The 31st annual Vernon County Dairy Breakfast was held on Saturday June 6, 2009, at Peters Farms Inc., located just 2.5 miles west of Coon Valley on US Hwy 14/61, at the top of the west Coon Valley hill. The Peters also hosted the dairy breakfast in1998.

Wayne Peters and his sons, Rory and Roger, of Chaseburg are the proud owners of Peters Farms Inc., an organic based farming operation. Wayne moved to the farm in 1959 and farmed alone until his sons joined him in1980, when he was milking 70 dairy cows and farming 450 acres of crops.

As his family grew Wayne knew something had to give if farming was to be his family’s future. With continual fluctuating milk prices and family farms failing throughout the county and state, Wayne and his sons, Rory and Roger and their families, were forced to change their outlook on farming; a change that would eventually convert the land to organic and be a wise venture for the entire Peters Farms operation.

“Farming was tough during that time and I was cheap. Going natural seemed like far less of an investment, especially when money was already tight,” Wayne said.

In 1988, the Peters along with a handful of other rural Wisconsin farmers formed the Coulee Region Organic Produce Pool (CROPP), known today as Organic Valley, a nationally recognized leader in organic food distribution. Wayne is president of the Organic Valley Board of Directors and dedicated to the future growth of organic farming.

Today, Wayne, Rory and Roger raise organic corn, oats, wheat, barley and alfalfa on nearly 700 acres of land they own and rent near their farming operation. They have 185 Holstein dairy cows, and regularly milk 150 cows, which produce approximately 8,000-9,000 pounds of milk per day. They raise their own Holstein steers and heifers, plus hogs and feeder pigs which are sold under the Organic Prairie label.

Since evolving into an organic farm, the Peters Farms milk supply has grown by approximately six-and-a-half percent per year and the farm’s gross revenue has climbed 10 to 15 percent annually.

“Timing was the key to our success. We’re so fortunate to be situated where we are financially and I hope everyone in my family realizes how lucky we are to have such a low debt to worth ratio,” Wayne said, “It’s a scary time for farmers now, especially conventional farmers with milk prices being so low.”

The Peters rely on the organic farm as their primary source of income for three families, including Roger, his wife Nancy and their children Brad and Russell; Rory, his wife Carmen and their children Reid, Riley, Carley and Cayley; and Wayne and his wife, Irene.

Although not officially part of Peters Farms, Inc, Wayne’s son Dan (Duke) Peters, his wife Laurie and their three children Evan, Bryce and Grant also produce eggs for Organic Valley. Duke raises a hefty 5,000 chickens, which lay brown eggs that are also sold under the Organic Valley label. Some people might refer to Wayne as the local “Chicken Man” since at age 74, it’s his job to help collect and pack over 2,100 eggs laid daily in the chicken coop, but he doesn’t mind and it keeps him busy in his semi-retirement.

The Peters take pride in the fact that they’re stewards of the land. The family’s farm, located in the Coon Valley watershed area, was one of the first farms to participate in a pioneering strip-cropping conservation project in the 1930s.

"I’m proud that this farm has been a part of land conservation efforts," Wayne said. "And today we work very hard to have no run-off."

Without a crystal ball Wayne can’t predict the future, but he hopes the farming tradition continues in the Peter’s family for many years to come. He learned early on when working side-by-side with family that it’s hard to mend fences if they are broken, instead Wayne chooses to state his case and move on; something that has worked like clockwork for the past 28 years.