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Dave and Kathleen Hafemeister host the 2024 Dodge County Dairy Brunch. He purchased the family farm from his parents New Year’s Eve day, Dec. 31, 2009. That night he proposed to Kathleen Gilbert and she said yes.
The Hafemeister family own a farm in Dodge County, Wisconsin. They’re hosts for the 2024 Dodge County Dairy Brunch.
Several-hundred people wait June 2 to eat scrambled eggs with ham and cheese, pancakes, and a Dodge County Dairy Brunch specialty – deep-fried cheese curds.
Brenda Conley of the Dodge County Dairy Promotion Committee, organizers of the brunch, says their 70 hardworking volunteers served more 2,500 people.
Lexi Bird, the Dodge County Fairest of the Fair, balances her princess duties with her undergraduate studies at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.
Gary Beal’s Dairy Aire Mooosic band entertain Dairy Brunch diners with the Auctioneer song and other country favorites.
An aerial view of the Hafemeister Farm along Dodge County Road R near Hustisford, Wisconsin, shows their 240 acres that they own; they also rent 60 acres. They grow their own hay, corn, wheat and soybeans for their cows.
The parking field fills fast; only two cars become stuck in the soft conditions that occurred after lots of rain the day before.
The Hafemeisters milk 120 cows with two Lely Robotic milkers, which were installed in 2014. The cows milk 24 hours per day, basically when they want to. Most go through three times each day. The family checks their computer twice each day at about 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. to find any cows that haven’t been in the robots within the previous 12 hours.
Dave and Kathleen Hafemeister currently have 15 dry cows, 130 head of heifers and 14 calves.
Barn cats ignore the Dairy Brunch crowd while they continue their regular feline duties.
Hafemeister cats are hard-working farm felines.
Dean, 6, and Jake, 3, Wiersma are comfortable in the wheel well of a big John Deere tractor.
Anna Patterson and Caleb, 18 months, of Neosho, Wisconsin, enjoy looking at the machinery. Anna and her husband milk 150 Holsteins.
Atlas Easter, 6, of Hustisford, Wisconsin, demonstrates how a farmer drives a Ford 9600 tractor.
Denise and Jack Bradley offer quality sewn and embroidered items.
Dr. Jerry Gaska, veterinarian with Dairy Health Services, enjoys showing children the big rumen magnets he has cows swallow in order to collect metal objects in their stomachs.
Marian Huettner of Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, retired from Edith Cakes and Catering, shows how she makes the famous Dodge County deep-fried cheese curds.
Emergency medical technician Kristin Retzlaff and Assistant Fire Chief Scott Fredrick represent the Hustisford Fire Department.
Dennis and Jeri Oechsner of Brownsville, Wisconsin, serve ice cream at the Dairy Brunch; they’ve been doing it for 18 years.
Crystal Prom, a dairy-nutrition consultant with Cargill Animal Nutrition, shows the ingredients that go into the Hafemeiter corn silage and haylage.
Mike Haberkorn of Central Ag Supply represents the company’s offices that are located in Juneau and Baraboo, Wisconsin.
Julie and Jen Orchard, and Dane Laufenberg, of Royal Guernsey Creamery give out samples of their artisan butter.
Leah Weninger of Iron Ridge, Wisconsin, invites children to register for a farm camp that includes feeding a baby calf and interacting with other farm animals.
Marcia Schabel of Traveling Roots Farmstead near Theresa, Wisconsin, lets John Sumwalt sample her delicious sourdough bread.
Welcome to the Dodge County Dairy Brunch!
There’s not much that’s cuter than a pair of dairy calves to greet visitors.
The Hafemeister farm home is headquarters for a hard-working multi-generational dairy farm.
The cows milk 24 hours a day, basically when they want to. Most go through three times a day.
A miniature display created by John Klettke of Watertown, Wisconsin, attracts young and old alike.
Pancakes go fast with more than 2,400 people attending.
Tony Peirick and Randy Braker from the Dodge County Farmers Soil Health Group greet brunch-goers under a Dodge County Farmers sign.
HUSTISFORD, Wis. – Which does a farm boy get first, the farm or the girl? For Dave Hafemeister it was the farm. But the girl came soon after.
John Sumwalt
John Sumwalt is a retired pastor and the author of “Shining Moments: Visions of the Holy in Ordinary Lives” and “How to Preach the Miracles.” Email johnsumwalt@gmail.com or call 414-339-0676 to reach him.
John Sumwalt will be the guest pastor at the 8:30 a.m. service July 14 at St. Michael’s Lutheran Church, N4914 Gray Road, Hustisford, Wisconsin. He was invited after an Agri-View reader suggested him to the church-council president, who is also an Agri-View reader. Visit stmhustisford.org for more information.
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The Hafemeisters milk 120 cows with two Lely Robotic milkers, which were installed in 2014. The cows milk 24 hours per day, basically when they want to. Most go through three times each day. The family checks their computer twice each day at about 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. to find any cows that haven’t been in the robots within the previous 12 hours.
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