Dairy represented in star finalists

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Two of Minnesota FFA’s state star finalists have earned a shot at the organization’s top awards for 2025 through involvement on their families’ dairy farms. But the paths for Abby Holtkamp of Kerkhoven and William Bastian of Fairfax in their quests for the star honor have been different.

Holtkamp, a Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg FFA member, is a finalist for the star farmer award through the ownership and development of her own herd. William Bastian of the Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop chapter is a finalist for star in production placement through his employment on his family farm.

Yet the result of their FFA Supervised Agricultural Experience focus is the same: both have plans to return to the dairy farms on which they grew up.

Holtkamp and Bastian will find out whether they win the top star honor in their respective category on stage at the Minnesota FFA Convention April 28 in Minneapolis. There are four stars named in four categories, which also include star in agriscience and star in agribusiness.

Two other star finalists have connections to dairy. Tyler Steele of Utica, a member of the Lewiston-Altura FFA, is up for star farmer and owns several dairy animals along with sheep and swine. Derik Johnson of Willmar is a finalist for star in production placement. As a Willmar FFA member, he raises bull calves from an area dairy and is employed there doing field work.

Holtkamp, the daughter of Karl and Sarah Holtkamp, began ownership as a seventh grader of dairy cattle within the third-generation, 230-cow herd run by her father and her uncle, Michael.

“I wanted more responsibilities, so I took over taking care of the calves,” she said.

That meant a salary, which Holtkamp used to buy a cow at the Goebel Dairy dispersal in Stearns County. Her purchase made 33,000-pounds of milk.

“She was a good production cow, and I got two heifers out of her,” Holtkamp said.

Since then, Holtkamp has continued to work on the farm for a salary while her herd has grown to 15 head, seven of which are currently milking. She makes all the decisions regarding their care and does the A.I. for her own cattle as well as some that belong to the dairy.

Holtkamp pays the way for her animals through a per-head charge from the farm based on age and stage of life, and she is also billed for milking labor. Her income is calculated on the average price per pound received by the farm.

It means the young entrepreneur experiences the ups and downs of dairy farming.

“That makes it very challenging,” Holtkamp said. “But you have to look at the best side of things.”

Bastian, whose parents are Steve and Karen Bastian, also got an early start on his FFA experience. He followed in his father’s footsteps by joining the GFW chapter in seventh grade and built his FFA SAE program as an employee of his family’s 150-cow dairy. Bastian Dairy is operated by his dad and his uncle, Mark, along with their parents, Jerome and Myra.

The result for the younger Bastian has been two-fold: he has earned enough money to make a dent in the cost of his college education planned for South Dakota State University, and he has met his goal of understanding how to do 95% of the farm’s jobs.

“I want to be able to do every chore if I need to,” Bastian said. “And I want to be efficient doing it.”

One of his main roles is milking year-round in the Bastians’ double–8 parabone parlor. He also helps with chopping and manure hauling in summer, along with feeding and field work in the fall.

The work, and FFA in general, have helped him decide what he is passionate about, Bastian said.

“I’m really grateful for the opportunity to work hard over the past six years, and for the help I’ve had from my family, my adviser and my community,” he said.

On the farm, he has had at least one challenge to overcome.

“I was not born with the genetics for great patience,” he said. “With dairy cows, you need patience.”

For Holtkamp, one obstacle stands out as she works with her father on the farm.

“He’s into Brown Swiss cows; I’m not so much,” she said. “When I get them (in the calf barn), the Brown Swiss aren’t always the smartest.”

The Holtkamp herd is a combination of Brown Swiss, Holsteins and crossbreds, while her herd is all Holstein.

Bastian has been a leader on the GFW football, baseball and trapshooting teams at school and Holtkamp participates in softball, volleyball and 4-H. Both of the young dairy enthusiasts attribute their FFA experiences to impacting their lives.

“I’ve learned so many things, met so many great people,” Bastian said.

This involvement includes the dairy cattle evaluation and management team and the Farm Bureau discussion meet, among others.

Like Bastian, Holtkamp has been a member of her chapter’s dairy judging team, which she said helped her learn what to evaluate for her herd’s matings. She has made plans to continue learning at Ridgewater College next fall.

For both, the announcement of the FFA stars April 28 could be the next big accomplishment in their FFA careers.