Thriving Land: Farming while embracing a land ethic
Monday, June 30, 2025
6:30 PM 8:00 PM
The Octagon Barn (map)
Join us for an evening with a panel of Wisconsin farmers who will share their unique stewardship approaches to agriculture, embracing the Leopold notion of a "land ethic": personal responsibility for the conservation of the soil and water, the land-- and gratitude for its gifts.
Panelists will be:
John and Kim Koepke
Koepke Family Farms, Oconomowoc
Mid-scale dairy
John and Kim are fifth-generation dairy farmers who work together with a dedicated team to care for and milk 350 cows and raise 350 heifers, along with guiding land stewardship practices on 1,100 acres of cropland and 150 acres of woods and wetlands. The Koepke family adopted sustainable farming methods decades earlier in the 1980s, beginning with no-till farming and progressing into contour strip farming, diversified crop rotation, nutrient management, cover crops, and grassed waterways. They were honored with the 2011 Wisconsin Leopold Conservation Award for their work. John and Kim are both involved with Tall Pines Conservancy, a local land trust where John is a past President and a current member of the TPC Board of Directors, and Kim is a member of the TPC Outreach Committee. They have three sons who contribute their skills to the farm's operations.
Joe and Theresa Stapleton
Stapleton Farms, Spring Green
Grain and forage crops, and dairy heifers
Joe and Theresa Stapleton have been farming for 42 years. Their farm has been family-owned since 1894. They raise corn, beans, alfalfa hay, and grass hay. They have been doing no-till farming for 10 years and are involved with two watershed groups. They also host on-farm field days geared towards conservation.
John and Halee Wepking
Meadowlark Organics, Ridgeway
Heritage grain, vegetable, and forages
John & Halee Wepking own Meadowlark Organics Farm & Meadowlark Community Mill in Ridgeway, WI. Their team manages 1,000 acres of diversified field crops and cattle, and operates a stone mill which sources grain from farmers to be processed and distributed regionally. Their focus is on improving land stewardship, and creating direct grain markets: helping farmers maximize profitability and keep their grains within the foodshed.
Dick Cates
Cates Family Farm, Spring Green
Dick will serve as moderator. His recently published book, A Creek Runs Through This Driftless Land: A Farm Family's Journey Toward a Land Ethic, will serve as a frame for the conversation.
Dick and his family are members of the Iowa County Uplands Farmer-Led Watershed Project and the Lowery Creek Watershed Initiative, where they share information about and demonstrate conservation practices with other landowners and the public. Dick serves on the Sand County Foundation nationally represented Board of Directors, and the Fishers & Farmers Partnership for the Upper Mississippi River Basin. Locally, he serves as elected Chair for the Town of Wyoming, and on the local Fire/EMS protection district and hospital foundation Boards. He is a long-time Lions Club member.
The Cates family has been recognized for their soil and water conservation work: 1998 Wisconsin Soil and Water Conservation Achievement Award, Soil and Water Conservation Society of America; 1999 and 2018 Water Quality Leadership Award, Iowa County Land Conservation; 2000 Distinguished Agricultural Award, Kiwanis Club of Downtown Madison; 2006 certification by the Animal Welfare Institute, the first beef farm in the United States to receive this certification; 2009 Wisconsin Grazing Community Communicator of the Year; 2012 UW–Madison Farm and Industry Short Course Alumni Service to Agriculture; 2016 Blue Mounds Area Project Bur Oak Award; 2016 Wisconsin Master Agriculturist; 2020 Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation Distinguished Service to WI Agriculture Award; and 2025 Gathering Waters Land Legacy Award. The most cherished recognition was receiving the 2013 Sand County Foundation Wisconsin Leopold Conservation Award.
Dick authored the book Voices from the Heart of the Land: Rural Stories That Inspire Community (University of Wisconsin Press, 2008), a children’s book An Adventure on Sterna’s Hill (2019), and A Creek Runs Through This Driftless Land: A Farm Family’s Journey Toward a Land Ethic (Little Creek Press, 2024).
Son, Eric and his wife, Kiley, manage the family farm now, with “A Commitment to Conservation” as their business tagline, and Dick and Kim assist as they are able. Dick and Kim enjoy walking on the farm and in wild country anywhere, canoeing, skiing, and dancing together. They have four grandchildren who are the love and joy of their lives.