2/9/2015. Meadow Spring Farm PA DAIRY SUMMIT 2015 ANDREW AND THOMAS BOLLINGER. History FROM 1940 TO NOW

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1 Meadow Spring Farm PA DAIRY SUMMIT 2015 ANDREW AND THOMAS BOLLINGER FROM 1940 TO NOW 1

2 First Farm Photo 1948 Meadow Spring Farm

3 The farm was first purchased in 1940 by Christian Bollinger Abram Bollinger started farming on the half with his father in 1948 The farm was a traditional Lancaster County farm, raising steers, chickens, hogs, and dairy cows. A variety of crops were grown such as corn, hay, and tobacco. Abe transitioned the farm into a large steer fattening facility and grew 25 acres of tobacco while maintaining 20 dairy cows. 2 nd farm was purchased in 1958 Tom s Memories and Goals for the Farm December

4 Steer Barn Addition 1971 Barnyard and Feedlot Roofs built

5 Cliff and Abe purchased farms in SE Minnesota in 1979, Cliff moved west with the full intention of the rest of the family joining them in the years to come. Dairy became the top enterprise in 1980, app. 100 cows being milked In 1985 partnership was formed between Tom and Abe The agreement was forced by the general farm economy at that time, also by changes in the banking industry Off to Minnesota

6 Tom and Sue acquired ownership of home farm in 1989 This situation was also very unorganized and brought out that the earlier 1985 agreement did not include ownership of cows and equipment Tom felt very used and frustrated Farm Goals: Work really hard! Pay down previous generation s debt Keep food on the table, though we always had enough No time off! 6

7 Little Andy Bollinger Even at a young age, Andy knew he wanted to be a farmer. Andy graduated from high school in 1995, wanting to farm his entire life He attended a Dairy Management school in Minnesota for a year His eyes were opened to new things in the dairy industry Married Andrea Mylin in 1997 Construction on a new free-stall barn, bunker silos, and a step up milking parlor were started A second free-stall barn was built in

8 Barn Roof Collapses February 12, Area between holding area and Pre- Fresh/Post-Fresh pen falls in after a blizzard. Luckily, no animals or people were hurt. Andy joined partnership in 2004, took over Abe s last 10% of partnership Abe was 86 at the time The family decided to purchase neighboring farm in Tom and Sue graciously allowed the farm to be in Andy and Andrea s name This gave Andy and Andrea ownership and responsibility 8

9 The Farm Continued to Grow Amount of employees was steadily increasing Heifer barn and manure separator system were built in 2009 Meadow Spring Farm became entangled in a legal situation that required a lot of emotional energy, which, while being extremely stressful, the situation helped us to focus on what was important in life and led us to some key consultants who have become a valuable resource to our farm today One of these consultants was Jeff Ainslie from Red Barn, who helped us apply for a transformational team grant from the Center for Dairy Excellence. This led us to 9

10 Next Big Transition cows were being milked in a double 6 step-up parlor 3x a day Tom and Sue decided it was time to start the process of transferring the farm properties and shares of the partnership. Through a year of planning, prayer, and excellent advice from professional advisors, the process was complete by the end of the year. Other big changes happened that year: Andy and Andrea went away for a weekend, and came home to hear that Tom had decided to build a new parlor! Because it was a remodel, the amount of permits needed was minimal, and construction started very quickly Double 12 parallel parlor was completed by September 2012 Also constructed a calf transition barn, dry stack manure/animal mortality composting building The Farm Today Feed Storage Transition Barn Cow Barn 2002 Heifer Barn 2009 Machine Shed/Shop Manure Separator

11 Farm Transfers FROM THE OLDER GENERATION TO THE NEWER GENERATION Transition of the Farm From Generation to Generation ABRAM TO TOM Difference of values Little trust Family was for work Controlling Lack of communication Unwilling to use professional help Minimum documents Agreements were all verbal TOM TO ANDY Similar Values Family Trust Open communication Used professional help 11

12 Home Farm Transfer Andy and Andrea purchased at a discount rate Set up a 20 year mortgage to Tom and Sue-ensures them financial security until they are 85 Interest only the first 5 years because of substantial debt load In addition to the guaranteed monthly payment for the farm, a 2 nd mortgage of $300,000 was set up, which can be used to purchase a retirement home if needed. If not needed, the mortgage will be forgiven. Partnership Transfer Tom and Sue gifted additional 21% to Andy and Andrea This put: Tom Andy 12

13 Millway Farm (2 nd farm) Transfer Set up Bollinger Family Partners, LP and Bollinger Family Partners GP, LLC Benefits: To Andy-guarantees farming of that property To Richie, Phil, and Val-receive rental income from property All siblings must agree before farm is sold 13