Facing dairy cows: Family Night on the Dairy Farm draws crowd
Family Night on the Dairy Farm draws crowd
Staff photo by Fritz Busch Caleb Chartier of New Ulm stares at a dairy cow during a farm tour at Family Night on the Dairy Farm Thursday at the Steve and Kerry Hoffman farm south of New Ulm.
NEW ULM — Hundreds of people learned what it’s like to operate a dairy farm Thursday at Family Night on the Dairy Farm at the Steve and Kerry Hoffman farm several miles south of New Ulm.
School buses were used to transport participants to the farm from Schaefer Well Co., just south of New Ulm.
The free family event featured tours of a working dairy farm, including operating milking parlor, calf petting and other kids activities, hayrides, educational displays, concertina music, photos with Brown and Nicollet County dairy princesses and ambassadors, free root beer floats, milk, yogurt, string cheese and ice cream bars.
Signs were placed all around the farm for those wishing to take self-guided tours.
Dr. Kenny Deutz of the New Ulm Regional Veterinary Center answered animal health questions. He helped children listen to a calf’s heartbeat. Members of 4-H talked about how they care for their animals. New Ulm FFA members did free face painting.
Staff photo by Fritz Busch South Central College Farm Business Management instructor Wayne Schoper, second from left, leads a farm tour at Family Night on the Dairy Farm Thursday.
Jonathon Gardner of rural Sleepy Eye displayed bee colonies and explained how they helped crops on the Hoffman farm.
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- Staff photo by Fritz Busch Caleb Chartier of New Ulm stares at a dairy cow during a farm tour at Family Night on the Dairy Farm Thursday at the Steve and Kerry Hoffman farm south of New Ulm.
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- Staff photo by Fritz Busch South Central College Farm Business Management instructor Wayne Schoper, second from left, leads a farm tour at Family Night on the Dairy Farm Thursday.
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- File photo Sadie Thorson, 4, of Lafayette, competes in the pedal pull at the 2021 Farmfest at Gilfillan Estate, west of Morgan on State Highway 67.
“The dairy business is going pretty well right now,” Schoper said. “Feed is expensive and inflation is driving other costs up, but prices are decent enough to make things profitable.”
Steve Hoffman began farming in 1986, milking 40 cows in a stanchion barn.
He married Kerry in 1993. She wrote a weekly column about farm life in The Journal and Dairy Star newspaper for 18 years. She also works at Jensen Motors in New Ulm, when she isn’t farming.
A compost barn was built on the farm in 2004, and the herd was expanded. The original barn was removed and a milking parlor was built in 2005.
In 2010, a shed was retrofitted to become a maternity barn to house cows and heifers. The farm was named a Century Farm in 2012.
The Hoffmans sons Joe and Russel both attended South Dakota State University. Joe majored in dairy production and Russell majored in agronomy. Joe joined the farm operation in 2019.
The Hoffman farm now has about 160 cows.
Steve Hoffman credited the New Ulm Farm City Hub Club with setting up much of the Family Night on the Dairy Farm event. Hub Club members provided the bulk of staffing services required for the event.
(Fritz Busch can be emailed at fbusch@nujournal.com.)
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