The red barns that helped make us the dairy state are falling down or being replaced by steel pole sheds and grain bags. And the future of this agriculture icon may depend on hobby farmers and barn preservationists. We're featuring a restoration in today's Wandering Wisconsin.

Earlier this fall, Zac Schultz from our Madison sister station shot this story that shows us what's being done to prevent them from disappearing completely.

Drive down any rural road in Wisconsin and you'll eventually come across an old farm.
Most likely there will be a big red barn, and all too often the barn will be in some state of disrepair.
Barns are continually threatened by a variety of issues.

Chuck Law is with the Wisconsin Barn Preservation Program.
It becomes a landmark. It truly is the icon of Wisconsin.

He says the biggest threat is a lack of maintenance.
That's what happened to this barn in western Dane County.
Cathy and Ron Cagle just moved from California to Wisconsin with their two sons.

We just said, 'What the heck let's do it.'

A structural engineer told them the barn had problems.

We were told it was going to probably collapse this winter.

Enter Dave Kaun, who specializes in barn preservation.

We have a 14 inch lean in on this wall and they were concerned about it falling in.

Dave's crew is rebuilding the back wall and straightening the barn structure.
For Dave this is more than just a job.

It's a very meaningful thing in my life is fixing barns up.

His memories go back to childhood.

I see myself playing in a hay mound when I was a kid.

Ron and Cathy want their kids to play in a hay mound.

What a wonderful playground.

They plan to raise sheep, goats and chickens

I can't wait to bring the farm back to life.

so a barn was a necessity.

We love barns. I wouldn't consider us barn nuts. I would say it seemed the appropriate thing to do for the place, to keep the barn alive.

Barn preservation isn't cheap, but it's worth it.

We just thought it would be ripping the soul out of this place to take the barn down.

Dave has seen these barns ripped down all too often, and he gets emotional thinking about his role in preserving a piece of Wisconsin history.

I think they're a monument to our heritage in this part of the country and I think they should be saved.

I get teary-eyed, because who is going to do it if me or a guy that
feels like me about it. Who is going to do it?

To see Wisconsin's round barns and to learn more about preservation, look under "related links" below.