CALF_News_October_November_2019

28 CALF News • October | November 2019 • www.calfnews.net What's in a Name? Bringing the Farm to You! “Have you ever had a live cow visit your school?” I asked the school administrator stand- ing in front of me. With a somewhat skeptical expression, he answered,“No.” My coworker and I were attending an educa- tional event and had a very short time to present the program our company offers schools. teachers with a teaching guide written by a former teacher that helps to utilize the information presented during the demon- stration to meet teaching standards. The guide covers biology, geography, reading, language, math, nutrition and other areas. Although the program is highly entertaining, it also is educa- tional for the students and staff. The program covers and provides information to the students about all aspects of dairy production. The trained MDC instructor will talk about life on the dairy farm for the cow with a slide presentation showing all the different topics. The different breeds of dairy cattle are shown and a brief explanation given of each one. The instructor explains that the dairy producer takes very special care of all of his cows, making sure they have clean water to drink, plenty of food and places to freely wander throughout the day. The biology of the cow is presented with the instructor detailing how a cow’s digestive system works with four parts to their stomach and how the cow can utilize sources for food that humans cannot. The students learn about the basics of rumination and what that means to the cow. The instructor talks to students about the cow’s production of milk and what the nutritional needs are for milk produc- tion. They will also see how the dairy producer handles the waste products and the tremendous amount of cleaning and sanitizing that must occur after every milking. The students also learn about the safety of the milking process. The instructor will show them the closed system required for all milk producers and explain what that means. Information about the process of temperature control, testing and transportation from the farm to the processing plant is presented, along with visuals for the students. The instructor will talk to the students about homogenization and pasteuriza- tion, explaining the terms, and help the audience understand the safety concerns associated with these processes. Instructors are trained to handle some of the questions and concerns that may arise from information seen in the media about some of the different aspects of dairy production. All information pre- By Missy McClure Contributing Editor “Well, we bring a cow to your school on a trailer. She is a dairy cow and the trailer is a mobile milking parlor. The instructor talks to your students about the dairy cow, life on the farm, biology of the cow that is age appropriate, the nutri- tional value of dairy products, and the process of milk produc- tion and processing. Then they get to see an actual milking demonstration that shows them exactly how the milking pro- cess occurs all across the nation. The best news – this program is provided to your school at no charge! Does that sound like something you might be interested in having at your schools?” The cost of field trips for schools has grown so expensive that many have discontinued or greatly reduced the number of field trips for students. The Southwest Dairy Museum, Inc. (SWDM) Mobile Dairy Classroom (MDC) provides a field trip without leaving the campus. The program provides Hilly entertains students with her MDC instructor, Courtney Bumgarner, at Jacobs Fork Middle School in Newton, N.C. Photo courtesy Southwest Dairy Museum, Inc.