In an age where the media and animal rights activists continually get the agriculture story wrong, it’s increasingly important for producers to connect to their consumers. Dairy Days is a program that just does that, and producers kept busy educating consumers about dairy production at a recent event.

Leigh Anderson and Kimi Bassett are dairy interpreters at the Lake Metroparks Farmpark in Kirtland. No, they are not cheese whisperers, nor do they speak butter. What they interpret is the minutiae of livestock and farm life for the city folk who frequent the Farmpark. They were kept especially busy during the Farmpark’s Dairy Days event this past weekend.

Anderson and Bassett hosted a cow-milking contest Sunday, much to the joy of the young children assembled and the chagrin of Annabelle, the 3-year-old Ayrshire who was milked by a series of amateurs. First, Anderson had the kids simulate the motion on their downturned thumbs. After their introduction to the world of lactation, the kids went for the udder with gusto. In addition to milking Annabelle, the Dairy Days included demonstrations on how to make ice cream and yogurt, a cheese tasting and a display of milk-bottle and butter-churn collections. (Photo courtesy of Ohio News Herald)

To read the entire article, link to Jason Lea’s article in the Ohio News Herald.