History
It All Began With Three Holsteins
Everything started in the old red barn.
1955
On September 4, 1955, newlyweds Robert and Norma Ohlde started what is now Ohlde Dairy. It all began with three Holsteins that Bob had for a FFA project. Bob and Norma would milk these three ladies twice a day, every day. They would use a cream separator (a wedding gift from her parents) to harvest the cream from the milk. The cream was then sold to Washington County Coop Creamery. During their non-milking hours, the cows would eat, sleep and drink in an open-housing barn that was part of the red barn. Everything started in the old red barn.
1959
In 1959, their milk was upgraded to Grade B milk and they had a 200 gallon bulk tank installed. By this time there were about 25 cows in the herd being milked in the stanchions. Four short years later, in 1963, a new parlor was built with a 400-gallon bulk tank, making Ohlde Dairy a Grade A dairy. Free stalls were also added to the original red barn to further increase the cows' comfort and cleanliness. The parlor began as a double three-herring bone configuration, which could hold up to six cows at one time.
1980
In 1980, the parlor was expanded one more time to a double six. Steve Ohlde, Bob and Norma’s son, and his wife, Cindi, joined the operation, a partnership was formed, and a family business was in the making. They stood at 80 cows and slowly grew to 180 cows over 16 years.
1996
In 1996, decisions about expansion needed to be made, the Ohlde’s took a leap and began planning for a huge expansion. The reasoning behind this choice was threefold:
First, the benefit of volume pricing when selling milk by the semi tanker load.
Second, the farm would be large enough to warrant the hiring of employees.
Third, the Ohlde’s wanted to have something to pass on to future generations- a family owned and operated business.
1997
By the fall of 1997, construction was underway for two new free stall barns. During the two years that followed two more barns were built and two hundred cows were added. By mid-year, 1999 the building of a new milking parlor began.
2000
On January 9, 2000 they started milking in the new and current parlor. In 2007 Justin and Kyler Ohlde, sons of Steve and Cindi, became partners in the operation, which consisted of 600 cows.
2016
In 2016, Levi Ohlde, son of Steve and Cindi became a partner in the dairy operations and prompted the formation of Foremost Farms, the farming entity which ensures control of quality feed for our herd.
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Foremost Farms is in charge of planting and harvesting. Each year silage harvest is in the spring and fall and hay is baled from May-September, which leaves the winter months for spreading manure to fertilize the crops for the next season. It all comes full circle!
Toward the end of 2016, a heifer development feedlot, Carter Creek Cattle was added. The heifer lot houses about 2500 heifers, 2000 of those will enter the Ohlde Dairy milking herd and 500 are custom raised. The addition of Carter Creek allowed for the space and ability to be able to monitor and care for the herd better.
The first half of the cross-vent barn was added in 2016 to make more room for the growing herd and the second half was finished the summer of 2018. This cross-vent barn allows room for the cows to eat, sleep and go about their day in climate controlled, comfortable environment.
2022
A robotic dairy site, StateLine Dairy started with about 300 cows in December of 2022. In February of 2023, it almost doubled to the current capacity of about 600 cows.
At StateLine Dairy several pieces of automation have been implemented that make daily operations easier on the team, the cows and the environment. Cows on this site are milked by 10 Lely robotic milking units that are in the cow pens. The cows get free access to these robots, meaning they decide when they want to be milking. There's also an automated feed pusher, the Juno, that moves through the barn several times a day to make sure the cows always have access to feed. Manure and wastewater is removed from pens constantly and recycled through a screw press to make bedding (green bedding) that is used to keep the individual stalls clean and comfortable.