Hot Cows, Less Grass Sours Business For Creamery
Traders Point Struggling With Hot Cows, Less Grass
Posted: 07/06/2012
Last Updated:
349 days ago
Little rain and temperatures in the triple digits has left Indiana cows more concerned with staying cool than making milk.At Traders Point Creamery, a family-owned organic dairy farm in Zionsville, the herd of Brown Swiss cows is producing up to 25 percent less milk a day due to the drought, RTV6's Shea Goodpaster reported."Instead of eating and producing milk, they're standing there, staying comfortable," said manager Mark Hostetler. "They're more concerned with being comfortable than eating and producing milk."The herd's food supply has also taken a hit from the long, hot and dry days.While the cows typically graze freely in the farm's pastures, many of those grasses and plants have gone dormant without any rain."It's very expensive -- labor intensive, fuel intensive -- and we're not harvesting stuff that grows for free essentially in the sun in the normal temperatures and rain," Hostetler said.There's concern the hot temperatures could raise prices at the grocery store as well."We've already felt the squeeze of the food prices kind of rising since we've had this drought," said shopper Michael Smiley."I'm very worried about it. I deal with the elderly, and a lot of them are struggling right now," said shopper Carol Applegate. "I think with food prices going up, the elderly are going to have a real hard time making it."At Traders Point, the farm has installed misting stations to try to keep the cows as cool and comfortable as possible.Now, they're hoping Mother Nature will give them a break."We can only do so much," Hostetler said. "The weather has got to work with us a little bit."
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