Breeder Profile: Olson Family Farm

Breeder Profile

District 7: Olson Family Farm

By Mara Budde

Rich, Eric and Julaine Olson of Door County have a deep pride for the land they call home. In a county that is known for tourism, beaches and beautiful scenery, these fifth generation farmers are caring for their Registered Holsteins on the same land as their forefathers did 150 years ago.

Rich, Eric and Julaine are responsible for all dairy operations on the farm. Eric and Julaine have three children, Zachary, Luke and Anna, who all are involved on the farm, helping out on weekends and during the summer when they aren’t at their jobs. Rich graduated from UW-Madison in 1990 with a degree in dairy science and Eric attended UW-Madison Farm and Industry Short Course. Julaine has a degree in animal biology from UW-Green Bay.

The Olson family has been dairying in Door County since 1872 when Rich and Eric Olson’s great-great-grandfather, Mathias Olson, immigrated from Norway. Rich and Eric’s parents bought the farm from the family in 1965 with 30 cows in a tie-stall barn. Much has changed since that purchase.

In 1978, space in the milking barn was increased to house 100 cows in a tie-stall setup. 2013 brought the biggest changes to the farm when their freestall barn was modified to accommodate a Lely A4 milking robot and the herd was downsized to 60 cows. Robots have certainly changed how the Olsons farm.

Outside of no longer having the physical demands of milking in the tie-stall barn, the Olsons have more time in their schedule for things like fieldwork and family activities. And with this addition, Rich and Eric hope that this technology makes it more attractive as a lifestyle choice for future generations.

The cows, and their people, found it challenging to adapt to the new milking system at first. In addition, Rich says that the learning curve on the software and equipment is quite steep.

“Adapting to the robot was equally challenging to the cows, as well as to us. It takes an incredible amount of patience with the cows and each other, Rich says. “The cows caught on and so did we. Now, we can’t imagine going back to milking cows the way we did before.”

Another change that came with the robotic milking system was altering the ration to a PMR since additional grain is fed at the robots according to a cow’s production requirements. Their ration consists of haylage, corn silage, baled hay, high moisture shell corn and protein mix. “Our family has always been early adapters of technology. Whether it was rubber-tired tractors, milking machines, four-wheel-drive tractors or robotic milking, our family has not been afraid to take calculated risks in making decisions to better our lives,” Rich says. “In every example, the end result was that our life was better because of the decisions made.” Another area Rich and Eric are working on is genetics that suit that cows they like and how that can be functional with the robots. Since 1978, the Olsons have been using aAa to breed balanced, consistent and profitable cows. Like many who transition to robots, breeding emphasis, in addition to

Rich, Shelly, Julaine and Eric Olson standing in front of their Lely robot.

Sturgeon Bay C o p y r i g h t © Fr e e V e c t o r M a p s . c o m

Olson Family Farm | Richard and Eric Olson Families

Prefix: Olson-ARE, ARE stands for Alan (Rich and Eric’s father), Richard and Eric Number of cows: 70 Number of acres: 1140

Primary Crops grown: Alfalfa, corn, winter wheat, green beans, beets Average production: 29,900 pounds Type of housing: Freestall with robotic milking Ration: PMR including haylage, corn silage, baled hay, high moisture shelled corn and protein mix.Additional grain mix is fed in the robot according to production requirements.