Field Reps Hone Relationships, Promote Milk Quality

D
av i s c o
F
o o d s
In This Issue
Page 4
Hands-on style helps
Aguedas achieve
goals
Page 5
Who should raise
your heifers?
Page 6
Davisco truck drivers
work 24/7
S u mm e r 2 0 0 6
I
n t e r n a t i o n a l
,
I
n c
.
Q
u a r t e r ly
N
e w s l e t t e r
Field Reps Hone Relationships,
Promote Milk Quality
T
ake a ride with Alice
Glende, Scott Stude or
Steve Ewing and it will
become crystal clear how much
they care about the job they
do and the people with whom
they work. The three work as
field representatives who assist
producers in maintaining milk
quality.
Without milk producers,
there wouldn’t be cheese;
therefore the relationship
between Davisco field
representatives and producers
is crucial.
“Field reps are the first line
in milk quality for the plant.
We make sure we have good
quality product coming into the
plant to produce a good quality
end product,” says Stude, who
is field representative manager
for Le Sueur Cheese, located
in Southern Minnesota.
Although each of the three
field reps handles different
territories and somewhat
varied responsibilities, they
all work with producers to
maintain a high-quality milk
supply. Here’s what they do
to make it happen:
• Review lab test results
for somatic cell counts (SCC)
and bacteria counts, protein
and butterfat tests on a daily/
weekly basis.
• Visit producers who have
high counts to find ways to
correct the issue.
Volume 13
Number 2
• Follow up with quality
issues on dairies by doing
individual cow or herd tests, lab
reports, going through milking
equipment to detect cleaning
challenges, and devising a
strategic plan to reduce SCC or
bacteria counts.
• Respond to emergency
situations by testing milk
suspected to contain antibiotics
or milk not properly cooled.
• Work with state milk
inspectors to aid producers
in making needed
improvements.
• Act as a sounding board for
patrons.
• Assist in renewing the
producer’s “Milk and Cream
Grading and Testing License”
each year.
Glende’s territory is
primarily eastern Minnesota.
Stude’s patrons are scattered
throughout Minnesota,
Wisconsin, Iowa and South
Dakota. Ewing is the lone
field rep for Jerome Cheese in
Idaho.
Continued on pages 2 & 3
Alice Glende and Chuck Schwartz, Fieldcrest Farm
Steve Ewing and Joe Agueda at Agueda Dairy
Field Reps Continued from page 1
2
■ Comfortable Interactions
■ Finding Solutions Face-to-Face
The best aspect of Scott Stude’s job is the interaction with
a wide range of producers in his 4-state area. “Every day is
something different in this job. Helping out dairy producers is
very rewarding,” he says.
To stay in contact with Le Sueur Cheese Company's
producers, some of whom are 225 miles away, Stude puts 3,0004,000 miles a month on a company vehicle.
Stude spends part of each day in the Le Sueur plant handling
field department tasks and the rest of his time on the road
visiting current patrons or procuring new milk from other
producers.
Technology fascinates Stude, who enjoys utilizing it for his
job. “I am savvy on the computer side of things. I get producers
set up on the cheese plant’s web site to access their daily milk
tests, or to stay in touch with the markets, so when people ask
questions I can let them know what I’m hearing,” he explains.
Stude sometimes even consults with producers on software
questions so they can better manage their dairies.
When dealing with producers, Stude strives to be honest.
“If I don’t have an answer to someone’s question or problem,
I will find out and get back to them. It doesn’t pay to make up
an answer.”
The most challenging part of Stude’s job is trying to
convince a producer to switch milk plants. “I respect the
loyalty dairymen have for the plant they ship to, because I
appreciate the loyalty our producers have shown us over the
years,” Stude explains.
Stude grew up on a hog/crop farm in southwestern Minnesota,
learning about dairy production in earnest when he started
working as a field rep. More important than a lifetime in the
dairy industry is the asset of “being comfortable interacting with
producers,” says Stude. “Farmers don’t change, but production
does,” Stude says.
Stude and his wife, Krista, are raising their two young children
in Madison Lake where they are involved with several church
activities. His hobbies include computers, home theater and
“any sport which uses a ball.”
Alice Glende’s typical day revolves around personal visits to
milk producers to help them maintain milk quality. She visits 89 farms on most days. “In the winter, it can get a little nasty, but
I enjoy the rest of the year!” she remarks.
She tries to get onto the farms as soon as she receives bacteria
count and SCC information from the lab at Le Sueur Cheese.
During the initial farm visit, Glende often suggests they run a
herd test (a free service provided by the lab).
