Kolbach Farms LLC


Marvin Kolbach has farmed basically all of his life. He started at 4 years old driving tractor and ‘got the bug.’ He grew up as the son of a farmer and remembers how farming was done in the 70s. They used a 4-row corn planter, bags of fertilizer and averaged 100 acres in 23 hours. “The good old days,” Marvin said kiddingly.

Thirty years ago, Marvin was putting down the groundwork plans to be what he refers to as a ‘hobby farmer’. Back then, he was milking 120 cows by himself. He took care of the milking while his young son, John, did the chores. As time passed, Marvin and John partnered to operate Kolbach Farms, LLC. They were farming 2000 acres and milking 150 cows in a stanchion barn. Farming came into a challenging time, similar to how it is now. “We couldn’t just sell,” Marvin said, “so we down-sized 5-10% a year.” In 2004, the Kolbachs phased out the milking part of the operation and got rid of the cows.

Kolbach Farms, LLC is now a grain operation/hobby farm located in the town of Port Washington, which is a rural township in northern Ozaukee County, WI. Marvin claimed that he is the most unique thing when it comes to their farming operation, but after he finished laughing, he mentioned the variety of cover crops they plant. After winter wheat is harvested, the field is seeded with varieties and combinations of oats, clover, radishes, turnips, red clover, and winter rye. He appreciates being able to work with his son. “It keeps us connected,” he said. John works full-time at Country Visions, so his time at the farm is somewhat limited. Fortunately, Marvin enjoys all of the field work. Harvesting is usually the most rewarding, but right now field and weather conditions have been quite the challenge and has kept them occupied. Every day is different and that is something that Marvin likes about being a farmer. He doesn’t mind a slow start in the morning and then speeding up to get everything done while the conditions are right.

Marvin enjoys his hobbies. He has a lot of fun ATVing, and riding his snowmobile and motorcycle. He requested that we not only show his farming equipment, but that we also get his hobbies included in a photo. Marvin is living his dream!

Thank you to Marvin for sharing his memories, his story and having a little fun for this week’s Farmer Friday. We wish much success to you, John, your families and the farm!

#FarmerFriday ...post #98. To show our appreciation to our producer members Country Visions Cooperative will be giving a snapshot look of our customers and their operations in this feature each Friday