A day in the life of the Brandau family

TOMAH, Wis. — The Monroe County Fairgrounds have served as the summer vacation home for many families over the years, including the Brandau family. Doug and Jennifer Brandau of Wilton and their daughter, Cora, closed the chapter on Cora’s showing career after over 20 years of spending the last weekend in July at the fair in Tomah.

Fair week started Tuesday, July 22, as the Brandaus loaded up eight animals to take to the fairgrounds. Four cows and four heifers for Cora and her younger cousin, Jay Ottum, made the trip to compete in the dairy show held July 25.

“At one point, we were bringing as many as 26 animals to the fair,” Doug said. “That’s when my son, Cole, and Cora were both showing, and we had a lot of nieces and nephews showing too. Jennifer’s sisters had their kids here also. We made it a family event, getting together at the fair every year.”

Jeannine Ottum, Jennifer’s sister, referred to the week spent at the fair as their family’s summer “fair-cation.”

“It’s where we take our summer trip,” Ottum said. “Some families plan big trips or vacations; we spend a week every summer here at the fair helping take care of the animals. Our kids have a fun experience.”

The Brandaus have been a mainstay at the Monroe County Fair since Doug was leading cows in the show ring. Growing up with it, Doug had hoped that one day he could return to the shavings with his own animals, led by his children.  Cole and Cora have taken their turns leading cattle, collecting banners and blue ribbons along the way, and earning a foundation of hard work and dedication.

“Doug helped get us all involved in this,” Ottum said. “Jennifer (Brandau) and I didn’t grow up on a farm, so when she married Doug, this was a different world for us. He knows this process like the back of his hand. It’s nice for us too. My husband, Chad, used to farm until he had some knee issues, so this is a great way for us to continue working with cattle and being active in agriculture.”

Preparation for the dairy show began in the early hours Friday. Doug came back from the home farm to get the cows to the milking parlor at the fairgrounds at 12:30 a.m. He returned to the farm to milk his herd of 90 cows beginning at 3:30 a.m. 

Brandau milks in a swing-6 herringbone parlor. The herd is primarily Holstein, except Cora’s 20 Brown Swiss cows and a few Jerseys.

The morning of the dairy show, Cora and Jay were up at 4 a.m. to begin preparing the fair animals for showtime. The animals were led to the wash area, and while there, new straw bedding was added to the pen and fresh hay was laid in the feed station for their return.

Most of the clipping was completed before arriving at the fair. However, before showtime, the toplines required some finishing touches. Cora focused on refining her animals’ toplines to ensure a sharp, clean look before they stepped on the shavings. 

With the showmanship class set to begin at 9 a.m., Doug arrived by 6:30 to help with any of the preparations before the show started. By 8:45, Cora had her Brown Swiss cow clipped, haltered and ready for the first event of the day, which was the final time Cora would begin the grind of showing at the Monroe County Fair.

“There’s a lot less nerves now,” Cora said. “I’ve been showing since I was 4, so at this point, I don’t get too nervous about it. It doesn’t matter how I do; I just enjoy it. I like working with our cows. I know their main purpose is to make quality milk but working with them and seeing them do well here is also a lot of fun.”

Cora and Jay each finished second in showmanship in the advanced and intermediate divisions, respectively. The toplines for the next animal in the showring were touched up as Cora returned with her Brown Swiss calf. Jay was next in with a spring Holstein, which took second. Jay showed his registered Holstein fall calf before a break in the day’s events.

After a quick lunch break, it was all hands on deck. A multitude of divisions and shows placed Jay and Cora near the show ring entrance, while Doug, Chad Ottum and Cole ran the carousel of bringing up the next animals that would enter the show ring.

Each showed well, bringing home a multitude of blue ribbons and banners. The pair took the shavings simultaneously in the Holstein cow division before the 2025 Monroe County Fair dairy show came to a close.

Cora took her Holstein to the photo area for a final photo. She fought back emotions as she had shown her final cow at the Monroe County Fair. The family walked the cattle back to their area of the barn. They saw an opening to get their cows in the parlor to have them milked as the team began to break down the show equipment.

Chad Ottum broke down the clipping chute and clippers, extension cords and other show equipment were placed back into the truck. Fresh bedding was added, and new hay was provided for the animals who had finished another year of competition.

For the Brandau family, this marks the end of Cora’s time competing in the show ring at the Monroe County Fair. But she can still participate in regional or national shows. Moving forward, she will take on a different role within the family during preparations for the annual fair-cation. She will focus more on supervising and educating rather than competing alongside Jay.

“Working with my cousin is a lot of fun, but it does create its own challenges,” Cora said. “He doesn’t live on the farm, so there are some things that I can help him with when he’s not around. He does a great job showing, but there are still some rookie mistakes, same as I did when I was his age. Now I can help him out a little more as he’ll be the only one showing.”

The fair-cation extended through the weekend as the Ottums and the Brandaus kept their animals in the barn until 4:30 Sunday evening. Over the next two days, Doug had the chance to get his cows back on a more regular milking schedule before integrating them back into the herd.