Travis and Ryan too... thank you for taking the time to share with your viewers some history of your family's operation. Some of us who farm and have our roots in the farm want to know the ins and outs of what you all are doing. Probably a little nosy but mostly because we want to see young men succeed. The more your viewers become acquainted with your operation the larger viewership your channel will grow to and the more opportunity you both will have to generate income. We subscribers who have been with you for a while are vested in your success. I know that I mentioned your channel this morning at the feed store!
Bill Whitman Thanks Bill! There's nothing better than loyal subscribers, and ones that spread the word at that. I'm sure we'll delve more into the history of our farms and get more in depth as we go. Thanks for spreading the word!!
I know what you mean about the farm. I have 2 other brothers and a sister and they are not looking to run the farm, however I grew up when my dad was slowing down the milking operation. I like how you guys have the ( in my opinion) a small to medium heard. Ours was 50 dairy and then switched over to 50 beef when we started and as my dad started to age the heads gotten smaller. I hope to take over the family farm, its sentimental and is full of memories. You guys are an inspiration for me to do it. Im curently a freshman ending my first year at UWP going into ag buisness. And in all honesty I hope to own a small FAMILY farm one day. There aren't too many FAMILY farms around the grant county area any more. So, thanks again to you fellow grant county residence and farmers. On Wisconsin... PS I grew up outside of Patch Grove WI
How I hadn't seen this video before is beyond me. After watching both channels for some time now, I have to admire the two of you for being as open as you are about your roots, your family history, and your plans for the future. Not everything goes to plan, as you well know, but it seems that you have managed to grow your operations, diversify, and improve your financial situation (to the extent that you've revealed) despite some heavy headwinds in your industry. Keep up the good work, and thank you for telling your story.
When we sold I was going to be a junior in high school it was a sad day. We raised heifers to sell and I talked my uncles into milking again. Day after my graduation my first heifer calved and been milking 3 years in June up to 55 now
Thanks for sharing that - I still recall our barn after the cows were gone (I milked 12 years after college). The winter was the worst - it just seemed wrong to walk in there and it be cold. You're right about farming just being in some people - it's been 20 years since I sold the cows and I still miss farming terribly. Watching your videos helps though - the "sights and sounds" are good medicine! I love that your videos are longer than just a minute or two.
Travis,,, well done video sir. Raised milk calves one year back in my senior year of HS, 1972, what a journey of trials and learning that was. We could get a calf for $15 - $20 a head back then and sell them off for $150 or so as yearlings. Too much loss with sudden death and not enough profit for the food and medicine required. If you folks, or Ryan, go that route the best of luck to you indeed.
Farming is either in your blood or it isn't. You can't make someone farm, its something you have to love. We have a small herd of cattle, 60 plus head. We cut and round bale 60 acres. It is something I just love to do. I would love to row crop but with us only having 150 acres of land, this is about all we can do, plus I work a full time job in town, funny though, farming is another full time job also. Me and wife took a vacation for 3 days and I couldn't wait to get back to the farm and check on the day to day things.. Guess I have it in my blood also.
Georgia Swampman Were looking at buying 100 acre cattle farm out here. All the animals have been gone since the 80s. Not sure what we can grow out in the desert. But i gotta try. Worst case we can always grow container plants for the nurseries in town.
I grew up on a dairy farm almost identical to yours roughly 4 hours north of you. Not a day goes by that I don't miss it or try to figure out a way back into it. I found this channel a couple weeks ago and have been making my way through them all, I won't lie, it seriously bummed me out when I got to the videos about being done with dairy. Not that I don't understand, trust me I do, I guess I'm just a little stuck in the good old days. Now I'm a truck driver running around Wisconsin and southeast Minnesota and hate seeing all the empty deteriorating barns.
You re the first farm i heard of switching cows when milking;where i lived when i was young the farmers would fill their barn full but no more cows than what room they had.Your barn has what we call ''back-to-back '' cowshed.These were built so that milking would be done faster ;my uncle had a ''head-to-head ''cowshed;it would be a little slower for milking but it would be easier for feeding.On a total of 15 farms around where i lived about 10 of these where back-to-back.Of the 15 farms there are only 4 dairy farms remaining;the others have all switch to large soybeans and corn culturs!
I think you would be very happy with a John Deere 6190r its amazing for planting we run a kinze 6 row and we can go anywhere from 0-6 planting also you can move field to field very quickly at around 30-35 mph also you are sitting very high it has the tallest tires John Deere has made. Also a great addition to it is greenstar our rows of corn are as straight as an arrow. This tractor with greenstar was about 135,000 but I was worth it.
