Daluge Farm is like many other family-run dairies today. The fifth generation is the driving force behind the decisions, working alongside the older generation with the next generation in tow. But unlike other dairies, this one is home to just 100 cows, and it’s currently supporting the dreams of at least four members of the Daluge family and a handful of employees.
Erin (Daluge) Grawe; her husband, Tristan; Megan Daluge and their father, Peter Daluge, all have a role on their Janesville, Wis., farm today. But it wasn’t always that way.
“Before 2018, we weren’t all farming together,” Megan Daluge recalls. “It’s pretty unlikely that two of the siblings on a small dairy farm are going to take over; we happen to work really well together, and we’re best friends, so we were really excited to get the chance to finally both be full time on the farm.”
As Grawe and Daluge were beginning their venture together, over 500 other Wisconsin dairies were disappearing, some of them much larger than Daluge Farm. The family knew they needed more income without adding major overhead. Both sisters were already involved in educating kids and passionate about sharing accurate information about dairies, so opening their farm to tours, field trips and a summer camp became the perfect solution, but they didn’t stop there.
“We built ‘Milkin’ Mamas,’ which is our brand based on restoring the voice and the label of milk,” Daluge says. “At that time, it was about sharing the truth of farming and agriculture. We were showing the real and vulnerable. We showed a lot of the not so perfect parts of it, and I think that’s how we built so much trust with so many people.”
By the third year of farm camp, the family opened several more sessions to accommodate the growing demand. At the same time, Milkin’ Mamas grew rapidly, and today has an engaged audience of more than 45,000 on Instagram.
With their talent for storytelling and connecting with audiences, the sisters also launched a women’s clothing boutique. The Frayed Edges brand created another source of income while empowering women in male-dominated industries. Between the dairy, camps, tours and boutique, they were able to bring Erin’s husband, Tristan, into a permanent role on the farm.
“We thought, either Megan and I could eventually get a bit of a raise, or we could spread out some of the work so we can do more off the farm and bring Tristan in,” Grawe explains. “So we set our goals and brought him in even earlier than planned. It gives us a little time off, and we can do more of our other things and less of the chores that didn’t really serve us.”
“It’s not the case for every farm family, but we really all want to be here,” Daluge adds. “There’s not freedom financially, but there is freedom with time.”
The sisters’ success in different businesses has often been met with criticism for their appearance or pursuing opportunities off the farm. But Grawe and Daluge have leaned into it.
“They didn’t realize what we were doing to build up this farm camp, going to meetings around the state,” Daluge recalls. “But work still had to get done. We had to milk later, and we’d be doing chores with lipstick on. We decided to lean into it and push the envelope in that way.”
These experiences, combined with an investment in a coaching certification program, gave them the tools they needed to scale as entrepreneurs once again, this time by helping other farm businesses find their voice and build their brand online.
“We’re able to help clients see what resources they already have,” Grawe says. “It may be starting a farm camp or tours, and an extra $500 to $1,000 a month can really make a difference. The starting point is sharing their story and teaching what they’re doing on the farm, because building an audience is the basis for whatever comes down the road.”
While the sisters have endless business ideas, everything comes back to the farm.
“We’re still very passionate about the farm,” Daluge says. “We love it, and we want our kids to grow up around that lifestyle. But we also love business, meeting new people, making connections and helping others, and I think it always makes us appreciate the farm even more when we come back from traveling with these other things we are doing.”
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