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If you like ice cream, milk shakes or cheese curds you have Tom Quist to thank for his service as an award-winning herd manager in the local dairy industry. Tempting as it is to describe Quist as someone "behind-the-scenes" he is actually very well known in the regional farming community and his family tree in Chisago County goes back to the Civil War.

Quist, of Almelund, was recently recognized as DHIA's Outstanding Field Representative for Minnesota for 2009.

The Dairy Herd Improvement Association helps farmers stay afloat financially by getting the most out of the best of their herd while helping to maintain a safe raw milk supply.

Quist let the Press tag along for part of milking chores at Dale and Sharon Anderson's dairy farm, south of Green Lake, Chisago City. The interview was part history lesson and part Economics 101 with emphasis on the fine art of manure avoidance.

As 53 cows were milked, a sample of each cow's milk was siphoned using a special meter and then transferred to a small round container for shipping to the DHIA lab. Quist tracks all the sample containers by animal number and enters various data into his portable computer, giving the farmer a printed report before he leaves.

There's several groupings of data in any report.

The farmer can track cows that are "dried up" and resting, or he can keep data on pregnant cows and their due dates. He can cross reference cow families and bloodlines and how many calves a cow has had. He can electronically put his finger on each cow's milk production (it takes 8.6 pounds of milk to make one gallon) and the report also contains lab test results.

In 2009 as milk prices to farmers are down to where they were in 2003, and about $8 less than just one year ago, every little bit of knowledge is a competitive edge. Quist said, "...it used to be a farmer just worked really, really hard and he made a go of it. Now it takes an extra effort just to make it."

A major item the lab tests for is the somatic cell count, which Dale Anderson explains is important to his buyer because Anderson's milk goes to making cheese curds eaten at Dairy Queen or A & W. If the cell count goes up, it takes more milk to produce that type of cheese.

Anderson's milk is transported to Ellsworth, Wisconsin, south of River Falls.

Dairy herd milk supplies are also tested for butterfat and protein content.

Quist said his biggest herd is 450 cows and the Anderson herd, at 50 some cows, is average to small in size. Clocking almost 30 years in this business, Quist has had to pick-up farms in Wisconsin, expanding his territory as the number of dairy farms in Chisago County have decreased. He visits approximately two barns per day and currently helps manage 50 herds. His day might start at 3 a.m. and it might not end until well past sunset-- depending on which farms he's scheduled to visit and farmers' milking cycles.

Dairy herd management does not involve predictable hours.

But it's rewarding, Quist says, because he is part of a larger picture that aims to reduce the ups and downs of farming. There's satisfaction in making the difference between keeping someone in farming or having to get out.

Quist explains that, "...if you are on-test you can expect to increase production by 3,000 pounds per year per cow, than if you are not on-test." That's why farmers voluntarily participate in DHIA. Not a mandatory program it does cost money; the bill for the Anderson herd analysis was about $150, including meter fee, lab costs, Quist for three hours all factored on 53 cows.

Aside from the hard, cold fiscal benefits, Quist also shared that he enjoys the job because he has seen kids grow up, come help in the barn and eventually takeover farms. The first barn where Quist ever received any herd management training was the exact same barn at Dale Anderson's place.

"This is a good service to farmers, it's a good job," Quist added. "That's what it's all about, helping them."

About 17 years ago the management system went electronic and Quist learned how to use computers on-the-go.

He has created a nifty carrier to haul his printer and computer into dairy barns. It's a wire grocery tote on wheels and there's an old refrigerator shelf set into the top that holds the laptop. The printer fits in a plastic lidded storage box.

Ideally he can set up the mobile work station near an outlet, in a safe place in the barn; but to be on the safe side the keyboard is beneath a vinyl-like cover. Cows are still cows and dainty is not a word associated with these animals. As for Quist, in his sparetime he's a horse man now.

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