Iowa Brothers Make Milk Quality a Priority

By Jeff DeYoung, Special to Agri-View
Thursday, June 15, 2006 12:12 PM CDT

Jason and Justin Stensland

Jason and Justin Stensland have been in the dairy business for only about three years but the twin brothers know what it takes to produce quality milk.

The brothers milk 80 Holsteins near Larchwood, Iowa. They have a total of 100 cows in their herd and also farm and run a farrow-to-finish operation.

They started milking in 2003, when they were juniors at West Lyon High School. The Northwest Iowa family milked cows for many years before, stopping production in 1990.

"We started with 44 and bought heifers from herds around here, and now they are in their third lactation," Justin says.

Jason says the herd's genetics are very good.

The milk has the numbers to prove it, including a protein average of 3.8 and a butterfat average of 4.0.

They sell their milk to Associated Milk Producers Inc. (AMPI), winning AMPI milk-quality awards for 2004 and 2005.

"We really think genetics are important when it comes to milk quality," Jason says. "We're pretty happy with the volume and quality of milk we are getting."

The brothers milk twice daily in a renovated dairy barn on their grandfather's farm.

Cows are fed silage, baleage, dry hay and a customized grain mix, and have access to pasture between milkings.

The brothers also built a loafing shed earlier this year, giving the cows a comfortable place to eat and rest.

Nutrition plays a key role in milk quality, says Mike Schutz, Extension dairy specialist with Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind.

He says nutrition plays a key role in butterfat content.

"Fat content is really a finer tightrope to walk when it comes to nutrition, much more so than protein," Schutz says.

"You want to feed a TMR that has adequate effective fiber mixed well so the cows cannot sort it and not eat it."

The Stenslands also make it a priority to keep the cows in a clean, comfortable environment. The loafing shed is scraped frequently, and the milking parlor is power-washed after milkings.

"We really think it's important to keep everything as clean as possible," Jason says. "We think that creates a healthier environment, and the cows are not going to be as stressed.

"They are very calm, and we make sure we follow the same routine each day."

Keeping cows comfortable can be particularly difficult in the summer, Schutz says.

"You want them in an environment where you can keep air circulating," he says. "It probably isn't going to affect milk quality but it will affect milk production. Hot cows are going to go off feed more easily."

Schutz says cow health also affects milk quality.

Sick cows have a major effect on a herd's production, he says.

"Mastitis incidents are going to affect butterfat and protein levels, especially protein quality," Schutz says.

The Stenslands use the California Mastitis Test program and frequently check cows for health problems. "They've stayed pretty healthy," Justin says.

"Our father (Doug) does most of that for us, along with the AI work."

An often-forgotten component in milk quality is properly working equipment, Schutz says.

"You want to periodically review the milking procedure, not only to make sure the equipment is working well and that the milk is being properly cooled but to make sure that routine is the same for the cows," he says. "You want to keep those cows as calm as possible."

For now, the Stensland brothers will continue to milk 80 cows. Eventually, they would like to milk 100, and feel that might be all they can handle with the hog and farming operations.

So Far, Jason says, the partnership has worked for them.

"I think we both really enjoy the dairy business," he says. "So far, we have no complaints from AMPI about the quality of the milk, and we want to make sure we keep it that way.

"We just believe if you keep the cows healthy and comfortable, the milk quality is going to be there."

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