
Our herd is 100% Grass-fed, as nature intended. Grass feeding not only benefits the animals (working with their special digestive systems) and benefits our health.
What does grass feeding mean to us?
We are committed to feeding our cows a purely grass based diet. That means no corn, soy or any other grains. Not even just a little treat to get them into the barn. Grains for cows are like candy for kids. Just because they like it, doesn't mean its good for them. This means we put up feed all summer long to provide our girls with the grasses they need throughout the winter.
A grass based diet decreases the inflammation in the body of the cow resulting in a digestive system working the way it should. This leads to a longer life span for the cows. Healthy cows grazing on grass can live to be much older than a traditional dairy cow, or even an organically fed cow. A low stress, healthy life leads to a longer life span and greater herd health.
What does it mean for the milk?
A Jersey cow with a grass based diet will produce a rich, creamy milk. A milk that is filled with properties such as Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA). CLA's are beneficial fatty acids. It's a simple process: Cows eat grass, cows create CLA's in the milk via the ruminant process, the cow passes CLA's on to her milk, then from the milk to the drinker.
There are 3 - 5 times the amount of CLA's in our grass-fed milk. The introduction of any grains to the cow diet decreases the amount of CLA content that is produced.
As Americans, we mainly get CLA from dairy and beef fat, with milk being our primary source. CLA is housed in the butterfat of the milk. Luckily for us, this is the part we all love. Go ahead and enjoy rich, creamy grass-fed milk, knowing that it has all of those good fats we all need.
Remember, the key to drinking all of the dairy products you want or drinking that rich, Whole Milk is to drink milk from purely Grass-Fed cows.