Here’s the last day’s summary from the National Dairy Calf & Heifer Conference that ended last Friday. Thanks again to Elizabeth LeBrun for sending these in with pictures. The one on top here is of Randall Grimmius receiving a thank you certificate for hosting a tour.
The 10th National Dairy Calf & Heifer Conference wrapped up in Visalia, Calif. with a looping tour of San Joaquin Valley farms. The first stop was Three Sisters Farmstead Cheese and Hilarides Dairy, where the family-owned operation creates homemade cheese.
“There the herd is milked twice per day, with a routine of priming, iodizing, wiping and attaching,” explained Manager Anthony Simoes from the company’s 80-cow milking carousel. “With an operation this big, it’s best to keep the process simple.”
Participants were escorted through the milking barn, creamery and cheese aging loft, while witnessing each stages of cheese making.
At lunchtime, tour goers were treated to food amidst a dressage show at DeGroot Dairy and DG Bar and Ranch, established in 1965 after Tony DeGroot moved from Holland and entered into raising and showing horses in a memorable way.
“My father told my mother that she could have a horse if she traveled back to Holland with him, and because my father doesn’t do anything in a small fashion, he called to say that he would need stalls built for the four to five Dutch Warmbloods he’d be bringing home,” related DeGroot’s daughter.
Following lunch, a stop was made to Grimmius Cattle Company where the daily responsibilities of growing and transferring 300 calves per day was explained.
The final stop was Atsma-Cameron Dairy, where guests enjoyed self-chosen tours with the help of detailed layout sheets of the 18-pen establishment.
Tour participants, including Tom Oesch of Land O’ Lakes, seemed pleased with the day’s setup and events. “This is the first time that I’ve been able to make the tour and it’s great!” said dairyman Eric Borba. Conversing with him was Tom Oesch of Land O’ Lakes, who welcomed the chance to network with other industry professionals. “It’s been wonderful to speak with dairymen that are here today,” said Oesch. “We’re learning from each other because although we work with different dairy aspects, we are actually all in the business together.”