“I’ll drop off individual cow sample bottles for the producer
to fill during milking, then pick them up and bring them to the
plant for testing,” she explains. “I get the results back to the
farmer as soon as possible. I’ll call them with the five highest
cows and then make a couple of copies of the entire report and
help them to strategize what they should do. We usually start
by treating the highest SCC cows, then work our way down the
list,” she explains.
Glende also goes through the producer’s milking routine
to look for areas to maintain or improve. High bacteria counts
may require pulling apart equipment and looking at it with a
flashlight, kept in her car for ready use.
Glende has been a field representative for 23 years; 15 of
those with Le Sueur Cheese. Before her work with Le Sueur,
she worked part-time in procurement for a small cheese plant in
Faribault, MN. She and her husband, Gene, sold the milk from
their own Grade A herd to the Faribault plant for 17 years. This
experience has served her well. “When I became a field rep, all
of the excuses for not being ready for the state milk inspector
were not new to me!” Glende jokes.
Glende’s rapport with producers is readily apparent. It
is why she does her job so well. “You need to have a good
relationship with the patron and the plant,” she explains.
“You need to go out to the farm and talk to them in person.
They know you care that way. They are good people and they
work hard.”
Glende and her husband live on Shields Lake, where they
enjoy gardening and fishing. They have two daughters, four
grandchildren and two great-grandsons.
InFocus
Mark Davis
Davisco’s field representatives are
charged with tending to the needs of our
most valuable asset, the dairy producers
that supply our manufacturing plants with
high quality milk.
They are available 24 hours a day, 7
days a week to respond to the needs of
the producers, and to the needs of our
Rolf Annexstad, Mike Annexstad and Scott Stude at Annexstad Dairy Farms
manufacturing plants. They are the
messengers for the company, the sounding
board for dairymen’s concerns and, when
necessary, troubleshooters for varied
problems involving the production and
■ Working as a team
Steve Ewing enjoys all aspects of his
job with Jerome Cheese Company. He
works with 78 patrons who ship milk
to Jerome Cheese and live within a 60mile radius of the plant. "Our dairymen
strive for quality milk," says Ewing.
Although no day is “routine,”
Ewing usually spends his time visiting
several producers each day and tries
to walk around each operation once a
month. He works with unloading and
dispatching milk trucks at the plant. He
also makes calls to producers who ship
to other plants in the area to attempt to
procure more milk for Jerome Cheese.
“My job is to keep the dairymen
happy and keep Jerome happy with
the quality of milk.” Ewing acts as
a sounding board for producers. He
is always available to discuss their
concerns.
Maintaining milk quality requires a
lot of patience from both the producer
and field rep, Ewing explains. “When
you call the producer at 2 a.m. and tell
them the load of milk has antibiotics
in it, you let them vent and then we
go and find the problem. I once spent
36 hours trying to find an antibiotic
problem,” he says. It turned out to be a
“hospital cow.” They thought the cow
had cleared the antibiotics from her
milk, but she hadn’t.
procurement of Davisco’s raw material.
Night calls are not a fun part of a
field rep’s job, because milk that is
rejected is returned to the dairy and
must be disposed of. It doesn’t end
there, Ewing explains. “We are willing
to do whatever we need to do to find
the problem.”
“(To control bacteria counts,) we
make sure the water’s hot, they’re
putting enough soap in the washing
system and everything is getting
clean,” he adds.
Ewing mentions that an
understanding spouse is critical to
the field rep position when the 2 a.m.
emergency calls come in! His wife
Kathy is such a person. He and Kathy
have fun fishing, chariot racing and
spoiling their three grandchildren. ■
They do all of this with a smile, a
genuine interest for all concerned and
a dedication to quality.
Their abilities are enhanced by the
communication they receive from our
milk haulers, folks who perform no
matter the weather or the time of day
or night. These capable people are the
face of the company, on a day-to-day
basis, with our producers.
Without a sufficient supply of high
quality milk there would be no reason
for the rest of us to come to work.
davisco FOODS international, Inc.
quarterly Newsletter
Summer 2006 Volume 13 Number 2
John Velgersdyk: Editor
ENVISION: Design that Works, Inc.: Publisher
DAVISCOPE, a newsletter for employees, their families,
milk producers and customers, is published quarterly by
Davisco Foods International, Inc.
704 North Main Street, Le Sueur, Minnesota 56058.
© 2006 Davisco Foods International, Inc.
Le Sueur, Minnesota
3
Producer Update
Hands-On Style Helps Aguedas Achieve Goals
“W
e eat, breathe and sleep dairy,” admits
Sandra Agueda. She and husband Joe have
worked diligently to achieve their dream
of operating a dairy in Idaho, turning to their faith in God
when they need to make difficult decisions.
