From one to none

PARK RAPIDS, Minn. — What was once a common sight in Hubbard County is about to become non-existent — a dairy farm. Gary Hensel is the last dairy farmer in the county and has already made plans to sell his herd this fall.

“It’s time,” Hensel said. “It (farming) was never work for me; everything was easy. Now, it’s work.”

Hensel and his wife, Diane, are down to milking 30 cows in their tiestall barn near Park Rapids. Their herd is mostly Holsteins along with a few Jerseys. They also farm 500 acres of corn, oats and alfalfa.

“I liked milking the cows the most,” Hensel said. “Because of my arthritis, I haven’t been able to milk in years, so Diane milks the cows, and I do all the feeding and everything else. Our cows were always so calm, anybody could walk in our barn and the cows barely noticed.”

The couple used to milk 55 cows when their children were home to help. Now, as their bodies age, everyday tasks get more difficult. Also, inputs and supply sources are getting further away. So, the couple has decided to sell the cows.

“I have to go to Menahga or Detroit Lakes for parts and supplies,” Hensel said. “I would have sold them (the cows) last fall, but we had made silage already, so we needed to feed that up.”

Plans have already been set in motion for the sale.

“I sold the springers this spring, and the cull cows are gone,” Hensel said. “I synced the breedings so the rest will calve later after we sell. We will keep a batch of calves that we will sell in the spring just to space out all the sales.”

Hensel said in the early 1990s there were 75 dairy farmer patrons at the local feed store in Park Rapids; now he is the only one. There also used to be a John Deere dealership in town, but it has since gone out of business.

“I used to farm with my brother-in-law,” Hensel said. “He had his own farm and I had mine, but we would help each other out with chopping, planting and other work. He sold his cows about 10 years ago due to health reasons.”

Hensel’s brother, Dean, lives next door and maintains a full-time job in town but helps on the farm when he can.

The Hensels have two adult children and three grandchildren.

“It was a good time (raising the kids on the farm),” Hensel said. “They learned a lot when they were growing up. My youngest son worked at the lumber yard in town while in high school and after six weeks they offered him the yard foreman position because he knew how to get things done.”

Hensel is the third generation on the farm that his grandpa, William, bought in 1933. William was originally a logger and bought the farm to have enough animals to feed his 10 children. William’s youngest, Martin, Hensel’s dad, took over the farm and transitioned it from a diversified cattle and hog operation to 30 cows. A new barn with a pipeline was built in 1979 and the Hensels have been shipping milk to Land O’Lakes ever since.

“That was the summer I graduated from high school,” Hensel said. “We bought some logs and sawed some logs and built it ourselves. The first time we milked in it was the day before Thanksgiving that year.”

The cost of building the barn, which they are still using today, was just under $40,000, Hensel said. Over the years, Hensel has built 11 additional buildings on the farm, from machine sheds to calf barns.

“There has always been cattle here,” he said. “I’m glad we are still on every other day pick-up. I have heard of other remote dairy farmers that have to wait four days in between pick-ups.”

Once the cattle are gone, Hensel said they will continue to farm the land because the machinery is in good shape and paid for.

“Time went fast,” Hensel said.