Barn tourists see antique, modern equipment

Kile Long, of Sterling, explains the milking process to visitors of his family's dairy farm on Capp Road in Sterling. The Long farm, third on this year's barn tour, is the only one on the tour that is a third-generation operation. The barn can house up to 40 milking cows, and the farm has registered Holstein cattle which need to be milked twice a day. The farm supplies milk to cheese and ice cream makers.

Jacob Abate, 11, and Madelyn Abate, 13, both from Spring Grove, look at the chickens at the Reaver farm on Mound Hill Road in Sterling during the seventh Whiteside County Barn Tour.

Tractors sit on display for visitors of the Books' barn on Penrose Road in Sterling on Saturday during the Whiteside County Barn Tour, during which many farmers displayed their antique farm equipment, as well as modern equipment.

At the Schmitt farm on Fulfs Road in Sterling, visitors could see a variety of antique tractors. Richard Schmitt, the owner, enjoys fixing and restoring old tractors and had many of them on display in different stages of completion. Schmitt owns all but one of the tractors displayed for the Whiteside County Barn Tour.

Peg and Mike Albert, of Sterling, look at a restored 1840 hearse at the Canode Barn on Mound Hill Road in Dixon. This barn, the first one on the seventh Whiteside County Barn Tour, featured a variety of old horse-drawn wagons and sleighs.

At the Long dairy barn, a cat watches as visitors walk through the milking room.