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A year-long FREE experience in your classroom

Forget the guinea pig. How about adopting a 100-pound dairy calf for your classroom mascot by joining the Adopt A Cow program? Don’t worry about finding a pen big enough to hold her. The photos and stories we’ll send you about her life on the farm will make her “come alive” for your students! The best part? It is FREE!

Read why other teachers love the Adopt A Cow program…

Connect students during virtual and in-person learning.

“This program was definitely a blessing. It gave my students something to look forward to. Even when we were back in person, there were some kids who were still doing online learning. The Adopt a Cow program was a good way to connect all of us, whether we were at home or in the classroom. Kids love animals, so it was a great way for them to engage and learn new facts.” –Fredie Boudrie, Summit School teacher in Phoenix, Arizona

Click here to read Fredie’s story.

Build connections in the community.

“This program helped us celebrate our rural location and learn more about our community. It was great to include my distance learners as well, and the calf photo and video updates that we received were very easy to share digitally. We thoroughly enjoyed this program, and we even had a page about it in our yearbook this year.” –Abby Hennington, Atlanta, Georgia

Click here to read Abby’s story.

For Program Participants

Have you received a Cow Code to follow along with the Adopt A Cow fun this year? We are so excited that you want to go on this journey with us! Click on the button below to go to the Calf Updates page. Here, you will enter your Cow Code and then be able to see the calf and host farm your children have adopted! Need your Cow Code? CLICK HERE to enter your email address to receive your Cow Code!

Click Here to Enter the Cow Code

You can also access your adopted calf information on our Discover Dairy App! Click the links below to download the apps. Once the app is downloaded click on “Adopt A Cow > My Adopted Calf” and enter your Cow Code. View, save, and share photos right from the app!

IOS Discover Dairy App Download
Android Discover Dairy App Download

Program Details

  • This program is completely FREE! No costs from beginning to end.
    • NO! The Adopt A Cow program is FREE for everyone to enjoy! If you’d like to donate to the program, you are more than welcome to Donate Here!
  • No approval process! Once you complete and submit the enrollment form below, your classroom will be registered to adopt a cow for the current school year.
  • Registration for each academic year is from May 1 to September 15.
  • No information will be sent out until the calves are born and registration is closed.
  • IMPORTANT! To receive the updates, please mark the email “info@discoverdairy.com” as a safe sender email. Otherwise, your updates are likely to go into your spam folder.
  1. October: Host Farm and Calf announcement is emailed and posted to your Adopt A Cow portal.
  2. November: Introductory email (sent via email) and kit with details about the host farm and calf (sent via snail mail) are sent. The first 30,000 registrants will receive this mailer, everyone else will receive their information digitally only.
    • NOTE: The mailed kit is only for registrants in the United States. All out-of-country registrants will receive the materials in a digital form.
  3. December: Update #1 is emailed and posted to your Adopt A Cow portal.
  4. February: Update #2 is emailed and posted to your Adopt A Cow portal.
  5. April: Update #3 is emailed and posted to your Adopt A Cow portal.
  6. April/May: An opportunity to live chat your calf and host farm via YouTube.

You can find a detailed program calendar under the “Program Calendar.”

  • Teach in a traditional classroom setting.
  • Are homeschooling your kids/family members/friends.
  • Run an after-school program.
  • Facilitate a library or 4-H program, or programs alike.
  • Have an agriculture program at your museum or kid’s center.
  • Nursing homes and assisted living centers
  • Are one of the above and are teaching/leading from in or outside of the United States (yes, anyone can join the program, even from New Zealand!)

Throughout the program, you’ll find out what her name is, when her birthday is, where she lives and how the farmer takes care of her. We’ll also send photos of the cow, activity sheets for the students, a PowerPoint full of information and photos, and a suggested lesson that follows Common CORE standards and Next Generation Science Standards through email and the Adopt A Cow portal.

We encourage classes to fully engage in this program and even write letters to their calf and host farm family, not only to practice their writing skills but also to show their love for their calf. In the end, we keep you posted on her progress while you and your students enjoy the cuteness of your adorable calf. The Adopt A Cow Program is just one of many ways to Discover Dairy in your classroom!

How do I retrieve my Cow Code?

CLICK HERE to request your Cow CODE via email. Then go to the Calf Updates page, enter your COW CODE, and it will unlock your host farm and calf information.

Make sure the COW CODE is in ALL CAPS.

Does the Adopt A Cow program cost anything?

NO! The Adopt A Cow program is FREE for everyone to enjoy! If you’d like to donate to the program, you are more than welcome to Donate HERE!

How do I register for the Adopt A Cow Program?

Registration opened on May 1, 2022, and closed on September 15, 2022. We do not accept late registrations. We hope to see you join the program next year!

Why do you need my mailing address?

If you are one of the first 30,000 to sign up, you will get a photo of your calf and your official adoption certificate mailed to you in November. We hope you enjoy it!

How do I contact my farmer?

In October we will share a link to use to connect with your host farmer via an online message board. We do not provide the farmer’s personal information or address, but we hope you use the “Contact Your Farmer” feature to contact your farmer!

Can I write letters to my farmer and calf?

Absolutely! Please realize, that these farmers are receiving many letters and it isn’t realistic for them to write back, but please know they LOVE getting your beautiful letters in the mail. It brightens their day. Please send all your letters to us and we will pass them along:
Dairy Excellence Foundation, Attn: Brittany Snyder, 2301 N Cameron Street, Suite 407, Harrisburg, PA 17110

Do I get my very own calf?

The Adopt A Cow Program works diligently to provide an individual experience for everyone involved. However, as a FREE program, we do only work with about 100 calves in the program, and we have more than 40,000 registrants this year. We do adopt each calf multiple times to provide everyone with a calf.

When will I get updates about my calf?

We will announce your calf adoption in October, and send updates in December, February, and April. In between the updates, we will share activity and lesson ideas through our Sunday Funday resource emails and landing page.

What happened to the Classroom Cow & Journal Kit? I would like to order one again this year.

We offered the Cow Kit option again this year until September 21, 2022. As of the 21st, the form closed and we are not accepting any more orders.

If you missed this opportunity, you can gladly try it during next year’s program.

NOTE: Any donations given to the program through our general donate page will be considered general contributions to our Foundation and will NOT add get you a Cow Kit.

How do I donate to the Adopt A Cow Program?

As a 501c3 non-profit organization, we greatly appreciate your donations! Your support allows us to offer this program for free for nearly 1 MILLION students around the world.

To Donate, CLICK HERE!

See Sample PowerPoint

Adopt A Cow Interest

Are you interested in joining the Adopt A Cow program in the 23-24 school year? Submit your email address here and you will receive an email on May 1, 2023 with a direct link to sign up for the program so you don’t miss the fun!

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