Spokane’s Family Farm – Farm Walk, July 28, 2014

Cow Herd Management and Dairy Production

In an area known as the West Plains near Spokane, Trish and Tim Warner of Spokane’s Family Farm led fellow farmers and dariymen on an informative farm walk regarding their cow dairy operation. The Warner’s began managing the dairy in early 2013, and since that time have made many improvements to the dairy’s infrastructure and expanded their markets. Currently selling only vat pasteurized, non-homogenized whole milk, the Warner’s would like to expand their product offerings to chocolate milk, cream, half-and-half, and perhaps even ice cream and cheese!

The farm walk began with the group walking through the hay fields surrounding the dairy itself. The farm consists of about 80 acres which was previous operated as a ranch. As a result, fences separating the acreage still exist and Tim has yet to properly fence out and develop the land as pasture for his cows. At present they grow some alfalfa-oat mix on about 20 acres. They harvest this hay for their cows which is supplemented with hay and feed grown by their partners, the Roylance family, in the Moses Lake area. Tim explained that their long-term goal is to become pasture-based and utilize all 80 acres. For now, they house their cows in stalls and a fenced corral area.

The group then walked to the area where Tim stores the feed given to the cows. Tim has worked closely with animal nutritionists at Washington State University to develop a feed ration for his cows that they can certify ad GMO-free. As a result, their ration is composed of orchard grass, alfalfa, non-GMO corn, by-pass proteins, and custom pellet vitamins/minerals. Even though they are certified GMO-free, Tim and Trish believes that it is the overall quality of their milk and their transparency as farmers that attracts people to buy their milk – not necessarily the non-GMO certification.

Tim and Trish explained how their herd size is largely determine by the markets they are able to sell and in what volumes. Spokane’s Family Farm currently milk 45 cows – a mix of Jerseys and Holsteins – and they have determined that per cow, they can supply three grocery stores per week. They sell to local grocery stores in the Spokane area, and Spokane Produce will distribute to stores for them. The average grocery store purchase 18 gallons of milk. Tim also travels to sell to a market in Leavenworth and they are also an interstate shipper, which has allowed them to sell milk in Idaho and Montana. Tim will also make deliveries to small cafés and they have started selling at several different farmer’s markets. The dairy also operates a farm stand where people often come to pick up milk and leave-money-in-the-can. Trish explained that they would like to sell to institutions, but since they only produce whole milk and don’t fortify with vitamins, places like schools and hospitals won’t purchase from them. A further issue is that since their product is not fortified, their milk cannot be purchased with WIC benefits at the grocery store.

The group then walked to see the Jersey and Holstein cows and their free stall set-up. Tim built a new free stall structure as the existing one on the farm was troublesome for the cows as they would often get turned around or stuck in the stalls. Though they have both breeds of cows, Trish explained that they prefer the Jerseys because they are smaller and better overall converters of feed to milk – unlike Holsteins which are larger and don’t produce as much milk. They utilize artificial insemination for breeding their cows. Any steers that are born they will raise until about six months and then send to a ranch in Davenport, WA.

To manage all of their cow’s waste, Tim designed and built settling ponds with the help of the Spokane County Conservation District. He was also able to obtain a USDA-EQIP (Environmental Quality Incentives Program) grant to fund the construction of a double lined lagoon, which they are prepping to build in the coming months.

After visiting the cows, attendees then went through the milking parlor to understand the process Tim goes through with milking the herd. In 2013, Tim remodeled the milking parlor into a pit milking system so that milkers are at eye level with the cow udders. They utilized Orange Dairy Service to install all of the milking equipment and they completed the whole renovation process – digging and cementing the pit, installing the equipment etc. – in a mere 36 hours! The milking system configuration they use is a parabone milking design, and they are able to milk 12 cows at a time. The automated milking system uses a Guardian II CIP (Clean In Place) System which is automated to clean the entire system without having to take it apart. Tim shared that it takes a little over one hour to milk the entire herd, and they milk twice a day every day. Spokane’s Family Farm does employ four full-time and five part-time employees to help with milking, milk processing, and other dairy management tasks.

When it comes to processing the milk, Tim is careful to take precise records of milk temperatures and tests for antibiotics and somatic cells. The milk comes out of the cow at 100 degrees and needs to be cooled to 45 degrees within two hours. Tim stressed the importance of keeping current with the Pasteurized Milk Ordinance (PMO), which sets the rules for best practices when it comes to handling milk and milk products. Spokane’s Family Farm is unique from large dairies in that they vat pasteurize their milk a low temperature. This means that they pasteurize at 145 degrees for thirty minutes. They then utilize a plate cooler to cool the pasteurized milk to 45 degrees before the bottle it. Bottling is completed with an automatic capping system. The whole process of bottling takes roughly 75 minutes.

Most of the pasteurization and bottling equipment was already on the farm when Tim and Trish took over management. Tim shared that the set-up of this equipment isn’t exactly ideal, so as a result, they have begun construction of a new milk processing room that makes more sense for processing safety and efficiency. Eventually they would like to add a cream separator to be able to offer cream and half-and-half to their customers. Both Tim and Trish stressed the importance of developing a good relationship with the WSDA inspectors. They have a great relationship with WSDA and often call them to get their feedback and suggestions for the types of expansions they would like to do on the dairy.

At the end of the walk, attendees gathered for a cheese making demonstration by Trish. She made a soft, farmstead cheese for everyone to try and it was delicious! She would like to perhaps make cheese to sell at the farmer’s market, but for now keep to selling the whole milk. They were currently figuring out how they could produce chocolate milk, which Trish shared wasn’t as easy as they thought. It was apparent throughout the entire walk that both Tim and Trish take seriously the health of their cows, the quality of their milk, and the sustainability of their business.

Click Here! Farm Walk Booklet – Spokane’s Family Farm

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This project is supported in part by the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, USDA, Grant # 2012-49400-19575. For more resources and programs for beginning farmers and ranchers please visit www.Start2Farm.gov, a component of the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program.

Summary by Angela Anegon, Tilth Producers Education Coordinator