Sunset on the Farm provides a great opportunity for the entire community to see a working farm and to learn about the conservation practices being adopted by Brickstead Dairy and other farms throughout the Lower Fox River Basin. These practices help reduce soil and nutrient loading into the Fox River and bay of Green Bay.
“For me, it’s about ensuring that my sons inherit healthy soil and clean water, so that they can be successful sixth generation farmers. We’re excited to host our fifth Sunset on the Farm and to share with the community the practices we’ve adopted to help reach our family’s goals,” Dan Brick, owner and operator of Brickstead Dairy.
This event will be held July 24, 2025, from 3 p.m. – 8 p.m. and is family friendly with activities for kids of all ages. The evening will include dinner, wagon tours of the fields and barns, kids’ science stations, the NRCS rainfall simulator, and more! This is a free event; however, space is limited, and registration is required. We are expecting 450 guests, with more than 50 volunteers.
Those who attend will learn about the importance of cover crops and no-till planting and the impact these practices have on reducing soil and nutrient loss. Everyone who attends will have the opportunity to take a wagon tour through the dairy and to learn about the soil health practices the farm has adopted in their fields. New this year, we will have a soil pit dug so people can see the impacts of these practices below the ground. Additionally, there will be a conservation tent hosted by local organizations with hands-on science activities and a petting zoo hosted by a local 4H chapter.
Solutions to water quality will require a commitment from everyone, but for Brickstead Dairy, it is extremely important to create a space where they can share how farmers are taking meaningful steps to improve soil health and water quality.
Dan Brick is the fifth-generation owner and producer of Brickstead Dairy in Greenleaf, WI. The family farm was established in 1848 and has been in the family ever since. In 1996, Dan became a partner with his father, Gene. In the years since, the dairy has expanded from 20 cows when Gene inherited the land, to the current population of 900 cows. While the operational size of Brickstead Dairy has changed over the years, conservation remains to be at the heart of this family business and the pulse that keeps the farm running. In 2017, Brickstead Dairy was awarded with the prestigious Leopold Conservation Award for Dan’s extraordinary achievement in implementing voluntary conservation practices
The Fox Demo Farms network is a Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) funded project designed to showcase and demonstrate conservation practices that improve Great Lakes water quality by reducing phosphorus and sediment from entering Green Bay and Lake Michigan. It is collaborative project between local farms, federal, state, and local agencies.
Comments