This article was #17 of the Top 25 most well-read articles on www.progressivedairy.com in 2014. It was published in the March 27, 2014 Extra e-newsletter. If cows were cars, you’d fuel them, lube them, check the oil once in awhile and occasionally wash the windshield. Other than that, you’d wait for a red warning light to come on or watch for a needle reaching the “red zone” before servicing anything major.

There are times when seed buyers simply buy the “old standby.” They’ve grown it for years; their livestock manages just fine and buyers seem satisfied. So why fix what isn’t broken? Don’t rock the boat.

Five hundred acres a day – that’s the goal. With five John Deere rotary swathers, all running full throttle, it’s achievable at Alturas Ranches, LLC in Alturas, California.

Jacob Shenk grew up around dairies in northern Virginia, and his parents operated a small dairy. After college graduation, Shenk knew his parents’ dairy wasn’t big enough to support his return, so he worked on a neighbor’s farm for a few years. In 2008, he simply decided to head out on his own.

This article was #7 of the Top 25 most well-read articles on www.progressivedairy.com in 2014. It was published in the Jan. 17, 2014 Extra e-newsletter. So that’s where the money went! Feed costs are the Achilles’ heel of a dairy. Many dairymen prepare cost budgets based on the nutritionist’s ration but do not account for losses in the mixing process by cows sorting at the bunk or by what was lost to birds and raccoons.

Editor’s note: This is the second in a four-part series looking at how four individuals are turning dreams into reality to become first-generation farmers, ranchers and dairymen. To view the Part 1 spotlight on Lance Peters, click here. To view Part 3 featuring Jacob Shenk, click here. To read Brandon Fawaz's story in Part 4, click here.