[The link bar feature is not available in this web]

History and Family
  
   Pine Shelter Farms was established in 1917 by Lloyd Alberts, in rural Pine Island, Milton Township, Dodge County, Minnesota, USA.

Lloyd purchased his first registered cow from the University of Minnesota while attending the School of Agriculture there, and brought her by train to Pine Island where his father picked him – and the cow - up.    He purchased several more cows from the University, and four of them had heifer calves.  Today Pine Shelter Farms has about 500 milking cows, and plus young stock and bulls, and they are all descended from those original purchases in 1917.    Lloyd’s sons Kenneth and Myron took over the farm in 1952 and grew the herd to about 180.  In 1980, Kenneth’s sons Dave, Duane and Rick formed a partnership with their dad and uncle, and gradually expanded the herd to 500 cows.  This was a fairly early expansion, and for a long time, Pine Shelter was the largest dairy herd in Minnesota.

Florence and Ken Alberts with Cheyenne

   Now there are two herds over 1000 cows within two miles.  But Pine-Shelter is still the largest registered herd in Minnesota. In the last few years, Dave’s two oldest children, Laura and Eric, have become involved full time in Pine-Shelter Farms.  They are the fourth generation of Alberts to be actively engaged in farming with the family.  Myron Alberts died in 1997, but Kenneth, at age 82, still helps  out but has cut down from full time in the last couple of years!
   Other family members involved in the farm operation are Dave’s wife Madge, who handles calf registrations and personnel, Rick’s wife Terry, who is responsible for bookkeeping, Kenneth’s wife Florence, who keeps an eye on things and helps out when needed, and Kenneth’s daughter Amy Sauder, who feeds the youngest calves. Dave’s daughter Molly shows cows, and works on the farm when she is home from college at Brookings, South Dakota.
  

Our Herd

Our herd consists of 550 milking animals, about 400 replacement heifers, and about 300 bulls. Pine-Shelter raises all its own young stock, and bulls are sold for breeding.  Currently Pine-Shelter has several bulls being proven for AI.    The herd has been classified every year since 1957.  Every animal on the farm is registered, including the bulls.     Most Pine-Shelter animals are housed in free stalls with slat floors.  Cows are milked three times a day in a double nine herringbone parlor. A tie-stall barn houses an additional 75 cows which are milked twice a day.    We raise all our own feed, except for a few added ingredients.  We have about 1600

Judging teams from South Dakota State University, North Dakota State University and Colorado State University evaluate a group of March calves at Pine-Shelter farms.

 tillable acres and raise corn, oats and alfalfa.  Our land also includes about 500 acres of woodland and wetlands.
   Balanced breeding and good genetics are our goals, with emphasis on both type and production.  Freestall barns make it very important to breed for good feet and legs.  Correct udders are also an important consideration.
   We use extensive flushing with Dr. Claire Sauer from Future Genetics in Lewiston, Minnesota. We are currently doing some IVF work with Trans Ova Genetics  in Sioux Center Iowa.

Where We’re Located
   Pine Shelter is located in a picturesque valley in southeastern Minnesota, USA, about five miles west of U.S. 52 at Pine Island, Minnesota, and 15 miles north of Rochester, Minnesota – home of Mayo Clinic.   We are five miles west on Olmsted County 13/Dodge County 24, then one mile south on 265^th Ave.

Visitors Welcome
   We welcome visitors and tours. We prefer appointments, and ask that visitors comply with biosecurity standards.  We host individual visitors and tours, as well as judging teams from a variety of colleges and technical schools.

Contact Information