Here are seven things to know about Young’s Dairy:
>> PHOTOS: Did we spot you at Young’s Dairy this Memorial Day weekend?
Credit: Tom Gilliam
Credit: Tom Gilliam
1. All the basics
Located at 6880 Springfield-Xenia Road in Yellow Springs, Young’s Jersey Dairy is open daily from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. or later, depending on the season and day of the week.
The Young Family built the red barn in 1869, and the 60-acre farm has grown into a special place for families to visit year-round. The farm employs 320 people, which should tell you how busy it is even without the thousands of visitors that annually come through the gates.
Parking is free and there is no admission fee, but most individual activities have a charge attached.
>> Young’s part of Ohio ice cream trail
Credit: Tom Gilliam
Credit: Tom Gilliam
2. Homemade ice cream
Ice cream is made right on the farm from a 15 percent butterfat mix of pasteurized milk, cream and sugar.
Five or 10 gallons are made at a time in machines called batch freezers, taking about 12-15 minutes per batch, and flavors are added at different stages of the process. You can get ice cream in the form of cones, milkshakes or delicious sundaes. There are also rotating flavors of the month.
You can’t go wrong with the Buckeye Sundae. You get one scoop of chocolate peanut butter and one scoop peanut butter cup ice cream topped with hot fudge and peanut butter sauce, real whipped cream, Reese’s pieces and a Young's homemade buckeye.
>> The best ice cream in Ohio is just a short drive from Dayton
Credit: Tom Gilliam
Credit: Tom Gilliam
3. Tasty meals, too
If you really want to make a day of it, plan to eat breakfast, lunch or dinner during your visit. The Dairy Store serves sandwiches and side orders seven days a week, or sit down for table service at The Golden Jersey Inn, also on the property, for lunch and dinner options such as homemade chicken & dumplings, Grandma’s meatloaf, beef & noodles and buttermilk chicken (breakfast is available Saturday and Sunday). Both restaurants use Young’s Dairy Farmstead Cheese made 100 percent with their Jersey cow milk.
>> Young’s food truck is famous for its cheese curds
Credit: Tom Gilliam
Credit: Tom Gilliam
4. Pet the animals
This is a real working dairy farm. Pet goats, watch the workers milk cows daily from about 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., and visit other farm animals in the public area of the barn, free of charge.
Credit: Tom Gilliam
Credit: Tom Gilliam
5. Take a swing
There are other things to do besides eating and petting animals. Have some fun at the Udders & Pudders part of the farm, where visitors can hit the batting cages with hardball and softball machines, play miniature golf on two different courses or practice on the covered and natural grass tee driving range.
Credit: Tom Gilliam
Credit: Tom Gilliam
6. Kids activities
There are some unique activities available just for young guests, such as the “Moovers & Shakers” barrel ride around the farm, “Cowvin’s Fast Slide” for guests at least 42 inches tall and “Cowvin’s Kiddie Corral” full of fun things to do for those under 48 inches in height.
Credit: Tom Gilliam
Credit: Tom Gilliam
7. Special events
Young’s hosts events throughout the year, but some of the most popular ones include the Fall Farm Pumpkin Festival in October and Pick Your Own Pumpkin days (September and October), Young’s Annual Cheese Anniversary (June) to celebrate the years since they started making Farmstead Cheese in 2009, and the Vintage Truck Show (August). You can also participate in an Easter Egg Hunt on Easter Sunday and cut your own Christmas tree from Thanksgiving through December.
Additionally, there is space for group events such as birthday parties, available for rental for two-hour intervals from mid-April through October.
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