We had a last minute opportunity to join in a field trip to a family owned dairy and creamery. I talked it over with Mike and we decided it would be a good experience for especially the youngest three. I gave the older two the option to stay home but they decided to come along. We didn't really know any of the other families who went along (we had met a couple of them at family softball this spring), but we're getting used to being the new folks, and everyone was very kind.
We had an hour and 40 minute drive to our destination and left a bit before 9. We listened to The Birchbark House on CD during the drive, which is one of the books in our morning basket.
We started with a trolley ride and overview of the century farm and then greeted the bottle calves.
The older three children were harder to get photos of as I trusted them to obey the rules and enjoy the tour. The younger two stuck closer to mom!
calf kiss?
Part of the reason I jumped at the opportunity to take the kids on this field trip, even though I knew it would mean going alone (Mike usually takes off for field trips), is because I've struggled a bit of late raising these "townie" kids. There is definitely nothing wrong with living in town, but I'm realizing that things that were intuitive to me as a child are not part of my children's base knowledge. It makes me a little sad, but also means I need to be intentional, especially living it the heart of agriculture, to teach them. Words like heifer, bull, steer....understanding the process of getting milk to the fridge....ear tagging, calving, silage season. I want our children to know and understand these things. I know it's not the same as living them firsthand, but it's the best I can do in the moment. Give them opportunities, share my memories with them (even though I certainly wasn't the best little farm girl ever), and teach with grace.
After loving on the baby calves, we visited the cows that were separated out getting ready to calve, and then toured the milking parlor.
Zayden is tucked behind Xavier.
The farm is operated by 4 brothers and each plays a different role. It's really a lovely story of family. I asked my kids if they'd like to run a farm together when they are grown and Evalynn said she'd be the milker! Xavier is going to be the boss, Natalee in charge of feeding, Zayden in charge of growing and harvesting, and Mia in charge of making the yummy treats. Oh my heart that they would desire to love each other that well when they are grown.
This particular farm has kangaroos, just kind of as a mascot, so we visited them before we went back to the tour center.
I decided kangaroos are very rodent like and not maybe my favorite animal. I'll take the cows.
Back at the tour center we washed up good and had the lunch that we brought.
After lunch the kids got to make butter!
Shake, shake, shake.
I encouraged Zayden to shake his jar away from his healing chin.
Butter!
Washing the butter in cold water.
Then we salted it.
Stirred it up!
And our guide brought us crackers to eat it on!
Natalee doesn't like butter but she tried it. Mia doesn't like club crackers so she ate plain butter.
We cleaned up our butter mess, and then our hostess - bless her heart she worked hard - let everyone choose either chocolate or vanilla ice cream to try, made in the creamery on site! While they ate ice cream we watched some behind the scenes videos of work in the milking parlor, at the creamery, and around the farm.
What a great day!
Facts the kids could recall:
- Each cow is milked twice a day and gives 10 gallons of milk a day.
- The milk cows spend their days eating and eat 90 pounds of food a day and drink 40 gallons of water.
- The milk cows are in dirt lots because they don't eat grass. Grass changes the taste of milk. They eat sileage.
- The cows are pregnant for 9 months.
- They get a break from milking at the end of their pregnancy.
- Bulls don't stay on this farm.
- Cows stomachs have 4 compartments.
- They all get an ear tag and a magnet in their bellies.
- At the creamery they make butter, ice cream in lots of flavors, milk, cheese curds.
- In the words of one of my little students, "The milk is heated to kill germs but the fat isn't mixed up so you can see it on the top." {They pasteurize their milk but do not homogenize it.}
After our tour completed, we bought a gallon of whole milk and two cartons of ice cream to bring home. If I were more local I would buy all of our milk there. It was $4.50/gallon for non-homogenized - you can barely get it for that at the store. They have an honor system store that folks can stop in and buy there at the farm, and then two store fronts in area towns, just not close enough to us for weekly shopping.
I'm very glad we went on this field trip, for the obvious reason of getting the experience, but also because it reminded me that I can do things with our children on my own. We very much like for Mike to go along on our adventures (and he honestly likes to go), but it's not always feasible. Today was a lot of driving. Driving isn't my favorite but I am capable and we got along just fine. Through half a dozen sleepy Iowa towns and then back again. (grin)
And now, please enjoy these photos of these "townies' milking this cow statue. Their older two siblings were dismayed.
We listened to more of our book on the drive home and Evie napped (Zayden nodded off awhile, too).
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