Here’s a State Fair story that’s udderly unbelievable: If you thought Princess Kay getting her head carved out of butter was the most uniquely Minnesotan image at the fair, think again. A cow being shown by Princess Kay finalist Brittney Strayer of Wadena County has a mark on her flank you’ve got to see to believe: it’s a small but perfectly formed image of the shape of Minnesota. The year-old heifer is named, appropriately enough, Minnie.

Here’s a shot of Brittney and fellow Princess Kay finalist Becky Richter posing with Minnie.

From the second she was crowned the 55th Princess Kay of the Milky Way, Kristy Mussman has been all over the Minnesota State Fair, talking with fairgoers and media about everything from what it’s like to get her head carved out of butter to how much she’s looking forward to representing the state’s nearly 5,000 dairy farmers. In the first few days of the fair, Princess Kay and the princess finalists participated in close to 50 interviews and photo shoots with media all over the state, and several from across the country. Here she is chatting with WCCO Radio’s Tim Russell.

Princess Kay finalists Elizabeth Kern, Megan Reeck and Laura Weisz joined Kristy for an appearance with KMSP-TV’s Jeff Passolt.

On Friday, August 22, Princess Kay joined Twin Cities Live hosts John Hanson and Rebekah Wood for a fun segment that put her on the other side of the butter-sculpting process. She and the hosts carved the show’s logo out of one-pound blocks of butter. As Kristy told John and Rebekah, she did learn from the best, sculptor extraordinaire Linda Christensen.

Minnesota Lt. Governor Carol Molnau was on hand to help unveil the booth at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on the first day of the fair, Thursday, August 21. Lt. Governor Molnau was joined by, from left, Midwest Dairy Association’s Vice President, Industry Relations Donna Moenning, Midwest Dairy Association chairman and dairy farmer Ken Herbranson, Princess Kay of the Milky Way Kristy Mussman, sculptor Linda Christensen, and Princess Kay finalists Brittney Strayer and Ann Motl.

Right after the dedication, the newly crowned Princess Kay spent about eight hours in the refrigerated booth. The sculpting continues each of the remaining days of the fair with the 11 other Princess Kay candidates. Over the years, millions of fairgoers have stopped by to watch as Princess Kay of the Milky Way or a princess candidate posed in the slowly rotating booth gets her head and shoulders sculpted from a 90-pound block of butter produced by AMPI in New Ulm. Sculptor Linda Christensen has been with the booth almost since the beginning; 2008 will mark her 37th year sculpting at the fair. Through the years, Linda has sculpted the likeness of David Letterman, made an appearance on Good Morning America, visited with presidential candidate Fred Thompson, and sculpted Minnesota’s First Lady Mary Pawlenty.

The new butter-sculpting booth in the Minnesota State Fair’s Dairy Building is taking shape! Here are a few top-secret sneak peeks of the new booth. The entire thing will be unveiled at a special event at 9 a.m. on the first day of the fair, Thursday, August 21. We hope you’ll join us.

We’ve opened the door just a crack.

Take a peek at some of the pieces that make up the brand new booth.

What could these possibly be?

Here’s another key element of the booth. Do you know what it is?

A look at part of the booth’s base.

Check back again soon for photos of the event -- and of Princess Kay of the Milky Way getting her likeness carved out of a 90-pound block of butter!

