A unique partnership was born in 1999 when Jake and Saskia Zwemmer approached a group of crop farmers in the thumb of Michigan. The Zwemmers wanted to focus their talents on cow care and buy forages from successful crop farmers. That is when Allied Enterprises LLC was founded, and in that first year the group supplied 400 acres of forage for the fledgling dairy herd.
Since that time, the relationship between Allied and Zwemmers has grown exponentially, with the cropping team now harvesting some 8,000 acres of corn silage and alfalfa for the Zwemmer's 11,000 cows. That makes timing the harvest extremely crucial.
"All farms must turn in field name and location, hybrid planted, maturity date, planting date and associated acres," explained Adam Herford who is a partner in Allied Enterprises. "Once we start chopping, we follow planting date and maturity date unless we run into a very light soil. The corn is visually checked. We also cut and run samples a few weeks before harvest," explained Herford. "As that approaches, we will test chop corn for silage, and when it's in the lower end of the moisture range of 34 to 37 percent, we will begin harvest. (Our average dry matter has dropped about 3 percentage points with shredlage.)
"Because Zwemmer Dairy feeds 15 pounds of beet pulp a day, and that product has a moisture of 25 percent dry matter, we chop our silage a little drier and use inoculants. Alfalfa harvest is determined by PEAQ (predictive equations for alfalfa quality). We start chopping at 36 to 37 percent NDF," said Herford when discussing alfalfa.
The Allied-Zwemmer Team also had this to say in response to additional questions focused on "What drives their crops and forages":
How are forage and tillage operations handled on your farm?
We (Allied Enterprises LLC) consist of five farms that were founded in 1999. When we started, we chopped 400 acres; now we harvest 8,000 acres. Each farm is required to deliver feed based on ownership interest. Overall, 90 percent of our feed goes to Zwemmer Farms. The LLC owns the forage equipment and is handling the billing of forages to the dairy . . . that way the dairy only has to deal with one entity.
Allied Farms is in charge of planting, harvesting, forage testing and moving manure. Jake Zwemmer, Ryan Hooper and the entire Zwemmer team handle all things cows. On manure, Allied works with three other local manure haulers to get the job done.
We have been partners for 16 years. If something is out of whack for the growers or dairy, we sit around the table and work it out. We are in constant communication, whether its good or bad. We've been through low milk prices and low feed prices. This is a long-term relationship.
Do you use consultants?
We use a wide range of consultants: feed consultants, crop consultants, accountants and lawyers. We are very fortunate to have a very ag-based support network. Feed consultants help with diet formulation and feed needs (they work closely with Ryan Hooper). Crop consultants are used to help with fertility needs and crop resources. Each individual Allied farm partner works with their own consultant, and some do employ the same one.
How do you handle forage purchases?
If we work with other farmers, not the Allied Enterprise team, it's all based on feed needs and quantity of manure available. It varies year to year.
The people that we (Allied) work with now are repeat customers. We want to work with them and they want to work with us. We ensure this is a win-win for both parties. When we do come to the table, we go through the numbers, with correct numbers, and make it work for both parties. We take a long-term approach and don't let the short term cloud our judgment.
To learn more about the Allied-Zwemmer partnership, turn to pages 768 to 770 in the December issue to read the Round Table "What drives their crops and forages."
If you are currently not a subscriber, please order a subscription. If you order today, we can be sure you get to read the December issue.
The collective team is shown above with Allied Enterprises in the first two rows and Zwemmer Dairy in blue sweatshirts (L to R): front row, Dan Gerstenberger, Jim Herford, Tim Leipprandt, Chris Leipprandt and Luke Herford; second row, Mike Bushey, Jeff Bushey, Branden Herford, Phil Leipprandt, Adam Herford and Bill Herford; back row, Carmen Zwemmer, Saskia Zwemmer, dairy farm manager Ryan Hooper, and Jake Zwemmer. One founding member of Allied, Tom Gettel, lost a battle with cancer in 2014.
(c) Hoard's Dairyman Intel 2015
December 28, 2015
