2019 Farm Bureau FUSION Conference
 
2019 Farm Bureau FUSION TOURS
**All tours are subject to change**
 
Wineries
Enjoy award-winning Wisconsin wines at Armstrong Apples Orchard & Winery. Winemakers have been making great wines for over two decades from their apples and other locally grown fruit. Armstrong Apples has an orchard of nearly 2,000 trees and 11 varieties. We will all stop at Cedar Creek Winery, tour their restored 1860’s woolen mill and then visit the winery’s underground limestone cellars. Learn how the wines are made, aged and bottled, and view a short video on the art of winemaking. Enjoy the wine tasting at both tour stops.  
 
Cost: $5
Must be 21+
 
Breweries
The perfect tour for anyone who enjoys good beer. This tour will start at Lakefront Brewery and include four 6 oz. samples of beer, a souvenir pint glass and a coupon for a Lakefront pint elsewhere. The next stop will be the Great Lakes Distillery, the first distillery in Wisconsin since Prohibition. You will tour the distillery, learn about their award-winning products, why they make them and receive a flight of six products to try. Lastly, enjoy a tour at Sprecher Brewery with a visit to the gift shop, brewhouse, aging cellar and the bottling line. The tour ends with four samples and a beer tasting glass to take home!
 
Cost: $27
Must be 21+
 
Dairy Genetics  
ABS Global is the world-leading provider of bovine genetics, reproduction services, technologies and udder-care products. ABS has been at the forefront of animal genetics and technology since its founding in 1941. It breeds and distributes the genes of the world’s best bulls, scientifically selecting livestock whose offspring are designed to increase the profitability for their customers — some of the world’s leading farmers and food producers. The 90-minute tour helps visitors learn about the process, including a view of their insemination collection. Next stop is Blue Star Dairy where cows are milked three times a day in a double-16 Germania herringbone parlor. Learn about the AfiMilk Weighing System which monitors each cow’s daily milk weight, activity, and conductivity, along with numerous other functions. The average production per cow is 90 pounds of milk per day and a somatic cell count of 130,000.
 
Cheese, Seeds, and Shopping!
Clock Shadow Creamery will walk you through the history of cheese making. From the observation room, their friendly and knowledgeable staff will verbally guide you through the cheese-making process and offer samples of their fresh cheese. In addition, the tour will highlight their sustainable building and roof garden to learn about their non-cheese initiatives. Next, stop at DeLong Company, where attendees will find the largest retailer of seed and seed products in Wisconsin and Illinois as they supply grain worldwide. Last stop is Blain’s Farm & Fleet to shop around for all your agricultural supplies and equipment needs.
 
Farm, Explore, Sustainability
This tour starts at Condon Family Farms, a corn and soybean operation. They work to remain profitable by making smart decisions, investing in technology and continuously setting goals. Over the past 10 years they have made significant upgrades around the farm to help service larger equipment and higher bushels coming out of the field. Next stop is to explore Horicon Marsh, an educational visitor center. Check out their interactive Explorium where you get a glimpse of life at Horicon Marsh thousands of years before European settlers and witness how the current wetland came to be. Videos and interactive displays greet guests at every turn, encouraging audiences of any age to learn more about the history and ecology of Horicon Marsh. Lastly, Windy Drumlins will host a tour of their aquaponics greenhouse and grounds. Learn about how this family-owned farm works towards sustainability to make better use of natural resources and educated food-choice decisions.
 
Cost: $12
Kid Friendly
*Limit of 25 people
 
Case IH
Spend a few hours touring the Case IH, Racine Experience Center. First you will have the opportunity to explore the Racine Experience Center. From there, get settled into the tour room for a video showcasing the history of CASE IH. Spend the bulk of your time on the plant tour where a guide will walk the showroom with you while explaining each piece of equipment on display. Finally, head into the Fan Shop to purchase specialty items available only at this location. 
 
