Virtual Farm Tours

Virtual Farms Tours give World Dairy Expo attendees the opportunity to experience a wide variety of farms and management styles, all from the comfort of a chair. These tours are presented by the owners and managers from the operations and include a half-hour pictorial overview of their operation, including general operation information and highlights of exceptional management practices. Time for questions and discussion will follow. This year’s operations excel in the areas of water conservation, genetic advancement, adaptation of technology, productive life, robots, environmental awareness, community involvement and sustainability.

The free tours will be presented daily, Tuesday, September 30 through Saturday, October 4 in the Mendota 1 meeting room in the Exhibition Hall. The presentations will be available for viewing on World Dairy Expo’s website after the show. AgStar Financial Services, American Jersey Cattle Association, DuPont Pioneer, Kansas Department of Agriculture, Lely, Livestock Water Recycling, Quality Liquid Feeds, Inc. and Zoetis are sponsors of the 2014 Virtual Farm Tours. Following is a short biography and description of each tour:

 

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30

2 pm

Hosted by: Milk Source - Hudson Dairy, Hudson, Mich.
3,000 Milking/Water Conservation
Sponsored by: Livestock Water Recycling, Inc.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1

Noon

Hosted by: Rokeyroad Holsteins, Sabetha, Kansas
114 Milking/Genetic Advancement
Sponsored by: Kansas Department of Agriculture

2 pm

Hosted by: Sugar Creek Farms, New London, Wis.
1,200 Milking/Adopters of Technology
Sponsored by: Zoetis

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2

Noon

Hosted by: Lyon Jerseys LLC, Toledo, Iowa
400 Milking/Productive Life
Sponsored by: American Jersey Cattle Association

2 pm

Hosted by: Lepples' Ridge-View Farm, Inc., Beaver Dam, Wis.
130 Milking/Robots
Sponsored by: Lely

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3

Noon

Hosted by: Wanner's Pride-N-Joy Dairy, Narvon, Penn.
772 Milking/Enviromental Stewards
Sponsored by: Quality Liquid Feeds, Inc.

2 pm

Hosted by: Johnsons' Rolling Acres Partnership, Peterson, Minn.
1,050 Milking/Community Involvement
Sponsored by: AgStar Financial Services

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4

Noon

Hosted by: Twin Birch Dairy, LLC, Skaneateles, N.Y.
1,240 Milking/RFID Technology
Sponsored by: DuPont Pioneer

 


Tuesday, September 30, 2 p.m.

Hosted by: Milk Source – Hudson Dairy, Hudson, Mich. 
3,000 Milking/Water Conservation
Sponsored by: Livestock Water Recycling, Inc.

Milk Source – Sustainability Starts Here. This tagline reflects the ideals of Hudson Dairy perfectly, where cow care and water conservation are top priorities. Launched in June, this is the fifth large scale dairy that the Milk Source partnership has erected. Other dairies, located in Wisconsin, include Tidy View Dairy, Omro Dairy, Rosendale Dairy and New Chester Dairy, along with Milk Source Genetics, a nucleus herd of elite Holstein and Red & White cattle. The partnership is comprised of Jim Ostrom, John Vosters and Todd Willer. The group also owns Heifer Source, a 20,000 head heifer raising facility in Kansas and Calf Source, a 10,000 head calf facility. Hudson Dairy houses 3,000 milking cows with a rolling herd average of 24,000 lbs. of milk. The newly completed facility features a manure processing center that extracts nutrients and solids to be used as fertilizer, with the end product being clean, potable water. Cow care is a top priority as well. All Milk Source dairies are part of the National Dairy Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) program which emphasis the utmost care for all animals on the farm. Milk Source was recently recognized as the 2014 Innovative Dairy Farmers of the Year by the International Dairy Foods Association and Dairy Today among their numerous environmental and genetic accolades.

