Lamb Barn

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River Ridge Stock Farm

Coming in for milking

River Ridge Stock Farm has been in Emily's family since 1912 when Emily's Great Grandfather, Rudolph Lundgren traded his farm in Canada for 248 acres along the Chippewa River north of Bruce, WI. Because of logging in the early 1900's, the river was visible from the ridge where the buildings were built and Rudolph named the farm “River View Stock Farm”.

Rudolph's oldest son Axle, Emily's Grandfather, took over the farm after WW 1. He and his wife raised 11 children, the oldest being Emily's mother, with the income from sixteen dairy cows, a few hogs, chickens, and a cash crop of potatoes and cucumbers.

After Axle's retirement in 1968, the farm sat idle and the land was rented to neighbors until 1988 when Emily took over the farm and began raising livestock again.

Larry and Emily joined their flocks in 1993 and began building River Ridge Stock Farm to what it is today.

Today the farm is home to a grade A sheep dairy and a growing flock of sheep. Currently the flock numbers over 400 ewes of mainly dairy breeding including a mix of East Friesian/Lacaune/Dorset with the Booroola gene. Along with these breeds is a small group of Suffolk and hair breeds.

The facilities consist of a double twelve pit parlor with “Cass system” stalls, pipeline and six milking units. A six hundred gallon bulk milk tank and 10x12 commercial freezer . The milking facilities are housed in a 26x50 lean-too addition on the old 32x50 dairy barn. Additional buildings include a 24x40 pole shed and a 30x54 hoop type barn built in 2003. The farm can be described as a work in progress with on going remolding in the old farm house and continuous fence building.

The flock is managed on rotational grazing paddocks throughout the grazing season. Dry hay, corn and small grain screenings are feed during the cold months. Milking ewes are fed grain supplement in the parlor during milking. Feed rations are designed with strict attention to the daily nutritional requirements of the ewes for optimal performance.

A day one weaning is practiced for milking ewes and lambs are raised on milk replacer, grain and alfalfa hay.

During the 2009 production season, approximately 200 ewes will be milked with a planned production of 100,000 pounds of milk.

Dairy goats are also milked at River Ridge with the milk being used to feed lambs, kids, beef calves and hogs.

River Ridge is also home to a flock of about 150 chickens of various breeds.

Emily and Larry are excited about the future of sheep dairying and see the industry as a way of saving the family farm.