Trautman Family Farm

I'd like to take the time today to introduce you to my friend Richard.

Richard is one of the last of the old time dairymen. He is 70 years old, and has been a bachelor all his life; he has never traveled beyond Madison, and hasn't spent a whole lot of time off his farm. I am so very grateful that I have come to know him and for him to be my friend.

I met Richard in about March of 2007. I don't know why I was looking in the dairy cattle for sale section of Agri-View; I can't say I was serious about dairy at all at the time. It was of interest, but for the future. The ad said "10 cows, grazing herd, never pushed, Jersey crosses", which if I was to dairy, was just the kind of starter herd I was looking for.

So I called him, and arranged to come see the herd. I remember telling Julie just that we were "going to see some animals", as she was surely not too hep on dairy, and she does indeed "know how I get" and would not want me too encouraged in this direction. But we loaded up the whole family and went north of DeForest to Richard's farm. We arrived in the middle of milking time, and he asked if we could come back in an hour. So we went and had dinner in DeForest and then came back. He was very concerned that the cows would be disturbed by other people being around. This is a fellow that doesn't have too many visitors, and the main visitor to the cows was the vet- not usually a happy thing, so understandable about the cows being not so used to people.

Richard was so proud of his herd, and he had every right to be, at least to a fellow like me. The first cow I saw, on the end, was GJ. GJ stood for "Guernsey Jersey". She was a big girl and had a white triangle on her forehead, like Guernsey's are known to have. And where the other cows were wary, GJ was very friendly indeed, and her and I immediately warmed to each other. I instinctively performed a well received intensive tailhead scratch.

Richard had decided to quit milking cows after some 50 years due to problems with his hands: carpal tunnel syndrome, that made all farm chores difficult. But Richard wanted something that most farmers don't think about, and don't have the luxury of being able to ask for. Richard wanted a good home for his cows, and he wanted, secondly, a home close enough where he could visit them, which upon a visit to our farm and confirmation that ours was the place for his cows, 32 miles was indeed close enough. He knew he wanted someone that would love his cows the way he loved them, and that would provide them pasture and care like his.

Richard told me many times after that that he told his mother, who lived with him on the farm at the time, that upon that first meeting, he knew he wanted his girls to come to our farm. Julie was impressed with the cows, and we discussed further the implications of dairy on our future. We decided to purchase the herd, for the first group of dry cows to come in June. GJ was in that group, as was Maidengirl, GJ's sister, and Baby GJ, whom we just call Baby, GJ's daughter.

All along I talked quite a bit to Richard, and he got to know me and what I was trying to do, and I got to know Richard better, and his deep love of his cows and committment to always doing what's right for them. Our ideas differered, his reflecting more conventional views in some cases, old fashioned views in others, and I would say the best of Organic ideals as well. If Richard was 20 years younger, he'd surely be an organic farmer now.

The summer of 2007 was yet another drought; a bad one; it just did not rain from May until end of July. We struggled with fly control and had an outbreak of pinkeye. And most importantly, we felt we were moving too fast into dairy, and that we would put too much money into ideas that we didn't know enough about. Richard would check in every few days to see what progress we were making towards building our dairy facility; at the time we were milking one cow, in the field, with a bucket milker & portable vacuum. No facilities necessary there. With milking 10, however, need for a full blown milking facility, yet, not enough size to achieve any kind of income over expenses. The worst of both worlds. We explored, we talked, we worked, we came to the conclusion this was crazy for us to spend all this money on a facility we hadn't thought enough about. In the meantime three additional heifers had been brought to our farm from Richards, Jersey, Baby ChickaJay & Baby Blackie.

I knew I had to go to Richards farm and tell him in person that we couldn't buy the rest of his herd. It took me two weeks to work up the courage. How badly I felt about it, what it meant to Richard that he would be burdened to find another home for his cows. He pulled out his calendar, and went through day by day our contacts, and plans we had made, that I now had to reneg on. I told him I sure wish he would yell at me with as badly as I felt. But he knew it was true, too, that it made no sense for us to get in this deep with everything going on, even while we were still committed to dairy in our future, it would have to be on a smaller scale now if there was to be a future. We look back now and know had we gone ahead then, we would probably hate milking cows and would probably not be doing it at all.

So Richard did find another buyer over the next couple months for the rest of his herd, not too altogether much farther away, but definitely not much of a pastured farm, and as became evident over time, not to Richard's high standards, either. He would stop in our farm, and see our serene animals, his cows, too, with calves with them, in pasture all the time, and tell me about conditions at the other farm. I told him to quit going there -- just stop here. Richard worries a lot; that is in his nature to become consumed by worry of a thing, and keep him up at night and preoccupied during the day.

To this day, Richard comes by about once a week, he knows to pop in around 9am we will be milking, and he'll pick up the broom and sweep, and lend a hand in any way he can. I am so grateful to hear his advice: as I know it is completely from love of the cows, and not from convenience to him, or profit. I value his perspective, experience and ideas. I appreciate that he "keeps us on track"; Julie and I know that Richard will be coming, and he will ask about how we are doing on shelter for the animals, how care for them is going, are they getting bred, all the things we need to do as competent dairymen. Richard has been so very generous to us in so many ways. That he could forgive me for not being able to take his whole herd, that he cares enough to come by, I consider Richard a true friend and I am the better person for knowing him.

I enjoy hearing stories about his cows, his farming experiences, and I love to tell Richard of my experiences, especially with his cows, knowing how much they tickle him, and still the pride he feels in his girls. We share those silly little things that only two people that love cows bother with; how Baby had this cute little kick, just to tell you "hey, what'r you doing under there", and GJ's easygoing personality, how Baby ChikaJay is just like her mother.

Richard is the last of his generation that feels so deeply about his cows; today it's all business. I hope that some of Richard's spirit is in me and that I can pass that on to my children, and perhaps others. I know he nor I are the only ones to love our cows, and there are still those out there that do, and it's not just a business of numbers, facts & figures. We ought all celebrate the likes of Richard for the true love beyond himself he has shown over his long career.