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Wednesday, October 1, Noon

Hosted by: Rokeyroad Holsteins, Sabetha, Kansas
114 Milking/Genetic Advancement
Sponsored by: Kansas Department of Agriculture                                                                                                                       

Dwight and Anita Rokey will tell you they are living their dream everyday on their dairy. Established in 1999, Rokeyroad Holsteins is home to 114 registered Holsteins with plans to expand. Originally growing up on crop and hog farmers, the Rokeys have bought into several well-known cow families including Raven, Dellia, Caramac, Bellwood Linda, Roxy, Elegance and more. As a result of their breeding program, they bred last year’s All-American Red &White Milking Yearling and have placed several bulls in stud including Rokeyroad Rokstar-Red-PP, a homozygous polled bull. They have sold animals all across the U.S. and Canada, and have earned several premier breeder and exhibitor banners at local and national shows. Rokeyroad has a rolling herd average of 28,200 lbs. of milk with 4.0% fat and 3.2% protein. Currently, the herd is housed in the only tie stall barn in Kansas. This facility is equipped with an evaporative cooling system and tunnel ventilation which can cool the barn by over 20 degrees.  The Rokeys will be constructing Kansas’ first bedded-pack barn with sawdust sourced from a local cabinet. In only 15 years, Rokeyroad Holsteins has earned several breeding and production awards. Dwight has served as the Kansas Holstein Association President and a delegate to National Holstein Convention the past two years.

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Wednesday, October 1, 2 p.m.

Hosted by: Sugar Creek Farms, New London, Wis.
1,200 Milking/Adopters of Technology
Sponsored by: Zoetis

What started as an FFA friendship has developed into a productive operation. Mike Bruette and Jeff Handschke were members of the same FFA chapter in high school. Since 1997, they have been farming in partnership and expanded in 2001 and again in 2008. They’re currently milking 1,200 cows with a rolling herd average of 29,500 lbs. of milk. Sugar Creek Farms believes in implementing the latest technologies and having strict protocols to ensure the health and safety of animals and employees. The herd is outfitted with RFID tags that are tied to the herd management software that helps to track herd health, vaccination programs and reproductive statuses. Overall, the monitors have made it easier to ensure that all protocols are being following.  They have been genomic testing all females for the past two years. Sugar Creek Farms uses this information to maximize their use of sexed semen and to facilitate culling decisions. By working closely with employees and the management team, including their veterinarian, they ensure their animals stay healthy, happy and productive. Sugar Creek Farms also opens their doors to host a variety of events. They hosted the 2012 Farm Technology Days and were a host farm for the 2014 Midwest Regional Dairy Challenge..

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Thursday, October 2, Noon

Hosted by: Lyon Jerseys LLC, Toledo, Iowa
400 Milking/Productive Life
Sponsored by: American Jersey Cattle Association

For over 90 years, the Lyon Family has taken a no-nonsense approach to building one of the top Jersey herds in America. Today, the operation includes Joe Lyon, his son Eric and nephew Stuart. The herd of nearly 1,000 registered Jerseys includes 400 cows that averaged 18,170 lbs. of milk at 5.2% fat and 3.6% protein last year. The Lyons focus their breeding efforts on production with high butterfat and protein components, balanced type and longevity. This philosophy has paid off. Since 2006, the herd has ranked nationally in the top 10 for butterfat in their herd size category. They have bred 254 Excellent cows to date, with 242 cows achieving lifetime production over 100,000 lbs. of milk. Two cow families have been developed for over 26 generations. In the past 10 years, the Lyons have marketed 1,175 head of cattle including 960 bulls. Among the most prominent of these are Lyon Duke Dutchy, Excellent-95% and Reserve Grand Champion of the 2011 International Jersey Junior Show; and Lyon Impuls Louie Chart, a bull that made the top 25 Active A.I. sires on his first daughter proof this past April. The Lyon family has been honored as Iowa Master Farmers, and Joe as National Dairy Shrine Guest of Honor and World Dairy Expo’s Dairyman of the Year. 

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Thursday, October 2, 2 p.m.

Hosted by: Lepples’ Ridge-View Farm, Inc., Beaver Dam, Wis.
130 Milking/Robots
Sponsored by: Lely

As the next generation became involved in Lepples’ Ridge-View Farm Inc., the goals were to maintain producing a high quality product while improving the family’s lifestyle. This is exactly what the Lepple family has accomplished. As Joel and Jean brought their sons, Craig and Brent, into the family dairy business, they knew the milking equipment was due for replacement or upgrading. During this time, the family researched and selected two robotic milkers to install and automated more of their feeding system. Cows are fed a partially mixed ration (PMR) when they enter to be milked, helping newer cows adjust to the robots. With the addition of the robots, came the necessity to build a freestall that features an elevated ceiling and waterbeds for increased cow comfort. The Lepples will tell you they have learned a lot in the past three years including the importance of teat placement. Currently, 130 cows are milked an average of 3.1 times per day averaging 85 pounds of milk per cow per day. With robots taking care of the daily milking, this allows the Lepples’ to better manage their dairy herd through automatic monitoring of milk quality, cow activity, and has brought freedom and flexibility to the family..

