|
|
Family dairy remembers prioritiesBy Jennifer M. Latzke
"Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe His commands, His laws and His decrees that I am giving you this day." Deuteronomy 8: 11. The plaque hanging in the office of Forget-Me-Not Farms, Cimarron, Kan., greets all visitors with this verse from the book of Deuteronomy. It's more than a Bible verse, though. For the Boersma family of Forget-Me-Not Farms, it's a company mission statement that reminds them to keep their priorities in place--faith, family and dairy farming. "We're a faith-based, family-oriented dairy," said Ted Boersma. Boersma and his wife, Nancy, operate Forget-Me-Not Farms with their daughters and their husbands, Naci and Josh Littlejohn and Aundi and T.J. Curtis, as well as Ted's parents, Andy and Grace Boersma. The Boersmas have been dairying since 1984, when Boersma bought his first 140 head of dairy cows and transitioned from a family background in the floor covering business to dairy. "I looked around and there weren't that many old men in floor covering," Boersma said with a smile. Dairy, he said, offered his family an opportunity back then in Belen, N.M. Building a family business They slowly built the herd to a point where it would be beneficial to move to a larger facility near Clovis, N.M. In 1993, the Boersmas built a new dairy designed to hold 1,400 cows in the emerging dairy region of Clovis. "That was more cows than I ever dreamed of owning," Boersma said. In 2000 the Boersmas built a second dairy in the Clovis area and bought a 5,000-head feedlot to grow their replacement heifers. "When I started out, I always dreamed of growing the business," Boersma said. "Now, we strive to be the best we can be, and it's not just about size. We have been tremendously blessed with the opportunities we've had." Eventually, though, the Clovis dairy market started to get crowded. If there was ever a time for expansion to accommodate a growing family and a growing dairy business, 2008 was it. "Clovis and the west Texas area is a hotbed of dairies, and everyone wanted to expand," Boersma said. "We just thought we'd start looking as far north and east as we could to build a bigger drylot dairy." They wanted to move north for more available feed supplies, and east for closer milk processing facilities. But, the Boersmas weren't just looking to move across the state this time.
Turning an idea into reality Boersma and a friend from Idaho decided to travel to Kansas to look at some land on a "lark." "There was a lot of wide open spaces and available feed," Boersma said. Pretty soon, the lark turned into a full-blown business plan to move the family and the dairy to Kansas. Kansas offered land, water, feed, labor and milk processing facilities. More importantly, the state boasted ag-friendly communities and regulations. So, Boersma came home and discussed his idea of relocating the dairy with his family and his spiritual and business advisors. Besides Naci and Aundi, the Boersmas have seven other children and many grandchildren spread from Clovis to Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kan. With a couple of grown children and extended family ties in Clovis, it wasn't a decision to be made on a whim. The family rallied around the idea, though, and plans were made for the big move. "Ted's always had a business vision of growth and opportunities for our family and all involved in the dairy," said son-in-law Curtis. It was exciting to see this idea come to life, he added. "When this whole thing started, I sought a lot of counsel," Boersma said. "I talked to guys I trusted in the dairy business, and every one of them thought it was a good idea." And so, in 2008, the Boersmas began building their new drylot dairy facility in Cimarron. Laying the foundation There was a lot of prep work to be done before the Boersmas could break ground on their new 6,000-head, two-rotary-parlor dairy south of Cimarron, though. To begin, they had to put together a land package for the dairy from several area farmers, build a facility to meet their current and future needs, meet regulatory requirements and more. Luckily, Boersma said, the business leaders in the community helped them in their endeavor. "The electric company, Victory Electric, did a lot of the legwork for us in talking with area farmers who had some partial lots of land for sale," Boersma said. Eventually, they put together a land package of 240 acres for the dairy itself. "We wanted room to grow, and I wanted the potential to put in our own processing plant some day," Boersma said. Plus, with a drylot dairy located in southwest Kansas, they needed to allot more land per cow to account for the increased precipitation. Another crucial step was introducing themselves to the neighbors in the area. Because of regulations from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, the Boersmas had to visit neighbors in a two-mile radius of their proposed facility to discuss what the dairy would bring to the community. "If there was one lesson I learned, it was that we should have expanded that circle to meet more people," Boersma said. They made up for that oversight later. Once they were settled, the family hosted a barbecue at the dairy, complete with tours of the facility and educational displays about the benefits of milk. The community came out in droves, Boersma said. "We produce nature's most wholesome food product," Boersma said. "This is a great place to look and see the process and ask questions about