DAIRY ST R
W rld Dairy Special Edition September 12, 2020
Innovation keeps Larsons farming into fourth generation
Housing, water quality improvements aid Nebraska dairy By Jennifer Coyne jenn@dairystar.com
CRESTON, Neb. – For more than a century, the Larsons have farmed the plains of Platte County in the northeast region of Nebraska. The family’s ability to continue such a rich tradition is the result of their commitment to nding new ways of dairy farming. “Our farm has been on the same piece of land for 101 years, milking cows and row crop farming,” Bob Larson said. “When
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The Larson family – (front, from leŌ) Taytum, 6, Tyce, 10, Tanyn, 14; (back, from leŌ) Rick, Lorrie, Taylor, 18, Kelsey and Bob – milk 350 cows at their farm near Creston, Nebraska. More than two-thirds of the herd is milked with four Turn to NEBRASKA | Page 4 robots and the remaining cows are milked in the farm’s parlor that was remodeled in the 1970s.
Page 2 • Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Saturday, September 12, 2020
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Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Saturday, September 12, 2020 • Page 3
What’s Inside
FIRST SECTION Profile: Colorado ...................................Pages 18-19 Profile: Washington...................................... Page 27 Economists forecast bearish market .....Pages 28, 30 Profile: Michigan ........................................... Pages 38-39 SECOND SECTION Profile: Rhode Island............................Pages 13-14 Profile: Oklahoma .................................Pages 21-22 Sustainability is all encompassing mentality for Young ...............................................Pages 24-26
DAIRY ST R www.dairystar.com
522 Sinclair Lewis Ave. Sauk Centre, MN 56378 Phone: (320) 352-6303 Fax: (320) 352-5647
Published by Dairy Star LLC General Manager/Editor
Mark Klaphake - mark.k@dairystar.com 320-352-6303 (ofce) 320-248-3196 (cell) 320-352-0062 (home) Ad Composition
Nancy Powell 320-352-6303 nancy.p@dairystar.com Consultant Jerry Jennissen 320-346-2292 Editorial Staff
Krista Kuzma - Editor/Wisconsin (507) 259-8159 • krista.k@dairystar.com Andrea Borgerding - Associate Editor (320) 352-6303 • andrea.b@dairystar.com Jennifer Coyne - Assistant Editor (320) 352-6303 • jenn@dairystar.com Danielle Nauman (608) 487-1101 danielle.n@dairystar.com Stacey Smart - Staff Writer (262) 442-6666 • stacey.s@dairystar.com Maria Bichler - Copy Editor 320-352-6303
Rotterdam, Netherlands
Floating Farm a reality in the Netherlands First Section: Pages 8, 10-11
Bluffton, Indiana
Information is a game-changer at Neu-Hope Dairy First Section: Pages 13-15, 17
Dearing, Georgia
New technology solidies future for Hillcrest Farms First Section: Pages 22-23, 25-26
Mount Gambier, South Australia, Australia
Hamilton’s Run continues dairy tradition in South Australia First Section: Pages 32, 34-36
Advertising Sales Main Ofce: 320-352-6303 Fax: 320-352-5647 Deadline is 5 p.m. of the Friday the week before publication
Sales Manager - Joyce Frericks 320-352-6303 • joyce@dairystar.com Mark Klaphake (Western MN) 320-352-6303 (ofce) • 320-248-3196 (cell) Laura Seljan (National Advertising, SE MN) 507-250-2217 fax: 507-634-4413 laura.s@dairystar.com Jerry Nelson (SW MN, NW Iowa, South Dakota) 605-690-6260 jerry.n@dairystar.com Bob Leukam (Northern MN, East Central MN) 320-260-1248 (cell) bob.l@star-pub.com Mike Schafer (Central, South Central MN) 320-894-7825 mike.s@dairystar.com Amanda Hoeer (Eastern Iowa) 320-250-2884 • amanda.h@dairystar.com Julie Barnes (SE WI and Northern IL) julie.b@dairystar.com Megan Stuessel (Western Wisconsin) 608-387-1202 • megan.s@dairystar.com Ashley Curry (Northeast WI and Upper MI) 920-539-7268 • ashley.c@dairystar.com Deadlines The deadline for news and advertising in the Dairy Star is 5 p.m. Friday the week before publication. Subscriptions One year subscription $35.00, outside the U.S. $110.00. Send check along with mailing address to Dairy Star, 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave., Sauk Centre, MN 56378.
Nantwich, Cheshire County, United Kingdom
A look inside one United Kingdom dairy farm Second Section: Pages 1-3, 5
Ault, Colorado
De Jager starts farm in Colorado Second Section: Pages 6-7, 9
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Billings, Missouri
Groves-View Dairy has focused on developing elite genetics in two breeds
Dairy St r Milk Break
Second Section: Pages 10-11
Keene, Ontario, Canada
Robot install a sweet feat for Stockdales Second Section: Pages 27, 29
Lima, Peru
La Querencia is a dairy haven in Peru Second Section: Pages 15-19
Email andrea.b@dairystar.com
Page 4 • Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Saturday, September 12, 2020
ConƟnued from NEBRASKA | Page 1
we transitioned to a new robotic milking barn, our goal was to design a barn that was best for the cows and second, one that was going to let us be as efcient as we could with labor.” Larson and his wife, Kelsey, milk 350 cows at Larson Farms in partnership with Larson’s parents, Rick and Lorie, near Creston. In 2018, the family built a tunnel-ventilated freestall barn that was equipped with four Lely robots to milk 250 cows. The remainder of the herd is milked in the farm’s parlor. “We have milked 350 cows since the 1970s when the original parlor was remodeled to accommodate
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Bob and Rick Larson review cow data collected at one of four milking robots on their farm near Creston, Nebraska. The Larsons installed the new technology in 2018.
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The water addiƟve system at Larson Farms improves water quality using a hydrogen peroxide based product on the dairy near Creston, Nebraska. The family has noted improved animal health and milk producƟon since installing the system.
OU EST ota! Y G k R ? LA h Da DID OW e t KN f th Sou o ne s in
“When we transitioned to a new robotic milking barn, our goal was to design a barn that was best for the cows.” BOB LARSON, DAIRY FARMER
more cows,” Larson said. Larson oversees the day-to-day operations of the farm with his wife, as his parents begin transitioning into retirement. The Larsons have four children – Taylor, 18, Tanyn, 14, Tyce, 10, and Taytum, 6 – who regularly help with chores on the dairy. After years of milking in the parlor, the family was looking for a different way to milk cows, and Turn to NEBRASKA | Page 5
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Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Saturday, September 12, 2020 • Page 5
ConƟnued from NEBRASKA | Page 4
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A tunnel-venƟlated freestall barn is equipped with four Lely milking robots at Larson Farms near Creston, Nebraska. The barn has designated central water piping to every water tank to maintain water quality.
robots t their needs. “Everything we had in the parlor was getting outdated,” Larson said. “It was requiring more labor and was not as efcient for the cows.” While many parts of the way cows are managed changed with the new freestall barn and milking system, one stayed the same. For some time, the Larsons have emphasized improved water quality.
“When we rst started looking into water quality, it was mainly to keep our wells clean,” Larson said. “We have a lot of iron in our old well and were having to pull them and clean them yearly.” This practice created a decrease in water pressure. Then, the family began using Turn to NEBRASKA | Page 6
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Page 6 • Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Saturday, September 12, 2020
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PHOTO SUBMITTED
Cows wait outside a milking robot at Larson Farms near Creston, Nebraska. Of the total 350 cows milked at the dairy, 250 are milked by four robots.
a hydrogen peroxide based water additive in the well water through a pump system. This allowed the water lines to be slowly cleaned of iron without disrupting water pressure throughout the barn. “When we were designing the new barn, I wanted to make sure we had designated central water piping to every tank,” Larson said. “Honestly, we weren’t concerned about water quality in the new barn because the wells had lower iron levels than the old wells. But, we gave it more thought as water is one of the most important ingredients we give a cow,
and one we, frankly, take for granted.” With the water additive and improved cow comfort in the new barn, the Larsons saw a 7-pound increase in milk production per cow. The cows also increased dry matter intake by 1 pound and increased water consumption by 7 gallons per cow per day. After testing the water, bicarbonates, manganese and hardness were parameters, of the 15 tested, that were elevated. “Our water was pretty good to Turn to NEBRASKA | Page 7
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Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Saturday, September 12, 2020 • Page 7
Con�nued from NEBRASKA | Page 6
begin with,” Larson said. “I think we’ve created a phenomenal environment for the cows to live in, be it the fans and the constant air movement, or the ush that keeps the cows clean, and the ease of access to fresh, clean water, feed and milking systems.”
“Farming has become such a tight margin business that we have to be focused on what can drive protability.”
BOB LARSON, DAIRY FARMER
Implementing the milking robots gave Larson more available information about his family’s dairy herd. He quickly adapted to using the data. The system provides individual cow records on activity, rumination, temperature, milk production and composition, and somatic cell count, among other values that help Larson make sound decision on how each individual cow should be cared for. “We can get so much
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Building a tunnel-ven�lated freestall barn with four milking robots has allowed the Larson family to remain efficient contributors to the state’s dairy industry. When the facility was built at Larson Farms in 2018, it was one of three dairy farms with the innova�ve technology in Nebraska.
information from the cow with this system,” Larson said. “All of this helps us to make the cow the best that she can be.” When the Larsons built their new dairy barn, they were one of three farmers in the state to implement the innovative technology. Agriculture plays a strong
role in the state’s economy, yet dairy makes up a small portion of that sector. At the beginning of 2020, Nebraska was home to 58,000 milking cows with each cow contributing to a total 1.409 billion pounds of milk, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. Larson Farms began
in 1919 with John and Lela Larson purchasing an original quarter section of the farm. Larson’s grandparents, Harold and Twila, were the ones to rst milk cows. By implementing newer technology, allowing for more efcient farm operations, Larson Farms remains a
vital part of Nebraska’s dairy industry for another generation. “Farming has become such a tight margin business that we have to be focused on what can drive protability,” Larson said. “I think every farm has to always be looking to continually improve.”
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Page 8 • Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Saturday, September 12, 2020
Floating Farm a reality in the Netherlands First-of-its-kind operation oats to the top of innovative dairy farms By Maria Bichler Staff Writer
ROTTERDAM, Netherlands – In Rotterdam, 32 cows call the ocean home. Well, sort of. The Meuse-Rhine-Issel cows are the rst in the world to be housed in an offshore dairy farm. The facility, Floating Farm, is an 80-by-80 three-tiered facility anchored to the ocean oor in the bustling Merwehaven harbor. The farm has been operational since May 2019 and was designed by Beladon, a company specializing in waterborne architecture, and a local architecture studio, Goldsmith.
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The 80-by-80 three-Ɵered facility is anchored to the ocean oor in the Merwehaven harbor. The farm uses oaƟng solar panels for energy.
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Minke van Wingerden, and her husband, Peter, manage the FloaƟng Farm. The farm is home to 32 Meuse-Rhine-Issel cows in RoƩerdam, Netherlands.
