High Grove Farm Journal – Oct. 2026
Nov 04, 2026 (Westby, WI)
October’s end on a dairy is a crowning moment each autumn where the industrious daily laboring of the farm earns its triumphant breath of relief as harvest wraps up.
The month draws to its close with a concluding sigh, the land resigning itself to a well-deserved reward of rest after its long race to produce the best crops it could for the animals and families it feeds. The fields sit empty now, while the barns and silos and bags are full, stuffed to the brim. I laugh as stunned deer wander out of the woods the next mornings, looking for their once endless bounty of food they have been feeding on all spring, summer and fall – that is now suddenly completely gone!
The landscape clipped and clean looking, the crop rows of cut corn and alfalfa a pleasant sight on the horizon with the woods displaying their vibrant colors and textures of fall. It’s a glorious sight to see Wisconsin farmland in the fall!
Our thoughts finally clear of the busy harvest season work, leaving us room to start things we enjoy like cutting firewood, painting projects and more trips off the farm. The cows settle in quickly to a different routine, as their feeding changes from mostly grazing to bales and corn silage and more time in and around the barn. The pastures slow their growth as the leaves continue to fall, and I plead daily for the most beautiful time of the year on the farm to linger, as each leaf falling is autumn exciting. Every morning has been a painter’s pallet of vivid oranges and pinks. These lovely mornings I will never take for granted because winter’s chill comes so soon!
Thoughts of Winter help to spur us into action daily, encouraging us to work on our projects we’ve started in our extra time now. We’ve loaded the basement with firewood to heat the house this winter, and the boys keep filling truck beds and trailers with more. I’ve been painting all over the farm, foundations and roofs, trim and windows. We’ve ordered loads of gravel, screenings and breaker run and fixed up the driveway, roads and paths for a long winter of daily use. We’ve hauled bales home from where they were left in tidy rows along the edges of fields, and we’ve moved all of our heifers home from their summer pastures. It’s felt so good to get so much done in the last few weeks.
As autumn draws to a close, I feel the thankfulness of another year filled with God’s provision for our farm and family and a year full of growth and change for us and the Creamery! There are so many things to be thankful for as we come into November, a month of Thanksgiving and one of those things, is YOU! Thank you for supporting our small family farms! Blessings to you and yours this coming season!
-Jessica & Drew and Family
Jessica Rogers is a Westby Creamery farmer-owner who is sharing glimpses of farm life with us.
