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Fair Oaks Farms is one of the largest dairy farms in the United States and a great place to learn about farming. With three “adventures” and tours seven days a week, it’s perfect for families and visitors of all ages. It’s located in northern Indiana and offers daily tours and activities.
Visiting Fair Oaks Farms
Fair Oaks Farms is open daily, rain or shine. A one-day admission is US$22 and a two-day admission is US$38 (as of February 2024). Children aged two and under are admitted free of charge. Hours are 9am to 5pm Monday through Friday and 10am to 5pm on Sundays.
It’s best to start your visit in the morning to cover everything you’d like to see. Everything is done at your own pace and you can enjoy all the activities in one day, but it will be a very long day if you’re bringing kids. It’s also important to dress appropriately for the weather.
Adventures at Fair Oaks Farms
Fair Oaks Farms features three different adventures. The Crop Adventure is seen on the campus itself, while the Pig Adventure and the Dairy Adventure both involve taking a bus to an off-site location nearby. An hour is recommended for the Crop Adventure while the Pig Adventure and Dairy Adventure should take about two hours each. In addition to those five hours, allow more time for the Birthing Barn, lunch, and the seasonal outdoor play area.
Buses to the Pig and Dairy Adventures run frequently throughout the day. They’re scheduled to allow visitors plenty of time to relax, have lunch, and enjoy the other facilities on campus. The first bus tours start in the morning. Furthermore, visitors will see animals on the tour but because the farm is bio-secure, there’s no interaction with them.
Hotel at Fair Oaks Farms
For visitors coming from afar, Fair Oaks Farms has a hotel located on the campus. The Marriott Fairfield Inn and Suites Fair Oaks Farms was designed in the shape of a barn to celebrate the American countryside. The hotel contains a pool and has other family-friendly activities. It offers complimentary breakfast and is directly connected to the Farmhouse Restaurant. Since we were coming from Valparaiso, we didn’t need to stay overnight.
Farmhouse Restaurant
The Farmhouse Restaurant serves fresh dishes made from ingredients that are grown and harvested at Fair Oaks Farms and other farms in the region. We were short on time so we didn’t eat there, but we plan to stop in if we pass through the area in the future.
Market at Fair Oaks Farms
To the right of the admissions building is the Market. They sell several goods made at the farm as well as souvenirs. It was closed when we walked by so we didn’t visit.
COWfé
To the north of the Dairy Experience is the COWfé. You can stop in for a quick breakfast or lunch and also get an ice cream and buy souvenirs.
We had lunch at the COWfé. It was quick and easy which made it perfect for our very full day at the farm. We each had a grilled cheese and I added a chili on the side. The food was delicious.
Dairycatessen
The Dairycatessen is the convenience store at the gas station on the campus. They serve grab and go sandwiches as well as cheese and ice cream. There’s also a dog park behind it.
Mooville
Finally, if you have kids, they’ll love Mooville. This outdoor playground features a 22-foot milk carton for climbing, a giant bouncing pillow, and the Moo Choo Train. Mooville is open seasonally from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Hours are 11am to 5pm.
Dairy Adventure at Fair Oaks Farms
The Dairy Adventure is one of three adventures at Fair Oaks Farms. It gives visitors an in-depth look at dairy farming.
Dairy Adventure Building
The Dairy Adventure begins in a building full of exhibits and interactive experiences. They’re geared towards younger visitors but it’s fun for all ages. It’s possible to learn about the entire dairy farming process from “grass to glass”.
There’s a small playground, a lab where you can learn how to milk a cow, and rooms explaining distribution and consumption. Other rooms teach visitors about the cows and their daily lives at Fair Oaks Farms. There’s even a 4D film, but we skipped it because it would have been too intense for our 20 month old.
Dairy Farm at Fair Oaks
At the back of the building, we boarded a bus to take us to the actual dairy farm. It was a short ride that took about five minutes. When we arrived, we drove through the farm and got to see all of the important sections, such as where the cows live, where the feed is kept, and where the calves are housed.
Next, the bus pulled into a building and we walked up a flight of stairs to see a short presentation from a dairy farm robot. The purpose was to show how technology is used in dairy farming.
From there, we walked to a viewing platform overlooking all of the cows in the building. The guide pointed out how each cow is trained to enter the milking station and does it of free will. There are also machines the cows can walk up to for a cleaning whenever they feel like it. We also learned that the cows can sleep wherever they please and don’t have assigned pens. Next, we watched a short film about the dairy farm at Fair Oaks Farms.
Milking Machines
Finally, we were able to see the DeLaval milking machines from another viewing area looking down on the machines. This was the most fascinating part of the tour. We learned that once the cows freely accepted to enter the machine, they’re identified, their udders are disinfected, and they’re cleaned. At the end of the process, the cows are given a treat.
Furthermore, each machine had a corresponding touchpad. Visitors could control attached cameras for different angles of the cows and access information about the milking session. The machines provided data on the stage of the milking process and the yield from each udder.
At the end of the Dairy Adventure tour, we were given a few minutes to observe the cows and watch the milking machines. We were then ushered back to the bus and driven to the Fair Oaks Farms campus.
