Concerned Citizens of Grant County

Lightningboy,

Do you drink milk, eat cheese, vegtables, fruit? If you do arn't you scared a foreighner thats illegal might have touched them and contaminated you? Well I think your still living so the there probably isnt anything wrong with the products and who touched them. are you racist?


I dont know what your trying to get at with all the emails to several businesses and organizations. You have no credibility or credentials that warrants them giving you there information. Why should they give it to you? Why do you think you are having a hard time getting emails returned? You have no credibility. You really need to think about giving up on posting. If I were a business man who answered your email, I wouldnt want that posted to a forum. That is why email is private. I hope everyone blackballs you and never returns an email to you, just for the fact that you go and post emails on every cotton pickin forum on the internet.

Thank you and dont have a good day

Von not so Lighting mcrea

did I finally get something through your head that you shouldnt have been posting emails to forums all along or did some of the business men get after you.

First off I would like to thank you lightninboy for editing your posts. They are much more understandable for people to read. I did delete two of your posts. In one you stated that you wanted it deleted and the other one was a duplicate of another post. I enjoyed our phone conversation and do encourage you to use the forums to express your views in a respectful way.

That is the purpose of The Forums to allow people to express their views. We will not all agree but we all have a right to express them just the same. That is what makes communities healthy. No one group should be oppressed because others do not want to hear what they have to say.

Let us all remain courteous on one another and remember that while civility may sometimes seem difficult it is respected by all.

farmhand, I want to welcome you to The Forums. Your previous post on this thread had some valid points. I contacted lightninboy and found him to be a very agreeable man who could accept constructive criticism and quickly responded by editing his own posts. I do hope to find you as mannerly.

While your post had valid points, your tenor could be viewed as less than respectful. As you have not identified yourself farmhand I wasn't able to call you and get your side. That is not a problem as you are allowed to not identify yourself. However remaining anonymous is not a license to be rude. You might consider thanking lightninboy for correcting the emails you found offensive instead of poking another dig at him.

I am sure you have many valid points to make about this issue and I look forward to reading what you and lightninboy have to say to one another about it.

Keep in mind that you both seem passionate in your beliefs and it is not likely that either one of you will change. But that is not the point. What the two of you can do is express your passionate beliefs (albeit respectfully) for those like me who are unfamiliar about it and need to hear both sides.

I look forward to reading more about this.

Dairy marks expansion, fifth generation






By Terry O’Keefe, Staff Writer

Published: Saturday, November 8, 2008 4:01 AM CST
KRANZBURG — What is likely the oldest continually-operating dairy in northeast South Dakota held a bit of a celebration last weekend.

When MoDak Dairy unveiled its new 1,500-head facility last Saturday, it marked another page in a story that dates back nearly 125 years.

Greg and Jim Moes are the fourth generation of their family to operate the dairy which was started by their great-grandparents in 1884. Their children who are now gradually taking over operation will be the fifth generation to run the farm.

A beautiful fall day greeted the hundreds of visitors who stopped by the farm a mile northeast of Kranzburg during an open house to celebrate the completion of the expansion project. The new barns and milking parlor were opened and folks young and old toured the buildings, had some lunch and visited with the Moes family and others from the dairy and farming industry. When Greg Moes’ young grandchildren came running up, he introduced them as “the sixth generation” of MoDak Dairy.


It’s obvious the changes that farming and the dairy have been through since John and Elizabeth Moes first occupied what was railroad land in 1884, but the most recent changes have probably been the most dramatic.

The first phase of the expansion project included barns that are 650 by 300 feet long. The next phase will add another 300 feet and probably be done next spring.

As Greg and Jim move closer to retirement, they are also setting the stage for the next generation to take over and look to the future on the same farm their great-great-grandparents established. Now, after spending a couple of years away from the operation, Greg’s son, Scott, 28, has come back home and he and other younger family members are poised to move the dairy to the next level.

Scott now works as herd manager, while his cousin, Jim’s daughter, Nicole, is the accountant for the business and her husband, Eric, acts as general manager.

Now milking about 800 cows twice a day, the dairy will grow and expand to the point it will meet its 1,500-head permit Greg and Scott said.

“We want to have it at capacity by next year,” Scott Moes said.

The two men were planning on heading over to Pipestone, Minn., to buy out a herd of 40 milk cows earlier this week.

Greg explains that when his great-grandparents established the farm more than a century ago, everyone was very diversified when it came to farming. A few cows, a few pigs, some chickens, crops, a garden, etc.

That continued for the Moes family until the 1970s when a fire at a new barn for the pigs brought about some change.

“We had always been diversified until 1972,” Greg said. “Fire destroyed part of the new barn (for hogs) and then we converted,” he said. “In 1976 we built a new milking parlor — a double eight — and milked 120 cows.”

Of course, that pales compared to the operation they have today, but Greg puts that somewhat into perspective.

“That’s how we did it (back then),” he said. “We started with 120, the we added 60 (cows).

“That was pretty big when you could add 60.”

In 1976, Greg says the family farmed about 600 acres of land. Now they farm about 4,000 and none of it used as cash crop, all going toward feed for their dairy herd. Besides that, they also buy and grind alfalfa from and for their neighbors, a side business that continues to grow.

But the dairy itself is the actual future of the family operation. After nearly 125 years, they seem to have hit on a pretty good mix of in-house and outside business to keep another generation or two going.

The dairy now milks twice a day and fills two tanker trucks with milk each day for Valley Queen Cheese in Milbank. When they get into full production, MoDak Dairy will milk three times a day and fill three of those tanker trucks each day.

