An Organic Dairy Farm

Kimvale Farm: Owned by Steve Kimball
Employees: 4 full time plus Family
Cows: 250 milking, 30 dry, 280 young stock
Land: Own approx 900 acres, 600 crops, 300 forest, swamps etc.
Crops: 750+ acres hay & pasture, 200 acres corn silage

Throughout our history the Kimballs have been early adapters of innovations in dairy farming. In 1964 we installed one of the first milking parlors in the area and continue to look for ways to make our farm profitable and a good place in which to work and live.

One of the many recent changes for our farm is our new manure composting system. For many years we have spread the manure daily. We chose not to go with manure silos and lagoons because of the odor and safety problems. We have experienced problems with manure leaking and accidental spillage of manure on the roads which understandably disturbs the residents of the neighborhoods that have grown up around the farm. Daily spreading also uses a great deal of fuel and man hours. Our new manure separator and composting system should address these concerns. This system is new for our area.

At Kimvale Farm we are also making some changes in our breeding program. For many years we bred registered Holsteins. Recently with the emphasis on components in milk we have started cross breeding our Holsteins to Lineback, Jerseys, Danish Red, and milking Shorthorn. We will have some Lineback and Jersey cows milking this year.

All these changes along with the switch to organic farming are proving to be a very interesting (and expensive) experience.