I am proud to be the fifth generation on our family farm in northeastern Green County, just seven miles from New Glarus, “America’s Little Switzerland”, Wisconsin. My great-great grandfather emigrated from Switzerland and began farming here in 1899.
Fast forward to 2006. We are now known as Truttmann Dairy LLC, a grass-based, spring calving dairy. Along with my wife, Shelly, and my parents, Dwight and Dianna, we milk 150 crossbred cows and operate 400 acres.
Times have changed in the dairy business since 1899. However, we’ve made a commitment to stay true to our roots by being good stewards of the land, caring for our animals, and continuing to provide excellent quality milk. In order to accomplish our goals, we’ve adopted a different way to feed our cows.
We are in our 14th year of management intensive rotational grazing on the farm, where the focus is on the health of the cows and the land. Our cows consume a high forage diet, coming mainly from pasture for up to 8 months of the year. A big advantage to having most of our farm in pasture is that the soil is protected year-round by grass and legumes. The cows are milked in a swing 12 milking parlor with a parlor grain feeding system to maximize the efficiency of the grazing system by reducing time spent off pasture. A free stall barn is used for winter housing of the milking herd.
My wife and I are both 1990 graduates of UW-Madison; I have a BS in Dairy Science and Shelly holds a Landscape Architecture degree. We have 3 children.
Our family was proud to be selected as the regional Wisconsin Farm Family of the Year in 1995. In addition to that honor, we were winners of a state conservation award from the Wisconsin Land and Water Conservation Association in 2001, and 2nd runner-up in the 2003 Jaycees Outstanding Young Farmer program..