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BURTRUM, Minn. - Mother and daughter, Irene and Karen Hiltner, share many things in life - their house, meals, their farm, labor, their pasture, equipment, the hay made on their fields, and, of course, lots of memories and laughter. What they don't share are their dairy herds, their barns or their milking equipment - or their milk checks, for that matter.
Irene and Karen Hiltner each milk their own herd of cows in separate dairy barns on their farm near Burtrum, Minn. It may seem like an odd arrangement at first glance, but it works perfectly well for the Hiltners.
"This way it's not complicated," Irene said. "She gets her check and does what she wants, and I get mine. I could never milk her cows, and she could never milk mine."
The Hiltners have been living on their farm near Burtrum since 1966, when they moved from New Munich, Minn. At that time, Irene and her husband, Melvin, raised sheep. They began dairy farming after building a new barn in 1971.
"I always did the milking," Irene said. "[Melvin] helped in the morning, but his schedule was too inconsistent."
While raising three young children at the time, Irene set her dairy schedule to accommodate her family. When their third child, Jody, was born, this meant many trips back and forth from the barn.
"When I had that baby, I would haul manure then run and check on Jody, then run back out and do chores," she said. "That was a heck of a time back then, but I was younger back then."
Morning milking for Irene began at 4:30 a.m., allowing her to finish before heading to the house to help the kids get ready for school.
Despite the demanding schedule, she didn't mind dairy farming.
"I really enjoy it," Irene said of milking cows.
Although Karen enjoyed her childhood on the farm, she never planned to dairy farm. After high school, she took a job off the farm, working for Fingerhut in Sauk Centre, Minn. When the business closed down in 1990, Karen was left looking for another job. Having had hip replacement surgery when she was just 13 years old, a job that required standing or sitting in one spot for hours on end wasn't an option. So, she decided to come back to the farm, not by transitioning into the operation, but by milking her own dairy herd in a second barn on the farm.
"My brother had milked in this barn ... [At the time] the barn was empty, so I put cows back in it and have been [dairy farming] ever since," Karen said.
The mother and daughter have been farming apart, yet on the same farm, for the last 22 years. Irene milks 13 cows with four units. Karen milks 13 cows with three buckets. Once milking is done, each woman lets her herd out of the barn and the cows co-mingle in one pasture. Sorting, however, has never been a problem.
"They all run together, but they know which barn to go in," Karen said.
Aside from the actual milking, Irene and Karen do much of the farm work together. They keep things simple, raising only hay for their cattle and purchasing oats and corn as they need it to grind for feed. Their farm fleet consists of a tractor, baler, hay basket, side rake, plow and manure spreader.
When it comes to making hay, each has their own jobs - with plenty of help from Karen's brother, Steve, her sister, Jody and her two children, and Karen's uncle.
"Mom does all the raking; my uncle or brother cuts the hay. I'd rather be stacking," Karen said. "We try to do as much as we can on Friday and Saturday so we have as much help as possible. It makes a big difference."
This year, the Hiltners put up two crops of small square bales and a third crop of big square bales. For the remainder of the season, the cows rotationally graze the fields. Once winter hits, the cows are kept in their respective barns. Heifers and calves are also kept in the barns with the dairy herds through the winter months, which helps them get used to not only the barns, but Irene and Karen as well.
"It works well this way, that way when they come fresh, they are used to my voice," Karen said of keeping her youngstock in the barn.
The Hiltners raise their heifer calves and sell the bulls. They use a herd bull to breed their animals. When one of Irene's heifers freshens, Karen helps with the first couple milkings.
Irene and Karen's relationship goes beyond the barn. They often go to town together, or go visiting, with Karen taking Irene wherever she needs to go. Being together so much may seem like a strain on their relationship, but it isn't so with the Hiltners.
"We work together all the time and there is no fighting," Irene said.
At 73 years old, Irene has no desire to sell the cows and retire from farming, even after Melvin passed away in 2010.
"Why should I sit around and look at four walls in the house? I do some embroidery and make quilts, but I would rather be outside, milking. I am one that would sooner be outside making hay and stuff," she said. "[I'll keep milking cows] as long as my health holds up."
Although it was an unexpected career change for Karen, she also enjoys the lifestyle.
"It gives me an income and something to do," she said, smiling.
The Hiltners will continue dairy farming as they have for the last 22 years, sharing nearly everything but the cows.
Mark Klaphake also contributed to this article.
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