Thumb Farmer • Jan 2015

What’s Inside:Top Individual Cow Records .......................................Page 4Lifetime Milk Production ........................ Pages 8-10, 12, 132014 Huron County Honored Members ...................Page 132014 Herd Averages ...................................... Pages 14 & 15

JANUARY 13, 2015

A SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT TO

THE

1

2 • Tuesday, January 13, 2015 • THUMB FARMER HURON DAILY TRIBUNE • www.michigansthumb.com

BY RICH HARPFor the Tribune

Paul Schulte, a Harbor Beach area farmer, is an up and coming young entrepreneur. He knows the importance of living in the 21st Century. He knows getting things done in a group is often more advantageous than going it alone.

Schulte is the president of the Huron County Dairy Herd Improvement Association, and has been for the past three years. The group boasts several dozen members in Huron County, and they will meet on Thursday, Jan. 15 for their annual banquet and awards presentation.

Although Schulte is an up and com-ing farmer, there was a time when he thought he would never return to the farm. But things change, and so did his feelings about farm life.

Schulte was born in the mid-1980s, son to Steve and Marlene Schulte. He lived in the Harbor Beach area his entire life, attending the local school district and graduating from Harbor Beach High School. He admits he was born into farming, but he didn’t put a lot of time into his parents’ dairy farm while growing up. In fact, he spent much more time working at his brother’s crop farm when he was a kid.

Schulte graduated from high school and headed to college.

“I went to Ferris State and got a bachelor’s degree in human resource management,” he said. “I said I’d never come back to farming once I went to college. But there was an opportunity to come back and manage right away.”

With little training, his father set him up as manager of the operation. Schulte shook his head and smiled when he said, “Dad let me make mistakes right off the bat.”

“S & M Dairy is a corporation,” he explained. “Mom and dad own the corpo-ration, but I’m a separate entity right now. We’re working on me moving to president of the corporation.”

He is married to Nichole, and the couple has two young children, 3-year-old Aubrey and 1-year-old Chase. As Schulte looks back, he realizes his life is nothing like he envisioned when he was younger.

Schulte soon began discussing the intri-cacies of running a 21st Century farm.

“We farm about 900 acres. The dairy sits on 40 acres,” he said.

The corporation actually owns 280 acres, and the additional land is rented by their dairy operation.

“I used to get up at 4 a.m.,” he said. “Now, I don’t need to be here until about 7 a.m.”

The major reason for this is his employ-ees.

“We have 16 full-time employees and they are real good,” Schulte said.

He also has one part-time farm hand.“I put my trust in my employee s,” he

said. This allows him to be more manager than farm hand.

Schulte explained his agenda as manager.“For the past year and a half, I’ve put

most of my time on focusing on people management,” he said. “I try to put out forest fires before they happen. I try to streamline employees’ duties so they run in straight lines and not in circles. The biggest head-ache I have is my two kids in the morning. (Compared to them), the farm is easy.”

He continued talking about the operation.“Ninety-seven percent of our income is

from milk,” Schulte explained. “We have 1,050 total cows. We have 1,100 replace-ment heifers.”

These replacement animals range in age from 1 day old to 22 months.

Schulte went on to explain S & M takes care of the cattle from the day they are born until the day they start producing milk, until the day they are sold.

Farming is a business, and a business is about making money. Along with being the day-to-day manager, he also is the numbers cruncher. It is not cheap to raise a cow to a point when it is ready to become profitable.

“It costs about $2,000 to raise an animal before she’s putting money into the tank,” he said.

“ ... One time per month we get our cows tested,” he said. These tests include the cow’s milk weights, bacterial count, pregnancy tests and other things to track the animals’ productivity and health.

Schulte discussed some of his theories about raising cows, using them as milk cows, and then selling them as beef cattle.

“We’ve done real good with cow repro-duction,” he said. “We have a surplus of young stock. We turn over the herd rapidly, and that helps eliminate health problems.

We don’t have to use as many antibiotics on young cows. It’s a management choice to turn the herd over as much as we do.”

