Dairy Vocabulary: Ear Tag, Freestall Barn, Hutch
Ear Tag – A plastic tag we put on our cows’ ears to identify them. Each tag has their number, dad’s name and birthday on them.
Freestall Barn – A freestall barn is a type of barn that some dairy farms, like ours, use to house their cows. They are called “freestall” barns because the cows are free to do as they please. They can walk from stall to stall, rest, eat and drink whenever they want.
Hutch – This is an individual house where we keep our calves. Having our calves in hutches lets us watch them carefully to make sure they stay healthy and comfortable.
About the author
Hello, my name is Mason Horning and I am a sixth generation Michigan Dairy Farmer. My passion for dairy comes from my family’s 140-year-old dairy farm in Manchester, MI. I graduated from Michigan State University with a certificate focused around Agriculture Business Management and Crop and Soil Sciences in 2017.
Currently, I am employed on my family's dairy farm and work day to day operations. The majority of my roles on the farm are focused around our crops we grow to feed all of our animals. Some of those jobs include: planning the crops we will grow, soil sampling, crop scouting and monitoring, equipment maintenance, and doing fieldwork.
In addition to the crops, I also help out with the cows and calves. Some of those jobs include: milking, feeding calves, cleaning pens, bedding pens, practicing preventative health care procedures, and maintaining records for each animal.
