Okay, being from the suburbs (former boondocks but as a result of urbanization it’s suburbs) of South Carolina, it shouldn’t come as a shock that I have never milked a cow. I’ve never really seen a cow up close before. Crazy, I know. So you can imagine my excitement when I was informed that our class would go on a field trip to a dairy farm!
We woke up on Wednesday (3-2-11) morning at 7:00, boarded the bus by 8:00 and by 8:15 I was already fearing for my life. No kidding, I was terrified that we were going to die. Take New York City driving, add some snow and ice, and then throw in the inability to see road lines and you have the setting. Now picture a rickety bus, packed with students, inaudible conversations in Russian, swerving and turning and my nightmare is complete. I am exaggerating (the driver was very efficient and in no way were we actually in danger) but this gives you a pretty accurate picture of the drive to the dairy.
You can imagine that I was so excited to get off the bus. We were out in the country; it was beautiful. There were expansive fields completely covered in snow and birch trees. It was exactly what I thought Russia would look like. Anyway, once we exited the bus the owner of the farm- a very well dressed woman- greeted us. Unfortunately for us, she spoke no English (typical haha). So poor Max was elected the translator for the day. I think it was pretty difficult for him, dairy terms are pretty specific haha.
Anyway, it was a small corporation that was all-inclusive. At this farm, they bred, raised, milked, cared for and housed the cows. They also produced, packaged and distributed the milk products. It’s known as a vertical corporation, one that controls all aspects of the manufacturing of a product. Yep, you learn something new every day.
So, once the inner workings of the farm were explained (number of workers, salaries, etc.) we entered into the holding building for the cows. I can honestly say that I have never in my life smelled anything like it. Not kidding, most interesting/disgusting smell I’ve ever smelled. I’m not trying to sound like a priss; it was just unusual. Anyway, within this building resided about 300 cows. They were very intimidating creatures the way they were packed in. They also had horns, which Dr. Katie McKee pointed out to me was very unusual. What also seemed unusual was the fecal matter layered on the backsides of the cows (hence the smell), but I suppose it would be difficult to maintain pristine conditions on such a small scale.
I could elaborate more on the cows, but I will spare you the dirty details. Haha, it was actually a fascinating experience. I’ve never really witnessed such blatant agriculture and I found it to be very educational and interesting. There was one cow that I thought was absolutely beautiful. She was about 4 months old, solid black with big beautiful eyes. We bonded. I would have taken her home, but that would be way too difficult to explain to customs…
After we visited the cows, we boarded the bus and went to the production building of the farm. Here, the milk is pasteurized and depending on the fat content, it is make into either milk, cheese, yogurt, etc. After it is sorted and created, the milk or milk products are packaged into boxes. That was the most fun to watch. I love watching those “how does it work” shows on TLC where they show topics like how crayons are made and they show the manufacturing in factories. It was a similar cycle with workers putting boxes into the machines and systematically they are filled. Another fun aspect was the lab coats we had to wear to enter the processing plant. On top of our heavy, outdoor jackets, the white lab coats look a little bit ridiculous. It added to the joy of the experience. That and the free samples of dairy products we received at the end of the tour! BEST PART OF MY DAY.
So, after consuming my body weight in milk, yogurt, kefir (can’t even begin to explain that one here) and cottage cheese, we boarded the bus. Alisa (a Russian classmate/friend) started jumping around saying “Milkshake! Milkshake!”. I couldn’t have said it better myself. Luckily, I fell asleep on the bus not ten minutes into the ride home and didn’t wake up until we were back at our dorm. I would say that it was a pretty amazing experience, one that I would like to repeat!
Katie, you learned so much in one day... I wish more students had the same reactions. Yours were priceless.
ReplyDeleteYou will have another fun trip this coming week, you are going to a mushroom farm!!!
Katie, I know exactly how you felt when you first stepped into a barn. My first job was as an interpreter and my first assignment was with an American dairy farmer. I had to learn as I went and over the years, I became quite an expert in dairy cattle. I definitely knew all the theory behind it and all the dairy farm-specific vocabulary. So let's see, a 4-month old cow would be a heifer, a young cow who hasn't had her first cow. Yes, cows with horns are typical for Russia. The American dairy farmer, Joe, with whom I worked, brought many de-horners over the years to the Russian private dairy farms and I witnessed many de-horning demonstrations on little calves. They bled a little, but otherwise seemed okay. Then Joe managed to procure a donation of pedigree bull semen to be used in the artificial insemination of Russian dairy cows. When the huge containers with the semen were delivered to one farm, we were there and the Russian farmers would come up to Joe, vigorously shake his hand and say, "Thank you for your semen!" Joe would answer, "It's not my semen, but you're welcome." It was hilarious!!
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