2nd Dairy stop on January 17: Cows R Us

Our next stop of the day was at Cows R Us in Iva. Truthfully I am very pro Cows R Us (CRU) because of my frequent conversations with the owner Jennifer Tessier. We have been so impressed with the family's level of commitment to their first venture into the Raw Milk industry. When they purchased the farm, they had over 20 years experience in Dairy farming. So seriously how different can Raw Milk be? Milk is milk; right?? The learning curve has been a challenge. Working with a commercial producer is a lot easier than dealing with a cross-cut of humanity that visit their farm to purchase milk directly from them. Sadly, the customers from the previous owners have been pretty challenging. Instead of looking around at all the improvements with a sense of wonder and appreciation of having someone available to help them load, many spent time haranguing Jennifer about cows need or do not need to make quality milk.

It was approximately 10:50 AM when we arrived at CRU. There was something new at the entrance to the drive: A beautiful, large, colorful sign!!

The milk tanker truck was in front of the milk building and the producer's employee was just detaching the hose from the stainless steel tank. We did not see any of the CRU family around but we have done this a time or two, so we started loading bags. David had only loaded about 2 bags when Jennifer walked in apologizing for not being present when we arrived. She explained she was trying to get a bite to eat and was not sure when we were expected. We really should have called her before we got there but had failed to do so with the craziness of today's mad Dairy dash.

Jennifer filled our bags, I scooped ice over the milk jugs before sealing them and David hauled them out to our vehicle. While working, Jennifer and I discussed the frustrations the coop was having with the milk situation; I told her some members were requesting we look into other dairy options. I asked Jennifer if she was okay with me taking pictures of the Dairy for me to show our members all the improvements to the property since they had taken over in July. While I am sure that Jennifer was not thrilled with the news the coop was looking at other dairies, she was very pleasant and gave me permission to walk around the dairy buildings and property to get some pictures.

One thing I have really liked about CRU since the change is how open and transparent Jennifer has been about their processes. I asked if I could go into the Milking Parlor for pictures and she took me without any hesitation. She pointed out how the cows entered and exited the area. It was fresh smelling and in places the ground was still wet from being sprayed down. I took pictures of the main room of the milk building which contains the refrigeration units and the Stainless Steel cooling tank.

As we walked outside, several of the cows approached and I was able to get some nice pictures. Jennifer pointed out the bales of hay out in the pasture explaining the cows were able to free fed of them as they desired; she explained hay was important to them as it provided "roughage" for their digestive system. I noticed some cows were in the pasture on the other side of the drive and inquired why they were segregated from the other cows on pasture. Jennifer explained these cows were either momma-to-be or had recently calved. There was also a new red building on the other side of the drive which I inquired about. Jennifer stated CRU decided to build that building to store the milk jugs; they were able to get a better price break by buying in volume.

Jennifer asked me to keep her informed about what happened with the coop before we headed out.

Next stop, Milky Way ~ we told the owner to expect us at 12:30. Time to get gone.