Barton Kiefer Dairy Consulting

12/11/2023

New article: Feeding efficiently to feed economically by Evan Barton and Sarah Stocks on .com.
Ag Proud - Idaho Progressive Dairy

While genetics and management components can also factor into improving feed efficiency, there are numerous nutrition and diet strategies that can be readily incorporated into your feed program to make dramatic changes in feed efficiency.

03/10/2022

Flavio Bitencourt joined the Barton Kiefer team in April 2020. A veterinarian by trade, he gained his education in Brazil and has carried his skill throughout a career in dairy. From veterinary work to managing a dairy operation, Flavio brings a rich background of experience to the Barton Kiefer team.

From Florida to Wisconsin, and all the way to Kansas, Flavio fulfills a support role to Barton Kiefer clients and their staff. Being multi-lingual, he is able to train a diverse range of employees on the farms that he works with.

“At Barton Kiefer, it is a matter of trying to help the customer and give them solutions,” Flavio shares. “A lot of people can come in and point out a problem, but the challenge is how to provide a solution so they can fix it. Farmers already know their problems, they want to find the solutions that will help them improve.”

Finding those solutions is made more possible by the expertise and diverse specialties represented on the Barton Kiefer team. The ability to exchange ideas and tap into the rich range of experiences Barton Kiefer consultants attain is priceless, and allows their team to offer a service marked by expertise and knowledge.

“I like doing different things everyday: Meeting different customers, going to new places, seeing new challenges and helping people,” Flavio shares regarding his role at Barton Kiefer. “It is very rewarding to see a situation, work through, give new ideas, and then to see positive results. That is very rewarding.”

07/08/2021

David Greene, Dairy Consultant at Barton Kiefer Dairy Consulting

David Greene joined the Barton Kiefer team three and a half years ago, bringing a wealth of experience in dairy nutrition and dairy tech with him. Serving as a feed strategy and nutrition specialist, he also designs feed centers and ensures that everyone’s feeding operations are working efficiently.

“I go where I am needed,” David explains, and many weeks this leads him to travel to locations around the United States to check in on his clients’ herds or provide support to other group members’ client operations. He has assisted in Barton Kiefer’s work with dairy operations internationally.

Barton Kiefer is different than many other consulting groups, in that they are comprised of 17 uniquely experienced members. This group comes together with their shared experience and collaborates closely, combining their vast knowledge to effectively solve any challenges they face. These qualities are what stood out to him before he joined the team.

“When we have problems and need to troubleshoot an issue, we have each other to bounce ideas off of in order to resolve a herd’s problems,” he says. “I am fortunate because I get to work with all of the members of our group, so I get to know all of them, and it is a lot of fun.”

Barton Kiefer’s relationship with its clients is long-lasting and close. “Our clients become our friends, and you want to do everything you can to make them profitable and successful,” David says. “The most rewarding part of our work is having a role in our clients’ success.”

Barton Kiefer Dairy Consulting is a group of 18 Independent Dairy Consultants, who work directly with dairy producers in 16 states. Barton Kiefer Dairy Consulting is a practicality-based consulting group that is solely focused on increasing the profitability of our clients.

05/26/2021

Julia Stammen, Dairy Consultant at Barton Kiefer Dairy Consulting

After completing her degree, in 2012 Julia Stammen combined her background in economics with her love for the farm, bringing a unique perspective to the Barton Kiefer team. She currently serves farms throughout Northwest Ohio and into Indiana, regularly analyzing forages, assessing feed nutrients, establishing goals and plans with farmers, and walking the cows.

“With Barton Kiefer, it’s about the farmers and their operations,” Julia explains. “In addition to doing the nutrition work, we take an interest in them and their operation, and we try to help them in whatever way we can.”

The Barton Kiefer team brings their expertise to many different states, and their varied experiences are a great asset in providing good nutrition to the animals. “Nutrition is an ever-changing industry. You can’t find a particular way to feed cows and expect it to work for the next 20 years. You have to always be researching and experimenting,” says Julia. In addition to pulling information from professors and researchers, the Barton Kiefer team looks to the experiences of each other to make the best decisions for their farmers. “Having so many contacts to lean on helps us always find a solution.”

The Barton Kiefer team is not one to say it works on paper, but utilizes dedication and passion when approaching a problem, often testing new ideas on their personal farms before rolling a new solution out to their farmers.

“It is extremely satisfying to step onto a farm, analyze the operation, work with the dairymen to come up with a plan, see that plan executed and then witness the positives and great results that come,” says Julia. “Several of my clients go back to the fourth generation, so it is inspiring and gratifying to be able to consult and lead that next generation into the future.”

