40th Crawford County Dairy Breakfast Saturday
Pictured are the Nolan families: (front row, from left) Caitlin, Erin, Ashlin, Betty; (middle row) Kristin, Lindsey, Rachael, Tammy, Alexis; (back row) Carrie, Prestin, John, Dustin, Eric and Patrick Nolan. (Submitted photo)
The 40th Annual Crawford County Dairy Breakfast will take place on Nolan Family Farms in rural Prairie du Chien this Saturday.
The families of John and Carrie Nolan and Patrick and Tammy Nolan are the hosts for this year’s breakfast, June 4, from 6 to 10 a.m. The host farm is located about eight miles north of Prairie du Chien at the John and Carrie Nolan residence (30990 Johns Ln., Prairie du Chien).
Tickets will include pancakes, sausage links, cottage cheese, cheese slices, cheese curds, apple sauce, milk, Culvers custard and Vesperman’s ice cream sponsored by SWTC. Parking is limited and busing will continuously be available to the farm from Piggly Wiggly, Prairie Bluffs Court (formerly Blackhawk Junction) and the Prairie du Chien High School south parking lots, starting at 5:45 a.m. until 9:15 a.m. The last bus will return to Prairie at 10:15 a.m.
John and Carrie Nolan have eight children: the late Austin and Justin, Caitlin, Dustin, Prestin, Kristin, Erin and Ashlin. Patrick and Tammy Nolan have four children: Rachel, Eric, Alexis and Lindsey. The Nolan children make up the sixth generation of their family farmers residing in Crawford County. John and Patrick's mother, Betty Nolan, still resides on one of the Nolan Farms.
The purpose of the dairy breakfast, which began in 1980, was to promote dairy products and allow community residents to observe local farming operations. The Nolans originally hosted one of the first dairy breakfasts on this original farm site in 1983 with about 1,600 people attending. The 1997 dairy breakfast was held at the Patrick’s residence. In 2007, the breakfast was held again at John’s residence. On average, over 3,000 people now attend the breakfasts with numbers growing each year.
The two brothers operate four family farms along Highway 27 and County Highway N. The Nolans’ rich farming history began 173 years ago when the original Nolans arrived from Ireland. Daniel and Sarah Nolan immigrated to the United States in 1849 and farmed in the Gran Grae area of Crawford County. In 1887, their son, Thomas, purchased 320 acres of land on Famechon Ridge (County N). The late Frank and Betty Nolan purchased the farm in 1957 from Frank’s uncles (Thomas’ sons). The business expanded with farm purchases in 1974 from Paul Rodenkirch (120 acres), in 1982 from George Yonke (160 acres), and in 1989 from Bernard Boldt (400 acres). In 1994, Frank and his sons, Patrick and John, formed the limited partnership, Nolan Farms. They settled on the original 317-acre farm where John and Carrie now reside. The Nolans’ four farms cover approximately 1,200 acres. Cropland covers 550 acres with woodlands, creeks, roads, and buildings making up the balance. Some 300 acres is planted in corn, 80 acres of new seeding of alfalfa every year, and about 180 acres of hay ground.
John and Patrick milk 190 head of registered Holstein cows year-round. They have a total of about 500 head year-round raising all their heifer calves and finishing out the bull calves to 1,500 pounds. There will be a small petting zoo the day of the breakfast, organized by Jane Achenbach who is one of John and Patrick’s six sisters. The Nolan family have been very active in 4-H and FFA over the years. Several of John and Patrick’s daughters have been chosen as dairy royalty for Crawford County.
The Nolans look forward to promoting dairy and seeing you on the Farm Saturday, June 4.
