GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The University of Florida has canceled its 2014 Family Day at the Dairy Farm open house, which was set for Saturday, April 5 at the UF dairy farm in Hague. The event has not been rescheduled.
“Recent storms have flooded the pastures where visitors normally park,” said Albert De Vries, an associate professor with the animal sciences department, part of UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. “We believe that cars would get stuck in the mud if we went forward with the event as planned.”
Organizers are considering options for the next Family Day at the Dairy Farm, but the event will not take place this spring, De Vries said.
First held in 2012, Family Day at the Dairy Farm offers an inside look at UF’s dairy farm in Hague, about 20 minutes northwest of Gainesville. The 850-acre facility is home to about 500 Holstein cows that are milked twice daily.
The 2014 event was already postponed once, in mid-March. After the heavy rains this past weekend, organizers reluctantly canceled it altogether because the parking area was unlikely to be usable by April 5, De Vries said.
“We apologize to anyone who’s been inconvenienced, and we appreciate all the support we’ve received from the public, our sponsors and the Florida dairy industry,” he said. “We’ll do our best to resolve the parking issues before we attempt another event.”