Joyce Brown sat under a tent July 24 watching her great-grandchildren and other children, who are the dairy industry’s future, play on the farm she and her husband lived on for more than 28 years.
“I love getting to watch my grandchildren and great-grandchildren enjoying themselves on the family farm,” Brown said.
The sixth generation of the Brown-Star Dairy farm and others associated with the dairy industry filled the farm on Quarterline Road, in Gillett, to take part in Oconto County’s fifth annual Dairy at Dusk. The Oconto County Dairy Promotions Committee sponsored the event.
“This is our dairy farmers social event that is sponsored essentially by the dairy farmers,” said Bev Wolf, a member of the planning committee. “We are giving something back to the dairy farmers to help them expand support for the area and help them understand what consumers are looking for in dairy products.”
The night was filled with conversation and laughter as people walked around and learned more about the thriving dairy industry, of which they play a role. The event featured dairy judging, farm tours, a DJ and speaker, door prizes and an auction.
The farm was established in 1886 by Edward Brown and passed down from generation to generation. The farm is run by Dan and Carol Brown and their daughter and son-in-law, Kim and Matt Bjelland.
“My favorite part of the farm is the calves,” said Kim Bjelland, the fifth-generation to be raised on the farm. “It is a lot of fun to be out with the calves. I love them.”
Guest speaker Doug Wilson, CEO of Cooperative Resources International, spoke enthusiastically about the future of agriculture. CRI is a member-owned holding cooperative consisting of two subsidiaries: AgSource Cooperative Services and Genex Cooperative Inc.
“We have the best decade in front of us that we have ever had in animal agriculture when you put together our export levels and the amount of food that we have to produce to feed the people in the world,” Wilson said. “During the next decade is probably going to be the best 10-year period we have ever seen in agriculture.”
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