An invitation to experience

EAST DUBUQUE, Ill. — Marrying a dairy farmer was not part of Natalie Berning’s original plan. But, she has embraced farm life, finding creative ways to diversify the business and connect consumers with the dairy industry.

“I was a city girl,” Berning said. “I did not grow up in farming at all. I honestly believe this was the first working farm I ever stepped foot on. For a very long time, I really didn’t play a role at the farm at all.”

Berning is co-owner of Berning Acres alongside her husband, Matt. They milk 500 cows three times a day in a double-10 parallel parlor. The family also owns and rents approximately 800 acres of land.

In 2016, after Berning had their fourth child, the couple decided it was time for her to quit her full-time teaching job to focus on their growing family. In 2021, Berning began her first farm camp.

“It was always an idea in my head that we could invite people here,” Berning said. “It’s just part of God’s plan.”

Berning’s in-laws have 31 grandchildren, so there was no shortage of kids on the farm. Inspired by a visit to Hansen Dairy in Cedar Falls, Iowa, where an owner encouraged her to use her teaching background, Berning took the compliment to heart and got started.

“I had some teaching, lesson planning and classroom management skills that were really helpful to get us going,” Berning said.

The camp sold out its first year and has grown each year since. Now entering its fifth year, Berning Acres’ farm camp can host up to 140 children for six sessions of two-day experiences.

“The first day, they learn all about cows — how much they eat, drink, weigh, how much milk they produce and their living conditions,” Berning said.

Every day, a calf is born at the farm, bringing another learning opportunity. Berning teaches about calf care, including how calves have no immune system and need colostrum to start their lives. Additionally, campers get the chance to milk a cow and, in past years, have made their own butter or ice cream. This year, they will make whipped cream.

Having not grown up on a farm, Berning said she talks in the consumer’s language, not cow language.

“This is new lingo for me,” Berning said. “(For) forever I was like, ‘Why do you say pre and post-fresh cows? Why don’t you just say pregnant?’ Now I get it. It’s quicker. It’s faster (to say).”

Berning’s background allows her to explain everything in a way her customers understand, such as how she describes the cows’ experience of the dairy farm.

“We call it the bed and breakfast, our all-inclusive resort,” she said. “That’s how we describe it to our visitors when they come.”

For Berning, success is multi-faceted and is more than just income versus expenses.

“It’s been this cool thing we talk about around the dinner table,” she said. “They rave about the kids. So that, to me, is the success. My kids being happy, us being able to work together, that’s the success.”

Another measure of success is providing a meaningful experience for visitors.

“(Visitors) see that our animals are well cared for and know that we are making an impact,” Berning said. “We’re providing a need for people to connect with their farmer and learn how their food is produced.”

The farm camp draws children from all over, including Chicago, California and Minnesota. Some kids stay with their grandparents in the area and get a chance to see dairy farming first-hand.

Berning also works with the local tourism organizations for Dubuque, Iowa, and Galena.

“When we started, it was a for fun sort of thing,” Berning said. “But we see it growing (since) we are located close to Galena, and they get 1.8 million tourists a year.”

As interest grew, adults started asking if there was a version of farm camp for them. At first, Berning and her husband thought it was a joke until they realized people were serious. This led them to host special events, including bachelorette parties.

“We didn’t mean to do that, but we’ll take a group of girls with their cowgirl boots, milk a cow, learn about the dairy industry and have a lot of fun,” Berning said.

One of the farm’s newest ventures is selling its own cheese.

“Cheese sells itself, so it’s super easy,” Berning said. “People want to purchase it because they want to feel connected to their farmer.”

Their co-op, Rolling Hills Dairy Producers Cooperative, began purchasing cheese from production plants and labeling it under the co-op’s name, directly linking it to the farmers. From there, Berning Acres started labeling and selling their own cheese, now offering three varieties. Today, more than half of their farm visitors leave with a package of Berning Acres cheese.

One opportunity has led to another, but the core mission remains the same — education.

“(To) be able to promote agriculture and the dairy industry in a way that they see firsthand with real people and facts I think is critical,” Berning said.

Reflecting on the journey, Berning said the timing was perfect because her kids want to hang out at the farm.

“I found a way to actually make myself a job and be profitable while also being outside here with them,” Berning said.