Small Dairy Farms going to the wayside quick in northern Wi

In the county just north of us florence county we had 3 small dairy farms (35-50 cows milking) but i have heard that two have been told they no longer are going to have contracts. Leaving just 1 in the county which willnt last long as the milk truck has to go 50 miles out of his way to them now

The county i live in (Forest) has 1 but is somewhat close to the antigo wi area where many dairy farms are

So pretty much there is just two dairy farms north of wausaukee and west over towards antigo area and up towards rhinelander. Which is a very large chunk of the dairy state that will be without a dairy farm pretty soon

Sad considering 50 years ago every place down the road had at least 2-8 cows

Kind of said but not surprising given the economics. Even when I was a kid during the 1970's a dairy farm had a great advantage if the wife worked off the farm and had a career versus a job. If I could afford it as a hobby I would not mind having 50-60 cows and the toys that go with it. I always enjoyed watching corn silage get harvested with a 2 row chopper into a self unloading wagon then hauled to the upright to be blown up the silo. Today unless your farm does not need the bank to borrow money the banker will encourage you to have it all custom done for a herd that size and he is right from the economic side of it. In any event it just makes you wonder where it is going to go in another couple of decades. A couple dozen of operations for most of the state. I think our country was at its best when people felt like they had a stake in how things were done such as being owners of a business. What is going to happen when things hit critical mass when enough people have no personal involvement in the business they work for. I am afraid of a lot of change that will not be for the better.

I live a few miles south of the Wi. line. Fifty years ago it was nice to take a Sunday drive around the hills of southern Wi., lots of nice well kept farms, cows all over, ever body must of milked. Lot of them nice barns ain't looing so good now.

Cent Wi...Clark Co. Quite a few Mennonite dairys in 50 to 80 cow milkers. Generally top notch operations. Very progressive operators !!

John

I don't think they reinvented the wheel, however. By far the biggest advantage they have is financing the "home" farm at one percent for 50 years. If I had been able to do that when I had to buy the one family farm (or lose it) it would have made for a much easier time versus the struggle I have had for a long time. Eight percent for 25 or 30 years was the going rate when I had to make my moves. Run the numbers for a 50,000 dollar property at one percent versus eight percent when the bank figures the interest of the unpaid balance before principle in the payment. Second, the Mennonites (men) have absolute rule over their households. They decide how many kids (sparsely paid laborers) the wife will put out. The wife obeys or else. I don't agree with being that forceful as it really should be a partnership versus a dictatorship. When I graduated high school all the rural girls decidedly left farm country unless they could live like the Ewings on the television show Dallas. Third and people over estimate this aspect is the Mennonite household does run on less money but they do have things such as refrigerators and vacuum cleaners to name a few appliances. All things considered while some Mennonites are technically progressive in terms of the famr quite a few are not.

I'm in Bedford Co. Pa.The same thing happened here during 50's 60'S. first 25 cow dairies then 50 cow; now farmers milk 80 to 100, 3x/day.As a kid on the "Family farm" we milked 15 to 20.Stopped milking in 1965.Sad but true!

The west slope of Colorado now has only about 4 daries. The largest milks over 2000 head.With the closeing of the 'MeadowGold Creamery' here in Delta,all milk must go to Denver or Salt Lake.The producers are now responsible for shipping.The 'big guy' estimated over one million annually. They 'figure' all dairying will be gone in 5 yrars or less. The biggest is already selling cows.They are planning on growing 'comercial' crops(they produced all/most of their feed).That means they will go from a comsumer to a producer in an area that has very few markets for 'feed'.There are no longer any feedlots.Only one 'volume' corn buyer(Foster Farms chickens) and they are already overwhelmed with corn.Trickledown will affect us all.Some of us will put out of business.....

We vacationed up in Spooner, WI this Summer, and I was shocked by the lack of obvious dairies on the drive from Milwaukee to Madison- I think I saw two herds from the highway. Not that there were not some I missed or could not see, but certainly not America's Dairyland anymore. Here in SWMI, we have been losing dairies as well. I think only three families still milk in our county, plus a private college herd. I have worked for a dairy, and choose not to do that for a living, either. I certainly respect those that still milk a herd. It really makes me cringe when coworkers complain about either the workload or pay-

The Mennonites I grew up with were as progressive as anybody is. They run a seed company and farm several thousand acres . Quite successful.

Isn't there a nice little 50,000 cow outfit a couple hours south of you in Kaukana???

It's sad, but the same thing has happened here in NY - When I was a kid there were 10 30/60 cow dairy's in the five miles between town and our farm - now there's two (ours isn't active either - we run a cider mill on it)
Luckily our local BTO started out a mile from us, so they work a lot of the land around us just for nostalgia's sake
Pete

They can be as progressive as they want but the foundation is fantastic financing and cheap labor and when the boys grow into men and buy the place down the road it is asset sharing such as machinery. Take away that and an obedient wife you just have a neighbor on the same footing as everyone else. I have yet to see a Mennonite grow 225 bushel corn on ground where the progressive non-Mennonite neighbor with the same ground getting 175 bushel corn. I am not saying they are incapable but when on the same footing it is hard to tell everybody apart when looking at the data sheets for each farm.

I don't much like were dairy is going either.We have had a 73 head tie stall for a few years now, we keep the dry cows and some springing heifers with the milkers .So we are milking between 50-60 at all times. This fall we are going to add another 32 stalls, and try to have 70-75 milking all the time. I have no choice but get bigger or get out. We will have 105 stalls total, and I can see the day coming when my son and I will have a milking cow in every stall. Twice the work for half the money, that is were farming has gone. Bruce

I was looking on google earth yesterday at the town where I grew up. In the sixties there were probably fifteen dairy farms. There is now just one, and there are probably 50% more cows being milked on that one than there were on all fifteen before. A lot of marginal land has gone out of production, but the good ground is producing a lot more feed.

Bruce I have seen the financials of a lot of dairy farms a round here. There are very few that pencil here with under 200 cows if there are two families trying to live out of it. Most single family ones are in the 100-150 cow range here. I would say the average is getting to be well into the 150-200 cow range around here.

Down here in the sunny southern part of the state there has been a trend of the small guys going to grass based and grass based organic. Not as much input and the small local dairy plants give a premium for the milk. I myself am headed toward the grass based organic! Organic demand is growing, I am not against GMOs, it is just business, how to stay smaller, self employed and pay for the farms!