Lake Breeze Dairy

Feeding

Did you know that our cows eat a well balanced ration everyday? Lake Breeze Dairy has a nutritionist who’s job is to decide what the cows eat, and how much they need to keep them healthy and in good condition. Feed samples are taken from each feed source and sent to a lab where they are tested. The results then come back to the nutritionist and tells him what the nutrient and feed values are for that feed. He can then make a ration, which looks like a recipe. The person doing the feeding will then weigh each ingredient into a “TMR” wagon. The TMR wagon stands for “total mixed ration”. Think of it like the mixer in your kitchen.
This photo is haylage being stored in a bunker. The haylage is brought in from the fields and dumped onto this cement pad. It is then scraped, pushed and packed into a pile with a tractor and blade. When that is all done, it is covered in plastic and then covered with old tires which have been cut in half. The feed must be kept dry, or it will spoil.
This is a picture of the skid loader with the “facer” attachment. The plastic has been pulled back on part of the feed pile and the facer is run up and down the front “face” pulling down a thin layer of fresh feed. That feed is then loaded into the TMR wagon.
Look below to see what we store in the commodity shed.