Madonna Nutrition Students Spend a Day on a Dairy Farm

LIVONIA, MICH. - On Friday, September 25, eight Madonna University graduate nutrition students took a trip to find out how a glass of milk gets from the farm to the table.

These students, joined by assistant professor and program director Tina Miller, took a bus to Horning Family Farms in Manchester, Michigan. At the farm, family farmer Kaitlyn Horning guided them through an average day in the life of dairy cows, from calves to full-grown cattle. The visit was arranged by Milk Means More, which is a check-off organization for Michigan dairy farmers.

The students are enrolled in Madonna's MS Nutrition and Dietetics Coordinated Program which helps in preparing Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDNs) for work in clinical, community, athletic corporate settings.

As future dietitians, their goal is to spend their careers helping people make informed choices about the food they eat. By visiting a working dairy farm, it gives them a chance to see what a farmer's day actually looks like.

One of the biggest surprises was just how much technology goes into keeping modern dairy chugging along. Horning Family Farms uses it to manage milk production and track the health of every cow in the herd. As these students learned, a dairy cow needs to be happy and comfortable to produce fluid milk. At each stage of life, a dairy cow's diet is planned with care and attention to make sure that the cows are receiving all of the nutrients that they require from the cow feed which is affectionately known as "cow casserole".

Milk Means More provides health professionals and consumers with reliable information about nutrition, especially the benefits of dairy foods. Miller called the visit "an excellent experience" and added that, "yes, chocolate milk is the perfect sports recovery beverage."