Kid Corner: The Zastrow family

Lauren Zastrow
15 years old
Tenth grade

When do you do chores? At night and every 4 weeks in the morning. 

What’s your favorite chore and least favorite chore? My favorite chore is helping Dad in the barn get the milk machines ready and feeding calves. My least favorite chore is pitching chicken pens. 

What project do you enjoy helping your parents with on the farm? Picking up rocks in the field and watching younger siblings when Mom is in the field. 

What is a fun memory you have of living on the farm? Buying my horse, Stormy, in 2024. 

What’s your favorite animal on your farm? Our Jersey cow, Fudge. She’s 5 years old and is one of the tamer cows.

What do you want to be when you grow up? A dairy farmer and maybe a teacher.

If you had a farm, describe what it would look like. It would look exactly like this one and have horses, cows, sheep and a stanchion barn. 

What’s your favorite game to play on the farm? Tag while waiting for the wash cycle to run in the barn. 

What’s your favorite meal that your mom or dad makes? Mom’s tater tot casserole. 

What is your favorite thing to do off the farm with your family? Going to church as a family, going down to visit Grandma and Grandpa, and going to the fair. 

Are you involved in any activities? Homeschool gym, religous education, 4-H, horse and pony club. 

Abigail Zastrow
14 years old
Ninth grade

When do you do chores? At night and every fourth week in the morning. 

What’s your favorite chore and least favorite chore? My favorite chore is treating sick calves by giving shots and hatching baby chicks. My least favorite chore is probably washing eggs. 

What project do you enjoy helping your parents with on the farm? Riding in the tractor with Dad to the co-op.

What is a fun memory you have of living on the farm? Playing tag in the barn while we wait for Dad to get the milk machines ready. 

What’s your favorite animal on your farm? My horse, Cocoa. He’s 5. I like training and riding him and showing him at the fair.

What do you want to be when you grow up? A large-animal veterinarian.

If you had a farm, describe what it would look like. I would have chickens, turkeys, geese, horses, cows and pigs. 

What’s your favorite game to play on the farm? Jumping on wrapped round hay bales. 

What’s your favorite meal that your mom or dad makes? Mom’s taco salad. 

What is your favorite thing to do off the farm with your family? Going to the fair. 

Are you involved in any activities? 4-H, horse and pony club, Dodge County poultry club, religious education and homeschool gym.

Dominick Zastrow
12 years old
Seventh grade

When do you do chores? At night and in the morning every four weeks.

What’s your favorite chore and least favorite chore? I like doing chores in the morning by myself because I get to do the sheep. My least favorite chore is pitching chicken pens and doing chicken chores. 

What project do you enjoy helping your parents with on the farm? Planting and harvesting crops and going to my mom’s folks’ place and helping them with small square bales. 

What is a fun memory you have of living on the farm? We were planning to go somewhere, so Dad was training a person how to do chores and a cow got out. 

What’s your favorite animal on your farm? Sheep. We’ve been getting them for 5 or 6 summers, and then we sell them in the fall. I like the wild ones the most.  

What do you want to be when you grow up? A hunter and a farmer. My friend and I are going to farm together.

If you had a farm, describe what it would look like. It would be bigger than this one. I’m going to have dairy cattle, hogs, sheep, chickens, cats and maybe some other animals. 

What’s your favorite game to play on the farm? Tag after chores in the barn. 

What’s your favorite meal that your mom or dad makes? Pizza, tater tot casserole, and spaghetti squash. 

What is your favorite thing to do off the farm with your family? I like going to Grandpa’s. Recently we squeezed apples to make apple cider. I also like small square baling. 

Are you involved in any activities? The horse project through 4-H, religous education and homeschool gym.

Abraham Zastrow
10 years old
Fifth grade

When do you do chores? At night and whenever I’m on morning chores.

What’s your favorite chore and least favorite chore? My favorite chore is pushing up feed for the cows. My least favorite chore is carrying milk pails up to the calf condo.

