A day in the life of the Kleins

DELL RAPIDS, S.D. — It is all hands on deck at the Klein farm when it comes to chopping corn silage.

Paul Klein and his wife, Linda, own and operate a 200-cow dairy near Dell Rapids. They have three full-time employees, plus assistance from Klein’s two brothers, Lee and Billy, whose sons help on the farm too.

“I feel fortunate to have a good team between family and employees to get everything done,” Paul Klein said.

Klein and his brothers each have a farm, and while Klein is the only brother who dairy farms, they all help each other out with harvest. The other brothers each own a beef cow-calf operation. Klein took over the family dairy farm from his parents in 1998.

“I talk with my brothers every day about chopping and just about anything,” Klein said. “My brothers have always helped on the farm ever since we were kids, even though they have their own farms now.”

On Sept. 2, Klein started his day at 4:30 a.m. like usual and went to the barn to check on the close-up cows, helped milk the fresh cows and then made his way to the tractor to mix total mixed ration for the morning feeding. The Kleins calve seasonally from late August to mid-May. They take the summer off from calving to decrease heat stress in the cows. Linda takes care of the calves after getting their children ready for school.

“Normally, I get in the house between 9:30 and 10 a.m. after I am done with morning chores,” Klein said. “But today I went straight to the field.”

The Kleins typically make a 4,400-ton corn silage pile each year to feed the dairy herd for the year. Lee drove the self-propelled chopper with a 25-foot head, while his wife, Christina, hauled wagons along with two hired hands. Klein drives a tractor with a blade and pushes up the feed on the pile, while another helper packs the pile.

The corn silage was averaging 30 tons per acre yield with 68% moisture that day.

“I shoot for 68% (moisture) because we get a better pack and we feed dry hay with our ration,” Klein said. “I look for hybrid corn seed with high digestibility, drought tolerance and good standability because we go corn on corn.”

There was a brief break for lunch and then the crew was right back out to the field.

Klein said timely rains made this year one of the best corn silage crops he has ever seen.

“The crop adjuster said the corn was 11 feet when we chopped it,” Klein said. “Our total rainfall is below average but every rain event came when we needed it.”

The team chopped all afternoon, stopping at 6:30 p.m. for supper.

“We chopped a couple more loads then got rained out,” Klein said. “I packed for another hour, then we covered (the pile) the next morning.”

The pile was 3,700 tons when they covered it, Klein said, short of their goal. The crew will have to make another smaller pile to make enough feed for the year.

“It is a good feeling to have good help and get a lot done in one day,” Klein said. “I have a good crew here.” 

Once Klein was done packing the pile, he checked the heifer pen for new calves before making his way into the house. Going forward, Klein said they are going to start working on rye soon and chopping silage for his brother.

The 2025 harvest season has just begun, but according to Klein, it has been a good start.

“This looks like an impressive corn crop year,” Klein said. “A good day is when I see a fresh cow come in the parlor and take off and milk well and (I) get a good crop in.”