Barn Full of Memories: Jim and Diane Boeckers

Jim and Diane Boeckers

New Munich, Minnesota

What year did you start farming and what year did you retire? My wife and I started in the fall of 1979. We moved to my parents’ farm and farmed with them in a partnership until 1986. In 1986, we purchased the farm and milked cows until 2013. Since then, we have been raising feeder cattle and farming crops.

Tell us about your farm when you started and describe what it looked like when you retired, including how many cows you milked when you retired. My parents’ farm was 220 acres, with sandy soil. Now, we farm 515 acres with eight center-pivot irrigation systems so we can get better crops. When we moved to my parents’ farm, they milked 30 cows; in 2013, we milked 120.

What were some of the big advancements you made during your career? We went from 36 tie stalls to 74. Then in 1998, we added a freestall barn with 102 stalls. We then added a double-8 parlor to make milking easier and faster.

What did you love about milking cows? I enjoyed working together with my wife and children. Our children learned to work together to help them with their future careers. Our two daughters are registered nurses, and our son fixes over-the-road diesel trucks.

What was the highlight of your dairy career? The thing I enjoyed the most about dairy farming was becoming debt free. I enjoyed dairy farming, so farming was easy for me, but debt is mentally stressful.

What is the biggest challenge you faced in your career and how did you overcome it? My parents’ farm grew poor crops without irrigation, so I worked off the farm until 1990. My wife worked off the farm until 1995 so we could build the farm up to make enough just from the dairy.

If there is one thing you wished you could have done differently during your farming career, what would it be? I wish I had had more time to spend with friends and family because my dad always said that friends and family are worth more than money.

What piece of equipment or technology has been introduced that you wish you had for your dairy career? If I were still milking cows, I would like to have robotic milkers because then my time in the barn would be more flexible. We have nine grandchildren; they are in school sports, and I really enjoy going to their games. 

What do you miss most about dairy farming? Talking to other dairy farmers about what could make my dairy cattle better, along with working with other people in the dairy industry.

What advice would you give to a young farmer today? Be very conservative with spending money; spend money on things that make money. Keep a positive attitude and work with professionals in the areas of farming that you don’t know very well.

What is your tie to the dairy industry today? My biggest involvement in the dairy industry today is eating a lot of dairy products, and everything is better with butter. 

Was retiring an easy or hard decision/transition? Retiring from milking cows was easy for me because we couldn’t do the work after the children all went off to college.

What have you been doing since you retired? After the dairy herd was sold, I have been able to go fishing more often, which I enjoy doing year-round. I also really like going to the grandkids’ baseball, softball, football, basketball, wrestling and volleyball games, along with dances and school plays. We have also been going on more vacations and playing card games with friends more often.