. They are a time to refuel the body and mind and make a few memories. Pack those lunchboxes full of hearty, nutritious food and high-protein snacks to fuel a body during the busy eldwork season.
New, improved cheese plant
Portage facility enters nal rebuild phase following re
By Stacey Smart stacey.s@dairystar.com
PORTAGE, Wis. —
The nal steps in restoring production at the Associated Milk Producers Inc. cheese processing and packaging plant in Portage are underway following a January 2023 re. While improving upon the original design, the revamped facility will feature additional space for packaging and production, and upgrades to heating, ventilation, air conditioning and ooring. Improvements in plant design will increase production efciency, process ow and product quality.
The plant is organized in two main production areas — natural cheese packaging and processed cheese production and packaging. The area of the plant primarily impacted by the re was the processed cheese operations.
Tyler Banks, AMPI Portage division manager, said the rst step was getting the
plant back up and running following the re. Some production lines were back in action within six weeks, while others came online later in 2023.
“Once cleanup following the re was complete, the natural department came back online to full production relatively quickly,” Banks said.
The rebuild is being completed in phases with production capacity growing upon completion of each phase. The project is slated for completion in late fall, at which point the plant will return to full production.
AMPI is currently in the phase of relocating HVAC and processed cheese loaf production. The area impacted by the re is being demolished and will become new spaces for operations toward the end of summer. The nal phase of the rebuild will include construction of the new receiving area and the processed slice cheese production area.
Air handling units for the
as part
the
Wisconsin. Following a re in 2023, AMPI is in the nal steps of restoring produc on at the Portage cheese processing and packaging plant.
The facility’s physical footprint will decrease slightly, but the overall processing space will increase.
Banks said a new layout provides better utilization of space. Rethinking trafc
patterns and the plant’s operational footprint has made it possible to repurpose areas to make more room for operations and receiving while also creating space to expand production in the future.
“Renovations were focused on improving the processing and production environments to be the industry’s best in terms of design standards and air quality,” Banks said. “At the same time, we considered space to allow opportunities for further growth and exibility with automation.
The project features a variety of improvements, including stainless steel re suppression throughout along with hygienic and sanitary HVAC design.
“Many areas have been designed above industry standards to allow for reliable and efcient operations into the next decades,” Banks said. “At the same time, we are renovating areas that will allow for equipment installation to expand production capacity and future business growth.”
PHOTO SUBMITTED
processed cheese por on of the Associated Milk Producers Inc. plant glisten on the roof mezzanine
of
rebuild process Feb. 7 in Portage,
In addition, there will be space to accommodate future investments in new or expanded production equipment.
AMPI’s senior vice president of sales and marketing, Marshall Reece, said customer demand for AMPI processed American cheese slices and loaves and natural cheese shreds and chunks continues to be strong in the U.S. and abroad.
“We’ve developed a reputation for producing award-winning cheese at our
Portage plant, and customers appreciate knowing the story behind the products,”
Reece said. “AMPI is a dairy farmer-owned cooperative with members and employees committed to providing quality care for land, animals, the co-op and communities — that’s our ‘Co-op Crafted’ promise.”
AMPI is headquartered in New Ulm, Minnesota, and owned by dairy farm families from Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, South
Dakota and North Dakota. AMPI is the largest farmerowned cheese cooperative in the U.S. Cheese, butter and powdered dairy products are marketed to foodservice, retail and food ingredient customers.
Dairy farmer and AMPI chairman of the board Dave Peterson, who milks 70 cows near Boyd, has been an AMPI member since 1986.
“AMPI has long invested in value-added manufacturing, enabling dairy farmer-
owners to capture more value from every drop of milk,” Peterson said. “Owning a processing and packaging plant moves us one step closer to the customer.”
Although the Portage plant does not receive and process milk from member farms, it is an important link for its dairy farmers, providing various product opportunities. The Portage plant receives cheese made at external and internal sources, and Peterson said each AMPI
member owns and benets from the facility which they call their “super foodservice” plant.
Production and customer order fulllment are ongoing throughout the rebuild process as AMPI works to restore production to pre-re levels.
