Category: RURAL ISSUES

Amos Stoltzfus is finding his path as a first-generation dairy grazier

By Martha Hoffman Kerestes

Kinzers, Pennsylvania — Amos Stoltzfus was new to grazing when he started in 2017. He’s made that fact an asset.

There’s no “way we’ve always done it” with a new farm and a new venture, so Amos has been experimenting with a variety of grazing and livestock management methods to see what fits on his operation. And he’s not afraid to adjust routines if a better way comes along.

“We have to be open minded to changes,” he says. “It doesn’t have to be done this way every time. Nature is never the same — weather patterns, growing seasons. Why should we do things always the same way?”

Shifts in markets

Amos and his wife Rachel milk around 40 cows for Maple Hill’s grassfed organic market on 70 certified organic acres. They’ve come a long way since starting eight years ago with 50 purchased yearling heifers.

The farm was certified organic when Rachel’s father bought it and asked the couple if they wanted to dairy on it.

There wasn’t an organic market available at the time, so when the heifers freshened, the milk went to a conventional market. But Amos didn’t use any prohibited inputs that would make the land lose its organic status.

Continue reading “Thinking outside the box with grazing”

Low-input dairy graziers make shifts for long-term sustainability and efficiency

By Martha Hoffman Kerestes

Belleville, Pennsylvania — After 30 years shipping conventional milk on a spring-seasonal schedule, the Bylers switched to the Organic Valley truck and moved to bi-seasonal calving. 

But that’s just one of many adjustments they’ve made over time to set the farm up for short- and long-term success.

Low-input management is the cornerstone, and that means outwintered herds, nurse cows, natural service, limited machinery, and more. Matt Byler, 53, and his son Garrett, 31, run the 250-cow dairy with a full-time DGA apprentice and a part-time employee. 

Cows doing the work

The Bylers manage around 750 rented and owned acres, although some are still in the process of organic transition. Their central Pennsylvania ground is relatively flat. The milking herd has access to the 320-acre home farm for year-round grazing, and there is off-farm acreage for young stock and dry cows.

All grain is purchased — the herd gets 10 lbs./head/day in the parlor. The pelleted mix is primarily ground corn and provides 20-25% of cows’ dry matter needs for the day. At times the herd gets some purchased corn silage too.

Continue reading “From seasonal conventional to organic”

First-generation graziers find a future

By Martha Hoffman Kerestes

Garnavillo, Iowa — A few years ago, two young folks left existing careers in search of a more fulfilling life. Today, they’re married and building that fulfilling life together working into ownership on a dairy, as a longtime grazier passes the torch.

Nicole Blanchette, 30, grew up in suburbia and hadn’t been on a farm. She realized her post-college research job at a hospital wasn’t what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. 

The Covid-19 pandemic was the last straw — she wanted to be out of her downtown Chicago apartment. She thought, “I like being outside, I love food, and I love animals, so maybe I should try farming.”

That led Nicole to Cliff McConville’s All Grass Farms not far away, and she joined the operation as a Dairy Grazing Apprentice through DGA. There, she fell in love with dairy and realized this was what she wanted to do with the rest of her life.

She was about to graduate when she met Paul Blanchette, 37, but they almost didn’t cross paths.

Continue reading “Working into grassfed dairy ownership”

Jordan Settlage has found creative ways to make it work

By Martha Hoffman Kerestes

St. Mary’s, Ohio — A decade ago Jordan Settlage started a dairy with seven cows. Today he’s milking 350 head on 400 acres with 270-300 days on pasture each year. Grazing has been key to profitability every step of the way.

Even back in elementary school, Jordan was sure that he wanted to be a dairy farmer. His father, John, grew up milking cows and wanted to make sure his son knew what he was getting into, so Jordan started helping out on a neighbor’s conventional dairy when he was 14. 

He worked off and on at the dairy for a dozen years with a few years away for an Army tour of Iraq and college, and it confirmed for him that he wanted to milk cows and that he didn’t want to do it in confinement.

So Jordan dove into creating a grass dairy. He had a leg up, since there was a family farm to come home to and some existing infrastructure — his grandpa and uncle had milked until the late 80s on this farm before John took over the farm and did crops and pastured livestock.

The 1986-built milking parlor was still there, although the equipment had been gutted and sold. For just under $50,000, Jordan, with help from John, made the parlor usable again, including pouring the deck higher since the pit was too shallow.

Continue reading “Grazing success on a large scale”