Fair Oaks Dairy Farm

Fair Oaks is in Rensselear, Indiana and it opened up in 2005 or somewhere around there. I know it was after Derek and I were married and before we had kids! We went there with some of Derek's family shortly after it opened up. There wasn't a lot to do then, but it was free and informative...and on the way to Chicago, which is where we were going.

Anyway, it's much bigger now and there is more to do......it's also not free anymore, but the cost isn't too bad. I had kind of forgot about the place until one night a couple years ago when Derek and I were watching DIRTY JOBS on TV. We couldn't believe it, Fair Oaks was on the screen! It was a very interesting episode and of course it made it more fun and interesting since we had been there before.

Since it's only about a 45 minute drive from Lafayette we decided to go there on Friday. I don't think Allie is quite old enough to understand everything or really be all that interested in it, but she still had fun. She got to see cows and play on the little playground. Unfortunately their fun outside activities weren't open yet. I really wanted to see a baby cow being born. There were 7 born while we were there, but we missed them all. There was one little lady that was about to have a baby and I sat there waiting and waiting for something to happen, but it never did. I'm sure she probably had it right after we left. The bus ride was very informative and this is where you learn that the farm is fueled by the cow manure! I had remembered hearing that on Dirty Jobs......there is so much more to see on the show that you don't get to see on the actual farm itself so if you ever watch the Discovery Channel and see Dirty Job look for the Dairy Cow Midwife episode. It's pretty funny! If you want to check out a clip on youtube of Mike Rowe (from Dirty Jobs) helping one of the cows give birth, then check it out here:


Here's pics of our visit:
Anytime Now!
Just missed it
Milking contraption
Papa and Allie trying to figure it out