Here at Bain Farm, we have a unique breed of cow to Orkney. In 2010, Willie imported two pure bred pedigree Fleckvieh heifers, with another 7 within the same year. This was with the aim of improving the quality of the milk. Over the last 10 years they have been integrated throughout the herd, as well as taking home few Pedigree Fleckvieh bulls to breed with the holstein friesians already in the herd. Now the herd is 90% Fleckvieh, and the milk is of top quality. The milk contains a high level of butter fat, and high protein, meaning our product is off the top quality.
Happy and healthy cows are our main priority on the farm. During the winter, Orkney has little daylight, and the weather can be extremely harsh and cold, so our cows come in to be wintered inside. And as the daylight becomes longer and the days get warmer, our cows are kept outside during the summer.
They are mainly fed on a grass diet, mixed in with soya, draft and essential mineral to keep them at their best. During the summer the cows intake their grass from the fields, however in the winter they get their grass through our own home-grown silage. Silage is grass that is cut in the summer that we store in a large pit and keep for the winter feeding. We have our own machinery for cutting the silage, allowing us to cut the grass as the optimum time, so it is at the best quality it can be for the cows.
