The soaring costs of labor and the overall lack of availability of labor forced Bocksell Farm to reconsider how they milked their cows. Nestled in the rolling hills of Pepin, Wis., Paul and Angie Bocksell once milked 210 cows three times a day with the help of three full-time employees. That all changed two years ago.
“We were at a stage in our life with young kids that needed attention and we knew if we were going to get it all done, we had to milk three times a day to keep a full staff,” Angie explains.
The Bocksells kept this going, milking three times daily for several years, but it became harder and harder to get the needed labor.
“We eventually decided to switch to 2x, but with the number of cows we were milking, the overcrowding became an issue,” she says.
Making the change from 3x to 2x also meant the barn was only getting cleared out and easing overcrowding twice a day. When labor became even harder to find in October of 2020, the Bocksells decided to cull a little more heavily and the milking herd size dropped to around 170 over time.
“We now have four part-time high school employees’,” she says. “They milk a combined total of 20 hours a week.”
The Bocksells went from having three full-time to four part-time employees and dramatically cut the overall payroll hours down from a combined 120 hours a week to 20 hours a week.
“Sometimes we were paying more than 120 hours a week,” Angie explains.
As the Bocksell’s four children got older, they became more independent to get their homework done after school and could make their way from the house to the barn, and offer a helping hand, too.
Angie shares that when they had full-time employees, her time was occupied with feeding calves and conducting bookwork and other random jobs, plus caring for their young kids.
“I really enjoy being with the cows,” Angie says. “It’s a tradeoff. For several years, I do feel like I missed out on the daily ins and outs of farm work, but I do know my time was needed more in the house caring for our kids.”
Both Paul and Angie have deep roots in dairy. Paul represents the fifth generation of dairy farmers and Angie grew up on her family’s fifth-generation dairy operation in Elk Mound, Wis.
“I couldn’t imagine loving any other occupation or lifestyle more,” Angie says.
The duo met while attending the University of Wisconsin-River Falls and they say the rest is history.
“It is hard to find anyone that wants to stick with a job, especially on the farm,” Angie says.
At ages 39 and 41, the Bosksells’ goal is to make their farm more efficient so they can take care of their cows by themselves, if needed.
“We don’t want to have to do it ourselves, but if we are stuck without additional help, we want to be able to do the work if needed,” Angie says.
When the young Wisconsin couple took over the family farm in 2004, they expanded the dairy herd of 27 cows and increased over time to the herd size they have now. The Bocksells share that the growth wouldn’t have been possible without incorporating some modern technology and nonfamily labor.
The farm transformed with a freestall barn and milking parlor, as well as using larger equipment.
Angie says it financially makes sense for them not to have an expensive payroll, but rather to invest in capital that adds efficiency to their operation.
The Bocksell’s four children: Lukas, 14; Weston, 12; Ava, 10 and Dahlia, 8, all lend a helping hand. Their boys lend a hand daily with random chores, like bedding calves and helping with cleaning and also helping milk cows on Saturday mornings.
Angie shares that they would love to see young people interested in agriculture, and family farms across the country viewed as sustainable businesses.
“We’re working hard to make this a sustainable operation for our children so they can take it into the future,” she says.
