Feb. 23, 2013, 1st section, zone 2

Dairy Star Saturday, February 23, 2013

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Bryan and Kathy ThonerEllsworth, Wis. (Pierce County); 44 cowsHow did you get into farming? This is my (Bryan) home farm. I have been farming here for 37 years. I am the fourth generation in my family to farm here. My dad sold our herd in 1975, and then I went to the University of Wisconsin-River Falls and received a degree in agriculture education. During the last two years of college, I bought a herd of cows and started dairying. I graduated in 1978, which was also the year Kathy and I were married. Weve been here dairy farming since. Kathy works off the farm as a secretary at the middle school. We have three daughters and one son between the ages of 25 and 32Why did you get into dairy farming? I liked the cows, and when Dad sold the herd, I missed them. I decided to give dairy farming a shot, and here we are. Whats your next step? On March 8, we are selling our herd. Our facility is worn out and none of our children would like to milk cows. As we get older, the work is getting harder to do, and its harder to take time off to visit our children and their families. We will still be on the farm and will raise crops on our 200 acres of land along with dairy steers. Our son will be involved in this aspect, too. Whats been your biggest accomplishment? When I rst started farming, my two goals were to raise a family on the farm and be out of debt when I retired from dairy farming. I was able to achieve both of those. Also, our herd has never been the top herd for production, but weve topped the county for somatic cell count. What has been your favorite part about dairy farming? I really like the genetics of the Holsteins. Our herd has always been reg-istered. What is your favorite tool? I like the cordless drill. I also really like the skid loader. What is your favorite meal using a dairy product? Mashed potato casserole is really good and cheese curds. (See page 30 of Sec-ond Section for Kathys recipe for Mashed Potato Casserole) What are you looking forward to in the next step of your life? We would like to travel. Were looking forward to going to Wash-ington, D.C., and Mount Rushmore, among many other places. Were also looking forward to seeing our grandkids more often and being able to travel to see family when we want to.What advice do you have for other dairy farmers just getting started? Watch your debt level. Input costs are getting so high now that its tough to have a high debt load.

DAIRY ST RISSN 020355

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the week before publicationSales Manager - Jeff Weyer

(National Advertising, Northern MN, East Central MN)

320-260-8505 (cell)[email protected]

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(SW MN, NW Iowa, South Dakota)605-690-6260 (cell)

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563-608-6477 [email protected]

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Published by Dairy Star LLCGeneral Manager/Editor/Sales

Mark Klaphake320-352-6303 (of ce)320-248-3196 (cell)

320-352-0062 (home)[email protected]

Ad CompositionJanell Westerman 320-352-6303

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Jerry Jennissen 320-346-2292President

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Staff WritersKrista Sheehan - Assistant Editor

SE MN/NE IA507-259-8159 [email protected]

Melissa Mussman(320) 429-1084 [email protected]

Ron Johnson [email protected]

Ruth Klossner [email protected]

Pine Island

Ramblings from the

RidgePage 30

Columnists

Getting Kerryd Away

Page 27

The Next Generation

Page 33

ColumnistsNutritionist

Page 34Ag InsiderPage 6 Just

Thinking Out LoudPage 32

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FIRST SECTION Page 16 From Our Side of the FencePages 22 - 23 Mailbox prices up everywhere but for Minnesotapeople, be thankfulPage 25 Last years drought drove home importance of crop insurance Boylen OverPage 26 The winter has been an uphill battlePage 28 Margin compression What does it mean for my business?Page 29 Nitrogen for corn following alfalfa: When and how much?Page 31 Saying goodbye to TillyPage 35 Lehs retiring after more than 16 years with MDA in Iowa SECOND SECTION Page 8 The Mielke Market WeeklyPage 9 Dairy Markets

Pages 10, 13 News from Princess Kay Page 12 Iowa Hay Auction ResultsPages 24 - 25 DHIA 2012 high 200 herd honor rollPage 26 Mid-American Hay Auction ResultsPage 27 People in the Dairy IndustryPage 28 FFA SpotlightPage 30 Dairy RecipesTHIRD SECTIONPage 9 ISU extension shares latest on fungicides, value of manurePage 10 Wagner challenges audience to de ne success, value people, be thankfulPage 11 - 13 Diary CalendarPages 15, 18 Some Udder StuffPages 19 - 23 Classi eds

Dairy Star Saturday, February 23, 2013 Page 3

Contents

Ohio family battled Johnes for years, hopes its nally gonePages 36- 37

Mertens named 2012 Farm Family of the YearPages 4 - 5

Wittman discusses why families should run their

farms as businessesPages 12, 15

Gopher Dairy Club celebrates students, industry leaders

Pages 2, 6Third Section

Fuchs has delivered ve

sets while working on farms

Pages 7 - 8Third Section

Kids Corner: The Puhrmanns

Pages 38 - 39

Dubbes build freestall barn, parlor over the course of

ve yearsworking on farmsPages 18, 20

Minneapolis

Jordan Hager City

Arlington Belle Plaine

Rochester

Staples

Plato

Sprengeler returns to work after being attacked by a cowPages 10 -11

Fire destroys barn, kills 70 calvesPages 1, 5

Schwartzes looking to relocate dairyPages 1, 8

Cashton

Lambing time nds Treschers

tending sheep and cattle

Pages 14 - 15Second Section

Red Wing

OReillys low SCC result of simplicity

Pages 18 - 19Second Section

Kimball

Women in Jeans: Lori ChristoffersonPage 6Second Section


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... part of our quality management.

Weve been using Udder Comfort for six years for mastitis cows and fresh animals. We like the blue spray to see how we are applying it, says Lee Muehlenhardt.

Lee and his wife Mary, son Scott, and daughter and son-in-law Nate and Shari (Gerdis) operate Halquist Farms, Inc., which has been in Marys family for four generations. They milk 380 cows, raise the youngstock and grow crops near Belle Plaine, Minnesota. Scotts wife Beth is a school teacher.

Our method is to use Udder Comfort right away as soon as we see something, like swelling or fl akes in a quarter. We put it on 4 to 5 days (after each milking) and that generally brings things back. We also do this for our fresh animals after they calve, Lee explains.

We notice a big difference in how cows respond. We have fewer chronics in the herd and our SCC has steadily improved.

At one time we had counts over 400,000. We really worked through it, and a lot of things have come together to improve it.

Now, we have a track record as third best SCC at the creamery, keeping counts consistently below 100,000. That means about 70 cents/cwt in milk bonuses.

Udder Comfort is one of the tools that is part of our quality management.

Quality Udders Make Quality Milk

Lee Muehlenhardt

HALQUIST FARMS Lee & Mary MuehlenhardtBELLE PLAINE, MINNESOTA Milking 380 cowsProduction: 75 lbs/cow/day (2x)SCC: 80 - 90,000

For external application to the udder only after milking, as an essential component of udder management. Always wash and dry teats thoroughly before milking.

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and

Feb. 23, 2013, 1st section, zone 2

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