The Wood County executive committee announced the 2018 Wisconsin Farm Technology Days will be hosted by two neighboring farms right on the west side of Marshfield. The Heiman family and the Sternweis family farms are multi-generational operations with a strong desire to let people know there is a future for the family farm. Daryl and Brenda Sternweis have just expanded their operation from the milking-parlor setup that Daryl grew-up with to a new freestall barn with six BouMatic robotic milkers. Daryl says labor was a big part of the decision to make the move, they can milk up to 360 cows with little outside help. Brenda says they wanted to have a little more family time and to make dairying more enjoyable for the kids. The family has 7 children with the older ones already involved in the farm. The site is prepped to double in size should the next generation decide to expand. The family talks about the farm.
The Heiman family is quite diverse: from Nasonville Dairy cheese plant, to Weber’s Farm which bottles and sells fluid milk around the area to a new 500-cow dairy farm featuring a 40-cow rotary parlor. Plans are to expand that farm to 1,000 cows in the near future. Ken and JoEllen say they want to host the show to not only put Wood County agriculture on display but to show how diverse Wisconsin family farms can really be. “We want to make sure the consumer realizes that family farms come in all sizes.” Ken and JoEllen talk about the family’s diverse operations.
Not only are these two families neighbors, they are about to become in-laws. Heather Sternweis and Josh Heiman will be married next September. Both are heavily involved in their farms. The two are proud of their family heritage and are eager to carry that tradition on. Heather says they want to educate younger people about the opportunities and importance of agriculture. Josh says they look forward to showing visitors the different types of technologies at work on today’s farm. While they joke that it is going to be a “mixed marriage”- robots versus rotary: both hope that more family members get involved in the operations. “Family is important.”The 2018 Wisconsin Farm Technology Days will be July 10, 11 and 12.
More about the families:
Daryl & Brenda Sternweis Family
Daryl & Brenda
Heather, Justin, Aaron, Brittney, Autumn, Brooke, Jonathon
The Sternweis Farm is a fifth generation family operation first established in 1879. Always on the cutting edge of technology, the first freestall barn and milking parlor was built here in 1965 for a herd of 70 dairy cows, and we are continuing this cutting edge trend with our new 360 cow robotic dairy facility. The farm operates 1200 acres consisting of corn, soybeans, and alfalfa, and also does custom field work.
Our goals for the future are geared first toward family – to raise our children with the hard work and values we were raised with, and also to inspire future generations to be involved with and excited about continuing the family farm.
We feel it is important for us to host Farm Technology Days to educate and promote agriculture, especially in upcoming generations who possibly don’t realize the process it takes for food to get from the farm to the consumer’s table. This event is a great boost for our community and surrounding area. We are definitely excited to have this opportunity.
The Heiman Family
Ken & JoEllen
Ryan, Josh
Kim & Cheryl
Trevor
Kelvin & Marilyn
Kal, Andy, Adam
Our agricultural history is twofold. Our history started in the cheese business with Nasonville Dairy and moved into farming in 1995, with the purchase of the Weber’s Farm Store from JoEllen’s Weber Heimans’ family. While our cheese plant dates back to 1885, our farm side has been in JoEllen’s family since it was first purchased in 1904, by JoEllen’s great grandparents.
Our farming side has been in the family for over 100 years, and has been bottling milk for over 60 years, along with the sale of meat and cheese products. We continue to create new products for the consumer. Recently, we introduced a new advent of flavored Kefir (drinkable yogurt) and Crema currently all on the way. We see even more products that we will soon be marketing. Nasonville Dairy, our cheese plant, has always been our family’s back bone. It has allowed us to grow in the milk industry and to market and utilize not only our own milk but that of 220 additional Wisconsin dairy farms in the area.
Heiman Holsteins is now the beginning of the next generation in farming for the Heiman Family with the installation of a 40-cow rotary parlor and exhibition area for viewing the operation. While we see more changes for the future, it is so very true that Agriculture never stops changing. We must create new products and improve on the existing ones so that consumers will always look to us for the best quality food for their family!
