By SHELLY STRAUTZ-SPRINGBORN
Michigan Correspondent

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Everyone can experience agriculture during the 2010 Clinton County “Breakfast on the Farm.” The second annual event takes place rain or shine, from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. June 19 at Steenblik Dairy Farm near Pewamo; breakfast is served until noon.

Breakfast on the Farm is a family-oriented program aimed at bringing people together to enjoy a complimentary pancake breakfast and self-guided tour of a family-owned farm. Albert and Els Steenblik milk 2,500 cows three times per day in their state-of-the-art milking parlor, which will be one of the stops during the self-guided tour.

Participants can visit a variety of educational stations set up throughout the operation to learn about animal husbandry, nutrition, general farming practices and more. Visitors also can climb aboard modern farm equipment, pet and feed calves, enjoy a tractor and wagon ride and see the feed that cows eat.
In addition, they will be able to talk with and ask questions of local farmers. A goat-milking demonstration and commodity area displaying a variety of farm crops grown in Michigan also will be available.

Faith Cullens, Clinton County Michigan State University extension dairy educator and lead organizer of the event, said Breakfast on the Farm was created to help non-farm families learn how a modern-day dairy farm operates.

“Dairy farming has changed immensely since the 1970s and 1980s, and many people are not familiar with the new technology,” she said. “Dairy farmers are our best examples of what it means to be a steward of the land and their animals. Providing the best nutrition, health care and living conditions for the animals, which are the backbone of a dairy farmer’s business, is still priority Number 1.”

Agriculture – with dairy production contributing the highest percentage – adds more than $71 billion annually to Michigan’s economy. It is also the third most agriculturally diverse state in the United States. Clinton County ranks No. 2 in the state in the number of dairy cows.

“We are very fortunate to be living here in the United States, where we have an abundant, affordable and safe food supply,” Cullens said. “Farmers are people just like you and me. What better way to learn the real story behind modern-day farming than by coming face to face with the people who are actually producing our food? That’s what Breakfast on the Farm is all about.”

The event is free, but tickets are required and are available at: DeWitt Family Golf Center and Scoopy Doo’s Ice Cream in DeWitt; Schmitz Service and Party Store in Fowler; Greenstone Farm Credit Services, the Ionia Community Library, the Ionia County extension office and Vito’s Pizza in Ionia; the Gratiot County extension office in Ithaca; L&L Food Centers in Lansing; Dewey’s Trading Post in Maple Rapids; the Village Market in Muir; Tom’s Western Store in Ovid; Woods Deli in Pewamo; Frosty Boys in Portland; and Clinton County Farm Bureau, the Clinton County extension office, Greenstone Farm Credit Services, the St. Johns Public Library and Uncle John’s Cider Mill in St. Johns.

Breakfast on the Farm is organized by Clinton County extension and the Clinton County Farm Bureau. Statewide sponsoring partners for the 2010 event are Dairy Farmers of America, Dairyland Seed, Greenstone Farm Credit Services, the Michigan Milk Producers Assoc., Pioneer and the United Dairy Industry of Michigan.

In addition to this, two other breakfast-farm tour combinations are planned for this summer. The 2010 MSU Dairy Farmer of the Year award winners, Earl and Diane Horning, along with their son, Jeff, and his wife, Lynda, and family, will host a Breakfast on the Farm June 26 at their dairy farm near Manchester in Washtenaw County.
On July 24, Joe and Beth Bryant will host a breakfast and farm tour on their livestock operation near Shepherd in Isabella County. Both events, scheduled to take place from 9 a.m.-1 p.m., are organized by their respective counties’ extension and Farm Bureau offices.
Contact Cullens at 989-224-5249 or by e-mail at cullensf@msu.edu for more information about Breakfast on the Farm or to reserve tickets. Visit www.breakfastonthefarm.com for more information or to download directions to the Steenblik farm.