Meet Wanda from Minnesota Farm Living

06/24/2015

Ever wonder what life is like on a farm? Wanda’s got you covered. Stop by her corner of the interwebs – Minnesota Farm Living – to get the inside scoop on what life is like on her farm, where she and her family grow 100 acres of corn and soybeans and raise 4,400 hogs a year.

As a bonus, you’ll also get a healthy serving of Wanda’s delicious recipes! We recently had a chance to catch up with Wanda and ask her a few questions about blogging and life as a farmer.

What inspired you to become a blogger?

The word “blogger” was really intimidating. It took me a very long time before I could even say, “I am a blogger.” I attended an AgChat conference about two and a half years ago, and it was that conference that inspired me. It literally took my breath away to see all the agriculture bloggers that I looked up to! I am passionate about agriculture, and I know there is such a huge disconnect between consumers and agriculture. I knew I wanted to do my small part to start bridging that gap.

One piece of advice you would give to beginning bloggers:

Be authentic. Be genuine. Be yourself. Don’t try to be someone else or something you are not. Be honest, respectful and speak from your heart.

Tell us about your family:

My husband and I have three grown daughters – Teresa, Alisa and Kristeena. I have five grandchildren and another one coming in July! At this point, we don’t have anyone working with us on the farm, but who knows what the future holds!

Tell us about your farm:

Our farm is located in south-central Minnesota. We raise pigs and grow conventional corn and soybeans. In fact, I live in the number one county in Minnesota and number six county in the U.S. for pork production, which means lots and lots of pigs! We are considered a small farm. We crop farm about 1,000 acres and sell about 4,400 pigs per year.

What is the hobby you don’t get to do nearly enough?

Genealogy. I love family history! I am intrigued to think about my ancestors – why and where they lived, and why they did the things they did.

What are the questions you get asked most often about farming and what are your answers?

I am asked many questions. One question I get asked is how we house our pigs. Our pigs are housed indoors primarily because we can give them better care. Better care meaning they don’t have to deal with the extremes of Minnesota, both cold and heat. We can also feed them better and give them better medical care by having them indoors. They are also safe from predators.

Another question I am asked is, “Are there added hormones in pork?” The simple answer is no. It is illegal to give pigs, and also poultry, any additional hormones.

I’m also asked, “Is your farm a factory farm?” My answer to this question may be a little unconventional, but I don’t know what a factory farm is. When I think of a “factory farm,” I think of animals having little human care. I think of an uncaring environment where workers/owners only care about profits. That is definitely not what our farms are like. We care, and we are in the barns multiple times per day. Our animals are our number one priority, and we do everything we can to raise healthy animals.

What is one misconception you commonly hear as a farmer that you would like to clear up?

The one thing I would love to clear up is that it’s families that farm – not corporations, not factory farms, but families. Yes, some family farms are large and others are small. These families are my neighbors, they go to my church and my children went to school with their children.

The quote you live by:

“Learn to love without condition. Talk without bad intention. Give without any reason. And most of all, care for people without any expectation.” I also like the sign at the end of my driveway – “Our family is proud to feed yours.”

How do you decide what content to post on your blog?

I blog about three main topics. One is farming issues, my perspective of those issues and how they affect my farm. I am not afraid of current hot topics. Also, farming issues where I feel there is a lot of confusion and misinformation. The second thing I blog about is farm/rural life. I like to give my readers a taste of what that life is like. This also includes my family. And the third thing I blog about is anything else that moves my soul. And who knows what that may be! For example, I challenged myself to “24 Days of Random Christmas Kindness,” where I performed random acts of kindness during the Christmas season and blogged about it.