BALTIC, Ohio – Their production methods may vary, but their goal is to produce milk economically. During Family Farm Field Day, a panel of dairy producers shared their farming practices from feeding calves to pasture management.

The panel was comprised of Junior Miller, a conventional dairyman, Daniel Miller, an organic dairyman, and Eli Barkman, a grass-based dairyman.

Junior Miller, his wife, Dora, and their family operate a 152-acre farm near Becksmill. Crops include corn, hay and pasture ground. They milk 60 cows and raise their heifers.

Daniel Miller, his wife, Susan, and family farm 88 acres and rent an additional 50 acres near Walnut Creek. Crops include corn, hay and pasture. They have 40-45 cows and ship their milk to Organic Valley.

Eli Barkman, his wife, Esther, and family farm 100 acres, with 17 acres of woodland and 83 acres for grazing. They milk 33 cows and raise their heifers.

It all starts in the calf barn, as getting calves off to a healthy start means more productive cows.

Barkman said he lets the calf suck the cow after it is born. Once the calf is dry and away from the cow, Barkman tries to feed his calves a gallon of milk twice a day, depending on the size and strength of the calf.

“I try to get the milk to the calf while it is still warm,” Barkman said.

At two weeks of age, Barkman begins feeding free-choice hay and weans at about four months of age depending on the size and strength of the calf.

“I don’t keep all of my heifers,” he said. “But I try to keep between 10 to 12 heifers since I want to expand my herd. I think I am better off raising my heifers because they are used to my system. I bought some heifers when I started farming and they didn’t stay around. I think I make more money in the long run when I raise my heifers.”

Daniel Miller said his goal is to get colostrum into the calf as soon as possible. Once they are off to a good start, calves are grouped in pens of six to eight.

Daniel said he has better luck with calves born in the fall than those born in the spring. He thinks they grow and thrive better.

“I try to keep 10 to 12 heifers each year,” Daniel said. “I am trying to increase my herd size. If I don’t have enough heifers, I end up milking cows I really don’t want to milk. I have a tendency to keep cows around that don’t pay their way. I may miss out on some quality bonuses because I am milking some cows I shouldn’t. I figure it costs me between $1,650 and $1,700 to raise a calf from birth to a springer heifer. If you can sell a springer for $2,000 or $2,200 it gives me a little bit of a margin.”

Junior Miller takes a different approach with his calves.

“When I started farming, I had some problems with pneumonia in my calves,” he said. “I buy a colostrum powder and I think it is preventing a lot of problems. I try to get colostrum into the calves at least a half hour after they are born.”

When the calves are off to a good start, they are grouped into groups of three and moved to groups of six to eight calves where they stay until they are weaned depending on their size.

“I keep my heifer calves,” Junior said. “When I started farming, I started tagging my calves. It costs a little bit, but I like to feed heifers. I look at it as insurance, you can sell some cows and replace them with heifers. If you have extra heifers, you can sell them for extra income.”

The three dairymen all started with soil tests to give them a baseline on their farms.

Daniel Miller said he applies manure, lime, chicken litter, and gypsum when he is starting a new seeding. For Junior Miller, the soil test gives him a good idea of what the soil is doing. He added that he rotates hay and corn on his farm.

Barkman concurs that adding manure and poultry litter is worth a lot to growing good grass and hay.

“I have my farm in grass,” he said. “I do some reseeding with grass mixes. I mow my pastures to control the weeds after they have been grazed.”

Daniel said he uses a mix of alfalfa and grasses. “I use a nurse crop such as rye or barley,” he said. “I don’t use oats. I try to clip my pastures early so the grass is more aggressive.”

Junior said he uses alfalfa and orchard grass, but he doesn’t use a nurse crop. “When you do a new seeding, don’t scrimp on the seed.”