Got Milk?

I was out dragging heavy objects around in the garden when my husband suddenly appeared and said:  “How’d you like to go on a field trip to see MTSU’s dairy farm operation?”  (He’s just romantic like that…)  Of course, since I’ve been pushing for a dairy cow for our own hobby farm, I readily agreed.

MTSU (Middle TN State University, in case you’re not from these parts) was having an open house at their Ag Learning  and Research Center.

Since I’m strongly invested in the farm to table concept, I wanted to learn more about the whole dairy process.  It was fascinating enough that I wanted to share it with you.  Not my usual blog, but hey, I think you’ll enjoy the trip.

Upon arrival, we both marveled at the long concrete driveway.  Most likely your tax dollars at work, but all farmers know how important a concrete driveway is when you’re bringing in heavy loads and livestock.  And this one was jaw-dropping!  Most of you probably don’t have concrete envy like we do, so I’ll move on.

First, we viewed the milking operation, which was in full swing.  It amazed me that the cows were never touched by human hands.  Everything was automated and digital; the science was dazzling!  There were people making sure the mechanical milking attachments went on correctly, but their hands still never touched a cow.

Chutes opened automatically and the cows marched right in to milking stations, knowing, I guess, that food awaited at the end of the line.  Notice the cows in the photo above that are waiting (eagerly, it seems) to enter.  Their individual production was displayed above and recorded digitally.

After being milked, they went into more chutes to enter the feeding area.  I couldn’t figure out the unusual smell, but my husband advised it was silage, which is a special high protein diet that the milk cows were enjoying.

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And by the way, this was definitely the cleanest farm I have ever set foot on.  The only cow pies I saw were in the pasture where we parked the truck!  The setting was just gorgeous.

Two things did bother me about their operation, though.  Perhaps most disturbing was the fact that they pull the baby cows from their mothers on Day One.  The babies are then housed singly in these (clean and nice) plastic enclosures.  The wood partitions are there to keep the babies from suckling each other, since their nursing instincts are so strong.  The babies are bottle fed and have no further contact with their mothers.  Maybe it’s just my hobby farmer instincts, but I didn’t feel like this was fair to the babies.

I know it’s a business and all that, and a very knowledgeable ag student explained to me that milk cows are not known for their maternal instincts, and babies are sometimes found wandering alone in the pastures.  But to segregate them across the board?  That just bothers me.

Oh, and there was a cow with a window in its stomach-- I assume for teaching purposes.  I don’t suppose the cow had any say in that.

But overall I must say the cows seemed quite content and extremely well-tended.  And we learned so much!  Ironically, I think we’ve decided on beef cows, but isn’t that what this kind of field trip is for? :)

All photos in this blog post are by Dwayne and Marianne Smith.

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Marianne M. Smith
Writer At The Ranch
Making You Look Brilliant One Word At A Time
http://writerattheranch.com
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