Nature and Nurturing: Organic, grass-fed dairy is a calling for the Strickers of Spring Creek Farms, Wernersville, PA

By Amy Anselm, NODPA Contributing Writer, Tioga Family Farm, Truxton, NY.

Spring Creek Farms in Wernersville, Pennsylvania has been certified organic since 1999, and the family-run dairy has managed multiple evolutions and additions to its operations since. Greg Stricker now manages the majority of the farm’s day-to-day operations, in continued partnership with his father, Forrest, as well as his wife, Stacy, his mother, Barb, and children Rachel, Jonathon and Joel. The dairy includes an annual average of 130 mature cows—including their milking herd and dry cows—and uses a once-a-day milking regime for optimum labor efficiency. They manage a total of 600 acres, and the Strickers maintain a 100% grass-fed diet for their cows, moving portions of the herd multiple times a day to ensure fresh and nutrient-rich pasture.

Recent years have also seen the addition of an on-farm retail store to improve access to their expanded product line, which now includes state-licensed raw organic milk and butter as well as grass-fed organic beef, poultry and eggs. Over time, some of these changes have been prompted by external factors like grain prices or labor shortages… but through it all, the Strickers’ decisions have been guided by strong faith and the conviction that the natural order is often the best course.

Five generations of farming… and farm evolution

Greg first remembers their family farm as his grandfather’s—and back then, he says, “the farm was mostly pasture-based production somewhat similar to its current operations.” When his dad started taking over the farm in 1978 he followed the industry trend of pushing for increased milk production through practices that were then considered innovative: keeping cows confined within the barn and building siloes for increased feeding of grains, TMR and silage. Like many, they relied on the research and advice of larger producers who in turn relied more and more heavily on herbicides, synthetic fertilizers, and antibiotics to maintain this increased production.

The family’s journey toward more natural practices followed their journey to spirituality. Greg recalls, “In 1986 dad followed God and started to change things—he felt that conventional practices were killing things, and he wanted instead to nurture life.”

The family began paying more attention to how conventional solutions were being offered and began to feel strongly that the chemical companies were pushing antibiotics, pharmaceuticals, and other drugs that were not making the overall situation better—in fact, they believed it was getting worse. So they started looking for different ways, developing a homegrown biological approach. “It felt like the old [conventional] way was to kill nature wherever it showed up,” Greg says, “and we wanted instead to work with it and enhance it.”

The family started in earnest down that path in the 90s, learning from other early practitioners, testing, refining and using various natural, organic, and regenerative techniques as their operations evolved and their experience grew. Some practices have held strong for over 30 years—for example, in 1991 they stopped using chemicals on the land and they haven’t applied any since.

Other practices they tested and practiced for a time but ultimately decided they didn’t fit their operations. For example, in 1992 they started composting all non-liquid manure and bedding, investing in a compost turner and applying the finished compost to fields. They kept this practice for 10 to 15 years before deciding to discontinue it. Part of this decision came from the labor-intensive nature of the practice, but mostly it became less efficient as they increased the herd’s time on pasture because the barns in turn produced less compostable manure.

The farm’s grazing regime guided its early organic development and has since come to define the value of its many products. They started grazing in 1993 and used the last prohibited organic substance in 1996, starting their three-year transition to organic and achieving that certification in 1999.

They continued feeding grain until 2011 when external factors forced their hand—grain was hard to find that year, extremely expensive, and so they decided to try going without it. “We did lose some production when we first switched off grain, around 6 pounds per cow,” Greg reports, “but our provider offered an additional bonus of $2 per 100-weight for all grass-fed milk, so our net loss wasn’t that bad.” That’s when they discovered the benefit of marketing their milk products as 100% Grass Fed—a benefit they have since leaned into with all their farm production.

This reliance on grass also meant an increased focus on pasture management and the nutrients within that grass, but the Strickers don’t find themselves needing to make significant annual investments toward that end. Greg shares, “We don’t re-seed our pastures for perennials, but sometimes we will drill and add in some annuals like winter rye, winter wheat, and triticale to improve forage.”

Greg cites the initial transition to organic as a more significant change to their pasture management practices, and recommends that farmers interested in making the jump to organic focus on soil health during that three-year transition in order to break the cycle of chemical dependence. “The ideal is to try and put more back on the land during the transition period than you take out,” Greg recommends. “Use more rest periods and try to use crops that re-build nutrients, like forages from the four plant groups—grasses, legumes, tall herbs and short herbs. Our approach, and what we recommend, is to let the land heal naturally by letting what grows up go right back down—mulch it all in and rebuild.”

