Alright so I said this week was very farm oriented. The second
place I want to talk about just might be the greatest place ever- sorry Disney
World. It's-
HAPPY COW CREAMERY!
This creamery has very a unique story and
lifestyle. The owner and founder is farmer Tom Trantham. His story of hard work is utterly inspiring.
As he told us about his story, I frantically wrote as much as I could in my
scrawl. I will try to relay it back as best as I can and hopefully no misinformation
will be given! I have attached the link to the Happy Cow website. Out of all of
the links I have put up on this blog, this is the most important. You have an
obligation to click on it and watch the video on the beginnings of Happy Cow.
SO DO IT thank you :)
Alright here is my version of the summary:
Tom Trantham bought his first grocery
store at 22 years old. He had learned the business from his father. Even though
the store was doing well, he was miserable. He expanded the business and bought
one of the largest independent grocery stores in San Diego- but found that he
still dreaded the alarm going off in the morning. He then decided to sell it
all and move back to the south to become a farmer. Everyone in the business
told him it’s all about produce produce produce- you have to start producing. With
the use of a lot of fertilizers, by 1981 he was one of the top producers in the
state, but he was broke. The 80s were a bad time. 1986 was the worst drought
seen in the South Carolina region in 100 years. Everything on his land was dried
up and burnt to a crisp. It was then that ABC wanted to come out and talk
about how the drought is affecting the local farmers. At first he said no, but
Tom told us one of the most important things I have heard this year- the
biggest problem is our lack of knowledge about the truth- we are misinformed.
Because of this, he decided to go on the news and inform people about what
corporate America tries to cover up. He showed the news around his farm, and
the segment aired that day. After this, a man in Indiana got in contact with
Tom and told him he had 8 acres of alfalfa he wanted to give him. The only
thing was, he had to come and get it. Well, Tom told us that his little pick up
could not carry 8 acres worth of alfalfa. There was yet another miracle as Conoco
Gas heard about his predicament and supplied trucks and trailers for him to
pick up the alfalfa.
After this, Tom was finally caught up on his debt, but in 1987 he
still needed money from the bank for fertilizers. With his current situation,
he was denied. This next part Tom claims actually happened:
He said his 17 year old cow could sense something was wrong with
him, so she called a meeting with the other cows. She told the other cows that “Tom
is meaner than a goat,” we must not be producing enough milk. The cows looked
over and saw a neighboring field filled with oats and other wild plants. It was
then that the cows decided to break out of their fence and eat the plants on
the field. Like a stamped the cows trampled over the fence and starting grazing
on the discarded land. Even though this field was not fenced, none of them
left. Tom said he saw this happen and had decided to just give up. The cows
were not producing milk, and now they were breaking out. Instead of getting his
cows together, he went inside, defeated, and watched TV. It was then that
something crazy happened. The next day, after the cows were back in their
enclosed area, they produced 200 lbs of milk. He let them graze again and they
produced 500 lbs more. After researching this phenomenon, Tom figured out that
he had been feeding the cows the wrong nutrients. When he fed them, he gave
them the whole plant. However, after looking at the field the cows grazed on,
he saw that they only ate the top part of the plant. This is because the top
part is the most nutritious and digestible part for the formation of milk. The bottom
part of the plant is basically just a woody material that provides support,
which inhibits the cows from producing milk. Further, he found that the cows
could eat the top half, the horses the bottom half, goats could the remains,
pigs would come and eat the roots, and then chickens would get any scraps. This
way, an entire field can be utilized!
Farmer Tom has practically zero waste- everything is a resource.
He has not used chemicals for over 26 years. Big corporate companies use
animals like a machine. The average cow for them is good for about 3-4
lactations. Tom has cows that are over 15 years old. For 17 years he worked a
16 hour day 7 days a week because he believed in what he was doing. He says
that milk does unbelievable things when it is not contaminated. After drinking
his milk, I could not agree more. I’m guessing my classmates were happy as well
since we all bought gallon jugs like the world was about to end.
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