4
G o ld e n m ilk in these cows
G le n d a le D airy fa m ily business
By S UZA NN E ASHMUN
People Editor
Don't ask the people at
G len dale F a rm s about the
pnce of milk
Dora Morgan, sons Fred and
James and their families can't
tell you what a half gallon sells
for because they dip their
Guernsey milk right out of the
stainless steel tank
The dairying fam ily recently
added more than $25.000 worth
of modem milking equipment
to get the golden milk from the
cow to the consumer with a
minimum effort
M ilk in g a p p ro x im a te ly 60
cows, most of them registered,
used to require more work than
it does now for the fam ily
The
cows
a re
fed
a u to m a tic a lly T h e ir g rain
comes through a tube and an
attendant dials the correct
poundage Most cows get from
5 to 5*^ pounds
DORA MORGAN is used to getting up at 5
a m to feed hungry calves like this little
fawn-and-white Guernsey, which someday
F R E D MORGAN works in a milking a
milking parlor so clean the cows have to
get their feet washed before they can come
In. The udders are automatically washed
" I used to fill 60 buckets for 60
cows and then have to feed each
one individually,” Mrs Morgan
said "This really saves on
labor and time ”
Mrs Morgan still has feeding
chores to do, however She gets
up at 5 a m to feed the calves
The dairy, who once had eight
sets of twins in one year, has a
waiting list for the frisky fawn-
and-white calves
“ I can get those calves
drinking pretty w ell,” Mrs
will Join the producing herd of dairy
animals at Glendale F a r m s .
with germicide and detergent and rinsed
with warm water before the cows are
milked.
I
tyorgan laughed as the fam ily
dog stood waiting to slurp up
the leftovers
The
cows,
which
a re
known by numbers rather than
names now, are let in and out of
the milking parlor by remote
control Four cows are being
milked at any one time while
two more line up for a warm-
water washing
When the animals enter the
milking parlor their udders are
a u to m a tic a lly washed w ith
germicide and detergent and
rinsed with a one-minute bath
“ Besides cleanliness, this
washing stimulates the cow so
she'll let her milk down,” Fred
explained
The milking machine, which
is at eye-level for the milking
attendant, has an automatic
take-off which released after
each quarter of the udder is
empty Four red lights monitor
the cow’s m ilking progress,
te llin g which q u a rte rs are
being milked
"The m ilker shuts off three
seconds a fte r the milk stops,”
Fred said. “ This really helps
cut down on mastitis (a disease
of the udder).”
The dairy includes 80 acres
on the home place on Lusted
Road and 40 acres nearby and
the fam ily rents some pasture
land near Cottrell School.
It takes from three to five
minutes to m ilk each cow with
her chewing vigorously the
whole time
"They learn to eat fast,"
Fred laughed
The cows haven't had much
trouble adjusting to the new
equipment which was installed
in January
"W e’d give the cows a grand
tour through the parlor to let
them know there was nothing to
hurt them before we actually
milked them ,” Mrs Morgan
said "The heifers adjusted
faster than the older cows, but
of course they know that’s what
they get fed ”
The auto m ated e lectro nic
equipment makes it possible
for one man to handle the
milking chores
"Theoretically I could train a
15-year-old kid to milk in just a
few minutes,” Fred said
Replacement cows are hard
to find so the fam ily cor
poration raises its own I t ’s be
difficult to find a good cow for
less than $500, Fred said.
The Grade A dairy sells its
milk to Portland Independent
Milk Co , where it receives
a p p ro x im a te ly
$6 00
per
hundred pounds, w hich is
approximately 24 cents a half-
gallon compared to a retail
price of 58 cents.
" I couldn t tell you how much
it costs at the store," Mrs.
Morgan shook her head " I ’ve
never bought a quart of m ilk in
my life.”
The Morgans worry about the
decreasing profit margin in the
dairy industry brought about
by the rising cost of feed
Alfalfa hay, which cost $44 a ton
last year i, is now up to $54.
Grain which was purchased for
$75 last year is now $88
"The next load w ill probably
be $100," Fred shook his head
"They really put the bite on
you."
JAMES MORGAN climbs up to adjust the feed storage
area for the fam ily's herd of dairy cattle. The grain is
automatically fed to the cattle via a tube to the milking
parlor.
The two brothers haul
sawdust to nurseries in the area
“to help pay for hay," ac
cording to their mother
Both of M rs . M organ's
daug h ters-in -law
work
in
P o rtlan d . F r e d ’s w ife Pat
works at Interstate Training
Service and James’ wife Helen
is with F a r West Insurance Co.
"Both of them like to go out
there and work in the bam in
the evenings,” Mrs Morgan
smiled " I guess it seems good-
to get away from people and
around animals "
A g ran d d au g h ter, D o ri,
junior at Sam Barlow High
School, also gets in on the
chores occasionally
About the only star boarder
on the place is an elderly
spotted horse
"We can go after the cows
with him when the motorcycles
break down,” Mrs
Morgan
laughed
A long lin e of v isito rs,
especially on Sunday, enjoy
visits to the dairy farm
" T h e other day a man
stopped in and asked if he could
have a dipper of m ilk ,” Fred
smiled "He said he hadn't
tasted real milk like that in a
long time ”
PAT MORGAN doesn't mind helping out in the milking
parlor now that Glendale Farms have practically become
a pushbutton milking operation. Pat puts a milker on a
cow who is busy nibbling grain automatically rationed
into her feed box. The electronic box (upper
left)
illustrates with red lights which quarters of the udders
are still being milked.
M IL K PARLOR fresh is this golden
Guernsey milk ladled Into a jar by Helen
(M rs. James) Morgan and daughter Dori.
The milk, which usually is about 4.S per
cent butterfat, is sold to Portland In
dependent Milk Co.
f