HAMILTON COUNTY 4-H TOURS FULLMER CATTLE

by Michele Boy | June 27, 2024

Kolton Kreitel loves his job. As general manager for Fullmer Cattle, he oversees all operations making sure every milk bottle, trailer, and equipment is sanitized. Hutches where calves are housed are lifted off the ground in the summer for better air flow and bedded down in winter to keep them warm. With up to 60,000 calves daily, keeping operations running smoothly, equipment sanitized, and 190 employees on task is no small feat. 
Laila Kammerman, Human Resources for Fullmer Cattle, invited the Hamilton County 4-H youth to come tour the facility. 
On Wednesday, June 19, two SUVs brought ten children and four adults on the tour. Kreitel explained every detail with passion. No one left disappointed. 
The company hauls calves from 34 states and Canada. Their operations include hauling 200,000 gallons a day of water to the hutches and corrals.
The baby calves are brought in, one to two days old. They must be given two feedings of colostrum before they come to Fullmer. Kreitel said, “The babies have no immune system. So, the colostrum helps with antibodies.”
A boiler is used to get the milk up to temperature to pasteurize it and to kill bacteria. Since this is not a natural environment for calves, they must keep everything clean. So, they spend a lot of time disinfecting everything. 
While some bottles and nipples are being sanitized, a worker fills six bottles at a time to prep. Workers drive milk trailers around and deliver fresh bottles to each calf. They work quickly and thoroughly. They have up to 20,000 calves on bottles at a time. They are fed 1/2 gallon in the morning and 1/2 gallon at night. Kreitel said, “Powdered milk is for the baby calves just like what bottles look like when human babies are fed formula. “
Everything is measured and weighed on scales. Everything is monitored. Different formulas are given for different age calves. 
Calves are fed milk for 60 days. They stay in hutches for 85 days and are then moved to corrals. When they are five to six months old, the steers are taken to feedlots all over the country. The heifers are brought back to the dairies as replacements. 
Kreitel works with nutritionist Bill Miller to ensure proper feed is provided. He works with engineers to design what they need. Their maintenance crew built the garage where the livestock trailers are cleaned and sanitized before each load is picked up. They have a mechanic’s shop, a commodity barn, all built specifically for their needs. And Kreitel is there on site making sure it is done well. 
Everything is used efficiently. If rain comes and wets the feed in the calves buckets, t,hey remove it, dry it out and feed it to older calves who will tolerate it better than younger calves. The manure they collect is given to farmers to use for composting.
Corrals are sloped and concrete sends the waste to lagoons to keep clean and not spread bacteria.
Trailers are washed out, an acid wash applied and fresh bedding added before going to pick up the next load of calves.
The kids had fun when Kreitel asked, “Who has eaten Macaroni and Cheese?” 
Everyone raised their hands. Kreitel continued, “The cheese powder for Macaroni and cheese comes from Pratt. A batch couldn’t be used for human consumption but was fine for animals.”
The commodity barn was the last stop on the tour before Kammerman treated everyone to ice cream sandwiches. The 4-Hers spent time going from area to area trying to figure out the different feed sources. They saw thousands of pounds of steamed flake corn, soy hull, hay, and more.
Nutritionist Bill Miller said, “All these individual ingredients are mixed and measured into rations. It’s like baking a cake.”
Questions from the kids included how many hutches do you have?
Kreitel responded, “42,000.”
Another asked how many pounds of feed do you go through a day?
Kreitel said, “350,000 pounds a day.
Throughout the tour Extension Agent Lora Horton helped the kids on the tour relate to their livestock projects.  “This was a great learning opportunity for the 4-H youth and adults to learn about an ag business in our area.  I want to thank Laila for coordinating the tour and Kolton for being such a patient, engaging tour guide.”