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DAIRY ST R “All dairy, all the time”™
Volume 20, No. 6
May 12, 2018
Honoring the past, embracing the future Leick cousins combine herds, modernize dairy By Cassie Olson Contributing Writer
STRATFORD, Wis. – With a rich history in the industry dating back to 1870, dairy runs in the Leick family’s blood. Jim Leick and his cousins, Chris and Steve Leick, are the fourth generation in their family to milk cows near Stratford, Wis. After years of operating two dairy farms separately, the Leicks decided to merge their herds, modernize their dairy and internally expand to the 950 cows they milk today. Their farm, Night Hawk Dairy, shares a name with a
unique family story. Before hooves ever hit the tiestalls, shoes hit the danceoor in the farm’s very own dance hall: the Elmwood Ballroom. “Our great grandfather bought the land across the road from [our dairy farm], with the idea of building a tiestall barn,” Jim said. “The barn would also be a ball room – the Elmwood Ballroom – where our grandfather’s orchestra, the Night Hawk Entertainers, would hold barn dances on Thursday nights. The barn still stands, and we honor the orchestra with the name of our dairy.” The barn was strictly a ballroom for ve years in the early 1900s, but the barn dance tradition ultimately faded with the addition of cows. The cousTurn to LEICKS | Page 6
CASSIE OLSON/DAIRY STAR
The Leicks – (from leŌ) Steve, Chris and Jim – are partners at Night Hawk Dairy, LLC. where they milk 950 cows near Straƞord, Wis. The family merged two herds in October 2013 and have since taken numerous steps to modernize and expand the dairy.
The Kieler
Village
Three dairy farm moms rely on each other, family for support By Krista Kuzma
krista.k@dairystar.com
RON JOHNSON/DAIRY STAR
The women of Kieler Farms Inc. – (from leŌ) Leah Kieler, Renee Clark and Ann Kieler – are thankful to have each other while juggling the roles of farmer and mom. The three are part of the Kieler family, who milk 1,600 cows on their dairy near PlaƩeville, Wis.
PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – The Kielers know farming with family can be difcult. “I remember thinking it’s one of the hardest things anyone could ever do,” Leah Kieler said. “But I also think anything that’s great takes a lot of work. As difcult as it is, it’s also that good.” Making it even better for the Kieler women is having each other to lean on – whether it comes to areas of farming or being a mom. Two generations of the Kielers – Ann Kieler, together with her daughter, Renee Clark, and daughter-in-law, Leah Kieler – are the female side of the ownership force that make up Kieler Farms, Inc., where they milk 1,600 cows near Platteville, Wis. “If we didn’t have each other, I don’t know what we would do,” Leah said. They farm together with their husbands – Ann’s husband, Louie, Leah’s husband, Eric, and Clark’s husband, Matt – along with Louie’s brother, George, and his son, Daniel. Each person has his or her area to manage. For the women, Leah is the parlor manager and leads the human
Turn to KIELER FARMS | Page 10