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C E L E B R A T I N G
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Y E A R S
DAIRY ST R 25
January 27, 2024
“All dairy, all the time”™
Volume 25, No. 23
Her favorite place to be Nielsen fullls dream to farm while managing two herds By Stacey Smart
stacey.s@dairystar.com
STACEY SMART/DAIRY STAR
Madalyn Nielsen poses with a favorite Brown Swiss cow Jan. 11 in the Ɵestall barn on her family’s farm near Lake Mills, Wisconsin. Nielsen began buying Brown Swiss six years ago and now owns 12 head.
LAKE MILLS, Wis. — Every morning, Madalyn Nielsen walks down the stairs of her second-story apartment in her grandma’s red brick house to start the workday with her dog, Reed, at her side. The 22-year-old has a lot of responsibility on the farm, but she could not imagine doing anything else. “I’ve known I wanted to be a farmer ever since I was 3 years old and saw a cow give birth,” Nielsen said. Nielsen farms with her dad, Christopher, and her grandma, Mary Ann. The Nielsens milk 145 cows and farm 530 acres near Lake Mills. Nielsen milks mornings and nights, feeds calves, does herd records, gives vaccinations, treats sick ani-
mals and more. Nielsen manages two herds, splitting her duties between the two — farm A and farm B — named after the county road on which each is located. Nielsen and Mary Ann live on farm A, the home farm, where she milks 65 cows with six units. She typically gets help from her dad or a part-time high school student. Five miles away at farm B, a hired hand milks 80 cows. At farm A, cows are milked and housed in a 65-stall tiestall barn with access to pasture, where they spend nights in nice weather. At farm B, cows are housed in sand-bedded free stalls and milked in a 52-stall stanchion barn. Keeping somatic cell count low is a focus for the Nielsens, who won a milk quality award
Turn to NIELSEN | Page 2
Wisconsin farm numbers fall to 5,661 Retirement, economics contribute to decline By Stacey Smart
stacey.s@dairystar.com
Farmers reaching retirement age and the economic struggles of the year contributed to a portion of Wisconsin dairy farms exiting the industry in 2023. As of Jan. 1, there were 5,661 licensed dairy herds in Wisconsin, according to the United States Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service. Wisconsin lost 455 dairy farms in 2023 — a drop of 7.5% from one year prior when herd numbers were at 6,116. The decline is similar
to recent years when 2022 saw a loss in dairy farms of 6.4% and 2021 experienced of a drop of about 6%. “Farmers are aging out and retiring,” said Chad Vincent, CEO of Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin. “In 2020, 64% of the lead dairy farmers in the family were over the age of 50 while 16% were over 65. That was over four years ago, so now, the vast majority are almost 55 while a big chunk is closing in on 70 years old.” A 2020 study of Wisconsin dairy farmers conducted by DFW and the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
revealed that 17% of farmers were not going to be milking cows in ve years. For farms with 200 cows or fewer, the number was 22%. Only 40% of survey respondents had identied a successor to keep the farm a milking operation. “If the numbers hold true, we can expect to be down to around 3,500 farms when these people retire,” Vincent said. A concentration of dairy farms and cows can be found in pockets across the state. As of Jan. 1, the top 10 dairy counties by farm numbers are Clark 638, Marathon 356, Grant 243, Dane 173, Lafayette 173, Shawano 168, Monroe 166, Chippewa 161, Manitowoc 148 and Dodge 147. Fond du Lac and Taylor counties
The top 10 Wisconsin dairy counƟes by farm numbers Clark Marathon Grant Dane Lafayette
638 356 243 173 173
follow with 146 dairy farms each. The counties that lost the most farms from 2023 to 2024 were Clark with 28, Marathon 26, Grant 25, Monroe 24 and Vernon 24. Vincent said economics and the milk price also played a part in the timing
Shawano Monroe Chippewa Manitowoc Dodge
168 166 161 148 147
of a producer’s choice to exit. The increasing value of cows for beef might have moved up some people’s timeline for selling as well.
Turn to WI FARMS | Page 6