Health Leads to Profitability

Using the latest technology has helped this Wisconsin family keep their cows, their soil, and their community healthy.

- By Lisa Foust Prater

When Jeremy Heim's grandparents, Ray and Florence Heim, purchased their farm near Algoma, Wisconsin, just a few miles from Lake Michigan, they were milking 30 cows.

Some 60 years later, three generations farm together at Heim's Hillcrest Dairy: Jeremy; his brothers Rod and Scott; their father, Lloyd; Scott's wife, Carrie; Jeremy's children, Kiley and Ben; and Rod's son, Sam.

They milk 825 cows, farm 1,800 acres, and service 26,000 acres across 17 farms with a custom farming business, Heim Brothers Custom. “People ask, ‘Who’s the company president?’ and we don’t go by that,” Jeremy said. “We consider ourselves all members of the LLC, and there is no president. We make the decisions together.”

Cow Comfort

Kiley Heim focuses on calf care at Heim’s Hillcrest Dairy, and technology plays an important role. “Our calves start out in heating and cooling rooms, depending on the time of the year,” she said. “We just want to dry them off as quickly as possible and keep the environment as clean as possible too.”

The calves use an automatic feeder, which monitors individual intake. “We have a maximum amount set, and they can come out five times a day if they drink smaller amounts at once,” Kiley said. “Or if they drink more, it’s three or four times. The automatic feeder lets them do it all on their own, when they want.”