Straight from the Dairy Farmer: Part One
By Katie Meade, Safe and Healthy Food Program Associate
During Dairy Month, we asked a few of the fantastic FACT Mentors about life as a committed humane dairy farmer. These farmers are dedicated to ensuring the well-being of their livestock. They treat their animals with kindness and respect, providing open pasture, fresh air, and sunshine, resulting in high-quality milk and dairy products for their families and communities.
We admire their commitment to humane and sustainable farming and appreciate their participation in our Mentorship Program.
Contributors:
Mike Guebert, of Terra Farma in Corbett, OR
Bill Theiss, of Fawn Crossing Farms in Bridgewater, VA
Samantha Gasson, of Bull City Farm in Rougemont, NC
What is the main focus of your dairy? Herd size and farm size?
“We produce direct-to-consumer raw milk under the exemption allowed in Oregon law, which is no more than three cows and nince goats or sheep. For the cows, we have Jerseys, and one Jersey/Fleckveih cross, while the goats are a mix of Nubian, Oberhasli, and Alpine breeds. They are all 100% grass and forage fed and managed with intensive rotational grazing where they are moved to an appropriate-sized paddock every day.” ~ Mike Guebert
“We raise purebred Nubian dairy goats. Herd size is currently 18 with 6 available for sale. Our farm is 10.6 acres. We manage a closed herd to protect us from acquiring outside diseases.” ~Bill Theiss
“Our main focus is raw milk in the form of herd shares from our beautiful Jersey cows (a legal way for consumers to receive raw milk in states that do not allow the sale of raw milk. You purchase a share in the farm’s herd, receiving your share of their milk. Usually, you pay an initial “buy in” fee then pay the farmer monthly for “room and board” fee.) Our eight lovely ladies are out on pasture all the time and fed a non-GMO locally milled feed while milking.” ~Samantha Gasson
What do you mainly produce, and how does that product get to market?
“All of our dairy production is sold as raw milk, direct-to-consumer, and all on-farm” sales. ~Mike Guebert
“We produce raw milk, yogurt, and cheese direct to the consumer via herd shares.” ~Bill Theiss
What is something about your farm that people might find surprising?
“In addition to dairy, we also raise 9 different species for meat, eight of which are included in our CSA (beef, pork, lamb, goat, rabbit, chicken, duck, and guinea fowl) with the ninth being heritage turkeys for Thanksgiving.
Perhaps most surprising is that we were vegetarian when we bought our farm in 2001, but after eating our first surplus rooster from our small flock of layers and realizing how good a properly raised chicken could taste, our lives were changed forever. In 2003 we raised our first batch of broiler chickens and our farm has been animal (and pasture) focused ever since.” ~Mike Guebert
“Our farm tours are free.” ~Bill Theiss
“That my husband and I did not grow up farming. Scott is three generations off the farm and I'm more like 33 generations.” ~Samantha Gasson
What is the best part of your day on the farm?
“I love when we build the day's paddock and let the cows and goats in, it's so great to see how excited they get and to hear the sound of the cows munching on the fresh grass and clover. It's also a learning opportunity to observe what plants they choose to eat first, that information can be used to help tailor future seed mixes.” ~Mike Guebert
“Sitting in the barn at the end of each day and participating in a goat group hug.” ~Bill Theiss
“First thing in the morning, before anyone is awake, I like to sit on the front porch which oversees the front pastures where the milk cows are currently. I love to watch them chew their cuds with eyes half closed doing exactly what I'm doing, taking a moment before they start their day.” ~Samantha Gasson
What have been your biggest challenges in the last year?
“Two challenges have certainly risen above the rest. The first is related to the perception about raw milk: In the spring of last year our liability insurance policy was suddenly canceled and we learned that most other raw milk farms in our area also had their policies canceled, even though there had been no illnesses or claims in many, many years. Our insurance agent was unable to find any replacement policy, so we continued all year completely uninsured. Then our state agriculture department colluded with the state commercial dairy association to come up with requirements for all raw milk dairies to register as confined animal feeding operations (CAFO), even if they are only milking one or two cows. A group of us are actively fighting this seemingly punitive measure.
The other big challenge has been adapting to climate change and its increasingly variable weather patterns. While our summers are typically dry, we normally get some rain returning in September, which helps green up the pastures for some fall grazing before the winter rains shut everything down in November. Those September rains didn't come until late October and our fall grazing season was nonexistent, forcing us to dip into our winter hay supply much earlier than anticipated. We ended up running out of hay before winter was over, resulting in the additional expense of bringing in additional hay.” ~Mike Guebert
“Selling goats to qualified buyers that know how to care for them.” ~Bill Theiss
“Our biggest challenge is managing herd share member numbers with a milk supply that changes over time.” ~Samantha Gasson
Do you have any new plans for the next year?
“We are hoping to find ways to share the knowledge we've gained over the past 20 years of regenerative grazing; we may turn our mentoring experience into part-time consulting, but more immediately, we are looking to start a YouTube channel.” ~Mike Guebert
“Increase the number of our does from three to eight in order to help meet the demand for our milk.” ~Bill Theiss
“We plan on finishing up our on-farm certified kitchen and adding more value-added products to our product line.” ~Samantha Gasson
If you enjoyed getting behind the scenes with our farmers, be sure to check out Part Two of Straight from The Dairy Framer where our Mentors share how they cope with stress, their favorite resources and more!
Photo Credit: Terra Farma, Mike Guebert