Photos from the Farm | Manning Farm Dairy

Out for Delivery

Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:53:42 -0400

Kevin Manning is loading the truck for his daily ice cream and milk deliveries. Kevin spends his mornings delivering the milk and ice cream to our Manning’s stores and his afternoons working with the cows and the crops.

Next Stop, Your Cone!

Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:53:04 -0400

Pictured is the ice cream maker turning the ice cream mix into the finished product. In the ice cream making room, the ice cream mix is pumped into each “batch freezer,” which accommodates five gallons of mix per machine. After the mix is prepared in the batch freezer for several minutes, it comes out as soft ice cream. At this point, various inclusions and ingredients are swirled in depending on what flavor is being made. The ice cream is then carried into the walk-in freezer, where it is stored and frozen overnight and delivered to our stores the next morning.

Fresh, Fresh, Fresh

Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:52:24 -0400

The vast majority of milk processors today use fast, high temperature pasteurization. In this method, the raw milk is heated up to a very high temperature for around ten seconds, cooled immediately, and bottled. Although this method is more time-efficient, we believe that milk bottled the old fashioned way through vat pasteurization produces a better tasting product. And finally, the freshness of our milk is unbeatable. Our milk is bottled and delivered to our stores on a daily basis. Our cows are milked twice a day, and each day the milk is bottled, loaded on our delivery truck, and sent to our stores the very same day.

Pasteurization

Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:51:49 -0400

People often comment about how good our milk tastes. There are several reasons why our milk tastes so good. The first reason is that we monitor every step of the production of the raw milk itself, from the planting and harvesting of the crops, to feeding and milking the cows and everything in between. So, we begin with an extremely high quality raw product. Secondly, our method of processing the milk, “vat pasteurization,” allows the true taste of the milk to come through. This type of pasteurization takes time, as the milk is heated slowly to 146 F over 35 minutes, then held at that temperature for another 30 minutes before being bottled.

The Milk

Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:51:07 -0400

Processing the raw milk into ice cream and bottling our fluid milk varieties is done right here on the farm. Ken Manning processes all the milk and makes the ice cream and yogurt mixes. Manning Farm Dairy is the ONLY dairy in all of Lackawanna County that exclusively uses its own milk in all of its dairy products. Every drop of milk that goes into our ice cream and yogurt mixes and our fluid milk varieties comes from our very own cows. Also, 100% of the cream obtained through making skim and 2% milk goes right back into the ice cream and yogurt mixes.

Measuring the Milk

Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:50:22 -0400

Once the cow is released, the milk in the “weigh jar” (pictured above) is released and sent down a pipeline to a “receiver jar” at the end of the milking parlor. The receiver jar collects the milk from the weigh jars and pumps the milk through cooling plates and into a large tank. The bulk tank finishes cooling the milk to 37 F and stores the milk until processing time.

Milking Time!

Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:49:49 -0400

On average, it takes around five minutes for a cow to milk out. There is a milk flow meter attached to each milking unit. When this meter senses that the cow is producing less than two pounds per minute, the milker claw automatically retracts from the cow. At this point, an iodine based, skin conditioning “post dip” is applied to the cow. The cow is then released from the milking parlor, where she then makes her way out to the feedbunk to eat.

Prepping the Cows

Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:49:12 -0400

In this picture, Brian Manning is preparing a cow for milking. Each cow’s udder is thoroughly cleaned before milking. Aside from the obvious necessity of cleaning the cow’s udder, the cleaning action helps to invoke the cow’s “milk-letdown” response. Once fully prepared, the milking unit is applied.

The Heifer Barn

Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:48:45 -0400

We built a new barn on our farm in the summer of 2008 to house our heifers. Animals in this barn range in age from a little over two months to eighteen months old. Pictured are some heifers eating freshly delivered feed. Once pregnant, heifers move from this barn onto a 40 acre pasture where they will remain until one month prior to calving. Heifers within one month of calving are brought back to the farm to get ready to have a calf of their own.

Raising the Calves

Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:47:52 -0400

In the picture above, a week-old calf nurses from a bottle. Once weaned from milk (about eight weeks old), the calves eat a diet of specially formulated grains to provide them with lots of nutrients needed for growth and to assist in the development of their rumen, the largest of the cow’s four stomachs. After a couple of weeks on this diet, the calves are moved to the heifer barn and begin to eat lots of hay with their grains.

The Calf Arrives!

Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:47:15 -0400

Once born, the calf is kept in a pen next to the milking parlor for about a week, at which point she is moved to an individual “calf hutch.” Keeping each newborn calf in its own individual hutch is extremely important because they are still in the process of developing and strengthening their immune system. This also greatly reduces the risk of the calf getting sick.

The Cows

Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:39:20 -0400

A cow’s gestation period (duration of pregnancy) lasts nine months. During our routine monthly herd checks with our veterinarian, we determine which cows are pregnant and know quite accurately when she is due to have her calf. Knowing exactly when a cow is due to have a calf is very important because certain diet alterations must be made in the last few weeks of pregnancy to ensure the cow is getting adequate nutrients to support the rapidly growing fetus.

Bedding

Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:38:42 -0400

After the feed is mixed and delivered out to the cows, their stalls are cleaned and bedded with sawdust or recycled paper fiber and the entire feedlot is scraped clean. Kevin Manning is bedding the cows’ stalls after cleaning the feedlot. Aside from the sawdust or paper fiber bedding, the cows lay on a cushioned foam “cow mattress” so they stay clean and comfortable.

Feeding the Cows

Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:38:07 -0400

Once all feed ingredients have been added and mixed together, the mixer box unloads the TMR (total mixed ration) into an elevator that empties the feed onto a conveyor belt which then deposits the feed into the cows’ feeding trough. The milking cows are fed twice a day before each milking. It is very important to have fresh feed available for the cows as they leave the milking parlor, as cows tend to eat a large percentage of their daily intake after each milking.

Preparing the Rations

Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:37:14 -0400

Our cows are fed a “total mixed ration,” or ‘TMR.” Ken Manning formulates the diets for the milking herd, making sure that all nutrient requirements are met and that the cows are fed a well-balanced, healthy diet. Once the diet for a specific group of cows is formulated, each ingredient (the three forages, the corn grain and the soybeans) is added in a specific amount to a “mixer box,” which, as the name suggests, mixes everything together. This photo shows grass forage unloaded from the silo into a conveyor that takes each ingredient to the mixer box.

Storage

Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:36:37 -0400

If you have ever visited our farm in Dalton, you probably noticed the four tall blue silos. The three tallest silos each hold one of the categories of forage (grass, legume, and corn silage). The smallest silo holds shelled corn, which is just the corn kernels harvested from the ears. Each wagonload of soybeans is brought from the field back to the farm and stored in our newly erected grain bin pictured above.

Baling Hay

Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:35:48 -0400

There are certain groups of cows, such as those pregnant and not currently in the milking herd, that benefit from a high-fiber, more mature forage source. For these cows, we include a sizable portion of good old-fashioned hay in their diet. In this picture, Brian Manning is baling timothy hay. As the baler picks up the hay, it forms a 50-60 pound bale and drops it on the ground behind the baler. Once all the hay has been baled, we all pitch in and go back through the field with a wagon and load all the bales and bring them back to the farm for storage.

Soybeans

Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:35:14 -0400

Soybeans are the number one ingredient used in dairy cow diets to help the cow meet her protein requirements. In 2008, we grew soybeans for the first time on our farm. Soybeans are harvested much the same way as corn grain. The combine shown in the corn-grain pictures is also used in harvesting soybeans.

Cutting

Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:34:37 -0400

Cutting and harvesting the grass and legume forages at a precise point in their growth is critical in order to maximize the nutrients in the plant. By timing the cutting of these forages accurately, we are able to strike a balance between total yield and the quality of the forage itself. Pictured here is our “mower-conditioner” cutting down some sorghum-sudangrass.

Shelling the Corn

Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:34:00 -0400

As the combine passes through the field, it removes the kernals of corn grain from the ears of corn and deposits them in a bin inside the combine itself. Once that bin is full, the corn grain is unloaded into a wagon, which is brought back to the farm and put in its appropriate silo.

Growing Our Own Corn

Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:33:13 -0400

A couple of years ago, we began growing and harvesting all of our shelled corn needed throughout the year. Shelled corn grain is one of the last crops harvested, usually in mid to late October. Here you see Brian Manning combining corn in one of our fields.

The Crops

Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:31:20 -0400

At Manning Farm Dairy, we grow 95 percent of what our cows eat. The cows are fed a highly nutritious diet composed of forage sources as well as grians for energy and to meet their protein requirements. Three categories of forage are grown on our farm: grasses, legumes, and corn silage. Grass varieties include sorghum sudangrass, oat silage, orchard grass, and timothy. Legume forages include red and white clover, field peas and alfalfa. And finally, we harvest corn silage, which is the entire stalk of corn chopped up.