ISU's Dairy Farm Tour

We had a great time this morning at Iowa State University’s Second Annual Dairy Farm Tour! Our journey began by traveling just south of Ames and ending at the 887 acre dairy facility. The farm’s grounds were scattered with people, both young and old, all excited and ready to take advantage of this June Dairy Month celebration. A public viewing area was available upon arrival, followed by a tour of the farm, a stop at the childrens’ discovery center where several fun activities were open, as well as free dairy product samples. Not only that, the weather cooperated beautifully with hardly a cloud in the sky.

Upon leaving, we couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride in how the Central Iowa community embraced June Dairy Month! With Iowa’s 1,910 dairy farms and 4.3 billion pounds of milk produced annually, it’s no wonder.

Iowa State opened the farm just a few years ago in 2007. It is used for teaching, research and outreach activities.

Special thanks to all of the event sponsors for their support -- the Coalition to Support Iowa’s Farmers, Midwest Dairy Association, Iowa State Dairy Association and the Iowa State Dairy Farm.

ISDA Awarding College Scholarships

The Iowa State Dairy Association recently announced it will award six college scholarships of $500 each to Iowa students. The scholarships are available to any level student, incoming freshmen through seniors, pursuing a degree in any field.

Applicants must be the child or grandchild of a current ISDA member.

Candidates should complete the ISDA scholarship application and attach a one-page essay. The essay should state his/her plans for the future and why the scholarship would help the applicant in his/her future endeavors. The essay should also explain the applicant's connection to the dairy farm (e.g. what the dairy has meant to him/her and what he/she has learned from being on the dairy).

All applications and essays must be received by July 1, 2010. The ISDA scholarship application can be downloaded from the ISDA Web site or, you can contact Jessica Bloomberg, ISDA industry relations manager to request an application at jessicab@iowadairy.org.

Source: ISDA Spring newsletter