Enjoying The Dairy Air

I had a realization on our way to Wisconsin recently. Though we've visited America's dairy land many times, we've never taken the kids to tour an operating dairy farm. This is an opportunity that every kid should get to take advantage of. Our whole family are avid milk drinkers. I know our kids understand that milk does not originate at Wal*Mart, but I remember visiting a dairy operation when I was young and I wanted them to have that experience and to see firsthand where the milk they enjoy really comes from.

Steve's folks had recently attended, along with about 3,000 other people, the Rock County Dairy Breakfast, hosted at Funk's Fairview Acres, a dairy farm not far from their home. So when I asked Steve's mom about finding a dairy that would give us a tour, she immediately thought of the Funks and gave them a call.

Julie Funk welcomed us to their farm and took time to show us all around and answer all of our questions, no matter how silly (Steve told Amanda to ask if the brown cows gave chocolate milk). She explained that they are the third generation, operating a farm that's been in the family since 1917. They're a relatively small operation, but the emphasis is on quaility and they supply milk to Oberweis Dairy, which sets a very high standard. They milk about 140 cows a day, a mixture of Holsteins and Brown Swiss. Their kids also show the Brown Swiss at the county fair. Julie's seventeen-year-old daughter, Allison, also came out and helped answer questions. When asked by my eight-year-old if it was hard living on a farm, Allison emphatically stated that she loved everything about it.

It was a hands-on tour and the kids were allowed to not only pet the cows, but assist in the calves' evening feeding. Talk about an experience to remember!

And I'm sure letting the calves suck on their fingers is something they'll remember for a very long time!

When we declared that we had taken enough of Julie's time and proposed that we depart and let her return to her evening, she asked us to stay long enough for her to show the girls something special. She then led us into a building where she pulled out several tiny kittens. She handed one to each of the girls and allowed them to snuggle them for a few minutes under Mother Cat's watchful eye.


We then returned to the front drive to find the Funk kids excercising their show animals. Allison brought out a gentle Brown Swiss named Coconut and gave each of our girls an opportunity to walk her.

As we were leaving, Julie ran inside and returned with two cartons of Oberweis ice cream for us to take home. We thoroughly enjoyed it over the next few days. We also made sure we got to the store to buy a glass jar of Oberweis milk. It's expensive, but we could understand why. It's excellent milk. The high standards they hold their producers to results in an undeniably superior product.

Julie believes it's important for people to understand where the milk they drink comes from. She was happy to explain the operation to us and took a couple of hours out of what must be a very busy schedule to make sure we had a good understanding of how a dairy farm operates. Not only did she not charge us a fee for this grand tour, she sent us home with some tasty ice cream. If I knew of an award to nominate Julie for, I would. Since I don't, I will make up one of my own. I hearby award Julie Funk the Schubox American Spirit Award, for exemplifying the spirit of the hard working Mid-Western Dairy Farmer. Where would we be without people like the Funks?

Thank you, Julie!!