Twenty years ago, Charles Fletcher of Edgewood Dairy and Creamery attended a University of Missouri Extension grazing school. It would change the future of the family dairy operation. Fletcher’s father started the dairy farm in 1966. His father milked cows by hand 365 days a year, morning and night. In 1993, the Fletcher family formed a partnership that included poultry…
Holstein ⋅ Page 1
Missouri Holstein Cow Produces Nearly 24 Gallons of Milk Per Day
Cow takes top honors as Holstein of the Year
Missouri Holstein Dezi is a moo-ver and a milker. The Lawrence County cow outperforms most of her regional counterparts, producing just short of three times as much milk per day, says University of Missouri Extension dairy specialist Reagan Bluel. Dezi, owned by farmer Karl Wilke, churns out 201 pounds of milk per day. That’s the equivalent of about 24 gallons…
Dairy Farmer Carries on Family Tradition
Only one percent of nation’s dairy farms are run by women
The sun is setting on the well-worn path to the dairy barn where Michelle Eilenstine milks cows. She travels the familiar path twice a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. There are 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. milkings. Eilenstine is part of a small group of women dairy farmers in Missouri. They are deeply passionate about what…