Gerald, Amy and their three boys all have their hands in farm operations, and it has always been a sense of pride to the Schmidt family, serving as the cornerstone in almost every aspect of daily life. In recent years, Lone Pine Farm transitioned from dairy farming to raising beef cattle and crop farming. “When we sold the dairy cows, we needed something else on the farm we could watch grow,” says Amy. “Just knowing you are raising animals out on the farm is the best feeling.”  

Gerald and Amy raise beef cattle every year and sell their calves as feeders. “We usually have around 50 calves every year. That’s the amount we like to stay at with the amount of pasture we have; it is the most profitable for us to keep the farm around that number,” says Gerald. In addition to the beef cattle herd made up of Angus, Limousin and Simmentals, Lone Pine Farm is also home to horses, donkeys and pigs. Every animal has a role in the farm’s operations, and is loved by the Schmidt family. “The calving season is a lot of fun to raise the babies and watch them grow,” says Amy. “The best part is watching the calves interact with their moms. The mom can make just one call, and the calf knows—oh, that’s Mom’s call.”

An animal’s weight is crucial to farm operations. 

From health checks, vaccinations and medications, to ensuring a competitive weight for fair animals, a livestock scale is an important tool for success. During vaccinations, the Schmidts rely on an accurate reading from their livestock scale to ensure they give each animal the correct dose. “Giving de-worming medication to our cattle is based on weight, so when we use our Rice Lake scale, we know it will be accurate. 

Having an accurate weight reading saves us money on vaccinations and medications while ensuring the animal gets its correct dose. The scale really makes the difference—with a smaller calf, I can give them a dose that is proportionate to their weight. Using an accurate scale is money saved,” says Amy. Knowing if the fair steers are not gaining like they should also lets Gerald and Amy know that the animal may be sick, or that environmental conditions are not optimal. “If they weren’t gaining and it was warm out, we could make the connection that they weren’t eating as much because of the weather,” says Gerald. “So we would know to put them in the shed to cool off with the fans. Then we could put them back on the scale, and if they were gaining again, we would know that was the problem.” With fair steers, you can’t afford a day or two not gaining like they should.

Weighing the fair steers and determining their daily rate of gain is essential for Gerald. “July is fair time, and if they aren’t finished out by then, Chase wouldn’t be competitive in the fair ring. Making sure they meet rate of gain and have the most weight before then is everything,” says Gerald. “We weigh them leading up to the fair and we know if we need to change their rations accordingly. We know what we need to accomplish in pounds per day, and we use the scale to keep track of that.” The pigs raised on Lone Pine Farm are also weighed on the scale to assure optimal weight. “We have had fair pigs, too, and that was the same thing. We needed to track them closely to make sure they were ready,” says Amy.

The future is bright for Lone Pine Farm. “The SAS is going to speed up our operations,” says Gerald. “The scale is  built to fit right in with our current setup and having the weight data and rate of gain available right when we need it will make  it even easier for us to track our herd’s trends during selling time.” A durable construction backed with unyielding dependability makes Rice Lake livestock scales tough enough to work side by side this fifth generation farm family.