Receiving Outstanding Senior Boy plaques were twin brothers Leif and Matthias Annexstad. They are the sons of Rolf and Jean Annexstad of Norseland and are involved in the home dairy operation where the family milks 190 cows. Both are members of the Nicollet County Holstein Association, the State Junior Holstein Association, the South Central Agricultural Academy FFA, and Norseland 4-H. Both have shown at the county and state fairs, have attended the State Junior All-Breeds Convention and the National Junior Holstein Convention, and have taken part in dairy bowl and dairy judging. The boys were members of the first place judging team at the World Dairy Expo FFA contest and the first place team at the Royal Highland Show in Scotland.

The twins, now 17 years old, have both held leadership positions in 4-H and FFA. Matthias has been president and vice president of the Norseland 4-H and secretary of the Nicollet County 4-H Federation. He has been FFA vice president, secretary, and sentinel and is the current treasurer of the Minnesota Junior Holstein Association Board. Leif has been 4-H treasurer and FFA vice president.

The brothers have shared their dairy knowledge as they mentor young 4-H members that the family leases dairy cattle to.

Although they have not decided where they’ll attend college, both Matthias and Leif plan to continue their education in agriculture and hope to operate their own dairy farm in the future.

Submitted photo Leif Annexstad, left, and his twin brother Matthais were named Nicollet County Outstanding Senior Boys at the Nicollet County Holstein Association meeting Tuesday, March 20.

President Jean Annexstad of Norseland conducted the Nicollet County Holstein Association annual meeting. Ruth Klossner of Bernadotte was elected to the board to replace Megan Herberg who has served two terms and was not eligible for reelection. Board member Pat Pehrson of St. Peter was re-elected to a second term. County association officers for the coming year are Annexstad, president; Klossner, secretary; Peter Seitzer of St. Peter, treasurer; and Ashley Swenson of Nicollet and Pehrson, directors.

New Minnesota Holstein Association Marketing Manager Chelsey Asche attended the meeting and told about her responsibilities and also shared highlights of the State All Breeds Convention held in Willmar.

The county association voted to provide $50 of the cost for each of the 10 county young people attending the State Junior Convention March 23-25 in Mankato, and also approved support for the pizza party for youth exhibiting dairy cattle at the Nicollet County Fair and support for the Southern Minnesota Youth Dairy Show.

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Holstein Association member David Hansen spoke during the break between the Holstein and DHIA meetings. He shared his experiences of taking part in International Dairy Week at Tatura, Victoria, Australia and visiting an Australian Jersey herd.

The noon meal for all Holstein Association and DHIA members was sponsored by Isaacson Sales & Service of Lafayette. The two-meat buffet was catered by Hahn’s Dining of Winthrop.

President Nathan Schwab conducted the DHIA meeting, held before the lunch break.

Six plaques, sponsored by area agricultural businesses, were presented for outstanding herds and cows during the DHIA business meeting. Award sponsors were Nicollet County Bank, St. Peter; New Ulm Regional Vet Center; Bill Seitzer of Form-A-Feed; Roger Landon of United Farmers Coop of Lafayette; and Glen Pettis of Big Gain Feeds.

Paul and Cindy Swenson of Nicollet received the Premier Dairyman Award for having the highest three-year herd average. Their herd of 268 cows averaged 27,222 pounds milk, 988 pounds fat, 857 pounds protein, and $4,800 dollar value.

Annexstad Dairy Farms, Inc. of Norseland received two awards. One was the plaque for top herd for 2017. The Annexstad herd averaged 29,984 pounds of milk, 1,154 pounds of fat, 926 pounds of protein, with a dollar value of $5,393. The herd also won the plaque for top cow of the year. Cow “971” produced 38,961 pounds milk, 1,611 pounds fat, 1,261 pounds protein, and $7,430 dollar value.

Schwab Dairy of Gibbon won the plaque for the top three-year-old. Cow “9” produced 32,727 pounds of milk, 1,679 pounds of fat, 1,025 pounds of protein, and $6,813 dollar value.

Steven and Mark Herberg of St. Peter won the plaque for the highest increase for the year, plus $279 dollar value. The herd increased 1,643 pounds milk, 60 pounds fat, and 51 pounds protein.

For the second year in a row, Oren and Julie Olsen won the plaque for the Lowest Somatic Cell Count Herd. The Olsen herd had an average SCC of 115,000 and a Linear SCC of 2.0–almost identical to last year.

In elections held during the meeting, Mike Annexstad was re-elected DHIA secretary. Other officers are Schwab, president; and Jacob Sjostrom, treasurer.