As the cold weather approaches and the days get shorter, our cows come indoors for the winter. The grass stops growing and the fields turn muddy, so the cows are only too glad to come inside – though not as glad as they are to be turned out again in the spring!
Since they are grass-fed all year round, we feed our cows our own homemade, organic silage. Silage is grass that has been cut and then closely compacted and stored in airtight conditions. Unlike hay, silage is not dried before being compacted, meaning that the silage crop ferments, or 'pickles', to retain as much of the grass nutrients as possible.
That said, silage does lose its protein over time, which is why we supplement our cows' diet with 'cake': an organic mix of pea, bean and sunflower. This mix provides the extra protein for our cows, to keep them strong and healthy through the cold winter months.
We do also experience a drop in milk yield at this time of year, which can lead to limited availability of certain products - but our priority will always be to supply as many of you with our raw milk as possible!
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