Farm Art Festival Showcases Tractors Performing Ballet
**Wormfarm Institute’s Farm/Art DTour: A Fusion of Agriculture and Art Creating Surprising Connections**
SAUK COUNTY, Wis. — On a brisk autumn day, a crowd gathered at the edge of a sprawling hayfield in rural Wisconsin, brimming with anticipation. They weren’t there to witness the usual farming activities associated with the setting. Instead, their attention was captured by three tractors, engines revving in unison, gracefully performing what could be best described as a choreographed ballet. Aptly named the “Hay Rake Ballet,” the piece was an artful combination of farming mechanics and performance art, where the tractors danced across the field, lifting their spiked rakes in a delicate *port de bras*. As the drivers exited their machines to a standing ovation, the audience was left in awe — some even moved to tears.
This moment of agricultural artistry was a highlight of the 2024 edition of the **Farm/Art DTour**, a nationally renowned event hosted by the **Wormfarm Institute**, a Wisconsin-based arts organization that has gained international attention for blending farming with contemporary art. Since its inception in 2011, the DTour has brought hundreds of thousands of visitors to Sauk County, offering them a 50-mile journey interspersed with installations, performances, and local food. The event fosters a unique connection between rural landscapes and the urban dwellers who often overlook them, challenging assumptions about agriculture and art in the process.
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### The Magic of the Farm/Art DTour
The **Farm/Art DTour** isn’t just a gallery or exhibit space. It’s an immersive experience where the art *is* the landscape, and the fields, barns, and tractors of Wisconsin are transformed into the canvas. “Art amplifies what landscape quietly asserts,” says a quote by former Wisconsin poet laureate Max Garland, prominently displayed on Wormfarm Institute’s website. The event encourages visitors to see the rural environment with fresh eyes, realizing its aesthetic and cultural richness.
The 2024 edition featured several standout installations, including a striking pair of Mexican **alebrijes** — colorful, mythical creatures often found in Mexican folk art. Created by **Gabriela Jiménez Marván** and **Ryan Rothweiler**, these towering figures seemingly materialized out of nowhere, flanking a quiet road lined with red farmhouses. Just miles from there was another captivating installation: a barn — standing since an 1870s tornado — draped in flowing white fabric as part of artist **Catherine Schwalbe’s** homage to the rural resilience embodied in such architectural survivors.
However, perhaps the most colossal work was a **100-foot-long dragon** crafted entirely out of farm equipment. Emerging from an irrigation system that sprawled across a vast cornfield, this installation was brought to life by a team of artists — **Alicia Cosnahan, Brian Sobaski, Peter Krsko, and Tory Tepp**. It served as a potent metaphor for how art, like agriculture, can reveal powerful forces hiding in plain sight.
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### Bridging the Rural-Urban Divide
Farmers and artists might not seem like the most natural collaborators, but in the world of the DTour, these distinct groups—who, in many ways, carry the spirit of independence and creativity—find common ground. This year’s event included a fascinating collaboration: the **”Sauk County ARK”**, a wooden structure rising from a field of **Kernza**, an experimental grain lauded for its sustainability. Farm host **William Gasser** and land artist **Tori Tepp** spent four years refining this project, which, like much of the work showcased during the DTour, signals new ecological and economic possibilities for the region.
A particularly poignant example of this partnership was the **Hay Rake Ballet** — choreographed by **Sarah Butler**, a Berlin-based performance artist, and executed by local farmers **Andy Enge**, **Darin Rosenbaum**, and **Brian Markley**. Butler worked closely with the farmers over several months, translating their everyday tasks with tractors into an enthralling performance piece.
**Enge**, one of the local farmers, recounted his initial doubts. When first approached by Butler, he asked, “What are you talking about? You want the rake to bounce in the air or something?” Yet, after experiencing the joy emanating from the crowd, he was quick to offer his willingness for future performances. “Seeing the joy in the other drivers and the crowd … it really touched me,” he explained. This unexpected celebration of farmers’ artistic skill offered a platform to contextualize their daily labor in ways that are rarely given widespread recognition or artistic appreciation.
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### Sustaining Connections Through Food and Conservation
In addition to the art installations and performances, the DTour integrates local food culture through a “Food Chain” gathering place. Visitors can meet over locally brewed beer and freshly prepared tacos made by members of the