Burfeinds host breakfast for a crowd

GOODHUE, Minn. — Honk! Honk! The little kid train is coming through.

'Round-and-'round the Burfeind dairy setup went the three-car train pulled by a lawnmower with Goodhue FFA'er Laura Ringeisen at the wheel. Ringeisen would pull up opposite the free-stall barn to unload her passengers, and three more eager riders would climb in.

After they climbed from the train — the train cars are retrofitted 55-gallon barrels — it was time to stroll through the barn, climb aboard the tractors and pet the animals in the petting area. The puppies and kittens were the biggest attraction, with children sitting on straw bales all morning holding the kittens and the puppies lying exhausted in their pen by the time the crowd thinned. Calves, goats and piglets were in the petting area, too.

About 1,000 people were served June 17 at Goodhue County's June Dairy Breakfast on the Farm at the Burfeind farm near Goodhue. That's more than double last year's turnout, said Ann Buck, an event organizer.

"This is just what we wanted, this is wonderful," Buck said.

The breakfast line stretched out from the barn all morning, which kept kitchen staff scurrying and calling for more food.

It was their biggest event ever.

"We expected a good crowd, but I was surprised by the number who showed up," said Janet Burfeind, who hosted the event with her husband, David, and son, Peter. Several other family members, including Peter's sisters, Stephanie and Sara, and David's sisters, Diane, Donna and Deb, donned Holstein-print aprons with an udder pocket and helped out wherever needed. David's mother, Deloris (Burfeind) Rusch, sewed the aprons and a matching tablecloth for the serving area.

The event commemorated 50 years of farm ownership for the Burfeind family and also the one-year anniversary of opening the new dairy setup.

"We've been getting asked for several years, and with the new barn, it was time to do it," Burfeind said.

Construction on the new dairy setup began in summer 2013 in a former hay field. They moved into the barn in April 2014.

The family milks 300 cows twice daily in a double-10 parlor. They milk Holsteins and crossbreeds.

The event is sponsored by Goodhue County's Dairy Farmers and KCUE Radio.

1/2: Laura Ringeisen, of Goodhue FFA, drives around and around the Burfeind dairy setup during the Goodhue County Breakfast on the Farm. Riding are Wesley Ryan, 5; William Ryan, 3; and Marti Huneke, 3.

2/2: The family celebrated 50 years of continuous farm ownership by hosting the Goodhue County Breakfast on the Farm. From left are Peter Burfeind, Deloris (Burfeind) Rusch and David Burfeind, three generations of the family.