On dairy farms across the country, the labor challenge no longer stops at hiring. Producers are working to build operations where employees want to stay long term, raise families and create a life in rural communities.
But in some areas, one of the biggest obstacles has become housing. Affordable rentals are scarce and employees willing to work on farms often struggle to find a place to live nearby.
At Brey Cycle Farm in Sturgeon Bay, Wis., employee housing has become part of the long-term business strategy. What started with one farmhouse has grown into a network of homes, apartments and rentals that now house nearly the farm’s entire workforce.
“Providing housing has become a huge part of what we do,” says Moriah Brey, one of the farm’s four owners. “At the end of the day, farming is about people too. If I can help someone build a better life and give their family a safe place to call home, that’s incredibly rewarding for me.”
For the Breys, employee housing has become another part of running the dairy. Alongside managing cows, crops and employees, the family now manages a growing network of homes tied closely to the farm’s workforce.
More Than a Place to Live
Brey and her family milk 1,500 cows, raise their own youngstock and operate a direct-to-consumer beef business. Along the way, they’ve also built an employee housing program that has become a central part of how the farm operates day to day and supports the people behind it.
“We have about 25 employees and we house 23 of them,” Brey explains. “Thirteen of them live with their families, and then 10 live as individual guys.”
To make that work, the farm owns 11 houses and rents another five. That’s 16 homes to manage alongside everything else the dairy requires.
“We joke that we’ve become a property management company,” Brey says with a laugh. “Honestly, we probably do need to hire someone for it. Managing all the houses and properties has become a big part of what we do.”
But behind the joke is a serious reality. Housing has become a big part of how they support and retain their workforce.
Why They Stepped into Housing
Brey Cycle Farm has had employee housing in some form for nearly two decades. But things really took off when the family began using the TN visa program to bring in workers from Mexico.
“As we started using the TN visa program, one of the requirements is that you provide housing,” Brey says. “That really got things going. We’ve always had one house on the farm that an employee has lived in. But as the farm has grown, the housing has grown with it.”
Today, many of their employees came through that program, and most arrived alone at first.
“At first, when people come here through the TN visa program, they’re usually arriving on their own,” Brey explains. “In those first few weeks, they typically live in housing near the farm. Once their families join them, each family moves into their own house.”
Brey emphasizes the housing they provide is designed for privacy and stability, not shared living.
“We make sure the housing fits their situation,” she says. “Everyone has their own room, and when families arrive, we move them into a home of their own, whether that’s a house we own or one we rent.”
In Door County, where the farm sits, tourism drives up demand for rentals, and vacancy rates are low, leaving few affordable options close to work.
“Up here, it can be really difficult to find a place to stay,” Brey says. “We’re not close to an urban area, and Door County has about a 1.5% apartment vacancy rate. It’s extremely low, so finding housing is a real challenge and it’s part of why this has become so necessary.”
From Farmhouses to New Housing Options
Over time, the Breys have built a patchwork of housing. One recent addition came together in Sturgeon Bay, where they added a four-plex with four apartments and a shared outdoor space that has quickly become a gathering spot for employee families.
“It’s got four two-bedroom apartments in this really cute building with a big backyard where we’re going to put a swing set,” Brey says. “The group of employees who moved there were just so grateful. There are a few places where people naturally hang out, and this has become one of them. It really feels like a little family there.”
At another property, one employee now lives close enough that his children ride the same school bus as the Brey children.
“We moved this gentleman to a mobile home down the road from us,” Brey says. “So now his kids are on the same bus as my kids, and it’s just so cool.”
For the Breys, each home is more than just a property. It’s tied to the people who help run the farm and the relationships they’ve built over time.
Rent, Utilities and Expectations
Housing on the Brey farm is not free, but it comes at a reduced cost. The goal, Brey says, is to keep housing affordable while still asking employees to take care of where they live.
“We do charge rent, but it’s heavily subsidized,” Brey explains. “If you live as a family, you pay a little more. If you live as an individual, you pay a little less. But it’s still well below what a house would normally cost.”
The farm also covers many of the utilities in most homes, including heat, propane and internet. With that setup, expectations around upkeep become part of the day-to-day conversation. Small things like thermostats, trash and general housekeeping can add up quickly if they are not addressed early.
“Just assuming everyone is going to do things the way you would is not how it works,” Brey says. “Sometimes we go into a house and find the heat turned way up or a smoke detector unplugged.”
To stay ahead of those issues, the farm relies on frequent communication and simple reminders shared with employees to reinforce expectations around upkeep and utilities.
