Our fascinating bovines! These cows still have names like Tilley, Karmen, and Cassie, the first letter of their names indicating the family. The “T” and “K” families are especially well represented. These cow families go back to the original cows that our friend and partner Morey Miller started Millborne Farm with in the early 1970’s, in Granby, Connecticut. We firmly believe in strong cow families, focusing our breeding program on certain genetic traits like strong feet and legs, solid mammary system, and good general health and immune systems. This gives our cows the longevity to remain in the herd for many years. Obviously high milk production is a desirable trait in our animals, but longevity and health traits trump production ability any time. The fact that some families are represented by 4 or 5 generations at once, attests to the longevity built into our herd. Over the years these same cow families have produced many show quality animals that have been shown from New England to Wisconsin.
Millborne Farm is home to about 150 mature milking cows and a similar number of young-stock, ranging from baby calves to 2-year old heifers. Our herd is basically a “closed” herd, which means that we rarely buy cows; the herd is built and maintained from our own cow families. The most significant reason for being a closed herd is to avoid the health-risks for our animals that can be introduced when buying animals from other farms.