On January 27, the students at Pillager Area Charter School had the opportunity to tour a local dairy farm in Rice, Minnesota--New Heights Dairy LLC (NHD).. The theme during this session was industry, and the students and teachers alike learned how the dairy farm industry runs along with who to partner with for products. The NHD partners with Land O’Lakes in order to supply milk to their company. The main product the dairy’s milk is used for is parmesan cheese. The students were given samples of chocolate milk, oreos, cheese, and even single-serve packets of Land O’Lakes hot chocolate. The students also spoke with a representative from the MN Department of Agriculture about careers in agriculture as well as the importance of the agriculture industry in MN.
During the tour, Brent Czech, one of the owners of the dairy, shared a variety of facts about dairy operations. Cows are collared for ease of tracking eating patterns and heat cycles. They tag the cows with two different tags, one in each ear, to indicate the names of the mother and father. The cows get milked three times a day, each cow yielding anywhere from 12-55 pounds of milk per milking. The milk is 102 degrees when it comes out of the cows, and they cool it to 60 degrees. They have the ability to milk 40 cows at a time. He explained they fill a tanker every four hours with milk. The dairy farm currently houses 1400 cows, and they have their calves outside in temperature regulated huts until they are moved to other locations where they can grow and mature. One thing the students learned was how the dairy works to recycle and reduce waste. First of all, the cows don’t go outside, which allows them to regulate the temperature at 50 degrees (ideal for cows). The feed they use for the cows is made from corn bi-product, hay, and pellets. The beds for the cows are made from sand, which they recycle to lessen waste. Do to their care of the cows, the milking age is increased from five years on average to anywhere from ten to eleven years at NHD. They recycle the cow manure to make fertilizer, and they are a nearly self-sustaining dairy. By: Tracee Colgrove
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Staff:Kitra Barros Links
June 2020
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