Down on the Farm: Cow care

Cows on the Hoard’s Dairyman farm.

At the Hoard’s Dairyman Farm, the genetics of our Guernsey herd can be traced all the way back to the original herd raised by W.D. Hoard when he bought the farm in 1899. For over a hundred years, our farm has been providing quality milk to producers far and wide. 

What’s more, in 2021 (the most recent data currently available) the herd ranked first in the nation in milk, fat, and protein production among Guernsey herds with more than 60 cows. How is this achieved? How does the Hoard’s Dairyman Farm continue to stand out? 

When W.D. Hoard moved to Wisconsin as a young man, he saw the people of this state making the same agricultural mistakes of those in New York: planting doomed wheat crops year after year, degrading the state’s shallow, glaciated soil. Using his knowledge both as a dairy farm apprentice and an admirer of Oneida Chief Thomas Cornelius, he began a crusade for land-conscious dairying with the idea, “We can raise good butter and good cheese, without killing our land, but rather enriching it.” 

Hoard didn’t stop there. Beyond advocating for enriched soil, he also famously declared the cow to be the “foster mother of the human race.” He considered it the dairyman’s responsibility to be as attuned to their herd as they were to their crops. 

In spirit of this vision, cow care and land management at the Hoard’s Dairyman Farm are seamless, interrelated processes. 

Our cows are fed a total mixed ration (TMR) of corn silage, haylage, ground corn, a protein mix, whey, vitamins, and minerals. Fermented feed is stored in plastic silage bags on the property. 

The high-quality feed fed to the Hoard’s Dairyman cows.

Manure produced by the cows is repurposed. Both freestall barns have automated alley scrapers that push the manure into a flush system, which then sends it to an above-ground manure storage structure. This concrete structure holds 5 million gallons of manure, which is used as fertilizer.

Further, every cow has an electronic tag that allows farm managers to track steps and milk production. And, since the herd is registered with the American Guernsey Association (another aspect of dairying made possible by W.D. Hoard), each animal has a name in addition to a number.

“The rule to be observed at all times toward the cattle, young and old, is that of patience and kindness,” said Hoard. “Remember this is the home of mothers. Treat each cow as a mother should be treated.”

Hoard believed in a trailblazing future of agricultural practice for the state of Wisconsin, and he believed the cow to be the map and key to making that happen. At the Hoard’s Dairyman Farm Creamery and in the pages of Hoard’s Dairyman magazine, we are dedicated to furthering that vision with our milk, our words, and our promise of agricultural integrity.