farm visiting

[romerun]

Hi, My girl is visiting me, she would want to visit farms in the united state. I know it's quite weird activity, but I'm also curious if there exist such these places in US. So anybody know some real farms or real cattle farms accepting visitors within 500 miles from Chicago ?

thanks
-kem

[AZBuck]

I'm afraid I can't speak from experience in the US, and I doubt very much that you'd find a 'cattle farm' (ranch?) to visit that close to Chicago. But on my travels in Ireland, I had great luck staying at Bed and Breakfasts on working farms. I'd be more than willing to bet that if you did a search for B&Bs at working dairy farms in Wisconsin or Illinois, you'd come up with more than a few options for your girlfriend to choose from.

AZBuck

[Quebec Gen]

Romerun,

Here's a directory of Illinois Farms you could browse through. You might want to visit the Funks and Sugar Grove Nature Center in Shirley on old Route 66 where you can learn how sugar is made. They also have a nice park and observatory if you want to relax or have a picnic. If you want to combine Route 66 Memorabilia and "ranching", stop by Henry's Rabbit Ranch in Staunton.

Gen

[Midwest Michael]

For me this is certainly a case of living being around something so much that you take it for granted. Even though I live surrounded by farm, I actually have corn growing around 3 sides of my house in the summer, I can't off hand think of any farms that offer tours, so to speak.

That said, I'm sure there are some, and I'll try to do a little research for you.

In the meantime, the Milwaukee Zoo actually has an excellent Farm Exhibit, complete with its own small milking and dairy operation (it is wisconsin after all!).

Another option, if you are planning this trip for later in the summer - say late July or August, would be to visit a county fair, where you could see farm kids taking their animals to be judged. It really is a unique part of the american farm experience, plus it has carnival rides and funnel cake.

[romerun]

Thanks much ! I'll check them out.