A26—Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, September 3,1983
Chino
BY SALLY BAIR
Staff Correspondent
CHINO VALLEY, Cal. - There
are no lush meadows, few green
cornfields and no rolling hills.
There are cows everywhere - not
standing in picturesque meadows
as in Lancaster County, but
standing in long rows at feed
troughs or in the dirt lots which are
their homes. The place is the Chino
Valley, where there is the largest
concentration of dairy cows in the
world. It is a sight which must be
seen to be believed; to capture the
true atmosphere on camera is
impossible.
In 60 square miles there are
228,385 mature cows on 359 dairies,
for an average of 636 cows per
dairy. Indeed, printed information
given to tour participants during
the recent National Association of
Animals Breeders’ convention in
California indicated that there are
just two dairies in the area with
fewer than 100 cows.
Since most of the dairy
operations are located on 20-80
acres, they do not grow their own
feed, and they do not raise their
own replacements. Most
replacement heifers are raised on
specialized heifer ranches out of
the local area. One tour guide from
the area said that commercial
heifer operations raise heifers for
dairymen at the cost of $1.35 per
heifer per day.
Land prices in this unique valley
average $20,000 to $30,000 per acre,
or up to $lOO,OOO per acre for land
with buildings for development
purposes. The guide said we had
driven past what is probably the
last new dairy operation in the
area because of the prohibitive
prices.
The word “factory” comes to
mind when one sees the operations
with such large numbers of cows,
but owners quickly change that
feeling with their knowledge of
cows and of the operation.
Dairymen throughout the Valley
BY SALLY BAIR
Staff Correspondent
CHINO, Cal. In an area which
boasts huge cow numbers, Alta
Dena Dairy stands alone. With
8,000 cows at five separate dairy
operations, Alta Dena is the
largest independently owned dairy
facility in the nation.
Calling itself the “dairy that
cares about your health,” Alta
Dena produces Certified Raw milk
at four of the five dairy barns, the
only one in California to do so,
though 20 other dairies produce
and sell raw milk.
Alta Dena is operated by the
Stueve family, having been
founded by the oldest three
brothers of 17 children. Today 15 of
Alta Oena Dairy is the largest independently owned dairy
complex in the nation, operated by the Stueve family, of
which 61 members are involved. There are 8,000 cows
milked daily at five separate but adjacent dairies in the Chino
Valley. The dairy produces Certified raw milk at four of the
five locations.
Valley-over a quarter million cows
were worried during the time of
this visit two weeks ago because
they, too, were suffering unusual
weather which was taking a toll not
only in production but also in cow
deaths.
The culprit was unusual
humidity, something southern
California is not accustomed to.
One dairyman said that while
temperatures of 105 degrees were
tolerable, the humidity was not.
Throughout the lots there were
cows with necks extended, tongues
out and panting in an effort to
relieve their stress. There had
been ten days of the unaccustomed
humidity and there were several
more before it was broken by some
rain.
With land at a premium, only
five percent of the feed used on
these large dairies is grown
locally. Some corn is produced
locally, along with barley, oats,
sudangrass and alfalfa, all used for
green chop. Everything else is
imported.
The basis of all feed rations is top
quality alfalfa hay, and most of
that is imported from the Imperial
Valley, Palo Verde Valley, An
telope Valley and the southern San
Joaquin Valley, although some is
shipped from lltah and Arizona,
Feed grains are shipped from
other states.
By-product feeds also constitute
a high percentage of the con
centrate ration, and includes such
things as fresh citrus pulp, almond
hulls, whole cottonseed, cotton
hulls, cottonseed meal, dried
molasses beet pulp, and hominey.
Piles of some of these products
could be seen in the feeding areas
of the lots.
If all of this sounds like a far cry
from Pennsylvania’s dairying
operations, it truly is. With the
mild climate, bams as we know
them are almost non-existent.
Animals are grouped in large lots
with mounds of dirt to climb onto if
it rains. Everywhere there are
Alta Dena produces certified raw milk
the 17 children are involved in the
dairy and processing plants, with a
total of 61 family members
working.