“We’re excited to be in this phase where new construction is happening and our visions are becoming reality,” Banks said.
ROOTED IN THE HEART OF OUR AGRICULTURAL COMMUNITY,
PHOTO SUBMITTED
This 3-D rendering of the exterior of the AMPI cheese processing and packaging plant in Portage, Wisconsin, shows what the project will look like when nished. The project is slated for comple on late this fall, at which point the plant will return to full produc on.
Working toward champion show heifers
For many youth and adults alike, spring and summer mean an occasional break from the daily routine to head to cattle shows and exhibit their best animals. It takes a well-grown, well-balanced heifer with a deep, open rib to stand near the top at most heifer shows. While pedigrees and genetics matter, most heifers aren’t just born to be champions — they are developed through months of hard work.
While this column is specic to raising and feeding show animals, some principles apply to all heifers.
Success starts at birth
Sound management practices need to be implemented on day one to allow the animal to achieve its genetic potential. Maternity pens need to be clean and dry. One gallon of high-quality colostrum should be given as soon as possible after birth. Navels should be dipped in 7% tincture iodine.
Continue development after weaning
Something to Ruminate On
The goal in the post-weaning period is to continue building bone and lean muscle mass. Some equate this to training a well-conditioned athlete. Grain needs should be monitored based on body condition and individual heifer metabolism. To meet amino acid requirements, top dress with high-quality protein sources, which can include soybean meal, canola meal, blood meal and/or a variety of bypass soybeanbased products. Provide clean, accessible water continuously.
By Barry Visser Nutritionist
Accelerated milk or milk replacer programs work well to maximize growth during the rst few months of age. Offer a high-quality starter free choice until 3 months of age. No hay is typically fed during this starter period as it will impede starter intake and rumen development. The volatile fatty acids produced from consuming calf starter are essential to rumen papillae development for maximum growth and performance. Clean, fresh water should be offered within a few days of age to maximize starter digestion and intake.
In most cases, little or no silage will be fed to show heifers as it can limit rib development. Lots of hay is the key to the expression of the show heifer’s deep, open rib. The type of hay is as important as the ingredients in the grain mix. Hay must be clean and free of mold. Grass hay typically works best, although some mixtures with alfalfa may benet younger heifers. Keep in mind, high-quality grass can be highly digestible and increase body condition.
Feeding straw as a primary forage source can work for weight loss situations. It is very important to ensure proper mineral and vitamin fortication during this period. The best solution is to prevent the animal from getting too heavy by monitoring body condition, carbohydrate intakes and forage quality.
Management considerations
Keep all heifers clean and dry. Proper ventilation is critical throughout all stages of life. Fans to move air can yield better hair quality but be mindful
of drafts on younger animals. Keep pen group sizes small with less competition. Keeping heifers of similar age together will also help.
Throughout the life of the calf and heifer, separating stress events — such as pen moves, weaning, vaccinations and dehorning — will prevent setbacks in performance. Work with your veterinarian to develop a sound vaccination program for benets at home as well as potential exposures at shows.
Exercise is critical for yearling heifers to develop lean muscle. It is also important for blood ow, supplying nutrients to cells. Grass pastures are typically not ideal. If this is your only option, it is important to keep grass mowed short and limit the amount of time a heifer can eat grass each day. Dirt lots offer an ideal exercise area with little chance of gaining weight from grass intake.
It is time to get started
It’s not too late to pick out show heifers and start developing them to their genetic potential. Clip the long winter hair coats as the weather warms. For many, this has already happened as we’ve seen a few days above 70 degrees. In season, keep body hair short and work with topline hair often. Wash heifers frequently to improve hair quality and increase the animal’s comfort level. Soap should only be used a couple of times per week, and make sure it is completely rinsed out each time.
Great show heifers require sound management and a keen eye to customize the best feeding strategy for each heifer. While this will take some time and effort, it may result in a purple ribbon hanging above that heifer.
Barry Visser is a nutritionist for Vita Plus.
