Big shout out to our March Farmer(s) of the Month, Dave and Lisa Loos who own Loos Dairy Farms in Appleton. Both have been around farming their whole lives, Dave grew up down the road from their current farm, while Lisa was raised on a dairy in Seymour. Either way, the ag world was nothing new to them.
Dave was explaining how he started farming with his dad in 1979, the day he graduated high school to be exact. Jumping ahead to 1983, Dave and Lisa got married and moved to the dairy they’re at now, which was his grandparent’s farm.
Looking back at 1979 and comparing it to 2021, Dave said the biggest change that they’ve seen is the constant modifications in technology. He said the updated technology these days comes faster and faster all the time.
He said for a person to start farming at this point, they’d need some help from those around them. “For young people to get started they have to have some way to enter the business as far as family,” he went on to say, “economically, the small farm, it’s hard to keep up with all the expenses and everything right now.”
That’s one of the reasons Lisa warns people to be 100% positive that they have a love for farming before diving in. She said that you have to a passion for agriculture in order to do a good job and be successful. Dave added that the younger generation of farmers needs to realize the sacrifices and commitment it takes to be a farmer. He also hopes that those who really want a career in farming know someone who can give them an “in” or at least be a great resource.
Dave and Lisa’s farm is one of the rare, small family-owned dairies that’s still making a go at it. Nowadays, and into the future, we’re looking at more and more large farms and less and less small operations staying in the business. “Bigger farms are going to keep expanding, but hopefully some of the small farms will be able to continue,” Dave said.
The two agreed that raising the kids on the farm was their favorite memory over the years. Even though none of their children chose to take over the farm, Dave hopes that someday one of the kids will return and keep it running. For now, all of them decided to stick in the ag industry and branched off into their own careers all over the state including a nutritionist, an ag engineer, a heifer raiser, and a milk plant worker.
“I hope that one day one of the kids could come and be here again if they’d want to.” – Dave Loos
Check out the full video below and the interview on the podcast page.
