Local Milk for Sale and Dairy Tours at Hastings Dairy

This spring and summer we're offering special events open to the public and milk for sale produced at our new on-farm creamery. 

Buy Fresh Milk at Hastings Dairy

Open: Daily 1:00pm – 5:00pm 
Milk is bottled at the new on-farm Rowdy Cow Creamery. Non-homogenized (cream on the top) whole milk in white and flavors is low temperature vat pasteurized in small batches to maintain its natural nutrients and great flavor. This is one of only a few farmstead milk bottling operations in Ohio.

My sons, Jack and Garrett, with bottles of Rowdy Cow milk

Cow Tales Adventures (for children 5 & under w/ caregiver)
May 20 and June 3 from 10:00am-12:00pm @ $6/person (12 months & under free)
This farm adventure allows young children and caregivers to take a wagon ride around the farm, pet the calves, ride the train, play, and have fun! Arrive by 10am and plan to be at the farm until 12pm to take part in all of the activities. Milk will be available to buy.  

A young visitor taking a spin at Cow Tales

Loading up for a ride on the Chugga Chugga Moo Moo Train

Milk from Cow to Bottle Tour & Tasting 
May 16, June 14 and July 3 1:00-3:00pm @ $6/person (12 months & under free)
Interested in tasting delicious fresh milk and meeting the cows who produced it? Attend “Milk from Cow to Bottle Tour & Tasting”. This event will include milking parlor tours, wagon rides, petting the calves, the cow train for kids, viewing the creamery, and milk tasting. This is an open house, so visitors can come and go during the event. Milk will be available to buy.  

A highlight of the tour is interacting with the calves

The wagon ride takes visitors through the barn to see the cows

Parking is free. Activities are outdoors and indoors. No reservations are necessary. Remember, you're visiting a farm so dress for the occasion. Milk will be for sale during all tours and events, so bring your cooler. The farm is located at 13181 Claridon Troy Road, Burton, OH 44021.

If you have a group of 16 or more, book a private tour of the farm. Group tours are perfect for schools, day camps, scouts, 4-H clubs, play groups, senior groups or any group! Looking for a unique party experience? Check out our party packages which provide private use of our facility.

The playground is lots of fun!

 My family is excited to offer dairy tours and farm fresh local milk! For information about Rowdy Cow Creamery, the Cow Tales and Milk Tasting events, private tours or party packages, go to http://hastingsdairy.com/ or contact me at hastings97@gmail.com.

Milking Parlor Improvements

Dairy farms depend on a variety of equipment, most of which is used every day. One building on our farm that is full of essential equipment is the milking parlor where the cows are milked. It’s important to keep this facility and equipment in good working condition.

We recently had new take-offs installed in the milking parlor. These take-offs are important because they enable the milking machine to detach from the cow’s udder when she’s done milking. When the flow of milk from the cow slows, that sends a signal to a sensor in the milking machine indicating the cow is done milking. Then the automatic take-offs remove the milking machine from the udder. Each cow milks at her own pace, one might take 4 minutes while her herd mate could take 6 minutes. New take-offs allow us to meet the specific need of each individual cow.

The old take-off equipment is removed and the new ones are installed

The new take-off equipment is behind the silver panels with red lights

This new equipment has multiple benefits, it’s good for:

* Cows - ensuring maximum cow comfort and udder health when milking because the machine isn’t on the cow a second longer than it needs to be.

* Environment – this new equipment requires less water for cleaning.

* Staff - new equipment makes it easier on the staff milking cows.

Over the last few months, we’ve made some other improvements in the milking parlor. The floor heating system was repaired allowing warm water to circulate in the concrete flooring where the cows stand while milking. This system keeps the facility warmer for the cows and staff in the winter.

This concrete floor is heated for the comfort of the cows and staff

Light fixtures and bulbs were replaced because good lighting is important. This might seem like a small task, but it’s very difficult because the light fixtures in the milking parlor are about 25 feet above a solid concrete floor.

The bright lights shine in the milking parlor

All of these improvements and repairs must be done when there are no cows being milked, which makes these tasks more challenging. Cows are milked on our farm around the clock, with a one-hour break every seven hours to provide time to clean the facility and sanitize equipment. So these tasks must work around the milking schedule.

Improvements like these are made to maintain cow comfort and a good work environment. It’s worth it because the animals and people on our farm are vital to its success.

