Three powerful words that continue to have a huge impact on NorthStar Cooperative's success. Serve, Grow, Build are the road map for our future, and describe the commitment of our board of directors, employees and suppliers to be your partner into the 21st century.

NorthStar has prioritized the need to ensure all team members are able to ‘SERVE’ your changing needs. Over the past ten years one of our strategic goals has been to develop a well-trained, diversified, team-oriented employee base that creates growth in the products and services we provide. We encourage employees to step out of their comfort zone, gaining knowledge that brings value to you.

It is this servant attitude, along with an eagerness to learn, that has led NorthStar to the next step, to ‘GROW.’ We have purposefully focused on business opportunities within developing market sectors. As such, we have had the opportunity to deliver an array of products that are trusted and sought after by the industry.

You trust Select Sires to provide the very best genetics available – and they do, time and time again. We continue to grow our genetic offerings through recent new partnerships with JerseyLand Sires, River Valley Jerseys, GenerVations, and LIC, a New Zealand based company for grazing genetics.

Products like CowManager®, electronic herd health monitoring, are in high demand. In just 18 months CowManager has been installed in over 350 herds throughout North America, including 50 in NorthStar’s area. Herd management products including DTX™, BioCycle™, BioCycle Plus™, 4XLA®, EfferCept® SG, and RFID ear tags have all experienced growth. Our DHI testing services, milk analysis for traditional DHI testing, as well as health and diagnostic testing (Mastitis, Johne’s, Leukosis, Pregnancy, etc.) have shown substantial growth for your cooperative.

To SERVE and GROW, you must be prepared to ‘BUILD’ in both good and challenging times. As a farmer-owned cooperative we cannot stand still, even in this environment, or it will be the equivalent of going backwards. Such is true for your business as well.

This past year NorthStar determined that to supply the type of partnership you expect, we needed to BUILD. As a result, a new 5,600 square foot state-of-the-art laboratory opened its doors in September. In the first months

of operation we have set records for speed and efficiency, while maintaining the accuracy you expect.

Building plans are in the works this year to address the over-capacity at our Wisconsin lab. Plans for the new facility will accommodate growth in DHI samples, as well as diagnostic and health analysis, while providing much needed warehouse and meeting space for our expanding Wisconsin markets.

Additionally, Select Sires is in the midst of a significant building project in Plain City, Ohio to expand stall space to meet your future genetic needs. Genomics has pushed the need for more bull housing, collection facilities, and shipping areas to meet the growing demands and prepare us for the future.

Building is not limited to structures alone. NorthStar continues to build our talent pool with the addition of two new research scientists. These individuals will join the NorthStar team later this summer and will focus on developing innovative health and diagnostic tests to meet your ever growing and changing needs.

SERVE, GROW, BUILD... it's a continuous circle of commitment to you, our most valued asset, as we shape the future of NorthStar Cooperative. Thank you for your continued confidence as we work to achieve our mission of ‘Enhancing Producer Profitability through Integrated Services’.

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Mark Adam,General Manager

2 Comprehensive solutions for producer profitability.

SHOT GUN @ +3.1 SCR MONOCEROTIS @ +1.6 SCR

FERTILITY GIANTSMore fertility specialists than any other organization!

SUPERSIRE @ +2.9 SCR

AIKMAN @ +2.9 SCRSelect Sires Active Proven Holstein Lineup includes:

49 Sires ≥ +1.0 SCR24 Sires ≥ +2.0 SCR

CLARIFIDE® Plus from Zoetis offers dairy producers the opportunity to more accurately identify and select animals based on wellness traits including mastitis, lameness, metritis, retained placenta, displaced abomasum and ketosis.

CLARIFIDE Plus offers U.S. Holstein producers a simple, comprehensive way to combine wellness and other genetic trait predictions into economic-based indexes that measure profitability based on direct genetic predictions for adverse health events.

In addition to individual trait results, CLARIFIDE Plus provides two indexes—Dairy Wellness Profit Index™

(DWP$™) and Wellness Trait Index™ (WT$™)—that describe differences in lifetime profitability including the new wellness trait genetic information.

Dairy Wellness Profit Index™ (DWP$™) is a multi-trait selection index which includes production, fertility, type, longevity and the wellness traits, including Polled test results.

Wellness Trait Index™ (WT$™) is a selection index that focuses exclusively on the wellness traits (mastitis, lameness, metritis, retained placenta, displaced abomasum, ketosis and polled) and estimates expected differences in lifetime profitability related to them.

