OUR FARM

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Clear  Spring Creamery is a family dairy farm with an on site Grade A  processing facility.  The farm consists of 100 acres of pasture. Our  cows are on the pastures every day of the year and are happiest when  there is plenty of green grass to graze. Hay harvested in the early  summer from excess pasture growth is fed back to the cows in winter or  during droughts.

Being  grass-based enables us to utilize less fossil fuels to produce crops  (grasses are a perennial crop), increases the sustainability of our farm  and allows the cow's biology to work as nature intended. The cows  harvest their own food and fertilize the soil at the same time. During  the growing season we give the cows access to new pastures each day.  A  solar array provides over 75% of the electricity that we use for the  milking parlor and creamery, which further reduces our carbon footprint.

We  don't push our cows for the maximum production, our goal is high  quality.  We milk once a day, which is uncommon in the US but is gaining  popularity in other countries.  We also let our cows raise their  calves.  The calves stay with their mother and nurse them for up to 6  months.  The cows give less milk- but in turn they are under less  stress, we are under less stress and they should live longer, get sick  less frequently and require less food. We also feed them very little  grain, on average about one quarter the typical amount fed to cows. This  also reduces milk production, but decreases acidification in the cows  stomach which benefits their health and longevity.