Mixing Feed and Milking Cows on Our Small Family Dairy Farm

We're mixing some feed for our Dairy Cows today. Alan shows how he turned a cut-off Badger Chopper Box into a poor man's TMR mixer. Alan uses a small bedding chopper to chop up some hay, and that gets mixed with the corn silage that we made last Fall. Alan's chopper box has been outfitted to run off an electric motor instead of the PTO. Alan starts putting the feed out and before you know it, it's time to start milking. The Dairy Cows come in, and Jennifer gets the pipeline and milkers ready to go. Jen shares how we milk the cows and how the milkers work. The kids are active on the farm too, and Jordan introduces his bull calf with a very unique name. After we're done milking cows, it's time to wash up all of the equipment before we're done for the night.
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Alan Klejeski
PO Box 153
Sturgeon Lake, MN 55783
Trinity Dairy was established in 2006, in Minnesota. Alan and Jennifer farm with their 5 children; Jessica, Justin, Jordan, Joshua, and Jason. We milk a mix of 33 Jersey, Holstein, Brown Swiss, Guernsey, and Ayrshire cattle. We also enjoy sharing our family's love of Draft Horses and using them for logging and other farm work. Dairy Farming in Minnesota can be challenging, but it's a lifestyle we really enjoy. Subscribe today to watch our small family dairy farm and family grow while continuing to thank our Lord for the blessings we've been given.

[@rickmeisch643]

Allan,I was forwarded to Trinity channel by Jim and it’s great farm channel. I’ve spent 48 yrs operating a dairy and find your video’s true and to the picture. These little hobby farms out east just aren’t the real picture when it comes to farming! You and Jim do what it takes to operate whereas a hobby farm raises chickens or ducks and puts Mr Green Jeans into action. Keep up the good work

[@trinitydairy]

Thanks for checking us out!

[@dougm9950]

love the music during milking. brings back milking memories. so nice to see a video from small farms not those mega farms

[@trinitydairy]

We're glad to hear you enjoyed it!

[@israelmathes6268]

I am so glad you showed the filter. I hope people see this and realize Us Milkers take pride in how clean the filter is at the end of a milking. Most all of us dairy farmers really care about the quality of the milk our cows produce. It a Pride thing you know.

[@trinitydairy]

For sure

[@israelmathes6268]

@@trinitydairy we drink milk straight out the tank often. We figure if we would drink it why would we ship it.

[@trinitydairy]

We feel the same way.

[@KevinChristiansen-i2q]

Great video Alan and your wife and kids

[@debbiepipes2408]

My dad and his family worked as tenants on a dairy farm in the forties and he said it was hard work that he wouldn't want to do it again He is gone now but watching you reminded me of him. I admire farmers and their hard work

[@DonWelter]

Always amazes me to see small dairy farms that know every cow by name and the particulars about that animal !!!

[@trinitydairy]

Our daughter is a walking encyclopedia of info on our herd. She can tell you a cow's 3rd cousin once removed on her mother's side, lol!

[@FarmallFanatic]

Man you guys got more snow than us...been a decent January here

[@drewkryger1102]

your children are so fortunate to live this.. it is unheard of.. I'm a old farm boy, I cant believe how fortunate those kids are to have this.. God bless..

[@anthonyhengst2908]

Hmm, thinking maybe I should invest in a hay chopper. Jim has a great channel too. There are so many good channels I can't keep up with them all. When I finally (??) retire I believe I won't feel so out of place.

[@ethanlee9441]

If i remember kirsh foundry out of beaver dam Wisconsin made drinking cups for cows too.

[@andersonsfarm4456]

the poor man's tmr mixer gave me idea for my spare parts I bought an older bearcat grinder mixer with forage knives in it paid 175 for it still grinds feed and i add some second cut squares to the mix

[@rodneyferris4089]

Takes me back to my old milking days almost 50 years ago!! Love the stanchion milking method! The cows become social and relaxed!

[@stihl3029]

Great video

[@gregkortbein5108]

Your boys remind me of my sister and I helping mom and dad do chores in the ‘70s. Such fond memories.

[@kopenhagenkid]

Great video Alan and Jen

[@paulhorning3837]

Almost identical to my uncles setup. Years ago I spent time milking cows there. Cows are long gone and the barn is gone. Farm no longer in the family. I loved that place, treasured times, I hope there’s cows and a station barn in heaven.

[@herbmartin9717]

Thanks for the video!!! God bless! 🙂

[@barryspaulding4665]

i dont know what to say i really enjoy your channel but it makes me sad i cant do it anymore i started shipping cans and had to go bulk i milked with surge units and i had a dumping cart we ended with a tank and pipe line really like your kids .

