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The Oglethorpe Echo
Thursday, November 30, 2023
SIDNEY CHANSAMONE/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO
The cows at Cabaniss Dairy in Stephens are milked on a rotary milking parlor that allows the dairy to milk 300 cows an hour and produce 7,000 gallons of milk a day. Ca-
baniss Dairy is the only remaining dairy farm in the county, owner Jim Cabaniss said.
Farm to table: An inside look at the Cabaniss Dairy
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SIDNEY CHANSAMONE/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO
There are 1,500 cows that need to be milked every day at the Ca
baniss Dairy in Stephens. Owner Jim Cabaniss has a 60-cow rotor
from New Zealand that allows the crew to milk 300 cows an hour.
By Sidney Chansamone
and Caleb Rollins
The Oglethorpe Echo
At the same time every day, sev
en days a week, Jim Cabaniss can
be found at work on the organic
dairy farm he owns and operates
along with his brother, Jon, in Ste
phens.
???We run 24/7. Cows never take
off,??? Cabaniss said after another
day in which Cabaniss Dairy pro
duced roughly 7,000 gallons of
milk.
Despite the workload, the crew
at the farm makes the work look
routine, largely thanks to a unique
technique for milking cows: A 60-
cow rotor from New Zealand, Ca
baniss said.
The ???rotary milking parlor??? has
revolutionized mass milk produc
tion. It is a large circular machine,
that cows step onto to be moved
counterclockwise in carousel fash
ion while getting milked.
The technology allows the farm,
which has about 15 employees,
to milk 300 cows an hour. With
nearly 1,500 cows needing to be
milked per day, the rotor is cru
cial for getting everything done in
a timely manner, according to Ca
baniss, who said they would ???nev
er??? get done milking without it.
Cows are led into the milking
area in groups, and from there, it???s
clear they know what to do. The
cows line up and, one after anoth
er, they step onto the spinning ro
tary parlor.
???It doesn't stop turning,??? Caban
iss said. ???They get on and off with
it moving.???
A worker then attaches milking
machines to the udders at the start,
while another worker removes
them at the end. The cows are fully
relaxed, having grown accustomed
to the experience, and instinctive
ly know to back off of the machine
at the end.
All the while, the milk is sent
from the rotary parlor to a machine
that chills it, before finally going
into a holding tank to be picked up
later that day.
Although the milking process is
streamlined, the work to be done
on the farm goes beyond milking.
All of the organic cow feed is
Dairy farming
on the decline
Cabaniss Dairy is under con
tract with Publix and has solidified
its place in the industry, but dairy
farming as a whole is on the de
cline in Georgia.
???Dairy farmers are pretty ex
tinct,??? Cabaniss said. ???We are one
of the only organic dairies in the
state of Georgia.???
Cabaniss Dairy is also the only
remaining dairy farm in the coun
ty, he said.
According to a 2020 USDA
report, ???the number of licensed
dairy herds fell by more than
half between 2002 and 2019,
and the rate of decline accel
erated in 2018-2019, even as
milk production continued to
grow.???
Cabaniss attributes this de
cline in dairy farming to strict
er regulations. That combined
with the intense workload of
dairy farming has caused many
smaller farms to leave the in
dustry.
Despite the decline in Geor
gia, however, the amount of milk
produced per farm has increased.
Georgia is home to 89 dairy farms,
which produced 235 million gal
lons of milk in the past year, ac
cording to Georgia Milk Produc
ers.
Milk exports have also in
creased in the state.
Although the barrier to entry
into the dairy industry is higher,
farms that are innovating, like Ca
baniss Dairy, are staying commit
ted to the work.
???Dairy cattle are probably 10
times harder than beef,??? Cabaniss
said. ???With beef, you just put them
out in a field and you ain???t gotta
worry about them. With dairy cat
tle, you pretty much have to baby
them.???
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SIDNEY CHANSAMONE/THE OGLETHORPE ECHO
Jim Cabaniss owns Cabaniss Dairy, which exports organic milk, a
natural, non-GMO dairy option with higher standards for animal
welfare that must be produced with organic farming methods.
grown and produced on-site, and a
majority of the cows are bred and
raised there, allowing the farm to
retain full control of the organic
lifestyle of the livestock.
The farm has also implement
ed a ???SCR system,??? Cabaniss said,
which monitors the cow???s well
being, nutrition and reproductive
health through computerized col
lars on their necks.
???It???s one of the greatest tools in
the dairy business today,??? Caban
iss said, adding that dairy cows re
quire delicate care.
The collars track the cows??? cud
chewing, which helps the farmer
to make sure they???re healthy. They
also detect heat, which can let the
farmer know when a cow is ready
to be bred.
Despite the added costs and
around-the-clock work schedule,
Cabaniss Dairy remains dedicated
to organic farming.
Organic milk, which is known
as a natural, non-GMO dairy op
tion with higher standards for an
imal welfare, must be produced
with organic farming methods. Ac
cording to the U.S. Department
of Agriculture, ???The organic cow
cannot be given growth hormones
or antibiotics, and its feed must be
100 percent organic.???
Additionally, the land must also
be ???managed in a way that main
tains soil fertility and minimizes
erosion, while distinct and defined
boundaries make sure prohibited
substances don???t come into contact
with organic fields.???