Navigating Life, Farming, and Motherhood | Annaliese Wegner
Overcoming Fear in Agriculture Advocacy
Sharing the story of agriculture isn’t always easy. Putting a farm, a livelihood, and a way of life out into the world for scrutiny can feel overwhelming. The fear of being misunderstood—or worse, attacked—has kept a lot of farmers and ranchers from speaking up. But Annaliese Wegner knows that fear can’t be the thing that stops people from advocating for an industry that feeds the world.
Annaliese, a dairy farmer from Wisconsin, didn’t set out to become a well-known advocate. Like so many others, she started small—sharing things online, keeping her family in the loop about life on the farm. It wasn’t about building a following or making an impact at first. But over time, her storytelling resonated with people. It wasn’t just farmers who were listening; it was consumers looking for answers, women in agriculture looking for community, and even other advocates looking for the courage to step forward themselves.
Advocacy has changed over the years. It’s no longer about perfectly polished posts or overly curated messages. Today, people connect with authenticity. They want to see the real, the raw, the unfiltered moments of life on the farm. Annaliese’s journey proves that people don’t need to have all the answers or be experts in every area of agriculture to share their stories. What matters is being open, being honest, and being willing to show up—even when it feels a little uncomfortable.
Fear of getting it wrong is one of the biggest hurdles when it comes to sharing about agriculture. What if someone asks a question that’s hard to answer? What if an activist group comes after the farm? What if the words don’t come out just right? Annaliese knows all those fears firsthand, but she also knows the reward of pushing past them. Every time someone sends a message saying, I didn’t know that about dairy or Thanks for explaining that, it reinforces why these conversations matter.
“You’re never going to be perfect. You’re never going to know it all. Just start.”
One of the biggest misconceptions about advocacy is that it has to be loud. That it has to reach thousands of people to be meaningful. But in reality, it’s the small, one-on-one connections that make the biggest difference. Every consumer who feels like they now know a farmer, every mom who makes a better-informed choice at the grocery store, every person who sees agriculture through a new lens—that’s where the real impact happens.
Advocacy isn’t just about agriculture either. It’s about connection. Annaliese doesn’t only talk about her farm—she shares about motherhood, about navigating life as a farmer’s wife, about the challenges of balancing everything at once. And that’s what makes people stick around. They may have found her for one reason, but they stay because they see themselves in her story. That’s the power of sharing more than just farm facts.
Her journey has evolved over the years, shifting from simply telling her own story to helping others find the confidence to tell theirs. She understands what it’s like to feel unsure, to second-guess whether sharing is worth it. But her advice is simple—just start. Don’t wait for the perfect time, the perfect post, or the perfect words. Just start.
Because someone, somewhere, needs to hear that story.
Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/modfarmchick/
https://annaliesewegner.com/
Annaliese’s Podcast- https://annaliesewegner.com/ags-okayest-farm-girls-the-podcast/
