Each year, when I sit down to review the last 12 months, I often feel like I don’t really have anything new to say. Farming is generally steady in the big picture, while small details change. That being said, there have been some opportunities over the last year to try new things and improve others that you might find interesting.
- We had an excellent year with our maple syrup venture. This year, Majestic Crossing Maple produced around 40 gallons of maple syrup. That was enough so that we had some extra to sell at local farmers’ markets.
- We finished up remodeling the apartments we have for some of our employees. We also remodeled a duplex we have on the farm.
- Once again, we opened the farm up to school tours. I think we had around 2,500 students visit us this spring.
- This spring we had the opportunity to have a completely autonomous tractor tested in our fields during planting. While it’s not technology that we will be adding to our farm in the near future, it was really interesting to see just how far the technology has come.
- We purchased a market pig at the Manitowoc County Fair. We’re always happy to support the next generation of agriculturalists.
- We had an excellent corn crop this year. Last year’s corn silage crop wasn’t abundant, but we made up for that this year. We also had good alfalfa crops to really fill the cupboards.
- We have continued participating in a study that will help farmers to better understand how to match nitrogen levels to crop needs. We look forward to the data helping to update recommendations in the future.
- We shipped the most milk we’ve ever produced. My quick math says that we provided over 6,100,000 gallons of milk to Sartori Cheese this year. This wouldn’t be possible without everyone on the farm working towards providing the very best for our cows.
While I wasn’t sure I wanted to share this, I do think there’s an important reminder in the story that makes it worthwhile. On August 27th, I was in the woods with a friend, cutting shooting lanes around my tree stand. I always wear a harness when I hunt, but I didn’t put it on this time because I was just climbing up quickly. Unfortunately, I fell, and I ended up fracturing my tibia and had to have surgery to repair it. I am getting around pretty good now, but I know that this could have been so much worse. Please remember to always wear your harness when you’re in your stand, even if it’s just a quick trip up.
As we turn towards 2026, we are excited to be hosting the Sheboygan County Breakfast on the Farm. I hope you’ll join us on June 20th for breakfast, farm tours, a petting zoo, and more. We are looking forward to welcoming our community to the farm for a fun day. You can learn more about the event on the Sheboygan County Breakfast on the Farm website.