August 16, 2021 at 1:41 p.m.
Dairy breakfast coming soon
We all making last minute lists, contacting and confirming sponsors and planning the layout on the farm. I have been asked in interviews about the breakfast on the farm. How much food does it take to pull off the Dane County Dairy Breakfast? The answer still amazes me. It takes about 1,000 dozen eggs, 12,000 pancakes, 5,000 string cheeses, 100 pounds of shredded cheese, 750 pounds of sausage, 5,000 milk jugs, 150 gallons of coffee and 150 gallons of ice cream. But, the whole event cannot happen without volunteers.
For an average event for Dane County, the goal is to get 250 volunteers to help with parking, ticket sales, cooking, serving, table cleaning, ice cream scooping and picking up trash … the list goes on. We ask everyone we do business with to make a donation of money, supplies and volunteer time to help with the breakfast so we have enough feet on the ground to help with and also support the event. Writing articles for the local paper and sending out many emails and Facebook posts have been a family affair that Anna, Catherine and Duane have made to keep the breakfast fresh in the minds of friends, family, neighbors and anyone who would like to visit a farm and enjoy a delicious breakfast.
Because it is at our family farm, we are all looking around and taking care of areas of our farm that could use more attention. Because we finally had some rain, the moisture made pulling weeds and spreading wood chips much easier. Putting up banners is so much easier when the soil will actually allow a post to be slammed in. We are trying to notice things that just don’t need to be where they are and things that could be moved to a better spot. Organizing and cleaning up feels good when there’s a reason behind the efforts. The tractors will all come out of the sheds and get a good cleaning. And, what doesn’t need to be seen will get moved to a different farm shed.
Here we are less than two weeks away and so many people have stepped up to be a part of the local event in our community. We have tractors, steam engines and antique car collectors who will be shining up their treasures to share a view with breakfast-goers. Our milk hauler and his kids will be arriving in the tanker truck to get breakfast. The mobile vaccine clinic will be here to give free vaccinations for COVID-19. Argill, our Lely dealer, will be here to give tours of the robots milking our cows. This new technology is nearly three years old already and has made a huge difference in our lives and also our cows. The robots give us more time to be better managers and more opportunities for the cows to milk themselves and produce more milk, which lets them feel more comfortable and content. Argill will also be giving away a Luna cow brush to a farmer who signs up at the event.
Our nutritionist will discuss the importance of quality feed, storage, rations and how that can help the milk production of our cows. Our milk hauler will be here with a tanker truck for all to see up close how big they are. We will also have the company that does our fall manure handling available to share about nutrient management plans and the GPS systems that are used to be environmentally sustainable. Invenergy will have information about the Koshkonong solar energy project that is coming to the Cambride and Deerfield area. All of this and more will be throughout the farm for visitors to see and learn about.
The reality of all of this is that this event would not be possible if not for the breakfast committee. These four people have worked on the event together for years: Katie Varney, Kristen Olson, Laura Herschleb and Mike Maraen. They have a list of annual sponsors that support the venue at all locations every year. Not only do these businesses support the breakfast, this will also be the funds for the scholarship program that gives funds to farm kids after high school to further their education.
We would like to invite you to join us at our farm in Cambridge Aug. 21 for the Dane County Dairy Breakfast. I am sure it will be a dairy good day.
Tina Hinchley, and her husband, Duane, daughter Anna, milk 240 registered Holsteins with robots. They also farm 2300 acres of crops near Cambridge, Wisconsin. The Hinchley’s have been hosting farm tour for over 25 years.
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