Elk Grove Students Learn About Milk In Time For National Dairy Month
June is National Dairy Month and June 1 is World Milk Day. Milk is California’s number one agriculture commodity. California is the nation’s number one dairy state. Last month, Elk Grove students joined California State Secretary of Food and Agriculture Karen Ross at Cal Expo to learn about farming including dairy.
Secretary Karen Ross Being Interviewed at The Dairy Station
The Farm at California State Fair
Students from Union House Elementary School in Elk Grove visited The Farm at California State Farm on a field trip. The farm tour offers a live learning lab for farming and agriculture. The Dairy Station is the newest addition to The Farm. The Dairy Council of California was able to put in the Dairy Station thanks to a grant from the CalAgPlate Grant Program. The tours are available for students K-6. The Farm offers field trips in the spring and fall. Schools can apply now for fall field trips.
Union House Elementary students learning from volunteer PJ
The Union House fourth graders had a great time learning about the dairy from high school student volunteer PJ. PJ brought out a yogurt puppet to make learning more fun. The biggest hit of the day for the kids was Cali the mechanical cow. Each child got a turn learning out to milk Cali.
Union House student Ricardo milking “Cali” the mechanical cow
See It Yourself
The Farm’s tours will pick back up in the next school year. In the meantime, the Farm will be open to the public at the California State Fair July 13-29. The dairy station will be set up in the Baby Barn during the fair.
Conclusion
In conclusion, The Farm is a great experience for the Elk Grove schoolchildren! The Farm is interactive and educational while being geared especially toward children and learning. It’s wonderful that it now includes dairy to go along with the planting part of farming. The tour gives children insight on how much work goes into farming which is a big part of our town.
