Dairy Farming Hasn't Changed as Much as You Might Think

[00:00:00]Come walk through a modern-day dairy farm with me. Many early dairy farms had individual stalls for each cow. This laid the foundation for these freestalls that we have now, where the cows are free to come and go. Dairy farms in the early 1900s still had these stanchions, where cows put their heads through to access their feed. The feed bunks or mangers used to be made out of wood and were commonly raised. Well, now they're often just a flat surface.

[00:00:24]The floor of the barn used to be made by dirt and then of stone. But, modern-day dairy farms have concrete poured with grooving specialized to make sure the cows have a clean place to walk and don't slip. The reason these are called freestalls is because the cows are free to come and go out of the stalls.

[00:00:42]While it used to be commonplace for cows to rest on beds of straw, you now commonly see water beds or dried manure solids used as bedding. The type of barn the cows are in really depends on the region. This farm is in a dry area with good weather year-round with hot summers. So, you can see a high roof, open sides, and fans and misters for the cows.