Tucked into Washington’s northwest corner, about 30 minutes south of the Canadian border and 30 minutes inland from the Pacific Ocean, Coldstream Farms has grown alongside the family behind it for nearly five decades.
Jeff and Vickie Rainey began milking 50 cows there in 1978. What started as a small dairy is now a 1,900-cow operation with Holsteins, Jerseys and crossbreds, supported by about 1,500 acres of corn and grass silage.
Today, the farm’s story belongs to its second generation - Galen and Laura Smith, Lynne Wheeler and Brad Smith. The farm recently opened its doors to viewers during a World Dairy Expo Virtual Farm Tour, giving dairy farmers a closer look at how the family manages its herd and prepares for the future.
But at Coldstream, building the next generation of the dairy is not only about adding cows. It starts with deciding which cows are worth building around.
“We’re trying to build the kind of herd we want to milk five, 10 and 20 years from now. The more information we have on these cows, the better decisions we can make,” Wheeler says.
Data, genomics and embryo transfer are giving the family more information to make those decisions.
From 50 Cows to a 50-Stall Rotary
Coldstream’s growth has taken place over several decades. Jeff and Vickie first milked in a flat-barn parlor for about four years before building a double-six parlor and growing the herd to 150 cows. By the mid-1990s, they had doubled the parlor and reached about 500 cows.
As the dairy continued to grow, the family leased two additional dairies and eventually purchased one, bringing the herd to 750 cows. When the second generation returned to the operation, the family continued investing in the business.
In 2012, they built a 50-stall rotary and brought the cows back to the main farm.
Today, the rotary has room for more cows, but Coldstream is taking a different approach to growth. Rather than focusing only on herd size, the family is looking for ways to get more from the cows already in the herd.
The first step is knowing those cows.
Data Helps Coldstream Make Cow-by-Cow Decisions
Coldstream’s scale is considerable, but the team still focuses on individual animals. The herd averages 115 lbs. of energy-corrected milk per cow, with 4.8% butterfat, 3.5% protein and a 190,000 somatic cell count.
Pedometers and neck collars track activity, production, rumination, eating and resting. Instead of relying on employees to notice every change during daily herd checks, the technology gives the team another way to find cows who need attention.
“Instead of checking 60 to 70 animals every day, we’d have a list of four,” Wheeler says. “So, it’s really focused and individualized our treatments and behavior on each animal on a daily basis.”
The technology does not replace walking through the herd. Employees still look at cows and make decisions based on what they see. However the data helps narrow the list and catch changes sooner.
The same information is used in the breeding program.
About 90% of Coldstream’s cows are bred based on activity data from the farm’s monitors. When a cow is cycling normally, the team may let her show a natural heat rather than use hormones.
“She’s working hard, but we know she’s cycling normally and there are no problems with her,” Wheeler says. “There’s no reason to give her a shot. We can let her be a cow and breed her naturally when she’s ready. We know she’ll be bred around 120 days.”
For Coldstream, reproductive data goes beyond getting cows pregnant. It also helps the team decide which animals are worth building the next generation around.
Genomics and Embryos Shape the Next Generation
Currently, Coldstream uses sexed semen, genomic testing and an embryo transfer program created with Semex and Boviteq to be more selective about the genetics moving into the next generation of the herd. The goal is to produce more of the type of cows the farm wants to milk long term while using data to identify which animals are worth multiplying.
The farm targets about 100 sexed Holstein pregnancies each month and 30 embryos. The embryo transfer program starts at about 25 transfers per month, giving the team a chance to evaluate conception rates and calf outcomes before increasing the number.
Starting at a smaller scale has allowed Coldstream to see how the program performs before making a larger investment.
“We landed on 25 because I’m a low-risk partner and I have partners who are more comfortable with risk,” Wheeler says. “So it’s a compromise. We see how it goes. What’s the conception rate? What does calving look like? What do the calves look like? As theses questions are answered, we’ll start to reassess if we’re ready to do more. ”
Wheeler says the program helps Coldstream be more selective about the genetics it moves forward.
“We’ve really focused our growth on the quality of animal that we’re raising,” she notes.
The herd is currently made up of 40% Holstein, 45% crossbred and 15% Jersey. Farm records show Holsteins are the most profitable based on production and productive life.
