Discovering Dairy in KC

April 30, 2012 11:38 a.m.

Kansas City kids can learn about dairy cows, farming, milk, cheese making, eggs and delicious dairy products at these local attractions.

Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead

When, Where, What: Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead (13800 Switzer, Overland Park, KS, 913.897.2360). Admission: Mon.-Thu., FREE; Fri.-Sun., $2/person, 1 & under free. The Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead is open daily from 9:00 to 5:00, April 1 to Oct. 31. During the summer (Memorial Day to Labor Day), the farmstead is open until 8:00 on Tuesday and Thursday.
Discover Dairy: Every time we ask KC Parent readers about their favorite family attractions in Kansas City, the Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead always gets a top mention. The farmstead features many wonderful attractions to help children learn and appreciate animals, nature and the outdoors, but one of the highlights is the Dairy Barn. The 5,000-square-foot Dairy Barn is home to calves of the major dairy breeds and Holstein and Jersey/Holstein cows. The Dairy Barn is also home to Rosie, the life-size milking cow model children can milk by hand. Other interactive exhibits help children learn more about dairy.

When, Where, What: Shatto Milk Company (9406 N. Hwy 33, Osborn, MO, 816.930.3862, www.ShattoMilk.com). Explore a working dairy farm and milk bottling company offering tours to groups of any size. Call 816.930.3862 to schedule a tour or attend a special event. Tours are $5/each for ages 2 and up.
Discover Dairy: The Shatto family has farmed their land for more than 120 years, 70 of those as a dairy farm, with the milk bottling company opening in 2003. One thing that sets Shatto apart is that their cows are not treated with growth hormones. And of course, kids love another Shatto trademark… the unique flavors of delicious milk. From start to finish, you’ll witness where milk comes from on a Shatto tour. Children delight in petting calves, milking cows and meeting the famously happy herd. Watch through a window as milk is processed and bottled, and end your tour sampling delightful flavors! Root beer, strawberry, orange crème, banana and traditional whole or chocolate milk are a few delicious flavors of cold, creamy milk. Shatto opened a brand new cheese making facility last year, and visitors now can watch the cheese making process firsthand!

When, Where, What: Green Dirt Farm, (In Weston, MO, 816.386.2156, www.GreenDirtFarm.com). The farm is open for tours Wednesday-Sunday. Tours are $8/each for ages 2 and up. Sturdy closed-toe shoes are important for the pasture walk. Call 816.386.2156 or email tours@GreenDirtFarm.com to make a reservation.
Discover Dairy: Green Dirt Farm is a working sheep farm on the bluffs of the Missouri River Valley and they offer an educational tour unlike any other. Guests learn why grass is the best food for the 150 ewes on the farm, how important healthy soil is to the environment and what makes the cheese so good. Visitors also learn about pasture rotation while watching the dairy sheep graze on the hills. The highlights of the tour though, are the final steps: watching as the sheep are milked and the cheese is made in the kitchen, and tasting samples!

When, Where, What: Bryant Family Farm (In Leavenworth, KS, 913.682.6811, www.BryantFamilyFarm.com). Call to schedule a tour.
Discover Dairy and More: The Bryants have been farming since 2000, producing all-natural grass-fed beef, pasture-raised turkeys and chickens and raw milk. Visitors enjoy touring the operating farm, beginning at the hen house where children see healthy laying hens. Throughout the tour, learn how an alpine buck, milking goats, grass-fed turkeys, grass-fed cattle, chickens and pigs are raised in a natural and healthy environment.

When, Where, What: Homestead Creamery (2059 LIV 506, Jamesport, MO, 660.684.6970). BONUS TIP: Jamesport is a great Family Day Trip! Search for “Jamesport” on www.KCParent.com for more details.
Discover Dairy: The Florys, a Brethren family, operate this Jamesport, MO, dairy and creamery. They raise Jersey cows and make natural-rinded farmstead cheese on site. On Tuesdays, you can watch cheese making. On Saturdays, watch cheese packaging. They provide free samples of the cheeses in their shop. When our family toured the creamery, the Flory girls gave my children a tour of the farm and helped teach them to bottle feed Jersey calves.

Kristina Light’s girls are faithful fans of Shatto’s strawberry milk, a birthday celebration tradition.