Pollack-Vu Dairy, LLC
Chris Pollack on his dairy farm.
Image Credit: Country Visions Cooperative
Farm Story
Chris, his wife, Kelly and parents, Larry and Deb, are the owners of Pollack-Vu Dairy, LLC located near Ripon, Wisconsin. He said, “having family that has many years of experiences to get input from and use as a sounding board for your ideas is a valuable asset to a young farmer.” Being able to improve on what they have done in the past to reach new goals is something he appreciates and finds to be a fun part of his job.
What makes the Pollack’s operation unique? Variety. They are a dairy farm, but also raise beef cattle, grow peas as a canning crop, grow additional crops and do custom work. “We are not very big, but we are diversified,” Chris said, “which gives us the opportunity to weather the storm through the lows in the different markets and take advantage of the highs. Farming is what Chris grew up in and he is very passionate about it. Growing up around animals and cropping really had an influence on him. “I just enjoy seeing things grow and the progression that we have made as an industry,” Chris stated. “While it is challenging right now for farmers, it still doesn’t take away from the feeling of accomplishment and fulfillment of finishing things and seeing the result of your work.”
“We farm,” Chris answered with a laugh when asked about his hobbies. Actually, most of his leisure time is spent enjoying the moments of parenthood. Chris and Kelly have three kids; Heidi, Max, and Dane and another baby is on the way, due July 2021. He loves seeing their enthusiasm around the animals on the farm. They are currently obsessed with cats, but Chris expects that is only the beginning of how growing up on a farm will fuel their passions.
Steps Towards Conservation
Chris attended some field days hosted by Green Lake Association, and Green Lake County Farm Bureau. After the first one he says, “a light went off that maybe there was an opportunity to do some things differently, a little more conservation minded.” The following year, Chris hosted a conservation field day on his beef farm, which is adjacent to his contour strips. “We talked about some of the things we were trying to do from a soil health perspective.”
Chris had also done some no-till acreage and written his own nutrient management plan prior to his involvement in the demo network. Chris’ passion for farming, drive, and community leadership made him an obvious candidate to serve as a farmer leader through the Upper Fox Wolf Demonstration Farms Network. He joined the Network in 2019, and his conservation practices have continued to grow since then.
Chris has now inter-seeded a cover crop into V4 stage corn, incorporated some minimum disturbance manure application, used many cover crops, and expanded his no-till acreage. His future goals include incorporating more and varying cover crops, planting green into cereal rye, side dressing nitrogen to protect it from leaching off the field, and incorporating cattle to graze the cover crops.
Benefits of Conservation Practices
In Chris’ no-till fields that have been no-till for 7-8 years, he’s seen improved soil structure, which has led to more earthworms and his soil staying put. He’s also noticed better water-holding capacity, and better crop establishment.
Advice for Others
Chris encourages others to give conservation agriculture a try. He recommends starting small and learning as you go. Chris has used is a couple of smaller fields to test his practices, “they’re for trying different things, different crops, or whatever I happen to stumble across that I might want to try.” Using fields like this allows you to learn and see what works in your operation because as Chris says, “there can be challenges with things you might try…but some of its just working the bugs out to see what works.”
Additional Involvement
Chris is currently the Vice President of the Fond du Lac County Farm Bureau, is a member of the Fond du Lac County Forage Council, and is part of the Governor’s Task Force on Climate Change. In 2015, Chris was selected to participate in a program with the American Farm Bureau. Being selected for the program was an honor for Chris, but it also meant a large time commitment away from the farm and his family. Things were pretty busy at home during the same time; Chris and Kelly got married, and they welcomed their first child, and remodeled the house. He figures he was gone for about 30 days over the course of that two-year program. There were exciting journeys and new experiences, but according to Chris, “it’s good to be back at home farming full time.” Chris also hosted a field day for Green Lake Association in 2018, with over 100 attendees including farmers, shoreline homeowners and other community members.
