MILKING
Stop on the outside of the stable gate, make sure everyone is listening, and say something like
“Before we go into the stables, I just want you all to know that the cows are very used to people and
are generally very calm around people, but please be safe & respectful towards them.”
Once you go into the stables, say good morning to whoever is milking and then gather everyone in the
cement area. (It’s helpful to gather people towards the pig stalls so that you are not directly in the way
of cows when they are moving in and out of the stable!) Sometimes I give everyone a few moments to
settle down a little, take pictures of the cows, look at the pigs, etc., before grouping together. I find that
it’s helpful to start with something like “Who has milked a cow before?” or “Who has been around
cows before?”. If people say yes, you can ask them about details or you can say something like “Ok,
who has ever SEEN a cow?”
I usually talk for a minute or two, going through these points in approximately this order:
● We currently have _______ cows that are being milked. Also mention and point out calves if
there are calves!
● The cows are milked twice a day, once in the morning at about 6 AM and once in the
afternoon between 2-3 PM.
● Different cows take different lengths of time to milk, between 5 and 10 minutes per cow.
● Each cow produces about 1/2 of a 20 L (aka 20 kg) container of milk. (At that point, you can
show everyone the container, you can also have everyone touch the outside to feel how warm
it is.) It is poured through large particle filters and into the container.
● The milk is taken up to kitchen and boiled (as opposed to pasteurized) to make it safe to drink.
Then we drink it! Specifically, it’s used in the little stainless steel pitchers of milk that are put
out with coffee, to make hot chocolate (which is just the milk with sugar and chocolate powder
added), and to make cheese (used in empanadas for breakfast), as well as used for baked
good (arepas!) and desserts.
This is generally a good point at which to have everyone milk. Things to tell everyone:
● Introduce everyone to whoever is there milking!
● Please wash your hands before you milk! Point out the sink.
● Let them know they will not hurt the cows (the calves are a lot rougher/stronger than human
hands!)
PIGS
After everyone has finished milking, regroup and talk about the pigs.
● We have _____ pigs right now. The pigs used to be purchased from a pig farm belonging to
the Monteverde Cheese Factory, but now that the pig farm is closed we have to look for other
people to buy them from. Usually they are bought at about a month old.
● We are lucky to have pigs because although they can be quite expensive to feed, the campus
has a pretty endless supply of scraps, as you may have seen from the dining hall. Any
uneaten food plus food that is scraped off the plates after a meal is collected in the dining hall
and then fed to the pigs. When the pigs are 5 to 6 months old, they are slaughtered for meat
for the campus. Sometimes you can see the staff stopping by to drop off the scraps.
Perfect transition to the biodigester…..
Updated October 2013 by Laura Ney & Alyson Wells
BIODIGESTER
Note: The level of biodigester explanation will depend on the group. Ask if anyone knows what a
biodigester is – some groups have actually built one, while some groups won’t know what the word
“biodigester” means.
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The pigs eat a lot (of the kitchen food scraps) and produce a lot of waste.
Pig waste (excrement) gets washed down into the canal behind the pig pens, and then the
liquids go into the pipe that feeds to the biodigester. (Solids can be composted and used for
fertilizer.) As a bonus, the waste is washed down using captured rainwater (point out the
barrels).
How biodigesters work: Microorganisms in the “giant plastic bag” break down the waste, which
is made up of carbohydrates/fats/proteins, into more accessible molecules like sugars. These
molecules are then broken down again, and methane is produced. This is all done
anaerobically (without oxygen), which is why everything is contained.
The methane that is released rises to the top of the bag and rises into another bag above the
one that contains the waste. Once the red valve (point out on the biodigester) is turned on, the
methane goes through the gray tube (point it out) and up to the single-burner stove in the
corner of the stable (point it out.).
The methane from this biodigester is not compressed or transported. This was partially built as
an experimental and example biodigester. Having a reasonable volume of methane for a
family to use in their house requires ~10-15 pigs.
The biodigester at the stables serves as an example for the rest of the community, in case
anyone else is interested in building a biodigester, and also proves that the San Luis area is
not too cold for the necessary microbial processes to function. Several other farms in the area
are constructing or have working biodigesters. You can see one working at Oldemar’s and one
in construction at Alvaro’s.
As part of the campus’s longer-term sustainability plans, a similar but larger biodigester was
built up near the main campus. This biodigester does the same thing with the waste from all of
the toilets in the Central Campus area. This serves as waste water treatment (priority #1) and
also creates methane that is used in the campus kitchen (bonus!).
An extra reason why this system is great is that methane in a greenhouse gas, like carbon
dioxide, only methane a stronger greenhouse gas. Because all the methane produced in a
biodigester is captured and used, that means less greenhouse gas is being released into the
environment.
Last but not least: all groups are different ages and have different backgrounds, so feel free to add
information as necessary.
Updated October 2013 by Laura Ney & Alyson Wells
MILKING QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
The following information is good to know, and answers a lot of the commonly asked questions.
The Maintenance Staff is responsible for milking. Depending on the day, you may be milking with
Marlon Martínez, Hernan Castro, Mario Pérez, Alvaro Vega, Edgar Villalobos, or Julio Rodriguez. You
can use the formal form of address, “Don,” for the older maintenance staff (“Don Edgar” and “Don
Mario.”) Many of the maintenance staff have been milking cows since they were kids. They
sometimes have funny stories about how they would drink the fresh, hot milk or mix it with chocolate
to warm up on chilly mornings.
