Top Performers: Terry and Ellie Schwartz of Crystal View Farms

How many times a day do you milk, and what is your current herd average, butterfat and protein? We milk three times a day. Our current herd average is 29,971 pounds of milk, 1,285 pounds of butterfat and 976 pounds of protein.

Describe your housing and milking facility. We have two freestall barns that house our cows. Our milking parlor is a BouMatic double-12 parallel.

Who is part of your farm team, and what are their roles? Our farm team consists of many people. Terry manages the cattle and all of the farm operations and does most of the feed mixing. My wife, Ellie, helps as needed on the farm and works full time at the Minnesota Veterans Home-Preston. She does all the farm financials, payroll and computer work with the cattle. Our daughter, Kristina, helps with the feeding and taking care of the cows. Her husband, Andrew, also helps if needed. Our son, Nathan, also helps with mixing feed, does a lot of the fieldwork and takes care of the equipment. Nathan’s wife, Lexi, helps when she can on the farm. Our other daughter, Mandy, works at the Mayo Clinic but helps when she can, along with her husband, Dan. Our full-time hired man, James Peck, makes sure all youngstock lots are cleaned and the pens are well bedded and dry. He also helps with fieldwork and keeping the equipment well maintained. We have six employees who do all the milking for us, and they also do a great job taking care of the cows.

What is your herd health program? Our herd health consists of pregnancy checks every other Friday by Portia Seckerson of Northern Valley Livestock Services. Bovi-Shield Gold is given 30 days after freshening. CattleMaster is given 60 days before dry off. J-Vac is given at dry off and three weeks before freshening, along with ScourGuard. Leptoferm-5 is given at 70 days pregnant. Inforce is given at freshening.

What does your dry cow and transition program consist of? Cows are dried off at 60 days and moved to the dry cow pens in the freestall barn. These pens are next to the calving pens, so it’s an easy move at the time of calving. After freshening, they are moved to the fresh cow pen. All are given Inforce, and the older cows are given a Bovikalc bolus on day one. The ration of the dry cows consists of corn silage, haylage, wheat straw and a dry cow protein mix. Cows are moved to the milking pens 30-40 days post calving.

How long is your voluntary waiting period? The voluntary waiting period for breeding is 70 days. Heifers are bred at 13 months.

What is your average days in milk? Our average days in milk is 163.

What percentage of your herd is in their first lactation? Thirty-three percent of the herd is in their first lactation.

What is the composition of your ration, and how has that changed in recent years? The ration changes with different moisture levels, and the quality of the haylage and corn silage. We feed a higher corn silage diet. The ration for the milking cows consists of corn silage, haylage, ground corn, cottonseed and a little wheat straw, plus a lactating protein.

Tell us about the forages you plant and detail your harvest strategies. We plant alfalfa with peas and barley underseeded. All the corn we plant is for silage. Alfalfa is chopped every 28 days for the best quality. Corn silage is chopped at 65%-70% moisture.

What is your average somatic cell count and how does that affect your production? Our average SCC is 115,000. A lower SCC means healthier cows, higher quality milk and a higher milk premium.

What change has created the biggest improvement in your herd average? We have sand-bedded barns for overall cow comfort, and we also have the consistency of good feed. We run foot baths. All cows are hoof trimmed at dry off and again at 120-132 days in milk. This has worked greatly for us.

What technology do you use to monitor your herd? We use CowManager to monitor the herd, and we are constantly observing the cattle with walkthroughs. All employees are communicating with Terry and Kristina if there is a cow they have any concerns about. Our milkers are very good at letting us know if there is a cow that doesn’t seem to be feeling well.

What is your breeding program, and what role does genetics play in your production level? The breeding program includes double ovsynch. All cows and heifers are mated through Select Sires Inc., and the techs do all the breeding. The lower 40% of the herd is bred to beef bulls.

List three management strategies that have helped you attain your production and component level. Good quality feed, overall management of herd health and cleanliness of the barns and cattle.

Tell us about your farm and your plans for the dairy in the next year. Terry started milking in 1982. We purchased our farm in 1987, milking in the tiestall barn until we moved into the first freestall barn in 2007. We built our second barn in 2017, and that is when we added the dry cow pens and calving pens to the first barn. We also expanded our parlor to a double-12 parallel. Our plans for the dairy this next year are just to maintain.