The Upper Fox Wolf Demo Farm Network is starting its second year. Let’s meet the producers that make up the largest demo farm network to date!
Albright Farm
Albright Brothers, LLC is operated by brothers Jamie and Casey Albright, along with their Uncle David and their father James. In 1940 Eugene Albright, father of David and James, started a dairy farm near Omro, Wisconsin and by 1960 the farm was milking 120 cows. The farm stopped milking in 1978 and began raising steers. Today the farm has around 900 head of cattle and grows a variety of crops including corn, soybeans, winter wheat, alfalfa and oats on 560 acres of cropland.
As James and David prepare to retire, Jamie and Casey returned to the farm to keep the operation going. Jamie and Casey see farming as a good way of life, a way to make an honest living. Their hope is to sustain the farm with animals and healthy soil, striving to one day be able to grow their crops without commercial fertilizer. The farm practices no-till on many acres and has seen benefits to the soil and has allowed them to make applications when they would have risked getting stuck on conventional tilled ground.
A desire to try new things led them to agree to be a part of the Upper-Fox Wolf Demonstration Farms. Their successes with no-till has led them to look for new ways of improving the soil as well as adding more cover crops to their rotation. The brothers look forward to continuing to make the farm more sustainable and learning some new techniques from others in the network.
Boerst Farm
Dan and Ruth Boerst’s farm is located in Manawa. Dan hosted the first demo farm field day June, 2019. Through his involvement with the demo farms network, Dan has no-till planted into green cover, established a rotational grazing system for dairy heifers, interseeded multi-species cover crops (Italian rye, red clover, hairy vetch) into V4 corn, planted alternating rows of corn and soybeans (8 rows of each) and will broadcast covers crops into the stands in early September 2019. Dan is comparing three types of dairy forages for feed quality, (corn silage, summer cover mix and annual ryegrass). In the future, Dan plans to host another field day.
Schultz Legacy Farms
Father and son farmers Dave and Dusty Schultz have been completely no-tilling their 1,700 acres near Van Dyne for 20 years. Two years ago, they realized they would like to start incorporating cover crops into their rotation. This led them to form a working relationship with Dana Christel, Soil Conservationist for Fond du Lac County. Dana spearheaded a soil health program to work with farms in the county to do detailed soil testing on acres where conservation practices were being implemented, to track positive changes in soil over time. As Dana got to know the Schultz’s, their innovative nature and their goals for their operation, she knew that they would be a great candidate for the Upper Fox Wolf Demonstration Farms Network. The Schultz’s plant corn, soybeans, winter wheat, rye for seed, and have incorporated some silage for neighboring farmers into their rotation in the past. Their involvement in conservation prior to becoming a demo farm is their extensive experience in no-tillage, planting rye cover crops after corn silage, and nutrient management planning. Their long term goal is to incorporate cover crops to the extent that fields will be green and covered year round. In 2019, the first year of the demo farms network, Dave and Dusty purchased and used a walker inter-seeder previously owned by Dave Brandt, a well known no-till farmer from Ohio. They did a late season interseeding, and are hoping to see success and good cover this spring during those critical snow melt and spring runoff months. They also planted a multi species cover crop mix of various grasses, legumes, and brassicas on all of their prevent plant acres this year. They are interested in utilizing a roller crimper for cover crop management in the future.
Erickson Dairy Farm
In 1979, Randy Erickson purchased a dairy farm outside of Clintonville, Wisconsin. He and his wife Carol started with 40 dairy cows and by the time their son Adam joined the farm in 2007, they were milking 350 cows. Today Randy, Carol, Adam and his wife Kristy milk around 450 cows as well as farming 1,050 acres. To provide feed for the herd, Erickson’s grow alfalfa, grass and corn.
Randy and Adam chose to farm because they enjoy everything about it, from crops to cows. Their passion for farming runs deep as they spend most of their day operating the farm. Always looking for ways to improve their farm, they chose to be a part of the Upper Fox-Wolf Demonstration Farms.
Having tried some different conservation practices, Randy and Adam hope being a part of the demo farms will provide them with guidance for their mission to have a better interaction with the environment. They hope to establish more cover crops and expand their no-till acres as they learn more about improving the soil. The more they can learn and improve their farm, the greater the chance that future generations will be able to sustain the farm.
