Rachs keep trucking along

CHASEBURG, Wis. — Rhonda and Keith Rach have spent more than 20 years working their dairy farm together, but every other day, the Rachs take care of morning chores and then start up a pair of semi-trucks.

“I’ve met couples who farm together, and I’ve met couples who haul together,” Keith said. “We’re the only ones we know who do both.”

The Rachs manage R Farm and R Farm Truck LLC, helping both Rhonda and Keith live their passions together. Rhonda and Keith grew up around the dairy industry, with each having parents who milked cows. What started at 12 cows housed at Rhonda’s dad’s farm has grown into a venture of their own, with Keith taking the milk to the creamery.

“I won’t give up the cows, and he won’t give up the trucks,” Rhonda said. “We get to do both. Each provides us our happy place, and we have a chance to do both together.”

Currently, the Rachs manage 29 organic cows, milking them in a swing-8 parabone parlor and housing them on pasture and in a bedded-pack barn. The Rachs milked as many as 64 before finding their comfort zone in the 25- to 35-cow range. For the past 20 years, they have been milking their primarily Fleckvieh herd at the farm in Chaseburg after moving their herd from Rhonda’s father’s farm.

R Farm Truck uses two trucks, as Rhonda and Keith haul their own routes every other day. With separate routes, the couple has been able to talk to a wider range of farmers and bring new ideas home.

“We have the ultimate farmer network,” Rhonda said.

Keith echoed the sentiment.

“I’ve always had a question of the day when I pick up milk,” Keith said. “It’s a perfect combination to talk to people about how they do things on the farm and how we can use that on our own farm.”

Rhonda discussed how they use their unique position to discover new ideas.

“We’ve learned so much from the farmers we haul for,” Rhonda said. “We’ve become so much more efficient on our own farm because of those conversations and the people we’ve gotten to know through hauling milk. It’s helped us create an even closer relationship with them because we’re in the trenches with them. We know exactly what they’re going through.”

Keith has 35 years of wisdom that he has gained from the farmers he picks up from. He started hauling milk in 1991, working as a weekend hauler. He worked for several trucking companies hauling milk until 2024, when he and Rhonda had the chance to take over their own routes.

Rhonda expressed interest in driving a truck herself in 2018. Keith slid to the other side of his truck, as he went from driver to teacher to help his wife learn the ins and outs of hauling milk.

“It was a challenge sitting on the passenger side,” Keith said. “We spent one night just backing up into the driveway using the mirrors; I thought she was going to take out the mailboxes. There were so many times I just wanted to jump in and take over.”

Keith’s patience paid off as Rhonda earned her commercial driver’s license in 2018 and began hauling. That decision opened the door for each to spend more time on the farm, as they split one route. After two years of alternating hauling days, the company they worked for asked if Rhonda would be interested in a route of her own.

“When I agreed to take on my own route, our truck was on the road every day,” Rhonda said. “We’d try to alternate days, but there were times when I would need to be in the truck so that Keith could get things done around the farm.”

With one person consistently off the farm, it became difficult to manage some daily activities that require another person.

“Those times were tough because someone was always gone,” Rhonda said. “You really had to plan out what you were doing.”

The Rachs stay organized by planning out their weeks and chores around the hauling schedule, using a 1:00 p.m. phone call to get on the same page.

“I started calling her when she first started driving,” Keith said. “It was just a check in to see how she was doing. We’ve maintained that 1 p.m. phone call, and I even do that with our relief drivers. It’s turned into some of our best and deepest conversations.”

The Rachs hauled two routes every other day for six years while working with another company. When the company they were working for ceased operations, Rhonda and Keith had the opportunity to purchase the truck Rhonda drove and create their own pick-up schedule.

“I was driving this truck, and I called Keith and told him that if I could get it for $125,000, I would,” Rhonda said. “He just laughed at me because it was worth a lot more than that.”

Keith continued the story.

“The following Monday, I got a call from the owner of the trucking company,” Keith said. “He told me he’d sell it for $125,000. I about died right there. There’s something special about driving your own truck.”

In January 2024, Rhonda and Keith purchased her 2021 Freightliner, complete with inscriptions of “Dairy Farmer Inside” on the door and “Smile, God loves you” on the front quarter panel. Each phrase is a moving bulletin board for the Rachs, describing who they are and what they stand for.

“I put those phrases on our trucks because we want everyone to know that we’re in it with them,” Rhonda said. “(The inscription refering to God) is a remembrance for my dad who had that put on his tombstone. It’s important to remind people that God does love them. John 3:16.”