Milk Made : Taking Kids to Dairy Farm Can Be Udderly Fascinating

The largest, most rhapsodic audience at the Del Mar Fair this summer was surely the one in the dairy barn that witnessed the birth of a calf. The crowd grimaced and groaned as it empathized with each contraction of the cow. As the calf wholly emerged, the spectators clapped and whooped with joy at the event.

Earlier in the day, that crowd seemed nearly matched in number and enthusiasm by the people waiting in line to get a chance to milk a cow, an opportunity offered as part of an educational program by the San Diego County Milk Producers Council.

I still remember my own zeal some 24 years ago, when my husband first took me, a girl from Detroit, to meet his family and see their dairy farm in the thumb region of Michigan.

Recognizing that there is indeed something compelling about seeing a dairy farm, the Hollandia Dairy in San Marcos offers tours of its operation for groups or individuals. The dairy has been operated by the De Jong Family for more than 40 years--since its immigration from the Netherlands.

“I can smell that we are near a dairy farm,” noted my 11-year-old, city-dwelling daughter to her friend who accompanied us on the journey. The sight of a dairy farm in fast-growing North County is a pleasurable one.

In all fairness, I was prepared to assess my junket to the dairy farm in relation to my yearly visits to Uncle Bob’s dairy farm in Marlette, Mich., and his splendid commentary. Perhaps dairy farming has a way of producing clever, knowledgeable family members who happily share what they know: Our tour guide at Hollandia, Wilma Anderson, was a treat.

Pointing to the house that sits on the hill of the dairy farm she remarked, “I was raised in that house. I spent summers painting these fences white. My own son, Paul, now 9, has spent this summer painting these same fences. He even has my same supervisor.”

There were nearly 30 people in our tour group: parents, preschoolers, teachers and a school-age group of wide-eyed boys. Before we began the trip around the farm, the children noted in a variety of euphemistic references--such as “nature’s call”--the elimination of waste by the cows. (An entire lesson could be based on the varying ways this topic is discussed in our society.)

“This triangular pen is our maternity ward,” pointed out Wilma as we gazed at a group of cows. “They are very pregnant--two weeks or less until their due date and several of them are in labor.”

“I remember this!” grimaced one young mother with a preschooler in her arm to her friend. “I can just feel it!”

Noting that it is sometimes necessary to “jump in and help the laboring cow,” the cows are placed near the workers for monitoring. However, Wilma continued, putting her arms above her head in a diving position, “most come out just like you dive from the diving board.”

The group was keenly disappointed that no birth appeared imminent. “Sometimes,” remarked Wilma, “a cow will unexpectedly go into labor and cars will stop and line up along Mulberry watching the event.”

Next to the maternity ward is the fenced area for “vacationing cows.” “No, not a vacation to Hawaii,” noted Wilma, “rather a vacation from ‘work’ for the milking cow when she is seven months pregnant.” I decided that the next time a young woman asked me what I thought was a reasonable time to cut back on a work load during a pregnancy, I would offer the seven-month theory of dairy farmers.

Records of pregnancies and due dates are carefully kept, Wilma told the group, noting that most of the cows are impregnated by artificial insemination.

Not one question rose from the use of this term. I concluded that this was must be a very sophisticated or well-read group of individuals. Still, I vividly recalled my own confusion and surprise at learning that my husband’s other uncle was the artificial inseminator of their farming region.

Colostrum and the feeding of young calves was discussed in depth as we traveled onto the feed barn.

Wilma’s discussion of grains for the cows closely paralleled a class dialogue on good nutrition. “Oats, barley, sugar beets, bran,” she said as the youngsters put their hands in varying piles of grains. “Say,” she laughed, “you guys eat cow food yourselves.”

A pile of shells from almonds in the far corner was noted, and Wilma explained the worth of using softened almond shells as roughage for the cows. “And the almond farmers are delighted to sell us their shells,” she said.

A young man from our group walked over to touch a pile of something not easily identified. “Oh-h-oh-h,” warned his older brother, “I wouldn’t pick up everything on a dairy farm.

After letting the kids think for a moment that the mass might be giant spider eggs, Wilma identified it as cotton seeds.

The group watched as a gate in a field below opened and, as Wilma had predicted, the cows immediately followed one another to the milking barn. An explanation of Hollandia’s use of Holstein cows occurred as a youngster pointed out a brown-and-white cow in the herd. “That’s where we get our chocolate milk,” teased Wilma. “No,” she added quickly, “you know that we add chocolate to our milk.”

Our group met some of the 20 bulls on the farm--E.T., Nacho, Pedro and Fidel. Although the herd of bulls was small enough to be on a first-name basis, there are too many cows to allow such familiarity. Naming 1,000 cows would be tedious, Wilma said, so the cows are tagged on their ears for identification.

The bulls’ horns, as well as the horns of the cows, are removed at birth for safety.

Wilma discussed the role of the veterinarian in animal health care as we headed toward the washing area and the milking barn.

The cows are stationed in the washing area in a sardine-like fashion, which prevents them from running from the water once it is turned on.

The noticeable advancement in milking stations is evident. The Hollandia Dairy workers need not bend over to milk the cows--they can hook them up to milking machines at a comfortable height.

“I’d love to show you the processing plant where the milk goes after it is cooled and put into the tanker trucks,” said Wilma, “But the board of health is opposed to visitors.”

The disappointment wasn’t unbearable, though, as Wilma announced: “We do have ice cream, milk or juice for everyone!”

Hollandia Dairy, 622 E. Mission Road, San Marcos, offers tours for groups or individuals Monday through Friday. It is necessary to call Wilma Anderson, 544-0151, to make arrangements. School, church and scout groups are among those that have taken the tour, which can accommodate wheelchairs.