A man with many hats

HIGHLAND, Wis. — Jeff Novak began the endeavor of starting his own dairy after establishing a portable welding business, a custom chopping enterprise and a meat production business with beef cattle and hogs. Adding these extra hats has made for a balancing act for the husband and father.

“It’s important to be diverse,” Novak said. “I like variety, and I don’t like having all my eggs in one basket.”

Novak and his wife, Kayla, established Whispering Pines Dairy LLC in October 2024 near Highland. The couple milks 31 cows. The Novaks wanted a place for their son, David, to grow up, akin to how they had grown up. Novak attributes his ability to manage his array of enterprises to Kayla.

“I couldn’t do all this without my wife,” Jeff said. “She does a lot of the milking when I’m in the field. Before we were married, I wouldn’t have thought about the pigs, or even the dairy.”

Novak grew up on his family dairy farm, a quarter mile away from the farm he and his family own. The son of a third-generation farmer, Novak worked on his family farm throughout his schooling, as well as helping other neighboring farms with field work. Kayla grew up in upstate New York, working on her family’s beef farm.

Novak’s family farm sold the cows in 2022, before he was ready to start his journey into dairy. Now the couple work side-by-side with their young son, David, sitting on a bucket nearby, supervising.

“I always liked the cows,” Jeff said. “I liked milking, and I wanted to get back to it.”

Novak’s journey in business began in fall 2013, when he went to Southwest Wisconsin Technical College in Fennimore, where he took classes in welding.

A year later, Novak wanted to get back out in the fields. At 21 years old, he bought a John Deere 4040 and a John Deere 459 round baler in spring 2015, and a second small business was born.

“When I got started, I had a customer call because the guy he had hired didn’t show up,” Novak said. “I went out there and got his straw baled and now that customer has been with me ever since.”

Being dependable for his customers is a characteristic Novak hangs his hat on. It has helped him grow his custom business from one client to the double digits he will be working with this year. He has added multiple round balers and a big square baler and can now tackle  cutting, raking, merging, baling, chopping and wrapping.

“When I get those calls, I look at it as someone who has a need and needs it to be taken care of, the same way I do when I need someone to help me out,” Novak said. “I always try to put myself in their position and hope to have a satisfied customer when we’re finished.”

With his custom work gaining traction, the young entrepreneur eventually became a beef and pork producer as he tries to bring the farm one step closer to the customer.

Novak has three sows and raises between 80-100 feeder cattle. He bought his first farm in 2018 as a place to start raising his feeder cattle, and houses his hogs at a neighbor’s, halfway between his two facilities.

“I love trying new things and experimenting,” Novak said. “We’ve had a good experience so far.”

This is an avenue that he can see continuing in the future, helping provide high-quality, responsibly raised products for families like his, bringing people closer to their food.

“There’s definitely a demand,” Novak said. “The customers who are going to farmer’s markets and trying to buy more directly, those are the people I’m currently looking for. I want to provide quality products. I raise my animals the old-fashioned way, without growth hormones. I want to sell a quality product, the same product I want my own family to eat.

Now, family has once again influenced Novak’s business plans.

“When the opportunity came to get (dairy) cows back in this barn, I knew I had to take it,” Novak said. “I wanted a place to raise my family and teach them to work and be committed to something. I think having a dairy farm is a good way to do that.”