Living

For decades, Denise and Tom Murray rose before 5 a.m. and shuffled through mud and snow to milk cows on the farm that has been in their family since 1939. This month, after years of falling milk prices and mounting debt, the Murrays sold their last milk cow, taking pictures while holding back tears as the final one was loaded onto a truck and taken away.
 “It's awful hard to see them go out the last time,” said Ms. Murray, 53. “It's scary because you don't know what your next paycheck is going to be.” Wisconsin is known as “America's

Swiping on dating apps is a breeze if you live in a town or city. But, when you're a young farmer living in a rural community, it's a whole other story. One where dates get cancelled when animals go into labour, and where some people show up to their dates brandishing shotguns.

Here, she still runs Moyfield Riding School, a livery yard, riding and trekking centre, with little more than some part-time help and a fleet of tractors she has accumulated over the decades (including a 1940s Fordson, a 1950s Field Marshall and a 1960s Massey Ferguson) to ferry feed and spread muck. 

By Carole Curtis

MADISON

Family business meetings are a two-edged sword.

They are one of the most important and effective factors for moving a farm business and the family forward, but they can be destructive if not managed well, Dr. Deb Houden, executive director of University of Wisconsin Family Business Center, told listeners during "A Sustainable Family Business".

Her presentation Feb. 26 was the second in a three-part World Class Webinar hosted by Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin.