“I don’t allow current circumstances to dictate my mood,” said Grady Auer, owner of Bakake Acres in New London, Wisconsin.
His positive attitude has come in handy during some of the past events on the dairy, including multiple natural disasters. Through it all, Grady has successfully steered his farm in the right direction.
He began as a partner with his dad, and after he passed eight years ago, Grady entered into partnership with his mom, Tina. On their farm they milk 550 cows with seven full-time employees, plus two helpers who are always with Grady – his son Griffin and nephew Ira.
“The story is my mom put me on her back to feed calves when I was six months, so since I’m 38, now I’ve farmed for 37 and a half years,” he smiled and said.
Improved tax and accounting
Grady was using a different tax accountant for years, but in 2017 he made the business decision to transition to GreenStone’s senior tax accountant Kandace Haegele in the Clintonville office.
“I like working with Kandace because she works with whatever I bring to her,” Grady said. “Along with accounting, she also does our tax forms, and twice a year we send our QuickBooks accounts to her. She reviews it, tells us if we have errors, and answers our questions. My wife Sarah does the books really well, but she reminds me she is a special education teacher, not an accountant. So of course we have questions on what categories we put expenses into, if items need to be expensed, or if we can depreciate them.”
Kandace has worked in GreenStone’s Clintonville office for eight years. She’s been through transitions before and worked with Grady to help ensure the farm’s transition from the previous tax accountant to GreenStone was a smooth process. Part of the ongoing success of the relationship is the improvements they’ve made in the way they work together.
“We made suggestions on getting set up on QuickBooks and what information to provide to us,” she said. “He also is working with a dairy analyst, so I assisted him in getting set up, so as to provide the dairy information needed for the analysis. Basically, these steps have made it much easier for everyone to determine what action is needed in making sound farm business decisions, including having a better handle on where he is financially and providing related tax planning strategies.”
Grady was no stranger to GreenStone, as his dad was a long-time customer and co-signed his first loan on a calf when Grady was only 15 years old. Unfortunately, the calf didn’t last long.
“My dad cosigned a loan so I could buy a show heifer, and she abruptly dropped dead,” Grady shared sadly. “Thankfully she was insured, so we bought another one right after that.”
This stunning experience didn’t sour him on the entire animal showing scene, as he met his wife Sarah at the county fair.
“She asked to wear my jersey – football, not cow,” Grady joked. “She also grew up on a progressive farm in Wisconsin. Now, our family shows heifers all over.”
One stop shop
Eventually, along with the existing lending partnership and tax and accounting services, Grady also switched his crop insurance provider to GreenStone.
“I was always talking to Robert Netrefa, the GreenStone crop insurance specialist, about what decisions to make even though I was buying it through someone else,” Grady said. “I went to a GreenStone conference where he was the speaker, and I thought he had great knowledge about what was going on.”
Beyond tax and accounting support, plus the insurance, Grady uses GreenStone for financing.
“Certainly the advantage is that it’s a one-stop shop,” Grady said. “I know my taxes are different than my loans, which are different from my crop insurance, but it’s still all in the same location.”
Clintonville has a new office building, which features lots of glass to create an open atmosphere.
“It’s just like going to the supermarket,” Grady said. “I like this, and this, and I can get this – all in one place.”
Cleaning up
Corey Fanslau is VP of traditional lending at GreenStone, and he’s been working with Grady for over ten years.
“Grady is very good dairyman, he’s a great guy, and he’s really stepped up his business acumen over the years,” Corey said. “His work with his dairy analyst has also helped him perform even better.”
Corey worked with Grady through some tough times on the farm, including in 2018 when a blizzard caused their barns to collapse.
“We had to send half of our cows to another farm to be milked. For four months, since our income was down, we only paid interest,” Grady said. “That was Corey’s idea. He knew we’d rebuild and get our cows back.”
Despite the unfortunate event, Grady made the most of his circumstances and took the opportunity to make his barn even better. The new barn is able to hold more weight, is stronger and wider, and has improved lighting.
“I was given another shot to do it correctly, and I took it,” Grady said.
Grady has experienced more than his share of natural disasters on his farm, including a pile of bales that was struck by lightning, a shed that burned in 2005, and tragically, a house fire in 2010.
“I was picking up my son from daycare, so no one was home,” he said. “I’d thrown laundry into the dryer before I left. We drove home and saw the house was on fire, and it was a total loss.”
Happily, they were able to rebuild in a location closer to the farm.
“I haven’t done laundry since,” Grady joked. “Better safe than sorry.”
Grady and Sarah now have four children – Griffin (13), Emery (10), Macy (7), and Brynn (2). Grady really enjoys his time on the farm with his kids and nephew, whether they’re feeding calves or setting off bottle rockets.
“We also like to go to our children’s events, which is a full time job,” Grady said.
Grady looks forward to continuing his partnership with GreenStone, and he is confident his GreenStone team will be ready to assist him in his good times and his not-so-good times – even though his attitude remains unchanged.
“Some years the farm makes money, some years it doesn’t – I’m not complaining,” Grady said. “If we don’t make any, I have less tax work to do.”
To view the article in the online 2022 Summer Partners Magazine, click here.
