Top Performers

What is your herd health program? We have pregnancy checks the first and third Thursday of every month. We give Vira Shield 6+L5 HB, SRP, One shot at dry-off, and treat with Quartermaster and Lockout.

What does your dry cow and transition program consist of? Cows are dried off around 60 days prior to calving. Dry cows and pregnant heifers are in one big group in an open lot and fed rye, corn silage and a mineral and protein mix. Around 30 days before calving, they get moved to a yard by the parlor and are fed corn silage, grass hay and a mineral mix. They calve outside year-round, and as soon as they calve, they get moved into free stalls.

How long is your voluntary waiting period? 60 days.

What is your average days in milk? 163.

What percentage of your herd is in their first lactation? 37%.

What is the composition of your ration, and how has that changed in recent years? We feed corn silage, earlage, haylage, dry corn and a protein mix. Since starting four years ago with Brent Van Middendorf at Cornerstone Ag Management LLC, it hasn’t changed much.

Tell us about the forages you plant and detail your harvest strategies. We plant Beck’s and Pioneer corn and harvest it at 65% moisture. We plant Pioneer alfalfa and harvest it every four weeks during the summer months. We plant sorghum and rye for our heifers.

What is your average somatic cell count and how does that affect your production? Our average SCC is 166,000. As it increases, milk production will go down a pound or two, and pregnancies will drop a little.

What change has created the biggest improvement in your herd average? We never had a herd average over 65 pounds of milk until Brent came and turned our herd health completely around. Now we sit at 80 pounds of milk per cow per day. We really didn’t change much of anything except following his philosophy of keeping things simple.

What technology do you use to monitor your herd? We use the Allflex ear monitoring system for heat detection, rumen function and activity. It has been well worth the money. We also use Dairy Comp through Dairy Herd Improvement Association. 

What is your breeding program, and what role does genetics play in your production level? We use the ProCROSS system for mating our cows. We use Montbéliard, Viking Red and Holstein as our three crosses. We pick bulls that are desirable for calving ease and have good feet and legs and high production, and then match them up.

List three management strategies that have helped you attain your production and component level. Keeping things simple is the main thing we have learned with nutrition. Feed good quality feed. Pay attention to the little things before they become big problems.

Tell us about your farm and your plans for the dairy in the next year. We are a 3-generation family farm. I farm with my brother, Glen and dad, Veryln. We incorporated in 2003, put in a step-up parlor and expanded to 200 cows. We have been slowly building our herd to its current size of 285 cows. Hopefully, in five years, we can put in a newer-style parlor and calving barn.