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Cross Country: Black Earth valley scene reminds travelers how farming was and is

John Oncken  —  8/08/2008 6:16 am

Thousands of cars and trucks travel the busy U.S. 14 that runs westerly from Madison. It's a scenic drive through, not around, the smallish towns like Cross Plains, Black Earth, Mazomanie and Arena. Travelers can marvel at the historic buildings alongside the highway in Cross Plains and the steep hills lining the north side of the busy road from just west of Middleton to Black Earth.

Most of the dairy farms that once lined U.S. 14 are long gone having given away to commercial development, rurban houses or farmland that is part of a farm off the main highway.

One of the most scenic and stared-at sites by travelers along U.S. just east of Black Earth, is the square white farmhouse. It sits next to a set of red and white farm buildings with a handful of blue Harvestores alongside, all nestled in front of a tree-covered hill towering above.

And at the right time of day, travelers can see a herd of Holsteins idyllically grazing in the pasture that fills the 11 acres of space between the highway and the farmstead.

It's a scene that reminds former dairy farmers of days gone by when -- as a child, as a teenager and later as a farmer -- they had a place like this.

It's a scene harried city dwellers hunched over their steering wheels while in a slow-moving traffic line commuting to or from work in Madison might envy for its peacefulness.

It's a scene grandparents probably point out to their young grand children -- scuffling in the back seat -- as a dairy farm where the milk comes from that they drink each meal.

Many folks wonder about this picturesque farm but never get around finding out who owns it and wondering if it was still an active farm and if cows still lived there.

I've had all these thoughts and more during my many trips west and back on U.S. 14 over the years, but never had time to stop and meet the owners and get answers -- until recently.

Allayne and Danna Dee Turk and their son Trent are the third and fourth generations of the this Turk family to farm this land. Allayne's grandparents, Frank and Eliza Turk, bought the farm in January 1917, that's 91 years ago.

However, the "Turk" name goes back many years prior this area. (The history of the town of Black Earth lists a "Charles Turk" as one of the first permanent residents in 1843.)

The red and white barn and farm outbuildings represent several different eras.

The original barn built in the late 1800s was moved by horsepower from its original location near the farm house. A 1970 addition brought more length and cow stalls. In 2000 a major addition adding 42 cows to make for a 91-cow capacity was completed. "We were sick and tired of switching cows," Trent explains.

And there was a major remodeling putting things back together after the buildings were hit by the June 8, 1984 tornado that devastated Barneveld and continued on to hit the Turk farm.

"We have cut our cow numbers in recent years and today are milking 65 cows," Trent says. "We lost a rental farm we had worked for many years, some cows were culled during the heavy rains earlier this summer and we are gauging the feed supply."

Other farm buildings include a former hog house and chicken house -- both now used for young calves -- a former milk house, a couple of machine sheds to hold the seven tractors and the five Harvestores and a concrete stave silo for feed storage.

That's a lot of buildings for a relatively small dairy farm, but they cover several eras of agriculture. Like most Wisconsin farms of 50 years ago, the Turk farm was diversified with milk cows, hogs and chickens. And, like most farms, the economics of raising pigs, chickens and dairy cows on a small farm is long-gone.

Harry and Edna Turk took over the farm in the 1940s and raised sons Myron, Gary and Allayne.

Only Allayne continued on the farm, his brothers both worked for and retired from the UW-Madison Department of Buildings and Grounds.

"More many years I worked as an employee, then worked on shares and bought the farm in 1987," Allayne says. "Maybe my brothers were smarter getting jobs off the farm."

Donna Dee Turk, who was raised at Buffalo Center, Iowa, ultimately found herself working at Grabers in Middleton. She was introduced to Allayne. They got married and she has been a farmer ever since.

But, she has been a rather active farmer that served 12 years on the Wisconsin Heights school board. After leaving the school board in 1993, Donna Dee became the first woman member of Premier Cooperative in Mount Horeb, and she remains a director today. (Note -- Premier Cooperative is the merged version of the former Patron's Mercantile Cooperative of Black Earth that was founded in 1893 and is Wisconsin's oldest farm co-op.)

Donna Dee Turk is also a bit of an authority on town government -- she has served at Black Earth town treasurer for 28 years.

Trent Turk, a graduate of Madison Area Technical College with an associate's degree in finance does the farm book work.

From U.S. 14, one only sees the 11 acres of night pasture, the farmstead, the big hill and a few acres of cropland. Most of the Turk farm is on top of the nearby hills. Raising crops on a tilted field takes some experience and getting used to, but Allayne claims to never having tipped a load of hay, even as a youngster.

The farm fields command a "million dollar view" and yes, the Turks have sold two home sites off their farm.

I guess the Turk family could be considered small dairy farmers who pretty much stay in the background. But, they are not very happy farmers in recent months since being cited by the Department of Natural Resources last March for spreading manure on frozen ground. They feel they did nothing different from what most Dane County farms do, and that the DNR was not very nice to deal with. They were not fined but did make a nutri-management plan.

The fact that sewage from the village of Cross Plains flowed down Black Earth Creek onto their pasture land during the heavy rains in June was a bitter pill to take. "That 11 acres of pastureland is home to four sandhill cranes and our cows," Trent says.

The Turk family knows they are among the last of a fading breed of small dairy farmers and that they couldn't expand even if they wanted to. Yes, the heavy traffic makes it difficult to get onto Highway 14 during rush hour, but they know that a lot of people look at their farm as a remnant of what a family farm should look like. Some stop and take photos of their farm. Some swing onto Kahl Road and bring their children close to the farm to see the cows up close.

Maybe all of the commuters racing to get to work or to get home during rush hour look at the neat Turk farm with its red buildings and white house and can calm down.

Perhaps the first-time traveler on U.S. 14 will see the farm and think about how farming was and is.

It is indeed a beautiful scene in the valley of Black Earth.

John Oncken  —  8/08/2008 6:16 am