Capitalizing on tradition

LA FARGE, Wis. — As a third-generation farmer, David Parr took an opportunity to make Elysian View Farm his own. Inspired by his brother, Parr made the switch from conventional farming to organic farming in 2001. He now milks 37 cows in a stanchion barn and raises replacements.

“I started talking to my brother, Gary, about going organic,” Parr said. “He had painted cars for a long time and was exposed to the fumes from paint and cleaners. When he would spray weeds, it would really get to him and bother him. He switched his farm to organic first, and he told me that was the way he wanted to farm.”

After a closer inspection, Parr saw the higher pay price for milk and knew that if he carried on the simple traditions of the way his father farmed before him, transitioning his herd to organic could be more streamlined than he anticipated.     

“My dad, being more old school, did a lot of organic-type farming,” Parr said. “Weed spray wasn’t a big thing when he got started. He did some spraying, but he did a lot of cultivating, which is what we organic farmers do.”

A shift in mindset and practices have helped Parr reach a quarter century of organic farming in Wisconsin’s Driftless region. It was a realization of what the chemicals were doing to the soil that motivated him to continue this way of life.

“You learn that there are alternative ways to farming the land,” Parr said. “Soil is a living, breathing thing. I’m doing right by the land. I’m a Christian, and I think God would be smiling down on me for trying to take care of his earth.”

In lieu of chemicals, Parr relies on manure as fertilizer and keeps a close eye on weed pressure.     

“We’ll plow down old hay ground, and I’ve had years where, in certain fields, I’ve averaged 200 bushels per acre,” Parr said. “Fields closer to the buildings will get a good amount of manure, and you can keep a closer eye on them. We’re not setting any records, but for organic farming, we’ve been doing pretty      well.”

What helps Parr and his wife, Christine Henson, continue down their organic path is the infrastructure in the area. Elysian View Farm sits atop one of the many ridges outside of Cashton. There, Parr and Henson are surrounded by Amish neighbors and other organic farmers. Their farm is 15 miles from where they ship their milk, Westby Cooperative Creamery, and 8 miles from Organic Valley in La Farge.     

“We’re very blessed in this region because it is so organic based,” Parr said. “The Amish have mostly organic practices, too, so the support is there. Our vet knows we’re not doing antibiotics, so they know how to think outside the box to help us power through some of the struggles that cows have.”

After 25 years of farming organically, Parr has learned ways to help keep his cows healthy without the use of antibiotics. Staying on top of the herd’s nutrition has made an impact in addition to working with aloe vera supplements.

“You learn about these different things that organic farmers have been doing,” Parr said. “We weren’t big proponents of antibiotics anyway; we didn’t broadly use dry cow treatment, and mastitis treatment was only if we seriously needed it. We have access to aloe vera and more organic practices just because this area supports it so well.”

Parr and Henson have also maintained a relationship with the staff of the  Farm Service Agency, working together to evolve their practices. Recently, Parr has incorporated cover crops, including interplanting, to help with soil erosion.     

“It’s pretty hilly around here, and it doesn’t take much for a good hard rain to end up washing out,” Henson said. “There is a lot of extra work to be organic, especially by Dave in the fields.”

Parr helps ensure his herd has the nutrition available to continue to produce high-quality milk. The ration includes corn silage and baleage.     

“We have a two -year crop rotation,” Parr said. “Depending on the year, we’ll have 50 to nearly 80 acres of alfalfa hay, along with 43 to 55 acres of corn. We also have pasture for the cows when the weather allows.”

Parr and Henson live a quarter mile away from their farm with the milking barn. They house calves at their homestead. Henson cares for calves in group housing, raising on average six at a time in their adjacent calf shed.

The shed is also finished, providing a space for guests who stay at the farm through Hipcamp, a website that allows people to book campsites across the country. Calf and guest quarters at the shed are separated.     

“People come from all over,” Henson said. “We’ve hosted family reunions, people who come out here to hunt or go fishing on the Kickapoo. We want to get people out here, expose them to farm life and what we do and why it’s so important.”

Henson is an avid farmer in her own right, twice winning a beautification award for her yard when she lived in Onalaska. Now, she grows produce for their      farm, adding an assortment of colors to the dinner plate.