Farm passed from father to daughter

CHILTON, Wis. — Focusing on cow comfort and animal well-being takes precedence for Jamie Schnelle. This philosophy was instilled in her by her father, Jerry Lintner, and is one that continually pushes production higher at her family’s farm near Chilton. Lintner and Schnelle specifically credit a recent 8-pound per cow increase in milk to better cow comfort after they made updates to the freestall barn.

“Wanting the best for our cows and providing them with everything they need is a priority,” Schnelle said. “That’s what makes money. Their health and comfort come first.”

Schnelle and her husband, Andy, operate the farm started by her grandfather in 1951. Today, three generations of the Lintner family work together at Killsnake Dairy LLC as Schnelle’s children — Emma, Trent and Cayden — help with milking and feeding calves, and her dad continues to help wherever needed.

“She’s the boss now, but I’m still here to help wherever needed,” Lintner said.

Andy’s son, Owen, also helps on the farm. In addition, the Schnelles employ a full-time milker and three part-time milkers.

The family milks 150-155 cows three times a day in a swing-8 parallel parlor and have a rolling herd average of 35,500 pounds of milk, 1,500 pounds of butterfat and 1,100 pounds of protein with tests of 4.3% butterfat and 3.2% protein. They average 110 pounds of milk per cow per day and 120 pounds of energy-corrected milk per cow per day.

“This is the highest we’ve ever been,” Schnelle said. “It’s a team effort with everyone coming together — our milkers, veterinarian, nutritionist, crop consultant and other employees like our chopping crew. Everyone is an important part of this.”

The family is in the process of remodeling their freestall barn, transforming it from a 4-row barn into a 6-row as they add a third row of stalls to each side and make all the free stalls larger. The work is being done in phases, with the west side of the barn completed in March. Phase two is currently in progress as work on the east side is being done to match the west.

“The stalls I put in back in 1996 were too small for our cows today,” Lintner said.

By widening their barn 10 feet on each side, the family is gaining 40 stalls, bringing their total to 190. All of the stalls are now 2 inches wider and over a foot longer. The roomier dimensions combined with a new ventilation system made a big impact on milk production, Lintner said, taking the herd from 100 pounds of milk per cow per day to 108 pounds after phase one was completed.

Genetics also play a role in their production. When Lintner took over for his father in 1978, he began mating cows with production in mind, laying the foundation for a high-producing herd. Schnelle follows this line of thinking when making mating decisions.

“We breed to high milk and high type bulls,” she said.

Working with independent nutritionists has also boosted milk production.

“They have insights that help tremendously,” Schnelle said. “It’s good to get their advice. They see a lot more than we see.”

Schnelle returned to the farm part time in 2007 while teaching part time. She taught agriculture and was the FFA advisor at Random Lake High School from 2003-2007 and at Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah High School from 2009-2015.

“I kind of always thought I would be coming back to the farm,” she said. “It was hard trying to balance life with teaching and FFA advising. I found myself spending more time with my FFA kids than with my own kids. I wanted to be there more for my family.”

In 2015, Schnelle left her teaching career behind to farm full time with her parents. Schnelle slowly built her ownership of the farm, gaining 5% of the personal property each year.

“Farming gave me a more flexible schedule,” she said. “I was able to be home, and I never had to miss one of my kids’ field trips or school functions. I brought my kids to the farm, and my mom took care of them every day. I could see them any time I wanted and take care of them if they were sick.”

Schnelle took over as the farm’s new owner last year and changed its name from Gerann Lintner Family Farms to Killsnake Dairy — named after the road the farm is located on and the Killsnake River that crosses the road three times in 3 miles.

Lintner’s role on the farm shifted as his daughter stepped into the leadership position. This led to a gradual release of responsibilities as he found a new niche on the farm.

“I had to give up some control as my father did for me, but that was hard,” Lintner said. “Andy took over feeding cows more than a year ago. That was my job forever. I really wasn’t ready to give it up, but I’m at that age where you have to give it up. You have to let the next generation take over.”

Schnelle said she and her dad have a good relationship.

“We kind of think the same way and see things the same way,” she said.

Lintner agreed.

“We’ve always gotten along,” he said.

Along with the role changes, the freestall barn updates are part of taking the farm into the future.

“We’re modernizing for the next generation,” Lintner said. “I did the same when I took over for my dad.”

Schnelle is sprucing up the barn’s ventilation system, replacing old fans with new ones and adding more fans. The family is putting in larger, variable-speed models and strategically installing fans in new locations, such as above free stalls and headlocks to increase airflow. They also closed the open ridge in the roof and put in six chimney fans.

Switching from halogen to LED lights are also part of the remodel. Brighter than what lit the barn previously, Schnelle said the lights remain on all day.

“It helps cows get up and eat more and move around more than when the lights are not on,” she said.

Cow brushes are another new feature.

“That was a huge improvement, and it’s unreal how much the cows use them,” Lintner said. “The brushes keep the cows cleaner and improve cow comfort.”

The use of activity monitoring collars for the past five years have helped her stay ahead of problems, keeping milk production strong.

“The collars have helped a lot with heat detection and cow health,” Schnelle said. “It picks up on things before you see a drop in milk.”

The Schnelles are considering adding robots in the future, which would be phase three of the remodel and would include an addition to the south end of the barn.

Lintner said he has enjoyed watching his daughter take over.

“I’m very happy, very proud,” he said. “I can also take off when I want to now; it’s not like I’m tied here anymore. Last winter, I went to Hawaii. The winter before that, I went to Thailand.”

Schnelle said she finds satisfaction in seeing the rewards of hard work as she continues to guide the herd towards higher production.

“My parents taught me my work ethic, and I hope to pass that down to my children,” she said.