Living on Linebacks

KEWAUNEE, Wis. — Twenty-five years ago, Delmar and Christine Pekarek purchased a farm they could call their own. After renting a farm and also helping his father farm, Delmar was ready for a new beginning.

“I’m living my dream,” Delmar said. “I believe in working the land and watching my calves become milk cows. And I love seeing a bulk tank full of milk.”

The Pekareks milk 100 cows in a herd consisting of 50% Linebacks and 50% Holsteins at Norman Linebacks Dairy near Kewaunee. They ship their milk to Scray Cheese Co. in De Pere.

“I’m 51 years old and feel I’m the last of the old-school farmers left in my area,” Delmar said. “The 40 to 50-cow herds around here are dropping like flies. There are a lot of big farms, but I try not to worry about it and just do my own thing.”

Delmar grew up on a dairy farm a mile down the road.

“My dad had four farms, and I used to pass through here on the way to our farm in Casco,” Delmar said. “My dad was old-fashioned and didn’t want to modernize, but I had a different way of farming. I’m a cow guy, but my dad was more about machinery.”

Delmar decided to go out on his own. He and Christine rented a 40-cow farm three miles from their current farm.

“I drove past here then too and also bought small bales from the guy who owned this place,” Delmar said.

After driving past the farm thousands of times, they purchased it in 1999. The Pekareks had found their piece of paradise where they would raise their family and develop a herd of cows that looked a little different than those around them.

“Some say Linebacks are a beef breed,” Delmar said. “That’s OK because I like to be different.”

The Pekareks got into Linebacks in 2007 when they bought a herd of cows that contained a few Lineback animals.

“I kind of like the breed, and we kept building from there,” Delmar said. “I’ve never used sexed semen, so it’s been a slow process. Linebacks are durable and seem to last. They also have nice components and test a little higher.”

Christine likes the Linebacks’ temperament as well as their looks.

“I think they’re more docile,” she said. “And they’re pretty.”

The Linebacks are also hard workers.

“Some of our biggest producers are Linebackers,” Christine said.

Most of their Linebacks are purebred. In addition to the traditional black and white Lineback, the Pekareks also have red and white Linebacks.

“We started crossbreeding some of our Linebacks with Dutch Belt, and we breed a lot of Holsteins to Lineback,” Delmar said. “We also have a Jersey Dutch Belt.”

The Pekareks also plan to experiment with another cross: Lineback females and an Ayrshire bull they are raising. All cows in the barn are bred via A.I., while heifers and outside cows are bred by a bull.

“There are three to four Lineback sires we use for A.I.,” Delmar said. “There is a small amount of bulls to pick from.”

According to the American Lineback Cattle Registry, the breed has four distinctive color patterns: Classic White Witrick, Dark Sided Witrick, Dark Speckled Witrick and Gloucester. The Pekareks have all four types on their farm.

Taking advantage of two milking methods for efficiency, the Pekareks milk simultaneously in a tiestall barn and a 3-stall step-up parlor.

“I milk in the parlor; Christine milks in the barn,” Delmar said. “She’s small and skinny whereas I’m tall and big, so this arrangement works well for us.”

The same cows go through the parlor each day — up to 51 head — while the barn holds 65 head.

“We don’t have to switch doing it this way,” Delmar said.

Cows are milked twice a day, and a high school kid helps milk at night. Christine returned to the farm full time in 2018 to help Delmar after working at BelGioioso Cheese Inc. for 16 years while their four kids were growing up.

“This isn’t a job; it’s a lifestyle, and I wouldn’t trade doing it for the job I did before,” Christine said.

Delmar’s brother, Darrell, comes every morning to help on the farm as well. In addition, one of their daughters who works at Agropur helps too. Their two sons, who both work at machine shops, help their parents with mechanical tasks.

“They can fix anything,” Christine said.

Delmar is hoping his youngest son might take over the farm someday.

“There always has to be farmers,” he said. “We feed the world, and I don’t want to see the dairy industry destroyed.”

The Pekareks farm 80 acres and rent another 55 from Delmar’s brother.

“Somehow, there have always been enough acres to feed our cows,” Christine said.

The Pekareks started out milking 35 cows and later added 40 stalls onto the barn while also putting in the parlor. The parlor is located on the end of the barn in what was previously a lean-to loafing area.

“We’ve improved the farm a lot over the years,” Delmar said.

Delmar and Christine converted the barn from stanchions to tiestalls, put in a manure pit, added fence line feeding outside, put a new roof on the barn and transformed the car garage into housing for youngstock where the speckled faces of the younger generation can be found.

“We have a good group of Linebacks coming up,” Delmar said. “The future is looking good.”

Delmar and Christine said they enjoy walking into a barn filled with cattle of unique markings and appreciate the little things found in each day.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen once the small farms are gone,” Christine said. “Where is our food going to come from?”

Delmar agreed.

“No matter who you talk to, there’s nothing like small-size farming, and it’s gone to the wayside,” he said. “This is our life. I don’t know what will happen, but you just have to keep going. Never give up.”