Ron Holter is a fifth generation farmer. His family has operated Holterholm Farms in Jefferson since his great-great grandfather, a Norwegian immigrant, began working on the general farm in 1889. His grandfather, father and uncle, who ran the farm after World War Two, streamlined it into a dairy. Holter, however, is responsible for the major changes that have taken place at Holterholm in the past 15 years. Instead of conforming to the production-minded standards of American dairy farming— feeding cattle grain instead of grass and keeping them in confinement— he has transformed Holterholm into an organic dairy where the cattle graze the land. Holter, who began working on the farm in 1984 and has owned the farm with his wife Kathy since 1994, currently manages Holterholm’s milk cows on about 200 acres with assistance from his son.
