Jer-Lindy Farms
Paige Roberts
Fall 2024
Minnesota
The Farm
We are a 200 head dairy farm using 4 delaval milking robots. We farm about 400 acres of corn and alfalfa for feed. We also have a farmstead cheese and distillery. 15% of our milk stays on farm where we turn that into artisan cheese. The liquid whey bi-product is pumped over to our farmstead distillery where we make a product called Araga. Araga is a clear and nearly tasteless alcohol similar to vodka only made from cows milk. We have an on farm store where we have a farm to table kitchen as well as give weekly farm tours every Friday and Saturday. We also have about 700 apples trees which as sold to a local small business that makes hard cider.
The Project Funded
The grant supports us getting one calf super hutch. My biggest struggle on the farm is a two-pronged issue. We do not currently own enough calf hutches for the amount of calves we have on the farm, and are either moving calves through hutches faster than I would like or calves are having to stay inside our barn.
Project Impact
With a super hutch, we could move 3-4 calves out of a single hutch and into a group hutch. We could be weaning this group in the super hutch. Weaning is groups causes less stress on calves. Moving them into the super hutch would allow us to keep calves on milk one week longer while, freeing up hutch space for new babies that are born. Our veterinarian had also suggested a super hutch, as we have salmonella on our farm. We vaccinate, but grouping them at an earlier age allows for an easier weaning process and transition, which can boost the immune system during this time, enabling them to fight illness more effectively. Our transition and weaning phase is currently our most difficult time for our calves, who are the foundation for our herd.
