Deep in Dairy Country

In the heart of Clark County – the one that leads Wisconsin in milk production, dairy cows and dairy farm numbers – Joe Burkhardt and his dad, Leon, raise crops and offer  a diverse menu of custom services. “There are nearly twice as many cows as people in Clark County,” says Joe. 

With 67,000 hungry cows in the area, custom operating jobs abound for the pair, who own and operate J&L Burkhardt Farms near Thorp. They offer custom corn planting, combining, square and round baling, swathing and tedding services. All the while, they strike a good balance between producing their own crops and helping others.

They farm 1,100 acres of owned and rented land within a 15-mile radius of their home. About 800 acres are dedicated to corn and soybeans with the balance seeded to pure alfalfa, pure grasses and mixtures of alfalfa, perennial ryegrass, timothy and orchardgrass. “The grasses help speed drying and provide a measure of erosion control in spots where that’s needed,” Joe explains.

An easy-going partnership
“My Mom and Dad sold their dairy operation in 2010,” Joe recalls. “My mom and three older sisters used to help Dad with the milking, but once my sisters were grown and gone, it was time to sell the cows and concentrate on custom work. Summers were hectic, and I didn’t want to milk.”

The family uses their former dairy barn and heifer shed for hay storage. They sell a lot of hay during harvest, but the balance is stored until it’s marketed to local dairy producers and horse owners. Occasionally, they’ll move hay through a local sales barn hosting weekly hay auctions.

The father-son duo used to each own their machinery and offer custom services separately, but these days, the business is 50-50. “Dad is in his mid-70s now, so I’ll eventually buy out his half,” Joe says. “We talk every day and get along pretty well about 98% of the time.”

One of Joe’s brothers-in-law and a couple of friends provide extra help during evenings and weekends.

Custom baling
Leon started custom baling in 1988 after the man he had hired to do it for him exited the business. “My dad bought the same model of round baler that fellow used, and he’s stuck with New Holland ever since. We’re on our ninth New Holland round baler.”

The men take the first cutting of their forage around June 1 with the following ones spaced 30 days apart. Most years, they can only take three cuttings, but in 2022, they were fortunate enough to harvest four times.

To get the forage down quickly and efficiently, they use their New Holland Discbine® 313 PLUS center-pivot disc mower-conditioner. The pull-type machine has a 13-ft. cutting width and lays out even swaths for fast drying. If the weather cooperates, they can ted the following day and bale the next.

“That’s our ideal schedule,” Joe says who notes they might ted the grass hay twice to speed drying. “But we can’t do that with the alfalfa because we’ll lose too many leaves.”

They shoot for 15% moisture but are content to increase it to 18% if the humidity is high. A preservative is used as needed.

“The biggest thing with our customers who feed horses isn’t feed quality,” Joe says. “But rather that we get the hay harvested without rain. Sometimes, we wait an extra week to make sure it is as dry as possible.”

The Burkhardts run a New Holland Roll-Belt™ 450 round baler and a New Holland BigBaler 330 PLUS large square baler that makes 700- to 750-lb. packages.

Last year, they made 1,500 square and 100 round bales to sell. On the custom side, they made 4,000 squares and 2,000 rounds. To spot problems, a camera is mounted on the back of each baler that projects images to computer screens in the tractors.

For the past few seasons, they’ve used their new Genesis® T8.350 tractor to pull the big square baler. “That’s our first New Holland tractor. With the great service we’ve gotten over the years from our dealer, we decided to go with New Holland when we needed one,” he says. “We can run the tractor at various speeds while keeping the same RPM on the baler, and its cab suspension gives us a very nice ride.”

Grid sampling
Come late September, the Wisconsinites start harvesting their own row crops and those of about 15 neighbors. “Some of our customers are dairy producers, and others have full-time jobs off their farms and own smaller acreages. If the weather’s putting everybody in a pinch, some guys can’t wait, so they call me.”

Since 2014, they’ve used New Holland combines and currently own a CR8.90 model they bought last fall. “It’s a size larger than the one we had previously, and it’s a great one,” Joe says, who financed it through CNH Industrial Capital. “We only have one combine, so we want to make sure it’s a good one and is running and reliable. A machine that isn’t working isn’t making us any money.”

Four years ago, the men started mapping yields in the combine and giving that data to their fertilizer dealer. Yield maps layered with grid sampling soil tests allow them to see soil variability and its impact on grain yields and moisture.

“By adding this technology to our operation, we can see where our fields need fertilizer. We were spreading three tons of lime/acre, but now we spot spread, which has saved us a lot of money.”