Providing an education in agriculture

DONAHUE, Iowa — On their way to the 2026 National FFA Convention and Expo in Indianapolis, five FFA chapters made a stop in eastern Iowa for a hands-on look at modern dairy farming. At Cinnamon Ridge Farms, students got up close with a herd of Jersey cows, explored robotic milking technology, toured the farm’s cheese-making facility, and even sampled some of the most recently produced products.

Cinnamon Ridge Farms is owned and operated by John and Joan Maxwell and their family. They milk 240 Jerseys with four Lely Astronaut A5 robots and farm 1,500-2,500 acres of crops. That total varies by year, with crops being grown for feed for their dairy and beef herds; they cash crop the balance. Cows are housed in a sand-bedded freestall barn.

“The FFA chapters need to see different types of agriculture,” Joan Maxwell said. “Some of these chapters don’t have a lot of dairy where they’re at, so, to give them an opportunity to see a working dairy with the technology we use, is really important.”

Cinnamon Ridge hosted the FFA chapter from Pomeroy, Washington, Oct. 19, giving students a chance to see how a Midwest dairy farm operates.

The Maxwells offer this experience for more than just FFA members; they host a variety of tours and events to welcome the public to the farm as well.

“There’s a lot of misinformation out there,” Maxwell said. “People who come with a bias keep hearing over and over again how bad agriculture is, and when you hear it over and over again, it becomes truth, and we’re the ones that try to refute that.”

Cinnamon Ridge Farms does that with a variety of options available to help the public become better acquainted with agriculture. The Maxwells offer group tours, robotic dairy barn tours, and a farm tour for individuals that can be signed up for online.

“We open the farm and show people what we talk about is what we’re doing,” Maxwell said. “You can see what we’re doing. I like seeing those ‘aha’ moments where it clicks for people and they realize the reasoning behind what we do.”

Along with tours, Cinnamon Ridge provides cheese tastings as an add-on after tours. The Maxwells sell products wholesale to several establishments around the Donahue area. Located less than 20 miles from Davenport along the Mississippi River, Cinnamon Ridge partners with area riverboat companies to provide a chance for those traversing the river to step off the boat, see a working dairy and snack on some cheese produced right on the farm.

Cinnamon Ridge also works with the Quad City River Bandits, a minor league baseball team in Davenport, to provide cheese at concession stands during the baseball season.

“What we see from the tours is that people want to connect with agriculture,” Maxwell said. “As many people as we see on the farm, we’ve had very few problems of people coming with an agenda. There’s a willingness to learn.”

The Maxwell herd of Jersey cattle has won a multitude of awards, ranking as the top herd in the nation for milk and protein production among Jersey herds at one point.

Having the top Jersey herd in the nation was a goal that John and his brother, Edwin, had when they started farming together in 1988. Now Edwin serves as the farm’s cheesemaker, producing gouda, cheddar,
Munster and a variety of cave-aged cheeses from their herd’s milk.

When they started making cheese, the Maxwells adjusted milk components to improve cheese yield.

“We knew we needed to evolve our approach,” Maxwell said. “We realized we needed to focus less on pounds of milk per day, but concentrate on components, pounds of protein, pounds of butterfat. That’s what we need to be looking at right now, and we are in the middle of investigating what can help make us more efficient.”

Hosting FFA chapters and the public for tours and a lunch on the farm helps showcase not only their cows and the facilities but provides a chance to feature their cheeses.

“People look forward to those events,” Maxwell said. “We work with the local FFA chapter to have some activities for the kids. We like to have those events more cheese focused and we have merchandise available after people have had the chance to try our cheeses.”

With five FFA chapters having an opportunity to tour Cinnamon Ridge Farm, their experience often brings more chapters to the farm following the national convention.

“John was doing this before we got married,” Maxwell said. “Having the chance to help educate those interested in agriculture gain a better understanding of a field they might not be familiar with is very fulfilling.”