Dairy breakfasts have been a traditional part of celebrating June Dairy Month in Wisconsin for nearly 50 years. The family-friendly events give attendees the opportunity to spend time with friends and neighbors while learning about local dairy farms, meeting the farm families, and enjoying a delicious breakfast made with Wisconsin dairy products.
Several QLF customers hosted Breakfast on the Farm this past June. We are proud of their commitment to educating the community and opening their farms for the public to learn more about the agricultural industry. Here is what our customers had to say about hosting their communities on their farm.
Wiese Brothers Farms- Brown County
June 2nd 2024
Photo by Dan Hagenow Video Creation, LLC
Wiese Farms was started in De Pere, WI on 120 acres of cropland. Today they are a 3rd generation farm in Greenleaf, WI where they milk 6,500 cows and farm 7,000 acres. Wiese Brothers Farms has been a QLF customer since they started using a QLF Agronomy product in 2016 and a lactating dairy product in 2018.
What made you decide to host Breakfast on the Farm?
We felt that it was a good year to host as we did not have any construction or unfinished projects going on. We also felt that it was our turn to open our farm to the community.
What was your favorite part of hosting Breakfast on the Farm?
We did a lot of extra cleaning in preparation for the event, like pressure washing all the barn roofs. It was great to see the hard work pay off and have an extra clean farm for the event and after.
What is one thing you hope attendees took away from visiting your farm?
Even though we are a larger farm, we are still a family farm. We hope people realized that the care of our animals, equipment, land, and facilities is our #1 priority.
Erickson Dairy- Outagamie County
June 9th 2024
Photo by Outagamie County Dairy Promotion
Randy and Carol Erickson began farming with 35 dairy cows in Bear Creek in 1980. Adam joined the farm full time in 2006. Today they care for 630 cows and farm 1,500 acres of cropland. Erickson Dairy has been feeding a QLF lactating product since 2018.
What made you decide to host Breakfast on the Farm?
We decided to host after we were asked in March because we had hosted before in 2013 and knew the Outagamie County Dairy Promotion Board makes it as easy on the farm as possible, and we knew what to expect. Also, with the easy and snowless winter we had been cleaning up unknowingly getting ready for it.
What was your favorite part of hosting Breakfast on the Farm?
Our favorite part was how gracious everyone was for us hosting and how excited they were to see the animals that close. Cows are so cool and you could see that in their faces.
What is one thing you hope attendees took away from visiting your farm?
One thing I hope everyone took away from our event is how dedicated dairy farmers are to their animal care and that we make sure we do the best we can for them. We had two calves born during the event, which drew a lot of people’s attention- it does not get much cooler than that!
Libertyland Farms- Manitowoc County
June 9th 2024
Photo by Manitowoc County Breakfast on the Farm Committee
Elmer Gries started Libertyland Farms in 1941 and was then taken over by Harlan and Judy in 1975. Greg joined the farm full-time after graduation high school. The 4th generation, Zak and Rachel, joined the farm in 2019. Today they milk 300 cows with Lely robots and farm 2,000 acres of cropland. Libertyland Farms has been a QLF customer feeding a lactating dairy product since their expansion in 2021.
What made you decide to host Breakfast on the Farm?
Robotic milking is relatively new in this area, so we felt it was important to open the barn to anyone who is interested in learning more about robotic milking or dairy farming.
What was your favorite part of hosting Breakfast on the Farm?
It was great to see so many people enjoying the day on the farm. It was also rewarding to see our farm team work together to get ready for the event.
What is one thing you hope attendees took away from visiting your farm?
We hope people realized and remember how much we care for our land and animals.
Davis Family Farm- Walworth County
June 15th 2024
Photo submitted by Davis family
Davis Family Farm is a 5th generation farm where they currently milk 250 cows. They have been QLF lactating dairy customers since 2012.
What made you decide to host Breakfast on the Farm?
We always discussed hosting Breakfast on the Farm and with so few dairy farms left in Walworth County, we felt it was a good time to open up our farm to visitors.
What was your favorite part of hosting Breakfast on the Farm?
Seeing the sheer numbers of people coming from all over and having a good time. Even people from out of state.
What is one thing you hope attendees took away from visiting your farm?
We wanted people to see how we work on the farm 7 days a week, 365 days a year, to have an appreciation for the care and hard work that goes in to providing dairy products for them to enjoy every day.