Hidden Acres Dairy, llc

JUNE IS DAIRY MONTH! Did you know... Wisconsin produces more than 600 varieties of artisan cheese? That's TWICE the amount of any other state! What is YOUR favorite cheese?

Another fun day on the farm!
These kiddos learned about the life cycle of a dairy cow, machinery, milk hauling/processing, and even a little crash course in Spanish! And of course, lots of kitten snuggles!
Thank you, Bruce, for spending your day with us again this year! 🐄

School tour season starts today! We love sharing our day with area 4th and 5th grade students. Winter has been coming to Hidden Acres Dairy for many, many years and we are always so happy to have them.

The little ladies are staying nice and warm with their hats and jackets. They even came out to say Hi 👋🏻 while I checked on them.

🥛 Happy World Milk Day! 🌍🐄
At Afimilk, we are incredibly proud and honored to work alongside dairy farmers from around the world 🌎 Our mission is to help them produce top-quality milk while helping their farms become more efficient with our advanced herd management tools. 🚜💻

From optimizing milk production to ensuring animal welfare, we strive to provide innovative solutions that empower dairy farmers to achieve excellence in their operations. 🏆🥛

Today, we celebrate the hard work and dedication of dairy farmers everywhere, and we are grateful to be a part of their journey. 🙌🐮

Hidden Acres Dairy, llc Welcomed Bruce 4th & 5th Graders! This wraps up our school tours, 4-H tours start soon! ❤️

First School field trip of the year. Always my favorite day educating the kiddos on the quality and process of their food 🐄
Thank You, Winter! Your students are always so polite and respectful!

Land O’Lakes CEO Praises U.S. Farmers for Their Role in Food Security The leader of one of America’s largest food and agriculture companies said the country’s farmers should be celebrated for their crucial role in providing food security, even if their work is sometimes overlooked.

Today, we welcomed another school tour. We are so happy to have them back after 3 years of no school tours. A group of very well- behaved and smart 4th and 5th grade students from Winter School.

"Thank you for having us. We had an amazing time learning about a dairy farm and all that goes on inside it. We gained so much knowledge about newborn calves to a milking cow from what they eat, what they like and don’t like, and how they are taken care of. We even learned how the farm is ran.
Thank you, so much for spoiling us with milk, cheese, ice cream and goodie bags.
Thank you, Hidden Acres Dairy LLC."

I hear it's National Farmers Day.
Let me praise the hardest working man I know.
A man that is strong enough to take down a 500lb animal, yet gentle enough to hold his daughters hand.
A man that works 12 hours a day during the slow times and sleeps only 12 hours a week during the busy times. A man that was raised by a father and grandfather that taught him to be tough, yet honest.
A man that lives with bulged discs, herniated discs, throbbing feet and countless scars but still gets up everyday and loves what he does.
A man that takes pride in contributing to tables across the Nation.
A man that watches every market report and every weather station. (And every auction)
A man that sweats all day to keep his operation profitable, fights for what is right on the school board, and tries like hell to get time at home all for his three kids.
A man that puts 110% into everything he does.
A man that isn't afraid to breakdown in tears when his barn is laying on the ground after a snow storm.

Enjoy these photos of the greatest men I know and the greatest farmers I know.

Happy National Farmers Day!

Let's talk cow comfort:

I've been hesitant to post, but here it goes:
As a dairy that prides ourselves in cow comfort, care, and production, I want it first to be known that we do everything we can to keep the health and safety of our animals above all other priorities. However, when random accidents happen, we sometimes have to improvise our standard protocol because of the nature of injuries or size of the animal.
That being said, when a dry cow slipped and fell at the water trough, extended her leg straight out to the side of her body, I knew treatment was going to look a little different for her. Because she was only 16 days from calving, and because of the stress from her fall, I put a soft (NOT chain) hobble on her and placed her in the calving pen on fresh straw bedding.
The next day, I examined her and knew she was not ready to freshen yet, that she still needed extra attention, but the calving pen is not meant to be a special needs pen and the stalls, even though they are wide and bedded with mattresses, would not be ideal for her either.
We used our best judgement and put her just outside the barn where she could lay on the soft ground, not have to compete for feed/ water, and have plenty of room to get up and be active.
I left the hobble on to help relieve some of the energy needed to keep that leg in place, (almost like a crutch to you and I) and I topped her water off before heading home that night.
The next morning, I went to feed/water our #1445.
-a strong, well-built heifer
-peaked at 105 pounds of milk per day in her first lactation
-calved a high-scoring heifer calf last year
-was feeling better and stronger each day
-was only 16 days from calving and entering her 2nd lactation period with a lot of potential. ..

And to my surprise, she was EATEN ALIVE by wolves right outside the barn.
They did not kill her first, they attacked her and feasted before she was even dead.
The next time you see a "Real Hunters Don't Shoot Wolves" please remember that those majestic-looking wolves are evil, fearless predators that must be kept in control.

Fun Fact Friday!!
Did you know.....Milk offers several key nutrients for a healthy immune system? Calcium, Vitamin B, A, and D just to name a few!
Vitamin D is proven by researchers to provide strong bone growth and heath, but it also plays a crucial roll in fighting VIRUSES AND BACTERIA, especially in the respiratory tract!!
Sound Familiar???
Whole Milk is still only 3.25% fat, so if it were to be marketed like everything else, it would be labeled as 96.75% FAT FREE. Contrary to what we may believe, whole milk does NOT give us a substantial amount of fat. In fact, one serving is only 148 calories, 8g total fats AND can be used to FIGHT abdominal weight gain!!
It ALSO gives us 8g of PROTEIN, 7% Vitamin A, 27% CALCIUM, and 31% Vitamin D... 31 percent!

Fat-Free Milk still offers 8g PROTEIN and 29% calcium, but 0% Vitamin D and A.

2% Milk offers 8g PROTEIN, 5% Vitamin A, but 0% Vitamin D.

ALTERNATIVES:
Soy: 131 cal, 0% Vitamins A, D, C
Coconut: 34 cal, 0% Vitamins A, D, C
Almond: 39 cal,18% Vitamin D, 10% Vitamin A, 0% Vitamin C
Rice: 112 cal, 25% Vitamin D, 9% Vitamin A

EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT:
Summer and Henley Granica
Summer has been with Hidden Acres for just a short time, doing mostly breeding and relief shifts while we are away, and part-time hours on the weekend. She is reliable, knowledgeable, and grabs the bull by the horns. We can confidently be gone and leave her in charge of the herd. She also does her own consulting, which we have greatly benefited from while moving from hard-copy data to software-based data! Miss Henley keeps her eye on the ladies, too. She comes to help with weekend vaccines and the occasional breeding. Hidden Acres is so thankful for these ladies and we appreciate everything they contribute to our dairy. They truly are an asset to our team! Thank you, Ladies!