From far away, you may confuse this Brown Swiss for a Jersey. But get a little closer and you’ll notice a difference. A big difference. A difference of a couple hundred pounds.

Brown Swiss are a larger cow with a fuller body. They have large, cute and fuzzy ears that are as soft as they look. This breed was developed in the northeastern part of Switzerland, and, according to the Brown Swiss Association, the breed is believed to be the oldest of all dairy breeds. But since none of us are that old, we’ll leave it to the historians to figure out. Many farmers like the Brown Swiss because of their temperament; they have good feet and legs, and are weatherized. That’s just a fancy way of saying that Brown Swiss seem to be able to thrive and survive in hot and humid climates to cold and wet climates.

In Tillamook, Brown Swiss is a breed that was more popular a generation or two ago by farmers who emigrated from Switzerland. Today, there are probably less than 400 in the county.

~ Chandra of the Tillamook Team

By Chandra

A Tillamook Guernsey

Here in Tillamook County, we think all cows are special, but wait until you hear about these gals – the golden Guernsey. They got their nickname because of the color of their milk! Guernsey cows produce milk that is very high both in butterfat and protein. But what makes it uniquely golden in color is the concentration of beta carotene. This golden milk was very popular around the 1950s.

Guernsey cows are a little smaller than a Holstein. Their hides are typically tan with white spots. The Guernsey’s history is a little confusing since it can’t be verified who first took the cows to the Isle of Guernsey in 960 A.D., and since we’re talking well over a thousand years ago, it probably doesn’t matter too much to most folks. What we do know is that the first Guernsey cows began making their way to the U.S. in the late 1860s. Locally, there are two herds of Guernsey cows in Tillamook County.

Switching gears to the last edition of Cow of the Month…all I can say is wow! We have some creative fans out there. I was laughing while reading all of your captions. I liked them all, which made it difficult to choose just one caption. So I didn’t. Here are my three favorites:

“For the last time, no, my milk isn’t chocolate.”
- submitted by David P.

“Wait, I lost an earring! I’m not ready for my picture!”
- submitted by Tamara H.

“If you tell me to “say cheese!” one more time I’ll come over there and lick your camera lens!”
- submitted by Meri R.

Thanks for participating in our inaugural Cow Caption Challenge. I think we may need to make this a regular event!

~ Chandra of the Tillamook Team

By Chandra

What do YOU think this Tillamook dairy cow is saying?

If a cow could speak, what would she say? I don’t know if it’s human nature or because it’s fun and entertaining, but it’s easy to interpret what an animal is saying by a look in their eye or a tilt of their head. Add to that the perfect timing of a camera shutter closing and you have a game of fill-in-the-caption. Kind of like this photo!

Simply for the fun of it (and to waste of little of your time today), I challenge you to submit your own creative or comical caption for this photo. What might this Jersey be saying if she could talk? (The Loaf Life Blog is family friendly, so let’s keep them clean.) I’ll choose one and include it in the next edition of Cow of the Month.

By Chandra

The easiest method to identify cows on a dairy farm is with numbers. But many farmers also choose to name their cows. Sometimes it’s a flowery name. Sometimes it is a sweet name. Some names come from baby naming books while others are geographic references. Then there are the names for physical or personality characteristics. One of the earliest Cow of the Month posts was Big Ears. This time, the calf’s name is Bucky…for obvious reasons.

Bucky’s under bite makes her endearing and you just can’t help but chuckle and say, “Awww… she is so cute!” She was such an active little calf that she didn’t want to stay still long enough for me to get a nice photo. But rest assured, she has no self-confidence issues about her looks. Beauty, or cuteness in this case, is in the eye of the beholder. And while some may think she is an unattractive calf, I think she’s adorable!

By Chandra

Didn’t your mother teach you it was impolite to stick out your tongue? Well, it’s perfectly normal for a cow.

Grazing animals each have a different way of eating grass. A cow’s method is to use its tongue. A cow’s tongue is long, as you can tell from this photo, and dexterous. Cows are able to use their tongue to wrap around grass or plants growing in a pasture and pull the food into their mouth so they can eat it. Well, if you don’t have hands you need to find some other way to get the food to your mouth!

Also, cows only have bottom teeth. Once they’ve used their tongue to get the grass or other feed material into their moth, it’s “chewed” between the lower jaw and a the pad on the upper jaw. She swallows it down and there begins the rumination process or chewing the cud. But I won’t get into those details, at least not while you’re eating.