Peter van Wingerden, an engineer with Beladon, gave fruition to the concept while in New York City during the devastating 2012 Hurricane Sandy, a storm which left 17% of the city’s land mass, or 51 square miles, ooded, according to a report from the mayor’s ofce at the time. The massive storm caused widespread outages of power, and fresh food on store shelves was hard to come by after just two days, said Minke van Wingerden. Minke, Peter’s wife and business partner, spoke of the Floating Farm, and devotes her life’s work to
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not only the dairy operation but also future projects. “(Peter) realized, why should we not make a oating farm so we are not disturbed by bad weather?” Minke said. “We can always keep on producing fresh food to the city where food is needed. … So, we started to think about it and talk about it, and we are now up and running.” The farm is nestled in Rotterdam, Netherland’s second largest city with a population of over 650,000 Turn to NETHERLANDS | Page 10
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Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Saturday, September 12, 2020 • Page 9
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Page 10 • Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Saturday, September 12, 2020
Con�nued from NETHERLANDS | Page 8
citizens. The facility is limited to 40 cows, and the calves are raised off-site. Serving such an urban area, the farm is embracing its goals of sustainability, innovation, animal welfare, education and circularity. “For this big city, it’s important that young children learn about cows, how dairy is produced,” Minke said. “I always say how much love and energy it takes from the farmer to make your glass of milk. To create awareness is very important in this project too.” The facility itself appears surprisingly compact with the heaviest structural components resting in the submerged part of the building. The lightest weight rests on top and is also the most transparent layer, creating a building design from concrete to translucent polycarbonate to open. Two ramps provide access to the building – one for the cows to access a pasture and one for employ and public access to the middle tier. The top tier, where the cows are housed, has a network of steel bridges for the public to gain access to the activities of the farm. Minke said the farm is open to the public every day except Sunday. “We really have a special goal in this area because this area of the city is transforming
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The cows are free to walk on and off the farm to access a pasture when weather and grass condi�ons comply. Another walkway gives access to the middle �er where the ra�on is mixed and the milk is processed. from a port to housing and ofces,” Minke said. “In 10 or 15 years, this area will be transformed. But we always say when you transform things, you need a heart, and our farm will be the heart of the new part of the city. So, we call this our ‘transfarmation.’” The cows are milked in a robotic system. Minke said the herd produces 1,6001,800 pounds of milk per day. The milk is sold both as
pasteurized and raw, and is made into butter, buttermilk and two kinds of yogurt. The processing takes place on-site in the middle tier. “All our products are full which means we don’t take off any fat,” Minke said. The products were originally sold to restaurants and caterers, but due to the ripple effect of the novel coronavirus pandemic, products are currently being
sold off the farm and throughout the city at pick-up points. The farm offers online ordering for added convenience. Minke said a network of volunteers helps to keep the deliveries owing. “What we see over here, because we started with raw milk, that attracted a lot of young people and also people from different cultures so this created a really nice atmosphere and really nice vibe,” Minke
said. “People were willing to help and be a volunteer on the farm. We have a great group of volunteers who go around with an electric car to handle the pick-up points but also bring home the dairy. It’s a really great thing that happened to us.” With coronavirus-related lock downs diminishing, Turn to NETHERLANDS | Page 11
Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Saturday, September 12, 2020 • Page 11
ConƟnued from NETHERLANDS | Page 10
PHOTO SUBMITTED
www.boumatic.com
l y,
ARRIVAL
Q
u ic
p le
NEW
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The milking herd’s raƟon comes from local bi-products. Ingredients include things such as fresh grass clippings from a soccer club and golf course, potato peelings, bran from the mill and grains from local breweries.
G e nt
Minke said restaurants are opening again, but the farm will continue to offer products directly to the public. “That is a really great balance,” she said. In addition to volunteers, the farm is managed by a herdsman, an assistant herdsman and a dairy specialist. Circularity certainly embodies Floating Farm’s business model. The cows are fed fresh grass clippings from a soccer club and golf course in the city as well as grains from local breweries, bran from a local mill and potato peelings from a local processor. In December 2019, the farm began using vegetable, fruit and bread by-products from caterers in the city. Then, the farm supplied fresh milk and yogurt to the caterers’ restaurants. The feed is mixed in the middle tier and is delivered to the cows by an automatic system which dumps the TMR from above the feed bunks. The manure produced on the top tier is scraped by a robot and is funneled to the middle tier where it is separated into a dry manure product. The compost is then sold to the city and citizens for use in parks and gardens. “Because we split the manure immediately, there is less gas,” Minke said. “That’s a good part. … It’s all about circularity, all about a minute footprint as possible.” Floating Farm uses as much reusable green energy as it can. Floating next to the farm is a eld of solar panels, and the farm is testing the concept of oating wind turbines. Rainwater is collected and cleaned for drinking water for the cows. “We use a lot of robotics; that’s because this is only our rst farm,” Minke said. “Our idea is to make bigger ones all over the world. This is a type of prototype. … It’s all about just to do things. You can talk it over and talk it over, but we have to do. Some people say a project like this is too expensive. But we have to realize, if we wait longer and longer, the amount of arable land is decreasing. Mother Earth is under big pressure, so we have to do, and we have to act.” Minke said another oating farm is in the permitting phase. This time for vegetable, herb and chicken production also in Rotterdam. “We also have plans to go abroad, but at this moment those plans are on hold because of the coronavirus,” Minke said. “That will be the future indeed to make farms like this around the world. It’s easy to scale it up. A small farm like this isn’t so protable. But, you have to start somewhere. But also, if it’s too big, the investment is too big, so this was a good start.” Indeed, as the world population continues to rise, agriculture production will have to adapt to increasing consumers. And, Floating Farm serves as an anchor for dairy farming in an entirely new way.
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Page 12 • Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Saturday, September 12, 2020
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Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Saturday, September 12, 2020 • Page 13
Information is a game-changer at Neu-Hope Dairy
Neuenschwander uses cow tracking system to advance herd By Krista Kuzma
krista.k@dairystar.com
BLUFFTON, Ind. – Before 2018, Alex Neuenschwander admits his farm did not have a lot of information-gathering equipment. “We were pretty low-tech,” he said. “We didn’t have a whole lot of information coming in. Information is something that is a big deal. We need that data to help us move into the future.” Since installing a predictive intelligence system, Neuenschwander has been able to keep closer tabs on the animals in his 900-cow herd at his farm, Neu-Hope Dairy, near Bluffton. Neuenschwander farms together with his wife, Shauna, and their children, Adler, 12, Case, 9, and Wyatt, 5, along with his brother, Kip, and his family. Cows wear a sensor on a collar that tracks activity, eating and rumination. The software system then interprets this information and alerts the farmer, through an app, the number of cows that need to be inseminated, are not having reproductive cycles, have health problems or are calving. Turn to NEU-HOPE | Page 14
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Alex and Shauna Neuenschwander along with their three sons (from le�) Case, 9, Wya�, 5, and Adler, 12, milk 900 cows on their farm, Neu-Hope Dairy near Bluffton, Indiana. A cow tracking system added to their facility in 2018 has allowed the family to more efficiently manage reproduc�on and health among other areas in their herd.
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Page 14 • Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Saturday, September 12, 2020
ConƟnued from NEU-HOPE | Page 13
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Cows at Neu-Hope Dairy wear collars that track acƟvity and ruminaƟon. The informaƟon gathered by the tracking system is further analyzed to determine if a cow needs to be inseminated, has a health problem, is not reproducƟvely cycling or is calving.
“That takes data to the next level,” Neuenschwander said. The cows on Neuenschwander’s dairy that need to be sorted for a breeding or to check on health are automatically sorted into a separate pen after milking. “The information we’re getting now with the sensors on has been a big help,” Neuenschwander said about the system called Ida. “Some of the things on the health end were the most exciting – to help identify fresh cow issues faster and, in some instances, before we see them with our eyes.” Monitoring the fresh cows more closely has allowed Neuenschwander to prevent displaced abomasum, ketosis and milk fever, or nd these issues sooner for a better chance at recovery. Neuenschwander said the rumination data has also been able to detect stomach issues in animals that are later in lactation much faster than he or his employees could. “We have gotten to the point where if it pinpoints a cow and we pull up the info and don’t see what the problem is after a ve-point inspection
of temperature, milk, looks, manure and respiration, we still treat with something for the stomach because there’s a good chance she’s going to come back in a couple days and need something actually treated on her,” he said. “The rumination piece is the most interesting to me and the biggest surprise.” From a reproductive standpoint, the new technology has helped increase the pregnancy rate. Since using the new system, the pregnancy rate has increased from the low 20% range to its current 30%. “It’s done a really good job of catching heats,” Neuenschwander said. “We’re happy with that.” Neuenschwander uses the same reproduction synchronization program he had in place before adding the tracking collars to the herd. “They haven’t been able to talk me out of that because things are going so good and it’s a tool we have in our toolbelt,” he said. However, Neuenschwander has thought about reducing or eliminating Turn to NEU-HOPE | Page 15
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Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Saturday, September 12, 2020 • Page 15
ConƟnued from NEU-HOPE | Page 14
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Alex Neuenschwander looks at informaƟon gathered by the tracking system on his dairy.
the synch program in the future. “I think (the tracking system) works good enough that we can look at taking out the synch program,” he said. “As the dairy industry moves forward, that’s something we might have to do anyway – have less hormone reliance.” Since his herd’s pregnancy rate has increased, Neuenschwander has been able to push back the voluntary waiting period on cows from 60 days in milk to 75 days in milk. Potentially, the system could even have a customized voluntary waiting period
for each cow, which Neuenschwander said he might use in the future. “That’s cool and exciting stuff,” he said. “The blanket approach has always bugged me a bit, but that’s the way we do everything every time (the dairy herd size) is scaled up a bit.” Neuenschwander works with the company to go over data points and optimize breeding based on activity. Improving the genetics of his herd is one area Neuenschwander has enjoyed. Lately, Neuenschwander
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Turn to NEU-HOPE | Page 17
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Page 16 • Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Saturday, September 12, 2020
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Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Saturday, September 12, 2020 • Page 17
ConƟnued from NEU-HOPE | Page 15
has had all animals genomic tested in order to determine which animals to breed to dairy bulls. About 70% of the herd is bred to a beef bull. “We don’t need the replacements,” Neuenschwander said. “They’re expensive. And the black calves are born really healthy, and they carry a premium.”
“I feel agriculture has a lot of room for improvement. We’re improving by leaps and bounds, but we want to leave the ground and environment around us better for the next generation.” ALEX NEUENSCHWANDER
Since a young age, Neuenschwander has wanted to be a dairy farmer. His grandpa, the second generation on his family’s farm, is the one who started to focus on dairy. When his dad and uncle owned the farm, Neuenschwander helped as a kid in any way he could. After graduating from high school in 2002, Neuenschwander started working on the dairy full time; however, when the
milk price plummeted in 2008, the family decided to sell the herd. “It left me scratching my head wondering what I was going to do,” Neuenschwander said. After the cows left, he started raising heifers. But his heart was always set on owning and milking his own herd of cows. In 2012, he bought 100 cows. By 2016, Neuenschwander had the barn lled to its previous capacity of 400. That was also the year Kip joined the dairy. Last year, Neu-Hope Dairy expanded with a new 900-cow freestall barn while using the same double-12 parlor to milk the herd. “There have been some extremely stressful times in the last several years,” Neuenschwander said. “But I’ve always been pretty passionate about cows so I’ve always loved dairy farming and it’s something I always wanted to do.” His philosophy for farming is to leave the farm better for the next generation. “I feel agriculture has a lot of room for improvement,” Neuenschwander said. “We’re improving by leaps and bounds, but we want to leave the ground and environment around us better for the next generation.” Technology and the farm’s new cow tracking system is all part of the equation. “We will always have something on our cows because it has saved a lot of cows for us,” Neuenschwander said. “I’ve bought in and it feels pretty good.”
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Page 18 • Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Saturday, September 12, 2020
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Ray Thompson stands in front of some of the milking herd on their 1,400 cow Jersey farm, Thompson River Dairy, near Johnstown, Colorado.
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Ray Thompson Thompson River Dairy Johnstown, Colorado 1,650 Jerseys Tell us about your farm. We milk around 1,400 Jerseys three times a day in a double-20 parallel parlor. Cows are housed in dry lots. What crops do you grow? How many acres? How has this growing season been? We don’t grow any crops. All hay and corn silage is purchased from local farmers in our area. This year’s growing season has been hot and dry. What is a unique aspect of farming in your area? Farming in my Turn to COLORADO | Page 19
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Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Saturday, September 12, 2020 • Page 19
ConƟnued from COLORADO | Page 18
area is unique because we are more suburban than rural. We are very close to high population centers which makes for great quality of life, but we still have access to feed. Describe a highlight or an accomplishment for your farm in the past few years. This year, we are very proud of our breeding. We are able to achieve a 31% pregnancy rate average without the use of timed articial insemination. What are challenges your farm is currently facing? How are you overcoming them? Labor is a challenge in my area. There is a lot of competition for labor between agriculture, construction and oil eld work. We try to be competitive with pay and good work schedules. What steps has your farm taken to remain viable during the pandemic? We have survived the pandemic by taking full advantage of the Dairy Revenue Protection offered by the federal government. I would encourage every producer to implement it as you can lock in a good price oor and not have to pay any premium up front for the insurance. What do you enjoy most about dairy farming? What I enjoy most about dairy farming is the constant pursuit of improvement and the satisfaction of achieving goals. If you’re not improving, it’s hard to survive in this industry.
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Thompson River Dairy has a 50- by 100-foot maternity barn. The cows are bedded with ground wooden pallets.
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Milking cows on Thompson River Dairy eat a raƟon that includes corn silage, alfalfa, rolled corn, canola, soybean meal, molasses, coƩonseed and brewers grain.
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Page 20 • Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Saturday, September 12, 2020
Upgrade Your Milk Cooling Experience The Mueller® Model “OHF” milk cooler arrives on the farm ready for work. With limited field setup required, this system can be installed in hours and be ready for the next milking cycle. For dairies looking to upgrade their milk cooling experience, low installation costs and a chemical dosing system make the “OHF” an ideal choice, providing an optimal milk cooling and storage experience for years to come. Further ease each workday when you choose the HiPerForm® plus control for your Model “OHF” milk cooler. Automated cooling and wash cycles, as well as access to vital on-farm data via the cloud, help you gain peace of mind during those times you need to be away from your dairy operation.
