Breakfast on the Farm at El-Na – the sequel

Rachel Kroeger

Staff

May 4, 2026

ALGOMA – For nearly 170 years, Lonnie Fenendael said his family’s dairy farm – El-Na Farms, located at E4029 Pheasant Road in Algoma – has been “passed on from generation to generation.”

“The farm was bought from the State of Wisconsin in 1858,” he said. “My two brothers [and I] are the sixth generation… and we took over the farm in 2000 from our parents – Eli and Nancy – and that is how El-Na came to be. It’s the first two letters of Eli’s first name, and the first two letters of Nancy’s first name.”

Now, for the second year, Fenendael said their historic property is set to play host for the Kewaunee County Dairy Promotion’s (KCDP) annual Breakfast on the Farm event this coming June 15.

Despite having hosted the event in 2025, Fenendael said when the KCDP “couldn’t find anybody to” help with this year’s event, he called and volunteered El-Na Farms once again.

“The Kewaunee County Dairy Promotion does an unbelievable job of getting stuff organized, so it’s a lot less stressful for the farm,” he said. “The farm still has to be involved, so there’s still a lot of work, but to me, it’s enjoyable.”

Fenendael said the most meaningful part of hosting Breakfast on the Farm (BOTF) is welcoming thousands of visitors to his family’s farm – established in 1858.

“[It’s] enjoyable to show people what we do daily on a farm – how well our animals are taken care of, how well our crops or fields are taken care of, how we treat our employees – just generally, what a day-to-day farm looks like as it operates,” he said.

Each generation, Fenendael said, is “another removed from the farm,” making experience-based agriculture events, such as BOTF, important to educate people “on where their food comes from.”

“That [is why] we’re here,” he said. “We truly enjoy being able to show people what we do… and we take a lot of pride in what we do, obviously. We have an open-door policy – [if] you want to come and see something [or] you want to come and ask about something, come on in.”

The agri-economy

When El-Na hosted BOTF in 2025, Fenendael said they served nearly 6,000 people in attendance, and this year, he hopes to not only welcome returning visitors but newcomers as well.

According to KCDP’s website (dairypromo.com), this year, attendees will enjoy a traditional farm breakfast – consisting of “the biggest omelet you have ever seen,” fresh rolls, butter, cheese and one’s choice of milk – in addition to strawberry sundaes, pizza and deep-fried cheese curds later in the afternoon.

Fenendael said El-Na is adding a drone demonstration this year, alongside returning attractions such as a petting zoo, farm tours, an antique tractor show and live music.

“I don’t know if people are going to [say], ‘We were there last year, let’s do something else,’ or if there’ll be more people who [say], ‘Hey, we didn’t get a chance to go last year, let’s go this year,’” he said.

After acquiring ownership of the farm from their parents, Fenendael said he and his two brothers, Barry and Shane, decided to turn production up a notch – gradually growing their stock and workforce over time.

“We decided that for the three of us to be here, and to support [our] three families, we needed to expand,” he said. “At that time, [when] we took over from our parents, my dad was milking about 100-105 cows.”

Today, Fenendael said El-Na Farms operates independently with about 45 full-time employees, handling all milking of its 2,500 cows, harvesting its own crops and managing 7,500 acres between two locations, including a satellite farm about 20 miles away.

“Now, we obviously support a lot of families,” he said. “A lot of people in Kewaunee County rely on agriculture as part of their job – whether it’s directly related or indirectly related.”

The agriculture workforce employed by operations like El-Na, Fenendael said, contributes to communities in the same ways as any other profession.

“We’re supporting the local community and local economy,” he said. “[Our] people have paid time off, vacation [time], insurance and so on, just like [any other] employee would [have] at a factory, [for example].”

Bright future in an evolving industry

Fenendael said that in his father’s time and in earlier generations, family-run farms “used to exist on every corner.”

“Everybody had 40-50 cows, plain and simple, [but] the next generation didn’t want to work seven days a week, 24/7, 365 [days a year],” he said.

As smaller farms continue to close amid stagnant milk prices and increasing operational costs, Fenendael said the remaining dairy operations have to focus on efficiency to afford their infrastructure.

“The input cost of everything continually skyrockets up by whatever percentage per year,” he said. “You have to be more efficient to be able to compete with increasing input costs.”

Fenendael said El-Na Farms currently wholesales its milk to Land O’Lakes, Inc. and Belgioioso Cheese – based in Arden Hills, Minnesota, and Green Bay, respectively.

“This is [another way dairy] farming has evolved,” he said. “There used to be a cheese factory in every little town, too.”

The emergence of agri-technology, Fenendael said, has also caused massive shifts in how farms across all stock and crop operate.

“Technology in farming has gotten a lot different in the last 20 years, without a doubt,” he said. “There are so many things you can do now… We track our cows with the cow collars; we track our fields, and we track our yields; we track our fertilizer, and we track our manure – everything is tracked from the time it comes into the yard until the time it goes out of the yard.”

With the addition of modern tools, equipment and agri-tech, Fenendael said the farming profession has evolved into more of a business, requiring skilled labor.

“Farming is a way of life, but it’s not like it used to be,” he said. “It’s a business, [so] it has to be run differently than it used to.”

Because of how the industry has evolved, Fenendael said he encourages any young or new farmers to utilize their resources.

“I think they have to rely on some resources,” he said. “Whether that’s government resources, county resources, the resources of some other farmers who are willing to help them out to get going with the project… Don’t hold back. Jump right in.”

Looking at El-Na’s future, Fenendael said it’s bright as the seventh generation – his son and nephew – join its ranks of dedicated employees.

“My son and my nephew are involved in daily, everyday operations,” he said. “[All] our employees here do a fantastic job on a daily basis. I think [the future] looks really good for El-Na and the area of dairy farming in Kewaunee County.”

Visit El-Na Farms LLC on Facebook for more information.