In recent years, “local” has become a popular buzzword in food production and marketing. But for Holland, Minnesota, farmer Matt Brinkmeyer, building partnerships with neighbors and other local farmers is nothing new.
Brinkmeyer Farms is a diversified crop and cattle operation near Holland, Minnesota. The Brinkmeyers have a cow calf operation of 240 mature cows that begin calving in May, as well as 45 first calf heifers that will begin calving in April. They also feed about 1,400 head of cattle in a feedlot with four locations.
They typically purchase feeder cattle at 500 to 750 pounds and feed them out to 1,500 pounds. All of the feeder cattle are purchased from about a 25 mile radius of the feedlot, from neighbors, area farmers or the Pipestone Livestock Auction Market.
Sourcing all the cattle locally was “just how my dad, uncle and grandfather did business,” and has turned into a series of strong partnerships and business relationships.
“We know where all our cattle come from, how they were raised and their genetic backgrounds. We know that they will all perform well,” he said. “Even though we take 100 percent ownership of all the cattle, we still have guys who will come through the feedlot to see how their calves are performing. We welcome that and work together to improve herds even more.”
Brinkmeyer Farms was established when Matt’s grandfather, Walter, began milking cows on the family farm in 1945, and his father Harold and uncle Alvin joined the operation in 1968. Matt joined the family farm in 1999. Matt and his wife Kelly have two children: Tate(8) and Aleryn (5), and run the farm in partnership with his parents Harold and Margaret.
As with all family farms, Brinkmeyer Farms has evolved over the years, most significantly when they stopped milking cows in 2004 to focus on their beef operations. The started with a 100 head beef cow herd in 1999, which grew as they had the opportunity to rent additional pasture and also started feeding cattle.
“Our milking parlor was showing its age and we weren’t willing to make an investment in building a new one,” said Matt.
Instead, they made some adjustments to their existing freestall barn so it could be used to feed beef cattle. They took out some of the free stalls, took out the automatic feeders so that a feed wagon could drive through to the bunks, made some changes for better airflow and poured concrete outside for cattle to go into the adjoining lots. They also added more outside lots.
The decision to stop milking was not an easy one, but once decided, the transition went smoothly and has been positive for the farm and families.
“Milking cows is what started this farm and what built it into a success over the years,” said Matt. “But after being away from it for a while, it would be hard to go back to the long hours involved. It really was a life-changer for us and allowed more time to focus on a growing grain and feedlot operation.”
Brinkmeyer Farms raises corn and soybeans on rotation, with the exception of a few farms of corn on corn. They raise alfalfa hay for their cattle and to sell during the winter months, and have a few acres of small grains.
Looking ahead, Matt doesn’t see significant changes for Brinkmeyer Farms, but continuing to make improvement in management practices and adopt new technologies that will make them more productive and efficient.
