Some of the hay is used to feed the Kelley Farm cows and calves. The milk cows are Line-back Devon-Durham crosses. These crossbred cattle were a common sight on Minnesota farms in the mid-19th century. One cow could provide enough milk for a small family. The milk was used for cooking and the cream for making butter. The more milk cows you had, the more butter you could make. The more butter you made, the more you could sell in town or to people coming to the farm for produce.

The Berkshire pigs at the Kelley Farm are an old, common breed of pig still raised in Minnesota today. Pigs provide the farmer with both meat and lard- common and very useful products for the family.

Kelley had over 200 chickens in the 1850s. In those days, Kelley did not have to ship his eggs to town. People came to his farm to buy eggs and chickens. The Silver-Grey Dorking and the Dominique (shown here) were popular 19th-century chicken breeds.