What does it take to run a successful agricultural business? Amber Laska, a Business and Informational Technology teacher at Hortonville High School along with her accounting students learned the answer when they toured two local agricultural businesses; The Meat Block, Greenville and Wichman’s Dairy Farm, Appleton.
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| Phil Schmidt, owner of the Meat Block speaks to students |
Meat ProcessingThe Meat Block is a family owned meat market store, located in the Village Court Plaza on the corner of Highway 15 and Lily of the Valley Drive in the Town of Greenville. They offer a wide variety of meat products and side dishes, specializing in hand selected and hand cut meats, homemade sausages, and heat and eat meals prepared by their onsite chef.
Phil Schmidt, Master Meat Crafter and owner of The Meat Block, emphasized that his main business focus is to deliver quality, good tasting products to the consumer. One can’t miss the many awards that are displayed throughout the store. The Meat Block has routinely won high honors at competitions, including 1st Place in the Specialty Cooked Bratwurst (Smoked & Cured) division at the 2019 WI State Fair.
Nolan Rochon, business student, learned that a truly great tasting product is produced when the correct ingredients are combined and the correct cooking method is applied. Head Chef, Jesse Dolan, and Phil work closely together to do just that; develop a variety of recipes and cooking techniques to produce the best tasting product.
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| Jesse Dolan, Head Chef (left) and Phil Schmidt |
Phil graduated from the 2010-2012 Master Meat Program sponsored by UW-Madison. This program is a highly regarded meat industry training program and is designed to provide participants with a well-rounded, in-depth, and comprehensive knowledge of meat science, food safety, and meat processing principles.
How did Phil Schmidt become an accomplished butcher? It started 20 years ago when Phil started working at Haen Meats, Kaukauna. This apprenticeship enabled him to work side by side with experienced butchers until he decided to start his own business in 2010. He furthered his education and graduated from the 2-year Master Meat Program and now carries the distinguished title of “Master Meat Crafter”.
Phil likes to give back to the community. This fall he will sponsor the 6th Annual Meat Processing Contest for area 4-H and FFA youth. Youth will learn the science and art of making bacon. It is a popular event where parents and kids can work together to formulate a recipe, cook and taste. This year, participants will learn the science and art of making bacon.
Eric Alberts, business student, learned a good business not only focuses on quality products but also customer service. At The Meat Block, they select employees who relate well to the customer and who strive to be the best. Their emphasis on customer service generates many loyal customers, many of them known on a first name basis. The next time you are in the area, stop and enjoy the friendly atmosphere, browse the many products available, and bring something home to enjoy from The Meat Block!
Robotics
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| Bruce Wichman, gives an overview of their dairy operation to students |
Can you envision cows being milked by robots? A visit to Wichman Farms, LLC, owned by family members Bruce and Faye Wichman, Mark and Debbie Wichman, and Brad and Sara Wichman showed the students just that.
Prior to the bus pulling into Wichman’s farm, business student Nolan Rochon, thought the robotic tour was just a name given to an electronic business. He was surprised when the bus stopped in a farmyard, and realized the tour he was about to take part in was to see an actual dairy farm with robotic equipment that milk the cows. Nolan had heard on television of cows being milked by robots, but this was his first experience, along with classmate Eric Alberts, of actually stepping in the doors of a modern farm and seeing firsthand how the robotic operation works. They saw equipment that they never knew existed.
Bruce Wichman gave a history of the farm, dating back before the installation of robotics. The work was harder and longer, reflecting on a time when the farm was much less efficient. Today, the farm is highly efficient, producing high amounts of quality milk with less input costs per cow. Nolan was impressed to learn the many techniques farmers use to increase milk production per cow, particularly the comfortable barn and the many features to keep the cows clean and happy.
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| Cow being milked by a Lely Robotic milking system |
Students listened while Bruce and Faye gave insights into the business structure, describing how the farm is owned and operated by family members. This farm has been in the family for generations and plans are to keep it that way. Brad is the younger generation and is an integral part of the day to day decisions.
When cows are milked, the milk is at the body temperature of the cow. The milk must then be rapidly cooled to 38 degrees to ensure high quality milk can be sold for the production of dairy products. Brad explained how the farm uses heat from chilling the milk to heat the robot rooms, bathroom, and other rooms found on the dairy. Students learned how the milk is collected and stored in a large 3,000 gallon tank, until the milk is picked up. The milk is transferred to a large milk tanker and then the trucker delivers it to the processing plant. At the time of pick up, all milk is sampled by the milk hauler for components and quality. Quality tests ensures the product is safe to consume. High component and quality test reports also reflect in a higher pay price to the farmer.
The robotic system is run by a series of computers and monitored via the farmer’s cell phone. The farmer is notified when there is a malfunction of the system. Robotic milking is the most automated system available and allows for flexibility of time for the farmer.
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| Neck collar with a computer chip enabling the robot to ID the cow and record information |
Cows wear a neck collar with a computer chip installed. This allows the robots to capture a large amount of information on each cow, which can include certain health aspects of the cow. The farmer reads and uses this information for managing the herd.
The cows choose when to be milked. Higher producing cows choose to be milked more often than lower producing cows. The milking robots are located directly in the barn, so it is easy for the cows to enter the robot when she desires to be milked. Typically, one robot can milk 60 cows in one day. A robot can only milk one cow, therefore larger herds have more robots.
Students were able to see the milking robots in action. Because udders are shaped differently, lasers are used to find and attach the milking cups to each teat. Teats are cleaned and sanitized by the robot before the milking cups are attached. The teat cups come off one-by-one when each quarter of the utter is empty of milk. The cow then exits the robotic unit, which is then available for the next cow in line to enter.
Robotic milking is very advanced technology not commonly found on a dairy farm. However, the needs and wants of this type of technology is continually increasing, therefore expect to see more robotic features on farms in the future.
A few comments from students, Nolan Rochon and Eric Alberts:
Question – What is something you would like to learn more about?
Nolan commented: “I would like to understand more about the farming industry. In particular the distribution of milk, milk processing, and the costs associated with milk production.”
Question – Do you believe farm tours and raising public awareness of agriculture brings the community together?
Eric commented “Yes, it’s a good thing. People should have more opportunities to learn about agriculture, learn what goes into the businesses because farming is so important. That’s where our food comes from.”
Question – What is the one thing you learned that you can connect to?
Nolan commented: “On TV you hear about products that are bad, or not made correctly. By going on farm tours, you are more confident and trustworthy of the safety of your food.” “Farmers need to be highly respected in the community for everything they give us.”
Eric commented: “My cousin is a farmer. Cool to know how much work he puts into the farm. It’s very respectable. Knowing what he does, when I toured the farm, I can relate that he really does work that hard.”
Nolan Rochon and Eric Alberts were seniors during last winter’s agricultural tours. This fall, both will be continuing their education by attending University of Wisconsin campuses. Nolan will be attending UW-Madison enrolled in Pre-Business and Eric will be attending UW-Oshkosh enrolled in Education. Thank you and good luck to both young men!
Contributing Author:
Sarah Grotjan, Agriculture Extension Educator,
Outagamie County
