JEFFERSON COUNTY, Wis. — Everyone has a hobby. Some are more unique than others. For John Kane, his hobby is raising Texas Longhorns.
“I like the horns. I like the colors. They’re really neat. They're chick magnets. Sorry, mom," Kane said with a laugh.
You may have seen them before if you are driving along I-94. There are 13 longhorns roaming his farm near exit 275 along I-94 in Concord in Jefferson County. You can see them from the highway. That means it's common for people to try to find a way off the highway and into his driveway to take a longer look at these massive animals.
“There was one time a group from a retirement home in Watertown came out here in a whole bus of seniors, and they unloaded and looked at the longhorns for a while, and then loaded up and took off.”
People don't do that for regular cows. As a side note, if you do plan on parking in his large driveway, be respectful of the animals and property.
If you're lucky and you know Kane, he will take you and your family on a little field trip through his farm and you can feed the longhorns. Even though they might be intimidating and have seven to eight-foot-wide horns, they are friendly.
On this particular day, he took his friends, the Kastenson's, to see the longhorns. Wes who is just a child said his favorite part was, "Probably knowing that those horns could stab you and possibly kill you.”
For the record, everyone was completely safe the entire time.
There is no practical reason for having these longhorns. It's just a childhood dream come true.
“I thought when I grow up if I ever make it in this world I’m going to have a longhorn," Kane said.
“So this is kind of like you’ve made it?" reporter James Groh asked.
“I’ve made it. Some people want a BMW or a big house. I’ve got my longhorns," he said with a smile.
But everyone has their thing. Some people play an instrument and some people volunteer. Kane loves raising longhorns.
"People have dogs and cats and fish and so forth and I have longhorns," he said.
Kane got his first longhorn in 2008 after he bought a bull named Dozer from a trucker. Then he bought a pregnant female at an auction. He bought a few more at auctions and his herd slowly grew.
He doesn't see the herd growing much bigger. He may buy a few more, but he likes a small and intimate group.
"We'll probably sell some of the offspring and bring in some other adults, and that’d be about it. Just grow the herd, but I don’t want to get it too crowded," he said.
In the end, it's all about having fun. These longhorns have brought Kane a lot of joy. He even wagered a longhorn on a bet with his brother. Kane bet his longhorn Otis, that his brother wouldn't be able to teach a cat to sit. His brother won, and now Otis is technically his brother's (even though Otis still lives with Kane's herd).
So the next time you are driving down I-94 in Jefferson County be on the lookout for the longhorns. If you're lucky, they will be roaming around the fence near the highway.