How long has the person worked at UGA?
Some of the maintenance staff – like Hernan and Julio – have worked here for more than 10 years.
Others, like Marlon, are relatively new.
How many times a day do we milk the cows? And what does that depend on?
Cows are milked once or twice per day, usually at around 6am and between 2-3pm. Whether a cow is
milked 1 or 2 times per day depends on how much milk the cow is producing. In other words, it
depends on the cow, and also on the age of the calf. If the calf is young and/or the cow is a good
producer, then they will milk the cow 2 times per day. Once calves are at least 1 to 1.5 months old,
then they judge by how much milk is being produced – if it’s not much, then we’ll cut back to milking
just once per day.
How long does it take to milk each cow?
This depends on the cow. Some are easier and some are more difficult. An “easy” cow probably takes
them 5 minutes—a “hard” cow may take as long as 8 or 10 minutes.
Where do the cows go when they are not being milked?
The cows are rotated through seven (current count) different pastures around the campus where they
graze during the day.
Why do they tie up the feet/tail?
To keep from getting kicked and/or swatted in the face! Many people who milk by hand will do this
even if the cow is relatively tame.
What is the feed made of that the cows eat while being milked?
The feed is a corn-based concentrated animal feed formula.
What type of cows do we have?
Typically, Holstein (black and white cows), Brahman (characteristics – grey or red colored, large hump
on the top of the shoulder, loose skin around the neck, and long, floppy ears) and mixes of the two.
What are the bumps on the cows?
Sometimes cows have bumps on their skin. They are usually botfly infections (read up in Tropical
Nature if you don’t know what this is…) Botflies are typically treated by injection.
What do they clean the teats with?
With water, then they dry them off with a towel.
How many cows do we have that are being milked? How many calves do we have?
It depends- ask!
Updated October 2013 by Laura Ney & Alyson Wells
What do the calves do during the day?
The calves are kept in the pastures near the stable. Since they are primarily drinking milk from their
mothers instead of grazing, you see them mostly laying around in the pastures all day. The first few
days, newborns are kept in the stables to protect them.
How long before the calves are weaned?
The calves are usually completely weaned around 6 months, although (depending on the size and
health of the calf) they can be weaned when they are anywhere from 5 to 8 months old.
What do we do with the calves?
Male calves are always sold. Females are typically kept here to grow them up and begin milking them.
What do we do with the bulls?
We don’t have any bulls here- male calves are sold. We use artificial insemination to produce our
calves, although sometimes we will “borrow” a bull from a neighboring farm when we “need” one.
Does a cow have to be pregnant to be milked? At what point does the milk stop being produced/what
makes a cow "dry up"?
Cows can keep producing milk for a long time, some milk cows in the past have been over 10 years
old. In order to milk a cow, it has to have recently had a calf. However, once the cow gets pregnant
again, we have to take away the calf because it will continue to nurse- and possibly injure the baby
when it butts the cow’s udders in the process of nursing.
If a cow is pregnant, her milk will start to come in a few weeks before the new calf is born. Once the
calf is born, the milk for the first few days can’t be used for human consumption. It’s called colostrum
(in Spanish, requesón) and it’s full of nutrients that the calves need.
What do we do with the milk?
It’s taken to the kitchen, where it’s boiled prior to being served with a steaming cup of fresh coffee!
During times when lots of milk is being produced, milk is also used to make cheese and the delicious
hot chocolate that is served in the evenings. It is also used in baked goods and desserts. We also
make cheese when we have a lot of milk, but because it is unpasteurized it is not consumed at meals
(but sold to staff). The cheese at meals comes from the Monteverde Cheese Factory.
What happens to all the poop?
Talk about the Biodigester. You can either do this yourself, or ask the maintenance team member to
explain. You should learn how the biodigester works so that you can explain this to guests. The
biodigester is an important part of our integrated farm, so if you don’t understand- ASK!
When was the pilot biodigester built?
It was built in 2011.
How long does it take the waste to breakdown in the biodigester?
The waste liquids are retained in the biodigester for about 35 days; this is important for the biodigester
to function properly. The effluent that comes out of the biodigester is water. It is not potable, but can
be used for growing plants.
How do we know that the cows are healthy?
When born, calves are vaccinated and the naval is sprayed with iodine to prevent infection. We
regularly test the cows to ensure their health and the quality and safety of our milk. At times we need
to vaccinate our adult cows, at that time we don’t collect any milk for the Ecolodge.
Why doesn’t it smell?
Updated October 2013 by Laura Ney & Alyson Wells
We use Effective Microorganisms (known as MM here) which is a new technology developed in
Japan. It is a highly concentrated anaerobic culture of microorganisms from areas around the farm
and is becoming more and more popular in Costa Rica. It has not caught on in the US, mainly due to
lack of research and development. The idea is that by increasing the local microorganisms, they
outcompete the “bad” microorganisms that cause us problems. These are typically applied as a
spray. They can be applied to promote compost systems, to discourage foul odors and flies, as a
fertilizer, and to reduce risk of disease. MM is used both on the farm, in the stables, and is put into
the biodigestor systems of both the stables and the main campus. Laura will be doing graduate
research on MM at the farm at the beginning of 2014.
Updated October 2013 by Laura Ney & Alyson Wells