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About Capital press. (Salem, OR) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (June 1, 2018)
12 CapitalPress.com June 1, 2018 Partners launch state-of-the-art organic dairy By DIANNA TROYER For the Capital Press To supply organic milk for Glan- bia Foods’ cheese production, three partners in southeastern Idaho opened Nature Ridge Organic Dairy in 2016, relying on steady production from their Holstein/Jersey cows. “We like the components of a Jersey and the production of a Hol- stein and started milking in Decem- ber 2016,” said Kevin Schroeder, who along with Reed Gibby and Ray Robinson began the business because Glanbia needed more milk for its in- creasingly popular organic market. “We’re heading into our next lac- tation cycle,” said Schroeder, while watching a morning milking from a mezzanine. Cows wait their turn in a holding pen with a capacity of 330 be- fore being milked during a six-minute ride on a 60-stall rotating carousel. “Some of them like it so much, they don’t want to get off,” said Schroeder, estimating the dairy’s 2,450 Holstein/Jersey cows produce about 111,000 pounds of milk daily. Dianna Troyer/For the Capital Press Tyler Gilbert manages the dairy, where about 111,000 pounds of milk is produced daily and chilled in tanks. Before starting the dairy, the three partners had known each other and each brought their expertise to the new business. Schroeder specializes in purchasing feed and in recycling and disposal of agricultural waste products. Robinson, a member of a co-op called High Desert Milk in Burley, owns dairies that milk 20,000 cows daily. Dianna Troyer/For the Capital Press Kevin Schroeder, a partner who started the dairy, specializ- es in feed acquisition. Gibby had started a pig farm in the area and found some ground that had been out of production for decades, making it ideal to develop as an or- ganic dairy because no chemicals or commercial fertilizers had been used on it. To be certified organic, the dairy must comply with federal standards and be certified by the Idaho State Department of Agriculture. “This is our first organic farm,” Schroeder said. “We learned about the rules and regulations you have to comply with to be certified. Com- pared to a traditional dairy, produc- tion costs are a little higher, but you can sell the milk for a little more to offset that.” All hay, grains, and minerals must be certified organic. Affidavits docu- menting that information accompany each load of feed that arrives at the dairy. The business is routinely audit- ed. Nutrition for dairy cows is a com- plex science. “Heifers, lactating cows, and dry cows have different diets,” said Schroeder. “Most people don’t realize how precisely the ingredients of their diets are controlled.” As a loader scoops feed from storage areas and places it in a hop- per, a computerized scales weighs the hay, grain, minerals, other nu- trients and water to get the proper amounts. When he began managing the dairy and the 30 employees, Tyler Gilbert became familiar with organic regulations. “It’s been a good learning experi- ence,” said Gilbert, citing a few of the rules. Thirty percent of the cows’ diet has to come from fresh grass during the grazing season from May to Sep- tember. The cows are rotated through different sections of pastures on the 1,650-acre farm. NTAIN STEEL U O M Y K C O R REAL TRACTION FOR YOUR PAYLOADER 20.5R25 RELUGGED PAYLOADER TIRE • Oil Field Pipe & Sucker Rod - In all sizes • • Fence Clips • Cable Clamps • Check Out Our Inventory We are your #1 Source for retreading & repairing rubber tracks for your ag tractor. 50% OVER NEW WHEN YOU LET US REBAR YOUR JD OR CAT TRACKS & WHEELS! 400 3rd Ave. North • Nampa, ID 83687 208-466-8913 (FAX) 800-851-8612 / 208-466-0036 Celebrating our 47 th Year in the Tire Business -1971-2018 Another Satisfied Customer: “D & S Tires has always been there for us whether we needed drivers, rollers, idlers or track. We know that we can rely on D & S Tires to keep us in the field and rolling with their service that can’t be beat.” Hunt Family Farms Has 7 track tractors D18-3/108 SAVE UP TO D18-3/108 Direct ship & cutting available STOP IN TODAY FOR HUGE SAVINGS!