[@archermathews8562]

Excellent video

[@markchitwood5322]

We had the same milking units when I was a kid

[@RyanMurphy-j5d]

Another great video good to see small farms still going strong

[@dalebennett9867]

Very nice operation clean and neat nice to have all family involved

[@ericbrookens2906]

I like watching your videos because it reminds me of what I was growing up and the small day for my work done I'm Eric for Michigan just wanted to tell you thank you for teaching what a reminder like what my dad was on his dairy farm when my dad was growing up thank you again bye

[@dannewton4637]

Great Video! I grew up helping my uncle milk is small herd of Jerseys. He used surge buckets, and , boy, would I have loved a pipe line instead! Keep up the great work and God Bless.

[@joutdoorsmen23]

Sweet thanks for what you’re doing and sharing it love music as well God Bless!!!!

[@kyleblair4764]

I am impressed by the filter. I worked for a dairy eq company in Michigan. You wouldn’t believe what SOME farms filters look like when they finish 🤮. Most were good though. Glad to see you are getting good SCC

[@brentalbrecht4837]

Great job on the lower SCC!

[@LudovicNarayan-nw2lw]

J'adore ces méthodes de pratique c'est l'hivers a part les bizons qui cherchent de quoi sous la neige belles Bals de freins

[@subratamu9773]

Beautiful video on cattle chores! Love to see how you take care of your cattle in a small farm setup. Would love to see more of this family farming video and calves care video. Just a curious question - do you feed calves cow milk or replacer?

[@trinitydairy]

We used to feed milk replacer, but the cost got so high we switched to cow's milk. We have a Jersey cow that milks enough for 6 calves, so we milk her in a bucket to fill bottles from.

[@johnrdanna]

Thankyou for sharing this. I bet your tired after the day is done of chores. I love how you take good care of your cows. Blessings to you an your family

[@jtoddjb]

You and your family are so nice. I have always preferred cows to people myself

[@bryanginder5903]

That's right Allen, not every cow is the same so they don't need to be fed the same!!

[@philipingram1667]

Excellent video - I enjoyed learning about the feed mix proportions and also how the milking equipment works - I understand the machinery part so it was interesting to learn something new. It also shows there is always lot of hard work by all on your dairy. Thanks for the peak behind the curtain as it keeps things real. Keep up the good work!

[@dondohm8664]

I’m from Jim and I enjoy your channel! My favorite was the kids at the fair with their 4h Projects, keep up the good work, God Bless!

[@kaystrong8654]

Your a good hard worker thank for sharing videos I love watching them ✌🏼❤️✌🏼❤️

[@DAVIDZ-vk4yv]

i did that with a kasten chopper box. dry hay corn silage and haylage it worked good. i got to sit at a meeting once with dairy inspectors the head ones from wisconsin it was talking about keeping barns and cattle clean and quality of milk and cleanliness of the barn and and milk house THEN i got a chance to talk. i went up and SHOWED them PROOF of 5 times i was shut down because of cob webs or dirt on milk house floor or some thing. i handed them the reports of shut down THEN they went into a BIG speech of see this is how its important to keep clean? THEN i produced my somatic cell slips ON THE DATES i was shut down. EVERY time i was shut down my somatic was below 40,000 THEN they would NOT talk to me again. then MORE farmers talked about somatic below 100,000 or 80,000 one farmer had slips of being shut down 3 times and he had reward plaques from the creamery of below 20,000 somatic for consistant 6 months! the 3 shut downs he had he showed them all three times his somatic was below 10,000 even we couldnt believe it and he told the head guys ALLLLLL this tells me is your inspectors do NOT know quality of milk they are just writing people up for what you trained them to do from a book. that was the greatest meeting i have ever been to. the head honchos from wisconsin dairy inspectors did NOT want to talk to us any more. and the farm groups that were there representing the farmers would NOT back us up they remained silent which made a lot of farmers mad.

[@trinitydairy]

It really does. If I had the money, a TMR mixer would be great, but I can't justify the cost of one now.

[@jackthebirdman355]

I love watching yalls videos

[@kevinwilliams563]

Anybody that has been around dairy cows can see how well cared for your girls are. They are well mannered and tame because of the great care they get. Great video for teaching folks about farms that have never done it.

[@cliffblackburn8102]

I would mount that on the wagon

[@trinitydairy]

I've thought about that, but I'm not sure there's a good way to do it.

[@bhensel100]

Cows are very clear compared to some KZbin videos I watch. Nice to see the personal touch that you have with them.

