School Tour and Laboratory Experiences

Tours of Alban Dairy, Clark Feeders, Depot Feedlot, Marshall Dairy, and United Feeders are available upon request for all students K-12 in addition to College and Technical school classes. Tours last around an hour depending on the site. 

High school, College and Technical School classes can participate in hands-on laboratory experiences. A few of the options are listed and available upon request. 

Dairy Nutrition Experience
1. To provide an overview of the Riverview feeding systems as applied to growing dairy cattle from calves to multiple lactation cows
2. Identify classes and sources of nutrients
3. Provide background in sourcing feeds
4. Quality test a feed ration with Penn State Shaker Boxes
5. Large scale animal feeding schedule and equipment

Dairy Mastitis and Milking Experience
1. Overview and tour of carousel at Darnen Dairy Site to show all aspects of milking procedure, as well as mastitis detection and treatments
2. Provide an overview of the cause, symptoms, and treatment of mastitis
3. Students will understand how mastitis is diagnosed and procedures used at Riverview to move that animal into the hospital
4. Provide an opportunity for students to milk the mastitis cows, focusing on safety in the parlor

Dairy Dry Cow Experience
1. Discuss the lactation curve and insemination schedule and how they correlate with dry cow status
2. Students will understand the intramuscular vaccinations given to cows as well as how to preg-check the cows
3. Students will understand the procedure for drying off the cows in the parlor, including the antibiotic for the udder as well as the dry sealant injected in the udder
4. Students will understand movement to the transition barn and the cycle back to milking status
5. Students will understand the milking procedure and protocol

Artificial Insemination Experience
1. To give an overview of the process of artificial insemination and marking procedures related to cattle
2. Understand the signs of estrus and timing of insemination
3. To gain an understanding of the proper methods of handling and thawing frozen semen
4. To provide "hands on" experience passing an AI pipette through the cervix to the proper site of semen deposition in cattle
5. Students will be able to identify all tools used in the insemination process
6. Students will be introduced to our record keeping system and insemination of dairy and beef semen
7. Students will understand heat detection and marking procedures
8. Describe preg-check procedures - 25 and 100 days