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Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Saturday, September 12, 2020 • Page 21
Model “OHF” Milk Cooler Advanced Dairy Solutions - Richland Center, WI Central Ag Supply - Juneau, WI; Baraboo, WI Eastern Iowa Dairy Systems - Epworth, IA Ederer’s Dairy Supply - Plain, WI; Blanchardville, WI; Dodgeville, WI
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Page 22 • Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Saturday, September 12, 2020
New technology solidies future for Hillcrest Farms
Third-generation farm transitions to robotic milkers By Andrea Borgerding andrea.b@dairystar.com
DEARING, Ga. – The thought of learning and implementing new technology on a dairy farm can be overwhelming. But when the Rodgers family decided to take the next step in progressing their dairy farm, family members and industry professionals came together to learn and implement a successful transition. The discussion of upgrading the farm’s milking system started three years ago. Today, Hillcrest Farms is nine months into transitioning from milking in a parlor to ve DeLaval VMS V300 robotic milking systems. “There is a learning curve to implementing any new technology,” said Mark Rodgers. “This can place stress on the family, but we are learning more every day and continuously look for ways to improve.” Rodgers is an owner and operator of Hillcrest Farms, a 320-cow dairy near Dearing. He is the farm’s general manager and supports the daily needs of the farm, including social media outreach and human resource responsibilities. Rodgers farms with his brother, Andy, who is Chief Executive Ofcer.
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Brothers Mark (leŌ) and Andy Rodgers oversee the workings of their family farm. They are the third generaƟon to dairy on their family’s land near Dearing, Georgia. Together, they are the third generation on the family farm where they milk Holsteins and raise 1,000 acres of crops. With so few robotic milking systems in the South, Rodgers met with farmers in the Midwest who had already implemented robotic milking.
Knowing this was the next step for his family, Rodgers visited several dairies in the Midwest to learn more about the technology and gure out how to implement it at Hillcrest. “These discussions helped shape our eventual transition and allowed us
to become a model for other dairies in my region,” Rodgers said. “The process required a lot of research and planning before implementation.” Family members and industry Turn to GEORGIA | Page 23
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Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Saturday, September 12, 2020 • Page 23
ConƟnued from GEORGIA | Page 22
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The Florida-style convenƟonal freestall barn is equipped with sand bedding, fans, sprinklers and rubber ooring in the alleyways to enhance cow comfort. professionals proved vital in the farm’s transition. “Part of the reason we have been able to successfully make the transition over to the robotics is because we have a diverse set of skills within our family and support from our nutritionist and feed company,” Rodgers said. Other family members ll out some of the labor needs of the family farm. Andy’s wife, Jan, serves as the Chief Financial Ofcer. Mark and Marci’s daughter, Caitlin, serves as the farm’s dairy operations manager. Andy and Jan’s son, Joshua, has taken a handson role in the implementation of the robotic milkers. He handles general
maintenance and upkeep of the robotic system. Joshua’s wife, Marlee, is nishing her nal year of veterinary school and will be joining the veterinary portion of the family business in addition to maintaining her own private practice. Labor has been one the most challenging aspects of operating the dairy farm. Transitioning to the robotic system allowed the Rodgers family to improve workows and challenged employees to learn about new technology. “The process has required a lot of
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Page 24 • Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Saturday, September 12, 2020
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ConĆ&#x;nued from GEORGIA | Page 23
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The Rodgers family put up their silage in bunkers lined with red Georgia clay, which is a hard, brick-like substance. team work and we are very proud of the efforts our team has invested to make it all possible,â€? Rodgers said. One of the biggest rewards Rodgers said of using the robotic milking system is the amount of information they have access to in order to make informed business decisions. “Additionally, the entire management system that goes with robotic milking reduces the stress on the cattle,â€? Rodgers said. Farming in the South has offered both challenges and beneďƒžts. The subtropical, humid climate tends to have very hot and humid summer months. “The area infrequently experiences cold weather and is a very lush, beautiful place to live and farm,â€? Rodgers said.
The dairy uses an evaporative cooling system to help mitigate heat stress on the cattle. Cows are housed in a conventional freestall barn, which allows for optimal airďƒ&#x;ow. Fans and a sprinkler system are used to keep the herd comfortable. Corn and rye grass are raised and harvested as the main silage for the lactating herd. They also raise sorghum for the dry cows. “In general, we try to keep crops in constant rotation which is possible in our climate, and a unique advantage to dairy farming in the Southeast,â€? Rogers said. Quality forages and nutrition management have been key in Turn to GEORGIA | Page 26
8700, 2017, 640 Hrs, RWA ........................$408,900 8600, 2016, 785 Hrs, RWA ........................$359,000 8600, 2017, 792 Hrs, RWA ........................$325,900 8600, 2015, 1197 Hrs, RWA ......................$262,500 8600, 2015, 1531 Hrs, RWA ......................$236,400 8500, 2017, 103 Hrs, RWA ........................$429,000 8500, 2016, 665 Hrs, RWA ........................$329,000 8500, 2016, 588 Hrs, RWA ....................... $315,000 8400, 2015, 1110 Hrs, RWA ......................$257,400 8300, 2017, 350 Hrs, RWA ........................$336,400 7800, 2006, 2500 Hrs, RWA ........................$96,400 7780, 2014, 1301 Hrs, RWA ......................$239,000 6810, 1996, 4925 Hrs, 2WD ........................$29,500 NH FR9090, 2008,1998 Hrs ..................... $139,000 All hours listed are “cutter hours�.
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Page 26 • Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Saturday, September 12, 2020
ConƟnued from GEORGIA | Page 25
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Dry cows graze in a pasture by the Rodgers family’s freestall barn near Dearing, Georgia.
Almost 80 years ago, the Rodgers family started as many other dairy farms at the time – as a family farm selling off surplus milk. “My grandparents originally farmed this land to support their large family,” Rodgers said. “They mainly milked Jersey cattle.” Over time, the Rodgers family added a few Brown Swiss and Guernsey cattle in to the herd. In the 1950s, Rodgers’ grandparents began purchasing Holstein cattle and today, the herd consists of all Holsteins. Hillcrest has had a closed herd since the 1970s. “We take a lot of pride in having a closed herd and the biosecurity this provides us,” Rodgers said. Generations later, Rodgers’ parents, Billy and Gladys, are able to witness the drastic technological changes their family farm has implemented. Billy, now in his 80s, still helps on the farm and maintains a relatively active role by planting and harvesting. As a multi-generational dairy family working together, the recent technological upgrade has further solidied the future for Hillcrest Farms.
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Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Saturday, September 12, 2020 • Page 27
Dairying in Washington
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SEE MORE. PHOTO SUBMITTED
The Sheehan family – (front from leŌ) Claire and Annelise; (back from leŌ) Jared, Karen, Jason and Andrew – milk cows in partnership with Karen’s parents, Tony and Brenda Veiga (not pictured), on their farm near Sunnyside, Washington. J&K Dairy Sunnyside, Washington 3,000 cows Tell us about your farm. J&K Dairy LLC is owned by Jason and Karen Sheehan, and Tony and Brenda Veiga. We milk 3,000 cows plus dry cows and raise all of our heifers. Cows are milked 3X in a double-28 parallel and double-16 parabone on two facilities about 1 mile apart. Half of the cows are housed in free stalls and the other half are in open lots. We have a great core team of employees who have been with us a long time. What crops do you grow? How many acres? How has this growing season been? We farm 1,250 acres of alfalfa, corn and triticale. We also work with neighboring farmers for about one-third of our forage needs. Irrigation takes out a lot of the variables, and our crops tend to be very consistent for yield and quality. We also farm 82 acres of wine grapes and 14 acres of cherries. What is a unique aspect of farming in your area? We live in a very fertile, irrigated valley with a wide variety of crops: apples, hops, Concord and wine grapes, asparagus, pears, as well as dairy farms. Describe a highlight or an accomplishment for your farm in the past few years. Surviving and continuing through the adversity in dairy farming. A freak blizzard on Feb. 9, 2019, was hard on our herd of cows and people. Just surviving that event says a lot about our team. What are challenges your farm is currently facing? How are you overcoming them? Environmental pressures are always present, especially in the Yakima Valley. There is a lot of pressure from environmental groups about nitrates in the groundwater. With the diverse crops in our valley, such as orchard, vineyard, hops, etc., and the highest minimum wage in the country, there is a lot of demand for labor in our area and presents plenty of challenges. What steps has your farm taken to remain viable during the pandemic? We are following Washington state guidelines such as daily temperatures, masks, social distancing and communication with employees. We meet outside, but masks required if inside and within 6 feet. We are doing our best to keep our employees safe. What do you enjoy most about dairy farming? Working with family and being able to have the kids on the farm with us. Being able to teach our kids about farming and life lessons even if they choose not to farm.
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Page 28 • Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Saturday, September 12, 2020
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Economists forecast bearish market Price volatility, global uncertainty to inuence 2021 outlook By Jennifer Coyne jenn@dairystar.com
After the dairy industry saw unprecedented market swings with the onset of the new coronavirus pandemic, a sure rebound would be welcomed, but economists warn of a bearish outlook for the remainder of the year into 2021. “I’m concerned of heightened volatility and uncertainty on the path back to a new normal,” said Mary Ledman, Rabobank’s global dairy strategist. Ledman and Ben Laine, vice president of dairy research at Rabobank, discussed dairy trends in the United States and across the globe that are certain to inuence the 2021 market as part of I-29 Moo University’s Aug. 25 webinar, “The U.S. and Global Dairy Market Outlook.” When considering inuences of the dairy markets, there are major global exporters that economists look to. This group is known as the Big Seven – the United States, European Union, New Zealand, Australia, Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay. Historically, the United States is a driver of milk production of these regions, rarely showcasing negative year over year growth. Yet, when the European Union experiences a 1%-2% increase in production, as was seen in 2015 when quotas were lifted, that relates to 50% more milk in volume compared to the same growth in the United States. The other dairy regions’ production is largely based on climate, social, economic and political circumstances. In the rst quarter of 2020, the Big Seven were approaching a surplus situation where overall milk production neared 500 million pounds. “We were knocking on the doors of tipping the scale to a milk surplus,” Ledman said. “We felt that in March as we saw downward pressure in milk, butter and cheese prices. Then, COVID-19 hit.” In the midst of the pandemic, the United States’ cheddar cheese market has seen greater volatility compared to the Oceania and European Union regions. U.S. prices uctuated several dollars per pound this spring while those in other regions of the globe remained largely unaffected. In the whey market, America’s prices rose and fell inversely to the European Union’s, which is now being driven by the exchange rate of the U.S. dollar. Similarly, as the market works through 2020, both global skim milk powder and butter prices have varied in all regions. The nancial service company created 2021 forecasts in July based on information that was available. For butter, cheese and whey markets, prices throughout the dairy regions are expected to move closer together moving forward. However, the U.S. price for skim milk powder is expected to remain lower than both the European Union and Oceania prices. “You can look at these forecasts and not expect signicant price rebound in the next 14 months,” Ledman said. “Then, these commodity prices boil down to what dairy companies can afford to pay producers for their milk.” When considering farmgate milk prices of the United States compared to New Zealand, Australia, Ireland and the Netherlands, volatility has differed greatly in the last four years. “U.S. prices fell harder than any other when COVID-19 hit, but now prices are looking better than what they were,” Ledman said. “But for most of the global regions, we don’t see milk prices bringing on a lot of milk.” The dairy economist noted the European Union Turn to MARKETS | Page 30
Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Saturday, September 12, 2020 • Page 29
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Page 30 • Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Saturday, September 12, 2020
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ConƟnued from MARKETS | Page 28
– the world’s largest dairy export region – was up about 1% in production for the rst half of 2020 with Germany on par with last year’s growth and France down 0.5%. However, Ledman and her colleagues are anticipating only 0.7% growth in the European Union in the future as they face environmental regulations in regards to milk production. The Oceania region is expected to see favorable gains in milk production for the remainder of the year into 2021. “Dairy processors in this region have to publish a milk price outlook in June for the remainder of the year,” Ledman said. “Prices are not as high as last year but in the top four highest prices received in the last 10 years. They’ll be favorable, if Mother Nature allows it.” Elsewhere in the world, China is a dairy driver to watch as year over year gains showed 7% production growth in the rst half of 2020. Analysts expect growth to be about 2% for the remainder of the year, said Ledman. This growth has been possible with the addition of nearly 1 million cows; an 8% increase in the country’s dairy herd. “In China, there’s been renewed enthusiasm for farm investments, and right now China is 75% self-sufcient in milk production,” Ledman said. “We can’t lose sight of this expansion and how that would challenge import gains. It’s denitely something to watch for.” On U.S. soil, 2020 has brought
tremendous change in milk production, particularly in the late spring. “But our production peak was cut off at the knees by COVID-19 as cooperative and proprietary companies called to reduce milk production,” Ledman said. “Huge kudos to the dairy sector for doing this.” In July, U.S. milk production was up 1.5% year over year, as well as cow numbers. Texas saw the largest increase in animal units of 25,000, while Wisconsin saw the largest decrease of 11,000 animals. “Going forward, it will be interesting to see if (the industry) holds on to that,” said Ledman of the production growth. “Right now, it looks like cooperative base plans won’t be triggered in the second half of the year. It looks like smooth sailing.” The States’ current dairy situation was also inuenced by government nancial aid and the United States Department of Agriculture’s Farmers to Families Food Box program. In the European Union, public storage aid helped stabilize the markets, too. Looking ahead, Ledman suggests Class III prices to near $14 but have the potential to go in that $16 range based on domestic and global market conditions. “When we look at global factors, this is the number we’re coming up with,” Ledman said. “It’s still bearish. We’ll see increased milk around the world but with the potential for more trade distortion which will create pressure on the markets.”
