Iwig Family Dairy

MAKING MILK

80 to 90 cows are milked twice daily. In the winter, cows are housed in free stalls and kept on concrete. This type of management allows for dairy cows to be kept cleaner which keeps them healthier and producing higher quality milk.

In the warmer months the milking herd is allowed out on grass and to shade trees for part of the day. This keeps them cool and comfortable and, says Tim Iwig, "comfortable cows are happy, high producing cows."

Tim produces some of the hay himselfand buys the rest of what we need from other local sources.

All of the hay we use is produced without Roundup. Roundup ready alfalfa has become a popular practice for other dairies, but not at Iwig.

Cows

The diet for the milking herd year-round consists of high quality alfalfa hay mixed with grain and protein supplement. Mature milk cows consume 50 lbs of food or more per day and will drink at least 50 gallons of water each day. Tim also supplements with brewers mash from Free State Brewery in Lawrence, KS.

Milk cows sometimes may become sick and require antibiotics to make them well. Any cow that receives an antibiotic must have her milk discarded and it is not allowed for human consumption.

Cows are bred artificially to Holstein and Jersey Bulls. The herd was started with all Holstein cows, but in recent years the cows have been crossed with Jersey and Scandinavian Red sires. This was done for the purpose of broadening the genetic base of the herd. This "hybrid vigor" provides for cows that are more fertile, healthier, and have great longevity in the herd.

Large dairy cows eat a lot which allows them to produce a lot of milk, but in turn they also produce a lot of waste - manure. Manure is high in natural nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. This high quality natural fertilizer is collected daily and applied to the fields and pastures to make them more productive.

 


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