An aerial view of CMREC
Image Credit: Edwin Remsberg
The Central Maryland Research & Education Center (CMREC) Dairy farm has received a Milk Quality Award from Land O’ Lakes for 2015 records. These awards are given only to farms that maintain the highest standards. Like all milk processors, Land O’ Lakes tests incoming milk for three factors linked to herd health: antibiotic presence, bacterial presence, and white blood cell count. In order to receive a Milk Quality, there must be no antibiotics, a bacterial count that is significantly below the legal threshold, and a low white blood cell count, which shows that the herd is not fighting off any infections. These standards must be met for an entire year in order to receive a Milk Quality award. https://www.landolakesinc.com
CMREC at Clarksville is dedicated to producing the highest quality milk from cows with the highest quality of life. The University’s dairy is Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) certified. This program is open to all dairy coops, processors, and farmers in the US. FARM sets high standards for herd care based on current research, farmers are visited at least once every 3 years to give feedback and offered suggestions for improvement, and lastly the integrity of the program is ensured by third-party verification who inspect a percentage of farms each year.
The FARM program encourages the industry to improve with new technology and research. http://www.nationaldairyfarm.com/
The quality of care and quality of milk would not be where it is today without the tireless work of Brian Spielman, Mike Dwyer, and the dairy crew consisting of Dave Bowman, Jason Cline, Dolly Cline, Jorge Ovando and Quincy Stephens. This recognition and certification are a huge testament to the amount of time, love, and care that they put into raising our dairy cattle. http://agresearch.umd.edu/cmrec
Be sure to visit with AGNR students who will be working with an educational exhibit of dairy and beef cattle during the Maryland State Fair August 26 – September 5 in the Cow Palace in Timonium, Maryland. http://www.marylandstatefair.com/
