Educational Tours

Interior view with a milk advertisement, framed pictures on the walls, and a painted cow sculpture in the foreground.

Come experience the rich history and innovation of Hatcher Family Dairy, a six-generation farm located in the heart of College Grove, Tennessee. For over 75 years, we’ve been milking cows in our traditional milk barn, and in 2024, we embraced the future with the installation of a cutting-edge Lely robotic milking system.

Our tours give visitors a unique glimpse into both our past and our future. This is an educational tour, and the more you engage with it, the more you’ll get to learn and enjoy. Take your time to stop, read, and soak in all the knowledge along the way!

Wooden barn interior with string lights, a childlike cow cutout, a chalkboard sign saying 'First, you milk the cows! (be gentle)', and a metal milk can.

  • Creamery: Watch our milk become locally made dairy products.

  • Milk Barn Museum: Learn Hatcher Family Dairy’s history, College Grove’s past, and see vintage milk items.

  • Robot Viewing Room: See our Lely robotic milking system and how it improves cow care and milking.

  • Barn Play Loft: Interactive kids’ play area with views of the robots and herd.

What does the tour include?

Open barn-style door with a sign that says 'OPEN' on a white background, leading into a room with a 'Milk Parlor' sign above the entrance. Inside, there is a horse behind metal bars, a wooden platform, and framed pictures on the walls.
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Please note: We are a working farm first, and our daily focus is caring for our animals and land. Because of safety, biosecurity, and animal welfare, we aren’t able to have guests freely walking the farm at any time. Our scheduled tours allow us to pause farm work and provide a safe, meaningful behind-the-scenes experience.

FAQs

What should I wear?

We encourage you to wear closed toe, comfortable shoes. No sandals or heels.  Not all buildings are climate controlled so please dress appropriate for the weather. Tours are rain or shine. 

What ages are appropriate for the tour?

All ages! We have made this tour self guided so that guests may take their time based on interest and age of group members. Some little guests may want to play longer than other guests. And some older guests may want to spend more time learning about history. We aim to have a fun experience for the whole family!

Will we get to pet animals?

No. This is not a petting zoo. For the safety of our guests and animals, access to animals is not permitted during this tour. You will get to view cows safely. 

Is the tour handicap accessible?

This tour is on a working dairy farm with historic structures. We do our best to accommodate all guests, but terrain is uneven and there is a flight of stairs to the barn loft play area.  Please reach out to us at tours@hatcherfamilydairy.com with any further questions. 

May we bring lunch and picnic? 

We do not offer picnicking at our tour location - you may grab a sandwich at our store and enjoy the picnic area there. 

Do you offer field trips? 

We offer educational school group tours in the Fall and Spring. We have a three class minimum for guided field trips. Please submit a field trip request form.

How long is the tour?

You will have access to the tour facilities for an hour and a half to two hours. We ask that you proceed to the store after that time to make room in our parking lot for our next tour. 

What if there is bad weather? 

Tours will continue rain or shine. If there is a severe weather threat we may postpone the tour. We will notify guests via email. 

Do you offer group tours? 

We have a 30 person minimum for all group tours.

Email us at events@hatcherfamilydairy.com for group inquiries. 

Learning Resources

A word bank worksheet titled 'Label The Hatcher Cow' featuring a black and white illustrated cow with blank labels pointing to different parts of its body, including the muzzle, rump, hoove, tail, udder, and ear, with a logo in the bottom right corner from Hatchery Farm, established in 1831.
Text displaying different breeds of dairy cows, including Holstein, Brown Swiss, and Jersey, with partial images of cows accompanying the text.
A worksheet titled "My Trip To Hatcher Family Dairy" with questions related to what was learned at Hatcher Family Dairy, including questions about how milk is bottled and made at Hatcher, and an area for written responses. The worksheet features a logo in the bottom right corner that says "Hatcher" and indicates the dairy has been in operation since 1831, located in College Grove, Tennessee.
Free Printables

Pet Policy

We welcome all service dogs as defined by the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). No other pets are allowed on tours. Dogs whose sole function is to provide assistance for emotional support are not defined as service animals by the ADA. For full ADA guidelines, please read the ADA website here.