After seeing the success of a neighboring farm using the Midwestern BioAg program, Minnesota-based farmer, Darrell Luhman, decided to try the BioAg Way.
Reluctant at first, he split-tested his hay – applying BioAg product on only half of his hay field. He baled the hay off and was soon visited by his BioAg consultant who requested an experiment. Together, Luhman and his consultant, threw down two bales of hay, one from each side of the field. The cows came to the manger, grabbing the bales of hay and throwing them up in the air. They all had mouths full of hay.
When they were ready for the next mouthful, the cows all went after the BioAg bale. His BioAg consultant said, “I rest my case. The reason they went after that bale is because it has more vitamins and minerals from our fertilizer. That gets into the plant, making it taste better and be more nutritious. Your cows just showed you which bale they like the best.” After that, Luhman has been a Midwestern BioAg customer for over 15 years.
Quality feed has made a big difference in his operation and bottom line. He sees this difference over time with reduced veterinary fees and higher pregnancy rates among his dairy herd. Luhman says, “I’ll put BioAg at the top of the list for quality feed.”
Acknowledging that people, farmers especially, don’t like to spend money, he adds, “the BioAg bill is one bill that doesn’t bother me because I know what I am getting back.” As a dairy farmer, “it’s not about how much milk is in the tank. It’s about how much milk in that tank is yours.”
Over the years, Luhman has used a mix of Midwestern BioAg products from dry fertilizer and nitrogen to soil amendments like Bio-Cal®. He says, “I always rely on my consultant to tell me what to do. It makes it a lot nicer to work with people who know what they are talking about.”
Luhman has had a lifelong love for farming. He recalls, “all the way through school the only thing I cared about was farming.” Today, the love is still going strong. “Things have been good with farming. I’m very happy.”
“I believe in what BioAg is doing.” With that full belief, he pays it forward – always sharing his success stories with his neighbors, so they too can be happy.
