June is
DAIRY MONTH
A special section of the Tri-County News • Chilton, Kiel and New Holstein • Thursday, June 9, 2016
Big, but still family
Sundae visitors will see one of Calumet’s largest farms By Mark Sherry Terry Dallmann said he thinks about what his parents would think about Dallmann East River Dairy if they were alive to see it today. “They would never believe it,” he said. “We have to give the children a lot of credit.” Terry and Darlene’s son Dan, along with wife Shirley, and Dan and Shirley’s children Nick (wife Janessa) and Lindsay Hansen (husband Travis) have built their Dallmann East River Dairy into one of Calumet County’s largest dairy operations, yet this clearly remains a familyrun operation. Visitors to Calumet County’s Sundae on a Dairy Farm on Sunday, June 26 will experience that for themselves as Dallmann East River Dairy is the host of this year’s event from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The farm is located at N6038 East River Rd., Brillion, on the eastern edge of the county between Potter and Collins. Terry was raised on a farm which the family still owns about a half mile from Dallmann East River Dairy. His father had been born on an area farm in 1911. Terry purchased the farm on which Dallmann East River Dairy sits today from another family in 1964. At that time it had 15 cows and 80 acres, and Terry continued to work at Foley Co. in Chilton until 1977. He milked cows and did farm work before and after his job at Foley. “It wasn’t easy in the early years,” he said. “Everyone helped everyone else.” Son keeps growth going Dan graduated from high school in 1981 and helped the farm continue to grow. Originally the cows were milked in a stanchion barn by pipeline until 1989. At that time the farm was one of the larger operations in the area, and cows were being switched out three times. In 1989 a herringbone parlor was added. In 2006 the decision was made to construct a new double 25 parallel parlor. Today, roughly 2,000 cows get milked in that parlor three times per day. Including cows, heifers, and calves, Dallmann East River Dairy has about 4,500 animals. Land purchases and rentals also have increased to support the growing herd, and today the farm owns about 1,700 acres and rents another 850 acres. They also work with and buy feed from another 500 acres owned by area farmers. Corn silage, oatlage, and alfalfa are grown for the dairy’s forage needs. Like other large farms, Dallmann East River Dairy has kept up with the latest technology and trends in agriculture to maximize production and profits. The barns are tunnel ventilated, using rows of large fans to suck air through the barns and keep cows cool as well as keeping Turn to DALLMANN/page 2
The Dallmann family is comprised of (front, from left) Lindsay Hansen, Shirley Dallmann, baby Jackson Dallmann, Janessa Dallmann, and Abigail Dallmann; and (back) Travis Hansen, Dan Dallmann, Darlene Dallmann, Terrell Dallmann, and Nick Dallmann.
Above and below are views of the digester installed at the Dallmann farm in 2012. The digester is run by DVO Inc. of Chilton and turns manure into biogas, which in turn is converted into enough electricity to power 500 homes.
Keeping cows comfortable is critical to the Dallmann operation. Seen at the back of this barn are rows of giant fans which suck air through the building and keep cows cool as well as free of flies and other insects.