Adam and Sarah Mellgren Family
Adam and Sarah were both raised on dairy farms and active in 4-H. In 1988, Adam’s parents purchased the current farm site. The farm was a dairy operation until the early 1990s. Adam’s father passed away in 1989. Adam and Sarah purchased the farm in 2005 and soon thereafter started dairy farming.
Youngstock was kept at home while the cows were housed and milked at Sarah’s parents Vince and Sheri Sexton’s farm. Adam and Sarah farmed with Vince and Sheri until 2012 when they built a free stall barn and a double six-parlor and were able to move their cows back home.
The Mellgrens’ children, Ashley, Emily, and Roger, are the third generation of the family to milk cows on the current farm and are at least fourth generation dairy farmers on both sides of the family.
Today, Adam, Sarah, and their children milk 70 cows and raise all their own replacements. The family’s herd is comprised of Registered Holsteins—a few of them are red and white. All three kids help with daily chores, including calf feeding and milking. They operate 275 acres of owned and rented land growing alfalfa, corn and soybeans. Ashley and Emily have started their own partnership and own some of their own animals and help make sire selections and mating decisions for the family’s herd. The farm also includes a small herd of Boer goats.
Adam works on the farm full-time. Sarah works off the farm in addition to her on-farm responsibilities.
All three Mellgren kids are active in 4-H and after-school activities. Adam and Sarah are adult 4-H volunteers and lease dairy animals to youth who do not own their own. The whole family works together to help friends and family that want to learn about showing dairy cattle. Adam and Sarah have served as chaperones for Wabasha County 4-H at the Minnesota State Fair; Sarah is in her third year as a member of the Wabasha County Fair Board and serves on the Wabasha County FSA committee. The Mellgrens are members of Trinity Lutheran Church.