Photos and article by Sam Gerstgrasser
I’m the second youngest of six kids and I grew up on the same farm I operate today. My childhood was everything you imagine a farm kid’s life to be — freedom, fresh air, long days outside, and endless small adventures. Because I was one of the younger ones, whenever there was a “fun” job that involved driving equipment or doing the more interesting work, an older sibling usually got the job. At the time I didn’t mind; it just made me think that the farm work was being covered and they didn’t really need my help.
Leaving the farm
After high school, I struck out on my own and learned a trade. I started an apprenticeship as a Construction and Maintenance Electrician and ended up staying with the same company for twelve years, including two years in project management and estimating.
Around year ten of that career, my wife Lareina and I had been married for four years and had three young children. I found myself reminiscing more and more about my own childhood — how we learned to work, spent so much time together as a family, and had a steady rhythm to life that revolved around the seasons. I wanted that again, not just for me but most of all for my children. I started looking for a small business to buy, something we could build and run as a family, something that would give our children the same opportunities for character-building that I had as a child.
Back to the home farm
As it turned out, the answer was right in front of me. My dad was ready to retire, and I was ready to learn how to run the farm.
Our farm is a 250-acre dairy operation in Casselman, Ontario. We milk about 35 cows and raise another 35 head of young stock as replacements. Of the total acreage, roughly 200 acres are a mix of hay fields and pasture, with the remainder in forest. My father transitioned the farm to organic production in 2011 and ran it as a low-input, grazing-focused system from that point onward. When we took over the farm in 2017, we continued with that same philosophy and management approach.
I can’t take much credit for the decision to be a dairy farmer — that part of the story belongs to my dad. When he immigrated from Austria in 1992, dairy was what he knew and what he wanted to pursue here. The region he came from was alpine, very grass-based, and rooted in natural, low-input farming. They would put up hay for winter and send the cattle to the high Alps for summer grazing.
Going organic – the logical decision
As a result, when he eventually transitioned to organic, it wasn’t a philosophical leap; it was simply returning to the style of farming he already believed in. He ended up transitioning to organic in 2011 largely because the opportunity came up to join the Organic Meadow co-op, which at the time had a strong demand for organic milk. Initially, we grew corn silage and filled the tower silo, but producing organic corn consistently was always a challenge. Since we had enough land to run an all-forage ration, moving away from corn wasn’t difficult. The farm was already leaning heavily on forage and pasture, so going organic fit naturally.
Our dairy cows
We’ve been breeding our original Holstein cow herd to Fleckvieh bulls for nearly 15 years. By using exclusively Fleckvieh semen, the lactating cows are now predominantly 3rd generation (75%) Fleckkvieh, with many of the heifers being 4th and 5th generation.
We did this for a couple of reasons. First, we wanted a more robust, dual-purpose-type animal with strong grazing genetics — cows that hold their body condition even as pasture quality changes throughout the grazing season. Second, Fleckvieh animals are simply a good fit for organic systems: they’re hardy, fertile, long-lived, and they tend to have fewer metabolic problems than high-production purebred Holsteins.
The Fleckvieh breed itself is very similar to Simmental — in fact, in many regions the two names are interchangeable. The Fleckvieh line from southern Germany, where our genetics comes from, has been selected specifically for balanced milk and meat traits, strong udders, excellent feet and legs, and high lifetime productivity. They’re well known for calving ease, producing healthy calves, and having the kind of structural strength that makes them ideal for grazing-based dairy operations.
We buy semen through a salesperson in Southern Ontario who carries the German “Bayern Genetik” Fleckvieh bloodlines. Their breeding philosophy focuses on longevity, functional conformation, and grazing performance — all things that line up well with how we manage our herd. After taking training on artificial insemination, I have been able to conduct this work myself.
Feeding the cows by caring for the land
We practice rotational grazing, and over the years I’ve pulled ideas from a number of different grazing styles. Each field has its own goals, so I manage them slightly differently depending on what I’m trying to improve — whether that’s species diversity, soil structure, or simply keeping high-quality feed in front of the cows.
