AMES, Iowa — Milk, cheese, ice cream and yogurt are a few of the samples that will be handed out at the Iowa State University Dairy Farm annual open house on Friday, June 6, from 6 - 11 a.m.
The sixth annual open house, which is open to the public, will include tours of the dairy farm every half hour from 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. The tour includes stops at the milking parlor, milk house and various farm buildings.
Visitors can learn about the dairy industry in the Ag Discovery Center, while sampling free dairy products. The discovery area will include demonstrations on current technologies and best practices in animal care, product quality, safety and environmental stewardship.
The ISU Dairy Farm has more than 390 milking cows. Each cow produces about 79 pounds of milk per day, with a protein percentage of 3.1 and a fat content of 3.9 percent.
The dairy farm, which opened in 2007, is a state of the art facility that provides teaching, research and outreach opportunities for Iowa State students and the public. The ISU Dairy Farm is located on 887 acres at 52470 260th Street in Ames, three miles south of central campus.
To get to the farm from Highway 30, take University Boulevard (exit 146) and go south one mile and turn right on 260th Street. Sponsors of the June Dairy Month Celebration include Iowa State University, Midwest Dairy Association, Hy-Vee, Iowa State Dairy Association, Western Iowa Dairy Alliance, Swiss Valley Farms, The Dairy Foundation, Land O’Lakes Milk and Robert’s Dairy Foods.