Wisconsin Holstein Featured Young Farmer - Tree-Hayven Holsteins

Meet Adam, Chelsey and Aaliayh of Tree-Hayven Holsteins; a farm family from Wisconsin that milks around 75 dairy cows and farms 300 acres.  The herds consists of 210 Holsteins and 10 Jerseys that are milked and fed twice per day.  The family is passionate about raising, showing and selling happy, registered animals.  They are always looking for ways to improve and grow in order to raise the happiest, healthiest cattle possible. Most of their day consists of daily chores and family time, but if you cannot find them hanging out in the barn together, they are likely helping out at a local community event.  They have been involved with the Wisconsin Holstein Association for the past 20 years and take pride in what they do.  Read the interview with Adam below, and you will see exactly what we mean.  

Tell us about your farm. Who is involved and when was the farm established?

My parents owned and operated a small registered herd in North Central Iowa for 13 years. I learned from a very early age the importance of reading pedigrees, finding that perfect mating and anticipating that every calf born “could” be the next Expo winner. From this and many other life experiences, I gathered very quickly, the concept that there was only one kind of Holstein; a Registered Holstein.

After my family relocated to Wisconsin in the late 80’s we no longer farmed. My dad built a shed at our place that was used to keep my 4-H show heifers. The neighbor, Dave, would calve in my animals, and return the heifer calves for me to show in 4-H. I purchased my first calf at age nine. Her name was Whitttail-Valley Kirk Boy Ruby. At my very first show at the Central WI State Junior Fair, Ruby and I brought home Junior Champion honors. Ruby went on to classify VG-87 and has the distinction of being my first foundation mothers. About 15% of my current herd has the Ruby family linage. Ruby’s daughter, Stachert Sadie EX-90, LT 121,540 was the dam of my first high scoring cow Stachert Sky Electron EX-92 3E EEEEE  LT 4,113 202,180 4.2 8402 3.0 6134. Sky was a Janesland Electron daughter that lived to 17 years of age.

I started renting my current facilities at the age of 18 in 1999 and I ,alone, purchased the farm, cows, and 160 acres in 2001. When I purchased the farm, I incorporated the three cows I owned at the time, and assumed ownership of the 55 registered Holsteins from my neighbor, Dave.

Describe your typical day.

Because we are a small registered farm, everything pretty much falls on us to do. We milk about 75 Holsteins and Jerseys. We milk and feed at 5:30 am and 5:30 p.m. The rest of the day is focused on maintaining equipment, repairs, vet care, book keeping and trying to fit in family time.

Chelsey, my 11 year old daughter and myself run the farm on a day to day basis. Chelsey is charged with keeping a happy and healthy calf and heifer barn. She also drives the twice a day milking’s and keeps tabs on the show animals. Aaliyah helps with calf chores, names heifers and leads show heifers. I guess I do the mechanic work, field work, milk, feed, register animals, vet health work, and work with Chesley to battle any unexpected emergency.We have four full and part time farm hands that help with cropping, feeding and daily chores. Our families help out a lot with marketing, advertising, relief milking and chores.

What is your favorite part of dairy farming?

Upon taking ownership from Dave in 2001, I learned improvement is an essential part of business. I have never been satisfied with the status quo and work to educate myself on new trends and advancements in the dairy business. Since then, the farm has been transforming. I like to build and improve things to make my farm and animals happier and healthier.

Housing- Clean, ventilated, safe and user friendly young heifer housing is essential. In 2002 and 2010 new calf housing facilities were built. This allowed us to get our six month plus calves out of the elements, regulate temperatures, and have better access to cleaning, ventilation, vaccinating and overall health of calves. A dry cow loafing building was also built in early 2000.

Cow comfort and milking efficiently- The original barn only fit about 40 milking cows. In 2004 we built an addition to the milk barn that allowed me to milk about 30 more head. With this addition, as well as others in the years, increased space per tie stall with loop dividers, three new box stalls, rubber matting for the stalls as well as the aisle to reduce falls for cows and back comfort for myself, installed 10 fans to increase tunnel ventilation, tiled the front walkways white for ease of sweeping, cleanliness and visualization increased lighting throughout and added an office with a space for medications and paperwork.

A plate cooler and variable speed vacuum was introduced to cool milk faster and allow for more accurate vacuum pressure. A 2 ½ inch pipeline and five additional milkers with automatic take offs were added to increase milk flow to tank and decrease time in the barn.

