Building the American dream

SPRING GREEN, Wis. — Agriculturalists Pieter and Lynn Verhoef have dairy farmed on two continents: Europe and North America.

Growing up on a dairy farm, Pieter said he always had a passion for the dairy industry. That passion has taken him and his family around the globe, and they now operate a dairy in Spring Green where they milk 300 cows.

Pieter grew up in the Netherlands on his family’s dairy farm near Lopik and went on to work as a professional diesel mechanic.
After a decade of fixing tractors and heavy machinery,
Pieter wanted to get out from under the hood.

To make his dream a reality, he and Lynn found two neighboring farms about 450 miles from home in the Mayenne region of France. After arriving in France, the Verhoef’s provided modern touches to their new dairy.

“We built a 50-stall freestall barn and built a new house,” Lynn said. “There we milked in a double-5 parlor.”

Though the Verhoefs had made their dream a reality, the French milk market had them capped at milking 40 cows.

“When we first started milking in France, we had a quota of 350,000 liters a year,” Pieter said. “That totals about 47 cows. If the cows give more milk and you exceeded your quota, you had to get rid of some cows. So even though we built a 50-cow freestall barn, we were never allowed to fill it all the way because our cows gave more milk and our herd kept meeting our quota.”

In 2012, Pieter and Lynn decided to move in order to build a dairy how they wanted to.

“If you’re at a standstill, you’re moving backwards, so I’ve always tried to push us forward,” Pieter said.

With expansion on their mind, the Verhoefs sold their farm in France and purchased their farm in Wisconsin. This time the family moved over 4,000 miles to their new home to establish Verhoef Farm LLC.

Pieter and Lynn, along with two of their sons, Pascal and Yannic, brought two tractors, an excavator and parlor equipment with them to continue expanding and improving their new dairy.

“We had a choice between Canada and here, and Pieter has always had a liking to this area,” Lynn said. “Canada was also doing the quota system, so it was difficult to get started there.”

After farming the same number of cows in France for two decades, Pieter and Lynn wanted a chance to expand their herd and build up a dairy. After milking in a stanchion barn for a year, Yannic suggested they go back to a parlor.

“We (had already) bought the parlor equipment from another French farmer before moving to the States,” Pieter said. “We took it out, cleaned it, shipped it over here and installed it.”

They milk their herd with two employees.

“It truly takes a village,” Lynn said, “We are thankful for all the good employees and people we have associated with our dairy. We can’t do it alone, and this group of people helps make that possible.”

Improving their dairy continues. The Verhoefs added a second freestall barn in two parts, with Pieter doing the electrical and plumbing work. The first stage of the barn was built for dry cows on water beds, with a straw-bedded pen for calving. Two years later, it was expanded for calves and heifers to all be under the same roof. Pieter and Lynn also converted their old tiestall milking barn into pens for youngstock.

“I’ve always been a builder,” Pieter said. “I like continuing to build things up so they work better and easier. We’re always looking to improve.”

The Verhoefs said they are uncertain how much bigger they want to be. The dairy averages 77.8 pounds of milk per cow per day, with tests of 4.3% butterfat and 3.4% protein.

“You never know what will happen in the next five years,” Pieter said. “Now we are looking more at what Yannic and Pascal will be wanting out of the farm.”

Yannic is working on the farm and Pascal is attending the University of Wisconsin-River Falls Farm and Industry Short Course with plans to return to the farm.