Pioneers in land, water conservation

LODI, Wis. — Situated 66 feet above Lake Wisconsin, the view at Schoepp Farms is picturesque. With the farm’s unique location comes a large responsibility, making the Schoepp family’s longstanding conservation practices even more imperative. 

For more than 30 years, the Schoepps have emphasized land and water quality with practices that were innovative early on: no-tilling, cover cropping and rotational grazing. 

“When we started no-tilling, the first thing we noticed was how many more earthworms we had,” Ron Schoepp said. “Worms are the ones doing the work for you. When you start doing no-till and other practices, you realize how much less erosion you have, how much less nutrients you’re losing.” 

On Sept. 24, the Schoepps hosted the Wisconsin River Basin Bash at Conservation Night by the Lake. Put on by the Lake Wisconsin Farmer Watershed Council, it was the family’s second time hosting the event. The evening included dinner and rotating stations featuring grazing, agronomy, a soil pit and a rainfall simulator.

The family’s concern for doing right by the land dates to the late 1950s. While working a field, Ron’s dad always picked up the plow and turned the sprayer off when going through every waterway.

The family began no-tilling in 1991 and by 1995, the farm was 100% no-till, the same year they started planting cover crops. Two years later, rotational grazing was implemented. 

“For 2.5 decades, we were the crazy neighbors,” he said. “Now, there are farms all over the world doing things differently because of things they have seen us do.”

Schoepp Farms is operated by Ron and his parents, Dave and Nancy, and Ron’s son, Noah. Ron also has two daughters — Lylia Sabatke and Kami Dellinger. Francois Anglade is a full-time employee, and a neighbor, Levi Ness, also helps on the farm.

Noah is currently a heavy equipment operator with a goal to eventually farm full time. Noah said he plans to continue the path established by his father and grandfather. 

“I want to have the same forward thinking we’ve had for many years,” he said. “It’s an adapting environment. It’s always changing.”

The Schoepps custom graze dairy heifers and dry cows for a nearby farm that milks 400 cows. They have raised that farm’s heifers since 1999 and cared for their dry cows since 2012. The Schoepps farm about 500 acres, including pastures, corn, soybeans and wheat.

Ron started his custom heifer raising business with 16 heifers in 1995. Today, over 100 head roam the pastures of the home farm. The Schoepps also rent a pasture in Sauk County where they graze an additional 165 heifers. Dry cows on the farm number between 35 and 55 head and return home 2-3 weeks before calving. Cattle remain outdoors year-round and are outwintered on row crop fields.

“The animals are as healthy as can be out there,” Ron said. “It’s amazing. There’s no way I’d put cattle back in buildings. We don’t have pneumonia issues with them on pasture. You think it’s cold but it’s amazing the huge difference windbreaks make.”

During the event, Anglade discussed the farm’s grazing practices.

“Every decision made on this farm is guided and driven by soil health, clean water and profitability,” Anglade said.

Rotational grazing is at the root of the Schoepps’ success.

“When Ron tried this, he was amazed how much grass he was able to graze,” Anglade said. “He made a simple map and thought that in one paddock he would have x days of feed, but he had two times as much.”

 Anglade said grazing is less about the number of animals on the field and more about the amount of time they spend there.

“Time is a key factor to make this whole process work,” he said. “We want manure to be spread equally, everywhere. We don’t want them staying in one spot and stomping around and making a mess. Ron says, ‘I want my field to look like it’s been cut with a haybine and spread with a manure spreader without ever having to start a tractor.’ And it works.”

 The Schoepps’ practices of no-tilling and cover cropping help the family achieve the type of soil health and water cleanliness they constantly aim for.

“You eliminate things like moldboard plowing, disking,” Anglade said. “We just harvest and plant. Harvest again, then plant again. These are the only two main cropping activities going on here. When you’ve got a system like this one, you start seeing results.”

A mix of 20-30 species makes up the cover crop recipe at Schoepp Farms and includes rye, sorghum, clovers, sunflowers, radishes, kale, peas, triticale, barley, oats, buckwheat and more. 

“We plant it, and then we graze it,” Anglade said. “To get to that profitability, you need to find ways to avoid spending money. We try to purchase as few inputs as possible, such as fertilizer and pesticides.”

To reduce their dependence on these products, the Schoepps try to have cattle on every piece of land to fertilize it. Cattle graze pasture ground in summer and cropland in winter. The winter diet includes cornstalks, cover crops and baleage. The farm utilizes windbreaks to protect cattle from extreme cold. Made of wood, the portable windbreaks measure 9 feet high by 24 feet long. Two windbreaks are typically used and positioned in a V shape.

Ron said the Natural Resources Conservation Service now offers cost sharing for windbreaks as well as fences around a row crop field. 

“It doesn’t take much commitment for a farmer to put animals out on row crops,” Ron said. “On pastures, you have to seed everything down, and that’s a huge commitment. But on a row crop field, I’m just putting cattle out there…That’s how you get more people to graze. Animals on row crop lands get the biology going.”

Ron said being prepared for inclement weather is important. For example, torrential rainfall over a short timespan would cause animals to destroy a field. A cemented paddock equal to one-third of an acre is where the Schoepps keep cattle when weather is not conducive to pasturing. Designed for 280 head, the area contains three separate pens that have access to a lane for eating grain.

“This is here because of the lake,” Ron said. “It’s a little overkill, but it’s nice because I protect our land; I protect our lake.” 

That night, presenters also talked about the numerous species of fish that make their home in neighboring Lake Wisconsin, such as yellow perch, bluegill, northern pike and largemouth bass. The Schoepps’ efforts help ensure the fish that reside in that lake are living in clean water.

Ron is a big believer in working with nature and has seen the benefits of his practices multiply over time.

“The longer you’re doing this, the better it gets,” he said. “The more you get that biology going, it makes a huge difference and it’s amazing what you can do. Getting those ruminants back on the land is a big help.”

Keeping groundwater clean for his neighbors and beyond is a key motivator behind Ron’s conservation work.

“That’s what keeps me fighting, keeps me going,” he said. “That’s why I continue to speak all over the place and push for others to use better practices. It’s making a difference.”