BENTON, MO - The past and the future co-exist comfortably -- as do more than 1,000 cows -- at Tribute Farms in rural Benton. There, state-of-the-art technology supports a time-honored traditional of grass-based dairy farming.
"A lot of people say this is a new farming enterprise, but it's not new," says Peter Gaul, who manages the farm with his wife, Jo. "This is the way it used to be done, and we're just re-introducing that. Dairy cows were designed to graze pastures and live outside."
Now in its second year of operation, the Gauls designed Tribute Farm to maximize pastures and green forage crops that cattle can eat directly in the field. That way, the cows do their own fertilizing and harvesting, while enjoying a healthier diet and exercise.
When they're not being milked, cows at Tribute Farm roam freely on more than 1,000 acres of irrigated land, grazing twice a day in fresh fields of grass or green forage crop such as winter wheat, sorghum, millet and turnips.
"Our cows are fit and healthy; they do a lot of walking and grazing," says Gaul.
The approach is healthier for the environment as well because it allows the Gauls to avoid shipping and storing large quantities of feed from distant farms.
"We come from New Zealand and we've got a strong background of grazing dairies there, and we thought this approach could work on these soils and in this climate -- and it certainly appears to," says Gaul.
The cows at Tribute Farms have been taught to walk into the milking facility and onto a slow-moving 54-rotary turnstile on their own.
"They're very enthusiastic to come on because they get to snack while they're being milked," says Gaul. "They're very relaxed on the platform."
Those contented cows produce roughly 4,500 gallons of wholesome milk every day. That milk is then shipped across the river to the Dairy Farmer of America (DFA) cooperative in Erlanger, Kentucky, where it is processed into fresh milk products.
After each day's milking, the cows file out of the turnstile one by one, walking until they find a gate that opens to a field ripe for grazing.
Along with grass to feed the cows, Tribute Farms needs a reliable supply of electricity to feed critical equipment ranging from fences to high-powered milking and watering systems. Irrigation is particularly important to this operation because it gives the Gauls crops they can count on.
"Because we grow pastures and crops, we need them to germinate on time. And with irrigation, we can plant one day and know full well those seeds are going to germinate within two to three days," says Gaul. "Irrigation gives us a strong degree of confidence about our farming system."
Adding to that confidence is the support of their adopted community.
"The heartland really is the heartland," says Jo Gaul. The community has been very interested and supportive of what we're doing. They're always cheering us on."