BRUNS DAIRY

Bloomfield, NE

 

WE'RE LOCATED

From Bloomfield, six miles west on Highway 84 to 538 Ave., our farm is just 100 yards south on the gravel, located on the east side of the road.

YOU CAN CONTACT US

By phone: (402) 373-4906

Mailing Address:

Kelly and Cindy Bruns

88088 538 Ave.

Bloomfield, NE 68718

By email at: kjbruns@bloomnet.com

 

WE'RE OPEN FOR VISITORS

Bruns Dairy is open for tours from May 15 to October 1. But, all tours are by appointment only and must be scheduled at least 24 hours in advance.

 

 

 

SPECIAL TOUR INFORMATION

Individual Tours - (Minimum of 10 people and maximum of 50) $6.00 per person for a one to two hour tour.

School Tours - Call us for details and fees.

Group Tours and Motorcoach Tours - Tours with ten or more people - Same rates apply to motorcoach and large group tours. Call at least a week in advance to schedule your group. Restroom is available on premises.

 

ON TOUR

Kelly and Cindy Bruns and Kelly's brother Kirk and his wife Kristi are pioneers in this part of the country. They are expert graziers, managing one of the few grass-based dairies in the Upper Midwest. So, they can tell you anything you ever wanted to know about management intensive grazing.

On their tour, you will be up close with their docile Jersey-cross dairy cows. You'll recieve a tour of their unique, open-air New Zealand-style milking parlor and in the spring, you'll see their young calves.

Their pastures are pristine and include a number of grassland vistas, prairie flowers and some of the greenest grass you'll ever see!

 

PRODUCTS AVAILABLE

Kirk and Kristi will soon open their on-farm cheese plant and offer farm fresh cheese made with milk from the Bruns' dairy herds.

 

OUR HERITAGE

The Bruns brothers, Kelly and Kirk had one of the highest producing Jersey herds in Nebraska for several years, but they tired of the financial difficulty of selling into the commodity milk market and the race of the year-around milking so, they decided to make a drastic change.

They seeded much of their former cropland to grass and went to seasonal milking. They culled out high maintenance cows and went for function in their herd, looking for cows that will produce milk under grazing conditions.

With the first New Zealand-style milking parlor in Nebraska, Kelly and Cindy have hosted nearly every milk inspector in the state as well as college groups and motorcoach tours, with everyone interested in the low-cost, efficient milking parlor located in the middle of their dairy pastures.

 

 

OUR FAMILIES

Kelly and his wife Cindy do the milking. They have a daughter, Kali in college. They also have a five year old son, Cole and a two year old daughter, Kate. Kirk and Kristi and their family milk their own herd in a milking parlor on their farm just a mile down the road from Kelly and Cindy.

BRUNS DAIRY EVENTS

May 1st - Open for pre-scheduled tours.

Summer months - Pasture talks about healthy, local food right in their dairy pasture near the milking parlor. Twilight talks with health care professionals.

Regular workshops and special events- Call for more information.

 

LODGING AND DINING OPTIONS

The Four Seasons Motel is located in Bloomfield. Other lodging is available in Crofton, Wausa, Hartington and St. James. There are also a number of restaurants in Bloomfield, Creighton, Wausa, Crofton, Verdigre and Lindy.

 

TAKE A LOOK AROUND

Heartland Experience farms nearby include, Tim and Dave Nissen's Westphalia Vineyard north of Bow Valley, Marv and Ev's Farm northeast of Fordyce and Pat and Julie Steffen's Prairie Blossom Trails just south of Fordyce and Bow View Farm south of Crofton.

You can visit the Private Shannon Monument in Bloomfield - honoring George Shannon, youngest member of the Lewis and Clark expedition who became lost near the mouth of the Bow Creek in August 1804 and didn't rejoin the expedition until early September in present day South Dakota.

Bloomfield and Verdigre both have nice community museums and libraries. Lewis and Clark Lake is north of Bloomfield along with Gavins Point Dam, Corps of Engineers Visitors Center and Corps of Discovery Welcome Center.

Creighton honors a local drink - The Berry Pepper - Try it during Berry Pepper Days in June and also in June, Verdigre honors the community's Czech heritage with the annual Kolach Days.

Of course, if you're visiting Bruns Dairy in mid-August, you'll want to stop by the Knox County Fair in Bloomfield. This is Nebraska's third largest county fair, with top national country music acts on stage nightly and large 4-H, FFA and open class livestock and horse exhibits and shows.