Blessed to be 6th Generation Farmers

Wow, it is seems hard to find folks who have farmed the same piece of land for 5 or 6 or more generations in the American Midwest, but we definitely feel blessed to be doing so! It all started when this little piece of ground that we call “home” was homesteaded in 1870 by our ancestors. Through the generations, many changes have occurred. For example, the historical farm house we live in, is the 3rd home to be built on the property! The first home on site was probably more of a cabin; the second home, a wooden clapboard farm house, and the third (and current home) was originally made of local brick. (The local brick eventually having to be torn off because of being “too soft” which resulted in crumbling of the outer structure.)

A Farm Gal that wouldn’t Leave her farm

The farm’s name, Marth Homestead, originates from Joe’s paternal grandmother’s maiden name, Ruby Marth. Ruby Marth was an only child and when it came time for her to marry, she refused to leave her farm to go live with her new husband-to-be in Granton, Wisconsin. So although her future husband’s land was probably much more fertile and better suited for farming, she was determined to stay put on her family’s farm just west of the Black River. And as they say, “the rest is history”…….Ruby and Leonard Schultz stayed on the Marth Homestead near Neillsville and raised 4 kids, two boys and two girls, on the farm. Their second oldest son, Marcus, and his wife, Mary Beth, took over the farm in 1977 and continued to run the farm as a dairy farm as it had always been.

Joe and Haly Move to Marth Homestead

In 2012, Joe’s parents (Marcus and Mary Beth) after making many upgrades to the farm and many decades of dairy farming, were ready to retire. Joe and Haly, who had already moved to Neillsville to be closer to the farm, and whose first born son was 3 years old at the time, moved onto the farm in the Fall. Haly and Joe converted 40 additional acres to permanent pasture in the Fall of 2012 and began using management intensive rotational grazing to raise the dairy herd’s remaining heifers, steers, and calves.

Go Big or go value-added

Like so many small Wisconsin dairy farms, Joe and Haly had to make the decision as to whether or not to continue dairy farming when Joe’s parents retired. It was a difficult decision, but because Joe was going to keep his off-farm job to ease the financial burden of the farm transition, they decided not to milk cows. In addition, many Wisconsin dairy farms were making the decision to expand in order to remain financially viable. Joe and Haly really didn’t know if the farm’s current land base or the land’s potential productivity would be enough to support a larger herd of dairy cattle. Wanting to pursue grass-based farming, Haly and Joe decided to custom raise dairy heifers on high quality pastures (which they continue to do). A few years, and two more beautiful kids later, a cow-calf Murray Grey beef herd was added to the farm to take advantage of extra pasture forage, especially pastures located farther from the home farm.