FALL 2023 NEWSLETTER
Welcome to our 2023 Newsletter!
Van Der Geest Dairy has been a part of this community for over 50 years and is proud to support local organizations, businesses, and people. We strive to have an open-door policy showing the community our efforts to be a good neighbor while supplying nutritious dairy products needed to feed this great country! Below is a review of some things we have been working on at the dairy over this past year.
The dairy has not begun any large projects in 2023. We are very happy with our last project, which was the rotary milking parlor. It is amazing to see the calming, animal friendly environment that the parlor provides. The cattle enjoy riding around the carousel.
The milking process begins with the cow’s udder being washed with a soft scrubbing tool and disinfectant to remove any debris. A large blower dries the udder with warm air and the milking unit is attached. The cattle continue the ride around the carousel and once the milking meter senses low milk flow the vacuum is automatically turned off and the unit comes off. Before leaving the carousel, the cow’s udder is dipped with a sealant via a robotic arm. The cow steps off the carousel and may be misted with cool water before heading back to her pen, where fresh feed, water and a freshly groomed bed awaits her.
Several projects that we were looking at have been placed on hold due to the high cost of building supplies and concrete. As well, milk prices have been extremely low. The last few months there has been a huge decline in what we receive for our milk. We are receiving approximately half the price that we did last year at this time.
Unfortunately, our expenses haven’t decreased. You may be wondering why our milk prices have dropped but the prices in the grocery store have not. There are several reasons, some being trucking, higher labor costs, packaging costs, and other expenses due to inflation. Some of these expenses are then charged back to us, the producer, and taken out of our milk checks. The retailers that are charging the higher prices have also slowed down our exports by approximately 15%, creating extra products in the country. With the slowdown of exports, the demand for milk has decreased, making more milk available with no place to go with it. Oversupply means less milk needed. The dairy industry is going through some very challenging times so please continue to consume our great Wisconsin dairy products!
CROPPING The spring weather delayed our crop planting by a couple of weeks. Once it dried up the crops were planted and are coming along nicely. Conditions were dry, but we are hopeful that we will receive enough warmth and moisture to complete the growing process. The next few weeks will determine the outcome of our crops. This fall Feddick Farms will be helping us harvest approximately 50,000 tons of corn for silage. We hope to have a nice fall for a timely harvest which will allow us to apply our fall nutrients via manure as well as plant cover crops.
We always try to keep roads and entrances to fields clean. Please be patient if there is mud on the road, we try our best to keep things clean. Safety is our number one priority; Highway K is one of the main roads we use to access our fields. The construction on Hwy K will make things challenging. All our drivers are expected to be courteous, law-abiding drivers. Please let us know if you see anything that doesn’t look right. Also, if you have any events or activities planned during our harvesting and manure application period, please contact us and we will try to adjust our activity to accommodate. As a reminder, our trucks and implements are large and slow moving, please be patient, we are trying to harvest high quality feed in a short period of time.
Once fall harvesting is complete, we will begin transporting our organic manure to the fields to prepare for the next growing season. We haul the manure by semitruck to the fields farthest away from our facility so that we do not have to haul in the spring when the roads are soft from the frost. When cropping, the soil from each field is tested, and manure is applied for the crop’s nutrient needs. We test the manure daily when applying to ensure the proper amount is placed where needed. There is a meter on the tractor that allows the operator to monitor how many gallons are applied, this is done while following all DNR regulations for setbacks on wells, waterways, creeks, ponds, wetlands etc. A lot of effort is put into this process to ensure it is done accurately and properly. Thank you in advance for your patience with us during harvesting and fertilizing!
We are always looking for productive cropland to produce feed for our cattle. If you own ag land within 15 miles of the dairy and are not already renting to us, but are interested in doing so, please give us a call! Our policy is to take care of the land, leaving it better than it started. We carry liability insurance on all the land we utilize, and we follow Natural Resource Conservation Service guidelines as well as the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources standards, and we pay a competitive rental rate.
You will be able to view the milking process from our observation room as well as view a video of the milking process and other operations at our facility. Cows are milked continuously throughout the day except between 2-4pm when the facility is sanitized. Check our website for information on scheduling a tour of the parlor! All of us at the dairy appreciate the community support. We wish everyone a safe and happy remainder of 2023! Thank you again!