Whew! Summer flies by for everyone but I believe that it flies by even faster for a dairy farmer. It’s hard to believe we are already finished with July and are into August. In addition to the daily chores of milking cows twice a day, feeding all of the calves and heifers twice and day and general chores, we have been trying to sneak in time for some summertime projects and crop work. Our peas were harvested after the 4th of July, so we have an open field to haul manure on until we seed in new alfalfa for next year. We are currently cleaning our manure and bedding from all of our heifer sheds and calf huts to spread on the fields. Once the barns are cleaned out we wash the calf pens with a sanitizing solution, making sure that each newborn calf is placed in a sterile environment. Sounds silly, but we treat each newborn calf like a newborn baby, handled with much care and love. We had a small calving boom this month as well. Between the 2 herds we had 15 calves born this month with 5 more due before August 1st. We keep and raise all of the heifers (girls) on farm, and raise the bulls (boys) to about 1-2 weeks of age and then they are sold to local farmers who raise them for beef. Each calf is given a vaccination at birth. Calves also have a clip placed on their navel, much like the umbilical cord on a baby. The next step is to feed the calf colostrum (first milk from the cows). In the first 12 hours our calves receive one gallon of colostrum, and by 24 hours they have consumed nearly 2 gallons of milk! These first feedings of colostrum are incredibly critical for a good start. The colostrum provides essential protein, fats, and energy to the calf, in addition to Immunoglobulins (IgG’s). IgG’s are the way the dam (mother) enhances the newborn calf’s immune system, but the calf can only receive and use these IgG’s in the first 24 hours. After the first 24 hours have passed the calf receives feedings twice a day of milk replacer (dried powdered milk which is mixed with warm water). These calves get as much milk as they are willing to drink, and at 3 days of age they start eating calf starter (grain).

 
Besides calving we have been busy in the fields as well. Mother Nature is definitely challenging us! By mid-July we were watching our cornfields curl and dry up. We had gone almost 3 weeks without any measurable rain for the crops. Some of the corn started to look gray/green from the heat while others turned brown and died. Finally on the 18th and 19th of July we received almost 2 inches of rain! Just in time, some of the corn is stunted and will not yield as much as it might have, but at least most of it survived. Before the rain the corn would not tassel, but now after the rain, quite a bit of the corn is tasseling. It’s amazing when the corn is drying up, how grateful we become for even the slightest shower and how so much more beautiful a long rainstorm can be. Now the corn crop is looking well, and we look forward to a couple more rain showers to finish out the summer.

It’s that time of the year again, show season! One thing that I always look forward to once summer comes is show season. Showing is a lot of fun and I have met a lot of great people while showing. The hardest part about showing is getting prepared for that big show. Tuesday, July 8th was my county’s dairy open class show. Since I was a young girl, I have been showing at our open class dairy show. This year I only took one cow to the show, a three-year old named Moondale Durham Sadie. We call her just “Sadie” for short. We purchased Sadie when she was a young calf and she has grown into one of the best cows in our barn!!! Showing Sadie has been a lot of fun, but it takes of lot of work and dedication to get her ready for the show season. The most important thing when showing an animal is that the animal is calm and relaxed. A relaxed cow looks a lot better in the show ring. In order for Sadie to be relaxed I had to work with her a lot. I practiced walking Sadie on the halter many times to make sure she is comfortable with me and the halter. A few days before show we had Sadie’s hooves trimmed so she walked much more comfortably. Having Sadie’s hooves trimmed is a lot like trimming your fingernails!!! The day before the show, I clipped Sadie’s hair to get her ready for the show. With her new haircut, Sadie looked very sharp and stylish.

Before I knew it, show day had arrived!!! I carefully packed the truck and trailer with all the supplies I would need for the show, halters, brushes, straw, hay, feed, buckets and a hose. Once I we arrived at the open class show I washed Sadie so she was very clean. Then I made sure she had TMR (total mixed ration), a specially designed feed that includes all the vitamins and minerals she needs, in front of her at all times. Right before I went out in the ring I brushed her down with final mist which made her shine and I also sprayed her with fly spray so she would be more comfortable. All of the hours I had spent preparing for the show came down to this, 15 minutes to show off my cow!!!! All of my hard work paid off because Sadie won her age class and ended up winning Supreme Grand Champion. It was very exciting, and worth all the time and effort!!!!!!!

Watrin Farm is home to 200 cows and our family of 6. We also have 5 part-time milkers, and two part-time field workers. Today was a beautiful day, but a hot one. I got up this morning, and milked the first shift. My husband, Mark, got the cows out of the barn for me and into the parlor holding area, where they wait to be milked. (A very sweet thing to do, being that he is very busy with his own work). When I got home from bringing the small kids to daycare, I started milking. We bring the three smaller kids to daycare for their own safety. We have some very large equipment and we take every precaution to make sure there are no accidents. It takes me four and a half hours to milk all the cows. Sometimes the cows can be a little bit stubborn, and other things can happen like calves being born, or people stopping by that slow me down.