What project do you enjoy helping your parents with on the farm? I made a cutting board for the fair. It was a 4-H project that I worked on with my dad and grandpa. I also like to whittle.

What is a fun memory you have of living on the farm? Having a friend over and we got caked in mud. It was a dumb idea to get into a mud pit in the pasture. It was like glue and we had to dig for his boots. He came out with his boots off after we jumped in. 

What’s your favorite animal on your farm? My cat Ephraim and Fudge the cow. She’s a Jersey. We can walk up and pet her while she’s getting milked. She doesn’t even have to be tied up.  

What do you want to be when you grow up? A farmer and a hunter.

If you had a farm, describe what it would look like. I would have cats and pet deer, and I might have Fudge the cow. I would also have a four-wheeler and a boat and a storage shed to park the four-wheeler. 

What’s your favorite game to play on the farm? Tag in the barn.

What’s your favorite meal that your mom or dad makes? It’s tied between Dad’s cheeseburgers and grilled apples and Mom’s taco salad and pecan pie. 

What is your favorite thing to do off the farm with your family? Take a family vacation.

Noah Zastrow
8 years old
Third grade

When do you do chores? Mostly at night. I sometimes feed the chickens and sheep in the mornings when it’s my turn. We do rotations. 

What’s your favorite chore and least favorite chore? My favorite chore is feeding the cows minerals. Feeding chickens water is the worst. I get water on me when carrying the buckets. I’m not as strong as you think I might be. 

What project do you enjoy helping your parents with on the farm? Helping Dad in the shop and planting and harvesting pumpkins. 

What is a fun memory you have of living on the farm? My first time driving the M tractor with my dad and going four-wheeling with my uncle. 

What’s your favorite animal on your farm? My orange cat, Orangey, who I also call Orange Dreamsicle. 

What do you want to be when you grow up? A farmer.

If you had a farm, describe what it would look like. I would have 40-some cows and maybe some chickens, but my kids would have to feed the chickens. I don’t really like chickens, but at the same time, I don’t want to buy eggs. I would also have a lot of cats, maybe sheep and one horse. 

What’s your favorite game to play on the farm? Playing tag in the barn after chores. 

What’s your favorite meal that your mom or dad makes? Dad’s hamburgers on the grill and Mom’s beef and gravy.

What is your favorite thing to do off the farm with your family? We did our first vacation in July. We went to Ashland, Wisconsin. It was so fun, I didn’t want to leave. 

Gianna Zastrow
5 years old

When do you do chores? I feed the roosters at night.

What’s your favorite chore and least favorite chore? My favorite chore is feeding the cats. My least favorite chore is feeding the chickens. 

What project do you enjoy helping your parents with on the farm? Picking rocks and picking up towels in the house and putting them in the laundry. 

What is a fun memory you have of living on the farm? Holding a cat and going to the fair.

What’s your favorite animal on your farm? Our cat, Jumpy. He’s a black and white cat and he plays with me. 

What do you want to be when you grow up? A cowgirl

If you had a farm, describe what it would look like. I would have cats, chickens, cows, sheep, lambs and calves. 

What’s your favorite game to play on the farm? Tic-tac-toe

What’s your favorite meal that your mom or dad makes? Dad’s hamburgers, apples and steaks on the grill.

What is your favorite thing to do off the farm with your family? Go to the fair.

Rachel Zastrow
2 years old

When do you do chores? I help feed the cats at nighttime.

What project do you enjoy helping your parents with on the farm? Tag along with anyone I can and get rides with Dad when he’s going out on the tractor. 

What’s your favorite animal on your farm? Ephraim the cat.

What’s your favorite game to play on the farm? Peek-a-boo or tag

What’s your favorite meal that your mom or dad makes? Cheese, ice cream, tacos.

What is your favorite thing to do off the farm with your family? Go to homeschool gym or see my grandparents