Wisconsin cheese for sale in Wausau, courtesy Wausau/Central WI CVB
Wausau, Wisconsin
Wisconsin is known as America’s Dairyland, so a trip to Wausau should include the Van Der Geest Dairy.
Gary and Mary Kay Van Der Geest bought the farm more than 30 years ago and started their dairy with 120 acres and 17 cows. Today, the family’s dairy operation includes more than 4,000 acres of cropland and 3,000 Holstein dairy cattle.
The dairy is open Monday through Saturday for self-guided tours, during which guests can view the milking parlor, holding area and free-stall barn from a catwalk. Guided tours are available for groups of 12 or more with advance notice.
“Everything is very automated,” said Tracy Baltz, director of marketing for the Wausau/Central Wisconsin Convention and Visitors Bureau. “It really is quite fascinating to know there are just a handful of people running this entire operation of hundreds and hundreds of dairy cows.”
Wisconsin may be known for its dairy production, but the state could also be known for ginseng.
“About 95 percent of the ginseng that is grown in North America is grown right here in Marathon County,” Baltz said.
Hsu’s Ginseng farm, just north of Wausau, gives group tours by appointment of the ginseng fields and the processing facility, where guests can watch as the ginseng is cleaned, sorted and prepared for its different uses, Baltz said.
An onsite store is open to the public Monday through Friday and sells Hsu’s complete line of ginseng products, including teas, supplements and soaps.
Wamego, Kansas
In 1993, Ed Dillinger was retiring as a special educator, and he and his wife were looking for about 40 acres to start what Dillinger calls a “grandpa farm,” where he could raise Morgan horses.
They ended up buying 400 acres about 10 miles north of Wamego, and Lazy Heart D Ranch was born.
“It was more than we planned on, but we knew what to do with them,” Dillinger said.
With so much land, they decided to start a beef herd. Two years later, Dillinger decided to expand again.
“I was thinking one day about doing tours, and I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool to have a couple buffalo out there in the herd?’” he said.
Dillinger bought his first three bison heifers in 1995 and now runs a herd of 19 cows and one bull. The cattle herd is about 20 head as well.
Dillinger loads people — about 30 at the most — into a horse-drawn wagon and takes them into his pastures. During the 90-minute tour, visitors get to see the bison and learn about the history and ice age geology of the Flint Hills region.
“Chickens, rocks and bison: That’s what our tours are,” he said with a laugh.
Guests can feed the bison alfalfa pellets
“There are a few that will come up and open their mouth, and you can put the cube in their mouth,” he said. “You get slobbered on by a 2,000-pound bison.”
The Dillingers don’t charge for tours, but guests can make donations to Community Health Ministry, a Wamego-based charity that provides medical and dental services to uninsured and underinsured community members.
www.lazyheartdranch.weebly.com
