Luchterhands,

from p. 1

first residing in Dodge County. In 1870, he and his family moved to Clark County and settled on a farm on Highway K north of Loyal, near the old Lutheran cemetery. William and his wife Caroline had 11 children. William’s son Frank Luchterhand (1874-1968) purchased the land near Spokeville where the family farms remains to this day. The farm can be reached by traveling east of Loyal on Highway 98 for 3 miles, then south on Meridian Avenue for 3.5 miles.

Frank built the original barn in 1896. Frank had a son named Alvin (1901-1984), who had Gerald (1930-1981), who had Gary (1954-2002). The father-son duo of Gerald and Gary ran the farm together as G& G Farm for several years. Gerald passed away suddenly in 1981 and Gary took over farm operations. Also around that time, he met the woman who would become his wife, Elma Rol, who had her own veterinary business.

“I like taking care of critters. I’ve always had a passion for animals, so that was my passion and that’s what I did. And I stuck to it for some reason,” said Elma. “That’s how I met my husband. Geraldine was down with milk fever and I got called out here.”

The rest, as they say, is history. In 1983, Elma and Gary got married. In 1989, the couple purchased the farm from Gary’s mother. They decided to rename the farm something not tied to a specific individual or individuals.

“When we first got married, pre-cell phone, he (Gary) said, ‘Well, if you need me for anything, I’ll be up on the hill,’” said Elma. “I don’t know about you, but I could never find that stupid hill. And so it became a standing joke of where that hill is. So finally when we bought the farm from his mother, we decided we needed to come up with our own name, and so we came up with ‘The Elusive Hill.’” In 1992, Gary built the first barn and the parlor where the family still milks cows. In 1995, the first half of the second barn was built. In 1998, the second half of the second barn was completed. Around 2001, they built half of the third barn. Gary also grew the herd size from 80-90 initially to 170-200, and then again to about 800 in 2002. As Gary expanded the size of his farm, he also expanded his family. He and his wife had four children: Aron, Jeremy, Max and Rachael.

In 2002, Gary died in a farm accident. Aron was a junior in high school at the time. To keep the farm going, Elma discontinued her veterinary business so she could devote more time to the farm. After Aron graduated high school and attended UW-Madison for the farm and industry short course, he started working on the farm full-time.

“There was never really a question. I always wanted to do it (work the family farm). Fortunately, I was lucky enough to do it,” Aron said.

“I like seeing the crops grow and seeing the fruits of your labor,” he added.

Aron currently runs the farm with the help of his mother and his cousin, Luke Luchterhand. The three of them have divided up farm duties according to what each one is interested in. Aron focuses on crops, custom manure application and equipment repair; Luke focuses on taking care of the cows; and Elma focuses on the calves. Today, the farm has 850 cows and they grow about 1,700 acres of alfalfa and corn.

The family also relies on a small army of about 20 employees who keep the farm running smoothly, including several part-time workers such as high school students or youth apprenticeship participants.

“We have two or three people in the barns at all times,” said Aron.

As the years have gone by, the farm has continued to expand. The remainder of the third barn was built in 2008. The Luchterhands also had the first barn rebuilt to be more accommodating for freshening.

Elusive Hill Dairy also has a custom manure application business. In 2011, Aron began hauling manure with tanks and in 2013 he bought a dragline system. He has about 10 customers.

“That’s part of why the shop has grown too, is we needed the space to build and service the equipment,” said Aron.

“You’d be hard-pressed to find another dairy farm this size that has the shop and metal fabrication capabilities that he has,” said Luke.

In 2016, they added an SCR system to monitor cows’ activity and rumination, which Luke keeps a close eye on. Luke grew up just down the road and joined the operation in 2020.

“I’ve always wanted to spend my whole life working with cattle. And that’s why I came here. I get to work with cows all day.”

He enjoys the genetics side of things, using breeding programs to maximize the cow’s overall health and milk production.

“These cows are almost unrecognizable from what they were 100 years ago. They look black and white, but as far as udder, feet and legs, health — we’ve just bred an incredibly healthier cow,” he said.

Although running a large dairy operation is no easy task, especially with factors like the economy and weather always in flux and out of their control, Luke and Aron couldn’t imagine themselves doing anything different, as farming is in their blood.

“There’s a lot of tradition in farming in our family,” said Luke. “Aron was 12 years old making his own equipment; there’s pictures of me at 5 or 6 playing with calves.”

Now the legacy continues with the next generation, as Aron and Luke both have kids of their own and other family members already involved in the life of the farm.

“Each of our kids have shown interest and I have nephews that are 16, 18 and they’re working full-time,” said Luke.

By all indications, the Luchterhands have built a strong family legacy that will continue into the future.

Shown l-r are Elma Luchterhand, her son Aron and her nephew Luke of Elusive Hill Dairy just outside of Loyal. Elma takes care of the calves, Aron builds and fixes machinery and plants crops, and Luke oversees dairy operations. They welcome the community to visit their farm for Sunday’s dairy breakfast.

VALORIE BRECHT/STAFF PHOTO