Diaries of a Domestic Goddess

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When a Cow Laughs, Does Milk Come Out Her Nose?

Travel

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Now that I have your attention (make sure you read all the way to the bottom…I have a GREAT giveaway with this post!)…today I had the pleasure of visiting the Goma Dairy Farm in Marlette, MI.  This day trip was sponsored by United Dairy Industry of Michigan.  The UDIM is umbrella organization for the American Dairy Association and Dairy Council of Michigan.  Michigan has 375,000 dairy cows and those cows, in 2011, produced approximately 8.5 billion pounds of milk.  To break that down a little bit further, the average dairy cow in Michigan produces about 8 gallons of milk a each day of her milking period.

I really wasn’t sure what to expect.  I did see that episode of Simple Life with Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie where they learned how to be dairy farmers and while that episode was very humorous, I learned WAY more than I ever imagined today at the Goma Dairy Farm.  First of all, did you know that cows are creatures of habit?  I didn’t!  But they are.  So because of that they need to be milked around the same time each day.  It was in the parlor (where the cows are milked) where I really saw how much of a creature of habit they really are.  You see, a group of cows are herded to a holding pen in the parlor and a group of them are walked down to individual stalls where they back in and be prepared to be milked.  These cows literally walked to their stall, backed in and after they were done being milked they waited patiently for the bar in front of them to lift up so they could walk out and allow room for the next set of cows to head to their stall.

Just hanging around!

Another thing I found very interesting is when a calf is born, it is separated from the mother within 24 hours of birth.  Now this may seem cruel to you, but it is for their own safety.  By separating them, it helps to prevent diseases that the newborn calf can get.  But trust me, I got to see a calf today that was 24 hours old and she was very content in her calf hutch.  Take a look:

Don’t you just want to rub that soft, pink nose?!?

Here was my favorite part of the tour…finding out how the milk is processed.  So I told you that the cows go to the parlor to be milked.  Well that milk goes into a tube below them and through a cooling system that keeps the milk around 36 degrees.  From that point it goes immediately into the tanker trucks ready to take the milk to be processed.  No one can touch that milk, unless they opened up the tanker truck to get to it.  Now if that isn’t great enough, what I am about to tell you next is going to knock your socks off.  ALL Michigan Dairy Farmers signed an agreement that they will not give their cows growth hormones.  Furthermore, once the milk leaves the cow it is tested 11 times before it reaches your kitchen table.  Because the milk is tested so heavily, things like antibiotics are kept out of the milk supply.  Do you know what this means?  I can stop freaking out about not giving my children organic milk because in terms of quality, safety and nutrtion THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE!

The van de Goor family started their dairy from in Marlette, Michigan in 1999 with just 350 cows.  Today they have 3000 cows and milk 2700 cows daily.  With just 32 employees, you better believe they run a very organized farm!  right now, one truckload of milk goes to Kroger and a second one goes to Yoplait.  Tomorrow Goma Dairy Farm will be hosting Breakfast on the Farm.  If you aren’t able to make it tomorrow, check out the website to see if there is another one you can attend.  They sound like a lot of fun for the whole family!

According to the Michigan Dairy News Bureau, one glass of milk has nine essential nutrients.  In order to the get the calcium from another source besides milk, you would have to eat THREE cups of broccoli…who wants to do that?  Not me!  Also, it has been confirmed.  For you workout buffs…chocolate milk is a GREAT after workout drink!  Now…he’s the part I’ve been waiting for!  I have one heck of a giveaway for you.  Check out what you will be winning:

You will win a Magic Bullet Blender, a $50 Mastercard gc, a reusable Got Milk? bag, a pair of cow socks and a Got Milk hat!

GIVEAWAY!!!

This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only.  Please complete the mandatory entry first before doing any additional entries.  You MUST put each entry in a SEPARATE comment.  Thanks!

 Mandatory Entry:  You must leave me a comment telling me what ONE dairy item could you NOT live without.

Additional Entries:

  • Follow @MiDairyNews on Twitter
  • Like the Michigan Dairy News Bureau on Facebook
  • Subscribe to the Michigan Dairy NewsYoutube page!
  • Subscribe to Diaries of a Domestic Goddess via email
  • Like Diaries of a Domestic Goddess on Facebook
  • Put this giveaway as your status on Facebook (one entry per day)
  • Follow DGoddess on Twitter
  • Tweet this giveaway (one entry per day)
  • Leave a comment telling me what your favorite feature about a farm is (unlimited)

 

This giveaway will run from today (7/21/12) until  8/1/12 at 9pm EST.  One winner will be chosen at random using the And the Winner is Plug-in.  That winner will be contacted via email and will have exactly 48 hours to respond with their shipping information or a new winner will be determined.

 

Disclosure:  This day trip was sponsored by the UDIM.  Lunch and the prize pack picture below was given to me.  All opinions stated on this post are solely mine.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  3. Brenda says

    I would die without ice cream. Actually, I’d probably live a lot longer without it 🙂

  11. Ann C says

    Low fat yogurt! I eat it every day to stay healthy – and it’s so good, it feels like I’m eating dessert.

    Really unique and cool giveaway!

    Good luck, everyone!

  12. Shannon Carr says

    Great blog today!!! Being lactose intolerant, I pretty much lived without dairy but thanks to lactose supplements, I must say I could not live without cheese! Love spicy cheese, string cheese, cheesy bread, pizza – all because of cheese!

  13. Shannon Carr says

    The farm is a great place to take the kids my favorite part is being able to see baby animals!

  14. Ivette Muller says

    Mandatory entry: I seriously cannot live without cheese and yogurt. Although, I’ve had to cut back since going on Weight Watchers. I still work them in the day!

  44. Pati says

    My favorite feature of a farm is being able to milk a cow. That is just so cool, even the kids get a kick out of it!

  54. Danielle V says

    The best feature of a farm is definitely just the self-sustaining aspect. I love it.