Gehrke Farm
The Gehrke Family Farm, LLC, located just west of Omro, Wisconsin, is operated by Rick Gehrke and his father Ron. The farm was started as a dairy in 1934 by Rick’s great grandfather. The farm remained a dairy until 2001 when the cows left and the farm became a cash grain operation. Rick and Ron’s farm covers six hundred acres with the primary crops being corn, soybean, winter wheat, along with some forage.
Rick is passionate about cropping and would rather farm than do any other type of work. He enjoys that farming has allowed him to try new ideas and crop rotations. Rick and his dad want to continue to improve soil health and leave the farm better than when they started. Over the last several years Rick has utilized cover crops to help improve his soils, utilizing diverse mixes to increase the benefit. He hopes that if his children decide to farm, being the fifth generation, that they will share the same desire to focus on soil health.
With support from the Upper Fox-Wolf Demonstration Farms, Rick hopes to gain access to new opportunities and technology to make his goal of a sustainable, more diverse farm a reality. He also hopes that being a part of the demo farm network will help him show others that conservation practices work. Rick believes that sharing knowledge among the member farms will benefit his farm for years to come.
Hintz Farm
Matt Hintz is a first generation farmer near Amherst, Wisconsin. He began farming in 1997 and today farms with his wife Sara and their son Thomas. They run around 1500 acres of cropland, with 1000 acres in continuous no-till. The farm also utilizes cover crops to help build organic matter and hold soil outside of the growing season. Matt and Sara grow corn, soybeans, sweet corn, rye, peas, alfalfa and grass for cash crops and feed as well as raising 160 Holstein steers and 25 beef cow-calf pairs.
In addition to farming, Matt also helped launch the Farmers for Tomorrow in February 2018. This farmer led watershed group formed in order to help educate both farmers and local residents about what farm practices are happening in their community as well as what practices should be followed. The hope is to find common ground in the community between producers and consumers. Water quality is a priority for this group and its twelve active members.
Matt has always enjoyed crops and cattle and sees farming as a great way to see what he has accomplished. While farming he has always liked to try new things in order to stay on the cutting edge of what is happening in agriculture. The Upper Fox-Wolf Demonstration Farm Network appealed to him as a way to provide opportunities to stay current with new technologies and techniques as well as gain access to new equipment and knowledge.
Montsma Farm
Ed Montsma and his wife Kathy farm 2,400 acres owned and rented in southwest Fond du Lac County planting corn, soybeans, and wheat test plots. Ed has run a totally no-till operation since 1995, one of the no-till pioneers in the county. He participated in the Fond du Lac River Priority Watershed Project’s High Residue Management Program, a past program that encouraged farmers to leave residue on their fields after planting their crops to help alleviate soil erosion. Ed used cost share dollars from the program to retrofit his planter so that he could penetrate through residue and the organic layer and achieve proper seed depth and planting rates. Doing that provided gains in his crop production and saved time as well, making no-till farming something he wanted to commit to for the long term. Ed also practices on farm conservation by putting in grassed waterways and contour strips along with his no till work. Ed made a perfect candidate for the Upper Fox Wolf Demonstration Farms Network because of his already established long term commitment to soil health and conservation practices, and his openness to do more. His goals through the network are to integrate cover crops into his rotation. He did spring aerial cover crop seeding in 2019 and also plans to plant rye after beans, plant green in the spring, and trial interseeding cover crops into standing crops.
Pollack Vu
Chris, his wife, Kelly and parents, Larry and Deb, are the owners of Pollack-Vu Dairy, LLC located near Ripon, Wisconsin. He said, “having family that has many years of experiences to get input from and use as a sounding board for your ideas is a valuable asset to a young farmer.” Being able to improve on what they have done in the past to reach new goals is something he appreciates and finds to be a fun part of his job.
