A unique educational program from the Center for Dairy Excellence in Harrisburg is mooooving elementary school students — including a class in the Butler Area School District — to learn about milk production and agriculture.

Discover Dairy's “Adopt a Cow” program, which is free to schools across the United States, sees classrooms adopt a newborn calf and engage in curriculum provided by Discover Dairy as the calf grows during the school year.

The interactive learning program gives students an inside look at a dairy farm through activities that feature their adopted cow and the farmer raising them.

Teachers can enroll between Aug. 1 and Oct. 15 to adopt a cow for their classroom.

Brittany Snyder, dairy education program manager at the Dairy Excellence Foundation, said the program was limited to 100 classrooms in Pennsylvania when it started in 2014.

Snyder accepted her position at the Center for Dairy Excellence two years ago, and immediately decided the program should be expanded.

“The Dairy Princess promoter in me said, 'Do something about it,'” she said.

Teachers receive the name of the calf and accompanying activities and suggestions for projects teachers can pursue with their students as their calf grows.

The students also pay virtual visits to the farm where the adopted calf lives to see their bovine charge and interact with the farmer who cares for it.

“They always ask if the calf has any siblings,” Snyder said of the virtual farm visits. “We had some kids ask if they get their nails done.”

Other students have asked why dairy cows look skinny compared to the stocky beef cattle they see in pastures.

“That's always a very good learning opportunity,” Snyder said. “We explain that beef cows produce beef, so genetically they build up meat on their bones and in dairy cows, all their energy goes to producing milk so they might look a little bit skinny.”

Under Snyder's leadership, the program attracted 490 teachers two years ago and 908 teachers in the last school year.

One dairy farm in Berks County and six farms in the Midwest “adopt” out their calves in the program, and two farms in Wisconsin and four in the Southeastern United States were added for the upcoming year, Snyder said.

Summit Elementary

One local educator whose class adopted a cow is Angela Eyth, who teaches fourth grade at Butler's Summit Elementary School.

Eyth attended the Educators Agricultural Institute in 2019 at Pennsylvania State University, and Discover Dairy gave a presentation on the Adopt a Cow program.

“I just fell in love with the program,” Eyth said. “The kids learn of the dairy process and how milk goes from the cow to their table.”

Her class adopted a dairy calf named “Bingo” from the Berks County dairy, and a box soon arrived containing farming-related activities, curriculum, and a stuffed version of Bingo.

In the meantime, Eyth hung a birth announcement in her classroom entryway heralding Bingo's arrival.

“My daughter said, 'Mum, that birth announcement is bigger than when I was born,'” Eyth recalled.

Class mascot

The students used their math skills to predict Bingo's future weight and how many gallons of milk a cow produces per week and per day.

In English language arts, Eyth's students researched the best-producing breed of cow, at what age cows begin to produce milk, and other facts.

Eyth's class also completed a lesson on John Deere that was included in the Adopt a Cow curriculum package.

The stuffed Bingo normally sat on Eyth's desk, but would be placed at a student's table to cheer someone having a bad day.

“It kind of became the class mascot,” she said.

One of the students' favorite activities was visiting by video with Bingo and his farmer.

“The kids are badgering you three days after you saw the last video, asking 'Did we get another one today?'” Eyth said.

She said the students also learned how the farmer keeps Bingo clean, fed and happy, and were fascinated to learn that farmers work from 4 a.m. until dark to do so every day.

Visit with Bingo

When the coronavirus pandemic closed schools in March, Eyth was able to coordinate a final video visit with Bingo and chat with the farmer.

“We were able to come to closure with that project while at our own homes,” Eyth said.

She hopes the Adopt a Cow program will continue in the fall regardless of how school looks when it starts.

“I'm going to sign up on Aug. 1 and keep my fingers crossed,” Eyth said. “It was a wonderful experience, and the kids were so excited about it all.”

Teachers can learn more about the program and sign up at discoverdairy.com.