If you’re looking for something to do with dad this weekend, you’re in luck! The Kewaunee County Breakfast on the Farm will be hosted by Augustian Farms LLC in Kewaunee on Father’s Day. There will be a church service at 7 am on the farm, with the breakfast kicking off at 8 am and going until noon.
We heard from Aaron Augustian who owns the dairy with his brother Todd since they bought it from their parents in 2000. In 2005, the farm fell victim to a barn fire, leaving the dairy unuseable. Fortunately, they had a neighboring dairy that got out of the business in 2000, so Augustians got permission to milk there while building the new dairy. “We were very fortunate that he let us come in there,” Augustian said. In 2009 the brothers were able to bring their herd back to the homefront where they now milk 1,000 cows.
Augustian explained that after the fire, he and his brother weren’t 100% sure that they wanted to be in the industry anymore. One of the options was to sell the farm, work in town, and possibly cash crop on the side, but they ultimately changed their minds. “We weren’t ready to leave the dairy industry yet. It’s been in our family for five generations. We weren’t ready to pull the pin on that,” Augustian explained.
The family has very deep roots in the dairy industry and that’s one of the reasons they see the value in events such as Breakfast on the Farm. “It’s very imperative that we get people out here and show them what we do on a daily basis,” he went on to say, “There’s so many…rumors or bad things that you see on the internet.” That’s why he encourages people to come out to the farm and directly ask a farmer any questions they may have about agriculture.
He hopes that when people attend dairy events, they realize all of the good that dairy farmers are doing for the environment instead of listening to activists online that may try to skew the story. “We’re working with DATCP, we’re working with NRCS to try to find better practices to help protect our soils,” Augustian said it’s been a success, “We’re part of the Door-Kewaunee Demo Farms Network where we try those outside the box things on our farm…the things we’ve changed in the last four years, it really opened my eyes. I mean, I never would’ve guessed some of the things that we’re doing today four, five, ten years ago.”
To hear the full interview with Aaron Augustian, check out our podcast page.
Augustian Farms LLC: Church at 7 am and Breakfast at 8 am – 12 pm June 20th
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