Our oldest daughter got up and fed the calves. She is turning eight next week and is a very big help! I mix up the milk for the calves and she feeds almost every morning and every night. Work ethic is a very important part in raising our children. We want them to be able to work hard out of habit no matter where life takes them. My milking went well with no problems today, and the calves looked good. I fed all the grain to the small calves (100-140 lbs) and to all the bigger animals too when I was done milking and cleaning up. Then, it was a busy office day for me. I had a lot of filing and organization to do. It has been a month or two since I have done it. I ate lunch in the office today so that I could get all my work done before it was time to pick up the little kids. Grace (age 8) cleaned her room and read some books while I did office work. She also cleaned up after lunch. After I picked up the little kids it was supper time, and then time to feed the calves again. This time I had all the kids outside helping get the calves feed. MaryAnne (1) was having a blast with the calves (see picture) while Grace and I worked. She was not afraid of the calves at all, and was letting them suck on her fingers! The boys (ages 3 & 5) rode their bikes, looked for frogs, and picked flowers for me. After we got done feeding calves, it was bath time, and we were late for bed, it was already 9:30pm. The kids said their prayers and went to sleep, and I snuck away into the office to get some more work done, while I waited for Mark to come in. He did come in for supper and we ate as a family. During his day, he worked on equipment, made a trip to the FSA (Farm Service Agency) office, made his daily phone calls, and fixed everyone’s major and minor problems. 11:00 p.m. rolled around, I got all my Tupperware orders in the computer as I am also a Tupperware consultant, and Mark came in. We spent a half hour together and crashed as it had been a long day and we both had to be up early in the morning!

Kerncrest Farm is proud to announce the birth of twins! They are our pride & joy: two little heifer calves with bright red hair & curly red eye lashes. They each have personalities of their own. Rosie is a sweetheart that will nozzle up to you when you feed her and Rebel will run in circles and knock the pail right out of your hands. Our twin calves are a recent addition to our herd. Born on June 16, 2008, these calves are two of only three red & white Holsteins on our farm. All of our other cows are black & white Holsteins. The little calves’ full names are Kerncrest Aspen Rosie J & Kerncrest Aspen Rebel J. The “r” and the “j” are from their mother Ruby Jo. Their grandmother was River & their great-grandmother was Revel. On our farm we like to name the daughters after their mothers by carrying on the first letter in their mother’s name. We are excited for our new calves and hope you enjoy hearing about their arrival. Oh! And don’t forget to get your three servings of wholesome, nutritious dairy foods each day! Photo courtesy of Agri-News.

My family and I had the honor of hosting the 2008 Wild Country 99, Molitor Family Breakfast on the Farm. The day started out nice and early. We knew people would be arriving around 8:00, so that really didn't give us much time! We had cows to wash, bales to stack, gates to arrange, little critters to clean, tables and chairs to set up, and that didn't include the usual milking and feeding chores. Being the proud owner of the cows to be used for the cow milking contest, I had the honor of washing the 2 cows. As the morning ticked on, things fell in to place as they always seem to do at the last second. The radio vans arrived by 8:00 a.m., so we had banners to hang and balloons to fill. You could feel the excitement building across the farm as the first box of doughnuts was brought out. However, my excitement turned to panic as I realized that I was still wearing my soaking wet barn clothes and there were people everywhere! Oops! I ran up the steps to the sound of my mom’s voice at my heels reprimanding me for leaving a muddy path behind me. I smiled as I secured my tiara in place. I am such a lucky lady because I not only personally represent my county, but also my family as a Stearns County Dairy Princess. What an honor!

The radio announcers started their top twenty countdown and invited people to come see the children’s barnyard, enjoy a rootbeer float, or sample a tasty doughnut. Between one of the breaks I asked the announcers if they were ready for the first contest and was greeted by a huge grin. So my sister and I walked to the cow’s gates and retrieved my two cows. We led the gentle beasts to the ideal location; a nice spot on the cement slab directly in front of the house. Each contestant milked a cow for 30 seconds to see who could get the most milk. The winner was awarded a stylish lawn chair, and the second place winner received a duffel bag, all compliments of Wild Country 99 and their sponsors.
In the down time between contests I gave milking parlor tours. I am doing a summer internship with the dealer that services our equipment, so I have become quite the expert. Many people are amazed at the size and cleanliness of our parlor. We milk in a swing 30, which gets thoroughly washed after each milking. I explained how we use special equipment that massages the cows teats as we milk them and how we keep all of our equipment as clean as possible to ensure that every glass of milk is wholesome and nutritious.

