Robert Yoder, contributing writer
This article originally appeared in Small Farmer's Journal, Sister's Oregon, and is reprinted with the author’s permission. Due to space constraints, this article has been edited for length. Here, in Central New York, from the Finger Lakes to the west, to the Hudson on the east, the Catskills south, and the Adirondacks north, is the land known as Leather Stocking Country--named for the Leatherstocking Tales, five novels of his frontier hero, Natty Bumppo, written by James Fenimore Cooper.
Over the past thirty years, New York State has lost over seventy percent of dairy farms, while increasing milk production by thirty percent. Every so often while traveling through the state you’ll see long buildings, housing thousands of dairy cows. These mega farms have a lot of purchasing power and can bypass their local suppliers for products they need. Think of how much positive effect on local economies thirty one-hundred cow, or sixty fifty cows dairies have.
In 2004 and 2005, a group of Amish dairy farmers from Ohio started exploring farmland in neighboring states for possibly relocating to start a farm community. Hoards Dairyman magazine, in the 1980’s and 1990’s published statistics on the top dairy counties in the U.S. At that time, they published both cow numbers and number of farms of the top 25 counties. From these statistics, Madison County, NY stood out as a small farm area.
The first two families moved from Ohio to Madison County, NY in the Spring of 2006. By the end of the year, two more families had moved into the area. By late 2008 the community had grown to 7 families. All of these either were, or wanted to be, farmers. Most of us had experience with rotational grazing. Central NY is a land of hills and valleys, with enough rainfall and moderate temperatures to keep cool season grasses growing all summer. Very seldom do we have dry times and extended heat, with brown pastures in July and August as many areas of the south do. Generally, we have good grazing for 6 months, often several weeks more. As I am writing this on December 11, we have rain this morning and the snow we have had for a week is mostly gone. The pastures are all still green. Often in Spring, when the snow finally melts, the grass is green, instead of brown and dormant.
We now have over forty families in the Madison County towns of Smithfield, Fenner, Lincoln, and one farm in Eaton. The community has twenty dairy farms--24 families making their living with dairy. Four young families are either in partnerships or work for their parents. Of these 20 farms, 18 are all grass, feeding no grain to their cows. One farm is organic and feeds some grain. The all-grass farms are also organic. One farm is conventional, with grazing their main feed. One of the all-grass farms has Holstein cows, with a lot of old-time genetics, proving the assumption that Holsteins cannot also be good grazers, wrong. Several have purebred Jerseys; two are developing Ayrshire herds from their crossbreds, while the rest of the farms have crossbreds, with a mix of Holstein, Jersey, Brown Swiss, or Shorthorn genetics. The fieldwork – clipping pastures, mowing, raking, and baling hay and hauling manure is done with horses or mules.
We have been hearing of a2 milk for probably close to 20 years. Most AI companies publish the a2 status of their bulls with their genetic information. A small company in Ohio sells a2 milk, although not organic or grassfed. A company from New Zealand sells a2 milk in America, and has patented the term a2; forcing other companies to identify milk they sell as a2a2, which is what it is. Milk has fat and protein, with grassfed milk containing higher CLAs – conjugated linoleic acids – and omega 3’s, both healthy fats. Now that the myth of animal fats being the cause of heart disease has been debunked – by the way, where are the apologies from the scientific and medical establishment? They should be published in all major newspapers and magazines. Old W.D. Hoard was right when saying he trusts the cow more than the chemist.
The protein content is where a2a2 is found. The two major proteins in milk are casein and whey. Casein accounts for about eighty percent of the protein in milk. There are also different types of casein, one of which is called beta-casein, which is about thirty percent of the casein protein. a1 and a2 are two variants of beta-casein. All mammals, including humans, except some dairy cattle, have a2 milk. It is hypothesized that several thousand years ago cows were also all a2. The theory goes that some cows in Europe had a genetic mutation – possibly from the stress of farming – that caused the cows to produce the new type of beta casein we call a1. Now most milk is a variant of a1, either a1a1 or a1a2. Old breeds in Asia – with humps – produce all a2 milk. Many Asian people cannot tolerate milk that contains a1.
It is claimed that many of the common health problems stem from the a1 protein in modern milk. Scientific proof? Not much. But remember W.D. Hoard’s take on animal fats versus the scientists. The intuition of old peasants is often right. There is case after case that people felt much better, with better long term health with a2 milk. Enzymes break protein down into amino acids, which are absorbed into your bloodstream and used to build and repair things in your body such as skin or muscles. The a1 beta-casein protein breaks down into a peptide called BCM7, which is considered a risk factor for the nervous, endocrine and immune system. The list of chronic health issues related to BCM7 is extensive, such as digestive problems, autism, schizophrenia, type 1 diabetes and heart disease. A lot of this information comes from a blog written by Aaron Miller, pulled up and printed by Tom Rankins.
