Green Daily

The first impressions of this farm were not that great, even while trying to keep an open mind. The initial room you enter is filled with kid-friendly activities, videos and exhibits to let kids know just how "nutritious" milk is for them. My kids were having fun though, so I bit my lip about the fact that calcium comes from plants that the cows eat, not magically from within their utters, as this place wanted us all to believe.

Later, we were shown the cows themselves, with promise of the possibility to see a live birth later in the day. Again, while trying to keep an open mind, I still had preconceived notions of what the cow "holding area" would look like. I pictured restrained cows in pens just wide enough to keep them standing at all times, and filthy conditions throughout. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the animals were basically allowed to "free range" within their barn areas, and had plenty of access to food, water and an enormous grazing area. None of them looked in bad health from what my untrained eyes could tell, and there were even little groups of cows together in certain areas, seemingly socializing.

The milking area was an interesting sight. The cows walked into a gigantic slow-moving carousel where workers hooked them up as they walked in, drained their milk and unhooked them within the span of 5-6 minutes. We were told that this rotary milking station was developed because the cows actually enjoyed the ride, while they chewed their cud. It was actually amazing to see how the cows got onto the carousel and got back off entirely on their own, without restraints or prodding at all.

At the end of our tour, we were able to catch one of the 80 births that happen each day on the farm. We entered an observation room where we watched a woman aid a cow in the delivery of a young calf. When the calf came out, the woman left and let the mother cow lick her calf and help it during its first steps. It was a beautiful experience, cut short by the announcement that "it's a boy!", meaning it will most likely be sold as either veal or as a beef cow somewhere down the line.

This farm really does a great job of lessening its environmental impact though, and being aware of reducing the damage that these types of facilities have done for generations, despite the farm's entire reason for existence. All of their buildings are completely powered by methane gas, from the cows themselves. The manure is used as fertilizer for the thousands of acres used to grow feed for the cows. They've also allotted 3,000 acres to protect streams and watersheds, and to provide habitat for the local wildlife. All of their animals receive the very best care from a highly-trained staff, and they are under constant watch and scrutiny from the constant flow of tour groups throughout the facility.

While this experience was fun for my kids and educational for me and my family, it hasn't convinced me to suddenly become a milk drinker, or a beef eater. No matter how much an operation like this sugar-coats the process, it's still not a pleasant thought. The underlying sadness of tens of thousands of cows being kept in anything but their natural habitat solely to produce milk for humans is still disturbing for me, especially since we don't need milk from another animal in the first place. All in all, I hope the experience plants some visuals in my family's brains to let them know that a hamburger doesn't just come from a store, it was once an adorable little calf. Despite the fact that by paying for the tour, I'm supporting the process, it was something that my family needed to see to form their own educated opinions on the consumption of dairy and beef products. I am glad to see that places like this are changing their ways and reducing their impact on the planet, even if I don't agree with the end result.