Schulte has a number of theories which are not shared by all of his local peers. One of these theories is to cross breed the herd to create specific genetic traits he feels is best for the business.

“We now have 25 percent full bred Holsteins,” he said.

The rest of the herd is a mixture of German Fleckvieh, French Montbeliarde, Swedish Red and a small amount of Jersey cows.

Schulte started cross breeding when he noticed unwanted traits in full breed cows. They had a tendency to become tall and frail, and they lost their longevity.

“I did it to eliminate these things and to make them more fertile,” he said. “I started cross breeding in 2009. I’m seeing very good results in it. Five years later, I’m reaping the benefits of cross breeding.”

Association president returns to area to run his family farm

Rich Harp/For the TribuneFarmer Paul Schulte looks at a group of pregnant dairy cows at his farm near Harbor Beach. These cows are separated from the herd and watched closely before they give birth.

See FARMER • 3

2

HURON DAILY TRIBUNE • www.michigansthumb.com THUMB FARMER • Tuesday, January 13, 2015 • 3

Of late, S & M Dairy has begun a new venture.“We’re going to start fattening out bulls and heifer calves,” Schulte said. “We

do about 10 feeder calves per month.”It takes about 23 months before they are large enough to sell as beef cattle.“Raising beef started out as a side job for my dad,” he said. “Jokingly, we called

it his retirement fund, but it will probably turn out to be something bigger.”Schulte’s attention turned to the future of his farm and to the industry as a whole.“We have a lot of gadgets and technology at our disposal,” Schulte said. “I can

pull the history of any cow up on the computer.”He sees robots in the future of the nation’s farms, but not at his. He feels his

employees are more effective and faster than robots, and he does not see them at S & M any time in the near future.

There are things he would like to see change.“I would like to have a totally enclosed feeding system,” Schulte said. “It’s a

huge expense, but it can be a huge profit (in savings) in the future.”He also plans to upgrade the milking parlor. The parlor is not new, but it is still

very usable.“Our parlor is 20 years old,” Schulte said. “The concrete is still there. We plan

to keep upgrading in the future.”Schulte noted his farm’s future is “to keep doing what we’re doing.”“(But) if a new opportunity arises, we’ll research it and see if it works out,”

he added.

FARMER■■ From 2

Rich Harp/For the Tribune

Above, while giving a tour of the family dairy operation, Schulte points to the old barn that was used by his father years before. His father milked about 110 cows in the old barn before building the newest facility 20 years ago.

Left, S & M Dairy has been in the same family for more than 100 years. They have 1,050 milk cows and 1,100 replacement heifers at their facility. The farm raises the calves from the day they are born until the day they are retired from the herd.

3


4


West Side Sand Products Trucking Excavating

Bulldozing Demolition

SHOP 989.269.9045 FAX 989.269.9082

RANDY: 550-1707 CHAD 975-1649

Fill Sand Septic Sand Screened Sand

5


Pigeon989-453-3113

Cass City 989-872-4311

Caseville 989-856-2247

Bay City-Wilder 989-667-7200

Bay City-Center Ave. 989-894-7100

www.thumbnational.com

Thumb National Bank & Trust Co.“Serving the needs of our local farmers for over a century”

Put the experienced Ag Team at Thumb National to work for you!

Call one of our experienced Ag Lenders for all your agricultural needs•MORTGAGE LOANS • EQUIPMENT AND LIVESTOCK LOANS • LINES OF CREDIT

Thumb National offers a variety of agriculture loans products designed to meet your specific needs with:

• Convenient Terms • Competitive Fixed and Variable Interest Rates

Jared Fischer Bay City

Jim McQueenPigeon/Bay City

Mark StoecklePigeon

Cindy KruseCass City

Eric Brown Cass City

Matt Ross Pigeon

Bad Axe989-269-6449

Pigeon989-453-2120

© 2007 CNH America LLC. All rights reserved. Case IH is registered trademark of CNH America LLC. CNH Capital is a trademark of CNH America LLC. www.caseih.com

FINANCING PROVIDED BY

Stop in and see our Service Manager Kyle Roggenbuck for more details!SIGN UP IN JANUARY & FEBRUARY & SAVE!