What makes the Pollack’s operation unique? Variety. They are a dairy farm, but also raise beef cattle, grow peas as a canning crop, grow additional crops and do custom work. “we are not very big, but we are diversified,” Chris said, “which gives us the opportunity to weather the storm through the lows in the different markets and take advantage of the highs. Farming is what he grew up in and is very passionate about it. Growing up around animals and cropping really had an influence on him. “I just enjoy seeing things grow and the progression that we have made as an industry,” Chris stated. “While it is challenging right now for farmers, it still doesn’t take away from the feeling of accomplishment and fulfillment of finishing things and seeing the result of your work.”
“We farm,” Chris answered with a laugh when asked about his hobbies. Actually, most of his leisure time is spent enjoying the moments of parenthood. Chris and Kelly have a three month old son, Max, and their daughter, Heidi, is 2 years old. He loves seeing their enthusiasm around the animals on the farm. They are currently obsessed with cats, but Chris expects that is only the beginning of how growing up on a farm will fuel their passions.
Chris is currently the Vice President of the Fond du Lac County Farm Bureau and is a member of the Fond du Lac County Forage Council. In 2015, Chris was selected to participate in a program with the American Farm Bureau. Being selected for the program was an honor for Chris, but it also meant a large time commitment away from the farm and his family. Things were pretty busy at home during the same time; Chris and Kelly got married, and they welcomed their first child, and remodeled the house. He figures he was gone for about 30 days over the course of that two year program. There were exciting journeys and new experiences, but according to Chris, “it’s good to be back at home farming full time.” Chris also hosted a field day for Green Lake Association in 2018, with over 100 attendees including farmers, shoreline home owners and other community members. Chris’s involvement in conservation farming prior to involvement in the demo network includes some no-till acreage, contour strips on the environmentally sensitive areas of his farm, and writing his own nutrient management plan. The passion for farming, drive, and community leadership Chris has displayed made him an obvious candidate to serve as a farmer leader through the Upper Fox Wolf Demonstration Farms Network. Through his involvement with the demo farms network in 2019, Chris inter-seeded a cover crop into V4 stage corn. His future goals through the demo farms network are to continue experimenting with cover crops, starting low disturbance manure injection, and continuing to move toward more no-till within his crop rotation.
Tauchen’s Harmony Valley Farm
Tauchen’s Harmony Valley is run by brothers Steve, Gary and Greg Tauchen, along with their parents Herb & Marlys. The farm began in 1976 with Herb, Gary and the late Al Tauchen near highway 29 in Bonduel, Wisconsin. The family farm expanded in 1996, both by adding cows as well as Gary and Al’s brother Steve returning to the farm. A second expansion occurred around the year 2000 with the addition of more cows and another brother, Greg. Today Tauchen’s milk around 1200 cows and care for nearly 1000 heifers. The farm runs 2500 acres of cropland, growing corn, soybeans, winter wheat and alfalfa to provide feed for the herd.
For the Tauchen family, farming is in their blood. Everyday on the farm is a challenge, but they welcome it with open arms. For these brothers, nothing beats the farming lifestyle. They not only work hard but their partnership allows them to enjoy time off the farm as well.
A desire to conserve the land, maintain water quality and farm green is what led Tauchen’s to agree to be a part of the Upper Fox-Wolf Demonstration Farm Network. Always willing to try new things and stay at the forefront of the dairy industry, they look forward to learning as a part of this project.
Zuehls Farm
Zeb Zuehls is a fourth-generation farmer of his family farm in Montello, Wisconsin as well as a farm he purchased in Green Lake County six years ago. Zeb graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Farm and Industry Short Course. Not only does he farm 1,200 acres he also does custom work which includes planting, combining and large-square baling, adding another 1,500 acres to the mix. Zeb is married to Melanie and together they are raising four girls ranging in age from twelve to two.
Zeb grows corn, food-grade soybeans, alfalfa, and small grains such as oats, rye and winter wheat. He farms lighter sandy soil, though he also has muck, or peat soil, and clay. About 350 acres are irrigated. One hundred percent of his acres are in cover crops and all the land is either strip-tilled or no-tilled. He does this to eliminate passes, build soil productivity, conserve moisture and prevent interference of a growing cover crop at planting.
This information can be found on the Waupaca County Website and was assembled by Brian Haase, Derrick Raspor, and Matt Brugger.
