July has been dry and hot, which aren’t ideal conditions for farmers or their cows. This, combined with uncertainty about a future Farm Bill and a 'break-even year' for dairy farmers, 2026 has provided many challenges for America's Dairyland.
Tom Oberhaus is the co-operator of Cozy Nook Farm in Waukesha County. Cozy Nook is primarily a dairy farm, and it supplements its business with seasonal pumpkin and Christmas tree sales.
Lake Effect’s Sam Woods last talked with Oberhaus at the beginning of the planting season and he checks back in with him now to see how the summer is going.
This conversation is part of WUWM's commitment to covering issues our listeners say are top priorities, including the economy. As part of that coverage, we’re exploring how the economy is impacting Wisconsinites with different financial needs and concerns. Previous check-ins have explored the impact of high fuel prices and a 'break-even' economic forecast for dairy, federal aid to farmers and the economics of seasonal pumpkin and Christmas tree sales for a dairy farm.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Sam Woods: So Tom, last time we spoke, it was in the spring and you were really starting to get stuff in the ground, and you were forecasting a break-even year. So how are we looking now?
Tom Oberhaus: At this point, it's just up to the good Lord to send us some rain. So it's been a very up and down year. April was among the wettest Aprils in history. People were worried if they were going to get crops in the ground. And then May turned so dry that we wondered if it was ever going to rain again. And then we got a beautiful rain on June 6th, which saved the crops for then. And we got more rains in June. But now July has hit with some real heat. I mean, this is some of the hotter weather we've experienced without rain. And there's, you gotta stretch your imagination to see thunderstorms in the forecast. As a farmer, we always just kind of assume when you have hot, muggy weather, when the front passes, you'll get a nice thunderstorm. And hopefully we get a nice thunderstorm, not bad storms, but just a good rain. So we're just praying for a good rain and then we can have a pretty decent crop here.
Cows also do not like heat, 50 degrees is perfect weather for a cow and of course, we're way above that. We've got some pretty good fans in that, much better fans than we had in the old days. But the heat really, really knocks the cows for a loop production wise. By the end of the week, we will probably be down 15-20% on milk production. And that's not the big concern, the bigger concern is the health of the cows. Sometimes an extended heat spell can really cause long-term, longer-term health problems. So I'm praying that it will cool off and get a nice rain.
A bit of a double barrel question for you. What is economically boosting Cozy Nook Farm right now, and what's holding you back? It sounds like maybe it's a tough time for dairy, but what's holding you back and what's holding you up right now?
Yeah, good question. So yes for dairy we're probably lucky to be breaking even. We're below water, I would say, on the dairy right now. But our pumpkin and Christmas tree business is what has been the bright spots for us the last few years. And we laughingly say that the pumpkins actually support our cow hobby. Obviously, the cows are more than a hobby, but we like to milk cows. That's what we love to do. As most dairymen, you milk cows because you love it. You got to make enough money to survive, but our goal is not to stash up money to do wild things and that. We just want to make enough money to stay alive and milk cows and farm for another year. That's what makes us happy.
Every year is unique. But like I say, this year was unique in that we had that beautiful shot of weather at the end of March, which allowed us to get some things done. And then April was unbelievably wet. We're like, wow. And then May, unbelievably dry. And then June, pretty nice. And now July, hot and dry. I don't know what the weathermen are saying, but in my feelings, this is the hottest July maybe that I've ever experienced here in Wisconsin. So I would say to summarize it would be the tremendous ups and downs in the weather. It just seems really, really up and down and up and down.
And that's a tough one because that's completely out of your control.
Certainly so, certainly so.
In our last conversation in the spring, we were talking about hoping that we get a full five-year Farm Bill. It's been renewed annually since 2023, but you're looking for a five-year plan. Does anyone reach out to you about the Farm Bill?
Yeah, from time to time, people ask, ‘what's really critical to you and your operation?’ I have very, very limited hope that we're going to get a Farm Bill passed. I mean, as you know, Congress is split in two different directions, and if one guy says the sky is blue, the other guy says no it isn't. And it's a very split time and we need people to work together to get some things like that done. And I am sorry to say I don't have much hope for that.
This is the first time in our year together that I've heard you say you don't have hope or optimism, Tom. This must be serious.
The Farm Bill thing is. It's a mess because nobody can agree on anything, and so nothing happens.