dairying." Littlejohn, Boersma's daughter, coordinates dairy tours for FFA, 4-H, and school groups. "We're unique and most who visit us have never been around dairy cows or on a place our size," she said. She said most are fascinated by the workings of the rotary parlor, or the "Dairy Go-Round." Operating principles Over the past 20 years or so, the Boersmas have learned many lessons on how to operate a dairy. And, with each new facility, they've improved on the previous one. For example, Forget-Me-Not actually operates as two separate dairy entities in Cimarron. It has two separate rotary milking parlors on opposite sides of the main building and two separate herds. Because of this, the Boersmas are in a unique position to experiment with new facilities, nutritional and veterinarian approaches to improve cow comfort and milk production in a measurable environment. One such experiment includes the two Saudi-style barns in the drylot. These barns are designed for extra shade and ventilation for drylot dairies such as Forget-Me-Not, and were originally created for Saudi Arabian dairies to reduce heat and cold stress. "The herd with the extra Saudi barn seems to show a measurable advantage, but we're still debating putting them in the rest of the dairy," Boersma said. One more improvement they implemented was in creating two-way traffic lanes so cows are free to come and go to the parlor. "We have someone guiding them from behind, but we don't have to close a gate and create an exit lane," Boersma said. This ease of cow movement makes it easier for cows to enter and exit the rotary parlors quickly. Another improvement they've brought is in sourcing their feed. While the Boersmas own several acres of farmland surrounding their dairy, they lease it back to farmers and buy feed from them as well. Forget-Me-Not trucks in about 12.5 semis of feed per day, Curtis said. The dairy feeds corn silage, haylage and grain commodities, along with dry and wet distillers grains from local ethanol plants. The Boersmas have a nutritionist on staff who balances their cow rations for body condition, milk production and reproduction. "We don't push our cows for tremendous production, instead we look for longevity in the herd," Boersma said. "We don't expect these cows to enter beauty contests." Great employees drive success With a dairy the scale of Forget-Me-Not, labor was a driving issue that enticed the Boersmas to relocate to Cimarron. In Clovis, for example, employee turnover was just factored into the cost of business. Boersma explained with the number of dairies concentrated in one area, an employee could practically quit one job and walk next door and be hired in the same day. In contrast, in southwest Kansas, the Boersmas have found a dedicated labor pool that understands the needs of large-scale agriculture, such as their dairy. At 70 employees, Forget-Me-Not Farms is one of the larger business entities between Garden City and Dodge City, Kan. "Our employees are stable and reliable, and they work hard to follow the protocols and procedures we have in place," Curtis said. Those protocols are in place not only to make tasks easier to learn and complete for their workers, but to ensure worker safety and food security. Also, they lay out specifically what is expected of the worker, so that consistency and safety are the key words around the farm. Littlejohn works in the office at the dairy, and she's in charge of human resources. Incentives for workers are key to hiring and keeping good help, she explained. "We offer a bonus for showing up to work by a certain time every day of the pay period," Littlejohn said. There's a simple IRA in place with matching contributions, and the farm is actively working on a health insurance plan for their employees. Additionally, the facility was built with an office space that can double as emergency sleeping quarters for workers in case of winter storms that could keep them from their critical work at the dairy. "On those occasions when we've had bad weather, the ones on shift have stayed extra to help out," she added. Their employees understand that if they take care of the cows as best as they can, the cows will take care of them in return. A mission of faith Forget-Me-Not Farms may take its name from the verse of Deuteronomy, but the Boersmas actively share their faith with their employees. Every employee receives a new Bible at the time of their hiring, along with a letter explaining the principles that employees are expected to follow in representing Forget-Me-Not Farms--principles such as character, commitment, positive attitude, self-discipline, responsibility and the Golden Rule. "Every employee gets this letter with their Bible; it sets the tone of what we expect from them," Curtis said. "The Bible guides us and our employees, it's who we are." Boersma and his family live each day the mission of being the best faith-based, family-oriented dairy business they can be--it's a mission they can't forget. Jennifer M. Latzke can be reached by phone at 620-227-1807, or by e-mail at jlatzke@hpj.com.
Copyright/Privacy
Copyright 1995-2011. High Plains Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Any republishing of these pages, including electronic reproduction of the editorial archives or classified advertising, is strictly prohibited. If you have questions or comments you can reach us at High Plains Journal 1500 E. Wyatt Earp Blvd., P.O. Box 760, Dodge City, KS 67801 or call 1-800-452-7171. Email: webmaster@hpj.com |
|
