The word “harvest” often goes hand in hand with the word “gather.” Over the past year, the Dairy Excellence Foundation has been focused on gathering future consumers, the next generation of dairy producers and industry partners around the table to offer creative programming that bolsters food literacy. From the elementary school teacher who uses Adopt A Cow to connect her students – for the first time – with where their food comes from to the college student who takes a big leap and travels 14 hours away from home to explore her dream of being a dairy herd manager, the Dairy Excellence Foundation’s programs are stirring up inspiration and engagement in a stronger tomorrow for our dairy industry and for the young people who will be a part of it. 

With more than 2.1 million students reached worldwide, support from our donors and partners over this past year has helped the foundation continue to expand its reach and harvest the future of dairy. We are committed to moving the needle with consumer education and workforce development across the dairy industry: 

  • The Adopt A Cow program has impacted 9.4-plus million students across the globe since 2020, approaching 10 million students for the 2026-27 school year. 
  • 24% of Adopt A Cow teachers said they observed their students eating more dairy.
  • 64% of Adopt A Cow teachers said students were talking about dairy more often.
  • 38,143 high school students were impacted through Dairy Leaders of Tomorrow in subject areas like dairy technologies, dairy herd management and more.
  • Eight students completed on-farm internships during the summer of 2025, with more planning to complete internships in 2026.
  • $43,000 given to scholarship recipients with partner support.

Take a look at some of the faces that make up the Dairy Excellence Foundation’s legacy and help drive the work we do all year long.

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The Adopt a Cow program has impacted 9.4-plus million students across the globe since 2020, approaching 10 million students for the 2026-27 school year. Image courtesy of the Center for Dairy Excellence.

Consumer education: Stirring up food literacy for elementary and middle school students

The foundation’s Discover Dairy and Adopt A Cow programs continue to experience monumental growth each year thanks to our partners’ support and the passion dairy farmers have for sharing their stories. By introducing the world of dairy farming to students in creative ways, the Foundation is stirring up food literacy and lifelong connections to where their food comes from.

  • Lifelong connections to farmers in their area. “Thank you so much to the Dairy Excellence Foundation. In my 20 years of teaching, I have never enjoyed a program as much as Adopt A Cow. My students have enjoyed it, and we were thrilled to go visit our adopted cow in May,” shared Victoria, an elementary school teacher. 
  • Nutrition connections. “We’ve been using the Adopt A Cow program for incentives for the kids to be good while in our cafeteria as well as encourage them to drink milk. I have enjoyed seeing the kids look at the pictures, ask questions and just be happy,” shared Paula Satterfield, who works in food services at a Tennessee elementary school cafeteria.
  • Community connections. “The kids were able to get milk not only in our food cupboard for almost the entire year, but they raised so much money that we actually started donating milk to a local assisted living facility for senior members. And the Adopt A Cow program helps us talk about the milk process and how it goes from cow to carton. We’ve been able to use our calf to make those connections. Students love the updates and seeing the pictures,” shared Monica Chamberlain, a sixth-grade teacher from New York.

The Adopt A Cow program is now open for enrollment. This free program is an exciting, yearlong experience for classrooms across the country. Throughout the program, students get an inside look at dairy farming and are paired with a calf from a working U.S. dairy farm. They receive progress updates, photos of the cow, live chats from the farm, activity sheets, suggested lessons that follow Common CORE standards and even opportunities to write letters to their calf. All updates are easily accessible via an online portal and app for Apple and Android. Enroll in the free program anytime from May 1 through Jan. 31. Enroll by Sept. 1 to get a mailed welcome packet! Visit online to learn more.

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Workforce development: Paving the way for young dairy professionals

The Dairy Excellence Foundation paves the way for college students and young dairy professionals. From on-farm internships to scholarships that allow them to commit to professional development at the Pennsylvania Dairy Summit, these opportunities help them grow and discover their passions.

  • On-farm experience. “I knew I wanted to experience as much as possible before vet school. But I grew up on a smaller dairy farm, so I wanted to gain a larger dairy farm experience. I love to dive in and get my hands dirty. My host farm was nothing but welcoming to that. That forced me out of my comfort zone. Even though I was only there short term, they still taught me everything. They fully involved me in all the operations,” shared Payton Eirman, a student at Delaware Valley University who completed an on-farm internship.
  • Networking opportunities. “I found great value in my experience at the Pennsylvania Dairy Summit. There was a unique combination of dairy farmers and industry professionals who discussed both types of careers. There was great exposure to different types of farms, the future of dairy products and the current topics in the industry. I would definitely encourage any young professional who wants to be involved in the dairy industry to attend,” said Sara Kennedy, a student at Penn State and a Young Dairy Professionals Scholarship recipient.
  • Financial support. “Being awarded this scholarship allows me to focus more on school, clubs and the countless opportunities that come with them. It provides the financial support I need to explore different avenues within the agricultural industry and helps me pursue the career I’m passionate about,” said Ainsley Sellers, a student at Penn State and a Student Leader Scholarship recipient.

Agriculture educators are also planting the seeds of tomorrow by helping high school students explore careers in agriculture. Through the foundation’s Dairy Leaders of Tomorrow (DLT) program, we provide dairy-centered courses, scholarships and direct on-farm learning experiences to students who want dairy farming to be part of their future.

“I like the DLT curriculum. I think it’s simple to use, it’s simple to follow, and it’s just good information that matches a lot of what we’re teaching here. Dairy is one of our predominant agricultural commodities in Massachusetts. The farm down the road from us has a robotic calf feeding and robotic milking program. We connect that to the technology section of the DLT program. We’re able to relate what they’re doing in the classroom to other things in the field and other farms in the area,” shared Beth Evangelista, an agriculture educator and FFA advisor in Massachusetts. 

Visit our website to sign up for the free program for the 2026-27 school year or share with an agriculture teacher you know. 

While the foundation reaches more than 2.1 million students across the U.S., this is only a fraction – 2% – of the students that we need to reach. The vast majority of the remaining 98% have little to no connection to where their food comes from or to the dairy farm families who produce it. Learn more about how you can get involved with these programs and support our mission.