LAKE HENRY, Minn. — When Morgan Holker graduated from high school, she never thought she would milk cows again. Today she is not just milking cows but owns a herd as well.
Holker is milking 55 cows in a tiestall barn just south of Lake Henry, while her dad, Duane, milks 80 cows in a step-up parlor just north of Lake Henry. Both milk in rented facilities.
“My dad was milking here, but his knees were getting bad so we swapped places,” Morgan said. “I like the tie stalls better because I can watch my cows closer.”
The Holkers each have their own cows. But when the switch was made, the milking cows stayed put and just Morgan and Duane traded places and now milk each other’s cows.
“It was so nice for me to not have to squat down to milk cows anymore,” Duane said. “It’s nice that we each have our own farm but work together with the heifers.”
Morgan’s cows are mostly Holstein with a few Red & White Holsteins and some Jersey crossbred cows.
“We already had those cows trained for the step-up parlor and didn’t want to retrain more cows,” Morgan said. “Once in a while we get one that doesn’t do well in the tie stall and we will put that one in the step-up.”
Both father and daughter purchase their feed from their landowner, who still farms the acreage around the farm site. The dry cows are housed at Morgan’s farm. Duane breeds the animals, and as they freshen, the calves are moved to the farm with their proper owner.
“We will help each other out with moving calves around,” Morgan said. “But for the most part, he stays over there, and I stay here.”
Morgan grew up on a dairy farm but maintained a job in town until 2020 when her place of employment was temporarily shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“After being home for two days I was going stir crazy so I started milking cows with Dad,” Morgan said. “I fell in love with it all over again. I never went back to town and instead started buying cows.”
Morgan started renting at the farm north of town because Duane was already renting the farm south of town and that farm was not large enough to support them both. In 2020 Morgan bought 25 cows from a farmer who was selling their herd and also milked 20 cows she got from her dad. She has gradually increased her herd over the past four years to fill her barn.
“Our best cows get sexed semen,” Morgan said. “(Cows) who are a couple of breedings in or not top (producing) get bred to Angus. We have learned if we are raising our own heifers, we want them to be coming from our best cows.”
The top-producing cows at Morgan’s farm are giving more than 100 pounds of milk a day and have high butterfat and protein tests and functional type. Morgan’s tank average is between 85-90 pounds of milk per cow per day.
Morgan’s daughter, Kayle, has also taken a shine to the cows and helps Morgan in the barn when needed. She has also started showing their cows at the county fair.
“My daughter and her friends are my helpers,” Morgan said. “She and her friends are homeschooled and if I need a milking off, they will milk for me. They are really good workers. I had an accident last year and couldn’t milk for a couple of weeks. So, she had to take care of everything.”
Kayle also helps name the cows and has her own cow family within Morgan’s herd.
“I know all our cows by name,” Morgan said. “We keep the same letter for each cow family. Our top cow family all have names with Zs.”
Morgan also decorates each stall with a festive name tag.
“Every month they get a new theme,” Morgan said. “Right now, they have apples as their name tags. They will get stockings for December, hearts for February and shamrocks for March.
Decorating the stalls is one of the many reasons Morgan likes dairy farming.
“When I was working in town I would get so worked up, stressed out and just mentally drained,” Morgan said. “Now, I get physically tired but I don’t mind that as much because it is so much easier to recover from.”
In the future, Morgan would like to purchase a farm of her own. In the meantime, she is content with her current set-up.
“Right now, renting works so I am happy doing it this way,” Morgan said. “I like watching them grow up and getting to know their personalities. I talk to them every day and call them by name. It’s peaceful here in the barn — just me and my cows.”
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here