Cheap land prices and a better climate enticed Mike Nelson to move his family from Minnesota to Missouri in April 2007. Of the weather, Mike said, “It’s too cold up there. You get the freezing winter.” On land prices, he said, “There’s not as much competition for land. Up there if there was 100 acres for rent, you’d have 50 people after it, jacking everything up.” Mike said prices could go as high as $200 an acre to rent. Recently he learned from a family member that land in Minnesota was selling “for $6,400 an acre.”
Mike said in Minnesota “you get good yields, more consistent.” He added, “I’ve had good corn this year down here, just as good as up there, but we had a good year.”
Mike runs a dairy operation on his 150-acre farm in Wright County near Grovespring, Mo. He also rents another 500 acres. He milks around 60 head of registered Jerseys and Holsteins, and a few Shorthorns. Mike grew up around Holstein cattle. The Jerseys began as a 4-H project for his son, Steven.
Mike and Vicki Nelson have three children: 12-year-old Steven, seven-year-old Summer, and one-year-old Spencer. Steven and Summer showed cattle this past summer at Mountain Grove, Grovespring, Marshfield and Sedalia, Mo.
Mike said his only help on the farm is Steven, who helps with the milking. “He’s actually good help. He helps a lot when I’m out in the field.”
Farming in Missouri is different than Minnesota. “There is more grazing. There are more grass-based dairies down here. There are no confinement dairies here. The cows are outside all the time. Up there (Minnesota) they had big, free-style barns because of the cold winters. Here they can take being outside all the time.” Another difference is that in Minnesota “there are 200 to 1,000 cow dairies. Here, there are still a lot of 50 to 100 cow dairies in operation.”
Mike has been planting winter rye. He said, “I think rye is a little better for dairy cows. Some people use it for grazing, but I’ll make hay out of it.”
When it comes to hay, Mike prefers to feed “alfalfa or alfalfa-grass mix. I have some grassier hay to sell, but I want some better hay for the milk cows.” He buys about three semi loads of alfalfa from Kansas.
The one thing Mike hopes to improve about his dairy is “better milk production.” He is still making adjustments.
The best piece of advice he has received as a farmer could apply to many occupations. “Don’t get too big too quick. You’ve got to spend money to make money and borrow money to meet certain cash flows. But I see too many people that have spent too much too quick and end up losing everything.”
Mike’s operation is steadily growing. He keeps all his calves. “Bull calves aren’t worth anything. On the other farm, we’re going to have all kinds of grass, so we’re going to have 50 to 60 head of steers there next year and sell in the fall. I used to always sell my bull calves, but in the last year I’ve been keeping them.”
In Missouri, each season has different weather and presents challenges for a dairyman. Mike Nelson’s favorite season is “spring. Everything is starting to green up.” He likes “seeing the green grass, putting crops in, and seeing what you’re going to accomplish the rest of the year.”