Good talk about, I got a cow calf operation right now no money in it prices hit rock bottom but it will come back if you can hang on that's always been the case if you can hang on.
The video was a bit unstable but I enjoyed the story. I was hope to get a view of all the aspects the buildings like where does the milk go, how many gallons does it hold, how long is it kept there, is it processed down at all. I could go on and on. kinda like the way you describe other things like the silos and other farm equipment like the discs and planters. Maybe an idea for a future video? As you can tell I'm not a farmer, I don't know the lango. I sometimes wish I was. I have the Farming sims games and love all the heavy equipment and a bit OCD so watching you tear up corn and grass is very cool. Thanks for the videos.
Beef calfs, sounds tasty :) my wife lived on a farm for a few years and she told me veal was a milk industry by product. A tasty by product i corrected her. Years after that farm she moved out to the country side and i got in the picture ;) as a townie i do great, i don't complain about big slow tractors in front of me on the roads and manure spreading is no issue same as working till midnight in the summer. The crops give rats and i shoot rats for fun. I should have moved sooner in life.
Thanks Travis. Sounded kinda bittersweet but I am sure that I wouldn't be in for a dairy farm. Milking twice a day 365 would be more than I could handle. Your Grandparents seem to have to been an inspiration for both you and Ryan and that is good. Nothing wrong with a good work ethic. I always check for new 'How Farms Work' daily so you guys keep up the good work and we'll be watching.
The dairy business has become such a science hasn't it? The more the banks get involve he less important the cows are so they don't mind wearing them out 3-4 years early. I grew up on a dairy milking 125 (and that was a bunch in the 1970's) and while I enjoyed those years, I like the beef, forage and row crop life much better. I know several of the big dairies here in Indiana and he stress isn't worth it.
Great video. I appreciate the additional insight and history. I didn't realize the farm was your Grandparents, I figured it was your parents and you grew up there.
I made comments on the last video. I didn't realize at that point the milking section was retired. Thank you for your statement though, a lot of people don't believe I was working on the farm doing some of the things I've done at about 9 years old. Just seems we were more responsible back then. I would take the tractor with a manuer spreader hooked to it out to the field and spread it by myself. OSHA would never go for that now!! Lol
You can never be to sure about buying calves at auction. There is always a reason why someone is selling them. Could be because the calves are sick or have some kind of health issues.
Rdrake1413 Typically calves are often sold off of dairies due to the farmer not being able to put the time into bottle feeding them. If the calves don't receive colostrum from their mother, they will often become sick since the colostrum is an ongoing "immune system" for the calf. Often just the stress from separating the calves from their mothers and moving them in a trailer is enough to kill them.
I bought a Brahma heifer once that was real slow bottle feeding. I took her to the vet and he gave me shots to give her to clear up her lungs. After about a week she died and the vet want to do a necropsy to find out why. Turns out she had an extra chamber in her heart. She died from a heart defect.
I remember bottle calves at $10 a piece about 7 or 8yrs ago in Ohio when my grandpa did bottle calves and I'd help raise them. Biggest pain in the ass lol, I prefer cow calf or raising feeders.
When it comes to doing dairying, unless you are doing artisan cheese or something, it's go big or stay home. You where pretty much as big as you could go without putting in a parlor and with today's milk prices that gets hard to justify. It's really has to be in the blood because it's a 24/7/365 job. You can't just call in sick and say cows milk yourself. I'm 35+ years removed from farming, it just wasn't in my blood I guess, but walking into my brothers empty barn leaves me with a sad hollow feeling.
Yeah, that's true... but times change, and we change with them or die... It was hard when we finally quit row cropping and went all hay and cow/calf... we'd row cropped 60 acres of the 87 here for the last 100+ years... but it just got to where expenses were just too much for seed/chemicals/fertilizer and equipment upkeep, maintenance, repairs, and VERY infrequent upgrades... so it was rent it out or fence it and build the herd, so that was an easy choice. First couple years, I didn't know what to do with myself-- not having to make repairs and get machinery ready to do field work to get a crop in or tend to it or harvest... but after awhile you get used to the new way of doing things... sure is nice not having to worry all the time about whether it's gonna rain too much or too little (though drought is still a concern-- cows can't eat dust) or worrying about crop prices and inputs and fuel and all that... Later! OL J R :)
What I like to smell a just turned field after it rains there just no smell like it and milk production has to pay for everything that is ran or planted on the farm and if there is not enough money coming in from the dairy farm then it better to move toward beef or crop production.