Time flew by and we were ready for our final event… the bale throwing contest. There were only about a dozen in the children's division, so that went pretty quick, but over 25 men and a few strong ladies wanted to show us all how far they could chuck those bales. One after another they lifted the bale, muscles bulging, sweat dripping; they concentrated on showing us just how strong they really were! The winner of the contest ended up throwing it just short of 30 feet, and walked away $20 richer! After it was over, the crowd started yelling for the princess to throw, so somehow I was suckered in to throwing a hay bale in heels- terrible idea!

11:00 rolled around and it was time to say goodbye to everybody, and I was sad to see the 350-400 people that had come out to see the farm leave. However, I was grateful for the opportunity to demonstrate to a few hundred people my rich heritage here on the dairy farm! I am so proud of who I am, what I stand for and all I have learned here on the home farm.

This week has been an emotional roller coaster of events. We are currently enjoying the sunny weather outside, with temperatures warm enough to finally make the corn start to stretch out. Daily activities include spraying the fields for weeds, cultivating, and prepping hay equipment for the next cutting of alfalfa coming in a few short weeks. While we are staying busy we also took some time to embrace the local dairy industry.

Sadly, our neighbors and close friends chose to sell their cows via auction last weekend. It was great to see so many neighbors and friends come in support of the family. Selling cows is always a hard decision for a dairy farmer. Often times the farmer has a relationship with his herd of cows much like you would have with a bunch of pets. Our neighbors chose to sell their cows, to make more time for family, which lived far from home. Since cows need to be milked twice a day, every day, that makes taking vacations a little more complicated for dairy farmers. Attending this sale was bittersweet, as we saw the family suffer the great loss of their cows, but at the same time the hope of all of the young dairy producers there to invest in their futures. Each of the cows found new homes with other devoted dairy farmers from all over the state and nation, and the family could rest assured that their “girls” would be taken care of. In fact, one calf and one heifer (one year old, due to calve in the fall) came home with us. Pronto Pup and Lyda joined our herd quite easily, and our neighbors can come over any time they like to visit them. Seeing young dairy farmers excited about dairying has always energizing to us, especially since we are young dairy farmers ourselves.

Another event, involving youth in dairying, was the local youth dairy show. The Southern Minnesota Youth Dairy Show is a gathering of southern Minnesota youth, trying out their show cattle for the first time this season. Most of the youth in attendance use this as a preliminary for the county fair and state fair shows. My sister in law Bethany is going to be a 6th grader this coming fall and has never shown an animal before. She wanted so badly to be like her bigger brothers that the family decided that she could show for the youth show, especially since it was only one day. Bethany went out to the barn and picked out a winter calf (born in December of 2007). It wasn’t the biggest calf in the pen, nor the prettiest, but it was the friendliest one. After putting a halter on her and getting to know her new calf, Bethany proclaimed her calf to be named “Puff” for her fluffy hair! So Puff and Bethany began practicing how to walk, stop, and pose for the judge. After a couple of baths and a new hair cut, Puff was ready for show. Much to everyone’s surprise, Puff was 2nd place in her class, and Bethany went on to win Junior Showmanship (competition based on how well Bethany showed the calf) her first time in the show ring! Overall it was a great week for youth in the dairy industry!

