Try our GRASS FED Beef Bresaola! SHOP HERE.

Supplements our dairy cows get for the best possible health and nutrition

written by

Marie Reedell

posted on

June 14, 2024

Cow-Dairy-Supplements.jpg

Miller's has always advertised our cow dairy as "100% grass fed". It's true. For food, the cows eat pasture (or dry pasture) only... and never grain.

But it's probably more accurate to say "100% grass fed +". This is because, in addition to pasture, the cows get a few supplements for optimal health... and therefore the best possible nutrition in the yummy food they make for us.

This is similar to you taking a magnesium supplement since our depleted soils don't provide enough in our food, drinking red raspberry leaf tea to strengthen your reproductive system, or reaching for Nux Vomica homeopathic at the first sign of tummy troubles.

I've had lengthy conversations with our farmers and supplement providers. And now, I'm breaking the avalanche of info down into easily digestible info for you (yes, the pun was intended).

What Supplements Our Dairy Cows Get & Why

Each supplement has a different purpose. On a whole, the supplements give our cows good health all around, including preventing disease, keeping good body condition, maintaining reproductive health, and so much more. Here's info on each supplement.

1- Organic Molasses

Molasses is naturally rich in antioxidants, iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, and vitamin B6. But, the main reason it's given to our cows is to help them digest any fiber in the pasture.

Our molasses is certified organic, made from sugar cane grown in South America. It does NOT contain any apple cider vinegar or additives. It's 100% molasses, just like molasses you would buy for yourself. 

Each cow is given about 2.5 cups of molasses per day. It's poured on top of the energy pellets.

2- A Blend of Minerals

Nowadays soils are so depleted, and that's why fortified foods and supplements are so commonplace. Although we put a lot of energy into maintaining good soil and naturally regenerating it year after year, they may be small imbalances.

Giving minerals keeps up excellent body condition and overall good health. Reproduction is better. Basically, everything is better in animals with the right balance and amount of minerals.

Our minerals are simply ground up rocks. They include phosphorous, calcium, selenium, magnesium, zinc, sulfur, potassium, etc.

Our forage (fresh and dry pasture) is tested regularly. Then, based on those results, a mineral blend is specially mixed for our cows. For example, let's say the forage was slightly low is phosphorous. Then, the mineral blend would have added phosphorous. Since they have slightly different needs, there's one blend for dairy cows and one for heifers (which are dairy cows that haven't given birth yet).

The cows are given about 1/2 pound of minerals per day. If milking, the amount correlates to how much milk a cow is making. The more milk she makes, the more minerals she gets. That's because making milk is hard work, and the cow likely needs an extra boost. 

3- Homeopathic Remedies

We give our cows homeopathic remedies to both prevent and treat disease. To be clear, illness is rare in our herds since we put so much energy into maintaining their health naturally. And, we never give vaccines, antibiotics, or any kind of drugs. 

Our homeopathic remedies come from Hahnemann Labs and Washington Homeopathic Products. Both companies have been around since the 1800s. All of the products we buy from them are labeled for humans, not animals. In fact, you may have the same remedies in your homeopathic collection at home!

Here are some examples of homeopathic remedies the cows may receive:

  • Pulsatilla - This is for a big range of things. It gives cows a stronger heat, so it's good to give before conceiving. It's given preventatively after a cow freshens (gives birth) to help clean them out and discharge everything. It also helps with mastitis. Pulsatilla is also known as "pus-atilla", because it cleans out puss.
  • Sepia - This is given for fertility. If there’s a cow that doesn’t want to settle, we give sepia. And most times that works. It's not a guarantee but a big help. 
  • Belladonna - This is given if a cow has a fever.
  • Ferrum Phos - This is given for a cough or respiratory infection. 

The remedies come as little white pills. The farmers dissolve them in water, and the cows drink it. Different amounts are given to each cow, depending on her needs. And sometimes one works for one cow and not another. Our farmers pay close attention to each cow so they can make adjustments as needed.

