One of the best parts about our University farm is how visitor friendly and informing it is. I wouldn’t say I am the most talkative person ever, but I do love to answer any questions people may have about our farm and cows. Over the past year we have started doing events like Trick or Trot, Milk a Cow and Witter Wonderland which has attracted quite a bit of attention, increasing in numbers each event. It’s great to see the amount of interested people and their children coming out and it is wonderful that we can show them farming in a positive light and inform/answer any questions they may have. The best response is when you ask a small kid what they think about cows or farming and they say they want to grow up and become a farmer some day. I feel it is a good thing for them to have an interest in farming, not only for the agricultural business, but so they are more informed when they get older and so they can see where and how their meat, milk and cheese are produced. Most people are surprised by how much personality each of the cows have and it is great to see people come back time and time again remembering certain cows by their names and actively seeking them out for pets and scratches. It is also pretty funny when kids come back for more than one tour and can basically give the tour themselves and get excited when they know the answer. They also have the best questions like asking if that “thing” (the udder) is what the baby is in or what the numbers and names on the ear tags mean. The calves are also a huge hit with everyone as they love the snuggles. All around having the public come in and being able to bring your friends and family to the farm makes the whole experience of working at the barn so much better. I hope that everyone gets a chance to experience what it’s like to be around a farm and cows and all their wonderful personalities.
And just for anyone that visits and sees a cow with a ring in their nose like Rigatoni below (who is about to calf). The ring is just a simple clip in their nose to poke other cows when the cow tries to suckle on another cow’s teats. We want to prevent this from happening because if one cow has mastitis and a cow suckles on her teat and then another cow’s teat who is healthy it could spread disease.