STAMFORD, N.Y. (Sept. 26, 2022) – As part of an ongoing effort to help families understand where their food comes from, thousands of students from across the country will have the opportunity to visit a dairy farm in the Hudson Valley without ever leaving their classroom.
American Dairy Association North East is teaming up with Albano Farms in Stamford, N.Y., for two free virtual farm tours on Friday, Sept. 30. A deep-dive tour geared toward students in grades 6-12 will take place at 10:30 a.m., while kindergarten through fifth graders can tune in for a general tour at 12:30 p.m. These exciting and live tours will give students a chance to learn directly from dairy farmers about life on the farm, how farmers care for their cows and how dairy foods are produced in a sustainable way.
Along with the virtual tour, American Dairy Association North East is providing free lesson plans for participating schools. That means the tours are not only engaging and fun for students, but they also meet curriculum standards.
“I’m excited to host our first Virtual Farm Tour,” says dairy farmer and tour host Frank Albano of Albano Farms. “Welcoming students and teachers to our farm virtually will help them understand how milk gets from our farm to their fridge and school,” Albano said. “It’s exciting for me because showing young people where their food comes from is important to me as a farmer.”
American Dairy Association North East has been working with local dairy farmers to bring their farms to the classroom since 2018, which has included visits to seven other New York dairy farms, including Dutch Hollow Farm in nearby Rensselaer County.
Virtual farm tours have grown in popularity as an informative and engaging activity for students. Previously recorded tours, with more than 500,000 views, are available here.
To register for this tour or other upcoming tours, visit www.AmericanDairy.com/Tour.