Brent Sinkula has been operating the Irish Acres dairy farm for 12 years. Before that, it was his father’s farm, and his home.
“Since I was 5 years old, I was out there feeding calves and helping out,” Sinkula said.
As president of the Manitowoc County Farm Bureau, Sinkula understands the challenges Wisconsin dairies are facing. The changing dairy market has made it more difficult for small and mid-sized farms to continue.
Small dairy farms with fewer than 200 cows can survive, Sinkula said, because a single family can run them without the expense of hiring outside labor. And large farms, those with more than 1,000 cows, can afford to hire help because their size means more profit.
At around 400 milking cows, Irish Acres falls somewhere in between.
“That middle seems to be kind of falling out,” Sinkula said, “and that’s kind of where I am.”
Without plans to expand the dairy, Sinkula…
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