O Is For Out

Perhaps you have heard the phrase, "What goes up, must come down," made famous by the English physicist, Issac Newton when describing gravity.

Here on Bremer Farms we have a phrase, "What goes in, must come out." Now granted, it may not be a famous saying...yet, but I think it is catching on. Just look what I found on my Google search-

Of course we don't have cute little "onesies" for our cattle, but we are in charge of what goes in, and what comes out. 

A cow that is milking eats about 100 pounds each day of feed, which is a combination of hay, grain, silage and proteins, plus vitamins and minerals. Cows also need fresh, clean water, about a bath tub full each day. Our cows have access to food and water all day.

Freshly chopped haylage. Just one of the foods our cows munch on every day.

 Now we get to the "comes-out" part of the story. A cow poops about 10 times a day. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) on average, a full grown cow produces approximately 120-148 lbs. of manure per day. We remove this manure every day to keep our animals as clean as possible, to keep them healthy.

We recycle the cow manure and use it as a fertilizer for our crops. Federal, state, and local clean water laws regulate how manure is applied on cropland, so nutrients are absorbed by crops, not groundwater. The manure helps the fields get back the important nutrients. We never refer to manure as waste since it is recycled as a valuable resource to help our crops grow. Nothing goes to waste!

Haylage goes in, manure goes out.

See you tomorrow for P Is For...?