Day-Long Calf Raiser & Heifer Tours Offered Oct. 20 & 21    

FOND DU LAC, WIS. – October 14, 2009 –Dairy producers and industry leaders interested in calf and heifer raising tips and checking out low-cost, retrofitted and state-of-the-art facilities are encouraged to participate in one or both calf and heifer facility tours set for Tuesday, Oct. 20, and Wednesday, Oct. 21. The tours, developed by the Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin, will visit four innovative facilities in northeastern Wisconsin on Oct. 20 and four modern facilities in northwestern Wisconsin on Oct. 21. Both tours will start at 8 a.m. and return to their starting points around 6 p.m.  

Tuesday’s northeastern Wisconsin tour will start and end in Appleton and take in four facilities: Wiese Brothers, Greenleaf, a 2,300-cow dairy with a unique calf-friendly and employee-friendly facility; Abel Farms, Eden, that takes a no-nonsense approach to raising 1,200 calves and heifers; 3-D Dairy, Malone, that uses computerized calf feeders to manage calf nutrition, health and sanitation; and Schneider Farms, Hilbert, that raises 3,800 calves and heifers and has one facility utilizing slatted flooring.  

Wednesday’s northwestern Wisconsin tour will start and end in Eau Claire and include stops at Marty Weiss, Durand, who is focused big-time on labor-saving efforts and bottom-line results; Prissel Valley Farms, Durand, where change is constant and includes automatic calf feeders and a new 550-stall heifer barn; Bussee’s Barron Acres, Barron, a multiple family business that raises 2,800 calves and will share what they’ve learned about managing 900 calves on milk; and Sugar-Bol Farm, Chetek, that sold its milking herd in 2000, retrofitted its facilities and now raises heifers.  

“You don’t have to be a PDPW member to go on these tours,” explains Eric Hillan, Ladysmith, Wis. dairy producer and vice president of PDPW.  “Each of these tours is designed for attendees—PDPW members and non-members—to hear directly from those involved in calf and heifer raising and to see and experience various facilities and approaches for themselves.  

“We anticipate a lot of questions of those who own the facilities and lots of interaction and learning while on the bus between stops.”  

The registration fee for each day-long tour is $100 for non-PDPW members and $75 for PDPW members. The fee covers round-trip bussing, lunch and refreshments as well as the tours of the facilities themselves and information shared by experienced calf and heifer raisers.  

To register for the Oct. 20 or Oct. 21 calf and heifer facility tours or to learn more about either or both tours, visit www.pdpw.org  

Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin is a dairy-producer founded organization that provides educational programs and services to fellow dairy producers. PDPW’s mission is “to share ideas, solutions, resources, and experiences that help dairy producers succeed.”

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