ST. CLOUD, Minn. — Throughout the summer, the UMN Dairy team is working with local dairy producers to offer UMN Extension 2021 Summer Dairy Field Days throughout the state. The upcoming Central Minnesota Dairy Field Day will be held Tuesday, July 27th, from 10:30am – 12:30pm. This field day is an excellent opportunity for local producers to see different operations, share opportunities and challenges they face within the industry, as well as network with their fellow dairy farmers.
The Central Minnesota Dairy Field Day will be hosted at Reit-Way Dairy. Paul and Carolyn Reitsma milk 250 cows with four DeLaval V300 robots. The new facility was completed in May 2019 and the freestall barn features 265 straw bedded stalls with mattresses, LED lighting, and is cross-ventilated with variable speed fans. In addition, there is a maternity pen and fresh cow management pen within the facility. Regarding family involvement within the farm, three of the Reitsma’s six children farm with them and a fourth is the herd’s veterinarian. The target audience for this event is the following; farmers and dairy farm employees, Industry professionals, and farm finance professionals. There is no cost for this event.
The farm is located at 36615 County Road 18, Sauk Centre, Mn 56378. It is situated about 3 miles north of Padua on County Road 18. When driving, watch for signs and a big blue and grey freestall barn. It is important to note that Google Maps does not take you to the correct location. Go about 3 more miles south on CR 18. The farm is on the west side of the road.
The information for this article was compiled from (https://extension.umn.edu/event/central-mn-dairy-field-day-stearns-county). Residents of Stearns, Benton, and Morrison counties can register or send direct questions to either my email (adam1744@umn.edu) or call my cell phone at (320) 204-2968.
— Dana Adams, University of Minnesota Extension
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