The information below has been supplied by dairy marketers and other industry organizations. It has not been edited, verified or endorsed by Hoard’s Dairyman.
American Dairy Association North East’s free Virtual Farm Tours will provide teachers and families the opportunity to bring an operating dairy farm into their classrooms or their homes in November.
“Whether students are learning in school or from home – or a hybrid of both – our virtual farm tours offer a real-time look at a dairy farm using live video chat technology,” said ADA North East CEO Rick Naczi. “The tours show how dairy farmers care for their cows, the environment and their local communities in an engaging way.”
Dairy farmers are encouraged to share the following information with local teachers and families so they can take advantage of the virtual technology.
Dates and locations for Fall 2020 are:
November 12 for grades 7-12 – JoBo Holsteins with Joy Widerman, Gettysburg, Pa.
November 17 for grades 4-6 – Will-O-Crest Farms with Hannah Worden, Clifton Springs, N.Y.
November 18 for grades Pre-K - 3 – Talview Dairy with Stacey Copenhaver, Lebanon, Pa.
Tours for grades 4-12 are 45 minutes long, and 30 minutes for Pre-K – grade 3.
“I’m hoping to teach young people why it’s imperative to understand where their food supply comes from, and the work that goes into putting it on their plate,” said dairy farmer and tour host Joy Widerman. “In this new ever-changing world, we live in, we farmers must learn to adapt so if I need to educate via the web, I will.”
Along with the virtual tours, ADA North East offers additional learning materials that meet academic standards to help enhance student learning before the tour. Resources include dairy lesson plans, an FAQ sheet, and a vocabulary sheet covering dairy farm topics like on-farm technology, recycling on the farm, and the nutritional value of milk, among others.
To register for the upcoming tours, or to watch previous tours, visit “Virtual Farm Tour” on AmericanDairy.com. For more information contact Emma Andrew-Swarthout at eandrew@milk4u.org.
