Growing passion into a career

GRANTON, Wis. — Ever since his family’s cows left in 2011, Marshall Kleiman dreamed of bringing his own cows back to the farm. What began as his FFA Supervised Agricultural Experience has now grown into the career he dreamed of.

Kleiman’s SAE project earned him the honor of winning the dairy entrepreneurship proficiency at the Wisconsin FFA Convention June 10.

“I worked at a few local farms, and along the way I would buy a registered heifer calf here and there,” Kleiman said. “Back then you could buy a calf for a few hundred dollars — it’s not so easy now.”

Tasked with developing an SAE project for FFA in 2018, Kleiman started raising those calves, showing them and then selling them as bred heifers. In 2022, with a group of seven or eight bred heifers, Kleiman, who was a sophomore in high school at the time, decided to start dairy farming.

“I’ve done well with the SAE project,” Kleiman said. “I’ve been a state finalist three times and placed third last year, before winning.”

Today, Kleiman is milking 40 cows, a mix of Holsteins and Milking Shorthorns, near Granton. He named his dairy Robin Ridge Farm, and he is working on building a freestall barn to grow his herd to 70-80 cows later this year. He owns 60 tillable acres of land and rents another 60 acres, while purchasing feed from another 40.

“I really liked cows and wanted to milk cows ever since my mom sold hers,” Kleiman said. “I worked at a couple of different local farms and decided that since I liked cows, if I was going to milk them, I might as well milk my own.”

To begin farming, Kleiman prepared the long-time vacant barn on his family’s farm for his heifers to calve in and took advantage of his family’s history of shipping to Nasonville Dairy to secure a milk market.

“Getting everything started up again, after sitting for so long, was a chore,” Kleiman said. “We had to weld the pipeline and update all the equipment. Pretty much everything in the milk house is new, except the bulk tank.”

At the time, being a young high school student, Kleiman was limited in sourcing financing options to give him the investment capital he needed as a 15-year-old.

“I took out a youth loan through the Farm Service Agency and (AgCountry Farm Credit Services) had a youth loan at that time, too, and Dennis Bangart worked with me to get that,” Kleiman said. “I used that money to help get started. Once I started getting a milk check, every couple of months, I’d go buy another cow, building slowly.”

Kleiman kept his herd at about 20 cows while he finished high school.

“I had the credits I needed to graduate after my junior year,” Kleiman said. “My senior year, I could finish chores and get a few other things done before going to school. I took advantage of the youth apprenticeship and school-to-work programs, too.”

Cash-flowing 20 cows was challenging at times, Kleiman said.

“When I first started, there was a lot of money going out and not as much coming in,” Kleiman said. “There were a good three or four months that a Seehafer Refrigeration truck was out here quite often, and that didn’t pencil out really well on 20 cows.”

As his high school graduation neared, Kleiman decided it was time to prepare to make dairy farming his full-time occupation.

“The day I turned 18, I applied for a loan with FSA for cows and equipment,” Kleiman said. “There were a lot of hoops to jump through, but the interest rate was where you want it and they could spread the term out longer.”

Securing financing to purchase the farm from his parents was more challenging, Kleiman said.

“I got shot down by six different banks before I found one that was willing to take a chance and work with me,” Kleiman said. “I was able to purchase the farm in December.”

With the loan secured, Kleiman began sourcing cows to double his herd size.

“When I’m buying cows on the premise of filling the barn and putting milk in the tank, I like to buy a group,” Kleiman said. “They seem to adjust better. I like to buy first and second-lactation cows that are bred back, so I don’t have to worry about having issues getting them pregnant while they are undergoing the transition.”

Wanting to develop a breeder herd, Kleiman also has made strategic purchases at registered sales and dispersals.

“I’ve been lucky enough to get some animals out of Excellent cows,” Kleiman said. “I have five Excellent cows in the herd right now, including two 91-point cows.”

Kleiman still works with the Milking Shorthorn breed, but recognizes that Holsteins have the advantage when it comes to generating a milk check. His herd is averaging about 70 pounds of milk with 4.6% butterfat.

When it comes to buying and breeding cows, Kleiman likes tall, wide cows.

“I like milk production, but I don’t strictly buy or breed for it,” Kleiman said. “If I see a young two-year-old who is maybe only giving 60 pounds of milk but is built nicely, I’ll invest in the cow I think she can be.”

Kleiman mates his own cows, selecting for a balance of type traits, along with good health traits and high Daughter Pregnancy Rate.

While doubling his herd this year is his short-term goal, Kleiman keeps focused on the future.

“Eventually I’d like to add on to the freestall barn I’m putting up, pay off the cows and equipment and then look at robots or a step-up parlor,” Kleiman said.

Even though he keeps the future in his mind, Kleiman said the challenges he knows he will face are concerning.

“I can cash-flow everything down to $14 or $15, but I worry about prices going below that,” Kleiman said. “Once you get behind, playing catch-up is never an easy task. My goal is to try to stay ahead. Anytime I’m able to make a profit, I try to set that aside for the bad times.”

Despite those concerns, Kleiman knows he has chosen the right path for himself.

“It’s not the easiest, but it’s what I love, and it beats working for someone else,” Kleiman said. “It’s pretty much true, what they say, that a bad day milking cows is better than a good day in an office.”