RANDOM LAKE, Wis. — Producing milk and hauling milk have kept Irv Lepp busy for much of his life. When he was not in the barn, he was on the road. Making his livelihood as a milkman and a dairyman, Lepp’s overlapping careers have enticed him to work well past retirement age.
At 80 years old, Lepp continues to farm alongside his sons, Mel and John, and his grandson, Rodney. His grandson, Bobby, helps on the farm as well.
“If it wouldn’t be for my sons and grandchildren here, why would I still be working?” Lepp said.
The Lepps milk between 500-600 cows three times a day in a double-10 parallel parlor and farm 1,260 acres near Random Lake on a farm that has been in the family for well over 100 years. Lepp and his wife, June, own the farm in partnership with their sons.
Lepp and June raised five children on the farm they purchased from her parents approximately 40 years ago. They were milking nearly 80 cows in a 25-stall stanchion barn down the road at Lepp’s uncle’s farm, which they also purchased around the same time. It was not long before they built a new facility that included a milking parlor and freestall barn.
“We built a new system, and I was glad everything was up to par,” Lepp said.
Over the years, the Lepps added onto the barn several times to accommodate a growing herd.
“We’ve been adding and building, but some of our facilities are aging now,” Lepp said.
Simultaneous to his career as a farmer, Lepp drove milk truck for 54 years. He hauled for five years before buying a milk hauling business in 1973 that he named Irv Lepp Milk Transit.
“I grew into this business slowly,” Lepp said. “I started out hauling for other guys and bought the business from someone I worked for.”
Lepp began by hauling to Sealtest Dairy in Milwaukee. When they closed, he took milk to Gehl’s in Germantown.
“That milk business was leased to Cedarburg Dairy, and we’re in there yet today,” Lepp said. “It’s now Dairy Farmers of America.”
Lepp hauled milk seven days a week for up to 14 farms at one point.
“June and I would start the morning milking, and then she and my daughter would finish up so I could get going on the route,” Lepp said. “I was always home for the evening milking.”
Lepp said his favorite thing about hauling milk was meeting and greeting people.
“I like working with people,” he said. “Before I hauled milk, I worked at a factory, and I couldn’t wait to get out.
I started hauling milk and made less money, but I was much happier. There are really nice people on the route.”
Lepp remembers the kindness of fellow farmers, including one who saved the day in a snowstorm.
“We had heavy storms one year, and one day, I never got all the milk picked up,” Lepp said. “The road was blocked and I couldn’t get through, but a neighbor helped me out. He got his tractor and loader and plowed a path to his garage so I could pull my truck in.”
Lepp took his load in the next morning, but before he left, he repaid the farmer’s generosity and pumped some of his milk into the truck because his bulk tank was overflowing.
“He shipped to Borden’s, but his milk man couldn’t make it because of the weather, so I took some of his milk,” Lepp said. “The milk plants were good about it.”
The compassion Lepp experienced hauling milk was not the same as what he experienced at the factory.
“If you had a problem in the factory, people didn’t always want to help,” Lepp said. “Whereas if you have a problem hauling milk, a farmer will come give you a hand right away.”
One by one, the farmers on Lepp’s route retired, so he bought out Cedarburg Transit, which had about a dozen farms. He appreciates the loyalty of farmers on his route.
“We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them,” he said. “The milk plants don’t care who hauls the milk, but when a route changes hands, the farmer will stick with the milk man versus the dairy. When we changed dairies, the farmers all stayed with us. We appreciate that to no end.”
Lepp’s grandson, Michael Petersen, has taken over the route. Petersen has been hauling milk for about five years and is now the sole driver for the business, picking up milk at 11 farms. Up until last year, Lepp helped his grandson on the weekends.
“I’ve since turned all the driving over to Mike, and now he’s been hauling straight through,” Lepp said. “He’s training a new guy though to help with relief driving. We plan to sell the business to Mike.”
Lepp has two trucks for hauling milk. The truck on the road is a 2014 Western Star with a 5,800-gallon tank that Petersen drives daily. Lepp also has a spare milk truck — a 1978 Mack with over a million miles on it.
“I bought that truck brand new,” Lepp said. “It’s been through a lot of snowbanks, but it still runs well to this day. I couldn’t be hauling milk without a spare truck. Another hauler could maybe help us in a bind, but when we need a spare, we need it now, not tomorrow.”
Lepp keeps his trucks in good condition. The spare truck has a new frame and a new cab, but it is not needed often.
“If something ever happens to the milk business, we can use those trucks on our farms,” Lepp said. “The money I spent on the frame won’t be a loss. I’m one to fix up the old stuff, including farm machinery.”
Irv Lepp Milk Transit remains in the family with a new generation at the wheel while Lepp remains focused on the farm.
“I miss getting around hauling milk, but I keep plenty busy around here,” Lepp said.
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