How many acres is that farm? Looking at jumping in myself. Don't know shit about farming. lol. But i can tell you, i am sick and damn tired of the city life.
Really unfortunate you guys had to sell out, especially right before the record high milk prices in the summer of 2014. I hate watching family dairies go under.
Travis and Ryan too... thank you for taking the time to share with your viewers some history of your family's operation. Some of us who farm and have our roots in the farm want to know the ins and outs of what you all are doing. Probably a little nosy but mostly because we want to see young men succeed. The more your viewers become acquainted with your operation the larger viewership your channel will grow to and the more opportunity you both will have to generate income. We subscribers who have been with you for a while are vested in your success. I know that I mentioned your channel this morning at the feed store!
Bill Whitman Thanks Bill! There's nothing better than loyal subscribers, and ones that spread the word at that. I'm sure we'll delve more into the history of our farms and get more in depth as we go. Thanks for spreading the word!!
Great job Travis. I appreciate your candor about your grandparents and the dairy industry which I love so much..
I know what you mean about the farm. I have 2 other brothers and a sister and they are not looking to run the farm, however I grew up when my dad was slowing down the milking operation. I like how you guys have the ( in my opinion) a small to medium heard. Ours was 50 dairy and then switched over to 50 beef when we started and as my dad started to age the heads gotten smaller. I hope to take over the family farm, its sentimental and is full of memories. You guys are an inspiration for me to do it. Im curently a freshman ending my first year at UWP going into ag buisness. And in all honesty I hope to own a small FAMILY farm one day. There aren't too many FAMILY farms around the grant county area any more. So, thanks again to you fellow grant county residence and farmers. On Wisconsin... PS I grew up outside of Patch Grove WI
Thank you Travis.
How I hadn't seen this video before is beyond me. After watching both channels for some time now, I have to admire the two of you for being as open as you are about your roots, your family history, and your plans for the future. Not everything goes to plan, as you well know, but it seems that you have managed to grow your operations, diversify, and improve your financial situation (to the extent that you've revealed) despite some heavy headwinds in your industry. Keep up the good work, and thank you for telling your story.
I have a feeling this wasn't a easy video to make. Thanks for spending the time to pass along your history.
When we sold I was going to be a junior in high school it was a sad day. We raised heifers to sell and I talked my uncles into milking again. Day after my graduation my first heifer calved and been milking 3 years in June up to 55 now
Thanks for sharing that - I still recall our barn after the cows were gone (I milked 12 years after college). The winter was the worst - it just seemed wrong to walk in there and it be cold. You're right about farming just being in some people - it's been 20 years since I sold the cows and I still miss farming terribly. Watching your videos helps though - the "sights and sounds" are good medicine! I love that your videos are longer than just a minute or two.
Great video Travis. You and Ryan keep up the great work.
Travis,,, well done video sir.
Raised milk calves one year back in my senior year of HS, 1972, what a journey of trials and learning that was. We could get a calf for $15 - $20 a head back then and sell them off for $150 or so as yearlings. Too much loss with sudden death and not enough profit for the food and medicine required. If you folks, or Ryan, go that route the best of luck to you indeed.
Thanks Travis, I did wonder what happened to the dairy operation and the explanation was great, thanks for sharing
Farming is either in your blood or it isn't. You can't make someone farm, its something you have to love. We have a small herd of cattle, 60 plus head. We cut and round bale 60 acres. It is something I just love to do. I would love to row crop but with us only having 150 acres of land, this is about all we can do, plus I work a full time job in town, funny though, farming is another full time job also. Me and wife took a vacation for 3 days and I couldn't wait to get back to the farm and check on the day to day things.. Guess I have it in my blood also.
Georgia Swampman Were looking at buying 100 acre cattle farm out here. All the animals have been gone since the 80s. Not sure what we can grow out in the desert. But i gotta try. Worst case we can always grow container plants for the nurseries in town.
I grew up on a dairy farm almost identical to yours roughly 4 hours north of you. Not a day goes by that I don't miss it or try to figure out a way back into it. I found this channel a couple weeks ago and have been making my way through them all, I won't lie, it seriously bummed me out when I got to the videos about being done with dairy. Not that I don't understand, trust me I do, I guess I'm just a little stuck in the good old days. Now I'm a truck driver running around Wisconsin and southeast Minnesota and hate seeing all the empty deteriorating barns.
Great video Travis. I love hearing stories of a family farm history. Best of luck to you and Ryan and oh yea, love the Golden dog too.
