Barn Full of Memories: John Teun

John Teune (pictured with his wife, Loretta)

Pine River, Minnesota

What year did you start farming, and what year did you retire? I grew up in Iowa and served in Vietnam in 1966. I came back home and lived in California until 1970 and then lived in southwest Minnesota for 10 years. I moved to Pine River in 1980 and started milking. I milked until 2001.

Tell us about your farm when you started and describe what it looked like when you retired, including how many cows you milked when you retired. I started farming in southwest Minnesota and I milked, raised hogs and had a crop operation. When I retired, I milked 64 cows.

What were some of the big advancements you made during your career? When I quit milking, I had a 95-pound milk herd average. I bought all my feed, tried to buy good feed and used AI to build the herd.

What did you love about milking cows? Working with my family. I farmed with my wife, Loretta, and our four kids: Heather, Heidi, Bradley and Nicole. As they grew up, the kids helped in the barn. My wife fed the calves.

What was the highlight of your dairy career? When I was running a feed store, fertilizer business and milking cows. I made feed and did the fertilizer business from 1987 to 1997. I enjoyed everything I did and the challenges they provided.

What is the biggest challenge you faced in your career and how did you overcome it? I tore my rotator cuff when I fell off a cement ramp and had to decide what to do. I sold the cows and went to feeding Holstein heifers.

If there is one thing you wished you could have done differently during your farming career, what would it be? I should have mechanized quicker when I lived in southwest Minnesota. While there, I didn’t have a gutter cleaner, pipeline or silo unloader. Life would’ve been easier. I built a new barn up here, which had those and a pit. I also had a total mixed ration mixer and hay grinder.

What piece of equipment or technology has been introduced that you wish you had for your dairy career? A robotic milker.

What do you miss most about dairy farming? Working by myself. Over the years, I have had some retired help, and sometimes, that is harder than it looks.

What advice would you give to a young farmer today? Think about it before you start. The way things are right now, it would be very tough for a young person to start if they don’t have anybody to help.

What is your tie to the dairy industry today? I don’t have any ties to dairy. All my relatives used to milk, but not anymore.

Was retiring an easy or hard decision/transition? I had no choice because only one arm worked.

What have you been doing since you retired? I am still farming 1,700 acres of land and raising corn, alfalfa, soybeans and grass hay, and I have quite a few acres of pasture. I also have 300 beef cows and feed everything out, so I probably have 800 animals.