Dairy in a Box

Come Explore the community of dairy with us! This activity box will provide you and your students with the opportunity to learn the farm-to-table story of dairy products. Dairy in a Box provides standards-based curriculum linked to health and nutrition and science concepts taught in the class while students learn more about their local dairy community.

On the Farm: The first step in the story is to learn about dairy cows on the farm. Choose from the lessons and videos below to show your class. You will be incorporating the Cow Breed Activity and Feed Samples from your kit in these lessons.

1. Cowabunga! All About Dairy Breeds: Students explore breed characteristics and countries of origin for five different breeds of dairy cattle and discover why dairy farmers choose individual breeds for specific purposes. Grades 3-5
   1. Cow Breed Activity is in Activity 1 & 2
2. Energy's Journey from Farm to You: Students discover how plants use energy from the sun to change air and water into matter needed for growth. Using dairy cows as an example, students investigate how animals obtain energy from the plants they eat to produce milk for human consumption. Further exploration is facilitated by a live virtual visit to a dairy farm or the option of viewing a pre-recorded virtual dairy farm tour. Grades 3-5
   1. Feed Sample Activity is in Activity 3
3. The Ultimate Efficient Recycler: Students examine how cows help conserve natural resources by identifying the important role dairy cattle have in reducing, reusing, and recycling food processing by-products. Students identify each stage of the ecological cycle and the important role of decomposers. Grades 3-5
   1. Feed Sample Activity used in the Explore and Explain section
4. Photosynthesis: Energy’s Journey from Farm to You: Explore photosynthesis to discover how plants obtain energy from the sun and then continue following energy's path to see how energy can flow through ecosystems to ultimately provide food for humans. Grades 6-8
   1. Feed Sample Activity is in Activity 3

Farm to Fridge: Now it is time to learn about how milk is transported from the farm to various processing locations. You can incorporate the Timeline Cards while teaching the lesson below or separately. This is also where you will use the Utah/Idaho Map Activity for your students to map out and learn where dairy products are produced and processed in their state. This activity is not directly related to a lesson so the activity is outlined below.