QUINCY, MI (WTVB) – Education, food and fun are being served family-style in Branch County on Saturday, September 2, 2017 at the 8th annual Preston Family Farm Tour & Ice Cream Social, from 1-4 PM at 1097 E. Central Road, Quincy.
Stanley and Maxine Preston, along with three generations of their descendants will be hosting farm tours where guests get to enjoy ice cream and milk, along with learning the latest about dairy on this large, family-owned and operated Branch County dairy farm. The event is free and open to the public.
“We look forward each year to hosting this very special event where we get to share with our neighbors, friends and regional community what goes on daily at our dairy farm,” said Paula Preston. Her husband, Keith, and his brother, Glen, are the second generation of Prestons on the farm. Her son, Brian, and nephew, Adam, represent the third wave of family engaged in dairying. And their children, although still young, help whenever they can.
According to Paula Preston, the first year of the tour, they had 350 visitors to their farm. Last year, over 1,000 people attended, coming as far away as Chicago and Indianapolis. This year’s furthest-travelling visitor will likely be Jukka Muurimäki, from Finland, who was introducted to the Prestons and their dairy farm several decades ago as a high school exchange student.
During last year’s Labor Day Weekend farm tour, the Prestons handed out 750 pints of chocolate, strawberry and white milk and scooped their way through 21 three-gallon tubs of ice cream on that very warm afternoon.
“We made a fast trip to a neighboring ice cream place to be sure we didn’t run out,” Preston laughed.
A small army of volunteers, totaling 150 people last year, represents the coming together of family, friends, agriculture advocated and others interested in helping make the tour a success. Preston said often invite and enlist the help of local leaders, including their state representative. While they have never contacted the President of the United States, they have not ruled it out.
“Each year we expand what we offer our guests,” Paula said. “This year, like always, we will be giving rides around the farm on wagons pulled by tractors. Our guests will get to hear about our cows now wearing Fit Bit technology in their ears: devices that allow us to track their physical movement habits, eating, resting and body temperatures. It makes it so much easier for us to monitor their health.”
Stations on the walking portion of the tour feature dairy nutrition, milking, breeding, veterinary care and other interesting facets of dairy. Education is provided verbally, through signage, demonstration and hands-on learning. The goal is to make the complexity of modern dairy farming more understandable in layman’s terms. Tour participants will leave with a greater appreciation in this profession that requires a 24/7 commitment.
The Farm Tour and Ice Cream Social offers activities for people of all ages. Photo opportunities abound around the farm, some naturally-occurring, with other in areas constructed specifically for photos.
“We like inviting people to come here and see our stewardship of the land and how we ensure the well-being of our animals,” Preston said. Even with ongoing advances in agriculture technology, the dairy farm retains a timeless quality capable of triggering nostalgia.
Some of Preston’s favorite exchanges with tour guests have been with older people who grew up around dairy. “One older gentleman talked about how he used to milk cows 50 years ago,” she said. As he got ready to leave, he expressed great gratitude, “Thank you for letting me come back to the farm.”
(contributed by Kristy Smith)
