Educating future consumers

BRYANT, Wis. — Sharing the story of agriculture with future generations of consumers is important to Terry Schroepfer, so much so that he welcomed the Antigo FFA Chapter to use his farm for their Day on the Farm event four times.

“Getting these kids out here, showing them where their food comes from, that’s really important,” Schroepfer said. “Too many people don’t have any idea what goes into feeding them. It’s amazing, the questions these kids ask.”

Schroepfer and his family milked 75 cows and raised crops on their Langlade County farm near the town of Bryant before dispersing their herd May 14 at Premier Livestock in Withee. They partnered with the FFA chapter to host their final Day on the Farm event May 8-9, bringing area students together to learn about agriculture.

The FFA students hosted over 250 youth, including fourth graders from Antigo public and parochial schools, as well as fourth graders from Crandon and students in fourth, fifth and sixth grades in the White Lake School District, said Antigo FFA Chapter advisor Shalynn Domke.

Like many programs, the Day on the Farm event was halted because of the coronavirus pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, the chapter rotated among farms in the area, spending two years hosting the event at each farm. The first event held at the Schroepfer farm took place in 2019.

“When we started the program back up three years ago, we came back here,” Domke said. “It was all planned; it’s close to the schools and we have the ability to have all the stations undercover in the event of rain.”

When the event was resurrected post-pandemic, Domke said her officer team raised the question of opening the event up to other schools outside their own district.

“The kids asked right away if we could add Crandon,” Domke said. “I told them we’d have to go to having the event over two days. Our fourth graders take a full day, and Crandon brings anywhere from 50-80 kids each year.”

Sharing the agricultural experience with other area students fills a void, Domke said.

“We’re in Section 8, we’re the northern-most chapter on the east side of the state,” Domke said. “It’s all state and national forest north of us. There aren’t really any farms, so these kids don’t have access to many opportunities to experience a farm first-hand.”

When students arrive at the farm, they are separated into groups and travel among stations that include tours of the barn and milkhouse, dairy product tasting and presentations about feed and mixing, maple syrup production and crops and fieldwork. Stations were also set up to focus on small animals and other large animals, other than cows.

“This is a working farm,” Domke said. “You might see a tractor come through the yard. Your friends this morning got to see the milk truck come in to pick up the milk. There is always lots going on at a farm.”

Schroepfer expressed pride that his grandchildren, Mia and Korbin, were both instrumental in hosting the event, as officers of the chapter. Mia serves as the president and Korbin is the vice president of program activities.

“I like that every day is different,” Mia said.  “I like doing this, sharing everything with these kids, to be an advocate for smaller family farms like ours.”

As he has gotten older, Schroepfer said he has slowly been downsizing to the current herd size. Besides their own animals, he raised heifers and housed a few cows for other local farmers.

“Years ago, everything was full,” he said. “We had over 300 cattle on the farm.”

The Schroepfers farm 500 acres and will continue running some of the crop ground, growing corn silage for a nearby large dairy.

“I spend a lot of time in this barn,” Korbin said. “I do chores in here every day, before and after school. These heifers all know me; they’re all pretty friendly.”

Schroepfer was philosophical and a bit sentimental, watching fourth graders swarm his farm that sunny May afternoon, just days before he would hang up his last milker.

“I’ve done this my entire life,” he said. “My mom and dad bought the farm in 1951. I’ve been doing this full time ever since I graduated from high school in 1972 — 53 years.”

Raising his family on the farm and watching his grandchildren have the same experiences he had as a child has been rewarding, Schroepfer said.

Mia said her upbringing shaped her view of the world.

“I feel like I’m going into college knowing things I wouldn’t have known if I hadn’t grown up on the farm,” she said. “If you didn’t grow up like this, you might not understand a lot of the things I have learned here.”