State-of-the-Art Raw Milk System at Sally Fallon Morell’s Farm
(Santos and Lee drive the cows into the milking parlor. Photo by Jill Nienhiser for Farm Food Blog.)
I recently toured Sally Fallon Morell’s Farm Brandywine Maryland; read about it here.
Meanwhile, I felt a separate post was warranted to provide a little photo essay on their milking system.
At the P. A. Bowen Farmstead, milking is done once a day, in the morning. Geoffrey Morell was a dairyman back in New Zealand years ago, and he did twice a day milking, but swore he’d do it only once a day if he ever had a dairy farm again. It’s working beautifully! Once a day milking prevents the cows from overproducing, which is hard on them. And it is a great relief to the farmers as well to only milk once a day.
(Update 12/28/11) A reader asked how the calves were fed if the cows were only milked once a day. I asked Sally and she replied:
“We start the cows out on once a day milking. For the first few months after calving, the calves are with their mothers during the day and then put in the barn at night so the mothers are not nursed during the night and have plenty of milk in the morning. After a few months we put all the calves with ‘nurse cows’; that is, cows who are good mothers and give more milk to the calves than would give if they were being milked. There are always several in the herd like that.”
(Inside the milking parlor. Photo by Jill Nienhiser for Farm Food Blog.)
Dairy Manager Santos Towar and Lee Haigwood, part-time farmhand and son of the Farm Managers, herded them into the big clean milking parlor to strains of classical music. Apparently Santos consulted his more experienced father about getting the cows to come in and calm down for milking each day, and he said, “Play classical music, always the same type!” So they get Mozart every morning. And for whatever reason, it works. Perhaps it’s because all the cows are named for famous opera singers and opera characters, and thus appreciate this nod to their heritage.
(Snack in front, waste trough in back! Photo by Jill Nienhiser for Farm Food Blog.)
The cows were herded into the stall where they were pushed close together and hemmed in with a bar, which prevents them moving around and kicking during the milking. Their hindquarters were over a trough that catches urine and manure, while their noses were in a second trough that held their daily ration of grain. They’re given a mixture of field peas, corn, and wheat, which is soaked overnight in vinegar water. Sally said there is such a difference in the milk yield just from them getting this small snack of grain during their milking.
In response to a reader who said that he thought WAPF promoted only grass-feeding, not grain, I asked Sally specifically for comment. She said:
“In all of our suggestions on dairy farming, we have allowed some grain to be given to dairy cows–up to 0.5% of body weight per day (we are giving about 0.2% of body weight, thus the cows are getting about two pounds of grain during milking).* There are two reasons for this. First is that in a natural setting, ruminants would be getting some grain in the seed heads of mature grasses. And second, dairy cows are more stressed than cows in the wild, producing more milk than a natural cow would–even low-production cows like our own. If we did not give the grain, the cows would be very very thin. By soaking in vinegar water, we make the grains very digestible for the cows.The vast majority of raw milk producers are giving some grain to their cows. Those who don’t are obliged to charge $12-13 per gallon in order for the farm to be economically viable.”
*Sentence corrected 12/28/11. Previously it said 5% and 2%.
In the large open area of the milking parlor there are troughs with salt, minerals, and diatomaceous earth that the cows are free to lick up when they want to.
(Iodine dip first! Photo by Jill Nienhiser for Farm Food Blog.)
The cows’ udders are thus all lined up and accessible under the waste trough, to the farmers standing on the lower level. A state of the art milking system called CO-pulsation is used. First each teat is dipped in iodine and wiped off. Then the milking machine is attached to each teat. A pulsing vacuum is turned on that is the latest thing, much gentler on the cows. The vacuum sucks at each teat on and off to an electronically controlled pulse, mimicking a calf’s suckling. The milk goes directly into a clean, covered stainless steel pail. When the cows are all milked, the milk goes into the bulk milk tank where it is quickly chilled and held for up to four days until there is enough for cheese making. Read about the cheese making facilities here!
(Attaching the milking apparatus. Photo by Jill Nienhiser for Farm Food Blog.)
One of the cows had dried up so she was separated to go with the other dry cows, and then the remaining cows were let out to pasture again. They’re all nearing the end of their season and will be dry soon. Monday December 12th is the last cheese making for a while. Once the cows have their calves in the spring, milking will start up again.
(Curious cow. Photo by Jill Nienhiser for Farm Food Blog.)
If you’d like to tour Sally’s farm or buy some cheese or other pastured animal foods at the Farm Store, here’s the info!
