Wisconsin
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Wisconsin Cattle Farmer
“That long of a family history creates a different sense of belonging and a sense of place and it gives you a feeling of obligation to the land.”
Allan ArndtCattle Farmer
Name: Allan Arndt
Location: Janesville, Wisconsin
Years farming: I’m 46, and this is the only job I’ve ever had. I started out feeding dairy calves as a kid, and I’ve been full-time since college graduation in 1985, 25 years ago.
My family: My wife Susan and I have four kids – our daughters are Greta, 18; Hattie, 16; Eliza, 15; and our son Mark, is 5. Arndt Farms, Inc. is a family corporation owned by my mother, Donna Arndt, brothers David Arndt and Robert Arndt, myself, and Robert’s oldest son, Austin Arndt. My niece Emily and my nephew Abraham, and my daughter Greta all work on the farm as well. And my mother still balances the checkbook.
How I came to be a farmer: I think it’s genetic. My grandparents all farmed in this township, as well as half of my great-grandparents. The home farm was an 80-acre parcel purchased by my father's parents in 1923. In the early 1950s, my parents bought out grandpa and added additional acres through rental and purchase as they were able to. In 1975, the business was incorporated as a means to provide ownership incentive and succession to the next generation. There has always been work to do, and it didn’t get done unless we did it.
The best thing about being a farmer: Two things: every time a calf is born I simply marvel at the complexity and precision of the biological process that results in the delivery of a live calf, as well as the instinct that drives the newborn to stand and nurse a mother cow that is driven by that same instinct to raise her calf. I find it very rewarding to be able to combine science and the art of husbandry to help that cow and calf reach their maximum potential. Secondly, I feel a connection to my ancestors that reaches through land that we all have farmed. Farmers who have worked common ground can tell you where the best soil lies, which parcel dries out earliest in the spring, which one suffers first without regular rainfall, which draws in the pasture to check when looking for that fresh cow. I like knowing that we have shared experiences, despite working decades apart.
My personal philosophy on farming: If I am going to take on this task, I have a responsibility to do it right. My family eats the products we produce, and we drink from the groundwater under us. We are the temporary inhabitants of this place, so it is our responsibility to produce quality food and feeds while we are here, raise our families and manage the business in a fashion that allows us to leave all of it for future generations to do the same.
Beef Production in Wisconsin and the United States
- The Hamburger Hall of Fame is located in Seymour, Wisconsin.
- There are nearly 15,000 beef producers in the state of Wisconsin, raising approximately 3.35 million cattle each year, resulting in 2.287 billion pounds of beef produced.
- One 3 oz. serving of beef supplies 51 percent of the Daily Value (DV) for protein, 38 percent of the DV for zinc and 14 percent of the DV for iron.
- Cattle farmers fertilize fields with manure from cattle feeding operations to reduce inputs needed to manufacturer synthetic fertilizer.
- There are 29 cuts of beef that meet USDA criteria for lean.
- Beef is the leading protein in the U.S. The average per capita consumption is around 66 pounds.
- There are more than one billion cattle in the world. The U.S. has less than 10 percent of the world’s cattle inventory, but produces nearly one-fourth of the world’s beef supply.
- A steer weighing 1,000 pounds will produce about 1,600 hamburgers.
- More than 40 percent of beef sold in the U.S. is ground beef.
- The most tender cut of beef is beef tenderloin (think filet mignon).
- Columbus brought cattle with him on his second voyage to the New World in 1493.
For more information about cattle farming in Wisconsin, please visit: http://www.beeftips.com
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