Seniors! CELEBRATING OUR
Pages 20 - 21 of the Second Section!
DAIRY ST R
June 12, 2021
“All dairy, all the time”™
Volume 23, No. 8
Getting his farm back on track
Jones invests in protabilitydriven improvements By Stacey Smart
stacey.s@dairystar.com
RICHFIELD, Wis. – After nearly ve years of ghting to stay aoat, Krescent Valley Dairy is seeing better days. Things are turning around for Charlie Jones as he continues investing in his farm’s future. Putting the COVID-19 relief money he received from the government last year to good use, this sixth-generation farmer did not waste the chance to better his operation. “We found opportunities to reposition ourselves and used the money in a way that would make our farm protable again,” Jones said. Jones, who milks 150 cows and farms around 250 acres near Richeld, has kept the family farm that was founded in 1853 going through thick and thin. After bringing cows back to the farm in 2011, Jones updated and expanded over a 10-year time period. He built a freestall barn, doubled the size of his milking parlor, grew his herd nearly ve times over and made improvements designed to enhance efciency and convenience. He also increased milk production by 30 pounds per cow. However, the decade was not without struggles. Low milk prices and the loss of a large group of cows he purchased that did not pan out set Jones back for several years. “Looking back, I’m not sure if I would do this again,” said Jones about his decision to farm. “But once you’re on a moving train, you can’t jump off.” Farming skipped a generation in Jones family.
PHOTO SUBMITTED
The team at Krescent Valley Dairy includes (front, from leŌ) Karen and Gordon Kraemer; (back, from leŌ) Dalton Stark, Dakota Holms, Charlie Jones, KrisƟn Jones and Michelle Jones. The Jones family milks 150 cows and farms around 250 acres near Richeld, Wisconsin.
Turn to JONES | Page 6
Growing the needed workforce
Paul teaches high schoolers necessary farm skills By Danielle Nauman danielle.n@dairystar.com
DANIELLE NAUMAN/DAIRY STAR
Kevin Paul (front) explains how he wants high school employee Tahtankka Damm to conƟnue harvesƟng the eld aŌer a training on chopping haylage at Paul’s dairy farm near Stetsonville, Wisconsin. The dairy farmer hires students for the workforce on his 104-cow dairy.
STETSONVILLE, Wis. – Kevin Paul is a teacher by nature which makes him a natural at cultivating a workforce which has served him well: high school students. Paul, who milks 104 cows on his dairy farm near Stetsonville, has come to rely on a workforce comprised of high-school aged students. Before embarking on his dairy farming career 25 years ago, Paul taught agriculture in Rib Lake. “I enjoyed that, but I decided to leave that to dairy farm because all roads lead to this,” Paul said. “If I decide I don’t want to do this tomorrow, I can do anything.” Hiring students suits Paul’s labor needs and helps alleviate the stress of a labor shortage when someone moves on to the next step in life. “I’m kind of a two-person farm, and the problem with that is that whenever one person leaves, you have a mess,” Paul said. “This way, we always have a welltrained crew. I’ve always had high school kids and had really great crews.” Paul carefully recruits his work crew with many being friends and relatives of his past workers. His current workforce includes six students. Turn to WORKFORCE | Page 7