Celebrating 25 years of growth, innovation
Midwest Dairy’s state and corporate board members gathered for the 2025 annual meeting in early April. This two-day event, held in Bloomington, Minnesota, focused on exploring the positive impact of checkoff on the dairy value chain. Attendees engaged with checkoff staff at an interactive trade show, listened to industry speakers and connected with fellow farmers. The theme of the meeting was “Connect and Grow,” and attendance reached its highest level since before the coronavirus pandemic.
By Kayla Wiederin
Corporate Communications Manager, Midwest Dairy
Charles Krause, chair of the Midwest Dairy corporate board, began the meeting by celebrating a signicant milestone: Midwest Dairy’s 25th anniversary of advocating for dairy farms. He reected on how, over the past 25 years, Midwest Dairy has successfully built trust and increased demand for dairy products through innovative promotion strategies. Krause also celebrated the contributions of past checkoff staff, including former CEOs and farmers who have held the chair position before him.
Over two days, several presenters engaged with farmers on a range of topics. Midwest Dairy’s Lela Fausze delivered a presentation titled, “From Global to Local: Navigating the Landscape of Sustainable Nutrition.” During her session, attendees explored key trends shaping food systems, sustainability and dairy’s signicant role in nourishing communities.
Chris Urban of Dairy Management Inc. delivered a keynote titled, “Modern Wellness—Dairy for the Win.” He offered fresh insights into dairy’s evolving role in consumer wellness and highlighted DMI’s strategic initiatives. Board members were also given an insider’s look at innovative developments within various dairy food categories.
On the second day of the meeting, Dr. Oral Capps Jr., executive professor at Texas A&M University, delivered an in-depth analysis of the dairy checkoff’s economic impact. His data-rich presentation gave attendees a clear understanding of the value generated from checkoff investments.
Midwest Dairy staff demonstrated how their checkoff dollars are being used during the trade show. This event enabled attendees and staff to connect through themes, booths and activities that showcased Midwest Dairy’s successes in 2024.
Some of my favorite booths included one that allowed farmers to create their own cheesy concoctions for a restaurant menu, showcasing innovations in dairy ingredients.
A STEM booth included a classroom experiment in which students identied milk from different animals. Cow milk was included in a lineup of three kinds of milk, and farmers were challenged to pick the right mason jar containing cows’ milk.
I particularly enjoyed the inuencer booth, too, which had a ashy display that was recently used to engage consumers during a Big 12 athletic event.
Lastly, the thought leader booth was quite popular. Dairy farmers played an interactive “Family Feud” style game where they matched dairy farming practices with sustainability terminology to learn how Midwest Dairy thought leader partners share the dairy farm story with others.
As part of the trade show, attendees also participated in a community giving project by creating birthday banners and cards for the Confetti Foundation. The foundation aims to provide birthday parties for children spending their birthdays in hospitals, pediatric oncology clinics or hospice facilities. Over 20 banners and dozens of birthday cards were created during the event. We also included Undeniably Dairy-branded coloring books in
the nal package for these children as a fun way to represent the farmers who were supporting them.
We concluded the event with a celebratory lunch recognizing retiring board members. Those in attendance to be celebrated included Dough Carrol, Gerrit Davelaar and Dan Dietzenbach from Iowa and Allen Merrill from South Dakota. Thank you to these farmers and the other retirees for their years of service and impact on the dairy industry.
The 2025 annual meeting provided an opportunity for farmers to celebrate the achievements of 2024 and
kick off 2025 on a strong note as we continue our efforts to advance the dairy industry. Thank you to all the board members who joined us in Minnesota. As we begin another year of driving dairy trust and sales in the marketplace, there is renewed optimism for growth and innovation in the dairy industry. With increasing consumer demand and a commitment to sustainability, we are excited to see dairy ourish in the eyes of consumers in the coming year.
disclaimer: The views expressed by our columnists are the opinions and thoughts of the author and do not reect the opinions and views of Dairy Star staff and ownership.
Editorial
Bedtime stories
So, there you are, motoring along a quiet country road that you have driven on about a million times. Your mind is drifting, and you’re taking your half of the road out of the middle. You crest a hill, and there’s suddenly another car coming directly at you. And you’re closing in on each other at a speed normally associated with ghter jets.
You both swerve, missing one another by the width of an atom. Your life didn’t ash before your eyes, but you’ll denitely need to do some explaining to the laundry lady.
