State’s Operators to Celebrate Dairy Month With Open House
By Chet Mullin, Omaha World-Herald, Neb.
Jun. 21–Nebraska is known more for beef cattle and corn, but the state’s dairy industry has grown steadily over the last decade, said a professor and dairy specialist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Jeff Keown said the state’s water, corn, alfalfa, ethanol plants and location appeal to dairy farmers.
June is Dairy Month, and the observance of the industry will culminate June 28 in an open house at Prairieland Dairy near Firth.
Ethanol plants provide distillers grains, a byproduct of the production process, which dairy farmers use for feed. The state’s central location, from which driving time to either coast is just two days on Interstate 80, makes it an ideal distribution point.
“Milk is no longer a local commodity,” Keown said. “It’s a national commodity.”
Keown said the state has encouraged the development of dairies.
Operators have moved to the state from Colorado, Texas, Arizona, California, Virginia, Kansas, Pennsylvania and the Netherlands. Continued drought in California has prompted a number of inquiries from operators in that state, Keown said.
“Hopefully, they are shipping value-added products, such as cheese, yogurt, ice cream and protein powders, rather than just milk, all over the country,” Keown said.
Dairy farms in Nebraska range from 500-cow operations to the 6,000 cows that Tuls Dairy Butler County in Surprise will have.
Tuls also operates the Double Dutch Dairy with 4,400 cows in Shelby.
Niche markets are driving some production, Keown said, citing Prairieland Dairy.
The dairy is made up of several family dairy farms in the area that together have about 1,600 cows.
Among the products Prairieland produces and processes is A2 milk, which is naturally produced by certain cows and has a protein that some people find easier to digest. Prairieland distributed the milk through Hy-Vee groceries.
The cows are DNA-tested to discover which can produce the protein. Then they are kept, fed and milked separately from the rest of the herd, and their milk is processed separately.
Dan Rice, managing partner of Prairieland Dairy, came to Nebraska from Pennsylvania and is president of the Nebraska Dairy Industries Association.
Prairieland Dairy decided to host the open house to introduce people to the sights and sounds of a dairy farm, Rice said in a press release. Visitors may better understand where their food comes from and how animals are cared for, he said.
A trip to the farm can easily answer the question, “Where does milk come from?” Rice said.
Gardeners will be able to take home free samples of Prairieland compost.
Prairieland’s family farmers live near Firth, Beatrice, Verdon, Falls City and Sterling.
Keown said a 500-cow dairy creates an investment in the state of up to $3 million — and that’s before the cows, which can cost up to $4,000.
In addition, one worker is required for every 100 cows, so dairies provide employment, and those workers’ wages and taxes help pay for schools, infrastructure and auxiliary business, such as veterinarians, he said.
–Contact the writer: 444-1087, chet.mullin@owh.com
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