Teaching at twilight

WATERTOWN, Wis. – Running an exemplary operation that combines state-of-the-art facilities with exceptional management is what the McFarland family is known for. Devoted to top-notch cattle care, a focus on efficiency and cleanliness is at the heart of McFarlandale Dairy, which made the farm an ideal choice to host the public for a special evening of education and fun Sept. 1.
The McFarlands, who milk 900 cows and farm 1,200 acres near Watertown, opened their farm up to the community for the Agricultural Community Engagement On-The-Farm Twilight Meeting – one of four held throughout Wisconsin this summer. About 135 people attended the event sponsored by Professional Dairy Producers, and for some, it may have been their first time on a dairy farm.
The free event took place from 6-8:30 p.m. and included a farm tour, ice cream and a discussion with the McFarland family and local elected leaders. Five stations were featured on the tour, highlighting the milking parlor, transition barn, manure pit, feed center and calves.
Peter and Cindy McFarland farm with their daughter, Christine Bender, and her husband, Robb. Christine is the sixth generation on the McFarland farm, which was established in 1852. Peter’s mother, Donna McFarland, is involved with the dairy as well.
“It’s definitely a full team effort to make everything work here, and we have a great relationship with three generations on the farm,” Christine said.
Christine is a partner in the business and manages both cows and people. The owner of a dairy nutrition consulting business, Robb is also active on McFarlandale Dairy, serving as the farm’s nutritionist and helping in other areas as well. The Benders have a 2-year-old daughter, Annabelle, and are expecting their second child in December.  
“I’m lucky that I get to bring my daughter to the dairy with me every day,” Christine said.
The Dodge County dairy has added cows and facilities in recent years with expansion on the horizon. A new freestall barn was built last year with plans to double the building’s size next year. In addition, a heifer barn went up in 2020.
“The farm has experienced a lot of growth the last few years to accommodate our growing family and keep up with the global demand and competition in the dairy industry today,” Christine said.
Cows are milked three times a day in the dairy’s double-12 parlor, which runs around the clock milking 115 cows per hour. The farm has 15 employees, and three employees milk on each shift. The farm fills both of its 6,700-gallon bulk tanks daily, and milk is picked up twice a day. Cows average 98 pounds of milk per cow per day.
The farm’s three freestall barns contain sand-bedded stalls to maximize comfort. Shortly after Christine returned home, she and Robb were able to help design a new transition cow facility with cow comfort and efficiency in mind.  
“Designing a transition cow barn correctly takes a lot of thought and planning,” Christine said. “We looked at many other dairies and decided to build what was right for us and our size dairy. The barn is sized appropriately for our herd, and we discussed how it could be expanded for a growing herd.”
Built in 2017, the barn contains two straw-bedded packs and two prefresh pens to keep heifers separate from mature cows. A maternity office stores fresh-cow supplies near the maternity and fresh pens. The transition barn is tunnel-ventilated to ensure year-round comfort, and large fans over the freestalls produce an 8 mph wind to keep cows comfortable while resting. In addition, sprinklers at the feed line turn on above 73 degrees. When building this barn, the McFarlands remodeled their original freestall barn to be tunnel-ventilated as well.
The transition barn also features a calf warming room with a washer and dryer, two pasteurizers, a refrigerator and upright freezer. The calf warming room was recently expanded from three pens to ten pens.
In 2021, McFarlandale Dairy built its third freestall barn, which features a neutral pressure ventilation system. Fans blow air in on one end and along the side walls while fans on the other end wall draw air out. The barn was built as half of a barn, and the family hopes to build the other half in 2023.
“We decided not to build another tunnel-ventilated barn because we noticed cows don’t want to lie by the curtain inlet in the winter on the coldest day, and we get a little snow that sneaks in,” Christine said.
All cows are bred using A.I., and the farm welcomes approximately 90 calves per month – 30 of which are sexed Holsteins, and 60 are Angus. A genomic sample is taken at birth to pinpoint which animals have the best genetics.
“We breed for a moderate-sized, efficient cow and only produce as many Holsteins as we need to maintain our herd size,” Christine said.
The farm’s reproduction program has benefitted from the use of an activity and rumination monitoring system conducted through SCR ear tags.
“We used to tail chalk, but this system has eliminated a lot of labor and money,” Christine said. “We have phenomenal repro numbers now.”
Longevity is a prime goal at McFarlandale Dairy, and one pen at the farm is specifically for cows 7 years of age and older. The oldest cow on the farm is 13.
“It is in our best interest to keep these cows as long as we can,” Christine said. “We need to do right by them and make sure they last a long time. Environment, management and genetics all play a role in ensuring this happens.”
Barns are scraped three times a day, and manure is sent to the farm’s 7-million-gallon pit. The McFarlands crop 700 acres of corn for silage and 500 acres of alfalfa. After corn is taken off, they no till a cover crop into the field and then spread manure over the top.
“This helps keep our soil healthy,” Peter said. “We want something growing on the soil all the time.”
Cows are fed a total mixed ration containing 40% corn silage and 20% haylage. Cottonseed is fed at a rate of 3 pounds per cow, while canola meal – their main protein source – is fed at 5 to 6 pounds per cow.
“Canola is a better buy for cows this year,” Robb said.
Each cow also receives 1.5 gallons of whey permeate in the ration along with vitamins and trace minerals.
“Whey permeate is high in sugars and is sweet,” Robb said. “It tastes good, and the cows really like it.”
Heifer calves are raised onsite until around 6 months of age before being sent to a custom grower. At 22 months, they return to McFarlandale Dairy as a springing heifer. Calves are housed in outdoor hutches and fed milk replacer three times a day – at 8 a.m., 4 p.m. and midnight.
Payge Dahlke is the farm’s calf and heifer manager.
“Adding the midnight feeding helped improve health by allowing the calves smaller, more frequent meals,” Dahlke said.
From the hutches, calves move into a three-sided heifer barn that is open to the south. The two-year-old building features a front manure alley and bedded pack with split curtain and air tube.
“It’s easy for one person to clean and bed in this barn that allows great ventilation for calves 3 to 6 months old,” Christine said.
The Twilight Meeting also featured biology and conservation specialists from Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever who spoke about soil health and management and the benefits of cover crops while demonstrating how runoff impacts various field types. Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection Secretary Randy Romanski and the 75th Alice in Dairyland, Taylor Schaefer, were also present and said a few words along with representatives from the Wisconsin Towns Association and Wisconsin Counties Association.
Showcasing their farm to the public allowed the McFarlands to connect with their community.
When asked what their favorite part of dairy farming is, the McFarland family offered various reasons why they love the occupation so much. For Peter, working with family is his favorite.
“I am very blessed,” he said. “I’ve had aunts, uncles, parents, my wife and another generation with tremendous interest in the farm.”
Cindy agreed that family is the best part of the job; she watches Annabelle full time.
“My granddaughter makes every day a sunny day,” Cindy said. “I also like seeing the next generation making changes. … It’s fun seeing them do their thing, and I can’t wait to see what’s to come.”