KENTUCKY
July - August 2018 w w w. k y d a i r y. o r g
Milk Matters Supported by
Paula & Patrick Patterson
I
t cannot be understated that the Dairy Industry is in a tough straight. Alternative milk products, contract loss and a changing milk market make dairy farming a much more challenging endeavor than the industry has faced in times past. A doom and gloom mentality has taken hold in a large portion of our community, however when we attended the KDDC Summer Dairy Tour we saw a refreshing break in the clouds. While on the KDDC Summer Dairy Tour we saw men and women with a passion and enthusiasm for dairy that reminded us why we started our dairy in the first place.. Our operation is a 90 cow pasture based dairy. Throughout the year we rotationally graze around 100 acres of novel endophyte fescue with a grain supplement we feed in our open sided dairy barn during milking. During the winter, while they are still rotating fields, the pasture grass is replaced with alfalfa and grass bailage. During the summer, our cows can be found resting under shade trees as the only shelter we have, besides the milk barn, is two tobacco barns we have repurposed for raising the calves and emergency shelter. I was not raised on a dairy and my only experience with a milking operation being that of our farm, I was amazed at the diversity in dairy farm operation styles. While the organic hybrid dairy we visited was the most similar to our operation, the tie stall barns, free stall barns, and compost
bedded pack barns we saw on the tour were a valuable insight into the different styles of operation used by dairy farmers across the state. Patrick was amazed at the amount of time and effort put into cow comfort at these farms. The cows were all in dry well kept barns. The barns were all clean and put the cows in an optimum milk producing environment. They were great for the cows during the different seasons and protected them from the weather. While our cows are on grass 24/7 the cows in these barns were able to get relief from the heat with the help of fans, air flow systems and sprinklers, all of which help contribute to the overall comfort of the cow. We also visited two farms that had installed cooling panels in their barns as an innovative way to help keep the herd cool. These farms reminded us of the importance of keeping the cows comfortable and showed us some of the new and innovative methods farmers are using to improve cow comfort. The greatest takeaway from this trip however, was the people. Whether it was the farmers who took great pride in their operations, or the people who were on the tour with us who talked about their own farms and discussed what we were learning, it was evident that these men and women had a great love and passion for dairy. In an industry plagued with a doom and gloom mentality it was refreshing to see people who were proud to be dairy farmers. Patrick has come home with a head full of ideas, I have come home with a better understanding of the dairy industry, and we both came home with a renewed enthusiasm for the future of our farm and an appreciation for the great people who make up the dairy industry.