Guest post and photography by Ellen Durrer, of Durrer Dairy Farm. Check out her blog, The Durrer Family!

As soon as our boys are out of bed in the morning, they’re ready to eat. I pull bowls down from the cupboard, dig spoons from the drawer, Cheerios from the pantry and grab the milk jug from the fridge. As we sit down to eat, our oldest son asks, “Mom, is this milk from our cows?” Is this a normal question for a 3-year-old to ask while he’s skimming the back of the cereal box, his spoon hanging in mid-air? It is at our house.

From our dining room window, we have a great view of our dairy farm, which has been owned and operated by my husband’s family for 3 generations. My father is a 4^th generation California dairy farmer, who lives and works on the same farm that he was raised on as a child and where my parents raised me and my siblings. We are Real California dairy families, representing 99% of California dairy farms that are family owned and operated and just like ours, many of these operations have been passed down through the generations.

While dairy practices have been modernized over the years, we still have the same goal: To provide a safe, dependable, quality food product while providing for our family and maintaining a profitable business. While providing for our family, we are also raising our family, and we take every opportunity to use our farm as a classroom for our children, not only as the starting point for a bowl of ice cream, but for teaching responsibility and work ethic. While it may seem like fun to help Daddy and Papa feed the calves, our son is learning at the same time how to feed and care for the babies, much the same as he helps care for his little brother.

To be able to run a business that has been in our family for multiple generations is an honor to say the least. We take pride in our work and our facility, caring for the livestock and the land with every intention of preserving it for generations to come. California is the #1 dairy state in America, not only because we produce the greatest volume of dairy products, but also because of the care we take of our land and our cows. Cow comfort, air and water quality, food safety and the environment are major issues for California dairy farmers, issues that we take very seriously.

Providing a comfortable environment for our cows is a priority at our family farm. Rubber mats are placed on the concrete floors to absorb pressure on their feet and legs as they walk from their bed to the feed bunk and back to their bed; additional mats support their front and rear feet as they stand to eat. Once the temperature inside their barn reaches 80 degrees F, an automated water mister system is activated. The mister system is programmed to come on at set intervals, dramatically reducing the stress of the cows and keeping the temperature inside the barns cool and consistent on hot days. On really hot days, it is common to see a cow rise from her bed when the water comes on, just to stand under the cool water.

Working closely with veterinarians and nutritionists, our cows are fed a balanced diet based on the stage of their production and pregnancy. Their diet is mixed into a TMR (Total Mixed Ration) to insure each bite a cow eats is fully balanced. The TMR on our dairy includes hay, silage, cottonseed, almond hulls, and Dried Distillers Grains (DDGs) which are all by-products of the agriculture industry. The cotton seeds remain after the cotton fibers are ginned from the cotton boll, and are fed to cattle as a high source of protein. The outermost layer of the almond, called the almond hull , is a by-product of the hulling process. Hulls are fed to cattle as a source of fiber; they also bring a sweetness to the feed mixture. The innermost shell, surrounding the actual nut, is also recycled on our dairy; almond shell is used as bedding in our maternity pens to provide a clean, dry area for our cows to labor and deliver their calves. DDGs are a by-product of the distillation and ethanol processes and are fed as a source of protein and fiber.

Efforts are being made on many levels to determine the amount of methane produced by dairy farms. While some farms are able to generate electricity through technology associated with their manure piles, more notice is starting to be paid to corn silage piles. On our dairy, we are in the beginning stages of a redesign project to keep our silage fully contained in plastic until the time that it is fed, with the intention of limiting potential methane output by containing it inside the plastic. Instead of using one large bag for the majority of our silage, everything will be packed in smaller tube-like bags that we currently use for a portion of our harvest. While the methane reports on silage are in much earlier stages than methane reports on manure, our job as stewards of our land is to stay ahead of the game and be proactive in our approaches.

Water quality is another important issue. We use a flush system to run high amounts of water through the cement walkways used by our cows, to “flush” the manure out, leaving the area free and clear. Most of the water will then recirculate back into the system to be used to flush the area again and some of it will end up in our manure lagoon, or holding pond. Once flushed, the manure will be run through a separator. The majority of the solid manure will be sifted from the water and deposited in a pile, which once dried, will be spread on our fields to be used as fertilizer for our crops. The remaining waste will go into the lagoon. The contents of the lagoon are primarily liquid waste which will be mixed with fresh water and used to irrigate our crops.

As the starting point for food products, food safety starts right here on the family farm. As each cow comes into the milking parlor to be milked, she is checked and her milk inspected before the milking machine is attached. The milk is then immediately filtered and cooled to prevent the growth of bacteria before it reaches the processing plant. The milk is stored in a large, refrigerated tank and the temperature is monitored 24 hours a day. When the truck arrives to pick up the milk, a sample of our milk is taken before being loaded on the truck, and labeled as originating at our family dairy. Strict fluid milk regulations state that milk not be unloaded at the processing plant until the sample results determine that the milk is free from contamination. Penalties for a dairy farmer who ships contaminated milk are heavy, including reimbursement for the loss of milk belonging to any other dairy farmer that was on the same truck, and therefore happen very rarely. Milk that is contaminated is then rejected at the processing facility before it has a chance to be unloaded.

Each of these areas, cow comfort, air and water quality, preservation of the environment (i.e. recycling) and food safety, is vital in the preservation of our family dairy and the farm ground that surrounds it. Each one is tied to the other and it is imperative that we do all we can to ensure that we provide our children with the opportunity to raise their families here.

How can you tell that the milk, cheese, butter and other dairy products that you buy are produced by Real California dairy families? By looking for the Real California Milk seal, you can be assured that you’re getting wholesome, quality products made from milk produced by people just like us. You can learn more about California dairy products, find recipes using your favorite dairy products and more by visiting www.realcaliforniamilk.com.

I hope that we have inspired you to ask where and how your food and beverages are produced. It’s not enough to be content to find what you want at the grocery store and let the story end there. The next time you pour a glass of milk, serve up cheese and crackers or pour chocolate syrup over your ice cream, take a moment to think of the generations of California dairy families who stand behind their cows and their products.

And, when my son asks, “Mom, is this milk from our cows?” I am able to answer with certainty, “No, our milk goes to make butter.” And we can move on to the next lesson of the day…