Fall fun on the farm

MARKESAN, Wis. — As the days get shorter and crisper and trees turn orange, red and yellow, the timing is ripe for a fall festival in Green Lake County. On Oct. 5, visitors to Bruss Family Farm will find caramel apple sundaes and pumpkin decorating among the highlights of a fall-themed agricultural celebration.

Dave and Sue Bruss and their sons,  Chad and Ben, milk 180 cows and farm 400 acres. The family will be hosting the Green Lake County Focus on the Farm Fall Breakfast which will feature food, farm tours, kids’ activities, farm education stations, pumpkin decorating, a petting zoo and live music.

“We’re expecting 1,000 people,” Dave said.

In 2021, Green Lake County switched the timing of its dairy promotion event from June to October.

“We’re a small county, and we felt we were fighting for position with neighboring counties,” said Amy Slark, Green Lake County Focus on the Farm committee member. “We didn’t want to compete and wanted to do it at a different time of year. You can celebrate dairy any time of year; it doesn’t have to be in June.

The event’s signature meal is a chili and grilled cheese sandwich lunch accompanied by caramel apples. However, this year the menu is different per the host farm’s wishes.

“We wanted to host a breakfast, not a lunch,” Chad said.

Pancakes, scrambled eggs, sausage, fried cheese curds, apple sauce, cheese and milk will be served for breakfast along with caramel apple sundaes. The event will take place from 8 a.m. to noon.

Dave, Sue, Ben and Chad are the heart and soul of their dairy, doing all the work on their farm near Markesan.

“We have no hired help,” Ben said. “We’re at the point that if we expanded, we would have to hire someone, and we don’t want to get to that point.”

However, if they get in a bind, the Brusses said they can always count on their neighbors.

Dave and Sue also have a daughter, Rachel Rasske, who lives in Neenah and works for J. J. Keller & Associates Inc. Bruss Family Farm was established in 1983 when the couple got married and took over the farm from Sue’s parents, Arthur and Marjorie Schmuhl.

After graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville — Chad in 2018 and Ben in 2021 — the brothers began making their mark on the operation as the third generation. Improving their herd’s genetics was a primary goal.

Previously, grade cows made up the herd. But when Chad’s and Ben’s interest in registered cattle and showing began to take off during college, they started buying registered animals.

“We always showed at the county fair growing up,” Ben said. “Then we didn’t show for a while, but during college we had friends who showed, and that seemed to interest us. I missed showing in 4-H and wanted to be able to do that again.”

For Chad, helping with UW-Platteville’s Pioneer Dairy Classic sale was something he found intriguing, helping to spur a passion for registered cattle.

Chad said he and Ben are investing in families such as Luck-E McGucci Afro EX-94, Cookview Goldwyn Monique EX-96, KHW Regiment Apple-Red-ET EX-96, Idee Windbrook Lynzi EX-95, Vangoh Durham Treasure EX-96 and Luck-E Advent Kandie-Red EX-95. Ben said they are using embryo transfer on the herd and have increased the level of embryo transfer work since buying into families with better genetics. Currently, 25% of the herd is registered.

“Our goal is to get to 75%,” Ben said. “Every farmer likes those cows that can stay home in the barn and make milk every day, too, and not necessarily have to go to a show.”

Chad and Ben exhibit at the spring Holstein show and state shows in Madison as well as their district show. The Bruss brothers hope to continue growing the number of animals in their registered herd and adding to their show agenda.

Cows at Bruss Family Farm are milked in the 50-stall stanchion barn and housed in a freestall barn.

“We can milk in about three hours with 10 units,” Ben said.

When the boys returned to the farm, an addition was made to the freestall facility that had been built in 2008. Calves are housed in individual pens in the calf barn that was built in 2013. Last year, the Bruss family built a small show barn to house a few animals. The barn is adorned with a sign that reads “VIC Lounge,” which stands for “Very Important Cow.”

As the Bruss family prepares to share its farm with the community, Dave said education is top of mind.

“There are not that many dairy farms left in the county,” Dave said. “Hopefully, a lot of people come out and see what we do on the farm. Many people nowadays have no idea where their food comes from. Also, there’s no Packers game that day.”

Many of the businesses the Bruss family works with are sponsoring the event, with proceeds going towards youth scholarships and kids in 4-H.

“We want to teach people about agriculture and show how dairy operations work on our farm,” Ben said. “If even one person can learn something about farming that day, we’ve achieved our goal.”