Good things come in threes

LONG PRAIRIE, Minn. — The Clasemanns had no idea that April 24, 2020, would become a historic date on their farm.

The Clasemann family had their first set of triplets, all of which were heifers, born on that date. Today, all three of those animals are in the milking herd.

“We had no idea that the mom was expecting multiple calves,” Marc Clasemann said. “Now, they are all good, healthy, productive cows.”

Clasemann and his girlfriend, Jill Mitchell, and their five kids and employees milk 255 cows with four GEA milking robots at Clasemann Dairy LLC near Long Prairie.

The triplets — numbers 1559, 1560 and 1561 — average 35,000-40,000 pounds of milk per lactation, Mitchell said. 1560 recently had a set of twins and started her fourth lactation,  and is averaging 150 pounds of milk per day. Her sisters, 1559 and 1561 are nearing the end of their third lactaiton and average 100-140 pounds of milk per day. They are set to be dried up in early March. Their calves are due in late April and early May.

“1561 is confirmed pregnant with twins and the vet said there might be a third one in there, too, because she had three (corpus luteum),” Mitchell said. “So, there is a chance that a triplet might have triplets.”

Collectively, so far, the three cows have given birth to nine calves, some of which are already in the milking herd.

“We have a high twin rate,” Mitchell said. “Every time we do herd health, out of every 10 cows we will have at least 1-2 sets of twins.”

At Clasemann Dairy, Mitchell is the herd manager, while Clasemann oversees the crops, nutrition and employees. The couple took over ownership of the farm from Clasemann’s parents, Tony and Debi, in January 2025.

Clasemann is the fifth generation of the family farm that was established in 1910. The family transitioned from milking in the original stanchion barn to a parlor and freestall barn in 2004, then switched to robots in 2023.

The family makes one special concession for one of the triplets.

“Her two back teats are really short, so we have to manually attach the milker each time because the robot can’t find them,” Mitchell said. “Because she is a triplet, we make it work so she can stay.”

The couple agreed that the cows are special.

“They stand out because they are triplets,” Mitchell said. “We have a few sets of twins in the milking herd but this is the only set of triplets we have ever had. They are fan favorites; no matter what happens, we will keep all three of them on the farm as long as we possibly can.”

They have noticed that the herd instinct is especially strong in the trio. Even as calves, they could be found next to each other in the pen, Mitchell said.

“They each have their own personalities; 1559, 1561 are friendly, and 1560 isn’t as much,” Mitchell said. “Often at least two of them are near one another.”

For Clasemann and Mitchell, farming together is not a job but a lifestyle.

“I like dairy farming for the freedom,” Mitchell said. “We don’t miss school programs, appointments and sports. You are your own boss and make your own schedule.”

Clasemann agreed.

“I enjoy the challenge of figuring everything out,” he said. “We get to do things the way we want to, and don’t have anyone telling us how to do our job.”

The couple’s passion for dairy farming has been noticed by their children, two of whom have expressed interest in dairy farming.

“You hope that the kids see you doing what you love to do each day, and that drives them to do what they love to do,” Mitchell said.