History Farm House Bed & Breakfast

Farm House B & B - A unique Iowa lodging experience

FarmHouse Bed & Breakfast is a Working Farm

The Farm House B&B is located on a working dairy farm. We milk 50-80 Holstein cows daily depending on the day since we have developed a niche market to sell fresh dairy cows to a large dairy in the St. Louis, MO area. A fresh cow is one that has only been milking about 3 weeks. We continuously buy pregnant heifers who are going to have their first calves to replace the fresh cows who have been sold. We sell about 80 fresh cows a month and calve or birth about 90 heifers a month. Thus we about 3 new calves born daily. Guests often can witness the birth of a new baby or watch it takes its first steps. They can also feed the baby calves at chore time or watch the cows being milked.

We also have 2 adult llamas, 1 baby lambs, 3 Jacob Sheep with new babies born in April, and a miniature burro. Two dogs, HJ and Gracie, are the official greeters. About 20 cats wander the farm and occasionally allow themselves to be petted.

	You can also walk or bike the adjoining 4 mile Plum Creek Bike and Nature Trail. Part of the trail overlooks the farm where you can see the cows and llamas grazing in the pasture. Sometimes the cows get very curious about the walkers and bikers and come to the fence to get a view of you. (photo of cattle looking over the fence). On the trail, you will walk through our 6 acre vineyard as well as view the Farm Pond. The Plum Creek Bike and Nature Trail is a marvelous trail going through farmland, woods, along the creek, and through several parks.

The trail also features the restored Chickasaw County District # 1 Country Schoolhouse located on our farm property.	The school was established in 1854 and operated continuously until 1958. It’s a fun building to tour and kids love to go to school in the old Country Schoolhouse.

The trail also features several parks with playground equipment, picnic tables and shelters. All guests are welcome to use the trail, parks, the local swimming pool, and the local Plum Creek Golf Course.	Guests can also watch the cows being milked twice daily at 5:30 am and 5:30 pm. Adventurous guests are welcome to help with the milking chores.

A new addition to our farm is Cocoa, a miniature donkey. He loves to bray so be prepared for a lot of noise from a small body. The children all love Cocoa!	Guests can help feed the chickens, gather the eggs, and then eat the fresh eggs for breakfast. We have different breeds of chickens so you will see brown, green, blue, and white eggs on our farm.

We have 3 goats that race around the farm. If you are quick, you will see Marge – now 13 years old and her son, Bob, - now 11 years old eating with the cows or relaxing in the sawdust pile. They have a younger goat friend that follows the oldsters around the farm.	Most of our animals graze together. Guests enjoy watching them in the pasture.

We usually have new baby calves being born daily. Guests love to bottle feed the new babies. They can also watch the birth via the television on the porch or in the barn during delivery.	Our Farm Pond is stocked with Bass, Catfish, hybrid Blue Gill, and Sun Fish and is a great place for guests to go fishing. We have poles, spades for digging worms, and a local store that sells night crawlers. I don’t clean or fillet the fish, but I will cook/grill the cleaned fish. There are also picnic tables and a fire ring at the pond for your use and enjoyment.

	We also have about 20+ cats and 2 dogs named HJ and Gracie. HJ and Gracie are our official welcome committee and love guests.

Jacob Sheep have 4 horns and are said to be the sheep kept by Jacob from the Old Testament. They are not endangered – but they are protected. The Jacob sheep are highly valued for their wonderful fleece.	April 2006, our two Jacob Sheep mothers each had twins so we have 3 new girl babies and one new boy baby on the farm.

We also have peacocks, but now need to keep them penned with the chickens. Our last pair of peacocks decided to join the wild turkeys in a nearby woods. We often hear them in the early mornings.	Horseback riding is another fun guest activity.

The 3^rd Saturday in September, the IA-MN State Line Horse Plowing Contest is held on our farm. Teams of draft horses come from several states for this event. (Photo to left and to right.)

Every year the NE IA Antique and Engine Power Show is held the first weekend in August on land adjoining our farm. It is a great event to learn firsthand about tilling the land with horses, threshing the grain with a steam powered threshing machine, etc. Come a week before the show and you can help shock the oats in preparation for harvest.	A new llama baby, Zorro, born April 2, 2006. Mama Llama welcomes him to his new world. Each April for the last 4 years, Mama Llama and Daddy, Oreo, have presented us a new baby boy llama. We keep hoping for a girl – but we welcomed another beautiful boy again this year. Our llamas are friendly and love to be petted.

Meet our newest and youngest resident

Farm House Bed & Breakfast Inn ● 2866 270th Street ● Fredericksburg, IA 50630 ● (563) 237-5969