Steve Landwehr
IPSWICH | Babying isn't in the cards for the babies at Appleton Farms. Within 12 hours of being delivered, calves are led away from their mothers and pushed out the barn door to face the world on their own, and it's all for the youngsters' own good.
"It's healthier to have them outdoors," says Michael Victor, the farm's dairy and livestock manager. Inside the milk barn, the calves are more likely to breathe in germs from the older bovines, he says.
Calving season began at the farm this month, as sure a sign of spring in these parts in recent years as the return of red-winged blackbirds to the marsh or the chorus of peepers in the woods.
Sixteen calves were expected this month, and most of them are already kicking up their heels in small pens. They're still getting mother's milk, but not necessarily from their own mother, and it's all from a bottle.
"We make sure they get enough colostrum," Victor says. Colostrum is the milk collected from a cow within six hours of giving birth, and it naturally enhances the immune system.
The Trustees of Reservations, which owns the farm, reintroduced cattle in 2002 as part of their mission to educate.
"It's a glimpse into American agriculture for the public," Victor says.
There are 38 milking cows at Appleton, and they all have to be bred once a year, by artificial insemination, to make them good, steady milk producers. Some of the female calves will be selected to join the farm's herd, the others will be sold.
The male calves have a future too, although it will be shorter. They'll feast on the farm's grasses for two years, then become steaks and roasts.
Going organic
The second-oldest working farm in the country is embarking on a three-year program to become a certified organic farm, and the choice of cattle plays a part in that effort. Victor says they look for cows that do well foraging on grass in the field, because the cows walk to their food, it isn't brought to them as it would be on most commercial farms.
"It's much more efficient," Victor says.
All but three of the cows are jerseys, which produce milk with higher butterfat and protein than other breeds. For now, the milk is being bottled by West Lynn Creamery and sold by the Agri-Mark Co-operative in Methuen.
But Victor said the farm is looking for a partner, perhaps a cheese maker, so it can buy the equipment to process and sell its milk at retail prices.
"For our sustainability, we want to market our own product ourselves," Victor says.
The cows play another important role as the farm moves toward its organic future. Commercial fertilizers will no longer be spread on the fields, and the cows provide the primary ingredient in their replacement.
"There's no shortage of compost," Victor says wryly, scraping a pile of it from behind a cow into a trough where it will later be collected for spreading.
The cows have to be milked twice a day, and while Victor says they look forward to it, most seem indifferent at best as the milking machines are attached to their teats. The milk herd goes through about 1,000 pounds of hay each day, all of it grown on the farm, and each cow produces about 40 pounds of milk a day, or about 5 gallons.
Victor, 36, cut his teeth in this line of work early, on a neighbor's dairy farm in central Massachusetts growing up. Riding herd on 120 head of cattle is hard work, and not particularly clean either.
"It's definitely something you don't do unless you like it," Victor says. "You have to love it."
Staff writer Steve Landwehr can be reached at 978-338-2660 or by e-mail at slandwehr@ecnnews.com.
There are public trails at Appleton Farms that are open year-round. Especially in the summer, they provide a good opportunity to see the farm's cattle. Tours are also given periodically. Check for them at www.ttor.org.
