2008 Dairy Tour To Colorado
October 21 - 24

Hosted by Professional Dairy Managers of PA and Penn State Dairy Alliance, an initiative of Cooperative Extension

Dairy Farms On Tour

Bella Holsteins - Platteville, Colorado
Owner: Gary Henrickson

Gary Henrickson was a featured speaker at the 2007 PA Dairy Summit. With a philosophy for innovation, Henrickson, owner of Bella Holsteins, a 2,000-cow dairy, utilizes a manure composting and recycling operation that is sensitive to the environment and conscientious of surrounding development. His farm includes 1000 acres total farm ground, 500 acres of silage corn,300 acres of alfalfa, and 200 acres of wheat silage.

Dyecrest Dairy - Fort Collins, Colorado
Owner: Terry Dye

Dyecrest is one of the largest all registered herds in the country. Dyecrest Dairy was started April 28, 1970, on a little leased dairy farm in West Edmeston, NY with 50 cows, mostly grades. From1970 to 1972, the herd was changed to all registered and the leased farm was purchased. In 1974, the small farm was sold and a larger dairy in Hubbardsville, NY, was purchased. The herd was increased to 450 milking age animals with 450 heifers.In 1984, the present location in Fort Collins was purchased and a new dairy was constructed on the site in early 1985. Today, Dyecrest Dairy LLC consists of 1,545 milking age animals, milked 3 times a day, and 1,300 heifers plus 150 bulls and 200 steers with a rolling herd average on DHIA of 29,099 pounds milk.

Empire Dairy - Wiggins, Colorado
Owners: Norm and Britt Dinis

Completing the bulk of his own construction, Norm Dinis, along with wife, Britt, operates a double-60 parallel parlor in an older free-stall facility that houses 4,000 cows. The 65-employee workforce is 100 percent Hispanic, a challenge in face of the current debate on immigration reform. This second-generation producer farms 2,000 acres and raises his heifers on–site. Norm is also immediate past chairman of the Colorado Livestock Association Dairy Council, a group that promotes new technologies in the dairy industry.

Johnson Dairy II - Eaton, Colorado
Owner: Johnny Johnson

Sole owner John Johnson just opened this new facility with 12,000 cows. It features the largest milking parlor in the world –a double-80 installed by Beco of California – located in the biggest dairy barn in the world. A double-35 parlor is also in use at the facility and a single 30 is housed in the special needs barn. John operates a big heifer replacement business, J.F. Cattle Company, which raises 25,000 heifers at this site, at leased facilities nearby, and at a calf ranch in Stephenville, Texas.

Longs Peak Dairy - Pierce, Colorado
Owners: Rick Podtburg and Eldon Marrs

Dairymen Rick Podtburg and Eldon Marrs joined their operations in 1998 to increase their competitiveness in the market. What resulted was Longs Peak Dairy, LLC, a 4,700 Holstein milk herd that produces 350,000 pounds of milk per day at sites in Pierce and Johnstown. The operation has 5,100 cows, 4,000 heifers, and 70 employees across the two sites. Some 1,500 cows are milked in Johnstown, the remainder in Pierce. In 2005, the team installed a new double-33 parallel parlor at the Pierce facility. The two-year-old parlor was designed with future expansion in mind. According to Rick, plans are to double the size of the existing parlor at Pierce.

Quail Ridge Dairy - Fort Morgan, Colorado
Owners: Chris and Mary Kraft

Chris and Mary Kraft milk 4,000 cows at their brand-new Quail Ridge facility. The couple milks an additional 1,000 at their Badger Creek Farms special needs facility nearby. The free-stalls at Quail Ridge are bedded with compost created on-farm. Sixty-four employees work the two facilities. According to Mary, the entire dairy is built on flow – cow flow, people flow, milk flow, manure flow. Two-lane highways move cow traffic through 15-foot-wide foot baths to free-stalls with automated scrapers. A double-50 parallel parlor transports milk to 8,000-gallon tanks equipped with load cells that email the cooperatives when the tanks are full.

Veeman and Sons Dairy - Wiggins, Colorado
Owners: Mike Veeman and family

The Veeman family partnership includes a father and two sons,who are fifth and sixth generation dairy producers. The family has farmed in Colorado for 24 years. They recently moved to their current 2,000-cow facility, where they made critical additions and upgrades to increase efficiency. These include a huge special needs facility with ICU and calving unit, a 60-stall rotary parlor, dry lot housing and windbreaks, and water re-charge projects. Veeman and Sons Dairy maintains a purebred herd using embryo transfer and has won progressive genetics awards for 14 years. The family has 6,000 acres for cropping and grazing, and raises 1,700 heifers.