Dairy Star Saturday, May 14, 2016 Page 13

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the CRP-Continuous program. Surrounding states, such as Iowa and North Dakota, have more acres enrolled in the program, while others, like Wisconsin and South Dakota, have less.In the early 2000s, Wisconsin saw a record-high enrollment of 800,000 acres but has since settled near 234,000 acres in the various CRP programs, Edelburg said. Wisconsin is really in the middle of the pack for enrollment compared to our neighbors, she said. For Greden, who at one point participated in the governments annual set-aside program, CRP provides a future for his familys farm by loyally adhering to a conservation practice year after year. Were establishing food plots, trees and pastures

that the wildlife enjoy, Greden said. Indirectly, my 90-year-old mother enjoys when I bring her fresh-picked owers, and sometimes seeing her smile is enough validation for the program. The Gredens have also incorporated wild owers and honeybees into their CRP land. In exchange for placing the acres in CRP, landowners receive an annual rental payment from the government. These payments are used to cover costs associated with maintaining the land, as well as providing cost share assistance to plant, restore and enhance conservation covers. Certain continuous practices also receive incentives for enrollment. This can be another source to assist during the ups and downs of the farming economy, while

providing needed conservation bene ts to a farm operation, Hanson said. While the program may indirectly boost local economies, some feel it can have an adverse effect on communities. A dairy farm from southeastern Minnesota has seen rst-hand the program take away viable cropland, hindering the communitys potential. Poor-quality grounds where we cant grow crops to feed our animals bene t from conservation programs, but we dont want to see at, healthy corn ground put into CRP because of the payment incentives given out by the government, said the farmer, who wished to remain anonymous. The CRP Grassland program which was created by the 2014 Farm Bill allows landowners the exibility to hay and graze contracted acres for production purposes. CRP also has the Transition Incentive Program, which allows current CRP participants to transition their land to a beginning farmer and receive incentives for that activity. As low commodity prices continue to exist nationwide, landowners look for options to enroll environmentally-sensitive lands and marginal lands into the CRP Continuous signup, however, it causes competition for some dairy producers. Theres a father who wants to rent extra land to bring his son back home, but hes competing with the high price the government is paying for CRP, the dairyman said. Its really a hardship for young farmers. Even though controversial, CRP and other conservation programs have been proven bene cial to the land by providing clean water, reducing runoff and minimizing inputs on land that is high risk to loss by drought and oods, Edelburg said. As enrollment periods come and go over the years, Greden and his family will continue to sign up for the program in order to bene t the land and farm in the long run. We continue to maintain our CRP land because we dont necessarily need it right now for operating the dairy, Greden said. Were going to continue preserving the land for the future. Someday when we need it, it will be there and better than it was before.

Con nued from CRP | Page 12

Theres a father who wants to rent extra land to bring

his son back home, but hes competing with the high price the government is paying for

CRP. SOUTHEASTERN MINN., DAIRY FARMER

Page 16 Dairy Star Saturday, May 14, 2016

From Our Side Of The FenceCollege graduates: What are you doing aft er graduation?

Eric HoudekUniversity of Minnesota-Twin CitiesDegree: Animal science dairy productionDescribe the farm you grew up on. I grew up on my familys 400-cow registered Holstein farm in Caledonia, Minn., where we run 1,000 acres consisting of corn andalfalfa. Also, a few years ago, we started up our beefherd of 50 registered Red Angus cow/calf pairs. What are your plans after graduation? This coming fall I will be attending graduate school at the University of Minnesota studying dairy genetics. Why did you choose that path? I chose to attend grad-uate school to pursue my passion of dairy cattle genet-

ics, become more knowledgeable of genetics, and eventually apply what I learn in the future at an A.I. company. What is a class you feel will help you in your career? Why? A class that has re-ally sparked my interest in dairy genetics and will de nitely help me in the future is Dr. Les Hansens dairy cattle genetics course. This course covered all aspects ofdairy genetics, including many current topics in dairy genetics such as genomics, and gave me a good understanding of these topics that I can apply in the future. If you could change one thing in the agricultural eld, what would it be and why? If I could change one thing about the agriculture eld it would be closingthe gap between us, as agriculture producers, and our consumers. Closing the gapbetween producers and consumers would help the consumers better understand farming practices and why we do what we do on the farms. This would create abetter overall relationship between consumers and us, which would greatly bene t both sides. Where do you see yourself in ve years? Ten years? In ve years, I see myselfworking at an A.I. company with a role in that companys sire department. Ten years from now, I see myself still working in the A.I. industry, still having a role ina sire department working with sire procurement, and having a family. Which college experience has best prepared you for your career? Being amember of the University of Minnesota Dairy Judging Team. Being a memberof the team enhanced my public speaking skills through presenting oral reasons,and allowed me to visit numerous elite dairy breeders across the Midwest to learn about their operation and network with them.

Nicole JaxSouth Dakota State UniversityDegree: Dairy manufacturing with a minor in food safe-tyDescribe the farm you grew up on. I grew up on asmall, 25-cow dairy farm in Waltham, Minn. We got out of milking in late 2007, and began the transition from adairy to a beef operation soon thereafter. We regularlygrow alfalfa, corn, and soybeans, but also occasionally grow oats. Currently, we have 100-head of beef cattleand 25-head of Boer meat goats.What are your plans after graduation? I signed on with Hydrite Chemical Company in December of 2015.

