EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Families may enjoy a free Michigan-made breakfast while experiencing family fun and learning about local farm families who produce the food at "Breakfast on the Farm" June 26 in Manchester, Mich.
The event is a family-oriented program that welcomes neighbors and area residents to enjoy a complimentary breakfast along with a self-guided tour of a family-owned farm. Attendees may visit various educational stations and have opportunities to ask local farmers questions about raising animals, growing crops and living on a farm.
The event will be hosted by Earl and Diane Horning, winners of the 2010 Michigan State University Dairy Farmer of the Year award, along with their son, Jeff, and his wife, Lynda, at the family's six-generation family dairy operation that started in 1877.
The breakfast and farm tour will take place rain or shine from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Horning Farms in Manchester. Breakfast will be served from 9 a.m. to noon. There is no cost to attend the event or take the tour, but tickets are required for the free breakfast.
Dean Ross, MSU Extension dairy educator, said the event was created to help non-farm families learn how a modern-day dairy farm operates.
"Dairy farming has changed immensely since the 1970s and 1980s, and many people are not familiar with the new technology," he said.
With all the new technology, one thing hasn't changed - most Michigan farms are family-owned and small businesses.
"We are very fortunate to be living here in the United States, where we have an abundant, affordable and safe food supply," Ross said. "Farmers are people just like you and me. What better way to learn the real story behind modern-day farming than by coming face to face with the people who are actually producing our food? That's what Breakfast on the Farm is all about."
Free tickets can be obtained from Downtown Home & Garden; the Washtenaw County Farm Bureau; the Washtenaw County MSU Extension Office; the Washtenaw Dairy in Ann Arbor; the Wayne County Farm Bureau in Canton; the Chelsea District Library in Chelsea; Dexter Mill in Dexter; the Monroe County Farm Bureau in Ida; the Jackson County MSU Extension Office in Jackson; the Manchester District Library; Wacker Oil and Propane in Manchester; the Monroe County MSU Extension Office in Monroe; the Saline District Library in Saline; and the Ypsilanti District Library (Whitaker Road Branch) in Ypsilanti.
"Breakfast on the Farm" is organized by the Washtenaw County MSU Extension Office and the Washtenaw County Farm Bureau.
Statewide sponsoring partners are Dairy Farmers of America, Dairyland Seed, Greenstone Farm Credit Services, the Michigan Milk Producers Association, Pioneer and the United Dairy Industry of Michigan.
Domino's Pizza will be supplying and preparing the food for the breakfast, which will include the introduction of a new breakfast pizza product that has, up until now, only been sampled in school meal programs.
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