4- Energy Pellets (Simply Alfalfa + Flaxseed Oil)

Cows get a lot of protein from forage... but not a lot of energy. Just a little flaxseed oil can go a long way. It helps keep the cows healthy. We can see this visibly with firmer manure. 

Since the farmers didn't want to simply pour oil over hay, they worked with a natural feed supplier to make some natural alfalfa pellets just for Miller's. It's just ground up alfalfa (which we often grow in our pastures) along with organic flaxseed oil. 

This is a very low percent of their diet. Each cow is given up to 1.5 pounds of energy pellets per day. If a cow produces a lot of milk, a little less is given. If a cow is having trouble producing milk, a little more is given.

Omega 6/3 Ratio Should be Optimal at 1:1

We pay attention to the details, and that includes the omega 6/3 ratio. Humans should consume a 1:1-4:1 omega 6/3 ratio. But, the conventional American diet is currently providing a 20:1 ratio (thanks corn and soy... but mostly corn). And that can result in a host of diseases including chronic inflammation, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, arthritis, asthma, depression, fatigue, etc. 

The good news is that truly grass fed dairy naturally has a 1:1 ratio, which is optimal. When selecting supplements for our cows, we keep this in mind. We want to provide our animals and customers with the best health.

For example, we could have chosen sunflower oil for the energy pellet, but sunflower oil has a 40:1 omega 6/3 ratio. That would have put everything out of balance. Instead, we went with flaxseed oil, which has a 1:4 ratio. The 1:4 ratio of flaxseed oil combined with the 3:1 ratio of molasses brings us about a 1:1 ratio in our feed. 

We are Above & Beyond the Grassfed Certification

Basically all dairy cows everywhere get a supplement of some sort. Do you know what the grassfed certification requires? We're NOT certified, but it's an important comparison.

The American Grassfed Association (AGA) is the most popular grassfed certification in the US. When you buy grass-fed milk in the store, it's likely allowed to be labeled like that because they have this particular certification. 

The AGA's certification allows all the supplements we feed, including molasses, minerals, alfalfa, and flaxseed oil. Plus, a lot more, too.

The AGA's certification requires cows to never be fed grain or cereal grain (including corn, soy, wheat, oats, sunflower meal, etc). But... pseudo-grains are allowed (including peas, lentils, buckwheat, canola, etc) grown to maturity and fed as the grain/seed only. And they may also be fed in manufactured cubes and pellets. 

The amount of supplemental feed of pseudo-grains can be up to 25% of the total daily intake (or 0.625% of body weight). I mean, wow. That's a lot of food other than pasture!

What do you think about supplements? Do you personally take any? Are you ok with our dairy cows getting some?

I'd love to hear from you. Comment below.

More from the blog

Does exploding milk kefir mean it's bad? Not necessarily.

