By Elicia Pinsonault, New England Dairy
Three New England dairy farmers hosted live chats this spring with students in classes across the region who “adopted” calves as part of the Adopt a Cow Program.
Gervais Family Farm in Enosburg Falls served as this year’s Vermont host farm. Other participating farms for the 2023-2024 school year included MacGlaflin Farm in New Hampshire and Mapleleaf Farm in Connecticut. The Adopt a Cow program is a year-long virtual educational program administered by the Dairy Excellence Foundation with support from New England Dairy.
This is the third year that New England Dairy has partnered with the Dairy Excellence Foundation for the Adopt a Cow Program. In its first year, the program had 1,200 participating schools in New England, reaching 36,000 students. For the 2023-2024 school year, Adopt a Cow reached over 91,400 students in 2,800 classrooms across our region.
At the heart of the program is the ability for students to watch a calf grow throughout the school year while paired with a New England dairy farm. Through photo & video updates, hands-on learning activities, curriculum, and virtual visits, students and teachers gain a deeper understanding of dairy farming and milk’s journey from farm to fridge. The program culminated in three live chats, where students could interact with the farmer, meet their adopted calves, and get questions answered in real time. Questions asked during the live chat focused on topics including cow care, nutrition and dairy products, and sustainability. More than 730 classrooms participated in this year’s live chats.
The Adopt a Cow Program will return for the 2024-2025 school year in September with host farms in Vermont and Connecticut. Want to see the Adopt a Cow Program in your local schools? Share registration information with teachers in your community, which can be found at discoverdairy.com/adopt-a-cow. Registration closes September 15, 2024.