Statz Families Host a Party for about 45,000 Friends, Neighbors and Total Strangers: Farm Technology Days

Richard and Veronica Statz and Donnie and Shirley (Krantz ’60) Statz were the 2015 hosts of Dane County Farm Technology Days, August 25-27, at the Statz Brothers Farm near Sun Prairie. More than just a third-generation “farm” the Statz Brothers operation is a technological marvel where about 3,850 cows are maintained and milked in a dou­ble-50 milk­ing par­lor and 6,300 acres of crops. Visi­tors were able to tour the farm in buses that drove around the fa­cil­i­ties and through one of the 640-foot-long free-stall barns. In addition to showing off their impressive host site dairy farm, the event is an opportunity to view equipment, learn about research and practical innovations occurring in agriculture, and visit exhibits by more than 600 commercial and educational vendors.

And of course, since the entire event is like a high-tech county fair (minus the rides and carnival games) there was food to feed the tens of thousands of guests: Angus beef hamburgers and cheeseburgers, brats and hot dogs, baked potatoes, egg and sausage breakfast sandwiches, freshly-made pizza, salads, cheese curds, ice cream and more.

The last time Dane County hosted Farm Tech­nol­ogy Days was in 1986, when the event was still known as Wis­con­sin Farm Progress Days.

For more stories about the Statz family and Farm Technology Days, visit the Wisconsin State Journal, the News links off the Farm Technology Days site, or get an inside look from the family’s FTD event Facebook page.