The Cupertino Courier

Education

Photograph by Austin Chen

The Nose Knows: Kindergartener Naomi Tai, 5, holds her nose to ward off the farm smell during a visit from the Dairy Council of California's Mobile Classroom and Ellie the cow to Regnart Elementary School.

Students are udderly amazed by visiting dairy cow and calf

By ERIN HUSSEY

"It's like we're on a farm," exclaimed Ryan Lee, a first-grader at Regnart Elementary School.

"I smell the cow," replied classmate Michael Wan. Both boys began laughing, waving their hands in front of their noses, trying to dissipate the odor.

The students, instead of returning to their classrooms after morning recess, sat cross-legged on the blacktop anxiously waiting for their special guest teacher--Ellie the cow--to be led from her trailer.

"In some ways it's easier for kids today to see zoo animals than it is to see farm animals," said Jeff Byers, an instructor for the Mobile Dairy Classroom since 1974. "Kids really need to have some understanding of this stuff. After all, they are going to be voters someday and we need to keep farming a priority."

The Mobile Dairy Classroom, which is sponsored by the Dairy Council of California, began in the 1930s as a joint venture with Venice dairyman Clarence Michel of Egdemar Farms. Michel would travel weekly to Los Angeles-area schools in a truck specially built to accommodate a live cow. At each school, he would use the cow to teach children about milk and the dairy food process.

Today, four mobile dairy classrooms visit schools throughout California, teaching more than 300,000 students each year about the anatomy of cows, how milk gets from cow to container, the nutritional benefits of dairy and the importance of agriculture.

"Many of our children have never seen a cow before," said Regnart Principal Lorrie Wernick.

"I remember one day when I was helping someone feed the cows. I just think it's important for kids to have real-life experiences whenever we can give it to them."

When the students saw Ellie, the 1,800-pound, black and white Holstein heifer from Moon Glow Dairy in Moss Landing, it was as if they were looking at an alien.

"WHOA!" said the students in unison, rising up on their knees to get a better look.

"She was a lot bigger than I expected," said second-grader James Hibbert.

Byers then discussed Ellie's anatomy, including her stomach.

"People used to say that cows have four stomachs, but they have one stomach with four compartments," he said.

While most of the students probably won't remember what happens in the rumen or the reticulum, they will remember what happens to the baseball-sized food balls called cuds.

"They were very interested when they got to see the cud come back up; that's when you heard all the ewws," said Amy Whalen, a first-grade teacher.

In addition to seeing Ellie regurgitate and re-chew a cud, Byers taught the children how to milk a cow by hand.

"The most important thing is to seal off the top and squeeze down," he said.

As the students held out their hands pretending to milk Ellie, Byers took hold of one of the cow's teats and asked, "Now what do we get?"

"Milk!" the students shouted, ducking behind each other as they tried to avoid the spray of milk.

At the end of the 40-minute lesson, the children were able to pet Della, an 8-week-old calf.

"Maybe this will stimulate these kids to go on to a college like UC-Davis or Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and major in agriculture," said Byers. "They could become the leaders in food production for a world where people are going hungry. I think the future of framing is a pretty exciting place. I wish I could be here 100 years from now and see exactly what they are doing."

For information on the Mobile Dairy Classroom or the Dairy Council of California visit www.dairycouncilofca.org or call 916.263.3560.