I really enjoy learning about anything that has to do with natural living, health and nutrition. Two years ago we moved into an area that has an abundance of local agriculture, my favorite being 12 Aprils Dairy, where we get all of our Happy Cow Dairy products. I had done a lot of reading on the subject after realizing that Sam had a dairy allergy and was really excited to be in an area where such good quality milk was readily available. Before we had such easy access, we kept him off of all dairy as it gave him terrible tummy and skin problems. After learning more about milk, I realized that it wasn't the milk itself that was so hard on his body, it was the way the milk is processed. Since we made the switch to the grass-fed, non-homogenized milk he has been able to enjoy a tall, cold one with the rest of them with absolutely no problems at all. With all of the health benefits that come in rich, creamy, whole milk, I'm so glad that it has made such a huge difference.
Anyway, after all of my reading and after loving "Farmer Tom" from afar, we finally got to go and meet the sweet cows who have been giving us our milk for the past two years. The kids, of course, had a blast. Travis was quite the Happy Cow spokesman as he walked around saying, "I mean, it's just so fresh!"
I was so interesting to hear them talk about how they fell unintentionally into this natural approach to dairy farming over 20 years ago and how they came to change the name of their dairy because of it. Farmer Tom was a commercial dairy farmer who was close to losing his farm. Milk production was low and costs were high. Not a good combination! He talked about his frustration when he came home one afternoon to find that all of his cows had escaped from the cement floored "holding barn" where they were kept and were roaming in the pasture. Eventually, he got them all back in and was absolutely shocked at how much more milk they produced that night when he milked them after being on pasture all day! He decided right then that he was going to take full advantage of his land and give the cows what they wanted; grass and freedom! They now have 29 different fields that they rotate the cows through, with each field being grazed on once a month. They plant seasonal grasses so that the cows have fresh "Spring" grass all year long. He says that the stresses and worries of conventional diary farming are long gone and that this way has produced higher quality milk and far more profit. It's also kept his cows much healthier. Their life span has gone from about 5 to 7 years up to 18 years! Now that's a Happy Cow.
Here are a few pictures from our day:
Anyway, after all of my reading and after loving "Farmer Tom" from afar, we finally got to go and meet the sweet cows who have been giving us our milk for the past two years. The kids, of course, had a blast. Travis was quite the Happy Cow spokesman as he walked around saying, "I mean, it's just so fresh!"
I was so interesting to hear them talk about how they fell unintentionally into this natural approach to dairy farming over 20 years ago and how they came to change the name of their dairy because of it. Farmer Tom was a commercial dairy farmer who was close to losing his farm. Milk production was low and costs were high. Not a good combination! He talked about his frustration when he came home one afternoon to find that all of his cows had escaped from the cement floored "holding barn" where they were kept and were roaming in the pasture. Eventually, he got them all back in and was absolutely shocked at how much more milk they produced that night when he milked them after being on pasture all day! He decided right then that he was going to take full advantage of his land and give the cows what they wanted; grass and freedom! They now have 29 different fields that they rotate the cows through, with each field being grazed on once a month. They plant seasonal grasses so that the cows have fresh "Spring" grass all year long. He says that the stresses and worries of conventional diary farming are long gone and that this way has produced higher quality milk and far more profit. It's also kept his cows much healthier. Their life span has gone from about 5 to 7 years up to 18 years! Now that's a Happy Cow.
Here are a few pictures from our day:
The Happy Cows
The "dry" cows - mama's waiting to have their babies!