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Hamilton’s Run continues dairy tradition in South Australia
Herd utilizes pasture grazing system By Andrea Borgerding andrea.b@dairystar.com
MOUNT GAMBIER, South Australia, Australia – Dairying in Australia requires a different management style compared to dairying in the northern hemisphere. “Dairy farming in Australia is unique because we never house our cows from necessity,” Michele Hamilton said. “The high emphasis on milk production from grazing grass is also something not usually encountered
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Graeme Hamilton is the overall farm manager at Hamilton’s Run.
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Michele Hamilton is the farm administrator for Hamilton’s Run.
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Heifers stand in a row in a pasture at Hamilton’s Run, a dairy farm near Mount Gambier, South Australia. The Hamilton family manages the dairy where they milk 540 Australian Red cows. in colder climates such as the northern hemisphere.” Hamilton manages Hamilton’s Run with her husband, Graeme, and their son, Craig. The farm is situated in the Limestone Coast region of South Australia, about 7 miles from the coast of Australia and the Southern Ocean. Accompanying the Hamiltons are ve full-time employees who help manage the 540-cow dairy farm where mostly ryegrass and clover blends are grown for rotational herd grazing throughout the year. They own about 650 acres and lease another 395 acres
all located within 8 miles from the home farm, with about 330 acres under center pivot irrigation. “Where irrigation is available, it is possible to grow (corn) during summer in our district,” Hamilton said. “We grew our rst (corn) crop during the summer of 2019-20, with good results for our rst effort.” The cows graze ryegrass and clover pasture year-round. The milking herd eats 15 pounds of cereal grain while being milked. The dairy purchases Turn to HAMILTONS | Page 34
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Craig Hamilton is the calf manager and operaƟons supervisor at the main farm of Hamilton’s Run.
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Page 34 • Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Saturday, September 12, 2020
ConĆ&#x;nued from HAMILTONS | Page 32
cereal grain from a grain grower about 85 miles away, while harvesting its own silage and some hay. The silage and hay are made from annual ryegrass and forage oat crops grown over the winter and harvested in the spring. The Hamiltons’ herd consists of Australian Reds – a composite breed using the best of red dairy genetics from around the world. The dairy is calving in 540 cows per year divided into two lots of eight-week calving periods – one group in the summer months of January and February and the other in the early spring season of late August to early October. “We calve the cows in these months to match pasture growth in the paddocks from natural rainfall in spring and irrigation in summer,â€? Hamilton said. “It is essential that cows calve at regular 12-month intervals as we must catch the grass while it is growing to maximize production and potential proďƒžt.â€? Cows are fetched from the paddocks twice a day for milking. Milking is done in a shed housing a 25-a-side swingover herringbone parlor with automatic takeoff units. Milking and cleaning takes three hours when the least number of cows are being milked. It can take up to ďƒžve hours when the maximum number of cows is milked. The pasture grazing system is managed via paddocks being allocated in a rotational cycle. These cycles are based on growth rates which are determined by weather conditions. Paddocks are divided by electric fence into grazing areas sized to ensure the milking herd is getting the correct volume of dry matter intake. When pasture growth slows, the
PHOTO SUBMITTED
CaĆŠle graze on pasture at Hamilton’s Run near Mount Gambier in South Australia. The pasture grazing system is managed via paddocks being allocated in a rotaĆ&#x;onal cycle. Hamiltons supplement the milking herd with silage. “Grass or (corn) silage is loaded into the feed wagon, to match the daily pasture deďƒžcit, and it is off loaded at our recently constructed feed pad,â€? Hamilton said. Graeme, Michele and Craig ďƒžll the main management roles of the dairy.
Graeme is the overall farm manager, and Michele is the farm administrator. Craig returned to the farm four years ago after a career in land surveying. He is now the calf manager and operations supervisor for the main farm. Craig’s wife, Gemma, is a primary school teacher. “We have a small advisory team
including we three plus our business consultant, our agronomist and our animal nutritionist,� Hamilton said. “We meet every three months to assess progress made and future planning.� Graeme’s mother, Pat, enjoys coming to the farm after semiTurn to HAMILTONS | Page 35
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Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Saturday, September 12, 2020 • Page 35
ConƟnued from HAMILTONS | Page 34
CLASSIFIED
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Hamilton’s Run Cluain 3070 Empress is an example of what Graeme Hamilton breeds for in the herd of Australian Red caƩle. retirement. Australia has a deemed 38-hour workweek for employees, which is shorter than the United States, so some overtime hours are worked on the farm by employees, but mostly by the family throughout most of the year. “Time with family is not as generous as we would like, but we manage to squeeze in some weekends off throughout the year and usually three to four weeks off in winter,” Hamilton said. “We try to keep chores on Sunday to a minimum and take time to attend church and enjoy family time later in the day.” Dairy chores on the farm, other than milking duties, include dairy maintenance and cleaning, checking and feeding replacement heifers at other properties near the main farm, fencing and monitoring calving cows. Graeme also spends time in meetings with contractors and business consultants, and community affairs such as water management in liaison with state government bodies. As the calf manager, Craig usually operates independently of the rest of the team. His daily tasks include integrating newborn calves into the calf shed, administering vaccinations, daily monitoring of milk intake and general health, and regular cleaning of the calf pens and milk supply system to the automatic calf feeders. The Hamiltons raise about 180 heifer calves per year. The Hamiltons hire contractors for cultivation and forage conservation. Hamilton’s Run has evolved over four generations, but Graeme’s family has been farming in South Australia since 1860, soon after their emigration from Scotland. The term “run” is a colonial term meaning parcel of farming land. The climate in South Australia includes warm, dry summers and cool, wet winters. Summer daytime temperatures are 77 to 86 degrees with spikes above 104 and quite low humidity. The winter daytime average temperatures are 50 to 57 degrees with no snowfall. “We think we are dying if the winter daytime temperature drops below 50 degrees,” Hamilton said. Average rainfall is about 28 inches per year that typically falls between April and October with minimal rainfall during the warmer months. Irrigation is essential during warm months. “Being on the south coast, we get surprisingly brisk south winds coming up from Antarctica,” Hamilton said. The average herd size in Australia is 276 cows. There are about 80 dairy farms in both the upper and lower southeast of South Australia. Many use the same production system as the Hamiltons including grazing year-round and no facilities. The only variable being the amount of grain or supplementary feed offered which can vary based on each herd’s milk production Turn to HAMILTONS | Page 36
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ConƟnued from HAMILTONS | Page 35
goals. The Hamiltons sell their milk to domestic supply processor Lactalis Australia. Milk is trucked 280 miles to Adelaide for processing. Their milk is used for uid consumption – including avored milks – as well as custard, yogurt and specialty cheeses and catering portions for the restaurant industry. The herd’s milk production at Hamilton’s Run is targeted for almost 1.1 million gallons per year with a butterfat production at 3.6% and a 3.5% protein content. “We aim for about 2,377 gallons of milk per cow per 300-day lactation,” Hamilton said. “The Australian national average is about 1,630 gallons.” Milk price to farmers varies depending on whether the processing company is a domestic supply or international supply company. The forecast milk price for next year ranges from $6 Australian dollars per kg of milk solids to $7.20 per kg of milk solids. It may rise to the range of $6.80$7.40 per kg of milk solids. Holsteins are the dominant breed in Australia, but for the Hamiltons, the Australian Red dairy cow is the breed of choice. “Graeme breeds for a consistent line of cows about 55 inches in stature,” Hamilton said. “Typically, the cows on our farm would have a higher body condition score than U.S. herds.” Most red breed dairy farmers are focused on having good working cows that quietly and successfully make milk. “We call them invisible cows as you never notice them (in the parlor) or in the paddock – they just quietly milk,
CaƩle graze on alfalfa in a pasture at Hamilton’s Run dairy farm near Mount Gambier, South Australia. conceive and deliver calves without a fuss and earn their keep in the (bulk tank),” Hamilton said. The dairy industry infrastructure in South Australia is quite good. Most of the brand names including John Deere, International, Ford New Holland and JCB, DeLaval and Westphalia are all available. Equipment and implement services are available within a 15-minute drive from Hamilton’s Run and most parts are on-hand. Any unusual parts can be shipped from nearby state capital cities of Adelaide and Melbourne.
Hamilton noted a sustainable milk price as a concern for dairy farming in their area. “We believe that the industry must extract a greater share of the retail price of dairy products if farmers are to receive sustainable incomes,” Hamilton said. But these concerns are not keeping the Hamiltons from doing what they love. They are always taking steps in increasing efciency and total production to offset decreasing nancial margins. “Graeme loves the big picture of
PHOTO SUBMITTED
planning and running our dairy farm, and he is always assessing how to intensify the business and develop further,” Hamilton said. “He looks for opportunities to make strategic land purchases or leases, and has recently developed a feed pad to deliver a partial mixed ration.” Since he was a young boy, Graeme has adored his red cows and being outdoors. That coupled with the enjoyment of being his own boss has allowed all the Hamiltons to live and grow in each of their respective interests on their family enterprise.
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Page 38 • Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Saturday, September 12, 2020
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Forray brothers farm in Michigan’s upper peninsula Roy Forray Wallace, Michigan 130 cows Tell us about your farm. My brother, Andy, and I milk our 130 cows in a double-8 parallel parlor. We also have a 120-cow freestall barn with middle aisle feeding. We bought the farm from our parents in 1981. I’ve been dairying my whole life. We put the freestall barn up in 1998. We do all the work. I am married and have two grown children. What crops do you grow? How many acres? How has this growing season been? We grow corn, alfalfa and barley. We planted 250 acres of corn, 50 acres of barley and 250 acres of alfalfa. It’s been a very good growing season. We’ve had a lot of timely rains. It’s been PHOTO SUBMITTED hot and humid so the Andy (leŌ) and Roy Forray have been farming in an corn took off. The corn partnership since 1981 near Wallace, Michigan. looks spectacular and is Turn to MICHIGAN | Page 39
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Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Saturday, September 12, 2020 • Page 39
ConĆ&#x;nued from MICHIGAN | Page 38
two-three weeks ahead. The alfalfa is very good. We direct seeded the barley and use it as a cover crop, but the alfalfa grew as fast as the barley. We had to take the heads off and had no straw this year. The alfalfa was over knee high. We took three crops of alfalfa. What is a unique aspect of farming in your area? We are 7 miles from the Green Bay and that helps us a lot for warmth. Our frost comes later, and it keeps us warmer in the winter time, sometimes 10-degree warmer than inland. We are in the southern part of the Upper Peninsula. We are 20 miles south of the border in Wisconsin and 4-5 miles west of the Wisconsin border. Describe a highlight or an accomplishment for your farm in the past few years. Just surviving the milk prices has been an accomplishment. We can only spend so much. We use what we have wisely and maintain our equipment a lot better. You really have to watch the little details right now. Every penny counts. We tightened up our ration better. What are challenges your farm is currently facing? How are you overcoming them? Deer. This year, the crops grew so fast that the deer couldn’t do a lot of damage. Other years, you would have a 10acre ďƒželd of corn and they would eat half of it. By 4-5 in the afternoon, we have 10-15 deer grazing in our hay ďƒželd, and at night, they have another 10-15 with them. It’s something you have to see to understand. The
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PHOTO SUBMITTED
The barn on the leĹŒ is the Ć&#x;estall barn the Forrays built in 1982 which has since been converted to a parlor and holding area. The barn on the right is the freestall barn that was constructed in 1998.
