What is a dry cow? No, it’s not a cow that needs a drink. Approximately 45-60 days before a cow is due to give birth, we stop milking her. During her vacation from being part of the milking herd, her job is to be lazy and grow her calf. This time off from milking...
What is rumination? In our last post, we talked about what cows eat. Today, we are going to go over a few facts about what happens to the food that the cows eat. Here is what you should know- Have you ever heard that cows have 4 stomachs? That’s not exactly true. A...
What is TMR? The quick answer is that TMR stands for Total Mixed Ration. It’s a fancy term for what is basically cow casserole, or hot dish if you’re from across the river. It’s a blend of many ingredients that each contain something that our animals need to stay...
Following up on our last post, this is the first post in our series where we explain some of the terms that are common to dairy farmers, but new to most people. What is a freestall barn? The cows on our farm live in a freestall barn. While that term rolls off the...
If you ever walk through our barns or look at the photos of our cows, you may have noticed something a little different than you expected. While the classic black and white Holstein or maybe even the little brown Jersey cows are what most people think of when they...
We often share the good parts of what we do here on the farm with all of you, but I think it is important to share what farming is really like, even when it is difficult. So today I am sharing what cost us many hours of sleep as well as a lot of money over the last...
