Horsens: Animals, environment are key

In 1879, Jeff’s great-grandparents, James and Sophie, founded Horsens Homestead Farms. The generations that followed were George and Alma, Marshall and Edith and Jeff and Connie. Currently, Jeff and Connie’s sons, Curtis and Ryan, are the fifth generation. They farm 1,400 acres and milk in a double-eight parallel parlor with a free-stall barn in Cecil, Wis.

DBA: What are you most proud of on your farm?

Horsens: We are most proud of our people. We place our complete trust in them, and the reason we do is simple — they care. They pay careful attention to the animals, equipment, environment and the very people they work with.

DBA: What sustainable practices are you using on the farm and what benefits have you seen?

Horsens: The sustainable practices we use promote a sound environment, ensure the practice is economically viable, and protect the general public health. For example, we use crop rotations to reduce weeds, reduce erosion and improve soil quality. We combine data collected from our crop yields, soil tests, and our nutrient management plan to create a formula that maximizes yield while maintaining the integrity of the land. We then use that formula along with GPS technology when tilling the land, applying fertilize and planting to reduce fuel consumption, reduce soil compaction, and ensure accurate seed and fertilizer placement. The benefits we have seen are lower use of fertilizer, increased yields and less soil loss.

DBA: How do you engage the non-farming public about dairy farming?

Horsens: One of the ways is by hosting private tours. These tours have included families, government officials and journalists. We also have a Facebook page where we share information about the farm including, “Why I Farm."

DBA: What advice would you offer to young farmers?

Horsens: Be the best listener you can be. The information you will hear from the professional team, employees and other network groups you work with are invaluable.

What does the future hold for Horsens Homestead Farms?

Horsens: We are looking for a way to not only preserve what we have but to strengthen our position so the farm can be here for at least another 139 years. We will accomplish this by keeping our animals and the environment our No. 1 priority.

DBA: What do you see as major challenges and opportunities facing the dairy community?

Horsens: The major challenges we see are keeping operating costs under control in an unstable market and increasing the demand for dairy products worldwide. Also, the dairy community needs a better method of letting the public know about the health benefits of dairy products and ensuring we have a well-trained workforce. The opportunities we see are the continued improvements in robotics, science-based research to help develop more highly digestible forages and gene editing that will improve our dairy animals.

DBA: What technologies do you see as having a great impact on our dairy community moving forward?

Horsens: We believe one such technology is livestock biometrics, such as collar GPS, RFID and other biometrics that can automatically identify and relay vital information of dairy animals in real time. Another technology we read about a number of years ago is vertical farming. We believe that this urban agriculture engineering idea will become more popular in the years to come. One last technology we believe will become more common on a dairy farm are agricultural robots that cannot only help with milking, feed pushup and manure vacuuming, but also in weeding, soil testing and irrigation.

DBA: If you were talking to people who do not have a connection to agriculture, what would you want to tell them about your farm or the dairy community?

Horsens: We would start off by telling them where their food comes from and why we farm.

DBA: What benefit do you find most helpful from your DBA membership?

Horsens: We believe one of the benefits of our DBA membership is that they are our voice at the state and local levels. Another benefit is the networking that occurs at the Dairy Strong conference.