P.A. Bowen Farmstead*
15701 Doctor Bowen Road
Brandywine, MD 20613
Phone: 301-579-2727
Website: PABowenFarmstead.com (coming soon; you can sign up for email updates)
Facebook: facebook.com/pages/PA-Bowen-Farmstead/257719757614326
*The farm is named after Dr. Philander A. Bowen, who owned the farm in the late 1800s and served the community for many years. (And by the way, if you don’t know, Sally is the author of my favorite cookbook–and encyclopedia of food and nutrition wisdom– Nourishing Traditions. Click at right to buy it!)
Store Hours & Farm Tours
- The Farm Store is open Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 10am to 6pm, or to groups by appointment.
- Farm Tours are given on Saturday mornings at 11am. Admission is $15 for adults and $5 for children 10-18.
Go Like them on Facebook right now so you can get farm updates special event info in your newsfeed!
You can see many more, and larger, photos from my visit in the photo album on my Flickr site, here.
Have you checked out my Resources page? Real Food Media carefully vets these sponsors, to provide you with a handy list of sources for nutrient dense, sustainable real food and related stuff (supplements, gardening supplies, kitchen tools, menu plans, and much more). I use many of these products myself.
This post is linked to the following blog carnivals–check ‘em out for more great articles and recipes:
- The Healthy Home Economist’s Monday Mania for 12/19/2011
- Kelly the Kitchen Kop’s Real Food Wednesday 04/12/2012
Filed under: TheFarmers by Jill
[...] Read more about the state of the art milking system with photos here! [...]
A waste trough!! Brilliant!
Thank you for sharing these lovely photos! Farming the way it’s supposed to be!
Love the part about Mozart playing to the cows too! I played Mozart constantly when I was pregnant … kids and cows ??? Who knew?
[...] posted a LOT of photos and information. Here you can see the property (and what adorable pigs!), here facilities for milking and keeping the fresh raw milk clean, and the cheese making facilities. Anyone around the northeast who wants to make a visit? [...]
Will someone please explain to me why these cows are given a daily ration of grains soaked in vinegar? I thought WAPF taught that cows should be GRASS fed and not grain fed.
Hi Shakti, WAPF does promote pasture feeding of livestock, but as with many principles, there are nuances. Some grain at milking is considered okay and in line with nature–they’d get some mature seeds in their browsing.
I asked Sally for a specific response, and she shared the following, which I’ll incorporate into this post and the other post on her farm so that it doesn’t just get buried in comments here:
“In all of our suggestions on dairy farming, we have allowed some grain to be given to dairy cows–up to 5% of body weight per day. (We are giving about 2% of body weight) There are two reasons for this. First is that in a natural setting, ruminants would be getting some grain in the seed heads of mature grasses. And second, dairy cows are more stressed than cows in the wild, producing more milk than a natural cow would–even low-production cows like our own. If we did not give the grain, the cows would be very very thin.
By soaking in vinegar water, we make the grains very digestible for the cows.
The vast majority of raw milk producers are giving some grain to their cows. Those who don’t are obliged to charge $12-13 per gallon in order for the farm to be economically viable.
Sally Fallon Morell”
No one has made a comment on the 5%, 2% grain ration, that it must mean .5% and .2%, as 5% on a 1000 lb cow would be 50 lbs of grain which I don’t think even the industrial dairies could feed their cows. I also wonder on the once a day milking, is that started the day that the cow freshens or is it started a little while into her lactation? And also how are the calves fed if the cows are only milked once a day?
Just checked with sally. She said: “Yes you are right, it should be 0.2% and 0.5 percent. The cows are getting about 2 pounds of grain during milking.
“We start the cows out on once a day milking. For the first few months after calving, the calves are with their mothers during the day and then put in the barn at night so the mothers are not nursed during the night and have plenty of milk in the morning. After a few months we put all the calves with ‘nurse cows,”‘that is cows who are good mothers and give more milk to the calves than would give if they were being milked. There are always several in the herd like that.”
I’ll get this updated in the post tomorrow; I’m on my phone right now. -Jill
Thanks for the info. A very nice looking operation, although I’m sure expensive to set up.
[...] State-of-the-Art Raw Milk System at Sally Fallon Morell’s Farm 9. Are You Eating Enough Salt? 8. Kohlrabi Fritters Recipe 7. Think Fluoridated Water is a Good [...]
[...] I recently toured Sally Fallon Morell’s Farm; read about the tour here, and the milking system here. [...]
[...] Read more about their state-of-the-art milking system with photos here! [...]