Recognizing that there is often a financial need to harvest and sell something from all productive acreage, even during the organic transition, Greg emphasizes that this restful approach has greater long-term benefits. “You just have to be ready to weather that storm… the land is going through a tough time, coming off those chemical inputs. Work with someone to consult on this phase and invest in applying appropriate natural nutrients and minerals to facilitate that transition. You don’t want to waste years of future production trying to slowly improve the soil, do everything you can in those three years to get the soil to its best natural productive health.”

Now that the Strickers’ farm is well established as organic, they can optimize both herd and pasture health through regular rotation to fresh grass. Their milking herd averages 100 cows throughout the year, with closer to 70 in the spring and 130 in the fall. These cows get moved to fresh grass at least twice a day, but more often four to six times a day. The replacement herd of heifers and dries are moved to fresh grass at least every day and often twice a day. “We also allow these pastures to have longer rest periods,” Greg shares, “sometimes seventy days or more if needed to allow seed expression on plants, let things thicken up, or to utilize seed throughout growth.”

The labor necessary for this frequent herd movement is a consideration for this approach, as are fencing materials. “We use step-in posts and poly-wire reels, we’re not using any kind of virtual fence yet or tumble wheels—our pastures just don’t make that necessary or efficient,” Greg says. “And we don’t use fence-lifters or Batt-Latches that can spring open at certain times, we just haven’t had success with them. For us, it takes as much time to set those systems up as it does for us to just manually move them. Plus then we can check water, shade, and more actively watch for heat stress.” Greg says another summer strategy is to reserve shady pastures and larger areas for those days when the family is doing other work—like haying—and can’t be as actively moving fences throughout the day.

The Strickers don’t use the herd as part of their hay field fertilization. “We don’t graze our hay fields at all,” Greg says, “they’re just not accessible for that. Instead we’ll spread two tons per acre of chicken manure in the fall, which we buy from a nearby organic chicken operation. We also apply gypsum, boron and a compost blend using a commercial spreader outfit that brings their own equipment.”

Adding on-farm retail to access additional markets

The next evolution of the farm enterprise came in 2010 when Greg came back to full-time work on the farm. The family noticed the growing demand for raw milk, and so they applied for a permit and license through the state to legally provide it.

They renovated part of the barn into a farm store and began by selling about 20 gallons of raw milk per week to regular customers. The farm store also allowed them to bring in other products, including pasture-raised poultry and eggs as well as turning their best non-milking cows to grassfed beef. Now they are able to sell about 150 gallons of raw milk in a week, which accounts for between 10 and 20% of their total milk production. They also use local organic partners to process butter three or four times each year and sell about 600 pounds annually.

Making the switch to once-a-day milking

The next evolution was again driven by need—this time the loss of some critical on-farm labor in 2018. While sudden labor losses have meant the end of some farms, the Strickers used it as an opportunity to again test new practices to fit the situation. They had been researching once-a-day milking for a few years, running the numbers of somatic cell count and production comparisons from other farms, but were hesitant to make such a big switch with so many unknowns. Greg recalls: “We didn’t pull the trigger [on once-a-day milking] for a long time, but March of 2018 we felt that the time was right—milk price was low, supply costs like electricity were going up, and finally we lost the labor that helped with afternoon milking. We figured we’d try it before the next group of cows freshened.”

While some farms convert their cows from twice-a-day milking down to once-a-day after they have passed their peak milk production, the Strickers decided to start the new regime right from first lactation. And they haven’t gone back to twice-a-day milking since. Their twice-a-day production averaged 27 to 33 pounds per cow per year, and their once-a-day production now averages 22 to 23 pounds per cow per year. They still run a comparable 4.5% butter fat average and 3.5% protein average.

One unplanned but deeply appreciated benefit to once-a-day milking is in their new farming lifestyle. “We have more time for family, and we have more flexibility for holidays and weekends,” Greg shares, “but just as importantly, we can focus more of our time on the big decisions and careful implementation of techniques instead of having to rely so much on outside labor.” They still milk every morning at 5am, but now they have the entire rest of the day for activities like hay-making—now able to cut in the morning and bale in the afternoon without needing to break for afternoon milking or risk weather changes by leaving it down overnight. “We find that we can make better quality hay by cutting it in the morning and baling it and wrapping it same day,” Greg says, “and a 100% grassfed herd needs that higher quality winter feed compared to a herd getting grain.”

