A day in the life: Lester the milk tester

Published 5:03 pm Sunday, May 13, 2018

: Lester Perschbacher poses for a picture with Crimson, one of almost 200 cows he tests on Jon and Ann Larson's Larcrest Holsteins dairy farm in Freeborn County. - Colleen Harrison/Albert Lea Tribune

Albert Lea man has been testing dairy cows for over 6 decades

Editor’s note: ‘A day in the life’ is a new reoccurring series from the Tribune, which will follow people in different occupations to photograph what all goes into their job. If you have any suggestions for a future subject, email colleen.harrison@albertleatribune.com or call 507-379-3436.

: According to Perschbacher, most dairy cows are impregnated via insemination now, as bulls tend to be too dangerous to implement. – Colleen Harrison/Albert Lea Tribune

: Lester Perschbacher poses for a picture with Crimson, one of almost 200 cows he tests on Jon and Ann Larson’s Larcrest Holsteins dairy farm in Freeborn County. – Colleen Harrison/Albert Lea Tribune

: Perschbacher measures out a milk sample before divvying it up into tubes for testing. Perschbacher tests the milk samples for different levels of things such as butter fat, protein, cell counts and pregnancy checks, among others. The tests are meant to check the quality of the milk, as well as the health of the cow it comes from. – Colleen Harrison/Albert Lea Tribune

: It takes Perschbacher about 5 1/2 hours to get samples from all of the cows on the Larsons’ farm. – Colleen Harrison/Albert Lea Tribune

: Perschbacher divvies up a milk sample for testing. – Colleen Harrison/Albert Lea Tribune

: Perschbacher caps his typical day off with bookwork. He considers himself to be self-employed, but his testing is a part of the Dairy Herd Improvement Association. – Colleen Harrison/Albert Lea Tribune

: Perschbacher assists Austin veterinarian Lowell Meyer, right, and Larcrest Holsteins owner Jon Larson, center, with inoculating and checking on different cows on the farm. – Colleen Harrison/Albert Lea Tribune

: Perschbacher tested the milk samples himself for about 20 years, but now samples are tested at a lab in Zumbrota. – Colleen Harrison/Albert Lea Tribune

: A typical workday for Perschbacher starts around 3:30 or 4 a.m., and usually lasts until about 8 p.m. – Colleen Harrison/Albert Lea Tribune

: Lester Perschbacher has been testing dairy cows for 61 1/2 years. In fact, the 84-year-old knows the exact day he started: Oct. 9, 1956. – Colleen Harrison/Albert Lea Tribune