We get this question from customers on the regular --> "My kefir exploded. Is that normal? Does that mean it's bad?" The answer? Bubbly volcanic kefir is 100% ok. Kefir is known as the "champagne of dairy" for a reason! In case you haven't tried it, milk kefir is a fermented drink made with milk. It's similar in taste to yogurt (a little stronger in my opinion) but has more probiotics.  As I've heard it said, yogurt is good for cleansing the gut. Kefir, on the other hand, adds to the gut. People working to heal or enhance the function of their digestive system often turn to kefir as part of this process. Even though kefir has been around for thousands of years, it seems that there's still some mystery around it. I mean, it's just not as popular as yogurt, particularly in the US. Bubbles in kefir are a natural part of the fermentation process. To make kefir, you need to add culture to milk. Different from yogurt culture, which is strains of probiotic bacteria only, kefir is a symbiotic culture of probiotic bacteria AND yeast.  Once the culture is added, you let it ferment at room temp. The culture eats up the milk sugar (AKA lactose), creates bubbles (AKA CO2), and grows more of the culture. When you get bubbly kefir, that's a sure sign that it's fermented. It's also a sure sign that it's probiotic. After all, the more CO2, the more eating and duplicating the bacteria and yeast did. After we make it, kefir will continue to ferment. It will happen more rapidly at room temp and more slowly in the fridge. But, it's still happening. More and more bubbles are created over time. And, if that container is air tight, lots of pressure builds up within the container. If you don't open the kefir and it's super fermented, there is the potential for lots of bubbles upon opening. Here's a short video of a kefir explosion: And, here's a little story about the worst kefir explosion I've heard of. Years ago, we used to sell blueberry kefir. With that added sugary fruit in the end, the culture would really take off. A customer sent us a picture of blueberry kefir on her kitchen ceiling!! It really exploded. I wish I could have been there to help her clean it up! Open slowly or burp kefir to stop it from exploding. Not a fan of your kefir exploding? Thankfully, there's an easy solution. Open slowly. Simply crack the lid a little, and let the gas escape before opening all the way. You could even burp your kefir every day or two in the fridge to prevent it from getting too bubbly. The only way to stop kefir from fermenting and creating more bubbles is to freeze it. However, I don't recommend that.  First off, kefir tends to get clumpy when thawed.  Second, there's some probiotic loss when freezing. The longer it's frozen, the more probiotic loss. If you need to freeze kefir for later, I don't recommend freezing it for more than 3 months. You know kefir really went bad by the smell and look. When you make kefir with raw milk, it's slowly turning into kefir cheese. So when I say it goes "bad", it's really just knowing when it's too sour or pungent to palate. It's not necessarily a safety issue. Here are two things to look for: Putrid Smell: OK, kefir smells funky, even good kefir. But, especially if you've been drinking kefir for a while, you should be able to tell when it smells putrid. Like, you absolutely aren't able to consume it.Massive Separation: A little separation in kefir is normal. You will see the whey (a yellowish liquid) separate from the thicker white part. But, if it's all separated, and the white creamy part has turned into a mass of clumps, it's probably not the best to consume anymore. *Side note: I think this is why most kefir comes in a container that's NOT clear. When you make kefir with pasteurized milk, it's a different story. Since there isn't a natural community of microorganisms that are regulating themselves, it has the potential to go bad in a dangerous way. In addition to the signs listed above, here's one more thing to look for: Visible Mold: Especially green, orange, red, or black mold, which is a clear indication that the kefir is bad and should be tossed. All in all, this is really about trusting your gut and being connected to your food. How bubbly has your kefir been? Have you ever had it explode? Do you drink kefir for its yumminess or probiotic benefits? I'd love to hear from you. Comment below to share your thoughts with our community (no account required). Or, contact us to keep it private 😊

Top 3 reasons why grass fed raw milk changes in flavor and consistency.