DNR will give us permits during the summer that are called crop permits. The season ends at the end of September. As long as you have damage and can prove it, you can get a permit. We also have a riďƒ&#x;e season in November. What steps has your farm taken to remain viable during the
boss. You are outside all the time. It’s something different every day. My favorite is getting out and driving the tractor and doing ďƒželdwork. You do it every day, and you take for granted what you see every day. We see deer, bears, coyotes, eagles. We’ve been watching it all our life.
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Page 40 • Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Saturday, September 12, 2020
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W rld Dairy Special Edition Second Section
September 12 12, 2020
A look inside one United Kingdom dairy farm Young farmer has sights on enhancement By Maria Bichler Staff Writer
N A N T W I C H , Cheshire County, United Kingdom – Chris Vaughan did not always know dairy farming was a t for him. But, joining in his parents’ farming operation, incorporating vast improvements and working alongside his family has proved to be an advantageous career path for the 27-year-old dairy farmer of Nantwich in Cheshire County. “A lot of people in this industry know (they want to farm) when they are very, very young, or they are 12 or 13 years old driving tractors,” Vaughan said. “I was a bit older when I knew I wanted to do this.” Top Farm is situated in northwest England where
the Vaughan family – parents Eric and Sandie, and Vaughan – milk 250 cows in a double-16 herringbone parlor and farm 315 acres. Vaughn’s brother, David, helps on the farm as needed. The family employs one full-time employee who primarily takes care of feeding as well as part-time relief milkers. Eric and Sandie purchased the farm on their wedding day 40 years ago. “We come from a long line of farming families,” Vaughan said. “Dad was farming with his brothers in a partnership when the farm was bought.” Since then, the Vaughans have made broad changes to their equipment, housing facilities and, most notably, the genetics of their herd, using a two-way Holstein-Norwegian Red crossbreeding program, all while maintaining superior attention to animal welfare and cleanliness. In the last ve years, numerous projects have
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Chris Vaughan, in partnership with his parents, milks 250 cows at Top Farm in Nantwich, United Kingdom. Vaughan, 27, is adamant about conƟnual improvement on the family’s farm.
been accomplished. 2016 saw the addition of a new storage shed, youngstock shed and tractor. In 2017, a new water system was installed to address water pressure, and a new feeder box was purchased. A freestall barn and loose housing for the calves, and a tractor were added in 2018. The current parlor was installed in 2019, a replacement of the previous double-10 herringbone parlor. A loader tractor, disc mowers and fertilizer spreader were acquired this year. Improvements to cattle handling facilities and an automatic footbath were also added earlier in 2020. “(I want to) keep up with the industry,” Vaughan PHOTO SUBMITTED said. “Make sure everything The milking herd at Top Farm is a two-way crossbreeding program of Holstein and Norwegian Red. The Vaughans introduced Norwegian Red geneƟcs in 2015.
Turn to TOP FARM | Page 2
Page 2 • Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Second Section • Saturday, September 12, 2020
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The Vaughans installed a double-16 herringbone parlor in 2019. The new parlor replaced a double-10 herringbone and cut down on milking Ɵme.
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is well above board for the cows. Keep looking at ways I can improve what we’ve currently got. If there is anywhere I can improve the welfare, I will. Always looking to make better what’s there.” Cows at Top Farm are calved in seasonally from August to December. The Vaughans capitalize on the United Kingdom’s ample rainfall which results in abundant grassland to graze the herd from April to October. While on pasture, the herd is supplemented, if needed, with grass silage and dried distillers grain. “The benet of where we farm,
we are on really heavy clay ground so it can really grow some grass,” Vaughan said. During the remaining months, the herd is housed in a freestall barn with rubber mattress stalls lined with sawdust. Keeping in line with the family’s goal of a consistent low somatic cell count, the free stalls are lined with lime before being deep-bedded with sawdust. The stalls are scraped twice a day, passageways and holding areas are cleaned daily, and fresh bedding is laid down twice a week. Turn to TOP FARM | Page 3
Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Second Section • Saturday, September 12, 2020 • Page 3
ConƟnued from TOP FARM | Page 2
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PHOTO SUBMITTED
The Vaughans’ 315 acres is devoted to grass producƟon for grazing and grass silage. The tractor and disc mowers are recent purchases for Top Farm.
Vaughan said the newly constructed freestall barn allowed for more loang areas for the cows. And, fans installed in the parlor have impacted cow comfort, keeping more ies at bay. The practices at Top Farm have resulted in an average SCC of 90,000. The count dips down toward 60,000 in the winter months. Prior to 2015, the herd was comprised of Holsteins. “We wanted to put a bit more strength back into the Holsteins,” Vaughan said. “We loved them, but … we wanted to put back into them more will to live, if you like.” The Vaughans were recommended to use Norwegian Reds and, after research, started crossbreeding with their Holsteins. “The cows we get now are unbelievable,” Vaughan said. “They have such a will to live from the day they are born. We have third lactation calving now which were our rst crosses, and they have that real vigor about them.” Vaughan said the calves are up and eating within minutes of being born, and less work is required throughout rearing. He said the bull calves bring more money, and all
calves are stronger. The crossbred cattle are also more efcient grazers in the summer. “They waste less grass,” Vaughan said. “And, we aim to reduce buffer feed in the summer and reduce costs.” And, the benets carry down to the fertility of the heifers and cows. “I know that rst year when we were calving crossbreds, when I started serving them again I got 100% back into calve ¬– 1.2 straws to conception,” Vaughan said, who does all the articial insemination breeding. “The people who we deal with for our semen straws were gob smacked. Little things like that show how good of an animal they are.” Vaughan also said most people in the United Kingdom assume a crossbred cow will produce less milk than a Holstein with poorer components. With an average butterfat content over 4% and protein at 3.34%, the 20,400 pounds of milk the herd produces per lactation per cow is nothing to skim over. “These crosses we have still give a good drop of milk,” Vaughan
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Calves at Top Farm are housed in pens bedded with straw in a facility built in 2018. The calves are fed milk powder for the rst 8 weeks of life before increasing the dry maƩer intake in the diet.
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Page 4 • Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Second Section • Saturday, September 12, 2020
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Now is a great time to save on GEA milking equipment upgrades Trade out your old milking equipment and immediately benefit by trading up to a better milking performance. Pick one item or upgrade your whole system. Ask your local GEA Milking Equipment Dealer for a quote and take advantage of the special offers going on right now! Your Local GEA Milking Equipment Dealers Advanced Dairy Solutions Fuller’s Milker Center, Inc. Monroe WestfaliaSurge Advanced Dairy Solutions Leedstone, Inc. Monroe WestfaliaSurge Eastern Iowa Dairy Systems Richland Center, WI Lancaster, WI • 800-887-4634 Monroe, WI • 608-325-2772 Richland Center, WI Melrose, MN Monroe, WI • 608-325-2772 Epworth, IA • (563) 876-3087 608-647-4488 • 800-772-4770 Inc. 608-647-4488 • 800-772-4770 320-256-3303 Leedstone, • 800-996-3303 Sioux Dairy Equipment, Inc. Glencoe, MN Melrose, MN Sioux Dairy Equipment, Rock Inc. Valley,J IA Gile Dairy Equipment Central Ag Supply, Inc. Centre Dairy Equipment 320-864-5575 • 877-864-5575 Rock Valley, IA Cuba City, WI • (608) 744-2661 Baraboo, WI • 608-356-8384 320-256-3303 • 800-996-3303 712-476-5608 • 800-962-4346 and Supply Inc. Plainview, MN • 800-548-5240 712-476-5608 • 800-962-4346 Juneau, WI • 920-386-2611 Glencoe, MN Colton, SD Preston Dairy Equipment Sauk Centre, MN Menomonie, WI320-864-5575 • 715.231.8090 Colton, SD Service 800-944-1217 • 877-864-5575 Service 800-944-1217 Centre Dairy •Equipment and Supply Inc. 320-352-5762 800-342-2697 Edgerton, MN Chemical Sales Sparta, WI • (608) 269-3830 Sauk Centre, MN Midwest Livestock Inc. Edgerton, MN Midwest Livestock Systems, LLC Systems, 507-920-8626 Fuller’s Milker Center, Inc. Zumbrota, MN Menomonie, • 800-233-8937 Stanley Schmitz, Inc. 320-352-5762 • 800-342-2697 WI • 715-235-5144 Chemical Sales 507-920-8626 Lancaster, WI • 800-887-4634 Menomonie, WIOwen, • 715-235-5144 Central Ag Supply Inc. Chilton, WI • 920-849-4209 WI • 715-229-4740 Fitzgerald, Inc. Sioux Falls, MNPine • 800-705-1447 Juneau, WI • 920-386-2611 Island, MN • 800-233-8937 Elkader, IA • 563-245-2560 Beatrice, NE • 800-742-5748 Baraboo, WI • 608-356-8384 Tri-County Dairy Supply Sioux Falls, MN • 800-705-1447 Janesville, WI • (608) 757-2697 Beatrice, NE • 800-742-5748
ConƟnued from TOP FARM | Page 3
said. “They’ve done more than we wanted. … Their butterfat and protein we are getting now is well above what we used to get. It’s brilliant.” The milk produced on the farm is sold in a Tesco-Müller contract for uid milk consumption. Tesco is a multi-national supermarket company, and Müller is the milk processor. “The supermarket contracts are good to be on,” Vaughan said. “You’re generally in a safe place. Within the contract, they are not allowed to drop the price below the cost of production.” The contract stipulates the components required and the SCC of the milk. Tesco’s set price covers 70% of the milk while Müller’s price covers the remaining 30%. Vaughan said the price he received for the farm’s milk in July was approximately $18.05 per hundredweight. The UK average farmgate milk price for July was $16.29/cwt, according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. “There is a lot of difference in the milk price paid for the milk,” Vaughan said. “There’s people sending the same product off getting 10-15 pence less than (us), so I think there’s a lot of volatility around what price is paid. It denitely worries a lot of people in the industry. … A lot of people are worried about what Brexit has caused and what might happen if our borders are opened up
Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Second Section • Saturday, September 12, 2020 • Page 5
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Top Farm is located in Cheshire County in northwest England. The farm was purchased by Eric and Sandie Vaughan 40 years ago on their wedding day.
to imports from America and other of all for the time spent at Top Farm. countries.” “Just being outside with Come what may in the milk animals; it’s hard to describe,” he industry, Vaughan is grateful most said. “It’s just nice to be able to care
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The De Jager family had dairied in California for several generations. andrea.b@dairystar.com Seven years ago, De Jager moved AULT, Colo. – Since he was a to Colorado to look for better small child, AJ De Jager knew he opportunities to continue the dairy wanted to be a dairyman like his Turn to COLORADO | Page 7 father and grandfather. By Andrea Borgerding
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Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Second Section • Saturday, September 12, 2020 • Page 7
ConƟnued from COLORADO | Page 6
farming tradition. “I am a multigenerational dairy farmer who learned the trade from my family,” De Jager said. “I grew up in central California living the dairy life every day.” De Jager and his family milk 4,000 Holsteins in a double-50 parallel parlor. The cows are housed
“Cattle do better in dry weather than they do in humidity. However, being close to the Rocky Mountains can also bring bipolar weather.” AJ DE JAGER, DAIRY FARMER
in a freestall facility with automated curtains and cooling systems. De Jager has 45 full-time employees who help with milking, feeding, managing transition cows, herd health, reproduction, calf raising, farm management and maintenance. The feeding team starts at 4 a.m. with all other teams starting their days between 5-6 a.m. “We milk cows around the clock so the action never stops,” De Jager said. “I love the action and
excitement every day brings.” De Jager’s herd is averaging a 95-pound tank average. Cows are fed a ration of mainly corn silage and alfalfa hay. De Jager takes advantage of many bi-products including wet distillers grain from ethanol production, brewers grain from the Coors factory as well as cull carrots and sugar beets from local producers. The dairy can grow most of their own crops including short-day corn, wheat, alfalfa, barley and sorghum. The elevation of his dairy is something De Jager said can be both an advantage and disadvantage. At 1-mile high elevation, the dairy is located in a cooler and drier climate than at lower elevations. “Cattle do better in dry weather than they do in humidity,” De Jager said. “However, being close to the Rocky Mountains can also bring bipolar weather.” The region is more susceptible to extreme swings in temperature and unpredicted weather events than what more predictable regions experience. “We are also one of the highest, if not the highest, hail regions in the United States,” De Jager said. The average size of dairies in Colorado is 1,500 cows. The types of farms vary greatly in the dairydense region where De Jager farms. The dairies in the area include open Turn to COLORADO | Page 9
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Page 8 • Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Second Section • Saturday, September 12, 2020
As a dairyman, are you looking to improve the way your fresh cows transition, take off, peak and breed back? Looking to improve rumen health, rumen function, overall health, digestion, feed efficiency, and YOUR BOTTOM LINE??? If so, then…
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Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Second Section • Saturday, September 12, 2020 • Page 9
ConƟnued from COLORADO | Page 7
lot, freestall and cross-ventilated facilities. “My brother-in-law, Adrian, dairies in a tunnel (ventilated) freestall (barn),” De Jager said. “My brother, Aric, also dairies with us,
“Dairy farming is a calling. It provides purpose, and there is great satisfaction in that.” AJ DE JAGER, DAIRY FARMER
and we just opened a fully automated Lely robot facility in a cross-vent freestall. We have multiple types (of dairies) here.” De Jager focuses on milk production from his mainly commercial dairy herd. He breeds for moderate stature, daughter pregnancy rate and productive life with high net merit standards. All the milk produced is marketed through Dairy Farmers of America and sold to LePrino Foods. LePrino Foods processes the milk at their Greeley plant to make cheese for pizza. Currently, De Jager is facing a highly volatile milk price. “The current milk price is imposed with an extremely negative PPD (producer price differential) and that is not the historical norm,” De Jager said. “If I told you what
PHOTO SUBMITTED
AJ De Jager and his family milk 4,000 Holsteins near Ault, Colorado. Cows are milked in a double-50 parallel parlor and housed in a freestall facility with curtains and cooling systems.
today’s milk price is going to be, I would be wrong.” Besides the challenges of an unpredictable milk price, De Jager is also concerned with local entities stripping water rights from farmers. “Colorado has the highest noncoastal real estate market in the country,” De Jager said. “Developers
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keep busy with their four children. From his dairying roots in California, De Jager is now thriving in his vocation as a dairyman in Colorado. “Dairy farming is a calling,” De Jager said. “It provides purpose, and there is great satisfaction in that.”
