ST. CLOUD (NBC 26) — Airy Point Farms in St. Cloud has passed down the knowledge of dairy farming through five generations, and on Wednesday, another generation was introduced to the tradition.
- Airy Point Farms is an 800-acre dairy farm in St. Cloud.
- St. Paul Lutheran Preschool students visited the farm on Wednesday.
- Co-owner, Derek Sippel, says educating the kids is part of their mission at Airy Point Farms.
On Wednesday, April, 30, over a dozen excited and energetic four-year-olds learned what it takes to be a dairy farmer.
“They’re just so excited to be here,” preschool teacher Amy Loehr says. “We thought this would be a great opportunity for the kids to learn about Wisconsin and the art of agriculture.”
The kids followed farm owner, Derek Sippel, as he showed them how to feed, milk and care for the cows.
“Show kids, especially at a young age, where their food comes from,” Sippel says. “Teach them how to be good workers, how to be good kids and how to take care of the land.”
Sippel says he focuses on sustainable practices, like no-till farming and cover cropping.
“As a fifth generation, I wouldn’t be here without practices that were done before me being helpful and good for the land,” he says.
Teaching the kids about where their food comes from, Sippel says, is part of that mission.
“We focus a lot on caring for the land and caring for our animals and how does sustainability fit in with that, and a big piece of that for me is education,” he says.
In an unpredictable industry, whether due to inflation and tariffs, or weather, Sippel says he just focuses on the day-to-day.
“I try to just control what I can control, and that mostly just keeps my decisions here on the farm.”
