Small Farms Making Big Cheese, Planting Seeds of Knowledge Through Book and Tours

Small Farms Making Big Cheese, Planting Seeds of Knowledge Through Book and Tours

From the perspective of life after a dairy barn was destroyed by fire, to stories highlighting how farmers and industry supporters are advocating for the dairy industry, today's episode hears conversations across the dairy community. Stories include on-farm tours, sourcing milk from eight farms to build a national cheese brand and an author reflecting on his faming background and the importance of telling agriculture's story. First, we hear from the Blase family in South Dakota about what it was like to lose their facility in a fire earlier in May. For now, the family continues sorting through difficult decisions while focusing on cleanup, cow care and maintaining the creamery business. Though much was lost in the fire, they remain grateful no lives were lost and hopeful about what the future may still hold. In Wisconsin, we spent a day with the Fischer family, whose farm recently welcomed more than 300 elementary students. Kids in third grade and 4K moved from station to station learning about cows, calves, goats, sheep, pigs and more. Hosting the Food for America event on behalf of the Plymouth FFA Chapter is a longtime tradition for the Fischer family. We then hear the story of starting Milton Creamery LLC in May 2006 from Rufus Musser III. While researching how to make their creamery idea work, two Amish men knocked on his door. By pairing together, Musser had a direct line to quality farms and people, where he could create a premium milk market in Van Buren County on the Missouri Border. Next, we learn how, 14 years ago, the Jams family agreed to have the fifth-grade class from Willmar Public Schools come to their farm for a tour. Today, that partnership still stands, and many others have followed suit to tour CoJo Dairy. For each school tour, CoJo Dairy sets up three stations around the farm, then breaks the group into three sections to visit each stop on a rotaion. Today's final conversation is with Brian Reisinger, author of Land Rich, Cash Poor: My Family's Hope and the Untold History of the Disappearing American Farmer. The book details 100 years of family farm history, condensed down into the most key elements that have impacted farms nationally, woven in with the Reisinger family's real-life story. New episodes are released every Monday after the newspaper is published, sharing the many conversations from the dairy community! Send story ideas and your comments to dairydelivery@dairystar.com. Subscribe to the podcast for reminders of episodes - next episode will be released June 15 - about the dairy community and leave a review! We look forward to bringing you this brand new way to consume Dairy Star. This is Dairy Delivery. All dairy, all the time.

From Dairy Barn to Olympic Gold, Plus Conversations on Spanish Language Skills, Top Cow Performers and Planting Delays

Communication, adversity and pride are heard on today's episode. Stories include a Minnesota dairy herd with cows that more than earned their keep, the importance of shared language skills on dairy farms, an Olympic gold medalist with dairy roots and this issue's Dairy Star "Day in the Life" feature with a Minnesota dairy farming family. First, we head to Minnesota and hear from Scott Herber of Shady Crest Holsteins. Several cows from the farm are included on the 2025 Minnesota Dairy Herd Improvement Association lifetime production list. In fact, the Herbers have 12 of the top 200 cows on that list, including six in the top 20. He discusses more about this honor. Then, we hear from Katie Dotterer, who saw a need for better communication between English speakers and Spanish speakers on dairy farms. Through online instruction, Dotterer teaches Spanish specifically applicable to agriculture and dairy. We also hear form Olympic gold medalist wrestler Rulon Gardner. Gardner's resilience and grit, gained during childhood, helped to shape one of the most unlikely victories in sports history. He grew up on a third-generation dairy farm in Star Valley, Wyoming, the youngest of nine children. Our final conversation today is with Bruce and Dylan Hinnekamp. We take a look at a day in their lives, including planting delays and their optimism in overcoming a challenging day. New episodes are released every Monday after the newspaper is published, sharing the many conversations from the dairy community! Send story ideas and your comments to dairydelivery@dairystar.com. We'd like to thank today's sponsor, DRMS. Visit their website at http://drms.org/HerdHQ/What-Is-HerdHQ. Subscribe to the podcast for reminders of episodes — next episode will be released on May 25 — about the dairy community and leave a review! We look forward to bringing you this brand new way to consume Dairy Star. This is Dairy Delivery. All dairy, all the time.

