For Bryanna Handel, the rhythm of a dairy farm isn’t just a career path — it’s a love language. It is a language she began learning at age 13, feeding calves and helping her grandparent’s milk on their 350-cow Wisconsin dairy. While many teenagers were focused on sports or social lives, Handel was captivated by the family connection found in the barn.
“It was just great because my grandma and grandpa were there, and then their boys were there,” she recalls. “It’s something that’s not that common anymore. You don’t have those connections to your family anymore ... but my grandma and grandpa would always give us $5 to clean calf pens to try and get the kids encouraged to come over and just do some work. It’s that value of hard work and just learning from the older generation that I loved.”
That early spark ignited a fire. By age 16, Handel began buying her own cows, housing them at her grandparents’ farm as she built her future herd. Her choice of breed was a matter of simple economics.
“The reason we got into Jerseys was because, when I was 16, they were cheap at the time,” she says. “However, we credit a lot of our success because of this breed which aids us in getting $6 to $8 more per hundredweight, which really saved us when milk prices were low.”
The Glorified Path to Ownership
Handel’s journey to becoming a first-generation dairy farmer was paved with education and sweat equity. She attended the UW-Madison Farm Short Course, earning a dairy herd management certificate, and spent years working on multiple farms. She jokes her roles in milking and herd health were essentially a glorified title for a herdsman, but the experience was invaluable. She later worked as a relief milk tester for AgSource DHI, keeping her finger on the pulse of the industry.
The turning point came in 2014. Newly married to her husband, Dylan, a neighbor approached them with an opportunity.
“A neighbor had said, ‘I heard you wanted to be a dairy farmer ... my barn is available to rent,’” she says.
In September of that year, they moved 16 cows to a facility near Verona, Wis., and B. Kurt Dairy was officially born.
The timing, however, was a trial by fire.
“We had started in September, and then I think the crash happened in November,” Handel says, referring to the 2014 milk price collapse. “We had really only received one good milk check.”
Build a Life, Not Just a Farm
Despite the market volatility, the Handels were determined. They grew the herd to 32 cows in the rented barn, all while knowing they needed a forever home. In 2016, they took a leap of faith and purchased a 53-acre farm near Barneveld. Over the years, they expanded to 103 owned acres, rented another 60 and painstakingly brought the property back to life with new sheds and infrastructure.
But for the Handels, the farm was never just about the acreage; it was about the family. By 2018, they had three children under the age of three, and Dylan was working off the farm in fencing to make ends meet.
“Although, he really felt like he was missing their lives,” Handel explains. “The reason you farm is because you want to be with your family, you want to enjoy them. He was going to work at 5:30 in the morning and he wasn’t getting home until 6 p.m. or 7 p.m. at night.”
To bring Dylan back to the family operation, the business pivoted toward diversification, processing their milk into signature white cheddar for direct-to-consumer sales. After five years of building a reputation through craft fairs, farmers markets and persistent cold calls, they reached a major milestone in year six: the opening of the B. Kurt Dairy & Co. storefront.
“The idea was to not allow those excuses anymore,” Handel says of the store. “You say you want to shop locally, well, here is a place that you can support 35 local farmers.”
The strategy worked. In 2020, Dylan was able to quit his off-farm job to farm full time with his wife and their five children.
Raising the Next Generation
Today, the five Handel children — ranging from age 3 to 10 — are the heart of the operation. They are homeschooled, allowing them the flexibility to be part of the daily chores.
“The kids learned to be in the barn at a very young age,” Handel says. “They live that great life of riding their bikes up and down the barn alley. All the kids have farm expectations and it’s good to be able to teach them that work ethic at a young age.”
This commitment to education extends beyond their own family. The Handels host an annual on-farm farmers market and a farm camp for local children to bridge the growing disconnect in agriculture.
“It’s unfortunate to see less and less people understand agriculture,” she notes. “I want people to gain connection to farmers.”
Navigating the Hardships
The story of B. Kurt Dairy is one of grit, especially in the face of black and white tragedy. Two years ago, the farm was hit by stray voltage from a nearby substation. The impact was devastating, resulting in lost milk production and cattle health issues.
“In the winter, when the cows have to go back in the barn, we lose 7 lb. to 8 lb. of milk per cow,” Handel shares.
This challenge has forced the Handels to look for a new farm, a prospect that is both daunting and necessary. Yet, their resolve remains unshaken. As first-generation farmers, they credit their survival to living in the rains — staying frugal and mindful of the checkbook.
“People never see the long hours, sleepless nights, dragging the kids to marketing meetings and markets in between chores to try to launch our brand of cheese, or build any other business we have created,” Handel shares.
Resilience Through Connection
As they look toward relocating and potentially expanding to 110 cows, Handel reflects on the lessons she learned from her grandparents about the strength found in shared struggle.
“I see the connection they had in a marriage because of the hardships that they’ve gone through, and it made them obviously stronger,” she says. “We experienced stray voltage two years ago and the connection between me and my husband is obviously a lot stronger because this is something we have overcome and are continuing to overcome. We are continuing to choose the dairy industry, no matter what the uncertainties of it.”
For the Handels, the goal isn’t just to survive, but to build a launching pad for their children. Whether their kids choose to farm or not, they will carry with them the core values of B. Kurt Dairy: that through hardship, family bonds grow stronger and that a dream started at 13 can indeed change the world — one gallon of milk and one block of cheese at a time.