The independent couple works well together
as business partners to manage their 750-cow
dairy near Jerome. Their milk is shipped
to Davisco’s Jerome Cheese Plant.
Joe’s management style is “handson,” Sandra says. “He is the first
one out in the morning and the last
one in at night.” He also milks the
hospital pen and works alongside
the employees to see first-hand what
needs to be done. Joe manages the dairy’s nine
employees and does repairs, while Sandra
manages the payroll, bill paying and cow
records. “Joe and I depend on each other,” she says. “When we first met we talked about moving to Idaho
and starting a dairy – it sounded so scary,” says Agueda.
“We fell in love with Idaho. It’s the right place to raise
children. It was so promising for dairies in 1989. There
were very few commercial dairies here and so many more
opportunities.
The Aguedas moved from Hilmar, California in 1989.
Joe had worked for Silva Dairy near Hilmar. He is fullblooded Portuguese, originally from Soa Jorge, Azores,
Portugal. Joe is tri-lingual, an advantage in managing
Hispanic employees. The Aguedas started dairying in Wendell, Idaho in 1990
with 20 cows on a very small rented dairy. After two years, they had acquired 120 cows and moved
to their present facility near Jerome. “Purchasing a dairy
was a huge, scary step,” made easier because local bank
personnel understand the dairy business and continue to
support them, Agueda says.
4
Purchasing heifers for several years and then raising
their own heifers has increased herd numbers to 750
milking cows, keeping a closed herd for five years. On their
190 farmable acres, they raise corn silage. They purchase
dry hay and straw for bedding on the open lots. The dairy’s employees live on site and are
treated as family.
The Aguedas have three children: Sarah, 11,
Greg, 8, and Lori, 6. All of the children who
live at the dairy have tasks, such as watching
the maternity pens, feeding milk to calves
and gate watching during manure hauling.
Joe and Sandra enjoy being busy with
their children’s activities, including 4-H,
sports and dance. “Family-wise, we are more
hands-on with our kids because we’re right
here.”
Joe and Sandra’s tentative goals are to find
another facility to handle 1,000 cows or to build a
new barn on their present site. They could increase to
1,000 cows without hiring additional employees. The need to expand their dairy hinges on the present
economy, Aqueda points out. Dairy input costs continue to
rise, while milk price fluctuates. Technology changes at an
amazing rate. “Joe and I have achieved what we wanted to,” Agueda
concludes. They are comfortable with their management
style. Shipping to Jerome Cheese allows the Aguedas to
contract 80% of their milk on the Chicago Mercantile
Exchange. “Jerome Cheese is willing to carry the up-front
money to allow us to contract. With a co-op, you have to do
this through a broker. We can play the market this way,”
explains Agueda.
“It’s not an easy business – it can be hard to keep
everyone going,” says Agueda. “God is who we turn to for
all of our decisions. With the support of fellow dairymen,
friends and neighbors, it gets us through the hard times.” ■
Bank Who Should Raise Your Heifers?
on
Success
D
airies need replacement
heifers as older cows are
retired from the herd.
The heifers are born from the mature
milking herd, grown to breeding age and
size (usually about 13 to 15 months of age)
and then grown to around 22 months when they calve.
There are several scenarios employed by dairies to
procure a supply of replacement heifers. In addition
to being used for milking string replacement animals,
heifers can also be used to expand herds to larger milk
cow numbers. Following are four options for heifer
management:
Option 1
The calves from the milking herd are sold at birth
outright to a heifer grower who will raise and breed
them to become springing heifers to be sold in
various markets. The advantage to the dairy is that
they can maximize revenue obtained from selling
the calf outright and will get cash for the animal right
away. The disadvantage is that the dairy will need
to procure replacement heifers, which may be more
costly. This option may also not allow the dairy to
optimize genetics within the herd, because they may
not get their own animals back.
Option 2
Heifer calves are sold to a grower or growers with the
right to buy the heifers back if desired. This allows
the dairy to maintain genetics, yet retain the right to
refuse heifers that don’t have the desired potential
to be productive members of the herd. It puts the
responsibility of quality on the grower. It may cost the
dairy more due to competition that evolves when the
grower sells some of the heifers to other buyers when
the dairy turns them down. It keeps the grower aware
of the market. Right of first refusal does work well for
many dairies.
Option 3
The heifer calves are sold to a custom grower at a
reduced market price. The dairy is guaranteed to
receive the heifers back. The grower doesn’t have to
provide as much working capital in order to purchase
the animals, therefore funds can be used for managing
the custom-growing operation. This option does
reduce revenue for the dairy, opposed to the dairy
that sells the calves outright at market price. For
some dairies, this option may pay and it allows them
to buy back replacements at a net lower price. It may
also allow custom growers to enter the business who
could not otherwise do so because of working capital
requirements.