Must be 21+
 
Miller Park and Brewing
Start with a walking tour of the Home of the Milwaukee Brewers. Stops include the visitor's clubhouse, bullpen, the exclusive Club Level, Uecker's Broadcast Booth, and more. Then on to Miller Brewing where you will experience an 80-minute, indoor/outdoor, guided walking tour of over 160 years of brewing history. Experience everything from Fredrick Miller’s arrival in Milwaukee to the high-speed production lines used today. You will immerse your senses as you go back in time to their famous underground caves and historic, Bavarian-Style Miller Inn.  Then move on to the modern operations including the Brew House, packaging and distribution centers.  Ice-cold refreshing samples of their finest brews will be served at various stops along the tour (and after!).
 
Cost: $22 adults
Must be 21+
Considerable walking involved (includes at least 46 mandatory stairs)
 
Wisconsin Discovery Center
Enjoy a few hours at Farm Wisconsin Discovery Center and view the Land O'Lakes Birthing Barn, take a local farm tour and roam the 10,000 square foot exhibit area. Through the exhibits, you will learn about topics such as dairy education, balancing farm and the environment, advances in food production, and much more.
 
Cost: $9 person
Kid Friendly
 
Wildlife and Horticulture
It’s never too cold to explore wildlife so begin your day at the Milwaukee Zoo and check out over 20 building exhibits ranging from a dairy complex to a small mammal building, to big cats and much more. Next stop, the Mitchell Park Conservatory (aka The Domes). Here you will see the Show, Desert and Tropical Domes, which immerse you in climates found elsewhere around the world.
 
Cost: $17 person
Kid Friendly
 
UW Madison
Take a tour of the University of Wisconsin- Madison campus. This public research university is home to a Dairy Cattle Center, Poultry Research Center and Animal Livestock Center. Learn about the projects they are currently working on as well as other aspects of Badger life.
 
Agronomy and Animals
First stop will be at the Rock River Lab in Watertown, which analyzes agricultural processes. You will learn about the history of the lab, how soil samples are collected and analyzed and finally, how corn and alfalfa samples are logged in the forage lab. Next stop, the Hinchley Dairy Farm, a family-run farm with over 300 Holsteins and 2,200 acres of crops. You will have the opportunity to milk a cow, meet newborn calves in the nursery, get a glimpse of how they handle and store milk in the milk house and meet their many other farm animals.
 
Must be 21+
Cost: $7 adults
 
Madison Dairy Farms
Start off at the Hinchley Dairy Farm, a family-run farm with over 300 Holsteins and 2,200 acres of crops. You will have the opportunity to milk a cow, meet newborn calves in the nursery, get a glimpse of how they handle and store milk in the milk house, and meet their many other farm animals. Next, a tour of the Sassy Cow Creamery to check out the parlor and meet the cows in the barn. Then back to the creamery where you can view ice cream making and milk bottling and enjoy a scoop of their ice cream!
 
Cost: $10 person
 
Aquaponics, Cows, and More!
Learn about Port Fish Aquaponics, a nonprofit that works towards promoting sustainable and healthy alternatives for food production and supply. Port Fish experiments with alternative growing systems, including aquaponics and hydroponics, that can produce year-round food for their community. Walk through the greenhouse to see how these techniques are extending the growing season in the cold, Wisconsin climate. Next, explore the calf barn and milking parlor at Fischer Valley Dairy. Finally, tour Roden Echo Valley Barnyard where you will learn about the calf transition process, their milking parlor and even have the opportunity to witness the birth of a calf. With over 700 cows and three types of cross breeds, their feed storage and manure-recycling processes is very educational. End your visit with a scoop of ice cream!
 
Cost: $5 person
 
Cheese, Milk, and Much More!
Henning’s Wisconsin Cheese is a fourth-generation, family-owned cheese company that features an on-site cheese store and museum. Henning's offers a wide variety of cheeses, including Cheddar and Colby that have won many national and international awards. Walk through the museum of antique cheese-making equipment and view the cheddar and string cheese making videos. Then on to La Clare Family Farm for a bus tour of the grounds. You’ll learn the farm’s history while touring the goat barn, view the parlor and discuss the milking process. A milk tasting will be offered along with an educational cheese discussion. Finally, a stop at Morning Star Family Farm to learn about the day-to-day operations of raising hogs, chickens, cattle and lambs. In addition to animals, Morning Star brews Kombucha, and even makes their own Elderberry Syrup.  
 
