In every family, we have our traditions. When I was little, I remember going swimming on a Sunday evening at the pool of one of my dad’s dairy farmer friends and then getting ice cream at Distelfink on the way home. We didn’t do it every Sunday, especially when things got in the way on the farm, but it was always a good day when we did that. We’d all pack in my mom’s car with our swim towels and flipflops in tow, and we would leave all the worries of the dairy farm behind.
It felt like that then. But looking back, I don’t know what was going through my dad’s mind as we made that five-mile trek up the road, or through my mom’s. I thought about that recently when we drove by the Distelfink, which has reopened after at least a decade of being closed. My memories of the farm are a mix of having to do my chores, racing three wheelers, riding horses, walking my heifers, and playing in the creek bed. I remember, vaguely, conversations about finances, weather woes, animal health issues, and other challenges. But our family was like most, with those issues mostly kept among adults. Sometimes those difficult conversations are even silent ones we have inside our heads.
For most people, unpredictable circumstances can lead to stress. And uncertainty is probably the one thing you can count on in a dairy operation, or in any farming operation for that matter. If managed well, a healthy amount of stress can spur adrenaline, which can help you work faster, find solutions quicker, and operate with a sharper focus. However, when left unchecked, stress can take a serious toll on your body and mind. Most dairy farmers naturally gravitate to that role because they like the autonomy and want to work independently. Unfortunately, that can also mean we internalize our stress, which leads to serious physical and health issues, along with accidents on the farm, conflicts among family members, and many other problems.
Recently the Center for Dairy Excellence co-hosted a live showing of Episode 1 in the Perfect Sundays streaming series as part of our “Ice Cream on the Farm” event at Chester Springs Creamery at Milky Way Farm in July. The series is being released online in September and is intended to inspire dialogue around the difficult conversations on the farm, from farm business struggles to family dynamics, to mental health and suicide. We invited ag and community leaders to watch the first episode, which was called “The Language of Broken Machines.”
The episode takes place two years to the day after the patriarch in the Weeks family, Ed, died by suicide. His widow Marla decides she wants to change the narrative and make it a good day by bringing back their tradition of ice cream sundaes on Sunday. Marla’s son Caleb, now managing the dairy operation and quietly carrying his own burdens to work every day, wants nothing to do with her idea. His wife Gwen plays the peacekeeper role, trying to smooth things over between her husband and mother-in-law. The episode plays out as a typical day on the farm, filled with unpredictability and missed moments, but ends with an idea of building something amazing from that simple family tradition.
A six-part limited streaming series about family, farming, faith and community, the Perfect Sundays Series captures the journey of a family that digs its way back from a farm tragedy and emotional paralysis to find a path forward for their family and for the farm. Filmed on farms in Chester, Berks, Bucks and Montgomery Counties, Pennsylvania, the story resonates with those in the farm community and with anyone who has watched a loved one battle with overwhelming stress, depression, and mental health.
Truthfully, when Samuel Goldberg, the producer of the series, first approached us about co-hosting the live showing, I was skeptical. Too often people outside of agriculture try to depict what it is like to be in farming, and they overdramatize what actually happens on a farm, causing an even larger disconnect between the small minority who work in agriculture and the large majority who know little about where their food comes from. But I was surprised at how closely this resonated with life on the farm and with the challenges that can weigh us down.
While the Weeks family’s path forward is unique to their story, the way their story played out in that first episode connected with me – not only as someone who grew up with that tradition of getting ice cream on Sundays, but also as someone committed to finding a way forward for our farm no matter what. Many of us in the dairy and farming communities can relate to wanting to leave that legacy for our families. And we all know too well the burden we can feel when it feels like that legacy is being threatened.
In the end, the Perfect Sundays series is about hope and resilience, which is key to the success of any family farming business. The full series will be available to pre-order at perfectsundaystv.com/watch and will be launched after September 1, 2026. There is a cost to watch the series. However, Samuel did extend a discount to those who are reading this article. To use the 20 percent off discount, click on “Have a discount code?” when it asks for your payment information and enter PerfectPA.
Editor’s Note: This column is written by Jayne Sebright, executive director for the Center for Dairy Excellence.