The top WT$ sires at Select Sires are designated WellnessPRO™ to identify the sires with the greatest opportunity to make a positive impact on wellness by reducing the genetic risk of common dairy cow diseases.

To learn more about these new traits and for a complete list of WellnessPRO sires talk with your NorthStar Specialist.

CLARIFIDE®, Dairy Wellness Profit Index™, DWP$™, Wellness Trait Index™ and WT$™ are property of Zoetis® Inc. WellnessPRO™ is a trademark of Select Sires.

New Selection Traits Improve Herd Health by Choice, not Chance

4/16 USDA-CDCB/HAUSA Genomic Evaluation Rel.%: Monocerotis 94, 87, 86; Supersire 99, 99, 99; Shot Gun 95, 93, 96; Aikman 93, 89, 91;. GTPI is a registered trademark of Holstein Association USA. WellnessPRO is a trademark of Select Sires.

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Plan Ahead for Summer Heat StressJulie Ainsworth, Coordinator Reproductive Solutions, PAS @ ainsworthj@northstarcooperative.com

Heat and humidity can be dangerous for dairy cows as it lowers milk production and suppresses their immune function. Mild heat stress for

dairy cows can start at a heat index of 68°F (a combination of heat and humidity). At 80°F cows feel significant heat stress if they are not offered some form of relief.

A cow’s large rumen makes her a great converter of fibrous feedstuffs but it also makes her very susceptible to heat stress. The microflora that break down the fiber produce a large amount of heat so it’s like having a furnace inside all year long. The higher her production the higher her dry matter intake so high-producing cows get hit the hardest.

Consider these 10 tips for minimizing summer heat stress. 1. Water, water, water: At 40°F

a cow will drink an average of 25 gallons of water. At 80°F the same cow will drink 33 gallons. The higher her production the more water she will drink. Cows should have at least three linear inches per cow trough space. This will give subordinate cows a chance to drink as well.

2. Fans: Choose fans 36-48 inches wide to help remove radiant heat. Place them eight feet off the ground, 20 feet apart and at an angle of 15-25 degrees downward. When placed correctly there should be continual airflow of 4-6 mph and no dead air spaces.

3. Shade: Most cows in the Midwest would be under the cover of a

barn roof but don’t forget dry and milking cows on pasture and those sick and down cows laying outside. Studies have shown 10-20 percent more milk for cows on pasture offered shade.

4. Soakers for evaporative cooling: Sprinklers over the feed alley, combined with fans, offer the best possible cooling by using evaporation. They should be placed eight feet off the ground just under the fans with a 180-degree spray pattern and 10 PSI water flow. Soakers over the beds should be avoided so they won’t contribute to environmental mastitis.

5. Ration changes: If ever there was a place for highly digestible roughages it is in the summer. Faster rate of passage contributes less to the heat from fermentation. Decreasing concentrates and adding rumen inert fat can also help to make up for the lack of dry matter intake.

6. Holding pen and parlor: Make these areas a priority as they can be one of the hottest on the dairy. Fans and sprinklers should be considered a “must”! The cows should also have access to water soon after exiting the parlor.

7. Focus on fresh cows: Watch dry matter intakes and be sure to cool them adequately. Heat stress can cause their immune functions to decrease and they should be monitored more closely and intervened on quickly.

8. Minimize working cattle: Don’t do anything to add stress such as moving, sorting, transporting and vaccinations. These will stress an already compromised immune system.

9. Feed at cooler times of day: Feeding early morning and late evening can encourage dry matter intakes.

10. Reduce stocking density: Overstocking in hot weather can generate too much heat to dissipate.

Minimizing heat stress should be the goal of every dairyman. Use this list to minimize the negative effects of heat stress and maintain performance in the hot summer months. If you want to learn more, talk with your NorthStar Specialist or contact me.

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4 Comprehensive solutions for producer profitability.

An outbreak of contagious mastitis is one of the most costly battles a dairy producer can face. Losses stemming from decreased milk production, lower milk quality bonuses due to increased Somatic Cell Count (SCC), and elevated veterinary costs add up quickly. “When fighting with contagious mastitis, time is money,” said dairyman, Tom Levendoski.

The Clear Lake, Wisconsin dairy was faced with nearly 100 cows in the hospital pen, an overwhelming number of sick calves and a steady incline in the herd’s bulk tank SCC. “Not only were we spending money on medicine for the calves, we were also losing milk production from the number of animals in the hospital pen and our quality bonus was decreasing from our rising SCC,” recalled Tom.

