Biosolids and Business: How to prepare for a successful transition
“Success occurs when opportunity meets preparation.”
Zig Ziglar said it. Jeremy Natzke lives by it.
In this week’s Uplevel Dairy Podcast, I visited with this dairyman about finding success with two major transitions at Wayside Dairy in Greenleaf, Wisconsin:
Switching from sand bedding to dried manure solids
Bringing in a non-family partner to the business
Whether it’s biosolids or business, as you will hear from Jeremy, the tireless pursuit of success is fueled by preparedness, as well as an openness to step into opportunities when they present themselves.
Switching from sand bedding to dried manure solids
Take the bedding change, for example. Last year, Wayside Dairy implemented an entirely new bedding system to their 2,100-cow dairy, when they said farewell to the sand they had handled for years and introduced dried manure solids into the stalls. It wasn’t an overnight change. Jeremy explains that they did this in phases, learning along the way.
“We did it one group at a time, where we would take out the sand and then start filling the beds with the solids,” he says. “It took about a two-month process to do that, and we could adjust every for every pen.”
Each group change was an opportunity to learn. Here are three things Jeremy learned:
1. Leaving a sand stall base.
Jeremy says one of the challenges he came across was determining how much sand to pull out before putting dried solids in. He found that leaving a solid base of sand, deep enough that it would not get mixed in with the solids provided a good foundation for the stall, saved some labor in digging it out and also helped to balance the amount of solids he had available at that time as the drier was starting up.
2. Solids don’t flow like sand.
“As we got to scraping the material we found out that it doesn't quite flow like sand does,” Jeremy says. “We actually had to do some adding of water to make it flow through the manure channel. Otherwise the grates that we scraped the manure through would get pushed up a little bit because there was so much dry product going in.
3. Leveling solids in stalls.
“One thing we learned early on is that we need to level. We had a straight pipe leveler that we used for sand, and that didn't have a lot of down pressure on it and so we figured out early on that we needed to purchase a leveler.”
A local equipment manufacturer, Fritsch Equipment Corp., was able to provide the solution.
“It's like a mechanical leveler. It's almost like a facer that goes into the bedding, and it really smooths it out, kind of fluffs it up a little bit.”
This creates a nice, level bed that cows want to lay down on, and Jeremy has noticed the difference in stall use since bringing this attachment into their stall maintenance protocol.
Now, a year into it, the cows and team at Wayside Dairy have adjusted well and they are finding successes to celebrate along the way, like getting closer to their milk quality goals.
Successful implementation of this bedding change required: Time. Patience. Agility. Communication. Planning. Preparation. Really, any change requires these attributes. The same can be said for the other major transition at Wayside Dairy: Bringing in a non-family business partner.
Bringing in a non-family business partner
2022 marked another major change at Wayside Dairy, and one that opened up an opportunity for short-term, long-term and generational success.
Formerly, the partnership included Jeremy, his sister Jenna Nonemacher, father Dan Natzke and uncle Paul Natzke. Paul desired to retire from the farm, which meant the ownership and management team would need to find a replacement for Paul’s expertise on the cropping and operations side.
It just so happened the perfect fit for skill set, experience and values was already pulling in their yard regularly: Jesse Dvorachek. The two men had known each other since their t-ball days. Jesse had gone on to build a successful custom manure application business, yet always had interest in farming himself.
Some may say the preparation for the partnership was a lifetime in the making. But perhaps the greatest preparation on the part of Jeremy and the other partners was this: An open mindset. The belief that success can be achieved and enjoyed by multiple parties, and amplified when strengths and skill sets are leveraged. With this preparation in place, they could act on the opportunity quickly. Getting the paperwork and plans drafted up with Twohig Rietbrock Schneider Halbach S.C. was an easy next step toward success.
“Success looks to me a team that works really well with each other, that respects each other, that is all working toward a goal and all working towards the farm’s success,” Jeremy says.
And that success means preparing this business now to be a profitable, viable and sustainable option for Jeremy, Jesse and Jenna’s young children to someday pursue as their own career, if they so choose.
“Success occurs when opportunity meets preparation.” And Jeremy and the partners at Wayside Dairy are working each day to be prepared when opportunities for shared success arise.
Sponsored by: Adisseo