04/06/2021

Zach Stammen, Dairy Consultant at Barton Kiefer Dairy Consulting

Growing up on a small dairy farm in Western Ohio, Zach Stammen says he has always been a cow guy. With most of his family engaged in the dairy industry, Zach followed suit and gained a degree from Ohio State University in Animal Science with a Dairy Science focus.

After a brief stint at a feed mill, Zach felt confirmed in his desire to become a dairy consultant. “I have always liked working with both the animals and management decisions, so this is a way that I get to do that with a lot of farms,” Zach explains.

Working as a part of the Barton Kiefer Dairy Consultant team since 2006, he currently assists dairy farms throughout Western Ohio and Eastern Indiana with every aspect of dairy farming, from replacement animals to milk markets. “We provide help with every aspect of a farm, above and beyond nutrition,” Zach says. “That is what really sets us apart.”

Barton Kiefer Dairy Consultants work hard to stay on the cutting edge of all that they do. “We are aggressive in trying to find the best deals for our clients, and always try to stay one step ahead of everybody else,” Zach says.

Zach enjoys taking farms to the next level. “From financials to production to what-ever it might be, I shoot for growth in every aspect,” he explains. “Some farms want to get bigger, so I like to help them grow. Some don’t want to grow in size, so we try to increase profitability as much as we can. Whether growth comes through production or different ways of feeding, nothing is out of reach.”

Barton Kiefer Dairy Consulting is a group of 18 Independent Dairy Consultants, who work directly with dairy producers in 16 states. Barton Kiefer Dairy Consulting is a practicality-based consulting group that is solely focused on increasing the profitability of our clients.

03/05/2021

Derek Johnson, Dairy Consultant at Barton Kiefer Dairy Consultants

Derek Johnson did not always see himself as a dairy consultant. After studying to become a teacher at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, Derek came out of school looking for a sales job. “I ended up getting a job with Agri-King because it was advertised as a sales job,” Derek says. “I worked there for about three years and learned that I kind of had a knack for the sales thing.”

After Agri-King, Derek moved on to working for a co-op, specializing in nutrition and building rapports with clients.
But when Evan Barton called, Derek jumped at the idea of learning about nutrition from an actual dairyman. “Evan taught me how to be more consistent and just keep getting better and better,” Derek says. “The real life experience of Evan owning a farm, he works with a lot of cows, and him and Nathan (Kiefer) have got the experience of seeing what has worked and what has not worked over the last 10 to 20 years.”

Derek cites the ration parameters and analysis long-developed by Evan and Nathan as a driving force for why he loves working for Barton Kiefer Dairy Consultants. “They’re not afraid to learn something new and change the game-plan if it needs tweaked,” Derek adds. “They’re not afraid to admit they were wrong, and it is nice to have a real tried and true model that I can bring to any farm.”

Derek has been with Barton Kiefer Dairy Consultants for nearly three years now, covering the state of Wisconsin and tending to dozens of dairy farms across the map. He is one of the few consultants only covering a single state for Barton Kiefer, but it is not a disadvantage. “You get more intimate with the agronomics and the feed stuff that’s available here,” Derek says. “You know the history and culture of the state better and are more familiar with what farmers are thinking and what they are comfortable with.”

For Derek, working so closely with farmers and being stationed in a more concentrated area has helped him know what he has to go after and what needs to be changed. Ensuring success means long work days, too, all bookended by ration work. “I get up and review customer rations,” Derek says, “then I visit four to six clients and take prospect calls every day, walk cows, touch base with farmers, take samples.” But his day doesn’t end there. “I usually don’t get home early enough, so I finish rations after getting housework done,” Derek adds.

His full schedule and dedication to his work often leads to successful production numbers for him and his clients, which makes it all worth it. “The reason I have kept doing this is increasing profit for farmers,” Derek says. “Just having that, I’m proud to help people, and it is awesome to be a part of it.”

Barton Kiefer Dairy Consulting is a group of 18 Independent Dairy Consultants, who work directly with dairy producers in 16 states. Barton Kiefer Dairy Consulting is a practicality-based consulting group that is solely focused on increasing the profitability of our clients.

01/04/2021

“I love making a change on farms that yields results"
Andy Dietz, Dairy Consultant at Barton Kiefer Dairy Consulting

After graduating from Michigan State with a degree in Animal Science, Andy Dietz spent 9 years with another dairy consultant company before going on his own. Now, with 13 years under his belt as an independent consultant for the Barton Kiefer Dairy Consulting team, Andy works directly with dairy farms all over Michigan.

