Today Michigan State University animal science professor Miriam Weber Nielsen brought her class out for a tour! She's brought many classes in the past, but it has been a few years now, and so it was so wonderful having them back.
Kris and I talked about our farm, how we do it, things that might be different than other farms they have been to (like cattle on pasture and natural bull breeding), and the economics of dairy farming. We walked through the calf barn, then went to the dairy barns, manure lagoon, and showed them the expansion on the free stall barn - the stalls and the maternity section.
Points:
- I love giving tours of the farm. Many of these students had been on a dairy farm before, but there are always questions you have never gotten before.
Today, my favorite question came from Tony, who said, "I've been to farms, and I have to ask - why the Toyota Sienna? Why do you all have one?"
My answer was immediate. "Farmers usually have a lot of kids, they get great gas mileage, and if things really got bad and we lost everything, we could put down the seats and sleep five in the back of it."
Ha! I didn't even know other farmers had Siennas!
- The students were talking about how they had a presentation from the United Dairy Industry of Michigan last week, and Ryan said, "I bought a gallon of milk after hearing that presentation. I've been drinking a glass a day." That warmed my dairy-loving heart.
- I encouraged all the students to find a favorite calf and take pictures with it, and they played along. Of course, animal science people are usually animal lovers. No one took me up on my offer to take a kitten or a tire home. (I was kidding about the kittens, but I was not kidding about the tires. Everyone - come and take a tire!)
- The students were talkative and enjoyable, and Miriam was great as always. We have an open door policy - come and visit anytime! I'll even give you a spin in my farm Sienna.
Thank you Miriam, and thank you students!