Winter Service Specials!Let our trained technicians perform a customized maintenance

inspection on your balers, combines, skidsteers, tractors, trucks & trailers in our properly equipped service centers.

FARM EQUIPMENT

Your locally owned family business serving the Tri-County for over 60 years.

Ask about ourFREE

FINANCINGWith Your Case Credit Vantage

Account

Don Plester Tiling, LLCBOOKING NOW FOR ALL YOUR

SPRING TILING & EXCAVATION NEEDS!

Don & Brenda Plester • 989-479-9093Don 989-550-4731 (Cell) • Brenda 989-550-0200 (Cell)

•TopQualityService•CompetitivePricing•CompleteLineofExcavation

•GPSMappingforGuaranteedAccuracy

•FreeEstimates

6


A Subsidiary of Archer Daniels Midland Company

T 989.658.8621 F 989.658.2131 C 989.670.4483Toll Free 800.978.2537

Terry Cramer Grower Relations Manager

2332 Main StreetUbly, MI 48475 [email protected]

ADM Edible Bean Specialties, Inc.

JohnDeere.com/Tillage

Introducing the all-new 2623VT. If you need to till up to 3 inches deep at speeds up to 10 mph, there’s nothing more productive than the new 2623VT. With a 21-degree angle on the front gang and 19-degree angle on the rear gang, it delivers aggressive sizing and chopping in tough residue in fall — while helping create an even, smooth seedbed in the spring. See your dealer today.

A new angle in vertical tillage productivity

A0B01CCCU2G5099669905G2UCCC10B0A 00156300-

7


www.thumbtruck.comSpecializing in truck & trailer parts and

a wide variety of trucks & trailers!

8305 Geiger Road • Pigeon989-453-3133 • 800-852-4925

THAYERCrop Insurance Agency, LLC

Specialists in Multi-Peril Crop & Hail

Bill ThayerAgent

RISK MANAGEMENT PLANS• MPCI - Multi Peril • RP - Revenue Protection • YP - Yield Protection • Ask about Enterprise Plus

Deadline March 15, 2015

Office: 810-376-4961 • Fax: 810-376-4971 • Cell: 810-404-8270email: [email protected]

P.O. Box 95, 3471 Ella St., Deckerville, MI 48427 Equal Opportunity Provider

8


A LEADER IN COMPLETE QUALITY GRAIN HANDLING & STORAGE SYSTEMS

Thinking about a new bin or drying system?

Order now & take advantage of winter discounts on a full line

of quality equipment.

THERE IS A DIFFERENCE.Let us help you see why.Stormor offers the Strongest

Roofs & the Highest Galvanized Finish in the industry.

CASS CITY, MI • 989-872-3318

Call us for all your feed needsfor your herd!

Serving the Thumb Area for 100 Years!

FARMER’S COOPERATIVEGRAIN COMPANY

338 Main Street • Kinde 989-874-4200 • Feed Room: 989-874-3333

www.kindecoop.com

www.michigansthumb.com

9


Call your Northstar Bank Ag Lending Specialist to develop your farm financing plan today. They’ll meet with you in the office or on the farm.

PROUD TO SUPPORT OUR LOCAL DAIRY FARMERS!

All loans are subject to credit approval.Member FDIC

Chuck Wright (989) 269-5472

Brian Shaw (989) 269-3570

Steve Blashill (989) 269-3568

Jill Miller (989) 269-3569

Kent Gettel(989) 672-8116

Tom Kreh (989) 269-3565

News you can surf to...michigansthumb.com

Do you have a story idea?

We’d like to hear about it.

Call editor Dave Shane at 989-269-6461.

ParschA.I. Services Express

“We Get Cows Pregnant”in a timely and effective manner.

For more information contactJim Parsch

989-670-1813

10


RobeRts DaiRy seRvice

ROBERTS DAIRY SERVICE6435 Cass City Rd.Cass City, MI 48726

(989) 872-5690

GEA Farm TechnologiesGEA Farm ServicesWestfaliaSurge

GEA Farm TechnologiesGEA Farm ServicesWestfaliaSurge

Houle Agi-Pump

11


KempTilingCo., Inc.

