Navigating from employment to ownership

ADAMS, Minn. — Cristy Sathre has spent her lifetime in her happy place: the barn. Sathre grew up on the dairy, worked full time for her parents, worked through a farm transition, and has been managing the dairy for six years.

“I love the cows,” Sathre said. “I’ve loved them since I was a little kid. I’d rather be in the barn playing with my cows than anywhere else.”

Sathre milks 35 Holsteins and Ayrshires and one Jersey with her partner, Chris Suess, and their two kids, Spencer and Gidget, near Adams. Sathre and Suess took over from Sathre’s parents, Lynn and Jane, in 2019. Lynn still works on the crop side and Jayne helps as needed on the farm, plus the grandparents provide childcare when the couple needs it.

One of Sathre and Suess’ favorite parts of the dairy is watching their kids experience the farm.

“I just love to see the kids interact with the animals, and start taking on some responsibilities and enjoy it like I did when I was a kid,” Sathre said. “I can see myself in them all over again.”

She said she also appreciates the life lessons their children learn.

“I don’t ever want to see the kids lose this,” Sathre said. “Spencer’s 5, and he has responsibilities. He helps with chores. He knows the circle of life. … It doesn’t faze him.”

Suess agreed.

“It’s something you need to teach the kids,” he said.

Sathre has been on the farm her entire life. After graduating from high school, she got her associate degree in 2004 from a nearby college, commuting to her classes while continuing to help on the dairy. When she graduated, the farm’s full-time employee was quitting, so she continued straight into the role.

“I was in my early 20s, and I love the cows,” Sathre said. “I love the farm. I love genetics. … I put myself into it 100%.”

While on the dairy, Sathre met Suess, who worked for her parents several years before they began dating.

Around 2017, when Lynn’s health began preventing him from working full time on the farm, Sathre and Suess began taking over the management of the dairy.

“I had kind of always assumed that (the farm) would just roll over (to me),” Sathre said. “I had to learn that it’s not mine. … It’s not my call.”

On Jan. 1, 2019, Sathre and Suess received the first milk check in their name.

Sathre said the transition was not easy.

“It was like, ‘OK, you need to let us step in and do this for ourselves, so we can put our stamp on it,’” Sathre said.

Suess agreed.

“It’s hard to go from them having ownership to everything to the next day us having ownership of everything,” he said.

When Sathre took over, it was the first time she had helped with, or looked at, the farm books. She said she encourages other young farmers considering a transition to take a class to understand how to do the financials and to help do the books for a year or so before taking over the farm.

“It was a huge eye opener,” Sathre said. “Learning book work and finances and loans and all the feed and equipment it took to keep things going. It was a learning experience for sure.”

When Sathre and Suess originally took over, they were milking both Sathre’s 50 cows as well as her parents’ herd. However, after about six months it was decided to sell her parents’ portion of the herd — except for the cows the couple bought back — and to manage the farm with just Sathre’s portion of the herd.

It took time to get into a new routine as they navigated changing management.

“I had been here my entire life, so I wanted nothing more than to make it succeed and to keep it going,” Sathre said.

Before the transition had begun, Sathre and Suess had considered moving their portion of the operation, and during the transition period when the process hit some bumps, they milked the cows at a different location for six months, before returning to the home dairy. However, when looking at different farms, Sathre was not fully content.

“I was never happier than on the drive home, because I knew I was going back home, and that’s where I always wanted to be,” she said.

Today, Sathre and Suess plan to continue to dairy and may increase their cow numbers slightly. However, neither is interested in getting significantly larger. Suess works full time for an area crop farmer, and the couple expects an off-dairy job to always be part of their operation.

Looking to the future, the couple said they are working to become more self-sufficient and hope to be able to do more of the crop and custom work themselves.

“When you start paying people to come in and do this for you, it costs a lot more money,” Suess said.

Now on the other side of the transition, Sathre and Suess said their advice for those going through a similar situation is to have trust and good communication and to allow the younger generation to make decisions — and errors.

“Be a good role model and give them advice, but also let them learn,” Sathre said. “It’s OK to make a mistake. …. Communication is huge. … Be upfront with what each person has for goals going forward.”