BENNIE AND BRITTANY HOLTZ
Morrison County

And now there are three.

Sure, 270 dairy cows, 200 beef cows and 850 acres of corn, wheat, alfalfa and grass seeding still keep the schedule of Bennie Holtz, 25, a bit full. But a little rascal named Brooklyn Ann who came into the world June 3 at 6 pounds 15 1/2 ounces and 20-inches long is now the top priority. Brittany, 24, and mother of this newest addition couldn’t be more pleased.

“A healthy child and perfect in all details. Yes, both Bennie and I are very happy,” was the smiling response of this young mother when visited by The Land June 18. Brittany was just home from a medical checkup of both mother and new daughter. Brooklyn gained one pound the first 16 days of her life, and Mom was looking radiant.

Such is the exciting life of this young Morrison County dairy couple with an agenda that already stretches one’s imagination. Two brothers assist with this operation, which also involves 1,200 acres of neighboring land, which they till, plant and harvest. Bennie is also president of the Morrison County Dairy Herd Improvement Association, a member of the Morrison County Farm Bureau and on the board of directors of the Sobieski Cooperative Creamery.

“You can’t devote your life to cows, corn and cattle,” he nonchalantly said. The addition of Brooklyn Ann is the greatest diversion of all.

But farming talk was necessary for The Land. He said all their first-cut alfalfa is history and with another day of sunshine (about an inch of rain fell in their neighborhood June 17), it’s time to get at their second-cutting alfalfa plus some first cut on some grass land hay.

Like many farmers, Holtz was pleased with both tonnage and quality of that first-cut alfalfa. He does relative feed value testing on all total mixed ration feed into the dairy operation on a monthly basis. “I’d say this first cut was doing 160 to 170, not bad for a May harvest but alfalfa got an early start this year which helped production.”

No stress situations for the cow herd so Holtz said his June production is probably the best ever. That’s good because on a twice-a-day milking schedule this herd is averaging about 75 pounds per cow daily, which converts to about a 24,000-pound herd average.

Hired hands do the milking; about a five-hour process in a double-six parallel parlor system. Would Holtz consider a three-a-day milking schedule to bump that herd average even higher? “Yes, we’ve considered it but at our current herd size the numbers don’t work favorably to justify another hired milker per shift. If we were milking 350 to 400 we’d probably go to 3X.”

Because he’s still slightly over capacity for the 96-foot x 120-foot free-stall barn, cows get culled quickly. If a cow drops below 60 pounds daily milk 200 days into her gestation and is not pregnant, she’s likely to be history within the week.

“Beef price is off somewhat. I sold cows 10 days back for 50 cents. But four weeks ago I got over $1,100 for a couple of the biggest. So a strong beef market definitely helps the cash flow, especially when milk prices keep lagging.”

Bennie and Brittany did make it to Dairy Day at Target Field June 13. “The Twins lost but it was a good game. And about 150 of us dairy farmers got recognized on the big Twins billboard. So it was good getting away, especially for Brittany,” he said. Brittany added, “My Mom was able to baby-sit Brooklyn. Yes, a real treat to see Target Field and enjoy the atmosphere.”

Less a treat is the continual drag on milk prices. “Another Cooperatives Working Together buyout is being talked, but cow numbers and milk numbers haven’t surfaced plus it doesn’t sound like a very lucrative option since cull prices are now pretty good so there may not be much support,” he said.

This buyout is funded by producers with a 10-cent/cwt. deduction from their milk check. It’s open to any dairy producer who didn’t participate previously. Bids are submitted based on the previous year’s production and what “price” they want for that production. Logically the buyout mostly collects cull cows, which are slaughtered so there is a reduction in cow numbers.

Holtz sees 2010 getting better financially. “We’re gaining some headway on bills lenders have carried for us. Yes, we’re catching up a little bit but not making leaps and bounds by any means. We’re going in the right direction this year. That’s the good thing about 2010.”

He’s heard mixed reviews on the talk about somatic cell count dropping down to 400,000 this fall. That may be triggering more culling of dairy cows this summer. He chuckles about the talk of the Environmental Protection Agency setting regulations on the handling of spilled milk from bulk tanks. “But we’re getting the message now that Congress won’t let the EPA be the police dog on spilled milk. To think of spilled milk as a hazardous substance is ridiculous. So hopefully ‘common sense’ prevails, even in Washington.”

Dairy genetics are big ticket since he does all his own artificial insemination work, breeding cows virtually every day. He keeps about six weeks of frozen semen on hand and said there are at least 20 top-notch bulls that will be big “play makers” in the future. Currently five bulls are his primary choices for his own herd but after two to three breedings he’s willing to try a younger, unproven bull if the genetic history is there.

Sire selection is key to building a strong herd, but so too is overall management strategies. He’s sold cull cows that weren’t quite cutting it in his own herd that became top producers with the new owner. The point being that even his so-called cullers have the genetic history to put lots of milk in the tank.

This year’s crop is looking good for HCL Farms (the business name for this diversified operation). “Corn looks the best ever. We’ve had a run on alfalfa weevils and clover worms so my brothers got on that right away. Greg also fertilizes alfalfa after the first cutting, mostly a potash, sulfur and boron mix. Alfalfa needs extra potash, especially if you have hopes of four, perhaps even five, cuttings.”

