Stearns County Dairy Field Day July 24

Field day to be held at Zimmerman Dairy near Sauk Centre

University of Minnesota Extension, with the support of Minnesota Dairy Initiative—Central Region will be holding the Stearns County Dairy Field Day at Zimmerman Dairy near Sauk Centre. Field Days allow UMN Extension to team up with successful dairy operations to showcase their farm to other local producers and agribusinesses that work with them.

The Stearns County Field Day will be held on Wednesday, July 24th from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Zimmerman Dairy owned and operated by Mike and Lori Zimmerman and their family. Zimmerman Dairy is located at 47522 370th Street, Sauk Centre, MN.

This field day will feature an innovative farm that emphasizes cost savings, effective labor management, and a strong family partnership. The Zimmermans milk 100 cows in addition to running 200 acres of corn and alfalfa.

In 2010, Mike and Lori moved to their current location. Through ingenuity, the family has made a number of creative changes in order to meet farm goals. One of those goals was to reduce labor needs. To accomplish this, the Zimmermans traded their traditional tie stall barn for a used parlor 2 years ago. This lower-cost option requires one person to do the milking. Where existing stalls were too small for their Holstein herd, the family chose to utilize a corn stalk bedded pack for their lactating cows.

The day will include conversation around low-cost parlors and decision making, bedded pack management, and the various dairy protection and insurance programs currently available.

The Stearns County Dairy Field Day includes lunch and is offered free of charge.

Pre-registration is not required, but an RSVP is requested to help with the meal count. Questions and RSVPs can be directed to Emily Wilmes at krek0033@umn.edu or 320-255-6169, extension 3.