Our 2026 annual picnic and pasture walk will be hosted at Paris Family Dairy in Belleville, WI, on August 22nd from 10am-3pm. We are so excited to spend time with GrassWorks Board member Bert Paris, his wife Trish, and their daughter Meagan at their Southern Wisconsin dairy farm. 

We’ll start the day with a pasture walk. The Paris Family has an 80 cow dairy herd which they have been crossbreeding for 30 years using both AI and homegrown bulls. We’ll see how the Paris’s have planted multi-species annuals into the pastures, looking at how forage density and diversity benefit their pastured dairy system. Bert has a strong interest in soil health and composting, and makes and applies his own compost extract. Erik Harris of Clear View Regenerative Farms and Services will be at the pasture walk to talk more about the composting process, how to evaluate microbial mass, and show us what it looks like under the microscope. Learn more about their pasture-based dairy here! 

The picnic will take place in the afternoon just a mile down the road at Exeter Park. After enjoying a locally sourced meal catered by Brix Cider we’ll hear from Randy Zogbaum, Soil Health Program Manager at DATCP, on soil health principles and watershed health. JD Greenwalt, the General Manager of Westby Cooperative Creamery will also be speaking on the co-op expansion and opportunities for dairy farmers.

Tickets are $15, with a $5 discount for members. This discount will be automatically applied to members who are logged in when purchasing tickets. Click here to log in to your GrassWorks account or learn more about our membership here!