A day in the life of the Mauks

HOWARD LAKE, Minn. – It is not common to have a 65-degree day at the end of October. But, when it does occur, central Minnesota farmers can enjoy the last bit of warmth before winter sweeps across the landscape.
For those at the Mauk farm in Wright County, Oct. 21 posed as the perfect day to finish fieldwork. But before fieldwork could be done, daily chores had to be completed.
The Mauks milk 87 cows and farm 270 acres, all of which goes into making feed, on their farm near Howard Lake.
Starting at 5:30 a.m., Harlan Mauk turned on the lights in his 87-stall tiestall barn to prepare for milking. He milked a few cows in buckets and fed calves before going back to the rest of milking.
“The first part of the morning, milking the fresh cows and feeding the calves, takes me 20-30 minutes; sometimes more if a fresh cow isn’t cooperative,” Harlan said.
Harvey Mauk, Harlan’s dad, came to help finish morning chores around 7:30 a.m.
Milking was completed by 8:30 a.m.
Harvey pushed up feed and put lime on the walk ways.
Harvey said he enjoys doing what he can to help.
“I’m 75 years old; I can’t milk the cows because I broke my foot a while back from a cow stepping on it,” he said. “I come out to help because it keeps me moving.”
Harvey finished his tasks and took a power take-off shaft to the dealer to be replaced. The day before, the power take-off on the stalk chopper broke, and the Mauks could not finish making cornstalks.
In the barn, once the mangers were cleaned, Harlan started mixing feed. The Mauks feed a total mixed ration of high-moisture corn, dry hay, haylage, corn silage and a protein mix. The ration is mixed in the morning and half is distributed following morning milking and the other half is put in front of the cows around 4:30 p.m. before evening milking.
To mix feed, Harlan uses a Case IH loader tractor to fill the mixer. This is a common theme throughout the farm as all of their tractors are Case IH.
Before spreading feed for the cows, Harlan took a minute to grab a caffeine boost and was off to the next task. Harlan then fixed a leaking hydraulic line on the mixer.
Once the afternoon rolled around, Harlan’s brother, Dan Mauk, arrived to help with fieldwork. Dan does much of the fieldwork; he said he likes to have something to do after work and enjoys helping his brother.
Dan spent the afternoon baling cornstalks in one of the Mauks’ fields and for a neighbor down the road.
“I don’t mind helping out with fieldwork and tractor maintenance,” Dan said. “I like keeping the tractors clean and well kept, because they last longer.”
While Dan continued to bale, Harlan began picking up round bales to store in the loafing shed for bedding.
In the midafternoon, the farm welcomed a new edition. A dry cow had a healthy heifer calf. Harlan does all of the breeding on the farm.
“I like to breed the cows for good components and production while keeping their frames moderate, because the tie stalls aren’t built for massive Holstein cows,” Harlan said.
Harvey spent the afternoon with his brother, Lester Mauk, trying to get one of the older tractors running.
“This certainly isn’t helping my blood pressure,” Lester said.
Around 3 p.m., Harlan’s wife, Chris, checked in on the farm. Chris takes care of her parents during the day and helps with chores when needed.
Harlan picked up two loads of bales before he had to do evening feeding and begin milking, which started around 5 p.m. When it is not harvest season, Harlan said he likes to have milking completed by 7:45 p.m.
With milking completed and the last of the cornstalks baled, the lights in the barn were turned off. Everyone on the farm, from the cows to the Mauk family members, were ready for a well-deserved rest.