October is National Farm to School month and the Feldpausch family from Greeley, Colo. is taking students from across the country behind-the-scenes of their dairy farm. In partnership with Discovery Education and Undeniably Dairy, Chuck, Nora and their four children (Gilbert, Nina, Avelyn and Elthea), are helping others learn and understand how dairy farmers care for their cows and nourish communities.
Third generation dairy farmers, Chuck and Nora operate a 2,200+ Holstein dairy, and they opened their farm – and home – to thousands of classrooms who might not otherwise have an opportunity to learn about how dairy foods get from the farm to the fridge.
Through a 30-minute Virtual Field Trip, audiences explore the modern landscape of a dairy farm and its operations, while learning about the innovations farmers are using to care for their cows and nurture the land, preserving natural resources for future generations.
Also joining the Feldpausch family on the tour is Erik Blaser the farm’s manager, Dr. Dave Weber the farm’s nutritionist and Dr. Doug Ford who provides veterinary care to the cows.
“We know that many students – and adults – don’t have a connection to where their food comes from, and many have never seen, or visited a farm,” Nora explains. “Chuck and I were honored to work with the checkoff and Discovery Education teams, and to represent the more than 40,000 dairy farm families across the U.S. who work hard every day to care for our cows, while producing foods vital to the world.”
The field trip is part of the dairy checkoff’s new partnership with Discovery Education, the leading provider of digital content and professional development for K-12 classrooms. In addition to learning about some of the innovations farmers use daily, it will also allow students to discover careers that exist within the dairy industry.
Chuck adds, “Helping students understand that when they drink their milk and eat their dairy products, they can trust that dairy farmers are using the best methods, including technology, to provide them with a nutritious product is so important. Additionally, he adds, “Being able to highlight the many career opportunities available within dairy, whether that’s on the farm, or with a CO-OP, will help our industry continue to grow and evolve.”
In addition to the Virtual Field Trip hosted by the Feldpausch’s, Discovery Education will be adding 360-degree video content and resources from a Virginia farm later in the school year.
To access more information and resources about the Undeniably Dairy field trip, visit: DiscoverUndeniablyDairy.com.
