Fair Oaks Farms, based in the Indiana town of the same name, wants to show how happy cows and good environmental practices add up to the future of farming.

Being a dairy farmer means more than having a responsibility to your customers, according to Fair Oaks Farms owner and President Mike McCloskey. He says it also means having a responsibility to the environment and the surrounding community. The farm’s mission since its inception in 1998 has been to produce the highest-quality milk and world’s finest dairy products, and to show people exactly how it does so.

Located on more than 20,000 acres in Indiana, Fair Oaks Farms is built on a sense of pride and passion in the way it serves both its customers and the environment.

“We’re very proud of what we do here at Fair Oaks, where time-honored traditions coupled with world-class innovations allow us to meet the demands of customers and the environment,” McCloskey says.

Fair Oaks also features a visiting center where its processes and principles are displayed to the public.

Seeing agriculture up close and personal is a dwindling opportunity for much of the country, McCloskey says, as less than 2 percent of the population is directly involved in farming. “That’s just disappeared over the years as people have migrated back into the cities,” he says.

Content as a Cow
A popular slogan for California cheese makers today states that “great cheese comes from happy cows.” Fair Oaks Farms believes in this sentiment, as well, and strives to make sure that its dairy cows receive the best treatment possible.

For example, McCloskey says, Fair Oaks uses sand bedding in its cows’ quarters. This allows the bedding to conform to the cows’ bodies and reduce joint pains and soreness they might experience on less-forgiving materials. Sand also prevents the growth of harmful bacteria that can cause infections and illnesses that hurt production.

The quarters are cleaned three times a day, and heated floors and wind-blocking curtains mean a comfortable habitat during the cold Midwestern winters.

At feeding time, Fair Oaks’ cows dine on feed that is scientifically developed for maximum nutrition. Fans and misters provide a cool environment for the cows in the summer.

“It’s kind of like taking a shower on a warm summer day, and the fans create a cool breeze that keeps them very comfortable,” McCloskey says.

During the milking process, the cows are taken onto a rotating platform that keeps them moving through the line comfortably. Afterwards, their udders are treated with special antibacterial lotions to keep them from becoming sore or infected.

For those who might think Fair Oaks Farms is simply spoiling its cows with decadent and unnecessary luxuries, McCloskey says such features are essential to helping produce a good yield.

At other dairy farms that don’t provide cooling systems in the summer, he says, farmers can experience a 20 percent drop in milk production when the weather heats up.

The Power of Poop
Protecting the environment is another focus for Fair Oaks Farms, and McCloskey says the farms are giving the public a glimpse of what a sustainable farm could look like in the future. The cows’ quarters are cleaned out three times a day, but all that manure doesn’t just go to waste, so to speak.

Fair Oaks Farms uses biomass digesters that break down manure with bacteria and processes the resulting materials to generate electricity.

What’s left over is used to fertilize the farms’ fields, substantially reducing the need for chemical fertilizers. McCloskey says all of the electricity used at Fair Oaks Farms is generated by manure.

“A 3,000-cow dairy produces almost enough energy to power 1,000 homes,” he says. He also notes that the use of digesters on the farm reduces nearly 90 percent of the smell and flies that normally accompany such a large congregation of cows on a dairy farm.

McCloskey says Fair Oaks Farms is so committed to the use of this renewable energy source that it’s building more digesters even as its suppliers continue to refine the technology. “[We’re] actually doing the research and development for the companies that are selling this technology,” he says.

While he says it’s too soon to determine how much Fair Oaks will save on energy costs through the use of the digesters, the reduction in pollution from the use of alternative, renewable energy alone makes it worthwhile.

“The benefits are very worthwhile in terms of creating renewable energy,” he says.

The added expense of building the digesters doesn’t faze McCloskey, who says taking a chance on potentially beneficial technology is to be expected no matter the industry.

“Every company has to put money into research and development, and this is our research and development,” he says.

“Fair Oaks Farms doesn’t need to be taken on its word alone for proof that the company follows what it calls “ethics of excellence,” he adds.

Fair Oaks’ treatment of its animals and its responsible behavior toward the environment have been certified by Validus, an independent firm that audits dairy farms and evaluates them based on ethical and environmentally responsible best practices, the company says.

Seeing First-Hand
Fair Oaks Farms originally focused on supplying bulk milk, but recently the farm began developing its own brand of cheese, milk and ice cream.

The manufacturing facility includes a small processing center where it makes 22 varieties of specialty cheeses, many of which have won awards at cheese-making competitions, including the 2005 overall winner at the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest in Wisconsin. The company won the honor for its Swiss-style emmentaler. McCloskey says this is due to “an excellent source of raw milk, a world-class third-generation cheese maker and partner, Randy Krahenbuhl, and the old-fashioned process its cheese master uses.

“We create at Fair Oaks Farms what is still considered an artisan style cheese plant where you don’t have a lot of the automation,” McCloskey says.

Fair Oaks also bottles its own milk and makes its own premium ice cream.

The visiting center includes a birthing center where visitors can watch eight to 10 calves born every day.

“People sit in there by the hundreds and enjoy seeing these cows have their babies,” McCloskey says.

Elsewhere in the visiting center, visitors can see exhibits that detail the “life story” of milk and other dairy products “from grass to glass.” The center’s Fun Room allows kids to gain some hands-on experience with the type of equipment used on the farm, such as the milking claw, which they can use to “milk” an imitation udder.

The goal of the visiting center is to put Fair Oaks’ practices on display to “share with people that we’re farmers, and that as farmers, we care for the land,” according to McCloskey.

Open Invitation
The visitors’ center will continue to be an important aspect of the future of Fair Oaks Farms, McCloskey says.

“I think the community has learned to understand us well by us opening our doors and allowing them inside,” he says. “We have, within a 200-mile radius of us, 27 million people, and we have dedicated a portion of our farm for it to be a destination and we expect to continue to grow the venture of displaying our farm.

“Producing the world’s finest dairy products is our everyday goal and lifelong passion,” he says.

Having Fair Oaks Farms open to the public helps not only show off what the company stands for, but also helps create trust between consumers and the company. McCloskey says the company wants everyone who uses its products to come and see for themselves.

“We invite [everyone] to come and see how caring for the land, our cows and everyone’s environment produces our products,” McCloskey says.