Brian Rexing and his wife, Ranell, own and operate New Generation Dairy in Owenville, Indiana, along with their four children: Blair, 12; Mylie, 10; Alleah, 8; and Case, 21 months. Brian is a 4th generation farmer. They currently milk 1,200-head of Holstein cows in their new milking facility that was built in 2008. The cows are milked three times a day and, since it takes 6 hours to milk each time, a single cow is milked every 8 hours. The Rexings also raise corn, beans, wheat and alfalfa.
The milk from New Generation Dairy is shipped to Nashville, Tennessee where it is processed at the Country Delight plant and sold under the Purity label. While most dairy farms sell most of or all of the bull calves, New Generation is trying something new by beginning to raise all of their bull calves.
A balanced feed ration and quality care is important in keeping the cows healthy and aids in the production of quality milk. “We use sand bedding; we think that is the most comfortable for the cows. We also have sprinklers and 80 3-foot fans in each barn. We think comfortable cows produce more high-quality milk. Our farm’s milk parlor is oversized so that we can minimize the cows’ wait time in the holding pen,” Brian explained.
Ranell is a former school teacher, but now works on the family farm and manages the books and payroll. She also organizes several school farm tours throughout the year, which allows her to get her “teaching fix.” “We love to tell our farm story and, hopefully, the kids leave with a different perspective of farming than when they first stepped foot on the farm.”
The four kids are active on the farm and while Brian says they don’t have any chores yet, “their time is coming.” Blair and Mylie are active in 4-H and Alleah is in exploring 4-H. They show dairy at the fair and Brian says, “That is a requirement.”
When asked what he likes most about farming, Brian replied, “All of it! It’s exciting to produce food and watching things grow is cool.”
You can find New Generation Dairy on Facebook. If you would like to schedule a tour for your school, you can email them at newgenerationdairy@yahoo.com.
1 comment:
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