Kinnard Farms Dairy Tour

[Music] hello everybody I'm Lee Kennard welcome to Kennard farms for five generations my family has proudly called this region of Northeast Wisconsin home nearly 70 years ago our parents Alvin and Milly Kenneth had a dream to start their own dairy farm they started with 14 cows and 80 acres using money borrowed from their parents the next generation has continued this family tradition of caring for the land and producing high quality milk the Kennard family's progressive approach to dairy farming has built the business that will last for generations when it was time to modernize and build a new barn years of research went into making sure the most innovative technology provided the cows with a comfortable place to rest fresh food and water and shelter from the temperature extremes this is important not only for our girls but also for the dedicated team of professionals who care for them around the clock one of the highlights of the new barn is the carousel parlor which holds 100 cows at a time the carousel makes a full rotation every eight minutes with the new cow stepping on to the platform to be held every five seconds at this speed seven hundred and twenty five cows will be milked within an hour the process continues 24 hours a day seven days a week 365 days a year the only interruption being 3 45 minutes shutdowns daily to thoroughly sanitize the entire system the speed and efficiency of this milking process is very important to ensuring that our girls can spend the vast majority of their day lounging in their climate-controlled free stall barn our family chooses to milk cows three times per day to maximize milk quality and cow cover each cow steps on the parlour and comfortably rides the merry-go-round for one rotation our girls very much look forward to the ride and enjoy the entire process the cows often we Tru their food or their cud and while on the carousel which is a sign of a very contented and comfortable cow the first step of the milking process is physically checking the cow for milk quality this is done to ensure that only the highest quality of milk is produced next two additional milking technicians disinfect the cow's udder and prepare her for the attachment of the milking machine the fourth technician attaches the unit to the now prepped and sanitized khawaja once the milking machine is attached to the cow the milk begins to flow through a pipeline as the milk flow slows down a computer sensor signals to the Machine that it is time for the milking unit to automatically detached from the cow's owner this detachment can happen at any time throughout the rotation of the carousel the milking unit is then sanitized and prepped for the next cow a fifth milking technician does have last visual check of the cow to ensure that she has been thoroughly milked and applies a disinfectant to the cows teats within a minute and a half of leaving the cow the milk is flash cooled to 34 degrees Fahrenheit the cooled milk then makes its way into one of the six waiting milk tanker trucks the technology we are using on our farm cooler milk helps to guarantee that a safe and wholesome product leads the farm because of this care and attention to detail Kenard farms is able to produce the award-winning high-quality milk that our family has become known for cow comfort is important to us because it leads to high-quality wholesome milk barns at Kennard farms are called three stall bonds because our girls are allowed to eat drink and socialize at their leisure the average cow lies down 14 hours per day that's why it was important to build this new bar with extra wary stalls that make it easy for our girls to relax our girls lie on recycled sand bed and clean right here on the farm in an extremely innovative sustainable and environmentally friendly process research is showing that sand bedding is not only the most comfortable and the cleanest for the cows it also helps us to produce the highest quality milk our cows are fed a diet developed by a dairy nutritionist the cows feed which is grown by our very own outdoor team includes alfalfa corn silage and triticale which is a grass that is a cross between wheat and rye a cow has a stomach before compartments that allows her to convert these crops very efficiently into milk the silage is blended with other crops vitamins and minerals that round out the cow's diets with over 70% of our girls grocery needs being met with crops that have been raised on our own farm the canard Varmus feeding team prepares and delivers specially formulated recipes for every animal on the farm daily fresh feed is available to our girls around the clock newborn calves are the future of Kennard farms the birthing process of the mother cow is closely monitored 24 hours a day even on holidays calves grew up to become the cows that produce milk so we make it a priority to get them off to a healthy start as soon as the calf is born she receives her mother's colostrum the first milk the cow produces that is rich in antibodies the calf is then cared for in a deep straw bed they also receive vaccines to boost their immune system in two years these calves will be part of the milking herd calves are raised off-site at a farm that specializes in families the ideal temperature range for dairy cows is between 25 and 65 degrees Fahrenheit like other mammals cows are warm-blooded and need to maintain the constant core body temperature at Kennard farms our cows are at a constant controlled environment called the cross ventilated priests all of our fans controlled by computers vary their speed to adjust to both hot and cold outside temperatures in our new barn recycled water flows down a weeping water wall while air is pulled through it almost like an air conditioner when it's hot outside this innovative technology cools the barn 20 degrees below the outside temperature make each and every cow comfortable when the temperature is 20 degrees below zero the temperature in the barn can be raised to keep the cows wama not only does this technology keep our cows comfortable but it also works to keep our talented team of employees very comfortable as well cow comfort and cow health the top priorities that can have funds as comfortable healthy cows produce high quality milk our family believes in always adapting and improving our cow care as new techniques and technologies are discovered through research and innovation we take great pride in producing a wholesome natural nutritious food that builds strong bones and children and provides nine essential vitamins and minerals for you and your families our family is proud to be a part of this community everyone at Kennard farms still holds true to the same core values set by our parents grandparents and indeed our great grandparents we remain focused on cow comfort stewardship of the land caring for our employees and above all a commitment to our community [Music]

Channel: Kinnard Farms

Views: 1,864,186

Rating: 4.7332234 out of 5

Keywords: Dairy farm, milk, dairy cows, cows, Kewaunee County dairy farm, Wisconsin dairy farms, Kinnard Farms, Wisconsin dairy, dairy farmer, life on the farm, family farm., Sustainable farming, Smart Sustainability, Innovative Farm, Farm, Family farm, farming conservation, recycling, cow comfort, cows on sand, dairy barn, Kewaunee County

Id: v761DILatzg

Length: 7min 31sec (451 seconds)

Published: Thu Dec 22 2016

Reddit Comments

[u/MossBoss]

I'm gonna need a glass of milk.

I found this very enjoyable. Thank you for sharing.

[u/ouyin2000]

That rotating milker is pretty innovative!

[u/Lunar_Gato]

Beautiful farm! So clean...