Grassfed is Best
By Lynnette Ewoldt, on Francis Thicke

Living Well (a monthly newspaper of Fairfield, Iowa)

May 15, 2004

Radiance Dairy is an organic grass-based operation on Brookville Road near Fairfield, Iowa. Francis Thicke, with Susan, his wife and business partner, operate a 65- head Jersey cow herd on 236 acres of pasture.

What makes Radiance Dairy unique is the cows are allowed to graze on fresh organic pasture daily. Cows in conventional dairy operations rarely see a blade of fresh grass, are kept in mud or concrete lots, and eat mostly grain. When dairy cows eat fresh grass, a study by the University of Wisconsin discovered higher levels of Omega-3 fatty acids and Conjugated Linoleic Acids (CLA) naturally found in their milk. Omega-3s are formed in the green leaves of plants. When cows graze on their natural diet of grasses, their diet is automatically rich in these essential fatty acids. When the cows first start grazing on pasture in the spring you will notice the milk has a rich yellow color. This is due to the natural pigments in grass.

When the cows convert from dry winter hay to fresh green grass, the milk may change flavor slightly for a week or two. As the cows¹ stomachs adjust to the new diet, the “grass flavor” will disappear from the milk. However, the elevated levels of Omega-3 and CLAs will remain as long as the cows are grazing on fresh pasture.

All of the cows at Radiance Dairy are Jerseys. Francis prefers this breed of cattle because of the high quality of the milk’s flavor. Jersey milk is higher in protein and it carries a lot more body and is more satisfying. Some people who have lactose allergies say they can drink the Radiance Dairy organic milk from healthy grassfed Jerseys.

When the Thickes bought the farm in 1996 it was all corn and soybean ground. “In some places the topsoil was gone completely, and I could hardly find an earthworm on the farm,” Francis said. Healthy soil has many living organisms in it like earthworms. After four years of rebuilding the soil he went from finding zero or one earthworm under a cowpie to finding thirty to fifty earthworms. “I’m building up something. Something is happening in my soils,” he said.

Francis sees the farm as an organism. “You should be careful of what kind of energies and products are brought onto the farm or are taken off because you have an organism here and you want it to grow with its own integrity,” he says.

Diversity of plants and animals are the strength of the organic farming ecosystem. Grasses planted include brome, timothy, and various clovers. Laying hens are the pest and insect control on the farm. The chickens actually pick the flies off the cows’ backs and even catch mice. When he moves round hay bales the chickens pick off the mice that run out. The hens also recycle dropped grain with a free return of fresh eggs.

Today all 236 acres are planted in pasture for summer grazing or in hay ground for winter feeding. The summer pastures are divided into about sixty small paddocks of one or two acres with movable electric fences. After the morning milking the cows are turned out into a fresh one to two acre paddock to graze for half a day until the next milking at night. After the evening milking the cows are moved to another fresh paddock to graze until morning. The grazed paddock will rest and regrow the grass for about 20 to 40 days depending on the amount of rainfall. The tall lush grass pastures are quite a contrast compared with the pastures you see cows grazing on in much of rural Iowa where the grass is grazed down to less than an inch. Taller grass will also have a deeper root system, putting more organic matter deeper into the soil.

“Ecologically it is a much better design to have cows harvest their own feed and spread their own manure,” rather than mechanically hauling feed and manure in both directions. “Of course, production may not be as much. But energy use and profitability are better,” Francis says. “Our goal is to feed 100% grass. Right now we have cut the grain back to about 6 pounds per cow a day.” The cows are fed cracked barley. “I switched to barley (from corn) a few years ago because barley is not genetically engineered so far. With corn we’re getting low levels of GMO’s. I like barley because it’s an old-world grain. It hasn’t been overbred,” he said. The cows actually like the barley and it is high in protein.

When I visited the Radiance Dairy cows out on the pasture I was pleasantly surprised with what I saw. The grass was as tall as my knee, very thick and a rich deep green. I didn’t see any overgrown weeds or patches of bare soil. The cows were either grazing or laying down happily chewing their cud. When we entered the paddock the cows started walking towards us and were very friendly. All the cows have names and numbers to help keep records on their production. They all looked very healthy with shinny coats and bright eyes. The cows’ hind quarters and udders were clean from laying on the thick clean grass.

In contrast when I worked on a conventional dairy farm one summer, the cows were kept on a dirt lot which got muddy when it rained. Conventional cows laid down on dirt and manure so their hind quarters and udders had caked on dirt that had to be washed off at each milking. The conventional cows were not friendly and had to be chased by a dog to get them to come in to be milked. The conventional dairy’s pasture was grazed down too short so by mid-summer most of the grass was brown with overgrown weeds that the cows would not eat taking over.

The Jersey calves born this spring are very friendly and nuzzle Francis sucking on his fingers. The caves at Radiance Dairy are treated humanely with plenty of space to play. Francis has converted a barrel with rubber nipples all around it so the calves can suck milk at feeding time.

In contrast, conventional dairies put calves in crates for veal production with only enough room to stand and lay down. The conventional dairies force calves to drink milk from a bucket, not allowing them to suck a bottle for milk.

Why is it important to have milk rich in essential fatty acids?

Every living cell of the body needs essential fatty acids. They are essential for rebuilding and producing new cells. Essential fatty acids are used by the body for the production of prostaglandins, hormone-like substances that act as chemical messengers and regulators of various body processes. Fatty acids improve the skin and hair, reduce blood pressure, aid in the prevention of arthritis, lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and reduce the risk of blood clot formation. They are beneficial for candidiasis, cardiovascular disease, eczema, and psoriasis. Found in high concentrations in the brain, essential fatty acids aid in the transmission of nerve impulses, and are needed for the normal development and function of the brain. A deficiency of essential fatty acids can lead to an impaired ability to learn and recall information.

Conjugated Linoleic Acids (CLA) is found most highly concentrated in milk fat, the very fat that we’ve been told to avoid. The more fat in a given dairy product, the more CLA. Nonfat dairy products have virtually no CLA. The amount of CLA in dairy products is also greatly influenced by the diet of the cows. Milk from grassfed cows contains 5 times as much CLA than milk from grainfed cows. To get the equal amount of CLA you¹d get from one slice of cheese from a grassfed cow, you would have to eat 5 slices of cheese from a grainfed cow. This would burden you with 452 extra calories and 37 unnecessary fat grams.

CLA may help to fight cancer in people as it does in lab rats. A study in 1996 of 4,697 women found that the more full fat milk in the diet (thus more CLA) the lower their risk of breast cancer. The women who drank the most milk had a 60% lower risk. Other studies show a link between milk consumption and a lower risk of colon cancer.