SOMERSET COUNTY, Pa. (WJAC) — Friends and neighbors gathered at the Dividing Ridge Farm for Feed the Cow Day, an event put on by Dividing Ridge Farm to give the community a glimpse into how a dairy farm runs.
"We wanted to invite our friends and neighbors in to learn all about the care we give our cattle and how the cow is the ultimate recycler," said a co-owner of Dividing Ridge Farm, Derek Hillegass.
Feed for the cows is made from human food byproducts like flour, bread and vegetable oil. These byproducts are mixed together with hay and corn to create the utterly perfect blend for the dairy cows.
"Cows can take byproducts of human food production that would end up in a landfill and can take the products and convert them into milk," said Hillegass.
Hillegass hopes this event teaches the community a little bit more about cows and how farmers care for their cattle.
"I hope people, when they come here, that they learn a little bit about dairy farming and that we really do care deeply about our cattle. You know, happy cattle make good milk, lots of milk,” said Hillegass.
It certainly did teach the kids a thing or two.
"The milk comes out of the udders,” said Somerset County resident Josiah Ansell.
Hillegass is hopeful this can become an annual event, which will continue to educate the community.
"If the interest is there, I would gladly put this on every year so that the community can come in and see how their local farm operates,” added Hillegass.
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