Fulfilling bucket lists

DES MOINES, Iowa — Visitors to the Iowa State Fair had the opportunity to embark on something that was new, old, or even everyday for some — milking a cow by hand.

I Milked a Cow is an experience put together by the Iowa State University Dairy Science Club for all ages to hand milk a cow at the Iowa State Fair. The IMAC program has been going on for a number of years, tracing back at least to the 1960s. It took a break during the early 21st century, but started again in 2014.

“A lot of (people) don’t have that experience and some of them say, ‘It’s on my bucket list,’” said Elle Ruffner, IMAC committee chair. “I have people ages anywhere from 3-85 come over and say they’ve wanted to do this all day or ‘I’ve wanted to do this, it’s been on my bucket list for years.’”

Ruffner has been the chair for the past year and is the main contact for anything related to the cows, as well as organizing volunteers to help at the state fair.

“I have a great group of volunteers from the dairy science club at Iowa State University,” Ruffner said. “They just really get involved, really love the cows themselves (and) really love talking to kids.”

Visitors of the Iowa State Fair had the opportunity to hand-milk one of three cows that were brought for the IMAC program. Typically, Ruffner said they bring four cows from different farms, but this year the cows are from ISU in Ames.

The cows arrived at the state fair Aug. 6 and returned to the farm Aug. 17.

“It takes a lot of effort and a lot of planning months out in advance,” Ruffner said. “It’s one of those things that you have to stick with to be a success. I have a lot of great volunteers who do a lot of great work and they are always willing to jump on my crazy ideas.”

In the dairy barn each cow has its own stall for visitors to take their turn at hand milking the cows.

The cows get milked three times a day on the farm, but during the state fair, the three cows were milked by hand three times a day by numerous participants during each session. They were then finished in the on-site parlor if needed.

During the fair, if the volunteers and Ruffner think it is getting too hot weather-wise for the cows, it is cancelled and the cows are milked in the parlor.

“Our greatest athletes are the cows themselves,” Ruffner said. “They stand patiently for about two hours each session. We rotate them out obviously, but they are troopers.”

During each session, volunteers taught participants how to properly hand-milk the cows. Ruffner said participants were also educated on cleaning, where milk is stored in the udder, what the teats do and other facts about cows. They could also pet the cows and ask questions.

“I have had kids who have told me, ‘I have never seen a cow before,’ or they don’t know where milk comes from,” Ruffner said. “It’s just eye opening … how far (removed) our city kids are from where our farm kids are. It’s really helpful to see that connection from farm to table.”

This also gives the dairy science club members a way to reach out and be with the community, Ruffner said.

“That people aspect is incredibly important when you want to be an outreach source,” Ruffner said.

As part of the committee chair’s duties, Ruffner helped halter break the three cows that were brought to the state fair. Ruffner said she was not introduced to dairy cattle until she went to college, so this was a new experience.

“They are kind of like giant dogs now,” Ruffner said.

Being able to educate visitors during the Iowa State Fair has been a highlight for Ruffner, she said.

“The light on a kid’s face when they find out where milk comes from, or they’ve never seen a cow and they start asking questions that’s my favorite part,” Ruffner said. “It’s just so encouraging. Kids try something that they might be scared of or they might not know, and getting kids to ask questions about what they don’t know … that’s my favorite.”