Virtual Farm Tours

Tuesday, September 29, 2 p.m.

Hosted By: Penterman Farm and Holland’s Family Cheese, LLC , Thorp Wis.
Highlights: 370 milking/Cheesemaking
Sponsored by: AgSource Cooperative Services 

Marieke and Rolf Penterman bring their Holland roots to Wisconsin, producing award winning cheese in their state-of-the-art farm, creamery and retail store built in 2013. Marieke, who earned her cheesemaker’s license in 2006, uses equipment, cultures, herbs and spices imported from the Netherlands to make her famous Marieke Gouda, which was named Grand Champion at the 2013 U.S. Cheese Championship. Marieke was the first woman to be named Grand Master Cheesemaker at the Wisconsin State Fair, and her cheeses have won more than 100 national and international awards. Milk from the 370 cow herd is piped directly into the creamery and made into cheese within five hours of milking. Cows are milked three times daily in a double-12 parlor with rapid exit. The herd, which consists of half Registered Holsteins and one quarter each of Brown Swiss and crossbreeds, has a rolling herd average of 27,500 pounds of milk. The Pentermans are active promoters of Wisconsin agriculture as members of the Wisconsin Agricultural Tourism Association. They have hosted many tours of their farm and cheese factory. Marieke received the Country Today’s 2015 Speak Up for Agriculture Award, and was also recognized as the 2015 Wisconsin Outstanding Young Farmer; the first solo female to receive the award.     

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Wednesday, September 30, Noon

Hosted by: Prairieland Dairy, Firth, Neb.
Highlights: 1,300 milking/Sustainability
Sponsored by: Dupont Pioneer                                                                                              

With a mission to create an open and sustainable dairy that serves people, cows, and the planet, Prairieland Dairy is a leader in sustainable agriculture through technology, animal care and milk quality. They strive to market all of the products harvested from the cows, including milk, meat and manure. Prairieland Dairy was created in 2000 when four local farms joined together. The 1,300 head Holstein herd is milked three times a day in a double-24 parlor with the milk being processed and sold in their community, schools, and local groceries. Cows are housed in a 1,200 stall freestall barn with sand bedding, which is recycled through sand lanes and a screen separator. Solids are composted and the remainder is spread through center pivots onto the 780 acres of cropland. To reduce and reuse waste, Prairieland Dairy works with the local community by displacing organic waste from the landfill. Manure and waste is composted to create Prairieland Gold Compost, an all-natural soil amendment. Winning the 2013 Outstanding Dairy Farm Sustainability Award, their sustainability efforts include use of cover crops, using water on the farm multiple times before irrigating the fields, and undergoing an energy audit to understand how to save and use energy more efficiently. Educating the community about sustainability is key to the farm, hosting weekly farm tours and the annual Dairy Day, which welcomes more than 5,000 people to their farm to teach about agriculture and sustainability. Transitioning to the next generation of ownership, Prairieland Dairy is focusing on details and striving to improve performance every day. 

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Wednesday, September 30, 2 p.m.

Hosted by: Meadow Brook Dairy Farms, LLC, Manitowoc, Wis.
Highlights: 460 milking/Milk Production
Sponsored by: Purina Animal Nutrition, LLC

After taking over the family farm in 2009, Peter and Shellie Kappelman have seen impressive results in milk production and quality, doubling the herd’s production in just one generation. The 460 cow Registered Holstein and Brown Swiss herd has a combined rolling herd average of 32,754 pounds of milk, 1,197 pounds of fat and 1,034 pounds of protein. The Holstein herd recently reached an RHA of over 33,000 pounds of milk and 1,200 pounds of fat for the first time. They have maintained a RHA of over 30,000 for the past nine years, and have been the recipients of the Land O’Lakes Quality Milk award for 13 of the past 15 years. Homebred Meado-Brook Cato-ET was the 2013 J.P. Eves Trophy winner, making over 46,000 pounds of milk and 2,700 pounds combined fat and protein for 365 days. A focus on progressive feeding technologies has been a driver for Meadow Brook Farms, utilizing unique feed technologies to help them reach their next milk production goals. With a focus on milk production, the Kappelmans also know that starting calves off on the right foot factors into their future in the milking string. In 2013, they built a bio-secure all-in, all-out calf raising facility. Using a group housing setting, calves are fed pasteurized milk via automated calf feeders. Pete is a leader in the agriculture industry, serving as the Chairman of the Board for Land O’Lakes Inc. and as a member of the Agriculture Policy Advisory Committee for the White House. He also serves on the boards of the National Milk Producers Federation and Heifer International.

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Thursday, October 1, Noon

Hosted by: Sunset Canyon Jerseys, Beaver, Ore.
Highlights: 300 milking/Genomic Testing
Sponsored by: American Jersey Cattle Association

Eric Silva got his start right out of high school with 20 animals in a rented facility. Now, he and his wife, Paula Wolf, own and operate a 300 cow Registered Jersey herd that produces highly sought genetics through intensive sire selection, developing cow families and forward thinking in evaluating consumer demand for dairy products and genomics. Sunset Canyon Jerseys breeds for butterfat and protein pounds, conception rates, and udder traits. Sunset Canyon Jerseys has bred 270 bulls that entering A.I., of which 108,357 American Jersey Cattle Association daughters have been registered. In the most recent Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding evaluations, the farm had 115 bulls with progeny proofs, including eight of the top 13 active A.I. bulls. Over 80% of the milking herd is genotyped, with ten cows and heifers currently ranked in the Top 500 Jersey Performance Index for genomics and 42 heifers in the Top 1.5%. With a 305 day rolling herd average of 18,053 pounds of milk, 984 pounds of fat and 676 pounds of protein, the farm has produced 111 cows that have a lifetime production of 100,000 pounds of milk. Two dozen cows are flushed annually with offspring and embryos having been sold in the U.S., Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico and New Zealand. To date, the farm has bred 208 Excellent cows, with an average score at the last classification of 85.5%.

