Barn full of memories: Richard Kidman

Richard Kidman

Balaton, Minnesota

What year did you start farming, and what year did you retire? I started dairy farming in 1972. I retired from milking in the fall of 2019.

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. When I took over the family farm, we were milking 30 cows in a stanchion barn. By the time we quit, we were milking 130 cows in a parallel parlor and had

free stalls bedded with sand.

What were some of the big advancements you made during your career? We built two freestall barns and upgraded the heifer facilities, which also included a new calf barn.

What did you love about milking cows? I always enjoyed caring for the cows and ensuring their optimum comfort.

What was the highlight of your dairy career? My sons and grandsons were always involved in 4-H and showing our cattle at the county and state levels.

What is the biggest challenge you faced in your career and how did you overcome it? I think the biggest challenge was always staying as efficient as possible with the up-and-down prices and the always-rising input costs.

If there is one thing you wish you could have done differently during your farming career, what would it be? It was always hard to get away from the farm. Maybe I should have tried to have more hired help in those cases.

What piece of equipment or technology has been introduced that you wish you had for your dairy career? The technology collars they have on cows, which track and record data on the activity of the cows.

What do you miss most about dairy farming? I mostly miss the connections with other dairy farmers and those involved in the dairy industry — veterinarians, feed guys, nutritionists, etc.

What advice would you give to a young farmer today? The advice I received from a gentleman once was, “Take care of the cows, and they will take care of you.”

What is your tie to the dairy industry today? We are custom feeding heifers for a dairy to make use of our good facilities. My grandchildren still show dairy cattle in 4-H.

Was retiring an easy or hard decision/transition? Retiring from the dairy industry was really hard for me. Dairy farming is definitely in my blood, and I miss the cows and all the activity.

What have you been doing since you retired? I still do heifer chores, and we still farm all our land with two of my sons. I also get to more ballgames and sporting events than I could before.