Once the cold sweat has dried and you can pry your fear-stiffened
Dear
County Agent Guy
By Jerry Nelson Columnist
ngers off the steering wheel, you begin to think. Specically, you think about the big “What If.”
You imagine your funeral service, conducted by that new minister, a man you barely know. The core message of his eulogy is: He was sort of an OK guy, I guess.
Your wife collects the life insurance, sells the house and purchases an elegant hilltop villa in Tuscany. It isn’t long before a smarmy slickster named Lorenzo moves in with her. She doesn’t think of you often, but when she does, she can only recall your frequent crankiness, and the word “badger” pops into her head.
And that’s that. You realize you’ll leave behind about the same impression on this world as a hand does when it’s withdrawn from a 5-gallon bucket of water.
We’ve all mentally run through this scenario or something like it. At the end of mine, I think, “Well, at least I read bedtime stories to my kids.”
I don’t recall exactly how it started, but our two boys were still quite young when it somehow became a ritual for me to read stories to them at bedtime.
On Sunday nights, their stories would come from that day’s funny pages. Our boys had bunkbeds at the time, so one would sit beside me and follow along while the other would lie on his tummy and look down from the top bunk. “Calvin and Hobbes” was our hands-down favorite, with “The Far Side” coming in a close second.
On other nights, I would read books. We went through a “Little House on the Prairie” phase but soon graduated to Patrick McManus, an outdoors writer and a world-class humorist. His books of collected essays have such titles as “Never Sniff a Gift Fish” and “Real Ponies Don’t Go Oink.”
McManus often plumbed the depths of his austere rural Idaho childhood for material. For instance, in one of his stories, he described how he and his pal, Crazy Eddie Muldoon, decided to construct a tiger trap in back of Eddie’s house. The boys only managed to catch a skunk, followed shortly by Eddie’s high-strung father. From then on, Eddie’s dad smelled vaguely of skunk and had a severe and unexplainable facial tic.
Our sons loved these stories, which gratied me greatly. It also gratied me that they didn’t try to
emulate any of the epic exploits McManus so vividly described.
One night, after being read their story, the boys remained restless. They demanded another story, but we had used up our collection of books.
Totally on a whim, I grabbed a stuffed toy monkey that had big, doleful eyes and comically long arms. “One day, Monkey was walking along and...” I began.
And what? I had no clue. “He found a case of dynamite,” I continued impulsively.
Monkey had several dynamite-related mishaps that evening. First, he mistook the sticks of dynamite for cigars and tried to smoke one. After a thunderous explosion threw him high up into the sky, Monkey theorized he had perhaps found a cache of hot dogs. He red up his grill, and you can imagine what happened next.
Our sons laughed themselves silly.
Monkey had calamitous misadventures at almost every bedtime. His misfortunes became more diverse as the boys began to make suggestions. So it was that Monkey suffered the consequences of such things as overeating prior to going on an amusement park ride and the unpleasant side effects of trying to lift a heavy rock shortly after consuming large quantities of industrial-strength laxatives.
My wife would hear the boys giggling uncontrollably and often came to their bedroom to admonish, “You’re supposed to be calming them down, not ring them up.”
She was right, of course. Even so, I couldn’t say no whenever bedtime came and those little voices pleaded, “Do Monkey for us. Please? Pretty please?”
That isn’t much of a legacy and it certainly won’t be etched in stone anywhere. But I guess it will have to do.
Jerry Nelson is a recovering dairy farmer from Volga, South Dakota. He and his wife, Julie, have two sons and live on the farm where Jerry’s greatgrandfather homesteaded over 110 years ago. Feel free to email him at jerry.n@dairystar.com.
USDA expediting $10 billion in direct assistance
By Steve Frericks | Stearns County FSA executive director
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is issuing up to $10 billion directly to agricultural producers through the Emergency Commodity Assistance Program for the 2024 crop year. Administered by USDA’s Farm Service Agency, ECAP will help agricultural producers mitigate the impacts of increased input costs and falling commodity prices. Authorized by the American Relief Act 2025, these economic relief payments are based on planted and prevented planted crop acres for eligible commodities for the 2024 crop year. To streamline and simplify the delivery of ECAP, FSA will begin sending prelled applications to producers who submitted acreage reports to FSA for 2024 eligible ECAP commodities soon after the signup period opens March 19, 2025. Producers do not have to wait for their pre-lled ECAP application to apply. They can visit fsa.usda.gov/ ecap to apply using a login.gov account or contact their local FSA ofce to request an application once the signup period opens.
