I was born and raised on a family dairy farm in Bend, Ore. My parents milked 100 Holstein cows. After graduating college, I moved east to take a job, which led me to eventually meet my husband. Bohnert Jerseys began small and simple in 1984, with a couple of Jersey heifers serving as the kids’ 4-H project. The dairy grew quickly from hobby to business thanks to the family\u2019s willingness to incorporate efficient, progressive tools into their dairy and its management.<\/p>\n

By 1989, the herd had grown to 10 head, the cows were milked by machine but carried in individual buckets to the bulk tank in a flat, four-stall barn built by the family, and the boys started shipping milk. A year later, they added a pipeline and constructed a 40-cow free-stall barn; a facility they thought they\u2019d never outgrow.<\/p>\n

But by 1993, with the free-stalls nearly full, the family made the decision to build a milking parlor with six stalls. Two years later, they added 60 stalls to the barn. By 2000, the family was milking 100 cows and four years later, a new parlor with 24 stalls was installed, featuring a system where milking units detach automatically from each cow, and meters help track individual production and quality.  Bohnerts invested in a 250-cow free-stall barn and a concrete manure storage facility with enough capacity for an entire year in 2006.   And, in the summer of 2013, our family added another 250-cow free-stall barn, allowing us to milk 500 cows.<\/p>\n