Breeder Profile: Sunsett Dairy

Breeder Profile District 4: Sunsett Dairy

Red and white, black and white and fawn colored cows can be seen grazing the pastures in Pittsville where Alan and Stephanie Hughes farm with their three sons. Color represents the Hughes’ dairy from the cast of breeds represented in their barn, the backgrounds of those involved on the farm and their prefix, Sunsett-S&A.

Before the Hughes settled on their farm, they rented facilities at a dairy in Thorp on Sunset Drive. The journey to their existing location was long and tough but with a passion for dairying, they’ve created a successful herd of Registered Holsteins, Jerseys and Milking Shorthorns.

Alan and Stephanie both grew up on small dairies with grade Holsteins and Ayrshires; Stephanie in Greenwood and Alan in Thorp. While they lived close enough to each other growing up, they didn’t get to know each other until they both went to college at UW-River Falls. Stephanie was studying dairy science and Alan studying broad area agriculture. Through the years, they became good friends through industry and social functions. Stephanie was interning at Vita Plus and was helping her parents’ milk. She called Alan to give her a hand with chores and from then on, two good friends became an item. They dated for a year and a half before they were married in March 2008. Alan and Stephanie have three children, Bryce, 11, Gavin, 10, and Derek, 5.

About a year before their marriage, Alan’s dad offered to rent out his farm by Thorp. The barn had 43 stalls. This is where the couple bought their first Milking Shorthorn, Hashieders Julius Raisin. Stephanie grew up showing Ayrshires so colored breeds have always held a special place in her heart. To get more milk in the tank though, they purchased 10 Holsteins from Chris Van Dyk who Stephanie knew well from showing. Chris sold them good, solid foundation cows that could achieve the breeding goals that the Hughes were looking for. To start their Registered Holstein herd, they also acquired some heifers from Keith Maitke. They also added a small group of Jerseys to the herd from Meadow Ridge Jerseys, the Riebe family. Following graduation, Stephanie’s first job was working in breeding and mating for Genex. “This was a huge asset when we started farming,” she says. It really helped her propel the reproduction program at their farm. Because of this knowledge of reproduction, the Hughes are able to use minimal reproductive drugs and get cows bred back efficiently. She also spent time working as a herdsman for the Endvick family before transitioning into a role as an agricultural lender for seven years. Alan, too, worked off the farm in the service department at an implement dealer. After some time there he left to help out on the farm. In 2014, Alan joined the Air National Guard and during this time the farm was being moved. With Alan at basic training, Stephanie was the sole farm manager navigating a new facility with two kids.

The time came to find a stable location for the dairy. After finding a new location, the papers were drafted and at the last minute, the seller backed out of the deal. While this certainly wasn’t part of their dairying plan, it ended up working out for the best. Another farm became available as the owners were moving back to their home country of Australia. Stephanie recalls that the barn was exactly what they wanted and she could see their herd fitting in there. And without even looking at the inside of the house, the couple worked on the arrangement to purchase.

The barn has 56 stalls and is a modern type of tie-stall and the couple farms 70 acres.. There are 35 acres of pasture that the herd grazes on from about May to September or October. This keeps labor efficient and cows happy. In the barn, the Hughes feed a TMR. The overall goal of day-to-day operations is keeping the workload

Photo by Cassie Sonnentag

West-Croix Charles Hologram EX-90 Old-N-Lazy ACC Winnie-ET Carlaton Diamondback Raven

simple and efficient since, oftentimes, Stephanie and the older kids are the main workers. Stephanie is responsible for the two-times per day milkings, feedings and general daily functions. Alan helps with cleaning, feeding and mixing feed when he’s not working as a crew chief for the Air National Guard on F-16s.

Alan’s family has a history of serving in the military. This work in the Guard has had Alan working COVID relief, riot patrol and deployment to Afghanistan. He is required to serve on the base each month. “The Guard is like our family,” Stephanie notes.

Now that the kids are older, Bryce and Gavin can help with more chores like feeding calves. This gives Stephanie a break and is something they enjoy doing.