How are those 30 baby calves doing now that Brittany has a 30-day hiatus from her special task of twice-daily feeding her “babies” in the calf hutches? “I can tell they’re not doing as good as when Brittany is giving them her daily touch. She’s just really good at caring for baby calves,” Bennie said.

Brittany chuckled saying she maybe misses that chore just a bit, but added, “I’m holding out on being a full-time Mom at least for two more weeks.”

All heifer calves get raised for replacement purposes, bull calves get sold one to five days after birth right off the farm. Explaining her special touch, Brittany simply said that if you’re with them all the time you know what to look for and can sense the first sickness right away and get them back quickly.

Except for a few bulls kept for their annual March bull sale, all critters from the 200-cow Charolais beef operation get sold to Olivia-area cattle feeders Tim Kopel and Eloyd Penke. Holtz delivers to the two feeders, with calves in the 500- to 600-pound range, and without a selling price. “Once we get there we give them our suggested selling price, they come back with their suggested buying price. We meet ‘in the middle’ and that’s worked well now for 10 years,” Holtz said.

Even young Nick Sanderson, also in his 20s and “landlord” along with his mother, of the farming operation and dairy facilities run by the Holtz team, speaks highly of Bennie and Brittany. Sanderson works with a hay dealer in the Staples-area but is a weekly visitor to his mom and the Holtz crew also.

“It’s working out great. The Holtz guys are great farmers, super dairy men. There’s no better situation for my mother and I right now,” Sanderson said. It gives his mother and he a chance to continue living on their farm without concern about cows and facilities. “I’ve known Bennie since high school days. This is a great couple.”

The Land caught up with Jim Willers, Beaver Creek-area farmer on June 21 as he was on the Rock County Farm Bureau Farm-City Agri Tour.

“We’re taking people from the community to three different farms. We’re visiting a dairy farm, a beef operation and a hog farm. The host farmers talk about their particular operation and answers questions,” Willers said.

Because of the early planting this season, plus some generous rains and eventually warmer temperatures, crops are mostly looking terrific in Willers’ neighborhood. Corn spraying probably wrapped up sooner than normal also. “Corn is full canopy now. You’d have some damage problems going in to spray,” he said. However, like many growers, Willers has a second application coming up on his soybeans. That likely will be a Roundup tank mix product to catch any weeds showing some glyphosate resistance.

His June 22 trip to D.C.? “I’m going to a National Biodiesel Board meeting lobbying for the biodiesel tax credit extension,” Willers said. You sense his frustration. He and his four-member team have addressed this issue before, as have countless other farm groups and soybean associations.

“They politely listen. They know what’s going on. They tell us they’re trying to move this issue through Congress. But it gets attached to this bill, or that bill. Pretty soon there are so many amendments it turns into a Christmas tree and nobody votes for the bill because it has become too costly. But we’ve got to keep telling our story; we’ve got to stay in their face or soon agriculture won’t have a face.”

Senate Finance Committee chairman Max Baucus is directing a mammoth jobs and tax bill which retains a proposed one-year revival of the $1 a gallon tax credit for biodiesel. The new language includes a large assessment to pay for cleaning up oil spills. An estimated 11 percent of U.S. soybean oil will be used to make biodiesel in the marketing year ending Sept. 30. There are more than 150 biodiesel plants in 44 states according to the National Biodiesel Board.

Willers is chairman of the Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council so he and his council have a direct concern about the biodiesel tax credit bill. The credit expired Dec. 31 and since that time several thousand biodiesel plant employees are jobless because of the shut down of various biodiesel plants. He’s concerned about soybean utilization domestically and worldwide. The MSRPC’s budget for 2010 is about $1.2 million, generated from the soybean checkoff of one-half of 1 percent of market price at time of sale.

Around 55 percent of the U.S. crop is now exported as world soy demand has risen by 135 percent since 1990, largely fueled by China.

When contacted on June 22, Jason Kieser said the corn crop is looking good in his Howard Lake area of Wright County.

“The soybean crop is doing well but weed control has been difficult with the amount and frequency of rain that we have received over the past month. I was able to begin spraying soybeans on Father’s Day and finished yesterday.”

Severe weather went through their area late in the week before Father’s Day, “but we were lucky to enough to escape any damage.”

Kim Kieser said the time between first and second cutting of hay “has been very busy with Dairy Profit Team meetings.” She said team meetings are always focused on the individual needs/goals of the producer.

“There has been an increased focus on improving milk quality as a result of upcoming regulations requiring dairy producers to maintain a somatic cell count below 400,000.” When focusing on milk quality team members and the producer tour the dairy facility, review production and milk-quality records, monitor milking procedure, and review milking equipment performance in an attempt to identify opportunities for improvement.

As far as the Kieser family is concerned, Sabrina, 17, left on June 22 for Washington, D.C., where she is participating in the FFA’s Washington Leadership Conference. From there she will be taking off for two weeks in Europe. She will be traveling throughout Europe while performing with the John Philip Sousa Collegiate Honor Band.

Andrew, 13, is keeping busy with his traveling baseball team and “will be counting down the days until his sister comes home.”