Man that thing is in really really nice shape for the age!! Good looking tractor
You re the first farm i heard of switching cows when milking;where i lived when i was young the farmers would fill their barn full but no more cows than what room they had.Your barn has what we call ''back-to-back '' cowshed.These were built so that milking would be done faster ;my uncle had a ''head-to-head ''cowshed;it would be a little slower for milking but it would be easier for feeding.On a total of 15 farms around where i lived about 10 of these where back-to-back.Of the 15 farms there are only 4 dairy farms remaining;the others have all switch to large soybeans and corn culturs!
I think you would be very happy with a John Deere 6190r its amazing for planting we run a kinze 6 row and we can go anywhere from 0-6 planting also you can move field to field very quickly at around 30-35 mph also you are sitting very high it has the tallest tires John Deere has made. Also a great addition to it is greenstar our rows of corn are as straight as an arrow. This tractor with greenstar was about 135,000 but I was worth it.
Travis you need to make more videos
Ryan instead of taking prom pictures you should be out with Travis milking the cows! You need to start the herd up again!!!
Good talk about, I got a cow calf operation right now no money in it prices hit rock bottom but it will come back if you can hang on that's always been the case if you can hang on.
I grew up on a farm, Jordan, MN. 52 to 80 head in the stanchions. 223 acers farm.
In 1965 and the 1970's.
The video was a bit unstable but I enjoyed the story. I was hope to get a view of all the aspects the buildings like where does the milk go, how many gallons does it hold, how long is it kept there, is it processed down at all. I could go on and on. kinda like the way you describe other things like the silos and other farm equipment like the discs and planters. Maybe an idea for a future video? As you can tell I'm not a farmer, I don't know the lango. I sometimes wish I was. I have the Farming sims games and love all the heavy equipment and a bit OCD so watching you tear up corn and grass is very cool. Thanks for the videos.
Beef calfs, sounds tasty :) my wife lived on a farm for a few years and she told me veal was a milk industry by product. A tasty by product i corrected her. Years after that farm she moved out to the country side and i got in the picture ;) as a townie i do great, i don't complain about big slow tractors in front of me on the roads and manure spreading is no issue same as working till midnight in the summer. The crops give rats and i shoot rats for fun. I should have moved sooner in life.
Thanks Travis. Sounded kinda bittersweet but I am sure that I wouldn't be in for a dairy farm. Milking twice a day 365 would be more than I could handle. Your Grandparents seem to have to been an inspiration for both you and Ryan and that is good. Nothing wrong with a good work ethic. I always check for new 'How Farms Work' daily so you guys keep up the good work and we'll be watching.
jbmbanter Most dairies milk 3 times a day now
Bill Whitman We milk 2 times a day. Most people I know do too. The bigger dairy farmers usually milk 3 times a day.
The dairy business has become such a science hasn't it? The more the banks get involve he less important the cows are so they don't mind wearing them out 3-4 years early. I grew up on a dairy milking 125 (and that was a bunch in the 1970's) and while I enjoyed those years, I like the beef, forage and row crop life much better. I know several of the big dairies here in Indiana and he stress isn't worth it.
Thanks Bill for the comment and your dedication to farming and feeding all of us!
Great video. I appreciate the additional insight and history. I didn't realize the farm was your Grandparents, I figured it was your parents and you grew up there.
Ticky66MN It was my grandparent's growing up, and it's my parent's now.
Your right buying young calfs are always a big gamble
I made comments on the last video. I didn't realize at that point the milking section was retired. Thank you for your statement though, a lot of people don't believe I was working on the farm doing some of the things I've done at about 9 years old. Just seems we were more responsible back then. I would take the tractor with a manuer spreader hooked to it out to the field and spread it by myself. OSHA would never go for that now!! Lol
Still you have a nice set up !!
im sorry to hear you went under man i used to help out on dairy farms in upstate ny only about 100-120 head at the most
This is how a started farming. I prefer an old pipe line. I know a parlor is faster but like I said I milked a pipe line dairy for 6 years
I am in the John Deere program to here in Raleigh, NC.
You can never be to sure about buying calves at auction. There is always a reason why someone is selling them. Could be because the calves are sick or have some kind of health issues.
Rdrake1413 Typically calves are often sold off of dairies due to the farmer not being able to put the time into bottle feeding them. If the calves don't receive colostrum from their mother, they will often become sick since the colostrum is an ongoing "immune system" for the calf. Often just the stress from separating the calves from their mothers and moving them in a trailer is enough to kill them.
