Farming Practices
Our Raw Jersey Cows Milk
100% Grass-fed – We never feed any grain, any time, for any reason! Cows were created by God to be herbivores and to thrive on the herbs, forbs, grasses and legumes of the field. In a world of GMO’s and lab-created meat, we are so thankful to just be out on the land, grazing our Jerseys and milking them for our family and yours!
A2A2 – We have been breeding our Jerseys for A2A2 milk, and we are glad to say that we are now 100% A2A2 in our entire herd. A2A2 is a Beta-Casein in the milk that is easier to digest. Some folks that have not been able to drink milk for years find that they can enjoy our A2A2 milk.
Summer Feeding
Cows graze 8-9 months out of the year on our pastures, presently being rotated twice-daily to fresh paddocks. They also have access to Tawana Springs fresh, spring water. This water does not ever have fluoride added to it, and we also filter the water to remove any trace amounts of chlorine. The farm is so beautiful during the growing season, it’s hard to want to come inside!
Pasture Maintenance
We spray Certified Organic fish emulsion, liquefied Sea-90 sea salt and Coral Calcium as a liming agent. We also spread our barnyard litter from our cows back on the fields with a manure spreader, on 130 of the most beautiful acres God has ever created!
Winter Feeding
Cows and calves are housed in a large diary barn. Bedding is added weekly to keep cows clean, dry and comfortable during the cold, wet months. David Sloan provides us with the wood shavings for the bedding pack. While in the barn, the cows are given Certified Organic Alfalfa Baleage from our good friend Jonas Lapp in Pennsylvania, as well as Free Choice Minerals and local grass hay from unsprayed fields supplied by our friend T.D. Mayhall. The cows love their warm, winter barn!
Non-Pasteurized
Pasteurization heats milk to high temperatures and kills off all the good bacteria and enzymes. Our bodies need these live enzymes and positive bacteria to aid in digestion. This is why we promote raw milk and not pasteurized milk, besides, it tastes so much better!
Full Cream
We at My Dad & Me Family Farm never remove any of the cream from our milk. So it’s ok to pull a little off for your morning coffee!
Non-Homogenized
Homogenization destroys the structure of the fat molecules preventing them from separating and rising to the top. This may be good for the industry but it changes the molecular content and makes it harder to digest. If you’ve had trouble digesting milk, perhaps you need to try ours!
FCE Minerals
Recently we have begun using Free Choice Enterprises 20 Mineral Program. This allows each Jersey to choose the exact minerals their bodies need to ensure a healthy animal and healthy milk. We also feed Sea-90, a high quality, loose sea salt. Trace minerals are an important part or our diet and the cows. When the cow gets what she needs, we reap the health benefit in the milk.
New Zealand Genetics
We are currently breeding to Registered, A2A2, 100% Grass-fed, Polled New Zealand bulls. The New Zealanders have been using grass-fed technology for over 100 years and we’re thankful to have access to these genetics.
Registered Jerseys
The Jersey Cow has the highest quality milk in the entire world. The cream content in Jersey milk often rises to 6% or greater, which is twice the industry standard. We keep 100% Registered cows here at My Dad & Me Family Farm to ensure the purity of the Jersey breed. This is why our fresh milk tastes rich and creamy!
Polled Genetics
We have been pushing for polled genetics (cows that naturally do not grow horns) for many years now. This ensures that we do not have to burn the horns when calves are young, which can be painful for them! When we make the animals God has entrusted us with comfortable, there is a great synergy between man and his lactating companions.
Naming and Grooming
All of our Jersey’s are known and called by their names, not by some factory number. Maggie was the first Registered Jersey that we purchased and we still have fond memories of her. In fact, we are still milking her third daughter Molly.
Milking System
We use the advanced milking system from Co-pulsation that is designed to be easy on the cow’s teats. We have found that this provides much more comfort for the cow and has almost eliminated mastitis in our herd. We dearly love this Co-Pulsation and so do our Jerseys!
Halter-broken
Our Jerseys are trained to the halter and are led into and out of the milking parlor. The daily handling makes them calm and friendly. Jerseys love their daily routine.
Cow Cleanliness
We do not use commercial pre-dips or post-dips during the milking of our cows. We use an organic soap for cleaning our cows prior to milking. If we have a health issue we use organic olive oil and essential oils to treat ailments. Not only is this totally harmless, but it smells nice too!
Antibiotics
We do not use any antibiotics in the mammary gland or in the cows feed. As far as saving a cow’s life, we take the same approach as we take with our own bodies. If an antibiotic is needed to save a life, we are willing to use it. However, having said that, we have not used any antibiotics in many years now and our hope is that we never have to use them again. If we do have to use antibiotics this cow is kept out of the milk tank until all the antibiotics are out of their system. Since we have gone 100% Grass-fed we have found little need for antibiotics even in extreme situations.
The Bird
We raise the Freedom Ranger which is a red broiler. This bird is a four-way cross with an emphasis given to flavor and health. We have found that these birds grow out extremely well with very few health issues and the taste truly is superior.
Housing
The first three to four weeks, chicks are raised in a brooder to keep them warm and dry. Then they are transferred to a portable chicken tractors of our own design. This allows the growing birds to forage on bugs and fresh grass, while maintaining a safe environment that protects them from hawks and nighttime predators. These pens are moved each day and provide us with excellent fertilization for the pastures, and give the chickens a healthy diet. You can truly taste the difference.
Feed
We feed New Country Organics feed, with no soy in the feed what-so-ever. We start with a chicken starter feed, and at about four weeks transition to a grower feed. We then raise them for a total of 8-10 weeks before preparing them for your table. Healthy and delicious!
Processing
We do all of our own chicken processing. Broilers are generally processed between 8 and 10 weeks of age and it’s a family affair. No chlorine baths, electrocution or neck-ringing, just good, clean chicken that has been carefully bled and hand-processed.
Summer Managment
For 8-9 months out of the year our chickens are on pasture, either free-ranging inside an electric netting paddock, or being moved completely free-range in an Egg Mobile, which is opened each morning to allow the chickens to forage fresh bugs each day in addition to their New Country Organics feed. The Egg Mobile and the electric netting protect the chickens at night from predators and allow us to move the chickens regularly to a new paddock where they can abundantly fertilize our pastures. These are the healthiest and tastiest eggs you can get. We eat them every morning!
Laying Boxes
Recently we have adopted the Best Nest Boxes. This system allows the egg to roll away into a box where it remains pristine until it is collected. We have found this saves hours in cleaning eggs and eliminates the need for immersing the eggs under water for extensive cleaning. An eggshell is permeable and should not be soaked under water, because this can introduce unwanted bacteria. These new boxes mean much cleaner eggs!
Winter Managment
For three or four months out of the year our chickens are in the barns with the cows, free-ranging the bedding and eating New Country Organics feed.
Feed
100% New Country Organics Feed. No-soy is in the feed, and all of the grains are sourced from North America only. We have found this feed to be far superior to any feed we have ever used.
Our passion is to produce fresh, wholesome, local, sustainable, healthy food for our family & yours and in the process bring glory to our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ.
Farming practices subject to change without notice.
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