Micro dairy succeeds with six cows!

Holy (and Hardy) Cows!
How Brown Cows Help Micro Dairy Reach Success
http://www.great-group-activities.com/micro-dairy.html
by Barbara Berst Adams
Copyright National Lilac Publishing, LLC
On a rocky hillside in the rugged Cache Valley of northern Utah, five Swiss Brown cows graze about 5.5 acres (4 owned, 1 ½  leased). The really interesting part of this lovely vision is that their milk provides the full time living for the owners of Rockhill Creamery, Jennifer Hines and Pete Schropp, a husband and wife team who turn the milk into artisan cheese.
How they do it

How? Well, there’s an old but dying truth in Northern Europe among traditional dairy farmers. They say you can tell which meadow the milk and cheese came from, because the flavor is different depending on the herbs grown in the different fields. But this ability to taste and desire the differences in different locations hasn’t died completely, and it may be returning to the USA (and hopefully the world) in many forms.

It’s an example of a revival of a way of sustainable farming. The deeper we get into sustainability and local production, the more new pathways open up to reveal a treasury of lost taste diversity,  flavor and food producing methods. They reveal just how exciting and unique the foods are that wait to be discovered from country to country, from region to region, and maybe even from meadow to meadow.

In this author’s opinion, Rockhill Creamery is tapping into this revival that’s even beyond the more obvious sustainability trends.
Beyond sustainability

Of course their cows are raised sustainably. They are antibiotic-free, rBGH-free, and eat grass and clover when it isn’t snowing. “Our pastures are a combination of blue grass and clover,” Pete says. “We have tried to keep them in more productive grasses, but we are surrounded by houses with blue grass yards and blue grass is very competitive. We are able to control weeds through mechanical means, and by rotating between cows, heifers, smaller steer calves, and horses, we get a pretty good, even graze.
Sometimes, in the early spring, I do mow some of the high spots. We do harrow frequently. Since our farm is so small, our pastures are not the sole source of feed for our cows.

They also eat locally grown premium dairy hay and a grain ration that has been customized for our small herd.” Pete and Jennifer’s supplements include alfalfa, some soy, corn and barley, and of course, minerals.
“We provide our cows with free choice minerals and salt. I offer them one commercial block of trace minerals, one chunk of southern Utah mineral salt (from the Redmond Salt Company -- the RealSalt™ people), and a regular white salt block also.”
But the story, the flavor, and the request from customers – including chefs, gets deeper than this. Cheese from Rockhill Creamery is not just cheese from generic sustainably raised cows. “We have a very nice mineral package in our custom grain ration that they are fed twice daily while in the milk parlor,” explains Pete. “We have a friend that helped us develop our own ration ... no urea, or other animal sources of protein. We use whole, flaked soybeans for our protein, whole, flaked corn and barley for the energy. It costs us quite a bit more than the standard dairy ration available at our co-op, but we have had several chefs actually request copies of the ingredients lists for what our cows eat, so our customers are quite involved with how we choose to feed our cows.”

Further, the creamery’s milk for cheese currently comes from Elsa, Ingrid, Greta, a new gal named Chloe, plus the beloved Ruby, who came down with pneumonia last winter, but then made an inspiring recovery after the careful care given by her owners combined with her own strength and will to live. While all the cows are pampered and respected by their owners, they also must become rugged and healthy themselves against the harsh white northern Utah winters. Cheese from Rockhill Creamery is different than that from other regions and other meadows. It’s from, as the owners describe them, very hardy cows, and also of a unique breed of cow.

“Brown Swiss produce milk with almost the perfect protein to butter fat ratio for cheese making," says Pete. “We knew that we wanted to make whole-milk cheeses, so that was important to us. The yield we get is quite high because of that ratio. Brown Swiss are also the most beautiful of all breeds (I am not biased in any way!). And they are the most docile -- very easy to be around, and very safe for the milker.”

Fans of their cheese can enjoy the farm owners’ blog, entitled “Holy Cows,” a high-tech form of the old farm journal non-farmers often love to read and live vicariously through. We can read about how the cows love playing in the snow, how Ruby, when ill, was covered with a blanket and treated by the vet, and of her remarkable recovery. We can see how the progress of the new aging room is coming along, and smile at Pete’s amusing description of what happened when the bull was brought in.