He believes the cows have benefited as well, once the herd adjusted to the new routine. “When the udder fills, those extra nutrients go back to the cow rather than us extracting all of them. Our beef value has also increased quite a bit, and we can now offer higher-value cuts instead of just ground beef, which really helps our retail income.”

It did take some careful effort to make this change a healthy one, though. “Somatic cell count did go up at first, but now it averages lower than when we were milking twice a day.” He says it took a few years to cull out the cows that were not cut out for once-a-day milking—especially those that leaked and so were more vulnerable to mastitis. Like everyone, they also cull for lameness, reproductive issues—and low production. “Sometimes they just don’t make enough when milked once a day,” Greg says, “they just re-convert too much milk volume back into fat and meat.”

Their selective breeding program now intentionally focuses on the traits that make for healthy and productive once-a-day milking. That breeding program follows their overall natural approach to farming. “We breed naturally, calving from March through the end of November at the latest,” Greg says. “We intentionally don’t have calves dropping in the winter.” In addition to worrying about newborns in freezing temperatures, Greg says it’s just so much more efficient for them to raise one big group of calves rather than multiple groups of various ages.

HERD GENETICS

Jersey herd with Holstein and Fleckvieh additions to optimize a combination of milk and beef production—with selective breeding for traits like adaptability to the all-grass diet, suitability for once-a-day-milking, and overall health to maintain organic herd care.

Their breeding program also reflects their diversified product offerings. While the herd is predominantly Jersey crossbred with Holstein for optimized milk fat and volume, they have also introduced Fleckvieh genes to better balance their output of milk and beef—this has also resulted in much higher returns on calf sales for veal. In addition to keeping the best bulls from their own herd, they also source purebred Fleckvieh bulls from other farmers around the state.

The Strickers don’t register cows in their herd—aside from his daughter’s Jersey show calf, of course. They do regularly test for A2A2 genes, as they have a profitable market for excess colostrum for local A2A2 herds, and that testing shows that a little over half the herd are A2.

This natural approach also extends to their expanded product line—namely their on-farm poultry operations. At their current production rate, they have about 150 laying hens and 200 broilers for meat at a time. Just like the herd, these flocks are entirely pasture-raised, and they cover some of the same ground in their mobile wagons. While the Strickers initially tried to keep the chicken wagons following right behind the herd to help with fly control, the hilly pasture ultimately made this too difficult. The chickens are still raised on cow pastures, they just don’t cover the same amount of ground. While the poultry operation is at a significantly smaller scale, it does provide important supplemental income—plus other local farmers are able to sell their products at their farm store.

Shelter, calves and herd health

The farm has moved as far as possible from its past confinement practices, keeping the cows on grass as much as physically possible and healthy. During the winter, the milking herd is put up in barns with bed pack at night only if there is snow on the ground or if it’s unusually wet. The replacement herd and dry cows are out-wintered with wind break shelters and winter watering facilities in the fields.

Their calf-rearing practices are adapted to this grassfed, all-natural, low-labor approach. When calves are born, half are matched with a nurse cow so that two calves per cow are sent out to graze away from the milking barn. They maintain this nursing pattern March through June, then in July the heifer calves are selected for either raising into milk production or sold as newborns. The nurse calves are weaned from the nurse cows at the end of October. Any calves kept in July and August are raised on nipple feeders with waste milk from the parlor, one to two gallons per day during the winter until they can be put on spring grass in April, at which point they are completely weaned. They raise about 35 calves per year this way.

Like the rest of the herd, calves also have access to free-choice salt and vitamins during the winter, and when health issues like scouring occur the Strickers rely on familiar remedies like supplements with garlic and aloe vera. They also use brands like Dr. Paul’s Calf Start syrup, but Greg maintains that colostrum is the most important to avoid the worst health issues.

