If you're looking to land a starting position on a basketball team, size matters. If you're a family of six in the market for a new vehicle, size matters. If you're trying to grow a prize pumpkin, size matters. But if you're an Ohio dairy farmer, looking to produce quality milk, size just doesn't matter.
Big farm or small farm, all dairy farmers work hard to provide the best care possible to their cows, and quality care translates into high-quality milk.
Take fifth-generation dairy farmers Jason and Brandy Nuhfer, for example. Together with Jason’s parents, they milk approximately 130 cows at Bar-Lee Jerseys in Huron County. In Ohio, that’s about an average-sized dairy farm.
On the other end of the spectrum, Carlyle Farms is home to 2500 dairy cows in Wayne, Ohio. Sam and Michelle Dilsaver work closely with their 22 full-time employees to care for their cows and natural resources to produce high-quality milk.
"Herd size really has no effect on the way you take care of the cows," said Jason Nuhfer. "There are farms with 20 cows that do an outstanding job. There are farms that have 1000 cows and do just as good of a job. All farms have the same goal, and that's to do a good job with their crops, the environment and their animals."
According to the American Dairy Association Mideast, farmers in Ohio and West Virginia raise more than 268,000 dairy cows on more than 2200 farms of all sizes. In an average year, dairy cows in those states produce approximately 5.6 billion pounds, or about 656 million gallons, of milk.
This production demand is possible because farms of all sizes work all day, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year, to care for their cows and produce the best quality milk, whether they are a small family operation or a large team of employees.
“I don’t like using those terms -- ‘big farm, small farm’-- because we’re all farmers,” said Gretl Schlatter, Ohio dairy farmer with 250 cows. “We all love to take care of the cows. We’re not on opposite sides; we’re all on the same team. Big farm, small farm, we’re on the same team.”
It's this team mentality that puts quality milk in glasses across the country every day. Three daily servings of low-fat or fat-free milk and dairy foods can help improve overall nutrient intake, strengthen bones, and reduce the risk of various chronic diseases.
Nutritious dairy foods start on the farm, with farmers carefully tending to their animals and the land that sustains them, adopting environmentally friendly practices throughout each operation.
“Whether you milk 50 cows, or you milk 2500, I would say there really is no difference,” said Sam Dilsaver. “We all care for our cow facilities and differ from one to another, but at the end of the day, it’s all the same. We all want to feed them high-quality feed and give them the best possible care we can. And really what it boils down to is healthy, comfortable cows.”
And comfortable cows are happier, healthier and more productive, Nuhfer added.
No matter how large or small the farm Ohio dairy farmers operate, all of them are concerned with producing high-quality milk. And this milk is possible because their top priority is taking excellent care of their herd, one cow at a time.
Click here to learn more about dairy farms and milk production in Ohio.