Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
E-mail: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org
Surnames: Gardner, Lindner
----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co, WI) 6/23/2021
Greenwood-Dairy Breakfast (2021)
Family, Friends to Meet at Taygin’ Acres For Dairy Breakfast
Jamie and Erin Gardner’s farm, Taygin’ Acres, will be location of the Greenwood Dairy Breakfast on Sunday. In addition to the meal, there will be live music, craft vendors and raffles.
Valorie Brecht/Clark County Press photos
By Valorie Brecht
The motto for Taygin’ Acres is “where family, friends and fence lines meet,” and that will prove true on Sunday as family, friends and community members gather together for the 24th annual Greenwood Area Dairy Breakfast on the Farm.
Jamie and Erin Gardner are looking forward to welcoming people to their farm to enjoy a meal and support the local dairy industry.
“They can come and enjoy a day out with family,” said Erin.
Jamie and Erin’s farm has family history, Jamie’s parents, Bob and Delores Gardner, bought the property about five miles northeast of Greenwood in 1974, and Jamie grew up on the farm.
“I had always thought about it [taking over the farm someday], Jamie said.
However, his life’s path went in a different direction first. Like his dad did, Jamie worked at a feed mill for many years before becoming a farmer. Jamie worked for Vita Plus feed mill for 17 years before making a career change. He wanted a job where he could be his own boss and be more independent. His dad asked him if he had thought about running the farm and he decided to try it.
“I wanted something where I can see the reward and the outcomes,” said Jamie. “It’s the whole idea of no risk, no reward.”
In March 2015, Jamie started renting the barn and animals to see if that’s what he wanted to do. In 2019, he bought the farm from his parents.
When Jamie started, he had 43 cows and 22 heifers. Now he has 135 animals on the farm and approximately 72 of those are cows. He said that is a manageable number, so he doesn’t plan to expand beyond that. Jamie also grows crops including alfalfa, corn and beans. He plants around 280 to 300 acres.
He doesn’t have to do it all himself, though. Jamie’s parents, who live just down the road, help when needed with driving the tractor and other tasks. Jamie and Erin’s son Riggin takes care of the calves. Riggin enjoys the mechanical side of farming and helping during harvest time.
Erin works outside the home at the Clark County Rehabilitation and Living Center, but also helps on the farm as needed. She said she prefers milking the cows to doing fieldwork. She is the record keeper, maintaining the animals’ medical and vaccination records.
“I enjoy the animal health end of it, like the delivery of the calves and making sure they’re OK. We name every calf,” she said.
Being a farmer has come with its difficulties, to say the least.
“Last year’s milk pricing was a learning curve by far. The year previous, we had hay loss due to winter kill, which was another learning curve,” said Jamie.
But he has leaned to roll with the punches, and to expect the unexpected.
“Every day’s a casino… when you get up at 3 a.m., you never know what you’re going to find behind that barn door, he said.
He has found there are several positives as well. One is being at home with Riggin and having some flexibility in his daily schedule.
“I enjoy having my own boss; I like the challenges. Every day is a new day,” said Jamie.
He plans to continue farming for the foreseeable future.
Jamie and Erin chose the name “Taygin’ Acres” because “Taygin’” is a combination of their kids’ names. Their daughter is named Taya and their son is named Riggin. Taya has graduated from UW-Oshkosh and plans to attend school in Iowa to become a chiropractor. Riggin will be in sixth grade at Greenwood Elementary in the fall.
Breakfast Details: This breakfast has been a long time in the making. Pat Lindner asked Jamie in 2017 at a previous dairy breakfast if he would be wi8lling to host. He dais he would be willing to do it in 2021 when the old hayfield across the road was ready to be used for parking. The breakfast will be Sunday, June 27, from 7 a.m. to 1 p. m.
Taygin’ Acres is at N11040 Owen Avenue, Greenwood. To get there from Greenwood, travel north on STH 73 three miles, then go east on Capitol Road for two miles and then north on Owen avenue for a quarter mile.
The breakfast will include pancakes, potato pancakes (exclusive to the Greenwood breakfast), sausage, eggs, cheese, cheese curds, Applesauce, butter, maple syrup, soft serve ice cream, milk, juice, coffee and water. The cost is $7 for adults, $4 for ages five to 12, and age four and under are free.
Besides the meal, there will be several activities. The Rich Yurkovich Band will provide live music from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Local crafters will sell their wares. Hit and Miss Engines will have engines on display.
In addition, people will have the chance to enter raffles for various items.
“There will be something for everyone, not just farm stuff,” said Jamie.
Kids will have the chance to enter to win one of two 20-inch bikes, a John Deer bike or a pedal tractor.
The breakfast is being sponsored by the Greenwood FFA Alumni and Greenwood Chamber of Commerce.
Friendly dairy cow Ruby (r) is there to greet those who enter the barn at Taygin’ Acres. Ruby is one of approximately 72 cows that Jamie and Erin Gardner milk on their dairy farm northeast of Greenwood.