Year in Review: 2014 Blog Highlights

I enjoyed sharing the happenings of my farm and family this year. Here are some highlights from 2014:

Six Most Popular New Blog Posts in 2014

1. Cow's Milk vs Non-Dairy Imitation Milk posted April 1, 2014     

Comparing naturally superior cow’s milk to non-dairy imitations.

2. Why are calves separated from their mothers? posted January 14, 2014    

Explaining how calves are raised on our farm.  

3. It’s National Agriculture Day! posted March 25, 2014   

A look at agriculture’s far-reaching impact in all of our lives.

Chumey and Jack

4. The manure is deep in Farmed and Dangerous posted February 24, 2014  

Me and other farmers sharing thoughts on Chipotle’s silly fiction Farmed and Dangerous.

5. Farmland: The Movie posted April 22, 2014    

My review of this documentary which follows six young farmers and their families through the joys and challenges of production agriculture.

Lad, Garrett and Jack with some friendly heifers

6. Is Milk Safe? How do I Know it’s Free of Antibiotics? posted April 29, 2014   

The facts about milk quality and safety.

 

Me and Lad in the milking parlor

My 3 Favorite Blog Posts this Year

Coming Soon. . .Rowdy Cow Creamery posted July 8, 2014

Sharing the progress of constructing our on-farm milk bottling creamery.

The County Fair – Generations of Showing Cattle posted August 26, 2014

Pictures of me, my husband and our parents showing cattle at the county fair throughout the generations.

Garrett and Lad with Vanessa before going into the show ring

Farm Animal Treatment & the See It? Stop It! Program posted November 11, 2014

Featuring the great team at our farm with the animals they care for.

To see pictures highlighting 2014, check out A Look Back at 2014 on the Farm.

I hope you'll visit my blog in 2015!

Me walking through a barn on our farm

A Look Back at 2014 on the Farm

As 2014 comes to an end, I'd like to reflect on the milestones, activities, and day-to-day farm happenings by reviewing pictures I captured throughout the year.

The Polar Vortex: The year started with one of the coldest winter's we've experienced.

The snow-covered barn

Lad breaks up ice in the cow's frozen water trough

The hearty cows brave the cold winter

My Dad, Tony, working at the snow-covered farm

Cows: These bovine beauties are the stars of the farm.

Inquisitive cows

Taylor with Lorena #6616

Heifers relaxing in their clean, dry barn

Andres follows the cows to the milking parlor

"I'm done milking, now I'm going to stand here and watch the activity"

Strolling from the milking parlor to the barn

Thirsty cows get a drink after milking

Josue with friendly Penolepe

Jack brushes Kissy Foot, she loves the attention!

A selfie with me and Chumey

Mom and calf in the maternity pen

Henry the barn cat likes visiting with the calves

A favorite spot on the farm, the calf pen

Marco delivers milk to the calves

The newborn heifer calf of 4-H animal, Flo

Farming & Harvest: The farming season started off with some challenges. The rye grass seeds planted in fall 2013 did not emerge from the ground in 2014 due to the extremely cold winter. We had a late spring, but were able to get all the crops in the ground.

The men check to see if our "new" used corn planter dropped the seed

Lad planting corn on a sunny spring day

Fall corn harvest

Jack checks an ear of corn in a partially harvested field

Summer & the County Fair: This is a busy and fun time with our boys at the farm.

The boys found a turtle in the farm pond

Boys being boys

Jack with farm kitty, Ted

Garrett's 4-H heifer, Lucy, and Jack connect

Brushing the heifers to getting them ready for the County Fair

Jack relaxes with his heifer, Daisy, at the Fair

Jack showing for the first time

Garrett with his Reserve Junior Champion heifer, Vanessa

Tours: We have fun showing off the beautiful cows and calves at our farm.

Garrett, me and Jack waiting for a tour group to arrive

This friendly calf likes one of our young visitors

Two ladies with the Leadership Geauga Youth Group pet one of the cows

The wagon ride stops in the barn

 

Jack pretends to drive the barrel train

Rowdy Cow Creamery: Construction began on a new venture at our farm. Our new on-farm milk bottling plant will open for business in spring 2015.

The vat pasteurizer is delivered

Moving the bottle filler into the creamery

The creamery is almost complete

Happy Holidays from our family to yours!

Garrett, Lad, Brenda, & Jack