By DOUG GRAVES

Ohio Correspondent

SARDINIA, Ohio — Just milking twice a day, every day, for four hours each time, can take its toll. Then, in between these milking rituals each day, farmers feed calves, care for the cows, grow crops, bale hay, maintain the farm and manage the land as part of their duties.

Despite the relentless work agenda and long hours, many dairy farmers have certainly suffered some sleepless nights in recent years as they eek by on the thinnest of margins as milk prices have dropped and stayed low.

Many dairy operations have called it quits. In January there were 2,045 licensed dairy farms in Ohio. Since then, Ohio has lost 51 dairy farms, slicing the statewide number to 1,994.

“The trend is alarming,” said Dianne Shoemaker, an Ohio State University Extension Field Specialist in dairy product economics. “It’s not the way I’d like to see the dairy industry going.”

Shoemaker said the business has changed dramatically in the past 25 years. Profit margins are smaller and smaller, which often requires farms to get even larger to survive. Shoemaker said about 17 percent of the milk produced in the U.S. is exported.

“There’s a lot of milk out there,” she said. “Back in grandfather’s day, the milk prices were local. Now they are global…or they are at least influenced on a global level.”

No doubt, dairy farming is hard work and is considered as one of the most challenging farm operations around. While some dairies are closing, others are persevering. It’s been their way of life and they’re not about to cave just yet.

Don and Kay Bohl, along with their sons Dusty and Ken, raise and milk 230 Jersey cows on their farm which borders Brown and Highland counties in Ohio. They owe it all to Don’s father, Howard, who tended to a cow for his 4H project in 1920. Howard took a liking to the cow and started milking just three Jerseys in 1942. His interest in the cow eventually led to a herd of about 200. Howard and his son, Don, ran the farm together for several years. Dusty and Ken took over operations by the time the time they were old enough to drive a tractor.

To this day the Bohls tend to 200 acres of corn, 120 acres of soybeans and 100 acres of hay.

Ask anyone in this family about their dairy and two words emerge from their mouths: hard work. This rigorous, tedious ritual begins at 4 a.m. when the cows (20 at a time) enter the parlor with its 20 milking machines.

“Dad is the workhorse here as he’s the one up at 4 a.m.,” Dusty admits. “I arrive at the barns a bit later and tend to the heifers and bottle calves. I also manage the crops. Kelly does all the feeding of the animals and the cleaning of their stalls.”

Don is quick to point out that he averages just six hours of sleep each day, and not all at once.

“Of course, we have to milk twice daily, that being 4 a.m. and 4 p.m.,” Don said. “The morning milking may take until about noon most days. I try to make it back to the house for a few hours of sleep before it’s time to do It all over again at 4 p.m. If there are no other emergencies on the farm to tend to I’ll get back to the house about 10 p.m. Three cups of coffee in the morning gets me by. Again, dairy farmers get no holidays off, no snow days, no vacations.”

This dairy for this clan is a ‘family affair’ to say the least.

“The boys grew up on a tractor,” Kay said. “I’ve driven the tractors and worked all the fields. All this is a lot of work and dairies today cannot survive unless they’re a mega-farm. To handle a dairy of our size it takes all family members.”

“In the past we’ve had hired hands on the farm, but good labor is hard to find and it’s difficult to pay for with the small milk prices,” Ken said. “A few years back we did hire some milkers, but you need people who are reliable because this is our bread and butter. These hired workers need to know what they’re doing. If they were to accidentally harm an animal during the milking process you lose a few thousand dollars. If they screw up, say, a bulk tank that’s several thousand dollars.”

Their herd produces 900 gallons of milk each day. About 6,000 pounds of milk each week is delivered to Urban Steak Cheese in Cincinnati.

“My dad always taught me that if you work hard you’re gonna make a buck, but nowadays you work from 4 a.m. to midnight like we do and we still might not make a buck,” Ken said. “These days you need to know how to market things, balance things and manage things because one hiccup in this business can cost you a lot of money.”

Outsiders, they say, think they’ve got the best of both worlds with a dairy operation and crops in the ground.

“The only cash crop that we really have is soybeans as all our corn goes into the feed for the cows,” Dusty said. “While we grow some hay, for the past 30 years we’ve purchased lactating cow hay out of Nebraska for quality issues. In Ohio you cannot raise good quality alfalfa hay.”

