It’s a good thing local farmers and builders pitched in to help the middle schoolers with their project. Without their generosity, the students would have needed a big piggy bank. Cows, bulls, and barns cost thousands and thousands of dollars. Add the cost of medicine, land, fencing, and feed to that.

Raising cows for cafeteria food is probably a lot more expensive than buying beef from another source. But cattle-raising kids don’t just get farm-fresh sloppy joes. They get a taste of what it means to be a farmer. To a willing learner, cattle care can act like science class, math class, gym class, and business class all in one. And don’t forget lessons in character. Slow-moooving cattle give their caretakers a serious course in patience!

Cow Care 101

Cattle keepers learn to feed their animals lots of fresh grass in warm parts of the year and hay in the winter. They know to provide cattle with salt blocks for licking so they get enough minerals. They know that a cow or bull will need one or two gallons of water per day—for each 100 pounds of its weight. (That adds up, because the animals can weigh more than 2,000 pounds each!)

Cattle farmers must also learn to manage time well. They feed their cattle every day. A farmer with milk cows has to milk too—probably twice a day. Farmers take the time to make sure their cattle have pasture, shelter from heat or cold, a room to be milked in, and a quiet, private place to give birth to calves. And if there’s a hole in the fence, a cow or bull will find it. So farmers become sharp-eyed and handy with tools. If they milk cows and pitch plenty of hay, they’ll also get quite a daily workout!

Buying a cow means spending a lot of money up front. But if the cow grows well, the investment will probably be rewarded. Eventually, milk and meat can be sold. One expensive cow could have one calf a year for the next 15 years. Instead of one cow, a farmer may eventually own 15—plus all the milk or meat they provide.