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Custom heifer raisers a stop on dairy tour Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Agri News staff writer
CHANDLER, Minn. -- Myron Hulstein and his wife, Mavis, started as dairy producers and now custom raise dairy heifers for nine dairies in Minnesota and South Dakota.
Their operation, M&M Livestock, is located near Chandler and was featured on the Minnesota Milk Producers Association's Summer Bus Tour.
They started dairying in 1980. After five years, they moved to Chino, Calif., where Hulstein drove construction equipment. He met many dairy producers through church and community activities and saw an opportunity to work in the industry.
The couple moved to Leota in 1991 when Hulstein started a trucking business. He hauled dairy heifers from Wisconsin and Minnesota to California. By 2004, he started his heifer raising business with new start-up dairies located in southwest Minnesota.
A building to house the animals was constructed in 2004 and a herd of 2,350 was established, he said.
Ivan Vandegriend was hired in 2005 and Eric Hulstein in 2007 to work with the operation.
M&M Livestock manages 5,200 heifers on seven sites, said Hulstein. The heifers are identified with different colored tags, button tags and USDA tags. The information is recorded on Dairy Comp 305 and allows Hulstein and his workers to give heifers specialized care.
"We are working for the dairies," said Hulstein at an evening question-and-answer session during the tour. "We adjust our price if there's a fluctuation in the market. When hay went up, we talked to the farmers and told them we had to raise our price. And we are able to lower it to stay competitive. Without them, the producers, we wouldn't be here. When they suffer the markets, we suffer with them."
The heifers are housed in open lots with scrape and haul from cement. Most cattle have access to pole sheds with loose housing.
A ration of six to seven pounds of straw, eight to nine pounds of hay, minerals, three to four pounds of modified distillers grain, five to five-and-a-half pounds liquid and 13 to 14 pounds of silage is fed once a day.
Corn syrup is used in the ration. Forage dry matter is tested at every feed change and dry hay is purchased from Minnesota and South Dakota.
All crop work is custom hired. Around 440 acres of corn, 100 acres of beans and 50 to 60 acres of winter rye is grown on the farm.
Feeding takes place from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and is pushed up twice after that, he said.
The farm has two full-time and two part-time employees on site.
Their five-year goal is to manage 5,000 heifers with 2,000 at their home site. They plan to maintain the same labor force.
Heifers are bred through AI. Holsteins are synchronized with MGA. Natural heat detection is used on the Jerseys, he said.
Employees walk through the barns and lots several times during the day to check on cattle.
They work with a narrow margin to stay competitive and strive to keep the operation simple, he said.
M&M Livestock follows a nutrient management plan. |
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