Going beyond the toaster waffle
by Kristin Stankewicz
Each June, Brian and Gina Dresang take their three children to Breakfast on the Farm in Outagamie County. Their goal: To teach their kids that breakfast doesn't "grow" in the cereal aisle, and to give them an eye-popping introduction to the places, people, and animals involved in getting food to the table.
Oh, yes: And to eat a fantastic breakfast.
They can smell the delicious aromas from well outside the machine shed-turned-dining room. Inside the shed, visitors feast on heaps of fresh scrambled eggs, ham, sausage, hash browns, mozzarella sticks, golden deep-fried cheese curds, and, of course, icy cold milk—all for $5 per person (kids 4 and under are free). The menu may not be for the cholesterol-conscious, but it represents what American breakfasts looked like before Pop-Tarts.
Kids get a kick out of eating in a barn. Accidentally dropping food on the floor here won’t get you scolded like at home—and just might earn the love of one of the happy-go-lucky farm dogs.
After the feast, visitors take a farm tour that includes a visit to the milking parlor, for a behind-the-scenes look at how milk goes from cow to breakfast table. Preschooler Natalie Dresang learns an important lesson in barn etiquette. “Remember, stay in the middle!” warns her mom, as the cow to Natalie’s right begins to do, well, what a cow does after eating.
Natalie squeals and makes a beeline for the safety of the center aisle. “Kids need to learn about that end of things, too,” Gina says, laughing.
It’s all part of life on the farm.
There’s a popular petting zoo, too, with cows—of course—as well as pigs, chickens, calves, llamas, horses, and goats. Tara Aguilo watches her 3-year-old daughter carefully feed a baby goat. The goat doesn’t seem to notice, or care, that the girl is a rookie.
Other activities include face painting, pedal tractor contests, pony rides, tractor-pulled wagons, and freshly scooped ice cream. This is kid heaven.
Gina’s husband, Brian, and her father, Harvey Mleziva, enjoy Breakfast on the Farm as much as the kids. Both men grew up on farms, so the annual outing holds special appeal. “They like hearing the farmer talk about the farm and how it’s doing, the farm’s statistics, that type of thing,” Gina says.
At the end of the morning, everyone leaves with a greater understanding of farm life. For the farmer, tomorrow morning it’s back to business as usual. But for the visitors, tomorrow’s breakfast comes with the newfound pleasure of having met the cows and farmers who make it possible.
Each June, most counties throughout Wisconsin host a dairy breakfast. Locations and menus vary. For more information and a complete 2008 schedule, visit
www.wisdairy.com.