Redetzkes build a farm around grazing and diversification

By Martha Hoffman Kerestes

Colby, Wisconsin — Flexibility and fluidity are the strategies of choice for Mike and Gina Redetzke as they pay off their farm and raise a young family. 

They started out planning to raise and finish Holstein steers, but when beef markets were down and a family member needed a place to raise replacement dairy heifers, the couple decided to pivot. 

“There were opportunities, and we took them,” Mike explains.

Soon, more dairy farmers came knocking, and custom raising heifers for a handful of confinement dairy farmers became the main farm income in addition to a growing direct market meat sideline.

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To see this article in full, order the specific back issue you are interested in. This article appeared in the June-July 2024 issue of Graze.