What makes Barton and Kiefer such a force in the industry isn’t just the hands-on work the company does with farms, either. “It’s the level of freedom that we have as independent consultants coupled with the collaboration between a group of guys that have a common goal,” Andy says. For Andy, a lot of that freedom comes from the workday routines he’s created himself. “I’m up in the morning doing ration work on the computer, and then I get out and see customers for the bulk of the days,” Andy adds. “I go out to the farms five days a week, typically. Office days are fit in as needed and I often end up doing rations at night.” The amount of customers Andy works with daily can fluctuate from anywhere from two to eight, a typical range for any Barton Kiefer Dairy consultant.

The dairy nutritionist industry’s evolution is just like any other industry, and Barton Kiefer Dairy Consulting has been adapting by hiring more and more specialized workers over the last half-decade—showcasing a slow and steady growth of diverse employees, as the geography of the company’s covered farms continues expanding West and South. “I think it’s going to change even faster in the next decade,” Andy adds. “I think the group at Barton Kiefer, as a whole, will also naturally become more of a group of teammates rather than a group of individuals like it has been in the past.”

Despite the rapid changes in dairy nutrition and each consultant’s adaption to that growth, Andy still finds pride in the personal successes that couple with a client’s success. “I love making a change on farms that yields results,” Andy says. “Especially once you make a rations adjustment and the cows respond either in health, production, and/or profitability for the dairyman.”

Barton Kiefer Dairy Consulting is a group of 18 Independent Dairy Consultants, who work directly with dairy producers in 16 states. Barton Kiefer Dairy Consulting is a practicality-based consulting group that is solely focused on increasing the profitability of our clients.

11/23/2020

Charlie Rawlings, Dairy Consultant at Barton Kiefer Dairy Consulting

After graduating from Michigan State, Charlie Rawlings was hired by the same feed mill that Evan Barton and Nathan Kiefer were working. “Evan was actually my trainer when I first started,” Charlie says. After three and a half years with his old company, Charlie noticed a lack of customer focus and decided to leave for a position at his former co-workers’ company. “I didn’t like working at the feed mill, because I wanted to work directly with farms and not have any hidden agendas,” Charlie adds.

Now, at Barton Kiefer Dairy Consulting, covering Michigan dairy farms, Charlie gets to work from his own agenda, which is putting the clientele first, always, and having a dialogue with the farm staff. When Charlie goes out to farms, it’s not just surveying the livestock and discussing numbers with owners. “I get to the farm and I try to meet with the herdsmen and feeders, as many people as I can,” Charlie says. While Charlie enjoys working with farms and helping them meet their goals, he emphasizes the companywide continuous stride towards being great. “I tell [clients] average is easy. I don’t want to be average. I want to be the best,’” Charlie adds.

And for Charlie, the independence Barton Kiefer Dairy Consulting provides him, as a consultant, is something that makes the job great. “They don’t care about how many tons of feed I ship, because it’s not about that,” Charlie says. “It’s about figuring out ways for our customers to be profitable and helping them be that.” He also acknowledges the mantra Barton Kiefer Dairy Consulting instills into its consultants. “It’s almost encouraged to think outside of the box,” Charlies says. “Everybody understands that there is more than one way to accomplish something. We’ll sit in meetings with each other and argue over different things, but at the end of day, from Michigan down to Florida, we know there are different ways to get to the same goal, and we all help each other do it.”

That mission wonderfully embodies the group Barton Kiefer Dairy Consulting is continuing to build, and it is constantly falling back on the long, qualified list of consultants the company has put together. “You’re going to these farms by yourself,” Charlie adds, “but you have a great support group behind you. That’s going to continue, and it’s just going to keep getting better.”

Barton Kiefer Dairy Consulting is a group of 18 Independent Dairy Consultants, who work directly with dairy producers in 16 states. Barton Kiefer Dairy Consulting is a practicality-based consulting group that is solely focused on increasing the profitability of our clients.

11/18/2020

Linda and Jason Gates, Dairy Consultants at Barton Kiefer Dairy Consulting

One of Barton Kiefer Dairy Consulting’s greatest assets is the team of Linda and Jason Gates, two nutritionists covering the south-eastern states for the consulting group. Though Barton Kiefer Dairy Consulting’s vision includes maximizing their clients’ profits, the company also prides itself on hiring consultants who have worked on or owned dairy farms themselves—and Linda and Jason are no strangers to that world. “I worked on a dairy farm with my family for 18 years,” Linda says. “We sold the farm in 2005, and I went to work as a nutritionist for regional feed mills before starting with Barton Kiefer Dairy Consulting in early 2014. And Jason’s uncle owned a dairy farm. He then became more involved with Barton Kiefer Dairy Consulting after we got married, helping me do cold-calls and go out to farms.”