While the pace is behind last year, there was a lot of work to be done during early June here at Sjostrom Farms. Along with all the chores and fieldwork, Megan graduated from GFW HS on June 8th and a waffle breakfast was served to many families and friends. Turned out to be a nice day and the rains held off. The crops are behind this year because of rain and wet ground, which delays the rate at which we can plant our crops (because our machinery will get stuck in the wet field). This spring we planted corn, soybeans and wheat. Our family farm actually consists of three generations of Sjostroms. Lowell, the grandfather of the family, works a lot in the field with the crops, and also feeds the cows two times each day. Adrianne, his wife, can be found milking cows and also helps with making meals and moving equipment to where we need it. Lowell’s son, Steve, started farming just a few years after he finished high school almost thirty years ago. He milks most of the time and also takes charge of the farm business. Steve’s wife Deb, works off the farm as a Postmaster in a nearby town. They have three kids, Lucas, Megan and Jacob, who all help out quite a bit too. Jacob is also preparing animals that will be shown at cow shows at the county and state fairs this summer. Like dogs, cows can be trained to lead and become very tame. All three children have put a lot of work into training our cows over the years, but Lucas and Megan are preparing for their fourth and first years of college, respectively, and do not have time to work with the cows this summer. In total, we milk 100 cows, but also raise all their youngstock. The heifer calves (girls) are raised to eventually join our herd of milking cows (it takes about two years), and the bull calves (boys) are raised as steers to market as beef. We also own 750 acres of land, which with two families we consider an average sized farm, and share some equipment with a neighbor who also farms about 750 acres.

In the fields, our wet spring slowed down the corn planting process. Because virtually every field in the Midwest was planted later this year than last year, the corn is shorter. The picture of corn next to the boot shows what the height of our corn was on June 1st. At this time last year, it was up to our knees. This will likely result in a later harvest than last year and possibly a little lower yield, but producers have to plan for good years and bad, and it still looks like we will have enough to feed our cows with some leftover to sell other places.

This picture is a “windrow” of alfalfa. Once cut, the alfalfa can dry partially and then be chopped and put it into our 70 foot tall silos for use in our feed mixes each day. If the alfalfa is allowed to dry more it then can be baled into small square bales that weigh about 50 pounds or large square bales that weigh about 800 lbs. Theses all need to be stored inside after they are baled. We also make many round bales that weigh about 1200lbs or more. These can be stored outside with out too much damage from rain if we run out of inside storage. In addition to the hay work, the cows need to be milked and fed twice per day and we also have to control the weeds in the other crops. There is always a lot of work to do on our farm but June is definitely one of the busiest!

The tragedy in Hugo has brought devastating sights to the entire state of Minnesota. Here, hundreds of families are forced to leave what is left of their homes and life savings in hopes of a brighter future. Although the city may look hopeless, the citizens of Hugo are proud of what they call home and are working together as a team to better everyone impacted by Mother Nature’s toll.

The Miron family is one of the many families struck by this storm. As dairy farmers, they dealt with the damaging winds which left hundreds of sticks and trees on their farm, as well as power lines destroyed. With the power outage, milking and the daily chores were not easy tasks; however, as a team, the family overcame the struggles by utilizing generators and hard work to complete the tasks of a dairy farming family. Ann and her family work diligently everyday to ensure a wholesome, great tasting dairy product for all of our consumers to enjoy and the storm was not going to stand in their way. As a 2008 Princess Kay Finalist and as a friend, I decided to help the Miron family with any clean up tasks they needed. As I made my way through the town of Hugo, I noticed the destruction in the trees and debris in the fields of local farmers. Ann mentioned there was even a vehicle in one of their family’s fields. When I finally made it out to the Miron Homestead, I realized how lucky their family was to still have the majority of their buildings still standing. There were branches and trees that broke fences and blocked pathways for the cows. With the help of Ann’s other siblings and myself, we went to work. From raking sticks, to milking cows, I had the opportunity to help out a fellow dairy farming family. The day was filled with sweat and hard work; nevertheless, it was a rewarding experience to see the improvements that were made. Even though my time in Hugo was spent working, it was a great time to visit with the rest of her family and help out where ever they needed.

As I reflect on the afternoon I was in Hugo, I realized how we as dairy producers continue to have a positive outlook on things even though we may be dealt a bad card here and there. Dairy farmers are always willing to help out another family who needs help and take great pride in each other’s work. Our motivation and continued success is something which drives each and every one of us to produce the best possible product and ensure our consumers we care.

