Harvard students pay a visit to Great Brook State Park!
There are some things that are hard to learn in a classroom. Like what it feels like to have a baby calf lick your fingers; what a dairy farm smells like; or what a happy cow’s “moo” truly sounds like. That’s why we worked with Harvard to get a small group of students out of the classroom and onto a local dairy farm.
Tamma Duffy, dairy farmer from Great Brook State Park in Carlisle, MA, led a group of Harvard students on a tour of her farm for an up close and personal look at where dairy products come from. For many, this was their first experience on a dairy farm and it was definitely a memorable trip. Baby calves and a new robotic milker were the highlights of the tour but all along the way Tamma explained about life on a dairy farm and addressed their questions.
Here are a few of the many questions (and answers) we talked about on the farm.
How many stomachs do cows have? A cow has one stomach with four different chambers, which is why many people say that a cow has four stomachs.
What do farms do with the manure? Dairy cow manure is always put to good use. Like many farms, the Duffy’s compost their manure and sell it to local garden stores.
Are their antibiotics in milk? No. All milk – both regular and organic – is tested for antibiotics. Any tanker that tests positive is disposed of immediately and never makes it to the store shelves.
What do you call male and female dairy animals? Males are called bulls. Females, prior to giving birth, are called heifers. Once they give birth, female dairy animals are called cows.
Students from Harvard University at Great Brook State Park in Carlisle, MA
This Harvard student happily poses with a few of the many cows at Great Brook State Park
