32 responses to “Fair Oaks Dairy Adventure – a BbB”

1. 

   Angeline Tran January 13th, 2010 at 08:42

   I would pay to see these cows! Indiana has some charming tourist locations. Who wouldn’t want to drink some offical milk of the Colts? ^_^

2. 

   Molly Longest January 13th, 2010 at 11:13

   I’ve been to Fair Oaks and it is truly astounding how efficiently everything is run. I also found it funny that the buses you take the tour on must have the windows closed so the humans don’t pass germs on to the cows instead of the other way around. I recommend that if you visit you must try the ice cream!

3. 

   Spencer Childers January 13th, 2010 at 12:00

   Thats really cool. How much do you have to pay to see the cows? I think if it was under $50 that it would completely worth it.

4. 

   Ryan Poxon January 13th, 2010 at 12:46

   I’ve heard of this place before. They even constructed a new on and off ramp off the interstate for the sole purpose of accessing Fair Oaks. This place is legit!

5. 

   Spencer Abrams January 13th, 2010 at 12:49

   Admission is only $10 according to their website. This is an amazing business model, having people pay to watch your cows make you more money, on top of having your assets generating enough electricity to power the place. That’s not even mentioning all of the free advertisement they get from this publicity, and people would be more willing to buy their milk at a higher cost because they had fun watching it be produced.

6. 

   Zach Morgan January 13th, 2010 at 12:52

   This was such a neat topic to cover! Growing up on a successful farm operation in southern Indiana, it never seizes to amaze me of how technologically advanced farming can be. Two parts of the video really got my attention. One being the “cow carousel.” It is such a unique, efficient, and eye-catching way of milking. I also thought that the efficient use of the manure was interesting. For that to be able to fully power their operation is tremendous.

7. 

   Joseph Mecca January 13th, 2010 at 13:00

   Being from New Jersey, the concept seemed very far fetched at first to be real. The idea of being run like a “well oiled machine” is what makes the dairy farm intriguing to me. The idea of not being wasteful and maximizing their productivity by recycling and reusing makes me think a bit harder about my own productivity. Build up stress from school and work before I work out instead of vice versa? Is the milk called fair oaks dairy milk? If I see it at the store, I’m going to feel an obligation to give it a whirl.

8. 

   Alexandra Graves January 13th, 2010 at 13:24

   I have been to Fair Oaks Farm and it’s really an interesting place. They take you on a bus tour to see where the cows are housed and they inform you of everything that is done. Then they take you back to the factory where you can see how ice cream and the milk is produced while you eat. I also did see the calf being born, although the cow that was giving birth was having trouble doing so they had to bring in a vet to assist her. But the calf was born and its doing well…I hope. But if you have a free day with nothing to do it’s not as boring as it may sound.

9. 

   Kelly Plantz January 13th, 2010 at 14:47

   Being from Indiana I am not surprised that a tourist business like this would be started here. It’s interesting and educational while being enjoyable to the customers! The next section of there theme park should be goats! They do make great cheese.

10. 

    Michael Evans January 13th, 2010 at 17:52

    At first you wouldn’t think this is a very good idea. But I guess there’s a large enough target market of families who have never been to a farm before and want to see one firsthand. I’m sure this has to be a blast for most of the kids, especially with that visitor’s center!

11. 

    Loïc Mazet January 13th, 2010 at 18:09

    I can’t believe that tourists pay to see the cows. Why people don’t just take a walk in the countryside, they ll see the same cows for free. That’s story show that you can make a lot of money thanks to the people laziness.

12. 

    Michael Tym January 13th, 2010 at 18:43

    This is a great attraction and a must see! I drive right past it on my way to Purdue from home. It is not a hour and a half north of Purdue though, it’s more like half that.

13. 

    Anthony Sikorski January 13th, 2010 at 18:44

    I have also been to Fair Oaks Farm and found it to be very entertaining and educational. While I was there my family and I went to the ice cream shop, took the tour, and saw a cow give birth. I didn’t realize until now that the whole place was basically running off of the cows. If any one wants to visit from Purdue it is actually less than an hour and all you need to do is jump on I-65 and head north. You can’t miss it because you will either see all the signs or smell the manure. Don’t forget to try some of the food.

14. 

    Letteer Lewis January 13th, 2010 at 19:02

    I have actually been here before, they weren’t giving tours at the time, but driving by the amount of land they own seems outrageous. We stopped in the store and got some cheese curds. If any of you are from Wisconsin, then you probably know that they are probably the best things made from cow milk!

15. 

    Jaideep Singh January 13th, 2010 at 19:33

    Genius! and its near Purdue! Hope Purdue organizes a trip to go there

16. 

    Juliana Spiker January 13th, 2010 at 19:35

    With the economy the way it is and everyone trying to save money, this is a great way for a family in Indiana to have some fun and learn something new while keeping their money in their pocket. With families staying home instead of taking vacations, I bet their business is really thriving. Seems like a neat place to visit!

17. 

    Rob Lampert January 13th, 2010 at 20:13

    Fair Oaks Dairy Adventure is funny at first glance. But it is a very cool idea for which the creators deserve plenty of credit (especially the fact that it is a self-sustaining mega farm). I would be happy to help them out if they need someone to try out their ice cream.

