Midwest Dairy’s partnership with Discover Dairy continued to connect elementary classrooms with dairy farm families through the Adopt-a-Cow program, providing students with an authentic look at modern dairy farming.
During the 2025–2026 school year, the program reached 162,950 students and 5,324 educators across the Midwest Dairy region. Participating farms included College of the Ozarks (Missouri), Groetsch Dairy (Minnesota), Berning Dairy (Illinois), JJC Jerseys (Nebraska), Takes Dairy (Iowa), and Rottinghaus Holstein Farm (Kansas). Throughout the school year, students received monthly photos, videos, updates, and classroom activities that followed the growth of a dairy calf while learning where their food comes from.
The program continues to make a meaningful impact in classrooms. One Kansas teacher shared that Adopt-a-Cow gave students, many of whom had never experienced agriculture, the opportunity to connect with dairy farming in a way they otherwise would not.
Post-program evaluations reflected the program’s success, with educators rating Adopt-a-Cow 4.7 out of 5 stars and participating farms rating their experience 3.79 out of 4 stars. Survey results also showed increased trust across all measured categories, with the greatest improvement in students’ knowledge of the dairy industry.
Registration for the 2026–2027 school year is open, with seven farms scheduled to participate and provide thousands more students with an authentic connection to dairy farming.