Dusty calls Jerseys curious, obnoxious, friendly and at times troublesome. Last January, one cow chewed a hole in a water line, forcing the family into a work frenzy.

“There was ice everywhere,” Kelly said.

Their herd is kept warn in a barn that includes bedding of shredded rubber with straw on top. The feeding of the large herd is almost a science, with a mineral pack of vitamins, ground corn, ground distillers’ grain, hay and bean meal.

“The better the nutrition the better they will milk but the more it will cost,” Dusty said. “We have to juggle this process. We have to know how to buy this product, what to feed and how to balance it all.”

And there are many other dairy farms still plugging away and most all of them plan on passing their dairy to the next generation.

At the dairy farm of Andy and Itske Miedema in Pickaway County the couple tends to 1,300 Holstein cows.

“When we started more than 25 years ago, we had 120 cows,” Andy said. “Today, our farm has grown to 1,300 head of dairy cattle. And that’s not easy at times. Being a dairy farmer means that you have to milk, feed and take care of them seven days a week, 24 hours a day. Growing up on the farm connects you daily to farm interests and this is a huge privilege. To deliver a calf and help it grow into a good milk-producing cow is an invaluable learning experience.

“A dairy farmer needs to be knowledgeable in a lot of fields. Knowledge of cow health is number one, but a dairy farmer also needs to have knowledge of software, mechanical and electrical issues, and financial management to be successful. You also need to be willing to do a lot of manual labor to complete the jobs that others would refuse to do.”

The Miedemas say their farm is based on recycling. Corn is grown on their neighbors’ farms and liquid manure from their cows is irrigated over the neighbors’ growing crops as a fertilizer. The solids are used for bedding and for fertilizing the non-irrigated areas. The Miedemas are now capturing and flaming off the methane gas created by the fresh manure in their lagoons, with the goal of converting it to an energy course for their farm in the future.

On the other end of the spectrum are many smaller dairy farms that dot the state, like the fourth-generation dairy farm of John and Bonnie Ayars of Champaign County. They started Land of Living Farm in 1972 and together with their son, Lucas, they care for 75 Guernsey and Brown Swiss Cows and 1,000 acres of cropland. In addition to providing excellent care for their cows, they also make ice cream on-farm to sell in local grocery stories, offer farm tours and host community gatherings.

The Ayars like to remind the public that care of their animals is a top priority.

“As the winters approach, our routine changes,” John said. “The wet, chilly air makes it harder to keep cows clean and dry, so we have to use more bedding in the barns. If there is snow in the driveways and feed bunks, we have to clear it out. And, sand or salt needs to be spread over the ice so the cows won’t slip when they walk. It’s challenging to keep water from freezing and we often have to thaw it to make sure the cows have a ready supply. We also have to remember to check that milk we’re feeding to calves is warm enough because it cools off more quickly. We also make sure there is cross-ventilation in the barns to keep air moving.”

The couple realizes that dairy farming has its challenges and issues, but they wouldn’t trade it for any occupation around.

“Each family has as set of traditions,” Bonnie said. “Our tradition is dairy farming. And, it’s not just a tradition, it’s our heritage and way of life. Dairy farming is more than an occupation, it’s a feeling that you’re attached to the land, the people in your family and the cows and their families. We’re all connected. We’ve always been proud when someone has stopped us somewhere and said, ‘what do you do for a living’.” And we tell them, ‘We’re a dairy farmer.’”

Smaller dairy farms are thriving as well. Ack-Lee Holstein farm, located in Logan County, is home to 120 registered Holstein cows and 3,000 acres of crops which are cared for by Jay Ackley, a fourth generation dairy farmer and his wife Kristy and family.

“I started farming in 1988 with my father on our fourth generation farm,” Jay said. “We started with 50 cows and between 800 and 900 acres. Now we care for about 110 cows and farm 2,800 acres, including hay, wheat, corn and soybeans.”

“You have to wear a lot of different hats as a dairy farmer,” Kristy said. “You have to be knowledgeable of veterinary care and keep up with breeding practices. You have to understand nutrition and time management. Most importantly, you have to be a caretaker.”