`We want people to see it`

TOMAH, Wis. – On the edge of the Driftless Area of Wisconsin lies an 1,100-cow dairy that June 7 will be the site of the Monroe County Dairy Breakfast. The Chapman brothers, Duane and Gail – and their sons David, Peter and John along with granddaughter Sienna – hope to make the breakfast a time to show non-farmers that it’s okay to have a large herd of cows.

“There’s a whole lot of people who have opinions about us – good, bad, or otherwise,” Duane Chapman said. “I’m hoping they come and see how things are. There’s no contamination, (and) the cows have no flies and are comfortable. We want people to see it.”

It’s a lot of work to host a breakfast, but he said it includes things that need to be done anyway.

“We’ve put the breakfast committee off because we didn’t have time,” he said. “Other farms in the county have had it; they made time. I don’t want to see the farm breakfast go to a county park or the fairgrounds. We said it’s time to step up and we have to do our part, and I think it will be great.”