BOTTOM LINE Thursday, July 15, 2021 SECTION E
Sharing ideas, solutions, resources and experiences that help dairy producers succeed.
Education central to Tag Lane success PDPW
IXONIA, Wis. – Rick Schultz from a young age has been involved in the dairy industry. He grew up on his parents’ dairy farm east of Antigo, Wisconsin. But when he was 5 years old they sold the farm to move to Palmyra in the southeastern part of the state, where he helped his grandparents on their hobby farm. He milked cows at his neighbor’s dairy farm while attending Palmyra-Eagle High School. While attending Milwaukee School of Engineering he continued to milk on weekends at his neighbor’s farm. He later transferred to the University of Wisconsin-Madison and graduated with a four-year degree in dairy science. He then successively worked at a 250-cow dairy near Clintonville, became an independent representative for ABS Global and worked on a 600-cow dairy near Waterford. About 11 years ago he stepped into his current position as herdsperson at Tag Lane Dairy near Ixonia, owned by Kevin and Chris Griswold. Tag Lane Dairy is home to about 1,700 cows. Schultz’s daily roles on the farm entail managing the herd’s reproduction program, including breeding, vaccinating and administering OvSynch shots. His typical work day involves an early-morning herd walk-through, during which he examines health
reports before turning to his daily reproduction tasks. But continual education has become a preeminent role for him through the years. As a member of a Professional Dairy Producers® peer group he’s had multiple opportunities to tour dairy farms of other group members. “Rick is particularly interested in taking practical information back to the farm,” said Emily Franke, PDPW project coordinator and facilitator of PDPW peer groups. “Making sure the cows are the No. 1 focus is important to him; he contributes wonderful insights to our group discussions.” Schultz said he finds value in discussing the practices others have found to be successful. “I love seeing what the others are implementing on their farms,” he said. “It’s beneficial to see what’s worked and what hasn’t.” A long-time attendee of PDPW educational programs, he said he’s found PDPW’s Financial Literacy for Dairy® series to be incredibly impactful. Having participated in all three levels of the multi-session financial-development curriculum, he’s benefited not only personally but also in his role as herd manager. Taught by experts in dairy finance and economics, Financial Literacy for Dairy builds on the financial numbers specific to each attendee’s dairy. Between sessions participants create benchmarks and operating goals,
PDPW
As herdsperson at Tag Lane Dairy near Ixonia, Wisconsin, Rick Schultz helps manage a 1,700-cow dairy. He says he’s a believer in the value of lifelong learning and networking with other dairy producers. complete homework assignments and make appropriate course corrections along the way. “The Financial Literacy class offers invaluable content for both the dairy business and the dairy producer personally,” Schultz said. “It helps answer critical questions such as, ‘Where are you financially at currently?’ and
‘Where do you want to go?’ Actually knowing those numbers helps you get there.” Another program that’s made a difference for Schultz is PDPW’s Managers Academy for Dairy Professionals™. An executive-level-management program held annually, the three-day program introduces dairy managers to up-
per-level concepts and out-of-industry organizations. Attendees explore new approaches to issues such as labor, team management, consumer perceptions, environmental stewardship, business leadership and financial sustainability. Managers Academy participants typically enjoy the opportunity to spend a few January days in a warmer state. But the primary benefits come from networking with peers and making connections with experts from around the world. Schultz attended the program in San Diego, California, and in Orlando, Florida. He said the out-of-industry tours to Sea World, San Diego Zoo and Disney World enabled him to learn how executives in globally renowned tourist locations manage clashing consumer perceptions, labor challenges, water use and a number of other business-management challenges common to dairy. “It was interesting to hear their managers talk about some of the same animal-welfare problems we face in the dairy industry,” Schultz said. “It’s helpful to learn new ways we can respond to public perceptions – especially those that don’t tell the whole story.” He’s grateful for the learning opportunities PDPW has afforded him, he said. He encourages others to continue to learn and to better themselves.
