We appreciate all of the farmers we have in Wisconsin. That’s why each month we choose one farmer to give a big shout out to!
It takes a special person to be a farmer, especially one who balances two different dairy farms. One of the farms is a dairy goat farm that she runs with her husband, Marvin, and her son, Wyatt. The other farm is a dairy cow farm, which is taken care of by the whole family. She’s there, along with her grandpa, her mom, her brother, her Aunt and Uncle, and her son. The farm has been in the family for 150 years!
At the dairy goat farm, Wy-Guy Dairy Goats, they have an interesting back story. The plan was never to be milking 100 goats, but that’s what happened. “We started when our son turned two. We decided he needed to learn responsibility…we took Wyatt to the state fair that year and took him in the goat barn,” Becky went on to say, “he fell in love with them, so we bought him two for his second birthday.”
Becky was explaining how much of an impact growing up on a farm has on kids. For example, her son Wyatt isn’t going home from school to watch TV. Wyatt comes home to do what he can on the farm. He learned responsibility at a young age. Becky said he’s a child growing up in an adult’s world. “His work ethic is just night and day difference from other kids.”
She said one downfall is that they do end up missing some things, but they’re still together on the farm. She mentioned why she loves the lessons agriculture teaches people. “I can’t imagine raising my son doing anything different. I love the way of life, I love that you learn the good, the bad, life, and death…you really learn what life is about.”
Becky said that in the beginning it was difficult on the goat dairy because a lot of the feed mills, and veterinarians didn’t want to work with them because they didn’t know a lot about goats. Luckily, now they have a great vet helping them out!
Since it’s June Dairy Month, Becky was talking about the importance of the dairy industry. “I think it’s vital because people need to know where their food comes from, it does not come from the grocery store,” said Becky. “People don’t realize the work that goes into farming…this is the lifeblood of the state. This is Wisconsin.”
Becky hopes that the farm can keep being passed down from generation to generation. She wants to keep the dairy farm alive. Who knows, maybe her son will take it over someday!
Congratulations to Becky Mills of Oshkosh, our June Farmer of the Month!
