LUXEMBURG (NBC26) — The day begins around 3 a.m. at Salentine Homestead Dairy.
From start to finish, it takes the Salentine family and their crew about five hours to milk 300 cows. This process is completed twice daily.
Megan Salentine is among the fifth generation to work on the dairy farm, which has been in the family for more than 100 years. She said she started milking cows when she was about 10 years old.
“It’s heavily rooted in our family for sure," Salentine said.
The July heat adds extra challenges to dairy farms in Wisconsin.
“Keeping cows cool is kind of top priority when the weather hits at this time," Salentine said.
The ideal temperature for a cow is about 50 degrees Fahrenheit. When the heat and humidity rise, Salentine said milk production tends to drop as the cows become more uncomfortable.
To keep them cool, sprinklers run over the headlocks and free stalls inside the barn as cows eat or lie down. The water runs for seven minutes and alternates sides every 15 minutes.
“We use water that comes from our plate cooler that’s cooling the milk," Salentine said. "Once that water exits the plate cooler, it comes up here on the sprinklers and that’s how we recycle that water that’s used to cool the milk.”
Several fans are positioned around the barn to blow cool air on the cows.
In another area, Salentine said they bed cows in sand to keep them cool while they're lying in shade.
There are also nine "waterers" running to ensure the cows are properly hydrated.
“Cows drink a bathtub of water every single day and when it’s hot they drink even more than that," Salentine said. "So to keep them cool and comfortable, we’ve got to keep them watered and hydrated to keep them happy.”
An activity monitor attached to a collar on the cow's neck detects when the animal isn't feeling well. The system will send a notification to the farm's database to notify them a cow needs to be checked out.
Salentine said they've already received a heat-related alert this summer.
"We had a cow who just wasn't feeling the greatest," Salentine said. "We brought her up to the top, got her under some sprinklers, made sure she was drinking water and she's back to feeling better."
The activity monitor also measures rumination, as well as eating and resting periods.
“We’re doing our best to keep their comfort level the highest it can be so they’re happy and producing milk," Salentine said.
Salentine Homestead Dairy produces milk for Belgioioso Cheese. People can find out their store-bought milk is from a local producer by visiting Where Is My Milk From online.
