Top Performers: Jim, Marilyn and Peter Schumer of Schumer Family Farm

Jim, Marilyn and Peter Schumer of Schumer Family Farm

St. Stephen, Minnesota | Stearns County | 82 Cows

How many times a day do you milk, and what is your current herd average, butterfat and protein? We milk two times a day. Our current herd average is 26,666 pounds of milk, 1,269 pounds of butterfat and 882 pounds of protein, with tests of 4.8% butterfat and 3.3% protein.

Describe your housing and milking facility. The cows are housed in a loose housing barn built in 2020. They are also fed in this building. It is cleaned and bedded with fresh straw every day in winter. In spring, summer and fall, the cows choose to go outside more, and they are free to go to the feedlot or pastures whenever they wish. The barn is only cleaned as needed during the spring, summer and fall seasons because they are outside so much. The cows are milked in a very simple flat 6-cow parlor built in 1982.

Who is part of your farm team, and what are your roles? Jim: Milking, deciding day-to-day tasks, fieldwork and hauling manure. When we have breakdowns, he gets to be on the phone trying to arrange to get things fixed and up and running again. Marilyn: (Jim’s wife) Feeding calves and making sure they are healthy, helping in the morning by loading feed and feeding all the animals, assisting with milking when needed and taking care of all the bookwork. She is also on duty for any cleanup. Peter: (Jim and Marilyn’s son) Milking, making all the breeding decisions including heat detection and selecting bulls for A.I. breeding. He loads the total mixed ration and feeding and cleans the sheds to keep the animals comfortable and dry.

What is your herd health program? We have monthly herd checks. We check for pregnancy, dehorn calves and assess any other health concerns we have with the cows. We try to use the cow’s natural cycle for breeding and limit the use of chemical hormones.

What does your dry cow and transition program consist of? The cows are dried off two months before calving for their yearly holiday. They are treated with Tomorrow dry tubes at dry off. They are housed and fed separately from the milking cows. They also have access to pastures during this time. When they freshen, the ladies are moved back into the milking herd.

What is the composition of your ration, and how has that changed in recent years? Our ration consists of dry alfalfa, haylage, corn silage and a grain mix. All forages are tested, and the grain mix is prepared by our nutritionist, Jerry Schroden, who works at Gilman Coop. He has been our trusted nutritionist for many years. The newest change we’ve made is purchasing a TMR in late December. Before that, we used a Kelly Ryan feeder wagon, what we fondly referred to as our “poor man’s TMR.” It worked very well, and now we are looking forward to the benefits of a real TMR.

Tell us about the forages you plant and detail your harvest strategies. We plant corn for silage and alfalfa. We work with an agronomist to keep the soil healthy and harvest the best crops we can. We rely on custom harvesters to bring in the crop when it is at its peak quality. We store all corn silage and haylage in bags. We make some dry hay but also purchase dry alfalfa hay as needed. We purchase all of our corn and concentrates from Gilman Coop.

What is your average somatic cell count and how does that affect your production? Our average somatic cell count is 143,000. The healthier the cow, the better they will produce. Everything we do as far as feeding and keeping them clean plays into the outcome. The somatic cell goes up and down depending on the weather.

What change has created the biggest improvement in your herd average? Building the loose housing barn in 2020, because the cows now can be indoors when the weather is cold. They used to be outdoors year-round. Genetics have played a big role as well, having a big impact on milk production and components.

What technology do you use to monitor your herd? None. We have a small herd of 82 cows and can interact and keep an eye on each cow daily. Peter really enjoys the cows and can remember every detail about every cow and heifer on the farm. Rarely does he have to look up anything on paper copies. He is our technology.

What is your breeding program, and what role does genetics play in your production level? Peter loves the genetic part of improving the cows and is always looking to make the next generation better. He works very closely with our A.I. technician, Grant, from Select Sires on selecting bulls that best fit each cow.  Recently, we started using gender sorted semen on all our heifers and our top-end cows.

List three management strategies that have helped you attain your production and component levels. First, we are very hands-on; we can detect heat and any other problems with the cows and address them quickly. Also, we keep them clean and dry. Second, we focus on quality feed. Third, we focus on good genetics.

Tell us about your farm and your plans for the dairy in the next year. Our farm has been in the Schumer family since 1867. We keep things as simple and conservative as possible for the financial health of the farm. We can’t always afford the most progressive thing out there, but we do the best we can with what we have. We try to make some improvements each year depending on the price of milk. Our next goal is to put in a new parlor; Peter is researching that now. The parlor we have does the job, but it is very slow and is getting worn out. Peter is our youngest son and loves the cows and the farm, so we are very thankful to have the next generation to keep it going. We have four other children — Melinda, Luke, Paul and John — who all have their own careers but have appreciated growing up on the farm and love coming home to it. We also have 18 grandchildren who all love to come to the farm and help. We are grateful that we can give them that opportunity. We have lots of help from our kids and grandkids when things get busy or when things go wrong. It is a comforting feeling to have family.