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WINSTED, Minn. - He heard it from his father. He heard it from his banker. He even heard it from other people in the dairy industry. 'No' is a word Shane Brueggemeier heard all too often as he tried to launch his dairying career.

Until he met the Otto brothers, who told him 'yes.'

Now four years later, the 25-year-old is milking his own cows and following his dream. Creating a dairying career from scratch hasn't been easy, but every 'no' he's heard has made him more determined to beat the odds against him.

Brueggemeier found his passion at an early age. He watched his dad and grandpa dairy farm until he was 8 years old, when the cows were sold.

"Since I grew up pushing little Ertl farm tractors around, I knew I wanted to milk cows," he said.

But from the time the cows were sold until his last year of high school, he only had a few beef cows for 4-H to gain any farming experience. He wanted more. On weeknights he started milking for a couple friends.

"My senior year was the first time I had ever milked a cow," Brueggemeier said.

He also started working at Englemann Dairy - a 300-cow farm at the time - taking care of the herd health.

Right after high school graduation at the age of 18, Brueggemeier began looking for his own farm to start his own dream. Any situation would do: renting, renting-to-own or buying a farm.

"It didn't happen too fast," he said.

Several retired dairy farmers didn't want him milking in their barns.

"There were barns sitting empty," he said. "But we're fairly close to the metro so I think they didn't want it (dairy cows) back on the farms again."

Without any luck, Brueggemeier kept working at Englemanns, but was still determined to keep looking. At the age of 19, he went into his personal bank to check into his financial options for his future in dairy farming.

"I went into the bank and asked, 'If I were to start (dairy farming), how would I get started?'" he said. "He just laughed at me and told me I'd never get started."

But the negative feedback didn't discourage him.

"It made me want to do it even more," Brueggemeier said.

Even his dad didn't support his dream to milk cows on his own.

At the age of 20 after Brueggemeier had started a new job excavating, a friend he had milked for called him one afternoon and asked if he was still looking for a barn to rent. The friend suggested talking to a nutritionist who knew of people that had an option.

Brothers Robert and Lawrence Otto had some health issues and thought their dairying careers had been successful and sufficient. During mid October 2004, Brueggemeier talked to the Ottos about using their facilities and buying their herd of Holsteins. The Ottos didn't want to see their barn sit empty, but didn't have anyone to take over for them.

"It was time to move on, but the barn was still in good shape where someone could still use it," Robert Otto said. "It's hard for young farmers to get going (on their own). It was a good way for him or anyone else to start out."

It didn't take long for the Ottos to say 'yes.'

"By the first of November I decided I would try to buy the cows," Brueggemeier said. "They had a completely opposite attitude than anybody I had talked to (about renting their farm)."

For a loan, Brueggemeier went to Farm Service Agency.

"They told me it would work. I just needed to get it approved," he said.

All through January, Brueggemeier worked alongside the Ottos to learn the ropes of their farm. Finally on Feb.1, 2005, Brueggemeier took over and the cows were his. He beat the odds.

Since Brueggemeier only owns his cows, he buys all of his feed, mostly from the Ottos who still farm 1,000 acres of land and work for a custom harvesting service. At the start of every year, the Ottos and Brueggemeier negotiate a ceiling price for their crops, which is usually below market value. If the market is below that ceiling price, Brueggemeier pays less., but if it's above he doesn't have to pay anymore.

Because of this negotiation, Brueggemeier also takes an active role helping with harvest.

"They include me in decisions," he said. "They're very good to work with."

When choosing corn varieties, Brueggemeier has a say. The decision of what day to cut hay is always Brueggemeier's and he also does 90 percent of the chopping - partly because it's his favorite field work.

"It's a nice break to get some windshield time," he said.

In the barn, Brueggemeier has also been able to make some updates. He took out the stanchions and replaced it with a neck rail, and put mats in the stalls. Brueggemeier quickly learned his large Holsteins were not such a good fit for the smaller barn and started buying Jerseys. The breed also had an easier time calving on their own and were easier on their feet, Brueggemeier said.

In the future, Brueggemeier wants to find a barn to buy or a retiring dairy farmer willing to sell or work him into the operation. Although he wanted to have 300 cows by the time he's 30, Brueggemeier has found working with a smaller herd is better for him.

"My whole thing is cows," he said. "I don't want to lose the connection on a one-to-one basis with the cows."

Until he finds something else, he'll continue where he is right now with the Ottos there to support him.

"You couldn't ask for any better landlords. They're dairy minded and open to any ideas because they want to see me have a good start," he said. "If it wasn't for those two guys I couldn't be milking."

All it took was one "yes."[[In-content Ad]]

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