Henry Bremer remembers going for tours of area farms when he was a kid.
Only thing was, for Bremer, the tours were in August, so he didn’t miss any school.
Bremer, owner/operator of Cliffview Dairy Ltd., outside of Enderby, and president of the Kamloops Okanagan Dairyman’s Association is offering up the family property for the fourth annual Breakfast On The Farm tour Saturday, and he and his family will be giving tours to elementary school students Thursday and Friday.
“My son and I talked it over and we felt it was important to offer our farm so the public can see first-hand what it is we do,” said Bremer, who took over the farm from his dad, August. He purchased the property in 1974 and August still feeds the cattle.
Cliffview Dairy has 320 head of cattle altogether, half of which are milking cows.
Breakfast On The Farm, which starts at 9 a.m. Saturday, is an invitation from the farmers of the North Okanagan to their local community to visit a working family dairy farm. You can see the cows, how the farm’s cows and calves are cared for, feel the care and attention the family puts into every aspect of their farm, visit with neighbours, tour the farm at your leisure and visit with vets, nutritionists, soil experts.
Most importantly, you get to meet the people who are the farmers of the community.
There will be beef, sheep, and chicken farmers on the farm as well, showing off their animals and answering any questions that are of interest to you.
The BC Dairy Association (BCDA) will bring Dellia the cow to the farm so your child (or the child in you) can experience the milking of a cow up close and personal.
The mobile classroom will be on site, where the BCDA staff explain and demo the milking of a cow. Also, there will be a whole mosaic of local businesses that work with the farm to make its operation so effective.
“Come for the breakfast, stay for the day and for the people,” said Bremer.
Cliffview Dairy is on Salt Road in Enderby. The farm is seven kilometres north of the city on Highway 97A, just before the junction with 97B. Signs will be posted. The Enderby Lions Club will be serving a free full course pancake breakfast to the first 800 people to arrive.
As an extension of the community day on the farm, Breakfast on the Farm, for the past two years, has offered a dedicated day to students and teachers of local elementary schools from Revelstoke to Vernon that features a personal guided farm tour by local dairy farmers.
This offering has been so successfully accepted by the local schools that a second day has been added to this year’s agenda to accommodate the growing numbers of students and schools wanting to take advantage of this great day on the farm. Two schools are bringing their entire school.