The Kindschuh family have been farming since the 1920s on the same land in Brownsville, WI. Dave Kindschuh has never moved. He went from sleeping upstairs in his parent’s home to downstairs as it became his home. He never changed his address or phone number. None of his siblings were interested in taking on the farm, so it was kind of up to him plus there was also a girl nearby that had captured his attention. The girl’s name was Dianne and she lived on a farm only 2-miles away. This October they will be married for 30 years.
Dave & Dianne Kindschuh operate their dairy under the name Sterling Stock Farm, Inc. along with their children Jennifer, Jessica, Ben, and Kati. The operation includes some cash crop and finishing dairy steers. The family is looking to Ben as the 3rd generation to stay on the farm, so Dave joked that right now it is at 2 ½. Currently Dave & Dianne do the milking with help from Kati. Ben takes care of feeding, repairs and field work. Dave’s favorite part is seeing things from start to finish and enjoys the variety in doing lots of different things every day. “You can plan your day saying that you’re going to do this or that today,” he said, “but nothing usually ever goes as planned.”
“It is just our family,” Dave said. “We are all in it together, no hired help. It is how we try to make a living.” The family agreed that working together is enjoyable for the most part. You get out what you put into it, spending a lot of time together whether you like it or not. “You get multiple viewpoints, which can be the best part,” according to Dave. “The kids are always bringing new ideas.” Dave and Dianne agree farming is a fun way to raise a family and helped develop a good work ethic in the kids. They both remember fondly the kids doing homework in the barn on a card table. They were also involved in 4-H and FFA. The kids showed dairy & dairy steers and other projects at the fair.
Dave shared that he started using Country Visions (known then as Agri-Land Co-op) in 1993 when a friend suggested that he talk to Jerry Schmitz at the Co-op about his agronomy needs. Some years later, Dave was introduced to a new agronomist, David Schraufnagel, that the Co-op had hired. David has been working with the Kindschuhs for their farms cropping needs ever since. “He knows what we want done and he takes care of it,” Dave Kindschuh said. “He watches my field. David is very good. A lot of people don’t realize the service that they are getting from their agronomist, with the sprayers and what-not from the Cooperative, it is like having part-time help!”
We truly thank Dave and Dianne for their time for this week’s Farmer Friday story. Taking time off is not something Dave and Dianne do very often, as evidenced by the number of their vacation trips. Only ONE vacation and that was to California on their HONEYMOON! Congratulations on your almost 30 years of marriage and thank you for your support of the Cooperative!
#FarmerFriday ...post #65. 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