GAR-LIN Dairy, LLC

The Dairy Story

 

Gar-Lin Dairy is a multi-generation dairy farm that started in 1971 with 40 cows, and now consists of over 1,850 cows with 1740 calves and heifers. The cows are mostly Holsteins, but there are a few crossbreds. Crosses include Swedish Red and Montbeliarde.

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Dana Allen-Tully manages the farm's dairy operation and the dairy employees. She also manages young stock care. Dana's husband, Dr. Jim Tully from Pine Creek Nutrition, is the dairy's nutritionist. Dr. Tully works closely with Jay Miller, our full-time Agronomist.

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The cows are milked three times a day in a 50-cow carousel parlor. The parlor is used 21 hours a day. Four people milk the cows with a fifth person bringing the cows to the parlor. That fifth person also ensures each cow returns to a clean pen with freshly groomed beds. The people doing the milking stand in the same area while the cows rotate around. It takes approximately 11 minutes for the carousel to make a full revolution; 240-265 cows can be milked in an hour.

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At Gar-Lin Dairy our herd average is 31,744 lbs of milk per cow per year with 1160 lbs of fat and 951 lbs of protein. That is 3,691 gallons of milk per cow per year!

The milk is loaded directly onto three 6,000 gallon tankers and marketed through Land O'Lakes. They sell about 17,500 gallons of milk per day.  

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Cows are housed in sand bedded free-stall barns. The sand bedding is clean and comfortable for the cows. 

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