Posted: Feb 24, 2015 6:10 PM EST Updated: Feb 24, 2015 6:10 PM EST
By Shelby Coates, Anchor / Reporter WSPA.com Original story was posted at http://www.wspa.com/story/dairy-farms-prepare-for-winter-milk-bread-rush With snow moving into the area, local stores are stocking their shelves. Local dairy farms are also preparing for the weather and making sure their milk gets to you.
At Happy Cow Creamery in Pelzer, 90 cows turn out about 700 gallons of milk a day. Workers arrive as early as 4a.m. to start the process.
Cows are milked twice a day, five days a week. That milk is then pasteurized, bottled and delivered to you. The entire process takes about four hours, and it doesn’t stop because of winter weather.
“We have our own generator,” said Farmer Tom Trantham. “If the power is out, we can maintain the farm and the store. We can keep right on going.”
The cows at Happy Cows Creamery stay in open pastures and graze on April grass to keep them producing all year long.
Trantham says when the cold weather hits the cows actually produce more milk than they do during the hot summer months.
“They love it,” said Trantham. “They’ll milk more at this then they would at 90 degrees.” According to Trantham, cows enjoy cooler temperatures because they have large arteries. Those arteries keep the blood pumping, keeping cows warm and helping them produce milk extremely well in winter weather.