1. Idaho Dairy
Today we are going to learn about Idaho daries.
Display the first slide in the PowerPoint and introduce the lesson: Idaho’s Dairy Products. Ask the following focus questions: “How many of you had a dairy product for breakfast this morning? Where do dairy products fit into a balanced, healthy meal? Why is dairy production important to Idaho citizens?”
Idaho Beef Council (2010). Idaho Beef Council - Educators. Retrieved April 22, 2013, from

2. Cattle: A Description
Bovine is a fancy word for any type of cattle. Cows are females, calves are babies, and bulls are males.
All together, cows, calves, and bulls are called cattle.
Read and discuss the slide.
Cow and Calf
Bull

3. Dairy Cattle vs. Beef Cattle
Dairy Cattle are raised to produce milk.
Beef Cattle are raised to produce meat and other by-products.
Holstein Dairy Cows
Black Angus Beef Cows
Read and discuss the slide.
“In Idaho, there are many beef and dairy cattle. In fact, raising cattle contributes more money to Idaho’s economy than any other agricultural industry. Beef cattle are raised to be processed into beef and a variety of by-products, but dairy cattle are raised to produce milk. Most dairy cattle in Idaho are black and white Holsteins, while most beef cattle are Angus.”
Idaho Beef Council (2010). Idaho Beef Council - Educators. Retrieved April 22, 2013, from
Today we are going to focus on dairy cattle.

4. Origins of Cattle
Cattle have been one of the main sources of food for human civilization.
Evidence is found in cave paintings.
Read and discuss the slide. This is a cave painting of early humans’ view of the aurochs, a primitive bovine/cow.
An aurochs is “an extinct large long-horned wild ox of Europe that is the wild ancestor of domestic cattle.”
Slide information from: Dairy Farmers of Washington (2013). Cattle Throughout History. Retrieved April 25, 2013, from

5. Domestication of Cattle
Cattle were domesticated approximately 10,000 years ago by early humans.
Since humans could now raise their own cattle, more and more people had easy access to their products such as milk and meat (beef).
Read and discuss the slide. Ask students if they know what domestication means. It is to tame a wild plant or animal for human use. Once cattle were domesticated, the early humans no longer had to go hunting for that type of animal resource. This meant that humans didn’t have to follow that food supply around; they could settle in one place. This picture is an old Egyptian hieroglyphic painting showing an early instance of a domesticated animal (cow being milked).
D'Artagnan (2013). Beef: A Brief History. Retrieved April 22, 2013, from

6. Cattle in the United States
In the early 1600s, immigrants brought cattle with them from Europe to provide dairy products and meat for their families.
It wasn’t until the 1800s that breeds of cattle were specifically developed for dairy purposes.
Read and discuss the slide.
Additional teacher information: “In the early 1600s immigrants brought cattle with them from Europe to supply their families with dairy products and meat. Although many different breeds of cattle were imported through the next few centuries (including Durhams, Ayrshires, Guernseys, Jerseys, and Brown Swiss) it was not until the late 1800s that cattle breeds were developed specifically for dairy purposes.
In rural America, milk and milk products were made primarily for home or local use. However, with the movement of population from the farms to the cities at the turn of the century, it became necessary to mass produce and improve the quality of milk. Significant inventions such as commercial milk bottles, milking machines, tuberculin tests for cattle, pasteurization equipment, refrigerated milk tank cars, and automatic bottling machines contributed towards making milk a healthful and commercially viable product.”
USDA National Agriculture Library (2013, April 23 modified). Early Developments in the American Dairy Industry | Special Collections. Retrieved April 25, 2013, from
Devon cows were some of the first breeds of cattle brought to the United States by early immigrants.

7. Dairy Cattle in Idaho
The top counties where milk is produced in Idaho today are:
Cassia
Jerome
Gooding
Twin Falls
Lincoln
Canyon
Ada
Owyhee
Read and discuss the slide. Look at the map together. Compare your county with the counties where milk is produced – how close/far are you? What do you notice about the top milk producing counties? They are all in the Southwest/South Central part of the state.

8. Idaho Dairy Facts Dairy is Idaho’s #1 agriculture business.
Idaho ranks in the top four milk producing states.
Idaho ranks as the third largest producer of natural cheese.
If Idahoans had to drink all the milk produced in the state every man, woman, and child would have to drink 40 glasses of milk every day of the year!
Read and discuss the slide. Be sure students understand the statistics. What other agriculture businesses are in Idaho? Allow students time to raise their hands and name as many as they can. We’ve just mentioned a lot of agriculture business we have in Idaho – that means that dairy is a very large industry for our state.

