160 years ago, the Natzke family wanted to make a difference in their community. They broke ground on the development of Zion Lutheran Church in Greenleaf, Wisconsin, while at the same time, starting a farming operation that is known today as Wayside Dairy.
It’s that passion for agriculture and faith in God that has helped them become the community staple they are, all these years later. Through hard work and a passion to serve, their continued success is inevitable.
Equipped with four generations of knowledge, Dan Natzke shares the farm with the fifth generation, his children, Jeremy and Jenna. After growing up watching their father have a passion for the trade, they knew they wanted to do this important work as well – working full-time on the farm.
“I personally like the challenge,” Jeremy explained. “No two days are ever the same. You start your day off with an agenda, and it doesn’t always go according to plan, but it turns out a different way and that’s not always a bad thing.”
“It’s something different every day, and that’s what makes it exciting,” Jenna agreed.
A Turning Point
Every farmer knows that life in agriculture is far from simple, and some days are tougher to bare than others. In 2001, when the farm was milking 400 cows every day, they suffered a barn fire depleting most of their facility.
Their cows were moved to an off-site facility for six weeks as they fixed up what they had left. Although a stressful and defeating situation, Dan keeps a positive spin on that fateful day.
“That was one of the worst days, but also one of the best days for us to start over and modernize,” said Dan.
And that’s exactly what they did. Today, the farm milks 2,200 cattle and harvests 3,200 acres of crops including alfalfa, corn for silage and wheat – much of which is used for feed. Nearly 211,000 pounds of milk per day is produced on the farm.
Crunching the Numbers
Between the crops and a full-scale dairy operation, managing the books and making sure the farm’s 35 employees are paid is a full-time job. Jenna works in the office and handles day-to-day accounting and payroll with the help of her GreenStone tax accountant, Eric Vandivier.
GreenStone tax accountant Eric Vandivier helps the farm with payroll and book management.
“They’re fantastic to work with and very down-to-earth people,” said Eric.
Eric handles the farm’s personal and business tax returns, quarterly payroll duties, year-end payroll and monthly accounting. Eric’s favorite part of helping the farm manage their books is getting to see them grow in real time.
“It’s always fun to see where they were at financially 12 months ago and compare that to where they are now,” said Eric. It’s fun to be a small part of a successful farm like this.”
That’s the kind of can-do attitude that Eric likes to deliver to all of his customers.
“Not a lot of people like talking about taxes, but I try to keep it as simple as possible for customers to understand what it all entails. I can help them plan for the future and give them information that helps them make the best business decisions possible.”
The farm doesn’t just lean on GreenStone for help with tax and accounting services, but also loans and crop insurance. Dan enjoys the one-stop-shop convenience that GreenStone offers.
“We’ve worked with GreenStone for more than 20 years, and through the years, GreenStone has been there,” said Dan. “They’ve helped us with loans, building projects, accounting, and crop insurance. It’s a great place to get all of that done at once. They have people handling all of those accounts. It makes it fun doing business with them.”
Another person on team Wayside, their GreenStone financial services officer, Michelle Backhaus. Michelle loves assisting the farm with new projects because she knows the energy she puts into the Natzke family benefits the entire community.
“They are a very community-based farm and family,” said Michelle. “They are very involved with the church. It has been fun to get to know how they give back to the community.”
Going Green
Not only is Wayside Dairy passionate about giving back to the community, but they value giving back to the earth, as well.
Wayside Dairy began a digester project where there are able to collect methane from manure waste on the farm and turn it into natural gas.
Leading the pack on this project is family friend Jesse Dvorachek, who grew up seven miles down the road from the farm. Soon, Jesse will have a share of the farm, after working on manure management for the operation for years.
“I know this family very well,” Jesse explains. “When the fire broke out in 2001, I was a little kid helping wrangle the cows running around.”
Jesse also explained that the farm has moved away from sand as bedding for cattle and is using dried manure solids. This helps prevent truckloads of manure from leaving the farm reducing risk of pollution and saves them tens of thousands of dollars on sand.
“We started producing the solids and we have a separator,” said Jesse. “We’re running the solids through an infrared dryer. We took out the sand and started putting in the dried manure solids. We transitioned all the cattle to this in about seven weeks.”
The farm started using manure solids as bedding for their cattle.
The farm is also hoping to plant cover crops regularly after each harvest season to use as feed and keep the soil fertile and sustainable.
“We know large farms aren’t always well received, but if we can have grain fields that are good for the soils, it’s the right thing environmentally,” said Dan.
The Road Ahead
Between working to make the farm more sustainable and making sure the next generation is inspired to continue the family legacy, the Natzke family is busy planning for the future.
“We hope to get our kids involved,” said Jenna. “They could be our sixth generation. We hope they get excited about things here and eventually want to join.”
From generation to generation, GreenStone will be there to help keep their crops protected, keep their books balanced and help make their ideas a reality.
“They just want to be the best operation they can be,” said Eric.
“I value the relationship we have created together,” said Michelle. “I like to help them be a part of their day-to-day operations and a part of their success. Watching them climb the ladder is the most rewarding for me.”
To view the article in the online 2023 Summer Partners Magazine, click here.
