A touchdown for dairy

MOUNT HOREB, Wis. — When a big, black “On Wisconsin” bus pulled up to their driveway July 22, the Haag family was ready to make a good impression on 25 young men who had never stepped foot on a dairy farm. The men were members of the University of Wisconsin-Madison football team, and they brought a busload of enthusiasm to the farm.

“This was such a unique promotion of our dairy industry,” Dawn Haag said. “We were able to reach a whole different realm of consumers and make an impact that day. I bet every one of those kids went back and told their mom, dad, uncle and brother what they saw.”

Dawn and her husband, Virgil, farm with their children, Karsen and Kody, near Mount Horeb. The Haags milk 260 cows with four Lely A5 robotic milking units in a facility built in 2023. The Badger football fans greeted their guests with a big Wisconsin family farm welcome.

“It was a fun farm experience to share something we’re passionate about and proud of with people unfamiliar with the dairy industry, and they were very receptive,” Dawn said. “Just a little snippet of their time is all we had. You can’t explain dairy farming in two hours, but you can give them an overview.”

The Haags partnered with Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin in hosting the event that was orchestrated by former NFL player, Travis Beckum. Beckum works for the UW-Madison athletic department and also played football for the Badgers.
The month prior, after making a connection through DFW, he visited the Haags’ farm with one goal in mind — to milk a cow. The Wisconsin native had never been on a farm.

“We have robots, so we brought out our portable milker and bucket, and he milked her that way,” Dawn said. “He was so enthralled to see a cow and learn about the total mixed ration.”

It was during this visit that Beckum asked the Haags if they would ever consider hosting the football team.

“Part of his job is to give athletes a taste of Wisconsin because they come from all over,” Dawn said. “They try to come up with ways to get them invested in our state, and Travis was excited about this. He’s very down to earth and is a great person. It was really cool to meet him also.”

Six people from DFW came to help the Haags, including Suzanne Fanning, executive vice president and chief marketing officer, who kicked things off with an introduction about Wisconsin’s dairy industry. The event was university sponsored, with no cost incurred to DFW.

“We wanted to show them how important the dairy industry is to Wisconsin, and Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin did a really good job of that,” Dawn said.

The Haags had the chance to do myth busting too, Dawn said.

“Some players had the idea this was going to be dirty, but their idea of a dairy farm was very different than what they saw,” she said. “It was good to show our industry in a positive light to break any misconceptions they might hold about dairy farming.”

The Haags set up stations, and it was a lively day of learning as the athletes and farmers interacted. Only one player, who was from Arizona, had visited a dairy farm before, and he came wearing boots.

Karsen took out a Red & White Holstein named Cheers on a halter. This was the same cow Beckum had milked.

“It was like a swarm of bees when we brought the cow out,” Dawn said. “They all wanted to touch her and take pictures with her. For many of them, it was their first time petting a cow.”

The players also had the opportunity to bottle-feed water to calves. The Haags had a portable milker on display and encouraged players to stick their fingers inside one of the teat cups to feel the pulsation.

“Nobody wanted to do that, but when Karsen’s son did it, one guy said, ‘I can’t let a 6-year-old show me up,’ and so he tried it too,” Dawn said.

Karsen showed the players how she checks the Lely app on her phone, and Dawn said the group was impressed by the technology. Virgil and Dawn split up between each of the robot rooms to give the athletes an up close look at the milking process.

“They loved being in the robot rooms,” Dawn said. “They were in small groups so they could really get to see them.”

A tractor and TMR mixer were on display, and Kody showed the athletes the different ingredients they feed their cows. However, it was the quantity that amazed them.

“They couldn’t believe Kody mixes 22,000 pounds of feed per day,” Dawn said.

The visit was hands-on, with football players immersing themselves in the farm rather than merely observing. They climbed in the tractor and peered into the mixer and stood on top of the bunker pile. The Haags said they were eager learners, who took a lot of pictures and asked a lot of questions.

“They were very excited and engaged in what we were doing,” Virgil said. “They were also very polite. I was impressed. When they left, every one of the players said, ‘Thank you’ and shook our hands. They were very appreciative of what we did for them.”

Dawn agreed.

“The guys were so respectful and pleasant,” she said. “We were just amazed at how attentive they were, and we enjoyed watching their reactions.”

DFW and the Haags offered the players snacks of yogurt and cheese.

“Our milk plant, Klondike Cheese (Company), was gracious enough to supply Odyssey yogurt,” Dawn said. “We explained how the milk truck picks up our milk, and this is the final product, as some of our milk goes into making yogurt. They could see the whole product chain.”

GoodSport, a dairy beverage made from milk permeate, was also available for players to try.

“That drink went over big,” Virgil said. “I don’t think there was one guy who didn’t drink it or at least take a bottle with him.”

DFW also provided promotional shirts, hats and sweatshirts to the players.

“There was nothing left over,” Virgil said. “The next week when the Badgers went to Platteville for practice, we noticed on TV that they had their Dairy Strong hats on as they walked off the bus.”

Virgil learned from Beckum that the players told their other teammates how much fun they had at the farm and how much they learned.

“I thought that was really nice they told their friends that they missed a good opportunity,” Virgil said.

By sharing their farm with the athletes, the Haags said they` hope to build trust for dairy farmers and dairy products among an audience new to agriculture.

“In our ag world, we think everyone knows about farming like we do,” Dawn said. “We forget there are people even in Wisconsin who don’t have that farm experience.”