Dairy Farm Tour

As part of our homeschooling studies this past year, we studied about farms and cows. Our friend, Josh Timmermans, arranged for us to have a private tour of a dairy farm in Mount Vernon. Gerrit, the dairy man, was so awesome and let the kids experience so much, and we learned a lot!

The first thing we got to do was see the cows being milked. My kids had never seen anything like that and they were pretty interested.

They got to feel the udder and try to squeeze milk out, put their fingers in the machine that goes on the udder to feel how it squeezes the milk out and see the milk going through the tubes. It was all good until a cow pooped and it splattered on us.

Our next stop was the calves. The newest one was 2 days old. They really are so beautiful with their big brown eyes. They each live in their own little hut to prevent the spread of diseases. The kids were able to touch them and let the calves suck on their fingers.

Next was to see where all the other cows live and eat. It was feeding time so all the cows were busy and the kids could watch and touch them. There was also an area where the cows can come and get salt or baking soda if they have an upset tummy. They were licking it off the kids hands.

We also got to see the big tanks where the milk is stored and sit in a tractor.

The last thing we did was feed a calf a bottle. The kids loved it!

What a cool hands on learning experience!