PROPER DIET
The better a cow eats, the better milk she'll give. What this means is that what a cow eats directly affects the type of milk she produces. For example, if you fed a cow an onion (I wouldn't try it), the flavor of the onion would pass on to her milk and her milk would taste like onion. That's why you have to be extra careful what you feed your dairy herd. Braum's cows eat only the best food made up of a mixture of alfalfa hay, corn, wheat, barley, grains and other vitamins and minerals! We call if a total mixed ration. This total mixed ration provides the dairy herd with the nutrition they need to be healthy and strong. How do we know it's the best? Because we grow the alfalfa hay ourselves on several of the Braum farms throughout Oklahoma and Texas. And we use alfalfa hay, specifically, because it produces a more nutritious, sweeter tasting milk.

We also grow our own corn, wheat, milo, soy beans and barley on some of our farms in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. You know, its not easy when you have 25,000 hungry mouths to feed each day. With a group this size it takes careful planning not to mention lots and lots of food!

Not all Braum's cows are given the same type feed because different cows have different nutritional needs. For example, those cows who have recently had baby calves need a "hotter ration" or more calories and nutrients than the other cows in the milking herd. Because Braum's produces and mixes the dairy rations right on the Braum's farm in Tuttle, we are able to specifically address each cows particular nutritional needs.

Braum's cows get fresh food and water three times a day. Cows can eat an incredible amount of food each day…much more than you and I. On an average, each day, a Braum's cow eats about 38 pounds of alfalfa hay, 15-20 pounds of grains, vitamins and minerals and drinks 50 gallons of water.

CHEWING HER CUD
A cow's food is tough and hard to digest. Thank goodness she has a special stomach with four different compartments to help her! When a cow eats, she swallows her food quickly without chewing it very well. The food goes to her first two stomachs called the rumen (roomin) and the reticulum (ritikyoulum). She eats until she's full and then she rests. While she is resting, she brings up pieces of unchewed food called "cud" from her stomach. This time she chews her cud thoroughly and then swallows it again. (When a cow is chewing her cud, it looks like she's chewing gum!). This time the food goes to the 3rd and 4th stomachs called the omasum ( ) and the abomasum ( ) where it is finally digested. Part of this digested food goes into the cows bloodstream to keep her healthy and the other part goes to the udder where she makes milk.

Braum's cows live in 16 huge barns called "freestalls". Here, the cows feed and rest between milkings. Each barn is about the size of two football fields and holds 800 cows. The cows are free to walk around, eat, drink and sleep during their free time (when they aren't being milked).

Braum's cows are always safe and secure. The covered freestall barns protect Braum's cows from rain, snow or bad weather. They're even equipped with large fans and water sprays to keep the herd cool during the summer. Even the layout of the barns is designed to provide the greatest amount of shade in the summer and allow the maximum amount of heat from the sun in the winter. Each cow has her own stall filled with fresh straw bedding. The straw bedding is added regularly throughout the day and the floors are cleaned and flushed between each milking session which is three times a day. The freestalls are cleaned by using a "waterflushing" method.

The barns are built on a slope (at a slant). When the barns are ready to be cleaned, at the push of a button thousands of gallons of water run through the barn transporting waste products into a collection ditch. Its then pumped over sieves which separates the liquids and solids. The liquids are pumped into a large lagoon where they're pumped throughout the farm irrigation system and used as fertilizer on the farms fields. The solid waste is loaded onto large spreader trucks and distributed onto fields and pastures. This fertilizer provides the nutrients needed for fields and crops to grow.

BRAUM'S CALVES
A cow cannot produce milk until she is two years old and has given birth to her first calf. The cow is pregnant for nine months. After the mother gives birth, the calf is taken to a special barn called the calf barn where it's given lots of care and attention. This youngster was just born. Only a few minutes into the world, she's getting her first bath and first bottle before joining the family. An average of 40 babies a day are born on the farm. Braum's calve barn can hold up to 1200 calves at one time! That's a pretty big nursery! The calf starts eating grain at about 3 days old and is fed milk for about seven weeks. After about 8 weeks, hay is introduced into their diet.

After a cow gives birth and starts producing milk, she joins the milking herd. She'll be able to get pregnant again in just a few months while still being part of the milking herd. A Braum's cow gives milk for about a year until its time for her to have another calf. Two months before her second calf is due, we stop milking her and she becomes "dry" or stops making milk. We put her out on the pasture in preparation for the birth. When her new calf is born, she starts making milk again and the cycle continues. Typically, a cow is productive in the milking herd for five to six years. (OPTION: Braum's cows are artificially inseminated versus naturally inseminated because this process genetically improves the breed).