Sunday, April 18, 2010

Beginnings in #Nutrition #Awareness

Over a year ago, I became interested in eating well in order to live well. Over the last twelve months, I have gone from just being aware of bad food choices to actually making healthy food choices and then educating others on how to do the same. I'm plugged into a supportive network through the Dr. Sears Family and that's what has really opened my eyes to a lot out there but, I want to take it a step further and actually help people in their journeys that are right here in my community. 

What did it take in your wellness journey to transform you? 

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Dairy Farm Tour - DeJong's, Wildomar, CA

I attended a tour at De Jong’s (pronounced de young’s) Dairy Farm in Wildomar, Riverside County, California. They are the only true dairy farm in the area. What I mean by “true” is that they milk the cows there, bottled the milk and sell it from their property. They do not have the organic label on their products due to the expense behind the label but I believe they are as close as you can get without the fancy label. 

They have large 2 pens that keep 36 cows at a time. The big dairies have 150 cows or more in each pen. They feed the cows hay and grains twice a day and in the cooler months of the year provide fresh water twice a day. In the hotter months, they are provided water three times a day. Any cow that is sick and on antibiotics is removed from being milked until they’re 100% well - about 8 days. They milk the cows twice a week – Mondays and Thursdays (and twice a day). Each day yields between 1500 and 2000 containers of milk. They said that their water bill each month is $8,800!  

The company has been in business since the early 60s. They are a family owned business and do not have a website but I found an article about their business through a local newspaper and you can learn more facts about this place. 

Their cows life span is on average 9 years. One cow they had was 15. She gave them 13 babies. The cows must be pregnant every year to keep up the milk supply. The owners have not bought a cow in 30 years!

If you are ever in the area, it’s worth visiting. They only offer tours in the cooler months of the year because as you can imagine when the heat comes the smells … well you get the picture. They are open 7-days a week, 12 hours from 8a to 8p. They are open every day of the year - there are no holidays off.  Call ahead for their hours before visiting. 

Their whole fat milk also comes in chocolate. They don’t use Hershey syrup but rather real cocoa. They take the fat from the cow’s milk and add it to the chocolate milk so you can imagine how yummy it is and should be drank in moderation, of course. They also sell 2% milk in chocolate.

Have you ever been? Please leave a comment and share your experience.