POSH LIVING QUARTERS
At Oakridge Dairy we have a long heritage of animal care enabling us to provide a healthy, safe and wholesome environment for our girls. With about 2800 Holstein cows (approx. 2400 milking and 400 dry/not milking) we have created a place for them to spend their days relaxing among their peers. If you come in for a visit, you’ll see that we have an open-stall barn that allows cows to walk around as they please whether to eat, drink, sleep or huddle together. Essentially our 8 acre barn is laid out similar to an outdoor area only it provides protection from the elements to keep the cows comfortable - shade in the summer and warmth in the winter. We also keep 2415 open stalls for space and natural ventilation. Needless to say, our cows have plenty of elbow room.
DID YOU KNOW?
COWS LAY DOWN FOR ABOUT 14 HOURS A DAY! THAT’S WHY GOOD CLEAN BEDDING MATTERS!
QUALITY IN = QUALITY OUT
Our cows are eating feed we’ve planted, grown and harvested. The girls are grouped according to milk production for best nutritional care. From there a professional nutritionist develops a special recipe that is typically a mix of hay, grains, proteins, vitamins and minerals. Water is also an important part of a cow’s diet and our team makes sure their cows have access to clean well water all day every day. While in the barn cows have food in front of them at all times. Any leftover feed is cleaned out the next day and replaced with fresh feed. In addition, manure is vacuumed out of the stalls on a daily basis (while the cows are away being milked) and fresh comfortable bedding is added.
DID YOU KNOW?
1 COWS CAN EAT 100 LBS. OF FOOD AND 50 GAL. OF WATER EVERY DAY. IT TAKES 1 ACRE TO FEED 1 COW AND CALF FOR A YEAR!
WE LOVE OUR COWS!
First and foremost we are farmers who love our cows. We want our cows to thrive at Oakridge so we go to great lengths to make that happen. We have a dedicated vet area that monitors each and every cow, from their birthdays to vaccination records, who their parents are and how much milk they produce - we watch it all to make sure nothing seems off. We even have a spot for the cows to get their hooves trimmed (aka cow pedicure!) a couple of times a year. Our dedicated medical team, comprised of Oakridge technicians and certified veterinarians, are always there so our cows can receive preventive care and prompt treatment.
OUR NURSERY
Oakridge Dairy has a dedicated medical wing for individualized care and maternity attention for the herd. After giving birth the babies are fed their mother’s first milk called colostrum which is rich in antibodies that fight disease-causing bacteria and viruses. Female calves (heifers) live at our young stock facility until they are about 6 months old and young males (bulls) are raised out west. Once they leave the young stock facility they are raised until they are 2 years old and begin producing milk. Typically Oakridge has about 2000 calves a year, and 1200-1300 of them are females.