NORWOOD YOUNG AMERICA, Minn. — Carver County Extension is excited to host a Farmer to Farmer dairy tour at the farm of Tim, Amy, and Christine Leonard in Norwood Young America. The event will be held on July 9, 2021 and will start with a picnic lunch at noon before a tour of the farm with stations that will end at 2:30 p.m.
The sesquicentennial farm features a 45 tie-stall barn with many environmental stewardship updates including tunnel ventilation, LED lighting and a cooler plate system. The Leonards have 50 registered Holstein cows and raise their own replacement heifers. They also plant twin-row corn, alfalfa and soybeans on their 200-acre farm.
Tour stations on this traditional dairy farm will provide insights on their upgrades and innovations that help the Leonards stay relevant in today’s market.
- Station 1 – Learn how maximizing rumen digestibility with high-quality forages can improve performance and lower feed costs with the Leonards’ cannulated cow.
- Station 2 – Learn how this farm has used selective dry cow therapy to keep somatic cell count low.
- Station 3 – Learn how Christine developed and grew her cheese platter business, The Grater Good: https://thegratergoodmn.com/.
This tour is provided at no cost thanks to these sponsors: Carver County Dairy Core Team, Carver/Scott County Extension, Minnesota Dairy Initiative, Sibley/Nicollet County Extension and Wright County Extension. More information about the event can be found at: https://extension.umn.edu/event/farmer-farmer-dairy-tour-0.
— Colleen Carlson, University of Minnesota Extension Educator and Abby Maunu, Extension AFNR Intern
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