And their cheese-making is definitely artisan. It begins, of course, with receiving very good milk from their Brown Swiss cows. They use cow-to-can milking with a machine, but no pipeline. (Pete says they can't be grade A with an open pail.) They use this high quality raw milk with a variety of cultures to produce artisan cheeses that are aged in their aging “cave.” The aging time is broken down into three stages, offering a milder creamier cheese after the shortest duration, and a harder cheese with deeper, complex flavors for the cheese with the longer term aging. Cheese flavors include Farmhouse Gouda with its hand-rubbed olive oil rind, Zwitser (which means “Swiss” in Dutch) for which is added an extra enzyme to the Farmhouse Gouda to create a flavorful variation, Peppercorn made with whole black peppercorns, Dark Canyon Edam aged between two to four months named after a favorite canyon in Utah – a cheese which changes to Snow Canyon Edam after it ages longer, more than four months, also named after another Utah canyon, a rich flavored Wasatch Gruyere, and their own cows-milk Desert Red Feta rubbed with red salt minerals mined from Southern Utah.

How it all started
“We had been raising baby dairy heifers as replacements for some area dairies,” says Pete. “We had invested quite a bit of money and time into the business, and it seemed as though each time we just started to make some money and settle into a good working relationship, the dairy would close or go out of business. So we decided that we needed to come up with a business plan that gave us more control over our own destiny. Our farm is too small to be profitable, unless we added value to what we produced, so after considering many options, we decided the cheese business was the perfect fit for us. I really enjoy working with livestock, and Jennifer is a true "foodie."

Their market outlets

Pete and Jennifer sell their cheeses to various restaurants with names including Deer Valley Resort and Garden Café, to retail foods markets such as one named Sweet Peas Natural Market, and online in the form of gift boxes, samplers, or wheels of cheese, from a quarter wheel to full wheels. They have also established a cheese club membership where customers can choose from a variety of subscription packages to have cheese delivered on a regular basis.

In addition, they operate a farmstand in their granary which they open on Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. May through October. For other times, they allow potential farm visitors to call ahead if they want to visit the farm when the farmstand isn’t open. Their farmstand offers cheese samples and they also sell other locally produced food items, such as artisan bread from a producer named Crumb Brothers Artisan Bread.

The road to ultimate success

Pete explains here how many other individuals and entities, from local specialty food shop owners to the Slow Food Movement, helped make their dairy a success. “When we first decided to get into the cheese business, we introduced ourselves to the owner of one of Salt Lake City's best specialty food shops - Liberty Heights Fresh. Steven Rosenberg is a well-known supporter of local producers of all types. He showed quite an interest. It took us two years to complete all the building, etc. When we were finally licensed in January 2005 we got in touch with Steven again, and he came to visit us that March. Ever since he has been a great ally. He helped us get a spot at the Salt Lake Downtown Farmers Market - a very large market that exposed us to thousands of folks. He steered media folks our way, including a reporter for Via Magazine, the West's AAA travel magazine with several million readers. 

“That same year we sold at the Cache Valley Gardeners Market here in our valley. So, with the exposure that we received from the two farmers markets, as well as the media, we were well on our way to developing a recognized brand. 

“In 2006 we added the Park City Farmers market to our outlets and began approaching stores and restaurants - mostly in person, but some through letters and samples shipped. That summer, the Utah chapter of Slow Food, USA held a "farmer/chef mingle"  in Salt Lake City and invited chefs from the area's fine restaurants, hotels and ski resorts. We met several chefs for the first time, and got to see others in a much more casual setting than their kitchens. Then, that fall, we hosted a Slow Food Utah event here at our farm. We had a couple of local chefs cater it, they used almost all local produce, meat, bread, and of course, lots of cheese. We had stations set up explaining all aspects of our operation. We invited both the local lamb/beef producer and the vegetable provider to educate our guests about their respective operations. The folks that came to that dinner were all foodies, and included several culinary arts instructors, a local TV station's food personality, and just a lot of nice folks to get to know. Our local paper did a feature story on the event.

“During all this time, we also developed our web page, did underwriting on our local public radio station, donated cheese to several charitable events and kept going out and meeting chefs and cheese mongers in the Salt Lake area.

“This last June, our business was good enough that Jennifer was able to quit her 3/4 time job and devote more time to the cheese business. In the first few weeks of her new effort, we expanded into Portland and Seattle area markets. We got a great customer in Denver. And continue to sell more and more cheese in the Salt Lake area.

