Family Farm Produces Nature’s Most Nearly Perfect Food: Milk

Name: Dale and Carol Hoffman

Farm Name: Kar-Dale-Acres

Location: Shinglehouse, Pa.

Kar-Dale-Acres lies nestled near the rolling hills in Shinglehouse, Pa., and is owned by Dale and Carol Hoffman. Dale grew up on a dairy farm in Snyder County, Pa., and always knew that dairy farming was the life he wanted. In 1976, he and Carol made the move north to Potter County to start a dairy farm of their own. In 1998, they expanded the farm operation from a 150-cow tie stall barn to a 400-cow free stall barn. Today, they raise about 700 dairy cows and farm 1,200 acres of land on their beautiful homestead.

Cow Care

Expanding the barn was a challenge but was well worth the effort, according to the Hoffmans. Called a “free stall barn,” this type of facility allows the cows to move freely in and out of their stalls and around the barn at all times. The cows can choose when they want to drink, eat or lie down since they have access to water, feed and stalls (or “beds”) all day long. The mattresses are 4-inches thick, providing cushion and comfort for the cows, and are covered with fresh, dry sawdust twice a day.

The new free stall barn also features open sides with curtains. In the summer, the curtains are up and the sides are open, allowing fresh air to circulate along with the help from many fans. The cows can also visit the pasture areas surrounding the farm. In the winter, the curtains are lowered enough to keep the cows warm and comfortable but still allow for fresh air to help ventilate the barn.

And, no need for the cows to clean up their room – a specially-designed machine called an “alley scraper” cleans the floor of the barn on a routine basis, keeping manure at bay.

Dale also makes sure the cows have a healthy, balanced diet. The cows are fed silage, hay, corn meal, soy meal and a protein mix, which is blended together to give each cow all the nutrients she needs.

The cows at Kar-Dale-Acres are milked three times a day at 4 a.m., 12 noon and 8 p.m. This schedule allows the Hoffman family to keep their cows comfortable and healthy. When they milk the cows, they dip the cows’ teats with an iodine mixture before and after each milking. The Hoffman’s wear latex gloves and clean the each cow’s udder with a sanitary cloth towel. This ensures the cows’ teats are clean before and after each milking to help minimize the spread of bacteria.

Keeping the Land Sustainable

Dale and Carol care about their animals as well as the land they farm. A number of conservation practices are in place, including recycling water to use in the milking parlor. For example, a drip drain is located on the outside of the barn where rain water enters. The water goes down the drain and onto a gravel area, where it then flows to a nearby pond and is later used to clean the milk parlor.

The Hoffmans also created a conservation plan to track manure applied to the crops and a nutrient management plan that helps keep all the nutrients in the ground, providing fertile land on which to grow feed for the animals.

Involved In the Community

Dale and Carol are quite involved in their community. For 15 years, they have provided tours to local school children to teach kids about dairy farming. They also give tours to legislators, conservation districts, church groups, boy and girl scouts, and 4-H groups. They hope their visitors, who learn new and exciting information on the farm, will continue to share their experiences with others.
The Hoffmans also enjoy sponsoring local softball and baseball teams.

Additionally, Dale serves as vice president of the Professional Dairy Managers of Pennsylvania and vice-chairman of the Pennsylvania Dairy Summit committee this year.

Family Business

“The one thing I want people to understand is that we are a family business,” Dale says. “This is one of the biggest reasons we enjoy giving tours to groups to help them to understand who we are and what we do.”

Dale and Carol have had a lot of help from their family to make Kar-Dale-Acres the success it is today. “Expanding the farm was the biggest challenge we have come across,” Dale says. “The biggest plus we have had on the farm is having family members involved.”

Kar-Dale-Acres may be a large farm, but just like family farms of any size, the Hoffmans work together as a family to produce nature’s most nearly perfect food – milk– for everyone to enjoy.