More than 4,000 miles from home

STURGEON BAY, Wis. — When Manuele and Matteo Rota wanted to see what dairy farming was like in America, they took the initiative to journey from their farm in Italy to another in Wisconsin. Through the connection of a mutual family friend, the teenage brothers recently completed a 30-day internship at Brey Cycle Farm near Sturgeon Bay while staying at the home of Tony and Moriah Brey and their children, Evan and Alexa.

“We like what we do and try to share it,” Moriah Brey said. “We’ve hosted many interns over the years. It’s important for us to give back; it’s just kind of what we do.”

The Breys farm with Tony’s brother, Jacob, and his wife, Lauren. The Breys milk about 1,500 registered Holsteins and farm approximately 1,800 acres in Door County with help from 25 full-time employees. They also run a direct-to-consumer beef business, Brey Family Beef.

This summer, 17-year-old Manuele and 16-year-old Matteo participated in an educational experience some might call a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. In their inaugural visit to the U.S., the two made a trip to the Wisconsin State Fair, where they spent several days with the Breys while Evan showed a heifer in the junior show.

“We like it here,” Manuele said. “We dream about it in Italy — the country life.”

The Rotas live and work on their family’s progressive dairy farm in Lodi near Milan. The Rotas milk 400 cows and farm 196 hectares. Most cows are milked twice a day in a BouMatic double-16 parallel parlor, while 100 head are milked by two Lely robots. The milk is made into a popular Italian cheese called Grana Padano. An on-farm digester processes the manure, which Manuele said is common in their country.

Each brother favors different aspects of the farm. Matteo’s interest lies with the cows, whereas Manuele likes tractors and other machinery.

“I’m addicted to the workshop,” Manuele said. “When something is broken, I can fix it. I attend a school of mechanics. What I can fix, I fix. If it’s too difficult, we call someone.”

Passionate for the industry, Manuele and Matteo both plan to make dairy farming their career. Manuele graduated from high school this year and now works full time on his family’s farm. Growing up, he and Matteo worked on the farm every day after school and throughout the summer.

“Now I have to work all day, but I like it, so it’s not a problem,” Manuele said.

Matteo said one of the main reasons he came to the U.S. was to learn how to speak English. While exhibiting his animals at a show in Italy, he became particularly inspired to travel to America.

“The judge was from the USA, and when he talked to me in English, I didn’t understand what he said,” Matteo said.

A family friend then encouraged Matteo to come to the United States to learn the language. Before arriving, the brothers took three months of English classes.

“That’s a lot to ask to come to a different country,” Brey said. “They’re brave. They have the gumption.”

During their internship, Manuele spent most of his time helping with field work, while Matteo primarily worked in the barn. The Rotas did tasks together in the morning, and in the afternoon, split off into their designated areas of interest with either the cow team or crop team.

“Some days we take the straw, and some days we fix stuff in the workshop,” Manuele said. “I’ve learned a lot.”

Through hands-on teaching opportunities, the boys gained experience in multiple areas of the farm. Manuele spent time riding in and driving the chopper, payloader, merger and combine. He also helped pack the bunker. Matteo helped feed calves, milk cows, sort cows, clip animals, breed heifers and do pregnancy checks via ultrasound.

“Tony taught me how to clip a topline,” Matteo said. “I also helped clip Evan’s heifer for the state fair.”

Carrying on a family tradition, the Breys always embrace the opportunity to host an intern. The idea was ingrained in the couple as children, with both having parents who hosted trainees from other countries.

“We always had people from Russia around our table,” Brey said. “We even visited my parents’ trainee, Johan, in Germany. For us, it’s a way to see the world. The best thing about traveling is getting invited into someone’s house and seeing how they really live.”

The Breys have hosted many interns through the years, including four from Italy.

Most come from the U.S. In the beginning, the interns were necessary to help keep the farm running, Brey said, but as their workforce solidified, internships became more about a way to give back.

“Jacob’s friend was our first intern when Jacob went to college, and he did a lot of work because we needed it at the time,” Brey said. “Now, the interns still do work, but it’s not like if they don’t show up the cows won’t get milked.”

The Breys no longer participate in a formal internship program but still graciously host interns based on word of mouth or recommendations from people they know.

“We’ve had vet students and all sorts of people who could come and learn whatever they’re interested in,” Brey said.

Manuele said there are many differences between the Brey farm and his family’s farm.

“We are relatively small and have only three employees from India who do the milking,” he said. “The way we do work is different from the U.S. This area is more technologically advanced. I didn’t expect it like this, but I like it. In Italy, our straw bales are bigger, and our tractors are newer.”

The Rota brothers also commented on cultural differences they noticed.

“In Italy, life is very different,” Manuele said. “For example, we make dinner very late and go to bed late. People here are very kind. They want to know you, talk to you. In Italy, people are more closed off.”

Matteo said he was amazed at how many people drive trucks in the U.S.

“Only farmers have a truck in Italy,” he said.

The Breys also made time for off-farm activities and took Manuele and Matteo swimming and boating. They also went to Fleet Farm, which Brey said Matteo really liked.

“We don’t have something like that in Italy,” he said.

Trying American foods was fun for the Italian visitors who took a strong liking to Ranch dressing.

“It’s very good,” Manuele said. “I even put it on corn on the cob.”

When Manuele and Matteo boarded the plane for their return trip to Italy, packed amongst their belongings were lessons learned, memories made and international friendships forged on a Wisconsin dairy farm.