Wisconsinite named to board
Gail Klinkner, a dairy farmer from Liberty Pole, Wisconsin, was recently appointed to serve on the US Department of Agriculture’s National Dairy Promotion and Research Board. She will serve with 35 other dairy farmer-members representing 12 geographic regions within the United States as well as one importer representing dairy importers.
Klinkner owns and operates Pine Prairie Jerseys and Klinkner Holsteins with her husband, Rob Klinkner. She also serves as vice chairperson of the Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin board of directors.
Klinkner works at Westby Cooperative Creamery. She also recently opened the Klinkner Kountry Store, where she sells farm-raised meat and eggs along with Westby Cooperative Creamery dairy products and locally grown fresh produce, salads and country decor.
Leading Impact award presented
Pam Selz-Pralle of Humbird, Wisconsin, recently earned the Leading Impact award at the Dairy Girl Network Forward TogetHER biennial national conference in Prior Lake, Minnesota. The new award, sponsored by Beck’s, honors a distinguished dairywoman with leadership achievements in the dairy industry. Members of the Dairy Girl Network nominate a dairywoman who they believe is positively impacting the industry.
Selz-Pralle mentors individuals to lead dairy organizations, be leaders in their communities, and be a voice for dairy farming. Her experience and leadership range from production agriculture to industry development to consumer advocacy. Selz-Pralle farms with her husband, Scott Selz. They’ve been awarded Holstein USA Outstanding Younger Breeders and Wisconsin Jaycee Outstanding Young Dairymen. They also bred the world-record milk cow.
Honored as a Wisconsin Master Agriculturalist, Selz-Pralle was one of four women in the program’s 45-year history to receive the award. On the farm she instituted a calf-feeding system featuring mob feeding, group pens and a positive-pressure ventilated barn. She has become a national spokesperson at major events and fields with questions from people touring her data-supported calf-feeding program.
Selz-Pralle testifies and speaks directly to legislators via forums of the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation and American Dairy Coalition. She has served many organizations at local, state, national and international levels.
She trains other dairywomen how to communicate to the public and is developing a “Speak up for Ag” 4-H training program to teach children not raised on farms how to be future farm storytellers. She has shared her successful “Dairy Day on The Farm” template with other farm women. Visit dairygirlnetwork.com for more information.
The Dairy Shrine elected in October new board members at its annual meeting. They are Ashley Hagenow, a student from the University of Minnesota; Jason Johnson, farm relationship manager at Lactalis US Yogurt; and Lloyd Metzger, vice-president of quality and technical service at Valley Queen.
Hagenow represents a new initiative for the organization. She’s the first student to be a part of the shrine’s board of directors. A native of Poynette, Wisconsin, Hagenow is a senior at the University of Minnesota majoring in agricultural communication and marketing with minors in animal science and food-business management. A student board member will be elected each year and eventually the board will be comprised of three student members.
Jason Johnson is a fourth-generation dairy farmer from New Hampshire. He has managed several dairies in the US and Canada. One of those dairies was Billings Farm, where he rejuvenated the Billings Farm cheese brand. He started in his current role at Lactalis five years ago. Johnson and his family continue to breed Jerseys with the Johnsonacres prefix. He currently serves on the American Jersey Cattle Association board as District 1 director.
Lloyd Metzger is responsible for leading quality assurance, product development, process improvement and process-technology teams at Valley Queen. He previously was a professor and a chair in Dairy Education at South Dakota State University as well as director of the Midwest Dairy Foods Research Center and the Institute for Dairy Ingredient Processing.
Members of the Dairy Shrine also elected a new president and executive committee members. The new president-elect is Jimmy Huffard, a dairy producer from Crockett, Virginia.
Two new executive team members were appointed. They are Jodi Hoynoski, executive director, Holstein identification and member services and Holstein Foundation programs manager at the Holstein Association USA; and Joey Airosa, owner of Airosa Dairy in Tipton, California. Visit dairyshrine.org for more information.
Snowbirds invited to breakfast
The 2023 Old-Timer’s Dairy Breakfast will begin at 7:15 am Feb. 20 at the Florida State Fairgrounds, 4800 US Highway 301 North, Tampa, Florida. Dairy “snowbirds” have gathered at the event for 40 years.
