From making butter to petting calves, students and visitors were treated to to a fun experience during the Dairy Day celebrations on Monday.
“A lot of work goes into maintaining the quality of the milk and the cows at Cornell,” said Hailey Pipher ’19, who as the New York State Dairy Princess, is responsible for promoting milk and dairy products across New York state with American Dairy Association North East for this year.
“We are at the pinnacle place of where a lot of discoveries are made for innovation to allow the dairy industry to grow,” Pipher told The Sun.
According to Stephanie McBath ’19, public relations co-chair of the Cornell Dairy Science Club, the organizer of Dairy Day, the event has previously been hosted at the Cornell Livestock Pavilion, but this year, the location was changed to Stocking Hall, which houses the Cornell Dairy Bar.
Aside from showcasing Cornell’s agriculture, the event also aimed to generate funding for the club’s international trips to places like California, Italy and China, according to McBath.
Dairy Day has also traditionally been a platform to market the cow auction, which usually takes place on the following day and has attracted farmers in New York State and even abroad.
According to McBath, in past years, New York State dairy farmers would send their cows to Cornell to be taken care of for a week for an auction and the club would get portion of the proceeds.
This year, the auction has gone online as the New York State dairy economy is in a “tough spot,” McBath said. However, she looks forward to returning the old sales format and hosting a live sale in October.
“The milk prices are really low across the United States and because the market is really saturated right now, many farmers are unwilling to buy more animals, so we decided to do it online,” McBath said.
According to the club’s Facebook post, online bidding will begin from April 25 to April 27.
“Farmers could watch and place their bid on the cow from their computers, it’s also more convenient,” Pipher said.
Outside of Stocking Hall, two calves in the pen were in the limelight surrounded by students and many toddlers with their parents.
Many participants lined up to sample and purchase ice cream, milk and souvenirs at the dairy bar, including families attending Cornell Days.
“I didn’t know that people are that passionate about dairy,” Lauren Park, a pre-freshman who was visiting for Cornell Days, told The Sun.