As June Dairy Month winds down, we travel again to dairy country in northwest Indiana, this time on the shores of beautiful Cedar Lake.
The Kleine Dairy Farm was established in 1917 by Herb Kleine’s father. It is now a fourth generation family farm. Herb, his son Dave, his grandson Greg, and his granddaughter Janny are involved in the daily operations of caring for the cows and running a dairy farm. Dave’s wife, Nancy, is a fifth grade teacher.
The Kleines milk 110 Holstein dairy cows and a couple Brown Swiss (Janny says the Brown Swiss are her favorite). Brown Swiss are a breed from the Alps in Switzerland. They are brown in color and known for being large cows with large ears and docile temperaments.
The Kleines run a conventional operation for the most part and the cows get to go out on pasture during part of the year. Janny Kleine is the Lake County 4-H Dairy Co-superintendent. The Kleines give about eight kids who are not from a farm background the chance to show dairy cattle in 4-H.
The family farms around 900 acres of corn, beans, wheat, and hay. Janny also grows pumpkins and sells them at the farm in the fall. Janny said the family lives in an urban area so having a positive image of the farm is extremely important to them.
