CASA GRANDE, Ariz. — Michael and Delores Dugan started out milking six Holstein dairy cows near Manitowoc, Wis. — a small town on the coast of Lake Michigan, 40 miles from Green Bay. In 1962, the Dugans moved out west with their six sons: Tom, Richard, Mike, Danny, Pat and Dennis.
At that time, Chandler was a small farming community and Michael learned dry-lot dairying methods from the locals. They later started Mi-Delo Dairy on Germann Road.
At different times, all of the Dugan sons have been involved in the dairy business in the Casa Grande Valley. About a quarter of the milk cows in Pinal County now belong to a member of their family. Like their parents, the Dugans all milk Holsteins — a breed of cattle that is the world's highest-production dairy animal.
The first to relocate to the area from Chandler was Dennis, who began dairying in Casa Grande in 1981. At that time there were only three other dairies in the county: the Rugg dairy on Peart Road, the Hogeness dairy near Maricopa and the Homrighausen dairy near Eleven Mile Corner. The latter is now owned by Pat's son.
"Our parents started each one of us in the dairy business," Dennis said in a recent interview. "The primary reason I came to Casa Grande was cheaper land prices and the small-town atmosphere — there were about 14,000 people in town then."
The first to follow Dennis to town was Pat, who started a dairy after he graduated from high school. Eventually, Mike, Danny, Tom and Richard would all be involved in area operations. The Dugan sons have seen technology in their business evolve over the years and have gone from using cowbells to computer chips on their cows.
"Mom and Dad worked us hard when we were young," Dennis was quoted in a Farm Credit Services newsletter. "If it weren't for them, none of us would be where we are today. We all love dairying."
"If you define 'dynasty' as a succession of people from the same family who play a prominent role in their field," reads the newsletter about the Dugans, "the Arizona dairy industry has its own dynasty with the Dugan family."
Michael Dugan operated his dairy in on Germann Road in Chandler until his retirement in 1989 — growing from 44 heifers to over 800 when he retired. "After his retirement, the sons presented him with a team of Belgian horses," his obituary reads. "He spent many happy hours training the team and entered summer pulling contests in Wisconsin, often returning with trophies." He and Delores moved to Casa Grande in 2006, and he died in early 2011.
As of 2011, there are 185,000 dairy cows in Arizona and 75,000 in Pinal County. "Most are in Maricopa County," Dennis said. This year, 18,000 cows are being milked by one of the Dugan brothers or their sons in their respective dairies.
"My two sons, Sean and Casey, are getting into it now," Pat said. "It's definitely been a great business to raise a family in." The younger Dugans are part of the fifth generation in their family to be in the dairy business.
Information from: Casa Grande Dispatch.