Meet Our Featured Grower
through the pasture toward the milking barn.
Menno Borntreger raises thirty-five organic Jersey and
Holstein dairy cows and one organic Milking Red Devon bull on this 80 arce farmstead. Menno
is a grassland farmer. He rotates his
cows from pasture to pasture on his farm to
give them healthy and fresh forage and to keep the pastures
in their best condition.
When asked why he makes grazing his focus, he says he wants his farm to make the “best food available”. To create the best food he can, Menno also focuses on soil fertility. He stays informed on the latest grazing technology and pasture management by regularly subscribing to the Stockman Grass Farmer, a publication devoted to the highest quality and environmentally sound farm practice.
The Milking Red Devon bull has been added to Menno’s herd to improve the genetic profile of his herd and his own system of sustainable, grass-based farming. The profile of the Milking Red Devon is smaller than typical dairy cattle; they also have a milder temperament. Menno wants to see his cows become smaller because smaller cows fatten best on grass. Red Devon are also beef cattle. His milking cows will also produce high quality grass fed beef.
Menno constantly studies and works hard to advance the soil, the pasture, the cows, the quality of milk, and the sustainability of his farm.
