Jay (Wisconsin - Madison) and Pam Binversie, the 2002 Wisconsin Jaycees Outstanding Young Farmers, were selected as one of four national Outstanding Young Farmer winners at the 47th annual National Outstanding Young Farmers (OYF) Awards Congress. The selection process took place February 13-16 and was sponsored by John Deere.

Jay Binversie began raising equity crops, along with registered dairy cattle and steers, while in high school. By the time he reached his senior year, Binversie’s crop acres had grown to 80 and he was the owner of more than 20 head of cattle.

He and Pam were married the summer after he graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. By the beginning of the following year the couple had purchased his father’s entire herd of cows and entered into a rental agreement for the equipment, buildings and 1,000 acres of land on the southern Manitowoc County farm. At the time they were milking 200 cows and managing five employees.

Their first herd expansion took place in 1995, when Jay was just 24. Cow numbers increased to 450 and Jay and Pam faced the challenge of not only managing more cows and employees but a heavier debt load as well.

This expansion featured a 256 – by 119 – foot addition to their freestall barn, and the installation of a manure flush system that enabled them to eliminate more than 15 man-hours of scraping each day and made possible the application of manure with a minimum of odor. Their 12 million-gallon lagoons were built high enough to keep most of the objectionable odors from reaching nearby homes. The system provides sufficient storage space to handle all the manure from 1, 200 cows for a full year, if necessary.

A pair of new 120 by 30 foot greenhouses have helped their calf management program, significantly reducing calf mortality. In 1999, new Germania milking units were installed. In 2000, the freestall barn was expanded again. The Binversies currently have around 690 milk cows, and with the young stock the total climbs to more than 1,200 animals.

Binversie feels one important reason they’ve been profitable with their current number of cows is that they were able to retrofit the double-10 milking parlor that was built in 1971. “It really helped that we didn’t have to build a half-million dollar parlor,” he affirmed.

Binversie is quick to credit his staff of employees for the success of his operation. “I have an excellent staff and they keep getting better,” he said.

Jay and Pam Binversie have three daughters, twins Taylor and Gretta, age 5, and Josie, who is 2 years old.

The Binversies are members of the Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin and Foremost Farms Cooperative. Jay also coaches youth basketball and baseball. n
 

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