“We started putting reminders in their paychecks to keep things top of mind,” she explains.
More recently, the farm has also adjusted how they handle some utility costs, including charging employees for a portion of electricity use tied to each home.
“We started charging for a portion of electricity use because it’s something we can track by house,” she says. “Other utilities are harder to separate out, so we still cover those.”
Even with those adjustments, Brey says the goal is not to police employees, but to create a system that is practical and easy to manage for everyone involved.
“These people are very capable,” Brey says. “It’s really just about making the system simple and workable for everyone.”
Spreadsheets, Clipboards and Managing the Homes
Managing 16 homes has added an entirely new layer to the dairy’s operation. Between utilities, maintenance, repairs and communication with employees, housing now requires regular organization and oversight.
“We have this huge spreadsheet,” Brey says. “Every house is different. One has forced air, another has a boiler and another has electric heat. We’re tracking things like smoke detectors, furnace filters, propane deliveries, utility bills and maintenance schedules. When you’re managing that many houses, there’s just a lot to keep organized and stay on top of.”
Much of the coordination happens through the farm office, where employees can report maintenance issues or ask questions about utilities and housing needs. The farm’s leadership team also meets regularly to review housing concerns and stay ahead of repairs and upkeep.
“We meet at least once a month and go through everything,” Brey says. “We try to make sure something is always moving forward with the houses.”
Twice a year, the farm also does more formal walk throughs of the properties to check things like filters, smoke detectors and general maintenance.
“We try to go through every house a couple times a year and double check everything,” she says. “But honestly, we’re involved all the time because people call us whenever something comes up.”
Even with systems in place, Brey admits housing management is still a work in progress.
“I don’t know how we manage it sometimes, to be honest with you,” Brey laughs. “At some point, we’ll probably need someone dedicated to property management. So far, it’s worked, but we’re still figuring out the best way to organize everything.”
Culture, Not Just Housing
Ask Brey why employee turnover is so low, and she talks about relationships and the culture they have built on the farm.
“Culture is our game,” she says. “We try to be really responsive to what people need. They’re like our friends, truly.”
That mindset shapes everything from housing decisions to the way employees settle into life around the farm. Brey says many employees take pride in making the houses feel like home, whether that means planting a garden or raising chickens in the backyard.
“We call it their house, and they call it their house,” Brey says. “When people can really settle in and make it feel like home, that’s important to us.”
The housing program has also grown alongside the farm’s relationships through the TN visa program. Many employees arrived in the U.S. with agricultural degrees and strong experience working with livestock.
“They all have four-year degrees in an agricultural field,” Brey says. “We have veterinarians by trade working here. They really care about the animals and they care about the farm.”
Over time, many employees have taken on more responsibility throughout the operation, building careers and deeper connections to the dairy along the way. Stories like those are part of why housing feels bigger than just another employee benefit for the Breys.
“A lot of them have stories that most of us could never imagine,” Brey says. “It’s rewarding to know they have a safe place to live and that their families are doing well here.”
Advice for Other Producers
Not every dairy will be able to provide employee housing on this scale. But as labor remains tight and affordable rural housing stays difficult to find, more farms are starting to think differently about what it takes to support and retain employees long term.
Brey says farms considering employee housing need to understand that it takes time, communication and a willingness to stay involved. Her advice centers on three things:
• Go in knowing it will take time and effort. “There’s pros and cons for sure,” Brey says. “It takes a lot of time, but it’s also a rewarding part of what you do. You can’t expect it to be maintenance free.”
• Treat employees like neighbors, not just workers. “The biggest thing is really getting to know people and their families,” she says. “We know the employees, we know their kids and we know what works best for each family. When you take the time to understand people and what they need, it changes the whole relationship.”
• Communicate expectations early and often. “Just assuming everyone is going to do things the way you would is not how it works,” Brey says. “Having conversations, sending reminders and putting expectations in writing is really important.”
For Brey, the housing program ultimately comes back to relationships and creating stability for the people who help keep the dairy running.
“This whole farm was built on relationships,” Brey says. “Relationships with employees, relationships with the community and relationships with the people who help us every day. That’s what makes everything work.”
She says some of the most rewarding moments come from seeing employees and their families truly settle into life around the farm, whether that means children riding the school bus together, families gathering outside after work or employees taking pride in a place that feels like home.
“If we can keep providing people with a safe and secure place to live, that’s probably all I could ever ask for,” she says. “We’re thankful for the people who work here, and they’ve become a really important part of our lives.”
