AMES, Iowa — The Iowa State University Dairy Farm will celebrate its 11th annual open house on June 14 from 7 a.m. - noon at the ISU Dairy Farm.
The event celebrates June Dairy Month and is open to the public. Tours will be given every 20 minutes beginning at 7:15 a.m. and ending at 11:30 a.m. The tour includes the milking parlor, milk house and the dairy barns.
Visitors can learn about the dairy industry in the Ag Discovery Center and sample free dairy products. The open house includes demonstrations of current technologies and best practices in animal care, product quality, safety and environmental stewardship.
The dairy farm has 400 milking cows. Each cow produces around 84 pounds of milk per day. The dairy farm opened in 2007 and provides teaching, research and outreach opportunities.
Iowa ranks 12th in the nation in the number of pounds of milk produced, cow numbers and milk produced per cow. Iowa has 1,100 dairy farms, which include 220,000 dairy cows and 200 dairy goat farms. Each cow provides $23,445 in economic activity to local communities for a combined annual economic impact of $4.9 billion in Iowa.
The dairy farm is located on 887 acres at 52470 260th St. in Ames, three miles south of central campus. To get to the farm from Highway 30 take exit 146 on to University Boulevard, go south one mile and turn right on 260th Street.
Sponsors of the June Dairy Month Celebration include Iowa State University, the Midwest Dairy Association, Hy-Vee, Iowa State Dairy Association, Western Iowa Dairy Alliance, Swiss Valley Farms, the Northeast Iowa Dairy Foundation and Hiland Dairy Foods.
Visitors who have recently returned from a trip abroad are asked to wait five days before visiting farms with animals. If you have visited another farm you should change clothing and footwear before visiting the dairy farm and refrain from bringing any food items to the farm. For more information or for planning private tours contact the farm manager of the dairy operation go to https://www.ans.iastate.edu/farms/visiting-farm.