• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
Search
  • About
    • Contact
    • Press
  • Recipes
    • All Recipes
    • Oatmeal Recipes
    • Smoothie Recipes
    • Salad Recipes
    • 100 Oatmeal Recipes + Whipped Banana Oatmeal
    • The Best Overnight Oats Recipes
    • Smoothie In A Bowl
  • Nutrition
    • My Wellness Program
    • Top 10 Nutrition Posts
    • Healthy Mindset
    • Real Food
    • Weight Change
    • Becoming A Registered Dietitian
  • Home
    • Renovation
    • Shop Our Home
    • How To Declutter Your Kitchen Cabinets
    • Kitchen Organization Accessories
    • 5 Tips for Keeping a Clean House with Kids
  • Beauty
    • My Beauty Routine
    • My Top 10 Favorite Beautycounter Products
    • Products For Brighter Skin
    • How to Apply Skincare in the Right Order
    • Anti-Aging Line Review
    • Safer Sunscreen
  • Courses
    • Digital Clutter Course
    • Bloom Wellness Program
  • Life
    • Mazen’s Birth Story
    • Birch’s Birth Story
    • Fitness
    • Wedding
    • Charlottesville
    • Travel
    • Shop
  • Free

Kath Eats logo

  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
Search
  • About
    • Contact
    • Press
  • Recipes
    • All Recipes
    • Oatmeal Recipes
    • Smoothie Recipes
    • Salad Recipes
    • 100 Oatmeal Recipes + Whipped Banana Oatmeal
    • The Best Overnight Oats Recipes
    • Smoothie In A Bowl
  • Nutrition
    • My Wellness Program
    • Top 10 Nutrition Posts
    • Healthy Mindset
    • Real Food
    • Weight Change
    • Becoming A Registered Dietitian
  • Home
    • Renovation
    • Shop Our Home
    • How To Declutter Your Kitchen Cabinets
    • Kitchen Organization Accessories
    • 5 Tips for Keeping a Clean House with Kids
  • Beauty
    • My Beauty Routine
    • My Top 10 Favorite Beautycounter Products
    • Products For Brighter Skin
    • How to Apply Skincare in the Right Order
    • Anti-Aging Line Review
    • Safer Sunscreen
  • Courses
    • Digital Clutter Course
    • Bloom Wellness Program
  • Life
    • Mazen’s Birth Story
    • Birch’s Birth Story
    • Fitness
    • Wedding
    • Charlottesville
    • Travel
    • Shop
  • Free
You are here: Home / Lifestyle / A Visit To Grazeland

March 3, 2016

A Visit To Grazeland

This post is sponsored by The National Milk Life Campaign

Foodblog (3 of 25)

Last week I drove about an hour into the Virginia countryside to Grazeland. Not the home of a mooing Elvis, but the farm of about 200 dairy cows who provide milk to Organic Valley. I was hosted by Gerry, a regional rep for Organic Valley, and Phillip and Terry, who own and operate the farm.

Foodblog (8 of 25)

The farm is right outside of Dayton, Virginia, which is a bit of a hub for dairy farms in the Shenandoah Valley.

Foodblog (2 of 25)

If I look cold, I WAS! It was a blustery day, and snow flakes drifted down around us as we toured the property. My toes were completely numb!

Foodblog (7 of 25)

I was curious to know all about dairy farming, and this was my first visit to one. I asked a million questions about the process – from calving to nutrition to pasture feeding. I call this my listening face!!

Foodblog (11 of 25)

One of my first questions was whether or not the cows were pasture fed 100% of the time. As you might suspect, climates like Virginia’s can’t support year round fresh grass, so farms feed the cows a mixture of hay and a preserved version of the grass they cut down in the summertime. Think of it as humans planting gardens in the summer and pickling veggies to eat in the dead of winter. Phil said the cows love the fresh grass the most (just like we love summer greens and tomatoes off the vine!) but that the hay is the next best thing in the winter time.

Foodblog (5 of 25)

We also discussed the calving process, since cows obviously have to have a baby to lactate. They can continue to be milked while they are pregnant until the last few months when they are given a “dry period” to help their bodies focus on growing the baby. Calves were being born the day we were there, but sadly I didn’t get to see one for myself. This little girl was just a day old!