Pete further illustrates how some marketing methods, such as their farmstand, have proven valuable in less than obvious ways. “Our farmstand is responsible for a very small portion of our sales - less than 3%. But it has proven to be worth all the effort for giving us a place to entertain visiting chefs, store staffs, etc. We have a great customer in Pocatello, Idaho. He has a wine bar and bistro. Just before he opened, he was out on a drive looking for local foods (Pocatello is just 70 miles north of here) and stopped by our farmstand one Saturday. He spent an hour seeing the operation, meeting the cows, sampling cheese. When he left, he told us he would call in an order soon. We thought, ‘Oh yeah, sure you will.’ The next week he placed his first order and has been one of our great customers ever since.”

Plans for the future

At the time of this writing, a new cow named Chloe had just been purchased. Their other current milk cows are, as mentioned above, still “Elsa, Ingrid, Greta and Ruby,” says Pete. “We have five daughters that we are bringing along also. Iggy is Ingrid's daughter and she is due to calve in April. We also have Heide, Greta's daughter, that will join the herd late this summer. Opal, Ruby's daughter will also be joining the herd this summer. And Elsie, Elsa's daughter, is just old enough to breed right now, so she'll be in milk sometime next winter. Bell, is the daughter of a cow we no longer have, she is a cross breed so we will sell her when she gets a little closer to calving. She'll go to another dairy or to a family who wants a milk cow.” Pete and Jennifer plan to work towards becoming more profitable and less labor intensive, while continuing to provide their great customers with fine, hand-crafted cheese.

Advice (and a warning) for future sustainable dairy owners

“Don't decide to milk cows, goats, sheep or anything else if you ever hope to take a vacation again!” says Pete. “Cows must calve to come into milk. We always dry off our cows at least two months before they are due to calve. And, in the past, we have tried to do that all in synch (seasonally). So far, that is not working. Our cows just don't get pregnant the first time (that's not how my mom said those things happened!) or anywhere close to the same time. (Plus,) seasonal milking makes managing the rest of the business very difficult. We sell a lot of our cheese to restaurants at very specific ages. If we were to stop production (for all cows at the same time) all together we would have to stop selling those cheeses for two months. We do have a few folks who help us with milking, cleaning cheese, wrapping/packaging. Each only works a few hours a week. So it's hard enough to find folks that can afford to do that. If we then told them, "sorry, come back in two months and we'll start again," it would be impossible to find help. And last but not least, our winters are really long and can be quite miserable, we might as well be working. I'd like to figure out how to take summers off!”

But the rewards are definitely there. “The first good snow of each season gets the cows in such a playful mood,” says Pete. “They are very fun to watch romp and play in the deep snow. The farmers’ market season is just pure joy. To see the hundreds of folks that are our regular customers come back year after year and carry on about how much they love our cheese, that makes the long, lonely winter worth it every time. And to be in a business that allows us to get to know the best chefs of the area, the craziest foodies and the most down-to-earth farmers all at the same time, now that's a business to love.” And finally, Pete reminds current or aspiring small sustainable dairies of the following: “Stay small and stay simple. And whatever you do, keep it fun.”


RESOURCES:

Brown Swiss Cattle Breeders’ Association’s website:
www.brownswissusa.com

Ketosis and the Family Cow

• June 4, 2015
• |
• Countryside Contributor

Ketosis in Cows

If you have a family milk cow, chances are you have experienced ketosis or you will. Ketosis is a metabolic disorder that affects many dairy animals after freshening and if untreated can have disastrous results. Prevention, monitoring and quick treatment are the keys to overcoming this dreaded condition.
Of course, if your cow is sick, the first thing to do is contact your local veterinarian. The problem is many of us are in areas without easy access to vets. Our country is experiencing a shortage of large animal veterinarians and even if you have one, there are times they just cannot come to your aid. As with children, animals have a knack for coming down with something on weekends and holidays, leaving us scrambling to find help or even the medication and supplies we need. We have learned the hard way to be prepared for the worst and hope for the best.

WHAT IS KETOSIS?

