Posted: 7/5/06
4-H teens from Virginia visit area
By David Heiller
Argus News Editor
Melvin Dolan couldnít believe how flat Houston County was.
You have those impressions when you are from Appomattox, Virginia.
Dolan and seven other youths were part of a Houston County 4-H Teen Exchange that took place lase week.
Itís the second half of an exchange that started last year, when Houston County members traveled to Appomattox.
Dolan, who stayed with Jim Wiste of Spring Grove, said it was a fun visit. They saw a lock and dam on the Mississippi River, took in a La Crosse Loggers baseball game, and rode on the Mississippi Queen. Those were just a few of the activities.
The terrain is different here, Dolan said in an accent that was anything but Minnesotan. A 40-50 acre field is about the biggest youíll see where he lives. ìWeíve got more timber than we know what to do with,î he said.
Then there are those mountains that make our hilly countryside seem like a sheet of paper.
Dolan and Wiste spoke while waiting for their cohorts to catch up with them at the Matt and Karl Hendel farm southwest of Caledonia.
The farm tour was one of several stops they made that day. They also visited an elk farm, a buffalo farm and Wildcat Park.
Wiste said the trip by the Houston County members to Virginia last year was fun. ìThey have a lot to see,î he said. One thing that impressed him was the house at Appomattox Courthouse where the Confederates surrendered to the Union Army in 1865.
ìLots of history,î Wiste said.
Hendel talks about farm
After the rest of the 4-H members arrived, Matt Hendel gave a 15 minute summary of his farm. Then they donned plastic boots and toured the milking parlor and barns.
Hendel said he was in a 4-H Teen Exchange program himself as a youngster, and visited farms in Indiana, Kansas, and Nebraska. ìIt was a very valuable experience,î he told the group while a cow bellowed behind him. ìI got to stay at three different farms. Itís a really fun program.î
The Hendels milk more than 300 cows. Most are Holsteins, because they are more efficient, giving about 28,000 pounds per year each. The Hendels also milk some Brown Swiss, which average about 22,000 pounds per year.
Most of the milk goes into manufactured products like cheese and yogurt.
California is the top dairy state in the United States, Hendel said. Thatís due to availability of space, cheap labor, and cheap facilities. Herds can number 8,000-10,000 animals in size out west, Hendel said.
The Hendel farm makes money from sale of milk as well as the sale of bulls and heifers for breeding purposes. They also sell embryos in the United States and to countries like Japan, Spain, Italy, and Germany. They will super-ovulate an elite cow to produce more embryos, Hendel added. The embryos are frozen, sold, and implanted in another animal. That technology began in the late 1960s, and has led to embryonic implants in humans.
Hendel also talked about the importance of food rations. He showed the teens a sample of a ration, and pointed out mineral additives like soy meal and cotton seed. There are seven different rations at their farm, depending on the stage of the animal.
ìIíd say their diets are more carefully put together than ours are,î Mattís mother, Mary Jane Hendel, said with one of her typical smiles.
More about the program
The teen exchange program exists to allow teens the experience of life in a different part of the country, Kelly Vortherms, 4-H coordinator for Houston County, said. It encourages the development of relationships with peers in Houston County and other states, and for teens to learn about the similarities and differences in 4-H programs across the country. These goals are accomplished through the various activities throughout the exchange.
Another part of the experience is having the opportunity to live with teens in their home for a week.
Youth that participated from Houston County are Christopher Graf, Melissa Graf, Erin Knutson, Theresa McManimon, Kristine Myhre, Amelia and Molly Schaller, Katie and Sarah Windschitl, Jim Wiste, Peter Zaffke, and Karla Wiste. Chaperones were Kerry Schaller and Lisa Graf.
Youth that participated from Virginia were Justin Bauman, Amanda Covington, Christen Campbell, Mandi Dolan, Ann-Pierce Hunter, Tricia Evans, Melvin Dolan, Patrick Tolley. Chaperones were Joanne OíBrien, June Chanault, and Carolyn Dolan.
In order to make this trip possible, the Teen Exchange youth have been conducting fundraisers all year. They had a silent auction at last yearís fair, sold poinsettias and spring flowers, sold food at an auction, hosted a golf outing, among other projects. They are currently selling tickets for a quilt that will be raffled off at this yearís county fair.
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