"You need to get larger, to stay viable. This is a fact in all businesses. - Paul

Rovey

Arizona Dairyman - large families and large herds . . .

by

Fran Alt

Deep dimples lend charm and a friendly warmth to Paul Rovey's face. A tall man with wavy dark-blond hair and a pleasant manner, Paul owns Paul Rovey Holsteins and Jerseys, in Glendale Arizona. He smiles a lot and talks easily and proudly about being and dairying and about those with whom he shares his life - wife Debbie and their five children Traesa, 17, Tamara 14, Eric 11, Mark 9 and Brett 7.

All the Rovey children enjoy farming. They love showing dairy and beef cattle and Paul feels certain that all will remain in agriculture. Traesa and Tamara are FFA members, while Eric and Mark belong to 4H.

Paul's dairy history is lifelong but the success story begins when he returned from college in 1978. At that time, the Rovey Dairy, which Paul's parents Emil and Ruth, founded in 1943, consisted of 250 cows. Today the cow population has expanded to 2,000, and includes 1500 Jerseys, 400 Holsteins and 100 Brown Swiss. Paul says the growth was gradual, and included purchasing a second facility. Later he decided to remodel one facility and close the other. Over the course of time different business decisions enhanced the dairy, and 'Paul Rovey Holsteins and Jerseys' took on a new life.

The Rovey cows stay in standard Arizona type corals. Paul explained these open corals differ from pasture and confinement operations. Instead of grazing, Paul employs bunkline feeding for his cows. Each day the alfalfa is harvested and brought to the cows fresh - green chop. In addition there is baled hay and other forage crops. Milking is done twice a day in a double-sixteen parallel.

Handling manure for 2000 cows does not present a problem. Paul farms 1900 acres along with his brother Larry, and says even with all the cows there is not enough manure to put on the fields. Liquid waste is in evaporation ponds, (in Arizona, evaporation is high and rainfall low). Twice-a-year spreader trucks move piles of dry solids from the corals and spread it on the fields.

"I knew that I would be in dairy or ag. I was born and raised on farm. Most of my brothers and sisters stayed in the industry too." The Rovey siblings number eight in all. Besides operating the dairy, Paul farms 1900 acres with his brother Larry. The rest of the family includes, brothers Albert, who farms in Parker, Arizona, George farms in Buckeye and Ron has a law practice Sedona. Paul has three sisters; Sharon Petterson, Becky Metz and Gretchen Haukereid. Sharon and hubby Gary own Gardener's World nursery in Phoenix, Gretchen farms in Glendale and Becky lives in California.

Paul's advice for other farmers: "You need to get larger, to stay viable. This is a fact in all businesses. One needs to get larger to stay alive in the industry - minimize overhead and maximize efficiency." He says the hardest part of farming is getting started. He recommends young farmers work for a large well-run dairy, gain the experience, and branch out later.

His hobby is raising Watuusis. These animals have a horn-spread up to 8 feet. When a watuusi dies Paul has its head painted in western motif and gives them as gifts to his friends.

A member of the United Dairymen of Arizona, Paul got on the National Dairy Board, and was then appointed to the board of Dairy Management Inc. He says he is active in these organizations because, "I am interested in moving our product, and I want to make sure there is a long term market."