(Lewis) Two large choppers cruised through the cornfield Sunday afternoon at the Milk Unlimited Dairy Operation near Lewis. Eleven trucks transported the feed to the pit silo, where two high-powered packing tractors pushed and packed the feed into a large feed mountain for the 3,400-cow operation near Lewis.
One year ago, the harvest started on August 9 due to the extreme drought conditions. Harvest started about ten days later this year, and the 2023 crop is considerably better than in 2022.
Managing Partner Kelly Cunningham credits the bountiful harvest to timely rains.
The heavy tonnage allowed the operation to fill one pit and start another feed pile, which is not normally the case.
Around 2,700 cows are milking about four loads of milk a day. Some of the milk goes to a cheese factory in Sanborn, Iowa, and a large amount of their milk is exported out of state.
The cows at Milk Unlimited produce 95 pounds per day per cow, which ranks this operation in the top ten percent in the U.S.
The dairy operation milks three times a day and has 31 employees.
