Brickners stairstep profit with National Farmers

     Pulling into the driveway of the Brickner dairy farm, Door County, Wis., visitors enjoy the broad expanse of green yard in front of the towering navy silos and red farm buildings. The clean, welcoming farmstead offers a clue to a well-run operation, one that relies on hard work and continuous improvement for success.
     Larry and Bernie Brickner dairy in partnership with their son, Pete, and his wife, Angela, milking 120 cows. They keep about 100 - 120 head of youngstock.
     Larry and Bernie started marketing their milk through National Farmers Milk Profits Plus in October 1985. "Shortly after, I jumped in with both feet, and became county president."
     Larry has held many leadership positions, and is now treasurer of the Wisconsin state organization, serves on the Wisconsin board and represents Wisconsin National Farmers on the Federation of Co-ops.
     "National Farmers is a great fit for the bulk of the dairy producers in the state of Wisconsin," he said. "There are a lot of 50-300 head herds in Wisconsin. National Farmers allows them the ability to go to market in a unified fashion to market milk and livestock."
     Larry points out the benefits of National Farmers for operations nationally. With MaximumMarketing, it allows us to be represented in the marketplace, as a large volume of milk, rather than going in alone," he says. And that means leveraging a better price from buyers.
     Larry sees the National Farmers benefits extending into the risk management arena, as well. With National Farmers' UltraOptions, producers don't need a 200,000 lb. contract. National Farmers pools the options needs of many producers to fulfill the obligation. "We have done contracts with other farmers to get that 200,000. It allows us to stairstep our contracts." They have guaranteed prices into 2009.
     "It's an insurance policy," Larry says. "We're locking in a cashflow milk price on a percentage of our production."
     First-rate service from their field rep ranks high on their list of reasons to recommend National Farmers, as well. Steve Graczyk helped troubleshoot a problem with milking equipment the manufacturer didn't solve. "Steve came in and took a couple of cracks at it. . . .he adjusted something. Problem solved," Pete says. And that made milking time go much smoother.
     The cull cow program, Cash Cow Plus, has proven to be a great asset to the Brickners. At their marketing center, National Farmers staff sort their culls, which allows them to market to packers with a better price for each grade. "We've come out $200 ahead per cull cow better than going to sale barn," Larry says.
     Pete serves on the Ledgeview, Wis., marketing center board. He explained with Cash Cow Plus, cows are marketed via grade and yield, and producers get paid the cow's true market value.
     When grading questions arise, National Farmers staff contact the packer, and sometimes find a processor owes a producer more money, and the packer corrects the matter. "It's a great opportunity to be protected without leaving the farm," Larry says.