A TALE OF THREE DAIRIES
Local farmers trample challenges to carry on family tradition and a love for their cows.
WRITTEN BY ANN LINDEMANN
PHOTO BY JEFF ROSS
On paper it sure doesn’t sound like anyone’s dream job: a 60- to 100-hour workweek coupled with 24–7 worry over an ever-shrinking profit margin, thanks to soaring feed and fuel costs. Not surprisingly there aren’t many folks signing up for the arduous life of a dairy farmer. The ones who do are some of the hardest working farmers around –– hands down.
According to the USDA, in 1970, when milk was bringing farmers the same amount that it is today, there were nearly 650,000 dairy farms in the United States. Today, only about 54,000 remain. There are 28 dairies in Nevada and of those about 98 percent are family owned.
By nature, milk is a highly perishable product, which has to be sold or processed within days of when the cow is milked. That said, dairy farmers aren’t like their grain-farming counterparts who can bide their time until prices rise. Therefore, in an effort to keep things on an even keel the majority of our nation’s dairy farmers are part of a dairy marketing co-op, such as the Dairy Farmers of America, which assures them a consistent price for their milk. Roughly a third of the United States’ milk comes from the DFA. The DFA needs to have this kind of leverage to compete with such heavy hitters as Dean Foods that produces 20 percent of the milk in the U.S.
“The dairy farmers here choose to go to that marketing arrangement,” explains Lynn Hettrick, executive director of the Nevada Dairy Commission. “While it provides security because they get to sell all of their milk, it also means they don’t really have a competitive market to sell their milk.”
Due to mandated production of the corn-based fuel ethanol, corn prices have skyrocketed in the United States. Add to that the high cost of petroleum, and Nevada’s dairy farmers are suffering a brutal one-two punch to their profit lines.
“Dairymen are responsible for the cost of sending their milk to the processing plant and with the cost of fuel rising it becomes more of an issue,” Hettrick says, adding that Nevada has only three milk processing plants to serve the state’s 28 dairies.
Reno’s Model Dairy is a major player, but has limits to the amount of milk it can process. Therefore, much of the state’s milk is processed in a larger plant in California and then shipped back to Nevada for sale in supermarkets.
“We’d love to have a major processing plant come into Nevada,” says Anna Vickrey, environmental health specialist for the Nevada Dairy Commission.
MILK MYTH
Although the dairy industry is one of the most closely regulated food products in the United States, it still suffers from a bum rap. For instance, there is a misconception that Nevada’s non-organic milk is riddled with hormones and antibiotics. Vickrey, who inspects Northern Nevada dairies every one to two months, says this simply is not true.
“We basically screen every tanker of milk prior to being loaded into the milk plant,” she says. “If there are any antibiotics in it, it has to be dumped somewhere. It can’t be used for human consumption whatsoever.”
As for hormones, Nevada dairy farmers have collectively signed a contract that stipulates that they will not use synthetic hormones. Model Dairy has agreements with the Northern Nevada farmers it purchases its milk from so they can guarantee none of the cows are treated with any artificial growth hormones (rBST).
“They wanted to cater to the wishes of the consumers who prefer not to have rBST in their milk,” Hettrick explains. “There are naturally occurring hormones in all milk so you can’t have milk without hormones. The issue is the synthetic hormone.”
The inspection process doesn’t end with the milk per se. According to Vickrey, both the paper and plastic cartons are tested at each of the processing facilities for chloroform and bacteria.
“It’s the only industry within the food industry that has rules for testing those,” Vickrey says. “I have to say dairy is one of the most regulated foods in the United States. We’re very proud that we have such a safe product. You rarely hear of a food-borne illness with dairy.”
Another stumbling block for the industry is America’s perception that dairy products are patently unhealthful. Not surprisingly, dairy commission representatives dispute this claim, noting that there are many non- and low-fat dairy options. Of particular note is the burgeoning yogurt industry, which is giving the dairy industry a much-needed shot in the arm.
According to Hettrick, it’s now estimated that each American consumes about 12 pounds of yogurt annually. The worldwide per capita figure is three times as much.
“Yogurt is one of the bright spots that continues to increase,” Hettrick says. “We are also looking into specialty manufacturing of all kinds. There are a lot of other ways to market milk.”
DAIRY DYNASTY
Of the 28 dairies in Nevada, all but two are in the northern half of the state. And a whopping 19 of those are located in Fallon. Ride along with third-generation dairy farmer Pete Olsen and one understands the sense of community among these Fallon dairy farmers who are all facing similar challenges. Olsen, 54, points out a few operations that have thrown in the towel. But then with a stoic sense of pride he takes a detour to a couple of his favorite dairy farmer neighbors: his nephew Jared Laca and wife Katrina at Laca’s Vacas Dairy and his sons Pete Jr. and Mike’s Sage Hill Dairy.
The Olsen family is no newcomer to the dairy industry. Pete Olsen’s great-grandparents immigrated to the United States from Denmark in 1915. They built a dairy on the northeast corner of McCarran Avenue in Sparks where they bottled and delivered their milk door-to-door. When pasteurization came onto the scene in the late 1940s they discontinued bottling and sold their milk directly to a local creamery.
