Summer at the Dairy-Local and Global

By Dr. Izabella Toledo, University of Florida

UF Dairy Tours

During the Summer of 2025, students from first grade to high school from various organizations chose to visit the University of Florida Dairy Unit (Hague, FL) as one of their summer camp activities!

Students with a tour guide observing dairy cows at the barn.

While at the dairy, students and their chaperones had the chance to simulate what it takes to get milk from farm to table. During the tours, hosted by the UF Department of Animals Sciences faculty members, visitors walked through the barns, learned where and how cows are housed, what they eat, and watched cows being milked in the milking parlor.

These farm visits are complementary to the UF Dairy Family Day at the Dairy Farm event, which is held in early Spring (weather permitting) and brings a large crowd of people interested in learning more about dairy farming and UF dairy research projects.

For more information on tours of the UF Dairy Unit and the UF Dairy Family Day at the Dairy Farm, contact the UF Department of Animal Sciences and follow us on social media.

UF Dairy Unit Hosts International Dairy Producers from Mexico and South America

On July 24^th, 2025, in collaboration with Dr. Bernard from the University of Georgia, the UF Dairy Unit hosted international producers during an afternoon filled with shared knowledge, focused especially on research projects associated with heat stress abatement.

Dr. De Vries and Dr. Toledo with the international visitors at the UF Dairy Unit.

During the visit, guided by Dr. Izabella Toledo, the international producers toured the Dairy Unit facilities, including the barns and the milking parlor, and learned about the farm management, the research projects performed at the UF Dairy Unit and how research findings have helped dairy producers all over the world. The producers also had the opportunity to visit with Dr. Albert De Vries and watch a presentation given by Dr. Izabella Toledo on the use of “smart technologies” to cool dairy cows.

The UF Dairy has a long tradition of welcoming visitors and is proud to share their dairy research program, which is one of the largest in the country.

Find more information about the UF/IFAS Department of Animal Sciences on our website. Stay in touch with us on Facebook, X, and Instagram. Read more on UF/IFAS ANS here: http://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/animalsciencesdept/.