If you go ...
• What: Green County Ag Chest's Breakfast on the Farm
• When: 6 to 10 a.m. Saturday, May 25
• Where: Jeff and Katie Falk's Southern Ridge Cow Palace, W7744 Smock Valley Road, Jordan Township
• Cost: $5 for adults; $3 for ages 6 to 10; free for ages 5 and under
• Getting there: Free buses leave every 15 minutes
starting at 5:30 a.m. from the former Walmart parking lot on West 8th Street in Monroe; at 7 a.m. from Bank of Brodhead, 806 E. Exchange St.; and at 7 a.m. from the Black Hawk High School parking lot in South Wayne, stopping at 7:10 a.m. at Powers Auction Service in Browntown. Reservations for the Brodhead bus should be made by Friday, May 24 by calling 608-897-2121.
• Parking: Limited spots
available on-site.
MONROE - More than 5,000 people are expected at this weekend's Breakfast on the Farm, hosted by Katie and Jeff Falk at their Southern Ridge Cow Palace on Smock Valley Road.
But the picturesque farm, atop the hilly land between Monroe and Browntown, can't hold 5,000 cars. The Falks are urging visitors to leave their cars at home if possible. Free buses are available from Monroe, Brodhead, South Wayne and Browntown.
"We're really trying to push the buses," Katie Falk said.
The 34th annual Green County Ag Chest event is held on a different family farm each year. This Saturday, May 25, it features entertainment from the Greg Anderson Band, the John Komperda and Donna Watts duo and the Juda High School Jazz Band, plus a petting zoo, wagon rides, corn boxes for the kids and an arts and crafts show.
The main attraction is the traditional breakfast feast with scrambled eggs, sausage, cheese, coffee cake, ice cream, milk, coffee and orange juice. It requires about 1,800 dozen eggs, 1,300 pounds of sausage, 5,000 half-pints of milk, 126 gallons of ice cream mix, 3,500 cartons of orange juice, 200 coffee cakes, 13 lugs of fresh strawberries, 110 pounds of butter, 480 pounds of cheese and 26 jars of coffee.
The dairy breakfast takes months of preparation - preparations that can be frustrated at the last minute by the whims of Mother Nature.
"I think everybody's nerves are starting to kick in," said Craig Kamholz, who co-chairs the event with Judy Gill and Sue Hellenbrand. Last year's dairy breakfast endured a torrential rainfall so quick and heavy that a whole field of cars had to be pulled out of mud by tractor.
The weather looks like it will cooperate better this Saturday, with a chance of rain predicted at only 30 percent.
"It's going to be a great breakfast again," Kamholz said.
Their 'heart and soul'
The Falk family was farming this land in Jordan Township since before the Green County Ag Chest held its first dairy breakfast at a church in 1961. The event moved in 1980 to a farm, with the idea that children and city dwellers "could get first-hand knowledge of what makes up a modern dairy farm today."
The Falks are excited to show off their farm and how they care for and milk their 400-plus cows.
"It's a way of life," said Jeff. "It's seven days a week, but we do it because we love it. We do it because we love the animals."
He was born and raised on the farm and took it over from his father. He and Katie expect their son Jon, 27, will eventually inherit the operation. The Falks have two other children, Jason, 25, an antique car mechanic in Rice Lake, and 11-year-old Abby, an aspiring veterinarian.
"She's what made us young," Katie said. "She's my little princess."
The Falks have 480 cows on their 880 acres, plus about 500 young stock divided between four nearby farms. They also grow several thousand rented acres of beans, corn, oats and winter wheat.
The cows get milked on a carousel-style parlor, which looks like a merry-go-round ride for milking. The milk goes to Chula Vista Cheese in Browntown and is primarily used for production of Mexican-style cheeses.
It's Katie's job every morning and night to feed the calves, about 80 right now.
"They're my babies," she said.
The calves are also a big investment. It's takes two years for a calf to grow up and be mature enough to milk.
"It's a slow return," Jeff said. But it's worth it, he added. Farming "takes your whole heart and soul."
But the picturesque farm, atop the hilly land between Monroe and Browntown, can't hold 5,000 cars. The Falks are urging visitors to leave their cars at home if possible. Free buses are available from Monroe, Brodhead, South Wayne and Browntown.
"We're really trying to push the buses," Katie Falk said.
The 34th annual Green County Ag Chest event is held on a different family farm each year. This Saturday, May 25, it features entertainment from the Greg Anderson Band, the John Komperda and Donna Watts duo and the Juda High School Jazz Band, plus a petting zoo, wagon rides, corn boxes for the kids and an arts and crafts show.
The main attraction is the traditional breakfast feast with scrambled eggs, sausage, cheese, coffee cake, ice cream, milk, coffee and orange juice. It requires about 1,800 dozen eggs, 1,300 pounds of sausage, 5,000 half-pints of milk, 126 gallons of ice cream mix, 3,500 cartons of orange juice, 200 coffee cakes, 13 lugs of fresh strawberries, 110 pounds of butter, 480 pounds of cheese and 26 jars of coffee.
The dairy breakfast takes months of preparation - preparations that can be frustrated at the last minute by the whims of Mother Nature.
"I think everybody's nerves are starting to kick in," said Craig Kamholz, who co-chairs the event with Judy Gill and Sue Hellenbrand. Last year's dairy breakfast endured a torrential rainfall so quick and heavy that a whole field of cars had to be pulled out of mud by tractor.
The weather looks like it will cooperate better this Saturday, with a chance of rain predicted at only 30 percent.
"It's going to be a great breakfast again," Kamholz said.
Their 'heart and soul'
The Falk family was farming this land in Jordan Township since before the Green County Ag Chest held its first dairy breakfast at a church in 1961. The event moved in 1980 to a farm, with the idea that children and city dwellers "could get first-hand knowledge of what makes up a modern dairy farm today."
The Falks are excited to show off their farm and how they care for and milk their 400-plus cows.
"It's a way of life," said Jeff. "It's seven days a week, but we do it because we love it. We do it because we love the animals."
He was born and raised on the farm and took it over from his father. He and Katie expect their son Jon, 27, will eventually inherit the operation. The Falks have two other children, Jason, 25, an antique car mechanic in Rice Lake, and 11-year-old Abby, an aspiring veterinarian.
"She's what made us young," Katie said. "She's my little princess."
The Falks have 480 cows on their 880 acres, plus about 500 young stock divided between four nearby farms. They also grow several thousand rented acres of beans, corn, oats and winter wheat.
The cows get milked on a carousel-style parlor, which looks like a merry-go-round ride for milking. The milk goes to Chula Vista Cheese in Browntown and is primarily used for production of Mexican-style cheeses.
It's Katie's job every morning and night to feed the calves, about 80 right now.
"They're my babies," she said.
The calves are also a big investment. It's takes two years for a calf to grow up and be mature enough to milk.
"It's a slow return," Jeff said. But it's worth it, he added. Farming "takes your whole heart and soul."