Morning at Hatcher Family Dairy Farm

David and I joined my moms' group for a tour of a nearby dairy farm this week. We were fortunate to have blue sky, fall weather and we both really enjoyed the morning. We learned more than I ever thought I'd want to know about dairy cows. The Hatcher Farm is fairly small -- milking about 50 cows twice a day. Their milk is sold at Whole Foods and over 20 small, local grocers around Middle Tennessee. We got a full tour of their milking operation. Since they milk the cows at 5am and late afternoon, we didn't get to see the process in action. One of the farmers demonstrated by hand how milk comes from a cow. David watched closely in a squatted position beside the cow, and then stood up, looked at me, and said, "Oh, Mom, that's gross."Below is a very young calf - the newest member of the Hatcher herd. The calves stay in the shelter of the barn until they are 4 months old. Then, they are given free range to roam and eat the acres of grass until their heart's content.

The tour was very kid friendly and they had a pool of oats for the kids to play in before and after the tour. David loved playing in the oats. He talked about it all day - asking if we can get oats for our sandbox in the backyard.

I was very impressed with how wonderfully delicious organic, fresh milk tastes. We sampled milk that had come from the cow just the day before. Unbelieveable yummy. Hatcher is best known for their chocolate milk -- it's the best I've EVER had. We stopped in the store after the tour and bought a 1/2 gallon to bring home. It's a special treat, and each time the kids drink it, say "Oh, this is the best in the whole world...."