Transition Family-Owned Organic Dairy To Grass-Fed
Donation protected
Intro
Snow Rocky Road Dairy is a 100% grass-fed, organic dairy run by a father and daughter team, Tony Snow & Ashley Snow-Osborne. We need support to recover from a challenging transition to an entirely grass-fed, organic system.
About Our Farm
We raise registered Brown Swiss dairy cattle on pastures at our farm in southeastern Illinois. Our family has been managing this herd since the 1970s. We produce dairy for Kalona Creamery. We first started grazing our dairy herd in 2004. Our cows are rotated every 8 to 12 hours, where the herd moves between high quality perennial pastures that are divided into paddocks. We began transitioning our herd to organic in 2015 as a way to affirm the practices we were already using and access higher value markets for our milk. We became USDA Certified Organic in May 2019. Farmer Ashley explains the benefits of grass-based farming and what she sees happening at Snow Rocky Road Dairy in the video produced by The Pasture Project below.
Why We Need Support
Transitioning from a grazing operation to a fully grass-fed organic system has been challenging. Many of the practices we were accustomed to needed to be adapted in the new system so we could remain profitable. Outlined below are the struggles that led us to this point.
The Transition to a 100% Grass-Fed Organic System
Pre-transition, we grazed our cows on pasture and supplemented their diet with grains. As the cows adjusted to an all grass diet their energy requirements were not met and they had lower than expected milk production. Sourcing very high-quality hay became a pressing concern, as high-quality hay helps maintain dairy cows’ energy levels in place of grain.
Record Rainfall in the Midwest
2019 was a tough weather year for us. We are located in southeastern Illinois and were hit by the record rainfall that affected so much of the region. The weather made it difficult to produce hay that met our needs in quality and quantity. As a result, we had to purchase large amounts of high-quality, organic hay to feed our cows to make up for what we couldn’t grow ourselves. This became expensive quickly and impacted our cash-flow.
Herd Genetics
We have always worked with Brown Swiss cattle. As we made the transition, we realized that raising just one grass-fed calf to weaning age (6 months) requires milk from its mother equal to $1000. We are making changes to our breeding program and introducing angus genetics on 65% of our herd. The Brown Swiss-Angus cross calves will be sold at five days old. This will allow us to sell more milk by not raising these calves to weaning age.
What We Need to Succeed
Money will go towards:
-Improving hay fields through seeding and fertilizing
-Farm infrastructure and machinery needs
-Recouping losses due to challenges
Partners
-Iroquois Valley has been a tremendous help to our family during this challenging 1st year of 100% grass-fed, organic farming. We want to thank all of those at Iroquois Valley for all their help and support. They are our mortgage lender and their farmer-friendly terms have helped keep us afloat.
-Pasture Project has helped us gain knowledge of soil health practices and more efficient grass management.
-Kalona Farms has provided us with a stable and growing market for our grass-fed milk.
Plan going forward
-Gain first hand experience of grass-fed dairying to help teach others interested in transitioning their herds to a grass-fed system.
-Educate those without dairy knowledge about how we care for and love our cows and our farm.
Outcomes Made Possible by Your Support
Snow Rocky Road Dairy can grow into a thriving 100% organic & grass-fed operation where:
-Nutritious milk gets produced using methods that create optimum health for the buying public, dairy cows, & the farming family
-Environmental sustainability & Illinois soil health are furthered through perennial pasture-based, organic farming practices
Ashley Snow-Osborne becomes an advocate and speaker:
-Through partnership with The Pasture Project, other Grass-fed dairies in Illinois and the region can learn from Ashley’s knowledge & experience
-Through hosting farm tours, Ashley is also a resource to the general public about grass-fed & humane dairy farming
-Ashely has a unique ability for storytelling the success of grass-based dairy farming & business from a woman's perspective
Snow Rocky Road Dairy is a 100% grass-fed, organic dairy run by a father and daughter team, Tony Snow & Ashley Snow-Osborne. We need support to recover from a challenging transition to an entirely grass-fed, organic system.
About Our Farm
We raise registered Brown Swiss dairy cattle on pastures at our farm in southeastern Illinois. Our family has been managing this herd since the 1970s. We produce dairy for Kalona Creamery. We first started grazing our dairy herd in 2004. Our cows are rotated every 8 to 12 hours, where the herd moves between high quality perennial pastures that are divided into paddocks. We began transitioning our herd to organic in 2015 as a way to affirm the practices we were already using and access higher value markets for our milk. We became USDA Certified Organic in May 2019. Farmer Ashley explains the benefits of grass-based farming and what she sees happening at Snow Rocky Road Dairy in the video produced by The Pasture Project below.
Why We Need Support
Transitioning from a grazing operation to a fully grass-fed organic system has been challenging. Many of the practices we were accustomed to needed to be adapted in the new system so we could remain profitable. Outlined below are the struggles that led us to this point.
The Transition to a 100% Grass-Fed Organic System
Pre-transition, we grazed our cows on pasture and supplemented their diet with grains. As the cows adjusted to an all grass diet their energy requirements were not met and they had lower than expected milk production. Sourcing very high-quality hay became a pressing concern, as high-quality hay helps maintain dairy cows’ energy levels in place of grain.
Record Rainfall in the Midwest
2019 was a tough weather year for us. We are located in southeastern Illinois and were hit by the record rainfall that affected so much of the region. The weather made it difficult to produce hay that met our needs in quality and quantity. As a result, we had to purchase large amounts of high-quality, organic hay to feed our cows to make up for what we couldn’t grow ourselves. This became expensive quickly and impacted our cash-flow.
Herd Genetics
We have always worked with Brown Swiss cattle. As we made the transition, we realized that raising just one grass-fed calf to weaning age (6 months) requires milk from its mother equal to $1000. We are making changes to our breeding program and introducing angus genetics on 65% of our herd. The Brown Swiss-Angus cross calves will be sold at five days old. This will allow us to sell more milk by not raising these calves to weaning age.
What We Need to Succeed
Money will go towards:
-Improving hay fields through seeding and fertilizing
-Farm infrastructure and machinery needs
-Recouping losses due to challenges
Partners
-Iroquois Valley has been a tremendous help to our family during this challenging 1st year of 100% grass-fed, organic farming. We want to thank all of those at Iroquois Valley for all their help and support. They are our mortgage lender and their farmer-friendly terms have helped keep us afloat.
-Pasture Project has helped us gain knowledge of soil health practices and more efficient grass management.
-Kalona Farms has provided us with a stable and growing market for our grass-fed milk.
Plan going forward
-Gain first hand experience of grass-fed dairying to help teach others interested in transitioning their herds to a grass-fed system.
-Educate those without dairy knowledge about how we care for and love our cows and our farm.
Outcomes Made Possible by Your Support
Snow Rocky Road Dairy can grow into a thriving 100% organic & grass-fed operation where:
-Nutritious milk gets produced using methods that create optimum health for the buying public, dairy cows, & the farming family
-Environmental sustainability & Illinois soil health are furthered through perennial pasture-based, organic farming practices
Ashley Snow-Osborne becomes an advocate and speaker:
-Through partnership with The Pasture Project, other Grass-fed dairies in Illinois and the region can learn from Ashley’s knowledge & experience
-Through hosting farm tours, Ashley is also a resource to the general public about grass-fed & humane dairy farming
-Ashely has a unique ability for storytelling the success of grass-based dairy farming & business from a woman's perspective
Organizer
Ashley Osborne
Organizer
Mulberry Grove, IL