The dairy began with 61 cows 38
years ago.
Because of the production of
certified raw milk, extremely high
levels of sanitation must be
maintained. Paul Virgin, director
of public relations and advertising,
said that there must be a plate
count of under 10,000 and less than
10 coliform. He added, “We are
very conscious of quality of milk
and often have a standard plate
count of SO.”
It takes some special measures
to maintain such sanitation. Cows
are washed from the floor and
,<g > jry tws represents a typical feeding arrangement in the Chino
Valley of California, These cows are part of the 700 cow milking herd of Bos Dairy, owned
by Tony Bos and home of Bossir Holsteins. They are eating some of the most outstanding
alfalfa hay in the country because of the ideal drying conditions there. To the left of the
picture is pole barn filled with the hay which is an important part of their feeding
program.
open sided pole-type barns used for
shade cover and for stacks of hay.
Some hay is stacked in the open,
but most is covered with a roof.
When you’re milking that many
cows, a simple milking parlor will
not do. Most of these dairies have a
double-10 herringbone parlor, with
automatic detachers, air-operated
gates, wash pens and crowd gates
and back flush systems.
Perhaps the most surprising
feature is the landscape, which is
simply rows and rows of cows in
dirt lots. Farm homes are situated
next to the main highway,
separated from the cow lots by a
fence, often less than five feet
away. The homes are typical
.southern California style, often one
story.
Temperatures in the Valley
is double 12 herringbone pit is part of the Alta Dena Dairy at Chino, California,
where 8,000 cows are milked daily at five separate dairies. The Dairy produces Certified
raw milk at four of the five dairies and requires the strictest sanitation methods. Notice
the stack of cloth towels in front of the uniformed workers. Only cloth towels are used for
preparing the udders prior to milking. The pit is in use nearly 24 hours a day, with two
milking shifts and clean up between.
crowd gates ease their way into the
milking parlors. Emphasizing the
need to properly clean each cow,
Virgin pointed out that the
uniformed workers who do the
milking use cloth towels to wash
and dry the cows before milking.
He added, “Paper towels are not
absorbent enough. ’ ’
Incidentally, it takes a lot of
towels daily for the task, but there
is a huge laundry on the premises
to keep towels ready to use.
rarely fall below freezing and
rainfall is an average of 10 inches
per year. Occassionally up to 35
inches may fall, but always in the
spring and winter.
While it is true that a high per
centage of many of these herds is
made up of grade cows, there are
many registered cows as well.
Despite the numbers, indivdiual
cows are important.
The California dairymen who
own these operations have many
things in common with their
Pennsylvania counterparts. Their
herds also have mastitis problems,
breeding concerns, and other
health problems.' While local
farmers worry about heat
detection, the California dairymen
figure out ways to make artificial
breeding work - and they are
The parlors are in use 24 hours a
day, with two crews for milking
and clean-up crews in between.
Because of the Certified Raw
milk, cows must be checked each
month by a veterinarian, and are
tuberculosis and brucellosis tested
every six months. This dairy has
800 fulltime employees, plus 175
home delivery drivers and 175 tank
truck drivers! Each employee,
including the truck drives must
have regular physicals.
successful.
There is a professional modem
approach to all the problems, and
it is not unusual for the herds to
have a professional nutritionist in
their employ. This is done not
because it is interesting, or “nice”
but because it is an economic
necessity. There is little sen
timentality - production is what
keeps cows in a herd. And a quality
product is what dairymen strive to
produce.
The unique Chino Valley
developed because of the huge
population in southern California,
just a few miles distant. The ap
proach to dairying is very different
from Pennsylvania methods, and a
visit there is an eye-opener and £
learning experience for anyone.
Virgin began working for the
dairy when he was 15 years old,
and is a great supporter of cer
tified raw milk. He says the
number of people using raw milk is
increasing, adding, “One third of .
the world’s population is allergic to
milk, but they are only allergic M
k they do to milk. They
pasteurized milk allergies.”
While it costs more to produce
the certified raw product. Virgin
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