Pig Adventure at Fair Oaks Farms
The Pig Adventure is the second of three adventures at Fair Oaks Farms. It gives visitors an in-depth look at pig farming.
Pork Education Center
The Pig Adventure starts at the Pork Education Center. The building includes information about pork products used in medicine, cosmetics, and agriculture as well as an interactive station to learn pork recipes.
The Pork Education Center also features a rope course for kids that costs an extra US$5 above general admission (as of February 2024).
Pig Farm at Fair Oaks
At the Pork Education Center, we boarded a bus to take us to a pig farm. It was a short ride and only took a little over five minutes. When we arrived, there was a small museum about the history of pig farming and some facts about pigs.
We then walked through mock showers to visit the pigs. This was to simulate how each worker on the pig farm must shower before entering the farm in order to protect the pigs from disease. Next, we walked down a long corridor to the gestation and breeding area.
Gestation and Breeding
At the gestation and breeding area, there were exhibits on how pig farms breed pigs as well as an interactive sonogram to see how many piglets a model pig was having.
There was a huge area stocked with pigs that we were able to observe. The guide explained how the pigs are fed, cleaned, bred, and cared for by the staff.
Birthing
From there, we walked back down the corridor to another section where pigs were giving birth. There were three different viewing areas in this section.
One of the viewing areas displayed pigs that were about to give birth. Another contained pigs with their newborn piglets. The guide explained how the piglets have long waggly tails like dogs at birth but they’re cut to avoid other piglets biting them.
A further section was full of little piglets of various ages running around. There was even a display case with 3 piglets that had been born the day before as part of a family of 15.
After admiring the little piglets, our Pig Adventure came to an end. We walked back down the long corridor one more time to the entrance, where we boarded the buses once again to take us back to the Fair Oaks Farms campus. Overall, it was a fun experience and we learned a lot of interesting facts about pigs.
Crop Adventure at Fair Oaks Farms
The Crop Adventure is the third of three adventures at Fair Oaks Farms. It gives visitors an in-depth look at modern farming practices.
The Crop Adventure was the least visited of all the adventures. We had the entire building to ourselves. It was very well done and the information was excellent, but it wasn’t as entertaining as the Pig Adventure or Dairy Adventure.
Crop Adventure Film
When we entered, we were led to a theatre to see a short film produced by National Geographic about everything that goes into providing food to the public. The film was projected on a 20-foot curved screen.
Recent Farming History
Next, we entered a large gallery with interactive displays along the walls. They covered every decade of farming history over the last century. A large globe in the center projected a movie about the changes over the years.
There was also a map displaying the challenges that lie ahead due to factors such as climate change, population growth, and limited land and water.
Battle Underground
From there, we went “underground” to see the importance of soil from a bug’s perspective. In the section titled “Battle Underground”, we learned how different insects and elements in the soil affect crops.
Cultivation and Processing
The next room in the Crop Adventure went back “above ground”, where topics covered included pollination and irrigation as well as insects and fungus.
Displays continued with examples of how certain crops were processed. Detailed flow charts showed the complicated processing steps of the four most important crops in America – soybean, wheat, corn, and cotton.
Consumption
Naturally, the exhibits continued with a mock town, Farmington, to cover consumption. There were several colorful storefronts including a shopping mall, grocery store, feed store, hardware store, gas station, restaurant, pharmacy, and career center.
Each storefront had facts and examples of how certain products were used in each industry. There was even a shopping cart with plastic food products for young visitors to go shopping.
Future of Farming
The final exhibit in the Crop Adventure touches upon technology and innovation being developed for the future of farming. DNA mapping of crops, artificial intelligence, and controlled environments such as vertical farming, hydroponics, and aeroponics were some of the topics covered.
Birthing Barn at Fair Oaks Farms
The Birthing Barn was easily the most special experience we had during our visit to Fair Oaks Farms. We were able to witness a cow giving birth.
The Birthing Barn sits between the Dairy Adventure building and Pork Education Center. A traffic light out front indicates how far along a cow is during the birthing process. Red means it’ll be a while and yellow means the legs and hooves are about to come out. When the light is green, the cow will give birth within the next five to ten minutes. Furthermore, staff at nearby buildings announce when the light turns green and encourage visitors to head to the Birthing Barn to watch the event.
Newborn Calves
The entrance on the left side of the Birthing Barn contains pens with newborn calves. Signs in front of the pens indicate the sex and the time of day each calf was born. There’s also a door to the birthing theatre.
Birthing Theatre at Fair Oaks Farms
The entrance on the right side of the barn takes you directly to the birthing theatre, which is an amphitheater with tiered seating. Visitors are politely asked to refrain from making noise as to not disturb the cow during the process.
During our visit, as the cow got closer to giving birth, a vet periodically came out to check on her. Finally, when the vet decided it was time to help, she entered the pen wearing long plastic gloves and pulled out the calf. The vet happily went back to the intercom system and announced “it’s a girl”.
Having never witnessed an animal giving birth, it was a very special experience for me. It took quite a while and made our day at Fair Oaks Farms a bit longer, but it was worth the wait.
