Dairy Farmers of Washington recently launched a new, interactive virtual farm tour that will help consumers learn more about the local dairy farms that produce their favorite dairy products. In addition to the virtual farm tour itself, consumers and educators now have access to nutrition-related lesson plans, a calorie calculator and a farm-related lesson plan to accompany the short videos explaining everything from cow care to crop production to milk processing and more.
“The virtual farm tour is versatile — it was created with teachers and educators in mind, but the average consumer interested in learning more about how milk is produced can also gain a lot from this resource,” said Ivan Chu, senior director of integrated marketing and communications for Dairy Farmers of Washington. “Consumers are more interested than ever in learning about where their food comes from and how it is produced, so it’s important for us at Dairy Farmers of Washington to showcase the care that Washington dairy farmers take to bring nutritious dairy to you.”
The 10 video segments were filmed at four dairy farms across Washington and many segments feature multiple dairy farmers to showcase various farm practices.
“No two dairy farms are exactly alike and have all of the same farm practices, but we all share a passion for our cows and our environment,” said dairy farmer Lynne Wheeler of Coldstream Farms in Deming. “I’m excited to be a part of this project since it’s essential to share how we are producing food and help our consumers better understand what we are doing and why. The average consumer is about four generations removed from the farm and we are passionate about helping connect them with local dairy farms through this virtual farm tour.”
The virtual farm tour and nutrition resources have been popular with teachers since they were first released last week, said Brianne Kappel, director of nutrition and wellness for Dairy Farmers of Washington/Washington State Dairy Council.
“Teachers have done an exceptional job adapting to the virtual learning environment and are doing their part to ensure our youth continue to receive a quality education during these challenging times,” Kappel said. “These resources were created with them in mind and our goal is to make teaching nutrition and agriculture easier. Our virtual farm tour aims to connect students with the ‘farm-to-table’ story while highlighting modern technologies that dairy farmers are using to reduce their carbon footprint.”
