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From Brew to Moo: How Ayers Farm Turns Byproducts into Sustainable Dairy

Liepa

In Perryville, Ohio, Ayers Farm has found a way to connect tradition with innovation. The seventh-generation dairy is home to more than 600 Holstein cows, and their diet includes an unusual ingredient: brewer’s mash from the Budweiser plant in Columbus. What could have gone to waste is instead being used to feed cows and keep the farm more sustainable.

Kathy Davis, who helps run the farm, explains it simply. By using byproducts from other industries, the farm keeps material out of landfills while giving their herd valuable nutrition. Farmers, she says, have always been recyclers. Along with brewer’s mash, the cows also receive distillers grains, corn gluten, soybean meal and cottonseed. In the past, the farm even fed potato waste from a local Frito Lay plant to steers.

Ayers Farm is also embracing technology. Breeding-age heifers, lactating cows and dry cows wear activity monitors. Cameras in maternity pens help keep a close eye on cows during calving. These tools provide data that allows the family and their team to address health or production issues before they become problems.

For Kathy, the work is about more than just producing milk. She believes it is also about people, from employees to nutritionists and veterinarians, who make the farm’s success possible. The farm employs 25 people, manages 1,500 acres and raises replacement heifers alongside the milking herd.

Like many dairy farms, Ayers Farm faces challenges with labor and hauling milk, but they are exploring solutions such as beef-on-dairy breeding to improve margins. Looking to the future, succession planning is an important focus. With Kathy’s father and uncle in their seventies, she and her cousin are steadily taking on more responsibilities to keep the farm thriving for the next generation.

The story of Ayers Farm shows how creativity and sustainability can shape the future of dairy while holding onto the values of family farming.

How about you - what byproducts or innovative feed solutions have you seen or tried on your farm or in your community?

  • in reply to Giacomo Ferioli

    Interesting, I also see the challenge with more seasonal or limited items like orange peels; storing them in sufficient quantities is tricky for smaller herds.

  • in reply to gretaterb

    I have very positive experience with brewer grains, great value product if you can rely on a steady supply. Also bakery waste works well, although in that case the availability and the quality is not so guaranteed. I use also orange peels, although  for these the main problem is, further than the inconstant availability, the very small size of the herd and supply which don't allow to store bigger volumes to be used over time though for example silage. Overall, byproducts have huge potential to be used as feedstuff as with some creativity and in the right context there's chance to get great value feedstuff at good price

  • Well on our farm we’ve tried a few things over the years. Distillers grains have been a steady part of the ration, and the cows do well on it. We’ve also fed some bakery waste and even potato waste back when it was available, though that one was better suited for steers than the milking herd. I know neighbors who have mixed in things like cottonseed or corn gluten, and more recently I’ve heard of folks experimenting with brewers’ mash from local breweries.

    At the end of the day it comes down to what’s available nearby, what the nutritionist says will balance out the ration, and what’s economical. Farmers are always looking for ways to recycle byproducts that would otherwise go to waste, and if it keeps cows healthy and milk flowing, it’s worth a try.

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