Kinnard Farms: An innovative approach

This story appeared in the DBA September newsletter. Click here to view the digital version of the newsletter.

Kinnard Farms is built on the backs of family members over generations who have had one common way of thinking, staying innovative. The dairy farm, located in Casco, Wis., has been ahead of the curve for some time with its forward-thinking approach. 

The farm, which milks 8,000 cows, is seen for being on the leading edge of technology and science in the dairy community in the Midwest. It’s the only dairy farm in the country to have a sand recycling setup that dries its own sand to be reused for cow comfort and health. 

“I think humankind is always looking for a better way to do things,” said Lee Kinnard, who is the CEO of Kinnard Farms. “I really enjoy looking into the science and technology for dairy farms. I like the ability to be able to move our staff forward. That is what really drives me, moving things forward and making it better.” 

The visionary thinking went into the sand recycling operation the farm has been using for eight years, with the last three years including the dryer portion on one of its two setups. During the 1980s Kinnard Farms began using sand as bedding for its herd; but sand is very hard on machinery, is costly and didn’t fit the farm’s conservation practices. Now — after involving mining, manure and drying companies, who all invested in the project — every grain of sand on the farm is reused for the herd. Of the many benefits, Kinnard has witnessed mastitis on the farm becoming non-existent. 

“My brother in-laws were also behind the thinking and we all thought, “There has to be a better way for the environment and one that is better economically,’” Kinnard said. “Better, as in how do we do it more efficiently? How do we do it with a smaller footprint? All of the above to help the cow in the end?” 

Reducing its footprint is among Kinnard’s reasons for recycling sand this way. The numbers were tabulated, and each cow was using 15 tons of sand per year. With 8,000 cows, that means the farm was trucking in 120,000 tons of sand each year or 5,000 truckloads. In addition to no longer trucking in new sand, the farm reuses an average of 15 million gallons of fresh water from the barns to wash the sand in the process. The savings from not purchasing sand, not having to truck sand away and reusing water equates to nearly 18,000 fewer truckloads on local roadways. In the end, the sand recycling operation is better for the environment and the community.  

“All of it comes back to how sustainable or renewable can we be?” Kinnard added. “The main driving force for the sand recycling is the thought of “we’re bringing this stuff in, but it’s going out with a second use.” It’s about working to sustain our land, waters and our economies, while also achieving the ability to actually regenerate, and that’s really the term we use on-farm — regenerating.”