Perspectives change on companion crops
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MATTHEW OEHMICHEN
RYAN STOCKWELL
Short Lane Ag Supply
Indigo Ag
It was early-July 2017 when my brother and I applied our first interseeding application of companion crops into our dad’s corngrain field. “Dad” is Larry Oehmichen, founder of our company Short Lane Ag Supply Oehmichen LLC. At that time in Clark County, Wisconsin, seeding plants amongst a row crop was completely unheard of. Explaining the concept to dad re-emphasized that truth. “I am not spreading weeds into my corn fields,” he said. “Go buy your own farm if you want to grow them.” That was a clear and definitive statement of authority from our majority shareholder and father. So we did what any respectable son would do. We waited for him to leave on a fishing trip to Canada and applied the interseeding anyway. The application was a mix of 125 pounds of urea and 15 pounds of crimson clover, daikon radish and annual ryegrass. We broadcast-spread it with our John Deere HighBoy. To call it an unmitigated disaster would be harsh, but the establishment was fleeting and the growth underwhelming. That first interseeding would have broken any of us, and not just because my dad said, “I told you so.” It was especially difficult because of the socially judgmental attitude of agriculture at the time. We fear and therefore judge things we don’t understand. And then we’re relieved when it falls flat on its face because we aren’t pressured to change our perceptions. And that’s what companion crops do – change perceptions. What was once a disciplined practice – or at least a utopian desire to have weed-free plant-less rows – is becoming less common. More farmers are seeing the growing benefits from interseeding companion crops into standing
As with Matthew, I experienced a number of ups and downs being on the leading edge of a new practice in an area. A big part of that process required a willingness to change my own assumptions. Certainly I Stockwell would do a few things differently if given the chance. Indeed, how many of us wouldn’t change things if we had the chance? I’ve learned that cover crops and no-till approaches have considerable advantages. Soil maintains soil structure if it isn’t tilled every six or 12 months. Adding cover crops creates root channels that improve water infiltration while encourag-
Please see CROPS, Page E4
In contrast to traditional clean rows, interseeding between rows has indisputable advantages including better soil structure, less topsoil loss, warmer soil temperatures in spring and time savings for the producer. ing worms that further improve drainage. I found that instead of needing to wait four days for the soil to dry,
the wait time shrank to only two days. As we’ve all experienced, an extra two-day window can be all the difference when needing to plant or harvest crops. I also learned no-till soils are warmer in the spring. I had my doubts, so when I suspected it I decided to collect proof. In spring 2013 I tested the soil temperature of my soil and my neighbor’s across the fencerow. In 10 of the 12 weeks of tests, the notilled and cover-cropped soil had a slight temperature advantage of about 1 degree. In the remaining two weeks my neighbor made a tillage pass; it had not yet rained. But as soon as it rained the tilled soil temperature returned to its baseline average, cooler than the no-tilled soil. The simple fact is it takes six times more solar energy from the sun to warm saturated soil than to
warm well-drained soil. We all know how important early-season growth is for yearend yield. As a new farmer I experienced the conflicting joys and pains of not having an established line of equipment. That meant I wasn’t locked into any prior production practices, but I needed to build much of my collection of operating equipment. As I crunched the numbers to determine feasible options, one reality became abundantly clear. The only way I could make farming pencil-out was by using no-till and cover crops. The savings in equipment and operating costs were simply too evident. I knew, though, that I would need to be willing to accept the fact that farming in that manner might look a little different. Interseeding cover crops may be more innovative, but
PDPW PHOTOS
Tradition has long idealized neat and clean rows between crops. it also maximizes the advantages provided by cover crops established after crop harvest. Sometimes we need to be willing to challenge our assumptions to gain valuable advantages. Ryan Stockwell is an agronomy-strategy manager at Indigo Ag; he’s a farmer near Medford, Wisconsin. Email rstockwell@indigoag.com to reach him.
Got comfort? Get quality! Target fresh applications to the bottom of the udder, along the center cleft, and up a few inches. Commit to 10 to 14 applications pre- and/or post-fresh and find out what these producers already know: Only the best will do!
“It doesn’t cost money, it makes money. This is a no-brainer when you see how quickly it softens udders after calving. From the time they calve until leaving the fresh group, every fresh animal gets Udder ComfortTM 2x/day. That’s 6 to 8 days.” We start pre-fresh heifers 1x/day a week before calving. Trust me, if this didn’t work better than anything else, I wouldn’t be using it.”
- Bruce Vande Hey (left), Wrightstown, Wis.
490 cows, 90 lbs, 130,000 SCC
“In 2017, we gave this a try. Our SCC came down by over 100,000. We tried other products, but Udder Comfort is the one that does the job.”
- Mark Spadgenske (right), Menahga, Minn.
350 cows, 75 lbs, SCC below 200,000
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