Doubling down

Schilling brothers expand after Bollant retires

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FENNIMORE, Wis. — Finding a place to expand their dairy farm was a journey filled with twists and turns for Andy and Brian Schilling.

Schilling Brothers Dairy Farm is owned by Andy and Sarah and Brian and Bridget Schilling. Together, they milk 2,200 cows near Fennimore. They purchased their farm in 2021.

The Schillings were originally dairy farming near Darlington. When they tried to buy a neighboring dairy to expand, negotiations fell through and they were sent back to the drawing board.

Because of these negotiations, they had their money and banking in place. Their next opportunity came when the brothers heard about Steve Bollant’s farm near Fennimore being up for sale. Initially, Bollant was looking for a buyer to purchase the entire farm, but the Schillings were only interested in a portion of the farm.

However, when Bollant changed course and put up his 1,600-cow dairy facility for auction in parcels instead of the entire farm, the Schillings made a spur-of-the-moment decision to attend the auction.

“When we got there, the realtor came over and gave us a number for the auction,” Andy said. “I told him we didn’t fill out the registration form completely online. He told us we were good to go.”

Quick decisions at the auction sent the brothers home as owners of the dairy, which was a 40-minute drive from their homestead.

Bridget did not know her husband was out buying a farm.

“I thought he was going to an implement auction,” she said.

Andy said his sister-in-law was not the only person unaware of their location.

“The banker didn’t know we were going either,” Andy said. “They sold the property in parcels, and this place was what we were really interested in. We were happy to get it.”

Bollant said he is happy the farm went to Brian and Andy too.

“I had been down to their place in Darlington before and knew it was well kept,” Bollant said. “They have pride in their place and that came with them to this farm.”

The dream of the new Schilling Brothers Dairy Farm was beginning to come to life. The next issue the brothers faced was filling the barn.

“We bought from three herds to fill it out,” Brian said. “We bought from one herd that was about five miles away that was raising our youngstock, (and) then we bought from two other places.”

The Schilling brothers said the timing worked well.

“We were really lucky with when we were buying cattle,” Brian said. “Six months later, the price went back up and cattle would have been $500 more a head.”

Andy agreed.

“Things would have been a lot different if that scenario happened 3-4 months later,” he said. “As the markets took off, it looked like a godsend.”

Along with the new cattle from the three other farms, the brothers brought some of their own from Schilling Farms in Darlington. They now had a herd with a home. Keeping the staff the Bollants employed was the next step.

“At first no one lived up there,” Andy said. “Sarah and I lived in a camper on the property for a little bit while Brian drove back and forth from home. Moises Ramos, our feeder, and Jake Yelnick, one of our herdsmen, were super important to us in our transition.”

Due to transportation issues, the Bollants barn was not empty until Dec. 17, 2021, 10 days before the Schillings were due to start milking. In those 10 days, Andy and Brian had re-modeling plans to undertake.

They worked with Wolf Construction LLC out of Lancaster.

“We didn’t know Todd (Wolf) before we got here,” Andy said. We always want to work with people we know. But he has a great crew, and they did a really great job.”

The job they were tasked with was expanding the holding area from 80 to 300 cows. They did a great job the Schillings said. They continue to use them in their farm upgrades today.

“Having a relationship with who we’re working with is so important to us,” Andy said. “That’s another way Steve helped us out so much. He gave us his list of contractors who he worked with in the community. Working in the community is something that is important to us.”

The Schillings had a new farm, new cattle and new land to tend to. One hundred ten acres came with the property, and the brothers rented 1,800 more on a long-term lease from the Bollants.

“We added about 2,500 acres with this farm, running mostly corn and alfalfa,” Andy said. “Two weeks before we bought this place, we added 500 acres in Darlington.”

“There were some learning curves that first season,” Brian said. “We had to figure out the timing better. Making the alfalfa through the weather that first year was probably our biggest struggle.”

The Schillings do their own trucking, which helps with transportation of forages during chopping season and milk hauling.

“We’ll hire Dan Dannenberg of Triple D Farms to help us with chopping,” Andy said. “We’ll run our own chopper and use Dan’s along with all of our trucks.”

With the influx in acreage and the need for feed, the addition of extra labor was needed. Rising to the challenge were Brian and Andy’s families.

“The boys have really stepped up with the crops,” Andy said. “Brian’s daughter, Kylie, works with the cows. That’s been one of the most rewarding parts of adding this farm, seeing our kids step up, and working with my wife.”

Bridget used to be a full-time nurse before Brian and Andy bought the place. Now she works on the farm, handling the human resources and helping with employees.

The brothers and their families are establishing a new culture of their own, a culture that helps set up future generations.

“We want to be remembered by the quality of our farm, and the passion we farm with,” Brian said. “We want to take care of this for the next generations.”

Brian serves as president of the Lafayette Ag Stewardship Alliance. LASA’s vision is to be a community where farmers and friends of agriculture work together to protect and improve water quality and the environment.

“We’ve become better stewards over the years, adapting to new practices,” Brian said.

The brothers continue to evolve their approach to take care of the buildings, the animals and improve the land they manage for future generations.

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