Ketosis is a complex metabolic condition, not a bacteria or virusinduced disease. In simple terms, ketosis is when the cow is using energy faster than she can digest and create it. A negative energy balance results from a huge glucose demand from milk production, causing the body to burn stored fat, similar to what happens to humans on the Adkins diet. The result is fatty acids in the bloodstream build while glucose levels plummet. The liver tries to keep up but the result of this synthesis is ketones in the system. You may not be familiar with ketones, but you’ve probably smelled acetone in nail polish remover. It is basically the same thing. As a result, you may even smell the acetone on the cow’s breath or in her milk.
Depending on how advanced the disease, the cow will feel bad, her production will drop, she will lose condition very fast, she may become dehydrated, stop eating or drastically reduce her feed intake, and if not treated soon will begin to have digestive problems including constipation, and can even have a displaced obosum (meaning the stomach on the bottom will rotate upwards). This disorder can even cause a nervous condition where she licks everything and acts like she’s drunk. By the time you see these symptoms, you will know your girl is in serious trouble, but how will you know it is ketosis and not something else? The easiest way is to check her urine for ketones with a ketone strip.
The most convenient place for me to find ketone strips is at my local pharmacy. The bottle will have a color chart on the side ranging from white to dark purple. All you need is a drop of your cow’s urine on the tip of the strip and it will immediately turn dark if ketones are present. The darker the color, the more ketones present and the sicker your cow. You can actually have ketones present without any symptoms, but you need to know if this condition is developing. Since it is hard to predict when your cow will pee, there is a technique that will cause your cow to urinate. If you put your finger under her vulva and stimulate, it should cause her to release her urine—if she has any. If you are a fan of YouTube, you can search it and find some videos showing it being done. We find that fresh cows (those who gave birth recently) generally have to urinate when we start milking due to the contractions, so go about your milking and get ready.

PREVENTING KETOSIS WITH A DRY PERIOD

Now that you know what ketosis is, you need to know when to watch for it. If it is going to happen, it will most likely show up in the first few weeks following freshening (calving). A dairy cow will go from storing energy during her dry period to using energy at an incredible rate overnight in milk production. Just as you and I could not run a marathon without building up endurance, it takes a cow’s body some time to adjust to the new demands of milk production. As a result, the longer the dry period between lactations, the more likely a cow will experience ketosis.
All cows need a dry period between her last freshening and her next. The last few weeks in a cow’s gestation is when the calf grows the fastest and has the biggest demand on the mother’s system. She needs this time to grow her calf and replenish her own reserves. The problem is, they can also gain weight fast during this time if you continue to feed them like you did when they were milking. We feel a two-month dry period is about right. Any less would not give her a rest and any more could lead to a fatty liver. You certainly don’t want a starved skinny cow going into calving, but you don’t want a fat girl either. Not only could it lead to ketosis but it could result in a larger than normal calf, resulting in calving difficulties.
Since the dry period is so important, many dairymen have a special “close in” diet. They reduce the grain to dry her up and then slowly increase the feed approaching her due date. You will always need to provide around-the-clock pasture or good hay and fresh water in addition to loose minerals. Energy comes from carbohydrates, not protein, so we love to add sorghum molasses to our cow’s feed. It is a bi-product of sugar production. They separate the minerals and vitamins from the sugar and sell this dark molasses as a garden additive for organic gardeners and for animal feed. They save the pure sugar for us humans! You should be able to buy it reasonably in five-gallon buckets from a garden supply or farm supply store.
There are few things more debated in home dairy circles than grain feeding, so you have probably heard a wide range of suggestions. I’ve heard everything from grass only to three pounds of high protein dairy feed per gallon of production. As with most things, I like to take a middle-of-the-road approach. Beef cows can certainly do fine on grass only, but it takes some preparation to find a true dairy breed that can stay healthy on grass alone. It can certainly be done if you have great grass and hay and your heifer was raised to develop a large active rumen, but if you buy a dairy cull who has been raised on grain, she’s going to go down on grass alone.
High protein diets have been linked to a greater incidence of problems like ketosis and mastitis due to the high production of milk. We like to keep the protein at 14 percent or below for supplemental feed. To increase the carbohydrates, we add the sorghum and love that she gets the added minerals and vitamins it contains. We only feed a few pounds a day of mixed grain as a treat, but then we have great grass and we raise our cows on grass to develop their rumen. You will have to play with your feed quantity until you find what works for your girl, but for sure, always make sure she gets the long stem hay or great pasture.
As a recap, we recommend you stop the grain supplement when you dry her up. The dry period should start at eight weeks before her next due date. About five weeks out, start with a small amount of low-protein, high-fiber grain with some molasses poured over it. We also like to add some sea kelp, diatomaceous earth, dolomite and an ounce of raw apple cider vinegar. You can also keep the kelp and dolomite out free choice if you prefer. We have found these added minerals and ingredients help prevent many conditions and keep her in the best of health resulting in being highly fertile. Slowly increase the feed until freshening, when you are giving her the usual amount she eats while lactating.
In order to ease into milk production, we leave the calf with her the first 12 hours and let it nurse, but we don’t milk. After that, you can either leave the calf with her or remove him and feed colostrum and milk if you prefer to bottle feed your calves. Watch her udder closely and milk her daily, but otherwise there is no reason to empty it at this point. The more you take out, the more demand it is putting on her system. People will tell you that you must completely empty the udder or she will get mastitis. If she has had mastitis before and had a lingering germ, then that may be true, but not the rule. You need the germs to cause an infection so keep her in a clean stall or pasture, and you shouldn’t have a problem unless you are feeding her a lot of high protein grain that is pushing her production.

