Friday Jun 23, 2023

Farm for Thought With Farmer Dan

“By the year 2040, 75% of Ag output will be controlled by less than 5% of farms. What that also indicates is that there's a tremendous opportunity for smaller scale farms establishing more of a direct to consumer relationship,” explains Dan Wegmueller, a fourth generation dairy farmer in Wisconsin. Healthcare and agriculture may not seem like they have a lot in common, and you may be surprised how much of Dan’s story you relate to. Burnout, depression, and suicide are at an all time high for farmers, technology is being used to take farmers out of livestock management, and it is nearly impossible for smaller farms to keep up with ever growing production demands. Farmers are being moved further away from their roots of caring for animals and having relationships with the consumer, and some in the industry are pushing for further automation. Today, Dan joins host Lara to talk about the similarities between agriculture and healthcare and the lessons he has learned from pivoting to agritourism.

Farming used to be about the relationship between a farmer, the land, the animals, and the consumer. Now, the majority of farms in America look very different from Dan’s picturesque dairy farm in Wisconsin. Instead they are highly technologically advanced with thousands of animals, and both farmers and consumers have less involvement in the food production process. When Dan took control of his family’s farm, things were not looking good financially. The farm was in significant debt and operating below cost of production. Instead of giving up, he pivoted and opened the Dairy Farm Stay in 2018. This farm stay was a way to not only bring in a continuing revenue source, but also to reconnect the consumer with the food production process.

Instead of giving up and shutting down, or giving in to demands and expanding, Dan chose to do something that nearly everyone told him would never work. He chose to go back to his roots and re-establish a relationship with the local community, opening the farm up and encouraging people to learn about where their food comes from.

Quotes

• “Farmer suicide is higher than that of military combat veteran suicide.” (11:24-11:30 | Dan)

• “We've reached a point in Ag where technology is no longer supporting management. It's taken over management.” (17:07-17:16 | Dan)

• “By the year 2040, 75% of Ag output will be controlled by less than 5% of farms. What that also indicates is that there's a tremendous opportunity for smaller scale farms establishing more of a direct to consumer relationship.” (17:48-18:07 | Dan)

• “Never lose track of the long term goals, because it's absolutely worth it.” (34:38-34:42 | Dan)

• “Rather than focus on overextension, burnout, and everything else that goes with it, talk about getting back to roots, reestablishing what our true relationship is not only with land, environment, animals and consumers, but also ourselves.” (38:42-38:55 | Dan)

Links

https://drlarasalyer.com/catalyst (to play "Rock, Paper, Scissors" and get your free Restoration plan)

https://drlarasalyer.com/symposium to sign up on the waiting list for this August's symposium

Connect with Dan Wegmueller:

Website: www.wegmuellerfarm.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WegsFarm/

Connect with Lara:

Website: https://drlarasalyer.com

Instagram: @drlarasalyer

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drlarasalyer

Linked-In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drlarasalyer/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DrLaraSalyer