Eligible commodities and payment rates
The commodities
Wheat - $30.69
Corn - $42.91
Sorghum - $42.52
Barley - $21.67
Oats - $77.66
Eligible oilseeds:
Canola - $31.83
Crambe - $19.08
Flax - $20.97
Mustard - $11.36
Upland cotton & Extra-long Rapeseed - $23.63 staple cotton - $84.74
Long & medium grain rice - $76.94 Safower - $26.32
Peanuts - $75.51
Sesame - $16.83
Soybeans - $29.76 Sunower - $27.23
Dry peas - $16.02
Lentils - $19.30
Small Chickpeas - $31.45
Large Chickpeas - $24.02
reported 2024 crop year acreage or led a notice of loss for prevented planted crops must submit an acreage report by the Aug. 15, 2025, deadline. Eligible producers can visit fsa. usda.gov/ecap for eligibility and payment details.
Applying for ECAP
Producers must submit ECAP applications to their local FSA county ofce by Aug. 15, 2025. Only one application is required for all ECAP eligible commodities nationwide. ECAP applications can be submitted to FSA in person, electronically using Box and One-Span, by fax or by applying online at fsa.usda.gov/ecap utilizing a secure login. gov account.
If not already on le for the 2024 crop year, producers must have the following forms on le with FSA:
• Form AD-2047, Customer Data Worksheet.
• Form CCC-901, Member Information for Legal Entities (if applicable).
• Form CCC-902, Farm Operating Plan for an individual or legal entity.
• Form CCC 943, 75% of Average Gross Income from Farming, Ranching, or Forestry Certication (if applicable).
• AD-1026, Highly Erodible Land Conservation and Wetland Conservation Certication.
• SF-3881, Direct Deposit.
Except for the new CCC-943, most producers, especially those who have previously participated in FSA programs, likely have these forms on le. However, those who are uncertain and want to conrm the status of their forms or need to submit the new CCC943, can contact their local FSA county ofce.
If a producer does not receive a pre-lled ECAP application, and they planted or were prevented from planting ECAP-eligible commodities in 2024, they should contact their local FSA ofce.
ECAP payments and calculator
ECAP payments will be issued as applications are approved. Initial ECAP payments will be factored by 85% to ensure that total program payments do not exceed available funding. If additional funds remain, FSA may issue a second payment.
ECAP assistance will be calculated using a at payment rate for the eligible commodity multiplied by the eligible reported acres. Payments are based on acreage and not production. For acres reported as prevented plant, ECAP assistance will be calculated at 50%.
For ECAP payment estimates, producers are encouraged to visit fsa.usda.gov/ecap to use the ECAP online calculator.
Farm Service Agency is an equal opportunity lender. Complaints about discrimination should be sent to: Secretary of Agriculture, Washington, D.C., 20250. Visit www.fsa. usda.gov for application forms and updates on USDA programs
Where did time go?
and greasy spoons. It was also great companionship over all those miles. I always felt safe traveling in a convoy, the lingering effects of “Smokey and the Bandit.”
Just Thinking Out Loud
I slipped down home to Illinois before the Easter/spring planting rush to host a dual bridal shower for my two nieces. As I was counting up the number of trips I’ll be making this year for showers, weddings and a class reunion, I realized it was payback for not making any trips home in 2024. It just seems harder to slip away from our dairy farm now that I’m taking care of all the calves and I’m an emergency relief milker. When Mark and I were milking together and much younger, my absence didn’t make a dent in the chores, so I could leave with very little guilt. That guiltless feeling didn’t last long into the 900-plus-mile round trip with four children under the age of 8. It feels like yesterday. Where did the time go?
