The Buckeye Dairy Club milked a cow in the South Oval Wednesday afternoon to raise awareness about world hunger and to promote Ohio’s dairy industry.
The event allowed students and faculty to donate $1 to milk Buckeye Bessie in a holding pen behind Orton Hall.
ZACH TUGGLE/THE LANTERNPaige Gott, a senior in animal sciences, looks on as Laura Smales, a freshman in international studies, milks ‘Buckeye Bessie’ Thursday afternoon on the South Oval. Proceeds benefited Heifer International, which buys livestock and educates Third World animal caretakers on farming to help ease community hunger.
The Buckeye Dairy Club needed to raise $500 in order to fund the purchase of a cow for the nonprofit organization, said Stephanie Adams, event organizer and a junior in animal sciences.
Cow milking is not on the daily agenda for assistant professor Leslie Lockett, but she got her opportunity Thursday.
“I had no idea I would milk a cow today,” said Lockett, who teaches English.
Lockett said one of her students told her in class about the cow on campus, but she couldn’t believe her eyes when she came face to face with Buckeye Bessie.
“I’m from the city, so the only experience I’ve had with cows is petting them at state fairs,” Lockett said.
Lockett, who watched a documentary on dairy farming the night before, said milking a cow is not as hard as it looks.
The dairy farm, located on West Campus, sells milk to support operational costs of the farm, where students interested in agriculture volunteer.
Heifer International sends cows to more than 57 impoverished countries, such as Honduras and Zimbabwe, spokesman Dale Ingram said.
The charity has helped train more than 48 million people care for livestock, according to the Heifer International Web site.
“The heifer that we purchase will provide food [milk and meat] year round for a needy family,” Adams said.
Adams said the cow could also be used for breeding, which will benefit others in the area.
Another goal of the event was to educate dairy consumers on how milk gets from the farmer to the breakfast table, Adams said.
“It’s important because not a lot of people have ever met a cow,” Adams said.
As of Thursday night, Adams estimated the group had raised about $250.
Marc Feher can be reached at [email protected].