Learn a little more about Tillamook cows here!

By Chandra

Dutch Belt cows look a bit like Oreo Cookies, don't you think?

Every breed of cow has something unique about it, whether it is long shaggy hair, giant horns, spots like a Dalmatian or milk that is golden. The Dutch Belt is no different. People may think the black and white markings mean they are a funny looking Holstein, but no, these girls are meant to look like giant Oreo cookies on four legs. The cows are black with a white belt circling their entire body between the shoulders and rump.

According to the history books, Dutch Belt cows were imported to the U.S. in 1838. One of the original importers was P.T. Barnum! Barnum exhibited his herd for several years as a “rare and aristocratic breed,” because the animals were bred by nobility to achieve the bright white belt.

Locally, with only one herd, Dutch Belts are a rare and unique site.

Photo courtesy of hans s

By Chandra

Living on the Oregon coast with as much rain as we get, everyone anxiously waits for April when the rains (are supposed to) taper off. The cows are no different. By mid-April we finally had a few days of dry weather and many of the farmers were able to let the cows into pasture. Early one Thursday morning, these Holstein girls were enjoying a breakfast of spring grass after milking. Nothing but the sounds of birds chirping and the occasional car driving by on its way to work.

By Chandra

A Tillamook Jersey cow

Worldwide, there are hundreds of breeds of cows. Though all of them produce milk just by the nature of the animal’s anatomy, there are a few breeds that are specifically recognized as a dairy breed. The two most common breeds, especially around Tillamook, are Holsteins and Jerseys.

Now, there are Holstein farmers and there are Jersey farmers. Each of them fiercely defends why one breed is better than the other. One produces more milk; the other has higher butter fat. Both characteristics are important to dairy farmers. But not being a farmer, I don’t think like that. I think in terms of cuteness. And at the top of my list are the Jersey cows.

Jersey cows are the petite brown cows you see dotting the landscapes of the county. Their color can range in shades of very light tan to a very dark, almost black, brown. While their coloring is not as flamboyant as black and white spots, they have this doe-eyed appearance that just makes you want to go “aww, how cute.”

Jerseys originated on the Isle of Jersey and is one of the oldest dairy breeds. They were brought to the U.S. around the 1850s. Today, Jersey cows can be found just about anywhere in the world. Farmers favor them because their milk is the highest in butterfat and protein. They are also very efficient animals at converting their feed into milk production, and are capable of producing more milk per pound of body weight than the other breeds. For those reasons, some farmers, who may be die-hard Holstein fans, switch their herds to Jerseys.

Personally, I think they are just so adorable!

By Chandra

"Queenie" Jadean

Meet “Queenie” Jadean, a former show girl… er, show cow, actually… that, according to her farm family, has a serious case of princess syndrome. This 10-year-old girl is tall, even towering over her fellow Holsteins! But what makes Jadean, Queenie Jadean? She likes to get pampered. Show cows get handled a little more often than a regular cow. They’re trained to walk with a halter and handled often to get them used to being around crowds. They’re bathed and their hair is always trimmed so they look their best for a show. You could say they are a little spoiled. Jadean likes the special attention, in fact, she expects the special attention. She likes getting a bath, she likes getting her head scratched and she’ll give a big, sloppy kiss in return. Which isn’t as sweet as it sounds, those tongues are rough! Jadean earned her title of Queenie. In a herd prized for its genetics, Jadean has achieved a 4th generation excellent and is approaching some lifetime production milestones (her milk has produced 25,717 pounds of cheese so far!). In 2005, she won Grand Champion at the Oregon Black and White (Holstein) Show. All hail the queen!

By Chandra

Big Ears was a little too busy munching with her gal pals to cooperate and let me take her photo. I don’t blame her. If someone was taking my photo while I was eating lunch I wouldn’t cooperate either!

Cow No. 145 is called Big Ears on her farm. Big Ears was born June 23, 2010. She is a Holstein. According to her farm family, this girl’s ears were twice as big as her head when she was born! She’s also pretty smart. When she was just one day old, Big Ears was already drinking out of the 5-gallon milk bucket. Calves normally need to have the milk transferred to a bottle in order to drink the milk. What a little smarty-pants!

By Chandra