June is here! It seems like we skipped right past spring and into a cloudy, humid version of summer. We were fortunate cut our first cutting of alfalfa right after Memorial Day, capitalizing on a couple nice sunny days in a row; as a result we have finished our first cutting of hay. We are also fortunate to have a number of family members home to help us get machinery ready for harvest and operate tractors once we start harvest.  At Seifert Dairy we chop most of our alfalfa, and bale only a few acres as needed during the year. We operate about 120 acres of alfalfa, which we take 4 cuttings from each growing season. First, my brother-in-law Ben cuts our alfalfa down using a diskbine (much like a 12 foot lawn mower).

  After allowing the alfalfa to wilt in the sunshine for about 12 hours, I return to the field with a machine used to rake up rows of hay together, so that the chopper can harvest 3 rows in one sweep, reducing the amount of diesel we use as well as reducing compaction of the soil. About a day after we cut the alfalfa, my brother in law Marcus can head to the field with the chopper. The chopper is like a food processor, cutting each stem of alfalfa to a pre-set length and blowing it into a silage box to be hauled home. Cows like to chew their food, so our alfalfa is cut at ¾ of an inch to increase cud chewing.

After chopping the alfalfa into the silage box, my husband Jonathan drives it home to store it in a silage bag. The bags look like “white worms” according to one pre-schooler I talked to, but they actually store 3 months’ worth of feed like a big long zip lock bag. Each bag is 10 feet wide and 250 feet long, holding 300 tons of haylage (chopped and fermented alfalfa). Each bag is filled and labeled with the field and cutting the alfalfa came from, and a sample is pulled to test for feed quality and nutritional value. Our nutritionist will balance our diets based on these tests, making sure that each cow is getting fed everyday to meet it’s nutritional needs. Thanks to the hard work of my husband, his brothers, his dad and grandparents, we were able to harvest all of our hay before the rains came.

Hi Everyone, My family and I are excited about the new Explore Dairy website that the Midwest Dairy Association has put together. We hope that this will serve as a way for all of us in the community of Minnesota and beyond to connect. If you aren't from a farm you may have questions from time to time about what practices you are seeing or maybe you just wonder if we are still doing things they way our parents and grandparents did. Well, now you have the opportunity to find out. Around the state, dairy farmers are celebrating June, the Dairy month. We use this time to open up our farms to visitors and to highlight the cows and people who are working hard everyday to produce the wholesome, healthy food product so many of us love to drink and eat.

Our family farm is called Wolf Creek Dairy and is located just 45 miles south of Minneapolis in Rice County. My husband Paul, daughters Grace (a recent graduate from Northfield High School) and Mary (a soon to be freshman at Northfield High School) enjoy life on the farm. We have great help from our 6 full time and 6 part time employees. All of us have jobs to do and communication is key. Which makes me hope I have told all of them that on Saturday, June 14 we will be having a "Day on the Farm". Our local Rice County American Dairy Association Board is working hard to put together an event that involves grilling more than 500 cheeseburgers and serving just as many shakes. We also will have our wonderful County Dairy Princesses here helping educate the public and entertaining the kids that will be here. It's an exciting time for all of us and we hope we will make a good impression on our neighbors and community and have the oppourtunity to answer questions. There is so much to tell you all about life on the farm but I think for now I will close. We hope meet some of you at "Day on the Farm" and as the Rice County fair approaches in July. I know two young women who will be sending the next blog from here to let you all know about what it takes to get show calves and cows ready for the fair, along with what it takes to win a 4-H State Fair Trip. Have a great summer and we hope you will "Exlopre Dairy."

We have been busy getting ready for show season here at Pine Creek Farms. The kids are working on training their calves to lead and spend a lot of time washing and clipping calves to make the animals look nice. Although county fair is not until August, another show is quickly approaching and is just two weeks away. So, the kids still have a lot of work to do to have all the animals ready for show. One of our grandchildren, Rachel, is excited to show her own calf this year. Rachel is 3 years old, and is now old enough to show her own calf at the county fair. Her calf's name is Payton, and she has been working really hard to teach Payton to lead. Rachel can hardly wait until show day to have the chance to win a ribbon for all of her hard work this summer.

