I believe I’m going into my sixth year raising dairy cattle on a very small scale. Every time I think I’ve got this figured out, something surprises me. I thought I would share an update, a general overview, of things I’ve learned so far. Remember that I have a very small farm, and knew absolutely nothing when I started. This is not a “How To”, as there are far more experienced folks than I am.
My dad was an engineer and my mom was a school teacher, so I grew up in suburbia. In my grandparents’ generation, the fathers were professional men, and the mothers were home with the children. In my great grandparents’ generation, most were farmers and did work associated with hard labor, often owning their own businesses. One of my grandparents milked cows growing up, as many youngsters did during that time, but his experience, in his memory, was pretty awful. When he reached young adulthood, he fled the farm. “Dirty work!”, he said. He did tell me, however, that during the Great Depression, everyone moved back to the farms. There were many small farms back then to go home to, unlike today. Most people had, at least, small plots of land on which to grow food, or a relative did. They would often barter for what they needed.
One of my grandmothers religiously planted in her large garden until she was in her 90’s. I was so far removed from that lifestyle, that when I became interested in it, later in life, there was no one still alive in my family tree to ask questions of. Oh, I read a lot of books, and watched videos, but there’s nothing like actually doing it to learn how. This account is what I learned having zero experience, so keep that in mind. I learn something new every day, and have to make a lot of corrections. You don’t know what you don’t know.
My goal has always been to raise my animals as “holistically” as possible. That’s a buzz word, but what it means to me is to raise animals as close to how God designed them as possible. In regards to the dairy cows, I do not vaccinate; I avoid antibiotics like the plague; They are fed with non-sprayed hay, non-GMO/organic grains, and the land has not been sprayed with any chemicals. There are always exceptions to my rules because the health and condition of the cattle is the most important thing, and I will not let an animal suffer due to my ideals. As an example, Blackleg is a disease that even holistic farmers and ranchers vaccinate against. It is endemic in the soil in many areas. It is not here, and therefore I do not vaccinate against it. I would if I needed to.
Again, I am not an expert. I was a complete newbie to dairy cattle 6 years ago. I have learned by trial and error, reading books, finding mentors for advice, and joining online forums dedicated to the health and welfare of dairy cattle. But, most importantly, I have learned by DOING, and being 100% dedicated to my livestock, at the expense of many other things. I readily admit when I’ve made a mistake or am just dead wrong about something, and correct my practices quickly. The below is what I’ve learned in my location here in Tennessee.
Land and Water
Raising animals holistically is wholly dependent upon your land. You can’t throw them out on a poor field and expect them to thrive. Stocking rate is also dependent upon your land. If you have fields of lush grass most of the year, you can stock at a rate of one cow per acre and sometimes two cows. If you “dry lot” your cows due to poor fields, then sourcing the best possible hay is mandatory. Some will feed “horse quality” grass hay or alfalfa hay due to poor land conditions. I am fortunate here in Tennessee, in that our grass is generally thriving by May and abundant through October. The other caveat is weather. Some years we have plentiful rain and in other years we don’t have enough. I’ve learned to read the land, and the condition of the cows, and respond accordingly.
My land is fenced and cross fenced so that each area is 1 or 2 acres in size. Ideally, I would be moving the cows from field to field, but I don’t. They actually move themselves from field to field, most likely seeking out the most succulent morsels. That could be a problem, but it isn’t here due to how fast the grass grows. There is a very short time period here in the early Spring when the grass is just coming in, and the cows prefer it over hay. But, they quickly return to the hay ring to fill their stomachs. Once the grass gets going, they cannot exhaust a field. Otherwise, I would need to restrict them to one field at a time, as another field recovers from their grazing.
Just a side note on the location of your land and being aware of what is nearby. The occasional bull is something that I have never acquired. I know that I do not have the extra facilities that a bull might require. Dairy bulls are notoriously dangerous. Some people will buy a young bull, just at breeding age, put it out with their cows, then quickly send him to Freezer Camp after he’s done his job. I have two close friends who kept their dairy bulls a little too long, and one almost lost her life over it as that bull plowed through two gates to get to her as she was bringing in cows to milk. The last gate, which got stuck on his head, is what saved her from getting run over. That bull went to Freezer Camp the next morning. I am thankful that my near neighbors do not have a bull. It’s important to know who has a bull nearby, because a bull can take down your fencing and gates in a hot second to get to a cow in heat. Or a cow in heat can jump a fence to find a bull a couple of miles away, which happened recently to another friend of mine. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but a bull can smell a cow in heat 5 miles away.
Water is one of the most critical resources in raising dairy cattle. A pregnant or lactating dairy cow can drink 40-50 gallons of water per day, depending upon the weather. When it gets hot, they drink more. During the winter, they drink less. Fresh water must be available at all times, and I keep 700 gallons of water available. When I first bought this property, it had 2 wells, but I quickly found out after filling water troughs for the cows, that they were poor producing wells and ran out of water quickly. I had to have a new well drilled, and thankfully it produces 10-12GPM (gallons per minute). If you have a pond, you need to understand how that pond works and if the water is good. One thing I appreciate about using my well water is that it runs through a large water filtration system, and is bleached and filtered before it ever gets to the cows. I don’t have to worry about water born diseases that could be lurking in a stream, pond, or the well.
Back to land for a quick moment. I learned that I need more separate areas than I have. For instance, when weaning a calf, that calf, or its mother, will do just about anything to get back together. They will jump fences or smash them down if they can. A calf can nurse through a fence if mother stands close enough. Even a full grown cow will nurse on another full grown cow. I had one such girl, who at 18 months old and pregnant, convinced another dairy cow in milk to let her nurse. I had to separate the needy cow from the herd for awhile.
Weaned calves will nurse on just about any cow if given the opportunity. I had one such instance where a calf who had been weaned for months started trying to nurse on one of my full grown heifers who was not in milk. I had to quickly separate them before the calf permanently damaged her teats. The reason some heifers calve in with a “blank quarter”, which is what you call a quarter of the udder when it gives no milk, is because she was nursed on as a youngster or injured. Even weaned calves, put together, will try to suck on one another, and I saw one such heifer calf try to nurse a steer calf, if that is even possible.
Weaning rings are often used to prevent such troubles, but you’d be surprised at what a determined calf can do. Larger dairy operations generally keep calves in hutches or stalls, in their own separated space, to prevent this kind of behavior. I always wondered why, and now I understand. When I’m planning for the next batch of calves, that planning includes separate spaces and a rough idea who is going to go where and for how long. Last year I designated one pasture as the “calf pasture” for weaned calves.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention mowing. In order to keep the pastures in good condition, they need to be mowed during the Spring and Summer months when the grass comes in like gang busters. I’ve learned to rotate mowing fields. As in, the North pasture will be mowed to a height of 6 inches, then a few weeks later, the West pasture will be mowed, and so on. This keeps the pastures at a palatable height for grazing, and knocks back unwanted vegetation. It also encourages the cows to naturally graze rotationally. If I do not pay attention to the condition of the pastures, all sorts of native vegetation takes over, goes to seed, and spreads, choking out the grass the cows need. It’s a big deal here.
(To be continued tomorrow, in Part 2.)