The Walt Dairy Farm in Coopersville will host a family friendly Breakfast on the Farm! this Saturday — a free educational event by the Michigan State University Extension to give non-farm people a chance to see what modern food production is all about.

The breakfast will be served from 9 a.m. to noon by Arlyn and Kathy Walt at their farm, at 8099 Arthur St.

Farm tours

Guests will enjoy a free (with ticket) pancake breakfast, featuring Michigan-made products and self-guided tours of the farm, where visitors can learn where milk comes from and the life cycle of a dairy cow.

Tours will include educational exhibits where volunteers will be available to answer questions.

Children will enjoy seeing where cows are milked and engaging in activities to learn about how food gets from the farm to the store.

“We’re really fortunate to be one of the chosen farms to host Breakfast on the Farm! this year,” said Arlyn Walt, farm owner. “We’re really passionate about what we do, and we want to show the consumer how much we love producing delicious and wholesome food to eat.”

More than 175 local volunteers help organize and implement each event.

Getting tickets 

The farm tour and breakfast are free, but tickets are required to eat breakfast. Free tickets can be obtained at the following locations:

• Allendale: Bob Gary/Bob Willard Farm Bureau Insurance Agencies; Bob Meyer Farm Bureau Insurance Agency; Family Fare (customer service desk)

• Coopersville: Family Fare (customer service desk); Coopersville Area District Library; West Michigan Veterinary Services

• Jenison: Family Fare (customer service desk); Tom Jager Farm Bureau Insurance Agency

• Grand Haven: Jim Humphrey Farm Bureau Insurance Agency; Landon Sustaita Farm Bureau Insurance Agency

• Grand Rapids: Andy Brummel/Mike Thomasma Farm Bureau Insurance Agencies; Downtown Farmers Market (Crisp Country Acres booth); Fulton Street Farmers Market (Visser Farms booth)

• Grandville: Farm Bureau ASO Office

• Holland: Cal Timmer Farm Bureau Insurance Agency; Family Fare (customer service desk); Greg Peterson/Nolan Kamer Farm Bureau Insurance Agencies; Holland Farmers Market (Visser Farms booth); Mark Hop Farm Bureau Insurance Agency

• Hudsonville: Family Fare (customer service desk); John Fanthorpe Farm Bureau Insurance Agency; Randy Katerberg Farm Bureau Insurance Agency

• Muskegon: Muskegon County MSU Extension

• Ravenna: Ravenna Township Library

• Sparta: Sparta Township Library

• Spring Lake: John Queen Farm Bureau Insurance Agency

• West Olive: Ottawa County MSU Extension

• Zeeland:  Family Fare (customer service desk)

Breakfast on the Farm! will be held at three more Michigan farms this year.

• Aug. 17, Humm Farm LLC, Breckenridge (Gratiot County)

• Sept. 7, Black Locust Farms LLC, Stanton (Montcalm County)

• Sept. 21, Ferry Farms LLC, Litchfield (Hillsdale County)