Our June Dairy Month farm stop continues with a visit to Glendale Farms in the Town of Matteson, outside of Clintonville.
Cody Kluth spent his years growing up on the farm and says originally he wasn’t going to pursue farming, but while working he grew to appreciate the lifestyle.
“I wasn’t initially going to farm,” Cody said. “I was actually going to pursue other things, but working on the farm to pay for those, I realized this is what I want to do and I kind of fell in love with it. It’s been about three years now. I’ve always loved the animals, the cows and the young stock have been my favorite thing.”
Glendale Farms has become known throughout the area for their delicious berries during picking season, but they also have a successful dairy operation.
“I think we’re milking 260,” said Cody about their dairy operation. “Altogether, we’re probably approaching about 500 total with livestock. [Fields of] alfalfa, corn silage. We do soybeans, wheat and obviously strawberries. We just recently expanded and moved the dry cows and added another 80 milk cows this last year.”
During strawberry season, it puts extra work on the Kluth family. Cody explains that during this busy time of year it’s important to strike a balance between their dairy work with the many people who visit hoping to pick some strawberries.
“Our focus generally turns to the strawberries. I still try to make sure the cows are doing well and keep on top of things over there.”
The added pressures are part of what makes Cody Kluth appreciate being able to farm.
“That’s the nice thing about farming is there’s times of the year you can work at your own pace and then there’s times during berries, harvest season where you have push it and get everything done.”