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Page 10 • Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Second Section • Saturday, September 12, 2020
Five generations of dairy farming Groves-View Dairy focuses on developing elite genetics in two breeds By Jerry Nelson
jerry.n@dairystar.com
BILLINGS, Mo. – The past century has seen a lot of changes at Groves-View Dairy. From its humble beginnings in a small stanchion barn, the dairy has become the home of an elite herd of 220 Holstein and Brown Swiss dairy cattle. “Our great-great grandparents purchased our farm in 1913,” Todd Groves said. “It was eventually taken over by our grandmother Emma Groves’ parents, Walter and Lula Luezinger. Our family has made this farm our home ever since.” Todd and his brother, Brad, and their families own and operate Groves-View Dairy in Billings. “Our grandparents, Jack and Emma Groves, took over the dairy in 1954 along with their two sons, Lonnie and Darrell,” Brad said. “Emma pretty much ran the dairy, which consisted of 12 cows that were milked in a stanchion barn. My dad, Lonnie, remembers when Grandpa bought three additional cows on Christmas Eve. Dad thought it was terrible to have to let three cows out to milk the three new cows.” The Groveses milked for the rst year by hand. They modernized their operation with the purchase of a Sears & Roebuck Farm Master twocow milker in 1955. In 1970, Lonnie and Darrell built a double-3 bypass parlor that they remodeled into a double-6 herringbone in the early 1990s. They also added a freestall barn to be more efcient and to accommodate their expanding herd, which they had grown to 80 head. An added bonus of the freestall barn was an increase in cow comfort which helped boost their herd’s milk
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Groves-View Dairy is owned and operated by (from leŌ) Lonnie, Todd, and Brad Groves and their families near Billings, Missouri. The farm, which is home to 220 elite Brown Swiss and Holstein caƩle, has been in the Groves family since 1913.
production. The double-6 parlor is in use today. “After I joined the operation in 1991, we grew the herd to 110 head,” Brad said. The Groves family has been working on developing elite dairy genetics since the early 1980s. “I worked off the farm for many years as a hot suit technician,” Todd said. “My job required me to wear something similar to a spacesuit as I did repair work in hot and hazardous
places such as in oil reneries and power plants. … I began to pay for the (embryo transfer) work and for ushing our cows. I quit my job 13 years ago and went to full-time dairy farming.” All of those decades of focusing on genetic improvement have paid off. Last year, the herd of Holsteins at Groves-View Dairy had a BAA of 109.5 That was good enough for them to tie for rst place in Region 7 which includes the states of
Missouri, Arkansas, New Mexico, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. They also placed 20th in the nation for herds of 76 to 150 cows. Further proof of dedication to developing elite genetics can be seen in the numbers. Over the years, the Groves family has bred 111 Excellent cows carrying the GrovesVu prex, with eight of these being in partnership with Regancrest farms Turn to MISSOURI | Page 11
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PHOTO SUBMITTED
One of the elite Brown Swiss cows at Groves-View Dairy is Groves-Sun Total TrusƟe-ET EX 92. She was third place aged cow at World Dairy Expo in 2019 and received Honorable MenƟon All American.
in Iowa. One of their cows fetched top dollar at the sale that was held during the 2012 National Holstein Convention in Springeld. But Holsteins are only part of the story at Groves-View Dairy. “When Sheila and I got married 29 years ago, she came with four head of Brown Swiss cows,” Todd said. “Sheila’s parents milked a small herd of Brown Swiss cattle on their dairy farm which was located 8 miles away from ours.” Todd and Sheila have three children. Their eldest daughter, Brittany, lives nearby and helps as needed on the farm, including doing articial insemination work. Their son, Grant, is studying agronomy at Kaskaskia College in Centralia, Illinois. Their youngest daughter, Bailey, is a freshman at Missouri State University in Springeld.
“It has been very hot and dry here this past summer. Our homeplace has received only 1.4 inches of rain since May. We hope that the hurricane season will bring us some moisture.”
Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Second Section • Saturday, September 12, 2020 • Page 11
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Among the elite Holsteins at Groves-View farm is Groves-Vu Mac Lakeesha-ET EX 94 2E. She is the sixth generaƟon of her cow family to be rated VG or EX.
wood shavings. “The COVID-19 situation has made it difcult to get shavings, so we have had to switch to bedding our calving facility with chopped straw and corn stalks,” Brad said. A possible change for the family is the addition of robotic milking units. “Our dairy facilities are old, and it’s extremely difcult to get good help, so we took a serious look at robotic milkers last winter,” Todd said. “If you’re going to do it right, you would need to build an entirely new facility from the ground up. I don’t know if I want to do that at my age. I think we will have to leave that decision for the next generation.” The next generation would be the sixth to live and work on the Groveses’ family farm. “We hope that they can continue our family’s dairy farming tradition,” Brad said.
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Brad and his wife, Gail, have two children, Taylor and Kiera. “After earning a college degree in diesel mechanics, Taylor ended up taking a job as a diesel mechanic on a river tugboat,” Brad said. “The job pays very well. Taylor is saving his money and hopes to buy some farmland someday. Kiera works on the farm and helps care for our calves. She also runs a graphics design company from home.” That initial handful of Brown Swiss cattle has multiplied. Groves-View Dairy is home to about 220 head of milking cows. About 25% of their animals are registered Brown Swiss, while the remainder of their cattle are registered Holsteins. The Groves family farms about 600 acres and raises corn, alfalfa and grass hay. They doublecrop by planting cover crops such as wheat or rye in the fall. They chop the cover crops off in the spring, making room for a crop of silage corn. Groves-View Dairy is located in southwestern Missouri, about 30 minutes north of Branson. “It has been very hot and dry here this past summer,” Todd said. “Our homeplace has received only 1.4 inches of rain since May. We hope that the hurricane season will bring us some moisture. That’s usually how we get our fall rains.” Brad said the farmland is split between very suitable terrain and wooded land. The milking herd is housed in a barn year-round, while the older heifers are put on pasture and have shelter during the winter. The free stalls are bedded with
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Page 12 • Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Second Section • Saturday, September 12, 2020
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Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Second Section • Saturday, September 12, 2020 • Page 13
Dairying in Rhode Island
EMMA Acres educates neighbors on dairying, agriculture
EMMA Acres Exeter, Rhode Island 28 cows Tell us about your farm. EMMA Acres started in 2002 as a 4-H project for the LaPrise kids – Elizabeth, Matthew, Maggie and Alexandra. What started as a small project turned into what my dad, Edwin, calls the 4-H project gone wild. In 2008, we installed a double-4 herringbone parlor and started shipping milk to Agri-Mark. A few years later, we became a part of the Rhode Island Dairy Farms Cooperative, known for selling Rhody Fresh milk. Our farm is truly a family operation. What crops do you grow? How many acres? How has this growing season been? Our farm is only 12 acres. This restricts us in growing any of our own crops. What is a unique aspect of farming in your area? Farming in Rhode Island is extremely unique. Although the town we live in is considered rural for our area, we are surrounded by neighborhoods. This creates challenges; however, it is often extremely benecial. We use this to our advantage. We love our neighbors to bring their families and tour the farm to educate them on the truths of family farming. Being in a close niche community allows us to be the face of the family dairy farms. When a customer reaches for Cabot Cheese or Rhody Fresh in our area, they can think of our family, our farm and the way our animals are treated. Turn to RHODE ISLAND | Page 14
PHOTO SUBMITTED
The LaPrise family – (front, from leŌ) Reagan Sankey, Henry Brayton, CynthIa LaPrise holding Lillian LaPrise, and Edwin LaPrise; (back, from leŌ) Alex LaPrise holding Ruby Sankey, Elizabeth Brayton holding Ella Brayton, MaƩhew LaPrise, Tiana LaPrise holding MaƩhew Jr. LaPrise, and Maggie LaPrise – stand at their new store on their farm EMMA Acres near Exeter, Rhode Island.
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Page 14 • Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Second Section • Saturday, September 12, 2020
ConƟnued from RHODE ISLAND | Page 13 Describe a highlight or an accomplishment for your farm in the past few years. Last October, our family nally opened our farm store. This has been a crucial addition to our farm. Now our neighbors from near and far can come buy Rhody Fresh milk, Cabot Cheese, eggs from our chickens, local honey and maple syrup, Udderly Natural Soap, Echo Farm Pudding, Warwick Ice Cream, and farm raised beef, veal and pork. Not only are visitors allowed to look around, but we are able to help walk them through the process of how we raise and care for our livestock. We have been overwhelmed with support from our local community. What are challenges your farm is currently facing? How are you overcoming them? As are most dairy farms, we struggle with cash ow. Our farm stand has helped tremendously. We can supplement our milk check to keep up with paying bills. Our electric bill has always been a large expense. One way we are overcoming this is by installing solar panels on the roofs of our barns. This will be crucial in minimizing our electric bill. What steps has your farm taken to remain viable during the pandemic? During the pandemic, our farm stand went insane. Everyone was searching for meats for the freezer, and milk, eggs and other dairy products. We offered curbside ordering and pickup, and we could not keep up. The addition of our farm store saved us during the pandemic. Our projected daily income was met three times over some days. What do you enjoy most about dairy farming? How the family can all be involved. There are six grandkids, making up the next generation of
PHOTO SUBMITTED
The EMMA Acres store is located on the farm site. Visitors can purchase fresh milk, cheese, eggs, local honey and maple syrup, soap, pudding, ice cream and farm raised beef, veal and pork. EMMA Acres. They are there almost every day playing in the sand piles, helping Maggie yard up the cows and alerting my mom, “Ninny,” when customers pull in the driveway. We sit on the front porch of the stand and look through the barn yard, and there is
this sense of comfort being there. The love the kids share for each other and the farm will never be replaced. I reminisce on the memories on my grandparent’s farm. I know my kids will have the same memories if not more being here. I believe by letting everyone help
and have a role, it creates that feeling of a team. When you work together as a team, the end goal is always so much more rewarding.