The Strickers do not vaccinate the herd. Greg reports that somatic cell count runs at about 200, and they pull out any high-count cows’ milk to feed to calves. They administer a multi-vitamin at dry-off and again at freshening. They also administer a calcium bolus at freshening when they’re three years or older. The Strickers find that the worst trouble with milk fever occurs at this age, and especially between March and May, and so they pay special attention to spring health care. They also notice that their older cows tend to struggle with milk fever along with retained placentas and that this seems to be more of an issue in summer and can be linked to uterine problems—something they immediately treat with calcium bolus. “Fortunately these don’t add up to anything like an epidemic,” Greg reports, “just natural seasonal trends that we can treat with readily available supplements.”

This means that they don’t tend to rely on their herd veterinarian to treat sickness, but they do rely heavily on that partnership in order to meet the state requirements for raw milk sales. “Every fall we line the whole herd up,” Greg says, “and every cow over two years gets blood pulled to test for brucellosis and tuberculosis.” Because these tests tend to show a lot of false positives, the vet often has to return and re-check any flagged cows to be sure there is no actual infection.

During those visits, the herd vet will also do ultrasound pregnancy checks, but Greg says that amounts to the vast majority of their reliance on herd vets. “We have a great partnership, but they tend not to know what to recommend for natural remedies that we don’t already know. If we have a cow injured or sick with anything we’re familiar with, we just cull for meat. If it’s anything we can’t immediately identify, especially anything fast-moving, that’s really the only time we’ll call the vet in for sickness—to make sure it’s not a threat to the rest of the herd.”

Like most organic producers, Greg would love to see more vets familiar with organic solutions and natural remedies for common issues like mastitis, retained placentas, and uterine infections. He’s also interested in more research and support for grass-fed herds, such as their susceptibility to occasional low energy, as well as seasonal issues like fall foot problems. Currently they manage hoof health themselves, with a trimming chute and organic salves like J&L Organic Hoof Gel to treat hoof rot and abscesses.

They don’t regularly rely on a dairy nutritionist either, though they have learned some best practices from mineral providers. “We do get forage tests and they can help us balance out what we offer in free-choice mineral supplements,” Greg shares, “but we’ve learned their general recommendations over the years.”

Greg says he tends to rely more on direct conversations with his peers for many of the specific challenges they face as an all-grass, all-organic dairy and meat producer. “I’m part of a farmer-led regenerative-ag group through WhatsApp. These are farmers doing grass-fed like us, a lot of them also in dairy. That’s been a big help—I can post to the group and get feedback from folks with experience with exactly my kinds of problems.”

The importance of family support, on-farm labor and partnerships

Of course, some of the best support comes from being a family farm with five generations of experience. Greg and his dad are the main farm managers, but Greg’s three children live about five minutes away and often come to help. They also have one additional full-time worker who lives on the property plus about four other part-time employees that help on weekends and before or after their other jobs. This extra labor is mostly in support of their retail operations, but they also clean and help with chores, while the family and full-time worker performs all the milking and manages all crop work. “One of us in the family is always there for milking, and with once-a-day milking we have the time to do all of our own mowing, baling, wrapping, and any crop harvesting,” Greg says. “If we pull in any extra help, it’s just to haul hay.” All told, the farm directly supports three families.

Another critical partner is their organic certifier, PCO. “It’s important that a certifier can be responsive to questions and can be helpful with product procurals,” Greg says. “PCO has been good about that, we can call or email and get a timely response.” Of course there is always room for improvement, and Greg says that one concern is just how overwhelming the process can be—especially with multiple operations. “Trying to put organic emblems on multiple products like dairy, beef, and poultry—that’s a lot of handling, that’s quite the paper trail just trying to track and share all the information necessary.”

At the end of the day, the organic certification process, raw milk permitting, and other process-and-paperwork frustrations are all just the necessary steps to accomplishing what is most important to his family and their farm—working with nature in the way they feel God intended.

“We want to work with God’s creation, not against it,” Greg shares. “How He designed nature is how we want to manage it. That’s what He has called us to do—to manage the health of the land and the health of people. That’s why we’re always after the highest quality food for our families and our buyers, because our mission is to be good stewards.”

Learn more about Spring Creek Farms on their website: www.springcreekstrickerfarms.com and connect with the Strickers via phone at (484) 651-3122.

Join Greg and Forrest Stricker at Spring Creek Farms this September as part of the 26^th Annual NODPA Field Days!

Posted: to Featured Farms on Tue, Mar 3, 2026
Updated: Fri, Mar 6, 2026