The heart of any milking operation is the milk barn. Braum's milk barn is one of the largest in the world. It accommodates 400 cows at a time, eight rows of 50 cows each. We milk a total of over 10,000 cows three times a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

Before entering both the barn and the milk parlor, each cow goes through a wash system that cleans them. Each cow is in the milk barn for 16 minutes...this means that it takes a total of only 32 minutes to milk 800 cows, About 30,000 pounds of raw milk is produced an hour. Each cow provides about 60 pounds or 7 gallons per day...that's enough to fill over 100 glasses! Braum's milk barn is climate-controlled - one of the few milk barns in the world that's both heated and air-conditioned...and that's much appreciated by both cows and milkers alike!

As the cows are being milked, the fresh milk is instantly cooled as it flows through a plate cooler and a set of filters into giant holding tanks. Several times a day, Braum's tanker trucks can be seen passing by lush green pastures delivering the fresh milk the short distance to the processing plant on the Tuttle Farm.

In addition to providing "picture perfect" scenery, these lush pastures are home to cows that are ready to calve. The calves are born here and then make their home in our calf nursery where they receive lots of care and attention. An average of about 40 babies a day is born on the farm. With a capacity of 1200 calves in our calf nursery, there's a lot of activity. Just as with all Braum's cattle, these young ones receive only the finest care. 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.