Helen Kees

Helen Kees owns and operates Wheatfield Hill Organics near Durand, Wisconsin, along with her husband Robert, daughter Christine and her family. She was born, reared and resides on the “home” farm of 320 acres which was settled by her grandparents in 1919.

Helen has led a life of farming and environmental activism. Her activism debut ended in a three-day suspension from high school. A picture of her picketing a Dolly Madison dairy plant during a National Farmers Organization (NFO) milk “holding action” in her cheerleading uniform was printed in her regional newspaper. The picture trumped her mother’s hand-written note, “Please excuse Helen’s absence. She was needed at home.” The suspension did not deter her from resisting nuclear power, aerial spraying of pesticides, frac sand mining, and currently, concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs).