Fair Oaks Farms Gives Visitors a Moo-ving Experience
business, cows, dairy products, education, fair oaks farms, family fun, food,
Cows, dairy products, education and fun come together at Fair Oaks Farms, one of the country’s largest dairies and a growing northwest Indiana agri-tourism destination. Fair Oaks Farms features all kinds of family fun activities, from a climbing wall in the shape of a giant milk bottle to a look inside a birthing barn where about 80 calves are born every day. New in 2008, Mooville – another family attraction – adds to the fun.
And there are also education activities that combine fun with learning. “We also have a visitors center with interactive exhibits, a 3D and 4D movie theater and a 45-minute bus tour of the dairy where people can see the cows being milked,” says Julie Basich, Fair Oaks Farms general manager. “We have more than 32,000 cows on 10 sites,” Basich says.
Taking good care of those 32,000 cows is a top priority at Fair Oaks Farms. So are eco-friendly farming practices and producing high-quality products.
“We have three core messages that we try to get across to our visitors,” Basich says. “Number one is: What’s good for the cow? Two is: What’s good for the environment? Three is: What’s good for you?. We try through the whole experience to educate our guests in a fun environment. We call it edu-tainment.”
Another “edu-taining” facet of Fair Oaks Farms is its on-site Cheese Factory, which allows guests to witness world-class cheeses in the making. Among the award-winning creations is an aged Gouda produced by Fair Oaks cheese-meister Randy Krahenbuhl, who won the Cheese and Butter Grand Champion of the World Dairy Expo in 2007.
The Cheese Factory includes a café and a store. For more information, visit www.fofarms.com.
Story by Carol Cowan
