Dairy Style Vacation

At the end of these hot,dry days on the dairy farm, I love to see the cows gathered in the shade of the trees by our front yard fence. For me, it's a vacation-like moment to watch the cows resting in the shade and shadows created by the sun going down, cooling the air and bringing relief from the heat and stress of the day. These pregnant  Holstein dairy cows by the house have been on vacation for almost two months. Birth of a calf  will end their  two month resting-in-the-pasture vacation that has been preparing them for delivery of a healthy calf and the production of high-quality milk.


Although dairy style cow vacations happen all through the year on our farm, summer is a good time for a dairy cow to be on a resting vacation from milking due to the stress of Arkansas summer heat and humidity. After pregnancy is confirmed by our veterinarian, the cow will be turned dry for this resting vacation two months before the expected due date. On the turn dry day, the cow is milked and her  four quarters (teats)  are treated with preventive medication to protect from bacterial environmental infection. The cow is then removed from the milking herd, fed a special balanced and nutritious diet during the dry cow period, and allowed to rest in the pasture with other expectant cows.

After the cow has her calf, her resting vacation is over and she will return to the milking herd rested and  ready to provide high-quality milk. Due to being treated with medication at turn-dry time, her milk is discarded until the milk is tested negative for medication. It's a fact that milk and dairy products are among the most highly regulated foods available.

Dairy style vacation is part of our ongoing commitment to providing high-quality milk by taking good care of our cows.

                      Hope you're having a dairy good vacation!

Rest on the Dairy Farm

Who's resting on the dairy farm during spring time? It's not the dairy  farmer! Although  spring time harvesting and planting increase our workload and stress us to the max,   our pregnant  cows are resting and relaxing  in the last two months of their  pregnancy regardless of our  increased springtime  workload.

A cow will be pregnant for nine months   before giving birth.Two months before giving birth, a cow will be "turned dry" and moved from the milking herd to a pasture to rest and eat a special pregnancy diet to prepare for a healthy birth. Two weeks before the estimated birth, we bring our cows to the pasture next to our house so we can monitor them closely and provide assistance when necessary.

Last week when I was walking across the yard to feed baby calves, I noticed this expectant mama next to the fence. She looked pretty guilty--like she might have been nibbling on those iris! Even though watching our pregnant cows during this rest phase is part of our job, I find it to be a fun and entertaining part of our daily routine.

Rest during the dry period for dairy cows is important for the cow's health and to insure production of high-quality milk.  Providing high-quality milk begins with taking good care of our cows!

Routine Transitions Provide Quality Milk

Planning for transition is part of our dairy farm routine. Preparing a dairy cow for the birth of a calf includes a two month rest period before she gives birth. On the farm we call this transition the "dry period". During this sixty day dry period the cow will rest in the pasture and be fed a specially designed low energy diet that provides adequate protein,vitamins and mineral to maintain body condition . The inputs of good nutrition and health care during the dry period will be returned by a more productive and healthy cow after giving birth.

We had three cows this week that needed to begin their sixty day dry period. After the morning milking, each cow was dry treated. Because cows are most susceptible to environmental mastitis infections during this rest period,dry treating a cow includes treating all four quarters with an approved long-lasting antibiotic product. When the cow calves and returns to the milking herd, the milk is thrown away until it is tested by our dairy cooperative lab and shown to be free of antibiotic because any milk that tests positive for antibiotics cannot be sold to the public.

After dry treatment was completed with a prescribed vitamin shot and wormer, Cody loaded the cows into the trailer and moved them to the dry pasture located a couple of miles from the dairy to begin their days of rest and rejuvenation. These cows will be fed and monitored daily. Two weeks before they are expected to give birth, we will move them to the pasture by our house. Since we have calves born through out the year, we are basically on pasture call twenty four hours a day,seven days a week!

It's a fact--healthy cows produce more milk. Our commitment to providing high-quality milk begins with taking good care of our cows everyday--24/7!

Dairy Farm Full of Transitions

As I walked across the pasture tonight to check on our dairy cows that are due to calve any day, I heard the loud chorus of the crickets proclaiming the end of summer. It seems like life around us right now is full of transitions--school starting,seasons changing,county fair finished,both sons home on the farm for the first time in four years. Even the cows are in transition! These cows that I'm checking tonight have been moved close to the house within the last two weeks so that we can monitor them frequently and provide assistance with calving if needed.

Dairy cows experience a transition period from sixty days prior to calving until forty days after calving. During this transition period, known as the dry period, the cows are removed from the milking herd and allowed to rest in the pasture until they give birth. A carefully managed dry cow diet that contains adequate protein,vitamins and minerals, medium quality forage, and a small amount of grain will prepare the cow for a smooth transition into the milking herd, provide optimum milk production in early lactation and reduce the incidence of metabolic disorders.

Caring for our cows during this important transition time in the cow's life leads to high quality, wholesome milk. Tomorrow we have three more cows that will begin their transition into the dry period and be removed from the milking herd. One thing is constant in life and on the dairy farm--transition!