Story & photos by PD staff writer Stephanie Lanier,
Illustration by Ray Merritt

More than 60 dairy producers from Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin toured six southeastern Minnesota dairies August 8-9 as part of a bus tour sponsored by University of Minnesota Extension and Minnesota Milk Producers. Dairy producers hosted the visitors, answering their questions during each visit.

Topics discussed and questions posed included employee management, calf and heifer housing, dairy expansion and remodeling plans, cow cooling, bedding, feeding and waste management.

ABOVE: Nick Hanson, feed manager at Hyde Park Holsteins, explains how the dairy measures its feed rations. The dairy recently expanded from 60 to 400 cows. Feeding accuracy has helped the dairy obtain a herd average of approximately 27,000 pounds of milk.

ABOVE: John and Connie Meyer and Maurice and Rita Young co-own and -operate Whitewater Dairy located in Plainview, Minnesota. The Youngs are responsible for the day-to-day management of the dairy. They have eight full-time employees (one pictured below) and a herdsman who works for both Whitewater Dairy and a sister dairy operation, Emerald Spring Dairy.

 

ABOVE: Milk production increased at Quarry Hill Dairy in Rollingstone, Minnesota, after the dairy switched from mattresses to sand bedding in their freestall barns. The dairy, owned by John and Connie Meyer, finished in the top five Minnesota DHI dollar value herd in 2006. They recently installed a much-needed sand settling lane to recycle sand bedding.

 

ABOVE: With 21 full-time employees and 1,560 cows, good management and record keeping are essential on the Durst Brothers Dairy Farm, operated by Kent, Allen and Ken Durst. The dairy has been using A.I. for 30 years and have sold 1,200 excess heifers since 2001.