Expanding on a Legacy In 1966, Jim and Germaine Matsche started their Birnamwood, Wisconsin, farm with just two milk cows. While raising six children, they slowly grew the operation. By 2000 they were at about 300 milking cows when they added a double 24-parallel parlor and began an extensive expansion. Tax and Accounting Services Customer Feature
By 2014 they were milking 2,200 cows three times a day, around the clock taking a toll on equipment. The family knew it would need to make some significant decisions for the future. The second generation, Scott and Carrie Matsche, are the current owners of the farm and now their three sons Chris, Ryan and Kyle, as well as Chris’ wife Heather, two nephews, Tyler and Brandon, and a niece, Nicole, are involved with the operation. Everyone is well-rounded and has their place on the farm, Heather says, from shop work and working in the fields, to tending cows and working in the office.
➡A bove: Chris Matsche poses with one of the farm’s 5,500 cows. ➡ Opposite Page: The farm family extends beyond the second and third generations at Matsche Farms (Chris and Scott) and includes partners like their GreenStone relationship manager Dan Gitter.
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Spring 2021 — Partners
“The old parlor was getting a lot of wear and tear,” explains Heather, who wears many hats but is mainly involved in the farm’s accounting, human resources and public relations. They investigated new technologies, including robotics, and also the idea of revamping the old parlor. Ultimately, with input from their team of experts, including their financial partner, GreenStone, they decided on building an 80-cow rotary parlor and a 4,000cow freestall barn, which was started in 2015 and operational in 2016. The barn was finished in 2017.
Along with the milk cows, they raise all of their calves and heifers, as well as forages on 6,000 acres. GreenStone has been their lender since 2000. As the operation grew, Carrie says, “We went with GreenStone because our bank wasn’t big enough and GreenStone was more knowledgeable about farming.” Tax, accounting and payroll services
With the new expansion and their accountant wanting to retire, the Matsches also decided to benefit from GreenStone’s tax, accounting and payroll services. “This allows us to have everything with one company, and it streamlines operations and allows us to easily understand our current position and projections for the future,” explains Carrie, who is gradually transitioning her accounting duties to Heather. Data is entered in Quickbooks and a monthly backup is sent to Eric Vandivier, senior tax accountant out of GreenStone’s Little Chute, Wisconsin branch. “I categorize expenses and Eric reviews them to make sure everything is in the right category,” Heather says. “If there’s something wrong, it gets fixed, and sent back to us.” Vandivier says, “I look at their records