By Natalie Schmitt Columnist
What has really gotten me to looking back over the years are all the major milestones we seem to be hitting. Last year, Mark planted his 51st corn crop. He was only 14 when he hooked up his dad’s four-row-wide planter to the John Deere 530 narrow front tractor with no cab. That spring, more than corn seeds were planted. A desire to farm was reinforced every day as the crops grew. Mark was hooked. He knew he wanted to farm, but he now knew he could farm.
The drive to have the next generation farm spurred Mark’s dad to build a new tiestall dairy barn to keep the boys interested. When I rst started coming around to the farm, it was always called the “new” dairy barn, even though it was 15 years old. Next year, the “new” barn will be 55 years old, but it still seems like it was just built a few years ago.
When someone starts talking about the ‘70s, it feels like it was 15–20 years ago, not 50. Even the 1990s are 30 years ago, a fact I’m reminded of every year as our children enter their third decade. Does that mean I’m getting older too, or are we just getting closer to the same age?
As I was driving back home from the bridal shower weekend, I was struck by the date, April 14. I was making this same northbound trip a few years earlier.
Sherry Newell had just hired me to join her farm broadcasting team in St. Cloud, Minnesota. I packed everything I owned (which wasn’t much) into my ‘77 T-bird and started zigzagging from the corner of southeast Iowa to catch I-35 north to Minnesota. That was 40 years ago. Where did the time go?
My route has never changed, but the roads and surrounding view sure have. My rst trip north took 10 hours driving through every small Iowa town on 2-lane roads until I could open it up on the interstate. The speed limit there was 60 (a remnant of the gas shortage crisis). I talked on my citizen band radio with truckers on tips for sneaky bears
Over the years, I have been able to reduce the trip to eight hours. Google says I could do it in seven, but my bladder has changed over time and says otherwise. The new speed limit of 70 mph has helped, but I was driving over the limit back then, so that may just be a wash. Unbeknownst to me at the time, Sam Walton of Walmart was negotiating the Highway of Saints between St. Louis, Missouri, and St. Paul, Minnesota, to facilitate his new distribution center in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, the point of my route where I shift from heading west to north. He wanted 4-lane highways between the two cities to help move his products.
Today, there are only 10 miles of 2-lane roads on my 483-mile trip: ve from our farm in Rice and ve to my farm in Stronghurst. When I dreaded driving through all those small towns, I didn’t realize what a great treat they were in breaking up my long travels. On a 4-lane highway, you just drive with very little to see; thank goodness for cruise control. However, the way things are changing, I may be able to sleep at the wheel and still arrive safely with articial intelligence smart cars.
Probably the biggest change has been around the Twin Cities on I-494. When I rst drove up here, I felt like I was in the wilderness. Where was the city, let alone the Twin Cities? There were swampy areas, tamarack trees and no buildings lining the interstate. Today, that area seems to have been swallowed up by the metropolitan area. The only sign of green grass is the manicured corporate campuses. Everything else has been covered with concrete and asphalt. There is no longer a sense of northern wilderness. It seems like these buildings have always been here. Where did the time go?
Now, Austin is starting to take on the spring planting job at our farm. He has been busy nding new equipment to t his production goals. Mark eventually grew to a 6-row planter and a tractor with a cab. His biggest leap was to liquid fertilizer instead of using a bushel basket to manually ll the fertilizer boxes. He literally moved every ton of fertilizer from a gravity box to his planter. Austin has expanded to a 12-row planter and a front-wheel assist tractor with a cab to drive through the elds. We’re just waiting for a couple of warm spring rains to set the stage for a great growing season to come.
As their four children pursue dairy careers off the family farm, Natalie and Mark Schmitt started an adventure of milking registered Holsteins just because they like good cows on their farm north of Rice, Minnesota.
Chicken and egg lessons
For being a dairy farm family, we sure do talk about chickens and eggs a lot.
Last summer, Monika and Daphne started an egg business partnership. Daphne tends the hens and collects the eggs. Monika packages and markets the eggs. They started with orders from teachers and staff at their schools. Then, during the summer, they brought their eggs to the farmers’ market in town.
Their enterprise was super helpful during our spring and summer ush of eggs. And, it’s proving to be crucial again this spring.
