Grass Point Farms - Caring For Our Cows

At the center at Grass Point Farms’ dairy philosophy is the well being of every cow on all of our farms. All of our farmers have pledged to take every measure to ensure that their herds are humanely treated at each stage of their life and that they are allowed to thrive on their natural diets of grass while enjoying their pasture life. This is the way it originally was on all dairy farms across the land. But in the modern times of high volume, factory styling farming this original philosophy seems all but forgotten (even with certified organic cows).

All of our farms and herds meet the third party certified Grass Point Animal Compassionate and Grass Fed Program Standards. These stringent standards, which are unique to Grass Point Farms, require nutritious, pasture diet without antibiotics or hormones. The animals are raised humanely in conditions that support natural animal behavior.

Certified Pasture

Our way of thinking at Grass Point Farms says that healthy cows that eat their natural grass diets will produce the most wholesome dairy products for your family. While this may sound simplistic, it seems like it is a very fundamental, common sense approach to dairy farming. While not without challenges, our natural approach to dairy farming, in fact, works very well in today’s economy of scale approach to agriculture.

The public in general is becoming increasingly more aware of the nature of most modern farming practices and the source of the food products they put in their cart at the store. As the mainstream media, from the Washington Post, to the New York Times Magazine to 60 Minutes, share the conditions of mega-scale farming today, people are becoming more concerned about the source of their food. Research studies have confirmed what we at Grass Point Farms already know; most consumers want to know that their food comes from farmers who genuinely care for their livestock, treat them with respect and raise them in a safe and healthy environment. People want to know that their dairy foods come from cows that are fed their natural diet, are not subjected to growth hormones and constant antibiotics and do not live in over crowded housing with no chance to exercise their natural grazing behaviors.

A natural, healthy diet and pasture grazing. This is our commitment to the cows of Grass Point Farms.

Cow Care Standards - Key Points

	All appropriately aged cattle will have access to fresh pasture in sufficient quality and quantity to meet at least 2/3 of their dry matter intake needs, unless environmental conditions prohibit pasture growth or access. This typically means that young heifers (unbred females) and cows consume their natural diet while on pasture lands during the warmer months. Two or more acres per animal is required to provide enough fresh grass for this diet.
	When pasture is not available cattle will be fed stored perennial forages consisting of grasses and legumes that provide at least 2/3 of their dry matter intake needs. Even during the winter months, Grass Point Farms cows are fed what is natural for them, and have access to pastures for exercise.
	No rBST or rBGH Artificial growth hormones pushed into the food chain by giant agriculture chemical companies attacks the health of cows, dramatically shortens their lives and may leach into the foods you buy.
	No routine feeding or injecting of antibiotics Large scale factory farms often subject their cows with antibiotics delivered in their feed or by injection for the purpose of combating infections common to cows living in crowded confinement housing. Such operations also use antibiotics to boost growth and feed efficiency. Our farmers are allowed to use antibiotics only for therapeutic reasons under the direction of a veterinarian.Cows that have been treated with antibiotics are segregated from the herd until the cow is back to full health with no trace of antibiotics left in their system. During treatment, the milk from such cows does not get mixed into Grass Point Farms milk. All milk is tested daily for antibiotics to assure its purity, guaranteeing the most wholesome dairy products that you will ever enjoy!
	Adequate space is allowed for cattle housed in groups, calculated in relation to the whole environment, the age, sex, live weight, horn status, and behavioral needs of the stock Our farmers do not take a ‘one size fits all’ approach to housing their livestock.
	Cattle must not be closely confined except during milking, winter feeding indoors, veterinary examination and other special short term situations The cows on Grass Point Farms have the freedom to move about, not only when grazing, but when in the barn during nights and cold weather seasons.

These are just a few of the requirements that our farmers agree to before being considered to be one of the Grass Point Farms. To back up this commitment, all of our farms receive two different inspections each year to ensure that all Grass Point Farms requirements are being met.

Our internal inspection is carried out by a licensed hydrologist and soil scientist and focuses on our grazing standards. They check the health of the pastures, nutrient levels and water quality in any nearby streams and wetlands.

Each Grass Point Farm is third party certified for compliance to our strict standards associated with rotationally grazing of dairy cows (allowing them to live outside on pastures of fresh grass during the growing season or harvested grasses during the cooler months) and the humane treatment of those cows. The third party annual inspection comes from independent dairy certification specialist and is for the purpose of maintaining our transparency and integrity to you. Normally, an independent animal scientist with a PhD in animal health and welfare inspects each farm and walks the entire farm property including the pastures and milking area while reviewing the health of the entire herd from physical-site inspection and reviewing of documented health records required to be in compliance and to be a member of Grass Point’s farms.

Our farms received 2 different types of inspection each year

These annual inspections are in addition to our daily milk quality inspections that ensure that every drop of milk we use in our products is untainted and completely wholesome.
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It’s a simple, basic fact that cows that spend their lives consuming their natural diet of pasture based grasses are more likely to live longer. To that end, Grass Point Farms awards the “Maturity Matters” award each year to the oldest cow in the herd. This is our simple way of celebrating the success of this approach to dairy farming.