It was almost like milking a real cow, said Ashley Thomas, 12,of Brookhaven.

She was referring to a wooden cow with rubber udders that sheand her sister Brooke, 11, took turns milking with their friendsMandy Russell, 12, and Christie Patterson, 9, Friday as part of aDairy Month celebration at the Farmers Market in downtownBrookhaven.

“A real cow would be mooing, and kind of kicking up its legs,and if you pinch it the right way, it’ll kick a lot harder,” AshleyThomas said.

Meanwhile, Braden Leist, 4, and his brother Brennan, 9, hadnever been around cows before. Both boys were soft-spoken abouttheir encounter with the cow, but their mother said milk is astaple of their diets at home.

“We go through about a gallon a week,” said Melanie Leist. “It’sgood for them.”

The milking cow was a part of the emphasis on June Dairy Monthcelebrated at Friday’s event.

Mississippi State University Extension Service Director RebeccaBates said the cow was donated for the day by the Mississippi FarmBureau in Jackson, and Brookhaven was just one of the stops duringits travels around the state.

“They take it to schools and festivals so children can get anidea of where fresh milk comes from,” she said. “A lot of kidsthese days think milk comes from the grocery store. So many neverlived on a farm or have never been to a farm.”

On Friday, the Lincoln County Dairymen and the Dairy FarmersAssociation also provided free chocolate milk and ice creamsandwiches for the event, and dairy gourmets had a cook-off to showtheir culinary prowess. Bates said the excitement is fitting sinceLincoln County is the second-leading dairy county in the state.

“We have 14 dairies here, and many of them are outstanding,” shesaid. “We have some of the best dairies in the southeast here inLincoln County.”

In addition, dairy is part of Lincoln County’s long-termheritage, Bates said.

“Lincoln County has a long-standing history in the dairyindustry,” she said. “It dates back to the 1930s, when we had 350dairies in the county.”

And in spite of the changing times, dairy can still be a largepart of the county’s economy.

“It’s been a huge industry in this county for years,” she said.”It’s hard to find anyone without some kind of a link to theindustry.”