Barn Window © 2008 Bo Mackison

Five minutes from our home on the outskirts of Madison, we are in the heart of Wisconsin farm country. Most nearby farms have been in families for many years. Many of them are century farms – the farms have been in production by the same family for 100 years or longer.

Over 99% of Wisconsin farms are family-owned and there are over 76,500 farms in the state. Wisconsin’s farmers grow enough food to feed 11.8 million people a year. While Wisconsin is strongly associated with dairies – we ARE the Dairy State and we call ourselves cheeseheads – we farm many unusual things, too.

We are among the national leaders in the production of cranberries and ginseng, have large numbers of trout and mink farms, and, of course, the state is dotted with Christmas Tree Farms.

Photograph of barn in Sauk County, Wisconsin