I bought a Brahma heifer once that was real slow bottle feeding. I took her to the vet and he gave me shots to give her to clear up her lungs. After about a week she died and the vet want to do a necropsy to find out why. Turns out she had an extra chamber in her heart. She died from a heart defect.
I remember bottle calves at $10 a piece about 7 or 8yrs ago in Ohio when my grandpa did bottle calves and I'd help raise them. Biggest pain in the ass lol, I prefer cow calf or raising feeders.
When it comes to doing dairying, unless you are doing artisan cheese or something, it's go big or stay home. You where pretty much as big as you could go without putting in a parlor and with today's milk prices that gets hard to justify. It's really has to be in the blood because it's a 24/7/365 job. You can't just call in sick and say cows milk yourself. I'm 35+ years removed from farming, it just wasn't in my blood I guess, but walking into my brothers empty barn leaves me with a sad hollow feeling.
awd3264 you could get lely robots
Yeah, that's true... but times change, and we change with them or die...
It was hard when we finally quit row cropping and went all hay and cow/calf... we'd row cropped 60 acres of the 87 here for the last 100+ years... but it just got to where expenses were just too much for seed/chemicals/fertilizer and equipment upkeep, maintenance, repairs, and VERY infrequent upgrades... so it was rent it out or fence it and build the herd, so that was an easy choice.
First couple years, I didn't know what to do with myself-- not having to make repairs and get machinery ready to do field work to get a crop in or tend to it or harvest... but after awhile you get used to the new way of doing things... sure is nice not having to worry all the time about whether it's gonna rain too much or too little (though drought is still a concern-- cows can't eat dust) or worrying about crop prices and inputs and fuel and all that...
Later! OL J R :)
Can u guys show the milk room
What did you guys get rid of your cows?
Ours left February 20th 2017 (family day)
What I like to smell a just turned field after it rains there just no smell like it and milk production has to pay for everything that is ran or planted on the farm and if there is not enough money coming in from the dairy farm then it better to move toward beef or crop production.
Great video. Do you have any video footage of milking? That would be cool to see too ;-)
dockmaurer I do, I'm holding on to it for awhile yet. I'll publish it when I'm ready.
How Farms Work I cant wait until them vids come out!!
Still use the harvestores?
Monhaut Holsteins yes we do all three
How many acres is that farm? Looking at jumping in myself. Don't know shit about farming. lol. But i can tell you, i am sick and damn tired of the city life.
~200
Diesel Ramcharger The American Dream for sure. lol
Rhoadesy_65 Gaming It damn sure is!
Why do the calves keep dieing?
Y did u stop milking
Go low input, low infrastructure, managed grazing, winter stockpiling, artisan cheese, no till, silvopasture, mob grazing, agro-forestry, swale - water retention, multi-species : ) :) :) (just a thought)
nice farm there are two thingsi like about yall. you like john deere and u work on a small farm like I work on so I get u guys
Awe
Really unfortunate you guys had to sell out, especially right before the record high milk prices in the summer of 2014. I hate watching family dairies go under.
Travis don't shake the camera so much!! Just giving u a hard time!! Nice dairy barn your family has their to bad it just sits empty!!!
If i'm getting into cattle do you recommend beef or dairy? with cost, compared to what you make, and work involved.
When y'all decided to go beef did you sell everything? ie Milker's tank
Nice video @therestofthestory
GIVIN OVER IS A PROBLEM MOST OF THE TIME. COMES NATURALLY IE WHEN NATURE IMPOSES.
现在这种筒仓贮藏青贮饲料的多吗？
If you had the chance would you go back to milking cows???
Jacob Kaufmann no
24hrs a day 7 days a week 365 days a year wish I could have what u had I always had the drive for the dairy herd and so on milking the cows
Sad such a nice barn going to waste...I mean no milk cows......
Why did you guys stop milking cows? Sorry I'm a new subscriber so I'm not quite caught up...
***** It's no problem, the cows were sold after my grandparent's passed.
are looking for some help
how about a dog video
Do you guys miss
Milking cows me and my family sold or cows miss it every day just no money in it
I think we all do, like you said, no money or it would be worth the time and effort. I definitely miss the lifestyle and hearing the pump kick on.
@HowFarmsWork yeah same here I still get up early same time when I was milking cows is the best life to live I milked all jersey too
I just started 3 years ago and im still tryen to understand how " theres no money in it " in 3 years its been the best thing i ever did
can buy Frisian bulls for twenty Euro here
When y'all decided to go beef did you sell everything? ie Milker's tank