How we care for Livestock

When I think about One Ash Farm and Dairy and how we care for our livestock, I believe our success comes down to one thing- human interaction. We aren’t a farm that throws our animals out to the field and turns our backs.  Our livestock becomes part of the family, part of the reason for doing what we do, and each one has a purpose and reason for being at One Ash. Whether it’s a cow, a chicken, a pig or a goat, every animal on the farm is needed and treated with respect.

Let’s talk about our dairy cows. These girls are spoiled!!  Twice a day, every day, after freely munching on pasture and hay, our 3 girls – Juajita, Dixie and Maggie are individually escorted into the milking parlor.  Here they receive a full massage and check of their udders, a 3 step udder cleaning with warm water and cloths, sanitizing spray, and a dairy wipe rub, all while leisurely munching on high protein grains and minerals. This is a full spa treatment! During milking, they enjoy the company of the entire family as we stand around them to discuss the day’s events. It’s a good thing they don’t talk, because they’ve heard it all!  Once we are finished milking, they are again personally escorted back to the field for free-range pasture feeding and cattle companionship.

Then take, for example, the way we use the milk from our dairy cows to bottle-raise calves. Before we bottle milk for sale, we take what we need for our bottle fed calves. These are not the calves from our girls (their own babies get to stay with them until weaned), but are additional calves that we are bottle raising for either future milk cows or for sale.  We take the warm, fresh milk and fill the calve feeding bottles. From there these calves are fed the goodness of this milk one at a time- each with their own bottle and no fighting over the feeding! Thecalves wait at the gate each time we milk, because they know it’s time for them to be fed! They slurp and suckle and at the same time become tame and loving from the human interaction they are receiving. 

We have a lot of other animals on the farm, but somehow the relationship with our cows is the sweetest and most personal. Maybe it’s because we milk them, or maybe it’s just because dairy cows love humans. In any case, how we care for livestock and taking care of these girls the way we do proves to provide our farm with consistent milk production and good animal health.  We think it’s because of this human interaction and caring that our farm has been able to take this production and turn it into a successful family run calf raising and dairy business. It’s working for us, and we hope you can learn from our experiences. We have to say “thanks” for the partnership we have with Juajita, Dixie and Maggie. It’s because of this partnership that we are able to appreciate the many blessings that come from properly caring for our livestock. 

The righteous care for the needs of their animals…..   Proverbs 12:10