[@duaneschmitz2674]

Awesome job Allen keep small farm's going and your kid's are so lucky to have that life style and they will have a great week experience 👍🙏

[@ronniebond7435]

Outstanding video as always my dad and i enjoyed it!!

[@klauskarbaumer6302]

Looks like very nice hay; my horses would like it and they are pretty fastidious!

[@KiwiJim13]

👀🙄🐾👍 Great video A&J very interesting your girls look good

[@br927]

I watch Jim's videos! And I like when your Dad has his horses out!

[@andylieffring2461]

What is the advantage to chopping the hay that way as opposed to chopping in the field and filling a bag? I do understand that the balage you used in this video was purchased but I know you make your own balage as well.

[@trinitydairy]

Mainly because I didn't have my own bagger to make baleage. Now that I have my own, I think I definitely will chop and bag some hay.

[@trinitydairy]

I should add that I do see a benefit in adding dry hay to the mix, too, not just baleage.

[@adriaandekam3883]

Greetings from the Netherlands. Trinity dairy and Working horses with Jim are my favorite relax moments for years, before I fall asleep. Very interesting as I love animals and especially horses, as well as tractors. Keep up the work and stay healthy. Adriaan de Kam

[@russlong7175]

Agreed

[@mikebrown1188]

Great job on producing high quality milk the filter shot says it all. Your cattle are is such good shape. Loves seeing the kids doing there chores too.

[@YaseenKhan-en2kl]

Nice

[@patrickgroenewegen]

Nice tidy farm! We milked 29 in a tie stall until December 2020, when we switched to a bedded pack barn with a Lely A5. It’s in the winter I miss milking in the tie stall. Nothing quite like cozying up between two warm cows and waiting for the milker, telling them your problems and getting an understanding big brown eye in return.

[@michaeletchepareborde4298]

Flat barn is very hard y'all keep up the good work I love your videos

[@vernondodson5067]

Hi hope you and your family are doing good I like the hat and Shirt the shirt is really heavy made also the 1066 used one for twenty years

[@timothygeorge1191]

❤- Video. From Wisconsin Dairyland 🧀🥛

[@canvids1]

A great video. I was about the age of your lads away back in the 1940's and 50's I didn't have anything to do with the cows. I worked summer time the couple months school holidays in the haying time and grain as well as filling silos with chopped corn.

[@guydaubenspeck9206]

Used to be a dairyman now I run beef what most people don't realize is that in a Northern climate we end up with more Cal Care in the winter even though we don't belt we spend almost as much time in the barn in the winter time with our beef cattle as we did with our dairy herd

[@michaeletchepareborde4298]

I love your milking machines

[@jamesbristow5740]

Will it be a tough decision to continue making your own small squares for feed with all the steps and drying time and handling into and back out of the barn now that you have the bagger? Thanks for bringing us along!

[@trinitydairy]

I'm not going to even try to dry any of our alfalfa hay anymore. The bagger gives me a lot more options for sure.

[@trinitydairy]

I should add that I do see the benefit of still putting some dry hay in my mix, too.

[@markhelmer5227]

The milking videos never get old. You do a nice job editing them.

[@oleasheim]

Never stop ur way of dairyfarm. Its so amazing to see someone still do it the old good way! And u guys got so amazing fine looking cows and animals❤️ to be a cow on your farm i think must be on of the best places🤩❤️

[@french-canadianfarmer5049]

I really enjoyed this even if it's a review. Well done! I like your idea with the silage wagon, using what you have. I've chopped small squares with a hammer mill with a big screen, works good too.

[@barbfinke9020]

❤exactly job of explaining everything! Thanks

[@franklintucker5712]

Speaking as a small dairy farmer in North Devon England. U have got some well looked after very clean smart cows. A credit to your family.

[@trinitydairy]

Thank you!

[@allanulen3809]

Beautiful video. Really enjoyed seeing how much you care for your cows. I thought it was funny about the ornery cow giving you a bull calf.HAHAHAHAHAHA. Thank you for what you do.

[@donaldwallace7934]

A very informative video. It great to see your kids involved with the operation!!

[@nealturner7463]

Watching You'all milk, reminds Me when We milked about 60 years ago. I still can see the cows in the barn, and remember some of their names.We sold the cows about the mid 60s. We still farmed, had beef and sheep. I still farm today but just grain and a few beef.

[@skipruckert4605]

Alan and Jen, Another great video! If only your cattle had a chance to give you a comment it would be to thank God you were put on this earth with this loving family. TMR mixer shows concern! And what do you do with all your baler twine's? Someone in your family is going to find that question? Skip, Western PA

[@trinitydairy]

We either throw the twins away or burn them.

