Alberto Dairy

Did you know that cows have friends that they prefer to spend time with? Cows form companionships, and have best friends! These heifers have formed a sisterhood, and this photo was snapped when they were spending some time together out in the corral.

WHY IS COTTONSEED IN THE TOTAL MIXED RATION? It is a great source of protein for the cows and helps us improve our milk quality! Every bulb of cotton has a seed at it’s center that is removed when processing cotton, and cottonseed is what is leftover! Recycling what is leftover from other industries is one of the many ways that dairy farms practice sustainability. Do you remember making memories in the cottonseed pile growing up? Tell us in the comments!

Antonio Alberto in front of this season’s corn crop. The stalks are over 15 feet tall! After 5 days of harvesting, we have just wrapped our #CornHarvest2020! The corn is chopped into very small pieces and is stored in our silage pit throughout the year. In the photos below, you can see that we were chopping, discing, and planting in one field at the same time! Big thanks to Deniz Brothers Ag Services!

Here at Alberto Dairy!

SUSTAINABLE! Throughout the year, the forage that we grow on our property is covered with plastic and recycled tires to keep the air out, in order to undergo anaerobic fermentation, which keeps it preserved. California dairy farmers have reduced the carbon footprint of dairy products by two-thirds since 1949!

To ensure that our newborn calves receive the most nutritious feeding, they are fed immediately by bottle, and then they are placed in a clean and well-bedded hutch once they have been cleaned and dried. After this, they are fed twice a day from a bottle for 7 days and eventually become accustomed to drinking from a pail.

WHAT IS A TOTAL MIXED RATION? This is our method of feeding dairy cattle. All of the ingredients lie in separate bays inside of our commodity barn, and different loads are mixed together in our feeder. The purpose of feeding a TMR diet is so each cow can consume a required level of nutrients in each bite. The cow’s ration is formulated by a nutritionist, and contains good quality forages, a balance of grains, proteins, vitamins, and minerals. There is a variety of ingredients included, and they’re added in this order: oats, alfalfa, ground corn, premix, cottonseed, canola, almond hulls, wet DDG (Dried Distillers Grains), corn silage, and water. A premix is a blend of mineral mix, bypass fat, and corn gluten pellet molasses that is added in micro amounts beforehand, to simplify the weighing process for the feeder.

Cow manure is an extremely organic fertilizer that is used to improve soil moisture. This weekend we irrigated our corn fields with water from our lagoons and a nearby canal. Our lagoons are where we store and collect nutrient-rich manure water from cleaning the lanes and troughs in our free stall barns, cleaning our milk barn, collecting rain water, etc. While recycling, we can maximize the quantity of our crops, and we use the nutrients in cow manure to fertilize them. In a vegan world, we would be 100% dependent on synthetic/artificial fertilizers. #SustainableFarming

W A T E R is the most important nutrient for a cow, and they drink a LOT of it. On one normal day, milking cows can drink a whole bath tub (30-50 gallons or more)! We routinely clean the water troughs, and every cow on our dairy has easy access to clean fresh water 24/7.

At Alberto Dairy, we milk our cows three times a day in our rotary milking parlor. Milking relieves pressure from their udder, and they voluntarily walk to the milking parlor from their pen. To give them more traction, there are rubber mats in the walking lanes that reduce friction on their hooves. When they arrive to the milking parlor, they’re welcomed with large fans, cold soakers, and fresh water while they wait for their turn! Don’t forget to participate in our challenge for #JuneDairyMonth! Help us reach our 100 gallon milk donation! See our #DrinkMilkGiveBack post for more information.

Cows are very social animals. Did you know that, like people, they will make friends and bond with some while avoiding other cows? Don’t forget to participate in our challenge for #JuneDairyMonth! Help us reach our 100 gallon milk donation! See our last post for more information.

DRINK MILK. GIVE BACK. Where’s your milk mustache? We have a special challenge for you during #JuneDairyMonth! Using the hashtag #DrinkMilkGiveBack, we challenge you to post a photo of your milk mustache, or of you raising a glass of milk! In collaboration with @realcalifmilk, we will donate one gallon of milk (up to 100 gallons) to our local food bank for each post! Share this post to spread the word, and send us your photo’s so we can feature them on our story! #gotmilk