With a new month, comes a new Farmer of the Month. Congratulations to our November Farmer of the Month, Adam Vanden Wymelenberg. Adam and his wife Marie own Vanden Wymelenberg Dairy in Shirley, WI where they milk 130 cows. The couple started buying cows about five years ago before they owned the property they do today. They bought the herd from a couple near Madison that was looking to sell, brought the cattle to the barn they were renting at the time, and eventually ended up on the dairy they now call home.
Adam was born and raised surrounded by agriculture. He grew up on a hobby farm and once he was old enough, he started working on a dairy down the road from his parents. It’s no surprise to anyone that his end game was to have his own dairy herd, which is now his reality. For his wife Marie, on the other hand, this wasn’t exactly the plan she had in mind when they started dating. “When we started dating I was like, no, I don’t want to do it. But he’s so passionate and so driven…we were only dating four months I think and he bought cows,” Marie said. She explained how the drive he has to be a farmer was almost contagious. “I never would’ve imagined that I’d be married to a dairy farmer…”
Marie said one thing she had to learn quickly is that the farm comes first, it’s the top priority. She said a good way to go about things is to not make plans because when you’re a farmer, you never know when something’s going to go wrong out of the blue.
Adam grew up around dairy, but that doesn’t mean things haven’t drastically changed since he was a kid. He said he remembers growing up and there were a few big farms forming, but most farms had 40 to 60 cow herds and they did just fine. Now it’s VERY rare to see a farm that size because you can’t make a living with that small of a herd. Adam brought up how there are some guys who had smaller farms and then kept growing to corporate size, but otherwise, most got out of the industry.
He had some advice for those in the dairy community that could relate to any career field. “The biggest lesson that we’ve learned through just the little bit that we’ve been dairying is surrounding yourself with good people. That’s huge and it’s sometimes hard to recognize those good people…keeping them close and treating them well is so key.” Adam said that those people will help you succeed and they’ll be there for you. He also went on to say that as long as you have the determination to be a farmer and you’re ready for some bumps in the road, go for it. Even if you have to start off really small, you have to start somewhere.
Marie said that one of the perks of Adam being on the farm is that he’s always there. If she needs anything, he’s there. She also loves the fact that their kids are so interested in being on the farm. They aren’t scared of the cows or anything. “Most of the time that’s a good thing,” Marie joked. For Adam, this has always been his dream, especially with the kids out on the farm. “It’s always been kind of a dream of mine to be at work here and then be able to see them out playing in the yard, playing in the sandbox, but at the same time getting involved with the farm…that means a lot to me,” Adam said. He’s happy they’re experiencing the dairy at such a young age because most people don’t get that opportunity.
He’s not completely sure why he started loving the farming lifestyle in the first place. Adam explained how it was just something that sparked his interest and then it grew from there. He mentioned one thing that always blew his mind was watching a farmer or a vet save a cow. He always wanted to eventually learn how to do things like that because he said it’s very rewarding when you have that knowledge and can do it on your own.
Once again, congratulations to our November Farmer of the Month Adam Vanden Wymelenberg and his wife Marie. Make sure to check out the video above! For the full interview, click here.
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