The Cows

The “H” family is one of the most prolific Holstein families on the farm. Ten years ago, this line produced their first homebred Excellent cow, Sunsett-S&A Drake Hana-TW, who scored EX-92. She’s a daughter of a VG-89 Redmarker who was purchased from Chris Van Dyk that goes back to Willows-Edge Flip Haley EX-90. Another stand out is Sunsett-S&A Attitude Hazel VG-86. The “H” family has five milking daughters in the herd. Another Excellent cow for the family is West-Croix Charles Hologram EX-90. She was the first Holstein cow that the Hughes showed at the District Show as Sunsett-S&A Dairy.

In addition to the Registered Holsteins the Hughes family owns, they house some cows for their nephew Deagan Sandelier and Stephanie’s parents. One special cow in particular is Carlaton Diamondback Raven who was the second place and first junior Senior 2-Year-Old at the District 4 Holstein Show in 2021.

Another cow family the Hughes love is that of Harmony-Ho Pronto Pooky VG-88. “She’s one of those cows that has good production and is low maintenance,” Stephanie says. There are five herd members from her with two milking. They breed back and have great udders.

Efficient and easy keeping cows that can last a long time is one of the breeding goals that the Hughes work toward. While they appreciate a fancy show cow, their aim is for a balanced, less extreme animal that will have an udder that works and wears.

With a small herd of just 12 Registered Holsteins, picking sires can get a bit tricky with inventory. Lately, Stephanie has been using a lot of Red or Red Carrier sires and in the last two years, more polled bulls. Most of the semen is conventional to save on costs. Sires that are being used include Analyst, Reeve-Red, Redlight-Red, JacksonRed and Doc.

Meadow-Ridge Maestro Petunia EX-95, known as Princess Petunia on the farm, is the Hughes’ highest scored Jersey. She is 14 years old and has been shown at one point by every member of the family. In 2015 she was the Grand Champion of the Junior Show at the Wisconsin State Jersey Show. She’s also been shown at World Dairy Expo and local shows over the years.

For the upcoming show season, Bryce, Gavin and Derek are excited to show their Holstein calves at the local shows and District 4 Holstein Show. They are also working hard with their Milking Shorthorn and Jersey calves for upcoming shows. The family enjoys going to these events as one of their favorite things to do during the years.

During the pandemic, the Hughes were featured in a segment “Essentials” created by CBS and aired during last year’s Super Bowl and on the network. Alan’s cousin worked for CBS Sports at the time and asked them to share their stories as essential workers during the pandemic.

“Being a part of this was absolutely incredible,” Stephanie says. “Many people didn’t think of farmers as essential workers during the pandemic, but everyone needs to eat. As a family it was humbling to be acknowledged.”

The Future

Moving into the future, the Hughes have some immediate goals in addition to long term goals. They plan to put in a better water system for heifers and dry cows who live outdoors during the winter in addition to planning out better buildings for these animals. In the past year they started an on-farm market where they sell freezer beef from Jersey steers. Their business took off and was so successful they needed to close the store early in the year because they were sold out of beef. Keeping this business running smoothly is also in the plans for the future because the Hughes feel it’s important to connect with the consumer.

Being involved in dairy groups and the community is important to the family. Stephanie serves as the secretary of the Wood County Holstein Breeders and was just elected to the FarmFirst Cooperative Board of Directors. Alan and Stephanie are also looking forward to hosting the Pittsville FFA Alumni Dairy Breakfast on June 11.

The biggest goal though is to set up the farm for a successful transition should the boys want to return to the dairy. Even though they are young, they have encouraged them to think to the future and get an education in addition to farming if that is what they choose.

“We want to encourage them and set them up so if they want to be here farming, they can be,” Stephanie says.

Alan and Stephanie went through a lot to start their dream of dairying. Everything they do on a daily basis is for their kids and their future. Each ounce of milk produced, every acre planted or purchased is done to ensure the future of the kids with the hopes they’ll stay involved in agriculture and keep the tradition of farming alive.