This summer has been a busy one – corn planting, cutting hay, Breakfast on the Farm, and now it’s the end of July!
Thanks to everyone who came out and enjoyed the Sheboygan County Breakfast on the Farm. The event went really, really well. It was a beautiful day, a little warm, but a beautiful day. Around 3,600 people were served, but there were nearly 4,000 people there. Quite a few people wanted to come to the farm and see what’s new. Doing events like Breakfast on the Farm is such a great opportunity to connect with consumers, and farmers really need that positive interaction every once in a while.
Being a dairy farmer, a lot of the time it feels like we’re constantly battling consumers. Negativity sells, and it seems as though we’re relentlessly defending why we do what we do. Some days, it’s easy to give in and say, “It is what it is,” instead of explaining how we care for our cows, and that milk quality and safety are two of our top priorities on the farm.
That is one of the reasons the breakfast was so rewarding. People were on the farm learning and having fun. There were friends, family and business associates at the breakfast, but there were a lot more people with no connection to the farm who came out and had a great experience.
As I was walking around the farm during the breakfast, I loved hearing what people said. Walking into the freestall barn, I heard, “It’s so much cooler in here than it is outside!” The freestall barns are like picnic pavilions for cows; the cows have shade and can eat all day in there. And going past the digester, someone stopped me and shared that they were really impressed with our technology, glad we’re taking the leap and putting in the time and energy to be innovative.
Everyone worked so hard to make sure the Breakfast on the Farm was a success. Our staff did a tremendous job getting the place ready; it looked beautiful. The Sheboygan County Dairy Promotion did a great job. They’re all volunteers who don’t do this for a living, but are dedicated to making sure the community has the best experience possible.
We had a big crowd, beautiful weather, and ended the day feeling proud and reinvigorated to continue doing what we love doing: taking care of our cows to make a great dairy product for everyone to enjoy.
To see some of the pictures from the 2016 Breakfast on the Farm, click here.