How Wisconsin Pioneer Women Shaped Agriculture and Dairy Farming
According to Jerry Apps, professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, understanding our past is crucial for navigating the future. His recent talk highlighted the pivotal role of women in Wisconsin's agricultural history, particularly during the pioneer days.
Apps, speaking at a recent UW Division of Extension's Heart of the Farm – Women in Agriculture, recounted stories from his childhood on a farm near Wild Rose during the Great Depression. He detailed the extensive responsibilities his mother undertook and shared experiences from his time in a one-room country school.
Pioneer women faced immense challenges, serving as midwives, caregivers, cooks, gardeners, and seamstresses while also managing essential farm tasks like milking cows and producing dairy products. Their isolation was significant, often living miles from neighboring farms with limited social interaction.
"Pioneer women were more tied to the farmstead than the men," Apps noted, emphasizing their central, yet often unseen, role in maintaining the household and farm operations.
He recalled the daily struggles, such as keeping the home fires burning, a critical task for heating and cooking. Unlike today's conveniences, losing the fire meant a trek to the nearest farm for a hot coal, underscoring the resourcefulness and resilience required in those times.
In the early years (1840-1870), wheat dominated Wisconsin's agriculture. Men primarily focused on wheat cultivation, while women handled all other farm duties. This division of labor left women relatively isolated compared to their male counterparts, who had more opportunities for social interaction in town and collaborative fieldwork.
However, continuous wheat farming led to soil depletion, prompting farmers to explore alternative crops like hops, potatoes, and tobacco. Concurrently, figures like William Hoard, founder of Hoard’s Dairyman magazine, advocated for a transition to dairy farming.
Initially, men resisted, viewing dairy farming as "women's work." However, Hoard's persistent advocacy gradually influenced farmers. The late 1800s saw the construction of large barns for dairy cows and hay, the cultivation of alfalfa, and the introduction of silos. As men embraced dairy farming, they established cheese factories, shifting cheese and butter production from the home kitchen to a communal setting.
Apps also touched on the social aspects of rural life. Women found community in quilting bees, combining social interaction with productive work. Rural families socialized through neighborhood dances and card games. The introduction of the telephone in the 1890s provided women with a crucial communication tool, albeit one shared via party lines, facilitating information sharing and community support.
His stories of one-room schools, and his personal battle with polio in eighth grade (and how his parents and teacher helped him to advance to high school) highlight the tight-knit nature of rural communities and the emphasis on education, even in the face of adversity.
Apps concluded by emphasizing the financial prudence of farm families, recalling how his mother meticulously tracked every expense and bartered eggs for goods at local stores.
Apps' insights shed light on the indispensable contributions of women to Wisconsin's agricultural heritage.