Reaping the benefits of organic production

CECIL, Wis. — Not much changed around John and Mary DeBauch’s Shawano County dairy farm when they became certified as organic dairy producers in 1995.

“We kind of fell into it,” John said. “We were farming the organic way already in 1988. We always believed that was the way we should be farming, the inputs we were putting in our land. The biggest thing we got away from was the sprays.”

When the opportunity to gain an organic milk market presented itself, they took the leap and pursued certification.

After more than 30 years of shipping organic milk, the DeBauches are milking 75 cows and have been shipping their milk to Organic Valley since 2000.

The cows live in a freestall barn and are milked in a swing-8 parallel parlor.

“John had a double knee replacement in 2012, and at that time, I said we either needed to make it easier on us or we had to be done,” Mary said. “We were only in our mid-50s, so we knew we had at least 10 years left to work, so we built the parlor. We haven’t regretted it for one second; it’s made life a lot easier.”

The freestall barn followed a couple of years later — another decision the DeBauches do not regret.

“Cow comfort and health improved immensely after they went into the freestall barn,” John said.

John is a second-generation northeast Wisconsin dairy farmer. Their son, Aaron, and daughter-in-law, Lacey, joined the farm in 2021, and Aaron and Lacey’s sons, Garrett and Dakota, are prospective fourth-generation dairymen.

Before Aaron returned to the farm, his sister, Ashley, had farmed part time with their parents until she decided to pursue other avenues. Aaron earned a degree in heavy equipment repair and then worked in a tractor dealership.

“When Ashley decided she wanted to try another career, that made an opening for me,” Aaron said. “We were expecting our first child, and for me, that was an even bigger push to come back to the farm.”

A loan from the Farm Service Agency helped ensure the farm would continue.

“We bought this farm in 1981,” Mary said. “This was John’s dad’s second farm, so we worked for him for three years and then bought it with an FSA loan. We went into debt, lock, stock and barrel. It was a rough time to do that, but we made it, so I guess the rest is history.”

Throughout their three decades of organic dairying, the DeBauches have noticed positive changes in both their crops and their cattle.

“You can see it in the land, how much different it is than it used to be,” John said. “We used to struggle to get decent crops. We couldn’t afford to put all that fertilizer on. Now we use our manure wisely, and it gets all the way to the back fields.”

Lacey agreed with her father-in-law.

“The microbiome is healthy,” Lacey said. “It really does make a difference, treating the land like the living organism it is.”

The DeBauches manage 250 acres, owned and rented, including 75 acres used for grazing. The grazing acreage is divided into five pastures that range from 10 to 12 acres.

“We let the cows tell us when they are ready to move to the next pasture,” Aaron said. “Sometimes, it’s every week. Other times, it might be closer to two weeks. We tried doing intensive grazing, but that didn’t work very well with our schedule. The real ticket is to not overgraze. Let them clip off the tops and then move on. Then, you get that fast regrowth.”

On their crop ground, the DeBauches make hay and haylage and grow corn for silage and shell corn. They also raise small grains. They use oats and peas as a cover crop for new seedings and plant a field of oats every other year, which they combine to mix their own calf grain.

Since transitioning to organic production, the DeBauches have reconsidered how they grow forages to feed their herd.

“Depending on the field, we have so many options,” Aaron said. “If it’s a pasture or new seeding, we’ll go with a pasture mix. If it’s for haylage and hay, we’ll use different legumes and grass mixes. We can make quality feed and get good tonnage.”

The approach, working with their land instead of against it, has proven beneficial, John said.

“That’s been one of the bigger things that helped us when we got into organic production,” John said. “It’s a different way of seeding hay, not just relying on straight alfalfa. We use grasses and clovers and a little bit of everything. It puts the inputs back into the ground.”

The DeBauches see the attributes that improve soil health carry over into the milking herd.

“Our cows are healthier in general,” Aaron said. “We keep a closed herd so we don’t deal with outside sicknesses, but our cows are definitely longer-lived and have fewer issues. They don’t go off feed very often, if ever. And once they get out on pasture, you’ll see them put those happy, little fat deposits on their backs.”

John said he sees other improvements as well.

“Our milk quality has continually improved, and foot health is so much better,” John said. “There’s just no such thing as a lame cow unless she manages to injure herself.”

The physical appearance of their cows is a point of pride, Mary said.

“They’re so nice and shiny,” she said. “That shows how healthy they are on the inside; that’s the result of good nutrition.”

During grazing season, the cows are supplemented with corn silage, shell corn, soybean meal and a vitamin and mineral pack. Aaron watches milk urea nitrogen numbers to balance protein with pasture.

“I want to make sure I’m not overfeeding protein, because then we’re just buying our milk,” Aaron said. “We don’t want to do that.”

The decision to transition to organic dairy production has turned out to be a strategic one that has helped keep their farm thriving for their family.

“The only thing better than raising your family on the farm is knowing your grandkids will grow up here too,” Mary said. “The benefits to the soil, the healthier crops and healthier cows, that’s all wonderful. But in the end, we simply have a healthier farm for our family to continue to grow on, hopefully for generations to come.”