Thursday, June 14, 2012

Dairies, Cows, and Corn

Another Wisconsin Barn

I was digging back through my post files in order to find this barn to post on Barn Charm. It's one of my favorites - but then, I have so many favorites!  Originally posted in June of 2012:

'I would have been able to zoom in on this with the old (now broken) camera so you could more clearly see the '1914' date etched into the foundation of this Wisconsin barn. The little group of structures was nicely aligned, I thought - the barn, the milk house, and the tile silo.

I'm pretty sure there were no longer any cows on this property, as is true of many of the old farms. Only the buildings remain, and who knows if they'll be here in another 20 years.

A couple weeks ago I read a headline, '1250-cow farm hosts dairy breakfast.'  One thousand two hundred fifty cows???  In the 1950s, the average dairy herd in our neighborhood was about 30 cows. Admittedly, 1250 isn't the average size herd these days, but still...

 Some of the luckier cows
Living the good life

There are currently 1,250,000 cows in the state of Wisconsin, but the number of operating dairy farms is a fraction of what it used to be. Now many of those cows live on huge 'super dairies,' where they only dream about being free to roam a pasture. Although they are able to move about the barn, they are never outdoors, never walk through a woods, never drink from a stream,  or never congregate under a lone oak during a rain shower. Many cows in Wisconsin live a very different life from their ancestors.

Some of the old homesteads are being erased from the landscape. As they begin to deteriorate, buildings are torn down, trees cut down and their stumps removed, and the land is plowed to make room for corn. In a few weeks the uninformed passerby would never know there'd been a homestead - a house, a dairy barn, a milk house, a silo, a chicken coop, a horse barn, a corn crib, and a granary - once standing on that land that is now another few acres devoted to the production of ethanol.'




This photo is linked to

Feeling nostalgic,

Photobucket

14 comments:

Cherry's Prairie Primitives said...

I loved seeing the barn and cows!! Its horrible how most things are getting slowly erased.

MadSnapper said...

my heart hurts for the cows and all the other animals we USE for food that our world has come down to the almighty dollar rules everything. from chickens and turkeys to cows and pigs, crammed in whatever to make more and more. sad story. these cows are beautiful. sad to think of losing the heritage of our country.

Unknown said...

It's truly sad how certain things are now a "thing of the past" and we'll never get them back.

Deanna said...

That makes me so sad. That's part of the reason I have re-thought our animal product purchases. I don't want to contribute to this. I love that picture of the barn and am sad that something that was once a common part of America is so quickly disappearing.

Debra Hawkins said...

I love these barns! It makes me so sad that small farms are vanishing.

Anonymous said...

It truly is sad that a way of life that we once knew is going away rapidly, never to return and all for progress? Makes one wonder.

Sunny Simple Life said...

I hate to hear of old farms dying and going away. I am so sentimental for such things. I know time changes things but some things should be forever right?

Ruth Kelly said...

One of my pioneers had a brother who had a dairy farm in Vermont. It's hard work - they could never get away from it nor have a vacation. After his wife died, he sold the farm and came to Utah to see his sisters who had crossed the plains and he stayed here. Family means so much when you are alone.

Carla from The River said...

I agree with you Judy. I love the photo of the barn and milk house. I love cows! The photo shows "Happy Cows"!

Lois Christensen said...

That is a BEAUTIFUL barn. Interesting fact about the cows. The picture from the previous day is also nice! Enjoy your day.

RebeccaT said...

These pictures just take me back to childhood summer days!! Maybe like Elizabeth Zimmerman rescued old schoolhouses, we can rescue old barns...

Empty Nester said...

And that's the reason I don't buy cow's milk anymore. I can't stand the way they are kept and, in some cases, abused. Did I tell you about my great grandfather's farm? I used to love going there and we had a family reunion there every August. Well, when he passed, my great uncle (one of 11) who inherited the farm with one of his sisters, married a hateful woman and she proceeded to run my great aunt off. Just a year ago, she sold my great grandfather's farm right out from under everyone in the family. She didn't ask if anyone wanted it, she just sold it to complete strangers. Anyway, I used to love Papa's barn. Hmph.

Chatty Crone said...

I am sorry the old farms are going away - but I love that barn! sandie

J_on_tour said...

Wonderful picture of the cows. It's sad how times change whether it be the extremes of greed or a survivable living. You can't help but love those barns and certain aspects of life in ... 1914 !!

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