Despite the rain, the Klouse Farm in rural Mower County was a busy hub of sizzling pancakes and fun in the countryside on Saturday morning during the 12th annual Breakfast on the Farm.

Around 400 people came through the farm to take part in learning more about agriculture, riding through the property behind horse-drawn hay rides and even getting to pet a few llamas and goats.

Heather Reed, and her 20-month-old daughter Jennifer Reed, took a closer look at a llama at the Klouse Family Farm in rural Austin. It was the 12th annual Breakfast on the Farm event that brought the agricultural community together and educate the public on the importance of farming.

It was fun for families such as Heather Read and her 20-month-old daughter Jennifer. The two live on a dairy farm, but Jennifer never had the chance to interact with other types of farm animals such as the goats that were raised for meat, or the llamas that peered over their pens.

“I’m really hoping that the people have a better understanding of farming and how important agriculture is in our society,” Heather said. “That’s what I want Jennifer to learn too.”

For many families, they’ve grown up on a farm or in a rural area, where exposure to agriculture was common and they understood what farmers did on a regular basis. However, Breakfast on the Farm was a way for those who may not necessarily have had the opportunity to interact with farmers to meet them face to face, according to Marlin Fay, president of the Mower County Farm Bureau.

“The main reason we do this is to get non-farm people exposed to agriculture,” Fay said. “We mostly want to show kids these educational opportunities so that in the future they know where their food comes from.”

Gregg White of Chris Cakes, flips pancakes for the 12th annual Breakfast on the Farm. White shared that he probably made around1,600 pancakes for families coming through on the Klouse Family Farm.

Other visitors included Marty Demro and her daughter June, who was 5-and-a-half. Demro also grew up on a farm, and had attended Breakfast on the Farm often over the years.

“It’s a fun way to get outside of town and see the different farms,” Demro added.

Fay shared that many people don’t understand what farmers have been doing to keep up with innovation as well as changes to their approaches to farming. They had pork producers, conservationists and FFA chapters come to the farm and share with people more information about agriculture. Mostly, this opportunity was to bridge a dialogue between the rural community with those who came from the cities.

“You see families coming here, but some never grew up around (farms),” he said. “We’ve been doing stuff for a while to make changes to agriculture, and they don’t know how that impacts farmers. We’re more than comfortable to have a chance to share our stories.”

Vistors rode around the Klouse Family Farm in rural Austin for the 12th annual Breakfast on the Farm, which brings the agriculture community together to educate the public the importance of farming.

Rain or shine, the farm bustled with people enjoying about 1,600 pancakes that were flipped by Gregg White of Chris Cakes and have those open conversations about agriculture. Farm owners and hosts Amie and Brian Klouse relished seeing the expressions on the children’s faces as they observed the goats that bleated within a pen, along with llamas that sought attention and get petted.

“It’s the first time we hosted something like this (on our farm),” Brian said. “It’s a fun event for everyone.”

“I just love seeing the children’s faces,” Amie added. “We’re big on community around here, and a lot goes into agriculture.”