Dairy provides foundation for diversity

Abby Wiedmeyer/Dairy Star
Troy (left) and Aaron Leibfried stand in their dairy barn Aug. 9 at their farm near Hazel Green, Wisconsin. The father-son duo, along with Aaron’s uncle Francis, milk 190 cows. Troy will transition into an ownership role when Francis retires.

 

HAZEL GREEN, Wis. — Troy Leibfried grew up helping on his family’s dairy farm and always knew a career in agriculture was in his future. After graduating from Southwest Wisconsin Technical College with a degree in farm operations and management, he joined his dad Aaron and great-uncle Francis on the home farm near Hazel Green.
Today, the 21-year-old is planning for more responsibilities on the dairy when Francis retires next year while also running his own beef operation that he purchased in April.
“When I was in school, there were a lot of 21-year-olds who would have loved to be doing what I’m doing, but they didn’t have anyone in the industry,” Troy said.
Troy’s farm is a portion of a relative’s farm. His parents purchased the 50 acres of pasture and cropland and buildings until Troy was able to secure financing, at which point he bought the farm from his parents.
Aaron said he is happy to provide the opportunity for his son.
“He’s going to have to get some breaks,” Aaron said. “There’s no way a 21-year-old can get into it otherwise.”
Plans for the dairy continue to evolve with the times as well. Troy, Aaron and Francis milk approximately 190 cows with a robotic milking system. Francis is in charge of herd health and dairy calves, while Aaron does regular feeding and manure hauling. Troy raises crossbred calves and is involved with the fieldwork as well.

Abby Wiedmeyer/Dairy Star
Troy Leibfried checks his beef cows Aug. 9 at his farm near Hazel Green, Wisconsin. Troy dairy farms with his dad Aaron and great-uncle Francis and purchased his own beef herd this year.

 

The Leibfrieds have a long history of dairying. Aaron farmed with his dad and grandfather and purchased the present site in 2000. After transitioning to organic in 2007, Aaron’s dad and grandfather joined his operation, along with Francis. Now they are working on bringing Troy in and allowing Francis to retire.
“We’re going to start out with me taking over the dairy portion, including my uncle’s part of it, and let Troy take the machinery and land part of it,” Aaron said. “Obviously, we’ll work side by side every day.”
The organic herd is fed a total mixed ration while also rotationally grazing. This combination can be challenging when relying on robotics to get milking done, Troy said. Cows have access to pasture overnight while the weather is cool, which can cause a bottleneck in the robots in the morning. Some mornings there are as many as 40 cows that have not visited the robot within 12 hours, but by that evening, there are hardly any.
“They’re pretty good at going through on their own during the day,” Troy said. “Closer to 7 a.m., Dad will feed, so that will take some of them away to go eat.”
The pellets that are fed in the robot to encourage cow visits are a challenge to procure as well since there are limited manufacturers, Aaron said. Fortunately, one of the manufacturers is in Wisconsin. They are able to get a semi load delivered every three weeks for an economical price.
The four robots are capable of handling about 240 milk cows, but Aaron and Troy are not pushing for capacity at the moment. They are instead focused on making sure a smooth generational transition is possible and trying to manage just as much work with one fewer person. They would like to stay away from needing extra labor if they can.
Troy hopes to continue to establish his beef herd as well. He started with 30 purchased beef cows in September 2022. He experienced a steep learning curve right away when the animals did not calve in right away but instead calved over the next nine months, with the last one being born in June. After a hard winter of calving and making early culling decisions, Troy then experienced the drought and had to supplement hay already.
“When you first get into it, it seems like nothing goes right,” Troy said. “But, that’s with anything; you live and learn.”
Troy is optimistic about his beef herd because the prices have been good. Aaron said he has seen organic milk prices double one year and drop in half the next throughout his career, but he is relatively optimistic about the future of dairy as well.
“The market has improved,” Aaron said. “Things are looking good.”