Brotherly bonds

DUBUQUE, Iowa — Fourteen years ago, Melvin and Ed Green became one of the first farms near Dubuque to install a pair of Lely A4 Astronaut robotic milking units. But that is hardly where the story of Green Brothers Dairy begins.

“I remember when Dad would take us to school, he’d put the milk cans in the back,” Ed said. “He’d drop the milk cans off and then take us to school.”

Separated in school by three years, the brothers have been farming together throughout their lives. When Melvin returned from military service in Vietnam in 1973, they formed a partnership.

“When we started milking cows, we figured if we got 30 pounds of milk per cow we’d be doing well,” Ed said. “We’re doing better than that now. But our original agreement would make you laugh. Some of the provisions we had in it are funny now with how life has changed.”

A lot has evolved over the years at Green Brothers Dairy, but the brotherly bonds have positioned the pair to enjoy what they do, and who they do it with they said. Today, Green Brothers Dairy milks 100 cows with two robotic milking units. They also own another farm operated by their younger brother, who milks 60 cows in a double-6 herringbone parlor.

Melvin’s dairy career took a detour in 1969 when he was drafted into the U.S. military to serve in the Vietnam War. Ed also heard his name called in the draft but was never ordered to report to basic training as President Nixon canceled the draft in January 1973.

“I had a herd of about 50 dairy cows when I was drafted,” Melvin said. “With having to join the military, I sold them to a couple of local farms, including my dad.”

Melvin became a heavy equipment operator with the Army. Two years into his military career, he went home after his arm was broken when his vehicle overturned.

“When I was returning home, I didn’t know if I wanted to get back into dairying right away,” Melvin said. “I raised hogs for a while before I made the jump back into dairy.”

Getting back into dairy helped Melvin find what worked for him. He worked with an uncle, farming 400 acres with a parlor and freestall barn, but soon realized the operation was larger than he wanted on his own. That is when he and Ed formed a formal partnership, farming in Fillmore.

The Fillmore farm sat 12 miles west of their current farm outside of Dubuque. Before making their move to Dubuque, the two also operated a dairy on a ridge further west in Cascade.

“We knew we needed to find something better,” Melvin said. “The farm in Cascade was on a hill and was so cold that we had a lot of issues with health during the winter. It was so windy up there that when we’d throw hay down, you didn’t know if it was going to go to the pickup or if it was going to come back in the mow. This place (in Dubuque) was available, so it was a way for us to help our cows be more comfortable.”

Bringing the herd to the farm in Dubuque meant the brothers needed to bring the farm up to date. Melvin and Ed poured all the concrete and did all the welding as they built a freestall barn, in addition to the former milking parlor  that they now use for herd health.

“When we built the place in 1978, it was state of the art,” Melvin said. “The original free stalls were seven feet; we’ve bumped them out to eight. We started with dirt stalls and eventually put in mattresses.”

The adaptation to newer techniques and strategies has continued throughout their dairy careers. In 2014, Melvin approached Ed about installing robotic milking units in their barn.

“Our dad milked cows until he was in his 80s; I knew I didn’t want to do that,” Melvin said.

Ed agreed.

“I was about ready to call it a career when Mel and I talked about putting the robots in,” Ed said. “We saw an immediate jump in production. With the upgrades we’ve done with the robots, through maintenance and new parts, they perform better now than when we put them in.”

Along with changing technology, Green Brothers Dairy has seen the area around their farm evolve outside Iowa’s 11th-largest city. The highway connecting the farm in Dubuque to the farm in Cascade was expanded to a 4-lane highway.

“The highway expansion made things easier for us,” Ed said. “When we were custom chopping in Cascade, we could put the 8-row head on the chopper and use the right lane and the shoulder and make it there no problem. Over time, the semi drivers have been more courteous to us.”

Roles within the partnership have changed over the years, but Melvin and Ed still manage the farm by themselves. Feeding, fetching, cleaning and scraping are all handled by the Greens, with help from Melvin’s son and his wife. Dairying is what the brothers grew up doing, and what they want to continue to do as long as they are able.

“What else would I do instead of farming?” Ed said. “I don’t want to be a monk and I’m too old for the Peace Corps.”

Melvin also likes farming.

“Dairy farming has always been fun,” Melvin said. “It’s gotten harder since we’ve gotten older, but we still have fun working together.”