E595 Kevin Spahn Won a National Title. Coming Home to 180 Cows Is the Harder Game.
The Bullvine Daily Brief by The Bullvine
Episode notes
A national champion wants to come home to milk 180 cows. The math says he might not get to — and Dane County land at $7,401 an acre is why.
Kevin Spahn won a 2025 NCAA Division III football title, then went back to the parlor over winter break. The Bullvine Podcast breaks down the brutal arithmetic facing every farm kid who wants in: 200 acres at $7,401/acre runs $1.48 million, while FSA direct loans cap out far below that — a gap north of $480,000 before a single cow is bought. With milk near $17.50/cwt, the numbers decide who gets to farm.
What You'll Learn
- Why FSA loan caps leave a $480,000-plus hole on a modest land buy
- How $7,401-an-acre farmland prices lock out the next generation
- What Wisconsin's herd-count collapse means for who's left
- Why succession is a structure problem, not a desire probl ...
Keywords
Midwest farmland pricesdairy farm succession planningDairy farm successionWisconsin dairy farmsbarn mathKevin SpahnFSA farm loansnext-generation farmers