Have you ever noticed that the flavor and consistency of our raw milk varies from week to week and especially season to season? This is 100% normal! You see, when you raise animals naturally on pasture (and especially when they're 100% grass fed like our cows and buffalos), the milk changes. This is starkly different from pasteurized milk you'd find in stores, which is usually from grain fed cows in feedlots. With that level of unnatural control, the milk can be consistent (or maybe I should call it boring). Here are the top 3 reasons grass fed raw milk varies: 1- Butterfat changes with the seasons. It's highest in the colder months. From the anecdotal experience of myself and our farmers, butterfat is highest in the spring. That's when milk is the creamiest, the most yellow, and the most flavorful (after all, fat holds the color and the flavor). That's when you get a hefty creamline in your jug of milk after sitting in the fridge for a few days. But then... I found an interesting study on this. It's from 1931, before dairy farming got seriously messed up. It tracked hundreds of cows over many years. The researchers found that butterfat and outdoor temperature have an inverse relationship. And they found that it didn't really matter when the cows give birth and the age of the cow. Fascinating! In short, the higher the temp outside, the less butterfat. The lower the temp outside, the more butterfat. Check it out: Another interesting note on the graph is they found that Jersey cows produce milk with the highest butterfat. We noticed this, too, and it's why Aaron's herds are 80% Jersey and 20% Jersey crosses. That's why our milk is so darn creamy! It does make me wonder why, anecdotally, we feel butterfat is highest in spring. Maybe it's because our cows produce the most milk in the spring and least in the winter...? We feel like we're swimming in butterfat in the spring. We make sooo much butter at that time of year. 2- Flavor changes with the feed. When the forage, the weather, and the seasons change, so does the flavor. When cows are outside on pasture, eating a diversity of plants, the flavor of the milk they produce is more robust. Mostly this is a good thing. In my opinion, our pastured milk is more flavorful and tastes better than conventional grain-fed feedlot milk. But, sometimes this can kick us in the butt. For example, when a cow finds a little patch of onion grass, that can create an odd flavor in the milk. The weather affects what the cows are grazing on, too. For example, when we're in a drought, the grass doesn't grow as voraciously. It's has less moisture and protein and isn't as fully developed. That can change the flavor of the milk.  And finally, there are, of course, the seasons. When the cows are eating fresh pasture in the warmer months, the milk will have a different flavor than when they're eating dry pasture (AKA hay) in the colder months. It's hard to predict what the final flavor will be. But, I sure do love tasting the differences in milk throughout the year! 3- How long it lasts changes with cleanliness. Clean milk lasts longer! Milk safety is a top priority here at Miller's. Our strict milk safety standards go beyond what's required for a raw milk permit in Pennsylvania. We test every batch on site for general bacteria counts. Not many raw milk farmers do that, but we sure hope more hop on board! Since we test every batch, we're able to keep a close eye on how well the team is cleaning. Even a small thing like a cat licking equipment in the barn, a tiny hairline crack somewhere, or water not being hot enough can make a big difference.  Because of our constant monitoring, we're pretty confident in saying that our milk is the cleanest around. There's no manure in our milk!  And because of this, our milk lasts longer than most. It's raw milk and will sour (no way to prevent that). But, it should last at least 2 weeks after you receive it before it becomes too sour to palate. Do you value milk consistency over naturalness? Have you noticed changes in our raw milk over time? What about milk makes it "the best" for you? I'd love to hear from you. Comment below to share your thoughts with our community (no account requred). Or, contact us to keep it private 😊 PS: Did you know that we make our fresh raw cow dairy in house? That's right. Our team does it in our creamery! Our goat and buffalo farmers make their own fresh raw dairy in house, too. ----- Sources THE INFLUENCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL TEMPERA- TURE ON THE PERCENTAGE OF BUTTER FAT IN COW'S MILK*

Salt and toxic heavy metals? We swapped our salt with a cleaner one!

