MONROE — The 45th annual Green County Breakfast on the Farm takes place this Saturday, May 31 at Heaven View Dairy south of Monroe. Hosts Josh and Liz Steiner will open their farm, located at N303 County HK, from 6 to 10 a.m.

The family consists of Josh and Liz with their three children: Natalie (19), Breann (18) and Jonathon (27), who is engaged to Kyley. Jonathon and Kyley have two children of their own: Leland (10) and Sophia (1).

The Steiners have all been involved in 4-H for several years, with Liz also being a Cloverbud and dairy project leader and Josh being a dairy leader until 2020. Their farm, Heaven View Dairy, is named in memory of their daughter, Nicole.

Josh developed his love for farming at an early age as he spent summers and weekends with his brothers, uncle, and grandfather on his grandparents’ farm. During high school, he worked at Studer Super Service while also gaining experience in construction through the Capstone program at school. This experience has come in handy when doing projects and tractor maintenance on the farm. Liz joined the Army after high school while also attending Blackhawk Technical College for accounting. She worked as a telemarketer and dental assistant before eventually turning to farming full time. 

This is the first time the family has hosted Breakfast on the Farm, and it has been quite chaotic, they admit.

“Every project that we meant to do, we have been completing a lot sooner than what we had anticipated. So, we’re trying to get everything done to make the farm look nice, of course. So yeah, it’s been interesting to say the least,” Liz said.

As for why they decided to host, they were asked for many years and finally decided they should try it at least once.

“We’re excited and nervous. We didn’t really think about all the things that we were going to have to do, but it’s all working out,” Liz said.

The two have been together and farming for about 25 years.

“Josh and I met in December of 2000, and him and I actually moved in together in March of 2001, and I’ve been by his side ever since,” Liz said. “We started on his brother’s farm for a few years, and then we moved off of that to try it on our own, and moved up to County J. But we only stayed there for like a year before we came down here. We’ve been here ever since.”

Their main farm is about 180 acres, and they rent two other farms as well. In total, they have around 450 acres that they use for farming.

“We have soybeans and corn for the main big crops, and then, of course, we do hay and wheat. Wheat is probably our third-largest [crop],” Josh said. “We’ve cut down quite a bit on hay and mainly just make enough for the farm. But we sell corn and soybeans, and obviously keep a bunch to feed our animals as well.”

In terms of animals, they have Holstein dairy cows for milking, as well as raising beef with many Angus-Dairy cross, both heifers and steers.

“We just had a beef cow have her first calf on our farm. And then we had another Holstein heifer that was in the pen with her; she calved four days later, and we took her out to milk her, and then her little calf just started hanging out with the other one, and so now that momma feeds both of them,” Liz said.

For Holstein cows, they have around 80, with 66 of those being milked, as that’s what the barn holds. For beef cattle, they have about 100, so in total, there are approximately 180 animals on the farm.

“The layout is going to be nice. They’re going to be able to walk in the barn and check out the stanchions,” Josh said. “There’s going to be someone out at the calf huts too, talking about our calves and their nutrition. Hopefully it’s a fun event for everybody.”

There will be limited onsite parking at the farm, but bussing will be provided at the Monroe Walmart. The first bus open to the public will leave from the Monroe Walmart at 5:30 a.m. The shuttles will continue every 30 minutes until 9:30 a.m. Entertainment during the breakfast will include the Stateline Playboys band, a petting zoo, an antique tractor display, agricultural education, and many craft vendors.