25-year-old Emilie Mulligan is a Cornell graduate and a 4th-generation dairy farmer. “My great grandfather bought the farm in 1920 and since then my grandpa, my dad and now myself and my cousin have farmed here,” Mulligan told me. She oversees the herd management team, which means a lot of quality time with cows.
"Katie Pinke visited with Emily Zweber, a small organic farmer just outside the Twin Cities, to talk about the unique techniques they're using to remain viable, including out-wintering cows. Michelle Rook talked to Brad Hins, one of the foremost authorities on out-wintering dairy cattle."
I had never seen a PTO-powered gen-set before. Obviously, it's a piece of equipment that makes a lot of sense for a dairy to have, as they already have big powerful tractors with PTOs to spin a gen-set -- and lost of grid power could lead to spoilage of a lot of expensive milk and a lot of hand-milking. Mike Price does a nice job explaining how the PTO-powered generators work, and the backup switch they use to switch the load over on the farm.
