Back by popular demand, Dairy Council of California brings the cow milking demonstrations to the LA County Fair. Efrain Valenzuela, Mobile Dairy Classroom manager, presents free milking demonstrations to students and teachers throughout the day. Because the fair is closed to the general public Wednesdays through Fridays between 9am to 12 pm and only admits school children in the morning, Efrain usually sees up to four-hundred students per presentation and over 34,000 students during the course of the fair. The fair opened on Sept 8th and ends Oct 1st.

In addition to learning where milk comes from, Efrain adds information, vocabulary and other agricultural facts to the lesson. It is a fun and exciting way for students to learn how milk is produced and processed and how calcium can help build strong bones.

When students and teachers come into the milking parlor they see various breeds of dairy cows, milk and milk products, and a 20 to 30 minute educational presentation, so they are getting a complete picture of what comes from cows. “We’re giving a whole dairy lesson. We show the complete milking process. The [LA County] fair used to have a working dairy processing center, so it’s a great way to show the complete processing cycle,” says Efrain.

“The best part about Dairy Council being involved with the fair is that we get to be a part of an already established event and can reach a large group of students. The fair believes in education, and we want to support their effort,” says Valenzuela.

After the presentation, California teachers are offered free nutrition education materials from Dairy Council of California staff. While at the booth, students are entertained with healthy activities such as, the Dairy Clue game, the Meat, Beans and Nuts and Grains Spinning Wheel game, and the Fruits and Vegetable Memory game. Parents are also invited to learn how they can support nutrition education at their child's school.

Kelly Hawekotte, Customer Service Coordinator, noted an interesting question. A parent asked how she can tell whether she was buying California milk. She wanted to know this because if buying California milk helps support the Dairy Council of California’s nutrition education efforts, then that is what she wants to do.

The Mobile Dairy Classroom is age appropriate outdoor assembly that visits California elementary schools throughout the school year and acts as a continuation of the milking demonstration presented at the fair. “Being here at the fair is a great launching pad for us for the beginning of the school year because of the large number of students we get to see,” says Efrain.

The Mobile Dairy Classroom, provided by the Dairy Council of California, is a free assembly given to eligible elementary schools throughout California every school year. Because there are only six mobile units in California, the assembly only comes around every 3 to 6 years in certain districts. If your school is interested in learning more about this assembly please visit www.dairycouncilofca.org/educators/mobiledairy.

Dairy Council of California