Mission second graders learn where their dairy products come from

By B.L. Azure

Greg Schock told the Mission second graders about the ins and outs and ups and downs of the dairy business and let them test the suction of the milking machine. (B.L. Azure photo)

ST. IGNATIUS — Do you know where your milk comes from besides a dairy cow? If you don’t the Mission Elementary School second grade class has one up on you. Last week the youngsters visited the Schock’s Mission Valley Dairy and learned the a-b-c’s the calcium rich staple of the American diet and what is involved in getting it from the cow to the consumer.

Schock’s Mission Valley Dairy is a member of a Montana dairy cooperative and is managed by three generations of the Schock family. And they have witnessed numerous changes in the dairy business. One of the biggest changes has been the number of dairy farms in the Mission Valley and the number of families that used to subsist on home-raised poultry, cattle and gardens.

“Back a long time ago everyone used to milk cows,” second-grade teacher Paula Schock told her class. “There used to dairies all over the place.”

Her husband Greg Schock, a second-generation dairy producer concurred. “In the ‘70s there were 45 or so dairies in the valley now there are four,” he said. “But those four are producing more milk then all of the others used to.”

Adrianna Thomas bottle-feeds a young dairy calf while Leanna Powell offers advice. (B.L. Azure photo)

The children visited five stations and took a ride on hay-less hayride. The stations included: bottle-feeding of dairy calves; a hands-on presentation of farm machinery; proper nutritious feeding; how to make milk and ice cream; and how cows are milked and how the product is stored.

Schock’s Mission Valley Dairy produces 100 tons of hormone-free milk a week from the 100 cows that are milked twice a day, seven days a week. The dairy supplies milk to local grocers as well Costco outlets in Reno and Las Vegas, Nevada, and Salt Lake City, Utah.

“The Salt Lake City Costco store takes more milk a week than all the stores that sell our product in Montana,” Schock said. The locally produced milk also supplies the needs of the Light House dressing company of Sandpoint, Idaho. “All the milk in Light House dressing comes from the Mission Valley.”

Isabelle Oliver and Quianna Haynes check out some of the farm machinery at Schock's Dairy Farm. (B.L. Azure photo)

Schock stressed the importance of hormone-free milk that is produced locally and sold locally.

“Our milk is hormone-free and you know where it comes from,” Schock told the second graders. “You can’t say that about some of the other milk brands.”

The Montana cooperative milk is processed in Bozeman then sold in state as well as out of state. The milk is sold under the Country Classic brand and is available in area stores. “You can’t say that about a lot of other brands. You have no idea where some of it comes from.”

Not anymore. The youngsters will probably be looking for the locally produced Country Classic brand the next time they go to the store with mom and dad because they know it comes from their friends and neighbors in the Mission Valley.