I honestly can't think of much anything better than knowing that the majority of the milk sold in Michigan is also produced in Michigan. I love that the local dairy farm I toured a few weeks ago is also environmentally verified, that means they have undergone a process that tests their impact on the local environment.
The time I spent at SwissLane Dairy Farms was an educational eye opener - and they do Dairy Discovery tours for kids too! There were a number of other local bloggers there and we saw so much, but beyond all that stood in front of us, the thing that shined the brightest was the love of the animals on this farm.
I see so much negativity in the news and online about "big" farms - CAFO's to be exact. This farm is classified as such, but there wasn't anything that resembled the "sick" conditions that many want to try to associate with a CAFO.
Everyone wants to make someone out to be the bad guy, but while we were learning about the process behind the farm there was one theme that I kept hearing under the education: "that's what's best for the cows". Over and over again, from the fans in the barns to keep the temperatures where the cows are comfortable, to the system that feeds them a tailored diet in the fully automated barn, everything they do at SwissLane Dairy Farms is done to keep the cows healthy and happy. And of course, healthy cows produce a quality product and that's good too.
The milk production is carefully monitored and if milk from a single sick cow makes it into the holding tanks, the entire tank must be dumped and cleaned - so healthy cows are a necessity.
From birth these little guys are raised with every precaution taken. We had the opportunity to give the little guys a treat of warm water (they LOVE it), but were instructed not to let them share bottles as to not possibly pass anything from one calf to another.
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| Jen from TheBigBinder.com |
And I had no clue that anything like this fully automated barn even existed. Each cow is tracked by computer, milked by a machine and their food/protein is handed out based on their milk production (they don't get the "good" stuff until they are being milked) - it's a reward system type training so they will go in to be milked.
After our tour, we were invited to create our own paninis for lunch featuring a selection of cheese and with ..... wait for it.... MILK to drink :)
I love experimenting in the kitchen and have enjoyed a couple of the recipes at the UDIM website. Panini's are one of my favorites anyway and they always include cheese in this house.
After several hours spent on the farm and a wonderful lunch, SwissLane Dairy Farms and UDIM sent us all home with a new panini press and a few other goodies. But they also asked each of us to talk about the farm and to share a giveaway with you!
