After witnessing all of the steps taken to create one of Utah’s favorite ice cream brands, Cache Valley resident Savanna Mccay learned a very important lesson.
“That cows are the best things on earth,” Mccay said.
On Friday, Utah State University held its annual “Cow to Cone” event, where community members had the chance to understand the entire process behind the delectable taste of Aggie Ice Cream.
The first step in creating the treat takes place at Utah State University’s various research farms in the valley, where students grow alfalfa. This feed is then used to nourish the university’s dairy cows at the Caine Dairy Teaching and Research Center.
The Caine Dairy is home to 60 Jersey cows and 60 Holstein cows that each contribute milk made into Aggie Ice Cream. Each of the Jersey cows can produce seven to nine gallons of milk per day and has a high butterfat content, making it great for ice cream and cheese. The dairy’s Holstein cows can produce nine to 20 gallons a day.
Around six years ago, the dairy started using robotic milking machines. These robots offer numerous benefits, according to dairy extension specialist for USU Extension Bruce Richards.
For one, they operate around the clock. This improves udder health and increases milk production by allowing cows to be milked up to five times a day. But the biggest benefit of the machines, Richards said, is labor.
“Generally, they don’t need a day off, they don’t get sick, they don’t get into a fight with their girlfriend, they don’t get mad at the cows,” Richards said. “They’re really pretty dependable.”
The farm didn’t used to have two different breeds of cows, according to Abby Benninghoff, the Animal, Dairy and Veterinary Sciences department head, but having both is super beneficial for research purposes and for comparing the two breeds. The Jerseys provide better teaching opportunities for students, she said, as they are smaller, friendlier, and easier for first-time students to interact with.
Benninghoff said the dairy will soon be looking into how different components of the feed they give the cows contribute to higher milk yields.
“In the dairy world, milk yield, milk quality is very important,” she said. “So, If you can have more effective use of the feed, you’ll end up with a more economically sustained dairy operation.”
Rachel Lindstrom, a USU master’s student studying cheddar cheese, said having the dairy nearby the university is beneficial to her, even when she is not the one interacting with the cows.
“The cow — what it’s fed, how it’s treated — all those things trickle down into the milk and the flavor of the milk,” Lindstrom said. “The quality of the cow will equal the quality of the final product.”
The quality of the Caine Dairy’s cows, she said, makes its way into Aggie Ice Cream. The cows at the Caine Dairy Teaching and Research Center were ranked the No. 1 college dairy herd in the nation by the Holstein Association USA in six of the past seven years.
One of her professors, Prateek Sharma, said this is what makes Aggie Ice Cream so unique.
“Having that superior quality milk will help us to make superior quality dairy products,” he said. “So it’s important for us to have a dairy farm close by.”
After the milk is taken from the famous cows, some of it is transported to the Gary H. Richardson Dairy Products Laboratory right next to the Aggie Creamery. There, the milk is tested for quality and safety, pasteurized, homogenized, and mixed with other ingredients to create more than 27 flavors.
The milk is also used to make cheeses in food science courses for students and short courses for industry professionals.
But what really makes Aggie Ice Cream the best? Microbiologist and assistant professor Taylor Oberg said the trick is in the ice cream's air and fat content. He said his students whip less air into their ice cream than usual and put about 12% fat into the mix, making it denser and creamier.
“It’s better than BYU,” Oberg said. “I’ll just say that.”
