About the Land
We moved to a former dairy farm in Prairie Farm, WI in 1991 with our 1 year old daughter. The house is a 140 year old log farmhouse which we heat with wood during the cold Wisconsin winters. Our home farm is 89 acres in total, 30 acres of forest, 49 acres of rolling pasture/hay fields. We rent an additional 50 acres of crop land to make sufficient hay and additional grazing for our herd. Each year we make hay during the summer to feed our cattle all winter. After several years of trying to raise corn and pasture raised pigs, we borrowed equipment from our neighbors to return the entire home farm to grass and legume cover. It has been in grass continuously since about 1995.
Meet the Family
Jim
Jim Hare wears several hats (in addition to his Stetson). In addition to raising beef, he also is the owner of Dancing Oak Publishing and has, since 2001, published the monthly Barron County Senior Review in cooperation with the Aging and Disability Resource Center. He also is the Founding General Manager of the Hay River Publishing Cooperative since 2005 and has been the editor of the Hay River REVIEW since 1997. The HRR is a hyper-local news monthly for southern Barron and northern Dunn Counties. Jim grew up in Pennsylvania and went to college at American University in Washington DC for his B.S. in Environmental Systems Management. He is the Vice President of the Barron County Farmers Union, a member of the Prairie Farm Lions Club, and a published author. His other interests include: sailing, snowshoeing, and riding bicycles and horses.
Becky
Becky Glass has worked with economic and environmental justice organizations most of her life. She grew up in Kansas, California and Michigan and then moved to Champaign Illinois for a masters degree in energy and transportation planning. After several years in Illinois, including Springfield and Chicago, her work took her to Washington DC and then Minneapolis. She has been part of the family farm movement since the mid-90’s, and now works from her home office on the farm as the deputy director for the Labor Network for Sustainability. She serves on the boards of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, Every Voice and Every Voice Center.
She loves both the travel her work requires and the peace of farm life. When not at her computer, she loves long walks with the dogs, music of all kinds, exploring new places, reading, and taking care of our furry family.
Amber
Amber has grown up on our farm. She graduated from Boston University in May 2013 with a degree in Environmental Analysis and Policy. During her time at BU she studied abroad twice, once in Grenoble, France and once in Atenas, Costa Rica. She spent her first year after graduation managing a community service program (First-Year Student Outreach Project - FYSOP) for BU and moved to Chicago in 2014 for a job with Food & Water Watch where she organized a campaign opposing non-therapeutic use of antibiotics in livestock production.
She is interested in continuing to explore food and agriculture through an environmental lens. In her free time, she loves to cook, dance, play ukulele, romp with the dogs, and be outside.
Currently, she is living in Boston.
Furry Family
Grizzly
Grizz is part wild and all heart. He found us on a cold night and came home with us to stay when he was about 3. He loves to lie in the shade, bury any bone he gets his mouth around (including those he steals from Jabba), and all the pets he can get.
Kitty Little
Kitty, Cat, Kittykins, or KiKi adopted us when she was only a kitten. After charming Amber into bringing her into the warm basement on a cold winter's day, she happily took over her new domain and has presided over the house ever since. She loves tuna, gift ribbon, particularly squishy couches, laps, and climbing up trees. She detests climbing down trees.
Diego, Teebird, & Dexter
Diego is a Paso Fino. He enjoys apples, afternoon rides, carrots, hay, apples, and pets. Tee bird is a Quarter Horse. She joined us when she was 2. She enjoys pets, being in charge, frolicking in the field, and apples. Dexter is the great granddaddy Shetland pony of Dancing Oak Farm. He Joined us when Amber was 6 years old, and loves grazing on fresh green grass most of all.