Rise and Shine Another Great Breakfast On The Farm
Yesterday morning, we traveled 45 minutes to a farm in Oconto County, Wisconsin, in honor of June Dairy Month, where the event was held. It opened at 7 a.m., and we arrived before 8. We were among the early birds, bundled up on a chilly morning, while others, more optimistic about the weather, wore shorts and t-shirts. There were already visitors eating, and the parking field was filling up. Great Attendants waved us in, made parking easy, and the tractors pulling shuttle wagons took us to breakfast.
Lots of hands and smiling faces greeted everyone, and the line moved through quickly with pancakes, scrambled cheese eggs, sausage, ham, applesauce, cottage cheese, and yogurt. Wisconsin maple syrup, local to the area, is waiting to be poured over pancakes.
The Riewe family hosted the dairy breakfast. Their farm began in 1915 with Adolph and Ida Riewe, and now their dairy farm is farmed by the fourth generation. A wonderful contribution to the Wisconsin tradition of family farming.
There were small animals for petting, which was a crowd-pleaser for children and me, who could resist rubbing the curly head of a lamb or the soft brow of a donkey.
Another area featured community exhibits, product sampling from Wisconsin, and information tables on wildlife, pests, trees, and beekeeping.
The Oconto-Marinette County Beekeeper’s Association shared the glass exhibit with active honey bees, and we were surprised to feel the weight of a tray loaded with honey compared to a newly started comb. Did you know that one bee makes 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey in its lifetime? We were very surprised to learn this!
We walked through the free-stall barn, where some cows were feeding on silage, resting on their sand bedding, or being inquisitive about visitors (us).
It was fun to see the antique equipment display, manufactured a hundred years ago in Wisconsin and Illinois. Each machine had a specific job: husking the cob and grinding it into feed. Another similar one removed dried corn, shooting the kernels off the cob into a bin for chickens. Then, the cobs were burned for heating and cooking; nothing went to waste. Amazing to see how the equipment did the work with pulleys, conveyor belts, lots of smoke, spitting, and shaking loudly.
Standing on the hill, the view was beautiful: distant fields bordered by lush trees, older farmhouses, stoic silos no longer needed, and rolling fields of growing corn conforming to the land's contours.
There was another exhibit of antique tractors, and thinking about how much their design, shape, and size have changed over the years, they all have one thing in common: to aid the farmer with his work.
Before we left, we shared a bowl of vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup, because who wouldn’t want ice cream for breakfast!
The shuttle took us back to the parking field, and then we noticed a line of new visitors along the corn field. As we followed the exit signs, more people were coming in. We are thankful to the Riewe family for welcoming us to visit their farm.
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