Before you start making plans to crash someones vacation, please note that we were invited. Midwest Dairy Association asked me to participate in a June Dairy Month activity day at a major resort in Branson, MO. I had the opportunity to speak with people (young & old) about dairy farming, caring for the land, how we take care of our animals, and some of the wonderful products that are made from milk from our cows.
Talking with me wasn't the highlight of the
afternoon. That honor was given to "Aloha",
the Brown Swiss cow that Alison (Midwest
Dairy intern) brought along. I wasn't offended
that Aloha was more popular with everyone
because it isn't everyday that you get to watch
people "meet" a real cow for the first time. For me, watching someone touch a cow and have that "this is where milk comes from" moment is priceless. We've become 3, or even more, generations removed from the farm and folks
don't really know where their food comes from.
I hope we were able to help educate a few more people today. Alison introducing "Aloha" to vacationers
Our visit wouldn't have been complete without "Sophia", the fabricated cow. She was a hit as usual and had around a hundred kids (and adults) "milk" her. The resort even made homemade ice cream that didn't last long. I was told that there were several people that had never had homemade ice cream.
Despite the hot, humid weather, I hope everyone had a good time. The kids will be able to go back to school this fall and tell everyone they got to pet a real cow and even milk another one (even if she wasn't real). The adults seemed to either be enchanted for their first-time cow encounter or reminiscence about past experiences. If they didn't fall into one of those categories, well, there was the ice cream...
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