John and Dorothy Priske’s Fountain Prairie Highland Cattle Farm is home to the most beautiful cattle in the world and holds the largest Highland stock in Wisconsin. They graze on 434 acres of grass just outside of Fall River Wisconsin.

John and Dorothy began farming asparagus in 1984 but changed course when they bought a large old house built at the turn of the Twentieth century.  The Priskes had a vision to repair, restore and share their newly acquired property with the community. This vision of change was meant not only for the house, but also for the entire prairie land on which the house sat.  The Priskes knew that raising cattle would be the perfect solution to maintaining the land, because the cattle would both harvest and fertilize the land.   With this notion, John and Dorothy Priske began farming Highland Cattle on the prairie. 

The Priskes have brought back dozens of species of native grasses and other plants and recreated the original wetlands that once supported the flocks of migrant waterfowl.  Today they have successfully restored 60 acres of wetland prairie and the birds and animals are returning!

These Highland cattle eat grass most of their lives and feed on grain towards the end.  The Priskes raise and handle cattle humanely and do not use any hormones, anabolic steroids, or sub therapeutic feed antibiotics. The Priskes dry-age their meat for 21 days after slaughter and sell most of it locally directly to customers at the Dane County Farmer’s Market.

The Priskes are dedicated stewards of the land.  In fact, they have achieved Level 3 with the Conservation Security Program (CSP).  The CSP is a voluntary USDA program that gives financial assistance to farmers with the best conservation and stewardship practices. The Priske’s role models and sources of great inspiration include Aldo Leopold, Wendell Barry and author Michael Pollan – each would be proud.

Sharing and learning with community is important to the Priskes.  Through interacting with the community, they have learned that people from all backgrounds are eager and striving to get back to the land and good quality products.  The Priskes often host community dinners and give tours of their farm and inn to create a place where dialog and education take place.