As a second-generation family farm, we believe we have to be as good to our land as we are to our cows.  Land stewardship and sustainability have always been core values for Our Family Farms, and our farming practices continue to evolve to support this vision. Here are a few ways we’re helping to reduce our footprint and ensure our farmland remains healthy for generations to come:  Our cows eat local, too! We grow, harvest, and process about 80% of the food (corn silage and hay) for our cows ourselves right on our farm, and the grain we purchase comes from a Vermont-based supplier.  Cows are also known as great recyclers because they can utilize by-products from certain food production processes that are inedible to humans and turn them into milk!  Cows can eat bakery waste, cottonseed hulls, and brewers' and distillers' grains just to name a few. All of these “waste products” would normally end up in landfills. We use our cows' manure to fertilize our crops. We spread the fields at just the right time to allow the most nutrients to be replenished into the ground while reducing groundwater contamination. This also reduces the need for purchased commercial fertilizer or finding alternate means of manure disposal.   We’ve implemented a team of rechargeable robots to automate both manure removal and milking in our barns, freeing up manpower and, most importantly, resulting in happier and more productive cows.  Switching to on-farm production means that our milk travels way fewer miles before it reaches your table, reducing fuel costs and emissions.