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4A Daily News – Saturday, August 6, 2011 Visit to a dairy farm Agriculture & farm The reward has been raised to $ 20,000 for information leading to the arrest of the person or per- sons responsi- ble for the theft of Owens cattle, with the addition of $8,000 from Bently Agri- Dynamics, Minden, Neva- da. They have Jean Barton lost more than a truck load of cattle while grazing west of Red Bluff. John Owens, Tehama Co. Cattlemen, Lee Loverin,California Cattlemen have offered the original $12,000. Tip-line 1-800-671- 4327, or 530-520-9399 or 530-527-6332. The dairy industry is part of the California Beef Council, as well as beef cattle producers, packers and feeders. This summer I attended the 2011 Planning Meeting in Visalia with California CattleWomen president Melanie Fowle and learned so much about the modern dairy industry while on a field trip. Dairy farming is a leading agricultural commodity in Califor- nia, producing $5.9 bil- lion in annual sales in 2010. (California Dept of Food and Agricul- ture) Based on the most recent available infor- mation, California’s dairy business generated $63 billion in economic activity and 443,574 full-time jobs in Cali- fornia in 2008. (Califor- nia Milk Advisory Board, J/D/G Consult- ing, an independent dairy industry research firm based in Florida). Tulare Co. is the No. 1 milk producing county in the nation. We had the opportunity to visit a large dairy, family owned, and see the modern milking barn of concrete and steel as 12 men milked 180 cows at a time. It was so clean and no smell. The cows wait- ed in the hold- ing area when they came from the free style barn. Then walked sin- gle file to the four milk- ing station areas as their feet and legs were auto- matically sprayed with water. The milking area was chest high to the men so there was no stooping and bending over to reach the udder of the cow, because the cows stood facing away from the milker. They milk 22 hours a day, and two hours are spent cleaning. Barrels of clean tow- els were in the center of the aisle on rubber mats, for the workers to wipe the udders, legs and pasterns dry. Next they sprayed disinfectant and primed each teat. Then the suction cups of the milking machine was applied, and the milk was piped to the cooling room where it is refrig- erated in four huge silos. When the cow is milked out, the cups drop automatically, and a teat solution is applied before the cows are automatically released and walk away to the free style barn. The milk goes out in refrigerated trucks to the processing plant where it is made into Mozzarella cheese. The four milk trucks haul eleven loads during 24 hours, and there is 6,000 gallons of milk on a truck. We were amazed there were no flies both- ering the cows as they Come on in & Check it Out We’ve got a Served anytime 6:30am-2pm daily Breakfast ★ Lunch 7875 HWY 99E - LOS MOLINOS, CA (530) 384-1265 Orders to go Restaurant New Menu!! ranch Courtesy photo California Beef Council members were visiting a modern dairy at milking time. rested in the free style barns. Fly spray is applied once a week, and the manure is removed by raking each day. No smell. As the cows leave and reenter the free style barns at milking time they are misted with water for tempera- ture control. The soaker spray comes on auto- matically at 68 degrees for one to three minutes and the huge fans are thermostatically con- trolled. The cows rest on dry compost and dried manure in stalls with their heads and front of body higher than the back end. The water troughs are cleaned once a week. There were four pens (covered sheds) of free style stalls with 380 milking cows in each pen. The men on the tour enquired what the cows were munching on, and it was a total mixed ration that a full time nutritionist on staff had devised using 15 differ- ent commodities, since they didn't eat loose hay or grain. There are 48 men working in the dairy portion of the farm. There were two artifi- cial insemination breed- ers since all the cows are AI bred and 60 days will pass before they are rebred after calving. Every Monday morning a veterinarian or a tech- nician will preg check the cows that had been bred a cycle before. They know within a few days when she will calve, and three men work in the maternity area which is manned 24 hours a day. One cow was calving as we drove past on the bus. There was a group of cows that had calved within the last 12 hours, and there was another pen with cows that will calve within the next two weeks. About 20 percent of the cows were dry, and would soon calve. The newborn calves receive two feedings of fresh colostrum and then the heifers go to a heifer nursery and the bull calves are sold to a bull calf nursery. When the heifers are 120 days old, they are returned to the farm and grow up with their age groups. There were over 6,000 Holstein heifers for us to view. Some were young, to first calf heifers that were in the pregnant group. Each of the thousands of cows has a permanent individual identification and records are kept on each cow and heifer, including her breeding, milk production and health records. This farm was moved from Chino to Tulare County six years ago, and they also farm 2,000 acres of corn and alfal- fa. We were privileged to go behind the scene on a large dairy farm. Our next stop was a calf nursery and it was interesting to see how this is a part of the beef industry. This is a fam- ily owned calf nursery the handles and cares for young Holstein calves up to 4 months, weighing 275-300 lbs. Two times a day, the calves are fed a bottle of milk, similar to a pro- tein shake, using pow- dered milk ingredients and or liquid whey pro- tein from local suppli- ers. Human grade stan- dards are used as a guide for the milk ingre- dients and the products that are fed need to be products that the family is comfortable feeding their family and friends. The milk formulas are prepared specifical- ly to the calves age and needs by their nutritionist uti- lizing best management practices. The calves that need it are given a bottle of electrolytes, similar to Gatorade, and if the weather is hot may get two or three bottles if necessary. Fresh grain and clean water are fed at least two times a day and more often depending on weather conditions. We saw the new arrivals from the day before, the horn buds had been removed along with the use of a pain reliever. Eartags had been applied, since all the cattle are age and source verified, the age, source, weight, and other important infor- mation had already been brought to the office to be prepared correctly because they are audited by an independent third party. The bigger calves are in shaded pens in groups according to their age and weight, they are fed a grain ration of chopped hay, corn, bar- ley, soybeans, and corn or wheat silage. The cattle eating area is flushed with water two times a day to provide proper cleanliness for the calves. There was a washout area for the trucks and trailers so they are clean for transporting calves to and from the farm. We didn’t get to see the calves being fed their milk bottles since we were too late, but we did get to see the milk mixing area, called the milkhouse. They were in there doing cleanup after the morning feed- ing and before the after- noon feeding with the sound of brushes clean- ing and the smell of dis- infectants. We were told the calves quickly recog- nize the sound of the tractor that brings them their milk. A person can see a number of calves looking and watching the tractor and trailer that brings them their milk. They also grow corn, wheat, cotton, and are considering alfalfa next year. When asked about predators the reply was coyotes can be a season- al problem but dogs dropped off in the coun- try by city people are more of a problem. We were very lucky to have the opportunity to see a calf nursery because of biosecurity reasons the farm does not allow visitors. LIC #808524 Call For Free Information Toll-Free (800) 464-1403 or (530) 365-1403 6183 MEISTER WAY ANDERSON, CA 96007 (530) 365-1403 • (800) 464-1403 COMPLETE AUTO REPAIR All makes and models. We perform dealer recommened 30K, 60K, 90K SERVICES AT LOWER PRICES Smog Check starting at $ (most cars and pick-ups) 2595 + cert. Pass or FREE retest 527-9841 • 195 S. Main St.