Deep in the fields of Slocomb lies Working Cows Dairy, an award winning dairy farm operated by the de Jong family.
Working Cows Dairy and why they are proud to be farmers
Working Cows Dairy and why they are proud to be farmers

Rinske de Jong works on the farm with her husband, two of her sons and daughter in-law, but her farming roots go back to her home country.

“My husband was a dairy farmer in Holland already, in the Netherlands and we moved to America in 1985,” said de Jong. “We started milking cows, and little by little, that’s what I stuck with.”

While some day to day operations are different for dairy farmers compared to crop farmers, their day still starts at the crack of dawn.

“By six o clock, I am outside getting the cows up to get milked. First, I check the cows if they had babies or have problems. Then I go on to milk the cows,” said de Jong. “When I am done with that, milk is being pumped to be pasteurized. When I am ready, we can pump it over here to the cheese room.”

Cheese is the biggest export of Working Cows Dairy. A few of the flavors made have won Good Food Awards as well.

For a family dairy farm, the production amount is astounding.

“At the moment, because the grass is so green, so this is the healthiest cheese to raise. I make three batches of cheese in a week, so that would be 1,050 pounds of cheese,” said “On top of that, we also make a lot of homemade butter. 500 boxes, that’s 250 pounds of butter every other week.”

While the farm produces organic products from grass-fed cows and is Animal Welfare Approved, de Jong is most proud of the fact that she gets to do this with her family.

Working Cows has a self serve store on site at their location. The address for the farm is 5539 N AL Hwy 103 in Slocomb.

Look also

U.S. cheese export volumes hit a new monthly high during March.

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