But finding the time to be an advocate for the dairy industry is very important to him, he says.
“We’re pretty busy, but I encourage people to get involved,” Schelling says. “It’s important to be active in your industry.”
Schelling and his wife, Cheryl, farm in Sioux County. They milk 120 Holsteins twice a day in addition to the corn and alfalfa they grow. They have a herd average of 29,500 pounds.
He serves as president of the Western Iowa Dairy Alliance (WIDA), and is on the board of directors for the Iowa State Dairy Association (ISDA). WIDA is currently in its 10th year.
Through his work with WIDA, Schelling is involved in several activities, including offering scholarships to youths and providing networking opportunities for dairy producers.
“WIDA really focuses on advocacy, while ISDA focuses more on being a legislative representative for us,” he says. “Both organizations focus not only on local issues, but state and federal issues as well.”
One of the priorities, Schelling says, is bringing more milk processors into the state. Another is addressing a labor shortage.
“The labor issue has gotten better in the past couple of years, but we need more processors so we can grow our industry,” he says, adding Iowa is the 12th largest milk producing state in the U.S.
“I think a lot of producers are poised to expand if we can get the processors. We’re able to sell the milk we produce now, but we can’t grow much larger.”
Schelling says ISDA has stepped up its legislative visibility, hiring a lobbyist recently to assist in legislative priorities. He says WIDA works the American Dairy Coalition as a lobbying arm at the federal level.
“We do all we can to keep our name out there, and to work to bring more processors here,” Schelling says.
He says there is interest from the West Coast in moving or expanding dairy operations in Iowa.
“We have groups out there who are very interested in Iowa,” Schelling says. “But we don’t have any place to sell the milk, so there is no incentive for them to expand out there.”
He has kept his herd at 120 cows for several years, and says any expansion will be determined by his children.
“If we have someone who wants to come back and farm, we’ll look into it,” Schelling says. “But that hasn’t happened yet.”
The Schellings have three grown children and two still living at home.
For now, the family makes do with some part-time milking help. Schelling says being centrally located between Dordt College in Sioux Center and Northwestern College in Orange City gives him a steady labor supply.
He says he believes Iowa’s dairy producers are holding their own despite some price challenges.
“The people in business today are lean and mean, and they are going to survive,” Schelling says. “We need to continue to be efficient operators, and be ready should we get more processors here.”
He says some producers have expanded some, but believes the state and particularly his region is at its limit when it comes to milk processing capacity.
“We’ve been able to find a place for it, but we’re at our limit,” Schelling says. “We need more processors, and we’re going to work hard to bring them to Iowa.”