[@oshenandoah2202]

Thanks for a great video! I live in rural northern Indiana around many dairy farms but never knew much about caring for the cows and the milking process until watching this video (and your other videos). Found your channel from Jim at Working Horses with Jim. God Bless.

[@trinitydairy]

Thanks for checking us out!

[@billroberts3864]

Yours is a great family and understand hard work. The cows are well cared for as well as your machinery. Blessings.

[@lydiafink3020]

Maybe you could do a video on some of your more "showy" cows and their pedigrees and how you maybe choose bulls differently for them, than cows you aren't looking to ever show at fair.

[@davidklein5850]

I was raised on a dairy farm using buckets to milk and were really excited to get a stepsaver. Love how you guys explain things so thorough.

[@dr.michaelr.foreman2170]

When I was your boys age back in the 1950s, my uncle down the road filled his silos with corn silage every year. One of my greatest joys was going to my uncles place to smell the sweet smell of the fermented corn silage. My dad never used corn for silage. We just ground the cobs up. To this day, I still love the smell of fermented corn silage.

[@trinitydairy]

It's too bad we don't have smellovision!

[@dr.michaelr.foreman2170]

@@trinitydairy Yes. Smellovision would be great. The other highlight of that, was the birds who got into the corn silage. Watching "drunk" birds after eating the fermented corn silage was always a good laugh. Same as watching birds after eating wind-fall apples which had fermented on the ground. Drunk birds are always entertaining. (I am almost 70 and I really miss farming. Your children have no idea how lucky they are to be raised on a farm)

[@pinesedgefarm1155]

AWESOME video! We have the same milker hangers as you.

[@karencary3312]

Love watching make a living in a challenging economy. You ALL are great. Love you bunches. God bless.

[@gregjohnston9287]

How often do you Whitewash the barn interior? I found you from Gierok Farms when they came to your place. I also follow Working Horses with Jim. So much labor to run your farm, I grew up in sw Wisconsin on a dairy farm. I appreciate and understand how hard your family works!

[@trinitydairy]

We whitewash it every October. Gieroks and Working Horses with Jim are great channels.

[@gregwilson3371]

I know u guys did a vid on all the milking breeds but was curious if i only had beef cows on my farm would their milk be ok for human use?

[@trinitydairy]

Absolutely. When we first started milking cows, we were desperate for any milk we could get, so we milked a few Angus cross cows. Beef cattle udders don't hold up as well as dairy animals, but the milk is perfectly fine. I'm not sure how their butterfat compares, though.

[@gregwilson3371]

@@trinitydairy aha ok we got herefords at my place and i found the old milking machines that were used back in the day

[@gregwilson3371]

I sent ya a pic of the old milkers on Instagram so thats me who sent ya that pic

[@lesliewatts2878]

What a grand family operation. Best part - everyone appears to be happy and willing; a super good way to start your children out in life. Thanks for all the insights. Keep well. God bless you all.

[@judyengland2615]

Yes I follow Jim and yes he mentioned your chanel

[@plowahead1581]

Awesome video! We really enjoy what you share with us. I'm a dairyman's daughter, so it brings back memories. Thanks again.

[@heatherclayton-callaghan4270]

Now there's a trip down memory lane as a born & bred cow-cockys daughter, the middle one of 6 siblings, from the Catlins, & Town Supply outside of DUNEDIN, Sth Is., New Zealand also Had I Had I, West Coast NZ, and a big transition to Town Supply Malanda , Nth, Queensland Australia. The colder months in Dunedin we fed Grains while they milked. This was the leftovers from the Brewery distillery. You backed under the hopper and it filled your truck whatever tonnage you could haul. Ours was a huge tipperback truck but it didn't tip so the wet, warm grains were shoveled in through a hole in the shed wall and stored in a concrete partially enclosed bay and barrowed to the feeding bins at the head of each milking stall. You're right about the cleaners of of milking; cleanliness is next to godliness in the dairy !!!! Always loved the unusual smell of the boiling water mixed with the cleansing product for the entire washing of all equipment after every milking, morning and night. All 7 of us kids took turns in helping Dad or mum& dad with the milking. We milked 60 cows twice a day in an 8 stall dairy. THANKYOU for sharing your personal journey in this incredibly demanding dairy industry!!!!!! As kids we all took turns moaning about having to take turns milking either before or after school but it wasn't til I was well into my late 30s that I really appreciated the extremely demanding work my Dad put in to be a successful Dairy Farmer. He started out on meager finances with a herd of cows who supplied cream to the local butter factory. As the milk was separated on antiquated machinery back in early 50s, there was the whey left over; this meant pigs were also a top priority and we collected the whey from other farmers also. He also ran a large flock of sheep over the hills. I never thought of that man as a businessman and when we went to High School in the big city , (we all biked to school in Dunedin, 5miles each way every day, all weather) I was always just the farmers daughter , always thought we were the bottom of the barrel. Everyone was amazed when we sold up and moved to Australia to dairy farm there,. Safly mother couldn't cope with the heat and they sold up after 5yrs and bought another dairy farm on Sth Midlands West Coast. A very very demanding job requiring business skills and physical & mental health at the optimum. So now in my old age, I know what it entails to be a successful Dairy Farmer, the sacrifices and demanding hard work, the planning of feed, pastures, calving, etc etc it is such a demanding job that starts at 5am and ends well after dark 7 or 8pm. I send much Love and prayers of support to you all and can assure you if you always obey God and His Bible teachings by serving Him thru His Son Jesus and the Holy Spirit your live will be eternally blessed and your journey here on earth will be one of courage, strength, comfort and peace. It took me a long time to find Jesus and receive Him as saviour and Lord but once I did my life is transformed and I'm never going back to live in sin!!!! Be blessed my fellow dairy farmers , Onwards and Upwards for the kingdom of GOD. From Ipswich Queensland AUSTRALIA 🇦🇺🤗💞🙏✌👍👏🇺🇸

