Knollbrook Farm recognized for dairy farming
GOSHEN, Ind. (AP) - John Adam's parents lived in the city of Wakarusa, but city life wasn't his speed.
He moved out as a teenager to live with his aunt and uncle on their dairy farm.
When he got married in 1986, Adam and his new bride, Cynthia, moved out to a plot of farmland on C.R. 38 near Goshen. They started a hobby farm that year, which grew into a full-time operation 12 years later.
"My parents actually lived in town and I didn't like the town," John said. "I moved in with my aunt and uncle on a dairy farm and lived there for about 14 years. I got married and we came over here. That's when we started dairy cows here."
Knollbrook Farm is an operating dairy farm, but also has a pumpkin patch and corn maze every fall. Today, the family owns 370 acres of land and milks around 110 Holstein and Jersey cows with the help of their four children, Nathaniel, Nicholas, Lucas and Faith.
"We are a full-circle farm," he said. "We milk cows and each cow to milk has to have a calf. The calves, we raise them up and breed them. Then the cows we milk are here."
Knollbrook Farm is one of the 11 farms involved in the Northern Indiana Dairy Trail, a series of open houses that give the public an inside look into the workings of dairy farms. Knollbrook Farm was one of six dairy trail farms to open its doors for open houses Saturday.
U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski, a Republican from the Jimtown area, presented Knollbrook Farm a certificate of gratitude on Saturday for the family's participation in dairy farming.
"It's an honor that somebody average like us is getting recognized, we really appreciate it," John said. "It kind of makes everything that you do worthwhile."
Walorski, who represents Indiana's second district in Congress, attended the Adams' open house, where she thanked the family and recognized them for their work.
"There is so much honor in this profession," Walorski said. "Not only is our country still leading in feeding the world but these are some of the most dedicated folks in agriculture that are raising animals and crops."
"I just place such a high value on what our farmers do and dairy in today's day, all the risks and all the rewards and what that means to have such an exemplary farm," she said. "I so much appreciate just everything that goes into this."
The Northern Indiana Dairy Trail is an approved legacy project of Indiana's Bicentennial celebration. Eleven dairy farms are involved with the project.
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Source: The Elkhart Truth, http://bit.ly/28Kd7kL
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Information from: The Elkhart Truth, http://www.elkharttruth.com