Huron Daily Tribune — Because news happens more than once a week.

112


THUMB FARM SERVICE, INC.

8049 Dean St., Port Hope989-428-4116

For all of your Do-It-Yourselfer needs.

6639 Center St. • Unionville • toll free: 800.761.2547 office: 989.674.2547 • fax:989-393-6001

cell: 989.980.9877 • [email protected]

Othersen Insurance Agency, Inc.

Aaron MallaisAgent

TIME FOR A Policy Update?

Complete Insurance ServicesHome | Auto | Business | Farm

Make sure your insurance coverage is keeping up with your changing needs in the new year. Contact me today for a free, no-obligation policy review and rate quote. I’ll help you identify any areas that could be leaving you open to liability, as well as any areas that could be saving you money!

www.michigansthumb.com

13


A LEADER IN COMPLETE QUALITY GRAIN HANDLING & STORAGE SYSTEMS

Thinking about a new bin or drying system?

Order now & take advantage of winter discounts on a full line

of quality equipment.

THERE IS A DIFFERENCE.Let us help you see why.Stormor offers the Strongest

Roofs & the Highest Galvanized Finish in the industry.

CASS CITY, MI • 989-872-3318

14


See any of our Ag Lending Specialists at Bay Port State Bank!

BAD AXE BAY PORT PIGEON 796 N. Van Dyke 9840 Main St. 1 S. Caseville Rd. 989-269-3195 989-656-2231 989-453-2225

www.bayportstatebank.comATM in 7 Thumb area locations

Your locally owned and operated Community Bank for over 118 years!

Supporting the Dairy Industry one glass at a time!

Reserve Champion Kendall Gentner’s Gallon of Milk, Scott Main of Bay Port State Bank, Gary Protzman

NEED CROP INSURANCE FOR 2015?

SAHR CROPINSURANCE AGENCY

RP - Protects against poor yields and poor prices.RP - Gives you an edge with forward contracting.

Crop Insurance guarantees your lender a payback on your loan.GRIP - County wide insurance with Income ProtectionWe specialize in crop insurance for Michigan Farmers.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL 989-868-4722 • 1-800-345-SAHR

Check out our web page: www.sahrcropinsurance.com • email: [email protected] Insurance Specialists. Service is done on your farm.

Sign-up deadline is March 15, 2015.Ask for agents Michael, Ron, Sandy, Bernie, Gary, Duaine, Bee, Aaron or David.

15


JOHN F. MAUSOLF - Manager

JIM COOK - Salesman

DENNIS PHILPOT - Salesman

JOHN SCHRAMSKI - Salesman

REX THAYER - Salesman

email: [email protected]

Crop Production

Services2329 Main Street • Ubly

Phone: 989.658.2551 • Office Fax: 989.658.2455

• Michigan’s dairy industry is a leading segment of Michigan agriculture, contributing $14.7 billion to the state’s economy annually.

• These dollars employ local veterinarians, equipment deal-ers, and dairy employees — all providing jobs for Michigan. A dollar spent locally generates twice as much income for the local economy.

• Dairy represented 20 percent of cash receipts statewide in 2013, including dairy farming, dairy processing and the dairy wholesale/retail sector.

• Michigan has 380,000 dairy cows, representing approxi-mately 1,900 dairy herds.

• 98 percent of Michigan dairy farms are family owned, many by multiple generations of the same family.

• The average dairy herd in Michigan has 176 cows. Just like businesses grow to support more families, herd sizes increase to allow the next generation to continue farming.

• Michigan ranks 7th in milk production in the U.S. In 2013, dairy cows in Michigan produced about 9.2 billion pounds of milk.

• The average Michigan cow produces approximately 23,700 pounds of milk each year. That’s 2,775 gallons of milk!

• Michigan milk is local! Michigan’s 1,700 Grade A Dairy farms produce more than enough milk to supply the entire state. Surplus milk is exported to help meet demand in other states.