Most of our farm is in long-term, multi-species pasture mixes, roughly a 30/70 legume-to-grass ratio. Recently, I’ve started drilling in more forbs and some annuals to add deeper root systems. The roots of these plants do good work while they’re alive, and when they decompose, they leave behind organic matter and channels that help water infiltration. It’s a simple way to build soil health over time.
We soil test every few years and apply lime as needed to keep our pH in a good range. Our barn uses a liquid slurry system, so we spread manure on the hay fields after each cutting. I still have plenty to learn about micronutrients and soil balancing — that’s just part of the ongoing “learn how to farm” journey — but each year we get a little closer.
Housing and milking
We moved out of the old tie-stall and into a new free stall barn in 1998, after the ice storm compromised the original building. That whole summer turned into a construction project, and looking back, it was probably my first real introduction to the trades. The new barn was a big step forward for the farm. It can house roughly 44 lactating cows, 8 dry cows, and about 46 head of young stock.
For milking, we have a flat/step-up parlour and milk eight cows at a time. Morning milking is usually just Lareina and me, but the evenings are a full family effort. We’re now a family with six kids, ages 13 down to 2, and the four older ones each have a designated “barn day.” We rotate helpers throughout the week, and everyone contributes at their own level. They get paid based on their abilities and how helpful they are, so they earn their own spending money and take pride in it. It’s a good way to teach responsibility, and it keeps the barn running smoothly.
Keeping farming simple – and enjoyable
We don’t really take conventional vacations. Two summers ago, I had a summer intern who was very capable, and with the help of my dad gave us the rare chance to break away for a 10-day family road trip in an RV. But most years, we make our “vacations” out of the quiet moments that pop up between chores. If it’s too hot to work, we’ll head to the beach or the water park. If it’s a relative’s birthday, we go for an afternoon of cake and coffee. Like people say, it’s not really work if you enjoy the day-to-day.
We live right beside the Queensway, and on snowy mornings when traffic is crawling, we look out the window with a coffee in hand and don’t miss the rat race for a moment. There’s something grounding about the rhythm of farm life — even when it’s busy.
My dad has also been a huge help. He still plays a big role during haying season, and I can always count on him when I’m in a bind or struggling with something he’s already solved a dozen times. His ‘on-call’ help over the past eight years has been invaluable.
In Ontario, DFO (Dairy Farmers of Ontario) takes care of all the marketing and milk allocation for dairy farms, so we don’t have to worry about finding a buyer. Right now, the organic milk truck from our region goes to Skotidakis for processing at their St. Eugene (Ontario) facility. They have a contract with a major retailer and do the co-packing for their organic dairy line.
On the farm, we do a small amount of personal processing. If we’re over quota, we make our own butter, and we know an on-farm cheese maker who does small batches for our family from time to time. I also dabble a bit in the kitchen myself — mostly Brie and Camembert — with mixed success. Every year we try to add some kind of dairy product to our repertoire, mostly in the spirit of “when in Rome.”
That said, I don’t envy the farmers who need to be both full-time producers and full-time salespeople. Maybe one day one of our kids will want to carve out their own role and create a value-added product line. If that day comes, we’ll find a way to make it work. But for now, I’m content just being a producer — that hat is big enough.
I’m not in a position to give advice to other farmers — I’m still very much a student of the trade. If someone came to me with a specific problem, I could share what’s worked for us, but beyond that, I’m still learning every day.
What I can say is that life is good on the farm. While it comes with plenty of challenges — tending livestock, raising kids, managing finances, supporting the fields, keeping up with repairs — the rewards are just as numerous. There’s a deep sense of purpose in this work and a feeling of belonging to the broader ecosystem you’re a part of. For me, that’s worth all the effort it takes.
Sam Gerstgrasser
Ferme Gerstgrasser
Casselman, ON
samgerstgrasser@hotmail.ca