Representatives from 15 to 20 states as well as Canada are frequently represented at the event. The breakfast will be followed by a presentation by Dieter Krieg, editor of Farmshine magazine. He will share his perspectives on the dairy industry.
The $15 charge for breakfast includes a one-day admission to the Florida State Fair and free parking in the middle of the fairgrounds. Enter the fairgrounds through the livestock gate – red gate. It’s located off Orient Road on the east side of the fairgrounds.
To register call 800-345-3247 and ask for the agriculture business department. Pay at the door. Contact lhawk1111@yahoo.com or Larry Hawkins at 608-516-0101 for more information.
Reproduction achievements noted
The Dairy Cattle Reproduction Council recently presented Excellence in Dairy Cattle Reproduction Awards to 24 dairy operations. The dairy farms were recognized for reproductive efficiency, fertility and well-implemented management procedures.
- Davis Family Farm of Darlington, Wisconsin
- Emerald Spring Dairy of Plainview, Minnesota
- Felling Dairy of Sauk Center, Minnesota
- Fetzer Farms of Elmwood, Wisconsin
- High Noon Dairy of Hereford, Texas
- Riddell Farms of Atwood, Ontario, Canada
- Boernview Farms Ltd. of Gadshill, Ontario, Canada
- Britannia Dairy of Flandreau, South Dakota
- Kieler Farms Inc. of Platteville, Wisconsin
- Maier Farms of Waunakee, Wisconsin
- Maly Farms of Bryant, Wisconsin
- Mercer-Vu Farms of Mercersburg, Pennsylvania
- Belldale Farms of Danville, Ohio
- Blue Star Dairy Farms of DeForest, Wisconsin
- Full Flo Dairy of De Forest, Wisconsin
- Ryzebol Dairy of Mantorville, Minnesota
- Trailside Holsteins of Fountain, Minnesota
- Vale Wood Dairy of Loretto, Pennsylvania
- Burk Lea Farms of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania
- Crosswind Jerseys of Elkton, South Dakota
- Holmesville Dairy of Argyle, Wisconsin
- Riverside Dairy of Reedsville, Wisconsin
- Ruedinger Farms of Van Dyne, Wisconsin
- Scheps Dairy of Almena, Wisconsin
More than 100 nominations came from four countries, 11 US states and two Canadian provinces. Farms were nominated by veterinarians, extension specialists, artificial-insemination and pharmaceutical-company representatives.
The Dairy Cattle Reproduction Council Excellence in Dairy Cattle Reproduction judges considered many criteria when reviewing finalists’ applications, including pregnancy rate, voluntary waiting period, interbreeding intervals, heat detection, conception rate, value of reproduction and culling rate. Visit dcrcouncil.org for more information.
Project aims to reduce emissions
Pizza Hut and its parent company Yum! Brands are partnering with Dairy Farmers of America to help reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. The partners are working with dairy suppliers to enroll interested dairy-farm families in the Farmers Assuring Responsible Management and Environmental Stewardship evaluation for a three-year period.
Once enrolled farmers will receive a SCiO cup, a laboratory-grade dry-matter analyzer. That will enable them to access instant dry-matter analysis of their cows’ feed, helping deliver precise nutrition, produce milk more efficiently, and reduce on-farm greenhouse gas emissions, Dairy Farmers of America stated.
The farms will be eligible to apply for funds to implement sustainability projects while continuing to recruit Dairy Farmers of America members throughout the partnership. Participating farmers will have the opportunity to adopt other practices and technologies such as feed-management enhancements and energy-efficient lighting, Dairy Farmers of America stated.
The cooperative has set a goal to reduce both direct and value-chain greenhouse gas emissions. The project is part of a broader strategy to help all parties reach additional sustainability goals.
• Yum! and Pizza Hut – decrease greenhouse-gas emissions 46 percent by 2030 with a focus on restaurants and supply chain, and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050
• Dairy Farmers of America – reduce by 30 percent greenhouse-gas emissions across supply chain by 2030
The cooperative also is part of an industry-wide collaboration through the Innovation Center for US Dairy to be greenhouse neutral or better by 2050. Visit yum.com, pizzahut.com and dfamilk.com for more information.
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