Wisconsin
Wisconsin family farms increasingly relying on off-farm employment to supplement income
The economic relationship between Wisconsin family farms and the rural communities that surround them is changing.
UW-Madison agricultural and applied economics professor Steve Deller said that smaller farms are struggling to generate enough income to support themselves, so families are more often turning to off-farm employment to help pay the bills.
Deller said this represents a reversal from the historical dynamic of the farm, where the agricultural operations were supporting the rural communities around them.
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He joined WPR’s “Wisconsin Today” to share his latest research on the decline of family farms in the state and how nearby towns and villages support them.
The following was edited for clarity and brevity.
Kate Archer Kent: What kind of declines are you seeing in Wisconsin farms?
Steve Deller: We’re seeing, basically, consolidation. Farms are getting bigger. It’s economies of scale. There was a period in the 1980s and 1990s where it kind of stabilized a little bit, but we’re seeing that pattern of further consolidation returning.
What they’re doing is, they’re selling the herds off to other, larger farms, furthering the consolidation. So the number of milking cows is actually relatively stable. It goes up and down a little bit, but what we’re seeing is that more and more of that herd is being concentrated in fewer, larger farms.
KAK: How is this affecting jobs and the need for off-farm employment to support farms?
SD: The traditional thought is that, for a healthy rural economy, you have to have healthy agriculture. The flow of economic benefits goes from the farm to the rural communities. But when you start to look at the financing of the farm family or the farm household, the data is really suggesting something very, very different.
Historically, someone would get a job off-farm primarily to get health insurance. Increasingly, that off-farm income is keeping the farm afloat. It’s keeping the family afloat, and because the family is now financially stable, because of that off-farm income, the farm is able to continue to operate.
KAK: Are there enough reliable off-farm jobs available in surrounding rural communities?
SD: If you start to look at a reasonable commuting distance, it really kind of opens up a lot of opportunities. And when you get into many of these rural communities, there’s still labor shortages. We’ve been generating more jobs than we have people for years. So the opportunity for off-farm employment is actually pretty good, particularly if you’re willing to drive a little bit.
KAK: How should this trend influence public policy for these rural communities?
SD: I think the takeaway from this research is that we have to think about the relationship between the farm and rural communities differently.
The policy implication is that, if you want to maintain a farming economy — maintain those family farms, those medium sized, intermediate sized farms — you have to make sure that there’s good-paying, off-farm employment that has good benefits.
So the idea is that now we have to look at this more holistically, and we have to look at how farming and the local business community work together more.
KAK: What do we lose when we lose the small family farm?
SD: I think it’s part of our culture. I think it’s part of the way that we view ourselves. From a purely economic perspective — if I put my cold-hearted economist hat on — these really small farms don’t impact the local economy that much. But it’s a cultural dimension. It’s part of who we are. There’s pride in it. It’s part of our identity.
Also, if you look at things like farmers markets, a lot of the local foods are from these smaller farms. So if we want to maintain local food systems, in order for those farms to maintain, there has to be off-farm income.
Chai Vang died at a hospital, Wisconsin officials confirmed Friday.
A St. Paul man convicted in Wisconsin’s 2004 tree stand killings has died in custody.
Wisconsin corrections officials said Friday that 57-year-old Chai Vang died at a hospital.
Vang was serving six life sentences in the case.
The shootings happened Nov. 21, 2004, on private hunting land south of Hayward near Exeland. Six hunters were killed and two others were wounded.
Prosecutors said the group confronted Vang for trespassing before he opened fire. Vang claimed he acted in self-defense.
A jury convicted him in 2005 of six counts of first-degree intentional homicide and three counts of attempted homicide.
Sunday is Flag Day — and in the small Ozaukee County community of Waubeka, Wisconsin, it is more than just another day on the calendar. It is recognized by Congress as the birthplace of Flag Day.
Neighbors are already getting ready for the big day, cutting grass and touching up fences ahead of the celebration.
John Finch owns the town’s Stony Hill Pub and Grill and knows firsthand how much the day means to the community.
“Flag Day is just a day for the community to all come together,” Finch said.
Watch: Waubeka, Wisconsin, celebrates Flag Day as the birthplace of an American tradition
Waubeka, Wisconsin celebrates Flag Day as the birthplace of an American tradition.
The tradition draws visitors from far beyond Waubeka’s borders.
“People come from all over, and people that used to live here and moved away, they come back every year for it,” Finch said.
