Dan Bansen: Healthy Cows, Healthy Herds

"Animal care has always been a very high priority with me," said third-generation dairyman Dan Bansen, owner of Forest Glen Oaks organic dairy in Dayton, Oregon. "It comes down to observing the animals and seeing the environment they're happiest in."

Doing what's best for his cows is a personal philosophy for Bansen, who began working on the family farm milking cows at age seven. He continued his farming interest and later earned a degree in animal science from Oregon State University. Bansen has run his family dairy farm since 1990, and is an active member of Oregon's agricultural community, in addition to Farmer's Cooperative Creamery and Organic Valley Cooperative.

For Bansen, animal care equates to prevention and comfort. Taking extra steps for cleanliness in his operations and managing by observation with daily checks on herd health, for instance, are part of his regular routines.

Throughout his dairy operations, attention to detail is readily apparent. From the start, he raises his calves in individual straw-filled pens and calf hutches. This prevents any mingling, which otherwise would quickly spread disease if something should occur. Plus, Bansen keeps the calves in the pens a little longer than usual, up to three-plus months, ensuring added strength and size.

He houses his registered all-Jersey herd in free-stall barns, where they have room to move about, lie down, and eat at will. The barns have retractable walls, which Bansen keeps open during favorable weather to bring in fresh air.

In the barns, he ensures that the cows' bedding, a mix of straw and grass seed husks, is cleaned and raked three times daily and is refreshed with new material at least twice a week.

He scrapes animal waste in his barns four times daily, in some places by automated scrapers. The system pumps the waste to a storage lagoon, where solids and liquids are separated. When weather permits, Bansen spreads this natural fertilizer in appropriate, measured amounts on his 550 acres of pasture. If over applied, the fertilizer would upset the natural balance of the soil.

For feed, Bansen relies on a variety of hay, meal, and grain. As often as possible – usually seven to eight months of the year – he pastures his herd, where they graze under a system called managed intensive grazing. Under this system, Bansen groups his cows by age and rotates them four times daily among divided sections of his pasture, so they are always eating a consistent level of high-quality grass. The system is good for the cows and the pasture, ensuring a continuous rotating crop of grass. Grazing, Bansen notes, is yet another factor in his preventative dairy approach to maintaining herd health.

Bansen is passing on these same animal care values to his daughter, Jamie. Taking after her father, Jamie earned her animal science degree at Oregon State in 2001 and works alongside her dad in the family business. She's in charge of Jersey registrations, waste management, and does the dairy's record keeping to document its compliance with USDA organic farming regulations – which is nearly a full time job in itself.

Growing into her role, Jamie Bansen will carry forward the Bansen dairy farm values and philosophy in keeping a clean, healthy operation with very contented cows. After all, this is where the quality of dairy products begins.