Momma of Many

My husband and I have five children. Yes, you read that correctly. Five children, who are all girls, eight and under. When I tell people this I usually get a weird eyebrow-raised look and get a response along the lines of “Really?”, “Wow, you must be busy.”, “Glad I’m not you.”, “Do you really want that many kids?”, or “Don’t you know how that happens?”. I have to admit at first I was offended by these comments, but now I just smile and shrug it off. Years ago large farm families were very common. However, in today’s society it seems that if you have more than two kids and a dog, you are labeled as a little odd. My husband and I are very content with the size of our family and we enjoy raising our children on a farm and enjoy the advantages of large family living.

In addition to our small family dairy farm, our family has begun a new adventure, which has given us even more “kids”– goat kids. Last year we purchased three female goats and one male as a future 4-H project for the girls. Just over a week ago the first female had twins and yesterday the second female had twins. All of the babies have been girls. So in a matter of a week we have more than doubled the size of our goat herd.

Our oldest daughter, Anna, is our main “goat farmer.” She faithfully feeds and waters them everyday, makes sure they have clean bedding, and never complains about bottle feeding the new babies several times a day. As a parent it has been rewarding watching her raise and take care of the goats. I know she is learning a strong work ethic and other valuable life skills by taking on these duties.

Besides being a farmer’s wife and a momma to five little girls, I also work as a District Coordinator for the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation. I work with the seven county Farm Bureaus in District 5. I sometimes think of my counties as my “kids” too. Just as it has been rewarding watching my daughters grow and develop on the farm, it is rewarding watching county Farm Bureaus grow and develop their local programs. It’s great to see so many dedicated volunteers getting involved in their local Farm Bureau and working hard to promote the importance of agriculture in their local community.

So as the baby goats continue to arrive on our farm, I’m reminded that that means spring has got to be just around the corner! However, it is also a reminder that I have been blessed with a wonderful and unique opportunity to be a “momma of many.” I couldn’t be happier, and I’m not “kidding!”

Becky Hibicki

In addition to working full-time for Wisconsin Farm Bureau, Becky and her husband Matthew have a 60-cow, 300-acre dairy farm northeast of Ripon. They have five daughters. Becky began her involvement in the Farm Bureau through the Young Farmer Discussion Meet contest. In 2000 she was the WFBF State Discussion Meet winner and an AFBF Discussion Meet final four finalist in 2001. She also served as the Green Lake County Farm Bureau secretary for two years before beginning work as a field supervisor in 2002. Through her tenure she has worked with 34 county Farm Bureaus in eastern Wisconsin and was the first District Coordinator.