But the future of the dairy relies on this expansion, Greg said, saying if his and Jim’s children are to build upon the dairy their ancestors established, they have to follow this path. His mother, Eileen, has a photo album of the history of the farming operation and her pride in the fact that her children and grandchildren have followed along the same footpaths as the family before is obvious. Greg said that is key to the family strategy.

“People ask, why are you doing this — why are you putting all this money and work into a dairy,” Greg said. “Well, if my dad and his dad and his dad hadn’t done this, we wouldn’t be here. We enjoy this business.”

But there is also a lot of reality to this plan. The family is proud of the fact that, after 125 years, the farm established in 1884 has never been sold by the family, but in order to keep that going, there has to be changes in the operation.

Scott, his cousin Nicole and husband Eric and their families will depend on the success of the dairy to make their living.

“We would like to eventually get them (his father and uncle) bought out,” Scott said. “Eventually.”

Greg puts a finer point on it.

“If we want to be milking cows in 10 years, this is the size we’re going to have to be,” he said. “These guys (gesturing at Scott), that will affect their lifestyles.

“We have to have this growth.”

Nice article farmhand. I enjoyed reading it.


I'm glad you included the name of the original writer. You included the name of the newspaper in your title but used an acronym because of space. You might consider putting the complete name of the newspaper in the post itself so they are sure to be recognized.

It is good to see families work together to keep their farms alive. I am sure they must all work very hard.

You should also make a comment when you post an article. It is always proper to explain why you are posting the article or what you thought was important about it.

Thanks.

lightninboy wrote:

farmhand, it is probably not necessary to reprint the entire Watertown Public Opinion article about MoDak Dairy.


Why do you think dairy farms must milk 1,500 cows?

Von-

It is probably not necessary for you to post personal emails you exchanged with members of businesses in milbank and united ag, etc to the forum and the madville times.

The article by Terry O'Keefe was interesting but I have questions. The biggest is....
Do only family members work there?
another...
What kind of debt are they carrying? You can say it is not my business but starting these large operations usually entails investors plus debt, it is not fair to vaunt this as a super success while ignoring this question.
Also there are a number of area dairies who are not only making a living with 30-150 cows, they are doing very well. They carry little or no debt and in quite a few cases no one must work an off the farm job to keep going. While they work hard, milking a small number of cows does not make prevent them from rest and recreation. A large family or 1 or 2 employees can be very efficient and usually diverse as far as crops and other livestock.
My husband is not a dairyman but he is a full time farmer, like some of the dairy people i refer to what he learned from his family is that farming is a rewarding occupation with some flexibility not usually found in other jobs. I am city born and raised but i would not trade this life for any other.
My husband has a degree in engineering physics, his brother went to vo-tech, they returned because they wanted this life and no other. Some of our kids want to return too. We want to see them have that opportunity. We will do what we can to protect this way of life for them and others.
On the other topic, quite a few of us have been interested from the begining about the identity of the board and directors of the group Citizens for Growing a Grant County Economy, why the secrecy? Besides encouraging cafo dairies what other ideas do they have for growing our local economy? Our group has been very open about who we are and what we stand for.

I found the personal attacks by farmhand clouding the issue and the second line of attack inappropriate.

I also note our newest member argues that young farmers are too lazy to work 24-7. That is offensive to my German work ethic. I would also point out that most of dairy production and crop production still derive from the family farm.

Let's get to the point. Pres Bush believed in big business and big farms and supported corporate farming.

I suspect that is about to change!

A large farm will create nominal harm to the community.

A policy forcing young farmers off the farm and in their place 20 minimum wage jobs will destroy small towns as we know it.

Lightninboy, please do not criticize my fellow businessmen and attempt to personalize this issue. This detracts from the debate and makes your argument weaker.

I really believe your thread needs to be broken into separate threads. It is wandering all over the place.

mouthpiece,
Thank you for your opposition to factory farms.

Yes, there could be a lot of young people who would like to have a family farm if they had a realistic expectation of success.

I have come to believe that the Republican Party is basically controlled by Rockefeller Republican types, which makes sense when you think about it.

Hopefully more Democrats in government will be better for rural America, but I suspect the status quo will continue, especially in states with large Republican control.

If local businessmen wrongfully think that factory farms will bring economic development to the county, shouldn't they be corrected or exposed?

Nice to see another big CAFO dairy being built, should have been in kilborn, stubborn hypocrits out there

http://www.dairystar.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=2066&SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&S=1

Farmhand and ligthninboy are not on topic!

The topic is should, we be promoting large feedlots in Grant County.

First the topic was narrow as to county and has become a personal attack instead of legitimizing an argument.

The feedlot in Kandiyohi County near Willmar, Minnesota has nothing to do with what is being done in Grant County.

Second, placing names of business people on a site to create hostility does not serve the parties or this site well.

Both sides are fair afield and continue to use this site to blow smoke.

We must learn to co-exist together even when we have large differences.

What I have gotten from this thread is that there is a demand for milk that is not being met and some argue we need to eliminate family farms and go to large corporate farms. The Republicans have supported this stream of thought.

This approach (policy) has been detrimental to rural communities. School and businesses struggle because of these policies.

On the other hand, milk production demands have been met and dairy related industries can again expand. This does provide a positive job creation but it is unclear whether this makes up for the loss of family farmers.

By the way, Kandiyohi is near my home town. The bigger dairy production county in Minnesota was Stearns county. Most certainly, the further west you get from Willmar the more you depend on crops and not dairy.

The debate needs to continue on this subject but I am concerned that it is now destructive criticism instead of contructive criticism.

This thread is being locked because it has gotten off topic.