Even if you haven’t met these Wisconsin dairy farmers in person, you know someone just like them: the farmer that keeps the farm running with a bit of baler twine and duct tape; the MooMaw who believes butter and prayer fix everything from cranky calves to cranky kids; and the Barnyard Baller who test drives shiny new tractors like other people test drive sports cars, except his zero to sixty is in acres, not miles.
This is just a sample of the farm folks featured in Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin’s “Born to Dairy” campaign launched last week at World Dairy Expo in Madison. The marketing specialist for DFW, Katrina Hoesly, says the personas aim to dispel stereotypes and highlight the unique characteristics of Wisconsin dairy farmers.
“This is a farmer-first storytelling campaign that showcases the pride, the personality and fun quirks of our Wisconsin dairy farmers,” Hoesly said. “This helps the public to see the faces behind our Wisconsin dairy farmers, not the stereotype of the farmer sitting on a bucket with a pitchfork. We wanted to bring the modern-day farmers to life for consumers to see.”
The first slate of personas have really hit close to home for many people.
“We’ve had people walk up to us and say, ‘My dad actually calls himself the farm MacGyver!’ Our fun tagline for this farmer is that he hasn’t thrown anything away since 1997… just in case,” says Suzanne Fanning, senior vice president and chief marketing officer for Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin/Wisconsin Cheese.
Fanning says it wasn’t hard to find the models to fit the personas of whey clever Farm MacGyver, fully loaded Barnyard Baller, butterly beloved MooMaw, dairy social FarmTok Hot Shot, udderly stunning Dairyland Darling and crop it like it’s hot Gen-Z Farmer.
“We didn’t hire models or do some fancy shoot,” Fanning said. “These are real people from our dairy industry.”
In fact, Fanning didn’t have to look far to find her perfect MacGyver. DFW board member Gary Kohn was game to fill the bill and was told to only wear what he does on the farm.
“So he shows up in this button-down shirt that he cut the sleeves off, so we immediately changed one of the lines on his card to read ‘when you demand collar respect but need elbow freedom’— the lines kind of wrote themselves.”
When she isn’t wearing her Alice in Dairyland tiara, Sarah Hagenow is just a typical Gen-Z farmer who loves to work with dairy animals and get to know folks in the farm community.
“Being able to be a part of this and pay homage to my early roots in the dairy industry is fun,” Hagenow says. While she enjoys having fun with her persona, it’s an authentic part of her life and says her generation is helping to shape the future of agriculture. Asked if she feels famous having her own trading card, Hagenow likes to think that everyone in dairy is famous.
“Being able to share the story of our already famous dairy industry known as America’s Dairyland. Our farmers and cheesemakers are well known across the nation and just to be a part of that in and of itself is fame enough for me,” she said.
In Wisconsin, there were 37,600 women farmers in 2022, accounting for 35.5% of the state’s total producers, according to the University of Wisconsin–Madison. However, some people have a hard time believing that.
“There are so many strong, smart, beautiful women who are in farming these days and people will walk up to them and say, ‘You’re too pretty to be a dairy farmer!’ Tell that to a woman who hauled 50-pound feed sacks, delivered a calf, made dinner by 5 o’clock!” Fanning said. “So, we’re basing an entire persona on what we call the Dairyland Darling.”
The campaign also partners with Charlie Berens — who is famous as a comedian, Emmy-winning journalist, New York Times best-selling author and creator of the Manitowoc Minute — who will showcase these farmers on his social media platforms.
“Charlie was just a natural fit for us to partner with since dairy farmers love Charlie, and in return, he loves them,” Hoesly said. This was clearly evident from the long line of farmers — a line only rivaled by the one at UW Dairy Club’s grilled cheese stand.
The Born to Dairy initiative aims to boost consumer engagement and support for Wisconsin dairy products.
“We want consumers to know that this is the face of farming. These are your friends and neighbors and you can support these incredible people by looking for the Proudly Wisconsin badge, by drinking Wisconsin milk or Wisconsin cheese, or loading up on butter and ice cream, all of the wonderful products made right here in America’s Dairyland,” Fanning said.
