Caring for Our Cows

The comfort and health of our girls is at the forefront of everything we do here. Nearly 8,200 cows call Kinnard Farms home and we have an entire team of experts dedicated to their care. We were one of the first farms to hire a dairy cow nutritionist, and we continue to look for opportunities to ensure our cows have whatever it takes to keep them comfortable.

To continue to provide the best care possible for our cows, we completed construction of a new barn and milking parlor in 2015. Here are a few facts about our cows’ new home:

• The cows are milked on a rotary system, similar to a merry-go-round. One at a time, cows step on the rotary parlor and are milked for one complete rotation. One hundred cows can be on the rotary parlor at a time. We researched the best system to keep our cows calm and comfortable, and the rotary parlor was hands down the best option.
• The most important factors when determining the type of barn we would build were cow comfort and people comfort. The new barn has state-of-the-art cross ventilation, allowing air to move through the barn, eliminating heat stress for our cows. Our goal is for the air quality in the barn to equal the high quality of the air outside the barn. That’s best for our employees and our cows.
• The cows stay clean, dry, and comfortable lying on sand bedding, which is considered the gold standard for cow comfort. They are also free to walk, eat, drink and lie down whenever they choose. We recycle our sand.
• The new barn is like a large picnic pavilion for cows. They have 24/7 access to water and a balanced diet under the shade on hot, humid days, and are out of the cold and snow during the tough winter months. When you see a herd of cows outside on a hot day, where are they gathered? Usually, they’re all congregated under a tree, seeking shade. A cow’s ideal temperature is 55 degrees. Freestall barns, like ours, offer the cows the shade, shelter, food and water.

Our new milking parlor features an observation room. We encourage you to watch the video below to learn more about how we care for our cows, recycle our nutrients to nourish the soil, and preserve our water quality.