For more than a decade, the New York Animal Agriculture Coalition (NYAAC) has welcomed uddermiracles into the world during the New York State Fair. Thank you for joining us in person and from afar. We are grateful for the opportunity that we provide our visitors with meeting farmers, asking questions, and engaging in conversations about dairy farming and dairy products.
The Dairy Cow Birthing Center doesn’t happen without Host Farms. We welcomed six Host Farms this year and are eternally grateful for the time they provided before, during, and after the State Fair. Thank you, El-Vi Farms, Porterdale Farms, North Harbor Dairy, Beck Farms, Scipio Springs Dairy, and LT Smith & Sons.
Local and state leaders always find time to visit the Dairy Cow Birthing Center. Thank you to Commissioner of Agriculture, Richard Ball, for making the West End a key part of his day when showing elected leaders the importance of the agriculture industry.
Not only is the mission of NYAAC to help people understand and appreciate animal agriculture, but it’s a goal of the Dairy Cow Birthing Center, too. We encourage questions from our visitors and are very thankful for the nearly 200 farmers and industry volunteers that spend thousands of hours making this exhibit a success.
Veterinarian volunteers spend their time ensuring the health and safety of the cows and calves are top priority. This year we welcomed 13 veterinarians that spent time at the Dairy Cow Birthing Center. Some of these volunteers also spent time inspiring aspiring veterinarians and encouraging them to pursue a career in veterinary medicine.
New this year was offering some additional programs for our visitors to participate in during their visit to the Dairy Cow Birthing Center. We welcomed industry professionals, agriculture organizations, and veterinarians to moderate and implement programs allowing people to learn additional information, in a variety of ways.
A key goal of the Dairy Cow Birthing Center is to help people understand that the birth of calf signifies the start of milk production. It’s a full circle conversation in our exhibit and we’re glad to have been able to offer some delicious dairy products at our store again this year.
There are three people that focus 100% on the cows during the 13-day State Fair. Thank you to the herdspeople that helped deliver calves, feed cows, vaccinate, feed calves, document details, milk cows, and provide top notch care all day long.
We welcomed 37 calves into the world this year including Holsteins, Jerseys, some crossbreeds, and even a red & white Holstein.