Showing no indication of infection from the samples he sent to the local milk laboratory, Tom turned to his dairy’s veterinarian for advice on how to increase production and decrease the number of sick animals. Following the veterinarian’s suggestions to the letter, the dairy still showed no improvement.

“We switched from water beds to sand bedding – which was not an inexpensive move; we changed the way we managed our hospital pen, altered our milking procedures, changed our milking equipment, and sent towel samples to the University of Minnesota (U of M). Over a year later, our health issues had not improved,” Tom stated.

With no change in the herd’s health, the dairy’s herdsman Matt decided to send six milk samples to U of M to be cultured for mastitis organism growth. “When the results came back, I was physically ill,” recalled Tom. Four of the six samples came back positive for Mycoplasma bovis, a highly contagious mastitis organism which is easily

Dairy's Trust in Mastitis PCR Paying Dividends

spread from cow to cow. Tackling the infection at its

source, the dairy used weekly culture results as a guide for treatment and culling decisions. With nearly a third of the herd infected with Mycoplasma bovis and Staphylococcus aureus the dairy had its work cut out for them. “Between the price of cultures and the money lost on infected animals, we were in bad shape,” stated Tom. “That’s when Scott got involved.”

NorthStar Cooperative Team Leader Scott Ellevold first introduced Tom to NorthStar’s Mastitis PCR test in January 2015. “With faster turn-around time than culture and the ability to pool samples while still identifying infected cows, I knew this test would really benefit the dairy while saving them a lot of money in the process,” recalled Scott.

After his own extensive research on PCR testing, Tom decided to give it a try. “What really sold me on Mastitis PCR was logging onto my computer the day after sending samples, and seeing my results. I jumped back in my seat – I definitely was not expecting to have results that quickly,” laughed Tom. “The more time spent waiting for results means more time the infected animals are in contact with healthy animals - further spreading the infection.”

Unlike traditional culturing, Mastitis PCR detects the DNA in the animal’s milk to determine infection. This factor gives NorthStar the ability to report mastitis results up to ten days sooner than traditional culturing.

Speed is just one of Mastitis PCR’s advantages over traditional culture. “I expected to pay an arm and a leg for the PCR testing given that an individual PCR test is more expensive

than the individual cultures I had been paying for,” admitted Tom. “After looking at NorthStar’s testing options, I realized I would actually save thousands of dollars a year by pooling our samples.”

With NorthStar’s pooling option, producers are able to combine up to five milk samples per PCR analysis for the same price as an individual test sample. If a pooled sample receives a positive result, laboratory technicians run the individual samples and determine which animal is infected.

Less than a year after Tom received the devastating results that Mycoplasma bovis and Staphylococcus aureus had infected his herd, the dairy has rebounded. Back up to 600 cows, the herd’s SCC has dropped to as low as 89,000 with very few cows in the sick pen, no sick calves, and daily milk production reaching 96 pounds – a statistic that seemed impossible just one year ago.

With the ability to pool samples, monitoring for contagious infection has never been easier or more valuable to a dairy’s bottom-line. Having spent over $1 million recovering from Mycoplasma bovis and Staphylococcus aureus, Tom said, “I don’t know how we could afford not to test our animals using Mastitis PCR!”

~ Kailey Sweers

Looking at NorthStar's testing options I realized I would actually save thousands of dollars a year by pooling samples.

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Why was Tom Levendoski’s success controlling contagious mastitis so evident in just a year? He trusted the technology behind Mastitis PCR, made tough culling decisions based on results, and improvement quickly followed suit.

Mastitis is an ever present challenge on dairies and with summer approaching, seasonal challenges with environmental pathogens persist.

Fortunately, PCR technology offers some useful advantages over culture to help combat mastitis and high SCC. Mastitis PCR testing • High sensitivity is better suited

for screening pools, pens and bulk tanks

• Pooling strategies reduce overall testing costs

• Resistant to antibiotics which allows testing on hospital cows

• Speed generates results for any organism within 48 hours

• Application to DHI samples can target high SCC cows

Trust in this technology is not only reflected in Levendoski’s experience, but also in the growing number of producers adding mastitis PCR to their mastitis control programs. Testing volume at NorthStar in 2016 is up over 50 percent compared to 2015. Clearly, PCR’s versatility allows it to contribute to any mastitis testing strategy.

