Dr. Sarah's Conservation Story: Every Reason to Give

Dr. Sarah Slaby grew up on a small farm with nine siblings near Arcadia. Her family managed two farms, and the kids - of course! - had daily chores. Before she was a teenager, she was driving tractors and raising calves, and even started her own business: Sarah's Quality Calves. Simultaneously, she was working for and learning from ground-breaking organic veterinarian and author Dr. Paul Dettloff.

This idyllic childhood in the agricultural Driftless Region and mentorship by organic pioneers included one significant challenge - she is dyslexic, and has great difficulty reading and writing. But she applied the resilience, resourcefulness, and practical skills of farm life to her goal of becoming a holistic veterinarian. Dr. Sarah's dyslexia wasn't diagnosed until college at UW Madison, and she thinks it actually gave her an edge there.

"I always knew my brain worked differently,” she told Coulee Region Women Magazine, for an interview in August 2025. “But that creative difference became my strength—hands-on work came naturally to me, and all the time I spent on the farm gave me an edge in vet school.”

Dr. Slaby's work ethic and passion for healthy animals and healthy land come together in her family's pastured beef operation, Arcadia veterinary practice, and her small business called Dr. Sarah's Essentials. She sells organic, chemical-free supplements and wellness preparations for livestock, pets, and people, along with Dr. Dettloff's full line of natural animal care.

Because of the value she puts on sustainability at the farm and in her business, Dr. Sarah was selected to be a 2024-2025 West Central Region WiWiC Conservation Coach.

Dr. Sarah at her home and workshop. WiWiC Communications Lead Kriss Marion had the opportunity to visit Dr. Sarah at her Arcadia workshop in Fall 2024, as part of a podcast interview for what was planned to be the second Portraits of Love on the Land Book. Both the Queen Bee Sessions podcast and the book project had to be set aside after the federal funding to publish them was terminated in April.

Dr. Sarah attended the WiWiC Spring Conference this April. When she heard the announcement that WiWiC's funding had been terminated by the federal government, she immediately signed up to be a recurring monthly donor to the project. Dr. Sarah was our very first Sustainer!

Kriss recently caught up with Dr. Sarah again to ask her why she felt moved to contribute monthly to WiWiC. Here's her response:

"I am an organic livestock veterinarian by trade. Why did I donate? Why wouldn't I donate? I feel fired up about this. We don't own this land, we are borrowing it from our grandchildren. And from the people who worked it and sustained it and took care of it for generations before us. I want to do everything possible to keep it in the best possible condition for the generations after us. The dear Lord isn't making any more land, so it's our duty, our obligation, our requirement to care for this land," says Dr. Sarah.

There's nothing that means more to me than an institution that values the land, cares for the land, considers it sacred, and plans programs and events all around what can we do to educate people to do their best to care for the land, and what can we grow on the land that's the most sustainable and productive, and that doesn't deplete the soil. We cannot grow food or animals without a healthy soil first. Healthy soil, healthy animals, healthy food, healthy people. That's why I donated, and that's why I will continue to do so.

We are so grateful for Dr. Sarah's generosity! Do you have a reason to give? If you have already given, THANK YOU! If you have been meaning to give, we hope you can do it by Dec. 31 and help us meet our $10,000 Sally Mead Hands match goal. We would LOVE to hear your reason!

Remember that all donations from last week through Dec 31 will be entered into a drawing for some pretty terrific prizes, and all Monthly Sustaining Donors will get a hand-drawn, limited edition WiWiC bandana.

Click Here to Make a Tax-Deductible Donation Securely On-line

Or make a check out to Michael Fields/ WiWiC and send to:

Michael Fields Ag Institute

PO Box 990

East Troy, WI 53120

Former WiWiC Conservation Plan Writer Eve Kramer with Dr. Sarah Slaby at 2024 WiWiC Field Day at The Round Barn. Dr. Slaby has been a close neighbor and friend to Eve Kramer since Eve was a child. In 2024, before her federal funding was terminated, Eve wrote a Conservation Plan for a meadow prairie on Dr. Slaby's property. What a full-circle moment!