After I complete my training, I will be an account manager servicing a territory inMinnesota. Why did you choose that path? I chose Hydrite Chemical Company for manyreasons. Hydrite is a company lled with many fun- lled and kind people. This is de nitely what set them apart from the other competitive offers that I had re-ceived. They were also able to provide exible scheduling at the conclusion of my training, and my compensation package was very competitive. Because of their amazing people, the job itself, and the compensation package, Hydrite was theclear choice for me.What is a class you feel will help you in your career? Why? AST 443 is a class that prepared me well for this position. Food processing and engineering coveredpumps, ow, and many other aspects of a food plant that will be helpful as I enterinto my role.If you could change one thing in the agricultural eld, what would it be and why? I would change the behavior of producers and processors in the dairy com-munity. The great thing about visiting the dairy case in the store is that there are many options for our family and friends to choose from. Whether its organic orconventional, we have the option to choose what we want to feed our families.The biggest problem I see is conventional farmers bashing organic farmers or viceversa, when we should really just be promoting dairy in general. Milk is natures perfect milk, no matter the means used to procure it. Lets work together to pro-mote the dairy community rather than taking sides and confusing our families andfriends even more.Where do you see yourself in ve years? Ten years? I see myself getting mar-ried, and having a big family and raising them on a small hobby farm in Minne-sota. I also plan to still be happily working for Hydrite Chemical Company. Which college experience has best prepared you for your career? I cannot nar-row it down to just one experience. I have attended a few industry conferences, been active in Dairy Club, and was on the rst place National Collegiate DairyJudging team. In my opinion, South Dakota State University has the best dairy program in the world. Since attending, I have only fallen more in love with dairyand the amazing people that work in the dairy community.

Dana OvermanRidgewater CollegeDegree: AgribusinessDescribe the farm you grew up on. I grew up on a small dairy farm south of Freeport. We milk 50 cows, and run 250 acres of land, growing corn, alfalfa, and oats.What are your plans after graduation? I am currently working at Melrose Ag Center Division of Belgrade Co-op, as the administrator for the Melrose of ce.Why did you choose that path? I chose agbusiness, because with growing up on a dairy farm, I was taught so many things from hard work ethic to respect that I

want to give back and help the agriculture industry. One time I was asked, What is your ideal job? I wasnt sure, so I thought about it more. I want to be able to talk to farmers every day and work with computers. With there being so many jobs to do in agriculture, I knew I could nd it; and I have so far, here at Melrose Ag Center.What is a class you feel will help you in your career? Why? A class that has helped me is processors and record. We learned how to use the same computer program that I am using now.If you could change one thing in the agricultural eld, what would it be and why? I feel getting people more aware of what farmers do and why, because all farmers want the best for the land and animals.Where do you see yourself in ve years? Ten years? I do not know exactly. I am always learning and just want to help in agriculture in anyway I can.Which college experience has best prepared you for your career? The best college experience I have had is being involved in PAS (Post-Secondary Agricul-ture Student) which is an organization that is a lot like FFA for college students. I learned a lot and becoming an of cer showed me how to work with people more and helped me become an all around better person.

Cheyenne SchmidtRidgewater CollegeWillmar, Minn.Degree: Dairy managementDescribe the farm you grew up on. I grew up on my fam-ilys 60-cow dairy farm. Even though 60 cows seem like a small operation, there was always plenty to do. Some of my rst tasks were helping my grandma feed the calves, as-sisting with feeding grain to the cows and riding along with my dad while he was completing eld work. Our cows are housed in a stanchion barn and are let out on pasture every day in between milking shifts. We also run about 200 acres of land, where we raise food for our animals.

What are your plans after graduation? I am employed at Ro-Lo Dairy in Pennock, Minn. I am in charge of milking 115 cows, performing basic medical care, feeding calves, treating animals with mastitis and sorting cows for hoof trimming. After gradu-ation I plan to continue working on Ro-Lo Dairy through the summer before starting a job as an administrative assistant for Riverview LLP. I will be working for Riverview during the week and would like to dairy farm with my family on the weekends.Why did you choose that path? From a young age I developed a love for animals, es-pecially cows. I could not imagine life without farming. Choosing to work in an of ce for a dairy farm is a new adventure that I am more than excited to experience. Before I commit my life to dairy farming full time, I wanted to branch out and work for an agricultural company rst to make sure dairy farming is the best career choice for me. It also gives me the chance to learn additional skills that will bene t me in the future.What is a class you feel will help you in your career? Why? Farm Management was one of my favorite classes while studying at Ridgewater College. Our instructor always had a story to tell that would remind us of what we should and shouldnt do, both in our personal lives and as a farmer. He taught us how to work with computer programs such as FinPack, which taught us how to analyze farm and personal nances to make sure we make good nancial decisions. As part of my job I am expected to be knowledgeable about farming as well as good at working with computer programs to keep the of ce running ef ciently. Throughout the Farm Management Course we were taught such a variety of content.If you could change one thing in the agricultural eld, what would it be and why? Organic and conventional farms each want to be able to market and sell their milk, but they seem to be in competition with each other. I would like to see all dairy farmers have the mindset that all dairy products are wholesome and safe. Each farm raises their animals differently, but they all provide variety and quality products to consumers. In-stead of competing with each other, I would like to see them be more open to working with each other with the big picture in mind. We all are one big team.Where do you see yourself in ve years? Ten years? In the next ve years I see my-self staying active in the dairy community by volunteering my time to assist with the dairy princess program where I live. I also see myself taking a break from the physical farm labor and continuing an of ce job at an agricultural company. In the next 10 years I would like to get married and start taking on ownership of my familys dairy farm.Which college experience has best prepared you for your career? Being an Ag Ambassador has been a great learning experience. Ive had to collaborate with several teammates, working in unison with them to complete numerous tasks. I gave tours of the agriculture department and represented Ridgewater College at college fairs. Ive gained experience with sending emails, typing letters, coming up with creative ways to recruit new students and making phone calls. No matter what career I choose, all the communication and people skills I have acquired as an Ag Ambassador will make me successful.