Feed and Nutrition- All acres that I crop on are tiled as well as the fields I rent. I realize the importance of this when it comes to wet seasons and getting crops in and off the field in a timely manner. This correlates to better efficacy and nutrition of the feed. I have switched from haylage to balelage. TMR was introduced to allow more consistent feeding and nutrition. In 2012 a 18x80 silo for corn silage was built, this has reduces spoilage and fresher feed.

One of the most notable improvements I have made is the adding on of a calf feed room and pasteurizer. We have had the pasteurizer for two years and can honestly say our babies are uniformly healthier and stronger.

Are there any chores/jobs you enjoy more than others? Why?

This may sound a little silly, but I like to bed the heifers and the cows. I take pride in knowing they have clean fresh straw to rest in during the day. They look so content when they are lying in the sun chewing their cud.

What makes your farm or farm family unique?

I would have to say that what is unique to our farm, is that there is ALWAYS someone here. Chelsey and I enjoy having family, friends, visitors and “helpers” here as much as we can. No one ever gets in the way, we want people here. Having good people around you makes the “stressful” times of farming, just go a little smoother. Everyone that comes here contributes in some way. Whether it is to help with round bailing, running an errand or complementing us on our farm and animals, it all makes it worthwhile. We have some 4-H families that keep show heifers here we enjoy visiting with them when they come to work with their animals; it is fun to see their confidence build.

Also what makes us unique is that we create our own paths, learning from our mistakes and letting go of what we cannot change.  And that's what I remind myself often, that it’s okay to be different, okay to do something a different way and ok to ask for help.

What makes you passionate about the dairy industry?

This maybe sounds a little cliché, but a lot of it is the relationships that we have made over the years. Without these friendships and new learning opportunity’s I would not have been able to move forward on some important farming and life decisions.

  

What makes you excited about owning and raising registered cattle?

The Registered Holstein business brings upon it so many benefits for Tree-Hayven; first and foremost the profit potential. Holsteins produce the greatest amount of milk, fat and protein, lifetime profit and lower SCC compared to other breeds. With today’s ever rising farming and associate costs, my milk check is my most important income. The genetic variability is also another factor in my choice of breeding registered Holsteins. The choice of mating’s for my cows has greatly increased over the years. This allows me to experiment more with sire selections (type or production), balance my traits better and gain greater genetic variability within my herd. Finally, the selling of registered Holsteins far exceeds that of other breed types and grade Holsteins. Typically I sell about 10-15 animals on the local dairy market each year as well as show type calves and yearlings at County club sales and WI Holstein sponsored sales. My small investment up front, more than pays for the increased return I get in sale barn.

Marketing for us has also been in the show ring. Every time you take an animal in the ring its about showcasing your herd showing off your “brand”. Your brand represents you. Win or lose, 1st place or last, I want anyone that sees my animals to remember her and come back in the barns and perhaps put a price on her or just take a better look. I want people to know that when they are purchasing a Tree-Hayven animal they are homegrown with extreme care and attention. This is the reason I have spent so much time and effort into modernizing and improving the farm so each calf that is born has the best start and every cow feels comfortable 24/7.

What is the biggest challenge the dairy industry currently faces? How do you hope we as an industry can solve it? What can WHA do?

It is kind of a crystal ball when it comes to what the dairy industry is facing. What may be important to me is different to what is important to my neighbor down the road. However there are some commonalities like milk price, production and bio-security that all of us need to be concerned about. If we can come to a consensus as to what challenges we are facing, we stand a very good chance of successfully meeting them.

Do you serve off the farm on any committees or boards?

We try and think that the future Tree-Hayven is bright, but it also comes with much hard work and dedication. I do my best to help out with county activities or support programs that the local Holstein breeders have. With the fact that I am my own boss and a single dad, I may not be able to get involved as much as I may like. I have the hope that with greater efficiencies in my farm work, good relationships with hired help and the milk price staying put, I may be able to find additional time and resources to assist with our Adult and Junior Holsteins of Wood County.  I also would like to someday host one of the WI Holstein Spring Barn meetings or even the State Picnic.

What are your hopes for the future of your dairy farm? What about the Wisconsin Holstein Association and dairy industry?

To always improve. Set realistic goals with an outcome I can be happy with. I would like to build a dedicated calf housing barn and add more box stalls for our show cows. I hope to be able to gain some more efficiencywith daily chores so that I can spend more time with Chelsey and Aaliyah off of the farm.