Around the Farm Table

Inga meets with Wisconsin farmers who've found different ways to earn a living with goats. She travels to Cross Plains to meet a dairy goat farmer who makes artisanal cheese, then up to Mondovi to meet with a friend who makes goat milk soap. Finally, she takes a hike to meet ecologists who use grazing goats to manage natural wildlife areas. She makes a goat cheese frosting cake for friends.

Inga explores different ways to preserve the summer’s bounty. She visits fruit farmers in LaValle and Menomonie who are using different methods to grow fruit orchards, then passes by Gilmantown to meet a man who is growing herbs and flowers for a boutique line of herbal teas. Inga’s cousin Cece visits the farm and they make currant jam.

Inga celebrates the spring by taking a trip to the Driftless Region. She visits and urban greenhouse in Lacrosse, then travels down to Viroqua to harvest wild ramps and talk with a family who are homesteading. She prepares a meal of ricotta dumplings with ramp pesto for her neighbors who are helping her clean up after her barn fire.

Inga invites friends to the farm for a trail ride, live country music and a campfire barbecue. She travels to the town of Dane to meet a family who are producing high-quality bourbon from the corn they grow on their farm. She then meets up with some ranchers in Hillsboro who use their horses and rodeo skills to herd cattle. Inga’s brother pays a visit to the farm to show her how to shoe horses.

Inga cooks a meal made entirely of ingredients produced by local friends. She learns about urban beekeeping from a beekeeper whose hives are all located in yards and gardens in the city of Eau Claire. She then picks up some grass-fed beef from a farming family in Neillsville, and pays a visit to a friend who is growing garlic near Fairchild. She hosts a barbecue for her friends at the farm.

Inga visits the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin to tour various agricultural projects. She visits Tsyunhehkwa organic farm to learn about a proprietary strain of white corn, hemp, and grass-fed cattle. She then learns how the Oneida Nation brought a herd of bison to Wisconsin before visiting the Oneida Nation Orchard. Chef Arlie Doxtator visits to show her the traditional way of making white corn soup.

Inga celebrates America’s Dairyland. She visits the World Dairy Expo in Madison to learn about the world’s largest gatherings of dairy farmers. After the expo, she visits the Sassy Cow Creamery, a family-owned farm that makes ice cream. Back at Inga’s place, we get an update on her own dairy farm since losing her barn to a devastating fire. Finally, Inga prepares a classic Wisconsin cheese fondue.

Inga shows us how to keep life going through the cold Midwestern Winters. She visits a winter greenhouse and a modern root cellar in Duluth, then she visits the American Birkebeiner in Hayward and serves up a warm snack for a group of young skiers.