Dairy Star’s digital review

1. Almost crushed

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Josh Kelm was in a silo room alongside his mom, Colleen, and children, Ava, Payton and Colton, Sept. 14, 2025, at their 250-cow dairy near Faribault, Minnesota. The 18- by 80-foot silo was filled with about 600 tons of corn silage. The Kelms had two more loads to dump, but had decided to call it a day to finish other chores. No more than 20 minutes later, the Kelms heard a loud popping sound. Knowing that did not sound good, they ran for their lives as the silo came crashing to the ground. On its way down, it hit the high moisture silo, which also came tum-bling to the ground. Josh, Colleen and the children all survived without injury, but the tractor, blower and skid loader were under the silo debris.

2. Surviving stray voltage

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The Den Hoed family — Walter and his sons, Jayce and Colton — moved from Washington to Frederic, Wisconsin, in 2010. They started milking 180 cows in an existing parlor and freestall barn. In 2014, the family built a second freestall barn, and soon, herd health and production be-gan to decline. Once the Den Hoeds determined the problem — stray voltage — it took four years to get the electric company to work with them to remedy the situation.

3. The barn at Fahrnwald farm

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In 1922, E.C. Fahrney built a brick structure with four cupolas on its roof and twin silos on one end near Black Wolf, Wisconsin. The property was known as Fahrnwald Farms Dairy, and milk from the herd of 150 Guernsey cows was bottled. The facility provided employment for 30 families and was considered cutting-edge technology for its time. The farm delivered milk to homes, stores and restaurants in glass bottles.

4. Finding the right fit

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Jason and Lynn Gerads installed an A5 Lely milking robot in the tiestall barn at their 72-cow dairy near Albany, Minnesota. The Gerads built a 16-foot addition onto the end of their barn for the robot and an office. Jason and Lynn also dropped the middle walkway 6 inches and filled in the gutter to be flat all the way across so that a Lely Discovery manure scraper could be installed. Along with the addition of the robot, the Gerads put in a manure pit to make their farm sustainable for years to come.

5. Transitioning from dad to daughters

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Tim Goedken is transitioning the family farm, Lango Dairy, to his three daughters, Sarah, Tara and Courtney. Located near Hopkinton, Iowa, the farm has been in the family since 1922. Sarah has been full time on the farm since graduating from college with a degree in animal science. Tara and Courtney hold jobs off the farm in addition to working on the family farm.

6. Sixty-five years and counting

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At 80 years old, Gary Hillesheim has been milking cows for the past 65 years at his farm, Riverside Dairy, near Sleepy Eye, Minnesota. He farms alongside his wife, Rosie, and daughter, Stacy Tauer, and her children, Nick and Sidney. Together they milk 70-80 cows in an 8-stall stanchion flat parlor. When Gary was 75 years old, he had a pacemaker installed, but returned to the barn as soon as he was able, and said he intends to continue farming as long as he can.

7. Safety measures born from tragedy

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Brothers Matt and Karl Hendel started farming together in 1991. Their partnership was cut short when Karl died in a farming accident. On Sept. 7, 2024, the Hendels and their employees had finished covering a bunker. Karl went to check on the bunker before going home. The next morning, Matt found Karl lying on the ground next to the 8.5-foot bunker, which he had fallen off of backwards. Since the accident, the Hendel farm has worked with the Minnesota Occupa-tional Safety and Health Administration to implement safety protocols when filling and packing the bunkers.

8. Flames amid the fog

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On Sept. 12, 2025, at 5 a.m., a vehicle pulled into the yard of Daniel and Heather Travis to tell them that their heifer barn was fully engulfed in flames. The couple milks 120 cows with two Lely A5 robots near Belvidere, Illinois. Their heifer facility was located about a quarter mile from their homestead and milking barn. There was dense fog that morning, so Daniel and Heather could not see the fire from their home. About 50 heifers were in the shed when it caught fire; some did not survive.

9. Brothers in arms on the farm

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Growing up on their family’s farm, Delton and Timothy Kenealy have two interests — farming and hunting. The brothers both got their first deer during the 2025 Wisconsin Youth Deer Hunt during the weekend of Oct. 11-12. Timothy shot an 8-point buck, and later that same day Delton tagged a big doe. The Kenealy family are avid hunters and process their own deer each year. The brothers and their parents, Jeff and Trista, milk 550 cows near Cadott, Wisconsin.

10. Partnership, barn developed to last

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The Czech family — Jim and Angela and their sons, Theo, Sam and Andrew — and the Elliott family — David and his dad, Rodney — have teamed up to build County Line Dairy. Together, they have built a 100-stall rotary parlor and started off milking 2,500 cows. They intend to grow the herd to 4,200. The planning and construction process took about two years. The tunnel-ventilated barn is 500 by 1,000 feet and houses both the milk cows and the dry cows. Calves are sent to Kansas and return to their Watertown, South Dakota, home once they are confirmed pregnant.