Alone, but together, in Logan County

NAPOLEON, N. D. — For dairy farmers Victor and Logan Wald, farming side by side has been a learning curve, from dealing with infrastructure issues to working toward transitioning the operation.

For more than a decade, Logan has been working with his dad, hoping to continue the dairy operation and add another generation to the farm.

“(Working with family) is very rewarding, but very challenging some days, too,” Logan said. “It’s a good thing to keep the fourth generation going.
It’s a good feeling to keep that legacy going and see how we’ve built it over the years and how we can keep improving it.”

The Walds milk about 210 cows in a double-5 herringbone parlor. They ship their milk to Cass-Clay Creamery in Fargo. Between rented and owned land, the Walds farm about 4,500 acres, growing soybeans, corn, alfalfa and canola.

Victor has seen Logan flourish over the years and mature into the dairy farmer he is today.

“He takes on a lot of the responsibilities that sometimes I kind of forget,” Victor said. “He keeps the show on the road really well, a lot of days better than I do. And that’s a good trait to have because it has to keep running.”

Victor and Logan have started transitioning the operation from father to son.

“I’m at that age where I should be doing it,” Victor said. “But you kind of don’t want to do that stuff because that tells you you’re getting old.”

Growing up on the farm sparked Logan’s passion for dairy farming. He said there was never an exact moment he knew he wanted to make it his career.

“I enjoyed it, working with cows,” Logan said. “It’s always been pretty good.”

Victor manages the workers and the cows. He is in charge of the day-to-day operation inside the barn, whether he is milking or the hired hands are there. Logan is in charge of feeding the cows as well as keeping an eye on the calves and treating them if need be.

“(Working with my dad) it’s good,” Logan said. “Communication is probably the toughest thing. Other than that, it’s pretty good.”

Aside from keeping the dairy operating, Victor and Logan take time to educate those around them about the dairy industry. From school classrooms to members in the community, Victor and Logan are willing to give educational tours of the dairy and even let visitors help milk or feed calves.

“They’re just astounded with what’s going on here,” Victor said.

Victor said that he has been interested in dairy since high school, often drawing sketches of what his barn would look like.

“My dad enjoyed it, and I had other brothers that didn’t enjoy it,” Victor said. “Dad and I just took off. ... The first thing he did was add another barn for free stalls, so we could milk a few more cows.”

When Victor’s dad was still farming, he said there were 16 dairy farms in their township. Today, Victor and Logan are the only dairy farmers left in the county.

“We’re privileged to have a trucking company called Royal Farms out of Wishek,” Victor said. “If they weren’t there, I believe we would exit the milking industry because freight would get too expensive.”

There are 25 dairy farms left in the state, and Victor said this brings its share of challenges.

“My biggest worry is infrastructure,” Victor said. “We don’t have a dairy repairman around here anymore.”

The closest dealer is Leedstone out of Melrose, Minnesota.

In order to stay ahead of and prepared for repairs and breakdowns, the Walds keep parts on hand, including a spare vacuum pump worth $2,000 or $3,000.

“We’ve got two of everything, which is really redundant, but we have to have it,” Victor said.

Despite the challenges, there are positives for the father-son duo.

“It’s a beautiful country,” Victor said. “Are there hard years? Yeah, sometimes. Are there good years? A lot of them. And milking has always been here. My grandpa did it, my dad did it, I do it, and now Logan’s taking over. It’s been a good way of life.”

Looking toward the near and extended future, Victor and Logan do not have any plans to grow the herd as they still want to be able to maintain a work-life balance. They do, however, plan to continue integrating technology more and more, Logan said.

Although Logan’s kids are still pretty young, he has hopes of them continuing the family legacy.

“If it’s still viable, hopefully my kids enjoy it and one of them will take over,” Logan said. “That would be the fifth generation. That’d be pretty cool.”