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Farmers share disaster experiences at dairy conference

Two dairy farmers that have been through an on-farm crisis shared their experiences with other farmers. 

Farmers Jim and Kris Kroeplien of Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin had an airplane crash 40 feet from their milking parlor.  Jim Kroeplien says when an incident happens, document everything. “I carried around a notebook for the next day. We had a person that came in and was taking pictures for us that night right away. Make sure everything is on paper because you’re going to forget things.”

Marty Hallock from Mondovi, Wisconsin dealt with 60 inches of snow collapsing their barn in 2019.  He says don’t forget to write down unusual expenses, including fuel used to keep the parlor from freezing. “If there was abnormal work or an abnormal job, they were to write it down and record it. I went through six skid steer tires in one day. Okay. Nails punctured, whatever, but you’ve got to get it out.”

Both also say their insurance agents were great to work with, but insurance adjusters brought them many problems.  They say farmers should carefully discuss insurance coverages and levels including livestock values when getting the policy.

Kroeplien and Hallock spoke to the Professional Dairy Producers online business conference Wednesday.