Honoring a Legacy, Building the Future

From storm damage across Wisconsin to honoring farm broadcaster Orion Samuelson, today's episode reflects on the past while looking ahead to the future of the dairy industry. Stories include a farm transition to the next generation, an advocate balancing roles as both a banking officer and farmer and the growth of a new FFA chapter in Wisconsin. We start with Brian Bender, who lost silos in a recent storm. He reflects on the 5-minute drive just after midnight to the farm in Sauk County, Wisconsin where his milking herd resides and was met by downed trees and power lines and had to take a pair of detous on the 1.5-mile drive before stopping his truck in the road to warn others. Next, Max Armstrong reflects on his longtime colleague and friend, Orion Samuelson. Raised on a small family farm near Ontario, Wisconsin, Samuelson became a trusted voice in agriculture after joining WGN in 1960. He served as farm service director fo 63 years before retiring alongside Armstrong in 2023. Samuelson passed away March 16 at the age of 91 at his home in Huntley, Illinois. We then hear from Brian Colbenson, who officially took over Ti-Shi Dairy, along with his wife, Felicia, renaming it Colby Acres. Alongside Brian's father, Tim, they share the story of transitioning the farm and fulfilling a long-held goal of passing the operation to the next generation. Today's episode continues in Minnesota with Ali Bouta. Even though she holds a full-time job in town today, she continues to play a key role on her family's farm, and shares her perspective on how she manages it all and her tasks throughout the year. We wrap up with FFA advisor of the Winnebago Lutheran Academy Cassandra Luedtke and the school's agriculture instructor Andy Pappenfuss. The private school is in its fourth year of offering an agriculture curriculum and in its first year of chartering an FFA chapter — the only chapter in the Fond du Lac city school system. New episodes are released every Monday after the newspaper is published, sharing the many conversations from the dairy community! Send story ideas and your comments to dairydelivery@dairystar.com. Subscribe to the podcast for reminders of episodes — next episode will be released May 11 — about the dairy community and leave a review! We look forward to bringing you this brand new way to consume the Dairy Star. This is Dairy Delivery. All dairy, all the time.

Distinguished Breeders, New Herdsman and Passions for Milking, Sports

From dairy genetics tracing back to a childhood cow to everyday life on the farm, today's episode brings conversations from the latest Dairy Star issue. We hear from a young woman stepping into a herdsman role, a dairy producer balancing an off-farm career with a passion for milking cows and a high school athlete giving her all both in sports and in the barn. We begin with Reggie and Krysty Kamps, recipients of this year's Distinguished Young Holstein Breeder Award from the Wisconsin Holstein Association. Reggie shares their success with Kamps Rx Genetics, focused on developing animals that can dominate in the show ring and continue the legacy of a cow family he remembers from earlier in his life. Kamps Rx Genetics established itself in the Red & White market in 2016, when they purchased KHW Regiment Apple B-Red-ETN, a clone of the original Apple. Then, we hear from Alayna Kolb, who stepped into the herdsman role at her family's 420-cow dairy farm near St. Martin, Minnesota in the fall of 2023. She makes breeding decisions, works with their nutritionist and hoof trimmer and manages the farm's four employees. Next, Tom Brown shares how he balances his role as a reproduction consultant with CentralStar Cooperative Inc. while operating T-K Dreams Holsteins with his wife, Kaila. They milk 20 cows and run a calf-raising business, purchasing calves, raising them until they weight between 500-600 pounds, and selling the youngstock to other dairy farms. This process has given Tom the ability to work his full-time job with CentralStar and not be fully reliant on a fluctuating milk market. Today's last conversation is with three-sport athlete and dairy farmer Megan Hochkammer. Whether she is competing in softball, basketball, or volleyball, or working on her family's dairy farm, Megan brings the same level of commitment and work ethic to everything she does. New episodes are released every Monday after the newspaper is published, sharing the many conversations from the dairy community! Send story ideas and your comments to dairydelivery@dairystar.com. Subscribe to the podcast for reminders of episodes -- next episode will be released on April 27 -- about the dairy community and leave a review! We look forward to bringing you this brand new way to consume the Dairy Star. This is Dairy Delivery. All dairy, all the time. This episode is sponsored by DRMS. Visit their website at www.DRMS.or/HerdHQ/What-is-HerdHW

From Farm Kid to NFL Career, Hall of Fame Breeder, Organic Farming and Blizzard Elsa Recap

Former Baltimore Raven Marshal Yanda and 40 year veteran of breeding cows Jon Larson are some of the stars on today's episode. Additional stories include third generation dairy farmer David Parr's switch to organic farming, coverage of the Central Plains Dairy Expo (CPDE) and the impact of Blizzard Elsa on dairy farmers. We begin by hearing the mindset of Marshal Yanda, who played in the NFL for 13 years and helped the Ravens earn a Super Bowl Championship in 2013. Despite moving nearly 1,000 miles to the east coast, it was the life lessons and skills of farm life that helped him become one of the most successful offensive lineman in the 2010s. Then, we hear from Jon Larson, who, along with his wife Ann, was inducted into the Minnesota Breeders' Hall of Fame. Over more than 40 years of breeding cows, Larson has adopted new technologies to better monitor cow health and understand each animal's potential. Still, he said that technology cannot replace skills. Then, we hear from third-generation farmer David Parr. He saw the higher pay price for milk and knew that if he carried on the simple traditions of the way his father farmed before him, transitioning his herd to organic could be more streamlined than anticipated. We also her from Kristy Mach, executive director of Central Plains Dairy Association and Central Plains Dairy Foundation. She discusses this year's CPDE, what makes the show successful and what dairy farmers were saying about the event. We end today's podcast with reflection of Blizzard Elsa's impact on the dairy industry in northern Wisconsin with Clark County Highway Commissioner Brian Duell. In a matter of days, many areas of the state set records for snowfall in March. New episodes are released every Monday after the newspaper is published, sharing the many conversations from the dairy community! Send story ideas and your comments to dairydelivery@dairystar.com. Subscribe to the podcast for reminders of episodes - next episode will be released on April 13 - about the dairy community and leave a review! We look forward to bringing you this brand new way to consume Dairy Star. This is Dairy Delivery. All dairy, all the time. This episode is sponsored by Dairy Star.