HARRISBURG, Pa. – Discover Dairy’s Adopt A Cow program seeks to allow students to gain a deeper understanding of the dairy industry and where their food comes from.

Under the 12-year-old program, schools don’t actually bring a cow into their classrooms. The free program is all virtual, and allows students to keep track of their cow, and interact with the producers in several ways, including electronically.

“At the heart of the Adopt A Cow program is the ability for students to watch a baby calf grow in front of their eyes throughout the school year with photos, video updates, and activity sheets,” explained Emily Barge, communications and marketing manager for the Center of Dairy Excellence, based in Harrisburg. “At the start of the school year, their classroom gets paired with a calf at a dairy farm in the United States. They get digital updates about this calf throughout the school year to watch her grow.

“The updates are shared through a web portal and an interactive app, and photos, PowerPoint templates, lessons, activity sheets, etc., can be downloaded by the teacher.”

Students can also participate in live virtual chats and virtual farm tours with their host farm, she noted.

Since the program started in 2011, millions of students have participated, Barge said. In the 2022-23 school year, more than 40,000 classrooms – with about 1.2 million students – participated.

Adopt A Cow is available nationwide and in other countries, she said. In addition to classrooms from the 50 states, more than 55 foreign countries have also participated. About 33 U.S. dairy farms participate, Barge added.

“What started with just a few classrooms in Pennsylvania has grown tremendously,” she pointed out.

In 2008, the Dairy Excellence Foundation began partnering with the American Dairy Association Northeast to educate more students about dairy farming and where their milk comes from, Barge said.

“After we created the Discover Dairy platform to do just that, we were trying to figure out how to get more schools on farm tours to gain that firsthand experience of what happens on a dairy farm,” she recalled. “We knew getting students out to farms was expensive and difficult to do depending on where they were located.”

The idea for Adopt A Cow came about in 2011 after a staff member’s second grade son came home excited because his class had adopted a jaguar from Africa, Barge said. The staff member decided if that class of students could adopt a jaguar, they could adopt a calf and learn more about where their food comes from in the process, Barge stated.

From there, the program was developed through the Discover Dairy platform and managed by the Dairy Excellence Foundation and its partners, she said.

While the program focuses on the newborn calves and their growth cycle, Barge said host farmers answer a variety of questions from classrooms throughout the year.

“We do talk about the circle of life and if farmers are asked, they explain that cows eventually have a second career,” she said. “The Adopt A Cow and Discover Dairy programs strive to provide the most accurate and real information as possible by directly connecting with real dairy farmers and their families – and sharing their stories. This program is designed to give students a look at how dairy farmers care for their animals, land, and provide nutritious products to their communities.”

Bilingual participation in the program continues to grow, Barge said, noting last year, there were 201 Spanish participants. The host farm had Spanish speakers who communicated with the classrooms.

The American Dairy Association Indiana Inc. (ADAI) has taken part in the program for three years, said Allie Rieth, agricultural affairs manager for the organization.

“(We) have continued to see interest grow in that time,” she said. “It’s a great program for teachers because the lesson plans are ready to go and updates come throughout the entire year, allowing students to apply what they learn in different subjects while gaining insight to where their food comes from.

“Many students don’t live near a farm and may have never even seen a cow, so they can feel more connected to the farm in a fun and interactive way. This is also an excellent program for the growing home school community, and other after school or daycare facilities also participate.”

Last year, ADAI had more than 1,200 classrooms representing nearly 32,000 students participate in the program, Rieth said. While many registrants are elementary classrooms, the program is suitable for all ages given the lack of knowledge about dairy cows, she said.

Registration closes Sept. 15 for the 2023-24 Adopt A Cow program. To sign up, teachers should visit www.discoverdairy.com/adopt.