My favorite animal used to be cows; all my old usernames would have some version of “cow” in it actually! That being said, I was very excited to hear about the Cornell Teaching Dairy Barn event. It was a very engaging time that I think everyone who didn’t go should be jealous of. I think the best part of the event was how passionate our guide was, her energy transferred to us and made us excited even though it was cold, wet, and muddy. She talked so casually about helping cows give birth and perform c-sections. I am definitely glad we we had the opportunity to interact with her on this trip. The cows were much more docile than I expected them to be and we even got to see the cows being milked live.

The tour of the entire facility was simple and informative, I only wish I had worn better footwear instead of my slippers. There were different parts to the facility: a birthing area, outside apartments for the calves, a dry area (for cows not being milked), a feeding area, and a rest area. It was hard to believe that it was so organized and actually clean, far from what I expected.

I really did enjoy this event but it was not what I expected from the event description. I thought it would involve us seeing how the dairy products were made or maybe even some tasting, but this was a good surprise too!