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Friday, October 3, Noon

Hosted by: Wanner’s Pride-N-Joy Dairy, Narvon, Penn.  
772 Milking/Environmental Stewards
Sponsored by: Quality Liquid Feeds, Inc.

Environmental stewardship and animal husbandry are top priorities for the Wanner Family and have been for over seven generations. For Alfred Wanner, Jr. and his sons, John and Matt, having their farm located in the Chesapeake Bay watershed has driven them to be the best environmental stewards possible. The herd of 750 cows averages over 90 lbs. of milk per cow, per day with a rolling herd average over 27,000 lbs. of milk and somatic cell counts below 150,000. Wanner’s Pride-N-Joy Dairy utilizes an onsite methane digester as part of their manure management system. Power generated from the digester is both used on the farm and sold by net metering to the local power company. Digested manure is separated and solids are used for bedding the herd.  Liquids flow to a 2-stage lagoon system and second stage effluent is irrigated. Low protein rations balanced for amino acid needs and a yucca plant extract help minimize ammonia there-by decreasing odor – a benefit for their neighbors and visitors of the family’s guest house and farm tour enterprise. Calves are fed pasteurized waste milk supplemented with an accelerated milk replacer to balance solids. New heifer facilities allowed Pride-N-Joy Dairy to meet their goal of calving heifers by 22 months of age and 1,300 pounds. 

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Friday, October 3, 2 p.m.

Hosted by: Johnsons’ Rolling Acres Partnership, Peterson, Minn.
1,050 Milking/Community Involvement
Sponsored by: AgStar Financial Services

Johnsons’ Rolling Acres is a diversified farm with a community minded focus. For the Johnson family, community is truly the cornerstone of all their efforts. Johnsons’ Rolling Acres makes an effort to hire most of their staff locally. The farm staff has been a vital asset to the Johnson Rolling Acres success as they help care for their 1,050 cow herd that has a RHA of 30,000 lbs. For the Johnsons it is of the utmost importance that people are educated about where their food comes from. They open their farm up to numerous activities, including FFA tours, events for student/parent groups, as well as hosting Dairy Night on the Farm as a kick-off to June Dairy Month. Most notably, for the last five years, the Johnsons have been providing milk free of charge to local preschool children. When they realized that most children were drinking juice instead of milk, they took action and starting purchasing milk for approximately 100 kids. Additionally, when a nearby community flooded, they were on-hand with pumps and equipment to save public utilities and facilities. Johnsons’ Rolling Acres has received several honors, including recently the University of Minnesota-Extension Farm Family of the Year.

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Saturday, October , Noon.

Hosted by: Twin Birch Dairy, LLC, Skaneateles, N.Y.
1,240 Milking/Sustainability
Sponsored by: DuPont Pioneer

Twin Birch Dairy strives to be innovative and profitable. Located by a lake that provides fresh water to Syracuse, N.Y., Dirk Young and farm partners have invested in the latest technologies to ensure environmental stewardship. For manure management, the dairy uses a methane digester and a unique underground pipeline system that delivers manure to fields through the use of a drag line. By utilizing precision agriculture, they are able to maximize their forage yield without jeopardizing quality. They also take advantage of increased planting densities and variable rate seeding. Through the use of scales and increased bunker storage, they are able to maximize their harvesting efforts and maintain a high quality product for their herd of 1,240 cows that have a rolling herd average of 30,500 lbs. of milk. While already a very profitable enterprise, Twin Birch Dairy is looking to the future. Working closely with a marketing group, they are planning to add a new milk plant that will supply milk protein concentrates for milk protein shakes, skim milk powder and whole milk powder. For all of their conservation efforts, Twin Birch Dairy was awarded the Onondaga Conservation Farm of the Year.

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