To determine how PCR testing might benefit your program, talk to your NorthStar Specialist or give us a call at 800.631.3510.

Tough Decisions Require Trust with MastitisTodd Byrem, Ph. D., Director, AntelBio

SUPERSIREThe Breed’s Best for TPI® and NM$!

7HO11833 RENNIE+$811 NM +2439 TPI +9.9 PL +1,049 DWP$

7HO11752 BOB +2557 TPI +$699 NM +5.2 PL +2.22 T

Select Sires is home to more of the breed’s best Net Merit and TPI® leaders than anyone else!

• 8 of the Top 9 TPI Sires• 16 of the Top 25 TPI Sires• 18 of the Top 25 NM$ Sires

NewGraduate

NewGraduate

#4 on the Top 100 TPI List !

#4 in the Breed for Net Merit!

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4/16 USDA-CDCB/HAUSA Genomic Evaluation Rel.%: Supersire 99, 99; Rennie 94, 90; Bob 95, 90.

6 Comprehensive solutions for producer profitability.

Take a close look at your last mycotoxin test report. Are you confident that you know what it means?

“Mycotoxins” is a word that means different things to different producers. Some consider it a ‘single’ item that may or may not affect the herd. Some recognize that many mycotoxins exist and that each has its own effect on cattle. A few understand the potential for interaction that is present when more than one mycotoxin is found. But what else can you glean from your mycotoxin test report?

Let’s begin by looking at last year’s exposure in the NorthStar Cooperative area. Agrarian Marketing Corp® (AMC), makers of Select DTX™, BioCycle™, and BioCycle Plus™, offers periodic mycotoxin screening to producers at no charge. Samples are processed by a laboratory in Canada that uses state-of-the-art gas chromatography/tandem mass spectroscopy to analyze feedstuffs. All results are archived at AMC and below are the general results obtained last year.

The chart shows the results of over 240 sample submissions roughly spanning calendar year 2015. A majority of the samples were TMR, followed by corn silage, corn, and then a mix of various other feed materials.

DON for the year was well above what we’d like to see on dairies with an average of nearly 2,000 ppb in both crop years. Zearalenone was low, running below 200 ppb for both harvests. But, wait, there are two other sets of bars! 3-acetyl-DON and 15-acetyl-DON are just as potent as DON in cattle. While they are quite low (many negative samples) on average, they can still adversely impact herd performance.

The table shows the high values for each toxin. Now we’re looking at roughly 20,000 ppb (= 20 ppm) DON and part-per-million quantities of 3-Ac and 15-Ac-DON. Add them up for 2015 – 24,400 ppb of DON (and this was in a single silage sample). And then top it off with the 1,400 ppb of Zearalenone in that silage. Hmmm... wonder what that herd’s overall performance looks like!

If you’ve never heard about 3- and 15-acteyl-DON, here’s the story. The basic chemistry of the DON

molecule is very similar to a large number of related Fusarium mycotoxins. Depending on the Fusarium species, different components are synthesized into the base molecule yielding

Mycotoxin Testing for Your FarmJohn A. Doerr, Ph. D., Agrarian Marketing Corp®

2015 Mycotoxin AnalysesNorthStar Cooperative Region

2014: 107 Samples 1/1/15—9/30/15 * 2015: 137 samples 10/1/15—1/8/16

2014 Crop2015 Crop

different mycotoxins. But with DON itself, the producing species can also make some simple additions to the periphery of the molecule. Addition of acetic acid to the #3 or #15 carbon creates 3-Ac or 15-Ac-DON. When the cow consumes these forms, the acetic acid is easily removed by the digestive system leaving the original DON molecule. For all practical purposes, 3-Ac-DON and 15-Ac-DON must be considered the same as DON. When AMC runs feed tests, these forms are reported as total DON on reports producers receive.

Does this data have you worried? They should, but at the same time the data make an ideal time to review just a few considerations about test reports.• This a single spot in time; it does

not represent the entirety of the ration in front of the cows. She is ALWAYS your best analyst; pay attention to what she tells you.

• Sampling verifies if toxins are present, but we don’t always get an exact value.

• We can’t always predict the interactions that may occur from any given combination of mycotoxins (plus what’s there that we can’t yet analyze!), but we can confidently predict that some form of interaction will occur.

• Start with a mycotoxin test. NorthStar offers products to head off

major mycotoxin issues. Talk to your NorthStar Specialist to learn more.