[@Plowboy4960]

Miss those days but still in the dairy business just don't milk no more Good learning video

[@davidmicalizio824]

❤

[@kopenhagenkid]

Nice looking corn silage Alan

[@trinitydairy]

Thanks, it turned out real nice.

[@robertmarino2158]

Great video , thanks for explaining your work load for the cows ! Well done , stay safe ! Glad to see the boys helping you , proud of them !

[@russphillips835]

Ya got a good partner in that lady, and a great bunch of youngins comin right along to help. Hope you have a great new year and really enjoying your videos!

[@Chico-td2fy]

Love this one ! Great job ya'll! 🥰🐂🐄

[@colorado1088]

Does the milker sense when the milk is all gone or does it keep squeezing until a person takes it off?

[@trinitydairy]

The ones that we had, keep milking, until we take them off, but they do make ones with automatic take off.

[@ratterrier6181]

Thanks for the video I was wondering how quickly does your bulk milk tank fill up?? And is the milk truck on a schedule or do you call to get it picked up thanks :)

[@trinitydairy]

We get picked up every other day on a schedule, so there's about 3,200 lbs of milk in there. The bulk tank holds about 6,880 lbs of milk.

[@terrynoland487]

Another excellent video again always enjoy watching your family all get involved in the videos thanks for sharing them with us

[@twocooneys]

Coming from working horses with Jim. Great video.

[@EpicWhitetailHabitatLLC]

Clean cows from people who take great pride in their cattle. Keep the videos coming!

[@markcovault1413]

You have some beautiful cow's

[@trinitydairy]

Thank you

[@paultighe3735]

Nice video enjoyed it 👍

[@dannygoin6552]

🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🍻🍻🍻🥃🥃🥃👍👍👍☕️☕️☕️👀👀👀🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

[@mennoreuten1563]

Still its a lot of work twice a day but you got a lot of helpers, just curios whats the average herdproduction in the 305days ,thanks and greetings from a Dutch dairyfarmer

[@trinitydairy]

19,962 lbs

[@Nathanyoder1755]

Another nice video. Have a blessed day.

[@hartungdairyfarm0713]

Cows look real good 👍. So I'm curious, I used to use those same canes to plug into the pipeline, do they ever pop out in between cows and cover you with milk . That drove me nuts lol. If you ever need some more water cups I've got the same ones in my barn not being used anymore

[@trinitydairy]

They used to do it a lot when I used a 9/16 cane, but with the 5/8 ones, it rarely, if ever, happens.

[@TomSmith-me7ph]

We had the same system for milking, pipe line to bulk tank, surge vacuum pump. When I was a kid, carried milk from surge buckets to strainer on cans. Then upgraded to bulk tank, but still had to carry milk only strainer was on bulk tank. Upgraded again a mobile pipeline, was a plastic hose which you pushed down the alley where you were milking and dumped the milk directly into the portable strainer with the surge buckets. After that we upgraded to pipe line with DeLavel milkers.

[@dlzastera]

That sounds like a step saver system

[@dandowns2665]

You take good care of your animals it's good to see

[@CMDSR]

Another great video Alan. Good to see the kids helping . I think Leonard picked the right time to fully retire. Bet you’re gonna have a hard time keeping them off the tractors come spring.

[@trinitydairy]

Oh, yes. The boys are practically ready to throw me in the nursing home now so they can take over lol!

[@ozz5350]

👍👏👏👏