Petersons were hard-working hosts

By Heather Thorstensen
hthorstensen@agrinews.com

Date Modified: 08/09/2010 3:32 PM

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RIVER FALLS, Wis.— In the last month, Bev Peterson has watched her farm's field be transformed into the site for this year's Wisconsin Farm Technology Days.

"I've been watching it build," she said.

Last week, when the show took place, people approached her and her husband, Roger, to thank them for hosting. The couple stood out in bright green t-shirts.

In Bev's mind, the credit is shared throughout all of Pierce County. Approximately 1,600 volunteers worked at the show.

"It's a whole county effort," she said.

Last week, Peterson Family Dairy was open for tours.

Their operation expanded last year from approximately 80 cows in a stanchion barn to 260 cows. The Holstein herd is now housed in a mechanically-ventilated, 240-stall, six-row free-stall barn. The Petersons also built a double 10 herringbone parlor. They put in a new sand separator system. A new monitoring system, MilkGuard, on their bulk tank records the temperature of their milk and can send alarms if the milk gets too hot or cold, or if the temperature of the bulk tank wash cycle isn't correct, to ensure milk quality on the farm.

In the parlor, each milking unit has a monitor that measures prep time and the amount of reattachments of the milker. During milking, it records milk temperature, rate of flow and milk amounts. The Petersons use this data to compare milkings from different cow groups and to monitor prep times.

The expansion started in July and they were milking in the new parlor by December.

A big reason for the upgrades was thatRoger and Bev's two oldest children, Brad, 27, and Michelle, 25, returned to work at the farm last year.

"Our barn was getting tired and we were getting tired," Bev added.

Brad focuses on agronomy and machinery repair. He was also in charge of preparing for the field demonstrations at Wisconsin Farm Technology Days.

Michelle and Bev work side by side on herd health, feeding calves and bookwork.

In the last year, Roger's main focus has been preparing for the show.

Before returning to the farm, Brad and Michelle earned degrees and held other jobs. Brad worked in agricultural sales and Michelle was a dental hygienist.

Bev and Roger wanted their children to know what it was like to work for someone other than family. Their youngest child, Kevin, 17, is also considering returning to the farm someday.

The Petersons have two other daughters: Tracy, 24, and Brenda, 19.

The family expanded their herd by buying springing heifers and pregnant milking cows.They also raise and market 300 steers.

The Petersons farm on approximately 1,600 acres, 800 of which they own. They raise most of their own cattle feed and sell cash crops. Their crops are corn, soybeans, alfalfa, and wheat.

They also do custom cropping, from planting to harvest, for nearby farms.

Roger's grandfather, Oscar, started their farming history, when he began the original farm in the mid-1930s. Roger's father, LeRoy, began farming in 1959.

Before graduating high school, Roger bought 50 head of cattle from LeRoy and moved nearby, where the farm is today.

Even though the Petersons have been planning for the massive ag show, originally estimated to bring 80,000 people, it wasn't their only big event of the year.

Tracy's wedding was held in June on the field that was consumed by Tent City last week.