It all started at the one-room Stony Hill School, where Bernard J. Cigrand gave his students an assignment on June 14, 1885.
David Janik, President of the National Flag Day Foundation, described how it began.
“He set a 38-star flag, in an inkwell on a desk, and had them write an essay on what the flag means to me, an exercise that we still carry on today,” Janik said.
The birth of the American flag dates back to June 14, 1777. The tradition of honoring the flag is rooted in this rural Ozaukee County community, which is home to a museum that tells the story of those who served and their famous schoolteacher.
June 14 is packed with events, including a parade featuring more than 100 units.
“After the patriotic program, we’ll have over a 100-unit parade go through Waubeka, including our Waubeka Fire Department, which you met earlier today,” Janik said.
The fire department also showed off their 40 by 60 foot flag that will fly on Sunday.
Flag Day kicks off with a military tribute, followed by a patriotic parade at 1:30 p.m. through downtown Waubeka.
Sunday’s celebration will be held at the Flag Day Foundation Americanism Center, 4200 Valley View Drive in Waubeka. Events include:
10:00 a.m. Veteran/Honored Guests Sign In, Welcome Reception, VIP Package, Drawings
Prior to 1:00 p.m. Parade Line-Up – Check in with Parade Team
10:00a.m Food Stands & Trucks (No service during the program)
11:00 a.m. Music Prelude under the Pavilion
11:30 a.m. Uplifting Program, Essay Contest Winners, Guest Speakers, VIP Drawing
1:30 p.m. Patriotic Parade thru Waubeka
3:00 p.m. Family Day Events, Museums Open, Special Displays, Music, Games, Prizes
5:00 p.m. Live Music by “Liquid Crush”
9:00 p.m. Famous Fireworks
This story was reported on-air by Charles Benson and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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The biggest World Cup ever is here
The biggest World Cup ever is here, with 48 teams and three host countries. How will it change soccer and can the U.S. seize its home-field moment?
TORONTO – Jesse Marsch and Esmir Bajraktarević have never met.
But if the Canadian men’s national team coach and midfielder from Bosnia and Herzegovina, respectively, were to link up following the June 12 Group B kickoff as Canada hosts its first World Cup match? Break out the Euchre and cheese curds.
“Maybe we’ll get together and talk about the Packers and Cheeseheads and all that kind of stuff,” Marsch said at a June 12 news conference. “I hope he still remembers that.”
Bajraktarević was born in the United States – Appleton, Wisconsin, specifically – after his parents left war-torn Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2001. He maintained close ties to his parents’ home country and, despite coming up through the U.S. national team’s system, switched allegiances to Bosnia and Herzegovina in a move that was approved by FIFA in 2024.
“It’s just very proud for me every time I play for Bosnia,” Bajraktarević told ESPN Netherlands. “It’s a different feeling. It’s where my parents come from and it’s what I always thought of myself as – as a Bosnian. It’s the best feeling.
“In (my) heart, I always knew since I was little that it was going to be Bosnia at the end of the day. There’s videos of me wearing (Bosnian legend) Edin Džeko’s jerseys growing up. He was my favorite player growing up, and it’s just something you dream of.”
Dubbed “The Milwaukee Messi” after he netted the game-winning penalty kick against Italy to send Bosnia and Herzegovina to its second-ever World Cup (and first since 2014), Bajraktarević told FOX Sports the moment was “one of the best feelings I’ve ever had in my life.”
“It was like a dream come true,” he told FOX Sports. “It sounds (cheesy), but that’s the only way I can explain it.”
The soccer universe is expansive. It’s the world’s game, after all. Except in Wisconsin, the circles are close-knit.
A native of Kenosha, Wisconsin, Marsch said there is plenty of crossover between people they know from the Badger State. More importantly, for Marsch’s scouting purposes, he knows those who have coached the precocious 21-year-old at his professional spots, the New England Revolution and PSV in the Netherlands.
Bajraktarević left Wisconsin at 16 to start at the Revolution’s youth academy and made 48 appearances with New England from 2022-24. Since joining PSV, he’s logged 38 caps and scored 7 goals with 5 assists across all competitions
“Certainly, as a Wisconsinite, I’m proud of what a great player he is. He’s one of, if not the best, player to ever come out of that state,” Marsch said. “I maybe held that for, like, a three-week period.
“He’s a very talented young man. I still think he has a big future. And he is one of the players that we’re keying in on to make sure he doesn’t have an easy day, because we know when he has time and space, that he can be a creator, he can be a contributor. He’s an important guy for them for sure.”
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