Hooked on agriculture

BELLE PLAIN, Minn. — While growing up as a city girl in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Nashville, Tennessee, Meg Stuedemann never imagined being a farmer. Today, she not only farms organically but also works to support farmers across Minnesota.

Stuedemann has been awarded the 2026 Minnesota Farmfest Woman Farmer of the Year.

“When they announced my name as the winner, I said there’s got to be a mistake,” Stuedemann said. “I was shocked to be told I was a finalist. It has been a very humbling experience.”

Even after becoming one of the five finalists, Stuedamann still did not expect to win. As she read about the other finalists, she was impressed by the accomplishments of each woman.

“Each person was better than the other,” she said. “Each of them deserved to be a finalist as much as the next.”

Stuedemann farms alongside her husband, Kevin, on their organic dairy, milking 60 crossbred cows and farming 260 acres.

Crossbreeding has helped us increase longevity, improve calving ease and better our feet and legs, Stuedemann said.

Kevin started dairy farming in 1994 and Meg joined the picture in 2006. After the two married in 2012, Meg immersed herself in the dairy farming lifestyle. The Stuedemanns are first-generation farmers.

While Stuedemann may have not grown up around agriculture, she has made supporting farmers an important part of her career.

Stuedemann works part time for the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, where she helps develop programs designed to support farmers experiencing stress and difficult circumstances.

Her passion for helping farmers was shaped by her own experience through dairy industry struggles.

The Stuedemanns were dropped from their old milk plant during the milk market crash in 2016. The months following were detrimental. For two months the Stuedemanns dumped their milk and then got a contract with Organic Valley later that year. Without a promised future Kevin was ready to sell the farm.

“Kevin wanted to sell the cows,” Stuedemann said. “I knew we couldn’t make a decision like that while we were in crisis mode.”

Meg came up with a game plan. Stuedemann knew she could take care of the cows and milking while Kevin farmed the crops and got a job off the farm.

“I took a leave of absence from the MDA to farm full time,” Stuedemann said. “Once returning to the MDA, I wanted to help create programs for farmers in stress.”

Her desire to help farmers also comes from an understanding that challenges in agriculture can extend beyond financial difficulties.

In 2020, Stuedemann was diagnosed with rheumatoid disease, also known as rheumatoid arthritis. RA is a chronic autoimmune disease where the body attacks the lining of the joints, causing painful swelling and stiffness. This has impacted day–to–day life for Stuedemann. However, she is still able to do the usual tasks of milking cows, feeding calves and field work.

Some days are more challenging than others, but Stuedemann said she has learned the importance of recognizing when she needs to slow down.

“I want others to know it is OK to take a step back and slow down,” Stuedemann said. “Farmers like me suffer from diseases; I want others to know it is OK and asking for help is an option.”

Stuedemann’s path to agriculture began far from a Minnesota dairy farm.

Growing up in cities, she was never exposed to agriculture as a way of life. Her first significant experience with agriculture came while serving in the Peace Corps, where she volunteered in a rural agricultural community in Thailand.

By the time she returned to the States, she was hooked on agriculture.

“I knew agriculture was the right fit for me after the Peace Corps,” Stuedemann said.

She then decided to pursue an education in agriculture, later earning a master’s degree in agronomy from the University of Minnesota.

The Stuedemanns do not have children, so the legacy of the farm looks quite different, Stuedemann said.

“Kevin and I have different thoughts of where the farm will (someday) go,” Stuedemann said. “I would like it to go to the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation.”

The Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation has a program called Acres for Good, where they accept donations of farmland. The SMIF manages the farm, finds a tenant to care for it, and uses the net income stream to support communities in southern Minnesota.

Stuedemann said, as she looks back at her years in agriculture, she appreciates those who helped her and Kevin along the way.

“We couldn’t accomplish what we have without the support from others,” Stuedemann said.

In the future, when Stuedemann retires from the MDA, she wants to continue farming and immerse herself in more community activities.

“I would enjoy volunteering at local events,” Stuedemann said. “I think it’s important to make connections locally within different organizations.”