You will not catch them milking cows like they used to, but when you’ve been around for 150 years, farms like Olson Family Farms in Sturgeon Bay are bound to change. The Olson Family is celebrating the milestone this weekend, about a month before officially being recognized as a sesquicentennial farm at the Wisconsin State Fair on August 9th. Few farms have reached the mark, with just 982 on the list since the recognition program started in 1998. By comparison, there were 375 Chapter 12 farm bankruptcies from 2010 to 2019. Rich Olson and his brother Eric are the fifth generation to run the farm, and he does not anticipate slowing down anytime soon.
Olson Family Farms consists of 1,150 acres and 60 cows they now milk robotically. Olson hopes to hear stories from his family members about how the farm has evolved over the years and the fond and not-so-fond memories they have had there.