Today’s featured farm for our June Dairy Month 30 Dairies in 30 Days promotion is Estes Dairy Farm in Fountaintown, Indiana.
Kerry and Christiana Estes are the husband-wife team behind Estes Dairy Farm. The couple are first-generation dairy farmers who began in 2005 with a group of heifers (young females who haven’t had a baby calf yet).
The Estes family uses a seasonal calving schedule, which means all their cows have a baby calf in the springtime, around March. This can be a hectic time on the farm with all the babies—up to 70 heifer calves—needing a bottle twice a day. Kerry and Christiana’s children, Damon and Laura, help manage the calves, making the farm a true family business.
The family’s cows graze on 128 acres of grass in a rotational schedule so they can get the maximum nutrition from the pastures. The cows can also kick back and relax in the barn and take a nap in an open stall with a water bed.
Kerry Estes is the head football coach at Doe Creek Middle School.