1 of 4 | Craig T. Nelson portrays a Wisconsin dairy farmer on the verge of losing his fourth-generation farm in “Green and Gold,” a movie set for January 31 release that highlights the resiliency and struggles faced by family farmers. Photo courtesy Fathom Events

The film, set in 1993, actually was shot three years ago in and around Door County, Wis., from a script co-written by Anders Lindwall.

It tells the story of fourth-generation dairy farmer Buck, who, when faced with mounting debt and imminent foreclosure, persuades the lienholder to delay taking the farm for another year on the condition that the Packers win the Super Bowl.

Meanwhile, Buck’s faithful granddaughter, played by Madison Lawlor, is tempted to leave the farm for a music career after befriending a famous musician (Brandon Sklenar).

The film also is notable as the final screen appearance for beloved character actor M. Emmet Walsh, who died in March 2024.

Green and Gold is set to open in nearly 1,000 U.S. theaters Jan. 31 after getting backing from Culver’s, which the Wisconsin-based purveyor of frozen custard and the “ButterBurger” is backing as part of its Thank You Farmers Project, a charitable effort to support the future of agriculture.

Filmmakers tap Wisconsin roots

The Lindwall brothers shot Green and Gold in 2021 from a script they developed that drew upon their experiences growing up in Iron River, Mich., in the state’s Upper Peninsula, about 120 miles northwest of Green Bay.

Their intent was to make a heartfelt statement about the resiliency of the region’s dairy farmers, whose numbers in Wisconsin plummeted to fewer than 7,000 in 2022 from 71,000 in 1968.

“Honestly, it comes from a place of love and affection from my brother and I,” co-producer Davin Lindwall told UPI. “I hope that comes across on screen. We hope it inspires and moves people to do good in the world and take care of their neighbor.”

Lindwall said his own grandfather was a dairy farmer and that he has cousins who still are in the industry.

“It was in our peripheral upbringing already, so we were familiar with the harsh realities of farming in general and agriculture,” he said. “Being from Iron River, you say you’re from the U.P., but it’s so close to Wisconsin, its culture bleeds over into parts of the state.

“And growing up lifelong Packer fans, we were brought up in that culture. You can certainly see that in the film.”

That fandom meant the film’s red-carpet reception at Lambeau Field held a special meaning for the Lindwalls. Among the guests at the premiere was Mark Murphy, the Packers’ president and CEO.

“It’s something that we’ve been very supportive of, and now that it’s being released, we’re going to do as much as we can to promote it,” Murphy told WLUK-TV. “I think it’s going to be great publicity for Green Bay, Door County and the Packers.

“It really shows what makes Wisconsin so special.”

Culver’s a backer

Like many low-budget, independent film projects, the route Green and Gold took to the screen was not an easy one.

Lindwall said once the film was shot, it remained in the editing stages for quite a while as the Writers Guild of America strike and the quickly changing landscape for film distribution made for delays.

“There were a lot of unique circumstances that happened between when we shot and now,” he said. “We kind of just sat tight. We were pitching the film to different distributors and didn’t get a ton of traction until Culver’s came along. It was such a perfect fit for them.”

The company’s financial participation produced “a ton of momentum” for the movie, he said. It ultimately landed a theatrical distribution deal with Fathom Events, as well as a separate “downstream” deal for streaming and home video distribution.

Representatives from the chain, which includes 1,000 franchisee-operated restaurants in 26 states, liked what it saw and felt the movie’s portrayal of farmers and rural America dovetailed with its charitable work of supporting agriculture.

Long-term struggles

Although Green and Gold is set in 1993, its theme of small dairy farmers being squeezed out of business remains a reality.

A study released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2020 found that the pace of consolidation in the dairy industry far exceeds the pace of consolidation seen in most of U.S. agriculture.

In 1987, half of all milk cows in the United States were in herds of 80 or more, and half were in herds of 80 or fewer. Over the next 30 years, the midpoint size rose consistently until by 2017 it was 1,300 cows.

That year’s Census of Agriculture counted only 30,000 small commercial farms with 10 to 199 cows across the country — down from 48,000 in 2007 and 147,000 in 1987.

“Production in all states is shifting to larger operations, but the decline of small commercial dairy farms is concentrated in the Midwest and Northeast, and in four States in particular: Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin,” the USDA found.

Since 2017, another nearly 4 in 10 dairy farms have been lost, the 2024 ag census revealed.

The main reason for the decline in small dairy farms is “powerful cost incentives,” with larger dairy farms enjoying substantially lower costs of production on average than smaller farms across a wide range of larger sizes.

Movie ‘tells farmers’ stories’

As a Wisconsin company with deep roots in the state’s dairy industry, Culver’s for more than a decade has operated a program called the Thank You Farmers Project, through which it has donated $6.5 million to ag-related organizations, such as the National FFA Organization and U.S. Farmers and Ranchers in Action.

Its aim is to show the company’s gratitude “to farmers and others working in agriculture, advance climate-smart agriculture initiatives and fund agricultural education programs” through such promotions as Scoops of Thanks Day, in which its offers customers a single scoop of its Fresh Frozen Custard in exchange for a $1 donation to local FFA chapters and other agricultural education organizations.

Culver’s spokeswoman Alison Demmer said the Green and Gold movie project fit the bill for that mission.

One of program’s goals is to tell stories “about farmers, and as we think about those stories, we know that a lot of people don’t always know where their food comes from. We want to talk about farmers and their commitment to the earth and how they create that food for us,” she told UPI.

The Lindwall brothers saw what Culver’s was doing with its Thank You Farmers Project and approached the company to gauge its interest in supporting the film.

Its leaders agreed to help because they saw the film as a testament to agriculture in Wisconsin which highlights “the hard work that farmers do each every day,” Demmer said.