Mike Garrow, Rocklan Farm, Berkshire, Vt.

Mike Garrow has transformed his interest in breeding and merchandising Registered Holsteins into a very profitable career. When this Berkshire dairy farmer and cattle broker was in his local 4-H club, his father took him to a cattle sale and Mike was instantly hooked. He was astounded that a single cow could sell for $10,000!

Inspired by the experience, at age 21, Mike purchased a few Registered Holsteins and worked his way into the business through trial and error. On one occasion, for example, he bought a bred heifer for $14,000. He says, “I was shaking in my boots all the time to be bidding so much on a single animal. But I took the chance and sold her three months later for $20,000. She also produced a heifer calf that I later sold for $10,000.”

At 22, Mike rented his parents’ farm after they sold their cows and equipment. After completing successful embryo transfer projects, he had accumulated enough cash to acquire a herd of approximately 100 cows. He disbursed the herd in 1992 and bought the farm, the buildings and more cows. Not long afterward, Mike was also exporting embryos, yearling bull calves and show cows to various overseas buyers who are willing to pay higher prices than their U.S. counterparts for registered animals.

“Merchandising cattle and embryos is how I create extra income for the farm. I run the farm off the milk check, and consider the breeding and merchandising enterprises just frosting on the cake for making improvements on the farm.”

According to Mike Farmer, his Yankee Farm Credit loan officer from St. Albans, “Mike came to Farm Credit just three years after he lost his entire herd and barn in a devastating fire. His decision to invest in a new dairy facility showed a lot of courage, because he was completely out of debt at the time. He could have chosen to do something else and avoid the risk.

Mike Garrow credits his business’s success to “developing a good reputation and pushing myself to accomplish my goals. I also ask questions of successful people and learn from their ideas. Where you get your information from is very important. That’s why I work with Yankee Farm Credit.”

Click on the name of each of the entrepreneurs or graduates below to find out more about the road they traveled:

Entrepreneurs:

• Ben and Andrew Saenger, Saenger cattle, Shoreham, Vt.
• Dean Rheaume, Maurice Rheaume & Sons, Middlebury, Vt.
• Keith Sprague, Sprague's Ranch, East Brookfield, Vt.
• Mike Garrow, Rocklan Farm, Berkshire, Vt.
• Pete Norris, Jr. Greenhaven Gardens & Nursery, New Haven, Vt.

"Graduates":

• Ronald Patenaude, Patenaude Farm, Holland Center, Vt.
• Bruce Bascom, Bascom Maple Farms, Inc., Alstead, N.H.
• Chris and John Laggis, Laggis brothers Farm, Hardwick, Vt.

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