Forward to Yesterday: Grazing Their Way to the Future
From: Ed Janus
Series: Milk on Our Boots: The Terroir of Dairyland
Length: 09:08
Wisconsin's state motto is "Forward." Today in Wisconsin, a growing number of dairy farmers are looking forward to a better life by looking back. Using less-intensive farming and grazing techniques practiced in the past, some modern dairy farmers like Dan and Shelly Truttmann, have been able to make a good living by letting their cows do most of the work. The Truttmanns neither reap nor do they sow. Their cows feed themselves on grass that grows itself. (And spread their own manure!) The Truttmanns are modern, scientific grazers, animal caretakers and land conservationists.
They are also members and founders of a small cooperative creamery where their grass-based milk is turned into Spring-splendid cheese, sold by a well-know, but un-namable, chain of gourmet food stores. The Truttmanns have found a way to preserve their 100-year old way of life and enjoy a very modern one as well.
More from Ed Janus
The Education of a Young Dairy Farmer
(10:39)
From: Ed Janus
Cows helped form the moral character of a young woman farmer
From Cheddar to Art
(09:52)
From: Ed Janus
A cheese maker with 130 years of family tradition becomes a genius in creating with milk
Keeping the Family in Farming
(12:55)
From: Ed Janus
The four Crave brothers refused to give up on farming as a way of life
Splendor From His Grass
(13:36)
From: Ed Janus
From corporate offices to dairy barn and farmstead cheese making
The Tastes of Yesterday
(09:18)
From: Ed Janus
Wisconsin's crossroads cheesemakers are returning to their roots
Care of the Cow Brings Good Fortune
(10:28)
From: Ed Janus
A four-generation dairy farm family continues to care for cows
Related Pieces
Piece Description
Wisconsin's state motto is "Forward." Today in Wisconsin, a growing number of dairy farmers are looking forward to a better life by looking back. Using less-intensive farming and grazing techniques practiced in the past, some modern dairy farmers like Dan and Shelly Truttmann, have been able to make a good living by letting their cows do most of the work. The Truttmanns neither reap nor do they sow. Their cows feed themselves on grass that grows itself. (And spread their own manure!) The Truttmanns are modern, scientific grazers, animal caretakers and land conservationists. They are also members and founders of a small cooperative creamery where their grass-based milk is turned into Spring-splendid cheese, sold by a well-know, but un-namable, chain of gourmet food stores. The Truttmanns have found a way to preserve their 100-year old way of life and enjoy a very modern one as well.
