^{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.}

Adopt a Cow for your classroom! It’s a free program sponsored by Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin and Discover Dairy that helps classrooms pair up with a Wisconsin dairy farm to learn all about their adopted animal and the state’s signature dairy industry.

“It’s fantastic to see educators and students in classrooms across all 50 states and 38 countries experience how dairy farms work, engage with the industry and learn how dairy products reach their tables,”said Karen Doster, the Director of Youth and School Programs at Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin.

Each Wisconsin classroom that enrolls in the Adopt a Cow program is paired with a calf from a Wisconsin dairy farm. Students discover photos, stories and additional educational information about the calf’s life on her farm, her food, living area, how the farmer cares for her and more. Supplemental lessons and hands-on activities keep the students engaged all school-year-long to explore where their favorite foods come from and gain a deeper understanding of Wisconsin’s $45.6 billion dairy industry. Several lessons follow common CORE standards in Math, Reading and Science. 

See what previous educator participants are saying about the hands-on dairy lessons:

“I had no idea how ‘adopting’ a cow this year would be a highlight of our school year! Our class adopted the calf, Reese’s, from the Brey Cycle Farm in Sturgeon Bay.” – 5th grade teacher

“My students look forward to learning about our adopted calf, Dulce, and getting updates on her growth and progress. They wrote letters to the farmer, and they have participated in several other activities that the Discover Dairy program has sent.” – 4th grade teacher

“We chose to be part of the Adopt a Cow program because we want to connect with students so they can ask questions about dairy farming and its importance to their community,” said dairy farmer Janet Clark of Vision Aire Farms, LLC in Eldorado, Wis. “We believe it is important to share how dairy farmers take care of their animals.”

Wisconsin family farms involved in this year’s program include Vision Aire Farms LLC in Eldorado, Synergy Family Dairy in Pulaski and Orthridge Jerseys in Lancaster. Each farm has committed two or three calves to the program and Discover Dairy will assign calves to each participating classroom in fall.

K-12 educators are invited to register. The program also is ideal for homeschool classrooms, after school and library programs, scout troops, 4-H groups and more. To enroll in the 2022-23 Adopt a Cow program, educators should visit www.DiscoverDairy.com/adopt before the September 15, 2022 deadline