365 Days A Year, 24 Hours a Day
That is the dedication it takes to be a key contributor to the Dairy Industry.
As we enter June, a month full of celebrating all things dairy, we recognize and honor the dedication and hard work that it takes for all contributors to the dairy industry. From the farmers to transportation of products, and the factory workers. It takes all parties involved to get the milk from the farmer’s cows to the tables of Americans.
The Farmer’s Day to Day
Here at CSB we have the privilege of not only supporting several dairy farmers from the Northern Illinois area, but specifically one dairy farmer whose wife happens to be a part of our Ag Lending team. Kenzie Holste, our Credit Analyst and Loan Review Specialist, is the wife to full-time dairy farmer and semi driver, Matt Holste. Matt and Kenzie are now the 5th generation on the family farm located just north of Rock City, IL. While Kenzie spends her days mainly in our Lena and Freeport branch locations, you will find Matt and his father, Brian Holste, running the day-to-day operation of the dairy farm.
A typical day will start with morning chores: mixing feed, milking, barn and parlor clean up. Along with any breeding, reproductive management practices, hoof care treatments, or herd checks to continue to maintain a healthy herd. Once morning chores are complete, it is then time for breakfast, or what is considered brunch for most people depending on how smoothly chores go that morning.
With full stomachs they head out for the day to complete field work or equipment work. Any maintenance to the milking equipment must happen between milking times in order to ensure things run smoothly, benefiting both the cows and the farmers.
In the dairy world, field work often takes longer than a traditional row crop farmer because every evening at the same time, the tractors are parked, and the milkers are turned on. The feed is mixed, the cows are milked, then the barn and parlor are cleaned yet again. They then repeat the process all over the next day.
While the structure of a dairy farmer’s day for the most part is always the same, the challenges and tasks that arise from day to day can look drastically different.
Amongst all the physical labor it takes to operate a dairy farm, there is also the ‘behind the scenes’ work that often happens at night or on a rainy day. From book work to reproductive planning, and even ration and dietary decisioning depending on whether this is hired out or done by the farmers themselves.
PTO, Sick Days, Vacation… What’s That?
Dairy cows are milking every single day of the year. Most operations complete two milkings per day, while some can do three. While technology and efficiency practices have started to evolve over the years for the dairy industry, no two farms are the same, and what works for one dairy farm may not work for another. No matter what, they all have the fact in common that the cows need to be managed and milked every day of the year.
Hired hands or part time labor workers are very common amongst the farming community. Typically for row crops, these hired hands are equipment operators during the spring planting season, and in the fall for harvest. For dairy farming, fill in milkers and calf feeders are the most common forms of hired help.
For the Holste family, this is where Kenzie and her mother-in-law, Kathy Holste, come into the picture most often. While both Kenzie and Kathy work off farm full time, they love to be a helping hand as often as possible. If rain is in the forecast, they have a day off work, or the hired calf feeder is not able to make it for chores, the girls step in to do whatever they can to help.
“One of my favorite places to be on the farm is in the calf barn. Often, even if I am not needed for help with chores, that’s where you will find me. I have also become a pretty skilled grain wagon operator in the last several years and occasionally can steal the combine for a pass or two each fall. For hay season and corn silage time, I am typically on snack and beverage duty thanks to a strong case of allergies!
We welcomed our son, who we hope to be the 6th generation dairy farming Holste, early last March, so since then my involvement on the farm has shifted a bit. Chores take a little bit longer when we are called upon and always include lots of snacks. We are so fortunate to be able to raise our young family on the dairy farm and there are so many wonderful life skills and lessons to be learned on the farm.”
-Kenzie Holste
For the Holste’s, when one generation has plans that pull them away from the farm for chore time, the other generation picks up the missing pieces to ensure the farm is operational each and every day. In the very few instances that the whole family is going to be gone from the farm at the same time, other members of the farming community and family friends are called upon to handle a chore time or two to ensure things continue to operate.
From Farm to Table
The farmer knows they are only one key aspect of ensuring that American Dairy Products get from their cows to the homes across America. Depending on the farm, milk is picked up daily, or every other day to then be transported to the factories to be bottled or turned into the dairy products you know, love, and buy in stores. The Holste farm gets milk picked up anywhere from 2-5am each and every day, and we happen to know their milk hauler quite well here at CSB.
William “Billy” Edwards, husband of LeighAnn Edwards, one of our Universal Bankers and Supervisors in the Lena Branch, owns and operates the milk transportation company that picks up and hauls the milk from the Holste farm.
Stay tuned for our next blog post that will highlight and take you through the day to day of what it takes to operate a milk hauling company. Just like the farmers and the cows, there’s no days off in the transportation business either.
Stop In and Celebrate
Please help us celebrate June dairy month with Cheese Curds in our branches on Friday June 13th and Friday June 27th in all Citizens State Bank locations!
