Twenty-five years ago, former high school teachers Joe and Christy Tomandl started dairying on a shoestring near Medford, Wisconsin. “We started with 40 cows and 80 acres,” Joe Tomandl says. “From day one, we practiced managed grazing of the dairy herd. We were attracted to the economic and environmental benefits of grass-based dairying. One important consideration was that we didn’t have to invest in a lot of equipment.”
But the Tomandls invested plenty of energy and creativity in making their dairy the most efficient it could be, gradually building the main farm to encompass 320 acres of managed pasture and 150 cows.
Seeing a need for beginning dairy farmers to receive education in managed grazing, the Tomandls helped launch in 2010 the national Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship (DGA), a program that now matches beginning dairy farmers with mentors in 15 states. Tomandl serves as executive director.
Always having an eye on …