Ketosis in Cows

By the fourth day, she should be ready to go into full production and the colostrum should be gone. From then on, we milk once a day and completely empty the udder. If you feed grain or have high-producing Holsteins, then you would most likely have to milk twice a day, but we are a home dairy and not looking for maximum production. Our Guernsey girls have been milked once a day for generations and that is without calf sharing. We do not have a mastitis problem and their udders hold up well for years.

TREATING KETOSIS

Now is the time to start monitoring the ketones. If she is clean then you’re probably okay. If you see the udder start to turn pink or purple, then now’s the time to take action before you see any symptoms. There are two products you can use with her feed to help balance her metabolism. One is glycerin and the other is propylene glycol. They both work the same way. Glycerin is a natural product, more expensive and harder to find, but I much prefer it because it is natural and the cows seem to like the taste better. I had to order mine online and pay shipping to the farm. Propylene glycol can be purchased at most farm stores and is reasonably priced. Start pouring a half cup or more over her feed and then monitor her ketones to see if they are getting better or worse the next day and adjust the amount accordingly. This is high in carbohydrates and provides the needed glucose similar to a person with low blood sugar.
If despite your best efforts, your cow’s ketones are way too high and she’s obviously sick, it may be time for an IV. If you’ve never given an IV to a cow, it sounds scary and you will think it is something you simply can’t do. If you are a homesteader and work with your cow every day, you can do this but only if you have the supplies you need. We keep an emergency kit with everything needed to deal with this and other potential problems.
We do this because we’ve been up all night with a sick cow before, thinking she would be gone before the store opened or a vet returned our call. It only takes one night like that and then you’ll get prepared. As always, when you are prepared, you seldom need the supplies. It is just part of Murphy’s Law I guess! We use a 500 ml bottle of dextrose (50 percent), a Primary I.V. Set, and “Polypropylene Hub Hypodermic Needle.” You may find something you like better though. We bought ours online from Valley Vet, but I’m sure you can find them at other veterinarian supply stores. The packaging will show you how to assemble these items.
You will need to make sure your cow is restrained, especially her head. You can use a stanchion if you have one and can get her in it or you can use a halter. If you have her in the barn, use a lead rope to tie her head to something stable and push her body up against a wall. If you happen to be out in the field in an emergency and she will not budge, you’ll have to restrain her as best you can. The best way to learn how to place the needle in the vein is to go on YouTube and watch several videos of people doing it. They will teach you how to feel for that main vein that runs alongside the neck and insert the needle at an angle. When you do it, do it quickly. Hold the IV tube down and see if blood starts to flow into it. If so, you’ve hit the right spot. You may want to tape the needle in place so it doesn’t pull out or move. Now, raise your bottle above the needle so gravity will feed it into the vein. It may take a while, depending on your tube and needle, so be patient and try to keep her calm. Once your bottle is empty, remove the needle quickly, rub the spot and you’re done.
She should get better almost immediately, but that doesn’t mean she is well. You’ll need to continue to monitor her ketones and adjust her feed accordingly. We have found that good lush pasture puts weight on better than anything else and provides the energy she needs. You should expect the ketones to get lower each day until she is normal again, and in a few weeks she should be out of the woods and fine until her next freshening. If not, something is not right and you’ll need to find a vet that can come out and give her a good physical.
We have found that our dairy cows give us very little trouble, but calving is a difficult time. We prefer to hope for the best but be prepared, and ketosis is one of the most likely things that can go wrong. Keep your veterinarian’s phone number handy, your emergency kit stocked and you should be able to weather whatever comes your way. Our family dairy cows give so much and we want to be there for them in a moment of crisis. With a little preparation, you can too.