This host of 34th Annual Manitowoc County Breakfast on The Farm has been in production for over eight decades.
Libertyland Farms located south of Manitowoc on Newton Rd. was started in 1940 by Elmer Gries and was later taken over by his son Harlen.
Since then, Harlen’s son Greg has been running the farm, which will be passed down to his daughter and son-in-law Zak and Rachel Kenneke, who’s been working at the farm.
Their farm focuses a lot on the dairy side, which means they have a lot of cows.
“Right now we’re milking about 300 cows with 5 Lely (milking) robots and we farm about 2,000 acres between owned and rented (land),” she explained “We grow a lot of our own feed for the cows. So, cows are fed the typical corn silage in the bunk with mineral protein mix.”
About 102 pounds or 22 gallons of milk come from each cow when they’re milked by machine.
The milk is then pumped into what’s called a milk house and cooled down to 34 degrees.
The milk is then taken to the Land O’Lakes Plant in Kiel where it’s pasteurized and made into cheese.
Kenneke explains that when people come to breakfast on the farm, they’ll notice something hanging around the cow’s neck.
“It’s kind of like a Fitbit,” she said. “It tells us how much the cow is eating, how much the cow is walking around or the activity for the day. And it will flag on our computer if we think that cow is sick. So, if she’s not eating as much as she usually is, if she’s laying down more than she usually would be, we get notified of that and we’re able to go and check her and see if she needs any sort of treatment.”
When they’re not milking cows, Libertyland is growing food for the cows but also crops like soybeans, wheat, and some rye as cash crops. Breakfast on the Farm is scheduled for Sunday, June 9th, from 8 am until Noon.
It costs $10 for adults, $5 for children ages 5-12, and kids 4 and under get in for free.
There will be guided farm tours, a petting zoo, and other children’s activities.
The Dairy Princess and Miss Farm Bureau Crowning happens at 9:30 that morning. Manitowoc County Diary Promotions President Joanna Stzyzewski says there will be plenty of food including two items that are returning.
“We had grilled cheese, and we are going to have it again this year because we felt it was so popular,” she stated. “And we also have fried cheese curds again this year.”
Parking will take place in a hayfield east of the farm. If it does rain, parking will be at the Farm Wisconsin Discover Center and Stecker Machine.
