Can small-scale farming save rural America?

The snow began just outside of Madison, Wisconsin. We had been driving north for days, watching the landscape change from green to brown until the world looked like an old black and white photo.

And then it was as though we entered a snowglobe. The landscape was blanketed in white. Ahead, a string of brakelights snaked around the curve.

The road was encrusted in ice. There had been a crash, and the interstate was closed in both directions. We took a detour that wound through hilly Wisconsin farmland.

After more than four weeks of traveling, it was time to return home. As farmers, we don't get...