Chillin' in the Milk Barn

It seemed fitting on the first day of summer during June Dairy Month that we would host a tour for dairy farmers and community members  to showcase our new milk chillin'  plate cooler. After completing an energy audit of our dairy farm  in 2011, the plate cooler was one of the energy saving suggestions. A Conservation Innovation Grant from NRCS made it possible for us to invest in this project for our farm.   Although cooling the milk is necessary year round, a hot first day of summer  was  perfect for talking about chillin' the milk!


Milk cooling costs are usually one of the largest energy operating expenses on the dairy because it  takes a lot of electricity to cool the cow's milk from 98 degrees when it leaves the cow to 38 degrees in the bulk storage tank. The plate cooler, also known as a Milk Pre-Cooler, is a series of steel plates installed in the milk line before the bulk tank. Cold water passes through a plate cooler in one direction and absorbs heat from the warm milk pumped through the plate cooler in the opposite direction. The plate cooler can reduce the temperature of the milk entering the bulk storage tank to within 4 degrees of the incoming cold water temperature.

Besides saving electricity and money with faster cooling, Milk Pre-Coolers also create these benefits:

• Increases the milk quality by inhibiting bacterial growth through faster cooling.
• Extends refrigeration equipment life by reducing load and run time.
• Daily milk production can also be increased when the warm water exiting the Pre-Cooler is used for watering the cows.

The installation of the Milk Pre-Cooler also required an addition of a variable speed milk pump and a water system to recycle the water used by the plate cooler for our dairy cows to drink in the pasture.

Our showcase tour also included a visit to the newly installed rubber tire water tanks.




Chillin' the milk and recycling water on our dairy farm are perfect examples of how we  continue our commitment to producing high-quality  milk while caring for and conserving  our natural resources!

June Dairy Month--It's All About the Cows!

Just when you think there's not another minute to add another job  in the day on the dairy farm  during June Dairy Month , we begin a project! Quality water is essential to a dairy farm and  the good thing about our   project is   that when completed it  will protect, conserve, and recycle the water supply on our farm.  A water line from the dairy barn will provide recycled  water from the energy saving milk plate cooler  to two rubber tire water tanks in the pasture for a group of our milking cows.

 

 

Most of this project work began late in the afternoon after other chores and field work  were completed. It required a lot of coordinated  planning to be sure materials, machinery, and manpower were available.
 

 

 After installing the water lines, the work began to build the pad for the large rubber tire tanks.


 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 



After the forms were built for the cement pad and the pipe placed for the water, the tire was set.

The devil is always  in the details!

 

 

Fortunately we had a beautiful sunny

Saturday for pouring the  cement  pad under the tires.

 

 

Hopefully by the end of the week, we'll finish this project and the cows will be enjoying water from the new tanks.

Providing our cows with clean water contributes to high-quality milk.

 

 

 

June Dairy Month--it's all about the cows!!

 

Everyday List for the Earth

It's not supposed to be necessary to wear long underwear for Earth Day outdoor activities in Northwest Arkansas in April, but it was good planning for our  activity  at Old High Middle School!  The chilly temperature did not lessen the excitement of the students as they moved to different activities on the front lawn of the school.

Our topic for the day was the Water Cycle and we had a lot of fun playing the Water Drop game to provide information about the importance of water and how we strive to recycle and protect our water supply.

If you're wondering how you may celebrate Earth Day everyday, here's the list we shared with the students:

• Unplug electronics. Even though they aren't in use, electronics still use up energy if they're plugged in.
• reuse bags you've been collecting whenever possible.
• Pledge to cut down on buying bottles of water. Get a reuseable bottle!
• Teach kids about reusing,reducing and recycling. Lessons today will turn to action tomorrow! Lead by example.
• Turn off the lights! So easy to do--make it a habit when you leave a room.
• Don't waste water. Be conscious of your water usage.
• Change the light bulbs in your house to Compact Florescent Lights (CFls). You'll save energy and also money on your electric bill.
• Plant a tree.
• When running errands have your route planned ahead of time so you are not back tracking.
• Compost. Reducing the amount of solid waste produced in a year means taking up less space in landfills. Plus, compost makes a great natural fertilizer.
• Maintain your car by keeping tire pressure right.
• Drive smarter by slowing down. Take it easy on the gas pedal and brakes.