The Feltz Family Story
When Ken Feltz started renting land from his father in 1993, he had a decision to make. He knew that he couldn’t make the kind of income he wanted through crops alone, so he did the only thing that really interested him anyway — he dove headfirst into learning all he could about cows.
Working with his Pioneer sales representative, Gale Gordon, Ken put together a game plan: grow high-yielding, high-quality forage to really get his milk production booming. Their plan proved to be a smart one — Ken’s herd is now milking 100 pounds per cow per day.
“I’d buy cheaper cows, and I’d trim their feet, make them comfortable and feed them high-quality forage.” – Ken Feltz
After realizing their strategy was successful, Ken and his family decided cow comfort should continue to be a high priority. In 2016, they installed a new climate-controlled, high-technology facility for automatic milking. It includes two robots that service 100 cows. The robots allow the cows themselves to determine milking frequency, leading to even higher milk production and better overall comfort for the cows.
The ambitious Feltz family wasn’t done there. In 2017, they debuted Feltz’s Dairy Store. It provides the community with a great place to enjoy freshly made ice cream and Wisconsin cheese curds along with an opportunity for the younger generation to learn more about farming. At the agriculture education center, visitors can look directly into the barn to see cows being milked by robots.
