A Family Affair for Over 160 Years
The story of El-Na Farms began in 1850 when the Fenendael family immigrated from 
Belgium to Quebec in search of a warmer climate. Then in 1858 they moved to Algoma, Wisconsin, where the family continues to farm today. Eli & Nancy Fenendael formed the farm prefix “El-Na Farms” in 1967 using “El” from Eli and the “Na” from Nancy. The farm became an LLC in 2000, when Eli and Nancy sold the farm 
to their 3 sons; Shane, Barry, and Lonnie, making them the 6th generation on the farm. Today the 3 brothers all have families of their own, with everyone in the family very involved with the farm in some way or another. Even Lonnie’s 11-year old son Kurtis, the 7th generation on the farm, is already a skilled operator, taking his turn to haul manure, pack and push silage and plow with their NH 9060 articulate tractor.
About the Farm
El-Na Farms has grown and seen quite a few changes since it became an LLC in 2000. At that time, they were milking 100 cows and have since grown to 1600 today! With the 
growth in the herd, more buildings were also added to the farm, including a new 40-cow rotary parlor. The Fenendael’s currently farm a total of 4500 acres, with 2400 acres growing corn. The remaining 2100 acres are a split of alfalfa, soybeans, and wheat. The farm employs 30 full time employees year-round and roughly 15 seasonal employees during planting and harvest.
True Blue Through and Through
If you’ve been to El-Na Farms before, you’ll certainly notice one thing in particular…the 
amount of blue equipment! There are over 18 New Holland pieces of equipment at the farm including 9 tractors, a FR700 chopper, spreaders, discbines, skid steers, and a sprayer. The reliability of the New Holland brand has been a key factor in El-Na’s loyalty over the years to blue. Amongst their fleet, they run an 8770 with over 60,000 hours on it. El-Na knows feed quality is imperative for their herd to maintain production and they rely on their NH FR700 to get 
the job done efficiently and effectively each season.
“We did demo one other brand and just didn’t like it. We haven’t bothered since to try anything else because we’ve always been happy with the performance of the New Holland. We like the power and capacity the New Holland has over the other brands”, says Lonnie. The Fenendael’s do own one Ford 8N Tractor in addition to their fleet of New Holland, and as you can see in the image, it’s quite a comparison in size to their sprayer!
Embracing Technology
El-Na recognized early the positive effect technology could have on their operation. They have incorporated technology into various aspects of their operation, allowing them to track and gather data faster and easier. Mapping fields for planting, variable rate 
applications and using drones to scout fields allows them to make decisions and changes if needed to improve yields in the fields. Information sent during milking allows them to detect changes in the cows’ behavior and they can react sooner to address needs in the herd for optimal production and breeding. With public perception of farming being one of the strongest challenges the farm will face in the future, technology can also be a key to mitigating fears and proving sustainability practices are planned and executed on the farm. El-Na Farms takes great pride in their operation and looks forward to the next generation taking over in the future!
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