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Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Second Section • Saturday, September 12, 2020 • Page 15
La Querencia is a dairy haven in Peru Watsons continue unique trade in South America By Andrea Borgerding andrea.b@dairystar.com
LIMA, Peru – Dairy cows are considered rare and exotic where the Watson family operates their family farm. But what makes their farm rare also provides an exceptional opportunity to share their passion for the dairy industry and cows. “We can showcase our farm and give farm tours which people love,” Robert Watson said. “What we have is like a little oasis and that makes it very special.” Watson manages La Querencia with wife Maria Fernandez and their son, Clifford. The dairy farm is located in the Lurin Valley, which is 25 miles south of Lima and ve minutes from the Pacic Ocean in the coastal region. Accompanying the Watsons are 14 full-time employees who help manage the day-to-day tasks of the 800-cow dairy located on 35 acres of land. The Watsons’ milking herd consists of 330 Holsteins, 20 Jerseys and three Brown Swiss. The herd is housed in a sand-bedded freestall barn with fans and sprinklers for
PHOTO SUBMITTED
The Watson family – (from le�) Maria, Clifford, Robert Kilean, Herwig and Robert – stand together on the family farm, La Querencia near Lima, Peru. The Watsons milk a herd of 353 Holsteins, Jerseys and Brown Swiss.
summertime ventilation and cool“The dairy was designed to host bit tight now,” Watson said. ing of the cows. They are milked in 360 milking cows comfortably and Calves are kept in individual a double-12 parallel state-of-the-art 400 head of dry cows, springers, hutches for the rst 60 days. From Turn to PERU | Page 16 parlor. heifers and calves, so we are a little
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ConƟnued from PERU| Page 15
there, calves are put into corrals in groups of four which are later put together with another group for a group of eight. Calves are eventually put into groups of 16 in the following 15 days. Cows are milked three times a day. Days on the farm begin at 4 a.m. when cows are fed and then milked at 5 a.m. “The farm operates 24 hours a day because there is always work to do,” Watson said. The freshening cows are constantly monitored with employees taking shifts to
help with calving, feeding colostrum, and caring for fresh cows and calves. Cows are fed a total mixed ration of corn silage, alfalfa hay, and a combination of brewers yeast, soybean, grain corn, mandarin peeling and pulp, sweet potato and a custom mineral mix. “We work with a nutritionist, Dr. Robert Corbett, from Utah, who helps us balance the rations and be up to date with feeding advancements,” Watson said. La Querencia purchase 95% of their feed. The only
PHOTO SUBMITTED
The herd is housed in a sand-bedded freestall barn equipped with fans and sprinklers for summerƟme venƟlaƟon and keeping the cows cool.
crop they grow on their land is king grass. Corn silage is brought in from 62 miles away, and the alfalfa hay is trucked in from as far as almost 400 miles. A horizontal TMR mixer is used to mix the ration for the cows. “We just bought a new mixer,” Watson said. “Our PHOTO SUBMITTED previous vertical mixer did a Fantasy X Savard is an example of traits Robert Watson looks great job for 25 years.” for in breeding for his herd. Watson tries to select the top 5% Robert, Maria and Clifof bulls available.
ford provide the main management roles of the dairy. As founder and main shareholder, Robert’s current role is to seek out the best genetics, secure purchases and then import the semen from other countries. Semen comes from countries including the United States, Canada, Germany, Holland and Italy. “We always try to select among the top 5% of
the bulls available,” Watson said. Maria arranges school tours and family visits to La Querencia on weekends and holidays. In one year, the Watsons can have over 50,000 children touring the farm. Tours were halted earlier this year because of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Turn to PERU| Page 17
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Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Second Section • Saturday, September 12, 2020 • Page 17
ConĆ&#x;nued from PERU| Page 16
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Cows lie in sand-bedded stalls in the freestall facility at La Querencia.
Clifford is the general manager of the family’s farm. Since 2018, Clifford has been running the family operation in addition to studying part time for his master’s degree at Universidad del Paciďƒžco in Lima. Another son, Robert K., also managed the farm for one year prior to him studying for his master’s degree in Boston, Massachusetts. The Watsons’ youngest son, Herwig, is not currently involved with the dairy. The Watsons began their dairy in 1987. La Querencia means “the beloved placeâ€? in Spanish. They purchased 15 acres of barren land just outside Lima during a time of
deep economical crisis in Peru. “It was a time when everybody was really scared and many people were leaving the country,� Watson said. “We were able to buy the land very cheap.� Robert and Maria began with six Peruvian Paso horses to ride for enjoyment. In 1989, they imported 26 registered Holsteins and two registered Brown Swiss heifers. The cattle arrived by airplane from Ohio. “We took advantage of the dairy termination program in the United States and a Peruvian law that enticed people to invest in agriculture
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Page 18 • Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Second Section • Saturday, September 12, 2020
ConƟnued from PERU| Page 17
and dairy cattle,” Watson said. La Querencia is one of three large dairies left in the Lurin Valley; one other dairy milks 500 Brown Swiss and the other milks 800 Holsteins. There are a few dairies with less than 30 cows. “The area is no longer good for dairies and many are moving away from the city along with most of the vendors,” Watson said. Previously, the infrastructure had been good for the Watsons to operate their dairy. Many of the main brands including John Deere, Case
IH, New Holland Agriculture, Bobcat Company, DeLaval and GEA are available. Most of the equipment is imported and serviced by the dealers. The climate in their region is mostly mild with average temperatures from 60 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit. “It never rains in this area,” Watson said. “The most we can get is drizzle in the winter.” Despite the lack of rainfall, crops including corn, alfalfa, sweet potato, asparagus, artichoke, banana, avocado and potato have all been commonly grown in the area using irrigation PHOTO SUBMITTED
Corn grows in a eld near La Querencia in Lima, Peru. Corn silage is the main ingredient in the milking herd’s feed raƟon. The farm buys 95% of the feed needed for livestock.
systems. The weather makes Lima feel and operate like a natural greenhouse, Watson said. “But the land is getting too expensive and is mostly being developed by the nearby city,” Watson said. The herd produces over 27,000 pounds of milk per day. Their herd’s rolling herd average is 24,000 pounds in a 305-day lactaPHOTO SUBMITTED Calves at La Querencia are kept in individual hutches unƟl they tion with 3.8% butterfat and 3.3% protein. are 60 days old.
“We could produce more if we could get better forage,” Watson said. “Our limiting factor is the quality of forage we can get.” Watson breeds for certain traits including positive udders (+2) and positive feet and legs (+1.5). They only use A2A2 and BB casein genetics and use calving ease bulls. “We love show cows, but there is no market for them, so we focus on com-
mercial, nice looking, strong and long lasting cows,” Watson said. “I want them to perform well in different areas of the country as our farm is a showcase farm.” La Querencia sells heifers and cows to farms in areas of Peru. They try to use polled genetics, if possible, with positive butterfat and protein as well as looking for Turn to PERU| Page 19
Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Second Section • Saturday, September 12, 2020 • Page 19
Read the Dairy Star online
E-EDITION
Con�nued from PERU| Page 18
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PHOTO SUBMITTED
Maternity pens are bedded with sand and monitored con�nuously.
positive productive life and daughter pregnancy rate. The Watsons process 4,500 pounds of milk per day. They produce farmstead cheese, yogurt, butter, cream and cottage cheese. The remainder is sold to a milk processor, Laive, and some small ice cream manufacturers. The milk price varies according to the value of the dollar. Currently, the Watsons receive $0.39 per liter, which they receive in the local currency. “Processors do not pay for butterfat or protein which is a shame,” Watson said. “Some day we will process all our milk.” The milk price has been stable in Peru for many years, but operating costs have been steadily increasing. For this reason, the Watson family feels the pressure to increase cow numbers and produce more milk. “We need to work out of the farm to be able to maintain our standard of living,” Watson said. “I’ve been working off the farm in direct selling for the past 30 years to bring in another income.” The low protability of dairying has the Watson family concerned for their farm’s future. To keep La Querencia viable in the future, the Watsons will have to sell their farm and move to a rural area about 62 miles from their current location. Making the move will allow them to produce better quality forages at a lower cost, and expand their dairy to 1,000 milking cows. Expanding will support two families and allow the farm to be protable. “Today, we only break even and always struggle to stay aoat,” Watson said. Despite the challenges they face now and in the future, the Watsons are passionate about their dairy cattle and the lifestyle dairying offers them. “One of the great things about dairy farming is that you can measure everything and act upon what you measure to make progress that you can’t in other industries,” Watson said. “It is our passion for the farm animals that keeps us going.”
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is a registered trademark of Tetra Laval Holdings & Finance S.A. and “DeLaval” is a registered trade/servicemark of DeLaval Holding AB © 2020 DeLaval Inc. DeLaval, 11100 North Congress Avenue, Kansas City, Missouri 64153-1296. Data collected at test and pilot farms. Results will vary from dairy to dairy. Nothing in this document shall constitute a warranty or guaranty of performance. www.delaval.com
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Page 20 • Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Second Section • Saturday, September 12, 2020
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Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Second Section • Saturday, September 12, 2020 • Page 21
Chapmans enjoy dairying lifestyle
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Sherry and Donny Chapman milk 120 cows near Perkins, Oklahoma. They started dairying in 1977.
Sherry and Donny Chapman Perkins, Oklahoma 120 cows Tell us about your farm. My wife, Sherry, and I milk 120 cows in a double-4 herringbone parlor. We have one full-time person who milks. He has been with us for 15 years, and our youngest son comes and helps us. We started in 1977. She does the baby calves. We do 23 beef cows and are scattered 13 miles. I do all the feeding on the milk cows, and she takes care of everything else. Our cows are on dry lots. We don’t need any buildings. If we get a snow, which is pretty rare, I throw out hay for them to lay on. We feed dry hay; big round bales or big squares and grass hay. We will feed between 1,600-1,800 bales of alfalfa or grass hay. We also feed a protein mix through the barn. We have a milking parlor, hay barn and shed to keep calves and cows/calves for calving. What crops do you grow? How many acres? How has this growing season been? We plant 100 acres of wheat. We pasture that and make hay out of it. We let them graze it until March 1, and then we shut them off at the rst of May. We put up 150 bales of grass. We buy all our alfalfa. We have 500 acres of pasture. After our calves are 6-7 months old, they are on pasture, either wheat or grass. The weather has been better after the third week in June. We didn’t get any rain the rst three weeks of June. What is a unique aspect of farming in your area? We have rolling hills. We are getting surrounded by urban sprawl. We are 70 miles from Stillwater, and it’s really spreading out and heading our way. There is development just 5 miles away. We have the Southern National Holstein and Jersey Show coming up in two weeks. In October, we will attend the
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Turn to CHAPMAN | Page 22
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Page 22 • Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Second Section • Saturday, September 12, 2020
ConƟnue from CHAPMAN | Page 21
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PHOTO SUBMITTED
Heifers grazing in a pasture near the Chapman farm in Oklahoma. The family has 500 acres designated for pasture.
Southwest National Brown Swiss show. It’s pretty nice for us. We really enjoy it because we have a lot of friends that come visit, and we don’t have to travel far. Describe a highlight or an accomplishment for your farm in the past few years. Our biggest accomplishment is raising our seven kids. The youngest one is in college and is in his second year at Oklahoma State University. We are partially registered and have sold a half-dozen registered cows for breeding purposes. Surviving is another accomplishment. What are challenges your farm is currently facing? How are you overcoming them? The milk price. God has always taken care of us. I rely on my faith. We have always survived. What steps has your farm taken to remain viable during the pandemic? The biggest adjustment came from our cooperative. For two months, our co-op put us on a base limit. Fortunately, we don’t vary our production that much. Our base was good at the time they set it. What do you enjoy most about dairy farming? The love of the cows and the livestock. Being my own boss. Being able to take a break when I want. One of our sons manages a sales barn, and I can take a break and go visit him when I want to. My daughters come home with the grandkids, and I am able to be around a lot. Just the lifestyle. We enjoy our life.
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Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Second Section • Saturday, September 12, 2020 • Page 23
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Page 24 • Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Second Section • Saturday, September 12, 2020
Sustainability is all encompassing mentality for Young
New York dairyman takes future operators, environment into equation By Krista Kuzma
krista.k@dairystar.com
SKANEATELES, N.Y. – For Dirk Young, sustainability means more than caring for the environment. It also incorporates passing the farm on to the next operators. “I think it also means you can go into the future and continue to operate protability,” Young said. This mentality, along with caring for the land and the animals raised on it, are what earned Young and his farm the 2020 U.S. Outstanding Dairy Farm Sustainability Award presented by the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy. “It’s nice to get a little recognition,” Young said. “It’s gratifying.” Young’s dairy, Twin Birch Dairy, milks 1,600 cows near Skaneateles. His wife, Karen, is employed by the dairy as the chief nancial ofcer. At 64 years old with neither of his children interested in taking over the farm, Young has set up a trust and brought in two non-family partners, Todd Evans and Jeremy Brown, who have prot interest in the dairy in order for it to continue in the future. “The farm will continue in the trust and (the PHOTO SUBMITTED partners) will use the trust assets to continue to Partners of Twin Birch Dairy – (from le�) Todd Evans, Jeremy Brown and Dirk Young – along with Young’s farm as long as it can be viable,” Young said. wife and the dairy’s chief nancial officer, Karen, stand in front of the dairy’s farm sign in Skaneateles, New Turn to NEW YORK | Page 25
York. The 1,600-cow dairy earned the 2020 U.S. Outstanding Dairy Farm Sustainability Award presented by the Innova�on Center for U.S. Dairy.
