Flat Aggie Visits Barbland Dairy Farm

We were so excited to have Flat Aggie visit Barbland Dairy Farm, LLC! We are located in
Fabius, NY, which is about 30 minutes South of Syracuse, in the middle of New York State.
Living in upstate New York, means that we get to enjoy all four seasons. Our 5 year old
daughter, Brynley, showed Aggie all around the farm today and they had a great time getting
to know each other!

(Pictured above: our farm sign at Barbland Dairy and an aerial view from on top of our gain
bins overlooking our farm!)

At Barbland Dairy farm, we milk 1,800 dairy cows three times a day! Our cows produce an average of 10 gallons of milk per day. 10 gallons is about 170 glasses of milk per day. How cool is that!?

(Picture above: Brynley was excited to show Aggie the milking parlor! This is where the
cows come three times a day to give milk. It only takes 5 minutes to get milked each time.
The rest of the day, our cows are back in the freestall relaxing.)

The milk from our dairy farm goes to several different processing plants, including:

1. Chobani, to be processed into yogurt.
2. Garelick Farms, to be processed into fluid milk.
3. Kraft Heinz Foods, to be processed into cottage cheese and sour cream.

(Pictured above: we haul our milk to the processing plants. These are the trucks and milk
tankers that haul our cow’s milk to the processing plant. Everyday we ship two full tanker’s
of milk!)

With 9 essential nutrients in every glass, milk is a super-food! Kids’ growing bodies need
protein foods, like milk which delivers natural, high-quality protein, because from muscles
to hair, bones to teeth, the body requires protein to be healthy and strong. In addition,
protein impacts many different functions, including building lean muscle and maintaining
bone health.

There are 6-10 calves born each and everyday at our farm, 365 days a year! A cows gives
birth for the first time at about two years of age. A cow is pregnant for 9 months, and the
average weights of a calf when they are born is 90 pounds! A cow must give birth in order
to be able to produce milk. Dairy cows generally have one calf at a time, but every once in
awhile we do have a set of twins born on the farm. Female calves are called heifers and
male calves are called bulls. A female is not considered a “cow” until she has had her first
calf. Special care is taken of both calves and cows after birth to ensure that each get off to
the best start possible!

(Picture above: Aggie was able to see this adorable calf born while she was visiting our farm today! Newborn calves lay in straw to keep them warm and dry.)

Holsteins are the breed of dairy cows that we have at our farm. Holsteins are easily
recognizable because of their black and white spots. Did you know that Holstein's spots
are like fingerprints, and no two cows have the same spots? They are also the largest
breed of dairy cattle, with cows averaging around 1,500 pounds and standing up to (and
sometimes over) 60 inches tall!

(Pictured above: Brynley toured Aggie through the freestall barn to show her our Holstein
cows. Did you know that Holsteins can be either black and white OR red and white!?)

We work 5,000 acres of cropland to feed our cows throughout the year. The crops that we
raise primarily include: grass, alfalfa and corn. A cow will eat over 120 pounds of food and
will drink a bathtub full of water everyday!

(Pictured above: Aggie had fun checking out the food our cows eat. A cows food is mixed
well so that every bite they take is the same. The picture on the right is a picture of us
planting our corn in the Spring time.)

Our cows stay in barns called “freestall barns” because they are free to walk around, eat,
drink and lay down whenever they want.  In the barns they get to lay on sand, just like being
at the beach!

(Pictured above: Aggie had fun checking out the sand bedding that our cows enjoy. She said
it felt just like being at the beach!)

Visit All About Dairy for some classroom resources and ideas.