Cost: $5 person
 
Northern Farm Tour
Drewry Maple Farm is a family-owned business specializing in pure maple syrup.  For four generations, they have been making maple syrup in the woods overlooking the Onion River Valley in Sheboygan County. On this tour you will take a wagon into the woods to check out over 120 acres of sustainably managed hardwood forest which consists of over 6,000 taps. After learning about making maple syrup, head over to Golden Bear Farm the home to about 60 steers and 200 pigs, learn about their rotational grazing, the natural species-specific diet the animals are fed and their fresh deep well water, which is plentiful.
 
Cows and Alpacas
Check out the state of the art robotic milking system at Lepple Ridge View Dairy.  This family farm has two fully automated milking robots called “Astronauts.” Cows can get up and go to the Astronaut at their leisure to be milked. They’re encouraged by a “treat;” a high-energy pellet located inside of the Astronaut. Learn how these features allow the Lepple family to manage their dairy more efficiently. Next stop, Maple Leaf Alpacas, is a small and relatively new alpaca farm in the heart of Wisconsin. While here, spend some time seeing this small farm’s alpacas, rabbits, ducks, geese, chickens, goats and more! Learn what inspired this couple to house alpacas and what they see as the future of their farm as they grow.
 
Kid Friendly
 
Alpacas, Fruits, and Cows
First stop, the Silver Creek Alpaca Farm where you will meet a variety of alpacas and learn how these animals are both boarded and bred. Visit the farm store for an impressive selection of clothing and items that will keep you warm all winter. Then on to Jelli's Market for a tour of their fruit and vegetable farm. In addition to the acres of fruits and vegetables, Jelli’s has a farm store where they sell their produce and farm-raised meats and a kitchen that allows them to make jams, pies and other baked goods. Last stop, Cozy Nook Farm, a working dairy farm with over 65 cows. Here you will learn about how they are able to make farming work in the suburbs. In addition to cows, Cozy Nook also grows pumpkins and Christmas trees in the fall and winter.
 
Kid Friendly
 
It’s all Dairy!
First stop, Lake Breeze Dairy, home of 3,000 cows, to learn about the processes that enables such a large operation to run smoothly. The cows are milked in a double-44 parallel milking parlor and the herd produces 26,500 gallons of milk each day. Next stop is Baker Cheese Inc., a fourth-generation, family-owned string cheese manufacturer where they pride themselves on producing quality string cheese from quality milk. Lastly, Budjon Farms will open your eyes to the boarding business. With a milk house, maternity pens, and hospitality areas, you’ll be impressed by the day-to-day operations that keep the calves in the 145 individual hutches and 51 super hutches healthy and happy.
 
Landscaping, Processing, and Dairy
Head over to K&W Greenery to learn all about landscaping.  While only house plants will be the available greenery at this time of year, you can explore the greenhouse. Then tour the production facilities of Seneca Foods, one of the most highly integrated fruit and vegetable processing companies in the country. Learn how they produce seeds, harvest crops, manufacture their own containers, can, case and label their wide range of nutritious fruit and vegetable products. Lastly, head over to Hoard's Dairyman Farm. Acquired by W.D. Hoard, the founder of Hoard’s Dairyman magazine, this farm is listed on the National Register of Historic Places by the U.S. Department of the Interior to recognize W.D. Hoard’s pioneering work with alfalfa research and his impact on the dairy industry. Get the insight on how they group their cows while you peek into their calving barn. Finally, learn more about their double-10 herringbone milking parlor and all that it takes to keep this operation successful.
 
Volunteer – Accurate Ag Book School Visit
Volunteers will be lead through a quick training session on the curriculum for the visit from staff of the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture before visiting a local elementary school to complete an accurate agriculture book project. The tour is perfect for anyone who enjoys advocating for agriculture.
 
Must be 21+
*Limit of 12 people
 
Volunteer – Feeding America
Spend a few hours giving back with Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin. Each year, about 20,000 volunteers donate nearly 70,000 hours to helping solve hunger.
 
 
**Closed toe shoes must be worn on all tours**
**Tours are open to all attendees and are free unless otherwise noted under the tour description**