Crop Year DON 3-Ac-ON 15-Ac-ON T-2 HT-2 Zea2014 22,300 250 560 79 280 2,3502015 19,500* 1,540 3,390 600 150 1,480

Max Mycotoxin Values in NorthStar Cooperative Region - Calendar Year

DON, deoxynivalenol; 3-Ac-DON, 3-acetyl-DON; 15-Ac-DON, 15-acetyl-DON; Fum B1, fumonisin B1; Fum B2, fumonisin B2; OA, ochratoxin; T-2, T-2 Toxin; HT-2, HT-2 Toxin; Zea, zearalenone*High DON came from a corn silage sample that also contained the high values of 3-Ac-DON, 15-Ac-DON, and Zea!

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Election ResultsNorthStar Cooperative member-stockowners recently

elected members to serve on the Cooperative’s board of directors, as well as advisory and resolutions committee.

Member-owners in four districts cast votes to fill positions on the NorthStar board of directors. Incumbents Jason Benthem, McBain, Michigan (district 1); Paul Trierweiler, Portland, Michigan (district 2); and Don Hoffelt, Bruce, Wisconsin (district 10) were reelected and will serve a three-year term. Ken Carnahan of Butler, Indiana was elected to replace retiring board member Mike Heckaman in district 12. Additionally, Dana Sue Kirk was appointed to the board of directors for a one-year term.

Stockowners were also asked to elect members to the Cooperative’s advisory and resolutions committee. Dairymen

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elected this year include: Rod Daniels, Whittemore, Michigan; Harry Martin, Marion, Michigan; Jeff Alexander, Hanover, Michigan; Mike Bender, Croswell, Michigan; Ken McBroom, Vulcan, Michigan; Eldon Heling, Clintonville, Wisconsin; Randall Geiger, Reedsville, Wisconsin; Scott Pralle, Humbird, Wisconsin; and Cory Craig, Fair Oaks, Indiana.

Yes it’s a catchy country music lyric, but it also sums up how better use of your DHI data can help your dairy be more profitable.

There are lots of data points provid-ed through DHI information that can be easily monitored. SCC is one that is on the top of everyones list that can quickly add dollars to the bottom line.

Lowering SCC is an ongoing goal, and surely you are doing all that is possible. But consider for a moment how monitoring SCC even a bit more closely can add pennies, dimes and dollars to your bottom line.

For example, at 100,000 SCC the average milk loss per cow may seem minuscule at 1.5 lbs. per day, but it

adds up to about 547 lbs. per lacta-tion. Consider for a moment, when SCC climbs to 300,000, what does that increase cost you?

Having a 0 SCC isn’t realistic, but consider how dollars add up if you re-duce the SCC of 50 cows from 300,000 to 100,000. The difference in lost milk production between these two levels is 600 lbs. per cow/per lactation. Even at a $12 milk price, it adds up to $72 per cow, or $3,600 for the 50 cow group. The DHI-402 Herd Evaluator Report

is a great place to get an overview of your herd’s SCC information. The image below is the SCC section of the 402 Report, and it shows your herd’s current SCC, previous test SCC, as

well as a host of other valuable infor-mation. This snapshot quickly tells you if there are opportunities for improv-ing your bottom line by reducing SCC.You can dive deeper into individual

animal SCC scores with the Hot Sheet. The Hot Sheet is a free email report that is provided within 24 hours of sample processing and reports SCC of all cows, ranking them according to their affect on bulk tank SCC levels. This is just one example of how using

your existing DHI data more intensely can add up. If you are not yet using DHI, consider the opportunities it provides for fine-tuning your manage-ment and adding dollars to the bottom line.

Pennies Make Dimes and Dimes Make DollarsKevin Haase, NorthStar Team Leader @ haasek@northstarcooperative.com

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NorthStar Cooperative, its agents or employees cannot and do not guarantee the conception rate, gender, quality or productivity to be obtained in connection with the use of its products, recommended techniques or services. WE MAKE NO WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND WHATSOEVER, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, WHICH EXTEND BEYOND THE DESCRIPTION OF ITS PRODUCTS OR SERVICES AND HEREBY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. In the unlikely event that any of our products or services shall be proven to be defective, damages resulting from their use shall exclude consequential damages and be limited to their purchase price.

Unlike culture, DNA TESTING

USING 21ST CENTURY TOOLS

MASTITIS DETECTION

Unlike culture, DNA TESTING provides:

• Speed • Flexibility • Versatility • Cost Savings • Convenience

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