MEDIA HAPPENINGS

 
 
Ben Snare, visiting with guests during a five course meal prepared by local chefs, hosted at field and farm co

Ben Snare, visiting with guests during a five course meal prepared by local chefs, hosted at field and farm co

You have your first child, and you start becoming reflective.

- AG MATTERS

Ben Snare sits down with WLCO’s jim raymond on Ag matters to discuss ag tourism. the pair discuss the winding story about how the snares came to beloit and discuss the highs and lows inherit to small scale farming.

 
Meghan And benjamin snare, from field and farm co, speak at news conference on behalf of LRB 0149 - Small Farm Diversity Grant Program

Meghan And benjamin snare, from field and farm co, speak at news conference on behalf of LRB 0149 - Small Farm Diversity Grant Program

Legislators Introduce Bipartisan "Our Farms, Our Future" Package

- Wisconsin Eye

On September 3, 2019, Rep. Mark Spreitzer (D-Beloit), Rep. Dave Considine (D-Baraboo), Rep. Don Vruwink (D-Milton), Rep. Tony Kurtz (R-Wonewoc), and Rep. Deb Kolste (D-Janesville) held a news conference to introduce the "Our Farms, Our Future" legislative package in the Assembly Parlor at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, WI.

 
Meghan Snare walks with her 5-year-old daughter, Emma, toward plots of crops on their CSA farm in the Orfordville area

Meghan Snare walks with her 5-year-old daughter, Emma, toward plots of crops on their CSA farm in the Orfordville area

‘Reorient Our Day-to-Day': How One Couple Left Metro Chicago and Started a CSA Farm in Rock County

- Gazette Extra

At a time when Wisconsin dairy farms are closing at a rate of nearly two per day, diving into agriculture without a farming background might seem like a puzzling choice.

Ben and Meghan Snare saw it as an opportunity to connect non farmers with sustainable food and cultivate a more fulfilling lifestyle… 

 
Sometimes older farmers don't pass down to their families, and in the meantime, there are new and young farmers looking for farmland of their own.

Sometimes older farmers don't pass down to their families, and in the meantime, there are new and young farmers looking for farmland of their own.

Handing Land to New Farmers

- NPR, The 21st Show

The word "family" and "farm" often go hand-in-hand. For many Midwestern families, passing farmland on to the younger generation is a rite of passage. But that's not always the case.

Benjamin Snare, the owner of Field and Farm Co., also shared his experience with us. He started Field and Farm in 2016 near the Illinois-Wisconsin Border.

 
They are perhaps the atypical Wisconsin farmers, choosing to enter the field just a few years ago while keeping their full-time jobs and raising three children.

They are perhaps the atypical Wisconsin farmers, choosing to enter the field just a few years ago while keeping their full-time jobs and raising three children.

Bills Would Forgive Student Loan Debt for Beginning Wisconsin Farmers, Give Grants to Small Farms

- Channel 3000

Ben and Meghan Snare own Field and Farm Co., which sits on 10 acres of land in Rock County’s Plymouth Township. They spoke in support of the bill during a news conference Thursday morning.

“You have big dreams, you have ideas, you have a vision for what you want it to be, but you have to have some capital,” Ben Snare said.

 
For Ben and Meghan, having the kids on the farm with them, seeing people engaged in the whole process and eating the food grown by them, and building that foodshed community is what it’s all about.

For Ben and Meghan, having the kids on the farm with them, seeing people engaged in the whole process and eating the food grown by them, and building that foodshed community is what it’s all about.

Ben & Meghan’s Journey to Becoming Farmers

- Angelic Organics Learning Center

We spent some time with Stateline Farm Beginnings graduates, Ben and Meghan Snare, owners of Field and Farm Co. They enrolled in stateline farm beginnings to get an understanding of owning a farm business. It was here they met other beginning farmers and received mentorship through Turtle Creek Farm and Gardens, who instilled their belief in cooperation and community.

Ben talks enthusiastically about this: “I think more partnerships, farms working together—we’ve seen how great the farming community is, everyone’s willing to share information—but I think it has to go another step further in partnerships.”

 
"We want to grow a real business that has real value, and we have to look at ways being creative doing that," Benjamin said.

"We want to grow a real business that has real value, and we have to look at ways being creative doing that," Benjamin said.

Bills Aim to Support Farmers and Their Future

- NBC15

Benjamin and Meghan Snare are two farmers who said these bills could help them tremendously. The couple started farming just three years ago, growing several types of vegetables, and they have already felt the financial strain.

"We're really looking as our next step to build an event barn and have an exhibition style kitchen," Meghan said. The couple said if they could get a grant like the one proposed by the bill, they would put it towards that event barn and kitchen. They want to use those spaces to connect people with farmers and share different ways others can support agriculture.

 
To make a steadier income and prepare for when they’re too old for manual labor, Snare says they’re pivoting toward more meat production and live events.

To make a steadier income and prepare for when they’re too old for manual labor, Snare says they’re pivoting toward more meat production and live events.

Handing Off: The Reality Of Land Transfer Between Older, Younger Farmers

- NPR News

Large pieces of land can’t be torn apart easily because of zoning and subdivision permitting requirements, and whatever small ones are left often end up in the hands of horse owners or retirees.

Ben Snare and his family searched for a small farm  for more than a year, finding it outside of Beloit, Wisconsin. He said it looked “perfect” — but even then, there was an issue: “Zoning.”