Week 2: The Fun Officially Begins

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          “Moo may represent an idea, but only the cow knows…”

Mason Cooley

 

Well folks, it’s another beautiful, yet hot week here in Goldsboro, NC. Most of the interns from the Midwestern states are amazed that it could ever be this hot. But for those of us who have dealt with this heat for our entire lives, we continue to kindly assure them that things will in fact get hotter and hotter over the next few weeks till it feels like their heads may spontaneously combust. 

Monday was our first official day on the small farm unit doing morning chores with Marisa, the small farm coordinator. We started the morning by completing a walk-through of the entire unit before eventually breaking into smaller groups to begin our work. I was assigned to the “de-weeding” group. So I grabbed a hoe from the tool shed and began unearthing as many pesky weeds as possible, and let me tell you, weeding in the humid conditions of North Carolina is no easy task. The air is so sticky and so thick that doing a job as seemingly simple as pulling weeds can lead to some serious exhaustion. 

After we finished our farm chores for the day we headed to the main farm unit where we had our first lecture with Dr. Steven Washburn, a professor of animal science, and extension specialist at NC State University. Dr. Washburn specifically researches seasonal breeding, cross breeding, an estrous cycle control in dairy cattle. He's a man who knows his information. We started the lecture by discussing the popularity of  animal production practices in North Carolina, and the many implications, good and bad, to small farming all the way up to large contracted animal farms. It was a very interesting discussion and included many different ideas and prospectives on the animal production system in our country. It was a very interesting discussion, however, once we finished the fun for the day began. Fifteen of us hopped into the CEFS van, which is slowly falling apart, and began heading down the highway towards Ayden, NC.
 

Simply Natural Creamery is an amazing creamery located on the outskirts of the small town of Ayden, and is owned by the Moye family. Mr. Neil Moye greeted us at our van and kindly welcomed us into his facilities before telling us an amazing story of his families decision to move into the dairy industry. According to Mr. Moye, this dream all started with a few cows in backyard when his kids were young. Eventually the kids grew up, however, there remained an interest in the production of milk. With that the Moye’s began exploring what it would take to start up a small dairy. 

Let me just start out by saying that the Moye’s make an incredible product! Their Jersey cows produce milk, butter, buttermilk, and ice cream. They have yet to jump into the world of cheese, and yogurt, but Mr. Moye says that could be on the horizon in the future. But back to the cows… 

For those of you who don't know what a Jersey Cow, check out this gorgeous gal below. 

 

Never thought I would be geeking out over a Jersey cow

The Jersey cow naturally produces milk with a higher butter fat content than the Holstein cow; the traditional black and white cow that most people associate with milking. The higher butter fat content in the milk makes for a richer tasting milk, creamier mouth feel in ice cream, and all around smoother texture. According to Mr. Moye, in order for milk to be considered “whole” milk it must maintain a butter fat percent of 3.25%, however the Moye’s milk stacks at about 3.5%. I know that may not seem like a huge difference, but in the world of milk production it apparently does. So of course it should come as no surprise that the Moye's also strive for an ice cream product that is of above average quality. Apparently in the world of ice cream, a premium grade ice cream will have a butter fat content of 12%, but the Moye's produce a 16% butter fat content product making their ice cream SUPER PREMIUM. I can honestly say that I don't think I've ever tasted richer, smoother, more flavorful ice cream in my life. It was truly life changing. 

What is more refreshing than an ice cream cone?

We continued the tour with a talk about homogenization, pasteurization, and buttermilk cultures before we eventually went outside to take a look at the ladies of the hour. Mr. Moye's barn is an open system so that the cows can receive as much fresh air and sunlight as possible. To make things even cooler, Mr. Moye decided to utilize a sand packed barn, which allows for his Jerseys to rest comfortably on something more aligned with their natural environment rather than concrete. The girls seemed very happy and welcomed the occasional head scratch from us interns.

However, the best part of the day would have to be PETTING THE BABIES!

Look at that nose!

The more and more I learn about dairy, the more it fascinates me. I don't know that I would ever want to own and operate my own dairy, but I can definitely see a cow or two in my future. 

Till next time... MOO,
--Jules