18. 

    Brian Corley January 13th, 2010 at 20:15

    Being from Indiana it is hard to envision people paying to see things that can be seen daily outside of the cities for free. Kudos to them for making such a great business and tourist attraction.

19. 

    Justin Riley January 13th, 2010 at 20:59

    This is a pretty cool idea something that is out of the ordinary too! How much is it to get into the place? It is a pretty good idea that I would have never thought about working either. I guess that shows what I know.

20. 

    Colby Beacham January 13th, 2010 at 21:22

    This is one of those “duh” why didn’t I think of that ideas, if you’re already going to be running a farm why not let tourists come and check it out it only helps you raise even higher profits. One time when I was in Wisconsin I ran across this cheese store which sold at least 100 different types of cheeses everything was super expensive but the place was still incredibly busy mainly because the whole back wall of the store was a window that let shoppers look out at all the cows that were actively producing the milk needed for the cheese, they also showed parts of the actual cheese making process. After seeing all the I couldn’t help but by a lot of different cheeses from their store.

21. 

    Mahmood Alrawi January 13th, 2010 at 21:53

    This is one of those places that I always passed on a trip up to Chicago and never really thought twice about it. I finally decided to stop there with a couple of friends while heading up to Chicago, and the only thing that still sticks in my mind is that strong dairy smell that just hits you as you walk in the place. Ohh, and the ice cream. If you want “natural” ice cream, this is the place to go. It is also pretty interesting how you can just make a normal job into a business in which people pay you to come see what you make. The setup inside just begs you to take a tour of the place because of the huge open windows of workers making the cheese while your in their shop. Its a really simple, but effective and cool idea, and it always seems busy when I pass by every now and then.

22. 

    Josh Graves January 13th, 2010 at 21:58

    Sounds like a pretty cool place to visit but really? cows? i guess i could get my fix after seeing 30k cows. I cant believe that there are 80 cows born there a day. That is pretty amazing in my books. 2.5 million pounds of milk? are you kidding me? that is absolutely insane. I think they should open part of the place up for a slaughterhouse. They have enough cattle there for it.

23. 

    John Gorbandt January 13th, 2010 at 23:03

    I believe that this is a very well thought out plan. They are basically running their farm for free. The methane energy is a very smart way to take care of the energy costs while the admission fees are paying for the upkeep of the farm. So all of the revenue that comes from the dairy products is all profit. Brillant….

24. 

    Damon Ward January 13th, 2010 at 23:23

    I have heard of this farm before, but had no idea that was a tourist attraction. I’m guessing plenty of farmers wished they had thought of this genius idea first. I wonder how big the farm was when they started allowing tourists and how much it has expanded since then.

25. 

    Shawn Gearhart January 13th, 2010 at 23:25

    Fair Oaks Dairy does an outstanding job at highlighting one of America’s most valuable assets, agriculture. They are once again making ag life fun for people of all backgrounds.

26. 

    Stephanie Mellady January 14th, 2010 at 00:11

    I think this is a great idea to have a tourist attraction that is completely self-sustainable. I’m sure it isn’t exactly Disneyland, but I would be really interested in visiting and seeing how everything worked. And I bet the ice cream is excellent

27. 

    Brett Cohen January 14th, 2010 at 01:10

    A farm themed amusement park doesn’t exactly come to mind when first thinking of places to visit, but this only goes to show the potential of seemingly awkward ideas.

28. 

    Dan Wyss January 15th, 2010 at 10:54

    I find this pretty funny because it is kind of an off the wall idea but it’s amazing that it is so successful. I think new and different ideas like this are great!

29. 

    Meiqi Zhao January 17th, 2010 at 23:01

    I really want to see this themed amusement park. Though I want to have a look, I still doubt about how many people are willing to go this park. I think the park will last for many years. However, I do not think people will go there for several times. I am not sure how much it costs to build this park. I think owners need to consider how to attract people there.

30. 

    Courtney M. Cronk January 18th, 2010 at 13:08

    this is pretty interesting. and in my opinion insanely smart! at the very least, if we were to pretend that people would just stop coming to visit, the are still going to make a profit on selling the cheese the milk, etc. Plus, with all of the crazy amounts of money they are probably making by saving energy and lighting costs, as well as food costs, they probably have enough money saved up to keep this gig going for at least a couple years more if everyone just stopped showing interest in visiting…im curious how much of an expense it is for maintenance costs and worker costs. Whats their annual profit a year? by the sounds of it, it should be relatively high. Kudos to whoever thought of this, they are probably living quite well!

31. 

    Daniel Johnson January 21st, 2010 at 14:02

    This is a great Idea, I have been to a farm similar to this. Maybe not to the same extent but the same idea. The Farm is the Willemsen Dairy in Frankton Indiana. They have a huge Dairy farm. The link is http://www.willemsendairy.com. I like this idea cause it also allows a learnign oppurtunity for all those who visit!

32. 

    Sandino Cavallo January 25th, 2010 at 16:48

    The farm is an innovative tourist attraction and I believe the success of it comes from its location and its self-sufficiency.