Statewide Project Details History, Culture Of Farming In Wisconsin

An exhibit traveling around Wisconsin is showcasing the state’s rich historical and cultural ties to farming.

“The Lands We Share” aims to tell the story of the diversity of Wisconsin’s farming culture through a tour of five farms across the state, along with oral histories, artifacts and images. Each farm is featured for three-weeks at a local community venue and wraps up with a farm-to-table community dinner and conversation.

The project sought out five farms with a variety of backgrounds and focuses, with the hope of increasing a dialogue between farmers and the public, said James Levy, director of the project and director of the Public History Program at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

“We’re at a time where people aren’t really talking to each other across regional and cultural, racial and ethnic divides,” he said. “And we found that farming is a really great common ground.”

Farmer Mike Dettmann, whose Johnson Creek farm Dettmann Dairy is featured in the project, echoes those thoughts and said with fewer family farms in Wisconsin, that history is at risk of disappearing.

“Growing up, you used to either be part of a farm or knew somebody that was, and that isn’t as true anymore,” Dettmann said.

Four University of Wisconsin universities support the project — Whitewater, Madison, Milwaukee and Oshkosh — along with grants and donations from a handful of foundations. Tour stops began in October, and the last stop will be a closing night in Madison on May 8.

Farms included in the project are:

1. Vang C&C Farms in Fort Atkinson, the first Hmong-owned farm to be organically certified in the state.
2. Oneida Nation Farms in Seymour, which includes more than 6,000 acres of crops, buffalo and beef.
3. Metcalfe Park Legacy Garden, an urban garden in Milwaukee.
4. Allenville Farms, a produce farm in Allenville was established in the mid-19th century.
5. Dettmann Dairy Farms, a family farm since 1902 that has more than 500 dairy cows.

One theme stuck out to Levy among all of the farmers.

“One of the surprising through lines is how many people are, were, or come from families that were refugees,” he said. And for generations, farmers have found a home in Wisconsin, Levy said.

Whether through family history or the the food you eat, everyone has a connection to farming, Levy said. And one of the most poignant parts Levy saw through the project is how emotional that is, he said.

“Some people do it for a living, some people do it for a life,” Levy said. “And I think more people do it for the latter, for the life for the emotion and even spiritual connection to farming or urban rural everywhere. It’s pretty profound.”