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John Oncken: Wisconsin dairy farming still a dynamic force
The Wisconsin dairy industry goes back well more than 100 years.
First there was the cow that provided milk for the family that was clearing the stumps out of land that would be turned into farmland.
Then farm wives made butter and eventually cheese from the extra milk.
In the late 1850s the first cheese factory in Wisconsin began operations and cheese making became a major economic factor in the state as farmers joined in forming dairy cooperatives and entrepreneurs built cheese factories.
In the early days, when horses provided the power to run farms, there was a cheese factory on every corner.
In the 1920s and 1930s, trucks took over the business of milk hauling and smaller, less efficient corner cheese factories began merging and bigger factories were built in bigger cities.
Farm milk coolers, bigger dairy herds, bigger milk trucks and cheese making technology changed the cheese business and Wisconsin became the cheese state and Americas dairyland.
The 1970s and 1980s saw California grow its dairy industry as Dutch and Portequese farmers who had emigrated -- often penniless but with lots of ambition -- to the U.S. after World War II and grew their small family dairy operations into what became known as mega-dairies.
They applied a seemingly advanced business acumen to running a dairy farm. Management was favored over labor and by 1970 there were 1,000 cow dairy farms in southern California.
From 1970 to the early '90s the Chino Valley Dairy Preserve east of Los Angeles was the most concentrated dairy area in the world. The side by side dairies (corrals) of 40 to 80 acres of cows (no crops) produced milk and more milk.
As Los Angeles burgeoned in population, the dairy preserve was opened to development and the dairies moved to Arizona, New Mexico and north to the fertile San Joaquin Valley from Bakersfield to Modesto. In 1991, Wisconsin lost its position as the leading dairy state in terms of milk production.
A sense of doom and gloom grew in Wisconsin, still Americas dairyland in terms of number of farms, but losing farms and cows as rapidly expanding cities and urban settlements took land out of farming and a long history of small family dairy farms prevailed. The Legislature moved to more exotic issues. Environmental issues were a constant challenge to farmers.
And, the southwest U.S. was growing in dairy operations, milk production and modern, state of the art dairy processing facilities.
Frankly, dairying was losing its luster in Wisconsin and some felt that milking cows was a fading industry.
In the early 1990s dairy farmers themselves decided to keep Wisconsin dairying on a progressive track.
In 1992, 10 dairy producers saw a need for educationally-based programs that focused on the business-side of their dairies, that would help them make stronger, well-informed decisions in their own operations. They envisioned dairy producers networking with fellow producers to glean useful information. Today, the Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin (PDPW) is carrying out that mission and is a rapidly growing force in Wisconsin dairying.
A few years later, another small group of dairy producers formed the Wisconsin Dairy Business Association (DBA) of Wisconsin to promote the growth and success of all dairy farms in Wisconsin by fostering a positive business and political environment.
Today, the organization of dairy producers, vendors, allied industry partners, and professionals are actively working to assure that dairy producers, large and small, remain an active, thriving part of Wisconsin's economy, communities, and food chain.
The DBA motto of keeping the cows in Wisconsin has become a catch phrase known to everyone in the dairy industry.
The DBA, in cooperation with the Wisconsin Cheesemakers Association, which represents 100 dairy plants and 300 dairy industry suppliers, recently sponsored a series of informational tours for elected officials. The southern Wisconsin tour visited a cheese factory and a dairy farm.
W&W Dairy of Monroe is owned by David Webster and managed by Kevin Wyss. These longtime cheesemakers produce cheese aimed at the Hispanic market. Formost of their five years in business, they made cheese in the former Anvonmore plant in Monroe. Recently they moved to a new factory in the Monroe industrial park.
W&W Dairy makes six varieties of Hispanic cheese from milk produced by farmer members of Rolling Hills Cooperative at Shullsburg. The cheese is sold across the U.S. by distributors. All of the cheese is cooking cheese and has the buyers label on the container.
Webster and Wyss produce specialty cheese aimed at specific customers, something that many Wisconsin cheese makers do. Specialty cheese -- farmstead and artisan -- are the fastest growing segment of the Wisconsin cheese industry.
Spring Grove Dairy, a 1,800 cow dairy at Brodhead, began milking in 1999. Owners Cornell and George Kasbergen were longtime dairy farmers in California and Dan and Mary Monson were raised on Wisconsin dairy farms but had worked in California.
The dairy was built on 80 acres of cropland owned by Rick and Connie Austin, who still provide much of the feed used on the dairy. They also use much of the manure produced at the dairy as fertilizer.
The cows are housed in freestall barns in temperature controlled conditions (fans and misters) and milked three-times a day in a Double 25 parallel parlor. The milk goes directly into three tankers and ultimately to Grande Cheese.
Manure is collected in lagoons. Periodically it is pumped directly to fields and knifed into the soil. The lagoon was being emptied during the tour with a barely noticeable odor even though the wind was blowing toward the 50 guests.
From the road, Spring Grove Dairy could easily be mistaken for a public park with its huge expanse of green grass and clean and neat farmstead. Dan atttributes the park like setting to his wife Mary, who works long and hard to maintain the park.
The family dairy has 26 fulltime employees and over the 10-year period has paid $6 million in payroll expenses; spent $17 million in locally purchased grain and forage; $25 million for supplies, repairs and operating costs; 450 million pounds of milk have been sold; has hosted hundreds of groups, from all the 4th graders in five local schools this week to 400 dairy producers from all across the U.S. during Dairy Expo.
Local elected officials on the tour admitted they saw things they had never seen before and learned that dairying is a huge economic plus for Green County and our state.
Wisconsin dairying is indeed a dynamic force. Its still all about family but its a different family than 30 years ago. Its families that combine business, technology, continuing education, optimism, professionalism and a love of the industry.
If you have never seen todays dairy agriculture upclose, do so ASAP -- you will be pleasantly surprised.
John Oncken is owner of Oncken Communications, a Madison-based agricultural information and consulting company. He can be reached at 608-222-0624 or e-mail jfodairy@chorus.net
John F. Oncken
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The Hispanic cheeses made by W&W Dairy, Monroe, are labeled with the buyers name.