Foodblog (9 of 25)Foodblog (12 of 25)

Foodblog (13 of 25)

In terms of treatment, I found the farm to be the kind of place I’d want to live if I were a cow. In the summertime, they have a pretty cool “air conditioning” system comprised of fans and misty water – kind of like those fun misters you walk through at theme parks! And in the winter, Terry told me that once it was pretty cold and they went to a thrift store and bought a bunch of wool coats and sweaters to put on the smaller calves. They were all in bright colors and it looked like a cow fashion show!

Hanging out with the teenagers –

Foodblog (14 of 25)

The pasture was huge, and there was grass as far as the eye could see. The farm uses a neat portable irrigation system and lots of natural cow fertilizer 🙂 Since it’s an organic farm, you won’t find any synthetic pesticides anywhere.

Foodblog (4 of 25)

We went up to the farmhouse to enjoy some tea and snacks and to warm up before going down to see the milking. We had hot green mint tea, homemade ginger cookies and organic milk and cheese sticks to eat!

Foodblog (18 of 25) Foodblog (17 of 25)

I LOVED on that fire!

Foodblog (16 of 25)

After we were warm and full, we drove back to the dairy to see the cows come in for milking. As herd animals, it was cute to see them all walk in together and line up. They knew just what to do!

Foodblog (19 of 25)

I put my finger in their pump and it gently sucked and squeezed at the same time –

Foodblog (20 of 25)

I asked Phil if they seemed to like coming to milking (something only someone around cows all day might notice) and he said for sure. Chewing their cud means cows are happy, these ladies were just a’chewin’ away!

Foodblog (23 of 25)Foodblog (22 of 25)

I asked Phil if he were a cow would he like to be on his farm, and he pointed out that his cows have every need taken care of – shelter, plenty of food, climate control, medical care…. and love : ) He does have a good point!

Foodblog (24 of 25)

I took in a lot of knowledge on the trip, so I’ll do my best to answer any other questions you might have.

Foodblog (6 of 25)

Thanks to The National Milk Life Campaign for the opportunity and for sponsoring this post! 

Related

Filed Under: Lifestyle

Reader Interactions

Previous Post
To Froth Or Not To Froth
Next Post
Lately

Comments

  1. Mary says

    March 3, 2016 at 3:02 pm

    How are the baby cows fed? I’m guessing not from mom since they would want to sell that milk.

    Reply
    • KathEats says

      March 3, 2016 at 3:08 pm

      They drink colostrum from their mothers and then are given bottles of milk that are pumped.

      Reply
  2. Kate says

    March 3, 2016 at 3:02 pm

    How fun! I am a dairy lover so I really appreciate the farmers who put a lot of heart into their work. I have a friend who has a dairy farm and they love & name all their cows. It’s sweet.

    Reply
  3. Megan B. says

    March 3, 2016 at 3:31 pm

    Very cool. I do have a question: what do they do with all the calves that are born on the farm? I assume they don’t all stay there and become dairy cows. ????

    Reply
    • KathEats says

      March 3, 2016 at 3:57 pm

      Many of them stay there, but the males are sold to other farms when they are older.

      Reply
  4. Heather says

    March 3, 2016 at 3:45 pm

    when the cow no longer produces milk what do they do with her?

    Reply
    • KathEats says

      March 3, 2016 at 3:57 pm

      I am not sure on that one.

      Reply
      • Jennifer says

        March 3, 2016 at 10:05 pm

        I think I may have an answer on that one 🙂 Kath, thank you so much for sharing this experience! I found it very informative. As a grown adult I try to keep dairy at 2-3 times a week, but my understanding is that dairy is definitely critical for many people and growing kids. So I love to see humane and kind farming to deliver the product.

        Reply
  5. Berty says

    March 3, 2016 at 4:03 pm

    Hi Kath, looks like you had a nice visit! One of my issues with small organic dairy farms is that they can’t keep all of the calves that are born on their farms. Often they’re sent to non-organic dairies with less humane procedures (females) or veal factory farms (males), which are certainly not friendly places to live.

    Do you know what happens to baby cows that do not stay at Grazeland?

    Reply
    • KathEats says

      March 3, 2016 at 4:05 pm

      I believe some of the females and most (all?) of the males are sold. I hope to humane places too.

      Reply
      • Crystal says

        March 3, 2016 at 6:08 pm

        Would Organic Valley tell you where they were sold if you asked? I’d be interested to know too. Great post! I often buy Organic Valley so it is nice to see where my milk might be coming from.