Option 4
The dairy retains ownership of the heifer and the
custom grower gets reimbursed for raising, breeding
and overhead costs. The danger with this option is
that the grower may experience high mortality or
culling and poor conception rates without suffering
the financial consequences. But a good grower can
make this an attractive arrangement for the dairy by
not having to manage the replacement program, even
though the dairy is funding it on an ongoing basis.
Various dairy operations employ different
combinations of all these options. Some dairies may
utilize more than one growing option by transferring
heifers to a different grower for different stages of the
heifer-raising process. Dairies may require several
growers in order to accommodate the numbers of
heifers that are born and the number of replacements
needed for their dairy. ■
We believe
■
Te c h n i c a l l y S p e a k i n g
Herd Health Helps
When field representatives for Davisco’s cheese plants work with producers, they often make
recommendations to improve herd health. Cow health and milk quality go hand in hand.
Three areas that influence both are:
the success
of dairying
depends on
Cow Comfort - Make sure cows lie in clean and dry stalls with fresh bedding. This will reduce
the level of somatic cells within a dairy herd.
an awareness
Barn Ventilation – Good ventilation will keep the alleys dry and will result in drier bedding.
This will aid in keeping cows clean, which will lower somatic cell counts.
of the forces
Cow Prep Milking Procedures – Be consistent with pre and post dipping procedures.
For more information, visit these web sites:
• www.ext.nodak.edu/extpubs/ansci/dairy/as1131w.htm
• www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/vetext/INF-DA.html#MQ
• www.extension.umn.edu/dairy/management/milkquality.htm
• www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/ceah/ncahs/nahms/dairy/dairy_monitoring/dryscc.pdf
• www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/ceah/ncahs/nahms/dairy/
at work in the
marketplace
and our ability
to take control
together.
5
Davisco Truck Drivers Work
24/7
M
aterial haulers for
Davisco cheese
and contract drying
plants are on the job 24/7,
365 days a year. When the
winds howl and visibility is
non-existent, the Davisco
employees who haul milk,
byproducts and waste still
get their jobs done so that
farmers can keep milking
and the plants can process
materials in a timely manner.
“I can remember having
truckers out on roads
overnight in years gone
by,” says Wayne Weldon,
who manages the Le Sueur
Cheese plant milk haulers.
“I remember hauling in a
blizzard when I couldn’t see
two feet in front of my nose,”
says milk hauler Russell
Hock.
The fleet of 10 trucks
handles four routes out of
Le Sueur, which take 8.5-10
hours to complete. “It makes
my job easier when I have a
good bunch of guys to work
with. We at Davisco work
together to cover changes in
truck schedules and shortage
of people,” says Weldon.
Robert Kipp has hauled
milk to Le Sueur for 22 years.
“I love working with the
farmers. They are the nicest
people there are,” says Kipp.
In addition to milk
haulers, Davisco employs
truck drivers to haul
byproducts from the plants
to warehouses. Either Jim
Wilson or Nick Jones hauls
whey products from Le
Sueur and Nicollet plants
to a St. Peter warehouse
twice daily. At the Lake
Norden Cheese plant, Tim
Carlson hauls dried protein
products from the cheese
plant to a Watertown, SD,
dry ingredients warehouse.
At Davisco’s Jerome Cheese
plant, four drivers haul waste
used for animal feed or waste
water to the company’s 900acre farm to be mixed with
surface water and applied to
fields to amend the soil.
All of the truck drivers are
thanked and commended for
a job well done! ■
6
6
Le Sueur Cheese milk haulers:
Wayne Weldon, Russel Hock, Jerry Gibbs, Roy Stanley, Bob Kipp,
Kori Klockmann. Sean Weldon (not pictured) drives part time.
Lake Norden Cheese driver:
Tim Carlson
Facts:
In 2005 drivers at Le Sueur Cheese
drove 366,935 miles and picked up
118,480,074 pounds of milk.
Lake Norden driver/warehouseman
Tim Carlson hauls 20,800,000 lbs. of
dry ingredients 31,200 miles every year.
Drivers in Jerome haul high strength
wastewater, animal feed, condensed
perm and condensed whey and
sometimes “Mother Liquor”
from the cheese plant.
Le Sueur and Nicollet Food
Ingredient drivers:
Jim Wilson and Nick Jones
Jerome Cheese drivers:
Donny Knudson, Andy Fink,
Mark Arden, and Clay Pond