By Susan K. Davis
Contributing Editor
Cheaper production costs attracted Joe Osterkamp (foreground) and his family to Texas. (Progressive Farmer image by Karl Wolfshohl)
There is nothing more permanent than the location of your farm, right? Not necessarily. When the Osterkamp family found their dairy expansion limited by environment-permit-crazed California, they decided to load up their cows and move to agriculture-friendly Texas.
“In California, a year before we left, we had to pay an ‘air compressor fee’ of $1,000 per year and then there was a ‘rainwater discharge fee,’” Joe Osterkamp says, shaking his head. Methane digester requirements would be next.
A sales rep recommended the Texas Panhandle to Osterkamp, who had gone to college at Southwest University in Austin. On their first foray to the Panhandle, the Osterkamps landed in Lubbock, went to chambers of commerce in the area and found a piece of bare land already permitted for a dairy with a decent water supply and reasonable price.
Gerald and Beth Osterkamp, Joe’s parents, were hesitant about the move at first. But after meeting the friendly people in Muleshoe, they liked it “right off the bat” and the adjustment was relatively easy.
Other dairies have found the Texas High Plains attractive. In 2000 there were 23 dairies. By 2009, dairy operations in the region had jumped to 90.
The number of milking cows also rocketed from 16,900 in 2000 to 213,000 by 2009. “About half of that expansion came from Texas producers who either expanded their herd or moved in from other areas in Texas. The other half came from out-of-state dairy producers moving into the region,” explains Ellen Jordan, Extension dairy specialist with Texas A&M Center in Dallas.
Advantages To Texas
The Osterkamps went from 140 acres near Barstow, Calif., to 860 acres in Muleshoe, Texas. “This gave us more land to spread our manure for fertilizer. For the manure we can’t use, our neighbors clean it and take it to spread on their farms,” Osterkamp explains.
Feed costs are also lower in Texas, mainly due to transportation costs, helping to bring their production costs down 10 to 15% compared to California. Trained labor was limited when they moved in 2004. “Now, after dairies have been here six to 10 years, there are enough trained workers to operate efficiently,” he adds.
The main reason the family moved was to expand their dairy operation to bring in Joe, now 32 years old, and his brother, Nick, now 25. Today, the Osterkamps’ herd is around 2,650 head, and their dairy is permitted for 5,500 head.
Executive Program
This past winter, Joe won a tuition scholarship from DTN/The Progressive Farmer to attend The Executive Program for Agricultural Producers (TEPAP) in Austin, Texas. This intensive, week-long program is set up like an MBA program for forward-thinking producers from across the country. “TEPAP opened my eyes to see agriculture in a different light and to look for opportunities I might not have noticed,” he says.
Apply For TEPAP Scholarships
DTN/The Progressive Farmer will award two $2,000 scholarships to attend The Executive Program for Agricultural Producers in Austin, Texas, Jan. 9 to 15, 2011. To apply, call 979-845-7171 or go to http://tepap.tamu.edu/…. The scholarship application deadline is Nov. 22, 2010.
© Copyright 2010 DTN/The Progressive Farmer, A Telvent Brand. All rights reserved.
