Hi, my name is Carrie Mess.
You know those people who wear foam cheese wedges on their head? I’m one of them. Cheesehead-hat-hair is the bane of my existence. I am a proud Wisconsin dairy farmer, a mom and a wife. I say things I shouldn’t say entirely too often. Good cheese and beer are my love language. When I die I hope to have pre-written one of those funny obituaries that goes viral.
If you want to know the details, here you go-
I grew up in Madison, WI with no real ties to agriculture. I am WAS the average American, generations removed from the farm and never dreamed of being a dairy farmer. Then one day when I was 15 I met a guy…and started dating his friend. Fast forward several years and more questionable dating choices and I married the guy I met all those years ago. He wasn’t a dairy farmer (at the time) but his parents were.
My background was in sales and marketing, but my love of animals drew me to trying out farm life shortly after we got married. It stuck and I found out that I was born to be a caretaker of cows and the land.
Today my husband and I farm in partnership with his parents on our 100 cow, 300 acre farm in Southern Wisconsin. I am the crazy cow lady of the neighborhood.
In 2011 I started this blog on a whim. It grew and now I am lucky enough to split my time between being Mom, the farm and attending events where I get to share not only where our food starts but also what I have learned over the years as an advocate for farmers and food. You can learn more about that HERE.
So much has happened since I joined the farm. The summer of 2015 was both the best with the addition of our son Silas and the worst as we dealt with the aftermath of a farm accident involving my mother in law.
Just when I thought I had things under control, we had Ben and once again we went through the roller coaster of emotions of having the best and worst things happen at the same time.
We are about to turn the page to 2020 as I write this and after taking a big step back from this blog during the turmoil of the last four years, I am looking forward to getting back to writing. I’ll continue to share farm life, mom life and recipes from my kitchen. So thanks for taking a minute to read more about who I am. I appreciate it!
Have a good one,
-Carrie Mess
I’ve written a few other places too-
Huffington Post ♦ The Guardian ♦ Dairy Herd Management
I’ve also picked up a few awards along the way.