Granton Dairy Breakfast headed to Robin Ridge Farm

The annual Granton FFA Alumni Dairy Breakfast will be held on the farm once again this year, being hosted by Shelly Cook and Marshall Kleiman of Robin Ridge Farms on Sunday, June 2.

Breakfast will be served from 7 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at N3359 Robin Ave., located off of Highway 10 in Granton. Bussing will be provided from the Granton school at 217 N. Main St. People are asked to park at the school, except for handicap parking, which will be available at the farm.

The site for this year’s breakfast was purchased by Shelly’s parents in 1958, where they would build almost the whole farm from the ground up. Her father built most of the barn and added on a shed. Shelly grew up on that farm where she would spend a lot of time working with her parents to

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from p. 1 complete chores. Eventually, she started to grow an interest in showing their cattle. Shelly would bring registered cattle to her family’s farm and she would be in charge of working with and showing cattle through 4-H.

Shelly took over the farm from her parents in 1992 with the hopes of keeping the farm going. She also knew that she wanted a child interested in farming because she “wanted a kid to hold onto it.” Shelly would adopt Marshall, who took a quick interest in farming and agriculture.

Marshall would help Shelly with farm chores while growing up, learning a lot from his grandfather about machinery as well. Shelly is glad that she and Marshall both share a love for dairy cattle.

As Marshall got older, he also took an interest in showing cattle. Marshall wanted to buy his own heifer for showing, so Shelly took him down the road to a local Milking Shorthorn auction.

Marshall sat and waited, not knowing which heifer to bid on. Soon, the time would come.

Marshall was able to bid on and take home a Milking Shorthorn heifer. He took her to a show and ended up doing very well. Marshall took the knowledge he gained during that first time showing at the Clark County Fair, and has since added on showing at the Central Wisconsin State Fair and at a protein show in Shawano.

Following in his mother’s footsteps, Marshall got involved in 4-H when he was younger.

Eventually, that involvement in 4-H would transfer over into involvement in his local FFA chapter at Granton Middle and High School. Marshall would attend multiple chapter level events and then work to develop his supervised agricultural experience (SAE) in dairy production entrepreneurship, based on the work he does on his family’s farm. The development of his SAE would lead him to the honor of being named the Granton FFA Chapter 2024 Star Farmer, a Wisconsin FFA Dairy Production Entrepreneurship 2024 Proficiency Award State Finalist, and a 2024 State FFA Degree recipient.

Shelly and Marshall have helped their farm to continue to grow and operate through the care of their 55-head herd of dairy cattle. Marshall is in charge of milking their 30 cows in a tie stall barn. He uses four milking units and is able to complete milking all of the cows in about 90 minutes. Marshall also takes care of all other chores, including feeding and watering. He also plays a big part in farming their land. He is in charge of their fields, where they harvest corn and hay to feed to their cattle.

Shelly is glad she has been able to teach Marshall the importance of responsibility and persistence, as they have had to overcome some medical challenges. In 2022 Marshall suffered a severe leg break and was unable to walk on it for multiple months. Fortunately, with the help of many friends, Marshall and Shelly were able to keep their farm running smoothly. Marshall recovered and has since been able to go back to his usual responsibilities of taking care of the cattle.

Marshall plans to one day buy the farm from Shelly and has set some goals for himself. He aspires to own 80 head of dairy cattle and to farm around 240 acres of land. He also hopes to expand the farm by adding new facilities, including a larger barn.

Shelly and Marshall have worked very hard to continue their farm and are proud to say that Marshall will be the third generation to live and work on the family farm.

The breakfast will be held in the shed that Shelly’s father built when they bought the farm. The menu for the breakfast includes pancakes (provided by Uncle Pancake), special eggs, sausage, cheese curds, applesauce, ice cream, maple syrup, butter, milk, juice and coffee. The cost is $8 for adults, $4 for children (K-5) and preschool free. A petting zoo will be available on the farm for all guests to enjoy.

Shelly Cook and her son, Marshall Kleiman, are excited to welcome visitors to their farm south of Granton for the Granton FFA Alumni Dairy Breakfast.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO