In late February 2019, Becky Clark lost 14 of her cows after a blizzard caused her dairy barn roof to collapse. But the fourth-generation farmer from Winona County, Minnesota, explains the situation could have been much worse if it hadn’t been for their milk truck driver.  

Becky’s family and employees had been working through the night and morning to clear snow that continued to come down hard and fast. Around 1 p.m., the snow finally started to let up and the milk truck driver arrived. He was a few hours later than usual because of the bad roads. So, her employees took a break from milking the cows to let him load the milk. Just as Becky was starting to eat lunch, she heard a loud noise, looked out the window, and realized a chunk of the dairy barn was gone. Panic immediately set in.  

“I flew out my door and the first thing I did was make sure all my employees were safe. Luckily no one had been in the barn at the time, and everyone was okay. I was so relieved and thankful. But if the milk truck driver had not come when he did, and we didn’t stop what we were doing when we did, this could’ve been a very different outcome,” Becky said.  

Becky’s story is one of the impact stories we’re sharing along with our ‘Farmcore’ campaign. The #farmcore hashtag, a lifestyle aesthetic and fashion movement inspired by rural farm life, has been used nearly 250,000 times across Instagram and TikTok. But as a farmer-owned cooperative, we know it’s more than just a look or aesthetic. It’s a way of life that is grounded in the everyday work of our 1,000+ farmer-owners. Becky and her family are proof of that.  

To share this message, Land O’Lakes recently hosted a Farmcore-to-Table runway show in the fields of Paris, Wisconsin, in a nod to Paris Fashion Week. The models wore clothes donated by several farmer-owners. Each item of clothing included a special patch with the farmer’s impact story stitched into the pieces. Their impact stories were also shared over speakers as the models walked down the runway.  

When deciding what clothing item to donate, Becky wanted something to represent life as a farmer. 

“I donated a pair of my work gloves because we do a lot of hard and dirty work with our hands. I also thought about what my grandpa would have donated, and I think he would’ve picked his shoes. He wore those out so much they had a hole in them, but he just wore a sandwich bag over his socks instead of getting a new pair,” Becky said.  

The work gloves protected Becky’s hands as she helped rebuild her barn following its collapse. Becky says her cows were left without a ceiling for several months, but she prioritized getting everything fixed by the summer to ensure her cows would have shade from the hot sun. She also made the best out of a difficult situation by reinvesting in bigger push fans, better sprinklers and more lighting in the barn. The improvements for cow comfort have led to more consistent, quality milk output.   

Becky notes she wasn’t the only farmer in the area impacted by that brutal snowstorm. 

“There were more than a dozen other barns destroyed. It’s very humbling to be on the receiving end of so much community support. It’s good to remember when somebody else is going through something difficult to show up for them too,” Becky said.  

Becky will be able to reunite with some of those community members and show off the new dairy barn next summer when she hosts “Family Night on the Farm.” The event takes place at a different farm in Winona County every year and includes a farm tour, food, live music and family-friendly activities.  

Like Becky, our 1,000+ farmer-owners each have their own powerful story to tell. See more from our Farmcore campaign, where we helped bring their stories to life and showcased how the hard work and commitment of a farmer can be seen in the wear and tear of the clothing they wear, not to mention the delicious dairy products they help produce.