Women in Dairy: Amber Koopmeiners

Amber Koopmeiners
Burtrum, Minnesota
Morrison County
88 cows 

Tell us about your family and farm. My husband’s dad started the farm roughly 40 years ago. My husband and I bought the first half of the cows from Dad in 2015 and currently own the whole herd and the main farm parcel. We employ one full-time worker whom we are very blessed to have. He’s great with the cows, young and old. We also employ a teenage high schooler part time as well, whom we are also very blessed to have. She’s great with all the cows as well and has a strong work ethic.

We milk 88 Holstein, Swiss and Jersey purebreds and crosses with an added cross with Fleckvieh. We have roughly 80 replacement heifers. We also have seven beef cow-calf pairs. We milk in a tiestall barn that holds 60 cows, so we do have to switch cows while milking. We raise all our own heifers on-site and sell all bull calves, usually at weaning. We A.I. all our dairy cows in the barn and have started using A.I. on some of our heifers. Most heifers run with a bull we have on site.

We run roughly 350 acres in a rotational crop (corn, soybeans, alfalfa and small grains) with Dad and Mom. Our half of the crops is used directly for our cows while Dad and Mom use their half as a cash crop. We are currently enrolled in a farm transition program that has been helping to set us up for success. This has been paying off. We are hoping to break ground this fall for a new barn. Stay tuned. The farm is also home to seven beef cows and their babies. We have a few more babies to come this fall. We also have four horses, a Great Dane, and multiple cats. My husband and I have three children, which have been becoming a lot more help on the farm as well. He and I both serve in our local fire and emergency medical service departments. Because we are self-employed, we can respond during working hours to help our team and community.

What is a typical day like for you on the dairy? During the school year, I get the kids up and rolling for school. We open-enrolled in a neighboring school district so we do have to get our kids to a bus stop. While I am getting kids ready for school, which is getting easier as they get older, my husband is in the barn milking with our full-time employee and Dad. Dad does all the feeding, while my husband and our employee milk, care for calves and clean the barn. Once I return from the bus stop, I go down to help with whatever is left to finish up. Sometimes milking is just finishing, other times I’m just in time to clean the barn. I will help with calf chores if necessary. Once the main morning chores are completed, we talk about plans for the day. Some days, I do some homecare for a family friend for a few hours a couple of times a week. However, most days entail field work somewhere. Sometimes it is parts runs, sometimes it is grain bin jobs (my husband has a grain bin business as well — I know, I know, what more can we do), household chores, etc. I am pretty flexible, from tractor driving, truck driving, trailer pulling, birthing attendance, ear tag making (I have my own laser engraver to customize our own tags), record keeping,  etc. We like to move cattle during the day as well if it is needed. Lunch, well that depends. Either I make it, Mom makes it or we order from local businesses. The afternoon is time to get the kids off the bus, try to get homework and supper done in an hour as we start calf chores and horse chores at 5 p.m., and move into milking after that.

What decision have you made in the last year that has benefited your farm?  Utilizing our farm transition program. I would say this has been the biggest for us. We have done a lot this last year to better our dairy in preparation for future expansion, such as calf program changes, housing and feeding changes, breeding program changes, etc.

Tell us about your most memorable experience working on the farm. I would have to say seeing our kids grow up on it. I did not grow up on a farm or even in the country, but raising the kids here, well, it is just so rewarding. The way everyone pitches in so quickly when the words, “the cows are out” are heard.

What have you enjoyed most about dairy farming or your tie to the dairy industry? The people. Farming people are the most down-to-earth people you will ever meet. They will give the shirt off their backs to anyone and not expect anything back. My husband and I both serve on a small board at the facility that we ship our milk to, to try to give back to the farmers who give so much to all the communities we all serve in.

What is your biggest accomplishment in your dairy career? I don’t know yet; we are not done. Currently, I would say purchasing the farm and owning all the cows while planning for future expansion. This industry nowadays is very difficult, physically and mentally. To be able to see progress for ourselves is amazing, along with all the support we have to do this with.

What are things you do to promote your farm or the dairy industry? The biggest I would say is being open and honest with everyone. When people start talking about dairy, talk with them and give them facts vs. talking at them. Explaining farming in its entirety helps them better understand the real life of farming, not the “social media” of farming.

What advice would you give another woman in the dairy industry? Be positive and become independent. Love your dairy community and they will love you back. Lean on other women in the industry. We women have to stick together.

What is a challenge in the dairy industry you have faced and how did you overcome it? Physical and mental exhaustion. My faith, my family, my friends and farming community and my horses.

When you get a spare moment, what do you do? I love to do anything with my horses. Groundwork, grooming, and riding. I love photography, so I also do some photo shoots here and there. I combined both and work on the private Facebook page I created to give facts about mental health, how equine therapy works, and positive quotes.