NEW PRAGUE, Minn. — The National Mastitis Council recognized the best of the best, when it comes to quality milk production, at its Feb. 1 awards luncheon, held in conjunction with the council’s 58th annual meeting in Savannah, Georgia.
Recognized for outstanding quality milk production through the council’s National Dairy Quality Awards program, the Platinum winners are:
Cottonwood Dairy (Jim Winn and Brian and Randy Larson), South Wayne, Wis.; Mil-View Jerseys (David and Mark Miller), Millersburg, Ohio; RKB Dairy, Faribault, Minn.;
Rock Solid Dairy LLC (Zane and Juanita Garber), Shippensburg, Pa.; United Dreams Dairy LLC, North Freedom, Wis.; and University of Wisconsin Marshfield Agricultural Research Station, Stratford, Wis.
These farms were selected from 165 applications submitted for the 2018 awards. Farms were nominated by professionals, such as dairy plant field staff, veterinarians, Extension specialists and Dairy Herd Improvement supervisors, who serve the dairy industry.
Gold level winners
Beattie Farms, Holton, Mich.; Ber-Sher Farm, McBain, Mich.; Chambers Valley Farms, Salem, N.Y.; Circle K Farms, West Branch, Mich.;
Clover View Dairy, Manitowoc, Wis.; Crandall Dairy Farms, Battle Creek, Mich.; Dick Haven Farms, McBain, Mich; DNL Farms, Elk Mound, Wis.; Dorner Farms, Luxemburg, Wis.;
Gasser Farms LLC (Virgil, Lois, Steve, Aaron & David Gasser), Creston, Ohio; John Rohlfs and Tim Narges Partnership, Eden, Wis.; K&K Dairy Farms, Westphalia, Mich.; Kleinhans Dairy Farm, Kiel, Wis.;
Mud Val-E Farm (John Christian & Rhoda Chupp), Sugarcreek, Ohio; OARDC/Krauss Dairy Center (Brent Hostettler), Wooster, Ohio; Oz Dairy, Prescott, Mich.;
Selke Farms, Dakota, Minn.; White Gold Dairy, Plainfield, Iowa;
Silver level
David Z. & Anna F. Beiler, Christiana, Pa. Benthem Brothers Inc., McBain, Mich.; Boehm Dairy Farm Inc. (Mark, June, Andrew & Jenny Boehm), Rawson, Ohio;
Bosscher Dairy, McBain, Mich.; Dinnerbell Farms, Eden, Wis.; Hagley Farms, Standish, Mich.; Ladine Dairy Farm, Bellevue, Mich. Lambrath Farms, Ann Arbor, Mich.; Harley & Marietta Lambright, LeRoy, Mich.; Mark Ramer, Hale, Mich.;
Red Mountain Jerseys LLC, Bad Axe, Mich.; Sandstone Dairy (Henry M. Miller), Millersburg, Ohio; Stoney Creek Meadows (William & Rachel Yoder), Butler, Ohio;
Theisen Family Farm, Campbellsport, Wis.; Van Rijn Dairy, Deford, Mich.; Wenkel Farms, Standish, Mich.; Wolf Farms, Bonduel, Wis.
Judges considered many criteria when reviewing finalists’ applications. In addition to milk quality indicators, such as somatic cell count and standard plate count, judges looked at specific details about each operation, including milking routine, cow comfort, udder health monitoring programs, treatment and prevention programs, strategies for overall herd health and welfare, and adherence to drug use and recordkeeping regulations.
