Making the most of every acre

LANESBORO, Minn. — With limited opportunities to expand their land base, the Troendle family is focused on getting as much value as possible from the acres already surrounding Duschee Hills Dairy, where the family milks 400 cows.

That challenge made Duschee Hills Dairy a fitting location for the Southeast Minnesota Forage and Field Day Aug. 18. The event brought farmers together to discuss forage production, cover crops, grazing and ways to make better use of available land.

For the Troendle family, utilizing every available acre has become an important part of the operation. The farm includes numerous small fields, sloping ground, waterways and pasture acres, creating both challenges and opportunities for forage production.

“As (cattle) numbers increase, we want to be able to utilize that land that we already have access to,” Pat Troendle, owner of Duschee Hills Dairy, said.

Rather than continually looking for additional land, the family is exploring ways to increase production from the acres already available.

One opportunity discussed during the field day was grazing.

Livestock can utilize areas that may otherwise produce little usable feed for the dairy. Smaller pieces of ground, areas along waterways and other less-convenient acres can potentially become part of a grazing system.

Cover crops can also play an important role.

Cereal rye was discussed as one of the more flexible options because it can provide forage while fitting into a larger crop rotation.

“It is a very, very reliable crop that can survive the winter,” Pat said.

Once established, rye can provide several options in the spring. Depending on the producer’s needs, it can be grazed, chopped or baled.

“It is a very flexible crop,” Pat said. “It gives us a lot of different options.”

For dairy farmers, that flexibility can be especially valuable. A cover crop can provide another source of forage during periods when perennial pastures or other forage acres may not be producing as much.

Other annual forages, including forage sorghum, sorghum-sudangrass, winter wheat and triticale, can also provide opportunities to produce additional feed. Forage sorghum and sorghum-sudangrass can produce significant amounts of forage while having relatively low seed costs.

“Your seed cost is going to be $15 to $25 an acre,” said Justin Fruetche of Millborn Seeds. “It also has a much lower water requirement.”

The field day also focused on diversity within cover crop mixes.

Rather than adding species simply to increase the number of plants in a mix, producers should consider how each species fits into their crop rotation and what it contributes to the system.

“I think diversity is a great play,” Travis Troendle said.

Travis recently returned to the family farm and has been exploring ways to diversify the operation with his wife, Erica. The couple has started using camper rentals as one source of diversification and is also preparing to add sheep to the farm.

“We are going to start raising sheep here in the next couple of weeks,” Travis  said. “The plan is to have them on parts of land we are not able to harvest.”

Brassicas, grasses and legumes can also be combined in cover crop mixes to provide different benefits throughout the growing season.

“By having those plants out there, you’re going to see some of your residue start to break down sooner,” Fruetche said.

Grazing additional acres does come with its own challenges. Water access and fencing become increasingly important as livestock are moved farther from the main farm.

During the field day, producers also discussed virtual fencing technology and livestock collars as potential tools for managing animals across larger areas. Virtual fencing could allow producers to control where livestock graze without installing permanent fencing across every acre. For operations with scattered parcels of land, the technology could provide another way to utilize ground that is difficult to fence traditionally.

Ultimately, the goal remains the same: producing more from the land already available.

For the Troendle family, that means continuing to look for opportunities to maximize forage production and utilize every acre surrounding the dairy.