Guide to Farm Terminology: Dairy Cattle 101 Questions

Riley Boadwine, a local South Dakota dairy farmer at Boadwine Farms in Baltic shares his insights and experiences as a dedicated dairyman. Riley explains the ins and outs of dairy production methods, animal welfare practices, food safety regulations, technological innovations, and environmental sustainability in the context of dairy farming. So, whether you're a dairy enthusiast, a student studying agriculture, or simply interested in learning about where your milk comes from, join us on this educational journey into the fascinating world of dairy cattle.

What are some common dairy production methods, and how do they affect milk quality and animal welfare? How do you incorporate animal welfare practices into your daily routine as a dairy farmer, and why is this important to you? 

As a business, the production of raw milk comes with a very small sales margin, sometimes only about one percent. This means that staying in business requires a lot of attention to your inputs and outputs, and both of these factors are fundamentally about the health and quality of life of your cows. The cows are your livelihood, and if you take care of them, they will take care of you. 

Think of a dairy cow as the daughter of two-star athletes, she was born with all of the genetic potential in the world to do what she does best, which is make milk. From the moment she enters the herd at one day old, she needs to have an adequate clean living space, proper nutrition, and people that care about her well-being in order to truly thrive. If a cow isn’t properly cared for or becomes chronically ill when she is young, then you’ve squandered that cow's potential. Once she’s fully matured and entered the milking herd she needs an optimum diet to sustain her as she works, 12 hours of rest in a clean bed, and most importantly she needs to be stress-free. 

In order for cows to reach peak lactation they need to release oxytocin in their brains (the chemical most associated with positive touch like hugging or cuddling) and this can be blocked by adrenaline (the fight or flight stimulant released in stressful situations). So as a dairyman, I can say without a doubt that a happy and healthy cow is the greatest production technique. If you raise and take care of good cows and grow phenomenal forages for them to eat, then everything else falls into place.

What regulations do you follow to ensure the safety and nutrition of the food supply, and how do you communicate these efforts to consumers?

Each dairy farm is audited by both the processor (the people you sell your milk to) and the state. This requires the farm to pass regular inspections from a trained auditor that looks at both of your facilities and your animals and outlines any issues. If you repeatedly fail to have an outstanding score on your audits, you will lose your license to sell milk. 

We also are enrolled in the FARM program, which does an even more in depth audit of a farm: its cow records, its health and safety protocols for animals and employees, your relationship with your veterinarian, and more. Last time I checked our FARM program handbook that we wrote, which contains step-by-step everything that we do at the dairy, was over 90 pages long. In addition to this antibiotics and other medications often have a “holding period”. This means that when you use one on an animal, then her milk cannot under any circumstances get sold or even touch your milk tank until that antibiotic has cleared her system. Milk truck drivers will test for antibiotics in a bulk tank, and when they test, they are measuring in parts per billion. So if even one in a BILLION drops of milk contains a trace of antibiotics, the entire tank needs to be dumped. 

As you can imagine, that's not an option so we are extremely thorough in treating our cows safely and making sure nothing enters the milk supply. In addition to this, most farmers (and almost all processors now refuse to use or accept milk that uses rBST or other hormones meant to increase milk production. You may see a lot of labeling on dairy products that specifically state that it’s rBST or antibiotic-free, but that's an industry-wide standard.

Can you discuss any new technologies or innovations in the dairy industry that you have implemented on your farm? 

In order to keep our dairy efficient and to disrupt the cows as little as possible, we utilize a variety of new technologies. Some of the coolest include Rumination Monitors. These collars that the cows wear around their necks act almost like a Fit Bit. They can tell if a cow has been eating or chewing her cud, how long she's been walking or resting, or if she has entered estrus. This way we can tell if she's engaging in normal, healthy behavior, and if she's not it will send an alert to our computer system to check up on her. 

Also from my phone, I can access my Pocket CowCard to see all of the information about a cow, like how much milk she gives daily, the components (protein and butterfat) of her milk, her genetics, and how many times she's been bred, all just by typing her number in or scanning her with a special Bluetooth wand.

How do you balance the needs of your dairy herd with the needs of the environment, and what measures do you take to reduce your farm's environmental impact? 

Just like with your herd, it’s not only the right thing to do to take care of the Earth and the people around you, but it’s the only way to make it long-term as a farmer. The fields you farm need to be protected from washouts and erosion, and in order to do this you can implement planting practices like using cover crops or no-to-minimum till planting. 

In addition to soil protection, your crops can be used to sequester carbon from the atmosphere as they grow, and if you minimize your tillage, the carbon will remain on the earth. The manure produced by your cows serves as a perfect organic fertilizer for the soil, and you can compost old bedding and spread it on the fields to help foster microbial life. The higher the biodiversity in the soil, the better your crops and the more sustainable your fields will be. 

Every drop of water on our dairy gets used multiple times. If it’s used for washing equipment in the parlor, it will go on to be used to help cool milk by running it through a plate cooler and then used in the sand separator, where the excess water helps to wash and remove sand that we use for cow bedding from their manure before it’s sent to the lagoon or digester. Never waste anything that can be used for something greater!

Can you explain the benefits of using methane digesters on a dairy farm, and how they contribute to sustainability efforts in the industry? 

