the Dairy Tour

This morning before the tour at the Dairy we went to an Amish Bakery. We had real tasty rolls and donuts and there were lots of baking items and foods in bulk pkgs.

the back of the Amish Bakery. then we drove about 25 miles to the huge Dairy farm, owned by the University of Iowa

In the heart of northeast Iowa's dairy country, the Dairy Center sits on a hilltop just outside of Calmar, Iowa. The Dairy Center and Dairy Foundation work to bring together education, demonstration and research to foster the growth and prosperity of families who make dairy farming their way of life.

The Dairy Center is operated by the Northeast Iowa Dairy Foundation, a non-profit, grassroots organization formed to prepare young men and women to operate dairy farms, provide ongoing education for existing dairy farmers and serve as a public educational facility. The partnership with Northeast Iowa Community College allows students enrolled in agriculture programs to experience hands-on curriculum by working with the dairy herd.

The Dairy Center site includes an educational facility with classrooms and labs, a milking parlor, NEW robotic milking system, freestall barn and calf barn.

Here is a picture of the barn the cows come into to be milked, there's 8 milking stations on each side, in this part of the building

Here's a picture of the automated milking parlor...the cows come in and go out at will, they get a treat while their in so some of them just keep coming in over and over, but the computerized machines know when they were milked last and they can only give milk every 4 hours. the teats  or udders  are found by a lazer and when they are in correct position they start milking.

All the cows in this huge building eat this silage freely and can walk around any where in the building they want and there's soft sand where they lay down on.

there is another big building that house the Mother's to be...this calf is just a few hours old.

After the tour we got to make our own icecream!!! We put 2 cups milk, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1 tsp. vanilla in a small plastic bag, sealed it with duct tape to make sure it didn't leak, and put it in a large coffee can with rock salt and ice. then we rolled it back and forth on the table and in 10 min. we had icecream!!