Brief History. Keys to Starting a Dairy Career. Our Dairy Farm Stats. Getting Started as a Producer. Things to learn from Wade (College)

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1 Keys to Starting a Dairy Career Ridgeview Dairy Farms Grant & April Post family Brief History Raised on a dairy farm by Lake Wilson, MN Did a lot of milking and labor on the farm growing up Attended Ridgewater College for 2 years for Dairy Management Got married shortly out of college and farmed with my dad In 1999, the dairy was expanded from 80 cows to 160 which included a step-up parlor and new freestall barn In 2007, we bought out my parents and moved to the dairy where we currently live Have 4 children: Amber-10, Cody-7, Seth-4, Logan-2 Our Dairy Farm Stats 200 cows milking & dry Raise all our own heifer calves Sell most bull calves at 1 week old * Keep a few bulls for breeding Milk in a double 6 step-up parlor, 2X Freestalls with mattresses bedded with sawdust 3 part-time help for milking plus seasonal help Raise 150 acres of alfalfa, 300 acres of corn, 200 acres of pasture- all rented acres Things to learn from Wade (College) Know the anatomy of a cow and understand how she works Learn the skills of managing cows and people Pay attention on farm tours remember the things you like or don t like Gain understanding of finances Learn about feed nutrition Getting Started as a Producer The first two years out of college, my dad and I milked 80 cows in a 32 cow stanchion barn I received a small percentage of the milk check and put in a lot of labor Also, rented on my own 130 acres of cropland In 1998, my wife and I bought an acreage 1 mile north of the dairy 1

2 Expansion Phase In 1999, we remodeled the old stanchion barn and put in a double 6 step-up parlor A new 150 cow freestall barn, holding pen and lagoon where built Cows numbers increased to 160- many of these had to be purchased at that time We entered into an LLP with my parents Our income was based on shares of ownership Transfer of Management After the expansion, I became responsible for the breeding & herd health issues and some of the crop decisions. While in the partnership, the final decisions were made by my dad even if I didn t agree. After the buyout in 2007, we took over all responsibilities including the bookwork, payroll, hiring help, nutrition, crop management, etc. Transfer of Ownership We had several meetings with our accountant, estate planners, loan officer etc. to discuss options to transfer some or all ownership In 2007, we bought the feed, cows and machinery from my parents. All these items were appraised by a neutral party or set at current market value. We switched acreages and rented the cropland We eliminated the LLP and now operate as a sole proprietor. Operating on Our Own Challenges??? Pros Excitement-knowing it s your baby Final decisions are yours Freedom to make improvements and changes as you see fit Setting your own goals Taking pride in what you work for everyday and being able to do what you love Cons Scary- knowing it s your baby Living with your final decisions Income is not always sufficient to make ends meet Intense occupation-lots of hours 365 days a year Keeping your cow numbers up Watch inputs/feed costs- be creative if necessary Milk contracting Cow Health Breeding Cow comfort 2

3 Advice To the Younger Generation Be on time for everyone s sake You can t expect to have the final say Take care of the little thingswork as you already own it Communicate any ideas or problems You can t have it all right away- owning land, new paint Be involved in the communitychurch, school, 4-H WE To the Experienced Generation Listen to the ideas of the younger generation Be opened minded during the transition stage- expanding, new facilities, moving, etc. Make the finances work to allow the younger generation to come in Share financial information to those who should see it If you go through a transition of ownership, follow through and then take a step back WE Family Life Make the most of your time at home with your kids- involve them in feeding calves, riding in tractors, etc. Take advantage of them being there! Make plans to go away and just do it! If you don t schedule it, it doesn t happen. The cows will be there when you get back! Have enough help around if able Future of Ridgeview Dairy Farms???????????????? Expansion Robotics Buy land 3

4 Keys to Starting a Dairy Career: What s Worked for Us Glen & Sadie Frericks Farm Buying a farm of our own early in our career allowed us to build equity, make the improvements we desired, and live where we work. By renting cropland, we are able to grow the majority of our forages and grain. Business Management Working with a Farm Business Management instructor has helped us treat our farm as a business and not just a lifestyle. We make capital purchase decisions based on cash flow impact, return on investment and input from our Dairy Profit Team. Record keeping, business analysis, business planning and goal setting have helped us improve our business management. Lending We work with lenders who are familiar with the dairy industry. Working with the Farm Service Agency has helped us keep our interest rates low. Working with a local lender, as well, gives us additional options for financing. We communicate regularly with our lenders, through , phone calls, and meetings, to keep them informed about what s happening on the farm. We tell our lenders everything. Communication We strive to clearly communicate with each other, our consultants, our lenders, and our hired help. Cow Care The first improvements we made on our farm were designed to increase cow comfort. We house our cows on pasture for as much of the year as possible. We look at milk quality premiums as free money. Attention to detail helps keep our SCC low. The fastest way to increase herd production and improve milk quality is to raise your pregnancy rate. More pregnant cows and heifers give us more options for herd management. Our herd health management focuses on prevention and catching problems while they re still small. We set a goal of 0% death loss in our youngstock and have maintained that goal for the past year. We use DHIA for herd analysis and Scout for record keeping.

5 Help We realize that we can t do this alone. We rely on help from our family, friends and neighbors for everything from childcare to harvesting crops. We have a reliable relief milker who comes one night a week and for time off. Custom hiring a majority of our fieldwork and crop harvesting has allowed us to keep cow care more consistent and improve feed quality. We were taught to determine which jobs were most important for us to do and which jobs could be done by someone else. Attitude We absolutely love what we do. You re going to have good days and bad days. As long as the good days outnumber the bad days, you re doing all right. One of us is an optimist and one of us is a realist; we help balance each other out. We firmly believe that pessimism is not an option; if you don t believe something will work, it won t. Patience is a must. It takes time to improve your herd, your facilities, your lifestyle, etc. Sometimes it s better to make improvements slowly because better ideas come while you re waiting. Open Mind We try to solve problems creatively by thinking outside the box. We re always looking for ways to improve. We attend conferences and farm tours. We read industry publications. We try to figure out what will work for our situation and what won t. Lifestyle It s not the high cost of living, it s the cost of high living. We keep our family living expenses as low as possible. We work long hours every day; we try to balance that out by taking time off away from the farm. Our children are with us every day. We try to make the most of our time with them. Previous Experience Growing up on farms taught us to understand cattle, but nothing really taught us how to farm except farming. College didn t necessarily provide us with direct training for farming, but it helped us build a network of resource people. We still benefit from the experience we gained working off the farm and for another farmer before we started farming.