I recently got to experience the Farm to Table journey of yogurt thanks to the National Dairy Council. While I am familiar with Midwest dairy farms, I have never been to a farm this large and the yogurt plant was brand new to me.
We started our day visiting T&K Red River Dairy, located just outside the Phoenix, AZ area. The dairy milks over 13,000 cows daily which I found insane since most family dairy farms in Wisconsin milk about 200 cows a day. The farm has 3 milking parlors and cycles the cows through all day. Each cow is milked twice daily. The parlor has an aisle down the middle where staff clean the udders before connecting the milking machine. Once the milk flow rate slows down during the milking process, the machine automatically stops and disconnects.
Our group was led by a dairy nutritionist so of course we talked a lot about cow nutrition on the tour. Our group also consisted of all dietitians, so of course we were open to the topic. Most dairy farms actually contract a dairy nutritionist who comes and determines the correct composition of nutrients to keep the cows happy and able to produce milk efficiently. More than 50% of cow feed is actually different kinds of grass, for lack of a better word. Hay, sileage, and forage are mixed together to make TMR (total mixed ration) which is a nutritional blend mixed on the farm to provide the cows with the desired proportions of nutrition.
- Forage: High fiber cow feed such as whole plants of corn; small grains like oats, barley or wheat; legumes, and grasses.
- Hay: After a hay field is mowed, the trimming are left to dry in the sun for 2-3 days. Types of hay include alfalfa, clover, grass, rye, and oats.
- Silage: Forage that is fermented and high in moisture. It is often made from corn or sorghum and is high in the plants nutrients.
Did you know cows have 4 stomachs? This means they need a whole lot more fuel. And it means they can eat things that take more time to break down. Have you ever seen a cow chewing their cud? That’s partially digested food that has returned to the cows mouth to be chewed again. Cows can spend up to 7 hours a day chewing their food plus 10 hours chewing their cud. This is due to the fact that cows must chew their food twice in order to digest it properly. Good nutrition in cows leads to better quality and greater quantity of milk, which is the ultimate goal of dairy farmers.
Antibiotics
Once the cows are milked, the milk is tested for antibiotics. At T&K, any cows on antibiotics are taken to the infirmary where they are milked seperately form the other cows overseen by a vet until their milk tests free of any antibiotics. The milk from these cows is either fed to calves or disposed of to ensure it doesn’t get sent out to production. All milk is tested before leaving the farm. In fact, farmers are very careful to make sure their milk is clean because if even one cow has antibiotics, the whole milk truck is contaminated and the farmer must pay for all of it (that’s a lot of money).
Once the milk leaves the dairy, it is transported via truck to the location where it will be pasteurized prior to sale. Most milk makes it form the farm to shelf at the grocery store within 24 hours, talk about speedy delivery! We followed the milk from the farm to Ehrmann Dairy, a yogurt plant just a few miles down the road. Ehrmann’s is a sterile, working plant, meaning we had to wash our hands every time we entered or exited a room, wear protective booties over our shoes, lab coats, and of course, the ever-stylish hairnet! Thank goodness for no pictures being allowed!
The milk is brought in via truck, weighed and tested again for antibiotics. Once its been cleared to be unloaded, it is stored in temperature-controlled tanks until needed. The milk is them separated into cream and skim. In order to be considered yogurt, the product must contain no less than 8.25% milk solids. Cream is added back in to the skim to adjust the fat content of the yogurt (similar to fat content of milk). Fat-free yogurt has less cream than a full fat product. Once the milk composition is set, the product then proceeds to pasteurization where high heat is used to denature the whey proteins. This allows for a more stable product that doesn’t separate in the store. Pasteurization also kills any harmful bacteria that may cause the product to spoil. This is done before the good bacteria (live cultures) are added later on. hom*ogenization is next, meaning pressure is applied to the yogurt to make sure the ingredients are thoroughly mixed and the texture is consistent throughout. The yogurt is then cooled to 108 F which is the ideal temperature for cultures to grow. Once the bacteria cultures are added, the yogurt is then fermented and subsequently cooled to stop the fermentation process. Depending on the type of yogurt, fruit is added last before the product is packaged and refrigerated prior to shipping.
Our day ended with lunch at A Latte Vino, a cute coffee and wine bistro in Casa Grande, AZ. We had a variety of fresh food including some yummy yogurt dressings for our salad. Lunch was a great opportunity to network with other RD’s, some working for their local Dairy Council, others in school nutrition, head-start, long term care and a variety of other nutrition areas. We ended our lunch with a milk toast to honor the hard-working dairy producers across America.
If you ever have the chance to experience food from farm-to-table, I highly recommend it. The tours I attended allowed me to see how our food is prepared and ask questions related to major consumer concerns such as treatment of cows, antibiotics, and sustainability. If you can’t fit in the whole journey, I urge you to at least visit a dairy farm. It’s a fun, educational experience for the whole family and it really opens your eyes to the hard work our farmers put in to ensure we receive a quality product and that the livestock are treated compassionately. Check out your local Dairy Council to find a farm or event near you!
