The Berry College Dairy recently received the 2017 Southeast Quality Milk Initiative Award for Georgia.
Established in 1905, the Berry Dairy is a small scale, student-run operation milking 30 Jersey cows with a rolling herd average of 17,000 pounds of milk. The dairy continues to maintain a registered Jersey herd while providing college students the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in all aspects of a dairy operation.
Floyd County's Ag Extension Agent Keith Mickler nominated the Berry College Dairy. Dairy Supervisor Daniel Payne gives the credit for the award to his student workers.
"I'm beyond honored and humbled to have a team of hardworking, dedicated student workers who definitely made this achievement happen," Payne said. "From a supervisor's standpoint, it's amazing to have a work force that's eager to learn about dairy cows and the systems of a dairy operation."
This award is given to dairy producers who place a high priority on producing quality milk. Producers were reviewed on a number of aspects including the measures of milk quality, systems of monitoring udder health, milking routine, protocols for detection and treatment of clinical and subclinical mastitis cases, strategies for overall herd health and animal welfare.
The overall goal of the Southeast Quality Milk Initiative is to provide benefits to the dairy industry through identifying factors that harm the Southeast dairy industry and then using that information to enhance the milk quality and overall sustainability of the industry. This program also helps dairies by providing them with cost-effective strategies for producing higher quality milk, increasing milk production and improving profitability.
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Written by Public Relations Student Assistant Megan Benoit
