Dora couple run a top-notch dairy
The cow’s udder must be cleaned each time before hooking up the milker. Above, Nancy is wiping off the cleaning solution, preparing to prestrip this cow.
Each calf has it’s own pen, house and bottle holder. They don’t seem to care if it’s milk replacer or the real thing, they’re always ready to eat.
Reprinted from in the June 15, 1994, edition of the Ozark County Times.
By Marilyn Luna Tilley
The day starts at 4 a.m.. Not just today, but everyday. That’s the time the Kellys start to do the chores.
Troy and Nancy Kelly, of Dora, have a dairy farm. And as Nancy said, “You can’t get sick and take the day off. The work still has to be done. So if you’re sick or not, you just get up and get it done.”
The Kellys work together on the chores. One goes to get the barn ready. The equipment in the barn has to be cleaned, sterilized and reassembled each time before milking – then, when the milking is done, it all has to be cleaned, sterilized and disassembled.
The Kellys have a grade A milk barn with the Herringbone-style setup. There are places for six cows to be turned in on each side with a place down the middle for them to work from. This way 12 cows are being milked at the same time.
The cows are turned in, with no yelling or hitting, so as to not upset them or make them nervous. If this happens, sometimes they will not give their milk down good and are more apt to get mastitis. Troy opens the door and calls, “come on girls” and six cows walk right in. There is a small rope attached at each “stall” that, when pulled, automatically pours out five pounds of feed in the trough.
When the cows have all sauntered in the barn, the door is closed, and process is started. The udder of each cow is sprayed with an iodine solution, and when clean, each is pre-stripped. This is to check for mastitis. The couple can tell if a cow has mastitis by sight and feel. If one cow has mastitis, the milk is kept separate from that of the rest of the herd.
This milk and the milk of cows who are fresh or on antibiotics is fed to the calves with enough milk replacer to fill the bottles.
There is a numbered tag in the ear of each cow. This is so close observation can be kept on each one as to how much milk she gives, calving and any other information needed to keep a close eye on the herd and insure good healthy cows.
When the cows are turned into the barn, each has it’s own feed trough, milker and large glass jug that catches the milk before it goes into the large holding tank. Once a month, the amount of milk each cow produces is checked so they will know whether she is a good producer or if she should be replaced.
After the cows are milked, another spray is used on the udder to help close the opening on the end of the teat to help keep out dirt and germs, then the doors are opened and the cows are run out.
And they’re ready to start on the next group.
At the present time, they are milking approximately 105 head. Sometimes this number goes up or down, depending on how many are put out dry or are calving.
There are anywhere from 10 to 45 calves to be fed the bottle at each milking. The calves have their own individual pens which include a small shed, a fenced-in yard, a bucket holder for grain and water and their own bottle holder. They stay in these pens and on the bottle until they reach approximately 300 pounds.
Troy mixes his own grain for the cattle. He has not bought his grain for the past 12 years. He also does his own fertilizing, using approximately 50 ton a year and his own haying, doing approximately 600 bales a year.
The couple said the milking is not the main work on a dairy farm. It’s all the other chores that need to be done like haying, fixing fences, caring for the cattle, fertilizing, etc… But on Saturday and Sunday, only the milking chores are done, so these are their days of rest.