We have even more eggs this spring than we did last year. Partly because we added another group of 4-H project hens to our ock and partly because of our hens’ new palace.
First, don’t do the math. Just like it’s never a good idea for dairy farmers to calculate how much they get paid per hour, it’s not a good idea for small-ock chicken farmers to calculate their prot per carton. Monika keeps a detailed spreadsheet of egg orders and income, but I can almost guarantee that our expenses and the value of our time exceed the four dollars the girls collect for each dozen sold.
This past winter, our egg harvest dropped off precipitously. The weather uctuations surely had an impact, but I also quit climbing into the big square bales in the shed to collect from the hens’ self-appointed nests. Most of the hens were still laying – we just weren’t nding the eggs before they froze.
By Sadie Frericks Columnist Dairy Good Life
We got by for awhile by using the frozen eggs I had stashed in the freezer two summers ago. Frozen eggs denitely look a little odd once thawed, but they worked perfectly for our weekly pans of egg bake. We also discovered this winter that ground beef seasoned with sage, garlic, salt and pepper tastes just like ground pork when added to egg bake. We used up our supply of ground pork and have a freezer full of ground beef, so that’s what prompted us to give it a try.
The day Monika reported that there was only one package of frozen eggs left in the freezer, I picked up a dozen eggs at the store. That was a tough pill to swallow. Paying $6 for a dozen eggs when you have dozens of laying hens at home felt ridiculous.
The next day we decided it was time to remedy our situation and a plan quickly formed. Using some building materials we had on hand, Glen and the kids turned the straw bay in our heifer shed into a enclosed coop. With protection from the wind, a heat lamp and a set of nesting boxes, our hens now had cozy quarters and a dedicated place to lay their eggs.
We moved most of our hens into their new palace. Within two days, we were collecting more eggs than we could eat. Within a week, the girls were marketing eggs again.
Some of our wilier hens retained their free range status. Interestingly, though, shortly after the ock was split, we started nding more eggs in the nest boxes used by the free range hens. I now suspect that our box-to-hen ratio was the reason so many hens made nests in the bales instead of laying in the nest boxes. Lesson learned.
We’ve learned a few other chicken and egg lessons, as well.
Second, don’t count your chickens before they hatch. I know this is the most overused cliché ever, but it was especially true when it came to nding baby chicks for this year’s 4-H project. Avian inuenza took a serious toll on the baby chick supply chain. The hatchery we’ve been doing business with for years had limited availability — and in some cases zero availability — for hybrid egg layer chicks. We found another hatchery and placed an order, but delivery was pushed back due to supply issues. So we placed an order at our original hatchery, but on the day Daphne should have received the chicks, no package arrived – with zero communication from the hatchery. On one hand I felt bad for the folks at the hatchery, because they clearly were having issues, but on the other hand I absolutely couldn’t believe that their lack of customer service was reality. Long story short, Daphne was nally able to get both white and brown egg layers from the new hatchery. They’ll be adding eggs to our supply in another month or so.
Third, do keep laying hens for the joy of it. Chickens are delightful. We all enjoy their antics — from the way they chase after each other when one nds a tasty morsel to the way they burrow into the shavings to dust bathe. And picking eggs is like having an Easter egg hunt every day — even when we’re only picking from the nest boxes. Thanks to the multi-breed hybrids added to our ock each year by broody hens, we now have a beautiful variety of shell colors. Sorting eggs into cartons feels like creating art.
Fourth, do nd lots of ways to enjoy eggs. As mentioned above, we really like egg bake and have been switching it up with variations like supreme and meat lovers. Most mornings, I pretend I’m a short-order cook in an egg restaurant. Dan likes simple omelets — just three eggs whisked with a pinch of salt, cooked in a covered pan, and then folded over co-jack cheese. Monika likes fried eggs stacked with a slice of Havarti cheese. Daphne likes omelets, too, but with bacon crumbles added. (The same as Glen.) But lately, the girls have been asking for scrambled eggs, so I’ve perfected small-batch scrambled eggs. I still prefer eating eggs for lunch — fried and made into an eggwich with sauteéd spinach, Havarti cheese, and black garlic.