9. The Journey of Milk Video
Next we are going to watch a video that shows the dairy industry all the way from raising the cows to getting the dairy products in stores. After the video, I will be highlighting some of the facts from the video individually, which will be helpful in completing your assignment.
Although this video was produced in Colorado, this is the same process used in Idaho.
(Video also available at:

10. Dairy Farms: The Original Recyclers
Recycling happens on a dairy farm in a few ways.
Water is recycled.
Manure is used to fertilize corn fields. The corn will later be used to feed the cows.
Some dairies turn the manure into compost to be sold.
Read and discuss the slide.
Water -- Some dairies recycle the water they use and use the water wisely. Recycled water is used to clean stalls and water fields to grow crops that will later be used to feed the cows.
Manure – Cow pies are manure that is turned into fertilizer to add to the soil to grow the crops that are added to the cows’ food.
Compost – Some dairies turn the manure into compost to be bought by consumers to fertilize their gardens.
Western Dairy Association (2010). Video: The Journey of Milk [Video file]. Retrieved from

11. Milking the Cows
Cows are milked 2-3 times every day for 4 minutes by an automated milking machine.
One cow can give up to 8 gallons of milk each day.
The milk is over 100°when it comes out of the cow.
Read and discuss the slide. Possible questions to ask:
How many gallons of milk does your family drink in one day? How long would it take your family to go through 7 gallons of milk? Would you like to drink milk that is 100°? Remember that your normal body temperature is less than that at around 98.6°.
Western Dairy Association (2010). Video: The Journey of Milk [Video file]. Retrieved from

12. Milk’s Journey from the Cow
The 100°milk is instantly chilled to 40°to keep it fresh.
The milk is then transferred to a bulk tank.
From the bulk tank, milk is pumped into an insulated milk tanker truck to be delivered to a processing plant.
At the processing plant:
Milk is pasteurized to kill microorganisms.
Milk is put into jugs or bottles or made into yogurt or cheese.
Dairy products are shipped a short distance to consumers.
Read and discuss the slide. Milk is tested several times from the time it leaves the cow until it is packaged to be sure it is safe. Also, pasteurization is the process of making milk really hot for a short period of time in order to kill microorganisms like bacteria.
Western Dairy Association (2010). Video: The Journey of Milk [Video file]. Retrieved from

13. Nutrition Facts
Dairy foods provide a powerful package of eight essential nutrients – including calcium, potassium, phosphorus, protein, vitamins D, A, B12, and riboflavin.
Calcium helps build strong bones and teeth. It is also needed so muscles, like your heart, can contract.
Read and discuss slide. It is important to consume dairy foods every day. Consuming the recommended servings of dairy foods reduce the risk of bone fractures in growing children.
Nutrition Summary: 1 cup of 1% fluid fortified milk is HIGH IN calcium, phosphorus, riboflavin, vitamin D is a GOOD SOURCE of protein, potassium, and vitamin B-12.

14. “3-Every-Day”
This is the easiest way to remember that three daily servings of milk, cheese, or yogurt will help most children and adults meet calcium needs while supplying an abundance of other essential nutrients.
Read and discuss slide. I want everyone to stop and think about what you ate yesterday. Did you get your 3 servings of dairy? What are some ways we can be sure that we get our “3-Every-Day”?
This link will take you to the United Dairymen of Idaho’s page that discusses “3-Every-Day.”
Nutrition Summary: 1 cup of 1% fluid fortified milk is HIGH IN calcium, phosphorus, riboflavin, vitamin D is a GOOD SOURCE of protein, potassium, and vitamin B-12.
One milk group serving is equivalent to:
1 cup (8 ounces) of milk or yogurt
1 ½ ounces of natural cheese (mozzarella or cheddar)

15. Activity
Now you are going to summarize the production journey of dairy products by writing a paragraph describing the step by step journey milk takes from producer to consumer. Be sure to use proper grammar, mechanics, spelling, and transition words.
Hand out the assignment and go over the instructions with the students. Be sure that all students understand the assignment. Depending on where you are with the instruction of writing, you may need to discuss or brainstorm a list of transition words with students. Teachers should also decide ahead of time if students will be completing the sequencing activity individually, with buddy groups, small groups, or as a class with the teacher facilitating.
An adaptation is also included for students who need more support in gathering information from the PowerPoint or writing the paragraph. Providing the video at computer stations around the room in which they can pause and replay specific videos may provide extra support for students.