milk run musings

i was making my weekly "milk run" this past week and realized something, that i thought, was pretty funny. **side note: for those of you who don't know, we joined a cow/herd sharing program at the beginning of the year. what this means; we are part owners of a cow/herd on a dairy farm which allows us to obtain raw milk (as a by-product of the cows) directly from the farm. **

on to the funny observation...
the farm we go to is Green Pastures Farm and Grassfields (where we buy all our eggs & meat) in coopersville. now, this is a very convenient stop for me since i work in allendale three days a week and drive straight through coopersville. if you've ever driven down 68th street (coopersville exit) you are immediately aware of a couple of things, first, the smell - mostly due to the trash dump and second, the farmland. now, i drive this drive ALL the time and it wasn't until yesterday on my milk run that i observed something else upon passing another dairy farm (i don't even remember the name) in which i could see all the cows under a large pavilion one right next to the other eating out of troughs. no idea how many of them were crowded in the space - but it struck me. i didn't get more than a mile further down the road when i came upon another farm (not sure of the name or what they do with their cows) but they too were eating out of troughs, however had more room to move and a hay pile in the center of their "pen" to choose to eat from as well as a pavilion to walk under and lay down. hmmm, i thought as i made the turn to our farm and then i literally laughed out loud as i looked and saw "our" cows grazing in the pastures eating grass, walking around, laying around. i'm pretty sure they were enjoying the day :) in that split second i realized, again, that we are making the right choice for our family and how grateful i am to have this as an option.

so, not sure if you think we are crazy or not but if anyone is looking for more info i'd be happy to answer any questions or at the very least tell you more about our experience.