FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
Milky
Way Farm
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
Currently, we have 60 Holstein-Friesian and cross bred cows and calves, 30 of which are milking cows. The Holstein-Friesian breed is identified by black and white markings. In the Holstein breed each cow has unique markings distinct from any other cow . This breed is the most common in the United States due to their high milk production and large body frame. The average milking Holstein cow weighs 1,300 pounds. Cross bred animals result from mating a bull from another breed (in our case Jersey or Swedish Red) to a Holstein cow. Cross bred animals may give less milk but have better health and vigor.
Normally, a cow is bred to give birth to a calf every year, at which time she will begin and continue to produce milk for a period of up to 12-15 months. Production peaks about two months after the calving date. Some 60 to 90 days after calving, the cow will be rebred for her next calf. The gestation period for a cow is 9 1/2 months. To maintain the yearly calving interval, the cow milks for 7 1/2 months while she is pregnant with her next calf. The newborn calf will weigh approximately 70-100 pounds and can walk within an hour of birth.
Cows require a balanced diet of fiber, carbohydrates for energy, protein, vitamins, and minerals. Half of a cow's diet may consist of forages, such as, dry hay made from grasses and legumes, and silages made from hay and corn. A grain mixture made of ground corn, soybean pellets, vitamins and minerals provides the other half of a cow's diet. In the late spring, summer and early fall, grass pasture is a readily available forage. Cows have 1 stomach that is divided into 4 compartments, the largest of which is the rumen. The rumen allows the cow to regurgitate forage and re-chew it (cud) for further digestion. A cow may spend 8 hours a day consuming food and an additional 10 hours a day chewing her cud. A mature cow may consume up to 25 gallons of water daily to allow her body to digest all this food.
We milk the cows robotically, which allows a cow to choose how often (typically three times a day) she wishes to be milked. The average cow produces approximately 54 lbs. of milk per day or about 6 gallons. Milk is produced within the udder of the cow in four large mammary glands. To produce the 54 lbs. of milk, the cow's body pumps over 20,000 pounds of blood through blood vessels in the udder. Milking machines remove the milk from the cow's teats by suction. The milking machine transports milk through sanitized pipes to a filter and into a refrigerated milk tank that holds 1000 gallons. This arrangement ensures cleanliness and rapid cooling to preserve a fresh flavor. For more information on robotic milking see the site for Lely robotic milker.
No, the milk is hauled every-other day by a large tanker truck to a processing plant. We sell our milk to Land O'Lakes Cooperative, which sells tanker loads to a number of different processing plants. At the processing plant milk is tested for cleanliness and pasteurized. Milk may be used to create various milk products which include whole fluid milk powder, low-fat fluid milk, flavored milk, whole and non-fat dry milk, butter, cheese, evaporated and condensed milk, frozen ice cream and cultured products such as yogurt and sour cream.
Yes, with the help of family and friends. Farmer Sam and family get away for 10 days in the summer and a weekend winter trip as well. The cows need to be fed and milked everyday so many family and friends help to cover all the jobs while Farmer Sam is away.
Approximately, 12,000 people visit Milky Way Farm on the weekends in October. People travel from across the tri-state area to visit Milky Way Farm, see the young farm animals, take a hayride to the pumpkin patch, pick a pumpkin right from the vine, and since the opening of the Chester Springs Creamery on the Farm property in May 2001, stop by to sample the "moolicious" ice cream manufactured fresh on the premises using the milk from Milky Way Farm's very own cows.