GoFundMe donations keep local dairy farm running

ALGOMA, Wis. - A local dairy farm is back on its feet after the community showed its support. This dairy farm has been in the Cihlar family since 1873. The prices of milk dropped, they lost some cows and had to pay for changes to meet county requirements. The family came close to walking away from their farm after the fell in debt. Dale Cihlar has been working on the farm since he was a boy. He said banks wouldn't give loans because there was no cash flow. His options were limited, but he knew he didn't want to lose the farm. His wife Karen decided to create a GoFundMe page in hopes of raising $35 thousand. They started the page in March, and have more than $90 thousand in donations. The quick increase in donations came just a day after Dale had foot surgery. He won't be able to work on the farm for the next month. The couple said the donations came at a perfect time. "It's such a relief. You know, that we got these funds from, you know, total strangers to basically get out of debt and keep going. I mean, you know, I didn't know, laid up, I didn't know what was going to happen," said Cihlar. He added he was against the GoFundMe page at first. He didn't want people to know their business and didn't expect people to be so kind. The Cihlars have already used donations to pay off debt, fix tractors, and plan to put the rest of the money away for emergencies. Once Dale is healed, he said he will buy more cows.