Governor Evers tours Stoddard family organic dairy farm for June Dairy Month
STODDARD, Wis. (WKBT) – We celebrate June Dairy Month to give recognition to hard-working farmers in our area, and the state’s top official is showing his appreciation at an organic dairy farm in Vernon County.
Governor Tony Evers visited Hamburg Hills Farm in Stoddard Wednesday for a tour of the facility.
He says he stopped by the farm a few years ago, and he came back mainly for the values this family-owned farm has.
If you ever stop by the Hamburg Hills Farm, you’ll notice the Servais Family does not have an off-season.
“We milk roughly 300 dairy cattle here,” organic dairy farmer Zach Servais said.
Servais says he’s been on the farm for as long as he can remember.
“I mean I don’t know what else I could do if I couldn’t farm,” Servais said. “I mean I love being outside, I love being around the animals.”
Like for most farmers, the pandemic didn’t come without its challenges for the Servais family.
“The supply line issues are definitely a headache,” Servais said.
But their line of work was never shut down.
“Nobody had anything better to do, so everybody came to work,” Servais said. “Nobody asked off.”
The farm’s products continue going strong.
“We sell all of our milk to Organic Valley,” Servais said. “We don’t have to worry too much on that part.”
Wisconsin’s governor is showing his appreciation for the Servais family farm with a tour of the place.
“It’s an extraordinary farm family,” Evers said.
And he’s not shying away from recognizing the other farmers out there.
“Their efforts around this pandemic have been heroic,” Evers said.
Even if that meant that many of them are losing money. According to the USDA, net farm income is expected to drop nearly $10 billion this year.
But Evers thinks the farming industry is going to eventually rebound with the economy reopening.
“As a result of our efforts, we have bounced back pretty darn well,” Evers said. “And so I feel confident that that will play out also in the agricultural world.”
And as the world gets back to where it once was, the work on the Servais family farm never ends.
“We’re incredibly proud of this place,” Servais said.
Zach says the end of one of the barns on the farm suffered a small fire in November last year, but all of the animals ended up doing OK. The family is hoping to rebuild that portion of the barn by July.
State Senator Brad Pfaff also toured the Servais family farm along with the governor.
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