Ever wonder where your milk comes from? Or more to the point, how the cows who provide your milk are treated? If you shudder at the thought of over-milked, stressed cows crammed together in dirty milking barns, consider Country Dairy your humane and healthy alternative. Here, cows are milked at their own request, monitored for disease on an individual level, and given the freedom to move about and meet their needs as they arise.
A huge part of this approach is thanks to Country Dairy’s automatic milking system (AMS). Commercially available since the 1990’s, automatic milking systems have increased the health, happiness, and milk output of cows. Country Dairy is proud to use AMS for their own herd, and knows firsthand how beneficial AMS can be.
How Automatic Milking Systems Work
With AMS, cows are milked on demand, when they feel the need to relieve their udders of the milk built up inside. They choose to enter the AMS, where they’ve learned they get a small snack during the milking process. The machine scans their unique collar, identifying each individual cow and collecting data such as weight and milk volume. This collar also allows the machine to provide a snack for the cow that is catered to its specific nutritional needs.
A laser maps the udder, ensuring that the machine will latch on to the teats in the most secure, least painful way. The teats are then washed twice before beginning to be milked. The AMS can detect any signs of mastitis as the milk pours into the temperature-controlled storage system. Mastitis is an inflammation of one or more mammary glands. This can lead to infection or even death if left untreated. It also makes the milk unsuitable to drink. Any milk with mastitis is discarded by the AMS, and an alert is sent to the dairy farmer so they can give the cow necessary treatment for the infection.
Better Quality of Life for Cows
To prevent over-milking at Country Dairy, the cows are only able to enter the AMS every five hours. In the adjacent milking barn, they have open-concept stalls where they can rest. These stalls are filled with sand, not hay. Sand is less likely to retain water and grow mold, making it the most hygienic bedding option. This helps prevent mastitis and other diseases. If the cows so choose, they also have access to food in the milking barn, and can mingle with other members of the herd.
On average, each cow spends about 24 minutes being milked by the AMS per day. This lets the dairy farmers turn their attention to raising healthy food for the herd, giving sick or pregnant cows medical attention, and perfecting their delicious and healthy dairy products. Country Dairy produces roughly 80,000 gallons of milk per week. They are unique among many of their competitors because they don’t purchase additional milk from other farms or co-ops to combine with their own supply.
Automatic milking systems are clearly a far cry from the days of hand-milking. They also far surpass the the older machine models that still required human application to the udder on a rigid schedule. With AMS, cows can produce the maximum quantity and quality of milk while improving their quality of life.
Everyone Benefits – See for Yourself
When you buy Country Dairy milk at your local grocery store or at the on-site farm market, you know that you’re getting 100% rBST-free, non-GMO milk from only Country Dairy cows. You can rest assured that these cows are treated with respect and cared for on an individual level thanks to the innovation of AMS.
Want to see for yourself? Schedule a tour of the Country Dairy farm. You’ll get to watch the automatic milking system in action. You can also see the calves, the fields where the cows’ food is grown, and the temperature-controlled milk storage method. These cows are healthy and happy, so come on down and learn where your milk comes from.