Farm Tours
Sweetwater Valley Farm's
Red Cow Tour
Come to our farm and see the latest technology in the dairy industry as we show you how we are milking our cows with robots. Sweetwater Valley Farm is home to Tennessee’s first Lely XL robotic facility. This means we are using 8 robots to milk 500 of our Holstein cows. Take a guided tour of our robotic facility and while on the tour also learn more about our entire dairy operation and cheese make process. Before or after your tour, enjoy a grilled cheese or milkshake at our “Seed to Sandwich” café where we use cheese made from our milk right on the farm.
HAVE A QUESTION? CALL US AT (865) 458-9192
Cost
- Adults: $12
- Children 3-11: $8
- 2 and under: FREE
DURATION:
Estimated 1 hour. Tours start on the hour please arrive 30 minutes prior to the tour you wish to go on.
Tour Details
Our tours run Tuesdays-Saturdays on the hours of 10, 11, 12, 1, 2 and 3pm. To sign up for a tour , please visit our store or click the link to book a tour. Please note you need to plan on being here 30 minutes before the tour you would like to take begins. This insures we have time to get you signed up and ready before the start of the tour.
Also note tours can fill up for the hour and to ensure you get the best quality tour, we only allow 20 people on each tour hour. If you are making a special trip to take a tour, we recommend scheduling in advance to make sure you get the tour time you want. If you have a group larger than 20, please click the “large group tours” button and fill out the form.
Tours last approximately an hour but once your guide has concluded, you are welcome to stay in our tour facility and explore more educational exhibits and videos we have available.
Tours are $12 for adults and $8 for children 3-11 (under 12). 2 and under are free and no ticket required.
To Know before your tour:
- All tours are accompanied by a guide
- Tours are limited to 20 people per tour hour
- Our tour is mostly indoors with the exceptional of a brief walk to the robotic milking parlor. Tours will continue even with rain
- We recommend tennis shoes or comfortable shoes for the tour
- Please arrive no later than 30 minutes before the tour time you want to take in order to get signed up and prepared for the tour
- Pets of any kind are not allowed in the tour facility (service dogs only see below)
- We do not schedule tours over the phone
- With the exception of the walk down to our tour facility, the duration of the tour is in a climate controlled environment. The tour is handicap accessible
- We do not do refunds or credits for tours unless we have to cancel it on our end
- If you show up late for your tour, you will have to wait to go on the next tour time we have available.
- We are located in the Eastern Time Zone
- For groups over 20 people, please fill out our form on this page to see about scheduling. If you have 20 people or less, you can book your own tour directly on here. We do not schedule tours for groups 20 people or less
- For large groups, we do require a preorder if your group wants to eat lunch in our cafe. Our cafe is very small though so we cannot always accommodate all groups. It depends on the size of your group
- We do not recommend our tour for really young children. It is an educational experience that dives into great detail about our milking and other detailed aspects of the farm
- Petting or milking of cows does not happen on the tour
PET POLICY
We welcome all service dogs as defined by the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) and they are permitted inside the Visitor’s Center buildings. Dogs whose sole function is to provide assistance or emotional support are not defined as service animals by the ADA. For full guidelines, please see the ADA website by Clicking Here.
Hours of Operation
Tours Start On The Hour EST. Remember Arrive 30 minutes prior to Tour.