Expert teams aid dairy farmers in company management

Faced with recurring incidences of mastitis among his herd, Kewaunee County dairy farmer Tony Knorn used a federally funded state program to draw upon the collective knowledge of industry experts to help solve the problem.

Knorn — who owns Junion Homestead Farm with his wife, Peggy, in the town of Luxemburg, and milks about 150 cows — tapped into the Grow Wisconsin Dairy Farm Management Team program.

The program pulls together experts from the field — from livestock specialists and veterinarians, to lenders and dairy equipment manufacturers — to help the state's dairy farmers develop long-term strategies and solutions to help operations thrive in the dairy business, a $26.5 billion industry in the state.

"We probably had eight to 10 people at the meetings," Knorn said last week. "We'd try to come up with an idea of what we thought might be wrong and what we could start to focus on."

The program is offered by the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection and a joint venture of several agencies including the University of Wisconsin-Extension and state technical colleges

The on-farm team program was started in fall 2009, growing out of a U.S. Department of Agriculture dairy business initiative launched in 2004. It's funded by a mix of federal, state and dairy industry money, said Nicole Breunig, a marketing consultant at DATCP.

The program provides up to $2,000 in cost-sharing to pay for consultant fees and testing related to the topic at hand.

"The program is designed to help farmers look at farm growth, financial success and long-term sustainability," she said. "We wanted a program that was very customizable so a farmer could tap the consultants he needed to work with based on the issue he was experiencing."

Other teams have looked at long-term business planning and transitioning the farm to other family members, production practices, herd health and the viability of expanding an operation or changing the operating structure, Breunig said.

More than 90 farms statewide have been enrolled in the ongoing program, she said.

While the state's milk production "continues to grow, our dairy processors still need more milk," Breunig said. "Ten percent of the milk needed by processors is brought in from out of state because we just don't make enough. It's about helping our dairy farmers combat low milk prices, be profitable and grow milk production to meet the demand of our dairy processors."

That in turn bolsters the overall dairy industry and the state's economy.

In 2010, Aerica Bjurstrom, agricultural agent with Kewaunee County UW-Extension, orchestrated the monthly meetings, which are now quarterly, on the Knorn farm.

"A lot of people were really interested in helping and being part of this," she said. "That's what a lot of them do … they work with the farmer to improve production and improve profitability. The group changed from month to month, but we had a core group."

Bjurstrom said the program allows experts and producers to find solutions through a focused effort, though it can take several meetings before the group hones in on a clear direction leading to action.

"It's something that has to develop over time," she said. "Everybody has to find their place in the group and add their expertise."

Mastitis is an inflammatory reaction in a cows udder caused by an infection that increases the somatic cell count of milk produced by the cow. A higher somatic cell count translates into less money paid for the milk produced by that animal.

The group first had to pinpoint where the issue was. After determining it wasn't feeding or milking procedures, focus turned to the barn.