  Nestled in the rolling hills of Houston County you will find a big red barn and white farm house that that has been in the Johnson family for four generations. Tradition runs deep for our family, and we take a lot of pride farming the land that has been passed down from generation to generation. My husband Richard and I represent the third generation on this farm, and our children represent the fourth generation to live and work on Pine Creek Farms. Although we have changed many aspects of the farm over the years, one thing has remained the same, our dedication to providing safe, high quality food. Today we milk about 120 cows and raise all of our heifers here at the farm. We also raise many different crops to feed our animals such as corn, alfalfa, barely and oats. Our children have enjoyed being involved in both 4-H and FFA and showing cattle at various events. This summer, we will be busy with daily farm duties as well as county fairs and shows. We hope you’ll stop back and see what we are up to here at Pine Creek Farm throughout the summer.

Seifert Farms/Orange Patch Dairy, of Sleepy Eye is a father/son partnership between my father-in law Steve and my husband Jonathan. My mother-in-law Barb and I both work off the farm, but lend a hand at night and on weekends milking cows, doing fieldwork, and whatever else is needed. Jonathan is the oldest of 5 children. His younger brothers and sister also help out on the farm when they are home from work, college, or school. Lowell and MaryAnn, Jonathan’s grandparents, also live on the farm and assist with milking and chores. Working with my in-laws is actually one of the perks of dairy farming. We have close relationships and make great memories!

 Finally we have won the battle with the weather! Sun and dry weather has allowed us to start planting, weeks behind schedule. With the early cold, wet weather we have also delayed cutting alfalfa. It’s hard to believe but in 2007 we were cutting alfalfa on May 16th already! This year we are planning for late May/early June for our first cutting. My father-in-law, who manages the crops, will be planting peas, sweet corn, soybeans, and corn this growing season. Each of these crops allows us to rotate fields for manure application, reducing our need for commercial fertilizers and increasing soil organic matter. 

In addition to fieldwork, we have been busy taking care of our 160 Holstein (black and white) cows. Each spring we give the cows haircuts to remove their long winter hair; thereby keeping them cool for the summer. We also trim their hooves ("cow manicures") keeping hooves healthy for walking. Our cows spend 12-15 hours a day lying down or sleeping on the pack, which is a large open pen the length of a football field, with thick bedding. The cows have access to feed and water all day, and can eat and drink as they please. Cows even like to stand around and socialize with their friends from time to time!  As the temperatures approach 70 degrees outside we also turn on our fans, providing cool breezes for those warm spring days. One of our projects this spring is to install more fans for the cows, to increase their comfort on the pack where they sleep. On the really hot days (80 degrees or higher) they even enjoy sprinklers that cool the cows while they eat. The sprinklers are on a timer, to minimize water usage. Sprinklers create a water park for the summer!  

Other activities at the farm include giving tours to local daycares, pre-schools, grade schools, and high school agricultural classes. We enjoy giving tours to local community groups to help educate the public about dairying. It’s been great to see the expressions of pre-school students after they touch a cow for the first time, or bottle-feed a calf. It’s truly rewarding sharing with consumers where their food comes from. 

Glen and I milk cows together on a small farm in Stearns county. We have a son, Dan, who is one. We started farming three years ago and bought this farm last July. We milk 50 cows and grow 200 acres of corn, alfalfa, and oats to feed our cows and heifers.

Our spring field work sprung into full gear this week as we started hauling manure from our lagoon (manure storage site) out onto the fields. The cows' manure is mixed with the straw and wood shavings we use to keep them comfortable and dry all winter long. By storing this mixture in our manure lagoon, we are able to apply the manure to our fields when they need it most - in the fall and the spring. The manure adds valuable nutrients and organic matter to the soil in our fields, which in turn helps our fields grow healthy crops. We get lots of help from family and friends to haul all of the manure out. This will be the last spring we haul manure out of our lagoon with tractors and manure spreaders! Later this summer, we will start remodeling our lagoon. Once the remodeling is done, the lagoon will hold one full year of manure and bedding from the cows, rinse water from the milkhouse, and runoff from the cow yard. We'll be able to inject the manure right into the soil when we empty the lagoon. Injecting manure is the best way to incorporate all of the nutrients into the soil. As part of the remodeling process, we've been working with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and our local Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD). A technician and engineer from the NRCS were out on Wednesday to review the lagoon design with us. They also did some more surveying of land elevations to make sure all aspects of the design are accurate.