Show and Tell from a Wisconsin Dairy
This is a show-and-tell from: Brandner Dairy LLC., Medford, Wis.
Owners: Mike and Linda Brandner
Along with co-owners: son and daughter-in-law, Damon and Sherry Brandner; and grandchildren, Bailey (12) and Riley (6)
We have animals at three different sites. Babies to milking cows. The picture above is a few of the heifers we have at one of the farms (Damon & Sherry's Farm). This farm is where we do the raising of heifers, from birth to breeding age. When they are 13-15 months old we move them to the breeding barn. After the breeding barn they are taken to the main farm to freshen and then be milked.
Something we just started doing is pasteurizing our own milk to save money on replacer and improve calf health. The milk is collected from the main dairy farm, where the Milkers save the milk (which is waste milk) the milk is put into black pails and the colostrum from fresh cows goes into green pails. The waste milk is always at a controlled temperature in the pasteurizer and is set on a timer so employees cannot feed before the set starting time. The colostrum is also saved and pasteurized in a different machine after being tested for quality. It is then used for the first feeding.
When our milk is done being pasteurized, it is put in the white pails and taken to the babies and put evenly into pails to be given to each baby. Our water is in a separate tank on the back of the truck which has a hose to fill the pails. The pails are all washed with bleach and water and changed every feeding for clean fresh pails for each baby. We feed two times a day, usually at 4:30 a.m. and again at 2:30-3 p.m.
This is one of the grandkids (Dillon Brandner) of Mike and Linda or nephew of Damon and Sherry, waiting to start to help pack (haylage) with grandpa.
Down time when we are not in the field: the boys (Dillon & Riley) make their own fields by the office and dig and haul. Someday these two will be the future owners of Brandner Dairy LLC (or that's the plan).
In the shop at Damon and Sherry's, Riley has his own work/play space just for him to play and be safe!
Riley (son of Damon and Sherry) is always there to lend a hand to fill fertilizer and get right in there to help out anyway he can! Pictured below with his dad, Damon. (Corn planting 2011.)
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