From Issue #26, Winter 1996

Kellogg Farm Dairy Center

by Carol J. Peiffer

In Hickory Corners, Michigan, the Kellogg Farm has been a popular visitors' attraction since 1985. Each year, volunteer guides tour up to ten thousand school-aged children through the facilities of the working dairy farm. During a typical year, two to three thousand people from all fields of agriculture from 15 different countries arrive at the Kellogg Farm to learn about the latest available ideas in dairy management. In addition, three to four thousand other visitors take a self-guided tour.

This is more than a dairy farm. It's a farming system that begins with sun-nurtured crops and ends with the return of fertilizer to the soil. In between, the cows produce milk.

The Visitor Center is open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Cows are milked 3 times daily: 5 a.m., 12:30 p.m., and 7:30 p.m.

To arrange group tours, call : 616-671-2412

For more information on the Dairy: 616-671-2507

Besides the Kellogg Farm, other facilities of the Biological Station include a bird sanctuary, an experimental forest, biological laboratories, extension and outreach offices, an arbor reserve, and a conference center.

Cereal magnate W.K. Kellogg was an early 20th century entrepreneur who believed that people should use their gifts and knowledge to help others. He was also an environmentalist who understood the importance of preserving the land.

The facilities Kellogg established and later donated to MSU comprise the university's largest off-campus education complex. It is located between Kalamazoo and Battle Creek.

For more information on these facilities, you can contact:

                Director's Office
                W.K. Kellogg Biological Station
                Michigan State U.
                3700 E Gull Lake Dr
                Hickory Corners, MI 49060
                616-671-5117