Visit to an Organic Dairy

I just got home from a master naturalist convention this weekend. (PS My rain gauge reads .31 inches of rain and my rain barrel is almost entirely full!). The convention was in Morris, Minnesota out on the tall grass prairie. A friend and I carpooled and shared a dorm room on the U of M campus. Our first class was on organic dairy. We talked to the manager of the organic dairy on campus. He took us out to the pasture. He had us look at all the plants in the pasture. He has a plan to rotate the pasture use with move able fences. The cows know to look for an opening in the electric fence. Getting a dairy certified to be organic takes time; two years for the pasture and three years for the cows. The cow's diet is 60% pasture grazing and 40% grain supplements. That fact surprised me. I would have thought organic milk cows would have 100% grass or silage diet. Since the cows are organic they cannot be treated with antibiotics. Infections can be treated with natural antibiotics such as garlic. Mastitis is a common infection in cows. Organic cows do get mastitis but it tends to be a low-level, chronic mastitis. When non-organic cows get mastitis, the infection hits hard, fast and strong. If one of the organic cows gets an infection that requires antibiotics, the cow is separated from the herd, treated until it has healed, and then butchered. Even the minerals the cows get have to be organic. They can't just put out a salt lick and be done with it. The minerals have to be specially mined. The cows are all artificially inseminated. Holsteins are by far the breed that produces the most milk. Because Holsteins have been over bred, they are not a hardy cow. The Holsteins are bred with Norwegian cows (because they are winter hardy) and the French Montbeliard (for the high quality, tasty milk). Milk from Montbeliard cows has different proteins, caseins, and sugars. Montbeliard milk can produce 10% more cheese per gallon than Holstein milk. I was told that although Holsteins produce much milk, it doesn't taste as good as other breeds. We've paid more attention to production than quality. Because the black and white pattern is a dominant genetic trait, these mixed breed cattle look like the typical Holsteins. The picture shows a full bred Montbeliard. We were taken through the pasture and through the cow passage under the highway into the milking barn. I learned one cow can produce a gallon a minute. Wow! She must have milked like a fire hose. That is an unusual cow that can produce that much milk in a minute. Our tour did not include viewing any of the cows because they were in a pasture far away. We did get to see the calves. Some of the calves had been weaned the day before and others would be weaned the next day. The calves were kicking and jumping around and just as cute as can be. Considering all the special work that has to be done and the fact that the cows have to live organic for three years before they can claim to be organic, I can see why organic milk costs so much.