Are you choosy when it comes to the salt you use? Yea, Miller's is, too. On the one hand, we want natural (not highly processed) salt packed with minerals (including metals like zinc and magnesium). On the other hand, we don't want an overload of toxic heavy metals and microplastics.  So, when Jesse from Dream Salts reached out about his pink Himalayan sea salt last year, I was skeptical. I told him that I needed to see some test results before the team could even consider switching salts. Jesse pulled through, and I'm super happy with the results. Our new pink Himalayan sea salt has half the amount of lead compared to Selina Naturally's Celtic Sea Salt. It also had no microplastics detected at a low LOQ (limit of quantification).  "Normal" table salt is highly processed.  Table salt starts as something natural - salt mined from the earth. But then, it goes through some heavy processing. This removes all impurities, including all those minerals that are beneficial for us. Once it's purified, an "anti-caking agent" is typically added. This prevents the salt from caking, especially when it's humid out. In fact, that's where Morton Salt got its famous slogan - "when it rains it pours"!  Iodine is a common anti-caking agent, and it's probably the most natural one, too. Consuming a little bit of iodine is absolutely necessary for optimal health. But, as with most things, getting it naturally is best. You can get iodine naturally from seaweed, fish Greek yogurt, milk, and eggs. Plus, the iodine added to salt is typically lab produced. Other anti-caking agents might be used in table salt, too. These may include calcium silicate, sodium aluminosilicate, ferrocyanides like sodium ferrocyanide (E535), potassium ferrocyanide (E536), and calcium ferrocyanide (E538). Table salt is usually finer and dissolves more quickly. It also has a sharp flavor. Sea salt is more natural. Sea salt isn't highly processed. It's salt that was naturally occurring in the ocean, either today or a long time ago. There are 2 kinds of sea salt: From the ocean: This is when sea water is let to dry. The water evaporates, leaving the salt behind. Ever get out of the ocean and find your skin left with a whitish hue? That's salt that dried on your skin! Selina Naturally's Celtic Sea Salt is dried from today's Celtic Sea.From the land: This is from a salty body of water that dried up a long time ago. For example, Redmond Salt is from the ancient Sundance Sea in Utah. And, pink Himalayan salt is mined in Pakistan from mountains near the Himalayas. When salt is naturally occurring and not processed, it's packed with minerals which we need for optimal health. It's like a natural supplement!  On the flip side, it also can contain impurities like sand, shells, rocks, clay, and pollution (and sometimes anti-caking agents are added, too). Think about all the pollution in today's oceans. Yup, that can reside in sea salt harvested from the water! Microplastics in today's oceans can make their way into sea salt. It's no secret that our oceans are filled with plastic, slowly getting churned smaller and smaller into more and more microplastics. I read somewhere that an average human contains a credit card's worth of plastic inside them now. Wow! Microplastics are a fairly new thing, and more research is needed. But, they seem to potentially cause a host of problems including reproductive, digestive, and respiratory issues, and may even be linked to cancer. This is why I was pretty excited to see Dream Salt's test results. They tested for a range of microplastics, and none were detected at the low LOQs of 5-50 parts per billion. Love that! Minerals are good. Toxic heavy metals are bad. Sea salt is packed with minerals that we need - magnesium, iron, potassium, zinc, calcium, selenium, etc. These are good to consume. But, some of these that we commonly call "minerals" are actually metals. Some metals like magnesium and zinc are good for us (of course in moderation) but some we don't need at all and can be toxic and cause damage, even in smaller amounts. The top 4 toxic heavy metals to watch for are arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury. You may remember a blast of muckraking articles about sea salt last year. They specifically called out Selina Naturally's Celtic sea salt for its high levels of arsenic and lead. In fact, their lead issue is now part of a lawsuit. Yeesh! And, wow, we use their Celtic sea salt. What's going on here? To start, Miller's of course assessed its choice in sea salt. Basically, we're using sea salt for its minerals, and that comes with all kinds of metals and is in every sea salt (of course unless it's processed). We felt that, in the amount we use it, it was not harmful to anyone. Let's look at this through the lens of Mike Adams, the Health Ranger. He has a scale to rate the cleanliness of toxic metals in products. And this scale relates to the end product, not each ingredient. When it comes to salt, only a little bit is in each bite, so any level of contamination gets diluted. Selina Naturally's salt on its own rates a low B, with 489 ppb of lead (or 0.489 ppm). Our new Dream Salt also rates a B, but much closer to an A, with about half the amount of lead at 269 ppb (or 0.269 ppm).  When we have an opportunity to reduce toxins, we do it! The Actual Test Results Because you deserve to know and see everything... I'm happy to announce that we're not only selling this pink Himalayan sea salt, but we're also using it in our fresh dairy products and sausages made from this point forward. Hooray! As an FYI --- There are other foods we offer that still use Selena Naturally's Celtic sea salt. We'll be slowly working with our small scale makers to make the switch across the board. But, it will take some time! What sea salt do you choose? What's most important to you when choosing a salt? What do you think about our salt switch? I'd love to hear from you. Comment below to share your thoughts with our amazing community, or contact us to keep it private 😊 ----- Sources Sea Salt vs. Table Salt: What's the Difference?We Test Every Lot Of Celtic Sea Salt®Consumer Wellness Center Labs