        Reply
  6. Ali says

    March 3, 2016 at 4:03 pm

    We are about 10 minutes away from an Organic Valley farm, and surrounded by plenty of other organic and non diaries. It is so fun to visit. Our area has an annual county Farm Tour September that highlights and opens up a wide variety of different farmers. Its a great opportunity to be reminded of the awesome place we live in (NW WA).

    Reply
    • Lacey says

      March 3, 2016 at 5:52 pm

      I live in Bellingham and go on the farm tour every year – it’s so fun!

      Reply
  7. Jen says

    March 3, 2016 at 4:54 pm

    Oh wow – look at all that pasture for those cows to graze on! The cows look so happy. I understand mastitis to be a common problem on dairy farms. How are cows with mastitis treated on an organic farm?

    Reply
    • KathEats says

      March 3, 2016 at 9:11 pm

      I didn’t ask but know they had access to health care on the farm

      Reply
  8. Erin @ Her Heartland Soul says

    March 3, 2016 at 5:37 pm

    I love Milk!

    Reply
  9. Sophie says

    March 3, 2016 at 5:55 pm

    What a fun day! The baby cows are so cute! Be careful about loving on that fire too much, because, you know that prank that boys are always pulling really is true, LOL!

    Reply
    • KathEats says

      March 3, 2016 at 9:10 pm

      Wait what prank!?!

      Reply
      • Sophie says

        March 4, 2016 at 1:55 pm

        LOL! #nerdalert Well, you know how the human body produces gases. If there’s a flame nearby when you, um, toot, it catches fire!

        Reply
        • KathEats says

          March 4, 2016 at 2:03 pm

          Hahaha

          Reply
  10. Cindy DuBose says

    March 3, 2016 at 6:01 pm

    Hi Kath, I love your white coat? Where did you get it?
    Thanks!

    Reply
    • KathEats says

      March 3, 2016 at 9:09 pm

      Stitch Fix!!

      Reply
  11. Siobhan says

    March 3, 2016 at 7:41 pm

    You need welly socks! Love my hunter boots but without them my feet are always frozen.

    Reply
    • KathEats says

      March 3, 2016 at 9:09 pm

      I do!!

      Reply
  12. Liz says

    March 3, 2016 at 8:43 pm

    Hi Kath- I grew up on a dairy farm much like this one so felt right at home reading your post. I’m glad you enjoyed your visit!

    Reply
  13. Christie says

    March 4, 2016 at 9:30 am

    Kath,
    I also grew up on a dairy farm and really enjoyed this post. Farmers are the key to a healthy, sustainable world and I appreciate that you support your local farmers. Also, I believe consumption of dairy products are part of a balanced diet and love that you are willing to share this adventure!

    Reply
  14. Liz B says

    March 4, 2016 at 12:00 pm

    So off topic.. but do you mind sharing what brand your lovely coat is? I adore it! (and those adorable baby cows)

    Reply
    • KathEats says

      March 4, 2016 at 2:00 pm

      It’s Marc New York by Stitch Fix

      Reply
  15. Amanda says

    March 8, 2016 at 7:24 pm

    This was a really interesting post. What a cool experience!

    Reply
  16. Susan says

    March 9, 2016 at 8:02 am

    Very impressive! How nice you were able to visit and thanks for sharing. It’s nice to know there are farms like this where the promote good products and treat their animals kind!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Search

Topics to browse >>

Get my exclusive promos –>

    Footer

    hi! Im Kath.

    I'm a Registered Dietitian, healthy eater, and mom of two from Charlottesville, Virginia. Here you’ll find a healthy mix of real-life meals made from whole ingredients balanced with the pleasures of life, including buttercream frosting and good wine. Plus a sprinkle of nutrition, home life, beauty, parenting, and travel.
    about | privacy policy | contact

    Recipes

    • Oatmeal Recipes
    • Salad Recipes
    • Smoothie Recipes
    • All Recipes

    Nutrition

    • Healthy Mindset
    • Real Food
    • My Wellness Program

    Life

    • Travel
    • Exercise
    • Wedding
    • Charlottesville
    • Digital Clutter Course
    • Instagram
    • Facebook
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube

    Copyright © // 2023 Kath Eats Real Food
    Jump to top