In time, the next generation took over, with Olsen’s grandparents and parents at the helm.
“It was an idyllic childhood … my grandparents lived just down the hill and I’d spend my days running around the ranch with my BB gun,” Olsen recalls. “I knew I wanted to give my own kids that kind of childhood.”
In 1972, Olsen’s father moved the family to Fallon where they established Hillside Dairy. Today, the dairy has nearly 2,000 Holstein cows, which produce between 16,750 to 19,000 gallons of milk a day depending on the season.
Olsen owns and operates the dairy with his brothers Eric and Neil Olsen. A far cry from the elder Olsens’ pastoral tableau, Hillside now features an automated herringbone-style milking parlor that cycles in 30-plus cows with efficiency and ease. A veterinarian and a nutritionist pay regular visits to the farm to check on animal health and well-being.
“The thing I like is since growing this business, my job has changed about 10 times,” Olsen says. “I’m constantly stepping into this new set of challenges so it’s never boring. And to put it plainly, I like cows.”
Still there are plenty of challenges that his grandparents never faced.
“Today, people are putting corn into the gas tank and it has raised the cost of corn considerably,” Olsen says. According to Olsen, cows need starch in a dense form to be efficient and corn fits the bill.
To reduce the amount he spends on feed, Olsen leases land and grows as much as possible. He produces about 70 percent of the forage, but still has to purchase other essential byproducts such as cottonseed, almond hulls, and canola meal.
And as for rising fuel prices, Olsen, a Churchill County commissioner, says a major milk processing plant in Nevada would definitely help reduce shipping costs.
Although he might not know each calf by its face like he did on his grandparents’ farm, Olsen’s cows get plenty of hands-on attention especially during calving season and when they are ill. Olsen bristles at the common misconception that dairy cows are mistreated, which he says couldn’t be farther from truth at Hillside Dairy.
“I tell people my cows are athletes,” he says. “You don’t get 28,000 gallons of milk out of the cows without treating them right. These cows pay the bills so we watch them very closely.”
LACA’S VACAS
Down the road apiece, Olsen’s nephew, Jared Laca and his wife Katrina are looking to diversify. Jared, a Cornell University graduate, and Katrina, a University of California, Davis graduate, own Laca’s Vacas Dairy.
Jared opened the dairy in 2003 and three years later the couple married.
“Originally I was going to go for a town job,” recalls Katrina, who grew up on an Austin, Nev., sheep and cattle ranch. “But I just started giving myself things to do. Eventually Jared said, ‘Either I’m going to have to hire someone or you’re just going have to work at the dairy full-time.’ And that was what my goal was all along so it worked out well.”
Today Laca’s Vacas Dairy is home to 330 cows, 34 sheep, 60 lambs, a few chickens, and two sweet little girls: Grace, 3, and Reese, 2.
Like any good partnership, the dairy represents the interests of both of the Lacas. While Jared’s roots are deep in dairy, Katrina’s family is all Basque.
“My grandfather was a sheepherder, then a camp tender, and he eventually bought a ranch in Austin,” Katrina explains.
After the couple wed, Katrina’s mother sent them home with a few lambs and before you know it the Lacas were researching dairy sheep.
“We thought it was a good way to combine the dairy side and the Basque sheepherder side,” Katrina says. “Plus, we are looking to diversify ourselves. There are a lot of ups and downs in the dairy business. Our thinking is that maybe there is something from outside that we can bring to the business so we won’t be so dependent on the milk prices.”
At this point the Lacas aren’t milking the sheep yet. But they are working on breeding top-notch dairy sheep. The couple has done their homework and discovered that there definitely is a market for sheep’s milk, and in particular traditional sheep’s cheese.
“I really enjoy the sheep,” she says. “We’ve always had them around. The kids just love playing with the lambs. We joke that it must be spring because I have lambs in the house!”
SAGE HILL DAIRY
And still another branch of the Olsen family tree also is nearby in the Fallon countryside. Pete Olsen’s sons Pete Jr., 31, and Mike, 29, own Sage Hill Dairy, which is home to 500 beautiful brown-eyed, fawn-colored Jersey cows.
Pete Jr. is a graduate of Doane University in Nebraska and Mike went to Cornell like his cousin Jared. The Olsen brothers took over an existing dairy and found that they enjoyed working with the easygoing Jerseys.
“They don’t produce as much milk as the Holsteins, but the milk is higher in protein and milk fat,” Pete Jr. explains.
He says the three dairies are all a bit different, but there are many goods and services that they share. For instance, much of the feed can be purchased in larger lots and then divided amongst the dairies, which helps to keep the cost down. Pete Jr. admits that his generation does bring some new ideas to the table. But the elder Olsens also offer a lifetime of experience, too. This combination is beneficial to all, he says.
When asked why he got into the dairy industry and didn’t forge a different career path, Pete Jr.’s response is eloquent in its simplicity.
“Getting up in the early morning and working with the cows,” he says, “that’s what I really love.”
Ann Lindemann is appreciative of all the dairy folks who shared their stories and insights with her. A frequent contributor to edible Reno-Tahoe, Lindemann’s work is also featured in a variety of other regional and national magazines.
