It is dairy time

The routine daily care of our Holstein dairy herd is important. Bryant has been our herdsman for over 7 years and does an excellent job of taking care of our cows.

The cows are milked and fed 2 times a day. The feed ration formulated for our herd by our dairy nutritionist helps keep the cows milking at peak production.

This feed ration is calculated according to how much milk our cows are producing, what quality of feed we have on hand and the addition of supplements and protein.

A different ration is fed to our dry cows and non-milking heifers and calves. Our nephew Terry and grandson John Jacob help with the afternoon feeding and milking chores.

This is John Jacob’s first season with helping at the pm milking time and we are proud of this interest and help.

Thanks to all our family for their continued help and support.

Farming is all about family!

Healthy cows

Our cows are content in their open-air barn with plenty of food to sustain their bodies.

Our “Holstein Ladies” need a lot of attention to keep them healthy. The monthly reproductive healthcare is in the hands of two vets especially trained in this area. Their on-farm visits are vital for good reproductive and lactating health for our cows.

For any major sickness or injuries our local large animal vet comes to the farm for treatments. Most routine care and breeding is done by our guys.

Constant monitoring for cooling and air circulation is especially important in extremely hot weather – anything over 70° plus humidity can cause heat stress to our milking cows.

We have a mobile hoof trimmer who brings a chute and tilt table to the farm to trim each cow. Hoof care is important for healthy cows.

Important: proper fences and gates help keep animals from getting loose and out on the road. It is no fun to chase a herd of cows at 3 a.m. when it is dark outside and hard to see the animals!

Healthy, happy cows can produce more milk!

Holstein Ladies

Our dairy farm has been in our family for over five generations.

My husband Owen and I live on a 125 acre farm that has been in Owen’s family for over five generations. We are part of the New Jersey Farmland Preservation program for part of our original homestead area. We farm about 120 additional rented acres for corn and hay to sustain our small dairy herd.

We are proud of our “Holstein Ladies.” These big black and white cows (and now we also have some red and whites) are the only dairy cows in our township area.

People love to stop and watch cows at the fence line feeder facility near the road. This field houses our transition cows, some un-bred heifers and bred heifers. We move them back up to the milking facility as they near their time for calving and return to the milking herd.

Enjoy milk products!