Know Your Farmers: Cows are known by their names at Snider’s Dairy Farm
{Contributed Photos/ Photos copyright Geocore Creative, Inc.}
The motto for Snider’s Dairy Farm, “Where every animal is treated like a pet,” is fitting for this third-generation family farm that is part of the 2022 Davidson County Farm Tour, a community and education outreach event hosted by Davidson County Local Food Network.
After all, Joshua Snider’s first pet was a black and white Holstein calf he named Annabelle, which he received from Santa when he was 6 years old.
Now 27, Snider runs the farm with his father, Mark; his brother, Robert; his girlfriend, Brook; and his 6-year-old nephew, Mason, who is affectionately known as “the CEO.”
“Annabelle started it all,” Snider said, noting they grew up together on the farm. “She was my first pet. She died at 13 while I was in college and she’s buried on the farm. She made me realize I had a passion for the dairy industry. But part of her is still here because we have her granddaughter.”
Snider showed Annabelle at area agricultural fairs and did numerous 4-H projects about her. He also won top honors at the N.C. State 4-H competition with a demonstration on how to milk a cow.
While in middle school he milked a neighbor’s cows and, instead of accepting money, he got calves. By the time he was a junior in high school, he had four milking cows and convinced his father and uncle to get back into the dairy business instead of raising beef cattle.
When he was a senior the farm expanded up to 30 milking cows. But his uncle decided to get out of the dairy business and he and his father built the big red barn on Cedar Springs Road near Denton in 2019 that is now home to about 65 cows in a range of ages, with 30 of them milking cows.
Snider noted all the cows, primarily Jersey, Holstein, Guernsey and Brown Swiss breeds, have names and are referred to by name rather than ear-tag numbers.
“Our animals spend the majority of their days grazing the pastures,” he said. “We strive to be as organic as possible. They’re really kind of spoiled.”
Snider said they are fed a grain/hay diet free from hormones and milk enhancing supplements twice a day after each of their daily milkings.
If you have doubts that the cows at the farm are treated like pets, look for the “Employee of the Month” Facebook postings that feature a photo of a cow, her milk production rate and a brief personality profile. Other postings include photos of new calves and lambs.
Snider said the farm recently had a chance to acquire a flock of sheep so they now have about 10 sheep, including some new spring babies. There are also seven dogs that help herd the animals as well as three horses that help do the same. Two fainting goats keep the shrubs pruned and a couple of cats keep the mice at bay in the barn. There’s also a mule and a mini-pony on the farm.
“We got the mini-pony for my nephew when he was learning to ride,” Snider explained.
The pony also pulls small carts that little children love to ride in, Snider said, adding that several agritourism ventures help keep the dairy farm afloat.
For the past two years, the farm has offered walking tours Wednesday through Sunday from June until the end of October. Tours are hands-on as they show how to milk a cow and let those who want to try it do so with “kid-friendly” cows.
For the past four years, the farm has partnered with local photographers throughout the year to provide people with unique photo opportunities. Many parents bring their children out to see a real farm and get photos of them with little lambs and calves as well as the other farm animals.
Snider said a fall festival this past year drew 1,200 people to the farm. The event helps fund local Future Farmers of America chapters.
While the agritourism aspect of the farm raises some money, Snider said it’s important to him to educate the public, especially youths, about the agriculture industry.
“I like to have the kids out here learning where their food comes from. There’s such a disconnect about the process. We want them to know their food doesn’t just magically appear at Walmart.”
Snider is actually a professional educator himself. He teaches agriculture at West Davidson High School in Tyro, where he is the FFA advisor. The farmer has a B.S. degree in animal science from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and M.S. degree in agriculture education from N.C. A&T University in Greensboro.
“I’m in my fifth year now and I love every minute of it,” he added.
While he originally planned to become a large animal veterinarian, Snider said he is happy to combine being a dairy farmer and an educator. He noted unstable milk prices and consolidation within the dairy industry make the farming challenging but he is optimistic.
“I’d eventually like to grow the herd size to about 60 milking cows and I’d love to put in a milking robot. But my main goal right now is to pay off the dairy barn.”
Snider’s Dairy Farm is not currently involved with any local farmers’ markets due to the cost of purchasing processing equipment. They do sell their milk to Dairy Farmers of America, a national milk marketing cooperative, and it is processed in Winston-Salem.