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Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Second Section • Saturday, September 12, 2020 • Page 25
ConƟnued from NEW YORK | Page 24
“Our trust is set up to be sustainable. Me running the operation is not sustainable because I’m not going to be able to do this forever. You realize you’re just a caretaker for a little while. So, you need to move on.” Young wanted to start thinking about retirement but not at the expense of the dairy. “I wanted to slow down, but I didn’t want the farm to stagnate and go backwards,” he said. “I wanted the farm to keep going forward.” Both Evans and Brown started on the farm as employees and have slowly gained percentage as owners. Young said farm sustainability is a mentality. “With business, the environment and everything, you have to have the right attitude,” he said. “It’s the willingness to bring in a partner and give them a piece of the action, give them the responsibility. You guide them along the way, but they’ll make mistakes. I’ve made lots of mistakes in my life.” As the second generation on his farm, Young started working with his dad full time after graduating from high school in 1974. “He was very stingy with ownership, but he was willing to let me do the decision making,” Young said. “I took the bull by the horns and went with it.” To continue moving the farm forward, Young upgraded the facilities in 1990. The dairy went from a conventional stanchion barn to a new freestall setup with a
These buildings house a digester at Twin Birch Dairy, which helps reduce odor and generate electricity.
double-18 parallel parlor. “We’ve been growing into that ever since,” Young said. Environmental sustainability has always been a part of the journey, especially with the farm located between two of the nger lakes – Skaneateles Lake to the east and Owasco Lake to the west. Both are drinking water sources for surrounding communities and have highly-priced homes surrounding their shores. Plus, a golf course is situated on the neighboring land. “There’s always been pressure,”
Young said about being a good environmental steward. “Some constituents can be nosy and call the environmental conservation ofce about us because they just don’t understand what they see.” Strip cropping and no till practices have been used on the farm for years along with buffer strips around streams. Cover crops have also become commonplace. “I started cover cropping the high ow areas where snow would melt and more water would ow through, but I gradually increased
PHOTO SUBMITTED
the acreage,” Young said. “Now we just cover it all.” Young farms a total of 3,300 acres of owned and rented land. For manure, Young built remote storage sites over 1.5 miles away from the dairy and centered by the cropland. “They are out of sight and in the middle of a block so nobody really knows where they are,” Young said. Manure is pumped through an Turn to NEW YORK | Page 26
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Page 26 • Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Second Section • Saturday, September 12, 2020
ConƟnued from NEW YORK | Page 25
underground pipeline to reach the storage pits, and Young has a drag hose system to spread it. A digester built in 2002 helps reduce odor and generate electricity. “When we were building necessary manure storage, I said I don’t want the smell,” Young said. “At that point, we were still putting it on top of the ground and it was quite rank.” Now the manure is digested and then incorporated into the ground when put on the elds. And while the electricity generated from digester does not make them a lot of money, Young said the other benets have been worth the investment. “People don’t really know when we’re spreading manure,” Young said.
Explore
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Twin Birch Dairy sits in the middle of a 3-mile stretch that separates two lakes in New York’s Finger Lakes region. The dairy’s proximity to the lakes along with having a neighboring golf course makes environmental stewardship one of Twin Birch Dairy’s top prioriƟes.
Last year, Young also worked with local environmental groups to test water to ensure their farm was keeping up with practices that kept water quality high. Part of the reason for the testing is the increased incidence of blue-green algae appearing in Owasco Lake within the last six years, Young said. “People were all up in arms about it,” he said. “They were pointing ngers at the farms.” Young wanted to check his farm’s practices. He gave the environmental group permission to test the water coming into and going off the farm to compare the difference.
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“They found as good as or sometimes even better water leaving the farm than what was coming onto the farm,” Young said. “The people from the watershed were shocked at the results.” Regardless of what the results were, Young wanted to be sure his environmental practices were beneting the land and water. He is open to changing practices if necessary. “We want to be perceived by the neighbors as an asset to the community, not a liability,” Young said. “We want to have that little red barn feel even though we’re not.” Overall, Young wants to do what is right for his farm, the environment around it and the community. “We’re not perfect, but we do our best and we try,” Young said.
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Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Second Section • Saturday, September 12, 2020 • Page 27
Robot install a sweet feat for Stockdales Automated milking, renovated facility increases cow comfort, repro efciency for Ontario dairy By Danielle Nauman danielle.n@dairystar.com
KEENE, Ontario, Canada – Converting a 90-cow tiestall barn into a facility outtted with robotic milking units is no easy feat. But, the feat is considered sweet when the change comes with increased longevity and cow comfort within the herd, and an efcient return to three-timesper-day milking Kyle Stockdale without adding Extra Mile Farm labor. Extra Mile Farm, of Keene in eastern Ontario, is operated by Kirk and Sherry Stockdale along with their son and daughter-in-law, Kyle and Carrie. The Stockdales milk 85 cows with two DeLaval robots in a freestall barn. The Stockdales purchased their farm in 2014, launching their own dairy operation after working with family for several years. Robots were part of the family’s 10-year plan, but the receipt of an unexpected government grant sped the process up to a two-year plan. The Stockdales started up their robots during the rst week of September 2019 and have enjoyed the benets from that decision during the past year. “We really wanted to get our cows out walking more,” Kyle said. “We did attempt to get all 90 cows out once a day in the rst few years being
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The Stockdales converted their 90-stall Ɵestall barn into a roboƟc freestall facility where they are now milking 85 cows with two robots. Health benets they have seen include increased natural heat detecƟon and beƩer mobility.
here, but it was really a gong show.” The transition from a tiestall to a freestall environment helped the Stockdales reach their goal of increasing the mobility and ultimately the longevity of their cows. The barn, built in 2002, was gutted during the renovation, which took about nine weeks from start to nish. While the main section of the barn was converted to sand-bedded free stalls, the Stockdales retained a small section of the original barn with 24 head-to-head tie stalls and seven box stalls for housing dry cows and heifers, and to use as a hospital and maternity area. Managing and caring for their herd during the renovation was challenging for the Stockdales. “In an ideal world, we would have had an alternate facility to house and care for the cows in during the renovation,” Kyle said. “But that Turn to CANADA | Page 29
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It took the Stockdales about nine weeks to gut their Ɵestall barn and turn it into a freestall barn.
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Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Second Section • Saturday, September 12, 2020 • Page 29
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Day 1 PHOTO SUBMITTED
The Stockdales previously milked their cows in a 90-stall Ɵestall barn. One of the primary reasons for making the conversion was to increase the amount of Ɵme their cows spent walking, improving their mobility.
wasn’t a feasible option for us.” During the time the barn was being renovated, the cows lived on pasture. They created a holding area, ran a short loop of milk line to the tie stalls used for dry cow and heifer
“Our cows transitioned to the free stalls and robots quite well. I attribute that to the fact they spent those nine weeks outside, moving around.” KYLE STOCKDALE, DAIRY FARMER
housing, and milked 12 cows at a time, step-up parlor style, until the free stalls were ready and the robots were installed. Once the facility renovation was completed and the cows moved in, the Stockdales found the new concrete
and sand made a rough combination on the cows’ feet, requiring them to be diligent about watching for and treating hoof issues and signs of lameness. In the last year, the Stockdales have enjoyed improved reproductive efciency, shortening their calving interval and decreasing their days in milk. Kyle said he walks through the free stalls several times each day, watching the cows. “In the tie stalls, we were using quite a bit of ovsynch to get our cows bred,” Kyle said. “Now we hardly use any. With the cows being free to move, we are using more natural heat detection, seeing the cows in standing heats. We are getting them in calf faster.” The Stockdales 120 kilograms of quota, and their herd is averaging about 86 pounds of 4.2% butterfat milk per day. In the renovated facility, the cows are fed in a feed bunk, using a conveyor system. One thing Kyle wishes he could have done different,
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PHOTO SUBMITTED
Two DeLaval VMS 300 robots were installed into the Stockdale’s barn during their renovaƟon to complete the conversion to a roboƟc facility.
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but was limited by nancing, would have been to create a wider drive-thru feed alley to make feeding more efcient. “Our cows transitioned to the free stalls and robots quite well,” Kyle said. “I attribute that to the fact that they spent those nine weeks outside, moving around.” The breeding philosophy employed by the Stockdales has not changed dramatically since the installation of the robots. “My idea of the ideal, perfect cow has changed slightly since starting to breed cows for the robots but not much,” Kyle said. “My ideal cow is still capable of producing over (220,000 pounds) of milk lifetime and is an Excellent cow. She travels freely and moves with ease throughout the free stalls and to and from the robots. She’s at boned, wide rumped and wide chested with a wide muzzle. She is high and wide in the rear udder, long and smooth
“Would we do this renovation and transition to robots again? Yes, absolutely.” KYLE STOCKDALE, DAIRY FARMER
in the fore udder with her teats placed plumb under her udder, with no reverse tilt. The ideal cow really is the ideal robot cow.” While the majority of the sire selection has shifted to bulls with higher production numbers, the Stockdales place a great deal of focus on breeding cows with tremendous strength and width. “Cows that have width and strength are tougher cows,” Kyle said. “They wear and last, they are aggressive, and they don’t mind competing at the feed bunk. I like cows like that. I don’t want to have to be calling the vet or fetching cows. I like cows that do it successfully on their own.” Bulls that have worked well in the Stockdales’ herd and have made cows that have worked well in the robots include Mr Chassity Gold Chip, Gen-I-Beq Brawler, Walnutlawn Soloman, Lirr Drew Dempsey and Val-Bisson Doorman. Bulls the Stockdales are using and nding success with include Farnear Delta Lambda, Monteld SSI Dcy Mogul, Stantons Galore, Duckett Crush Tatoo, Walnutlawn Sidekick and Oh-River-Syc Crushabull. When the timeline for the robots shortened due to the grant, Kyle said he used a lot of Croteau Lesperron Unix to help make strides toward robotready udders quickly. “Would we do this renovation and transition to robots again? Yes, absolutely,” Kyle said. “Our cows have beneted, and we as dairy farmers have beneted.”
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Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Second Section • Saturday, September 12, 2020 • Page 31
Dairying in Idaho
Swafalz Dairy manages heat stress in hot, dry climate Chris Rood Swafalz Dairy Boise, Idaho 1,700 cows Tell us about your farm. The farm is owned by Adrian Kroes. We have 18 full-time employees. We milk in a double-22 parlor. We are in open corrals. There are no buildings. All we have is sunshades. Our baby calves are shipped out to a calf ranch, and we get them back at 400 pounds. We cool the cows when they go into the holding pen with fans and sprinklers. We straw our cows every day in the winter. We do four 1-ton bales per corral. We have to push the stuff out every other day with a loader. We have to keep the whole corral scraped. What crops do you grow? How many acres? How has this growing season been? We buy all of our feed. It is a rental dairy. The dairy itself is on a 400-acre plot, and we buy all the feed and work with neighboring farmers. Our goal is to either buy the dairy or buy something else if it comes available. What is a unique aspect of farming in your area? The dry climate. We get 10-12 inches of
rain. That’s why we can get away with the facilities we have. We do have some heat stress in the summertime. Everything is irrigated or it will not grow. We get ve crops of alfalfa. In the winter, our temperature hovers in the high 20s. Describe a highlight or an accomplishment for your farm in the past few years. We’ve been on this place for 13 years. A highlight is taking the farm from 1,000 cows to 1,700 and taking the milking from two times a day to three times a day, growing the herd within. We use all articial insemination. We were growing internally already, and then we just sped up the process with sexed semen. What are challenges your farm is currently facing? How are you overcoming them? We are coming out of heat stress. We can get hot; up to 100 degrees. Then if it doesn’t drop below 70 at night, it is hard for those cows. We have sunshades, but they still want to group up. We just had two weeks of that. Milk production can drop severely, from 5-10 pounds and reproduction will drop for a month. Another big issue is employees because Boise is the No. 1 growing area in the
nation right now. We have to deal with construction laborers who are in high demand. There are multiple companies moving into the valley, and they are going to require 1,000 employees. There has been more businesses moving in, and people aren’t coming in fast enough. We try to pay competitive or a little more. We try to be fair with them. We don’t feel like we overwork them and demand a lot out of them. We try to have good communication and try to be exible with them. We offer health insurance, paid vacation and a bonus program. What steps has your farm taken to remain viable during the pandemic? The protocols we used kept all sales people off the place. Supply people can drop off stuff at their designated area and then must leave. Normally we would have vendors go and stock shelves. We are employees only, no visitors. We offered our employees masks, and we told them if they are sick, they need to stay home What do you enjoy most about dairy farming? I enjoy being out working with the cows. I love seeing them happy and comfortable.
You do a lot around the farm.
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Page 32 • Dairy Star World Dairy Special Edition • Second Section • Saturday, September 12, 2020
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