Dairy Farm Big On Entertainment And Education

Dairy Farm Big On Entertainment And Education DAIRY EQUIPMENT & IDEAS Dairy Equipment & Ideas More than 137 000 visitors paid admission last year to tour a large Indiana farm even though there are no roller coasters or cartoon characters running around Our birthing center is a favorite stop for many visitors says Susan Webb an administrative assistant With 32 000 cows on Fair Oaks Farm about 100 calves are born each day As many as nine cows are taken daily to a birthing amphitheater where the public can watch a calf being born A stoplight outside the building is yellow when the hooves have appeared Green indicates the birth is underway Another favorite activity is the tour bus that drives right through one of the farm s barns and follows the process of milk from grass to glass Visitors watch cows being milked on a 72-cow rotary milker When the 10 dairy farmers who make up Fair Oaks started their operation in 1999 they planned to be very public about what they were doing In 2003 they opened a Dairy Store to sell their products In 2004 the farm added the Dairy Adventure Center with fun educational exhibits a 3D movie with vibrating seats and sprays of water the birthing barn and a 45-minute bus tour Since then they ve added Mooville an outdoor play area with Udder Heights a milk bottle climbing wall; String Cheese Maze; MooChoo train and the Dairy Air jumping pillow Located just off Interstate 65 Fair Oaks Farms is a popular destination for school field trips $4/child as well as groups and individuals $7/child; $10/adult Visitors spend about three hours to take in all the activities Webb says Our homemade ice cream and grilled cheese sandwiches on ciabatta bread are also quite popular Fair Oaks Farms had a boost in visibility when Mike Rowe featured the farm in one of his Dirtiest Jobs television segments doing everything from helping deliver a calf to vacuuming manure and emptying it into the methane digesters that provide electricity and effluent to spread back on the cropland Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Fair Oaks Farms 856 N 600 E Fair Oaks Ind 47943 ph 877 536-1194; www fofarms com

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