Meeting Recap - December 6, 2016

Mark Beisswenger opened the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance and an Invocation.

 

Cindy Carlson reminded us of the Gold Plate Dinner, scheduled for March 31st, at the Roseville Radisson.

 

Cindy also floated the idea of an open house for prospective Rotarians and others interested in Rotary.  Seeing considerable support for the idea, Cindy suggested that we plan an event for February.

 

John Risdall reported that Risdall Advertising has completed its move to new digs in Roseville.  Their new address is 2685 Long Lake Road.

 

Garry Johnson recently celebrated the marriage of his eldest daughter.

 

Dana Rebelein reported that Janet Ampe will have another brain surgery to adjust the electrical leads that are helping to control her Parkinson's Disease.

 

Cor Wilson recently celebrated with her parents on the occasion of their 70th wedding anniversary.

 

George Winiecki asked for someone to help him with the February Meeting and Program responsibilities.  Amy was scheduled with George but she is on leave of absence.

 

Mark Beisswenger introduced our speaker, Charles Krause.  Charles is an owner of Krause Holsteins, a dairy operation in Buffalo, Minnesota.  Charles' father, Warren, started the dairy in 1959 with 25 cows and 90 acres of land.  Today, three generations of Krause's work side by side to milk 200 cows and manage 600 acres.  The family is dedicated to producing the highest quality milk while providing a comfortable and healthy environment for the cows and the people who care for them. 

 

Charles had his first full taste of the of responsibility and sheer hard work of a dairy farm at age 16, when his father had a heart attack, leaving Charles in charge of the entire operation for 21 days.  Charles was up to the task and his work ethic is evident in his children, Andrew and Morgan, who will carry on the family business.

 

Dairy cows start producing milk at about 2 years old and produce for approximately 2 years, so a dairy farm needs a steady supply of calves to replace the cows when their milk dries up.  Thanks to artificial insemination with "sexed semen", 90% of calves born are female, greatly increasing breeding efficiency.  Calves weigh about 100 pounds at birth and drink 3 gallons of pasteurized milk per day until they are 3 months old and approximately 200 lbs.  Then they eat a nutritionist supervised diet of grain and silage, eventually reaching 1,300 lbs by age two.  Fully grown dairy cows will eat  100 pounds and drink up to 50 gallons of water per day, producing about 10 gallons of milk per day. 

 

Charles is a very active advocate for dairy farming, speaking to groups about dairy farming and active in dairy industry organizations.  In 2013, Krause Holsteins was the Minnesota Milk Producers Association Producer of the Year and the Dairy Farmers of America Central Area Member of Distinction.

 

Charles is promoting the Great American Milk Drive; an effort to provide the benefits of milk for hungry families.  Check it out here.   If you'd like Charles to speak to your group, contact Barbara Dodson at barbara@eidsonandpartners.com or 800-711-0747 ext 222.  Charles is pictured below.