Springfield farm family recognized for excellence in dairying

A couple from Springfield, Vermont, with a strong commitment to their farm, family and community have been selected as the 2014 Vermont Dairy Farm of the Year.
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Springfield Farm Family Recognized for Excellence in Dairying 6/22/2014 A couple from Springfield, Vermont, with a strong commitment to their farm, family and community have been selected as the 2014 Vermont Dairy Farm of the Year. The award is presented annually by University of Vermont Extension and the Vermont Dairy Industry Association, in cooperation with the New England Green Pastures Program. Mike and Heidi Dolloff operate Dolloff Acres Farm, a top-notch registered Holstein operation, milking 80 cows on a twice-daily milking schedule in a double-five herringbone parlor. Their rolling herd average is an impressive 24,000 pounds with 4.3 percent butterfat and 3.2 percent protein, which can be attributed to excellent herd management practices along with quality feed and selective breeding. They consistently produce top-quality milk, which has earned them numerous milk quality awards from their milk co-op, the Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) Cooperative. They've also received Vermont Dairy Herd Improvement Association awards for somatic cell counts and production. Their herd's somatic cell count is in the 95,000 to 100,000 range. The couple raises all their own replacements, using top bulls through artificial insemination. They strive for a 13-month calving interval, breeding their heifers to calve at around 23 to 24 months. To get calves off to a healthy start, they are raised in hutches until they're about 3 months old, then moved into the 100-by-40-foot Superstructure barn and divided into small groups. Their 48-by-230-foot main barn houses the milk cows, dry cows and close-up heifers, plus the milking facility. They grow corn on 80 acres, averaging 20 tons of silage per acre, and 150 acres of hay, averaging three to five tons of haylage per acre, producing enough haylage to feed all their animals. The milking herd is fed a TMR (total mixed ration) twice daily. Heifers get haylage and an 18 percent heifer pellet purchased from Poulin Grain in Newport, Vermont. The calves are fed milk until weaned to water, grain and hay at about 8 to 10 weeks old. As recipients of the Vermont Dairy Farm of the Year award, the Dolloffs will serve as dairy industry ambassadors, a role they already play through their many volunteer commitments. Both have actively promoted dairying at the Windsor County Fair, and Heidi has taken on several leadership positions in various organizations, including serving as a DFA delegate and a director and secretary for the New England Dairy Promotion Board. She currently serves as president of the Windsor County Farm Bureau and was named county Farm Bureau Woman of the Year in 2008. The family, which includes 10-year-old Hannah and 4-year-old Matthew, will be honored at the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield, Massachusetts, in September, and at the dairy producers' banquet at the Vermont Farm Show in Essex Junction, Vermont, in January. Other finalists for this year's award, listed alphabetically, were Robert Foster and family (Foster Brothers Farm) of Middlebury and Steve and Brian Jones (Joneslan Farm) of Hyde Park.