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Thursday, October 1, 2 p.m.

Hosted by: Sunny Glade Farms, Blumenort, Manitoba
Highlights: 250 milking/Automation
Sponsored by: Lely

Perseverance: a quality the Plett family has in abundance. After watching a fire destroy their milking barn and newly renovated freestall barn in 2013, Welden and his wife, Angela, and their family rallied and realized their passion for dairy couldn’t be destroyed.  They decided to build bigger and better with improved technology to make their herd stronger and the farm more efficient. Six months after the fire, plans for a new barn with four robotic milkers were drawn up, and the barn was completed in July, 2014. The 52,000 square foot barn holds 216 milking cow stalls and 64 dry cow stalls with water beds. A brand-new freestall barn was also built using the Lely Vector automatic feeding system; one of the first dairies in North America to use this system. A cement pad holds corn and haylage piles, along with harvestores for haylage and high moisture corn from their 700 acres of crop land. The farm also features a six million gallon synthetic lines lagoon barn, which is cleaned with small-chain scrapers. The breeding program uses 90% genomic sires on the 250 cow Registered Holstein herd. The family has hosted several farm tours to showcase the new barn and feeding system.  

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Friday, October 1, Noon

Hosted by: SwissLane Dairy Farms, Alto, Mich.
Highlights: 2,000 milking/Community Involvement
Sponsored by: Quality Liquid Feeds, Inc.

100 years of hard work and dedication has paid off for the Oesch family of SwissLane Dairy Farm. Named a Centennial Farm in 2015,the operation is transitioning into the fourth generation of ownership with brothers Fred, Jeff, and Tom Oesch Sr. as current owners with Tom’s sons Matt and Tom joining as partners in 2012, and Fred’s daughter, Annie Link, serving as the farm’s public relations and marketing manager. The family is a great advocate of the dairy industry hosting nearly 800 people for the annual Neighbor Night and 5,000 people for farm tours each year. Annie received the 2014 Excellence in Dairy Promotion Award and presented at the 2009 Great Lakes Dairy Conference on Neighborhood Relations and Community Involvement. The farm has seen substantial growth over the years, building and modifying existing buildings to accommodate an expansion. In 2001, a 500 cow freestall barn was built to increase the herd to 1,000 cows. Since then, they have added two wet calf barns, three transition calf barns, and three freestall barns for heifers, dry cows, and lactating cows. In 2011, a 500 cow dairy was built featuring eight robots. The farm now consists of 2,000 Holstein cows, with the goal of the whole herd being registered within four years. In 2014, they began a partnership with Lowell Light and Power to provide energy to the city of Lowell by supplying solids for a digester.

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Friday, October 2, 2 p.m.

Hosted by: R & G Miller & Sons, Columbus, Wis.
Highlights: 360 milking/Organic Dairying
Sponsored by: Organic Valley

R & G Miller & Sons has been a leader in organic dairy farming for 20 years, developing successful organic management practices for their livestock and cropping enterprises. Certified organic in 1997, the farm has become a sustainable producer of the highest quality milk, marketed through Organic Valley. The 360 cow Holstein and cross-breed herd is milked twice daily in a 30-stall carousel parlor. Cows maintain a rolling herd average of 19,700 pounds of milk with 3.8% fat and 3.2% protein. Cows are on pasture in season, and are supplemented with TMR and probiotics to enhance immune systems.  Crop rotation of their 1,600 acres is a cornerstone to organic farming, helping to maintain soil fertility and plant health. This regime disrupts insect life cycles to avoid the need for pesticides, improves soil health, lessons erosion and helps control weeds. Fieldwork techniques, including timing of field preparation, propane burners, and the addition of mined potassium sulfate and gypsum, help to enhance soil fertility. The Miller family has hosted many tours and farm events, including hosting the Dane County Breakfast on the Farm, to increase consumer knowledge of farm and food systems.

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Saturday, October 3, Noon.

Hosted by: Trailside Holsteins, Fountain, Minn.
Highlights: 500 milking/Technology
Sponsored by: Select Sires, Inc.

The Johnson family of Trailside Holsteins is passionate about their animals, the land and producing a wholesome, quality product. Continually looking for new technology, protocols and products has been a crucial part of the farm’s success. Milking 500 Registered Holstein cows three times a day in a double-8 parallel parlor, the farm has a rolling herd average of 32,300 pounds of milk. In January, Trailside Holsteins installed the Cow Manager system to monitor the activity, health, and rumen function and temperature of the herd. All of the feed used is grown on the farm’s 1,300 acres and TMR is fed to all animals over four months. Michael, his wife, Margaret, and his dad, Jon, are advocates for the dairy industry, hosting farm tours and the community “Milk Run” to raise funds for the local school milk break program. The family is also active in the Dairy Herd Improvement Association and American Dairy Association, with Jon serving on the local DHIA board and Michael as the local ADA president. Trailside Holsteins has been named Premier Dairymen for Fillmore County and received the Holstein USA Progressive Genetics Herd Award and their co-op’s Quality Milk Award. The next generation is excited about being part of the dairy industry, and is grateful for the opportunity to continue the legacy of the farm.

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