Cuddly, curious cows

ROGERS, Minn. — Baby animals are known for being cute and cuddly.

The Scherber family is capitalizing on that, along with their location close to the Twin Cities metro, to start a business, Curious Cows and Company. Here, guests can come to their farm and have a cuddle session with calves.

“We offer cuddling sessions and farm tours,” Quinci (Scherber) Schmidt said. “That is a way for everyone to see how a small family farm operates. People are very curious (about) what goes on in the barns.”

Schmidt farms full time with her dad, John, and they milk 120 cows with two Lely A5 robotic milking units near Rogers. Schmidt and her brother, Caleb Scherber, got the idea from Caleb bringing his kids out to the farm and watching them playing with the baby calves.

“One of the reasons we started Curious Cows is that we have a lot of urban development in our area, and so we have a lot of new faces in the area,” Scherber said. “We are a family farm that has been here for a while, but most people do not know who we are. They may see the tractors driving by and the barns, but not necessarily see us, the farmers. So, I thought this would be a good way to open up our doors to the community to share who we are.”

The brother-sister duo launched their business last summer and from September 2024 to January 2025 they have had at least one group come in every week. Calf cuddling sessions can be booked for 1-8 people per session.

Scherber maintains a full-time job in town, but comes out to the farm as often as he can.

“People see a lot of stuff on social media, but this is a way for people to have an on-farm experience,” Scherber said. “A lot of people are craving that. Especially in the fall when the apple orchards and pumpkin patches are open.”

The two also liked the idea of the calf cuddling business as a way to diversify their farm with little up-front cost.

“This was a great way to start,” Schmidt said. “The farmer and cow relationship is really important to me and I wanted to share that with our community. I am with the cows every day and I love their personalities. We answer any questions (guests) may have about dairy and give them an experience.”

When the siblings first thought about starting their business, they heard about a farm in New York that offered calf cuddling sessions as a way to encourage people to visit their farm and on-site creamery. Scherber and Schmidt reached out to the owners to get pointers on starting this type of business.

“The farm in New York became our mentor,” Scherber said. “We had never had any other businesses with the farm, so everything was new to us.”

The calves that are used in the cuddle sessions are 3-4 months old because they are weaned and are not constantly looking for milk.

“People come here to snuggle,” Schmidt said. “They want it to be relaxing. We have music playing in the background and they are looking to have the calves lay their head in the customer’s lap.”

Schmidt makes sure the calves are fed prior to a cuddle session so they are calm and relaxed.

“We found what personality styles work best for a calm cuddling experience,” Schmidt said. “Just like with humans, the calves have different personalities, some are calmer and some are more mischievous. It’s our job as farmers to know which calves are ready for it.”

The siblings said there was a bit of a learning curve when they first started.

“The calves are always calm around me because I am always here,” Schmidt said. “It was hard at first because when the guest would come, the calves would run around like crazy.”

After a few adjustments to the methods they learned from the New York farm, the Scherbers found a good system.

In addition to the cuddling session, guests can go on a tour of the farm. Besides the milking robots, the Scherber family farm has robotic calf feeders, manure scrapers, a feed pusher and a feed mixer that feeds the animals multiple times a day.

“It is interesting with the farm tours, it reaches out to a different group than we expected,” Scherber said. “It’s not just schools and kids, it’s adults and techy people. Many of them can’t believe how the robots work and how much technology we have.”

The brother-sister duo said the majority of guests who sign up for the cuddle sessions and farm tours are couples looking for a unique date night.

“It always melts my heart when I see the calves being cuddled,” Schmidt said. “It is so heartwarming to know that people can get that experience with our cows. I never realized that so many people’s favorite animal is a cow.”

The feedback from guests has been positive and the Scherbers are already looking forward to expanding their website to add an online store.

“Most people tell us they want to come back,” Scherber said. “Most people don’t know what to expect, but quite often when they leave, they can’t wait to tell their friends.”

In the near future, Scherber and Schmidt are looking to add an on-farm store and in the long term they would like to add on-farm processing to make and sell ice cream from their farm.

“Our mom has been making natural lotions and jams and we already offer garlic and eggs, which are super popular,” Scherber said. “This has been a fun thing to get us started in the value-added business.