Saying milk comes from grass-fed cows is one thing, but proving it is another. That’s why we provide the guarantee you need that our products start with grass-fed goodness.
What do we mean by grass-fed?
The milk that we use to create our products is sourced from dairy farms which operate on a pastoral basis, meaning that the dairy cows eat predominantly Grass-Fed forage. Through the winter as grass growth slows, the herd is fed on a range of natural crops, such as kale or rape, and grass silage; grass that is mowed, baled and preserved as silage in spring when grass growth exceeds requirements. This ensures cows maintain a full, well-rounded diet.
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What do grass-fed cows forage on?
We define ‘grass-fed’ forage as:
- Grasses and other pasture species, i.e., pasture monocots and broadleaf species, including but not limited to, clover, lucerne and plantain;
- Fodder and cereal crops (milky stage), for example swedes, rape, kale, turnips, fodder beet and similar species;
- Grass silage, hay, baleage, whole crop silage and combinations of these in a feed mix;
- Other vegetative species that stock may eat while grazing.
Not included as ‘Grass-Fed’ forage are grains, including but not limited to, wheat, oats, barley, maize and the straw made from these cereal crops.
What do we mean by free range 365 days?
The dairy cows that supply our milk have access to pasture all year round. However, sometimes they do need removed from pasture. For example, due to:
- Milking (up to a maximum of twice per 24-hour period)
- Environmental conditions
- Regulatory compliance
- Veterinary advice
- Transportation
New Zealand dairy farming environmental demands are changing, and our milk suppliers are changing with them. Currently, three of our farms use barns as a management tool in response to environmental regulation changes which means that sometimes cows only have access to pasture once per month during winter. However, their diet is still predominantly grass-fed forage. And, cows don’t get milked in winter, so our milk is not produced when these cows are in barns over those colder months.
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The Grass-Fed calculation
We collect dairy feed records annually from all farmer suppliers. Based on this data we can calculate how much Grass-Fed forage makes up the total diet of the cows on each of our milk supplier’s farms. These figures help us to determine the percentage of grass-fed forage that makes up the diet of cows that supply our milk. The percentage of Grass-Fed diet for each farm has been calculated by considering the: herd size, proportion of herd type/breed & total season production (kg milk solids). This information is used to estimate the feed requirements for each herd. The Grass-Fed percentage is calculated as the proportion of Grass-Fed diet against total feed requirement.
From the annual data, we can confirm that the dairy ingredient in products that carry the Genuinely Grass-fed Guarantee mark, are made from cows that are at least 95% grass-fed.
A world leading Grass-Fed Guarantee
We believe that our Guarantee is world leading due to its high standards and transparency.
The milk that we use to create our Grass-Fed Guaranteed Westpro products is sourced from cows that eat at least 95% Grass-Fed forage and from farms where dairy cows roam Free Range for 365 days of the year (except when it is necessary to temporarily remove cows from pasture). Outdoor grazing is the cow’s natural behaviour, in their natural environment, so it makes sense that the resulting milk is full of natural goodness.
This provides the confidence you need that products with the Genuinely Grass-Fed Guarantee are made using quality Westpro grass-fed dairy.
