OnTrak Winter 2018

Rogue Creamery’s cows have 58 acres to roam.
Rogue Creamery’s technology
and sustainable agricultural practices,
along with a contented herd
of milk producers, innovative
cheesemakers and visionary leadership,
have resulted in a product
sought after by cheese lovers
around the world.
The dairy near Grants Pass is
among the early adopters of robotics,
according to Pete Kent,
executive director of the Oregon
Dairy and Nutrition Council. Despite
the heavy startup expense
(each robot costs about $300,000),
the robots’ high-tech instruments
give farmers instant data on such
factors as the cow’s health, quality
of milk and frequency of milking.
The automation also frees
up farmworkers to spend less
time milking and more time caring
for the herd and advancing
sustainable practices. Kent said
dairy farms that employ robotic
milkers have seen improvements
in cow comfort and the quality of
milk, as well as a decrease in the
incidence of disease.
“David Gremmels is not afraid
to explore technology in his
quest to become a sustainable
operation from pasture to cow
care to the processing of milk,”
Kent added, referring to the president
of Rogue Creamery. Rogue
Creamery is one of only three
Oregon dairies that owns and
controls its own milk supply for
processing into cheese or other
milk products. The other two
are Lochmead Farms in Junction
City and TMK Farm in Canby. It’s
an advantage more easily accomplished
in small operations.
On a recent visit, Craig Nelson
picked up a handful of undigested
plant material from a large heap,
explaining it had been separated
from cow manure, heated twice
and then reclaimed for cow bedding.
Despite the yuck factor, this
is part of the dairy’s sustainable
practices to produce high-quality,
organic milk and cheese.
The 120 cows in the lactating
herd have free rein of 58 acres
of USDA-certified organic pasture,
where humans pull weeds by
hand. When the weather turns hot
or cold, the cows can enter what
the dairy calls “the cow cathedral.”
In simple terms, it’s a barn. The
cows decide when they want to
eat, drink, rest or be milked without
forced enclosures or schedules.
The dairy’s designers incorporated
advanced engineering
systems during barn construction
to keep the place cool and reduce
odors (despite the gas emissions
and other biologic processes that
occur under its roof). Inside, it’s
eerily quiet—no mooing.
The dairy council’s Kent points
out that all Oregon dairies are
quiet, a reflection of the overall
quality of care animals receive
in the state. “A stressed animal is
not going to produce either the
volume or quality of milk,” he
said, adding that milk from Oregon
dairies is among the best in
the country.
“A happy cow is a quiet cow,”
Nelson quipped.
When
You Go
Visitors are welcome at the dairy, 7 miles west of Grants
Pass, where they can see Charlie and Matilda extracting
the milk that eventually ends up in tasty grilled cheese
sandwiches served on site at the farm stand.
For information on hours and guided tours, go to
roguecreamery.com.
ontrakmag.com WINTER 2018 | 15