During the 2025 back-to-school season, Midwest Dairy partnered with Discover Dairy to promote the Adopt a Cow program to create meaningful connections between dairy farmers, students, and communities across the 10-state region. This free program links real dairy farms with classrooms and learning centers, giving students a firsthand look at where milk comes from and how farmers care for their animals.
By meeting students where they learn, Midwest Dairy continues to build trust and understanding around modern dairy farming while helping teachers bring agriculture into everyday lessons.
Learning Through a Real Calf
Through the Adopt a Cow program, students followed the growth of a real calf throughout the school year. Farmers shared photos, farm updates, and live virtual calf chats, giving students a behind-the-scenes look at daily life on a dairy farm.
Teachers shared how they used the calf’s growth to teach math, science, and problem-solving in creative ways. Watching the calf grow helped turn lessons into something personal and memorable for students, making dairy part of their everyday learning.
Reaching Beyond the Classroom
While the program is designed for schools, Adopt a Cow also expanded into Boys & Girls Clubs, libraries, daycares, and senior living centers. This broader reach helped bring dairy’s story to more audiences and extended learning beyond traditional classrooms.
Six Midwest Dairy farm hosts played a key role in delivering the program:
- Berning Dairy (Illinois)
- College of the Ozarks (Missouri)
- JJC Jerseys (Nebraska)
- Groetsch Dairy (Minnesota)
- Rottinghaus Holstein Farm (Kansas)
- Takes Dairy (Iowa)
These farms helped create direct farmer-to-student connections that strengthened understanding of animal care, environmental practices, and what it takes to produce milk every day.
Strong Results Across the Region
In 2025, Midwest Dairy expanded the program to support 5,324 educators and reach approximately 162,951 students. Survey results showed positive gains in student and teacher perceptions of animal care, environmental stewardship, and general knowledge about dairy farming.
These outcomes demonstrate that Adopt a Cow is an effective and scalable way to share dairy’s story while delivering real value back to farmers.
Building Trust for the Future
By connecting farmers directly with classrooms and community spaces, Midwest Dairy is helping the next generation better understand how dairy fits into food, science, and daily life, strengthening long-term trust in dairy and the families who produce it.