WITTENBERG, Wis. — Andrew Mlodik has been dairy farming his entire life, and as the fifth generation on his family’s Marathon County dairy farm, he cannot imagine living his life or raising his family any other way.
Andrew milks 50 cows in a tiestall barn on the Wittenberg farm that has been in the family since 1913, shipping milk to Mullins Cheese. He farms together with his father, Arnold, who works full time off the farm with a contractor for the U.S. Postal Service. Andrew’s sister, Erin Mlodik, helps on the farm with milking.
“There is a lot of history here on the farm and in this area,” Arnold said. “We have been honored with the Century Farm Award at the state fair and by the Diocese of La Crosse and Marathon County.”
The land the farm is located on was deeded by the U.S. government to the Central Wisconsin Railroad Company in 1871. The land not needed for the railroad was sold to the Mohr-Burt Lumber Company in 1902.
In 1913 Arnold’s great-grandparents, Mike and Mary Stroik, bought three 40s for $1,200. Everything had been logged off and the sawmill was shutting down. Mike had worked on the sawmill, sharpened blades and was the company barber.
In 1934, the second generation — Arnold’s grandparents, Henry and Laura Mlodik — purchased the farm from Laura’s parents. In 1957, the farm moved to the third generation, Arnold’s parents, Hubert and Veronica Mlodik.
“His parents never left the farm,” Andrew said. “They worked and farmed here their entire lives.”
Arnold had not planned to take over the family farm, but fate led him in that direction.
“I went to school at (University of Wisconsin) in Stevens Point and graduated,” Arnold said. “My dad wasn’t feeling well and my mother asked for help, so I went home to help. Then my mother passed away in 1989 and I stayed to help Dad. I realized how much I actually enjoyed it.”
Throughout his farming career, Arnold has worked full time off the farm, serving 39 years in his postal contractor job.
When Hubert passed away in 2001, Arnold and his wife, Karen, decided to continue the family’s farming legacy, purchasing the farm from his siblings and raising their children on the farm.
“I have pretty much been in the barn since I was 2 months old,” Andrew said.
Arnold agreed.
“I had to go to work, Karen would milk with the kids in tow,” Arnold said.
For Andrew, continuing the family farm was never a question.
“I can’t imagine doing anything else,” Andrew said. “This is what I have always wanted to do; I have never left and I don’t ever want to.”
Andrew and his wife, Cassie, are raising their children, Emmerson and Waylon, as the sixth generation of the family on the farm.
The Mlodiks are proud of the mark each generation of the family has left on the farm.
“All of these buildings, except one shed, were built by one generation or another of the family,” Andrew said. “(For) the machine shed, we hired a builder after our machine shed burned down. That was something we needed done quickly. Dad is the real builder; he’s built more than any other generation.”
The structures built on the farm have largely been made using lumber harvested from the farm, something both men are proud of.
The Mlodiks farm 400 acres of owned and rented ground to grow corn, oats and hay to feed the herd, which is mostly Holsteins and a few Fleckviehs. Andrew has been building a small Angus cow-calf herd for diversification.
The Mlodiks make small squares of hay that are feed in the barn and grind feed from cob corn. The cows get grain, silage, haylage and mineral in the barn. The family green chops during the summer.
The Mlodiks do all their own fieldwork, Andrew said, adding that he has several good friends who are available to help when extra hands are needed.
The cows spend as much time outside as weather permits, Andrew said, which he credits for the herd’s longevity.
“We’ve got a lot of cows that are 8 or 9 years old,” Andrew said. “Getting them outside and off concrete is important to me.”
The Mlodiks use bulls for breeding. The cows are with a Holstein bull four months of the year and an Angus bull the remainder of the year. The heifers are with a Holstein bull the entire year.
“With so many older cows, we don’t typically need a lot of heifers as replacements,” Andrew said.
The secret to being successful is keeping things simple, both Arnold and Andrew agreed.
“We’re kind of dinosaurs, the way we do things,” Arnold said. “But it works; we’re still here.”
Over the years the Mlodiks have watched the dairy industry dwindle in their corner of Marathon County.
“There used to be 30 or more farms in the township, but now there are just a couple,” Arnold said.
Keeping his family’s long-standing dairy farming tradition vibrant is important to Andrew, and he plans to continue by keeping things simple and paying attention to the details that matter.
“I don’t want to milk more than 50 cows,” Andrew said. “If I can’t make it on 50 cows by myself, I’m not going to make it on 200 cows.”
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