Testing cows or bulls for a2 status is fairly simple. All that is needed is a hair sample sent to a lab that does this kind of testing. Costs have come down to less than $20.00 per sample. Jerseys and Guernseys have a higher prevalence of a2, with some herds sixty percent or more. Other breeds, with judicious breeding, can become a2 as well. Several farms from our community culled their non a2 cows and are shipping milk to Family Farmstead.
Friday, November 15, 2024, dawned mild with a little breeze. The sun came up through thin clouds, a very nice day for Central New York in November. Trucks with trailers, vans, and buggies converged on the Alex Weaver farm. It was Auction Day, the first – hopefully annual – Leatherstocking Cattle Exchange. Its inaugural public auction was dedicated to the nurturing and advancement of grass based dairy cow genetics with all females certified organic, most animals tested for a2a2 status, most breeds represented and with dairy bulls consigned by the foremost breeders in grassfed dairy.
An opening seminar was presented by Ron Holter, grazier and Jersey cattle breeder, from Jefferson, Maryland. Ron started grazing cows in 1996, with Holsteins and Jerseys. In ’97 he took the herd to seasonal – all freshening in spring. As time went on, the Holsteins left, the Jerseys stayed. He started using New Zealand genetics on the herd, using a lot of Dukes Landy, a well-known NZ bull. He also used North Coast Genetics, from a group of breeders centered in Ohio. Dr. Reber, whose farm was 3 miles west of us in Ohio, was a major influence on his thinking. The Reber’s were known for their polled, wide-bodied cows. aAa (AKA Triple A) was important to them for breeding decisions.
Ron is not fond of crossbreeding. Usually, the first cross works well because of hybrid vigor, after that, not so much. He finds it difficult to develop an efficient, uniform herd from crossbreeding. Many serious breeders consider themselves not smart enough for crossbreeding. Ron stresses that you should know what you want to make the right decisions. He advises using old knowledge, such as Newman Turner's book titled Herdsmanship and Reproduction and Animal Health by Gerald Fry. He adds, the wisdom of the past leads us to what a grass cow should be.
Further thoughts – Longevity is probably the most important trait. Modern genetics have developed a high producing cow that often only lasts a lactation or two, often not long enough to pay for raising her from a calf. Dull eyes are a beef trait, thick coarse bones put fat on their back instead of milk in the tank. Bulls should have masculine characteristics, wedge shaped, deep and wide fronts, tapering to back. Many modern bulls have too much feminine type. Remember, bulls provide 50% of the genes in your herd. Cows should be wedge shaped from back to front, the opposite of bulls. She should still have a deep, wide, chest and belly, 60% body, 40% legs, with strong udder attachment. The udder should not extend below the hock, unless she is an older cow.
All of us dairymen love a cow that stays in good flesh and puts a decent amount of milk in the tank. A no-nonsense cow that has her head down and is grazing as soon as she is in grass, that has a calf every spring, with no complications, that is neither a bully nor too timid with her herdmates.
Ron likes to do linebreeding to set the traits he wants in his cows. Newman Turner, in the book Herdsmanship, started with ten heifers that were half-sisters, with a linebred bull. Ron finished his talk with some nuggets of wisdom, such as “Always be cautious around bulls.” A neighbor had a saying, “Never trust a bull farther than you can throw it by the tail” – which is, not at all. “Keep good grass in front of the cow and a good bull behind her”.
A question came in for Ron – “What is your milk production?” The answer – “First of all, milk production is not the most important trait. If everything is close to right, she will have adequate milk production.” His grassfed Jerseys produce an average of 6000 lbs. with 5.6 butterfat – 336 lbs. of fat. He cautioned when buying or evaluating cows, you should always look at her production versus her herdmates, not another herd with different management. Well done, Ron, much to digest. Thank you.
Excitement built as cow-selling time approached, the culmination of all the preparation and planning. After all, this was the first all-grass dairy auction for Canastota, and perhaps anywhere, that is not a normal farm dispersal. Nathan and Alex Weaver, along with more all-grass dairy farmers, have long felt the need for an auction like this. Thus far, grass-fed cows have been lumped into the general organic or conventional auction stream. Many of the dairy farmers here are seasonal and often have perfectly good cows and heifers to sell that did not fit their narrow freshening window. Also, with the low stress life that a grass-fed cow has, there is much more longevity. This makes it easy to keep extra stock in summertime to sell in the fall.
Some of the young dairymen here prefer to keep enough cows to utilize all of their land, instead of investing in machinery for haymaking, thus buying all of their hay. Bought in hay also brings in nutrients, and is a good way to boost the fertility of our land. They have taken to heart the advice to not invest in anything that rusts, rots or depreciates. It is amazing how little equipment it takes to operate a well-run grass-based dairy. Another reason for an auction like this is to stimulate each other into producing better cows. It has long been Nathan Weaver’s goal to breed a perfect – maybe I should say a better – grass-fed cow.
