FALL 2024 NEWSLETTER
Welcome to our 2024 Newsletter!
Van Der Geest Dairy has been a part of this community for over 50 years and is proud to support local organizations and businesses. We strive to have an open-door policy allowing the community to see how we are good neighbors while supplying nutritious dairy products needed to feed our great country! Below is a review of some things we have been working on at the dairy over this past year.
We continue to care for the environment while constantly upgrading our facilities to maintain the best feed and best environment for our cattle and employees.
FEED STORAGE
We are looking into adding additional feed storage for our cattle. The silage bunkers we use are concrete lined floors and walls. These feed storage areas are professionally engineered, reviewed, and permitted by the DNR before being built. Any rainwater coming in contact with the feed storage area must be collected and applied to our crops per DNR specifications. The feed is placed on the floor and compacted continuously with a large tractor; this process removes the oxygen out of the feed and prevents the feed from spoiling.
Once the crop is harvested and packed, the top is sprayed with a healthy bacteria to help with the ensiling process. Then we lay down an oxygen barrier (similar to cellophane you use at home), next we lay down a black & white plastic. The last step is to place semi tire sidewalls down to hold the two layers in place. This is a labor-intensive process and must be completed correctly and in a timely manner. If the feed is not sealed and packed properly it will mold which would cause the cattle to become sick. We work hard at this process to ensure our cattle have the best feed available to keep them healthy.
MANURE DRYER
Our current manure dryer is several years old and has been running continually since it was installed. Manure solids are separated from the liquid and then the solids are dried at our facility. The dryer runs 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and needs to be serviced and updated. Technology has changed a lot since our dryer was installed. We are researching which dryers are the most efficient, economical, and environmentally friendly
The spring and summer weather have been quite challenging. Spring started out great and then the rain came! Crop conditions (maturity) vary all over in the same field. The continuous wet weather hindered the emergence of plants which led to some fields having to be replanted up to 3 times. This has been a very frustrating process to say the least, however, we are fortunate to have the crops that we do have. The quantity and quality of the crops may not be what we planned but we tried our best to control what we could. Mother Nature of course has the final say on the outcome.
This fall Feddick Farms will be helping us harvest approximately 50,000 tons of corn for silage. We hope to have a dry fall for a timely harvest. This will allow us to apply our fall nutrients as well as plant cover crops like winter wheat.
We always try to keep roads and entrances to fields clean. Please be patient if there is mud on the road, we will do our best to keep the roads cleaned up.
Safety is our number one priority. All our drivers are expected to be courteous, law-abiding drivers. Please let us know if you see anything that does not 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 you.
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 in 2.5 acre increments, the manure is applied based on the soil’s nutrient needs, preparing the soil for the next growing season. 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 agricultural 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! We pay a competitive rental rate. Our policy is to take care of the land, leaving it better than when we started using it. 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.
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 visit to see the parlor!
All of us at the dairy appreciate the community support. We wish everyone a safe and happy remainder of 2024! Thank you again!
