Michigan dairy expo comes to MSU

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On a typical day at the Michigan Dairy Expo, Levi Westendorp gets up at 4 a.m. to wash and feed dairy cows.

Westendorp, a farm worker at Westvale-VU Dairy Farm and MOO-ville Creamery, said it is his family’s 10th year being involved with the expo and it has been a lot of fun, as well as a chance to see how good their cows are against the best in Michigan.

“It’s a great opportunity to showcase your farm and also just to interact with other farmers,” he said.

Located at the Pavilion for Agriculture and Livestock Education, the 15th annual Michigan Dairy Expo runs through Saturday, has various events going on each day and is free to the public.

The idea of the expo is for the state’s dairy industry to meet and compete against one another by showing dairy cows, spokeswoman for Michigan Dairy Expo Sara Long said.

Farmers bring in registered or high-end purebred cattle, groom them and hope to win one of the top prizes.

Dairy is the biggest sector of the agriculture industry in the state, and brings in most of the money.

The 4-H Dairy Days event, which coincides with the expo, allows youth to compete in a number of contests to win cash prizes, Long said. The children prepare all year for this week.

“Next to the county fair, it is probably the most important thing (to the children),” she said.

Carla McLachlan, the administrative assistant events coordinator, said the building of the pavilion was a catalyst in creating the expo. The pavilion is large enough to house all the state’s breed shows.

Overall, about 425 cattle are presented by 100 dairy producers and youth from around the state. There are about 250 youth participants and 3,500 attendees throughout the week, she said.

McLachlan said the Great Dairy Adventure, which takes place Wednesday from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., always is a busy and exciting day. About 3,000 school-age children attend with their schools or families to learn about the dairy industry and the work the farmers do.

Westendorp said he and his family interact with children and adults at the expo, telling people about their farm and what they do. They bottle their own milk and make cheese, ice cream and butter and will have a creamery display.

The expo offers people an opportunity to come out and meet the people producing dairy products as well as touch base with their roots if attendees were raised on a farm or had family with farms, McLachlan said.

“It gives urban populations an opportunity to maybe fact check,” she said. “Often times the information that’s provided to folks is filled with half-truths.”

The products the farmers at the expo make often are seen in grocery stores and markets throughout the state, McLachlan said. These products include milk, ice cream, yogurt and cheese.

“A large percentage of the product that you consume here in Michigan was produced here in Michigan,” she said.

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