Location
Maps and Self-Guided Tour

The shed was built in 2023. It acts as another location to store equipment on the farm, as well as having a quarter of the shed with a dirt floor to store straw bales.

The commodity shed holds many of the grains utilized in the total mixed rations for the cows on the farm. The east side of the shed also holds sawdust, which is used as bedding for the cattle.

The bunker silos are used to hold corn silage and haylage. Their is also a pad of cement that haylage is also frequently stored.

Like a blender, the TMR mixer mixes up the silage and grains that make up the cattle's total mixed ration.

The manure pit, lined with plastic, holds over two million gallons of manure, which is then used as a natural fertilizer for the crops the farm grows.

The farm has three skidsteers. The Kubota is used more for feeding and utility jobs, while the Bobcat is used for cleaning manure and pushing up feed. The New Holland is used most commonly for cleaning manure.

"Machinery Row" was a staple of the 2010 Breakfast. It returns for this one, although updated with some newer machinery. It is a collection of the Brokers' machinery, as well as some of that of the extended family. Look for the information sheets placed on the front or side of

One of the main features of the 2002 renovation, the freestall barn houses all of the farm's milking cattle, as well as, from 2017, transition cows and the sick/treatment pens. The front part of the barn was added in that renovation. From outside the barn, one can notice a slight change in the shade of the roof. All of the barn south of that was part of the 2002 building, while everything north of it was part of the 2017 renovation. At any given time, around 150-200 cows are in a lactation (milking).

Installed in 2022, the robotic manure collectors have specific routes they follow automatically collecting manure, before depositing it in their respective (one east, one west) depository. There are also charging stations at the south end of the barn, one in each pen. Each day they do about three dozen routes.

The Juno, as its model is, has a charging port between the transition pen and the west pen. Its job is to follow a specific route, pushing feed closer to the cattle.

The transition pen houses cattle that are closest to calving. Their TMR varies from that of the milking cattle, as there is an emphasis on providing them energy to help the calf develop, in comparison to producing a high quantity of milk.

The treatment pen is an area separate from the other cows that allow a cow to be treated for sickness or injury. It is also frequently used for cows that have recently freshened, or given birth.

Four milkings every week, cows are diverted from the normal lane back to the pens, to the foot bath, which is filled with chemicals that work to kill and prevent diseases in the feet.

One pen of cows is released at a time for milking. Considering only twenty-four can be in the parlor at any one time, the rest are held in the holding area until one of the groups of twelve are fully milked, and then released back to their pen.

The swing twelve milkling parlor has twelve milking machines, with two rows of twelve spots for the cows to stand to be milked. The machines can swing from side-to-side. Because of this, ideally, at one given time, every milker should be in use (This system replaced the old parlor, which had two rows of six, and milkers were not shared between sides, but had one specific location that it was for). The cows are milked twice a day, at around 6 a.m. and 4 p.m. until around 8 a.m. and 7 p.m., respectively.

The milk house has much of the equipment that stores and pumps the milk after it is transferred by pipes out of the parlor. The milk is commonly around a hundred degrees when it comes out of the cow, but the 4,000 gallon bulk tank chills it to a more comfortable, cold, temperature. The milk is then sent to Grassland Dairy, where it is used to make butter.

The utility room houses many of the miscellaneous tools, medication, and other supplies needed on the farm. Closer to the parlor are many heaters and other fans. The office is used for keeping records of important information about the cattle, and for conducting business transactions.

The structure, which is divided by a sliding wall in the middle, houses both the farm's main machinery shop, as well as the original shed for machinery. The east part of the building is the shop, where equipment and other materials, such as fences, etc. are worked on. The west part of the building is where much of the farm's equipment is stored and where much of the straw is, as well.

The white calf hut is where calves are stored until they are one day old. The heifers are then taken to Busse's Barron Acres, where they are kept for a few months, before being brought back. The bull calves are sent to EBJ livestock.

Historically, the Red Barn had, prior to 2002, held the farm's milking cattle. From 2002-2017 it was the location of the herd's transition cows. After the expansion of the freestall barn in 2017, the Red Barn was repurposed mainly for storage.

The heifer barn, which was originally just the west half, was built in 2003 as a continutation of the 2002 renovation. That half did, and still does, hold some of the younger heifers on the farm, from after they return from Busse's to when they become pregnant. In 2017, the other half was added, which replaced the function of the old silver barn, in housing the pregnant heifers and dry cows until they are transferred to the transition pen.