It’s a widely known and accepted fact that cows produce a fair amount of methane, which is a Green House Gas or GHG. Methane is produced in the rumen as it breaks down the forages inside of the cow, and it often leaves through belching or flatulence, just like any other creature with digestive gas buildup. 

Methane also emits from manure, especially when it’s condensed for storage. This is known as enteric methane. Our dairy has a methane digester, which is basically a long coil that manure travels through, and when the coil is heated to 101 degrees, it simulates the same microbial activity in the manure as it does when it’s in her stomach. This releases the excess methane, which is then captured and sent into a pipeline where it can be refined into Natural Gas that can be used for the production of electricity. 

This is a win-win for everybody as it reduces the amount of enteric methane produced by the dairy, and it produces a renewable resource that can replace fossil fuels. If a dairyman can combine methane harvesting with carbon sequestration via their cropping practices, they can actually end up reducing atmospheric carbon more than they use it. That’s a pretty big deal.

Can you explain the process of milk testing and how it ensures the quality and safety of dairy products for consumers?

As I said before, all milk is checked before it goes to the plant for antibiotics or hormones, and in addition to this the plant tests for a Somatic Cell Score and other pathogenic microbials. When cows have an infection, whether clinical or subclinical, the white blood cell count in their milk is elevated, and that can be monitored and graded in their Somatic Cell Score. 

Farmers are penalized for high somatic cell counts in their milk, and rewarded for low somatic cell counts. If they find other bacteria in the milk, usually from unclean conditions, this is also noted and if it happens subsequently you may lose your ability to sell milk. Fortunately for the consumer, this is just precautionary and done to encourage best practices, as all legal milk products are Pasteurized or Ultra-Pasteurized (cooked at 150 degrees to remove pathogens) making it safe.

What are some common misconceptions about dairy farming that you would like to dispel? 

One of the most common misconceptions I’d like to dispel about dairy farming is that we don’t prioritize the welfare of our animals and that farming is boring, simple work. The relationship between humans and cattle dates all the way back to the Neolithic Era, and farming is one of the oldest civilized practices ever created. Because none of us can live, let alone thrive, without food and food security, agriculture has been at the forefront of technological advancement and human ingenuity since we first started using technology. 

Only a little over 1% of people alive today work in any sort of agricultural practice that makes food for the other 99% and all of this is done as we lose farmland (about 2% each year) to urbanization. We have to be on the cutting edge of precision technology and best practices in order to continually make more with less and do it all while meeting our personal and global sustainability goals. This requires a farmer to wear a lot of different hats. Some days they need to be an engineer, a geneticist, a chemist, a healthcare worker, a manager, a mechanic, and more, all while finding time to literally get knee-deep in animal poop and start shoveling. 

Although I can never speak for everyone in the practice, you’ll find that resoundingly we put our land and animals before ourselves every time. Having the opportunity to experience the pride, freedom, and purpose of being a farmer isn’t a privilege, but a right that one has to earn. You don’t get to be a farmer for very long if you do it without care, and without being willing to grow.  

How has the dairy industry evolved over the years, and what changes have you seen on your farm? 

Advancements in the industry have allowed a single operation to go from a herd of 2-50 to herds with hundreds or even thousands of cows. Milking technology has been improved so that we can produce almost 30 lbs of milk in under six minutes, almost 60+ cows at a time. We can plant 24 rows of corn at once using Satellite technology to operate a tractor with self-propelling GPS and custom seeding population for different parts of the field. 

Barns are almost completely temperature controlled to protect cows from cold and heat, and our fan systems ensure they are always breathing fresh air, and almost all of this adjusts itself automatically. I can send a DNA sample of a cow, 5x smaller than a penny, to a lab and they can map all of her genetic traits and then use a computer program to match her with the best sire for our herd evolution. It would have to write a novella to list all of the amazing things we can do in the modern age of farming.

How do you work with other dairy farmers and industry experts to stay informed and improve your farming practices? 

Each farmer usually has an abundant amount of resources for keeping up with the times. We have a team of consultants that work closely with our dairy family to help us make the best decisions. A vet, our prescription medical providers, my semen salesmen, our nutritionist, an agronomist, University Extension officers, Equipment dealers, accountants, etc. Each of these plays a critical role in making sure we have the right information and access to the things we need to implement our best work. Also, every once in a while it’s good for a farmer to get off the farm and go visit a convention or industry get-together, like the Central Plains Dairy Expo right here in Sioux Falls.

What do you wish consumers knew about the safety, quality, or anything else related to the products your family produces or the dairy industry? 

There isn’t a lot that I want to say that hasn’t already been covered. If you are ever interested in visiting a dairy farm and learning more, and seeing how everything is done, don’t be afraid to reach out to me. Our doors are always open and someone is working here 24/7!

Understanding the world of dairy cattle production provides valuable insights into the methods, practices, regulations, and innovations involved in the industry. From the importance of animal welfare and food safety regulations to the incorporation of new technologies for efficient management, dairy farming requires a delicate balance between the needs of the herd, the environment, and the consumers. 

By prioritizing the well-being of the cows, following strict regulations, adopting innovative technologies, and implementing sustainable practices, dairy farmers like Riley strive to provide consumers with safe and nutritious milk while preserving the health of their animals and the environment. To learn more about milk’s journey from farm to shelf, check out this blog.