A couple of weeks ago my daughter and I were invited to visit the Shamrock Farms dairy farm. I have lived in Arizona my entire life and this was my first visit to their farm. We had an amazing experience.
The farm began in 1922 with just 22 cows. It is now the largest family owned farm in the Southwest and is currently in operation under their third family generation. The farms sees 10 to 12 thousand visitors each year. Each visitor at the farm has access to Roxie’s barn, a large space filled with plenty of learning opportunities. I really enjoyed learning about the farm history.
We boarded a tram for the tour and were able to see all the areas of the farm. The tour guide was very informative. My daughter is four years old and this tour was packed full of great opportunities to teach her about the importance of eating well.
She was intrigued by everything she learned about the cows. Did you know each cow consumes 35 gallons of water and 100 pounds of food to make 8.5 gallons of milk each day?
My daughter had so much fun at the playground. Her favorite thing to do there was slide out of the cottage cheese tub.
After our stop at the playground, we went inside for a view of the cows being milked. Touching the pipes to feel the warm and cold milk running from the milking area was neat.
Next we received a close up view of the sisterhood, the hundreds of cows that call the Shamrock Farm their home.
Each cow stays with the same herd their entire life. These girls really are a sisterhood!
Our next stop was to feed the calves. This was absolutely my daughter’s favorite part of our day!
We went back to Roxie’s barn for lunch. Would a day at the farm really be complete with out a chocolate milk toast and ice cream?
One of my favorite experiences of our day was getting to sample the new Shamrock Farms flavored sour creams. They are delicious and I’m already thinking about the fun recipes I will be using to incorporate the new products.
We had a great day at the farm! I came home and went straight to the grocery store to stock our refrigerator with milk. I have no difficulty getting my daughter to drink milk and she is a big fan of Shamrock Farms Calcium Plus Milk. I love that it’s her preferred milk because she is getting 100 percent more calcium per 8 ounce serving than in regular milk. My husband says it tastes creamier and my daughter is now an even bigger fan because she saw the cows it comes from!
We will definitely be back out for another visit soon!
To learn more about Shamrock Farms and touring their farm, connect with them on Facebook and Twitter.
Disclosure: I received a complimentary tour and participation in activities from Shamrock Farms but all opinions are my own.
What a fun day!