EAST DUBUQUE FARM FIELD GUIDE
Day at the Farm: Milk a Cow, Ride a Pony, Eat Curds with the Berning Family
A two-hour, family-focused visit at Berning Acres in East Dubuque that pairs hands-on animal time, farm history, complimentary snacks, and ice cream.
Day at the Farm: Milk a Cow, Ride a Pony, Eat Curds with the Berning Family.
Experience a family-friendly farm visit with the Berning Family in East Dubuque: enjoy a complimentary beverage and cheese curds, learn the history and operations of a working dairy, interact with animals, try milking a cow, take a pony ride, and finish back at the farm shop with ice cream and local curds.
Highlights
Outing Highlights
Hands-on hospitality from the Berning family
Multiple visitors note the Berning family's knowledge, friendliness, and eagerness to share how they run their dairy farm, making the tour both educational and personal.
See (and try) dairy farming up close
The tour includes an overview of the farm's operations and a walkthrough of key areas—feed storage, calf nursery, the milking herd area and the milking parlor—where guests can try milking a cow and learn the process firsthand.
Animals, pony rides and hands-on moments
Little Kingdom showcases the Berning children's 4H animals—chickens, ducks, goats, horses, a pony, sheep and more—where guests can feed goats, hold small animals when available, and take pony rides.
What the day feels like
What the visit feels like
Over roughly two hours you’ll gather at the farm shop for a welcome beverage and cheese curds, hear the family’s introduction and farm history, then move through the working parts of the dairy—visiting the cow’s feed area, calf nursery, milking herd and milking parlor—before spending time with 4H animals, enjoying pony rides, and finishing with ice cream back at the shop.
Suitability
Who it's for
Who this visit suits best
Practical planner
Details to review before reserving
The experience is approximately 120 minutes long.
Park outside the farm shop—look for two large white garage doors on your left—then enter the shop for the welcome beverage and cheese curds.
The visit includes a complimentary beverage and cheese curds at the start, a guided farm tour with animal interactions and milking opportunities, pony rides, and concludes with ice cream.
The visit is operated by Berning Acres in East Dubuque, Illinois.
Review cancellation policies before reserving.
Frequently asked questions
Planning Your Outing
How long is the farm visit?
The experience lasts approximately 120 minutes.
Where do we meet and park?
Guests park outside the farm shop (two large white garage doors on your left) and are welcomed in the shop for a beverage and cheese curds.
Are snacks or food provided?
Guests receive a complimentary beverage and cheese curds at the start and finish the visit with ice cream and local cheese curds.
Will we interact with animals?
Yes; the itinerary includes visiting the calf nursery (with opportunities to feed a calf), seeing the milking herd and milking parlor, and spending time with 4H animals where guests can feed goats or hold small animals when available.
Can visitors try milking a cow?
Guests are invited to try milking a cow while on the tour at the milking parlor.
Are pony rides part of the visit?
Pony rides are offered during the visit.