Nathan made a short prelude to the auction, thanking all for coming. He mentioned looking over the cattle and seeing room for improvement. Then he turned it over to the auctioneer—Orus Mast of Ohio. The moment of truth was at hand. We all had a pamphlet of animals, numbered and identified. The bidding was fast and intense. Always at an auction, the speed at which bids come in shows the tenor of the sale. Slow this was not, ringmen’s voices came in fast. Prices were, to this old man, jaw droppingly high. Very few cows sold under 3,000 dollars, many over $4,000.
Time went fast, and soon the bulls came through. Some of them young, some not - one mature, regal Jersey bull from Jeremy Yoder, Morris, NY, brought $4800. Surely the a2a2 test helped this one. Another, a 2 ½ year old ¾ Ayrshire, also a2, consigned by Nathan Weaver, brought $4500.
In a rush, all at once the auction was over. Let us look at some of the numbers. 108 total head sold, average $2985. 49 dairy cows average $3400. Top selling cow, from Rob and Pam Moore, Nichols NY, Friesian-Holstein, a 3-year-old a2a2, sold for $5750. Heifers, mostly bred, average $2990, top sale price was $4200. 16 bulls, averaged $1640 each, top sale price was a Jersey a2a2 from Jeremy Yoder at $4800. 20 cows headed to a farm in Lancaster PA, with another 11 to a different farm elsewhere in PA. Some of these cows were also bought by homesteaders for family use. Several cows stayed within our community. What an auction, truly an amazing event. Obviously the grassfed dairy animal market is strong, which means the milk market is strong, which means farming is good. But then, farming is always good, high prices or low. The buggies, trucks and vans wended their way home. Chore time.
Between Ron Holter's seminar and the auction, Nathan Weaver introduced all the attending vendors—the first one up being Family Farmstead. The newest of the three buyers of organic, grass-fed milk in our region, Tom McGrath, owner of Family Farmstead, described their mission statement: Produce the most natural and nutritious dairy foods possible. Preserve and strengthen local family farms. Regenerate the land, our bodies, and local communities. Family Farmstead’s milk checks all the boxes. 100% grassfed organic, non-homogenized, full fat, low temperature pasteurized, certified regenerative, and, most rare of all, all their milk is a2a2.
Noah Hershberger, farmer from Guilford, NY, was here to sell dairy semen from John O’Brien Genetics.
Maple Hill was the first dairy marketer to offer all grass milk products. They started approximately 10 years ago; grew rapidly; had some growing pains, and eventually were sold to an investor group. They are growing again, signing up farmers in Ohio and Pennsylvania. They have grown twenty-five percent the last three years and are actively looking for farmers. They see $45 mailbox prices coming and remind us that an organic herd can transition to all grass in 90 days.
Jeremy Yoder, grass farmer and Jersey breeder, was here from Morris, NY. A lot of his cows stem back to Butter Valley, the high testing Phil Miller herd. He also used polled genetics from Dr. Reber’s herd, and some from Denmark. He is well known for his high component herd bulls and semen. He is concerned about the modern frail low butterfat cows.
Ann Phillips, Organic Valley’s eastern NY representative. Ann, here with her husband Jim, wears two hats – one as OV’s representative, the other as grass dairy farmers, in the Cortland-Marathon NY area. Most of us know OV’s history, starting with 8 farmers in Wisconsin, now grown to almost 2000 farmers, with over a billion dollars in sales. They also market produce, eggs and beef, and are one of the main marketers of organic milk. They have also been marketing grass milk for over 10 years.
Jacob Beachy from Coshocton County, Ohio, grazier and breeder of old line Holsteins, was here to sell semen and talk of his passion for the right kind of cow. Jacob read a poem to us, a long one, gently satirizing modern dairy genetics. Yes, you read correctly. Poetry. In a farm meeting.
Michael McCaffrey and William Isle of aAa® Weeks Animal Analysis provided information on what they do. They don’t sell a product out of a box or bag, they sell knowledge - knowledge that has been a big help to a lot of dairy farmers. By looking at a cow, heifer or bull’s traits they assign numbers, usually three. Bulls are assigned numbers for the traits they have to offer, with the first number their most dominant trait. Cows are assigned numbers on the traits they need, the first number what they need the most. Most AI companies publish the triple A numbers of the bulls they offer, thus the farmer can make very informed decisions on breeding for a balanced cow.
A representative from Sea 90, a company that produces sea salt with many trace minerals that is used by almost all grazers, was on hand to answer questions.
Rounding out the vendor presentations was David Beachy of Ohio with his Nutra-Glo minerals which is used by many of us for horses and some for cattle.
Robert Yoder, retired farmer and contributing writer, can be reached by phone at 315-684-3422.
Posted: to Industry News on Sun, Jan 12, 2025
Updated: Mon, Jan 13, 2025