WHAT GROWING UP ON A FARM TAUGHT ME

Is Wisconsin it isn’t hard to find someone that has grown up on a farm, right?

But, I am a proud daughter of a hard-working, loving man who has lived his own life on a farm. He never saw himself doing anything else, and he learned everything he knows from his own Father and is now teaching it all to my Brother. There is no doubt that they are teaching each other now – things are SO different now than when I was in high school feeding the calves.

What was it like growing up on a farm?

Well …. when I was younger, I HATED working on it! I was not a fan of feeding the calves daily and even threw some epic temper tantrums trying to get out of it. (they so did not work at all either, just had me working later in the night to finish) BUT, as I grew older, I actually loved it, shhh don’t tell my Dad! During the Summers that I didn’t have a job, I would return home and work on the farm, feeding calves, merging and raking fields, even driving a dump truck! Yes, people, I drove a dump truck — I was TERRIFIED every foot I went. I was just happy that my Brother would back it up and dump it for me. Who knows what I would have backed up into?!

My Dad asked me multiple times to come back on the farm, live in the house I grew up in, and help out full time. But, deep down, I knew that I wanted to do more. I wanted to travel the world, experience as much as I could doing something that I adored. I knew I didn’t want to live my whole life in Wisconsin either. No matter how great and how much I love this state, I knew I wanted to live in the mountains. Soon this will be a reality. Just you wait! Each time he asked me, though, he hurt to tell him no. But, they have a great crew of people who work year-round, making sure it runs smoothly 24 hours a day!


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One of my favorite memories about farm life is when my parents and I were returning home from a band concert and the cows were on the road.

I got out of the car in my dress clothes to chase them back home. Another great cow chase story is when the cows took a little trip nearly 3 miles down the road. The fire department was called, and together we walked the cows back to the farm in the rain. It was a complete downpour with a train of cows, us, firefighters, volunteers, and cars going down the road. Oh my gosh, I giggle just thinking about it! Needless to say, this may have happened two more times before we figured out why they were getting out.

Would I change the early mornings watching the sunrise in the cab of a tractor? Or being covered head to toe in manure once! Had to carry heavy bales of corn and milk up a hill, seeing a calf be born. Sitting in the milking parlor as a kid watching the guys work and learning something new every day for anything else in the world growing up? Heck no! I think everyone should work on a farm for a summer at least once in their lives. It will change you!

Make sure to thank a farmer every day for that milk in your cereal, that salad in your bowl—the prime cut on a date night, or that cold glass of beer. Blood, sweat, and tears helped make your plate today.

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