Ti-Shi Dairy becomes Colby Acres

SPRING VALLEY, Wis. — At the end of 2025, Tim and Shirley Colbenson achieved their dream of passing on their dairy farm to the next generation. Their son, Brian Colbenson, and his wife, Felicia, officially took over Ti-Shi Dairy this past December and have renamed it Colby Acres.

The Colbenson farm started with 60 cows when Tim was first milking on his own near his hometown of Rushford, Minnesota. Today, Colby Acres is nearing 700 cows following another expansion that will be completed this spring.

“It was always Shirley’s and my goal to have a viable farm to pass on,” Tim said. “I think it’s been successful that we have the viability of a dairy in today’s world. That’s a challenge in itself.”

Brian returned to the farm in 2016. After high school, he earned a degree in technology education from the University of Wisconsin-Stout. After graduation, Brian spent time in Houma, Louisiana, operating a cypress sawmill in a construction ministry. He then went on to teach in the Pepin and Plum school districts for a year before returning to the farm.

“When I was in Louisiana, things depended on me,” Brian said. “I couldn’t fall back on anyone else. I had my own schedule. I don’t do the 9-to-5. I liked working with the students and interacting with the kids, but I couldn’t do the four walls.”

With Brian’s return, the Colbensons decided to get plans in place for an ownership transition. This meant consulting with Brian’s brothers, Brandon and Ben, who live near the farm and participate in daily farm activities. Breanna Sieracki, Brian’s sister, lives with her husband and two children nearly an hour away and has less of a role on the farm. Sieracki is a competitive runner, qualifying to represent the U.S. in the Olympic marathon trials.

“All three were presented in this process (the question) ‘Are you in or out?’” Tim said.

The family has had help in the process, working with lawyers and other professionals to ensure a smooth ownership transition.

“We’ve been talking about succession for several years, and in December it was finally finalized,” Tim said. “We’ve had people facilitating us along the way, which is good. They really keep your feet to the fire. It’s easy, whether it’s conflict or difficult conversations, to just ignore it and think we’ll do it someday. Having someone facilitate the process helped us get it done.”

Throughout the transition, the Colbensons have continued to expand their herd. This was important for Brian he said as he leads the dairy forward with a different approach to dairying. With his return, the operation has been able to embrace employees, whom Brian oversees.

Brian said he welcomes the chance to help his employees reach their highest potential.

“Leading construction ministries like I did while in Louisiana, that’s where I cut my teeth,” Brian said. “I always wanted to lead by example, but I can’t be the best at everything. In my role, how can I lift my employees to maximize their potential?”

Tim said he has seen his farm grow from a small operation where he could handle the day-to-day duties to now an operation that relies on a team to operate. The evolution of his dairy farm has come with an evolution of mindset he said, and a trust in his son’s vision for the future.

“The hardest thing I have to remind myself of is that when I was Brian’s age, we had 60-70 cows,” Tim said. “It’s a different world managing 700. The demands of family life are different. I have to remind myself that things are different, and we don’t have to do everything ourselves anymore.”

Brian’s leadership helps employees own their respective roles.

“Giving our employees that responsibility, I think people thrive off of it,” Brian said. “People aren’t just here for the paycheck; they want to be a part of something and I think that’s how teams work together so well.”

Tim said he has learned through hardship how being conscious of the bottom line is as important as knowing how to get the most from the cows. In the 1980s, after three years of owning his own farm, Tim was forced to sell his farm, but kept his milking herd.

“When I bought that farm, I was a farmer,” Tim said. “Losing it was devastating at the time, but it turned me into a businessman. I rented a place for five years to get back on my feet and bought this farm in 1993. There were a lot of trials and tribulations, but looking back 33 years later, God put us here and it’s been a blessing.”

When Tim and Shirley moved to their current farm near Spring Valley, they had a herd of 60 cows. They built a double-12 herringbone parlor in 2001 and added a 4-row freestall barn in 2013. They are now expanding the freestall barn with two more rows to increase capacity.

“When we built the parlor, we knew we overbuilt it for the number of cows we had,” Tim said. “Our goal was to get in, get out, do it ourselves and get to be part of our kids’ high school days.”

During that time, Ti-Shi Dairy was milking 120-130 cows, with Brian and his siblings helping where they could.

Growth and expansion have been part of the Colbensons’ farm since Tim and Shirley first arrived in Spring Valley. As Brian leads the farm into its next phase, he said he hopes the farm can be recognized as a place with more than cows.

“Felicia and I are now the ones making the decisions for the farm, but at the end of the day, we’re just stewards,” Brian said. “God has blessed us with this farm, just like he blessed Mom and Dad. We want this farm to be a blessing to people and to glorify God.”