Visuel tour from cow to milk

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There is lots of work to do at Karensminde. Here Mikkel pulls straw out of a clogged straw distributor in the cow’s bedding! Every season has its tasks, and  the daily routine of the  dairy is no different.

In the parlour pit the two daily milkings are carried out, morning and evening. At first the cow’s udder is wiped, next it’s pre-milked (manually) and last the milking machine is mounted. The 85 cows at Karensminde are the so called Jersey-cows, whose milk differs from other dairy cows’. The milk is more concentrated in its percentage of fat and proteins and contains more minerals and vitamins such as phosphorus and calcium than other races’. This is characterized by the milks’s lovely taste.

The milk reservoir which cools the milk down to around 4 degrees, is emptied once a day. After the two daily milkings the reservoir contains between 1200 and 1500 litres of milk!

The cows bedding lies after the parlour pit and the feeding passage. As ecological farmers we care about the cow’s natural need for space to socialize. Cows are gregarious (herd) animals and every cow has to find its position in the hierarchy.

During the spring and summer months after milking, the cows are let out to graze. In accordance with legislation, ecological dairy cows are pastured at least 150 days of the year. Every year on the Eco-day (Ø-dag), at the end of April, we let the cows out to graze after a long winter indoors and invite the public to watch the cow’s playful dancing. It’s pure pleasure.