Alabama Guests to Tour Local Dairy Farms

The 54th annual Peanut Butter & Milk Festival will begin this Saturday with the arrival of 10 residents of Hartford, Alabama – Litchfield’s Sister City – and will continue through February 7th. One of the first activities for the Southern guests will be touring local dairy farms during “Dairy Day” on Monday, February 2nd.

Karen Becker has been coordinating the “Dairy Day” activities for the past 10 years and says they will start that day with breakfast at Swan’s Café – sponsored by and Manannah Valley Farm and Swan’s Cafe. She says they will travel up to Kimball for a tour of the breeding and calving facilities at Schiefelbein Farms, then over to Darwin for a tour of Ahlgren’s robotic dairy, followed by lunch and a tour at Jomas Hill Vineyard – sponsored by First District Assn.

Becker says Monday afternoon will include a tour at First District Association in Litchfield and then a tour of Ru-Be Dairy – south of Grove City. She says the Alabama guests will have some time at the end of the day for shopping and a tour at the Fieldgate Cheese Store in Litchfield.

The public is welcome to join the guests from Hartford for snowmobiling at the Roger & Janet Huhn Farm on Lake Manuella on Sunday at 2 p.m. and for a Chili & Soup Supper at the Forest City Threshers Building on Sunday evening from 6-to-8 p.m. The public is also welcome to attend the Potluck Banquet on Thursday, February 5th at the Church of St. Philip in Litchfield with social time at 6:30 and dinner at 7. Bring a dish to share. There’s also a silent auction during the dinner and the Alabama visitors will speak after dinner.

Becker says she and her husband, Joe, got involved in the Peanut Butter & Milk Festival about 25 years ago and have traveled to Alabama twice during that time and their 4 daughters were also able to travel to Alabama – both as FFA delegates and as Meeker County Dairy princesses.