Have you ever wondered where some of your favorite foods like milk, cheese, yogurt and ice cream come from? They are all dairy foods and they are made with milk from dairy cows!

Lots of milk and dairy foods are made in Ohio, and Ohio dairy farms are cool places to visit. If you go, you will get to see how dairy cows live and how they make milk.

The Milking Parlor

Dairy cows walk to the milking parlor two or three times a day to be milked. In the milking parlor, you will see the dairy farmer use a special machine to milk the cows so they all give just the right amount of milk. Each cow is milked for about five minutes. It doesn't hurt them and cows really look forward to being milked.

The Dairy Barn

Inside an Ohio dairy barn, you will see a lot of cows. Barns are like houses for cows and they help keep cows healthy and safe. In their barns, dairy cows have fans, showers that mist water on them to keep them cool in summer, heaters during cold months, and bedding to lie on so they always have a comfortable place to relax.

Because many cows look alike, they wear tags on their ears to help dairy farmers keep track of them and know when they need to be milked. The tags are just like earrings and it doesn't hurt the cows to wear them.

Ohio Dairy Farmers

Healthy, happy cows make good milk so Ohio dairy farmers work hard to take care of their cows so they can make safe, milk and dairy foods that taste great.

Ohio dairy farmers take good care of their land too! Dairy farmers recycle manure and use it to help their crops grow. They also recycle water and use it to clean their barns.

Want to learn more about Ohio dairy farmers and their dairy cows? Check out the video on the left.

If you want to take a tour of an Ohio dairy farm, ask your parent or teacher to send an e-mail to
info@drink-milk.com. They can help you find a farm you can tour that is close to home.