For Dan, Roger and Tim Byom, their life-long passion for dairy farming is rooted in their family lineage. According to Dan, who at age 59 is the eldest of the brothers, “We are fourth generation dairy farmers. Our great grandparents came from Norway and landed on the home place in the late 1800s.” They settled near the small town of Ettrick, WI, located about 25 miles north of LaCrosse, and ensuing generations have continued what the great grandparents had begun.

 

Now over 120 years later, the three brothers and their families all live within a mile of each other “as the crow flies” and continue to practice the stewardship of the land and their animals. Stewardship of the land is extremely critical since the land is very hilly and classified as highly erodable. As Dan says, “We work very hard to keep the integrity of the land intact” as the brothers balance planting corn, barley, oats and alfalfa, along with pasture for the dairy cattle. “With our hills, I think our biggest field is eight acres. What we do is plant our land in contour strips. This year with all of the rain, we are very glad that we don’t have huge fields on this hilly land.”

 

In an industry that seems to tout the philosophy that bigger and more are better, the Byom brothers instead have remained small with each brother milking 40 Holstein cows and raising 40 replacement stock each year. At the same time, all three families worked to get the three farms officially certified as organic dairy farms and have been so since 2002. “We went organic together,” says Dan, “but it really wasn’t that big of a deal to do so, because we hadn’t used herbicides and pesticides on our crops since the early 90s.”

 

It was actually some friends that encouraged the Byom brothers to certify. “Our friends knew that what we were already doing was organic. So for us, it was kind of a natural progression.” However, the process was still a three-year effort of getting all of the paperwork completed and the inspection to make sure that all soil and animal inputs were documented as totally organic. The inspection had to show that the animals showed only organic treatments and supplements, no growth hormones and no antibiotics.

 

Byom says two disasters in their lives really brought them to believe in organic farming. The first came in 1974 when their father, Gerald died from cancer. “I can still remember the day Dad went to the doctor for a lump on his leg. He knew it was a blood clot, because he had had one another time. So, that afternoon we were working on machinery, when he told me he was going in for the appointment and would be back shortly. A month later he was dead from cancer! That really had a profound effect on all of us. I felt we got short-changed because Dad never had a chance to be part of what we have done over the past 35 years. Not a day goes by that we don't think of Dad and the foundation he and Mom laid for us in church, family and farm.”

 

At the same time, over the years, the brothers have seen so many other friends die early. “We think part of the reason we are seeing health problems across the country comes from how we raise our animals and grow our food. We believe that the food we eat has so much to do with our health as people. We just don’t think the herbicides, pesticides, hormones and antibiotics are good for us. Our food for animals and humans alike begin with a balanced soil. A balanced soil is the foundation for good food.”

 

Byom says a second disaster validated that they could go totally organic, even when it came to the use of antibiotics for their cattle. It was January 19, 1999. “My wife Judy and I were asleep, when we were awakened at 4 a.m. by a truck driver going by who saw smoke coming out of our barn. All of our animals were in the barn at the time. By the time we got out there, everything was filled with smoke. It was so bad that we couldn’t see the cattle, but opened the doors and got them all out. We were fortunate that we saved the barn, and all of the cattle were saved.”

 

That was only the beginning, however. What could Dan do for the cattle? They had taken an incredible amount of smoke into their lungs, and he knew there would be medical issues. With the help of Dr. Paul Dettloff, the family veterinarian from nearby Arcadia, Dan and Judy found a way to treat the animals without using antibiotics and throwing away all of the organic efforts. Instead, Dettloff suggested a mixture of organic properties to treat the cattle. “He suggested garlic tincture, aloe vera, echinacea and kelp. We did not lose one animal. These treatments along with the balanced soil we believe gave our animals far more immunity than the average, which enabled them to deal with the stress of smoke inhalation. We were amazed! In three days, we could have been calling the rendering truck instead of the milk truck. We feel very blessed - God wanted us to milk a little longer.”

 

A final reason to go organic came from their own research. First, there is the opportunity to receive more for their product if it is USDA organic, and more and more consumers are demanding USDA organic products from their stores. “There is a lot of research going on in the field of organic farming. With a product that is USDA organic, the consumer can actually go back and research that product and see its exact history and what has gone into producing that product. Being labeled USDA organic means it is organic. That isn’t so with produce marked as ‘all natural’.” Byom continues, “Organic farming is catching on. Although it is still only a small percent of the market, we think the future is in organic farming.”

 

Byom does concede that being a certified organic dairy farm requires detailed documentation. “We have to keep records of everything: what we put on our land, what we feed and when we feed. It needs to be done on a daily basis.” According to Byom, one of the easiest ways for them is using a simple monthly calendar and taking the time to sit down and reflect on what has been used and when. “I know the documenting is not something I look forward to doing after a day of work.” However, the documentation is very important because each year the Byoms get a visit from an organic inspector.

 

“We sit down and go over all of the records of the input into the soil and animals. Receipts must be kept and are checked off. The inspector will also tour the buildings, the cattle, the fields and the pastures. We think it is an important part of being an organic dairy farm because the inspection is checking the integrity of the system. We need to have those checks and balances.”

 

The journey for Dan and Judy and the rest of the Byom family to being certified organic dairy producers has actually been a journey of community. “We are all close. We have always gotten along, and when we need help, we are there for each other. But then that’s the way our community is. We are all neighbors and help others when they need help.”

 

For Dan and Judy, you could say it was meant to be. After all, they grew up only a mile away, attended the same country school for six years, were childhood sweethearts and have now been married for over 37 years. Even though two of their three daughters are now married and on their own, their third daughter, Sara is now a freshman in high school and as Judy says, “keeping us young as we go to as many of her activities as we can.” Their oldest daughter Amy and her husband Cliff live in Burnsville, MN but are always on deck to help whenever the need arises, while their middle daughter Erin and her husband Seth want to come back to the farm with them. “Get this group together and you have quite a crew. Farm roots run deep,” says Judy with a chuckle.

 

In their late 50s, are Dan and Judy ready to slow down? No! “We absolutely enjoy what we do with no end in sight. We are always looking to improve and know that even though change is hard, change is also good. It’s always important to step back and evaluate things, and if they aren’t working the way you want, then it’s time to change. We believe this: healthy soil, healthy animals, healthy you!”

 

Reflecting on their past, present and future, Byom says a church hymn best sums up how they look at their lives as organic dairy farmers and as the hymn’s title suggests: “Keepers of the Earth”.

The chorus goes like this:

“Hurt not the land or sea,

The power lies in you and me

God sent us here

To be keepers of the Earth.”