Belgium couple to start second large-scale dairy in county
By Susan Scholl Editor

Koen and Els Ally

Vreba-Hoff Dairy Development LLC is helping a young Belgium family start a largescale dairy in northeast Carroll County.

Optima Dairy Farm is in the permit process, according to Peter Vandervegt, a Vreba-Hoff consultant. Following review by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, they hope to have the permit by the end of this month, he said.

The dairy's owners will be Koen (35) and Els (32) Ally, Their operation will include 2,200-head of dairy cows and 40 calves. They plan to sell the calves to someone who will raise them and then sell them back to them.

The dairy will be located on ground purchased from Myron Sink at CRs 1000N and 300E in Liberty Township.

The Allys both come from agricultural backgrounds. Koen is a fourth generation dairy farmer. He took over his father's dairy farm in 1999 and married Els in 2002.

The couple invented a new stall divider that put them in touch with a lot of dairy farmers around the world. It was then that they realized that if they were to keep up with all the changes in the dairy industry, they would need to relocate.

According to Koen, Belgium is one-third the size of Indiana with a population of 10 million people. When Koen took over they were milking 60 cows. The couple increased that number to 75 and did not see it expanding again in the near future.

After visiting more than 30 different dairy farms in the U.S. in 2006, Koen was convinced that they needed to set up a new dairy in the Midwest. Els made her own trip to the U.S. to check out schools, social life, etc. After the trip, she too was convinced that their future was in Camden, Indiana.

"I'm always looking how to develop the farm for the future, like my father," said Koen.

"The U.S. is still an importer of milk," said Koen. "And the Midwest is the best place to set up a dairy because there are a lot of consumers within a day's drive of the dairy, available feed for the animals and fresh water."

The Allys said they chose Vreba-Hoff to help them relocate because of their experience with farms and helping families set up new businesses.

Optima Dairy Farm will be milking cows three times a day, seven days a week. The Allys expect to hire 20 people to help with the operation.

"Dairy farming is part of our life and doing this is the American dream," explained Koen. "We want to show our parents that we are doing the right thing for our family. We want them to be proud of us when they come to visit."

Koen said there is only a six hour time difference between Belgium and the U.S.

"The web cams that will be set up around the farm should keep the families back home in touch with us continuously," he said.

Koen and Els have three young sons - Tim, age 4; Stef, 3; and Dieter, 2. They plan to relocate to the house on the Sink property in January.

Carroll County Economic Development Executive Director Daryl Smith said that the CCEDC is on track to strategically place three to four nice size dairies in Carroll County.

The first, Boerman Carroll Dairy, has been through the permit process and should break ground soon. Vreba-Hoff is also helping the Gerrit and Janet Arendsen family start up that dairy, a 4,100-head concentrated animal feeding operation in Democrat Township, south of Cutler.

Vreba-Hoff, with offices in Ohio and The Netherlands, helps bring dairy farm families from Europe to the U.S. to start new dairies. Once established the company typically hands off ownership to the families.