FRANKLIN TWP. — Pulling into Asam Acres off of M-50 requires some attentiveness. Animals of all stripes range freely, and on my recent visit, a handful of children were rapt as they fed goats and a passing emu from cups of animal feed. I slowed down and attempted to claim the right of way but as soon as they scattered, a chicken commenced crossing the road.
I was here for Cows and Coffee, a free event open to the public on weekends from July through December. As the name suggests, there are cows, and there is also coffee. Visitors are invited to roam throughout and enjoy the animal ambience.
The farm itself has an unpolished, working feel to it. Many of the facilities are old, added throughout the decades as practical needs met available resources. There is a general ad hoc air to the place, which is punctuated by the menagerie of species that one might encounter, from exotic birds to foxes. This wild assortment is less an intentional curation of critters and more due to the fact that a majority of the animals are rescues.
The pasture is full of geriatric horses, and the entry is a hangout for roosters. Christie Asam and Chris Bergman, the couple who own the farm, didn’t initially plan to be animal rescuers, but as more and more people dropped off their unwanted animals, the role found them. They leaned into this new reality, allowing it to help them shape their purpose. Working farm, animal rescue, cows and coffee.
Not to mention community. “It’s all about the education,” Bergman told me as I perched on a stool in the small concession room, where visitors from far and wide are greeted, and where snacks, coffee, T-shirts, and animal feed are sold. We had been talking about the importance of giving young people a chance to experience the farm and homestead life, acknowledging that many farms don’t allow the public inside to see how things operate. Here, people could visit for just an afternoon or stay longer, getting their hands dirty as volunteers.
On this Sunday, several families wove in and out of the buildings, stopping to interact with the many animals. A small girl peered around the chicken coop, where hens laid in roosting boxes. She discovered some eggs and pointed her chubby finger with glee. “Look! Mom! Eggs in there!” Then she turned to me, incredulous. “Look! Eggs!”
For many children, places like Asam Acres offer a unique opportunity for hands-on exposure to animals and a glimpse of the daily cycles of life on the farm. Here, they might make connections about where their food comes from, or learn a new fact about piglets while getting to scratch a bristly snout.
Bergman is often on hand to share information about life on the farm, with topics ranging from animal husbandry to compost.
For a handful of other local youth, weekends at Asam Acres mean a job with direct animal care experience. I caught up with Alex, an incoming freshman at Tecumseh High School, as he was leading a retired circus horse named Aries around the yard. Alex spoke of the many opportunities to learn as a farmhand, and his special bond with the horses.
The same sentiment was echoed by Kayla Hallmark, 24, who was working the concession stand. As we talked, she shared her deep affinity for pigs. “I’d be here even if they didn’t pay me,” she told me. “I love it.”
For families seeking weekend adventures that educate as much as they entertain, this rescue/farm/coffee/community hybrid offers something unique in the Tecumseh area. Asam Acres is located at 1835 W. Monroe Road (M-50), and hosts Cows and Coffee on weekends from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
