Milk & Cows
Cows
As a dairy, we take a great deal of pride in the milk we produce. After all, to make great cheese you need great milk. And to make great milk you need healthy cows.
Our cows are Jersey and Jersey-crosses. They produce a rich milk high in butterfat. In order to reduce the stress of milking, we only milk once a day during their normal milk-producing cycle. Once they dry up in late fall, they take a break until calving season in the spring.
Feed
Our cows are fed using a grass-based diet. We use a rotational grazing method to ensure the grass is healthy and abundant. And most importantly, no chemical fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides of any kind are used on our pasture. The cows make their own fertilizer and our chickens, who are rotated in once the cows are moved to the next paddock, are more than happy to spread it around in their search for bugs.
Animal Management
We have a holistic herd health program that ensures the health of our cows and have completed organic certification this year. Part of this certification requires that our cows aren’t pumped full of antibiotics, synthetic hormones, and sets a standard for pure food.
Wholesome and nutritious food starts with healthy animals that are given the chance the roam free and graze like they were designed to. Mother Nature knows what’s best, so we try to follow her lead. By allowing our cows to roam our pasture and feed on grass that’s always at its prime, we’re ensuring that they’re going to live happy and long lives.
Creamery
Being a farmstead operation, we have the advantage of being able to milk our cows and make cheese onsite. Our milking facility iand cheesemaking facility are attached. The cows are brought in each morning and milked. The milk is collected and then chilled in the bulk tank. Depending on the type of cheese we’re going to make, it’s either pasteurized or put directly into our cheese vat to make raw milk cheese.
Why is this so important? Because we get to monitor each and every step. Few dairies can claim that they know how the cows are treated, how they’re fed, and how the milk is collected. We feel very fortunate to be able to manage our farm in this way.