Sebewaing resident Sabrina Giacomaggio, 11, pets one of her family’s cows Wednesday at the Great Dairy Adventure at the Pavilion for Agriculture and Livestock Education.
The Great Dairy Adventure, held Wednesday on MSU’s campus, saw more than 1,000 more participants than last year’s event — an increase organizers attribute to heightened exposure and more “local tourism.”
The event, which is focused on educating children about the dairy industry, took place at the Pavilion for Agriculture and Livestock Education. It had about 3,000 participants this year, compared to about 2,000 participants in 2007.
“We had more media (attention) ahead of time (this year), that gives people more time to plan. Plus, with the gas prices, people are looking to do things more locally in Michigan,” said Shari Blonde, an event organizer and resource analyst in the dairy section of the Michigan Department of Agriculture.
Mindy Pratt, another organizer and communications specialist with the Michigan Milk Producers Association, said the Great Dairy Adventure was the education portion of the weeklong Michigan Dairy Expo, the largest dairy event in the state.
The event was a great opportunity for children of all ages to learn how milk gets from the farm to their table, Pratt said.
“There are day care (groups) that will come, we even had a day care from Flint,” Pratt said. “We also have a lot of programs from schools come — earlier this morning there were 12 buses lined up.”
The event, which was run by various dairy farmers, industry personnel, 4-H parents, and MSU veterinary students, allowed children to perform dairy-related activities, such as taking milk-mustache pictures with MSU athletes, getting explanations about model farms and milking and petting cows.
Third-year veterinary student Nina Duflo worked a station during the event that allowed children to stick their hands into a canula — a surgically-placed tube — in a cow’s rumen, which is a part of its stomach. The device is placed there so farmers can learn more about the cow’s digestion and possibly deal with sickness.
Duflo said she wrote down some of the more interesting reactions of the children.
“They’re just really fascinated, especially when there is a hole in the cow’s rumen,” Duflo said.
“Their faces are absolutely priceless. They think it’s smelly, but most of them think it is cool.”
Duflo said it was great that the event was trying to bring in people who hadn’t experienced farms before.
“I think (the Great Dairy Adventure) is really important,” Duflo said.
“Only 2 percent of kids these days grow up on farms. A lot of these kids haven’t been able to experience agriculture (before). Agriculture needs to have more public education — it is very important.”
Aleasha Wood, a Mason resident, said that she brought her three children to the event because they wanted to milk cows and have pictures taken with SpongeBob SquarePants, who was one of many cardboard cutouts children could pose with.
“I think that it is really great for the little kids to come out because there are so many events that they can partake in,” Wood said.
Ethan, her 3-year-old son, said that he had fun and wanted to come back next year.
“My favorite part was milking the cow,” he said.
Support student media! Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.
