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 tongue of a dairy farmer, I don’t think many people outside of the dairy farming community know what that means. So, here is the skinny on what a freestall barn is.
In a freestall barn, each cow has her own stall where she can lie down and rest whenever she wants. The “free” part means she’s not tied up—she can move around the barn, eat, drink, and relax on her own schedule. Our barns include soft water beds topped with sawdust or deep sand beds for the cows to lounge on. We have sprinklers and fans to keep the cows cool in the summer. The sides of the building even roll down, essentially turning the barn into an open-air pavilion.
Freestall barns protect cows from extreme weather, help keep them clean, and give them a calm, low-stress environment. That’s not just good for the cows—it also helps keep them healthy and producing high-quality milk.
So while it might not look like a pasture, a well-managed freestall barn is a comfy, safe place for dairy cows to live and thrive.