McKenzie McCaskill, left, poses with a calf so his mother, Nicole Shortter, can snap a quick photo. Brother Makai McCaskill was also with them. (Photo by Sarah Wright)

MILFORD — Today, June 18, marked the first day for the Northern Indiana Dairy Trail, which celebrates not only the Indiana’s dairy industry and Dairy Month, but the bicentennial. The trail features 12 host farms, which are located throughout Elkhart, Kosciusko, LaGrange, Marshall, Noble and St. Joseph counties.

Today in Kosciusko County, the public was able to tour two Milford area dairies: Beer Dairy Inc., located on North Orn Road, and Gingerich Dairy LLC, located on North CR 400W. Both farms highlighted how technology has changed dairy farms, increasing productivity while also improving cows’ well-being.

Regg Beer pets one of his family’s dairy cows while guiding a tour group through the milking cow barn. (Photo by Sarah Wright)

Beer Dairy held guided tours, showcasing its milk house and parlor, dry cow barn, milking cow barn, maternity pens, heifer barn and calf barn. Along the way, tour guides shared how the bedding sand is separated from manure and then reused, how feed is prepared and how the farm’s retention pond and lagoons protect the environment.

Fred and Pat Beer started the family-owned farm in 1974 and today operate with their two sons and their families — Jeff and Heidi Beer (son Tyler) and Regg and Bev Beer (sons Tucker, Cooper and Colton).

“It started as Jerry Goshert’s — with the Farmer’s Exchange — idea,” Regg Beer, who led some of the tours at Beer Dairy, said of the Northern Indiana Dairy Trail. “They formed a committee and began inviting farms to participate. The committee did all the logistics to get it done.”

Phil Gingerich, of Gingerich Dairy, stated, “I wasn’t excited (at first). I expected 50 people at most to show up, but they’d planned for 400.” And sure enough the public poured in to take a self-guided tour around the dairy, leading Gingerich to say, “It’s been fun. It’s good to show people what we do and how we do it.”

Gingerich Dairy is a third generation, family-owned dairy that dates back to 1955 when John and Mary Ellen Gingerich purchased the farm. Brothers Phil and Merrill Gingerich later took over operations when their father, John, retired. In 2013, Jeremy Byler, Phil’s son-in-law, joined the dairy bringing in the third generation.

At Gingerich Dairy visitors explored the milk house and parlor, learned about dairy cow nutrition and nutrient recycling and visited the maternity ward and baby calves.

Phil Gingerich points out technology in his family’s milk parlor that tracks the milk production of each cow. (Photo by Sarah Wright)

Both farms had plenty of help on hand — including local 4-Hers — to guide visitors and answer their questions, from how much milk is produced in a day to how long cows live.

Technology also intrigued visitors. The Beer Dairy featured a cross ventilated barn, which visitors enjoyed just as much as the cows since it felt like it was air-conditioned. The barn achieves it cool interior using cooling pads along one wall that water runs through; fans along the opposite wall then blow air into those cooling pads. In the winter the water is turned off and curtains are put down to keep the interior toasty.

Other technologies on display included pedometers, which track milk production, monitor each cow’s activity, communicate with the dairy’s computer and alert to potential health issues; automatic manure scrappers; self-feeders for calves; and other modern farm equipment.

Children in particular relished being able to interact with the calves and cows. Anna Robertson, 9, came to Gingerich Farm from Warsaw and enjoyed letting the cows lick her hand, stating, “(Normally) I see cows on the way to school.”

After the tours, people could enjoy various dairy products — including ice cream, yogurt, cheese and milk — at both farm locations.

The open houses lasted from noon until 5 p.m. More opportunities will be available to visit dairies along the trail. In Kosciusko County, a Syracuse diary — Oneeda Farm — will be holding its open house from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, June 25. The dairy is located at 71957 CR 35, Syracuse.

For information, visit www.dairytrail.com.