“We did an analysis and it was clear that Holsteins our most profitable animal,” Wheeler says. “So, then it led to a conversation of how do we pull Jersey out of our herd and how do we do it the fastest? Well, embryos are a great way to do that.”
The farm is gradually increasing its percentage of Holsteins while continuing to breed crossbred and Jersey cows based on individual performance.
“Our long-term goal is to probably be just the Holstein and crossbred herd and get that Jersey all the way out of it,” Wheeler says. “The embryos are helping us do that.”
Genomic results, production records and health data help the team decide which cows should produce replacements, serve as embryo recipients and which matings make sense.
“We test our feed, we test our water, we test our milk, but until recently, we didn’t really test the genetics of our cows,” Wheeler says. Now we have another piece of information to help us decide which cows we want to move forward with and which ones we want to use as recipients.”
Recipient selection also goes beyond genomic numbers. The team considers health history, frame size, reproductive performance and the likelihood a cow will remain in the herd.
“We look at health events, dystocia, mastitis and frame size,” Wheeler says. “What’s the likelihood that she’s going to make it to that next lactation and carry that calf well?”
Veterinary and genetics partners support the program, while Semex trainers help selected employees learn to perform embryo transfers. The team performs transfers on natural heats, allowing the farm to use the same reproductive signals it already tracks through its activity monitors. Coldstream is seeing conception rates close to its results with artificial insemination.
“Our conception rate on AI, we run about 50%. On embryos, we’re probably about 47%,” Wheeler says. “But we only are putting in 25 embryos a month, so it’s pretty small numbers. We’re still learning and watching the results to see what works best for us.”
The team tracks more than conception. Calf health and development, cow performance and longevity will help Coldstream determine how well the embryo program is producing the type of animals the farm wants to keep in the herd. As the program grows, those results will help guide how many embryos the farm transfers and which cows it selects for future matings.
Data Follows the Cow Into the Calf Barn
The same mindset carries into the calf program.
Coldstream puts considerable attention on cleanliness, early health care and consistent routines. Employees track treatments, birth weights, weaning weights and pen moves for each calf.
The farm targets about 2 lbs. of average daily gain from birth to weaning. Calves are weaned around 75 days, with milk gradually reduced during the final two weeks to encourage grain intake and help calves transition to a ruminant diet.
For Wheeler, the calf program is part of the larger breeding picture.
“Calves are the start and the end of a dairy, if you ask me,” Wheeler says.
Blood serum samples collected 24 to 72 hours after birth are used to evaluate passive transfer. Calves treated multiple times for respiratory illness may also receive lung ultrasounds to check for consolidation.
The team tracks health and growth measurements over time, giving employees more information when evaluating how calves develop.
Those records can also help inform future breeding decisions. A calf is not just another replacement candidate; her health, growth and performance become part of the information Coldstream can use as she moves through the herd.
Automation Frees Up Time for the Herd
Activity monitors and genomic testing are not the only technologies helping Coldstream improve efficiency. The farm has also invested in automation that takes repetitive work out of daily routines, giving employees more time to focus on the herd.
An automated feeding system weighs and mixes ingredients, moving many commodities from tanks to the mixer by auger. The system takes some of the repetitive work out of feeding while improving ration consistency and reducing shrink. It also frees the payloader operator to spend more time delivering feed to the cows instead of loading ingredients.
“The system takes over and mixes all those ingredients together automatically,” Wheeler says. “While the payloader operator is out in the barn delivering feed, the system is doing the mixing. When he comes back to the feed station, he hits a button and it unloads. He adds the big commodities, like corn silage and grass silage, and then the system takes over again and he can leave. So we’re saving time on the payloader, diesel and energy. Those are all ways we can be more efficient, sustainable and environmentally friendly.”
Building a Dairy for the Next Generation
Coldstream is focused on improving the herd from within, using the information they collect on each cow to make better breeding and culling decisions.
Reproduction, calf health, feeding, cow comfort, genomics and embryo transfer give the team more ways to identify which animals have a place in the herd’s future. The goal is not to raise more cows, but to raise better cows that fit the needs of the dairy.
“I can look at what we’ve done and built as a family, and I can look at the cattle that we grow and the crops that we raise, and I’m incredibly fulfilled by it,” Wheeler says.
For Wheeler, the work still comes back to what she enjoys most: being outside, solving problems and working alongside her family.
At Coldstream, improving the herd today is part of building a stronger dairy for the next generation.