• In supermarkets and local farmers markets, you can find milk, cheese and yogurt produced by Michigan dairy farmers. When you buy Michigan dairy products, you not only “buy local” and support area farmers — you buy quality.

• To check where your milk is bottled look for the code. Every container of milk is identified by a 5-digit code. The code includes a 2-digit state code followed by a 3-digit processing plant code. Michigan’s code is 26.

• Only 1.7 percent of the U.S. population produces food for the other 98 percent plus millions worldwide.

Source: The United Dairy Industry of Michigan

Michigan dairyindustry facts

Have you ever looked at a dairy cow and won-dered about the history of the breed? A new series from Michigan State University Extension will explore the history of the seven major breeds of dairy cattle in the U.S. First in the series is the Holstein.

Holstein cows are perhaps the most recognized breed of dairy cattle and are the most common dairy breed in the U.S. The have distinctive black and white or red and white markings. The red and white coloring is a recessive gene that appears when both the dam (mother) and sire (father) are carri-ers or exhibit the trait themselves. The Holstein breed is known for high milk production but has less butterfat and protein based on per-centage in the milk, compared other breeds.

Holstein cows originated in the Netherlands approximately 2,000 years ago. Two breeds of cattle, black animals from the Batavians (present day Germany) and white animals from the Friesians (pres-ent day Holland), were crossed to create a new breed of cattle. This crossbreeding led to a high milk-producing animal that was able to do so on limited feed resources. Originally, this breed was known as Holstein-Friesians but is now known more simply as Holsteins. Friesian cattle still exist today but are separate from the Holstein breed. There are Friesian breeds from

the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Holland and these animals tend to be smaller bodied than Holstein cattle.

Holstein cattle were initially brought to the U.S. in 1852 by a Massachusetts man named Winthrop Chenery. There was a growing market for milk and a need for cattle, so dairy breeders looked to Holland for animals. Chenery purchased the cow from a Dutch sailing master who had a Holstein on board to provide fresh milk to his crew during the voy-

age. Impressed with the cow’s milk production, Chenery imported more cows in 1857, 1859 and 1861, and soon many other breeders followed suit to establish lines of Holstein cattle in the U.S.

Near the end of the 1800s, there were enough cattle and dairy farm-ers interested in the breed that the Holstein-Friesian Association of America was formed in 1885 to maintain herdbooks and record pedi-grees of cattle in the U.S. In 1994, the association changed its name to Holstein Association USA, Inc.

Here are a few more fun facts about the Holstein breed:

A mature cow weighs about 1,500 pounds and stands 58 inches tall at her shoulder.

There are more than nine million dairy cows in this country and about 90 percent of them are Holsteins.

Holstein calves weigh 80 to 100 pounds when born.

Holstein cows take the top awards in milk production. The average cow produces about 25,000 pounds, or

around 2,900 gallons, of milk each lactation or milk-ing, cycle. Each lactation cycle lasts about a year.

Source: MSU Extension

History of dairy cow breeds — HolsteinLearn more about the seven majorbreeds of dairy cattle in the U.S.

• A mature cow weighs about 1,500 pounds and stands 58 inches tall at her shoulder.

• There are more than nine million dairy cows in this country and about 90 percent of them are Holsteins.

• Holstein calves weigh 80 to 100 pounds when born.

• Holstein cows take the top awards in milk pro-duction. The average cow produces about 25,000 pounds, or around 2,900 gallons, of milk each lacta-tion or milking, cycle. Each lactation cycle lasts about a year.

Fun Facts ...

Mission Statement

“To serve National DHIA members and the dairy industry in advancing dairy information services.”

Vision Statement

National DHIA will lead the dairy information industry to create, utilize and advance world class information resources that are accurate, credible and uniform.

We will accomplish this by: • Ensuringinformationaccuracy • Representingandsupportingourmembers’interests • Beingthedirectvoiceforthedairyinformationindustry • Workingwithindustrypartners

16

Documents

Thumb Farmer • Jan 2015