The clientele are just one reason why Linda and Jason love what they do. “Helping the farmers, especially the farmers who want to be helped, is the best part of the job,” Linda says. “That’s always a priority, if you can help somebody do a better job than what they’re already doing.” The couple also acknowledges the work their colleagues are putting in all over the country, too. “We have so many people working for Barton Kiefer Dairy Consulting,” Linda adds... “We feed a lot of cows all over the place, and it’s a great team collaboration.”

And for Linda and Jason, their contributions to the team come from the work they do with dairy farmers in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. Though they only cover 3 of Barton Kiefer’s 18-state consultant outreach, the couple has high hopes for the company’s evolution. “I know Barton Kiefer Dairy Consulting will keep growing,” Linda says. “They will expand into other parts of the country.” However, the company’s growth is much more than just geographical. Jason believes Barton Kiefer Dairy Consulting’s mission statement will still ring true, even if the company adds more states to its repertoire. “Keeping the same tight, close-knit rapport we have right now will always be a challenge when you are growing as a company,” Jason says. “But, even if Barton Kiefer Dairy Consulting gets bigger, I don’t think we will lose our sense of team.”

Barton Kiefer Dairy Consulting is a group of 18 Independent Dairy Consultants, who work directly with dairy producers in 16 states. Barton Kiefer Dairy Consulting is a practicality-based consulting group that is solely focused on increasing the profitability of our clients.

11/09/2020

Evan Barton, Consultant and Partner at Barton Kiefer Dairy Consulting.

“Nathan and I Started Barton Kiefer dairy consulting nearly two decades ago with these goals in mind... Provide cutting edge diet formulation and progressive herd management advice. We also wanted to separate nutrition advice from feed manufacturing and create a bidding process to drive down costs for our clients.”

What separates our consulting group from other nutritionists is our diversity. We feed cows from the northern parts of the country like Michigan and Wisconsin with the very best forage quality to some of the poorest forages and heat stress in the southeast. We have been able to formulate diets with success in both scenarios. Also, in terms of diversity we find that competing nutritionists in a local area all do nearly exact same thing and get very similar results. We are different. We have competed with hundreds of nutritionists in dozens of states and learn something every time. Our diet recommendations are a compilation of ideas from all these experiences. And therefore, we do bring a new approach and new ideas to our clients.

Evan keeps profit for their clients as the main focus of the business. “We don’t want to spend a lot of money on expensive ingredients or additives to get that last pound of milk and lose money in the process. Every diet decision I make, I always weigh the impact on feed cost per hundred weight”

For Evan, being a nutrition consultant is a passion, “Feeding dairy cows is what I think about all day long. How can we get more milk, how can we save costs? When I am able to help a new client that was struggling with production or struggling financially, improve performance to the point where the banker is pleased and they are making money and smiling again…, That’s a lot of fun to be able to help people like that.”

Barton Kiefer Dairy Consulting is a group of 18 Independent Dairy Consultants, who work directly with dairy producers in 16 states. Barton Kiefer Dairy Consulting is a practicality-based consulting group that is solely focused on increasing the profitability of our clients.

08/20/2020

Matt Mitchell - Dairy Consultant

“I actually love cows - that’s why I do what I do!”
Cows have been a big part of Matt’s upbringing and adult life. He shared, “Both of my grandparents were dairy farmers that milked cows for a living. My parents were involved in the dairy industry as well!” Matt reminisced on his first experience with cows,
“I actually started showing cows in 4H when I was younger. My 8th grade year, after I showed a cow, I somehow convinced my dad to let me keep her and milk her. Then, I ended up milking 25 cows all through high school and college.”

Matt has been consulting with Barton Kiefer since August of 2012. He now works with dairy farmers across Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, Florida, and North Carolina. Even though he lives in Tennessee, Matt’s herds are spread throughout these five states. He typically spends two days in Georgia and Florida every week. He says “I enjoy working with these farms and feel like I have a role in them being profitable.”

“Barton Kiefer has provided me a space to feel like I’m an asset to the dairy industry. As an independent consultant, I’m not trying to sell the farmer anything, so I can offer an unbiased opinion. My job, as a nutritionist, directly influences the health of the cows, what they
produce, and greatly impacts the over health of the herd. Nutrition plays a huge role in how much milk the cows give. So, my primary role is to stay on top of ingredients and help the dairy farmers find the best ingredients from the least expensive sources.”

Looking toward the future, maintaining a food supply within our country is going to be extremely important. People are getting further and further removed from agriculture and farming. Nutrition consultants play a big role in making sure our farms can maintain health and profitability, which is important for our farms and the U.S. as a whole.

“It means a great deal to me to get to be a part of the industry that I love so much.”

05/18/2020

Barton Kiefer Dairy Consulting: Results Driven Experts
Check out our newly designed website to learn more about how our team can help you achieve your goals! www.bartonkiefer.com