EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is from 2015.
There is nothing more miraculous than watching a new life emerge into the world. It’s something everyone should have the chance to witness at least once in a lifetime. With the debut of the Dairy Cow Birthing Center (DCBC) at the New York State Fair two years ago, Rochester-area families can now be part of this unforgettable experience.
Calf and NYS Fair
Spending a morning or afternoon in the DCBC reminds us that Mother Nature moves at her own pace and that sometimes really awesome things are worth the wait. I volunteered at the DCBC last year and I will never forget the growing anticipation I felt as each phase of the black and white, 1,600 lb. Holstein’s labor progressed. Several hours went by like minutes and, when the small hooves finally appeared, there was a visible gasp from all of us who had been patiently watching and waiting. With a few final pushes a damp black and white calf popped out, unceremoniously landing on a pile of hay. After a vigorous licking from his mother’s rough tongue, he tried valiantly to stand on his shaky legs, collapsing several times much to our delight. Once Mom was done cleaning him up, little Boeheim was taken to a separate pen where he was fed her colostrum from a super-sized bottle.
What Exactly is a Dairy Cow Birthing Center?
The Dairy Cow Birthing Center is an interactive exhibit at the New York State Fair where visitors of all ages can get up close and personal with area dairy farmers and their cows. Six New York State farms, all with large herds that milk over 1,000 cows a day, journey to the Fair to share both the birthing process and information about farming with fairgoers during the twelve days that the Fair runs. The cows’ labor is induced the day before they travel so the DCBC volunteers, medical staff, and farmers know approximately when they’ll be calving and there are three live births to look forward to each day.
In 2014, thirty-six calves were born, including one stillborn and one set of twins. Jessica Ziehm, Executive Director of New York Animal Agriculture Coalition and Birthing Center Organizer, explains that another thing that makes this exhibit memorable is the 300-plus volunteers who take time to share their passion for all things dairy with kids and adults. About half of these volunteers are farmers and the other half are involved an agriculture-related business, making the wealth of knowledge under the DCBC tent absolutely phenomenal.
Dick Wright, a third generation dairy cow farmer with a Dairy Science degree from SUNY Cobleskill, is the DCBC’s herdsman. Dick has spent most of his life farming, working three dairy farms, one of which was founded by his grandfather in Duchess County (near Poughkeepsie) in 1934. In 1987 his family moved to Stanley in Ontario County and founded Ellbank Farm, which they ran until Dick semi-retired in 2004. In 2006, he became a Holstein classifier, one of only 22 in the country and, in 2014, he took on the responsibility of “herdsperson” for the NY State Fair exhibit. “I was excited and a little concerned,” he confesses. “I hadn’t milked a cow or delivered a calf in ten years, but they told me it’s just like riding a bicycle; it would all come back to me.” The herdsman is responsible for feeding grain and hay to the mothers-to-be, keeping the pens clean, and general cow care, as well as assisting a cow’s owners and the veterinarian with the birthing process.
Learning About Life on the Farm
Families can find out anything and everything they ever wanted to know about farming and cows at the DCBC. According to Dick, there’s usually someone on the Center’s microphone who is well-qualified to answer all types of questions and explain what’s happening in the tent as well as back on the farm. He especially enjoys seeing the volunteers, the farmers, and the public (with varying degrees of farming knowledge) interacting on the floor, in the bleachers, or leaning against the railing. “There is no such thing as a dumb question,” he says. “We take all kinds!”
Though the DCBC is unusual and exciting for many families, for Dick and the other farmers it’s simply life, encapsulating what they do every day for their large herds. “We can have between four and ten cows calving every day,” he explains. But even though it’s a commonplace sight to him, he still gets a kick out of seeing how enthralled the younger spectators become as the birth progresses. “It’s a thrill for them to see a live birth,” he says. “The mat by the birthing pen is packed with kids and they’ll sit there watching for hours sometimes.” He notes, with a chuckle, that the human mothers in the grandstand often seem to identify with the laboring cow. “They feel her pain, remembering the pain of their own childbirth experience,” he speculates.
One of the most frequent questions those staffing the DCBC hear is “Why isn’t the calf allowed to nurse?” Dick and Jessica explain that this is to both ensure the calf’s health and to make sure the newborn is getting enough high-quality nourishment. “You never know what germs might be on the cow’s teats,” Dick observes. “And we want to make sure that the baby gets two bottles worth of milk right away, one about an hour after the birth and the other shortly afterwards.”
To expand the DCBC’s reach, last year Jessica and her colleagues leveraged the power of social media to make the dairy cow exhibit even more accessible to the public. Posting regular updates on Facebook and Instagram and tweeting frequently, using the “udder miracles” hashtag, Jessica proudly reports that they received an impressive three and a half million impressions. Dick waxes enthusiastic about the text system that was introduced in 2014 as well. Families who were there for the beginning of labor could opt to visit other parts of the Fair and receive a text when the calf was about to emerge so they didn’t miss it. He believes that this increased the DCBC’s visibility without being overwhelming for either the cows or the volunteers. Another goal of partnering the real and virtual worlds was to generate an awareness of New York dairy farming and to form relationships with the public that would continue throughout the year once the Fair was over.
Why Visit?
Not only is the DCBC free, fun, and educational, it also attracted over 213,000 visitors last year, receiving enthusiastic accolades at the State Fair exit poll. “It’s where the farmer meets the city folk at the watering hole,” Mel Chesbro, Agriculture Manager for the Fair, notes. “You can go on the Midway twelve hours a day, every day of the Fair. But a calf is born only at a specific moment in time. If you’re not there, you miss it.” She adds, “It’s real life, not a video or television show. It’s a chance to talk one-on-one with a famer or a veterinarian or someone else who has made a career out of agriculture, a person who is there to give you accurate, up-to-date information.” For Mel this educational aspect of the DCBC is invaluable for children and adults alike. “It’s important that we understand all that goes into that glass of milk you drink,” she declares. “Many people don’t realize that for a cow to produce milk she has to have a calf first. That’s why this initial step is so important.”
The DCBC is also a place where the public can witness firsthand the positive relationship between farmers and their cows. No matter what the size of their farm, dairymen and women are invested in taking excellent care of their animals, Mel says, noting, “What you put into the care of the cows is what you get back and everyone wants healthy calves and high-quality milk.” Dick agrees. “It’s important that people are able to understand that our livelihood consists of taking good care of our cows,” he says. “We want people to see our concern for the animals we raise and the sacrifices we make to care for them as well as to understand the outside factors we, as farmers, struggle with, like the uncertainty of weather and the price of milk.”
Unforgettable Moments
One of Dick’s favorite DCBC stories features a tween. “She was kind of standing back so I went over to talk to her,” he recalls. “She’d never seen a live birth before. Her mom and grandmother were there with her and they told me this young girl wanted to be a veterinarian. I introduced her to the female vet on duty and she was thrilled. You’d have thought I’d introduced her to the President of the United States!” Dick pauses for a moment and you can almost hear him smiling. “I bet she will be a vet when she grows up!”
When & Where
• Dairy Cow Birthing Center New York State Fair, Syracuse
• August 27-September 7
• Open from 10am-10pm (9pm on Labor Day)
For further information visit: www.nyanimalag.org or www.nysfair.org
Sue Henninger is a contributing writer to Rochester & Genesee Valley Parent Magazine. Contact her at www.fingerlakeswriter.com
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